Lifeboat Foundation

Brain cells receive sensory inputs from the outside world and send signals throughout the body telling organs and muscles what to do. Although neurons comprise only 10% of brain cells, their functional and genomic integrity must be maintained over a lifetime. Most dividing cells in the body have well-defined checkpoint mechanisms to sense and correct DNA damage during DNA replication.

Neurons, however, do not divide. For this reason, they are at greater risk of accumulating damage and must develop alternative repair pathways to avoid dysfunction. Scientists do not understand how neuronal DNA damage is controlled in the absence of replication checkpoints.

A recent study led by Cynthia McMurray and Aris Polyzos in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division addressed this knowledge gap, shedding light on how DNA damage and repair occur in the brain. Their results suggest that DNA damage itself serves as the checkpoint, limiting the accumulation of genomic errors in cells during natural aging.

Researchers experimentally demonstrated counterflow superfluidity, a quantum state where atoms flow in opposite directions simultaneously.

This video provides a progress update on cutting-edge research exploring epigenetic reprogramming and small molecule cocktails for cellular rejuvenation.

Dr David Sinclair delve into the latest studies on how these approaches can potentially reverse the effects of aging at the cellular level. Topics covered include:

Continue reading “Reverse Aging : Small Molecule Cocktail & Epigenetic Reprogramming | Dr David Sinclair” »

A serious knock to the head may also deliver an insidious blow to the human immune system – a one-two punch that could reawaken dormant viruses in the body, potentially contributing to neurodegenerative disease.

A study using stem cell ‘mini brains’ has shown that a herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection already ‘arrested’ by the immune system can shake off its shackles when brain tissue is injured.

“We thought, what would happen if we subjected the brain tissue model to a physical disruption, something akin to a concussion?” says biomedical engineer Dana Cairns from Tufts University in the US.

Read the 2021 Review Article “Immune and Genome Engineering as the Future of Transplantable Tissue” by Jennifer Elisseeff, PhD, Stephen F. Badylak, MD, DVM, PhD, and Jef D. Boeke, PhD, DSc.

What if a distant planet held the key to finding life beyond Earth? NASA’s discovery has scientists buzzing with curiosity.

This revelation might bring us closer to answering one of humanity’s biggest questions: Are we truly alone in the universe?

Continue reading “NASA Discovered Planet Bigger Than Earth With a Gas That Is ‘Only Produced by Life’” »

Can artificial intelligence decode the secrets of life itself? Scientists are working on creating virtual cells that behave like real ones, potentially transforming medical research. But is this groundbreaking vision closer to reality—or still a distant dream?

Even so, many wonder: If the universe is at bottom deterministic (via stable laws of physics), how do these quantum-like phenomena arise, and could they show up in something as large and complex as the human brain?

Quantum-Prime Computing is a new theoretical framework offering a surprising twist: it posits that prime numbers — often celebrated as the “building blocks” of integers — can give rise to “quantum-like” behavior in a purely mathematical or classical environment. The kicker? This might not only shift how we view computation but also hint at new ways to understand the brain and the nature of consciousness.

Below, we explore why prime numbers are so special, how they can host quantum-like states, and what that might mean for free will, consciousness, and the future of computational science.

Theoretical physicists predict the existence of exotic “paraparticles” that defy classification and could have quantum computing applications.

By Davide Castelvecchi & Nature magazine

Theoretical physicists have proposed the existence of a new type of particle that doesn’t fit into the conventional classifications of fermions and bosons. Their ‘paraparticle’, described in Nature on January 8, is not the first to be suggested, but the detailed mathematical model characterizing it could lead to experiments in which it is created using a quantum computer. The research also suggests that undiscovered elementary paraparticles might exist in nature.