#10 Can death be reversed?
Recent restoration of dead pigs' organ function blur the line between life and death
The Agenda 👇
News bulletin 📰
Can death be reversed?
Recent funding in longevity 💰
Upcoming events 📅
Jobs in longevity 🧑💼
1/ News bulletin 📰
📈 Biotech Renewal Bio publishes work developing realistic synthetic embryos in mice for organ harvesting - truly operating at the frontier an of science and ethics
🧑🦲 In a new review researchers from the University of Zagreb provide a comprehensive review of immunoglobulin G glycans - and their role in ageing
🧬 A groundbreaking study demonstrated that plasma dilution leads to systemic rejuvenation - against multiple proteomic aspects of ageing in humans
🧠 BioAge partners with Age Labs to decipher healthy longevity - to analyse longitudinal biological samples and clinical data to identify molecular pathways associated with healthy longevity
🐁 CELLINK and IISc collaborate to advance research in 3D bioprinting - the Centre of Excellence (CoE) will focus on advancing organ-level research
2/ Can death be reversed?
A question that scientists, sages, and shamans have asked for millennia, may be a little closer to an answer as researchers at Yale School of Medicine restored cell function in the organs of dead pigs. The work published in Nature earlier this month opened a new dimension of questions about what this might mean for intensive care, life extension and organ donation.
The technology behind scientific breakthrough was a system of pumps, heaters, and fillers called OrganEx, that artificially flushed the pigs' organs with blood. The study demonstrated that this artificial perfusion was Abel to restore molecular and cellular function in the heart, brain, liver, and kidneys.
The principles behind the technology are not new and intensive care units across the world, especially during the COVID pandemic, use a technique called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to flush blood through the dysfunctional organ. This life support system however only slows the death of cells, and it often fails to fully saturate organs with blood, leaving some smaller blood vessels to collapse.
OrganEx can therefore be thought of as a more powerful and advanced version ECMO, as demonstrated by the pig organs showing signs of being fully flushed with blood and fully oxygenated, with less haemorrhage and inflammation. The researchers even observed degrees of gene expression in some cells, indicating tissues were starting to repair themselves.
The most impressive organ restoration however were the hearts, which began to contract to pump blood, indicating renewed electrical activity, and supported the resumption of blood circulation in the pigs' bodies. By contrast there was no sign of electrical activity in the brain.
A key takeaway from the study is that cells do not die as quickly as previously assumed, extending the appropriate time window for intervention. Prospective use cases include allowing clinicians to preserve more human organs for donation after death, reducing the transplant-organ shortage and saving thousands of lives. The new technology could also revolutionise life-support protocols and pave the way for bringing people back to life long after death, although other research teams have been quick to raise important ethical questions.
The Yale research group have previously developed a perfusion system called BrainEx. In 2019, that system restored some structure and function in the brains of dead pigs four hours after they'd been decapitated, however OrganEx marks a dramatic step up.
With the organ tissues preserved and cell death delayed, doctors could have much more time to deal with acute emergencies such as heart attacks or extensive trauma. However, we remain far away from this technology reaching the frontline, in part because in humans when a heart stops beating and blood stops flowing, it causes other organs to swell. Blood vessels collapse and prevent new blood flow that OrganEx would aim to restore.
Nonetheless this technological advancement is an incredible milestone for modern medicine and opens entirely new worlds of possibility with end-of-life management. We’re far away from this type of technology playing a role in the extension of human lifespan, however it’s a mighty step in the right direction.
3/ Recent funding in longevity 💰
4/ Upcoming events 📅
🌐 Featuring intramural speakers such as Dr. Amutha Boominathan, Group Lead of MitoSENS, and Dr. Jean Hebert of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Ending Aging Forum 2022 will be focusing on SENS' in-house research as well as student presentations and SENS-funded research projects. This event will be hosted through the Meetaverse virtual reality experience and will feature a conference hall, individual project rooms, and an expo room on September 2 - 3, 2022. Registration is free.
🇬🇧 The Nutrition and the Biology of Ageing conference is being hosted by the Biochemical Society and the British Society for Research on Ageing, and will feature Brian Kennedy of the National University of Singapore. Conference will take place at University of Kent Canterbury, UK on September 12-14.
🇮🇪 The Longevity Summit Dublin takes place this year on 18th-20th of Septemberin Ireland! Conference will feature some of the world’s renowned longevity experts like George Church (Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School), Aubrey de Grey(Co-Founder, SENS Research Foundation), Evelyne Yehudit Bischof (Associate professor, internal medicine specialist, Longevity physician at Human Longevity Inc.),Jim Mellon (Chairman & Co-Founder Juvenescense ; Global Investor ), Greg Grinberg (Actualfood Founder & CEO), Phil Newman (Founder, First Longevity, Editor-in–Chief Longevity.Technology), and many more.
5/ Jobs in longevity 🧑💼
Fauna Bio // Chief of Staff // Emeryville, CA
Lift Biosciences // Research Scientist // London, UK
Alchemab // Bioinformatician // Cambridge, UK
Turn.Bio // mRNA Synthesis & Production Scientist // Mountain View, CA
Juvena Therapeutics // Senior Research Associate // Palo Alto, CA