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Archive for the ‘genetics’ category: Page 432

Sep 26, 2017

Forget ‘live fast, die young’ – do the opposite instead

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension, neuroscience

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.

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Sep 25, 2017

Robert Shmookler Reis Joins the LEAF Advisory Board

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Shmookler Reis has joined the LEAF scientific advisory board. He studied at Harvard University (B.A.) and Sussex University (D.Phil.). He joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1980, where he holds the Udupa Chair of Gerontologic Research; he also serves as Affiliate Professor of Pathology at the Univ. of Washington in Seattle WA.

Dr. Robert Shmookler Reis is an expert in genetics whose work focuses on the molecular genetics of longevity and age-associated diseases and his team holds the world record for life extension in C. elegans (roundworms) making them live ten times their normal lifespan.

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Sep 25, 2017

Closing in on cancer

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

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.

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Sep 24, 2017

Michio Kaku, Gregory Stack, And Yue Shao: Synthetic Human Embryos And Genetic Engineering [Opinion]

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

Michio Kaku and Gregory Scott discuss different aspects of genetic engineering in the video below. According to Kaku and Scott, parents will soon have different genetic engineering choices to make about their children. In addition, recent discoveries by Yue Shao have yielded a new classification of parentless synthetic human embryos.

With Yue Shao’s discovery, genetic engineers might be learning to grow synthetic human embryos from anonymous stem cells donated from IVF clinics. How far this genetic engineering technology goes remains to be seen.

Continue reading “Michio Kaku, Gregory Stack, And Yue Shao: Synthetic Human Embryos And Genetic Engineering [Opinion]” »

Sep 24, 2017

Five ways to get CRISPR into the body

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Scientists are investigating a range of different delivery mechanisms for the gene-editing tool, from topical gels to skin grafts.

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Sep 24, 2017

Creating Human Beings from Skin Cells Is Possible

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, government, neuroscience

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” »

Sep 24, 2017

Scientists have created a BACTERIUM that inhales CO2 producing Energy

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, energy, genetics, transhumanism

It’s a bionic leaf that could revolutionize everything we thought we knew about clean energy.

Harvard scientists open the door to an energetic revolution that has allowed them to test successfully a system that converts sunlight into liquid fuel.

Continue reading “Scientists have created a BACTERIUM that inhales CO2 producing Energy” »

Sep 24, 2017

Transhumanism: Could we live forever? BBC News

Posted by in categories: genetics, life extension, nanotechnology, robotics/AI, transhumanism

Dear all.

Hope you like it! Please make comments. Many tks.

Continue reading “Transhumanism: Could we live forever? BBC News” »

Sep 22, 2017

Listen up: the easiest place to use CRISPR might be in your ear

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Scientists are hopeful they can inject the gene-editing technology directly into the ear to stop hereditary deafness.

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Sep 21, 2017

Scientists discover ‘master gene’ crucial for successful pregnancy

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, government

S cientists have edited human embryos for the first time in the UK to discover a “master gene” that underpins successful pregnancies. The “game-changing” research promises improved IVF outcomes and a breakthrough in understanding why so many pregnancies fail.

The Government-funded investigation, undertaken by the Francis Crick Institute, is the first to prove that gene editing can be used to study the genetic behaviour of human embryos in their first few days of life.

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