Molecules of Korolchuk IP-NFT

What is the project about? VitaDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, introduces VITA-FAST, an innovative funding model for longevity research. Leveraging the Ethereum blockchain, VITA-FAST are ERC-20 tokens, signifying fractional ownership of the Intellectual Property Non-Fungible Token (IP-NFT) from longevity research conducted at the Korolchuk Lab, Newcastle University.

VITA-FAST token holders gain governance rights over the IP, democratizing the decision-making processes in scientific research. 1. What is the project about? The project is focused on discovering and developing therapeutic compounds that can reactivate autophagy in Npc1 -/- cells.

This involves screening bioactive and commercial small molecules in cell survival assays to identify potential autophagy activators that are not cytotoxic. The project uses advanced techniques like luciferase-p6 clearance and Halo-GFP-LC3 orthogonal assays for this purpose.

2. What makes your project unique? The project's uniqueness lies in its approach to identifying novel compounds that can induce autophagy in NPC1 -/- cells, a crucial process for treating Niemann-Pick Type C disease. Unlike existing treatments, this project employs high-throughput screening methods and innovative assays to discover compounds with high chemical variability and no similarity to existing autophagy inducers, opening up possibilities for new iIP.