Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: health – Page 43

Inside every cell, inside every nucleus, your continued existence depends on an incredibly complicated dance. Proteins are constantly wrapping and unwrapping DNA, and even minor missteps can lead to cancer. A new study from the University of Chicago reveals a previously unknown part of this dance—one with significant implications for human health.

In the study, published Oct. 2 in Nature, a team of scientists led by UChicago Prof. Chuan He, in collaboration with University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Prof. Mingjiang Xu, found that RNA plays a significant role in how DNA is packaged and stored in your cells, via a gene known as TET2. The paper is titled “RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis.”

This pathway also appears to explain a long-standing puzzle about why so many cancers and other disorders involve TET2-related mutations—and suggests a set of new targets for treatments.

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The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded $45 million to rapidly develop sense-and-respond implant technology that could slash U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than 50%.

Announced today, the award to a multi-institutional team of researchers, including Carnegie Mellon University, will fast-track development and testing of a new approach to cancer treatment that aims to dramatically improve immunotherapy outcomes for patients with ovarian, pancreatic, and other difficult-to-treat cancers.

schematic of the implant technology
Source: Brandon Martin/Rice University. The “hybrid advanced molecular manufacturing regulator,” or HAMMR, a “closed-loop,” drug-producing implant smaller than an adult’s finger is being developed to treat ovarian, pancreatic, and other difficult-to-treat cancers. The implant, which is small enough to be implanted with minimally-invasive surgery, will be able to continuously monitor a patient’s cancer and adjust their immunotherapy dose in real time.

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The chapter summarizes the current information available from a variety of scientifically based guidelines and resources on dietary advice for those with diabetes. It is a practical overview for health care practitioners working in diabetes management. The chapter is divided into sections by content and includes sources for further reading. A primary message is that nutrition plans should meet the specific needs of the patient and take into consideration their ability to implement change. Often starting with small achievable changes is best, with larger changes discussed as rapport builds. Referral to medical nutrition therapy (MNT) provided by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) program is highlighted. For complete coverage of all related areas of Endocrinology, please visit our on-line FREE web-text, WWW.ENDOTEXT.ORG.

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Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently.

Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females.

It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences in our immune systems. For example, the immune condition systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nine-times more likely to affect women, or with COVID-19, males are known to have a greater risk of acute first-time infections, while females have a greater risk of long-COVID.

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New steps have been taken towards a better understanding of the immediate and long-term impact of COVID-19 on the brain in the UK’s largest study to date.

Published in Nature Medicine, the study from researchers led by the University of Liverpool alongside King’s College London and the University of Cambridge as part of the COVID-CNS Consortium shows that 12–18 months after hospitalisation due to COVID-19, patients have worse cognitive function than matched control participants. Importantly, these findings correlate with reduced brain volume in key areas on MRI scans as well as evidence of abnormally high levels of brain injury proteins in the blood.

Strikingly, the post-COVID cognitive deficits seen in this study were equivalent to twenty years of normal ageing. It is important to emphasise that these were patients who had experienced COVID, requiring hospitalisation, and these results shouldn’t be too widely generalised to all people with lived experience of COVID. However, the scale of deficit in all the cognitive skills tested, and the links to brain injury in the brain scans and blood tests, provide the clearest evidence to date that COVID can have significant impacts on brain and mind health long after recovery from respiratory problems.

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Summary: A new study reveals that the absence of the TRMT10A enzyme disrupts tRNA levels, leading to impaired protein synthesis and brain function. Researchers found that mice lacking the Trmt10a gene had decreased levels of key tRNAs, which affected neuronal synapses and cognitive abilities.

The findings suggest that while tRNA reduction occurs in multiple tissues, the brain is particularly vulnerable to its effects. This research could pave the way for new therapies targeting tRNA modification to treat intellectual disabilities.

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This is actually an addition to Genevieve’s post on CubeSat.

Humans are returning to the Moon for the first time in decades, and we intend to stay. NASA’s Artemis missions are preparing for a sustained human presence on and around the Moon, with the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars. These deep-space destinations present health risks to astronauts that are qualitatively and quantitatively different from those associated with stays on the International Space Station (ISS). One of the most significant risks for astronauts venturing outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field is ionizing radiation: Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR), Solar Particle Events (SPE), and the “albedo” radiation produced by the interaction of space radiation with the lunar surface. Exposure to ionizing radiation can result in an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological impairment.

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Hi folks, I’d like to invite you to a webinar I will be giving on my research, hosted by the Foresight Institute! It takes place this Friday at 12:00pm CST. You can sign up on the linked page. The donation is optional, so if you don’t want to donate, you can just put $0.00. I hope to see you there!

Biotech and Health Extension sponsored by 100 Plus Capital

Viruses inside vaults: a powerful new gene therapy delivery system

Bio: Logan Thrasher Collins is a synthetic biologist, author, and futurist. He is currently a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. Logan began engaging in scientific research during his sophomore year of high school when he created a new synthetic biology approach for combatting antibiotic resistant infections. Since then, he has led research projects on developing x-ray microscopy techniques for connectomics, using molecular dynamics simulations to study SARS-CoV-2, and inventing novel gene therapy delivery systems. Logan has spoken at TEDxMileHigh and has published peer-reviewed scientific papers on his research. He has also published science fiction and sci-fi poetry and as well as a peer-reviewed philosophy journal article. Logan passionately advocates for applying interdisciplinary solutions to global challenges and leverages both the arts and sciences to help build a bright future.

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