Lifeboat Foundation

A 10-year-long study called the PanCancer Atlas is releasing a trove of genetic data in an effort to help doctors treat a wide variety of cancers more precisely.

The history: Over the past decade, 150 researchers from the US and around the world painstakingly analyzed DNA, RNA, and proteins from tumor samples of more than 11,000 patients with 33 different types of cancer.

The findings: From that data, scientists have identified about 300 genes that drive tumor growth. They also found that just over half the tumors samples analyzed carry genetic mutations that could be targeted by therapies that are already on the market. These findings and others appear in 29 different papers today in the journal Cell.

Continue reading “300 Genes Found at The Root of Cancers Could Spur More Personalized Treatments” »

Protein synthesis is a critical part of how our cells operate and keep us alive and when it goes wrong it drives the aging process. We take a look at how it works and what happens when things break down.

Suppose that your full-time job is to proofread machine-translated texts. The translation algorithm commits mistakes at a constant rate all day long; from this point of view, the quality of the translation stays the same. However, as a poor human proofreader, your ability to focus on this task will likely decline throughout the day; therefore, the number of missed errors, and therefore the number of translations that go out with mistakes, will likely go up with time, even though the machine doesn’t make any more errors at dusk than it did at dawn.

To an extent, this is pretty much what is going on with protein synthesis in your body.

Continue reading “Protein Synthesis in Aging” »

Harvard professor Dr. David Sinclair reports that the NAD boosting NMN compound reverses aging in blood vessels and restores muscle strength in a new study published March 22nd. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Using the NAD boosting molecule NMN, Dr. David Sinclair’s team reversed blood vessel and muscle aging in mice, while boosting their exercise endurance. As Dr. Sinclair says.

“We’ve discovered a way to reverse vascular aging by boosting the presence of naturally occurring molecules in the body that augment the physiological response to exercise” adding “The approach stimulates blood vessel growth and boosts stamina and endurance in mice and sets the stage for therapies in humans to address the spectrum of diseases that arise from vascular aging.”

Continue reading “NMN and NAD Reverse Aging of Blood Vessels in New Study” »

Researchers just overturned a 70-year-old fundamental understanding of how our brains learn – paving the way for faster, more advanced AI applications and a different approach to medical treatments for brain disorders. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Researchers just overturned the way scientists thought our brains learn – a view that up until now has been widely accepted for almost 70 years.

This discovery-based upon new experimental evidence – paves the way for more modern artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as machine learning and deep learning algorithms that imitate our brain functions at a much faster speed with advanced features. Moreover, the research may change how doctors view disorders of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and may alter treatments for other forms of dementia.

Continue reading “Our Brain Learns Completely Differently Than Experts Assumed For Nearly A Century” »

Summary: Nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of vitamin B, increased levels of NAD report researchers in a new study. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts and was updated on April 3, 2018. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB) reported that nicotinamide riboside (NR) – a unique form of B vitamin – increased levels of NAD, in a clinical trial of healthy older adults. Senior study author Doug Seals, a professor and researcher in the Department of Integrative Physiology said

“This was the first ever study to give this novel compound to humans over a period of time,” adding “We found that it is well tolerated and appears to activate some of the same key biological pathways that calorie restriction does.”

Continue reading “New NR Vitamin Promising to Address Aging in Adults” »

Cutting calories by 15% may help protect us against age-related diseases, suggests a new report of a landmark calorie restriction trial with adults. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

The landmark CALERIE study reports that cutting calories by 15 percent slows down an aging metabolism and may help protect against age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, cancer and other ailments. The researchers published their results on March 22 in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The researchers found that calorie restriction decreased systemic oxidative stress, one of the nine hallmarks of aging linked to age-related diseases.

Continue reading “Calorie restriction improves our age-related diseases — new results of a landmark trial” »

New liquid biopsy tests could prevent most cancer deaths with an inexpensive blood draw, as firms bring their cancer tests to trials.

New liquid biopsy tests hold promise to prevent most cancer deaths with a simple, inexpensive blood draw. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

A simple blood test that tells if you have a tumor and where it is in your body is a lot closer to reality and may cost only $500. Johns Hopkins University (JHU) just announced a test earlier this year that detects eight common types of cancer. It may prove inexpensive enough to be prescribed during a routine physical.

Continue reading “New Liquid Biopsy Tests Aim to Prevent Cancer Mortality” »

Viagra reduces colorectal cancer odds in mice by 50%, says a new report which adds that a clinical trial should be the next step.

Summary: Viagra reduces colorectal cancer odds in mice by 50%, says a new report which adds that a clinical trial of low-dose Viagra should be the next step.[This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Viagra cut in half the formation of precancerous polyps that form before the onset of colorectal cancer, says cancer researcher Darren D. Browning Ph.D. – a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Director of the Biochemistry and Cancer Biology Graduate Program at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) in Augusta.

Continue reading “Daily Viagra May Reduce Colorectal Cancer Odds” »

Glow-in-the-dark tumors for cancer detection, and cryopreservation of organs are among the seven breakthrough technologies researchers announce.

Glow-in-the-dark cancer tumors, cryopreservation of organs and a vaccine patch are among the seven breakthrough medical technologies announced by researchers in a March 2018 release. [This article first appeared on LongevityFacts. Author: Brady Hartman. ]

Glow-in-the-dark cancer tumors, alcohol tattoos, MRI coils, a malaria pill, tracers that light up prostate cancer, cryopreservation of organs and a needle-free vaccine patch are breakthrough medical technologies sponsored by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and showcased in March of 2018.

Continue reading “7 Revolutionary Medical Technologies” »