http://www.blogtalkradio.com/unlimited-realities-with-lisa-z…lth-future
Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,437
Buck Institute on the elimination of aging diseases for this and further generations:
September is Healthy Aging Month, and here at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, we are on a mission to end the threat of age-related disease for this and future generations. We believe it is possible for people to enjoy healthy lives at age 95 as much as they do at 25, and to achieve that, we’re seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the biology of aging itself.
Over the last century, average human lifespan has been increasing at a rate of approximately 2 years per decade, primarily due to advancements in antibiotics and other medical treatments, as well as improved public health efforts. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2035, people over the age of 65 will outnumber people under 18 for the first time in U.S. history. This means that there is an increasing population of older adults who suffer in the later years of life from chronic diseases including diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. While basic scientific research has provided a lot of insight into the causes and potential treatments of individual diseases, the root cause of these and many other chronic diseases is the biological process of aging.
The goal of the Buck Institute and several other aging research groups across the country is to study and understand more about the underlying mechanisms of aging so that we may find new therapeutic targets to help us delay or even eradicate age-related diseases. The results so far are very compelling. By focusing on the biological mechanisms of aging such as cellular senescence (normal cells stop dividing), chronic inflammation, and changes in metabolism, scientists have been able to extend the disease-free lifespan of laboratory model organisms including flies, worms, and mice. The challenge now is to translate these discoveries into the clinic and determine the best preventative practices to maintain health throughout our lifetime.
Read more
If you are able to get to Leiden there is an event in support of Lifespan.io on September 29, 12:00 AM – 2:00 PM CEST.
Ending aging and getting rid of its associated conditions is one of humanity’s most ancient dreams. Some of our earliest myths are about heroes going on a quest to find a way to make the whole of mankind forever young. With the current progress in aging research, this is not a dream anymore. In laboratories around the globe, researchers are conducting experiments that show that aging is amenable to medical intervention; we can slow it down and even reverse some age-related changes. As recent experiments on mice demonstrate, there are various ways to postpone aging. Among the most promising treatments are the elimination of harmful senescent cells, drugs that enhance metabolism, genetic and cellular therapies, and calorie restriction. These treatments extend the healthy period of life, and, as a welcome side effect, lifespan in mice by over 25–30%. Some of these methods are currently in human clinical trials and are expected to reach the market 5–10 years from now.
Read more
When the California two-spot octopus isn’t attempting to bring more eight-legged cephalopods into this world, it prefers to be alone. Known to scientists as Octopus bimaculoides, the alien-like invertebrate spends most of its time hiding from the world or searching for food, asocial males avoiding asocial females until their biological clocks say it’s time to partner up. That is, until they are on MDMA. In a groundbreaking study released Thursday, researchers describe how octopuses on the drug act similarly to a socially anxious human on MDMA: They open up.
Gül Dölen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University and the co-author of the new Current Biology paper. She tells Inverse that when octopuses are on MDMA, it’s like watching “an eight-armed hug.”
“They were very loose,” Dölen says. “They just embraced with multiple arms.”
Read more
James Peyer has been a scientist, entrepreneur, and advisor to biotechs and pharma companies, always with a specialization for developing new classes of therapeutics. James founded Apollo to support biotech entrepreneurs strategically, scientifically, and financially as they create the next generation of medicines.
James Peyer received his PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow and worked on the basic biology of stem cells and improving gene therapies. He founded his first company, Genotyp, at 21 to overhaul hands-on science education in the US. Genotyp’s innovative biotech equipment leasing model and instructor training earned it the approval of the White House and the National Institutes of Health. It became the first biotech company to receive funding through Kickstarter.com. He received a BA with special honors from the University of Chicago, where he studied immunology.
Discoveries in aging biology are ready for acceleration to the clinic, where they can treat age-related disease and extend healthy lifespan.
Read more
All three of these surprising achievements are highlighted in the Goalkeepers 2018 Data Report, written by Bill and Melinda Gates and released on Sept. 18. But the dispatch—an assessment of the progress made so far on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and done with the help of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation—is anything but rah-rah. For every encouraging data point, indeed, there is one that alarms. For every promising advance in the global war on poverty and disease is a perilous outcome if we lose focus or steam.
A report from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on four key areas: Health, education, sanitation, and family planning.
Read more
