Lifeboat Foundation

Research in nonhuman primates is opening the possibility of testing treatments for the early stages of Alzheimer’s and similar diseases, before extensive brain cell death and dementia set in. A study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia shows up to a six-month window in which disease progress could be tracked and treatments tested in rhesus macaques.

This study identifies a small molecule (TAC) that restores physiological levels of TERT throughout aged tissues, resulting in the rejuvenation of multiple tissues. Specifically, TAC administration in very aged mice alleviates multiple aging hallmarks such as cellular senescence and systemic inflammation, promotes new neuron formation with improved cognitive ability, enhances neuromuscular function, and is well tolerated with no evidence of toxicity.

A little scifi sold again as near future situation.

Introducing Cognify, the prison of the future. This facility is designed to treat criminals like patients. Instead of spending years in an actual prison cell, prisoners could finish their sentence here in just a few minutes. Cognify could someday create and implant artificial memories directly into the prisoner’s brain. It could offer a new approach to criminal rehabilitation, transforming how society deals with offenders by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment. #Science #Technology #Research #NeuroScience #psychology.

Continue reading “The Prison of the Future — Cognify” »

A recent study at MIT has debunked the effectiveness of a new MRI method called DIANA, which was initially thought to directly detect neural activity.

Instead, the signals detected were found to be artifacts produced by the imaging process itself, highlighting the complexities and challenges in developing accurate neuroimaging techniques.

According to scientists at MIT’s McGovern Institute for Brain Research, a new way of imaging the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) does not directly detect neural activity as originally reported.

16 dic 2020.

The far-off tech is a peek into our possible cyberpunk future.

Good health depends on a healthy diet and sufficient exercise and sleep. There are clear associations among these components; for example, good nutrition provides energy for exercise, and many people report that getting enough exercise is important to their ability to get enough sleep. So how might nutrition affect sleep?

A new study looks at the connection between fruit and vegetable intake and sleep duration. The research, by a team from Finland’s University of Helsinki, National Institute for Health and Welfare, and Turku University of Applied Sciences, is published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Why sleep is important and how it works Sleep gives our bodies the chance to rest and recover from wakeful activity. Our hearts, blood vessels, muscles, cells, immune systems, cognitive abilities, and memory-making abilities depend on regular, healthy sleep for optimal functioning, and a 2019 study suggests that sleep is important for repairing DNA damage that occurs during wakefulness.

Scientists in Japan say they have reversed the signs of Alzheimer’s disease in lab mice by restoring the healthy function of synapses, critical parts of neurons that shoot chemical messages to other neurons.

The secret was developing a synthetic peptide, a small package of amino acids — a mini-protein, if you will — and injecting it up the nostrils of the mice, in an experiment they detailed in a study published in the journal Brain Research.

Needless to say, mice are very different from humans. But if the treatment successfully survives the gauntlet of clinical studies with human participants, it could potentially lead to a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a tragic degenerative condition that burdens tens of millions of people around the world.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health have discovered that “time cells” in mice are crucial for learning tasks where timing is critical. These cells change their firing patterns as mice learn to distinguish between timed events, suggesting a role beyond just measuring time. This finding could help in the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by highlighting the importance of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which is among the first brain regions affected by such diseases.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health found that “time cells” in mice adapt to learning timed tasks, a discovery that could aid early Alzheimer’s detection by monitoring changes in a key brain region.

Our perception of time is crucial to our interaction with and understanding of the world around us. Whether we’re engaging in a conversation or driving a car, we need to remember and gauge the duration of events—a complex but largely unconscious calculation running constantly beneath the surface of our thoughts.

A new approach to care may help people with cancer better manage depression, pain, and fatigue. With this approach, people may be offered weekly cognitive behavioral therapy sessions from a counselor and medicine for their symptoms.

Stepped collaborative care is an approach for managing symptoms such as depression, pain, and fatigue in people with cancer. It includes psychotherapy and medication if the symptoms are not reduced by psychotherapy alone.

A person’s symptoms are assessed every 4 weeks. If the symptoms are not in the normal range, health care providers change the frequency or type of treatment.

Continue reading “Approach Integrates Cancer Symptom Management into Routine Care” »