Lifeboat Foundation

In yet another study that has connected conditions in the gut to diseases of the brain, scientists have linked the cause of common blood vessel abnormalities in the brain to bacteria colonies in the stomach.

These malformations can lead to strokes called cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs), which don’t leave patients with many options — if surgery can’t be performed, there’s little left but palliative care. But figuring out what causes these abnormalities could led to treatments that block them before they even occur.

An international team led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania studied genetically engineered mice that were prone to developing vascular lesions in their brains.

Continue reading “Researchers Find Gut Bacteria Can Trigger Brain Lesions That Lead to Strokes” »

Abbott received the European CE Mark and is introducing its Confirm Rx Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM). Still sporting St. Jude Medical’s logo, now part of Abbott, the Confirm Rx features wireless Bluetooth connectivity to a paired app on the patient’s smartphone. This allows for transmission of cardiac event data to the patient’s cardiologist from just about anywhere there is cellular connectivity.

Unlike other similar devices, you don’t need a separate transmitter, like the Merlin system that has typically been employed, taking up space near the bed. And you can freely travel without having to bring another dedicated device.

Cardiac monitors such as these are used to detect heart arrhythmias in order to help identify their causes and triggers. Patients have them implanted under the skin in a procedure that takes only a few minutes, and then go about their usual days while being continuously monitored, with data uploading to a central hub on a regular basis.

Continue reading “Abbott Releases First Insertable Cardiac Monitor That Works with Your Smartphone” »

A pressure sensor printed directly on a hand is a step toward new biomedical devices, “on the fly” wearable technology, and more…

(Inside Science) — Wearable technology may soon be at your fingertips — literally. Researchers have developed a pressure sensor that can be 3D printed directly on your hand. The device, sensitive enough to feel a beating pulse, is made from soft, stretchy silicone that conforms to the curves of your fingertip.

Continue reading “3D Printing the Way to Bionic Humans” »

A new tool to address loss of proteostasis and destroy target proteins. It could potentially be used to destroy amyloids in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, heart disease and amyloidosis which are driven by misfolded protein aggregation.

A new therapy could be the basis for addressing one of the primary reasons we age, loss of proteostasis and the resulting accumulation of Amyloidosis. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Amloidosis, Lipofuscin and so on could all potentially be targets for this technique.

“University of Dundee researchers have shown that it is possible to rapidly target and destroy specific proteins in cells, raising the possibility of developing new ways of targeting ‘undruggable’ proteins in diseases.”

Continue reading “‘Protein missile’ raises possibility of disease breakthroughs” »

An article out yesterday by CBS News with a bit of my work and book in it. Lots of life extension stuff:

Entrepreneurs say a $25,000 high-tech health assessment will help people live longer, healthier lives, but not everyone’s convinced it’s a good idea.

An important breakthrough has been made in the eradication of AIDs. Scientists have found they can successfully snip out the HIV virus from mouse cells using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.

Right now patients with the deadly virus must use a toxic concoction of anti-retroviral medications to suppress the virus from replicating. However, CRISPR/Cas9 can be programmed to chop out any genetic code in the body with scissor-like precision, including, possibly, all HIV-1 DNA within the body. And if you cut out the DNA, you stop the virus from being able to make copies of itself.

Continue reading “Scientists have eliminated HIV in mice using CRISPR” »

VR medical training takes you inside the human body.

“Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known” — Sagan.

IMPORTANT NEW VIDEO: Mystical experiences induced by psychedelics predict long term positive changes in attitudes, mood, behavior and spirituality in patients. A group of scientists at prestigious research institutions — NYU, Johns Hopkins, MAPS and the Imperial College of London — are conducting studies with psilocybin, MDMA and LSD — which seem to induce mystical-type experiences — to treat end-of-life distress, alcohol and drug addiction, and PTSD. This video explains the nature of The Mystical Experience. Edited by Omid Pakbin music by FluxSeeds / filmed by Jason Goodman, creator of Salt Stage / produced with Ben Jacobson.

Until now, all artificial retinal research has used only rigid, hard materials. The new research, by Vanessa Restrepo-Schild, a 24 year old Dphil student and researcher at the Oxford University, Department of Chemistry, is the first to successfully use biological, synthetic tissues, developed in a laboratory environment. The study could revolutionise the bionic implant industry and the development of new, less invasive technologies that more closely resemble human body tissues, helping to treat degenerative eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Just as photography depends on camera pixels reacting to light, vision relies on the retina performing the same function. The retina sits at the back of the human eye, and contains protein cells that convert light into electrical signals that travel through the nervous system, triggering a response from the brain, ultimately building a picture of the scene being viewed.

Vanessa Restrepo-Schild led the team in the development of a new synthetic, double layered retina which closely mimics the natural human retinal process. The retina replica consists of soft water droplets (hydrogels) and biological cell membrane proteins. Designed like a camera, the cells act as pixels, detecting and reacting to light to create a grey scale image. The Colombian native said: “The synthetic material can generate electrical signals, which stimulate the neurons at the back of our eye just like the original retina.”

Continue reading “First Synthetic Retina Created” »