Lifeboat Foundation

A few days ago, United Nations World Food Program (WFP) director David Beasley told CNN that a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals such as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could help solve world hunger with just a fraction of their net worth. Musk’s net worth currently stands at $311 billion thanks to a recent rally in TSLA stock, effectively making the CEO the world’s wealthiest individual today.

While speaking at CNN’s Connect the World with Becky Anderson, Beasley called for billionaires to “step up now, on a one-time basis.” He also noted that even just 2% of Musk’s current net worth could solve world hunger. This translates to roughly about $6 billion. “$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die if we don’t reach them. It’s not complicated,” the UN WFP director said.

Musk has now responded to Beasley’s statements. While responding to a post on Twitter which highlighted that the UN World Food Program actually raised $8.4 billion in 2,020 Musk noted that if the WFP could explain exactly how $6 billion would solve world hunger, then he would be more than willing to sell some TSLA stock right now. This is a key point as most of Musk’s net worth is tied to his majority stake in Tesla. This means that for Musk to have $6 billion in cash, he’d have to sell TSLA stock, which would then be taxed.

A commonly available oral diuretic pill approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be a potential candidate for an Alzheimer’s disease treatment for those who are at genetic risk, according to findings published in Nature Aging. The research included analysis showing that those who took bumetanide — a commonly used and potent diuretic — had a significantly lower prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease compared to those not taking the drug. The study, funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, advances a precision medicine approach for individuals at greater risk of the disease because of their genetic makeup.

The research team analyzed information in databases of brain tissue samples and FDA-approved drugs, performed mouse and human cell experiments, and explored human population studies to identify bumetanide as a leading drug candidate that may potentially be repurposed to treat Alzheimer’s.

“Though further tests and clinical trials are needed, this research underscores the value of big data-driven tactics combined with more traditional scientific approaches to identify existing FDA-approved drugs as candidates for drug repurposing to treat Alzheimer’s disease,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D.

While the Hubble Space Telescope ages, the James Webb Telescope prepares to launch.

With the aging Hubble space telescope experiencing another malfunction, how does the venerable telescope compare with its soon to the forthcoming James Webb?

This videoclip is an excerpt of a movie produced by CGTN America entitled “Gene Therapies and the Promise of the Fountain of Youth” which was released in January 2021.

He añadido S/T en Español.

As tech titans invest in the quest to extend our lives, Anjana Ahuja asks if longer lifespans are at last possible — and at what cost.

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication.

So would the private station be a viable replacement for the ISS? The ageing station, which is a partnership between the US, Russia and other nations, is only funded until 2,024 with a 2028 extension looking probable, but it cannot last forever.

Blue Origin says its space station will be fully operational in the late 2020s, but deadline slippage is common when it comes to huge space-related projects like this one. “They can dream of being fully operational in the late 2020s, but in the space sector they often aim for aspirational targets and if they miss it by a year or two or three then they at least have something they’re aiming for until then,” says space analyst Laura Forczyk. “It’s almost inevitable that things take longer and are more expensive than planned.”

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Researchers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a way to selectively turn on gene therapies in target cells, including human cells. Their technology can detect specific messenger RNA sequences in cells, and that detection then triggers production of a specific protein from a transgene, or artificial gene.

Because transgenes can have negative and even dangerous effects when expressed in the wrong cells, the researchers wanted to find a way to reduce off-target effects from gene therapies. One way of distinguishing different types of cells is by reading the RNA sequences inside them, which differ from tissue to tissue.

By finding a way to produce transgene only after “reading” specific RNA sequences inside cells, the researchers developed a technology that could fine-tune gene therapies in applications ranging from regenerative medicine to cancer treatment. For example, researchers could potentially create new therapies to destroy tumors by designing their system to identify cancer cells and produce a toxic protein just inside those cells, killing them in the process.

Scientists say it could represent a bridge between freshwater and marine species.

A team of researchers publishing in Aging have shown that resveratrol reduces inflammation and partially restores function in a rat model of spinal injury.

In line with previous research

This is far from the first study that aimed to use approaches associated with aging research in order to spur regeneration. For example, we have previously reported that removing senescent cells aids in spinal cord regeneration in a rodent model, at least partially because of the associated reduction in inflammation.