Innovative automation to find new interventions that slow ageing

量级生物科学是一家位于达勒姆郡塞奇菲尔德的合同研究组织。在利用秀丽隐杆线虫（C. elegans）提供研究服务方面，它是世界领先的，也是唯一一家总部设在英国的研究机构。这种蠕虫在生理上与人类相似，寿命很短（2-3周）。40多年来，研究人员成功地利用它来帮助我们了解人类疾病和衰老过程。然而，它在确定潜在有益的药物或补充剂以延缓衰老或预防痴呆症等慢性疾病方面的用途尚未得到充分利用。Magnitude Biosciences使用_C。为新兴的长寿产业提供研究服务，以确定化合物对衰老的影响。该行业的公司希望能够快速确定其化合物对衰老的影响，而实现这一目标的替代方法很少。由数量级生物科学公司开发的创新成像技术允许_C老化。elegans将在7天内评估。使用_C。与在其他动物身上进行临床前研究相比，elegans明显更快、更便宜，并且减少了原本要使用的啮齿类动物的数量。然而，许多客户已经通知公司，他们希望以更低的价格筛选更多的化合物。实现这一目标需要在3个方面实现自动化：琼脂培养皿制备，播种细菌（蠕虫食物）和操纵蠕虫。适合这种自动化的设备在商业上是不可用的。该项目的目的是开发创新的自动化方法，以提高生产力，并使量级生物科学公司能够为全球更多的客户提供服务。增加可以筛选的化合物的数量大大增加了客户发现延缓衰老或预防与年龄有关的疾病的干预措施的机会。这将对社会和经济大有裨益。由此产生的公司增长将增加英格兰东北部的高技能就业。

Magnitude Biosciences is a contract research organisation based in Sedgefield, County Durham. It is a world leader in providing research services using the tiny nematode worm called _Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans)_ and the only one in based in the UK. This worm has physiological similarities to humans and a very short lifespan (2-3 weeks). It has been used successfully by researchers for over 40 years to help us understand human diseases and the ageing process. However, its use to identify potentially beneficial medicines or supplements to slow ageing or prevent chronic diseases like dementia has not been well exploited.Magnitude Biosciences uses _C. elegans_ to provide research services for the emerging longevity industry to determine the effects of compounds on ageing. Companies in this industry want to be able to determine the effects of their compounds on ageing quickly and there are very few alternative ways to achieve this goal. The innovative imaging technology developed by Magnitude Biosciences allows ageing in _C. elegans_ to be assessed in 7 days. Using _C. elegans_ is significantly faster and cheaper than conducting pre-clinical studies in other animals and reduces the number of rodents that would otherwise be used.However, many customers have informed the company they want to screen many more compounds for a lower price per compound. Achieving this goal requires automation in 3 areas: agar petri dish preparation, seeding bacteria (worm food) and manipulating worms. Equipment that is suitable for this automation is not available commercially.The aim of this project is to develop innovative automation methods that will increase productivity and allow Magnitude Biosciences to serve a larger set of customers around the world.Increasing the number of compounds that can be screened dramatically increases the chances that customers will find interventions that slow ageing or prevent age-related diseases. This will be hugely beneficial for society and the economy. Resulting company growth would increase high-skilled employment in North East England.