Category: Innovation

San Francisco-based biotech firm, Loyal, has received conditional approval from the FDA for an experimental drug (LOY-001) aimed at extending the lifespan of large-breed dogs by at least one year. This marks the FDA’s first endorsement of a longevity drug, paving the way for further clinical trials. Loyal’s CEO, Celine Halioua, expects the drug to be available by 2026.

Administered via veterinarian injection every three to six months, LOY-001 targets the growth hormone IGF-1, potentially enhancing the well-being of large dogs. Despite the initial nod, Loyal must demonstrate full efficacy in a pivotal study to stay on the market beyond the five-year conditional approval period. The drug is now set for a larger study involving 1,000 older large and giant breed companion dogs.

Loyal’s broader goals include mitigating age-related ailments like cancer, arthritis, muscle atrophy, cognitive decline, and neurodegeneration in dogs. Simultaneously, Loyal is recruiting for clinical trials on LOY-002 and LOY-003. The company aims to maintain an affordable pricing structure for LOY-001, which has received $60 million in venture capital backing. In the context of canine longevity, other research at UC Davis has spotlighted the gene ERBB4 as a potential driver, emphasizing promising developments for dog lovers.

In a rare collaboration, scientists from the US and China have created a groundbreaking, cost-effective, and efficient method for purifying seawater. The new passive solar-powered desalination tool can produce 4-6 liters of clean water per hour and has the potential to sustain a coastal household in sunny areas year-round when scaled up.

Despite the constant warnings from natural resource managers, city planners, and climate activists about the increasing severity of droughts in the future, the solution may have always been right in front of us. By utilizing the Earth’s vast amount of undrinkable water, the technology can significantly improve global access to clean water.

The tool uses thermohaline circulation, which is the same process that occurs in the ocean, to create swirling eddies that evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind. The water vapor is collected at a rate that can sustain daily household demands. This process, powered by sunlight, makes it possible for water to be even cheaper than tap water!

This breakthrough in solar desalination technology has the potential to address real-world problems in coastal communities with water scarcity issues. The components of the still are designed for a 10-year lifespan, making it a long-lasting and practical solution.

Are you ready to live under the ocean? DEEP Research Labs, an international research and development organization, is driven by the goal to “make humans aquatic.” They believe that becoming part of the oceanic world is crucial for understanding and preserving Earth’s most diverse biosphere. Their website explains, “We create tools and practices for scientists, academics, and others who seek to do good through their interaction with our oceans.”

DEEP seeks to accomplish this amazing feat using their Sentinel System, a high-tech subsea habitat likened to an underwater International Space Station. It will allow researchers to live and work on the ocean floor, at depths up to 200 meters (656 feet), for up to 28 days at a time. The system is designed for a 20-year service life, and its modular design allows it to be reconfigured and relocated as needed.

Rick Goddard, DEEP’s product director, told Oceanographic Magazine, “We’re doing something new here at a scale never previously imagined outside of science fiction. I fully expect the equipment and technology we’re developing to be pivotal in enabling some game-changing discoveries and radically change the way we access and think about the ocean.”

I am not sure if I am quite ready to live 200 meters under the ocean, but still a fascinating endeavor.

Last week, we discussed the stunning images from the James Webb Space Telescope, including its discovery of a potential life-building block on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. However, to truly uncover distant life or delve deeper into the wonders of our universe we need to see much farther.

Slava Turyshev, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, is working on using the sun as a lens in a telescope. This concept is based on an effect known as Gravitational Lensing.

Gravitational Lensing happens when a massive object, such as a galaxy cluster, is positioned between an observer and a distant object, bending the latter’s light into an Einstein ring. This effect is caused by the object’s gravity, which warps and magnifies the images behind it.

Using the sun for this, which is called Solar Gravitational Lensing (SGL), could theoretically increase a background image by a factor of 100 billion. This would increase our ability to see distant planets and starts far beyond what we could conceivably do otherwise.

If this is not sci-fi enough for you already, SGL could potentially be used for interstellar communication. Signals sent through the gravitational field could much more easily reach nearby stars without degrading.

Here is a excellent video diving into the subject with much greater detail.