Lifeboat Foundation

So far, the only intervention that is known to increase lifespan in multiple species is caloric restriction (CR). Caloric restriction is known to increase lifespan in the majority of mouse strains tested[1]. The effects of CR have even been shown to influence how primates age and reduce the incidence of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain atrophy[2].

Science has known about the effects of CR since the 1930s, when rat experiments first showed researchers this phenomenon[3]. However, despite the various health benefits of CR, how it delays aging has remained a mystery. A new study suggests that epigenetic drift may be the answer.

THE numbers are stark. Cancer claimed the lives of 8.8m people in 2015; only heart disease caused more deaths. Around 40% of Americans will be told they have cancer during their lifetimes. It is now a bigger killer of Africans than malaria. But the statistics do not begin to capture the fear inspired by cancer’s silent and implacable cellular mutiny. Only Alzheimer’s exerts a similar grip on the imagination.

Confronted with this sort of enemy, people understandably focus on the potential for scientific breakthroughs that will deliver a cure. Their hope is not misplaced. Cancer has become more and more survivable over recent decades owing to a host of advances, from genetic sequencing to targeted therapies. The five-year survival rate for leukemia in America has almost doubled, from 34% in the mid-1970s to 63% in 2006-12. America is home to about 15.5m cancer survivors, a number that will grow to 20m in the next ten years. Developing countries have made big gains, too: in parts of Central and South America, survival rates for prostate and breast cancer have jumped by as much as a fifth in only a decade.

Hormones or sexual experience? Which of these is crucial for the onset of puberty? It seems that when rats are touched on their genitals, their brain changes and puberty accelerates. In a new study publishing September 21 in the open access journal PLOS Biology researchers at the Bernstein Center, and Humboldt University, Berlin, led by Constanze Lenschow and Michael Brecht, report that sexual touch might have a bigger influence on puberty than previously thought.

It has been known for some time that social cues can either accelerate or delay puberty in mammals, but it hasn’t been clear which signals are crucial, nor how they affect the body and brain, and in particular the possible reorganization of the brain.

The researchers first observed that the neural representation of the genitals in the cerebral cortex expands during puberty. To begin with, the study confirms what was expected; that sexual hormones accelerate puberty and the growth of the so-called ‘genital cortex’. However, what’s new is that they find that sexual touch also contributes substantially to the acceleration of puberty.

Continue reading “Touching helps build the sexual brain” »

New technology enables thought to be translated into audible words with surprising accuracy by reading user’s brainwaves. The developers say they might be able to get the device to work with smartphones via an app in just five years.

A new system developed by a team of researchers from Japan’s Toyohashi University of Technology can read people’s minds using brainwaves.

Stem cell research is one of my absolute favorite topics. This amazing field does not only reveal to us how our bodies function and develop, but also holds promising future applications that could help us treat severe diseases, which would not be treated otherwise. However, stem cell research can do more than just treat diseases. In this article, I will highlight the latest scientific breakthroughs to show you how we can turn a simple skin cell into a fully-grown genetically-engineered human being all thanks to the power of stem cells and genetic engineering.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

Continue reading “Creating Human Beings from Skin Cells Is Possible” »

No single area of the brain can take responsibility for our perception of time. Instead, multiple regions perform different tasks to help you watch the clock.

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The immune system is like an army keeping us safe from invasion, injury and infection and helps us to regenerate and repair tissues and organs. However, the immune system is sometimes a double-edged sword that does more harm than good.

A lot of focus has been on the role of macrophages and their ability to facilitate tissue healing and regeneration. Today, we will be looking at a study that examines the role of neutrophils and how they can actually harm the brain further following a stroke[1].

Sept. 21 (UPI) — Scientists have observed, for the first time, a jellyfish in a sleep-like state. It’s the first time an animal without a brain or central nervous system has been observed sleeping.

The findings — detailed this week in the journal Current Biology — could help scientists finally answer the questions: Do all animals sleep?

All vertebrates studied by scientists sleep, but researchers haven’t been able to agree whether or not sleep is ubiquitous, or even common, among invertebrates. Studies have suggested fruit flies and roundworms sleep, but what about more primitive organisms like sponges and jellyfish?

Continue reading “Scientists spot sleeping jellyfish” »