Category Archives: Comics

Video essay on Robots (plus a DIY chemistry demo)

I managed to post three videos since my last update.

A vlog about burning Iron: https://youtu.be/46YlW8qjp_c

Burning Iron Attempt 2: pure-ish oxygen: https://youtu.be/SURy8xRsRp4

A video essay about robotics and automation: https://youtu.be/TisXw8zS5r0

The slightly expanded essay is below for your reading pleasure.

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A Deeper Look at Systems Biology and Aging

Why do we need Systems Biology to help science slow or stop aging? That would be the most profound medical breakthrough since antibiotics. I think systems biology is the key and I spent the last month learning about how it relates to aging research, and I’ve tried to summarize my thoughts here and in a YouTube video (which you can check out at this link). So: what even is Systems biology?

Imagine we have a little miniature world, like a terrarium.

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LinkBlog for the end of September 2023

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I posted two videos over on PeterAllenWrites, both are about Antibody Drug Conjugates. In the papers I talk about, the idea is to attach a very toxic drug to an antibody. The antibody can carry the drug into specific, targeted cells. In these papers, the targets were senescent cells, the half-dead cells that cause some of the symptoms of aging. If we could remove these cells specifically, we could reverse aging to some degree.

The first paper (Poblocka et al) showed that antibodies with these drugs could kill senescent cells in a dish (Video 1). The second one (Takaya et al) showed that they could kill senescent cells in a mouse (Video 2). That represents a lot of progress between 2021 and 2023. But mice are not people. We still have a long way to go.

This post is available in video format, too!

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“Why do I have to learn THAT?” DNA edition

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Why do I have to learn about DNA? Why is that required knowledge? I had a student – a graduate student, no less – ask me this, years ago. “Why do I have to learn THAT?” he said. Let’s talk about why learning about DNA (and science in general) is important. Let’s talk about Kevin.

This post is also a video! Check it out on YouTube.

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Senolytic targeting a membrane marker by Poblocka et al.

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You can also view this post in Video Format!

If we can kill off the senescent cells in our body, we will grow younger. This paper by Poblacka and associates describes a way to accomplish that… in cells in a dish. But it’s an important step and I’ll explain why. I want to go through a peer-reviewed paper I found really interesting. It’s about a new technique to kill senescent cells and it’s a step toward managing, slowing, or even stopping the aging process.

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