On Monday, I returned from the 6th International Congress on Autoimmunity held in Porto, Portugal. You can watch my presentation here.

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Though the human genome was fully sequenced in 2001, the most promising work in genomics has just begun and not even in the study of human DNA. Human cells are outnumbered by bacterial cells by a factor of ten to one, and, as the rest of this site alludes to ad nauseam, there is strong reason to believe that bacteria are to blame for many of the chronic diseases from which humans suffer. Genetically speaking, we know relatively little about bacteria that persist in humans. The field is ripe for advances.

Colorful representations of sequenced genomes adorn the walls at JCVI.

You may wonder how a researcher can view and understand a particular bacterial genome. On their own, they cannot. Progress in genetics is a group effort, and requires partnering with one of the handful of heavyweight institutions in the world that have developed resources allowing for genome interpretation. Several such institutions exist in the US. The NIH has bacterial protein sequencing tools at its disposal. The Broad Institute at MIT as well as the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center have also developed tools that allow for genome sequencing.

Many would argue though that the Institution most on the bleeding edge when it comes to genome sequencing technology is the J. Craig Venter Institute, formerly known as TIGR. Headed by transformative iconoclast and entrepreneur J. Craig Venter, the Institute is a non-profit research center that was founded in 2006. It has facilities in Rockville, Maryland and La Jolla, California and employs over 400 people, including Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith.

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Note: Much of the information included in this piece was derived from two articles published in the May 28th edition of Nature News, a resource published by the medical journal Nature

Even those of us who live under rocks have heard of the Human Genome Project, a massive international scientific research project the aim of which was to understand the genetic makeup of the human species. Its primary goal was to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify the approximately 25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint.

The goal of the Human Genome Project was to understand the genetic makeup of the human species.

A working draft of the genome was released in 2000 and a complete one in 2003, with further analyses yet to be completed and published. Meanwhile, a parallel project was conducted by the private company Celera Genomics. Most of the sequencing was performed in universities and research centers from the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Most researchers would agree that the Human Genome Project was launched in order to answer the long-standing question, “Who am I?” The goal was to identify and sequence every single human gene. By doing so, many researchers were certain they would uncover causes for most of the chronic diseases that plague humankind. At the project’s start, scientists were faced with a multitude of unknown sequences to decipher and understand. Surely such sequences would offer up answers to disease, and specific genes would be found that would correlate with specific illnesses. In a Gattaca-like environment, people would then be informed early in life that they had “the gene” for MS or “the gene” for breast cancer. Scientists would work fervently to identify and change the expression of such disease-causing genes, finally developing enough gene therapies to eradicate human disease. The above scenario has an abiding appeal, largely because the idea that our genes dictate our health is so temptingly simplistic.

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In 1997, this engineer from the Detroit area was diagnosed with sarcoidosis and began Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol in order to kill the chronic bacteria causing the disease. But suddenly things took a turn for the worse. A rapidly growing tumor was detected in his bladder and a cancer diagnosis was made. Armed with the knowledge that his bladder cancer was an inflammatory disease likely also caused by chronic bacteria, he decided to use the Marshall Protocol to treat his cancer as well. This allowed him to avoid several standard cancer therapies that may actually harm the immune response. Today his sarcoidosis has largely resolved and he’s been cancer free for over a year. Meet Gene Johnson.

Why did you start the Marshall Protocol? How did you hear about the treatment?

In 1997 I was working as an engineering manager for an automotive equipment supplier in the Detroit area. At 56, I was in the best shape of my life and was age group competing in distance running (ran two marathons), biathlon/duathlons (run-bike-run), and state sponsored track and field events. What I was soon to realize was that you can be in excellent physical shape and still not be healthy.

I hadn’t suffered from a cold or flu for years. However, that changed in October when everyone in the office, including myself, became ill with what seemed to be a bad chest cold. It ran its course after about two weeks for everyone except me. I continued to suffer from a bad cough and fatigue. Finally, I went to see a doctor. A chest x-ray showed that I had non-caseating granulomas in the lymph nodes. The presence of the granulomas was later confirmed via mediastinoscopy biopsy and I was officially diagnosed with sarcoidosis. It was a good news/bad news situation. The good news was: “You don’t have cancer”; the bad news was: “You have an idiopathic disease that has no known cause and thus no treatment or cure.” In retrospect, I realize the office flu was just a precipitating event that weakened my immune system to the point where my sarcoidosis finally became apparent.

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In 2005, for his TED talk, Dr. Aubrey de Grey was asked by an audience member who was seemingly puzzled by his long brown beard, “Since you talk about aging and try to defeat it, why do you make yourself appear like an old man?”

De Grey responded, “Because I am an old man. I am 158.”

Aubrey de Grey

It has been three years since then and at the ripe age of 161 (according to his Wikipedia bio, his birthday is in April), Aubrey de Grey presided over the latest of the Methuselah Foundation’s annual anti-aging symposiums. At the end of June 2008, a group of us with ties to Autoimmunity Research Foundation attended that meeting on the *very* sunny campus of UCLA. Our goal was to get researchers thinking about a bacterial explanation for diseases of the aging, and to get them to begin considering the Marshall Protocol as an anti-aging option.

Aubrey de Grey is always surrounded by people, be they prestigious presenters, researchers, conference organizers, or any of his small army of energized volunteers for which he plays field marshall.

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This is a video of the presentation made by Prof Trevor Marshall at the Aging conference at the University of California, Los Angeles, on June 29, 2008.

For those who have access to a high-speed internet connection and fast computer, better version of this video, in High Definition is . Also available: the related abstract and Conference details.

Feeling down? According to several new claims made by medical researchers, it seems you may be able to supplement with another hormone in the hopes of getting relief. Yes, yes, the phrase “supplement with a hormone” should, correctly, send chills down the spine of those familiar with the current “vitamin” D debacle. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at mainstream medicine’s latest take on what they’ve already labeled the “love drug.”

In general, oxytocin makes people more sociable and less phobic.

Produced naturally in the brain during social interactions, the hormone oxytocin promotes romantic feelings. It’s also the hormone that helps mothers bond with babies and, in general, makes people more sociable and less phobic. Oxytocin is released during orgasm and is also the key birthing hormone that enables the cervix to open and the contractions to work. In situations where labor has to be induced, it is often given to the mother intravenously to kick-start contractions.

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