Friedberg explains CML is the predominant aging molecule in extracellular matrix that nothing naturally breaks down.
“CML is kind of the predominant molecule that that gets formed in this extracellular matrix that's driving aging, and nothing breaks it down. So these scientists set out to try and create an enzyme.”
Friedberg reports that the enzyme eliminated 52 to 97% of CML from body proteins including collagen and hemoglobin.
“They started to test it on the proteins that we would find in our body, casine, collagen, retinal proteins, which are in your eye, hemoglobin, and they were able to get rid of 52 to 97% of the CML, just degraded away.”
Friedberg emphasizes the enzyme worked on skin from patients over 70 years old.
“This is from greater than 70 year old patients just by putting this enzyme on the skin.”
Friedberg explains the breakthrough combines AlphaFold and directed evolution to create novel proteins not found in nature.
“And so it's kind of a groundbreaking demonstration of combination of alpha fold, what's called directed evolution, where you change the order of the DNA that changes the structure of the protein to test different proteins, do high throughput screening, and ultimately make a novel protein that doesn't exist in nature today”
Friedberg explains scientists created an enzyme to break down CML, the predominant aging molecule that nothing naturally degrades.
“CML is kind of the predominant molecule that gets formed in this extracellular matrix that's driving aging, and nothing breaks it down. So these scientists set out to try and create an enzyme.”
Friedberg explains scientists created enzyme to break down CML using DNA programming where three letters code for amino acids.
“An enzyme is a protein that breaks something down, that can break down CML. And remember, a protein is just a series of amino acids, and those amino acids are programmed by DNA.”
Friedberg explains that partial application of Yamanaka factors can reverse aging in cells without converting them to stem cells.
“In 2016, another scientist published a series of papers showing that instead of putting a lot of those four proteins on the cell, you could put a small amount.”
Friedberg states there are more bacteria in the human gut than cells in the body with profound health effects.
“So there's more bacteria living in our gut than there are cells in our body. The human gut, as you guys know, has all these bacteria that can have a profound effect on your health,”
Friedberg explains Ohalo's core idea: making sex cells carry complete DNA from both parents, which occurs spontaneously in nature.
“what would happen if we could get the sex cells to have all the DNA of the mother and all the DNA of the father, the complete genome?”
Friedberg notes DNA sequencing costs have fallen faster than Moore's Law over twenty years.
“Yep. Now digital technologies have driven the cost down of DNA sequencing faster than Moore's Law in the past twenty years.”
Friedberg states gut microbiome research has grown geometrically as DNA sequencing costs have dropped dramatically.
“So the number of papers on the gut biome has kind of grown geometrically last couple years.”
Friedberg cites research showing 40-60% of people have T cell immunity from prior coronavirus exposure.
“And the reason is that they've had other coronaviruses through a common cold and they've developed this immune response.”
Friedberg invokes sirtuin genes that switch cells between growth and healing modes to advise startups.
“And this is a time for everyone to activate their CIRT genes and stop focusing on growth and focus on healing.”