Fight Aging!

Researcher John Schloendorn is still looking for soil samples from around the world to screen for useful bacterial enzymes as a part of his work on LysoSENS research. He, and other researchers, are looking for enzymes that can break down age-related by-products that accumulate in and around cells, leading to a range of age-related conditions and general loss of function. If scientists can find a safe way to break down these damaging by-products - such as by using engineered bacterial enzymes - then they will have found a way to repair and prevent one part of age-related degeneration.

Schloendorn has received some samples in the past few weeks, but could still be working on more:

Just a brief status update -- we gratefully acknowledge the receipt of a small number of donated samples and they are now shaking in 7KC cultures, which are being monitored for bacterial growth and 7KC degradation every other day. It is too early to tell the result though.

It is now clear that we can scale these processes up much more, so you still have the chance to contribute the unique microbial ecology of your area. Without your help, there is no way we could ever incorporate your local bacterial strains in this project. So please continue to send us samples, they will be most gratefully received at any time during the next couple of months. If we find something you all will get proper credit in a publication and in fact I would love to demonstrate to the science world just how great the public support for SENS projects is with a long list of soil donors. So everyone who has not done so, please do contribute.

This is a simple way for all of us to get out of the house and do a little good for the future of meaningful anti-aging science. The more diverse a set of soil samples, the better, so get going!

Technorati tags: activism, anti-aging, medical research