under the microscope

Guy in garage lab testing a new Alzheimer’s drug.

Guy in garage lab testing a new Alzheimer’s drug. “I designed and synthesized PAC-832 in a chemistry lab I built in my garage.” Douglas Yao walks through PAC-832, “the world’s first selective GalR1 antagonist,” plus why targeting galanin signaling might […]

under the microscope

What if humans could regrow tissue?

What if humans could regrow tissue? “[The genes are] already there — you just need to learn how to get them to behave the way you want.” Texas A&M researchers used a two-step sequence of growth factors to regrow mice […]

under the microscope

Universal mortality signatures.

Universal mortality signatures. Dense reading. The important bit is that researchers found a couple genes across multiple species that highly correlate with aging. “We developed rodent multi-tissue clocks of chronological age and expected mortality and decomposed them into co-regulated modules […]

under the microscope

Some people resist GLP-1 drugs.

Some people resist GLP-1 drugs. “More GLP-1 was needed to have the same biological effect, meaning they were resistant to GLP-1.” Stanford-led researchers found about 10% of people carry PAM gene variants tied to weaker blood sugar improvements on GLP-1 […]

under the microscope

Magic mushrooms’ remarkable impact on Alzheimer’s patient.

Magic mushrooms’ remarkable impact on Alzheimer’s patient. “Approximately 19 h post-administration, spontaneous autobiographical speech emerged.” A Frontiers in Neuroscience case report describes a woman with advanced Alzheimer’s who showed days to weeks of temporary improvements after a high-dose psilocybin mushroom session, […]

under the microscope

One-shot gene editing for LDL.

One-shot gene editing for LDL. “One dose of VERVE-102 led to dose-dependent, substantial, and sustained reductions in PCSK9 and LDL cholesterol levels.” It is a phase 1 study in 35 people, with LDL reductions up to 62% at the highest […]

under the microscope

Functional human sperm in a lab.

Functional human sperm in a lab. “Growing functional human sperm entirely outside the body.” Little by little we’re living in an era where humans are taking control over biology. In this example, they were able to coax stem cells into […]