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Klotho: A protein that promotes healthy aging and improves longevity

An international study led by the Institut de Neurociències at the UAB (INc-UAB) has shown that increasing levels of the Klotho protein in mice extends lifespan and improves both physical and cognitive health when aging.

As we grow older, it is natural to lose and , leading to greater frailty and a higher risk of falls and serious injuries. Cognitively, neurons progressively degenerate and lose connections, while diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s become more prevalent. In a society where the population is steadily aging, reducing these effects is one of the main challenges for research.

Now, in an article published in Molecular Therapy, an international research team led by Professor Miguel Chillón, ICREA researcher at the INc-UAB, has shown that increasing levels of the secreted form of the Klotho protein (s-KL) improves aging in mice.

Biochemical method offers view into earliest stages of RNA production

When RNA molecules are synthesized by cells—a critical process in the creation of proteins and other cellular functions—they typically undergo a series of “folding” events that determine their structure and the role they will play in expressing genetic information in living organisms.

Until recently, however, not much was known about these folding processes that occur very early in the life of RNA molecules.

But Yale researchers have now developed a method to map and measure the structure of RNA as it develops, an advance that may help scientists design more effective treatments for a host of diseases. Their findings are described in the journal Molecular Cell.

New hydrogel semiconductor could lead to better tissue-interfaced bioelectronics

The ideal material for interfacing electronics with living tissue is soft, stretchable, and just as water-loving as the tissue itself—in short, a hydrogel. Semiconductors, the key materials for bioelectronics such as pacemakers, biosensors, and drug delivery devices, on the other hand, are rigid, brittle, and water-hating, impossible to dissolve in the way hydrogels have traditionally been built.

A paper published today in Science from the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) has solved this challenge that has long stymied researchers, reimagining the process of creating hydrogels to build a powerful semiconductor in form. Led by Asst. Prof. Sihong Wang’s research group, the result is a bluish gel that flutters like a sea jelly in water but retains the immense semiconductive ability needed to transmit information between living tissue and machine.

The material demonstrated tissue-level moduli as soft as 81 kPa, stretchability of 150% strain, and charge-carrier mobility up to 1.4 cm2 V-1 s-1. This means their material—both semiconductor and hydrogel at the same time—ticks all the boxes for an ideal bioelectronic interface.

The Futurists — EPS_286: The Meaning Economy with David Shapiro

In this week’s episode we interview author, AI theorist and researcher David Shapiro is part philosopher, part theorist with a fair bit of practical wisdom thrown in. With a hit YouTube channel Shapiro travels the globe as a speaker and advisor musing on the longer-term impacts of AI, technology and human adaptability. In this deep conversation with host Brett King, we delve into the ways in which advanced AI might completely transform our way of life, including economics, politics and what it means to be human itself. This is not one you’ll want to miss.

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Subscribe and listen to TheFuturists.com Podcast where hosts Brett King and Robert TerceK interview the worlds foremost super-forecasters, thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and futurists building the world of tomorrow. Together we will explore how our world will radically change as AI, bioscience, energy, food and agriculture, computing, the metaverse, the space industry, crypto, resource management, supply chain and climate will reshape our world over the next 100 years. Join us on The Futurists and we will see you in the future!

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Is NAD Associated With Biomarkers Of Mitochondrial Function?

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The Future of Manufacturing Might Be in Space

Growing these seed crystals in space could lead to much more pure wafers, says Western: “You can almost press the reset button on what we think is the limit of a semiconductor.”

Frick’s company Astral plans to do this with a mini fridge-sized furnace that reaches temperatures of about 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,700 degrees Fahrenheit). The applications of crystal growth are not just limited to semiconductors but could also lead to higher quality pharmaceuticals and other materials science breakthroughs.

Other products made in space could be produced with similar benefits. In January, China announced it had made a groundbreaking new metal alloy on its Tiangong space station that was much lighter and stronger than comparable alloys on Earth. And the unique environment of low gravity can offer new possibilities in medical research. “When you shut off gravity, you’re able to fabricate something like an organ,” says Mike Gold, the president of civil and international space business at Redwire, a Florida-based company that has experimented with in-space manufacturing on the International Space Station for years. “If you try to do this on Earth, it would be squished.”