Lifeboat Foundation

Sea anemones are seemingly immortal animals. They seem to be immune to aging and the negative impacts that humans experience over time. However, the exact reasons for their eternal youth are not completely understood.

The genetic fingerprint of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis reveals that members of this incredibly ancient animal phylum employ the same gene cascades for neural cell differentiation as more complex organisms. These genes are also in charge of maintaining the balance of all cells in the organism during the anemone’s lifetime. These findings were recently published in the journal Cell Reports by a group of developmental biologists headed by Ulrich Technau of the University of Vienna.

Almost all animal organisms are made up of millions, if not billions, of cells that join together in intricate ways to create specific tissues and organs, which are made up of a range of cell types, such as a variety of neurons and gland cells. However, it is unclear how this critical balance of diverse cell types emerges, how it is regulated, and if the different cell types of different animal organisms have a common origin.

Being called birdbrained should be a compliment. bigsmile

In cognitive tests for recognizing certain types of patterns, crows outperformed monkeys.

For a portion of people who get COVID, symptoms continue for months or even years after the initial infection. This is commonly referred to as “long COVID”.

Some people with long COVID complain of “brain fog”, which includes a wide variety of cognitive symptoms affecting memory, concentration, sleep and speech. There’s also growing concern about findings that people who have had COVID are at increased risk of developing brain disorders, such as dementia.

Scientists are working to understand how exactly a COVID infection affects the human brain. But this is difficult to study, because we can’t experiment on living people’s brains. One way around this is to create organoids, which are miniature organs grown from stem cells.

University of Missouri researchers made the discovery while using bioluminescent imaging technology to study how nicotinamide riboside supplements work inside the body.

Commercial dietary supplements like nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of vitamin B3, were linked to benefits related to cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological health in previous studies. However, new research from the University of Missouri (MU) has found NR could actually increase the risk of serious disease, including developing cancer.

Supplements containing nicotinamide riboside are often marketed as NAD+ boosters claimed benefits including increased energy, anti-aging/longevity/healthy aging, improved cellular energy metabolism and repair, increased vitality, and improved heart health.

𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞-𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛.𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙚—𝙂𝙧𝙚́𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙀𝙋𝙁𝙇, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙣𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙝, 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙃𝙤𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡 (𝘾𝙃𝙐𝙑)—𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

Continue reading “Scientists identify neurons that restore walking after paralysis” »

Ever wonder why some 90-year olds don’t seem to slow down and seem. to retain the mental and physical capacity of someone half their age?
Do they have good genes? Or is there a way that all of us can get older without getting old?

That’s what Dr. Nir Barzilai, founder of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, set out to answer in his book, Age Later.

Continue reading “A discussion with Dr. Nir Barzaili on Age Later” »

Scientists have managed to do what many might have thought impossible. According to new research published in the journal Nature, a group of researchers from the Swiss research group NeuroRestore was able to identify neurons that could restore the ability to walk in paralyzed individuals. The researchers published their findings back in September.

The stadiums include a quiet room for those with cognitive disabilities.

The FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar this year is leading the way in accessibility for specially-abled people, according to a report by Euronews.

The technologically advanced stadiums aren’t only wheelchair accessible, other amenities have also been included, such as a quiet room for those suffering from autism and other cognitive disabilities. The room is meant to give a safe haven for those overwhelmed by the World Cup’s loud crowds.

“You can think of curiosity as a kind of reward which the agent generates internally on its own, so that it can go explore more about its world,” Agrawal said. This internally generated reward signal is known in cognitive psychology as “intrinsic motivation.” The feeling you may have vicariously experienced while reading the game-play description above — an urge to reveal more of whatever’s waiting just out of sight, or just beyond your reach, just to see what happens — that’s intrinsic motivation.

Humans also respond to extrinsic motivations, which originate in the environment. Examples of these include everything from the salary you receive at work to a demand delivered at gunpoint. Computer scientists apply a similar approach called reinforcement learning to train their algorithms: The software gets “points” when it performs a desired task, while penalties follow unwanted behavior.