Category: biotech/medical – Page 2,671
Physical exercise doesn’t slow down dementia once it appears, study shows
Physical exercise is a key piece of the brain health puzzle, but certainly not a magic pill.
___ Exercise ‘doesn’t slow’ progression of dementia (NHS Choices): A trial in which people with dementia took part in a moderately intense exercise programme for 4 months found their mental decline did not slow and may even have worsened faster than in people who did not take part in the programme…While the exercise.
Graphene ‘stimulation’ could selectively kill off cancer cells
A chance lab discovery is opening up the possibility for wide-scale improvements in drug screening, application of selective painkillers, and selectively nuking cancer cells. The mystery material? Graphene, a semi-metal that’s composed of a single layer of carbon atoms. It’s already being used to make flexible OLED displays and reduce the energy costs of desalination, but its potential benefits for the medical field look promising too.
It began with a theory — scientists at the University of California knew graphene could convert light into electricity, and wondered whether that electricity had the capacity to stimulate human cells. Graphene is extremely sensitive to light (1,000 times more than traditional digital cameras and smartphones) and after experimenting with different light intensities, Alex Savchenko and his team discovered that cells could indeed be stimulated via optical graphene stimulation.
“I was looking at the microscope’s computer screen and I’m turning the knob for light intensity and I see the cells start beating faster,” he said. “I showed that to our grad students and they were yelling and jumping and asking if they could turn the knob. We had never seen this possibility of controlling cell contraction.”
Why NAD+ Declines With Age
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a nucleotide, is critical for life to exist. From the most simple bacteria to complex multicellular organisms such as humans, NAD is a vital component of cellular function and thus life.
An increased level of NAD+ appears to convey health and longevity, and a decrease is associated with aging and disease. Today, we are going to look at NAD+, why it declines with age, and what science might do about it.
A mix of Viagra and the flu vaccine could treat cancer, study finds
A combination of Viagra and a flu vaccine could treat cancer, surprising new research suggests.
The team at the University of Ottawa found that erectile dysfunction drugs block suppressor cells, allowing natural killer cells to do their cancer-fighting job. The flu vaccine further invigorates the killer cells.
AACUS-equipped autonomous helicopter makes first cargo delivery to US Marines
Aurora Flight Services’ Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) took another step forward as an AACUS-enabled UH-1H helicopter autonomously delivered 520 lb (236 kg) of water, gasoline, MREs, communications gear, and a cooler capable of carrying urgent supplies such as blood to US Marines in the field.
Last week’s demonstration at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California was the first ever autonomous point-to-point cargo resupply mission to Marines and was carried out as part of an Integrated Training Exercise. The completion of what has been billed as the system’s first closed-loop mission involved the modified helicopter carrying out a full cargo resupply operation that included takeoff and landing with minimal human intervention.
Developed as part of a US$98-million project by the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), AACUS is an autonomous flight system that can be retrofitted to existing helicopters to make them pilot optional. The purpose of AACUS is to provide the US armed forces with logistical support in the field with a minimum of hazard to human crews.
Blocking anti-aging enzymes makes cancer die of old age
At the cellular level, aging and cancer are two sides of the same coin. The mechanism that limits a cell’s lifespan can be slowed down, but that can turn them cancerous, as they divide unchecked. Now, scientists at EPFL have found a way to manipulate that mechanism to effectively turn off cancer’s immortality, letting it die slowly and naturally.
Every time a cell divides, it consults the blueprints contained in the chromosomes, but some genetic information is lost with every division. To protect the important bits, the tips of the chromosomes are covered with repeating sequences of “junk” DNA known as telomeres. Eventually even they erode away, leaving the cell vulnerable to damage – which we recognize as wrinkles, grey hairs, decreased metabolism, and higher chances of disease. In that way, telomere length is inextricably linked to aging.
Curcumin improves memory and mood, new UCLA study says
Found in turmeric, curcumin has previously been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in lab studies. It also has been suggested as a possible reason that senior citizens in India, where curcumin is a dietary staple, have a lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and better cognitive performance.
“Exactly how curcumin exerts its effects is not certain, but it may be due to its ability to reduce brain inflammation, which has been linked to both Alzheimer’s disease and major depression,” said Dr. Gary Small, director of geriatric psychiatry at UCLA’s Longevity Center and of the geriatric psychiatry division at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, and the study’s first author.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 40 adults between the ages of 50 and 90 years who had mild memory complaints. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or 90 milligrams of curcumin twice daily for 18 months.
Flow of cerebrospinal fluid regulates division
Stem cells in the brain can divide and mature into neurons participating in various brain functions, including memory. In a paper scientists have discovered that the flow of cerebrospinal fluid is a key signal for neural stem cell renewal.
The ancient Greek aphorism panta rhei means “everything flows”, a phrase used by philosophers to describe the constant flux and interplay between the past and renewal. A recent paper lends this relationship a whole new meaning: a team of researchers headed by Professor Magdalena Götz and their collaborators from the LMU (Professor Benedikt Grothe, Chair of Neurobiology) and the Henrich-Heine University Düsseldorf have discovered that the flow of cerebrospinal fluid is a key signal for neural stem cell renewal.
“Neural stem cells in the brain can divide and mature into neurons and this process plays important roles in various regions of the brain – including olfactory sense and memory,” explains Magdalena Götz, Head of LMU Department of Physiological Genomics and Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Research at Helmholtz Zentrum München. “These cells are located in what is known as the neurogenic stem cell niche one of which is located at the walls of the lateral ventricles, where they are in contact with circulating cerebrospinal fluid.”