These robotic patient simulators are a medical breakthrough that help doctors prepare for real-world experience.
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,488
An incurable affliction that gradually destroys a person’s ability to walk, speak, and eventually breathe can also deteriorate the mind, new research suggests. People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are more likely to have other mental and behavioral health problems than people without the condition, the study found.
ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurologic condition that affects some 20,000 Americans at any one time. In ALS, a person’s motor neurons throughout their body and brain steadily die off. These neurons are responsible for helping us carry out voluntary movement.
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The digital transformation of society has brought many immediate benefits: it’s created new jobs and services, boosted efficiency and promoted innovation. But when it comes to improving the way we govern, the story is not that simple.
It seems reasonable to imagine introducing digital information and communication technologies into public sector organisations – known as “digital government” or “e-government” – would have a beneficial impact on the way public services are delivered. For instance, by enabling people to claim rebates for medical bills via a government website.
When implemented well, e-government can reduce the cost of delivering government and public services, and ensure better contact with citizens – especially in remote or less densely populated areas. It can also contribute to greater transparency and accountability in public decisions, stimulate the emergence of local e-cultures, and strengthen democracy.
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Here in beautiful Basel, Switzerland we open the section Aging and Drug Discovery, actually an intersection of AI, longevity and drug discovery in the Innovation Forums of Basel Life Conference 2018. Dr Alex Zhavoronkov (InSilico Medicine) and Dr Morten Scheibye-Knudsen (University Copenhagen) welcomed us. Dr Jay Olshansky (University of Illinois at Chicago) gave the first lecture. Some examples for age face recognition were shown, emphasising the importance of wrinkles from smoking or others and suggesting that looking younger means living longer! After the wonderful lecture I immediately went to correct my make-up!
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Β-hydroxybutyrate seems to prevent senescence of vascular tissue.
According to a study by Georgia State University scientists, a molecule called β-hydroxybutyrate has anti-aging effects on the vascular system; more specifically, the molecule appears to prevent senescence of vascular cells by promoting cellular quiescence instead [1].
Study abstract
β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB) elevation during fasting or caloric restriction is believed to induce anti-aging effects and alleviate aging-related neurodegeneration. However, whether β-HB alters the senescence pathway in vascular cells remains unknown. Here we report that β-HB promotes vascular cell quiescence, which significantly inhibits both stress-induced premature senescence and replicative senescence through p53-independent mechanisms. Further, we identify heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1) as a direct binding target of β-HB binding to hnRNP A1 markedly enhances hnRNP A1 binding with Octamer-binding transcriptional factor Oct4 mRNA, which stabilizes Oct4 mRNA and Oct4 expression. Oct4 increases Lamin B1, a key factor against DNA damage-induced senescence. Finally, fasting and intraperitoneal injection of β-HB upregulate Oct4 and Lamin B1 in both vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells in mice in vivo.
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Utilizing new mobile application technology, researchers at The University of New Mexico found that medical cannabis provides immediate symptom relief across dozens of health symptoms with relatively minimal negative side effects.
In two recent studies titled, “Patient-Reported Symptom Relief Following Medical Cannabis Consumption,” and “Effectiveness of Raw, Natural Medical Cannabis Flower for Treating Insomnia under Naturalistic Conditions” published in the journals, Frontiers in Pharmacology and Medicines, respectively, UNM Department of Psychology Associate Professor Jacob Miguel Vigil and UNM Department of Economics Assistant Professor Sarah See Stith, document that patients experienced statistically and clinically significant therapeutic benefits when they used cannabis for symptoms ranging from chronic pain to insomnia.
These studies analyzed data collected with the Releaf App, developed by co-authors Franco Brockelman, Keenan Keeling and Branden Hall and currently, the largest repository of user-entered information on the consumption and effects of cannabis use in the United States with nearly 100,000 recorded user sessions.
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https://paper.li/e-1437691924#/
Descartes once described the human body as a “fleshy machine” and today’s transhumanists would likely agree.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom writes that as we seek to peer farther into posthumanity our ability to concretely imagine what it might be like trails offend that the very essence of posthumanity is to be able to have thoughts and experiences that we cannot readily think or experience with our current capacities.
Today’s advances in science and technology will profoundly change what we understand as human. According to transhumanist philosophy humanity until this point has been a story of development for the survival and reproduction, but today thanks to advances in science we are entering a new phase where human beings are masters of their destiny. Therefore the Transhumanist movement envisions a future full of possibilities by broadening our potential as species by overcoming aging, cognitive shortcomings, involuntary suffering, and our confinement to planet Earth.
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The German start-up company ELiSE creates the DNA of a technical part. Based on the DNA, automated design processes are used to find the best solution which considers all predefined constraints and which is produced by additive manufacturing. Meet ELiSE at ESA’s Start-ups Zone powered by ESA space solutions at IAC 2018.
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