Until recently, the conventional wisdom within the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry has been that development is a one-way street, and once a person has passed through his formative years, experiences and abilities are very hard, if not impossible, to change. What if we could turn back the clock in the brain and recapture its…
Month: October 2016
First glimpse of end-of chromosome repair in real time
Researchers have developed a first-of-its- kind system to observe repair to broken DNA in newly synthesized telomeres, an effort which has implications for designing new cancer drugs. Penn Study Describes Mechanism of Chromosome Maintenance that Drives 15 Percent of Cancers PHILADELPHIA — Maintaining the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, allows cells to continuously divide and…
Ovaries may hold the secret for holding back ageing in females.
As we age, our metabolism slows and our immune system runs out of steam. Older people are more likely to have severe cold and flu symptoms, probably because they have fewer fresh immune cells left. And a slower metabolism means that glucose stays in the blood stream for longer after eating a meal. Over time,…
Migraines could be caused by gut bacteria, study suggests
Research shows sufferers have higher levels of bacteria involved in processing nitrates, and could explain why some foods appear to act as migraine triggers. More here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/18/migraines-could-be-caused-by-gut-bacteria-nitrates-food-trigger-study-suggests
Technology Man With MS Rises Out Of Wheelchair Days After Stem Cell Treatment
A UK man diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – who couldn’t walk without crutches due to his condition – was able to walk independently days after undergoing stem cell treatment. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2011, Eric Thompson, 50, was unable to walk without using a crutch or holding furniture. He was unable to…
Alzheimer’s disease could be treated with gene therapy, suggests animal study
Researchers have prevented the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice by using a virus to deliver a specific gene into the brain. The early-stage findings, by scientists from Imperial College London, open avenues for potential new treatments for the disease. In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the…
Artificial Intelligence Will Redesign Healthcare
AI is coming, and AI in healthcare is inevitable. A good roundup of where we are and where we are heading: AI in healthcare and medicine could organize patient routes or treatment plans better, and also provide physicians with literally all the information they need to make a good decision. And do not think it…
Anti-aging Rapamycin drug update
CNN explores the decade of research on Rapamycin and its potential as anti-aging drug. It has been administered to dogs with good results and to a small number of human subjects. “It’s been remarkable,” Paola Anderson said as she watched Momo, her 13-year-old white Pomsky, run around the backyard, keeping up with dogs a third…
Speeding Up Muscle Repair
Stem cells, is there anything they can’t do? As you get older your muscles deteriorate. Now scientists are finding improved muscle health after using stem cells. Athletes, the elderly and those with degenerative muscle disease would all benefit from accelerated muscle repair. When skeletal muscles, those connected to the bone, are injured, muscle stem cells…
Brain Cells Death: We May Know Why It Happens
BRAIN CELL ‘EXECUTIONER’ IDENTIFIED. Common culprit may cause damage in stroke, brain injury, neurodegenerative disease. Despite their different triggers, the same molecular chain of events appears to be responsible for brain cell death from strokes, injuries and even such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have pinpointed the protein at…
Limit to human life may be 115 (ish)
Human life spans may be limited to a maximum of about 115 years, claim US scientists. Their conclusions, published in the journal Nature, were made by analysing decades of data on human longevity. They said a rare few may live longer, but the odds were so poor you’d have to scour 10,000 planet Earths to…
As tech trickles in, medicine is about to hit warp speed
Digital Trends explores the near future trends in medicine and how what technology did to postal mail, CD music, newspapers and video is coming for medicine next. Now, instead of just puzzling over complex medical questions with our limited human brainpower, we’ve begun enlisting the help of machines to analyze vast amounts of data, recognize…