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Scientists find ways to boost memory in aging brains
- stevenjgarner 1y agoVirginia Tech researchers have shown that memory loss in aging may be reversible. Using CRISPR tools, they corrected molecular disruptions in the hippocampus and amygdala, restoring memory in older rats. Another experiment revived a silenced memory gene, IGF2, through targeted DNA methylation editing. These findings highlight that aging brains can regain function through precise molecular intervention.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- tom_ 1y ago"In mice", I thought to myself. But then I read the article - and how wrong I was!
- chrisweekly 1y agoRats. I thought it'd be mice too.
- knodi123 1y agobut what about my senile mice? please, won't somebody think of them??
- wzdd 1y agoLooking forward to seeing the same generation of biohackers who previously CRISPRed their lactose intolerance to now CRISPR their hippocampi!
- riggsdk 1y agoFor those curious, that is @thethoughtemporium on youtube.
- twostorytower 1y agoDownload more ram!
- BobbyTables2 1y agoFunny how nobody has used CRISPR to make the body naturally produce caffeine…
- notpushkin 1y agoTolerance.
- asdfman123 1y agoI don't necessarily want to live forever, but god I would love to have a quick brain for the rest of my life.
- steve_adams_86 1y agoQuality of life is very meaningful in the context of lifespan. I suppose that's why the term 'health span' has become more popular. Why live longer if you or the people you love can't enjoy it?
- asdfman123 1y agoI'm not even talking about that. I'd love to pound out code like I'm my late 30s the rest of my life. In fact, it would probably be better than that. I'd be as quick as I was in my 20s but have the experience and knowledge of someone much older.
- agumonkey 1y agomore and more i realize that intelligence is a memory-bound process
- anonymars 1y agoAlas, perhaps those are inherent trade-offs, with experience also serving as baggage. After all, how would you code a lookup table that can grow indefinitely with no slowdown?
- aaronblohowiak 1y agoPruning
- flatline 1y agoI definitely hit my coding peak somewhere in my late 30s. I don’t know how much slower I actually am, vs how much less I care. For one, I care to not write code that I’m not going to use. I spend way more time planning, talking about, and mulling over the thing I want to build, and I generally get it right the first time. Maybe part of the lesson of experience is not being in such a rush. Second, I’ve written so much code that I just don’t care as much about that activity as I used to. When I’m properly motivated to do something I still feel quick and energetic. I’m learning ASL with my girlfriend and she’s frustrated that I move faster than her, at some 13 years her senior. Maybe it will catch up to me eventually.
- SherryMarcini 1y agoIt’s about our quality of life.. not about longevity.
- davidw 1y agoWith my luck it'd replay that one time I did the stupid thing in high school more frequently.
- Bayko 1y agoAlmost 20 years after high school here..I am still stupid
- D-Coder 1y ago"that one time I did the stupid thing in high school"? I think most highschoolers do a stupid thing about every eighteen minutes. You did great!
- davidw 1y agoI am imagining my mind recalling and replaying the 'greatest hits of dumb stuff davidw did' more frequently after this treatment and I don't really like the idea.
- omgmajk 1y agoYou get downvoted, but you are not wrong. People with various anxiety disorders have this problem - and keep remembering all the small mistakes they did in life over the good memories.
- eyeyehh 1y agoEuehshsns
- agumonkey 1y agoarchived: https://archive.ph/lTmx4 https://archive.ph/lTmx4 (heh)
- sroussey 1y agoPill now please.
- keepamovin 1y agoNot with regard to the acute mental decline of Alz or dementia, which seemingly are a lot of trauma for many involved, but perhaps there is some adaptive function to slight memory loss with aging? Maybe old people don't want to remember everything? Idk. If reincarnation is real, that involves a total memory loss at the terminal age limit, so that is somehow adaptive, allowing a new growth of life. Maybe slight memory loss in the aged allows a refresh or new growth of life. A sort of lightening of the burden, perhaps? To let the aged evolve into a new phase of life? Letting go of the past? There could be something to that. The wisdom of the elderly may be related to an ability of such pruning to permit sight of the forest for the trees, the gaining of perspective.
- sreekanth850 1y agoQuoted from Article: If we can understand what’s driving it at the molecular level, we can start to understand what goes wrong in dementia and eventually use that knowledge to guide new approaches to treatment. Hopefull.
- oharapj 1y agoI think the reality is that the brain is an organ and loses functionality in old age, similar to the heart, lungs, liver, skin, whatever you want to name. Lifestyle plays a significant role and I think you’ll find that people that take care of themselves and have less loss of functionality are significantly happier and wiser in their old age. I do think that there’s adaptive functionality in hormonal changes though
- sreekanth850 1y agoMy aunt suffers from memory loss. I sincerely hope breakthroughs like this can make a real difference soon.
- rippeltippel 1y agoWhenever I see these articles on HN, I'm now primed into thinking "it means rats brains" and I'm usually right. I truly appreciate the research in this and other fields (e.g. Alzheimer), but clickbait titles like those give false hopes to readers who may have friends or relatives suffering from real conditions. Please make it clear that we're talking about _rats_ and it may take years for those researches to be available to us _human beings_.
- bee_rider 1y agoWe’ve got so many enhancements for rat brains available, maybe they are running the place at this point.
- dandanua 1y agoMost certainly, if you follow the news in politics
- stevenjgarner 1y agoI have much empathy for your false hopes, given my own memory loss over the years (I am 69). That being said, I do not consider it clickbait to say "Scientists find ways to boost memory in aging brains". Anyone familiar with work in the field understands that if it is genuinely about "human" brains or even "hominid" brains, then that would be specified. To talk generically about "memory in aging brains" is not IMO misleading. I feel much of your criticism rests with HN - the length of titles is quite restrictive and the initial post (which in this case specified "restoring memory in older rats") usually gets buried with more popular dominating comments. Don't get me wrong, I think the weighting of comments in HN is one of its best features. Other comment systems providing for the "pinning" of the initial comment by the OP - not sure if this is possible on HN?
- oblviousanon 1y agoBasically a state that is believed to be a "good state", and anything outside of that state is a "bad state". Its like changing the air filter on a car when it's not running right, but it just happened to need an air filter but the real problem is the fuel injector and the rubber hoses deteriorating.
- red75prime 1y agoI guess in 10 years I'll forget to check whether they are at a phase 1 trial.
- more_corn 1y agoIn rats