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As you may know, Aubrey de Grey is one of the leading lights in anti-aging research in the UK: and perhaps worldwide. He is a fascinating speaker and highly knowledgeable.

The video below will really get you thinking about the aging process, and whether it is inevitable….. Aubrey de Grey is very convincing and clearly well informed. He is a joy to listen to.  Check it out!

Related articles on Aubrey de Grey

• Aubrey de Grey on Singularity 1 on 1: Better Funding and Advocacy Can Defeat Aging (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com)
• Aubrey de Grey on the Harvard Mouse News (acceleratingfuture.com)
• James Ellobogen clarifies nanoprocessor speed potential and projects shrinking it by 1000 times and Aubrey de Grey on the telomere research (nextbigfuture.com)

Anti-Aging Cure Found?

Aubrey de Grey – a fascinating man to listen to.

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The telomere is a small structure attached to the end of our DNA, which shrinks slightly every time a cell divides. Once the telomere reaches a certain small size, the cell is ‘instructed’ to self-destruct.

Hence there is a great deal of interest in keeping the telomeres as long as possible. One substance which appears to help this is TA 65.

But we can help the telomere shortening to slow down – and one way is by avoiding stress.

As the video shows…

How Stress Affects Our Telomeres (Chromosome / DNA)

Stress by way of stress hormones accelerate the shortening of telomeres.

Related articles on Stress and Aging

• The Effect of Negative Thinking on Health, Wellbeing and Life Span, by Nobel Prize Winner. [Sam Borrett] (ecademy.com)
• Daily Dose: How to slow the aging process (boston.com)
• The Costs Of Stress (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

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Resveratrol Supplements have been clearly shown to have various benefits for human health. Resveratrol is the substance which was discovered to be present in red wine.

These benefits are particularly related to the reduction of cancer and also of heart disease. As these two are the two main diseases afflicting Western society, this highlights the extreme importance of resveratrol supplements.

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The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences have recently publish a series of papers about these benefits, and the other benefits which with resveratrol has been found to have. These are summarised – in understandable form    by RevGenetics.

Resveratrol has such clear benefits for health that I can only wonder how long it going to take before it becomes more widely used by the population at large.

Related articles about Resveratrol and Resveratrol Supplements

• Resveratrol and quercetin tame inflammation and prevent insulin resistance (gracemedeirosmj.wordpress.com)
• Resveratrol May Suppress Inflammation in Humans (webmd.com)
• Resveratrol’s Benefits Linked To Fat Hormones (gracemedeirosmj.wordpress.com)
• Nature’s Cure for Heart Disease? (everydayhealth.com)

Resveratrol Supplements – A Summary Of The Good News is a post from: Living To 150

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"Pensions Palace" - via Wikipedia

Greater human longevity is already raising concerns in the insurance and pensions industries. Well, they “ain’t seen nothing yet”.

“Radical life extension” is around the corner. And I mean decades, rather than centuries.

“Living To 150″ is not just some pipe dream, it is a genuine prediction.

When we get to the point that people are actually living to 150, it’s probably time to get out of the pensions industry. In fact, best get out well before that.

Our whole conception of aging will change dramatically over the next few decades. Our ready acceptance of the inevitability of becoming sick, frail, and developing degenerative diseases with age will have to be seriously questioned.

We think that we have seen a banking crisis in the last couple of years! Well, once reality hits home, the insurance and pensions industries will have a massive crisis to deal with coping with the ramifications of ever-increasing longevity, as anti-aging is embraced rapidly by the whole population.

Related articles

• Analysis: Pension trustees wary of bets on death (reuters.com)
• Revealed: How 33,000 women will be robbed of 2 year’s pension under reforms of retirement age (dailymail.co.uk)
• Longevity rise to hit pensions (lv.com)
• The Challenge of longevity Our population is gaining 12 minutes of extra life with every hour that passes which raises issues for the pensions industry.

Longevity Raises Serious Issues For Insurance And Pensions is a post from: Living To 150

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Glycation is a process which makes you age faster. Simple fact – which nobody disagrees with.

So how can you avoid it?

Fairly simple: the main way is to avoid eating food cooked at high temperatures.

So instead of having your food fried, grilled, oven cooked – favour food which is cooked at the temperature of boiling water – stews, casseroles, soups and sautes.

In this way you avoid the dangerous glycated food – the crispy bits – which just promote aging.

Now and again if you must! But basically, avoid ‘crispy’ food.

Salmon – Simple Sautéed Salmon Recipe

Salmon is a great fish to work in to your diet and it’s good for you too. Full of Omega 3, a “good fat” that may reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and more. Salmon is also a good source of B12, Niacin and vitamin D. In this simple salmon rec…

Longevity Solutions: Breaking the Glycation Connection

Longevity Solutions: Breaking the Glycation Connect. A step by step guide to prevention, detection, treatment, and reversal of sugar related disease.

Related articles for Glycation and Anti-aging

• 20 Ways To Look & Feel Younger (mygloss.com)
• Change diet and lower risk of heart disease by over eighty percent (gracemedeirosmj.wordpress.com)
• HbA1c – All Information (umm.edu)

Glycation – Best Avoided if You Want To Live a Long Time is a post from: Living To 150

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This is a great ebook which does a good job of explaining where we are today with regard to healthy anti-aging strategies.

Best of all – it is completely free. David Kekich is doing all he can to publicize anti-aging, so is giving this book away. It’s a chunky tome – and packed full of information.

It tells you 7 steps to take to: “catch the emerging wave of medical breakthroughs…” for a healthy, extended life. I strongly recommend this book to help get you up to speed with the current state of anti-aging knowledge.

Also, follow author David Kekich on twitter @MaxLifeorg .

Free Longevity Book is a post from: Living To 150

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Continuing a review of the lifestyle changes I made after last year’s blood tests in Fort Lauderdale (April 2008), I will summarize the changes I made.

They were:

1. Avoiding glycation

2. Reducing the amount of sugar in my diet

3. Increasing exercise

In this entry I look briefly at:

3. Increasing exercise

My exercise regime a year ago was not great. I used to play racquetball once a week, and that had stopped. I would walk for half an hour or an hour sporadically. I was doing no weight training. I had started yoga and did this for 10-15 minutes most days.

I decided to get more organized!

1. I started to walk quickly for  20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.

2. I joined the gym, just for the strength building exercise. I carried out a programme for 45 minutes 2-3 times a week.

3. I joined a tennis club and loved it, such that I played 3 times most weeks.

These were the changes I made after my blood tests in early 2008, which I managed to keep up pretty well to date.

I was now ready to review my lifestyle changes in the light of the recommendations of Dr Terry Grossman and his colleagues.

My Lifestyle Changes – Exercise is a post from: Living To 150

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Getting healthier is incremental – bit by bit – for most people. You cannot do it all at once. It might be helpful if I to write down some of my own incremental lifestyle changes.

The lifestyle changes I made after last year’s blood tests in Fort Lauderdale (April 2008) were as follows.

1. Avoiding glycation

2. Reducing the amount of sugar in my diet

3. Increasing exercise

After this year’s visit to see Terry Grossman, I will make further changes, no doubt. For now, let’s look at these factors one by one.

1. Avoiding glycation.

I reduced the amount of food I cooked at high temperatures. This was to avoid glycation.

For example, I substituted frying my salmon for poaching or steaming it. Stir-frys became a ‘quick fry’ followed by steaming in a little liquid.

I stopped frying curry onions and spices before adding the liquid – I just put it all together to cook.

When cooking in foil in the oven, I cook for an hour at 250 degrees F (gas mark 1.5) instead of a hot oven for 20 minutes.

The food still tastes great. I love poached or steamed salmon now. I like to poach it in vegetable stock, or wine, or just some water with a little soy sauce or Worcestershire Sauce. Add some flavouring to taste – onions, garlic, chili seeds, chopped peppers – and steam for 5 minutes a side.

In the oven – add the same vegetables, pour a little olive oil over. You can also add sliced courgette, mushrooms, etc. A fantastic meal when you add a side salad or a few extra steamed green vegetables.

I still occasionally have fried food – but rarely cook it  except for the quick start to my stir-frys.

Next I look at My Lifestyle Changes – Sugar

My Lifestyle Changes – Glycation is a post from: Living To 150

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I am in Denver ready to meet with Dr Terry Grossman in two days at his anti-aging clinic.

I have signed up to a two day health assessment and series of consultations with Terry himself, his wife, a practitioner in nutrition and Chinese medicine, and others.

I want to build on the blood tests I had done a year ago, following which I have made lifestyle changes. These include dietary changes, exercise changes and devising a supplement plan.

I hope to have all these changes checked by the clinic.  Also, new blood and other tests will be carried out, and further recommendations made.

I am quite excited to hear what is recommended.

I think the clinic will also apply a test which shows an estimate of my ‘bodily age’ compared to my physical age. This will be a useful benchmark for future treatments to gauge their effects.

Denver is a lovey city, and has a great temperature in July. After my visit to the clinic, my partner and I will tour round the Rocky Mountains for 2 weeks before returning home.

Denver Anti-Aging is a post from: Living To 150

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We all know that aerobic exercise help us to keep healthy, and help avoid cancer and heart disease.

Moderate weight training – such as on machines at the gym – has been shown to help maintain muscle bulk as we age – an important factor, as many falls by old people are due to weakened muscles.

The latest research shows an additional benefit of weight training: it reduces cancer.

In this study, scientists led from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, tracked 8,677 men aged between 20 and 82 for more than two decades, and studied their weight training habits.

The results were that men who regularly worked out with weights and had the greatest  muscle strength were 30 to 40 per cent less likely to die from a cancerous tumour.

Exercise Regime

It seems clear that exercise needs to be of two kinds:

1. Aerobic exercise – such as fast walking, swimming, running – any exercise where there is no rest. This should be for 20 minutes or more twice a week.

2. Weight training of the major muscle groups, also twice a week, and perhaps for 45 minutes a time. However, previously, it was thought that this just prevented muscle degeneration with aging.  This study seems to show a protective benefit against cancer too.

Although the study was of men, women should benefit too. Weight training does not have to result in big muscles – your trainer will advise if you don’t want to ‘get chunky’!

Report

Weight Train To Avoid Cancer is a post from: Living To 150

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  Scientists at Oxford University have developed a virus to deliver knockout therapy to cancer cells in the liver, while sparing the liver itself any damaging effects.

The problem with chemotherapy is that it targets cancer cells, but damages healthy cells in the process. This new therapy would damage the cancer without the additional – unwanted – damage.

This was achieved by changing the virus so that it kept its ability to reproduce within cancer cells in mice. But this was done in such a way that the mouse’s system realised that the virus cells were foreign, and so later killed them before they caused other damage.

The therapy has the possibility of being ‘tweaked’ to attack other harmful cells – such as hepatitis cells – while keeping all – or nearly all – the none-harmful cells safe.

Cancer Research UK article

Oxford University Creates Virus to Attack Cancer is a post from: Living To 150

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My main aim is to live to 150 – at least to start off with.

(It’s said that the first person who will still be healthy at 200 is already living.)

So with that aim in mind I need to prepare myself for my trip to Denver, Colorado to see Terry Grossman, in July 2009.

What do I want to achieve?

Three main things.

1. Firstly, to have new blood tests taken, so that I can compare these with the ones I had done last year at Life Extension Foundation, and get the clinic’s views on them.
2. Secondly, to have a more detailed health assessment done, and so further review my health status.
3. Thirdly, to get the clinic’s views on my lifestyle, and how that is affecting my health, looked at against the backdrop of the blood tests.

New Blood Tests

It will be interesting to see how my blood test have changed compared to last year.

My main concerns with the blood tests were:

• High cholesterol. My total cholesterol was 235 mg/dl. This is about 6 in the UK measurement, and so about 30% too high. LDL and HDL were similarly high. However, my total cholesterol/HDL ratio was pretty good. Triglycerides were also good, at 72 mg/dl. (What is cholesterol?)
• Blood sugar. Fasting blood sugar was 102 mg/dl, or 5.6mmol/l in UK terms. Optimal is between 70 and 85.  So 102 is high. However, haemoglobin A-1 C was 5.6%, which is good. This is a measure of blood sugar over the past three-months. Also, fasting insulin was good at less than 2 mIU/dl.
• Hormones. My free testosterone was measured at 9.1 pg per millilitre. This is within the recommended range, but low within the range. Thyroid hormones again, were low within the normal range.

I will be looking to see whether the new blood tests reflect similar values to the old ones – from a year ago.

It will be interesting to hear the clinic’s personal recommendations. Last year I had only support via the telephone, which was not ideal. This one-to-one advice will be more helpful.

Preparing for My Health Review is a post from: Living To 150

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A small pilot study appears to show that lycopene – an antioxidant found in tomatoes – was protective against sunburn.

The subjects who received the lycopene supplement experienced a sunburn cell count six times lower than that of the placebo group. This is a significant benefit as sunburn causes DNA damage in cells.  Cancer often involves DNA damage.

The study was carried out by a company producing a lycopene supplement. However, confidence in the results was strengthened by the comments of David McDaniel, M.D., director of the Institute of Anti-Aging Research in Virginia Beach, USA, who said these  results “…are  impressive.” 

McDaniel added:

"Our research program has seen significant protection from UV damage from other topically applied super-potent antioxidants. We’ve also seen anecdotal evidence that oral lycopene supplementation in the 5mg to 10mg daily dose range may reduce the risk of sunburn in very sensitive, fair-skinned individuals. The apparent protection of Langerhans cells is also potentially significant," he notes, adding: "Oral supplements such as this mixture of lycopene and related carotenoids need further studies like this one to expand our understanding of how oral antioxidants impact our skin – both for health and beauty."

Further information on this study

The Richest Source of Lycopene

The fruit with the highest content of lycopene is called a gac. It is found in south east Asia, when it can be harvested during December and January. However, it is little know elsewhere. If you do live in Vietnam or nearby it is well worth seeking out gac, as it contains 80 – yes, 80! – times the lycopene found in tomatoes. Other foods have lesser amounts of lycopene, the only significant one being watermelon, which has about 1/4-1/3 of that found in tomato sauce.

Tomatoes Protect against Sunburn is a post from: Living To 150

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Over the years there have been many changes of recommendation as to what types of fats are healthy for us. There is particular confusion over whether we need Omega-3 or Omega-6 fatty acids.

The truth is: we need Omega-3s.

We should generally shoot for a 1:1 balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 in the diet. The problem is, our diets generally contain much too much Omega-6. Thus we need to reduce Omega-6 fats and increase Omega-3 fats.

Inflammation Kills

The main reason to increase Omega-3 fats is: Omega-3 reduces inflammation. Omega-6 fats increase inflammation – it is ‘pro-inflammatory’.

What is wrong with inflammation? ‘Good inflammation’ is designed to help the body to repair damage or counteract infection. It causes redness, pain and heat.

The ‘bad’ sort is generalised inflammation. This type does not cause pain or discomfort. It is insidious: it can be detected by a blood test, but is not felt. This generalised inflammation has been linked to all major degenerative diseases: cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

A good test for generalised inflammation is to test the blood for c-reactive protein (CRP). Some UK doctors will test for CRP. They might tell you that 2-4 times normal CRP is acceptable: but check for yourself what you levels should – don’t trust the doctor’s view. Just twice the normal CRP level can double your chance of a heart attack.

Book on C-Reactive Protein

The top ways to reduce generalised inflammation are by:

1. Reducing intake of food high in Omega-6 – such as milk, cheese, and common vegetable oils, including sunflower (stick to cold-pressed olive oil), and
2. Supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acid; which means – fish oils.  Cod liver oil is fine; and eating oily fish – such as sardines, mackerel and salmon.

CRP is one proven measure of your propensity to develop all major degenerative diseases. You cannot be properly pro-active in safeguarding your own health if you do not know it.

Inflammation article

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When I visit the Grossman Wellness Centre later this year, one of the tests I will have is the ultrafast CAT scan.

There is on great advantage of consulting with someone like Terry Grossman who is an expert in anti-aging therapies as well as a ‘regular’ doctor. This is that certain conventional diagnoses or treatments may be desirable where is can be judged that the potential for harm is less than the harm which may be caused by not doing them.

The ultrafast CAT scan is, I believe, one of these diagnostic methods.

Heart Symptoms May Be Too Late

Way before any heart symptoms occur, calcium deposits can be detected in the heart muscle and the coronary arteries – the small arteries which feed the heart muscle itself. It has been found that these are the early stages of arterial deposits.

One study of 6,700 people found that those with the most calcium deposits in the coronary arteries suffered ten times the number of cardio-vascular events (eg a heart attack) than those with the least.

An ultrafast CAT scan can detect calcium deposits and thus identify disease – especially coronary heart disease – early. It can then be treated.

Little Radiation

The ‘ultrafast’ part is that the amount of radiation used is much less than for a conventional CAT scan.

No amount of radiation is good; but the information from this scan can be so valuable that you might decide – as I have – to take the risk from the small dose involved.

The machine scans many ‘slices’ of the heart and coronary arteries and feeds this information to a computer. The computer is programmed to extract the large amount of information and piece it together.

Treatment With Nutrition

If calcium deposits are discovered they can be flushed out – or at least greatly diminished – by a carefully chosen cocktail of nutritional supplements.

Herbs for the Heart

Meanwhile, I take herbs for the heart every day – a formula based on Hawthorn – as I know from iridology analysis that I have a muscle weakness in the heart tissue.

Hawthorn is a great herb which is safe in use and has been highly recommended by herbalists for centuries.

More info: Ultrafast CAT scan

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Patrick Holford – one of the UK’s foremost publicists for natural healthcare – has started a bandwagon rolling to make the population aware of metabolic syndrome. This is the syndrome focused around excessive sugar consumption which produces ‘insulin resistance’ of cells. Metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance probably kills most people in this country.

So it’s good that Holford is shouting about it.

Insulin Resistance of the Cells

In insulin resistance, our cells become more or less immune to the effects of insulin.

The insulin is produced to make the cells take sugar out of the blood. The result is that the sugar remains in the blood, causing increased inflammation. Inflammation, in turn, is linked to serious disease.

Which Diseases are Caused?

Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance have been closely linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease.

All the ‘biggies’, really. This is a vital syndrome to know about. And the crucial point of understanding the symdrome is CUT DOWN ON SUGAR. That means all sugar; and you need to know that pasta, potatoes, bread (of all kinds – even wholemeal) and rice is nearly all sugar.

Holford says Metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance is worse for our health than excessive salt or fat in the diet.

He has a point.

How to Combat Metabolic Sydrome

His answer is to eat ‘Low GL’, or low glycaemic load. This is pretty much the same as low GI – low glycaemic index - which you might have already heard of.

It means that when you eat starchy food – oats, wheat, rice, pasta, bread – make sure it passes into the blood slowly. Eg wholemeal rather than white; porridge rather than popular cereals.

Vegetables, Fats, Protein Way to Go

Certainly – focus on low GI (I mean GL) when you do eat starchy food.

But fundamentally, think ‘low sugar’ with your diet. Eat starchy food rarely. This means cut down dramatically on rice, bread, pasta, potatoes. And sugary food itself, of course.

Pile on the vegetables and salads.

Focus on fish and lean meat – eg turkey and chicken breast.

Minimise sweet fruit, eg apples and mangoes, which are high in sugar; and fruit juices – which are very high in sugar. Do eat berries, though, which are lower in sugar and highly nutritious.

This is probably a very new approach to your diet; but it is essential if you are to avoid the ‘insulin resistance’ epidemic which is hitting us now. Crazy as it may sound, it will greatly help you to avoid the major degenerative diseases.

• More about Metabolic Syndrome
• Article about inflammation
• Patrick Holford’s GL Revolution Tour of 11 UK cities

Metabolic Syndrome Kills is a post from: Living To 150

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Calorie restriction or "CR" has been shown to extend lifespan in some animals and worm. By reducing intake, our bodies slow down our metabolism to cope with the reduced level of food eaten.

However, can we deal with the repeated hunger pangs? Should we incorporate CR – or partial CR – into our lifestyle to live longer and live healthier?

I used to think "no" having met a couple of CR nutters. However, in the face of further evidence and the passage of time. I am thinking again.

Free Radical Damage

From a scientific point of view, tremendous cell damage is caused by free radicals, and free radicals are produced by the body processing food – especially by the mitochondria of our cells. Eat less food: produce fewer free radicals.

Another positive point for CR is the possibility of "partial CR" – ie not going the whole hog, but limiting food intake somewhat – say to 85% of what you would normally eat.

When it comes to considering cutting down food intake to extend life, one is reminded of the quote in answer to the question: "Does it make you live long?", "No – but it certainly seems that way."

To get more data, one book worth reading is the snappily named: The Longevity Diet: Discover Calorie Restriction – the Only Proven Way to Slow the Aging Process and Maintain Peak Vitality, written by two practitioners of CR.

You can get it from Amazon.

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I have definitely decided now to visit Dr Terry Grossman’s clinic in Denver, Colorado, in July 2009.

Terry heads one of the leading anti-aging clinics in the world. I met him last November at Convergence08, and was impressed by his knowledge and demeanour.

The 2-day programme is not cheap; but it is comprehensive. It is different from the blood tests I had done in Fort Lauderdale last year in that there are extra tests; and there is a lot more interpretation. The clinic’s approach seems to be more ‘here’s how to develop a programme for life yourself’.

The Grossman Wellness programmes

It’s a long way to go, but I am creating a number of travel websites and will make Colorado the focus of one of them, thus killing two birds with one stone.  By all accounts Colorado is a beautiful state – especially in July.

Over the next few weeks I will highlight some of the treatments I will be having.

Visit To Colorado Anti-aging Clinic is a post from: Living To 150

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Longevity and anti-aging was not the only focus of this fascinating conference in San Hose, California, November 2008. It also covered nanotechnology, bio-technology and artificial intelligence.

300 people gathered together with interests in these main areas. An obvious connecting factor was: ‘thinking outside the box’.

Aubrey de Grey

One attendee was Aubrey de Grey, a man of striking appearance, and strong intellect. He speaks convincingly about how the degeneration caused by aging will be ended by biotechnology – potentially within a generation or two. 

Longevity – Supplements – Yes or No?

From the point of view of supplements the longevity enthusiasts polarised into two main groups: "take supplements", and "take few supplements" (or "take no supplements").

The "take few supplements" lobby were concerned about studies which appeared to show that supplements can be toxic, such as vitamin E; and those which showed them to be ineffective. An example of the latter is that the effectiveness of anti-oxidants is questioned, as our cells appear to regulate anti-oxidants so closely, that it is questioned whether it is worth taking extra ones such as vitamin C or CoQ10.

Voice of Moderation for Anti-Aging

After fighting in my head with the opposing views for a couple of days, I was won over by Terry Grossman, co-author of ‘Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever‘, who I heard speak, and spoke with, several times.

Terry runs a longevity clinic in Denver, Colorado.

His views run very closely to my own naturopathic ones; do all you can through lifestyle – as supported by science; take medical tests for major diseases where they are available; and take moderate levels of supplements.

Terry argued convincingly against the ‘vitamin E toxicity’ argument put frequently by the "take no supplements" lobby, as a misrepresentation of the data.

I plan to visit Terry Grossman’s anti-aging clinic for an ‘overhaul’ in mid 2009.

Great Anti-Aging Conference

This was an eye-opening conference. There were many people there making fantastic discoveries at the cutting edge of health and science; and, contradictorily, some of these were not so open minded in other areas.

I should not be so surprised – that’s human.

I look forward to the next conference. The organisers may have one focused more specifically on anti-aging which would be great.

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Biotech company Geron has been given the go-ahead by US Regulators to use embryonic stem cells in humans for the first time. Clinical trials will begin for patients with severe injuries of the spinal cord.

They intend to recruit 8 patients and follow them for a year.

This has great implications for anyone with spinal damage as well as anyone who wants to promote longevity – healthy aging.

Geron has been at the vanguard of stem cell research, but has been held back tremendously by President Bush’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Embryonic Stem Cells

The benefit of embryonic stem cells, as opposed to adult stem cells, is that the former can differentiate into any cell in the body. This gives embryonic stem cells much more restorative power than their less flexible cousins, adult stem cells.

Gernon’s CEO said:

This goes beyond pills and scalpels to achieve a new level of healing.

Through the use of embryonic stem cells – or stem cells mimicking these – growth of replacement organs and tissues will become commonplace treatments. The benefits for long life are obvious.

Backward Thinking Bush

During Bush’s administration, biotech companies often decided to divert money from embryonic stem cell research into the much less promising adult stem cell research. This has dramatically slowed down the progress which would have been possible.

Although some caution is necessary, the benefits of embryonic stem cell research will be staggering.

Again, Gernon’s CEO says:

…if we can turn a quadriplegic into someone who can walk with a cane, this will go fast-track like lightning."

I am sure that is true.

Superman Vindicated

This is the sort of research that Christopher Reeve – ex Superman actor – spend much of his life fighting for after his horse-riding accident. It is sad that his life was not long enough to experience the benefits of this research.

President Obama opposed Bush’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research; so we can expect to see his ban reversed soon.

Once this happens, increased benefits will start to flow in a few short years. Everyone interested in longevity should welcome this change in American policy.

Longevity Company Tackles Spinal Damage with Stem Cells is a post from: Living To 150

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