A leading stem cell scientist has said he was “totally blown away” by advances being made in the UAE.
Pekka Katajisto, director of the MetaStem Centre of Excellence at the University of Helsinki, spoke of the crucial work being carried out in both the Emirates and his homeland of Finland to extend and improve lives during a visit to Abu Dhabi.
He reflected on the progress of the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Centre as well as the Emirati Genome Programme, which aims to boost understanding of rare genetic disorders and pave the way for early diagnosis.
“I am totally blown away and surprised to find so much activity here that is looking into stem cells and use of genomic data in the UAE,” Dr Katajisto, who is also a professor of ageing biology, told The National after meeting researchers and professors at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Centre on Wednesday.
“Somehow, I had the wrong impression that the country mainly focuses on the petroleum industry and, of course, tourism. I realised I haven’t been paying attention to the fast pace of research that is happening here. This has been really an eye-opening visit.
“There is a singularly genetic make-up here. You have a distinct a heritable disease gene load in here. We have our own. And both of us are tapping into the genomic information. In the coming years, it will become common to use genomic data for better health care.”
The UAE has been making significant strides in stem cell therapy, which is viewed as key to enhancing health care, particularly in cancer treatment and life expectancy.
Earlier this year, the UAE successfully completed a bone marrow transplant by using longer-term cryogenic freezing of healthy cells.
Dr Katajisto said he is currently studying how insulin secretion can be restored in diabetic patients by transplanting beta cells isolated from the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the destruction of pancreatic beta cells, resulting in patients having to replace the lost insulin with injections.
“Once we achieve that to a high enough level, then we have a living drug in our hands — a beta cell that can be transplanted into a human body that is lacking in production of insulin.”
Improving human lifespan
Speaking about his work on longevity and age-related diseases, Dr Katajisto said it was crucial as Finland deals with an ageing population.
“So, we are looking into ways of tissue metabolism and how to renew the muscle tissue, so that we are able to stop cell deterioration even as we age.”
In a young body, stem cells counter the wear and tear of tissue by replacing damaged cells with new ones. However, as we age, the capacity of stem cells declines and the resulting drop in tissue repair manifests as the functional decline associated with ageing, he explained.
Dr Katajisto’s research mainly focuses on understanding why stem cell activity deteriorates with age and how to develop stem cell-based strategies that focus on ageing-related diseases and ailments.
Through what is known as “reprogramming”, he said scientists are able to develop cells with better abilities to deal with many of the problems that an ageing body experiences.
A simple solution to improving health
While scientists are exploring ways to expand human lifespan, Dr Katajisto said we already have a good way of delaying ageing and extending lifespan.
“It is called calorie restriction. All you need to do is eat less. But this is what people don’t want to do.”
He said it has been scientifically proven in primates that, by taking away 30 per cent of the food that they eat, we can increase lifespan.
“You don't need a stem cell therapy. In mice, for example, we can expect to extend their lifespan about 16 to 20 per cent.”
“We have been studying this very intensely in our laboratory, isolating stem cells from the tissues of a mouse that has been on calorie restriction. When we do a tissue plate culture from a starving mouse, their cells regenerate much quickly.”
The effects of calorie restriction in humans and other primates remain controversial.
But while addressing the issue of lifespan, and using transformative sciences, Dr Katajisto said there are ethical questions of how much we should alter the life cycle.
“Again and again, we get surprised how complicated it is to extend human lifespan because throughout human history, we have studied individuals who have lived longer than 120 years. That is what we see as the maximum lifespan now,” he said.
But, with traditional health care becoming better and better, people live longer but with age-related diseases.
“And eventually, when everybody lives long, everybody has a disease. That puts a burden on the healthcare system,” he continued.
“It is high time for us to be interested in the biology of what drives these diseases, especially the ageing-related diseases, because if we can then tap in there, we can basically give people more healthy years. That is more important.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
UAE'S%20YOUNG%20GUNS
%3Cp%3E1%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20age%2026%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E2%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20age%2020%2C%2066%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E3%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20age%2021%2C%2065%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E4%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20age%2021%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E5%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20age%2023%2C%2016%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E6%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20age%2018%2C%2034%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E7%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20age%2017%2C%2053%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E8%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%2C%20age%2017%2C%2068%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E9%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20age%2017%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E10%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20age%2018%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E11%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20age%2018%2C%2046%20matches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
UAE v United States, T20 International Series
Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.
1st match: Friday, 2pm
2nd match: Saturday, 2pm
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh
