Curing diseases with Arctic clams

A son discovers ancient healing wisdom in the ocean's depths

Title card from “My Last Nerve” Documentary about Max Glanz’s mission to cure his father’s degenerative nerve disease. Used with permission

At Seanome, we believe evolution has already solved trillions of molecular problems. Sometimes, these ancient solutions surface from unexpected waters, such as a son’s quest to cure his father’s rare genetic disease leading him to the frigid depths of the Arctic Ocean.

Max Glanz witnessed nerve damage of unknown origin (idiopathic neuropathy) set his father's hands ablaze with relentless pain. A scrappy kid from Boston, Max couldn't sit idly by. Instead, he set out on an ambitious mission to cure his father. Along the way, he discovered an ancient healer dwelling in Arctic waters: the surf clam. His journey, captured in the documentary "My Last Nerve" (2024), reveals how nature's overlooked creatures, shaped by billions of years of evolution, have already mastered challenges that have stumped modern medicine.

At its core, neuropathy stems from a cellular betrayal — when a crucial enzyme meant to build protective compounds instead creates toxic ones that slowly destroy neurons, leading to loss of sensation and severe disability. While current treatments can slow this process¹, they cannot stop it. But here, in the intersection of human suffering and marine wisdom, lies a profound revelation: spisulosine, the very molecule that devastates humans, is naturally present in Arctic surf clams (Spisula polynyma)². Since the clams live with spisulosine, they must have a use for it and a way to degrade it. By developing open-source tools to mine their genome for this ancient adaptation, we aim to transform the clam’s evolutionary innovation into hope for treatment.

The connection between Arctic clams and neuropathy while looking for novel antitumoral compounds for cancer treatment. Spisulosine from Arctic clams upended current understanding of cell death by using a completely novel mechanism, and exhibited very high potency³. As spisulosine killed cells so effectively, it was immediately put to use for cancer treatment⁴⁵. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass Phase I clinical trials due to neurotoxicity leading to neuropathy⁶⁷⁸⁹ — the same symptoms as Max’s dad — hinting at the connection between clams and neuropathy. Not only does this compound affect cell death and neurons, but its broader molecular family (sphingolipids) is biomarkers of diseases ranging from diabetes to stroke¹¹.

This discovery reveals a profound truth: marine organisms, particularly long-lived species like clams¹², have mastered cellular existence in ways we are only beginning to understand. Their ability to precisely orchestrate cell death and renewal — a crucial aspect of longevity¹³ — demonstrates how discoveries from the ocean could uncover deep biological truths that span the entire landscape of life itself. Curing neurodegeneration, aging, diabetes, stroke are mere glimpses of the potential in biodiversity.

Max’s mission to cure his father drove him to the intersection of human health and ocean biodiversity. At Seanome, we believe this is just the beginning. Every species contains thousands of molecular solutions in its DNA. Our mission is to build open tools decoding these solutions to lift all boats (pun intended), empowering global communities to find cures like Max hopes for his father.

Thanks to Claude for editing.