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A Billionaire-Backed Startup Wants to Grow ‘Organ Sacks’ to Replace Animal Testing

As the Trump administration phases out the use of animal experimentation across the federal government, a biotech startup has a bold idea for an alternative to animal testing: nonsentient “organ sacks.”

Bay Area-based R3 Bio has been quietly pitching the idea to investors and in industry publications as a way to replace lab animals without the ethical issues that come with living organisms. That’s because these structures would contain all of the typical organs—except a brain, rendering them unable to think or feel pain. The company’s long-term goal, cofounder Alice Gilman says, is to make human versions that could be used as a source of tissues and organs for people who need them.

For Immortal Dragons, a Singapore-based longevity fund that’s invested in R3, the idea of replacement is a core strategy for human longevity. “We think replacement is probably better than repair when it comes to treating diseases or regulating the aging process in the human body,” says CEO Boyang Wang. “If we can create a nonsentient, headless bodyoid for a human being, that will be a great source of organs.”

Not all organs age alike: AI unveils the molecular impact of menopause across the female body

Despite affecting half of the world’s population, menopause has historically been understudied and misunderstood, both in biomedical research and clinical practice. However, with the increase in life expectancy, the number of women in the postmenopausal stage continues to grow and, in 2021, those over 50 already represented 26% of the world’s population, according to the WHO.

Its effects go far beyond the reproductive system and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, neurodegenerative, and bone diseases. Nevertheless, few studies analyzed in depth how this process affects the female reproductive system as a whole, beyond the ovaries.

In this context, a new study by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center—Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), published in Nature Aging, presents the first large-scale atlas of female reproductive system aging, providing a new vision of how this process impacts health.

The Space Habitat Diaspora — Humanity Spreads Without Planets

Humanity may not colonize planets—we may build our own worlds. Explore how rotating space habitats could spread across the Solar System and beyond, forming a vast diaspora of artificial worlds that reshape civilization and interstellar expansion.

Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Watch my exclusive video Settling Saturn’s Rings: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall… 🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net ❤️ Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur ⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… 👥 Facebook Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 📣 Reddit Community: / isaacarthur 🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: / isaac_a_arthur 💬 SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: The Space Habitat Diaspora – Humanity Spreads Without Planets Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Graphics from Bryan Versteeg, Jeremy Jozwik, Sergio Botero, Udo Schroeter Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images 0:00 Intro — Rethinking What a World Can Be 2:37 Why Habitats Win on Physics, Engineering… and Scalability 10:13 The Birth of a Habitat Civilization 14:54 Nebula 15:54 Life Without Planets: Cultures That Grow in Steel Valleys 18:59 Resilience: Fragile Shells, Immortal Civilizations 21:37 The True Diaspora: Leaving the Solar System.

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall
🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
❤️ Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a
👥 Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264
📣 Reddit Community: / isaacarthur.
🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: / isaac_a_arthur.
💬 SFIA Discord Server: / discord.
Credits:
The Space Habitat Diaspora – Humanity Spreads Without Planets.
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Graphics from Bryan Versteeg, Jeremy Jozwik, Sergio Botero, Udo Schroeter.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.

0:00 Intro — Rethinking What a World Can Be.
2:37 Why Habitats Win on Physics, Engineering… and Scalability.
10:13 The Birth of a Habitat Civilization.
14:54 Nebula.
15:54 Life Without Planets: Cultures That Grow in Steel Valleys.
18:59 Resilience: Fragile Shells, Immortal Civilizations.
21:37 The True Diaspora: Leaving the Solar System.

Oxidative stress causes a reversible decrease of deubiquitylases activity in old vertebrate brains

Activity-based proteomics reveals a conserved decline in deubiquitylating enzyme activity in the aging vertebrate brain driven by oxidative stress. Antioxidant treatment restores activity, identifying redox-sensitive DUBs as early drivers of proteostasis decline.

Dying stars are devouring giant planets, astronomers discover

A new study suggests that aging stars may be wiping out the giant planets that orbit closest to them. The research, led by astronomers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Warwick, provides fresh evidence that these planets can be pulled inward and destroyed as their host stars evolve.

Stars like our Sun eventually run out of hydrogen fuel. When that happens, they begin to cool and expand, entering a phase known as a red giant. Scientists estimate that the Sun will reach this stage in about five billion years.

The new findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, are based on observations of nearly half a million stars that have recently entered this “post-main sequence” phase of their life cycle.

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