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Jul 8, 2018

Hidden conflicts? Pharma payments to FDA advisers after drug approvals spark ethical concerns

Posted by in categories: finance, futurism

Brilinta fits a pattern of what might be called pay-later conflicts of interest, which have gone largely unnoticed—and entirely unpoliced. In examining compensation records from drug companies to physicians who advised FDA on whether to approve 28 psychopharmacologic, arthritis, and cardiac or renal drugs between 2008 and 2014, Science found widespread after-the-fact payments or research support to panel members. The agency’s safeguards against potential conflicts of interest are not designed to prevent such future financial ties.


Science investigation of journal disclosures and pharmaceutical funding records shows potential influence on physician gatekeepers.

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Jul 7, 2018

How hardy volcanic microbes helped track down an anti-aging “superhero” protein

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

A team of scientists, looking to figure out how hardy little creatures known as archaea thrive in boiling, volcanic pools of sulfuric acid like they were hot tubs, may have uncovered the key to an anti-aging drug. By manipulating a so-called “super hero” protein common to both archaea and humans, the researchers found a way to “trick” cells into acting younger by keeping the DNA repairing process running much longer than usual.

In previous studies, the researchers examined how archaea have managed to survive in such harsh conditions for billions of years. Eventually they determined that a protein called ssB1 was responsible by helping the organisms repair damage to their DNA. The team says the real eureka moment came when they discovered that we humans have our own versions of this protein, hSSB1.

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Jul 7, 2018

Scientists Use DNA And A Test Tube To Develop A.I. That May Be Capable Of Creating Its Own ‘Memories’

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

A new study by Caltech researchers has shown that the A.I. they created is fully capable of reading handwritten numbers.

Scientists have been able to create a completely artificial neural network by using DNA and a test tube, and the results of this AI experiment have been nothing short of astonishing.

During experiments, this artificial intelligence was able to accurately assess handwritten numbers, with scientists suggesting that this research shows that humans are edging ever closer to taking AI and placing it in organic circuits, as the Daily Mail reports.

Continue reading “Scientists Use DNA And A Test Tube To Develop A.I. That May Be Capable Of Creating Its Own ‘Memories’” »

Jul 7, 2018

HIV vaccine on horizon as jab triggers immunity in humans and stops monkeys being infected

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A vaccine against HIV is on the horizon after scientists showed a new drug triggered a protective immune response in humans and stopped two thirds of monkeys becoming infected.

In the 35 years since the HIV epidemic began, just four vaccines have been tested on humans, with the best only lowering infection rates by 31 per cent, leading to trials being discontinued.

But in what was described as “promising” and “an important milestone”, an international team of scientists showed that the new vaccine boosted the immune systems of nearly 400 healthy adults.

Continue reading “HIV vaccine on horizon as jab triggers immunity in humans and stops monkeys being infected” »

Jul 7, 2018

What will humans look like in a million years?

Posted by in categories: biological, cyborgs, evolution

To understand our future evolution we need to look to our past.

Will our descendants be cyborgs with hi-tech machine implants, regrowable limbs and cameras for eyes like something out of a science fiction novel?

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Jul 7, 2018

What Does Epigenetics Mean for Humanity’s Awakening?

Posted by in category: genetics

Derrick Broze, Guest Waking Times

New scientific research is causing scientists to rethink what they believe about the static nature of genes. What do these discoveries mean for a species increasingly facing environmental and political calamity?

Ongoing discoveries regarding how environmental factors can affect life on the genetic level are causing many scientists and researchers to rethink the notion that the genetic makeup of an individual is static and unchanging. Most recently, a team of researchers with Tufts University has found evidence which suggests stress or mistreatment during childhood can lead to genetic changes which are passed down to the victim’s children and grandchildren. Larry Feig and his team have shown that inducing stress on mice can lead to genetic changes which are imprinted on the sperm. This same effect has been found in male humans as well.

Continue reading “What Does Epigenetics Mean for Humanity’s Awakening?” »

Jul 7, 2018

China VC has overtaken Silicon Valley, but do aggregate numbers tell the whole story?

Posted by in categories: finance, transportation

The evidence is increasingly clear: 2018 is the year of the Chinese venture deal.

With half of the year now complete, China is driving ahead of Silicon Valley and the rest of the United States on venture capital dollars invested into startups, according to a number of data sources including Crunchbase, China Money Network, and Pitchbook.

These sorts of top line numbers are always driven by large deals, and the Chinese VC market is no exception. Monster rounds this year have included a $1.9 billion investment from Softbank Vision Fund into Manbang Group, a truck hailing startup formed from the merger of two competitors, Yumanman and Huochebang, as well as Ant Financial, which raised a whopping $14 billion from investors.

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Jul 7, 2018

Lab grown meat is here

Posted by in category: food

Would you eat lab grown meat?

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Jul 7, 2018

BioLife4D: It’s a good cause, they’re looking for investors, link to website in the comments

Posted by in category: 3D printing

The startup uses 3D-printing techniques to assemble a human heart, one heart-cell layer at a time.

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Jul 7, 2018

Scientists discover a new mechanism that prevents the proliferation of cancer cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Canadian researchers have discovered a new and direct molecular mechanism to stop cancer cells from proliferating. In the prestigious journal Nature Cell Biology, scientists from Université de Montréal show that a disruption of a fine balance in the composition of ribosomes (huge molecules that translate the genetic code into proteins) results in a shutdown of cancer cell proliferation, triggering a process called senescence.

“Ribosomes are complex machines composed of both RNAs and proteins that make all the proteins necessary for to grow,” said UdeM biochemistry professor Gerardo Ferbeyre, the study’s senior author. Cancer cells grow and proliferate relentlessly and thus require a massive amount of ribosomes, he explained. Growing cells must coordinate the production of both ribosomal RNAs and ribosomal proteins in order to assemble them together in strict proportion to each other.

“We were surprised, however, to find that if the production of ribosomal RNA– proportions are driven out of balance in a cancer cell, proliferation can be shut down by in a very simple and direct manner,” said Ferbeyre.

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