Cellular Reprogramming Extends Lifespan in Mice, Longevity Startup Says
Billions of dollars are pouring into longevity startups as a growing body of research shows that aging might not be as inevitable as we assumed. Now, a startup claims to have reached a major milestone by extending the lifespans of healthy mice using a promising approach called cellular reprogramming.
In 2017, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego first showed that it was possible to rejuvenate the cells of mice by resetting their epigenetic markers, chemical modifications to the DNA that don’t alter the underlying genetic code but can regulate the activity of certain genes. These changes have long been suspected of playing a crucial role in the aging process.
The researchers discovered that the approach could increase the lifespan of the mice by as much as 30 percent and significantly rejuvenate some of their tissues, but the experiments were done on animals with the mouse-equivalent of progeria, a disease that causes accelerated aging in humans.
It was unclear whether this kind of life extension would translate to normal healthy mice, but now preliminary results from a longevity startup called Rejuvenate Bio suggest that it does. A non-peer-reviewed paper published to the preprint server bioRxiv claims that the approach can double the remaining lifespan of elderly mice.
“While aging cannot currently be prevented, its impact on life and healthspan can potentially be minimized by interventions that aim to return gene expression networks to optimal function,” Noah Davidsohn, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Rejuvenate Bio, said in a press release. “The study results suggest that partial reprogramming could be a potential treatment in the elderly for reversing age-associated diseases and could extend human lifespan.”
If there was a way to live much longer than we do now, if not forever, would you want to take advantage of it?
The Tree of Life עֵ֣ץ הַֽחַיִּ֔ים is introduced in the story of Creation. God plants The Tree of Life in the Center of the Garden alongside The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad. What can we learn about The Tree of Life From the Creation story? Why do you think the Torah pairs the Tree of Life with the Tree of Knowledge?
(כב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֗ים הֵ֤ן הָֽאָדָם֙ הָיָה֙ כְּאַחַ֣ד מִמֶּ֔נּוּ לָדַ֖עַת ט֣וֹב וָרָ֑ע וְעַתָּ֣ה ׀ פֶּן־יִשְׁלַ֣ח יָד֗וֹ וְלָקַח֙ גַּ֚ם מֵעֵ֣ץ הַֽחַיִּ֔ים וְאָכַ֖ל וָחַ֥י לְעֹלָֽם׃ (כג) וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֛הוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים מִגַּן־עֵ֑דֶן לַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֻקַּ֖ח מִשָּֽׁם׃ (כד) וַיְגָ֖רֶשׁ אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיַּשְׁכֵּן֩ מִקֶּ֨דֶם לְגַן־עֵ֜דֶן אֶת־הַכְּרֻבִ֗ים וְאֵ֨ת לַ֤הַט הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ הַמִּתְהַפֶּ֔כֶת לִשְׁמֹ֕ר אֶת־דֶּ֖רֶךְ עֵ֥ץ הַֽחַיִּֽים׃ {ס}
Sacred trees are a common image in the iconography of the ancietn Near East. Representations of sacred trees have been found in archeological excavations in Southern Turkey that date from the 7000s BCE.Over time, sacred trees play a role in the religion and mythology of many nations. Here is a tree nourishing a man (presumably the Pharaoh Thutmose III, in whose tomb this relief was found, from around 2000 BCE.)
Here is an a seal with a sacred tree from around 1800 BCE in Mesopotamia.
The exact significance of the sacred tree is not fully understood. There are no direct referencees to a "Tree of Life". Some scholars suggest that the trees stand for both the way the gods have structured the world and the king as the embodiment of perfection (i.e the the gods plan incarnate). It should also be noted that the Canaanite goddess Asherah is often represented as a tree. So it is possible that the Israelites adopted the idea of the tree of life from the Assyrians or other neighboring cultures. It may also be that the Tree of Life is a particularly Israelite spin on the idea of the sacred tree.
What purpose does the Tree of Life play in the creation story?
The Tree of Life is now off limits. But the desire to undo Adam and Eve's humanity defining mistake surfaces in an unexpected way in the Bible. How do we understand the idea of the Tree of Life in the following passages?
The man who attains understanding. (14) Her value in trade is better than silver,
Her yield, greater than gold. (15) She is more precious than rubies;
All of your goods cannot equal her. (16) In her right hand is length of days,
In her left, riches and honor. (17) Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths, peaceful. (18) She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,
And whoever holds on to her is happy.
But desire realized is a tree of life. (13) He who disdains a precept will be injured thereby;
He who respects a command will be rewarded. (14) The instruction of a wise man is a fountain of life,
Enabling one to avoid deadly snares.
But a devious one makes for a broken spirit. (5) A fool spurns the discipline of his father,
But one who heeds reproof becomes clever.
How do the Rabbis re-define the Tree of Life in the passage below? Are they taking the verses from Proverbs out of context or not?
(ז) גְּדוֹלָה תוֹרָה שֶׁהִיא נוֹתֶנֶת חַיִּים לְעֹשֶׂיהָ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וּבָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי ד) כִּי חַיִּים הֵם לְמֹצְאֵיהֶם וּלְכָל בְּשָׂרוֹ מַרְפֵּא. וְאוֹמֵר (שם ג) רִפְאוּת תְּהִי לְשָׁרֶךָ וְשִׁקּוּי לְעַצְמוֹתֶיךָ. וְאוֹמֵר (שם ג) עֵץ חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר. וְאוֹמֵר (שם א) כִּי לִוְיַת חֵן הֵם לְרֹאשֶׁךָ וַעֲנָקִים לְגַרְגְּרֹתֶיךָ. וְאוֹמֵר (שם ד) תִּתֵּן לְרֹאשְׁךָ לִוְיַת חֵן עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת תְּמַגְּנֶךָּ. וְאוֹמֵר (שם ט) כִּי בִי יִרְבּוּ יָמֶיךָ וְיוֹסִיפוּ לְךָ שְׁנוֹת חַיִּים. וְאוֹמֵר (שם ג) אֹרֶךְ יָמִים בִּימִינָהּ בִּשְׂמֹאולָהּ עֹשֶׁר וְכָבוֹד. וְאוֹמֵר (שם) כִּי אֹרֶךְ יָמִים וּשְׁנוֹת חַיִּים וְשָׁלוֹם יוֹסִיפוּ לָךְ. וְאוֹמֵר (שם) דְּרָכֶיהָ דַּרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם:
(7) Great is Torah for it gives life to those that practice it, in this world, and in the world to come, As it is said: “For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:22), And it says: “It will be a cure for your navel and marrow for your bones” (ibid. 3:8) And it says: “She is a tree of life to those that grasp her, and whoever holds onto her is happy” (ibid. 3:18), And it says: “For they are a graceful wreath upon your head, a necklace about your throat” (ibid. 1:9), And it says: “She will adorn your head with a graceful wreath; crown you with a glorious diadem” (ibid. 4:9) And it says: “In her right hand is length of days, in her left riches and honor” (ibid. 3:1, And it says: “For they will bestow on you length of days, years of life and peace” (ibid. 3:2).
The Tree of Life is also a primary of symbol in Jewish Mysticism. A short description provided by walkingkabbalah.com is below.
Kabbalah Tree of Life Pt 1 – The Sephirot
What is the Kabbalah Tree of Life?
The Tree of Life is the primary mystical symbol of Kabbalah. It is the structure of the 10 Sefirot (or Sephirot), arranged in 3 pillars. Each Sefirah (singular for Sefirot) can be described as a type of spiritual light, and as the revelation of an aspect of the Creator. The Sephirot contain the governmental laws for all creation, meaning that everything that was, is, and will be, comes forth through them1. The Kabbalah Tree of Life has been called ‘an archetype scheme which is the divine model for the Universe and for Man’2.
The Tree of Life of the 10 Sephirot stretches from the Divine nature of the Creator (referred to as Eyn Sof, אין סוף without end), which is above or beyond the Sefirot, and physical existence, which is below the Sephirot and comes forth from them.
The Sephirot
Definition: The 10 Sephirot can be considered in a way as spiritual lights and as as revealed aspects of God, containing spiritual laws which govern and bring forth all of Creation. They link what is above them – the infinite and ungraspable nature of the Creator – with what is below them, the finite physical creation.