Lifeboat Foundation

Schizophrenia is a disorder that affects how people act, think, and perceive reality. It is often very difficult to treat because it has many different causes and symptoms. In a study published last month in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have identified an autoantibody—a protein that is produced by the immune system to attach to a specific substance from the individual’s own body, rather than to a foreign substance like a virus or bacteria—in some patients with schizophrenia. Notably, they also found that this autoantibody caused schizophrenia-like behaviors and changes in the brain when they injected it into mice.

When considering possible autoantibodies that might cause schizophrenia, the research team had a specific protein in mind. Previous research has suggested that neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM1), which helps cells in the brain talk to one another via specialized connections known as synapses, may have a role in the development of schizophrenia.

“We decided to look for autoantibodies against NCAM1 in around 200 healthy controls and 200 patients with schizophrenia,” explains lead author of the study Hiroki Shiwaku. “We only found these autoantibodies in 12 patients, suggesting that they may be associated with the disorder in just a small subset of schizophrenia cases.”

Methylation clocks are taking the longevity community by storm, but why are they so useful?

Do you know how old you really are? I am not doubting your ability to remember your birthday or questioning the honesty of your parents. Do you, on a fundamental level, know how ‘old’ your body truly is? Now surely that is just the same as the number of years you have been around, which would be your chronological age? Well in reality the answer to how ‘old’ your body is comes down to much more than simply how long you have been around for.

Allow me to explain by falling back to the commonly used automobile analogy. Let’s imagine I bought two identical Ford Escorts in 1982, and then proceeded to place one of them inside a time capsule, where it would be kept at a constant temperature in a non-reactive atmosphere. I then proceeded to drive the second car for the next 40 years. Over that 40 years, this car is going to experience wear and tear, and will most likely break down several times which will require mechanical intervention (analogous to medical intervention). Now, after this 40-year period I am going to take the first car out of storage and compare the two cars side by side. Which car is in the better condition? Well, the car that was preserved, obviously. Which car is likely to last the longest from that point onward? Well, the car which has been preserved, obviously.

“Functional mutations in the growth hormone pathway” meaning it is not active. What’s good for you as a youngster might not be good for you when you’re old.

Dr Nir Barzilai reveals what the longevity genes project found on why Centenarians live longer, not the longevity genes, not healthy lifestyles in this clip.

Continue reading “NOT The Longevity Genes!? Surprising Facts WHY Centenarians LIVE LONGER | Dr Nir Barzilai Clips” »

After surgery, some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy, according to two studies exploring shorter, gentler cancer care.

Researchers are looking for ways to precisely predict which cancer patients can avoid unneeded treatment to cut down on harmful side effects and unnecessary costs.

One new study used a blood test to determine which colon cancer patients could skip chemotherapy after surgery. Another suggests some low-risk breast cancer patients can omit radiation after lumpectomy.

This is a fantastic podcast exploration of a rapidly maturing, wildley varied fields of science, the military, medicine, the industrialization, exploration, and colonization of our solar system, and the hope for, path to, and purpose of the successful creation of a posthuman, post scarcity future. Its a future destination for humanity that will require a seemless, successful integration of our human biology with artificial intelligence and advanced nonbiological — AND artificially biological — mechanical systems that in one way or another all pass through a very few neccessary technological achievements. In this case it is the seemless communication in both directions of the biological, in this specific case it’s the human sense of touch.

When Brandon Prestwood’s left hand was caught in an industrial conveyor belt six years ago, he lost his arm. Scientists are slowly unraveling the science of touch by trying to tap into the human nervous system and recreate the sensations of pressure for people like Prestwood. After an experimental surgery, Brandon’s prosthetic arm was upgraded with a rudimentary sense of touch—a major development in technology that could bring us all a little closer together.

Continue reading “Restoring a lost sense of touch | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic” »

A study published today in Cell Reports reveals how populations of a bacterium called Pseudomonas respond to being treated with Colistin, a “last resort” antibiotic for patients who have developed multi-drug resistant infections.

Antibiotics play a key role in human health by helping to combat bacterial infection, but bacteria can evolve resistance to antibiotics patients rely on. Antibiotic–resistant infections now cause 1 million deaths worldwide per year.

With a small number of “last-resort” antibiotics available, researchers from the University of Oxford are investigating the processes that drive the rise, and fall, of resistance in common bacterial pathogen populations, which is key to tackling the increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The US-based scientists said complete remission in every patient was “unheard-of,” but experts warn the study is very small.

The oil kingdom fears that its population is aging at an accelerated rate and hopes to test drugs to reverse the problem. First up might be the diabetes drug metformin.

One theory for is that it is similar to the “death feint” that some animals show. When faced with a predator of overwhelming size or strength, some prey animals will freeze and presumably the predator may not notice them.

One patient in the study vividly described seeing a snake (which also spoke to her). We can’t say from one example that her body was adopting a primitive defence to a predator, but it’s certainly a possibility.

Catatonia remains a mysterious condition, stuck halfway between neurology and psychiatry. At least by understanding what people may be experiencing, we can provide reassurance and empathy.