Lifeboat Foundation

We all have different circadian rhythms but they slow down during aging, and we may be able to do something about it.

Your body is in a state of constant flux and the circadian rhythm is its master regulator, controlling everything from sleep cycles to appetite and beyond. Jet lag is a side effect of a confused internal cycle as it adjusts to a new timetable. Shift work and irregular patterns of activity can also potentially cause some serious problems if sustained for a long period, including raising risk of type 2 diabetes, dementia and all cause mortality.

When researchers studied aging mice, they saw a progressive decline in levels of molecules called polyamines. These are involved with a number of processes, but particularly in cell growth and circadian rhythm. The drop in polyamines also coincided with a slowing of their circadian cycle — which increased disease risk.

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Can we, as adults, grow new neurons? Neuroscientist Sandrine Thuret says that we can, and she offers research and practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis—improving mood, increasing memory formation and preventing the decline associated with aging along the way.

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Scientists have managed to grow a miniature brain, and there’s a whole bunch of other so called ‘organoids’ we’re currently learning to perfect. We can now add kidneys to the tick box.

There have been a few mini-organ breakthroughs lately, and now we can grow simple kidneys in the lab too.

Regenerative medicine has incredible promise and provides hope that one day virtually any injury could be corrected. Scientists have managed to grow a miniature brain, and there’s a whole bunch of other so called ‘organoids’ we’re currently learning to perfect. We can now add kidneys to the tick box.

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Hello, everyone. i got a nice invite to join and post a few items from elsewhere. I already see a few familiar folks who frequent the same pages. So excuse me while I “spam” things up a bit. First up:

The last line is an interesting one. If you look up the limits of memory you get a variety of answers. Hundreds of years perhaps? I think maybe some other technology will take care of that. I don’t know that it’ll be smart dust, a neural net, artificial neurons dedicated to memory or some combination. Can’t wait to find out.

Sea anemones may not look like humans but it seems they have a common ancestor, and they may also hold the key to eternal youth.

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Scientists have discovered more than 200 genes linked to ageing and have found switching them off extends life.

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BioViva made headlines last week after announcing that they had become the first company to administer anti-aging gene therapy on a human subject. But missing from the press release was exactly how this would work, the likelihood of its success, and the consequences. How better to address this then, than to hear from ‘Patient 0’ herself, Liz Parrish, the company’s CEO who will be undertaking the treatment.

Yesterday (October 11), she took part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), answering a range of questions submitted by Reddit users seeking to find out more about this supposedly pioneering study.

Here are ten things we learned from Liz Parrish’s Reddit AMA.

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Elephants are long-lived, and rather large. Given their size and longevity, scientists have pondered what protects them from cancer for a long time. Thanks to new research, we now know.

A mystery unlocked

Cancer is a big problem. A staggering 1 in 2 people born after 1960 in the UK are predicted to develop cancer at some point in their lifetime. We may be living longer, but the extra years are coming with a raised cancer risk. We may be getting better at treatment, but we’re still finding out exactly what causes it, and how we can prevent it from being a danger altogether.

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Aging is 100% genetic, the reason you go from infant to child to adult to old age.

We need to be scrutinizing Progeria, and the case of the girl who died at 20 and was stuck at the age of a toddler, for the key to the genes that will pause aging. While nanotechnology advances parallel with the cure for all diseases.

Once a bucket of genes linked to aging is removed, the lifespan of cells increases significantly, American scientists discovered during ten years of meticulous research, stressing that the results could be applied to humans.

Continue reading “Key to longevity? Blocking over 200 genes boosts lifespan” »

This Week in Science: The First Privately Backed Moon Mission, Using Gene Therapy to Reverse Aging, Artificial Veins and Arteries, and More.

Go here for a clickable image: http://futurism.com/images/this-week-in-science-october-4th-11th-2015/?src=home

Sources
Detecting All Viruses:http://futurism.com/5srzA
Water on Pluto: http://futurism.com/aO2av
Kidney Tissue from Stem Cells: http://futurism.com/DLDON
Converting Algae Blooms into Electrodes: http://futurism.com/w9ez
Fixing Holes in Heart: http://futurism.com/a13Jd
Reversing Aging: http://futurism.com/TjaTL
Private Moon Mission: http://futurism.com/9V626
Artificial Veins: http://futurism.com/rKNzH

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