Caloric restriction slows down aging.
By consuming fewer calories, aging can be slowed down and the development of age-related diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes can be delayed. The earlier calorie intake is reduced, the greater the effect. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have now identified one of the enzymes that hold the key to the aging process…
Continue reading… “Live longer with fewer calories? Key enzyme involved in aging process found”
GM pigs could provide human organs for transplant.
There is a persistent shortage of human organs and this has led experts to investigate methods of using pigs created with human genes, so that body parts grown in them can be harvested for use in patients without their immune systems rejecting them. Organs grown in genetically modified pigs could be transplanted into humans in as little as two years’ time, scientists believe.
Continue reading… “Genetically modified pigs could provide human organs by 2013”
Heart failure hospitalizations have decreased nationally overall.
There was a remarkable 30% drop in hospital stays for heart failure in Medicare patients over a decade. It is the first such decline in the United States and forceful evidence that the nation is making headway in reducing the billion-dollar burden of a common condition.
Continue reading… “30% drop in hospital stays for heart failure, saving billions”
No negative thoughts here!
Good news: your brain is hardwired for good news
Bad news: your brain is hardwired for good news
Why don’t people stop smoking even after hearing bazillion public service messages that doing so will give them cancer? Why do people get married even though the rate of divorce is 50%?
Neuroscientists have the answer: it’s because the human brain rejects negative thoughts (and yes, sometimes to the detriment of the brain’s host)…
Continue reading… “Brain rejects negative thoughts”
Drinking that depression away.
For many women, the mood-elevating effects of a cup of coffee may be more than fleeting. A new study shows that women who regularly drink coffee – the fully caffeinated kind – have a 20 percent lower risk of depression than nondrinkers. Decaf, soft drinks, chocolate, tea and other sources of caffeine did not offer the same protection against depression, possibly because of their lower levels of caffeine…
Continue reading… “Coffee drinking linked to less depression in women”
A Dogfish Shark.
The steroid squalamine, found in dogfish sharks, has been found to fight viruses that are difficult or impossible to treat once transmitted to humans. Squalamine is a potential cure-all remedy than may even have the potential to cure cancers and protozoan infections. Discover summarizes the find as such..
Continue reading… “Shark steroids can prevent human viruses”
Yet another 3D printer use.
If you’ve been following tech news then you know that 3D printers are capable of some pretty amazing things. At the entry level these printers are becoming drastically more affordable and more accessible, and at the professional level they are accomplishing feats that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. The latest science fiction-like advance in 3D printing is one that could have a significant impact on our health and well-being, as opposed to our gadgets: scientists in Germany have printed artificial blood vessels…
Continue reading… “3D printers now pumping out artificial blood vessels”
Attempting to “reinvent healthcare communication,” Jiffpad is an app that lets doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical professionals communicate with patients via the iPad.
Allowing users to select from already provided medical diagrams or upload pictures of their own, the app creates a “JiffTalk,” digitizing the communication between a doctor and a patient and creating a digital record of medical instruction that patients can then email home or share with their families…
Continue reading… “JiffPad creates personalized medical diagrams via iPad”
Birth control affects more than previously thought.
Women who use contraceptives like birth control pills experience memory changes, according to new UC Irvine research. Their ability to remember the gist of an emotional event improves, while women not using the contraceptives better retain details.
“What’s most exciting about this study is that it shows the use of hormonal contraception alters memory,” UCI graduate researcher Shawn Nielsen said. “There are only a handful of studies examining the cognitive effects of the pill, and more than 100 million women use it worldwide.”
She stressed that the medications did not damage memory. “It’s a change in the type of information they remember, not a deficit.”
Continue reading… “Birth Control Pills found to affect memory”
An advanced heart scan at work.
Revolutionary “electronic nose” technology which can “smell” heart failure has been developed by scientists in Germany.
Continue reading… “‘Electronic nose’ that smells heart failure”
Are anesthetics as safe as we think they are?
The majority of people reading this sentence will, at some point in their lives, undergo a medical treatment that requires general anesthesia. Doctors will inject them with a drug, or have them breathe it in. For several hours, they will be unconscious. And almost all of them will wake up happy and healthy.
We know that the general anesthetics we use today are safe. But we know that because they’ve proven themselves to be safe, not because we understand the mechanisms behind how they work. The truth is, at that level, anesthetics are a big, fat question mark. And that leaves room for a lot of unknowns. What if, in the long term, our anesthetics aren’t as safe for everyone as we think they are?
Continue reading… “Going Under: What we don’t know about anesthetics”
CSIRO plant scientists have shed light on a problem that has puzzled researchers since the first virus was discovered in 1892 — how exactly do they cause disease?
In a major breakthrough that helps us better understand how viruses cause diseases in plants — and potentially in animals and humans — Dr Ming-Bo Wang and Neil Smith of CSIRO Plant Industry have revealed a genetic mechanism that enables viral organisms to infect hosts and cause diseases…
Continue reading… “Major breakthrough on how viruses infect plants”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.