A very interesting presentation on how researchers are leveraging knowledge about the biology of some amazing mammals to develop therapeutics for humans… the videos comparing the spiny mouse walking (8 weeks after severing the spinal cord) vs. regular mouse after same procedure, is amazing…
and the previous year’s talk Ashley gave is below here (more in-depth on the amazing 13-lined ground squirrel):
It is interesting how they use big datasets from both humans and other remarkable animals to improve the quality of their datasets. Pretty technical stuff and I had little idea what that colorful circle with lots of connections meant.
When she said that most highly conserved genes contribute to disease, she didn’t explain it and I wondered why that might be.
Worth watching to the end for the audience questions.
This is fascinating. And a great company to keep an eye on. What strikes me about this is that there’s very clear evidence in mammals that there’s a way to tap into the regenerative capacity of the body. The Spiny Mouse apparently can activate the developmental program to regenerate itself. This mirrors some of the learnings from Micheal Levin’s lab on Planeria. If the Spiny Mouse can do it, then we’re going to figure out how to do it sooner or later.
I agree it’s a great idea and fun to watch. We should be able to figure it out. I’m so depressed about Harold Katcher and E5. He has a product and can’t manage to get it tested on dogs? At the rate he’s going he’s going to need to use his product in order to live long enough to see it tested.
It’s a great pity about Harold and Yuvan. But, that’s not to say he or someone else won’t be able to continue the research.
He may still find a way to fund his research if he’s applied for the Longevity Xprize. They need to see significant regeneration in humans. If he’s feeling confident he may find a way.
