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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 1205

May 4, 2021

Aging fruit flies have impaired genetic responses to viral infections compared to young flies

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

In a study at The University of Alabama, aging fruit flies died faster than younger flies from a viral infection because of different genetic responses, lowering the older flies’ tolerance to the infection.

The findings published recently in G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics add to the understanding of innate immunity, the first line of defense against infections, which is not fully understood in humans, and prove the fruit fly, Drosophila, is a good candidate for aging immunity studies that could lead to advancements in treating in older humans.

“We are living in times where there is a substantial increase in aging populations, and we know there is a decline of immune function in humans as we age,” said Dr. Stanislava Chtarbanova, UA assistant professor of biological sciences whose lab led the study. “This is the first study to use the fly for investigating age-dependent, anti-viral responses. Our lab can leverage this genetic model to study the underlying aging immunity.”

May 4, 2021

Regular coffee drinkers have ‘cleaner’ arteries

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Circa 2015


Drinking a few cups of coffee a day may help people avoid clogged arteries — a known risk factor for heart disease — South Korean researchers believe.

May 4, 2021

Persuading the Body to Regenerate Its Limbs

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Deer can regrow their antlers, and humans can replace their liver. What else might be possible?

May 4, 2021

‘Last resort’ antibiotic pops bacteria like balloons

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Now, researchers have revealed that colistin punches holes in bacteria, causing them to pop like balloons. The work, funded by the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust, and published in the journal eLife, also identified a way of making the antibiotic more effective at killing bacteria.


Scientists have revealed how an antibiotic of ‘last resort’ kills bacteria.

The findings, from Imperial College London and the University of Texas, may also reveal a potential way to make the antibiotic more powerful.

Continue reading “‘Last resort’ antibiotic pops bacteria like balloons” »

May 3, 2021

Six new coronavirus symptoms just officially added to CDC list. What are they?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

New symptoms for the disease now include “chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell,” the CDC said.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tripled the number of coronavirus symptoms it lists on its website.

The federal organization previously listed fever, cough and shortness of breath as symptoms of COVID-19. The CDC has added six additional symptoms as people “have had a wide range of symptoms reported,” it says on its website.

May 3, 2021

How Tesla pivoted to avoid the global chip shortage that could last years

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing

Tesla explained how it pivoted to avoid the global microchip shortage that Intel now says could last for several more years.

The pandemic has resulted in an increase in demand for many electronics and computers that the supply chain couldn’t handle, especially the semiconductor industry.

This microchip shortage, in turn, affected the automotive industry, which has increasingly become a big consumer of microchips.

May 3, 2021

Six dementia patients got an unapproved gene therapy, CEO says

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

The study is part of an effort by entrepreneurs and scientists, dreamers and schemers, to demonstrate aging is not inevitable.

May 3, 2021

Meet the first all-civilian crew about to orbit Earth in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, space travel

Who could resist such an opportunity?


The iconic Launch Pad 39A will help take four Americans — a billionaire, a childhood cancer survivor, a science instructor and an engineer — into orbit.

May 3, 2021

‘Universal’ coronavirus vaccine may protect against variants, common cold

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, futurism

An experimental COVID-19 vaccine could potentially provide universal protection against future COVID-19 variants as well as other coronaviruses — maybe even the ones responsible for the common cold.

And it’s dirt cheap — less than $1 a dose, researchers say.

The vaccine targets a part of the COVID-19 virus’ spike protein that appears to be highly resistant to mutation and is common across nearly all coronaviruses, said senior researcher Dr. Steven Zeichner. He is a professor of pediatric infectious disease with the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville.

May 3, 2021

Next Generation of Covid-19 Vaccines Could Be Pill or Spray

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government

Drugmakers and government labs are developing doses easier to take and transport to tackle coronavirus variants and avert future pandemics.


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