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Jun 17, 2019

Ending Age-Related Diseases Conference – June Update

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, life extension

We are drawing close now to the Ending Age-Related Diseases Conference in New York City, so with less than a month before the big day, today is the ideal time to have a look at what has been happening.

Tickets are priced at only $500 and include access to two action-packed days of aging research and biotech business discussion. There will be talks covering the latest research progress along with talks involving the business and investment side of the industry, and this conference will feature a total of 34 leading experts in the field of rejuvenation biotechnology.

Refreshments and lunch are provided on site for your enjoyment during both days of the conference, and a conference program is available here.

Jun 17, 2019

Artificial Nose identifies Malignant Tissue in Brain Tumours during Surgery

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

An artificial nose developed at Tampere University, Finland, helps neurosurgeons to identify cancerous tissue during surgery and enables the more precise excision of tumours.

Electrosurgical resection using devices such as an electric knife or diathermy blade is currently a widely used technique in neurosurgery. When tissue is burned, tissue molecules are dispersed in the form of surgical smoke. In the method developed by researchers at Tampere University, the surgical smoke is fed into a new type of measuring system that can identify malignant tissue and distinguish it from healthy tissue.

An article on using surgical smoke to identify brain tumours was recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. “In current clinical practice, frozen section analysis is the gold standard for intraoperative tumour identification. In that method, a small sample of the tumour is given to a pathologist during surgery,” says researcher Ilkka Haapala from Tampere University.

Jun 17, 2019

Inching Towards the Regulatory Classification of Aging as a Disease

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

This post originally appeared at Fight Aging!

Sizable factions within the research and advocacy communities are very interested in having aging officially classified as a disease, meaning its inclusion in the International Classification of Diseases maintained by the World Health Organization, as that is the basis for the definition of disease used by national regulatory bodies. The view is that this would open the door to greater large-scale institutional funding, more relevant clinical trials for therapies targeting the mechanisms of aging, and that this greater level of funding and activity will percolate back down the chain of research and development to accelerate progress. I think this a reasonable argument to make, though I would advocate for greater effort to be placed on finding a way to bypass the system rather than change it directly – the threat of competition tends to be more effective than petitions as a way to force change.

Continue reading “Inching Towards the Regulatory Classification of Aging as a Disease” »

Jun 17, 2019

These Protein Picker-Uppers Keep Your Cells Clean and Healthy

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

New drugs based on proteasomes could treat previously undruggable diseases.

Jun 17, 2019

This new laser can track down and kill cancer cells

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A new paper reveals a revolutionary method of targeting cancer cells that is completely non-invasive. In using lasers, the tumour can be destroyed before it grows.

Jun 17, 2019

Scientists use sound to see around corners

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Echoes could help autonomous cars—or spies.

Jun 17, 2019

Pomegranate compound with anti-aging effects passes human trial

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Urolithin A, a metabolite of biomolecules found in pomegranates and other fruits, could help slow certain aging processes. EPFL spin-off Amazentis, in conjunction with EPFL and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, has published a paper in the journal Nature Metabolism outlining the results of their clinical trial.

It is a fact of life that skeletal muscles begin to lose strength and mass once a person reaches the age of 50. A recent clinical trial involving two EPFL entities—spin-off Amazentis and the Laboratory of Integrative Systems Physiology (LISP) – showed that urolithin A, a compound derived from biomolecules found in fruits such as pomegranates, could slow down this process by improving the functioning of mitochondria—the cells’ powerhouses. A joint paper presenting the results of the trial, published today in Nature Metabolism, also demonstrates that ingesting the compound poses no risk to human health.

Jun 17, 2019

More on our “First Base”: How do we help protect astronauts from radiation on the surface of the moon?

Posted by in category: space

Placing regolith over their heads has long been considered necessary but previous methods have not been practical. On the lunar surface, the simpler the construction the better.

Jun 17, 2019

Are China and US racing towards inevitable military confrontation in outer space?

Posted by in categories: military, space

Beijing is still behind in terms of its space-based military capabilities, but the gap is closing fast, experts say.

Jun 17, 2019

Cosmologists Clash Over the Beginning of the Universe

Posted by in category: cosmology

What happened before the Big Bang? And what happened before that? Stephen Hawking’s answer—there was no beginning—is now the subject of intense debate.


A recent challenge to Stephen Hawking’s biggest idea — about how the universe might have come from nothing — has cosmologists choosing sides.