Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,532

Announcing Two Ini Postdoctoral Fellowships

Ini Fellowship in Neuroscience Research

The Iowa Neuroscience Institute ( INI ), part of the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa, seeks talented postdoctoral scientists to engage in cutting-edge neuroscience research. The INI was established in January 2017, supported by a transformational $45 million grant to the University of Iowa from The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. Led by Director Ted Abel, Ph.D., the INI is a comprehensive and cross-disciplinary neuroscience center spanning 5 colleges and 26 departments, dedicated to finding the causes of — and preventions, treatments, and cures for — the many diseases that affect the brain and nervous system. Successful candidates will join a strong cohort of postdoctoral fellows working in the field of neuroscience, such as those participating in the NIH –funded INSPIRE program. The University of Iowa Postdoctoral Association provides a variety of social and professional development opportunities on campus.

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As of June, a total of 31 states and the District of Columbia allow for the use of medical marijuana. Pain is the most common reason people say they need this cannabis and the vast majority of users say that it helps. However, despite the claims of the many individuals who believe that cannabinoids — the chemicals in marijuana — can ease pain, it’s been difficult for scientists to explain why. Researchers published in JAMA Psychiatry now claim to clarify the discrepancy.

In a systematic review and meta-analysis released Wednesday, scientists from Syracuse University explain that while studies can’t currently prove that cannabinoid drugs reduce pain, research does demonstrate that they can help with the experience of feeling pain. An evaluation of 18 studies that included 442 adults revealed that the use of cannabinoid drugs modestly increased people’s threshold for pain and reduced pain’s overall sensation of unpleasantness. This suggests to the researchers that cannabis’ analgesic properties, or ability to relieve pain, affect the mind rather than the body.

“This [result] is especially salient because managing chronic pain is not solely about minimizing pain,” Kevin Boehnke, Ph.D., who was not involved in the study, tells Inverse. Boehnke is currently a part of a University of Michigan study also analyzing the effect of cannabis on chronic pain. “Sleep problems, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and other factors tie into the experience of chronic pain.”

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Today, we would like to share a talk given by Stephen Hilbert, President of Oisin Biotechnologies, in which he discusses treating aging and cancer by removing harmful senescent cells.

On July 12th, we hosted our first conference, Ending Age-Related Diseases: Investment Prospects & Advances in Research, at the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, which is part of the Cooper Union campus in New York City. The packed event saw a range of people from research, investment, and the wider community coming together for a day of science and biotech business presentations and panels.

One of the companies at the event was Oisin Biotechnologies, a company working on therapies that remove harmful senescent cells, which accumulate as we age and drive aging processes through the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which leads to chronic inflammation.

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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.

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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.

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