Today I’m proud to be launching The Splice, longevity and biotech news served up to you fortnightly with no added mayo. If you’re reading this email, you’re one of the people I want to see learning to kick flip at 90.

If you enjoy this edition your mission is to share it with 10 people who will also enjoy it.

— Thanks for your support, Zach Chrystall

ps. Please let me know what you think - just hit reply.

In this fortnight’s issue

• The company that wants to get your grandpa jacked 💪🏽

• Living material set to clean up the ocean 🐬 

Jacked Grandpa

Immunis, a US biotech company, is looking for volunteers to test out its new stem-cell treatment that reverses ageing in muscles. The company is starting its first human clinical trial of a promising new drug that boosts older immune systems leading to stronger, bigger muscles (ie. they get younger).

What’s the idea

The idea behind Immunis is a simple one. When we get older our immune system stops working as well as it used to. This leads to a whole lot of issues. One clear one is your muscles getting weaker and smaller, but it also applies to pretty much all other age related illnesses. Cancer, blood flow, brain health - check, check, check.

Immunis tackle this by injecting patients with specially engineered stem cells that release a buffet for your immune system.

Why are we excited

For the past 2 years the team at Immunis have been handing the drug out to experts in the field of longevity. Long story short - they’ve tested it, and it works, well.

In studies in rats it boosted immune function resulting in ‘younger’ muscles, along with all the other expected positive health effects. Because the effect on muscles was so clear they’re taking the next step to do human clinical trails for age related muscle atrophy (muscle wasting).

So what’s next

Right now the company is ramping up their trials to treat muscle atrophy as well as arthritis. But their sights are set much higher than that.

Next they want to tackle metabolism, sports injury, and disease-related muscle atrophy in clinical trials. And hey, if it just so happens that the drug makes you live longer and better - well, all the better for sales.

Big Pharma on notice

In a recent interview the founder of Immunis mentioned that they already have four of the big dogs in the industry sniffing around. That’s pretty unusual for a company at this stage - but makes sense given that muscle atrophy affects 100% of people and there are no other drugs in this area. Woof woof.

Living Sieve

Scientists have created a new “living material” that eats CO2 and sunlight and fights pollutants on the side. The material is made from a seaweed based plastic and genetically modified bacteria which produces a chemical that destroys pollutants in water. After then it self destructs 💥.

Making the perfect home for bacteria

The material itself is made from a mix of biodegradable seaweed based plastic and genetically engineered bacteria. They use this seaweed-bacteria sludge to 3D print a sieve. What results is an all you can eat buffet for bacteria.

Blue Jean Bye-Bye

The bacteria that scientists created was specially modified to excrete a chemical to destroys BPA (the nasty stuff in water bottles), antibiotics, drugs and dyes.

In experiments they used this material to clean water contaminated with indigo carmine (that’s the stuff that puts the blue in blue jeans). The water, initially a deep blue, quickly became crystal clear ✨.

Now, before you get worried about your jeans getting a ti-dye due to run-away bacteria, rest assured the team working on this has got you covered. They built a kill switch into the bacteria so that with a drop of theophylline (a chemical found in tea and chocolate), the whole thing would self destruct.

What’s next?

The bacteria that powers this material is called cyanobacteria, and it is seriously versatile. Scientists have been able to coax it into producing a ton of different chemicals so the next steps are to make other useful strains.

The team also want to modify the bacteria to produce it’s own self destruct trigger so once it’s done cleaning up it can take itself out. Set and forget.

Let us know how we did, just hit reply!

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