May 21, 2012
- Business Week - Each year, twenty million babies worldwide are born prematurely or with a low birth weight, and four million of them die, most in developing nations. Those who survive often suffer from low IQ, diabetes, and heart disease when they reach adulthood. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of these deaths and ailments could be averted by simply keeping...
May 16, 2012
- A new study from MIT scientists suggests that the guidelines governments use to determine when to evacuate people following a nuclear accident may be too conservative.
The study, led by Bevin Engelward and Jacquelyn Yanch and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that when mice were exposed to radiation doses about 400 times greater than background levels...
May 15, 2012
- CNIO (Spain) Scientist successfully test the first gene therapy against aging associated decline
• The first anti-aging therapy potentially applicable in humans that acts directly on the genes
• The research provides a “proof-‐of-‐principle” that this “feasible and safe” approach can effectively “improve healthspan”
Mouse lifespan extended up to 24%...
May 14, 2012
Here’s the text for a keynote I’m doing in Calgary tomorrow at noon for a group of IT executives.
Lots to think about here – the future belongs to those who are fast!
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May 13, 2012
- BBC News - Two British men who have been totally blind for many years have had part of their vision restored after surgery to fit pioneering eye implants.
They are able to perceive light and even some shapes from the devices which were fitted behind the retina.
The men are part of a clinical trial carried out at the Oxford Eye Hospital and King's College Hospital in London.
The two... - Technology Review - Retinal implants powered by light could reverse some vision loss with simple surgery.
The new implant, which works like a combination digital imaging chip and photovoltaic array, requires much less bulky hardware than previous designs. The devices have yet to be tested in live animals or human patients, but the implants are creating excitement among researchers because they have...
May 12, 2012
Fight Aging - Metformin is a drug that shows up in discussion here every so often. It is thought to be a calorie restriction mimetic, recapitulating some of the metabolic changes caused by the practice of calorie restriction. Its effects on life span in laboratory animals are up for debate and further accumulation of evidence - the results are on balance more promising than the generally...
May 10, 2012
- Scientists using nanotechology at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry have created the first cavity-filling composite that kills harmful bacteria and regenerates tooth structure lost to bacterial decay.
Rather than just limiting decay with conventional fillings, the new composite is a revolutionary dental weapon to control harmful...
May 8, 2012
- Federal drug regulators on Tuesday affirmed landmark study results showing that a popular HIV-fighting pill can also help healthy people avoid contracting the virus that causes AIDS in the first place. While the pill appears safe and effective for prevention, scientists stressed that it only works when taken on a daily basis.
The Food and Drug Administration will hold a... - A study on a handful of people with suspected mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suggests that a device that sends continuous electrical impulses to specific “memory” regions of the brain appears to increase neuronal activity. Results of the study using deep brain stimulation, a therapy already used in some patients with Parkinson’s disease and...
