To keep the longevity train rolling it may not be enough to cure diseases. We may also need to address the underlying condition of aging itself, which is, after all, the primary risk factor for late-life decline.
What happens if we slow down aging?
Space weaponization is on the rise between the 3 super powers. This is dangerous and it could lead to the Stone Age.
HELSINKI — Russia and China have formally invited countries and international organizations to join the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project being developed by the two nations.
China National Space Administration (CNSA) and Russia’s Roscosmos said the ILRS project would be open to participation at all stages and levels. This includes planning, design, research, development, implementation and operations.
Fate Therapeutics on Thursday reported new results from two early-stage studies testing two types of experimental leukemia treatments that use natural killer cells, an emerging form of cancer immunotherapy.
Research into NK cell treatments remains early, and the field has significant hurdles still to overcome, like proving how potent their effects are and how long they last. It’s unclear what role they’ll play in cancer care. But encouraging signs are emerging, most notably from a lymphoma treatment developed by the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The field’s progress has led to the launch of multiple startups and elevated the profile of biotechs like Fate and Nkarta Therapeutics, the most advanced, publicly traded companies developing the technology. NK cells are “becoming a very important tool and cell type within this fight against cancer,” said CRISPR Therapeutics CEO Sam Kulkarni in an interview after the biotech formed a broad partnership with Nkarta last week.
Continue reading “Fate offers glimpse at ‘natural killer’ cell therapy for leukemia” »
Scientists have been aware of the existence of stem cells since the 1900’s, but it wasn’t until the turn of the millennium that the medical community (and in turn the public) sat up and took notice of their potential. Unfortunately, the first public debut of stem cell therapy in the eyes of the public was through the political and moral minefield of deriving stem cell lines from human embryos. It was long before religious and secular objections lead to President Bush Banning any Federal funding for studies utilising newly created stem cell lines. The public opinion of stem cells was extremely polarised, with the public split heavily down the middle, between support and condemnation. What happened next was unfortunately as predictable as the tide coming in.
To compensate for the pushback against stem cell research, more and more extravagant claims were made in support of stem cells. Although most of these claims were based upon perfectly reasonable extrapolation from what was known of the potential for stem cells, the time frame in which these advances could be made was wildly underestimated. Confounding that problem was the fact that it would be many years until a method through which stem cells could be reverse engineered from a patient’s tissue, which meant that medical treatments had to based around stem cell lines derived from embryonic stem cell lines, which as discusses previously was an ethical nightmare, as well as being logically untenable for the majority of people (as most people don’t have embryonic tissue samples stored away for future use). Great promises were made to the public, without a full understanding of what was needed in order to get stem cell therapy to a functional level.
Check out this short educational video in which I explain some super exciting research in the area of nanotechnology: gigadalton-scale DNA origami! I specifically discuss a journal article by Wagenbauer et al. titled “Gigadalton-scale shape-programmable DNA assemblies”.
Here, I explain an exciting nanotechnology paper “Gigadalton-scale shape-programmable DNA assemblies” (https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24651).
Continue reading “Gigadalton-scale DNA origami nanostructures explained” »
A team of Leiden astronomers has managed to calculate the first 100 million years of the history of the Oort cloud in its entirety. Until now, only parts of the history had been studied separately. The cloud, with roughly 100 billion comet-like objects, forms an enormous shell at the edge of our solar system. The astronomers will soon publish their comprehensive simulation and its consequences in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
The Oort cloud was discovered in 1950 by the Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort to explain why there continue to be new comets with elongated orbits in our solar system. The cloud, which starts at more than 3000 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, should not be confused with the Kuiper belt. This is the rim of rock, grains and ice in which the dwarf planet Pluto is located and which orbits relatively close to the Sun at about 30 to 50 times the Earth-Sun distance.
“Because of this male-specific effect, we investigated the effects of MPH through the paternal line and observed the same behaviors in several generations of their descendants not directly administered the drug.”
Summary: A new study of male guppies reveals behaviors affected by methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH), an active ingredient in common ADHD medications, can be passed along to future generations.
Source: University of Toronto
Continue reading “ADHD Drugs Can Affect Later Generations” »
An ancient capital, lost under the sand for more than 3400 years, may hold the answer to one of Egyptian history’s greatest mysteries.
Summary: Researchers have identified significant differences in gene activity between the anterior and posterior areas of the hippocampus. Genes associated with depression and other mood disorders are more active in the anterior hippocampus, while genes linked to cognitive disorders, such as ASD, are more active in the posterior hippocampus.
Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center.
A study of gene activity in the brain’s hippocampus, led by UT Southwestern researchers, has identified marked differences between the region’s anterior and posterior portions.
