Announcing MitoSENS

Link to announcement on Methuselah Foundation website:
http://blog.methusel...research_s.html

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Announcing MitoSENS Research - Science Funded by Our Generous Donors

Generous Methuselah Foundation donors have been funding the modest first steps into scientific research for Aubrey de Grey's Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) since late last year. This research effort will continue to expand with the Foundation and your support. We are pleased to announce that LysoSENS, the first branch of donor-funded SENS research, is now joined by MitoSENS:

Mutations to the mtDNA inevitably accumulate leading to dysfunction of mitochondria, and contributing to aging of the organism. The goal of MitoSENS is to obviate mtDNA mutations by expressing the mtDNA genes from the nucleus.
Fortunately, we would be completing a process that evolution has already started.

The mitochondrial genome originally had thousands of genes, but evolution has reduced it to a mere 13 (protein encoding) genes in humans. By studying how nature transfered expression of other genes from the mitochondria to the nucleus, we can identify the necessary steps to transfer the remaining 13 genes (in humans).

MitoSENS research is currently being conducted in the lab of Ian Holt at Cambridge University. To learn more about the MitoSENS strategy from its originator and Methuselah Foundation chairperson Aubrey de Grey, see the SENS website here (laymans terms) or here (technical).

Onwards and upwards! All great voyages start with such modest steps. There is much to be done in the fight to prevent degenerative aging by tackling the cellular damage that lies at its root - the sooner we start, the sooner we'll finish.

Posted by Reason on September 12, 2006 10:46 PM

The relevant link to MitoSENS (from the announcement):
http://www.methusela...gename=mitosens

There have been various debates over allotopic expression (what MitoSENS aims eventually to achieve) in the SENS forum here at ImmInst. The debates have hinged on several issues, ranging from technical difficulty to timeframe for therapeutic availability.

From my perspective, whether or not AE will be technically feasible sooner than other potential mitochondrial therapies (among other open questions), I still am excited to see the research get started. It's important research that will expand our understanding of these critical organelles. And if allotopic expression ultimately turns out to be a successful aging intervention, then the sooner the research gets started, the better!

A remarkable element of this initiative is the strategy to obtain funding via donations as opposed to traditional methods such as grant applications. There is a negative connotation in that it suggests that the project may have been viewed as too risky because it would reveal no meaningful science even if the hypothesis were disproved. It is, however, a paradigm shift in scientific funding and something which I hope is only just the beginning, for it stands to not only to enable risky projects to be attempted but also to generate funding for research in poor or disadvantaged situations. There is much to be said for donor-based research funding and it is a notable achievement by the MF.

It would be worthwhile if the aims of this project could also be published and if the donors were able to be rewarded for their generocity by having a more intimate access on the progress of the project, including timelines, key experiments to be performed, etc.

It's worth noting that the main MitoSENS researcher (at least until funding ramps up and more researchers get involved), is a Full Member of ImmInst: Mark Hamalainen, whose member name is osiris.

The Research Team


Mark Hamalainen is a researcher for the Methuselah Foundation and a PhD Candidate at Cambridge University. He has previously worked on the LysoSENS project and is now focusing on MitoSENS.









Questions and Contact

Any questions or comments on MitoSENS research can be directed to mark.hamalainen@gmail.com

I'm curious what portions of allotopic expression (the proposed solution within SENS for dealing with mitochondrial DNA mutations) Mark will be working on to start with. Perhaps someone from the Methuselah Foundation can give us a sneak preview of the sorts of research they plan to undertake (even if only very high level details)?

I love that so many here are getting their hands dirty and are not mere keyboard jockeys. How many of the SENS proposals do they plan to create research programs for? I was under the impression that there were some areas that already had significant mainstream resources focused on them and others that needed special help. Obviously both LysoSENS and MitoSENS are ambitious projects that will take significant time, effort and resources to achieve their goals. I'm just curious what other projects are planned?

The MPrize is turning more and more proactive; an excellent evolution of an idea.

I wish Opales the best of luck, and I hope he does very well.

Good question - In general the thrust is to promote effort into areas that are not already well funded or do not have the imminent prospect of being well funded.

Cheers,
Dave

I love that so many here are getting their hands dirty and are not mere keyboard jockeys. How many of the SENS proposals do they plan to create research programs for? I was under the impression that there were some areas that already had significant mainstream resources focused on them and others that needed special help. Obviously both LysoSENS and MitoSENS are ambitious projects that will take significant time, effort and resources to achieve their goals. I'm just curious what other projects are planned?

It is nice to see MitoSENS getting such a big boost right from the start. In my opinion MitoSENS is a little more difficult than LysoSENS so it may need extra research funds.

Remember, everyone can get involved in LysoSENS by donating soil samples. Read more here

Er, Mind, your MitoSENS links are pointing to the MPrize. Did you mean to point them here?:
http://www.methusela...gename=mitosens

Doh!

Well, I guess they do point to the mprize hompage, but the MitoSENS anouncement is front and center, so I don't feel too bad about it.

Ah, I see what you're saying. Since the MPrize home page is a dynamic webpage, here's a screenshot (cropped and compressed) of what Mind is referring to:

I wish Opales the best of luck, and I hope he does very well.

Thanks, but I guess you are referring to osiris and not me. [sfty]

Naw, he just got a bunch of money to do research with;
I figured you needed a 'pick me up'

:whistling embarrassedly:

Good luck to you Osiris/Mark! Thanks for taking the "bull by the horns".

I'm curious what portions of allotopic expression (the proposed solution within SENS for dealing with mitochondrial DNA mutations) Mark will be working on to start with. Perhaps someone from the Methuselah Foundation can give us a sneak preview of the sorts of research they plan to undertake (even if only very high level details)?

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I'm not starting research till October 1st, but once I get settled in I will give regular updates probably here and at the MF forums.

(prometheus)
A remarkable element of this initiative is the strategy to obtain funding via donations as opposed to traditional methods such as grant applications. There is a negative connotation in that it suggests that the project may have been viewed as too risky because it would reveal no meaningful science even if the hypothesis were disproved. It is, however, a paradigm shift in scientific funding and something which I hope is only just the beginning, for it stands to not only to enable risky projects to be attempted but also to generate funding for research in poor or disadvantaged situations. There is much to be said for donor-based research funding and it is a notable achievement by the MF.

I applaude the integrity of the Methuselah foundations for using private funding. A government research grant implies a stamp of government approval, which I view as an inherently dangerous thing, and the fact that it leads people to view privately funded research as questionable or implicitly biased is atrocious. I hope that your prediction of a paradigm shift is correct and that the MF is successful in its mission.

Good luck to you Mark, keep up the good work John, and much thanks to Mr. Theil.

I also like the way that Thiel made his donation to LysoSENS and MitoSENS). The matching grant for the MPrize is great and a 3 year commitment to MitoSENS ensures a long enough time frame to get results.

I will give regular updates probably here and at the MF forums.

Excellent!

Great to have the leader of the project as a member of this forum... may ImmInst always be a welcome home to anti-aging researchers serious about beating death.

Has anyone seen or noticed an uptick in donations (to MF) or queries about LysoSENS and MitoSENS since the big anouncement?