Lifeboat Foundation

The natural ends of chromosomes appear alarmingly like broken DNA, much as a snapped spaghetti strand is difficult to distinguish from its intact counterparts. Yet every cell in our bodies must have a way of differentiating between the two because the best way to protect the healthy end of a chromosome also happens to be the worst way to repair damaged DNA.

Consider the enzyme telomerase, which is responsible for maintaining protective telomeres at the natural ends of chromosomes. Were telomerase to seal off a broken strand of DNA with a telomere, it would prevent further repair of that break and delete essential genes.

Now, a new study in Science describes how cells avoid such mishaps. These findings show that telomerase can indeed run amok, adding telomeres to damaged DNA, and would do so were it not for the ATR kinase, a key enzyme that responds to DNA damage.

More than 4,500 heart transplants were performed in the U.S. in 2023. While the lifesaving operation improves the quality of life and longevity for most recipients, organ rejection remains a risk, with acute rejection occurring in up to 32% of recipients within the first year.

A team of researchers from Emory University, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Pennsylvania developed artificial intelligence tools to examine cardiac biopsy images to improve the prediction of rejection, helping to ensure patients receive the best possible post-transplant treatment.

Currently, clinicians rely on histologic grading of cardiac biopsies to diagnose acute rejection. However, there are limitations to the method, which assigns International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) histologic grades corresponding to no, mild, moderate and severe rejection.

Like in many other species, it seems caloric restriction may be the most effective dog longevity diet:

What’s the best dog longevity diet? We read the science behind raw feeding, dried kibble, and caloric restriction and found a clear winner.

Summary: Researchers developed 20 novel recombinant rabies viral vectors that present unparalleled advantages for neural circuit mapping in aging and Alzheimer’s disease studies. These vectors are engineered to highlight microstructural changes in brain neurons through enhanced fluorescent proteins, offering insights into neural networks at both micro and macro scales.

The vectors’ unique ability to target specific neuron components and perform live imaging makes them potent tools for dissecting neural circuitry in healthy and diseased states. This innovation opens new pathways for targeted treatment strategies and will be shared with the neuroscience community through UCI’s Center for Neural Circuit Mapping.

Join us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/MichaelLustgartenPhDDiscount Links: NAD+ Quantification: https://www.jinfiniti.com/intracellular-nad-test/Use Cod…

An exploration of the implications of immortal alien civilizations. My Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/johnmichaelgodierMy Event Horizon Channel: https://…

The notion of time travel has fascinated humans for thousands of years, but it’s always been a work of fiction – until now.

Scientists have discovered evidence of time travel for real, albeit at a microscopic level. Till Bohmer and Thomas Blochowicz are the lead authors of a new study, Time reversibility during the ageing of materials, which is published in Nature Physics.

The research from the two researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany focuses on time effectively ‘shuffling’ in the structure of certain materials like glass.

“Aging reversal is something that’s been proven about eight different ways in animals,” geneticist George Church says. So when will humans get to turn back t…

A new tool that uses images of your face, tongue, and retina, could help gauge your risk of developing chronic diseases.