The DNA of Hans Jonaton, an ex-slave who fled to Iceland in 1802, has been reconstructed using only the genes of his descendants.
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Category: biotech/medical
A look back at the most popular life extension articles of 2017. Here is the report “Can We Live To 120 On the Blood Of Teens?”
Parabiosis is back in the spotlight. The latest news reports that scientists have discovered the previously hidden rejuvenating factors in young blood.
Young blood seems to have healing powers, but how can we get benefit from them without relying on donors?
Newly published research shows that scientists may have found one of the hidden factors in the blood that are responsible its rejuvenating effects.
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A look back at the most popular life extension articles of 2017. Here is the report Can We Live to 120 on the Fasting Mimicking Diet or Calorie Restriction?
Summary: The Fasting Mimicking Diet, also called the Valter Longo diet, and the spartan practice of calorie restriction are the twin subjects of two recent research reports. Both research reports show that the fasting regimens offer potential health benefits. This article includes commentary by the inventor of the Fasting Mimicking Diet, Valter Longo. [Cover Photo: Ryan McGuire.]
The idea that animals can live longer, healthier lives by drastically reducing their calorie intake is not exactly new. Scientists have repeatedly demonstrated the life-extending value of calorie restriction (CR) in animals from worms to monkeys—with the implication that the same might be true for humans.
In fact, geroscientists consider CR as one of the most effective ways to extend lifespan. Our metabolism slows down as we age, due to a phenomenon called deregulated nutrient sensing. This metabolic change contributes to a host of age-related diseases.
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Pancreas in a box is currently in first clinical trial in patients with type 1 diabetes and contains beta cells grown from stem cells.
The pancreas in a box contains beta cells grown from stem cells and is currently in its first-ever clinical trial in patients with type 1 diabetes. Geroscientists are hopeful that a replacement pancreas grown from stem cells will be much healthier than insulin injections, and are working on pure stem cell-based treatments. [Editor’s note: the article has been updated on 10/19/2017 and the title changed.]
Experts once thought that developing and testing an effective stem cell treatment for diabetes would take years.
Due to a recent discovery, a cure may closer than we think.
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AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products) are in the spotlight again as scientists implicate these toxins in inflammaging, cancer, and diabetes.
Summary: AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) are in the spotlight again as geroscientists implicate this toxic waste of our bodies in a multitude of health conditions, including inflammaging, cancer, and diabetes. Some scientists go as far as to link AGEs to an increase in the chronic inflammation which leads to heart attacks. [Cover photo: Getty Images.]. Follow us on Google+ | Facebook | Reddit. See more articles by the author at Google+.
Executive Summary
Are advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) a villain that causes chronic diseases or are they merely an innocent bystander?
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In the process outlined in the paper, a robotic implant about ten centimetres long is attached to the outside of the organ with two steel ‘O’ rings fixed around the tubular sections of the oesophagus. The unit containing the motor, sensors and electronics is sheathed in a biocompatible waterproof skin and connected by cable to a wearable control unit outside the body, and mechanostimulation encourages cell growth in the area between the rings.
The results were encouraging. Over nine days the implant extended the test pigs’ oesophageal length by 77% between the two rings, not by stretching the organ but by stimulating cellular growth within it. During this period the organ also experienced normal blood flow and functionality.
It sounds like something out of Star Trek, but an international team report success with a cell-regenerating robot implant. Andrew P Street reports.
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A new immune mechanism that uses mitochondrial DNA was discovered by Swedish researchers.
Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have discovered a new kind of warning system that plays a role in the immune system. Mitochondria in the white blood cells produce a web of DNA fibers that act as a kind of alarm.
The Mitochondrial web slinger
White blood cells (leukocytes) are a primary part of our immune system, and they help to defend us from the threat of disease. In the new study, the research team showed that several types of leukocytes react to the small DNA fragments, which resemble the DNA from bacteria and viruses[1]. The leukocytes secrete a web made of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) strands.
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