[extropy-chat] Anti-Aging Molecule Discovered

Ian Goddard iamgoddard at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 13 04:15:13 UTC 2006


Suppose a drug is found that reverses aging. That's
what some Korean scientists using magnetic nano-probe
technology propose in Nature Chemical Biology [*] and
in the media report below. However, all they seem to
have so far are cell-culture tests of a drug, and
there's a big leap from in-vitro to in-vivo outcomes.
There might even be reasons why preventing cellular
senescence is not universally beneficial to a whole
biological system. We'll see how this pans out. ~Ian


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http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200606/kt2006061209433511780.htm

Anti-Aging Molecule Discovered

A team of South Korean scientists on Sunday claimed to
have created a "cellular fountain of youth," or a
small molecule, which enables human cells to avoid
aging and dying. 

The team, headed by Prof. Kim Tae-kook at the Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, argued
the newly-synthesized molecule, named CGK733, can even
make cells younger.

The findings were featured by the Britain-based Nature
Chemical Biology online early today and will be
printed as a cover story in the journal's offline
edition early next month. 

"All cells face an inevitable death as they age. On
this path, cells became lethargic and in the end stop
dividing but we witnessed that CGK733 can block the
process," Kim said.

"We also found the synthetic compound can reverse
aging, by revitalizing already-lethargic cells.
Theoretically, this can give youth to the elderly via
rejuvenating cells," the 41-year-old said.

Kim expected that the CGK733-empowered drugs that keep
cells youthful far beyond their normal life span would
be commercialized in less than 10 years. [...]

*****************************************************

Their peer-reviewed paper:

[*] Small molecule–based reversible reprogramming of
cellular lifespan
http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nchembio800.html

Here's more on the nano-probe technology they used
that was apparently invented by the same team:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200506/kt2005063018022911990.htm

~Ian

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