Lifeboat Foundation

‘Barcoding’ studies discovered two independent sources for blood cells in mice. If confirmed in humans, our understanding of blood cancers, bone marrow transplants, and the aging immune system will change.

The origins of our blood may not be quite what we thought. Using cellular “barcoding” in mice, groundbreaking research finds that blood cells originate not from one type of mother cell, but two, with potential implications for blood cancers, bone marrow transplant, and immunology. Fernando Camargo, PhD, of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital led the study, published in the journal Nature on June 15, 2022.

“Historically, people have believed that most of our blood comes from a very small number of cells that eventually become blood stem cells, also known as hematopoietic stem cells,” says Camargo, who is also a member of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and a professor at Harvard University. “We were surprised to find another group of progenitor cells that do not come from stem cells. They make most of the blood in fetal life until young adulthood, and then gradually start decreasing.”

Merging COVID-19 + MonkeyFox +????

Martin Chartrand https://www.nbcnews.com/…/who-monkeypox-public-health…

Scientists have recently reported discovering what they believe is the most massive black hole ever discovered in the early Universe.

Continue reading “Scientists Find One of the Most Massive Black Holes With 34 Billion Times The Mass of Our Sun” »

The latest in the company’s series of AddArmor vehicles, the 2022 B6 Escalade features lightweight B6 AR 500 bullet-resistant material in every body panel that offers B6-level protection, plus B6-level reinforced glass that can sustain prolonged strikes from rocks, bats, or other blunt objects, the company claims. A PA siren system (to disperse crowds) and run-flat tires also help prepare the Escalade for dangerous situations. B6 protection is the highest level of civilian pr… See more.

The 2022 B6 Cadillac Escalade will let drug kingpins travel with the peace of mind that shots from an assault rifle can’t penetrate their luxury SUV.

The monkeypox virus has mutated at a far faster rate than would normally be expected and likely underwent a period of “accelerated evolution,” a new study suggests.

The virus, which has infected more than 3,500 people in 48 countries since its detection outside Africa in May, may be more infectious due to dozens of new mutations. In all, the virus carries 50 new mutations not seen in previous strains detected from 2018 to 2019, according to a new study published June 24 in the journal Nature Medicine.

Scientists usually don’t expect viruses like monkeypox to gain more than one or two mutations each year, the study authors noted.

Typhoid fever might be rare in developed countries, but this ancient threat, thought to have been around for millennia, is still very much a danger in our modern world.

According to new research, the bacterium that causes typhoid fever is evolving extensive drug resistance, and it’s rapidly replacing strains that aren’t resistant.

Currently, antibiotics are the only way to effectively treat typhoid, which is caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi). Yet over the past three decades, the bacterium’s resistance to oral antibiotics has been growing and spreading.

As they grow, solid tumors surround themselves with a thick, hard-to-penetrate wall of molecular defenses. Getting drugs past that barricade is notoriously difficult. Now, scientists at UT Southwestern have developed nanoparticles that can break down the physical barriers around tumors to reach cancer cells. Once inside, the nanoparticles release their payload: a gene editing system that alters DNA inside the tumor, blocking its growth and activating the immune system.

The new nanoparticles, described in Nature Nanotechnology, effectively stopped the growth and spread of ovarian and liver tumors in mice. The system offers a new path forward for the use of the gene editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9 in cancer treatment, said study leader Daniel Siegwart, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry at UT Southwestern.

“Although CRISPR offers a new approach for treating cancer, the technology has been severely hindered by the low efficiency of delivering payloads into tumors,” said Dr. Siegwart, a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Human Longevity Inc, which was built by the pioneers of the human genome sequencing effort, and Freedom Acquisition Corporation, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have announced that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent for a proposed business combination that would result in HLI becoming a publicly listed company. Assuming everything ticks along as planned, the parties currently expect to seek approval from Freedom’s shareholders by the first quarter of 2023.

Longevity. Technology: Unicorns are the stuff of legends and headlines, and while there can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed transaction will be consummated, the speculation is delicious because longevity start-ups with billion-dollar valuations mean more visible, accelerating progress for the sector.

The proposed transaction values the combined company at approximately $1 billion, providing HLI with funding to pursue growth and technology innovation – watch this space!

Patients with worsening heart failure who received colchicine, a common gout medication, had a survival rate of 97.9% compared with a 93.5% survival rate for patients who did not take colchicine.

Colchicine, a common gout medication, dramatically increased the survival rates of patients with worsening heart failure who were hospitalized, according to a recent University of Virginia (UVA) Health study. In individuals with an accumulation of cholesterol in their arteries, the researchers think colchicine might also lower the risk for heart attack and stroke.

More than 1,000 patients who were hospitalized at the University of Virginia Medical Center between March 2011 and February 2020 due to worsening heart failure had their records examined. Patients who took colchicine for a gout flare had a survival rate of 97.9%, as opposed to patients who did not receive colchicine, who had a survival rate of 93.5%.

As cyberattacks on medical networks continue to affect healthcare institutions across the country, organizations who are directly at risk of these attacks are seeking government assistance.

From January through June, the Office of Civil Rights tallied 256 hacks and information breaches, up from 149 for the same period a year ago. It’s a continuing trend from last year: Cybersecurity outfit Sophos reports that in 2021, attacks on health systems were up 66 percent over 2020.

Now some health systems are asking the federal government to step in and provide more security for what they consider critical national infrastructure.