The Flowing of the Dao

Aging: The Disease, The Cure, The Implications. A free symposium sponsored by the Methuselah Foundation taking place at UCLA June 27, 2008. Understanding Aging: Biomedical and Bioengineering Approaches. A scientific conference on anti-aging medicine on June 28 and 29, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

Delaying the Degenerative Disease of Aging from Jeriaska on Vimeo.

Bruce Ames is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). He is the inventor of the Ames test, a system for easily and cheaply testing the mutagenicity of compounds. His research focuses on cancer and aging and he has authored over 500 scientific publications. He is among the few hundred most-cited scientists in all fields.

Ames’ current research includes identifying agents that delay the mitochondrial decay of aging, understanding the role of mitochondrial decay in aging, particularly in the brain, optimizing micronutrient intakes in the population to prevent disease, malnutrition, and obesity. He is also interested in mutagens as they relate to cancer prevention and aging. He is a recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1985, the Japan Prize in 1997, the National Medal of Science in 1998 and the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal in 2004, among many others.

He was born and raised in New York City. He is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. His undergraduate studies were at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and his graduate studies were completed at the California Institute of Technology.

Thanks, Bryan.

As part of their upcoming symposium, Infection & Host Response (Dec. 12, 2008 at UC Berkeley, http://cend.berkeley.edu), the UC Berkeley Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases is sponsoring a Target Competition in which the winner will receive a screen of up to 100,000 molecules in the QB3 Small Molecule Discovery Center (SMDC).

http://tropicaldisease.org/

Track available for free for a limited time. Download it here: filedropper.com/visionsofhellmix

mass movementz the album by leedz edutainment

Went to Willoughby & Baltic w/ DIY Bionauts Jason Bobe, Mac, Kay, and Jason Morrison last night. Accessing the space was difficult as they own two properties. I certainly felt like a noob. Having no phone I ended up having to send an IP Relay call to the space. You may notice in the YouTube videos some apprehension surrounding the use of such technology. It seems EVERYONE gets the same reaction when they’re contacted on the phone by a random intermediary with no idea, and no right to know, who is calling on the other end. The first time I dealt with an IP Relay call it was spooky .. that’s all I can say.

Anyway, we ran a gel electrophoresis on some DNA ladder samples using a pretty serious gelbox by Owl Separation Systems from New Hampshire. I don’t recall the model we used … the protocol was much easier as we had no boxes to build. We did have some voltage concerns as we were unable to use either of the power supplies we had access to. We ended up going with the 9-volt daisy chain and succeeded in producing the charge necessary to separate the DNA out through the gel. I think the buffer we used was lithium bromide. Kay splashed the gel with the dye and we exposed it to blue LEDs and UVs.

It was fun and great to work with more component parts. Maybe not as fun as the DIY MAKE protocol … but certainly cool. I see us coming closer to really taking charge of our own evolution as Mathfails said to Matt in one of their more recent collaborative videos. Pardon me if I’m crossing streams here, I don’t want to seem holier than thou.

Thank you very much to W&B for allowing us to use their dark room space and I look forward to the Feb 06 Open House/Open Hack and the Feb 12 Noise Night/Circuit Bending-Hackerspace.

I asked some of the WB’s if Alec (of nublabs) ever comes to the spot but they said no That’s disappointing. We’re certainly stronger together than we are apart. I like how DIY Bio is acting like a bridge in this regard .. at least from my perspective. I look forward to ALL OF US collaborating on a truly disruptive technology in the near future!!!

Speaking of which … it’s disappointing to see the lack of media lab representatives at any of these places/meetings. Because music maintains such a strong presence in my personal and professional life sometimes I feel a little out of place. The thing is, I know this technology .. our biology is vital to crafting and understanding the environmental influence ‘media’ would have on that biology.

CALLING CANNYTROPHIC! CALLING CANNYTROPHIC! THIS IS BENNY B OVER DO YOU COPY?!

Act Now to Support Aging & Longevity Research in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009

The new Congress is moving quickly on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. Appropriations Chairman Obey hopes to see the bill on the House floor this Wednesday, January 28. The bill has critical funding for the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Call your representatives today, tomorrow or Wednesday and urge them to support the legislation.

If you support National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Aging (NIA) in particular, please contact your U.S. Representatives via email with the below message of support. Please thank them for recognizing the importance of these agencies, and please make your message more personal by stating how these agencies are important to you and your research institutions.

Contact information for members of the U.S. House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/writerep

Draft message of support:
http://longevity-science.blogspot.com/2009/01/act-now-to-support-aging-longevity.html
Shorter weblink:
http://tinyurl.com/c6cv3o