Lifeboat Foundation

Free radicals are costly.

Summary: Here’s what researchers have discovered about stopping the destruction caused by free radicals, including DNA damage, macromolecular damage, and damage to mitochondrial DNA. [This article first appeared on the website LongevityFacts.com. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Scientists widely believe that DNA damage and macromolecular damage caused by free radicals generated by our mitochondria is the principle cause of aging.

Continue reading “How Free Radicals Damage Our Bodies” »

Summary: A brief review of the top reports in 2017 on prediabetes and type 2 diabetes treatments, including new ones and those in the pipeline. [This article first appeared on the LongevityFacts.com website. Author: Brady Hartman.]

A paper published in the Lancet shocked the public last year when they reported that 40% of Americans walking around today would develop type 2 diabetes. While type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of premature death, the World Health Organization (WHO) upset even more people when they announced that prediabetes – the precursor state to diabetes – kills far more people.

Here’s a look back at the reports in 2017 on the ways to prevent type 2 diabetes and prediabetes and the promising treatments in the pipeline for these two forms of diabetes.

Continue reading “Breakthroughs in Diabetes and Prediabetes Treatments (Our Best of 2017)” »

Scientists are searching for an effective Parkinsons treatment.

Summary: A disease-modifying drug for Parkinson’s disease remains the goal of researchers as they develop promising treatments using gene therapy, autophagy upregulators, and brain mapping. [Author: Brady Hartman. This article first appeared on LongevityFacts.]

Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are diseases of aging, and the incidence of these conditions rise with each passing year. Doctors expect these disorders to ramp up with increasing life expectancies.

Continue reading “Chasing Breakthrough Cures for Parkinson’s Disease” »

Part 1 of a 4 part article titled Geroscience… written by the US head of research in aging biology… Felipe Sierra.

Introduction to the essay Geroscience by Felipe Sierra, both provides a glimpse into the future of the longevity field which targets aging.

8 top videos of the future of medicine from 2017.

Summary: a review of the eight top videos on the future of medicine reported in 2017. [This article first appeared on the LongevityFacts.com website. Author: Brady Hartman.]

Throughout 2017, a new breed of researchers called geroscientists were working on revolutionary medical advances, including cancer-seeking bacteriobots, lab-grown organs, soft robots that help an ailing heart to beat, weaponized killer T-cells, plans for radical life extension, advancements in CRISPR gene editing, and the emergence of the microbiome in human health.

Continue reading “8 Top Videos On the Future of Medicine (Best of 2017)” »

The Philippines’ most active volcano has shown signs of imminent eruption, forcing thousands of people on the main island of Luzon to evacuate.

Authorities upgraded the alert level at the Mayon volcano in the southern part of Luzon to “level 3” Sunday after observing steam eruptions and a bright lava glow.

As many as 3,000 villagers fled their homes while the volcano spewed ash, according to CNN affiliate CNN Philippines.

Continue reading “Philippines on high alert as volcano might erupt in ‘weeks or days’” »

A tissue-based soft robot that mimics the biomechanics of a stingray has been developed, which could lead to advances in bio-inspired robotics, regenerative medicine and medical diagnostics.

The simple body design of stingrays, specifically, a flattened body shape and side fins that start at the head and end at the base of their tail, makes them ideal to model bio-electromechanical systems on.

The 10-millimeter long robot is made up of four layers: tissue composed of live heart cells, two distinct types of specialized biomaterials for structural support, and flexible electrodes. Imitating nature, the robotic stingray is even able to “flap” its fins when the electrodes contract the heart cells on the biomaterial scaffold.

Continue reading “Bio-inspired robots come closer to reality” »

Today, at least 45 start-ups are working on chips that can power tasks like speech and self-driving cars, and at least five of them have raised more than $100 million from investors. Venture capitalists invested more than $1.5 billion in chip start-ups last year, nearly doubling the investments made two years ago, according to the research firm CB Insights.

SAN FRANCISCO — For years, tech industry financiers showed little interest in start-up companies that made computer chips.

How on earth could a start-up compete with a goliath like Intel, which made the chips that ran more than 80 percent of the world’s personal computers? Even in the areas where Intel didn’t dominate, like smartphones and gaming devices, there were companies like Qualcomm and Nvidia that could squash an upstart.

Continue reading “Big Bets on A.I. Open a New Frontier for Chip Start-Ups, Too” »

Dennis Wingo sees metals mining, communication stations and telescopes on the moon. The combination of industries will make moon development viable.

The moon is largely made up of metal oxides that could yield new supplies of platinum — perhaps enough to drive prices for the precious metal down to $300 from $1,400 an ounce today. Processing metals on the moon does not require chemicals. Different levels of heat can be used to make different metals. Cheaper platinum will make fuel cells that are so much more effective than combustion engines.

Skycorp’s mission is to fundamentally transform the spacecraft industry, utilizing orbital assembly process, electric propulsion, and modular construction, to create applications unthinkable before.

Continue reading “Skycorp planning to make space industries” »