Lifeboat Foundation

Let the record show that the current COVID-19 vaccines work, and they work well. But what is the next step in vaccine development, especially amid increasing rates of breakthrough infections and emergence of variants of concern?

In a new Northwestern Medicine study in mice, researchers took one of the current vaccines, which is based on the novel coronavirus’s infamous spike protein, and added a different antigen, the nucleocapsid protein, to form a new, potentially improved version of the COVID vaccine. The nucleocapsid protein, which is an internal RNA-binding protein, may help kick the immune system into high gear much more quickly than the spike protein is capable of since it is among the most rapidly and highly expressed proteins in coronaviruses.

“At this point, we’re just trying to figure out ‘What should the 2.0 vaccines be?’” said senior and corresponding study author Pablo Penaloza-MacMaster, an assistant professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It seems like adding nucleocapsid to the vaccine renders it more protective, relative to having only the spike.”

This could be a game changer.

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Val Kilmer marked the release of his acclaimed documentary “Val” (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) in a milestone way: He recreated his old speaking voice by feeding hours of recorded audio of himself into an artificial intelligence algorithm. Kilmer lost the ability to speak after undergoing throat cancer treatment in 2014. Kilmer’s team recently joined forces with software company Sonantic and “Val” distributor Amazon to “create an emotional and lifelike model of his old speaking voice” (via The Wrap).

Continue reading “Val Kilmer Recreated His Speaking Voice Using Artificial Intelligence and Hours of Old Audio” »

If you’ve ever seen a petunia with artfully variegated petals, then you’ve seen transposons at work. The flower’s showy color patterns are due to transposable elements, or DNA sequences that can move locations within a genome. Yet when it comes to transposons’ effects on humans, the results might not be as lovely or desirable.

As researchers learn more about these so-called mobile genetic elements, they’ve found increasing evidence that transposons influence and even promote aging and age-related diseases like cancer as well as neurogenerative and autoimmune disorders, says John Sedivy, a professor of biology and director of the Center on the Biology of Aging at Brown. Sedivy is the corresponding author of a new review article in Nature that discusses the latest thinking and research around transposons.

“Let’s put it this way: These things can be pretty dangerous,” said Sedivy. “If they are uncontrolled, and there are many examples of that, transposons can have profound consequences on most forms of life that we know of.”

The Conboys are looking at human trials soon but not with E5. it will be interesting to see how their trial compares to this E5 dog trial.

In this video Dr. Fahy shares his opinion on some of the up and coming anti-aging therapies, including NAD boosters, Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers and senolytics.

Continue reading “E5 On Dogs Project: Validating The 54% Reduction In Epigenetic Age | Dr Greg Fahy Episode 8” »

The gut microbiota plays an important role in human health and the prevention of disease. As a result, changes in its regular functioning may play a part in some medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndromeTrusted Source, obesityTrusted Source, and cardiovascular diseasesTrusted Source.

A recent study investigates the connection between high fat diets, gut bacteria, and an increased risk of developing heart disease.

New evidence shows that patients with Long COVID syndrome continue to have higher measures of blood clotting, which may help explain their persistent symptoms, such as reduced physical fitness and fatigue.

The study, led by researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

Previous work by the same group studied the dangerous clotting observed in patients with severe acute COVID-19. However, far less is known about Long COVID syndrome, where symptoms can last weeks to months after the initial infection has resolved and is estimated to affect millions of people worldwide.

Widespread pain, a subset of chronic pain associated with musculoskeletal disorders, is linked to an increased risk of all types of dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease, and a greater risk of stroke.

In the study, researchers in the laboratory of Anna Penn, MD, Ph.D., now at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and previously at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., found that reducing amounts of a single hormone, called allopregnanolone (ALLO), in the placenta caused brain and behavior changes in male offspring that resemble changes seen in some people with autism spectrum disorder. The study also found that both brain structure and behavioral changes in the mice could be prevented with a single injection of ALLO in late pregnancy.

Preterm birth has been shown to increase the risk of autism spectrum disorders and other developmental problems, particularly in males. The more premature a baby is, the greater the risk of either motor or cognitive deficits. What does the preterm baby lose that is so critical to long-term outcomes?

A new study, in mice, suggests that one factor may be the loss of a placental hormone that the developing brain would normally see in the second half of pregnancy.

Continue reading “Loss of placental hormone linked to brain and social behavior changes” »