Lifeboat Foundation

Daniel Dennett discusses the nature of consciousness, if consciousness is an illusion, artificial intelligence and virtual immortality, and how he covers all of this in his book, Just Deserts: Debating Free Will, co-authored with Gregg D. Caruso.

Just Deserts: Debating Free Will https://www.amazon.com/Just-Deserts-Debating-Free-Will/dp/15…atfound-20
Read an excerpt https://www.closertotruth.com/articles/book-excerpt-just-deserts.

Continue reading “Daniel Dennett on Consciousness, Virtual Immortality, and Panpsychism | Closer To Truth Chats” »

August 6, 2021

Daniel Dennett on Consciousness, Virtual Immortality, and Panpsychism | Closer To Truth Chats.

Talk kindly contributed by Michael Levin in SEMF’s 2022 Spacious Spatiality.

https://semf.org.es/spatiality.

Continue reading “Michael Levin | Cell Intelligence in Physiological and Morphological Spaces” »

Simple lifestyle changes can help you control three common diseases of the older eye: glaucoma, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

WE all know we should be eating more healthily.

Improving your diet lowers your risk of several diseases, boosts immunity and supports brain development.

And now, new research has found incorporating a certain five foods into your meals could help you live longer — and they all happen to be plant based.

😗😁 Year 2017 Cannabis restores brain function and reverses aging 😗.

In mice aged 12–18 months, chronic administration of low-dose Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) improves performance in behavioral learning and memory tasks, whereas a similar administration in younger mice (aged 2 months) impairs performance.

Summary: Probiotics might play a vital role in preventing cognitive decline associated with aging. By providing participants suffering from mild cognitive impairment with the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for three months, researchers observed enhanced cognitive performance and gut microbiome modifications.

The study suggests that altering gut microbiome might be a strategic approach to enhancing cognitive function in individuals with mild cognitive impairment. If replicated, these findings could revolutionize preventive strategies in cognitive health using gut microbiome-focused approaches.

A healthy immune system: the ultimate balancing act

The immune system is comprised of innate and adaptive immune responses, both of which are crucial in maintaining our health. The innate immune response is the first line of defense that immediately works to prevent the spread of pathogens and tumors.¹ The adaptive immune response is a more sophisticated, secondary response that is specialized to clear specific pathogens and provide long-lasting immunity.²

The efficacy of these two systems depends on balanced inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, referred to as immunomodulation. For example, upon injury or infection, macrophages secrete molecules that promote inflammation to dilate blood vessels and recruit other immune cells to the damaged site. Once the infection is cleared, the immune system mounts an anti-inflammatory, reparatory response.

Recent research published in Nature Communications has used machine learning algorithms to find new compounds that can eliminate senescent cells [1].

Senolytics are molecules that destroy senescent cells. Only a small number of such molecules have been identified, and only two have shown efficacy in clinical trials: dasatinib and quercetin in combination [2]. One of the biggest challenges is that senolytics often only work against specific types of cells. Additionally, some senolytics may work well for one cell type while being toxic to other, non-senescent cell types [3].

There is also a group of senolytics that are used in cancer therapies. However, most of them target pathways that are mutated in cancer. Therefore, they cannot be used as therapeutic agents in different contexts.