Lifeboat Foundation

Regenerative medicine and stem cells are often uttered within the same breath, for good reason.

In animal models, stem cells have reliably reversed brain damage from Parkinson’s disease, repaired severed spinal cords, or restored damaged tissue from diabetes, stroke, blood cancers, heart disease, or aging-related tissue damage. With the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in which skin and other tissue can be reversed into a stem cell-like state, the cells have further been adapted into bio-ink for 3D printing brand new organs.

Continue reading “New Progress in Stem-Cell-Free Regenerative Medicine” »

A number of physiological and psychological changes occur as we age, and many studies have shown that our gut microbiome also changes as we grow older. A fascinating new study is suggesting that a shift in gut bacteria in our middle-age could trigger a process that plays a role in cognitive decline in our later years. And diet may be the key to encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria that benefit healthy brain aging.

The N3 program aims to develop wearable devices that let soldiers to communicate directly with machines.

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France has found that amyloid fibrils lit with near-infrared radiation emit a dim, near-infrared signal. In their paper published in the journal Nature Photonics, the group describes their study of amyloid fibrils and plaques in mice and humans and what they found.

Amyloid fibrils are tiny structures that self-form in some proteins. When they clump together, they form what are known as amyloid plaques. They are associated with the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Despite years of study, it is still not known what causes them. In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn more about the early stages of fibril development by developing a way to see it happening.

Prior work had shown that when ultraviolet light shines onto tissue-containing proteins, the tissue emits blue light. Researchers have found that the emissions become stronger if there are fibrils present in the proteins. While this finding has been useful, it has only allowed for superficial study of fibril formation due to the shallow depth of UV and blue light penetration. In their experiments, the researchers tried firing near-field radiation at sample human proteins and found that and fibrils present would emit a dim, near-infrared signal. This was important, because unlike UV light, near-field radiation can penetrate relatively deeply into tissue.

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There’s better brain fuel than just caffeine.

Autism affects at least 2% of children in the United States—an estimated 1 in 59. This is challenging for both the patients and their parents or caregivers. What’s worse is that today there is no medical treatment for autism. That is in large part because we still don’t fully understand how autism develops and alters normal brain function.

One of the main reasons it is hard to decipher the processes that cause the disease is that it is highly variable. So how do we understand how autism changes the brain?

Using a new technology called single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we analyzed the chemistry inside specific brain cells from both healthy people and those with autism and identified dramatic differences that may cause this disease. These autism-specific differences could provide valuable new targets for drug development.

Continue reading “New autism research on single neurons suggests signaling problems in brain circuits” »

Exposure to environmental pollutants can cause alterations in brain development that affect sexual development and fertility for several generations, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The offspring of pregnant rats exposed to a mixture of common endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), at doses equivalent to those commonly experienced by people, showed impairments in sexual development and maternal behaviour that were passed on through several generations. These findings suggest that current levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in our environment may already be causing long-lasting harm and that people and agencies should take measures to minimise exposure.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with the normal function of our hormones and have previously been associated with infertility and altered sexual development in animals and people. We are exposed to hundreds of these pollutants in our daily lives, as they are used in the manufacture of plastics, pesticides and medicines. However, the extent of damage being done to our health and the consequences to future generations remains unclear. Rodent studies have suggested that exposure to EDCs can affect brain development through several generations but the generational effects on sexual development and reproduction have not previously been investigated.

In this study, David Lopez Rodriguez a graduate student in Anne-Simone Parent’s lab at the University of Liege in Belgium monitored the sexual development of three generations of rats, whose parent generation only were exposed to a mixture of common EDCs during pregnancy and lactation. The female rats born in the first and second generation showed impairments in their care for their own pups. However, the female rats in the second and third generation exhibited a delayed onset of puberty and altered reproductive cycle and ovarian follicle development, indicating that their fertility was affected, even though they were never themselves exposed to the EDCs. These changes were associated with altered gene expression in their brains that are known to affect how reproductive hormones are regulated.

Continue reading “Environmental toxins can impair sexual development and fertility of future generations” »

In 2018, researchers at the Biogerontology Research Foundation and the International Longevity Alliance submitted a joint proposal to the World Health Organization to re-classify aging as a disease. Months later, 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) officially introduced some aging-related conditions such as age-associated cognitive decline.

This matters because, for the first time in human history, the once natural process of aging is becoming recontextualized as a condition to be treated and prevented. This will gradually lead to pharmaceutical companies and governments redirecting funding to new drugs and therapies that not only extend human life expectancy but reverse the effects of aging entirely.

Thus far, people in developed nations have seen their average life expectancy rise from ~35 in 1820 to 80 in 2003. And with the advances you’re about to learn about, you’ll see how that progression will continue until 80 becomes the new 40. In fact, the first humans expected to live to 150 may have already been born.

Continue reading “Future of human population” »

Can we, as adults, grow new neurons? Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says that we can, and she offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis—improving mood, increasing memory formation and preventing the decline associated with aging along the way.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
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Continue reading “You can grow new brain cells. Here’s how | Sandrine Thuret” »