Lifeboat Foundation

Aging remains a primary risk factor for a host of diseases, including leading causes of death. Aging and associated diseases are inherently multifactorial, with numerous contributing factors and phenotypes at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal scales. Despite the complexity of aging phenomena, models currently used in aging research possess limitations. Frequently used in vivo models often have important physiological differences, age at different rates, or are genetically engineered to match late disease phenotypes rather than early causes. Conversely, routinely used in vitro models lack the complex tissue-scale and systemic cues that are disrupted in aging.

After announcing that it had implanted its brain-computer interface in its first U.S. | After announcing that it had implanted its brain-computer interface in its first U.S. paralysis patient earlier this year, Synchron has raised $75 million to take its mind-reading tech to the next level.

A study found that a low carb, high fat diet can help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight and control glucose levels better than a high carb, low fat diet.

An outbreak of potentially deadly bacteria in at least four states has federal officials on alert. They said parents should be on the lookout for its symptoms, which include flesh-eating disease and toxic shock.

A gel made of a protein found in human cells can capture particles travelling at supersonic speeds without destroying them on impact, suggesting the material could be used in body armour or for collecting space debris.

San Diego based biotech Immunicom has developed an innovative therapeutic device that is intended to remove specific factors from blood that prevent our immune systems from fighting disease. Existing “therapeutic apheresis” treatments usually involve modification to cells harvested from patients or some form of plasma exchange. Immunicom’s technology uses a similar treatment procedure but says its approach of “capturing” targeted molecules is very different from other treatments.

Immunicom creates customised molecules that are designed to capture specific proteins or cytokines, but instead of turning those into drugs, it deploys them via its proprietary cartridges, which are essentially small liquid filters that can be fitted into any plasmapheresis machine. In a treatment similar to dialysis, the cartridges are used to treat a patient’s blood and plasma outside their body, reducing the levels of the target factors, with the goal of enabling the immune system to fight disease.

While Immunicom has focused its initial efforts on treatments for cancer, the company claims its technology can also potentially be applied to longevity and the treatment of a wide range of age-related diseases.

While scientists around the world pursue ways to extend the human healthspan, cancer cells have found a way to become immortal.

For the first time, researchers have discovered how one type of cancer – melanoma – achieves that immortality.

Bioengineers used a modular, step-by-step chemical technique to create algae that carry antibiotic payloads.

A study published Wednesday in the JAMA Psychiatry journal shows that four key genetic variations are more common in military veterans who have taken their own life or considered it.

Scientists from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, found the pattern while analyzing blood samples from a database that included 633,778 U.S. veterans, cross-referenced with the International Suicide Genetics Consortium of more than 549,000 individuals.

The obtained samples were sequenced to create genetic profiles compared to participants’ medical records, showing that 121,211 recorded cases of attempted suicide or thoughts about killing themselves.