Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,642

The first quantum revolution brought about semiconductor electronics, the laser and finally the internet. The coming, second quantum revolution promises spy-proof communication, extremely precise quantum sensors and quantum computers for previously unsolvable computing tasks. But this revolution is still in its infancy. A central research object is the interface between local quantum devices and light quanta that enable the remote transmission of highly sensitive quantum information. The Otto-Hahn group “Quantum Networks” at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching is researching such a “quantum modem”. The team has now achieved a first breakthrough in a relatively simple but highly efficient technology that can be integrated into existing fiber optic networks. The work is published this week in Physical Review X.

The Corona pandemic is a daily reminder of how important the internet has become. The World Wide Web, once a by-product of basic physical research, has radically changed our culture. Could a quantum internet become the next major innovation out of physics?

It is still too early to answer that question, but basic research is already working on the quantum internet. Many applications will be more specialized and less sensual than video conferencing, but the importance of absolutely spy-proof long-distance communication is understandable to everyone. “In the future, a quantum internet could be used to connect quantum computers located in different places,” Andreas Reiserer says, “which would considerably increase their computing power!” The physicist heads the independent Otto-Hahn research group “Quantum Networks” at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching.

Read more | >

Hi everybody. Today, it was published a paper in which it’s described the research that led to the identification and testing of a peptide that reduces the amount of senescent cells in the skin, and that peptide is being used in the first product in the whole world (as far as I know) that is already in the market and reduces the amount of senescent cells in humans (in this case, in the skin). The paper can be found in I don’t think it’s an ordinary thing that a product that reduces the amount of senescent cells is being sold in the market. After many years watching Aubrey de Grey’s talks, and reading news about promising researches about senescent cells, and about the formation of many companies to research how to reduce the amount of senescent cells, finally there is something that reached the public. This paper is very important as it allows that the rejuvenation field analyzes it and be prepared to seize this opportunity to show to the world, in practice, that the theoretical base of the rejuvenation therapies can be translated to practice and rejuvenate the human body — in this case, the skin. As some of you already know, the company which organized this research and launched the product is OneSkin, and its CEO, Carolina Reis, has been presenting their research in several conferences in the rejuvenation field in the last months. OneSkin is a company with its interests, of course, but at the same time is a representative of the rejuvenation field which is opening a path for all the other companies.

Skin aging has been primarily related to aesthetics and beauty. Therefore, interventions have focused on reestablishing skin appearance, but not necessarily skin health, function, and resilience. Recently, cellular senescence was shown to play a role in age-related skin function deterioration and influence organismal health and, potentially, longevity. In the present study, a two-step screening was performed to identify peptides capable of reducing cellular senescence in human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) from Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria (HGPS) patients. From the top four peptides of the first round of screening, we built a 764-peptide library using amino acid scanning, of which the second screen led to the identification of peptide 14. Peptide 14 effectively decreased HDF senescence induced by HGPS, chronological aging, ultraviolet-B radiation, and etoposide treatment, without inducing significant cell death, and likely by modulating longevity and senescence pathways. We further validated the effectiveness of peptide 14 using human skin equivalents and skin biopsies, where peptide 14 promoted skin health and reduced senescent cell markers, as well as the biological age of samples, according to the Skin-Specific DNA methylation clock, MolClock. Topical application of peptide 14 outperformed Retinol treatment, the current gold-standard in anti-aging skincare. Finally, we determined that peptide 14 is safe for long-term applications and also significantly extends both the lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans worms tested in two independent testings. This highlights the potential for geroprotective applications of the senotherapeutic compounds identified using our screening platform beyond the skin.

MB, AZ, CR, LB, EA, and JC are named as inventors of a patent directed at this invention, which is solely owned by OneSkin, Inc. MB, AZ, CR, EA, and JC are co-founders of OneSkin Inc. SAV and MR are co-founders of the startup company NemaLife Inc. that is commercializing microfluidic devices used in this study and licensed from Texas Tech University. SAV, MR, and TA are named inventors on a patent owned by Texas Tech University and receive royalty fees.

Read more | >

In the last few years, countless cyber-attacks were reported globally that were linked to the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese cyber-hackers, who target the foreign networks and websites are sponsored by the Chinese government. They are highly trained and have acquired abilities not only to exploit common vulnerabilities but also to discover and even create new vulnerabilities.

The US National Security Agency’s in-depth report of 23rd October points out that one of the greatest threats to the US National Security Systems, Defence Industrial Base and Department of Defence information networks is the “Chinese state sponsored malicious cyber activity”. The report underlines that the Chinese hackers exploit “computer networks of interest that hold sensitive intellectual property, economic, political, and military information.”

In July 2020, US had ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Huston, when it discovered that the Chinese officials there were involved in the intellectual property theft and indicted two Chinese nationals for allegedly hacking hundreds of companies and crucially had attempted to steal coronavirus vaccine research. The United States Department of Justice has charged five Chinese national for their involvement in hacking targets not only in the US governments but also the networks of the Indian and Vietnam government. They also carried out attacks on the UK government network unsuccessfully.

Read more | >

Artificial intelligence helps scientists make discoveries, but not everyone can understand how it reaches its conclusions. One UMaine computer scientist is developing deep neural networks that explain their findings in ways users can comprehend, applying his work to biology, medicine and other fields.

Interpretable machine learning, or AI that creates explanations for the findings it reaches, defines the focus of Chaofan Chen’s research. The assistant professor of computer science says interpretable machine learning also allows AI to make comparisons among images and predictions from data, and at the same time, elaborate on its reasoning.

Scientists can use interpretable machine learning for a variety of applications, from identifying birds in images for wildlife surveys to analyzing mammograms.

Read more | >

Origami-inspired tissue engineering — using eggshells, plant leaves, marine sponges, and paper as substrates.

Ira Pastor ideaXme life sciences ambassador interviews Dr. Gulden Camci-Unal, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, at the Department Chemical Engineering, Francis College of Engineering, UMass Lowell.

Ira Pastor comments:

A few episodes ago ideaXme hosted the University of Michigan’s Dr. Bruce Carlson. We spoke to him about the interesting topic of the importance of “substrate” in regenerative processes, for both the maintenance of normal tissue functions, and in the migration of cells or changes to tissue architecture that are part of healing processes.

Substrate is broadly defined as the surface or material on, or from which, cells / tissues live, grow, or obtain nourishment, and have both biochemical, as well as biomechanical functions.

Continue reading “Science of Building Bones with Eggshells and Origami” | >

“There are two critical factors in this world: time and energy. Time is the only limited resource and therefore the most important one in our lives. Energy moves everything — our bodies, our lives and even all the digital revolution that is not physical depends on energy to be shared. We have no more time to cure the world and the Covid-19 is an amazing gift to better understand the important and critical things of our lives. It is a very important wake-up call for everyone.”

As more Israeli companies continue to seek solutions to economic and environmental challenges, we’ll see more local investors deploy capital in this space. Lack of acquisitions in this space – as opposed to a vertical like cybersecurity — are one main reason for the initial hesitancy of Israeli VCs.

Regardless of social impact or double bottom line investing, Israel is poised to lead another vertical impacting our global community. This has life-altering ramifications for future generations.

Read more | >