Biotech/medical – Lifeboat News: The Blog

First Artificial Gravity to Appear at ISS Thanks to Russian Scientists

Nov 10
2016

Russian scientists have developed a small-radius centrifuge for creating artificial gravity at the International Space Station.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A centrifuge to create artificial gravity will be installed aboard an inflatable module developed by Russia at the International Space Station (ISS), the head of Russia’s Institute for Biomedical Problems (RIBP) said Thursday.

“We have created a small-radius centrifuge. This method has been demonstrated to be viable to simulate artificial gravity,” the Russian Academy of Sciences’ RIBP Director Oleg Orlov told reporters.

Should genetically modified organisms be part of our conservation efforts?

Posted by Karen Hurst in bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Nov 9
2016

Genome editing and synthetic biology are giving rise to new forms of life. But do these organisms have conservation value as part of earth’s biodiversity?

World’s first light-seeking Synthetic Nano Robot Helps Remove Tumors

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical, engineering, robotics/AI

Nov 9
2016

Researchers have developed the world’s first light-seeking synthetic nanorobot that can help surgeons remove tumors and enable more precise engineering of targeted medications.

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With size comparable to a blood cell, these tiny robots have the potential to be injected into a patient’s body, the study said.

Changing Cell Behavior Could be Useful for Stem Cell Research, Biofuel Production

Posted by Karen Hurst in biotech/medical, food, genetics, sustainability

Nov 9
2016

For example, ordinary baker’s yeast cells normally produce a lot of alcohol, a biofuel, when fed sugar extracted from the edible kernels of corn plants. NetSurgeon designed genetic surgeries that convinced the cells to make more alcohol when fed a type of sugar found in the inedible leaves and stalks.

The research is published in PNAS Early Edition.

Rejuvenation Biotechnology 2016

Posted by Steve Hill in biotech/medical, life extension

Nov 9
2016

One of the highlights this year was the SENS RB2016 conference which was live streamed and is available to watch right now if you missed if the first time around. Three days of exciting biotechnology smile

Although the event itself was invitation-only, our free live stream allowed viewers from 62 countries to enjoy a broad range of presentations on the emerging rejuvenation biotechnology industry and SRF’s critical role in driving forward the clinical translation of truly effective medicine for age-related disease.

Don’t worry if you missed it, though — the streamed videos remain available here!

Mike Kope, CEO, SENS Research Foundation

SRF CEO Mike Kope opened the 2016 Rejuvenation Biotechnology Conference with a considered assessment of the field’s progress over the last decade, going on to explain our three-part strategy to break through current funding and engagement barriers.

Cellular powerhouse may also propel aging

Posted by Bruno Henrique de Souza in biotech/medical, life extension

Nov 9
2016

Mitochondria — the structures within cells mostly known for converting nutrients into usable energy — may play a larger and more direct role in the aging process than previously thought, according to USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Assistant Professor David Lee.

In addition to powering cells, mitochondria serve important roles in coordinating metabolism, Lee said. And evidence has shown that mitochondria — which have their own smaller genome separate from the larger collection of genes in a cell’s nucleus — lose function and accrue DNA damage during the aging process, reflecting a role in aging.

In trying to determine how the mitochondria are involved in aging, many researchers have studied the signals sent from the nucleus to the mitochondria and how they change with age. However, Lee theorizes that communication between the cell’s powerhouse and its control center may be taking place in both directions, with signaling molecules originally coded in the mitochondrial DNA regulating the nucleus and causing changes that affect key cellular factors of aging, such as metabolism.

Harvard Scientists Think They’ve Pinpointed the Physical Source of Consciousness

Posted by Sean Brazell in biotech/medical, neuroscience

Nov 8
2016

Scientists have struggled for millennia to understand human consciousness — the awareness of one’s existence. Despite advances in neuroscience, we still don’t really know where it comes from, and how it arises.

But researchers think they might have finally figured out its physical origins, after pinpointing a network of three specific regions in the brain that appear to be crucial to consciousness.

It’s a pretty huge deal for our understanding of what it means to be human, and it could also help researchers find new treatments for patients in vegetative states.

Scientists Have Found a Bizarre Similarity Between Human Cells and Neutron Stars

Posted by Sean Brazell in biotech/medical, space

Nov 8
2016

If you were to compare yourself to a neutron star, you probably wouldn’t find very many things in common. After all, neutron stars – celestial bodies with super strong magnetic fields – are made from collapsed star cores, lie light-years away from Earth, and don’t even watch Netflix.

But, according to new research, we share at least one similarity: the geometry of the matter that makes us.

Researchers have found that the ‘crust’ (or outer layers) of a neutron star has the same shape as our cellular membranes. This could mean that, despite being fundamentally different, both humans and neutron stars are constrained by the same geometry.

Great progress with the Winter Fundraiser and Patrons Challenge for SENS so far it looks like longevity research is really hotting up :)

Posted by Steve Hill in biotech/medical, life extension

Nov 8
2016

Hey folks, great news! The Patrons Challenge is going really well and we have already passed the halfway mark for new Patrons which is superb. Thanks to Reason and Josh Triplett who are doubling all new pledges made this year. So if you are interested in being a Patron this is a great time to join us.

Our Winter fundraiser has also reached almost 25k and is going great guns. The more we can raise the more research we can do and as this year has shown, some truly great results are starting to arrive for the SENS approach to treating age-related diseases.

Aubrey de Grey on living to 150 or beyond using biotechnology

Posted by Steve Hill in biotech/medical, life extension

Nov 7
2016

Our guest for this show is Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., and he refuses to accept aging as something we can not change. Aubrey is a Biomedical Gerontologist and Chief Scientific Officer of The SENS Research Foundation. I talk more about his background and the SENS Foundation in the interview. Aubrey has put forth a model for aging based on seven types of damage that occur as a product of aging. We discuss this model and the techniques the possibly address each category of damage. This interview is longer than the other thus far but it had me gripped the entire time so enjoy!

MEDIA
Soundcloud :: https://soundcloud.com/humanOSRadio

ITunes :: https://goo.gl/SDAiNm

Stitcher :: https://goo.gl/LaERkp

YouTube Channel :: https://goo.gl/egvdpb

Image Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_de_Grey