Vast Potential Applications – Expansive, Beautiful Terrain

With new insight opened to me by the burgeoning field of redox signaling, I realized that these same molecules helped the immune system to find and repair or destroy damaged cells. In fact, as outlined above, they participate in multiple pathways of tissue regeneration, hormonal reception, oxidative stress response, signaling gene expression and so forth. Each new insight opened up more to my view until before my eyes was laid a nearly endless landscape of possibility, extending far off into the horizon. This terrain was just starting to be explored and had pathways that led into virtually all areas of medical science. Such was my fascination that I immediately wished to share this experience with my colleagues. I went back down the trail, marking the way, in hopes that I could convince someone to come back up the trail with me and see what I had just seen and maybe help me explore it.

Invitation for Collaboration – You have just got to see this!

Some of the first people that I invited to explore the trail were those that had themselves blazed some of the trail; researchers that had participated or done some of the earlier studies on this work. As expected, they were already involved in other work and did not always have the time or ambition to take off work to go and explore more of this trail with me. A few said they would come but, of course, they expected some sort an agreement. The same thought kept repeating in my mind, “good science requires good business”. Unfortunately, I felt that I did not have much of a hand in the business aspects at the time, and often felt a hesitance to get too involved with the business. Thus I was reliant on those that were more experienced in building a business and the management teams that controlled the intellectual property.

We were able to get some limited funding in order to get a senior researcher at a national lab involved. This researcher was able to do some fundamental research with lung endothelial cell cultures and opened up several other vistas to view. He was the one to discover that this Redox composition has the effect of increasing antioxidant efficiencies and that it activates the NRF2 pathways, with all that that implies (as already discussed in this book). He also found that it drastically increases death rates in damaged cells and enhances TNF-alpha action to kill damaged cells and yet has only protective effects on normal healthy cells. These new results opened much more unexplored terrain to view, including antioxidant activation, oxidative stress reduction, accelerated healing, accelerated detection, and disposal of damaged cells. This aspect is very promising; the propagation of damaged cells and tissues, as well as slow healing, is responsible for a vast array of health challenges, including aging.  Unfortunately, after a year when funding ran out, so did the possibility of continuing the research.

Third Party Investigation – Sharing the Journey of Discovery

In as much as possible, third party independent laboratories were sought to find researchers to join the journey; laboratories with competent engaged professionals trained in diverse related areas of science and research. At this point, the business management team was closely involved in helping to find and identify the best areas of research to pursue and the best research institutions. Over months of phone calls, contacts, professional reviews, trips to laboratories, contract negotiations, and meetings, we started to find the right people to help us continue forward on the path of discovery. I fondly recall one such trip we made to the middle of an area called “the research triangle” in North Carolina, USA; an area where most of the medical and pharmaceutical research in the United States is done. The North Carolina Research Institute (NCRI) houses a collaboration of researchers from surrounding universities (Chapel Hill, UNC, Duke, Appalachian State, NCS, and others) inside a beautiful billion dollar research campus (NCRC) built by David H. Murdock (of Dole Foods) with the world-class David H Murdock Research Institute (DHMRI). This facility is a shrine to research devoted to advancing health, wellness, quality of life, and longevity. It was there we found a group of researchers specializing in the effects of exercise and other agents on the metabolism.

Over the period of two years, results from studies verified this Redox Composition had broad effects on murine (mouse) and human metabolism. Mice ran 29% longer with this Redox composition in comparison to an unprocessed saltwater solution. In human blood and fluids, hundreds of metabolite concentrations are shifted, indicating changes to the metabolism. There were several follow-up studies to see how this metabolic shift varied with time and conditions. Large human studies again verified safety by monitoring major systems and organs of mature adults. One result, for example, is that this Redox composition appears not to affect beneficial, bacteria inside the gut and reduces oxidative stress in the blood. Studies continue on to find out how this Redox composition works and what it means.

Studies are now being conducted around the world on this Redox composition. For example, in Europe, another research group found that in human skin, surface blood circulation dramatically improved, skin-cell turnover accelerated, cellulite globules shrank, smoothness and color consistency improved. There are also various studies that characterize nature of this Redox composition. Besides funded research, there are also completely independent studies that I know of being done by curious private researchers in universities, institutions, and industry, and probably many more that I do not know of.

Besides the direct research being done on this specific Redox composition, the field of redox biochemistry and redox signaling with other compositions are expanding horizons daily. Some are starting to intersect trails that we are exploring, and the whole terrain is becoming more well-known. Over 100 related peer reviewed journal articles are being published monthly. New trails are being blazed by present and future Nobel laureates and top scientist in all fields of biology. All of these are making inroads to explore the new terrain through a whole new variety of angles. This beautiful virgin landscape is now beholden by thousands of people and I am hoping someday it will be enjoyed by the whole world.