Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil, partnering with colleagues in Australia, have identified a novel bacterial protein that can keep human cells healthy even when the cells have a heavy bacterial burden. The discovery could lead to new treatments for a wide array of diseases relating to mitochondrial dysfunction, such as cancer and auto-immune disorders. Mitochondria are organelles that supply most of the chemical energy needed to power cells’ biochemical reactions.

The study is published in the journal PNAS. The researchers analyzed more than 130 proteins released by Coxiella burnetii when this bacterium invades host cells, and found at least one to be capable of prolonging cell longevity by acting directly on mitochondria.

After invading host cells, C. burnetii releases a hitherto unknown protein, which the authors call mitochondrial coxiella effector F (MceF). MceF interacts with glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), an anti-oxidant enzyme located in the mitochondria, to improve mitochondrial function by promoting an anti-oxidizing effect that averts cell damage and death, which may occur when pathogens replicate inside mammalian cells.

Einstein’s fascination with light, considered quirky at the time, would lead him down the path to a brand new theory of physics.

Living half a century before Einstein, a Scotsman, James Clerk Maxwell, revealed a powerful unification and universalization of nature, taking the disparate sciences of electricity and magnetism and merging them into one communion. It was a titanic tour-de-force that compressed decades of tangled experimental results and hazy theoretical insights into a tidy set of four equations that govern a wealth of phenomena. And through Maxwell’s efforts was born a second great force of nature, electromagnetism, which describes, again in a mere four equations, everything from static shocks, the invisible power of magnets, the flow of electricity, and even radiation – that is, light – itself.

At the time Einstein’s fascination with electromagnetism was considered unfashionable. While electromagnetism is now a cornerstone of every young physicist’s education, in the early 20^th century it was seen as nothing more than an interesting bit of theoretical physics, but really something that those more aligned in engineering should study deeply. Though Einstein was no engineer, as a youth his mind burned with a simple thought experiment: what would happen if you could ride a bicycle so quickly that you raced beside a beam of light? What would the light look like from the privileged perspective?

Sean Carroll is a theoretical physicist who serves as a Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. Carroll strives to convey complicated physics concepts in accessible terms on his Mindscape podcast and in his popular books, including last year’s The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion. He joins Preet to talk about the relationship between science and philosophy, how to comprehend quantum mechanics, and whether there are billions of similar universes operating alongside our own.

Plus, Special Counsel David Weiss’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee about the Hunter Biden prosecution and Trump’s reported plan to use the Department of Justice for revenge if he retakes the presidency.

Don’t miss the Insider bonus, where Preet and Carroll talk more about depictions of time travel in Hollywood films. To listen, become a member of CAFE Insider for $1 for the first month. Head to cafe.com/insider.

Bryan Johnson is the world’s most famous biohacker – and perhaps the “most measured man in human history”. He’s on a mission to maximally reverse the quantified biological age of each of his 70 organs, extending his lifespan and healthspan, and then roll out his protocol on a platform to ensure others can benefit from his experience, research and experimentation.

Johnson’s ethos can be summed up pretty neatly as don’t die, and to that end, he has written a book, or novel, to be more accurate, entitled Don’t Die, the uncorrected advanced reading version of which is downloadable as a free ebook from his website. Johnson’s nom de plume for this venture is Zero, described in the book as the “first individual H. sapiens to surpass five hundred years of age,” who dies in 2,478 (in an accident, rather than from old age), just weeks away from “becoming Homo Deus.” Johnson credits Zero with the invention of Zeroism and the resurrection technology undie, as well as the fathering of “millions of biological and digital offspring who now live in the far reaches of the solar system and beyond”

Longevity. Technology: Because Don’t Die is a novel, Johnson can explore his philosophy in a different way, inviting us to observe the narrator, Scribe, on his last day on Earth, as he muses on humanity’s future evolution, the nature of death and free will and the impact of age reversal and programmable biology. Scribe is joined by a Pilgrim’s Progress-like cast of characters, including Cognitive Bias, Dark Humor and Game Play and Self Critical.

Fellow Macquarie University researchers Dr Ram Maharjan and Associate Professor Amy Cain are part of a contingent of scientists coming at the issue from another direction: studying a single protein that, when damaged, causes A. baumannii to lose its superpowers, compromising a drug pumping system that pushes antibiotics and other threats out of the cell.

While further studies are needed to understand how biocides work and how they interact with antibiotics, Dr Li stressed we should not discontinue their use in healthcare facilities and in the community.

“The findings in our study suggest that residual biocides could compromise antibiotic potency, at least in the lab,” Dr Li said.

Insulin pills designed to be dissolved in the mouth appear to overcome a major hurdle holding back the development of oral insulin.

The Rejuvenation Startup Summit (Berlin, May 10–11, 2024) hosted by the Forever Healthy Foundation, is a vibrant networking event that aims to accelerate the development of the rejuvenation biotech industry.

Rejuvenation/longevity biotech is a new, emerging field of medicine. It aims to prevent and reverse diseases of aging by addressing their common root cause, the aging process itself. Rejuvenation therapies aim to reverse or repair age-related cellular changes such as molecular waste, calcification, tissue stiffening, loss of stem cell function, genetic alterations, and impaired energy production.

A first-of-its-kind flexible sensor turns a pair of earbuds into a device capable of recording brain activity and analyzing sweat, making them useful for diagnosing diseases and health monitoring.

The background: Health monitoring wearables can measure our blood pressure, track our heart rates, and even detect infections before we start to feel sick, helping us take better care of ourselves and potentially even giving us a way to prevent the spread of diseases.

The devices are useless if no one wants to wear them, though, so finding designs that are comfortable and easy to integrate into daily life is key. Because earbuds are already popular, researchers have used them as the basis for health monitoring devices that record brain activity to predict strokes, epileptic seizures, or Parkinson’s disease.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes people to have recurring seizures. Epileptic seizures may be mild and barely noticeable or stronger ones, causing severe muscle spasms or loss of consciousness. These may last a few seconds or several minutes. Anyone can develop epilepsy at any point in their life.