Lifeboat Foundation

A new editorial paper published in the journal Aging argues that in multicellular organisms, neighboring cells are in constant competition.

The underlying reasons for aging have long remained elusive. However, in 1977, Thomas Kirkwood hypothesized that organisms might gain a fitness advantage by reducing investment in somatic maintenance if this allowed them to invest more resources in more crucial processes such as reproduction. The accumulation of somatic damage was therefore inevitable, and his disposable soma theory has dominated gerontology ever since.

However, as our understanding of aging increases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to align all the aspects of aging with accumulating damage. For example, mutations that increase damage accumulation can also increase longevity, while rejuvenation revelations such as parabiosis and Yamanaka factors indicate that youthfulness can be regained without high energetic cost and despite high levels of damage.

New research hints at a few ways fatty foods affect cells in the brain, a finding that could help explain the link between a high-fat diet and impaired memory – especially as we age.

The Ohio State University study in cell cultures found the omega-3 fatty acid DHA may help protect the brain from an unhealthy diet’s effects by curbing fat-induced inflammation at the cellular source.

Separate experiments using brain tissue from aging mice showed a high-fat diet may lead specific brain cells to overdo cell-signaling management in a way that interferes with the creation of new memories.

Restoration of lost memories.

Prof Bryce Vissel, who leads the Clinical Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine Initiative (CNRM) at St Vincent’s Centre for Applied Medical Research, and his team, have identified a molecule in the brain that controls loss of nerve cell connections.

This molecule we are calling ‘the switch’ is decreased in the Alzheimer’s brain but no one really understands why, or what role it plays. When ‘encouraged’ or ‘forced’ to be expressed normally again, in our laboratory tests of a mouse model, this molecule can actually rescue its memory.

Continue reading “Alzheimer’s research breakthrough” »

Brilliant. News is about rare events, especially bad things. Massive amounts of raw data is boring — but tells a completely different story.

If you follow the news closely, chances are your view of the state of the world is not super optimistic. From war in Ukraine to a warming planet to global poverty and hunger, there’s plenty to get upset about. But what if things are actually getting…better?

Continue reading “Steven Pinker shares his ‘relentless optimism’ about human progress” »

This video covers digital immortality, its required technologies, processes of uploading a mind, its potential impact on society, and more. Watch this next video about the world in 2200: https://bit.ly/3htaWEr.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Required Technologies.
01:42 The Processes of Uploading a Mind.
03:32 Positive Impacts On Society.
05:34 When Will It Become Possible?
05:53 Is Digital Immortality Potentially Dangerous?

Continue reading “The Future of Digital Immortality [Documentary]” »

For as long as we’ve been around, human beings have fought against the inevitability of death. This struggle has given rise to religions that have dominated human culture for millennia and has been central to philosophies that have shaped our civilizations.

But might it be the case that a scientific solution to immortality is finally in sight? In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved to the stage where it looks set to revolutionize every aspect of our lives. It may just be possible that it’s going to change the way that we think about – and perhaps even experience – death, too.

Science fiction has given us several examples of situations – mostly horrific — where human minds can be uploaded to machines, effectively allowing us to outlast our mortal, fallible bodies.

Scientists have successfully used nanotechnology to develop a 3D scaffold that supports the growth of healthy retinal cells, a breakthrough that could revolutionize the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Utilizing electrospinning technology, researchers created a scaffold that, when treated with the steroid fluocinolone acetonide, enhances the resilience and growth of retinal pigment epithelial cells, potentially aiding in the development of ocular tissue for transplantation.

Scientists have discovered a way to use nanotechnology to create a 3D ‘scaffold’ to grow cells from the retina. This breakthrough could lead to innovative approaches for treating a common source of blindness.

Researchers, led by Professor Barbara Pierscionek from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), have been working on a way to successfully grow retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells that stay healthy and viable for up to 150 days. RPE cells sit just outside the neural part of the retina and, when damaged, can cause vision to deteriorate.

Cognitive decline is a growing public health concern that affects millions of people around the world. Amid an aging population, strategies that help prevent or mitigate cognitive deterioration become increasingly relevant to support healthy aging and maintaining independence for longer. Studies in the field of neuroscience applied to architecture (neuroarchitecture) have shown that the physical environment, both internal and external, public and private, plays a fundamental role in this aspect [1]. In this sense, architects and urban planners can direct their projects to create solutions that significantly contribute to this objective.

The human brain is a very plastic organ. In other words, it transforms functionally and structurally according to how it is stimulated. Although this plasticity is much more intense during the development period, it continues to exist throughout our lives [2,3]. Therefore, keeping the brain stimulated during adulthood and aging is key to keeping cognition functioning at its best. In this context, recent studies indicate that certain stimuli help in the development of a cognitive reserve [4]. This, in turn, is the brain’s resilience capacity, which helps it to remain functional even throughout aging and even when some neurodegenerative diseases arise [5].

Let’s say that it is a curse. The issue is he is also against life extension entirely. Maybe I want 200 years. Or 1,000. I have zero concern over a boredom problem as it is brain process which can eventually be controlled. And I am disgusted with the idea that I have to die because we might not progress very fast? Ugh.

Elon Musk has said a lot of potentially stupid stuff about aging and longevity, from saying that people shouldn’t live very long because society would ossify to advocating that we judge people based on their chronological age. Most recently, he’s taken to Twitter (aka X) to say “May you live forever is the worst possible curse once you understand deep time.” In this case though, he’s not wrong.

Continue reading “Elon is Right. Having to Live Forever is a Curse. Here’s How to Solve It” »