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After controlling for factors such as age, sex, handedness, first language, education level, and other variables, the researchers found that those who had contracted COVID-19 tended to underperform on the intelligence test compared to those who had not contracted the virus. The greatest deficits were observed on tasks requiring reasoning, planning and problem solving, which is in line “with reports of long-COVID, where ‘brain fog,’ trouble concentrating and difficulty finding the correct words are common,” the researchers said.


People who have recovered from COVID-19 tend to score significantly lower on an intelligence test compared to those who have not contracted the virus, according to new research published in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine. The findings suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can produce substantial reductions in cognitive ability, especially among those with more severe illness.

“By coincidence, the pandemic escalated in the United Kingdom in the middle of when I was collecting cognitive and mental health data at very large scale as part of the BBC2 Horizon collaboration the Great British Intelligence Test,” said lead researcher Adam Hampshire (@HampshireHub), an associate professor in the Computational, Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory at Imperial College London.

“The test comprised a set of tasks designed to measure different dimensions of cognitive ability that had been designed for application in both citizen science and clinical research. A number of my colleagues contacted me in parallel to point out that this provided an opportunity to gather important data on how the pandemic and COVID-19 illness were affecting mental health and cognition.”

“In this study, for the first time, we see evidence that events which were always assumed to be occurring in the same manner, regardless of sex, may actually be completely different in males compared to females. The fact that these differences involve astrocytes, which have traditionally been ignored in neuroscience but have recently become a hot topic for study, makes them all the more intriguing.”


Summary: Thrombospondin-2, a protein with cell adhesion properties usually secreted by astrocytes, prompted a strong increase in synapses in male-derived neurons but showed no effect in females.

Source: Marshall University

During development, brain cells may find different ways to connect with each other based on sex, according to researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

The study, recently published in eNeuro, showed a significantly more robust synaptogenic response in male-derived cells compared to female-derived cells when exposed to factors secreted from astrocytes, which are non-neuronal cells found throughout the central nervous system.

Universe Today.


Space may be pretty, but it’s dangerous. Astronauts face a much higher dose of ionizing radiation than us Earth-bound folks, and a new report says that NASA’s current guidelines and risk assessment methods are in serious need of an update.

On the surface of the Earth, protected by our extensive magnetic field and layers of thick atmosphere, we experience about 2–3 milliSieverts (mSv) of radiation exposure every year. Even that background level is enough to trigger the occasional cancer growth.

But astronauts, especially those hoping to go on upcoming long-term missions to the Moon and Mars, face a much greater risk due to the high-energy, ionizing radiation constantly soaking every cubic centimeter of space. To mitigate that risk, NASA currently implements a system based on “risk of exposure-induced death” (REID). The space agency estimates the exposure for each astronaut based on their sex, and if the REID exceeds 3%, their spacefaring careers are over.

This video explains x-linked traits/sex linked traits and thomas hunt morgan experiment.

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There are Sirt6 activators on the market, but since we are not seeing any major news about results I would question their value.


SPONSOR: Longevity. Technology — https://www.longevity.technology/?utm_source=SSS&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_campaign=Sirt6

Sirtuins are highly conserved proteins that are involved in a variety of important cellular processes such as DNA repair, metabolism and circadian rhythms. The mammalian sirtuins (SIRT1-7) are a family of proteins that carry out NAD+-dependent protein deacylation and mono-ADP-ribosylation. These modifications on proteins can influence their stability, localisation within a cell and activity.

In the late 90s interest in sirtuins bloomed as it was found yeast lived 30% longer when they had an additional copy of a yeast sirtuin, Sir2. Similar studies have now been performed in mice, but whilst overexpression of SIRT1 in mice does not result in lifespan extension, overexpression of SIRT6 does. This has led to SIRT6 being referred to as the longevity sirtuin. However, there seems to be some sex-and mouse strain-dependent differences. So, in the remainder of the video, we will discuss what you need to know about SIRT6 including it’s proposed cellular activities, it’s association with longevity and how SIRT6 activation using allosteric activators could have future therapeutic potential.

TIMESTAMPS:
Intro — 00:00
Sirtuins — 00:45
SIRT1, SIRT6 and longevity — 03:00
SIRT6 and DNA damage — 08:30
Activating SIRT6 — 09:50
Additional thoughts — 11:45

#longevity #science #latestresearch #TSSS

REFERENCES:
Roichman, A., Elhanati, S., Aon, M.A. et al. Restoration of energy homeostasis by SIRT6 extends healthy lifespan. Nat Commun 12, 3208 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23545-7
Regulation of SIRT6 protein levels by nutrient availability — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2008.01.019
Regulation of SIRT1 protein levels by nutrient availability — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2008.06.005
Kanfi, Y., Naiman, S., Amir, G. et al. The sirtuin SIRT6 regulates lifespan in male mice. Nature 483218–221 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10815
Sirtuin activators and inhibitors: Promises, achievements, and challenges — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2018.03.004
SIRT6 Is Responsible for More Efficient DNA Double-Strand Break Repair in Long-Lived Species — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.043
Huang, Z., Zhao, J., Deng, W. et al. Identification of a cellularly active SIRT6 allosteric activator. Nat Chem Biol 14, 1118–1126 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-018-0150-0

Check out @LifeXtenShow latest video — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03CuLLLzHM

Wines and table grapes exist thanks to a genetic exchange so rare that it’s only happened twice in nature in the last 6 million years. And since the domestication of the grapevine 8000 years ago, breeding has continued to be a gamble.

When today’s growers cultivate new varieties – trying to produce better-tasting and more disease-resistant grapes – it takes two to four years for breeders to learn whether they have the genetic ingredients for the perfect flower.

Females set fruit, but produce sterile pollen. Males have stamens for pollen, but lack fruit. The perfect flower, however, carries both sex genes and can self-pollinate. These hermaphroditic varieties generally yield bigger and better-tasting berry clusters, and they’re the ones researchers use for additional cross-breeding.

Skin aging is a multifactorial process consisting of two distinct and independent mechanisms: intrinsic and extrinsic aging. Youthful skin retains its turgor, resilience and pliability, among others, due to its high content of water. Daily external injury, in addition to the normal process of aging, causes loss of moisture. The key molecule involved in skin moisture is hyaluronic acid (HA) that has unique capacity in retaining water. There are multiple sites for the control of HA synthesis, deposition, cell and protein association and degradation, reflecting the complexity of HA metabolism. The enzymes that synthesize or catabolize HA and HA receptors responsible for many of the functions of HA are all multigene families with distinct patterns of tissue expression. Understanding the metabolism of HA in the different layers of the skin and the interactions of HA with other skin components will facilitate the ability to modulate skin moisture in a rational manner.

Keywords: hyaluronic acid, hyaluronic acid synthases, hyaluronidases, CD44, RHAMM, skin aging.

Human skin aging is a complex biological process, not yet fully understood. It is the result of two biologically independent processes. The first is intrinsic or innate aging, an unpreventable process, which affects the skin in the same pattern as it affects all internal organs. The second is extrinsic aging, which is the result of exposure to external factors, mainly ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, that is also referred to as photoaging.1 Intrinsic skin aging is influenced by hormonal changes that occur with age,2 such as the gradual decreased production of sex hormones from the mid-twenties and the diminution of estrogens and progesterone associated with menopause. It is well established that the deficiency in estrogens and androgens results in collagen degradation, dryness, loss of elasticity, epidermal atrophy and wrinkling of the skin.3

Males may have shorter lifespans than females due to repetitive sections of the Y chromosome that create toxic effects as males get older. These new findings appear in a study by Doris Bachtrog of the University of California, Berkeley published April 22 in PLOS Genetics.

In humans and other species with XY sex chromosomes, females often live longer than . One possible explanation for this disparity may be repetitive sequences within the genome. While both males and females carry these repeat sequences, scientists have suspected that the large number of repeats on the Y chromosome may create a “toxic y effect” that shortens males’ lives. To test this idea, Bachtrog studied male fruit flies from the species Drosophila miranda, which have about twice as much repetitive DNA as and a shorter lifespan. They showed that when the DNA is in its tightly packed form inside the cells of young male flies, the repeat sections are turned off. But as the flies age, the DNA assumes a looser form that can activate the repeat sections, resulting in .

The new study demonstrates that Y chromosomes that are rich in repeats are a genomic liability for males. The findings also support a more general link between repeat DNA and aging, which currently, is poorly understood. Previous studies in have shown that when repeat sections become active, they impair memory, shorten the lifespan and cause DNA damage. This damage likely contributes to aging’s physiological effects, but more research will be needed to uncover the mechanisms underlying repeat DNA’s .

One in 17 people will suffer from a rare disease at some time in their lives. Most of these rare diseases have a genetic cause and often affect children, but proving which gene change causes a disease is a huge challenge.


Scientists have discovered a new genetic disease, which causes some children’s brains to develop abnormally, resulting in delayed intellectual development and often early onset cataracts.

The majority of patients with the condition, which is so new it doesn’t have a name yet, were also microcephalic, a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age.

Researchers from the universities of Portsmouth and Southampton found that changes in a gene called coat protein complex 1 (COPB1) caused this rare genetic disease.

Here’s my latest video!


In November 2020, I made a HDL video based on a meta-analysis in ~3.4 million subjects that was published in July 2020. In Dec 2020, a larger study (n=15.8 million subjects) was published-those data are presented in the video, and compared against the meta-analysis.

In addition, I’ve tested my HDL 2 more times since November 2020, so how’s my progress for getting it into the optimal range? Also, I attempt to derive clinical significance by identifying correlations for higher HDL with lower Lp(a) and hs-CRP.

Studies referenced in the video:
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and all-cause mortality by sex and age: a prospective cohort study among 15.8 million adults:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33313654/

HDL-C is associated with mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer in a J-shaped dose-response fashion: a pooled analysis of 37 prospective cohort studies:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32283957/

Use of Lipoprotein(a) in clinical practice: A biomarker whose time has come. A scientific statement from the National Lipid Association:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31147269/

CRP studies:
Beta2-microglobulin for risk stratification of total mortality in the elderly population: comparison with cystatin C and C-reactive protein:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31147269/

High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein and Risks of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in a Japanese Population:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27268644/