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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,926

Study shows low socioeconomic status people experience more declines in age-related functions

A pair of researchers at University College London has found that people with low socioeconomic status experience more declines in age-related functions as they grow older than do people who have a higher socioeconomic status. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Andrew Steptoe and Paola Zaninotto describe their study of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and what they learned.

Prior research has shown that tend to suffer more adverse health effects than those who are better off. They also tend to die younger. But one area of aging that has not been well-studied is the impact of poverty on age-related functional decline, associated with such symptoms as loss of hearing or muscle strength. To learn more about the relationship between socioeconomic status and age-related functional decline, the researchers analyzed data in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing—an ongoing long-term study of the aging process. Launched in 2002, the study involved collecting data on volunteers aged 50 and over as they grew older. The data includes both medical and physical information, along with test results designed to measure cognitive and emotional levels. The data sample for this new effort included information on 5,018 people 52 years of age or older as they aged over periods of six to eight years.

The researchers found that people living at the lower end of the economic spectrum performed worse on every measure of age-related functionality. Those less well-off lost grip strength, lung function, gait speed, processing speed and executive function. They also tended to report enjoying life less than those who were more affluent. The researchers noted their findings were independent of race, gender, education or age. They also found that those of lesser means experienced more and were more likely to be depressed.

Here’s what potential Mars colonists really need from Earth: A large gene pool

Sending a handful of people certainly could serve as a proof of concept analogous to America’s Spanish and Portuguese outposts in the early 1500’s, or the English and Dutch settlements in the early 1600’s. In these instances the populations measured in the dozens and would not have amounted to a lasting European presence had they not been followed by thousands of new settlers over the next few decades. But, given our more advanced technology, our level of medicine, the idea that humans could have equipment that will utilize the Martian environment to produce food, air, and other consumables, and the certainty that settlers will not be at war with the Martian equivalent of the Aztecs or Incas—couldn’t a Martian settlement survive long term with just a low number of colonists?

The answer is no—not if the goal is a permanent human presence. Not if the goal is to provide our species with some kind of extinction insurance against planetary disaster on Earth, such as a mega-volcanic eruption, nuclear war, or some other existential threat. Mars setters can use technology to get air and food from the Mars environment, but early European explorers in the New World had access to one natural resource that mid-21st century Mars colonists will not be able to manufacture: a human gene pool.

If we really want Martian colonies, we can’t send just a few Adams and Eves. We can’t set-up a Martian Jamestown of 100 people. Long-term survival will depend on the genetic diversity of a large gene pool, and this means the Elon Musk plan of sending thousands might be the only colonization plan that could work.

Small Business Live

There’s nothing small about the impact small businesses have on local communities. They turn towns into hometowns and strangers into neighbors.

And right now, they need our support.

That’s why we’re bringing you —a one-day musical experience to raise money for Accion Opportunity Fund to provide grants to the most at-risk small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, with a focus on those run by women and people of color.

Join us as we cross the country to hear top musicians deliver unforgettable performances from unique locations, and share stories of the businesses they know and love.

Act Now. Support Small. Sat. June 20th 4PM — 10PM ET

Continue reading “Small Business Live” | >

Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug

UK experts say the low-dose steroid treatment is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus.

It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

The drug is part of the world’s biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.

Researchers estimate that if the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the coronavirus pandemic up to 5,000 lives could have been saved. Because it is cheap, it could also be of huge benefit in poorer countries struggling with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.

Experts say there should be no delay in getting the cheap drug to patients after “fantastic” trial results.

Diluting blood plasma rejuvenates tissue, reverses aging in mice

In 2005, University of California, Berkeley, researchers made the surprising discovery that making conjoined twins out of young and old mice—such that they share blood and organs—can rejuvenate tissues and reverse the signs of aging in the old mice. The finding sparked a flurry of research into whether a youngster’s blood might contain special proteins or molecules that could serve as a “fountain of youth” for mice and humans alike.

But a new study by the same team shows that similar age-reversing effects can be achieved by simply diluting the of old mice—no needed.

In the study, the team found that replacing half of the blood plasma of old mice with a mixture of saline and albumin—where the albumin simply replaces that was lost when the original blood plasma was removed—has the same or stronger rejuvenation effects on the brain, liver and muscle than pairing with young mice or young blood exchange. Performing the same procedure on had no detrimental effects on their health.

Don’t Conceal Your Age. Instead, Slow Aging at the Cellular Level

Why does this happen?

To put things as simply as possible, the root cause of all aging is a loss of energy on the cellular level, and there are basically two major theories for why this occurs. One says cellular energy decline is the result of accumulated cellular and mitochondrial damage. In other words, it’s the result of wear and tear on a cellular level. The other theory speculates that it is the result of genetic programming, with some genes getting overexpressed while others get underexpressed as we age.

These two theories of cellular energy decline aren’t in competition with one another. They just look at the problem from two different vantage points. The reality is these “causes” are interrelated. Gene overexpression and underexpression can cause cellular damage. Cellular damage can impair gene expressions.

The Pandemic Claims New Victims: Prestigious Medical Journals

I remember I looked over a study from the Lancet. I questioned it. I have also read other studies, and I have questioned them. At least I know my questioning was within reason now. People can not spike studies and expect to get away with it, as the truth always comes out in the end.

Two major study retractions in one month have left researchers wondering if the peer review process is broken.

Three people with inherited diseases successfully treated with CRISPR

Two people with beta thalassaemia and one with sickle cell disease no longer require blood transfusions, which are normally used to treat severe forms of these inherited diseases, after their bone marrow stem cells were gene-edited with CRISPR.

Result of the ongoing trial, which is the first to use CRISPR to treat inherited genetic disorders, were announced today at a virtual meeting of the European Hematology Association.