Longevity is still the big thing both these days. There’s some solid science here. There are also tons of people just trying to make as much money as possible on this. Maybe it’s not surprising that there’s a sea of hype here.

Perhaps one could make a graph with the average age of populations over the last 50 years on one axis and the amount of longevity hype on the other. Or the second axis could be the net sales of longevity supplements and other junk.

Aging people want options, of course.

Stanford longevity AI “course”

Thinking about anti-aging, this course that started this week over at Stanford caught my eye: AI Longevity Lab Hacking Healthspan, Healing and Human Futures. Stanford professor Mike Snyder is one of the leaders. He’s an amazing scientist, but I’m not sure about his longevity efforts.

That includes teaming up with life coach Tony Robbins. The Robbins Snyder anti-aging partnering has some issues in my view. Readers of The Niche may recall that Tony Robbins is also quite interested in stem cells. One example is the Fountain Life wellness firm.

So, what exactly is this Stanford certificate course?

What do you get for shelling out $405?

I’m not sure it looks worth the money, but who knows. Anyone planning on attending? The title of the Stanford article about it sure has many buzz words: AI, longevity, hacking, health span, etc.

The syllabus has some apparently worthy topics, but other things raise possible red flags. For example, module 2 says, ” AI for molecular longevity (omics, senescence, NAD+)”  That’s not a confidence builder there.

Then there’s this “Students completing all three modules with letter grade badges (≥C) earn the Stanford Genetics Department Certificate in AI & Longevity (on blockchain).” You can see an example certificate above.

It seems that anyone can attend, not just Stanford students.

Promising 3-year data on bemdaneprocel for Parkinson’s

On the more positive side, we have this: New 3-year data show favorable safety profile for stem cell therapy, Parkinson’s News Today. 

Bemdaneprocel is an embryonic stem cell-based investigational therapy.

It’s from BlueRock Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Bayer as of 2019. Overall, the various cell therapies under study for Parkinson’s have had solid safety profiles. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for long-term efficacy.

More recommended reads

• New lab-grown human embryo model produces blood cells, Cambridge.
• The G1/S transition in mammalian stem cells in vivo is autonomously regulated by cell size, Nat. Com. How autonomous is this?
• The marketing of “stem cell” supplements on Amazon.com: Assessing alignment with regulatory frameworks in the United States and Canada, Stem Cell Reports. I’ve written about stem cell supplements here on The Niche regularly for years. This new paper nicely goes through the marketplace for these on Amazon. It seems that both the U.S. and Canada need better laws related to supplements.

Stem cell quote of the year?

Stem Cell Technique Could Preserve Endangered Bird Species, Caltech. Last week I covered the avian embryonic stem cell paper that is the focus of this new Caltech story. But I love one of the quotes in it so much I had to include it.  The Caltech lab of Carlos Lois participated in the work, which could have implications for species preservation. Here’s the quote:

“Preservation of animal species is not just some hippie pursuit—it has real economic and public health consequences,”

One thing that got me is that I never imagined that preservation of species could be conceived of as a “hippie pursuit.”