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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Several years ago, this grandmother from Oklahoma was forced to quit her job due to debilitating symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue, and extreme dryness in her eyes and mouth. But today, after 2 1/2 years on Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol, she feels like a completely normal person again and is spending much more time with family and friends. Meet Bonnie B.

Can you describe the progression of your disease?

I first started to feel symptoms of illness when I was in high school. I suffered from fatigue, weakness and joint pain. Yet, the symptoms were rather vague and only flared periodically.

In fact, they stabilized for the most part until I had my first child when I was 23. At that point, the same symptoms returned, but this time they were stronger. They were also accompanied by new central nervous symptoms such as blurry vision and dull headaches. An EEG test showed that my brainwave function was off balance.

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Sick ever since childhood, this resident of New Jersey finally hit rock bottom after developing diabetes and becoming blind in one eye. Not to mention the fact that by the mid 80s his bowels were seriously affected and sarcoidosis had spread throughout much of his body. Yet, after several years on Autoimmunity Research Foundation’s Marshall Protocol, this grandfather has largely recovered from each of his diseases, to the point where he is barely conscious of symptoms and has extra time for work and play. Meet Chris Eastlund.

Can you describe the progression of your symptoms?

Things first started to go wrong when I was around 8-10 years old. I spent an entire summer just sleeping on my grandmother’s couch. I’m told I was only awake for about four hours a day. I now realize that such fatigue is one of the symptoms of pediatric Lyme, but when I was taken to the Mayo Clinic I was told nothing was wrong with me.

I pushed on, but could never play endurance sports. I could never run for even 1/4 of a mile before having to stop. At first I thought I could join the cross country team and train my body to handle more exercise. While running I would feel better, but then a few hours later, I would suffer from feelings of fatigue and soreness – what is often referred to as post-exertional malaise.

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What if, rather than conferring a benefit to the digestive tract, probiotics worked by slowing the pace of bacterial die-off in organs near the gut, or even in other areas of the gut itself?

Many people go out of there way to buy probiotics, which can be purchased in myriad forms.

There’s been some discussion on the Marshall Protocol study site about how probiotics, or bacteria that are believed to beneficially improve bacterial composition in the gut, may be palliating symptoms but not improving overall health. This probably seems ludicrous to people who go out of their way to buy yogurt with “friendly” bacteria such as acidophilis, or people who dig into their savings to buy probiotics in numerous forms including little silver pearls.

And yet consider this hypothesis. Whereas it used to be believed that the adaptive immune system dictated the immune response in the gut, recent research has made it clear that the innate immune system – which is active inside the villi of the intestines and stomach – is actually largely responsible for keeping gut bacteria in check.

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