Lifeboat Foundation

SLAC invention uses terahertz radiation to power a miniscule copper accelerator structure.

Particle accelerators generate high-energy beams of electrons, protons and ions for a wide range of applications, including particle colliders that shed light on nature’s subatomic components, X-ray lasers that film atoms and molecules during chemical reactions and medical devices for treating cancer.

As a rule of thumb, the longer the accelerator, the more powerful it is. Now, a team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has invented a new type of accelerator structure that delivers a 10 times larger energy gain over a given distance than conventional ones. This could make accelerators used for a given application 10 times shorter.

Researchers identified five unapproved drugs in dangerous combinations and doses in over-the-counter cognitive enhancement drugs. Side effects of the unapproved drugs include increases and decreases in blood pressure, agitation, and sedation.approved drugs in dangerous combinations and doses in over-the-counter cognitive enhancement drugs. Side effects of the unapproved drugs include increases and decreases in blood pressure, agitation, and sedation.approved drugs in dangerous combinations and doses in over-the-counter cognitive enhancement drugs. Side effects of the unapproved drugs include increases and decreases in blood pressure, agitation, and sedation.

It’s no problem atoll

To show that this works, the researchers used a seismometer station on Diego Garcia, a small atoll in the Indian Ocean about 3,000 kilometers from Sumatra. The tectonic plate boundary there is incredibly active, so there’s no shortage of earthquakes to work with. Between 2004 and 2016, there were over 4,000 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or higher that occurred near the Nias Island area of Sumatra. The researchers carefully processed all of these events to find repeaters similar enough to do the temperature calculation. They found over 2,000 such pairs based on 900 earthquakes.

If this portion of the Indian Ocean were to warm 1° C, T-waves from those earthquakes would take 5.4 seconds longer to reach this seismometer. The observed changes are smaller than that but they are coherent—there’s both an annual cycle and a gradual warming trend that look similar to other, more traditional datasets.

David Sinclair wants to slow down and ultimately reverse aging. Sinclair sees aging as a disease and he is convinced aging is caused by epigenetic changes, abnormalities that occur when the body’s cells process extra or missing pieces of DNA. This results in the loss of the information that keeps our cells healthy. This information also tells the cells which genes to read. David Sinclair’s book: “Lifespan, why we age and why we don’t have to”, he describes the results of his research, theories and scientific philosophy as well as the potential consequences of the significant progress in genetic technologies.

At present, researchers are only just beginning to understand the biological basis of aging even in relatively simple and short-lived organisms such as yeast. Sinclair however, makes a convincing argument for why the life-extension technologies will eventually offer possibilities of life prolongation using genetic engineering.

Continue reading “Harvard Professor Wants to Slow Down & Reverse Aging: David Sinclair’s Approach For a Longer Life” »

Summary: PLCG2-P522R, a genetic variant that protects against Alzheimer’s disease, enhances key functions of immune cells.

Source: University of Eastern Finland

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland found that the PLCG2-P522R genetic variant, which protects against Alzheimer’s disease, enhances several key functions of immune cells. The results obtained in the study highlight the importance of immune cells as a target of future development of new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Neanderthals have adopted male sex chromosome from modern humans.

In 1997, the very first Neanderthal DNA sequence — just a small part of the mitochondrial genome — was determined from an individual discovered in the Neander Valley, Germany, in 1856. Since then, improvements in molecular techniques have enabled scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to determine high quality sequences of the autosomal genomes of several Neanderthals, and led to the discovery of an entirely new group of extinct humans, the Denisovans, who were relatives of the Neanderthals in Asia.

However, because all specimens well-preserved enough to yield sufficient amounts of DNA have been from female individuals, comprehensive studies of the Y chromosomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans have not yet been possible. Unlike the rest of the autosomal genome, which represents a rich tapestry of thousands of genealogies of any individual’s ancestors, Y chromosomes have a peculiar mode of inheritance — they are passed exclusively from father to son. Y chromosomes, and also the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA, have been extremely valuable for studying human history.

Advanced imaging shows Parkinson’s can begin as brain-first or body-first.

Researchers have identified 160 genes linked to brain shrinkage in adults. The genes appear to be involved in brain development, vascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and some psychiatric conditions.0 genes linked to brain shrinkage in adults. The genes appear to be involved in brain development, vascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and some psychiatric conditions.0 genes linked to brain shrinkage in adults. The genes appear to be involved in brain development, vascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and some psychiatric conditions.

11 epigenetic clocks have been published since 2011, but which is best for predicting aging and age-related disease? In this video, I present findings from a recent publication, “Underlying features of epigenetic aging clocks in vitro and in vivo”, that compared data for 11 epigenetic clocks, and derived a new epigenetic clock, the meta-clock.