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Mitochondrial uncoupling by agents such as BAM15 may mitigate age-related decline in muscle mass and function by molecular and cellular bioenergetic adaptations that confer protection against sarcopenic obesity.

Background Sarcopenic obesity is a highly prevalent disease with poor survival and ineffective medical interventions. Mitochondrial dysfunction is purported to be central in the pathogenesis of sarcopenic obesity by impairing both organelle biogenesis and quality control. We have previously identified that a mitochondrial-targeted furazano[3,4-b]pyrazine named BAM15 is orally available and selectively lowers respiratory coupling efficiency and protects against diet-induced obesity in mice. Here, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial uncoupling simultaneously attenuates loss of muscle function and weight gain in a mouse model of sarcopenic obesity.

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A team of researchers at the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge in Portugal, working with a colleague at Lusófona University, also in Portugal, has found that the monkeypox virus has been evolving at a faster rate than expected. In their paper published in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers describe their genetic study of the virus collected from 15 samples.

Monkeypox is a double-stranded DNA virus from the same genus as smallpox, and it mostly infects people in Africa. Scientist have known of its existence since the 1950s. Despite its name, the virus is more commonly found in rodents than monkeys. Prior research has shown that there are two main varieties of monkeypox: West African and Congo Basin—the former is far less deadly and is the clade that has infected several thousand people outside Africa. Prior research has also shown that viruses like monkeypox typically only mutate once or twice in a given year.

In this new effort, the researchers collected samples from 15 patients and subjected them to to learn more about how quickly the virus is evolving. They found the virus has mutated at a rate six to 12 times as high as was expected. The researchers suggest the sudden accelerated rate of mutation in the virus may be a sign that the virus has developed a new way to infect people—currently, it is believed to move from person to person through close contact with open lesions, through body fluids or by airborne droplets.

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😳!!!

Anyone intending to toss the bike up on a car rack or into a truck should note that it isn’t lightweight, tipping the scales at 75 lb (34 kg). You can remove 9 lb (4 kg) of that just by taking the battery off. With a massive motor and large battery, you didn’t expect it to be a featherweight though, did you?

Outfitting the bike with massive 4″ fat tires didn’t do the weight any favors either, though it certainly helps the FT1000MD cover just about any terrain. With that much air volume, the damn thing almost floats.

Continue reading “CSC FT1000MD high-powered electric bike review: Hitting 34 MPH on a 1,000W fat tire e-bike” | >

Watch the launch from New Zealand of CAPSTONE, a new pathfinder CubeSat that will explore a unique orbit around the Moon!

The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, will be the first spacecraft to fly a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, where the pull of gravity from Earth and the Moon interact to allow for a nearly-stable orbit. CAPSTONE’s test of this orbit will lead the way for our future Artemis lunar outpost called Gateway.

CAPSTONE is targeted to launch at 5:55 a.m. EDT (9:55 UTC) Tuesday, June 28 on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.

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Researchers have discovered that the human liver never ages beyond just three years old, no matter how old an individual is.

The liver is an amazing organ. Not only is it capable of regenerating itself to repair damage from toxins, like alcohol, but the liver apparently never ages, either.

According to new research, the liver is almost always just under three years old. The concept of liver age has been a medical conundrum for decades. Studying animal livers has yet to offer any kind of answer, so scientists with TU Dresden looked at human livers to try to discern more about our body’s filter.

An international team of scientists at TU Dresden analyzed the livers of multiple individuals between the age of 20 and 84. Every individual’s liver cells showed that they were roughly the same age. “No matter if you are 20 or 84, your liver stays on average just under three years old,” Dr. Olaf Bergmann, lead researcher on the study, explained in a release.

Continue reading “Your liver is always less than three years old or younger” | >

A new phishing attack is using Facebook Messenger chatbots to impersonate the company’s support team and steal credentials used to manage Facebook pages.

Chatbots are programs that impersonate live support people and are commonly used to provide answers to simple questions or triage customer support cases before they are handed off to a live employee.

In a new campaign discovered by TrustWave, threat actors use chatbots to steal credentials for managers of Facebook pages, commonly used by companies to provide support or promote their services.

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Earthly space travelers have been trying to perfect orbital botany for a while now. Stable, sustainable off world agricultural practices are needed to make longer term exploration missions possible, and though the International Space Station (ISS) has seen a few successful low-orbit gardening endeavors, all have used some sort of soil or soil-replacing growth media.

Now, thanks to NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins, that could be starting to change. According to a NASA blog published last week, Watkins has begun to harvest radishes and mizuna greens aboard the ISS — grown without any soil whatsoever.

Growing any edible plants in space is always exciting, but using dirt-like growth materials presents potential resource, mess, and sanitation problems. And that’s why Watkins’ triumphant soilless crop could be a thrilling step towards a new age of interstellar discovery.

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