Lifeboat Foundation

“Aging is a complicated process with multiple modulations occurring at many levels, from the molecular to the cells. Ginseng, an ancient Chinese herb widely used in Eastern medicine, has been studied for its anti-aging properties., and has been shown to have beneficial effects with regards to anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, cardiovascular regulation, neurological improvement, anti-tumor, skin protection and immune modulation. The evidence on the life-prolonging effects of ginseng remains inadequate, and further studies are recommended. Investigations integrating science and technology will be needed to further explore the effects of ginseng on the human body to fully understand its potential.” Low-tech life extension I have taken safely for decades.

Aging is an irreversible physiological process that affects all humans. Numerous theories have been proposed to regarding the process from a Western medicine perspective; however, ancient Chinese medicine practices and theories have increasingly gained attention, particularly ginseng, a grass that has been studied for the anti-aging properties of its active constituents. This review seeks to analyze current data on ginseng and its anti-aging properties. The plant species, characteristics, and active ingredients will be introduced. The main part of this review is focused on ginseng and its active components with regards to their effects on prolonging lifespan, the regulation of multiple organ systems including cardiovascular, nervous, immune, and skin, as well as the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The molecular mechanisms of these properties elucidated via various studies are summarized as further evidence of the anti-aging effects of ginseng.

Keywords: Ginseng, Anti-aging, pharmacology, molecular mechanism.

Continue reading “Ginseng: An Nonnegligible Natural Remedy for Healthy Aging” »

For a child, recovering from a broken bone is typically a short-lived, albeit painful, convalescence. But for older adults, it can be a protracted and potentially life-threatening process.

Finding ways to speed bone repair is a public health priority that could save both lives and health care expense. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of fall injuries, including broken hips, and these hospitalizations cost an average of $30,000.

“Delayed fracture healing is a major health issue in aging, and strategies to improve the pace of repair and prevent the need for additional surgeries to achieve healing substantially improve patient outcomes,” said senior author Benjamin Alman, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Duke.

Continue reading “Scientists identify ‘youth factor’ in blood cells that speeds fracture repair” »

As I look back on the year, I am also thinking about the specific areas I work on. Some of this is done through our foundation but a lot of it (such as my work on energy and Alzheimer’s work) is not. What connects it all is my belief that innovation can save lives and improve everyone’s well-being. A lot of people underestimate just how much innovation will make life better.

Here are a few updates on what’s going well and what isn’t with innovation in some areas where I work.

Bill Gates looks back on 2018, and shares a few thoughts on what’s going well and what isn’t with innovation in some specific areas that he works on.

A machine which triples the time livers can survive outside the body promises to halve the transplant waiting list, experts have said as officials approved its use in the NHS.

Hundreds more patients with advanced liver disease — Britain’s fifth biggest killer — have hope of a successful transplant after the “game-changing” technique was given the green light by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

Currently livers intended for transplant typically survive for only about eight to ten hours on ice.

Continue reading “Liver transplant breakthrough to halve the waiting list, say experts” »

New research published in the journal Nature Medicine has described the results of a five-year study into the association between a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and the onset of cognitive impairment. The study suggests leaky capillaries in the brain can act as an early biomarker of cognitive decline, and a new drug being developed for stroke patients may be an effective treatment.

In the study, researchers focused on a mechanism that routinely serves the cell by marking human virus-like genes in order to avoid identifying them as viruses. Together with the Harvard team, Levanon has discovered that “when inhibiting this mechanism, the immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer cells in a particularly efficient manner, and most effectively in lung cancer and melanoma.”

“We found that if the mechanism is blocked, the immune system is much more sensitive,” Levanon said. “When the mechanism is deactivated, the immune system becomes much more aggressive against the tumor cells.”

According to researchers, most patients with cancer either do not respond to immune checkpoint blockade (a type of drug that blocks certain proteins made by some types of immune system cells, such as T cells, and some cancer cells) or develop resistance to it. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says these proteins help keep immune responses in check and can keep T cells from killing cancer cells. “When these proteins are blocked, the ‘brakes’ on the immune system are released and T cells are able to kill cancer cells better,” says the NCI. Some immune checkpoint inhibitors are used to treat cancer as immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

Continue reading “Newly Discovered Mechanism Helps Our Own Immune Systems Fight Cancer” »

For the first time, scientists have used rapid 3D printing technologies to create a spinal cord. The team at UC San Diego then put neural cells in it and implanted it into rats, who walked again.

The past of our ancestors lives on through us: Groundbreaking research illustrates how parental experience is not only epigenetically imprinted onto offspring, but onto an unprecedented number of future generations. Rather than occurring over the elongated time scale of millions of years, genetic change can transpire in real biological time through nanoparticles known as exosomes…

Until recently, it was believed that our genes dictate our destiny. That we are slated for the diseases that will ultimately beset us based upon the pre-wired indecipherable code written in stone in our genetic material. The burgeoning field of epigenetics, however, is overturning these tenets, and ushering in a school of thought where nurture, not nature, is seen to be the predominant influence when it comes to genetic expression and our freedom from or affliction by chronic disease.

Epigenetics: the demise of biological determinism.

Continue reading “Epigenetic Memories are Passed Down 14 Successive Generations, Game-Changing Research Reveals” »

New spray can protect public transport facilitates from deadly germs.