понедельник, 29 сентября 2014 г.

Gadd 45 expression correlates with age dependent neurodegeneration in Drosophila melanogaster




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Authors:


Author Affiliations
 
  • 1. Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Lymphology Siberian Branch of RAMS, Novosibirsk, Russia
  • 2. Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Siberian Branch of RAS, 8/2, Ac. Lavrentieva Ave, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia
  • 3. Institute of Biology of Komi Science Center of Ural Branch of RAS, Syktyvkar, Russia
  • 4. Syktyvkar State University, Syktyvkar, Russia
  • 5. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Dolgoprudny, Russia

четверг, 25 сентября 2014 г.

Three distinguished experts have joined InSilico Medicine

InSilico Medicine proudly announces that Donald Small, MD, PhD, Kristen Fortney, PhD and Alexey Moskalev, DSc will aid the company’s mission to successful drug discovery and personalized medicine. It is clear meaningful progress is being made to battle aging from InSilico Medicine, considering the past major SAB additions.

Alex Zhavoronkov, CEO of InSilico Medicine, puts this exciting SAB addition into context,
"Aging lies at the core of the many global problems and there is an urgent need to extend the healthy productive longevity of the aging population while staying within the regulatory and ethical frameworks and boundaries and implement novel business models that will boost the confidence of the many industry stakeholders. The addition of these three world-class experts to our SAB strengthens our ability to develop new approaches to screening for drugs that may help delay the aging processes or repair the age-associated damage. Our approach to applied aging research stems from many years of cancer research and personalized medicine and some of the tissue profiling and drug selection methods are already employed in clinical research."

Dr. Small serves as the Director of the Pediatric Oncology Division of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His motivation to play a role in the lives of young cancer patients tremendously impacts his research goals and long term efforts. The InSilico team is very excited to see how his experience will inspire the ongoing research and development.

“InSilico Medicine is poised to make major contributions to treat aging and other diseases. Their proprietary software and brilliant young scientists have impressed me. I look forward to contributing in any way I can to their strategies and discoveries," said Dr. Small.

Kristen Fortney is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, where she works on the genetics of human longevity. She obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. Her work consists of the application of computational biology tools to problems in translational medicine, focusing on aging and age-related disease. The technical guidance she will have to offer will play a large role in development and future goals of InSilico Medicine.

“InSilico Medicine has an innovative informatics approach to find new therapies that may treat age-related disease and slow aging. I am excited to join the InSilico Medicine advisory team and look forward to working with them to advance their technology," said Dr. Fortney.

Dr. Moskalev, from the Institute of Biology of Komi Science Center of RAS is Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Radiobiology and Gerontology. He also teaches at Syktyvkar State University. Much of his focus has been on DNA repair and molecular mechanisms involved with aging. Dr. Moskalev’s leadership and global knowledge of aging research will play a key role in the delivery of InSilico Medicine’s solutions.
“While experiments in model organisms are extremely important for both cancer and aging research, advances in computing, availability of the vast amount of omics data and rapidly improving understanding of the underlying molecular processes allow for the many experiments to be performed in silico. The GeroScope system developed by Insilico Medicine at the very least allows to narrow down the large lists of geroprotective drugs to be tested in animals and for some drugs and combinations directly in humans. The system may be used for improving clinical trials decisions and possibly for personalized preventative medicine," said Dr. Moskalev.

About InSilico Medicine

InSilico Medicine was founded in early 2014 and has since developed the OncoFinder and Geroscope. It is a company dedicated to finding novel solutions towards aging and age-related diseases using advances in genomics and big data analysis. Through internal expertise and extensive collaborations with brilliant scientists, institutions, and highly credible pharmaceutical companies, InSilico Medicine seeks to revolutionize personalized science and drug discovery. More can be read about InSilico Medicine, Inc. at http://www.insilicomedicine.com.
On top of this, InSilico Medicine recently announced to the public about OncoFinder, its novel algorithm that will streamline the transcriptome analysis process.

Resourse  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12195460.htm

суббота, 20 сентября 2014 г.

International symposium on geroprotectors

International symposium on geroprotectors:
Practical Applications of Aging Research for Drug Discovery (free registration)

http://www.agingpharma.org 

https://www.facebook.com/agingpharma?notif_t=page_invite_accepted

The symposium will comprise into the three sessions relevant to the drug discovery companies. Each session will be chaired by the top expert in the field: 
Session I: Predicting the activity of geroprotective drugs: in-silico screening, omics data analysis and rational drug design
Session II: Drugs with the potential geroprotective properties
Session III: Aging Biomarkers: how do we measure aging and geroprotective efficacy?

Session IV: Trends in Aging Research and Drug Discovery.

My dearest friends, please note the schedule update for the Practical Applications of Aging Research for Drug Discovery forum in Basel. Registration is Free. Please use the interactive meeting planner at www.miptec.ch . For more information and forum schedule you may see http://www.agingpharma.org/2014/09/important-forum-schedule-update.html


The forum is organized by Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD  (The Biogerontology Research Foundation, UK) and Bhupinder Bullar, PhD (Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland)


 It is interesting to note that forum collect so many briliant scientists in one place such as:

Brian Kennedy PhD, Director, CEO, Buck Institute for Aging Research
Charles Cantor PhD, Professor, Boston University
Nir Barzilai, Director, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Joan Mannick, PhD, Director, Translational Medicine, Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research

Anton Buzdin, PhD, DSc, President, CEO, Pathway Pharmaceuticals, Hong Kong

Joao Pedro De Magalhaes, PhD, Lab Head, University of Liverpool

Alexander Zhavoronkov, PhD, Director, The Biogerontology Research Foundation, CEO, Insilico Medicine, Inc 

Robert Molinari, PhD, CEO, Retrotope, Inc

Dr. Joerg Reinhardt, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Novartis

Alexey Moskalev, PhD,

DScBhupinder Bhullar, PhD

William Bains, PhD, Head of the SENS Laboratory, Cambridge

Sven Bulterijs, PhD, Post-grad researcher, Yale University

Olga Kovalchuk, PhD, Professor, Lab Head, University of Lethbridge, Director, Canada Cancer and Aging Research Laboratories

Mikhail Blagosklonny, MD, PhD, Professor, Editor-in-Chief of Aging, Cell Cylcle and Oncotarget high-impact journals, Rosewell Park, NY

Blanka Rogina, PhD, Director Genetics & Developmental Biology Graduate Program, University of Connecticut

James Kirkland, MD, PhD, Professor, Mayo Clinic

Barry Merriman, PhD, Professor, UCLA / Lead System Architect, CSO, Thermo Fisher Scientific     

Alexander Bürkle, PhD, Professor, EU MARK-AGE Co-ordinator, University of Konstanz

Vadim Gladyshev, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Director of Redox Medicine, Medicine, Brigham And Women's Hospital, Harvard

Antonei Benjamin Csoka, PhD, Assoc. Professor, Howard University, CEO, Vision Genomics, Inc

Richard Faragher, Professor, University of Brighton 

Geoffrey Furlonger, CEO, Aging Analytics, Charles Groome, Head of Communications, Aging Analytics UK

Dmitry Kaminskiy, Director, Senior Partner, Deep Knowledge Ventures

David Brindley, Research Fellow , Harvard University of Oxford


понедельник, 15 сентября 2014 г.

OncoFinder (Онкофайндер)

Российские ученые предложили уникальный биоинформатический инструмент для математического анализа внутриклеточных сигнальных путей под названием OncoFinder. 
Тех­но­ло­гию раз­ра­бо­тала меж­ду­на­род­ная команда под руко­вод­ством рос­сий­ских специалистов, в раз­ра­ботке и вали­да­ции при­няли уча­стие более 50 уче­ных из раз­лич­ных орга­ни­за­ций, в том числе группы Ни­ко­лая Бо­ри­сова (ФМБА Рос­сии), Сер­гея Ру­мян­цева (ФНКЦ ДГОИ, МФТИ), А­лек­сандра А­ли­пера (МГУ), Ан­дрея Га­ража (МФТИ), Ми­ха­ила Кор­зин­кина (МИФИ), Ольги Ко­валь­чук (Аль­берта, Ка­нада), Чарльза Кан­тора (Бо­стон­ский У­ни­вер­си­тет), кол­лек­тива Чин­сонга Жу (У­ни­вер­си­тет Джонс Хоп­кинс), А­лек­сандра Жа­во­ронкова (ФНКЦ ДГОИ, МФТИ).
Алгоритм OncoFinder может считывать и обрабатывать большой объем внутриклеточных сигналов, которые определяют все основные процессы в клетке: рост, дифференцировку, пролиферацию, миграцию, жизнедеятельность, превращение в опухолевую клетку и клеточную смерть. На основе полученных данных OncoFinder дает количественную и качественную характеристику активации сигнальных путей и сравнивает эти показатели с нормой.

Николай Владимирович Жуков, заведующий отделением клинической онкологии ФГУ Федерального научно-клинического центра детской онкологии, гематологии и иммунологии, доцент кафедры онкологии, гематологии и лучевой терапии РНИМУ им. Н. И. Пирогова:
«Пока в практической деятельности врачей-онкологов по-прежнему используются валидированные методики (то есть доказавшие свою эффективность в рамках клинических испытаний), основанные на иммуногистохимических тестах и определении отдельных мутаций. И это правильно, так как любой тест, на основании которого принимается решение о назначении или изменении лечения, влияет на судьбу больного не меньше, чем само лечение. И, соответственно, эффективность этого теста должна быть абсолютно доказана.
Но за тестами, подобными OncoFinder, безусловно, будущее. Все дело в том, что используемые в настоящее время методики весьма неточны. Да, их возможность предсказывать эффективность или неэффективность лечения доказана, но далеко не идеальна: у многих больных, у которых по результатам применяющихся в настоящее время методик ожидается достижение противоопухолевого эффекта, на практике опухоль не реагирует на лечение. Это связано с тем, что применяемые сейчас тесты «механистичны»: они анализируют лишь один признак опухоли, на основании которого выдают ответ – лечение поможет или нет. Но жизнедеятельность опухоли гораздо сложнее, выявление «мишени» для какого-либо вида терапии не значит, что эта терапия обязательно будет эффективна. Даже при блокаде «мишени» (чаще всего сигнального пути клетки) может оказаться, что в клетке есть другие сигнальные пути, которые с успехом замещают заблокированный. И опухолевая клетка продолжает жить и размножаться, убивая организм больного, несмотря на, казалось бы, прицельное (по факту наличия мишени) назначение препарата.
Методика же OncoFinder потенциально позволяет давать гораздо более точный прогноз, так как учитывает взаимодействие различных сигнальных путей: не только того, который планируется заблокировать, но и тех, которые могут взять на себя его функции. Кроме того, в отличие от генетических тестов, оценивающих «потенциал клетки» (то, что может быть задействовано в ее жизнедеятельности при реализации имеющейся в ней генетической информации), методика OncoFinder оценивает уже имеющиеся сигнальные пути (то, что реально активировано или инактивировано в клетке, что реально отвечает за происходящие в ней процессы и ответ на лечение). Пока эти данные являются лишь предварительными, для выхода в широкую клиническую практику методика должна пройти процесс валидации, однако отрадно, что группа именно российских ученых столь далеко продвинулась в данной крайне перспективной области, имеющей огромный потенциал развития. В случае подтверждения эффективности методики она будет иметь поистине революционные последствия во многих областях медицины, связанных как с лечением больных, так и с разработкой новых препаратов для лечения и профилактики различных заболеваний. Разрабатываемый аналитический аппарат не является сугубо специфичным именно для онкологии, он может быть использован в любой области медицины, требующей понимания внутриклеточных процессов и влияния на них различных методов лекарственной терапии.

вторник, 9 сентября 2014 г.

END DEATH - Cryonics Convention

The Society for Venturism will hold its END DEATH - Cryonics Convention this November 7, 8 and 9, 2014, at cryonicist Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort in Laughlin, Nevada.

Are Death and Taxes No Longer Inevitable?



Larry Page, the CEO of Google, has started a new company called Calico which has the mission, according to its website, of "tackling aging, one of life’s greatest mysteries."

Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., the freethinking gerontologist, says in his TED Talk.that "a lot of people alive today are going to live to 1,000 or more."

And inventor Ray Kurzweil, called by the Wall Street Journal "the closest thing to a Thomas Edison of our time," says that “We have the means right now to live long enough to live forever.” (The Singularity is Near, p. 371.)

Are we therefore on the threshold of being able to live indefinitely, as Robert Ettinger predicted 50 years ago in his visionary book, The Prospect of Immortality, which started the cryonics movement? To find out, you are invited to a cryonics, life extension and transhumanism convention at Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino will be held this November 7, 8 and 9, 2014, in the Riverside’s scenic Starview Room overlooking the Colorado River. 

AbbVie and Calico Collaboration

AbbVie and Calico Announce a Novel Collaboration to Accelerate the Discovery, Development, and Commercialization of New Therapies

Calico to create a leading R&D facility in the San Francisco Bay Area focused on aging and age-related diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer
AbbVie and Calico may co-invest up to $1.5 billion, utilizing Calico’s discovery and early development capabilities and AbbVie’s broad research, development, and commercial expertise to advance innovative new therapies
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 3, 2014 –AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) and Calico announced a novel R&D collaboration intended to help the two companies discover, develop and bring to market new therapies for patients with age-related diseases, including for neurodegeneration and cancer.
Calico is the Google-backed life sciences company led by Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D. (former chairman and CEO of Genentech) and Hal V. Barron, M.D. (former Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Genentech). The agreement paves the way for Calico to establish a world-class research and development facility in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Under the agreement, the companies will combine their complementary strengths to accelerate the availability of new therapies for age-related diseases:
  • Calico will use its scientific expertise to establish a world-class research and development facility, with a focus on drug discovery and early drug development; and
  • AbbVie will provide scientific and clinical development support and its commercial expertise to bring new discoveries to market.
“This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to exploring new areas of medicine and innovative approaches to drug discovery and development that augments our already robust pipeline,” said Richard A. Gonzalez, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, AbbVie. “We are pleased to be working with such outstanding scientists as Art Levinson, Hal Barron and their team. The potential to help improve patients’ lives with new therapies is enormous.”
“Our relationship with AbbVie is a pivotal event for Calico, whose mission is to develop life-enhancing therapies for people with age-related diseases. It will greatly accelerate our efforts to understand the science of aging, advance our clinical work, and help bring important therapies to patients everywhere,” said Art Levinson, CEO and founder of Calico.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the many outstanding scientists at AbbVie to ensure that the important science at Calico is advanced quickly to benefit patients,” said Hal Barron, M.D., President of Research and Development at Calico.
"We are extremely proud to have our research teams partnering with Calico as we aim to address treatments for diseases of aging,” said Michael Severino, M.D., Executive Vice President, Research and Development, and Chief Scientific Officer, AbbVie. "Our broad R&D experience and capabilities will complement Calico's biotechnology expertise and innovative scientific approaches. Together, we are confident that we will bring new therapeutic solutions to patients."
Calico expects to begin filling critical positions immediately, and plans to establish a substantial team of scientists and research staff in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About AbbVie and Calico
AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases. AbbVie employs approximately 25,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries. For further information on the company and its people, portfolio and commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com. Follow@abbvie on Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn page.

Calico (California Life Sciences LLC) is a Google-founded research and development company whose mission is to harness advanced technologies to increase our understanding of the biology that controls lifespan. We will use that knowledge to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives. Visit www.calicolabs.com.