The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that, taken together, are linked to extreme longevity. They acknowledged they didn’t know all the genes involved, nor their exact function in extending old age.

“This is an extremely complex trait that involves many processes,” said lead researcher Paola Sebastiani, a biostatistician at BU’s School of Public Health. Even so, “we can compute your specific predisposition to exceptional longevity.”

The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique nor profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the Internet later this month to foster longevity research.

The free test will be offered by the the New England Centenarian Study and can tell you whether you have the unique genetic characteristics that will increase your chances of living past 100. However, there’s a catch – you’ve got to provide them with your complete genome sequence, which will cost several thousand dollars. That said, the price has been rapidly falling, and you may be able to purchase this service for a mere $30 in the next few years.

While humans have been known to experience synesthesia by using hallucinogenic drugs or after brain injury, German scientists have been able to re-wire fruit fly larvae to perceive blue light as smelling like bananas. Although normal larvae would retreat from light, these larvae were thus attracted to it:

The work involves activating single receptor neurons out of 28 olfactory neurons. All the olfactory neurons were capable of producing a protein that is activated by light. The researchers had to choose which one to make light-sensitive.

They found they could either activate cells which would normally register repulsive odors and make the flies go away, or they could activate cells that respond to attractive odors like banana, marzipan or glue. Those odors are all present in rotting fruit, which attracts fruit flies.

The neurons send an electrical signal if they are stimulated with blue light, giving the fly larvae the impression that it has smelled something. As shown in the photo, the larvae went toward the light. The point is to study how the neural network operates, the researchers say.

There are certain instances where synesthesia could potentially be beneficial – this list of famous synesthetes seems to indicate it’s especially common (relatively speaking) among musicians.

• Turning paper and clothing into batteries – By coating fabric and paper with ink “laced” with carbon nanotubes, researchers were able to coax these ordinary materials into storing energy that may one day be used to charge gadgets or lead to new, flexible displays.
• Exploring dolphins’ diabetes “off switch” – Dolphins have the ability to “switch off” insulin resistance, and researchers hope to probe the human genome to determine if humans might have the same ability.
• Scientists discuss geoengineering possibilities as solution for climate change – “If we can heat the planet, can we also cool it?”
• Advancements in cryonics – Chief Operating Officer of American Cryonics Society says, “For a little over $28,000, we can give you age suspension.”
• How nanotechnology could help the Middle East – A strong commitment to Arab scientists could mean nanotechnology advances in areas such as water treatment and solar energy.
• Software could understand what humans write – Emerging technologies being developed at Stanford could help computers better comprehend information online, leading to better indexing of information and effectiveness of search engines.

It is thought that the symptoms of DKC are brought on by the body’s inability to properly maintain telomeres, the caps on the end of chromosomes that get shorter as we age. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston were able to “reprogram” cells using a stem cell therapy that actually lengthened telomeres, providing hope for those diagnosed with DKC but also those of us who hope to escape the ravages of aging:

In the new study, Suneet Agarwal, a physician and researcher at Children’s Hospital, and collaborators took skin cells from three patients with the disease and genetically engineered the cells to express a set of genes that triggers reprogramming, reverting the cells to an embryonic state. They were surprised to find that the reprogrammed cells grew and divided, their telomeres lengthening with subsequent divisions.

“They show that they can make the cells young,” says Lorenz Studer, a physician and scientist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, who was not involved in the research. The defect in the telomerase enzyme “seems to be repressed or overridden during reprogramming, which probably explains why patients do reasonably well in the early stages of life,” he says. “Patients still have same mutation whether in the [skin cell] or iPS cell, but the mutation only manifests itself in the differentiated cell.”

The results of the study were published online yesterday in the journal Nature.

(Via Instapundit)

As part of its budget for the next year, Darpa is investing $6 million into a project called BioDesign, with the goal of eliminating “the randomness of natural evolutionary advancement.” The plan would assemble the latest bio-tech knowledge to come up with living, breathing creatures that are genetically engineered to “produce the intended biological effect.” Darpa wants the organisms to be fortified with molecules that bolster cell resistance to death, so that the lab-monsters can “ultimately be programmed to live indefinitely.”

Of course, Darpa’s got to prevent the super-species from being swayed to do enemy work — so they’ll encode loyalty right into DNA, by developing genetically programmed locks to create “tamper proof” cells. Plus, the synthetic organism will be traceable, using some kind of DNA manipulation, “similar to a serial number on a handgun.” And if that doesn’t work, don’t worry. In case Darpa’s plan somehow goes horribly awry, they’re also tossing in a last-resort, genetically-coded kill switch [...]

It really does sound like the set-up for a sci-fi thriller, doesn’t it?