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Mar 10, 2020
This Year’s Equinox Is March 19, The Earliest In 124 Years
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: futurism
No one has seen an equinox this early since the 19th century: March 19 everywhere in the USA. And you’d better get used to it.
Mar 10, 2020
Econogenomics: The Economics of Genomic Testing for Health
Posted by Lola Heavey in categories: biotech/medical, economics, health
Let’s say it was possible to buy your health by the day. How much would you be willing to pay for each year of perfect health? What if you could buy years of health for your loved ones, too? At what price point would you draw the line?
This sort of difficult calculus, on a much larger and chronologically longer scale, underpins many decisions we make in medicine — not just decisions that we make as patients, but also the decisions that are made for us by employers, health insurance funders and policymakers. We don’t have the resources to pursue every possible treatment, to research every possible breakthrough, so how do we allocate the resources available? It turns out that there is an entire field of healthcare economics devoted to understanding the costs and benefits of conventional medicine, and to navigating the trade-offs between more expense and better healthcare.
Continue reading “Econogenomics: The Economics of Genomic Testing for Health” »
Mar 10, 2020
Success in Reprogramming a Supercentenarian’s Cells
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
Researchers from AgeX Therapeutics and other organizations have proved the feasibility of reprogramming banked cells derived from a supercentenarian. Their discovery portends exciting new possibilities for aging research.
What is cellular reprogramming?
Cellular reprogramming is the process of reverting mature, specialized cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can develop into any cell type found in the human body. Cellular reprogramming technology was pioneered in 2006 by Drs. Takahashi and Yamanaka, who achieved this impressive result by overexpressing just four genes, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc (OSKM), which became collectively known as the Yamanaka factors. For this breakthrough, Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2012. Fun fact: Yamanaka called these cells iPSCs – with a small “i” – as a nod to the iPod and similarly named devices.
Mar 10, 2020
If We Can Make Animals Smarter, Should We?
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in category: neuroscience
What do you think?
In science fiction stories, research can accidentally create superintelligent animal species. As the ability to alter animals’ brains grows, some say we should be wary of fiction becoming reality.
Mar 10, 2020
New treatment stalls cellular aging and promotes rejuvination
Posted by Paul Battista in category: life extension
University of Exeter team make senescent cells look younger and begin to divide while exhibiting longer telomeres to reduce cellular aging.
Mar 10, 2020
You Can Soon Grow Human-Animal Hybrids, But You Can’t Breed ‘Em
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: bioengineering, government
Circa 2016 o.o
The federal government just proposed new rules that would allow researchers to grow human-animal hybrids for research, so long as they can’t think, feel, or breed.
Mar 10, 2020
Wait, What? The First Human-Monkey Hybrid Embryo Was Just Created in China
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, ethics
The news did not sit well with Chinese scientists, who are still recovering from the CRISPR baby scandal. “It makes you wonder, if their reason for choosing to do this in a Chinese laboratory is because of our high-tech experimental setups, or because of loopholes in our laws?” lamented one anonymous commentator on China’s popular social media app, WeChat.
Their frustration is understandable. Earlier in April, a team from southern China came under international fire for sticking extra copies of human “intelligence-related” genes into macaque monkeys. And despite efforts to revamp its reputation in biomedical research ethics, China does have slacker rules in primate research compared to Western countries.
If you’re feeling icked out, you’re not alone. The morality and ethics of growing human-animal hybrids are far from clear. But creepiness aside, scientists do have two reasons for wading into these uncomfortable waters.
Mar 10, 2020
‘Primitive’ Stem Cells Shown to Regenerate Blood Vessels in The Eye
Posted by Paul Battista in category: biotech/medical
Human vascular progenitor cells (green), made from Zambidis’ lab-grown naive stem cells, engraft into blood vessels (red) in a mouse retina. Credit: Elias Zambidis, Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Mar 10, 2020
Someone Will Eventually Use CRISPR to Try to Make a Dragon or Unicorn
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
O„.o.
So much emphasis has been placed on human genome editing that other types of genetic editing are falling through the cracks.