[TECH NEWS] Researchers have identified a mutation in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) that provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published today (July 11) in Nature. The mutation, which reduces cleavage of APP into the amyloid β fragments that aggregate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, appears to protect against the disease and age-related cognitive decline. “We… Read more »
A research effort called the Human Connectome Project is seeking to explore, define, and map the functional connections of the human brain. An update on progress in and upcoming plans for the Human Connectome Project appears in the July issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer’s-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans. Researchers at the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Exeter, UK, with colleagues in the National Institute on Aging in the… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] In Switzerland, more than 20,000 people (37% of all deaths) die of cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis each year. Treatment options are currently available to people who suffer from the disease but no drug can target solely the diseased areas, often leading to generalized side effects. Intravenous injection of a vasodilator (a substance that dilates blood vessels), such… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] After 20 years of high-profile failure, gene therapy is finally well on its way to clinical approval. The concept is simple: if a mutated gene is causing a problem, replace or supplement it with a new, accurate copy. In theory, such a strategy could not just treat, but cure countless human genetic diseases. In practice, however, developing safe… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] In the not-too-distant future, scientists may be able to use DNA to grow their own specialized materials, thanks to the concept of directed evolution. UC Santa Barbara scientists have, for the first time, used genetic engineering and molecular evolution to develop the enzymatic synthesis of a semiconductor. “In the realm of human technologies it would be a new… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] In the June 13 issue of Science Translational Medicine, an international team led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that the new technology of exome sequencing is not only a promising method for identifying disease-causing genes, but may also improve diagnoses and guide individual patient care. In exome sequencing, researchers selectively and… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Barcelona (UB) have developed a multitarget molecule, ASS234, which according to the results of in vitro studies conducted, inhibits the aggregation of the ß-amyloid protein, involved in Alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, ASS234 stimulates cholinergic and monoaminergic transmission, key factors… Read more »
[TECH NEWS] An international collaborative research effort led by Manel Esteller of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain) has found that the epigenome of newborns and centenarians is different. While the genome of every cell in the human body, regardless of their appearance and function, is identical, chemical signals that regulate it, known as epigenetic marks, are specific… Read more »
The May-June Cryonics magazine cover article, “The Allocation of Long Term Care Costs at Alcor” by Board member Ralph Merkle presents a conceptual and quantitative analysis of the allocation of storage costs between neuro and whole body patients. Most Alcor members are aware that long term care costs for neuro patients are lower than for whole body patients but how are these… Read more »
