Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: biotech/medical – Page 893

The Immortals: meet the billionaires forking out for eternal life

The Conboys’ statement on plasma dilution is important:

The pair are quick to add that this isn’t going to have a Benjamin Button effect, and the research “wasn’t geared to make old people young” – even if this idea is being bio-hacked around the world. “It was clear that there were improvements after a couple of procedures,” says Irina. “[But] it’s not really healthy or rejuvenating to drain somebody of 70% of their blood and replace it with something.” She warns people to wait until more research is done.

Still, they believe that in the next five years we will see huge advancements in prolonging life treatments – including taking a pill instead of getting blood, and a “fountain of middle age”. “People will be able to have this high quality, productive life where they are healthy for many more decades,”

A fascinating and often terrifying new podcast delves into the lengths ‘longevity superstars’ will go to make 90 the new 50, from swapping blood with the young to designing the first ‘post-humans’

NTx Awarded Contract to Demonstrate Novel RNA Vaccine Production Platform

BARDA is part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The NTxscribe platform is a cell-free, continuous flow manufacturing system that reportedly delivers scalable RNA (including mRNA and self-amplifying RNA) materials in a tabletop footprint. This enzymatic process is designed to provide a low cost and rapidly deployable, vertically integrated manufacturing system, according to Jamie Coffin, PhD, CEO of NTx. Through this program, the system is being evaluated for its express development of RNA vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases, as well as its capability for distributed biomanufacturing.

“The traditional batch processes for developing vaccines and other biologics are burdensome and cannot be scaled quickly in the event of an emergency,” said Coffin. “Over the course of this project, we will aim to prove that NTxscribe can help BARDA meet its goals toward decentralized and rapidly deployable vaccine manufacturing.”

Most Brain Aneurysms Don’t Cause Symptoms

You could be walking around with an unruptured brain aneurysm. But don’t panic – the Brain Aneurysm Foundation estimates that about 1 in 50 people in the U.S. has an unruptured brain aneurysm. Director of Endovascular Neurosurgery Koji Ebersole, MD, says people are surprised to learn that the majority of aneurysms don’t cause any symptoms.

An aneurysm develops when a vessel in the brain has a thin spot, which then fills with blood, creating a bulge or balloon shape. Most brain aneurysms are small, about the size of a pea. Because the brain itself has no sensory fibers, there is no pain and the brain doesn’t register that the aneurysm is there.

“Most patients find out they have an aneurysm for a completely unrelated reason,” Dr. Ebersole says. “Maybe they’re having trouble with their sinuses and have a CT scan and the doctors find an aneurysm. When you learn you have an aneurysm, it’s important to meet with a physician who’s practiced in neurology to talk about the implications.”

Local surgeon performs first-of-its-kind surgery that could change landscape for transplant patients

Can stem cells block organ transplant rejection?

Organ transplant patients traditionally go through a grueling journey post operation, which involves a copious amount of medication for life. After years of research, Dr. Jeffrey Veale has performed a first-of-its kind surgery that could entirely change the landscape for patients. Rudabeh Shahbazi reports.

Gastrointestinal Syndromes May Predict Parkinson’s Disease, Study Suggests

A recent study published in BMJ Gut conducted using a nationwide medical record network in the United States has shed light on potential links between gastrointestinal (GI) syndromes and the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Researchers led by Bo Konings aimed to determine whether specific GI conditions and interventions precede the onset of PD when compared with negative controls, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and cerebrovascular diseases (CVD).

Here are the key findings from the study:

● PD-Specific Associations: The study identified several GI conditions that exhibited specific associations with PD in both case-control and cohort analyses. These conditions included gastroparesis, dysphagia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) without diarrhoea, and constipation.

Scientists Are Using Fungus To Create The Terminator

Researchers Antoni Gondia and Andrew Adamatzky recently gave a robot living skin made of fungus (via Futurism). Any science enthusiast understands that the power of science can be quite astounding at times, but recreating the Terminator in real life might be a little terrifying for some.

Inspired by the skin of the Terminator, researchers are using fungus to create a bio-organic skin over non-killer robots.

In fact, the scientists openly admit that their goal was to recreate a pivotal scene in The Terminator (1984) where one of the robots is seen receiving an implantation of living skin. Though the robot’s skin is an external addition, it is able to collect data from the addition and heal any wounds incurred.