Life extension – Wikipedia

Concept of extending human lifespan by improvements in medicine or biotechnology

Life extension is the concept of extending the human lifespan, either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the maximum lifespan beyond its generally-settled limit of 125 years.[1]

Several researchers in the area, along with "life extensionists", "immortalists" or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), postulate that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation, stem cells, regenerative medicine, molecular repair, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals and organ replacement (such as with artificial organs or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans (agerasia[2]) through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition. The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated by bioethicists.

The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormone replacement is a lucrative global industry. For example, the industry that promotes the use of hormones as a treatment for consumers to slow or reverse the aging process in the US market generated about $50billion of revenue a year in 2009.[3] The use of such hormone products, however, has not been proven to be effective or safe.[3][4][5][6]

During the process of aging, an organism accumulates damage to its macromolecules, cells, tissues, and organs. Specifically, aging is characterized as and thought to be caused by "genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication."[7] Oxidation damage to cellular contents caused by free radicals is believed to contribute to aging as well.[8][9]

The longest documented human lifespan is 122 years 164 days, the case of Jeanne Calment who according to records was born in 1875 and died in 1997, whereas the maximum lifespan of a wildtype mouse, commonly used as a model in research on aging, is about three years.[10] Genetic differences between humans and mice that may account for these different aging rates include differences in efficiency of DNA repair, antioxidant defenses, energy metabolism, proteostasis maintenance, and recycling mechanisms such as autophagy.[11]

The average lifespan in a population is lowered by infant and child mortality, which are frequently linked to infectious diseases or nutrition problems. Later in life, vulnerability to accidents and age-related chronic disease such as cancer or cardiovascular disease play an increasing role in mortality. Extension of expected lifespan can often be achieved by access to improved medical care, vaccinations, good diet, exercise and avoidance of hazards such as smoking.

Maximum lifespan is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes and by environmental factors. Widely recognized methods of extending maximum lifespan in model organisms such as nematodes, fruit flies, and mice include caloric restriction, gene manipulation, and administration of pharmaceuticals.[12] Another technique uses evolutionary pressures such as breeding from only older members or altering levels of extrinsic mortality.[13][14]Some animals such as hydra, planarian flatworms, and certain sponges, corals, and jellyfish do not die of old age and exhibit potential immortality.[15][16][17][18]

Senolytics eliminate senescent cells whereas senomorphics with candidates such as Apigenin, Everolimus and Rapamycin modulate properties of senescent cells without eliminating them, suppressing phenotypes of senescence, including the SASP.[22][23] Senomorphic effects may be one major effect mechanism of a range of prolongevity drug candidates. Such candidates are however typically not studied for just one mechanism, but multiple. There are biological databases of prolongevity drug candidates under research as well as of potential gene/protein targets. These are enhanced by longitudinal cohort studies, electronic health records, computational (drug) screening methods, computational biomarker-discovery methods and computational biodata-interpretation/personalized medicine methods.[24][25][26]

Such strategies as well as testing with model organisms and xenografts may attempt to or help address difficulties of trials with humans which have relatively long lifespans (compared to other animals) as well as the (larger) need to protect human health from early-trial-stage interventions (in clinical trials).

Besides rapamycin and senolytics, the drug-repurposing candidates studied most extensively include metformin, acarbose, spermidine (see below) and NAD+ enhancers.[27]

Many prolongevity drugs are synthetic alternatives or potential complements to existing nutraceuticals, such as various sirtuin-activating compounds under investigation like SRT2104.[28] In some cases pharmaceutical administration is combined with that of neutraceuticals such as in the case of glycine combined with NAC.[29] Often studies are strucutured based on or thematize specific prolongevity targets, listing both nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals (together or separately) such as FOXO3-activators.[30]

Researchers are also exploring ways to mitigate side-effects from such substances (possibly most notably rapamycin and its derivatives) such as via protocols of intermittent administration[31][23][22][32][33] and have called for research that helps determine optimal treatment schedules (including timing) in general.[34]

The free-radical theory of aging suggests that antioxidant supplements might extend human life. Reviews, however, have found that use of vitamin A (as -carotene) and vitamin E supplements possibly can increase mortality.[35][36] Other reviews have found no relationship between vitamin E and other vitamins with mortality.[37] Vitamin D supplementation of various dosages is investigated in trials[38] and there also is research into GlyNAC (see above).[29]

Complications of antioxidant supplementation (especially continuous high dosages far above the RDA) include that reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are mitigated by antioxidants, "have been found to be physiologically vital for signal transduction, gene regulation, and redox regulation, among others, implying that their complete elimination would be harmful". In particular, one way of multiple they can be detrimental is by inhibiting adaptation to exercise such as muscle hypertrophy (e.g. during dedicated periods of caloric surplus).[39][40][41] There is also research into stimulating/activating/fueling endogenous antioxidant generation, in particular e.g. of neutraceutical glycine and pharmaceutical NAC.[42] Antioxidants can change the oxidation status of different e.g. tissues, targets or sites each with potentially different implications, especially for different concentrations.[43][44][45][additional citation(s) needed] A review suggests mitochondria have a hormetic response to ROS, whereby low oxidative damage can be beneficial.[46]

In some studies calorie restriction has been shown to extend the life of mice, yeast, and rhesus monkeys.[47][48] However, a more recent study did not find calorie restriction to improve survival in rhesus monkeys.[49] In humans the long-term health effects of moderate caloric restriction with sufficient nutrients are unknown.[50]

According to two scientific reviews published in 2021, accumulating data suggests dietary restriction (DR) mainly intermittent fasting and caloric restriction results in many of the same beneficial changes in adult humans as in studied organisms, potentially increasing health- and lifespan beyond[51] the benefits of healthy body weight.[51][52][53][54][55][56]

Which protocols of and combinations (e.g. see caloric restriction mimetic and AMPK) with DR are effective or most effective in humans is largely unknown and is being actively researched. A geroscience field of "precision nutrigeroscience" is proposed that also considers the potential need for adjustments of nutritional interventions per individual (e.g. due to differences in genetics and age).[53] Intermittent fasting refers to periods with intervals during which no food but only water and tea/coffee (the latter reduces appetite or facilitates caloric restriction and also activates autophagy)[57][58][59][60] are ingested such as a period of daily time-restricted eating with a window of 8 to 12 hours for any caloric intake and could be combined for synergistic effects with overall caloric restriction and variants of the Mediterranean diet which usually has benefits of long-term cardiovascular health and longevity.[61]

CALERIE is a trial of prolonged continuous calorie restriction on healthy humans.[62]

Specific amino acids in the protein consumption are associated with the regulation of lifespan/ageing and their targeted restriction has been proposed for further research.[63][64][65][66]

Mechanistically, research to date has identified various nutrient sensors involved in the beneficial effects of caloric restriction as well as methionine-reduction/restriction including notably AMPK[67] (see also: mTOR inhibitors), mTOR, insulin-related pathways, sirtuins,[68][69] NAD+,[70] NFkB, and FOXO and, partly by extension, processes such as DNA repair[71][68] and autophagy.[72][73][74][51][34][71]

During periods of caloric restriction, higher protein intakes "may be required to maximize muscle retention in lean, resistance-trained subjects"[75] and "resistance training (RT) can attenuate muscle loss during caloric restriction"[76] with strength training also generally being associated with a "1017% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD), total cancer, diabetes and lung cancer".[77] Reviews have clarified that the permanent or periodic caloric restriction is conducted in such a way that no malnutrition occurs (see below).[78][54][52]

Research suggests that increasing adherence to Mediterranean diet patterns is associated with a reduction in total and cause-specific mortality, extending health- and lifespan.[79][80][74][81] Research is identifying the key beneficial components of the Mediterranean diet.[82][83] It shares various characteristics with the similarly beneficial Okinawa diet.[84] Potential anti-aging mechanisms of various nutrients are not yet understood.[85] Shares of macronutrients[86][52] and level of caloric intake may also be of significance, including in periods when no dietary restriction occurs[86] such as not having a fat-intake that is too low[52] and not having a prolonged caloric surplus or caloric deficit that is too large.

Studies suggest dietary changes are a major cause of national relative rises in life-span.[87]

Mechanistically, research suggests that the gut microbiome, which varies per person and changes throughout lifespan, is also involved in the beneficial effects, due to which various diet supplementations with prebiotics, various diverse (multi-strain) probiotics and synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation are being investigated for life extension,[88][26][89] mainly for prolonging healthspan,[90][91][92] with many important questions being unresolved.[93]

Approaches to develop optimal diets for health- and lifespan (or "longevity diets")[52] include:

Beyond, research into senolytics and (synthetic) prolongevity-drugs, vitamins and antioxidants, prebiotics and probiotics, there are neutraceuticals dietary supplements and bioactive plant compounds (phytochemicals) but not pharmaceuticals[120] that are being investigated in life sciences, nutrition science and gerontology for potential health- and lifespan extension in healthy humans. Sometimes, their use is researched or recommended as a way to correct nutritional deficiencies from switching to otherwise healthy foods in particular from replacing meat consumption with a higher intake of plant-based foods.[97][121] Especially, but not only, in such cases the supplementation of minerals and various specific micronutrients is investigated. Correcting magnesium deficiency for instance could prolong life.[122] Many supplements are researched primarily for potential improvements in health and healthspan rather than for extending lifespan.

Some studies hypothesize that relative health and longevity benefits of various foods and diets can be largely or to a large part attributed to the nutraceuticals they contain.[83][123][104][124] Some studies suggest increasing the intake of specific foods (see above) based on such results, while some investigate supplementation, including of dosages that are impractical to achieve with whole foods.

Researched substances include various polyphenols such as pterostilbene[125][126][124][69] or flavonoids, notably epicatechin.[85] Some herbal-extracts like rhodiola rosea are also being investigated due to results of tests with model organisms.[127][128] Some of these are AMPK activators and hence caloric restriction mimetics (some possibly exercise mimetics[129] as well). AMPK activators include resveratrol[130][125][131][104][123][132] and berberine.[133][134][132] Many such nutraceuticals are also potent antioxidants.[123][135] Like prolongevity-drugs and bioactive compounds in general, they can have multiple potential effect mechanisms, the polyphenol resveratrol for instance also activates possibly pro-longevity sirtuin activity.[68][123]

A common issue with many already-existing natural nutraceuticals like resveratrol is their low bioavailability.[136][137] Their side-effects are often low compared to several major longevity drug candidates. On the other hand, they are considered to often have "intrinsic natural bio-compatibility and safety".[69] Some of the compounds can have a "biphasic dose response" (a trait/effect of hormesis) whereby they (can) have beneficial effects at low or moderate doses and toxic effects at high doses.[34]

Further advanced biosciences-based approaches include:

There is a need and research into the development of aging biomarkers such as the epigenetic clock "to assess the ageing process and the efficacy of interventions to bypass the need for large-scale longitudinal studies".[62][25] Such biomarkers may also include in vivo brain imaging.[152]

Reviews sometimes include structured tables that provide systematic overviews of intervention/drug candidates with a review calling for integrating "current knowledge with multi-omics, health records, and drug safety data to predict drugs that can improve health in late life" and listing major outstanding questions.[24] Biological databases of prolongevity drug candidates under research as well as of potential gene/protein targets include GenAge, DrugAge and Geroprotectors.[24][153]

A review has pointed out that the approach of "'epidemiological' comparison of how a low versus a high consumption of an isolated macronutrient and its association with health and mortality may not only fail to identify protective or detrimental nutrition patterns but may lead to misleading interpretations". It proposes a multi-pillar approach, and summarizes findings towards constructing multi-system-considering and at least age-personalized dynamic refined longevity diets. Epidemiological-type observational studies included in meta-analyses should according to the study at least be complemented by "(1) basic research focused on lifespan and healthspan, (2) carefully controlled clinical trials, and (3) studies of individuals and populations with record longevity".[52]

The anti-aging industry offers several hormone therapies. Some of these have been criticized for possible dangers and a lack of proven effect. For example, the American Medical Association has been critical of some anti-aging hormone therapies.[3]

While growth hormone (GH) decreases with age, the evidence for use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy is mixed and based mostly on animal studies. There are mixed reports that GH or IGF-1 modulates the aging process in humans and about whether the direction of its effect is positive or negative.[154]

Klotho[142][155] and exerkines[145] (see above) like irisin[156] are being investigated for potential pro-longevity therapies.

Loneliness/isolation, social life and support,[81][157] exercise/physical activity (partly via neurobiological effects and increased NAD+ levels),[81][158][62][66][159][160] psychological characteristics/personality (possibly highly indirectly),[161][162] sleep duration,[81] circadian rhythms (patterns of sleep, drug-administration and feeding),[163][164][165] type of leisure activities,[81] not smoking,[81] altruistic emotions and behaviors,[166][167] subjective well-being,[168] mood[81] and stress (including via heat shock protein)[81][169] are investigated as potential (modulatable) factors of life extension.

Healthy lifestyle practices and healthy diet have been suggested as "first-line function-preserving strategies, with pharmacological agents, including existing and new pharmaceuticals and novel 'nutraceutical' compounds, serving as potential complementary approaches".[170]

Collectively, addressing common causes of death could extend lifespans of populations and humanity overall. For instance, a 2020 study indicates that the global mean loss of life expectancy (LLE) from air pollution in 2015 was 2.9 years, substantially more than, for example, 0.3years from all forms of direct violence, albeit a significant fraction of the LLE (a measure similar to years of potential life lost) is considered to be unavoidable.[172]

Regular screening and doctor visits has been suggested as a lifestyle-societal intervention.[81] (See also: medical test and biomarker)

Health policy and changes to standard healthcare could support the adoption of the field's conclusions a review suggests that the longevity diet would be a "valuable complement to standard healthcare and that, taken as a preventative measure, it could aid in avoiding morbidity, sustaining health into advanced age" as a form of preventive healthcare.[52]

It has been suggested that in terms of healthy diets, Mediterranean-style diets could be promoted by countries for ensuring healthy-by-default choices ("to ensure the healthiest choice is the easiest choice") and with highly effective measures including dietary education, food checklists and recipes that are "simple, palatable, and affordable".[173]

A review suggests that "targeting the aging process per se may be a far more effective approach to prevent or delay aging-associated pathologies than treatments specifically targeted to particular clinical conditions".[174]

Low ambient temperature as a physical factor affecting free radical levels was identified as a treatment producing exceptional lifespan increase in Drosophila melanogaster and other living beings. [175]

The extension of life has been a desire of humanity and a mainstay motif in the history of scientific pursuits and ideas throughout history, from the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Egyptian Smith medical papyrus, all the way through the Taoists, Ayurveda practitioners, alchemists, hygienists such as Luigi Cornaro, Johann Cohausen and Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland, and philosophers such as Francis Bacon, Ren Descartes, Benjamin Franklin and Nicolas Condorcet. However, the beginning of the modern period in this endeavor can be traced to the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th century, to the so-called "fin-de-sicle" (end of the century) period, denoted as an "end of an epoch" and characterized by the rise of scientific optimism and therapeutic activism, entailing the pursuit of life extension (or life-extensionism). Among the foremost researchers of life extension at this period were the Nobel Prize winning biologist Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916) -- the author of the cell theory of immunity and vice director of Institut Pasteur in Paris, and Charles-douard Brown-Squard (1817-1894) -- the president of the French Biological Society and one of the founders of modern endocrinology.[176]

Sociologist James Hughes claims that science has been tied to a cultural narrative of conquering death since the Age of Enlightenment. He cites Francis Bacon (15611626) as an advocate of using science and reason to extend human life, noting Bacon's novel New Atlantis, wherein scientists worked toward delaying aging and prolonging life. Robert Boyle (16271691), founding member of the Royal Society, also hoped that science would make substantial progress with life extension, according to Hughes, and proposed such experiments as "to replace the blood of the old with the blood of the young". Biologist Alexis Carrel (18731944) was inspired by a belief in indefinite human lifespan that he developed after experimenting with cells, says Hughes.[177]

Regulatory and legal struggles between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Life Extension organization included seizure of merchandise and court action.[178] In 1991, Saul Kent and Bill Faloon, the principals of the organization, were jailed for four hours and were released on $850,000 bond each.[179] After 11 years of legal battles, Kent and Faloon convinced the US Attorney's Office to dismiss all criminal indictments brought against them by the FDA.[180]

In 2003, Doubleday published "The Immortal Cell: One Scientist's Quest to Solve the Mystery of Human Aging," by Michael D. West. West emphasised the potential role of embryonic stem cells in life extension.[181]

Other modern life extensionists include writer Gennady Stolyarov, who insists that death is "the enemy of us all, to be fought with medicine, science, and technology";[182] transhumanist philosopher Zoltan Istvan, who proposes that the "transhumanist must safeguard one's own existence above all else";[183] futurist George Dvorsky, who considers aging to be a problem that desperately needs to be solved;[184] and recording artist Steve Aoki, who has been called "one of the most prolific campaigners for life extension".[185]

In 1991, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) was formed. The American Board of Medical Specialties recognizes neither anti-aging medicine nor the A4M's professional standing.[186]

In 2003, Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel formed the Methuselah Foundation, which gives financial grants to anti-aging research projects. In 2009, de Grey and several others founded the SENS Research Foundation, a California-based scientific research organization which conducts research into aging and funds other anti-aging research projects at various universities.[187] In 2013, Google announced Calico, a new company based in San Francisco that will harness new technologies to increase scientific understanding of the biology of aging.[188] It is led by Arthur D. Levinson,[189] and its research team includes scientists such as Hal V. Barron, David Botstein, and Cynthia Kenyon. In 2014, biologist Craig Venter founded Human Longevity Inc., a company dedicated to scientific research to end aging through genomics and cell therapy. They received funding with the goal of compiling a comprehensive human genotype, microbiome, and phenotype database.[190]

Aside from private initiatives, aging research is being conducted in university laboratories, and includes universities such as Harvard and UCLA. University researchers have made a number of breakthroughs in extending the lives of mice and insects by reversing certain aspects of aging.[191][192][193][194]

Some critics dispute the portrayal of aging as a disease. For example, Leonard Hayflick, who determined that fibroblasts are limited to around 50cell divisions, reasons that aging is an unavoidable consequence of entropy. Hayflick and fellow biogerontologists Jay Olshansky and Bruce Carnes have strongly criticized the anti-aging industry in response to what they see as unscrupulous profiteering from the sale of unproven anti-aging supplements.[5]

Research by Sobh and Martin (2011) suggests that people buy anti-aging products to obtain a hoped-for self (e.g., keeping a youthful skin) or to avoid a feared-self (e.g., looking old). The research shows that when consumers pursue a hoped-for self, it is expectations of success that most strongly drive their motivation to use the product. The research also shows why doing badly when trying to avoid a feared self is more motivating than doing well. When product use is seen to fail it is more motivating than success when consumers seek to avoid a feared-self.[195]

Though many scientists state[196] that life extension and radical life extension are possible, there are still no international or national programs focused on radical life extension. There are political forces staying for and against life extension. By 2012, in Russia, the United States, Israel, and the Netherlands, the Longevity political parties started. They aimed to provide political support to radical life extension research and technologies, and ensure the fastest possible and at the same time soft transition of society to the next step life without aging and with radical life extension, and to provide access to such technologies to most currently living people.[197]

Some tech innovators and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have invested heavily into anti-aging research. This includes Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon), Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle), Peter Thiel (former PayPal CEO),[198] Larry Page (co-founder of Google), and Peter Diamandis.[199]

Leon Kass (chairman of the US President's Council on Bioethics from 2001 to 2005) has questioned whether potential exacerbation of overpopulation problems would make life extension unethical.[200] He states his opposition to life extension with the words:

"simply to covet a prolonged life span for ourselves is both a sign and a cause of our failure to open ourselves to procreation and to any higher purpose ... [The] desire to prolong youthfulness is not only a childish desire to eat one's life and keep it; it is also an expression of a childish and narcissistic wish incompatible with devotion to posterity."[201]

John Harris, former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics, argues that as long as life is worth living, according to the person himself, we have a powerful moral imperative to save the life and thus to develop and offer life extension therapies to those who want them.[202]

Transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom has argued that any technological advances in life extension must be equitably distributed and not restricted to a privileged few.[203] In an extended metaphor entitled "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant", Bostrom envisions death as a monstrous dragon who demands human sacrifices. In the fable, after a lengthy debate between those who believe the dragon is a fact of life and those who believe the dragon can and should be destroyed, the dragon is finally killed. Bostrom argues that political inaction allowed many preventable human deaths to occur.[204]

Controversy about life extension is due to fear of overpopulation and possible effects on society.[205] Biogerontologist Aubrey De Grey counters the overpopulation critique by pointing out that the therapy could postpone or eliminate menopause, allowing women to space out their pregnancies over more years and thus decreasing the yearly population growth rate.[206] Moreover, the philosopher and futurist Max More argues that, given the fact the worldwide population growth rate is slowing down and is projected to eventually stabilize and begin falling, superlongevity would be unlikely to contribute to overpopulation.[205]

A Spring 2013 Pew Research poll in the United States found that 38% of Americans would want life extension treatments, and 56% would reject it. However, it also found that 68% believed most people would want it and that only 4% consider an "ideal lifespan" to be more than 120 years. The median "ideal lifespan" was 91 years of age and the majority of the public (63%) viewed medical advances aimed at prolonging life as generally good. 41% of Americans believed that radical life extension (RLE) would be good for society, while 51% said they believed it would be bad for society.[207] One possibility for why 56% of Americans claim they would reject life extension treatments may be due to the cultural perception that living longer would result in a longer period of decrepitude, and that the elderly in our current society are unhealthy.[208]

Religious people are no more likely to oppose life extension than the unaffiliated,[207] though some variation exists between religious denominations.

Mainstream medical organizations and practitioners do not consider aging to be a disease. Biologist David Sinclair says: "Idon't see aging as a disease, but as a collection of quite predictable diseases caused by the deterioration of the body".[209] The two main arguments used are that aging is both inevitable and universal while diseases are not.[210] However, not everyone agrees. Harry R. Moody, director of academic affairs for AARP, notes that what is normal and what is disease strongly depend on a historical context.[211] David Gems, assistant director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing, argues that aging should be viewed as a disease.[212] In response to the universality of aging, David Gems notes that it is as misleading as arguing that Basenji are not dogs because they do not bark.[213] Because of the universality of aging he calls it a "special sort of disease". Robert M. Perlman, coined the terms "aging syndrome" and "disease complex" in 1954 to describe aging.[214]

The discussion whether aging should be viewed as a disease or not has important implications. One view is, this would stimulate pharmaceutical companies to develop life extension therapies and in the United States of America, it would also increase the regulation of the anti-aging market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anti-aging now falls under the regulations for cosmetic medicine which are less tight than those for drugs.[213][215]

Theoretically, extension of maximum lifespan in humans could be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage by periodic replacement of damaged tissues, molecular repair or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues, reversal of harmful epigenetic changes, or the enhancement of enzyme telomerase activity.[216][217]

Research geared towards life extension strategies in various organisms is currently under way at a number of academic and private institutions. Since 2009, investigators have found ways to increase the lifespan of nematode worms and yeast by 10-fold; the record in nematodes was achieved through genetic engineering and the extension in yeast by a combination of genetic engineering and caloric restriction.[218] A 2009 review of longevity research noted: "Extrapolation from worms to mammals is risky at best, and it cannot be assumed that interventions will result in comparable life extension factors. Longevity gains from dietary restriction, or from mutations studied previously, yield smaller benefits to Drosophila than to nematodes, and smaller still to mammals. This is not unexpected, since mammals have evolved to live many times the worm's lifespan, and humans live nearly twice as long as the next longest-lived primate. From an evolutionary perspective, mammals and their ancestors have already undergone several hundred million years of natural selection favoring traits that could directly or indirectly favor increased longevity, and may thus have already settled on gene sequences that promote lifespan. Moreover, the very notion of a "life-extension factor" that could apply across taxa presumes a linear response rarely seen in biology."[218]

There are a number of chemicals intended to slow the aging process currently being studied in animal models.[219] One type of research is related to the observed effects of a calorie restriction (CR) diet, which has been shown to extend lifespan in some animals.[220] Based on that research, there have been attempts to develop drugs that will have the same effect on the aging process as a caloric restriction diet, which are known as caloric restriction mimetic drugs. Some drugs that are already approved for other uses have been studied for possible longevity effects on laboratory animals because of a possible CR-mimic effect; they include rapamycin for mTOR inhibition[221] and metformin for AMPK activation.[222]

Sirtuin activating polyphenols, such as resveratrol and pterostilbene,[223][224][225] and flavonoids, such as quercetin and fisetin,[226] as well as oleic acid[227] are dietary supplements that have also been studied in this context. Other popular supplements with less clear biological pathways to target aging include, lipoic acid,[228] senolytics such as curcumin,[226] and Coenzyme Q10.[229] Daily low doses of ethanol as a potential supplement in spite of its highly negative hormesis response at higher doses has also been studied.[230]

Other attempts to create anti-aging drugs have taken different research paths. One notable direction of research has been research into the possibility of using the enzyme telomerase in order to counter the process of telomere shortening.[231] However, there are potential dangers in this, since some research has also linked telomerase to cancer and to tumor growth and formation.[232]

Future advances in nanomedicine could give rise to life extension through the repair of many processes thought to be responsible for aging. K. Eric Drexler, one of the founders of nanotechnology, postulated cell repair machines, including ones operating within cells and utilizing as yet hypothetical molecular computers, in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. Raymond Kurzweil, a futurist and transhumanist, stated in his book The Singularity Is Near that he believes that advanced medical nanorobotics could completely remedy the effects of aging by 2030.[233] According to Richard Feynman, it was his former graduate student and collaborator Albert Hibbs who originally suggested to him (circa 1959) the idea of a medical use for Feynman's theoretical nanomachines (see biological machine). Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be reduced in size to the point that it would, in theory, be possible to (as Feynman put it) "swallow the doctor". The idea was incorporated into Feynman's 1959 essay There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom.[234]

Some life extensionists suggest that therapeutic cloning and stem cell research could one day provide a way to generate cells, body parts, or even entire bodies (generally referred to as reproductive cloning) that would be genetically identical to a prospective patient. Recently, the US Department of Defense initiated a program to research the possibility of growing human body parts on mice.[235] Complex biological structures, such as mammalian joints and limbs, have not yet been replicated. Dog and primate brain transplantation experiments were conducted in the mid-20th century but failed due to rejection and the inability to restore nerve connections. As of 2006, the implantation of bio-engineered bladders grown from patients' own cells has proven to be a viable treatment for bladder disease.[236] Proponents of body part replacement and cloning contend that the required biotechnologies are likely to appear earlier than other life-extension technologies.

The use of human stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, is controversial. Opponents' objections generally are based on interpretations of religious teachings or ethical considerations.[citation needed] Proponents of stem cell research point out that cells are routinely formed and destroyed in a variety of contexts. Use of stem cells taken from the umbilical cord or parts of the adult body may not provoke controversy.[237]

The controversies over cloning are similar, except general public opinion in most countries stands in opposition to reproductive cloning. Some proponents of therapeutic cloning predict the production of whole bodies, lacking consciousness, for eventual brain transplantation.

Replacement of biological (susceptible to diseases) organs with mechanical ones could extend life. This is the goal of the 2045 Initiative.[238]

Cryonics is the low-temperature freezing (usually at 196C or 320.8F or 77.1K) of a human corpse, with the hope that resuscitation may be possible in the future.[239][240] It is regarded with skepticism within the mainstream scientific community and has been characterized as quackery.[241]

Another proposed life extension technology aims to combine existing and predicted future biochemical and genetic techniques. SENS proposes that rejuvenation may be obtained by removing aging damage via the use of stem cells and tissue engineering, telomere-lengthening machinery, allotopic expression of mitochondrial proteins, targeted ablation of cells, immunotherapeutic clearance, and novel lysosomal hydrolases.[242]

While some biogerontologists find these ideas "worthy of discussion",[243][244] others contend that the alleged benefits are too speculative given the current state of technology, referring to it as "fantasy rather than science".[4][6]

Genome editing, in which nucleic acid polymers are delivered as a drug and are either expressed as proteins, interfere with the expression of proteins, or correct genetic mutations, has been proposed as a future strategy to prevent aging.[245][246]

A large array of genetic modifications have been found to increase lifespan in model organisms such as yeast, nematode worms, fruit flies, and mice. As of 2013, the longest extension of life caused by a single gene manipulation was roughly 50% in mice and 10-fold in nematode worms.[247]

In July 2020 scientists, using public biological data on 1.75 m people with known lifespans overall, identify 10 genomic loci which appear to intrinsically influence healthspan, lifespan, and longevity of which half have not been reported previously at genome-wide significance and most being associated with cardiovascular disease and identify haem metabolism as a promising candidate for further research within the field. Their study suggests that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.[249][248] The same month other scientists report that yeast cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment age in two distinct ways, describe a biomolecular mechanism that can determine which process dominates during aging and genetically engineer a novel aging route with substantially extended lifespan.[250][251]

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins describes an approach to life-extension that involves "fooling genes" into thinking the body is young.[252] Dawkins attributes inspiration for this idea to Peter Medawar. The basic idea is that our bodies are composed of genes that activate throughout our lifetimes, some when we are young and others when we are older. Presumably, these genes are activated by environmental factors, and the changes caused by these genes activating can be lethal. It is a statistical certainty that we possess more lethal genes that activate in later life than in early life. Therefore, to extend life, we should be able to prevent these genes from switching on, and we should be able to do so by "identifying changes in the internal chemical environment of a body that take place during aging... and by simulating the superficial chemical properties of a young body".[253]

One hypothetical future strategy that, as some suggest,[who?] "eliminates" the complications related to a physical body, involves the copying or transferring (e.g. by progressively replacing neurons with transistors) of a conscious mind from a biological brain to a non-biological computer system or computational device. The basic idea is to scan the structure of a particular brain in detail, and then construct a software model of it that is so faithful to the original that, when run on appropriate hardware, it will behave in essentially the same way as the original brain.[254] Whether or not an exact copy of one's mind constitutes actual life extension is matter of debate.

However, critics argue that the uploaded mind would simply be a clone and not a true continuation of a person's consciousness.[255]

Some scientists believe that the dead may one day be "resurrected" through simulation technology.[256]

Some clinics currently offer injection of blood products from young donors. The alleged benefits of the treatment, none of which have been demonstrated in a proper study, include a longer life, darker hair, better memory, better sleep, curing heart diseases, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.[257][258][259][260][261] The approach is based on parabiosis studies such as those Irina Conboy has done on mice, but Conboy says young blood does not reverse aging (even in mice) and that those who offer those treatments have misunderstood her research.[258][259] Neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray, who also studied blood exchanges on mice as recently as 2014, said people offering those treatments are "basically abusing people's trust"[262][259] and that young blood treatments are "the scientific equivalent of fake news".[263] The treatment appeared in HBO's Silicon Valley fiction series.[262]

Two clinics in California, run by Jesse Karmazin and David C. Wright,[257] offer $8,000 injections of plasma extracted from the blood of young people. Karmazin has not published in any peer-reviewed journal and his current study does not use a control group.[263][262][257][259]

Fecal microbiota transplantation[264][265] and probiotics are being investigated as means for life and healthspan extension.[266][267][268]

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Life extension - Wikipedia

Penguin for life? Kris Letang agrees to 6-year contract that will stretch into his early 40s – TribLIVE

MONTREAL Alex Letang did not want to leave Pittsburgh.

His reasoning was fairly basic.

Thats where I like to live with my friends and all that, the cherubic 9-year-old son of Penguins all-star defenseman Kris Letang said while fielding a question from media at the Bell Centre during the NHL Draft on Thursday night.

Thankfully for his interests, his father wont be going anywhere for a long time.

On Thursday afternoon, the Penguins formally agreed to a six-year contract extension with the elder Letang that is slated to keep him a member of the franchise until the 2027-28 season. The new deal will carry a salary cap hit of $6.1 million.

Kris Letang seemed pretty happy with the development as well.

The Penguins gave me my chance, said Letang, who was a third-round pick (No. 62 overall) by the franchise in 2005. They took care of me like a son. They always treated me like one of their own. When you have that feeling, sometimes its just natural. You want to finish there. The memories that we built as a team, its just incredible that I have a chance to stay with that team.

How much of that team will remain in place going into the 2022-23 season remains to be seen. Following Letangs signing, the Penguins now have $15,308,158 of salary cap space remaining with nine forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies under contract, according to Cap Friendly.

Several of the teams incumbent players remain unsigned with the NHLs free agent signing period set to begin on July 13.

Most notably, one of the other pillars of the franchise, forward Evgeni Malkin, is set to become an unrestricted free agent.

Letang professed optimism or perhaps even offered hints that a new deal with Malkin could be completed on three separate occasions while speaking at the draft.

Obviously, having (Malkin) back will make our team that much better too, Letang said.

Having Letang back will certainly offer some good things for the Penguins as well. Last season, he established a career-best with 68 points (10 goals, 58 assists) in 76 games and logged 25:47 of ice time per contest, the fourth-best total among NHL skaters.

Kris means so much to our hockey team, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Hes a difficult player to replace. His game has never been better in my time here. Hes a guy that really takes care of himself. His fitness level is off the charts. Hes an elite defenseman and those players are very difficult to replace and theyre very difficult to find.

With respect to Kris, just the legacy that hes built in Pittsburgh and what he means to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh just speaks for itself. For a lot of reasons, its a terrific signing for us, the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and (Letang) himself. I know his teammates are thrilled. His coaching staff certainly is and his management group is as well. We feel a lot better right now that weve got him under contract and hes going to be a Pittsburgh Penguin for a long time.

Having just turned 35 in April, Letang received a lengthy deal that will potentially keep him in the Penguins employ until he is a ripe 41.

Letang suggested he might have more to offer by the time this contract expires.

I always saw my career going that far, Letang said. For the time I put in my training, the way I do my (conditioning) off the ice, in my mind, I was going to play at that level until I was 40, 41, 42. Maybe even more. The passion is there. Its not only about security. Its more about the fact I invested in that, and thats what I wanted.

The contract is constructed in a specific way that will likely prevent a buyout in the later years. According to TSN, the first four seasons have a full no-movement clause and the last two seasons have a partial no-movement clause. (Letang can submit a list of teams he would not accept a trade to for those two seasons).

Additionally, the final two years each contain signing bonuses of $3.8 million, which would make a buyout disadvantageous for the Penguins purposes.

From Letangs perspective, he was willing to take a smaller salary cap hit from his previous contract ($7.25 million) in part to allow the Penguins to compile the most competitive team as possible.

It was more of a contract to fit both parties, said Letang, who was greeted by rousing applause from his fellow Montrealers when he announced the Penguins first-round pick, defenseman Owen Pickering. Give a chance to the Penguins to sign other players and also based on the performance and what I did in the last few years. I think it was a mix of both. There was not like a set number or a set of years. It was just to fit both parties and make sure we can still compete and win and not take a big chunk and not leaving anything.

Letang has a considerable history of medical woes, most notably a stroke he suffered in 2014. But over the past three seasons, he has missed only 13 of a possible 207 regular-season games.

His fitness level is off the charts, Sullivan boasted. The fact that hes played the amount of minutes that he plays year in and year out, game in and game out its not something that we feel as a coaching staff is outside his comfort zone. There are some nights when were behind the bench where we feel cant get him enough ice time. That just speaks to his work ethic and commitment to the off-ice training and the on-ice training to put himself in the best position to be successful.

Its certainly fair to wonder how successful the Penguins can be moving forward, particularly after four consecutive seasons in which they have failed to win a postseason series.

But for the variety of malfunctions that have plagued them in the playoffs in recent years, a lack of faith isnt one of them.

The team that we had last (season) and the bad luck that we faced just before the playoffs, sometimes it kind of crushes your hopes, Letang said. But at the end of the day, the season we had with all the injuries, it proves that we had something solid from the coaching staff to the players.

I think we have what it takes.

Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Penguin for life? Kris Letang agrees to 6-year contract that will stretch into his early 40s - TribLIVE

Solutions for Your Life – UF/IFAS Extension

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What PPE Do I Need?Have you ever bought a product to manage pests or diseases at home and wondered what PPE do I need to use this product? You are not alone! Pesticide labels may seem straightforward to those of us in the industry or to certified applicators. However, they can be very confusing to homeowners trying to protect their lawns and gardens

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U.S. Air Force Releases Photos Of Mock B61-12 Nuclear Bomb Test Loaded On B-2A Bomber – The Aviationist

A non-nuclear mock B61-12 Joint Test Assembly (JTA) being prepared for test loading inside the B-2A Spirit stealth bombers bombs bay. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Devan Halstead)

The U.S. Air Force recently released on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) website a series of interesting photos from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The photos, taken on June 13, 2022, show a high-fidelity, non-nuclear mock B61-12 Joint Test Assembly (JTA) being prepared for test loading inside the B-2A Spirit stealth bombers bombs bay. To our knowledge, these should be the first public photos of the weapon with the Spirit since testing aboard the aircraft has begun few years ago.

The Air Force did not provide many details and did not even mention the name of the bomb, simply stating the 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron test loads a new nuclear-capable weapons delivery system for the B-2 Spirit bomber. The 72nd TES, a geographically separated unit of Eglin AFBs 53rd Wing based at Whiteman, is in charge of all testing and evaluation of new equipment, software and weapons systems for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

It is not clear what the caption refers to with the term nuclear-capable weapons delivery system. The unofficial Nuclear Matters Handbook of the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters, gives us the following definition:

A nuclear weapon delivery system is the military platform and delivery vehicle by which a nuclear weapon is delivered to its intended target in the event of authorized use (by the President of the United States, who retains sole authority to employ nuclear weapons). Most nuclear weapons have been designed for a specific delivery system, making interoperability potentially challenging.

In addition to the mix of silo-based Minuteman III (MMIII) ICBMs, Trident II D5 Life Extension (LE) SLBMs carried on Ohio-class SSBNs, and B-2A and B-52H nuclear-capable heavy bombers, the U.S. nuclear force includes dual-capable aircraft (DCA), that can carry conventional or nuclear weapons.

Judging by this definition, the weapon delivery system in question should be the B-2A bomber, however the fact that the caption mentions the test loading aboard the aircraft might mean that this system is a new weapon rack inside the bombs bay designed to work with the new B61-12. Available public info states that the Spirit was designed to employ a Bomb Rack Assembly (BRA) for conventional munitions and a Rotary Launcher Assembly (RLA) for the delivery of conventional or nuclear weapons.

The BRA was later upgraded between 2003 and 2006 and became a Smart Bomb Rack Assembly capable of carrying as many as 80 independently targeted, JDAM GPS-guided weapons. So, since the new B61-12 in equipped with a guidance kit, it is possible that also the RLA is now being upgraded to use the new bomb. The new bomb variant will replace the B61-7 and B61-11 currently available for the B-2 fleet.

As we already reported, The B61 entered service 50 years ago and has undergone a Life-Extention Program (LEP) to consolidate and replace four legacy bomb variants, the B61 -3, -4, -7, and -11 mods, into the B61-12. The refurbished B61-12 will allow the retirement of the larger B83, becoming the only remaining gravity delivered nuke in the inventory. The bomb will carry a low-yield nuclear warhead with four yield options, reportedly 0.3 kilotons, 1.5 kilotons, 10 kilotons and 50 kilotons, instead of larger warheads like the models it is replacing (which can reach 400 kilotons depending on the variants).

The 12-foot, 825-pound bomb is designed to be delivered from the air in either ballistic or guided-gravity drop modes, thanks to a new Boeing-built tail assembly that includes an Inertial Navigation System (INS) precision-guidance package and two spin rocket motors that improve the bombs stability on its longitudinal axis during the descent. The LEP is said to be increasing the B61s accuracy so much (with a reported 30 m Circular Error Probability instead of the original 100 m) that it will have the same capability against hardened targets as the much more powerful weapons it is replacing.

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U.S. Air Force Releases Photos Of Mock B61-12 Nuclear Bomb Test Loaded On B-2A Bomber - The Aviationist

PG&E To Submit Application For Federal Funds to Keep the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Past 2025 – California Globe

Utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced on Tuesday that they will be submitting an application to receive funds from a federal government program to remain open well past the current 2025 shut down date.

Ever since Diablo Canyon became the last active nuclear power station in California following the shut down of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in the early 2010s, the plant has been targeted for closure by activists. In 2016 PG&E seemingly acquiesced to the environmental and labor groups, announcing that they would be closing the final plant in 2025. However, a major need for electricity has cropped up in California caused by, among other things, shutdowns of oil, gas, and coal plants, unreliable and intermittent renewable energy, as well as the rise of electric car usage and higher temperatures causing more usage.

As Diablo Canyon provides 9% of Californias total energy production, and is a clean source of energy, many have been fighting to keep the plant open. As a strain on the system has already been seen more and more, the loss of Diablo Canyon has been seen by many as a devastating blow to the state. A Stanford/MIT study released last year found that not only would an extension of Diablo Canyons life help California meet state climate goals, but it would serve as a bridge as renewable energy programs catch up to Californias needed energy amount. If operated to 2045, they also estimated that California would save $21 billion in systems costs.

While cost and environmental concerns have dogged extension efforts, especially with many opposed, saying that keeping it open would undercut Californias renewable energy commitments, support for the extension has grown exponentially in recent years. Lawmakers from both parties have agreed that the extension is either needed or warranted, including Governor Gavin Newsom and U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

While California boasts a very high portion of electricity from renewable sources, California will have to boost its total renewable energy production by an enormous 20 percent in just two years to replace the clean energy being produced at Diablo Canyon, said a letter by scientists and academics in favor of keeping Diablo Canyon to Secretary Granholm last month.

With so much support for the extending the life of the plant, and a quickly dwarfing opposition, PG&E took advantage of a Department of Energy extension for submissions to receive federal funds from a Biden administration program aimed at keeping energy facilities slated for closure to remain open. If Diablo Canyon gets Civil Nuclear Credit (CNC) funds, it would be highly likely that an extension would happen.

PG&E spokeswoman Suzanne Hosn said in a statement on Wednesday that Given the revision and Newsoms request that we take steps to preserve Diablo as an option to promote grid reliability, we expect to submit an application for the Department of Energy funding.

Many in favor of the 20-year extension are concerned about possible legal action from those groups that fought to end Diablo Canyon in 2016, but with federal support and lawmaker support from all levels of government, it could prove to be difficult to challenge.

If PG&E and Diablo Canyon gets those funds, it might very well be game over for anyone hoping for a 2025 end date, explained Sal Braith, a nuclear engineer who worked at several nuclear plants in the Northeast, in a Globe interview on Wednesday. They cant claim costs much anymore, not with the federal government chipping it. They cant claim the environment in many regards due to its role in helping California meet the new state drives to get rid of fossil fuel energy production. Lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, like it now, especially with it helping the state not face a huge energy shortfall. And more and more Californians like the idea of it too.

Honestly, Id say maybe its time for a new plant built with lessons from previous plants, but that would have so many hurdles to it and might not even get off the ground. If were smart, well get a twenty year extension, but at the same time, double down on clean energy investments to keep the environmentalists happy, as well as promote job growth in renewable energy programs, as that will keep the unions happy. Its not that easy in practice, but it is something to shoot for. For California to get out of the hole it is in with energy, Diablo Canyon is a ladder. We say no to the extension, might as well continue to try to dig our way out going straight down.

An extension application from PG&E for funds is due to the Department of Energy by September 6th.

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PG&E To Submit Application For Federal Funds to Keep the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Operating Past 2025 - California Globe

Terry McLaurin cried after signing extension with Commanders – NBC Sports

Terry McLaurin's rise to stardom is a true underdog story.

McLaurin was a four-star recruit in high school, but he had just three Power-Five offers before earning himself a scholarship to Ohio State. He hardly played on offense during his first three college seasons and didn't earn a prominent role in the offense until 2018, his fifth and final season in Columbus.

Washington selected McLaurin in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, but truth be told, no one could have predicted his ascendance to one of the league's best young receivers just three seasons later. That's why on Wednesday, as McLaurin took the podium in Ashburn just one day after officially signing a three-year extension worth north of $70 million, his emotions were running high.

"I cried some real tears. For a lot of my life, I've really had to grind and work for what I have now. I've had a lot of adversity and some people didn't really believe in my abilities," McLaurin said. "My faith, that sustained me. My people, my village, the people that were praying for me, sacrificing for me, my family, my girlfriend, my homies back in Indianapolis. I've had so many people [responsible] for the reason I'm standing right here today. I wouldn't be here without them."

McLaurin proceeded to specifically single out his parents, citing them as to where his tireless work ethic comes from. The wideout reminisced on seeing them "get up and never miss a day of work." After signing this extension, McLaurin has put his parents in a position where they no longer have to work, which he called "a blessing."

Yet, no matter how much of a pay raise McLaurin has received, the 26-year-old has not lost sight of the work he put in to get himself into his current situation.

"While this is great financially for myself, I just love the grind, man. I really do," McLaurin said. "The adversity is what's gotten me here. The adversity I went through in college, in high school and in the NFL, kind of being an underdog, the reason why I'm here is because of the work that was put in during those times."

Over the past couple of months, McLaurin admitted it was hard to be away from the team while contract negotiations were taking place. The wideout skipped all of Washington's offseason program, including mandatory minicamp that took place in mid-June.

During that span, McLaurin said he was working out daily in Florida, keeping himself in shape in case a new deal came together while the offseason program was still going on. He remained in contact with multiple players on the team throughout the process, especially Jonathan Allen and Logan Thomas, who both went through contract negotiations last summer.

Throughout the offseason program, Commanders' head coach Ron Rivera remained confident a deal would get done, even if it took time. Every time he was asked, Rivera would reiterate just that. That same level of confidence was felt from McLaurin's camp, too.

I felt confident, honestly," McLaurin said. "Talking to my agent, to the conversations Ive had with coach Rivera. It was very evident that they wanted me to be here and I wanted to be here."

Following one offseason practice, Rivera directly called McLaurin and the two had an honest conversation about the situation. It was after that specific moment when Washington's standout receiver felt a deal was coming soon.

"We had a really good conversation. He emphasized that it was a priority, from ownership down to the coaching staff, to get this deal done," McLaurin said. "Just with the business of the NFL, you never know until you know. But I had a great feeling that we were going to get something done. Just for him to reach out, take time out of his day to hear where I was coming from, how I was feeling personally, where my head was, I really appreciate that coming from the head coach and the leader of the football team."

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McLaurin touched on the business aspect of the NFL multiple times during Wednesday's podium session, but also made it clear he truly did want to remain in Washington. Yes, McLaurin wanted to be compensated for what he felt he deserved, but he's also just as thrilled that it's with the same franchise that drafted him.

I feel like to coach Riveras credit and the staff here that we have a really unselfish group of guys in that locker room," McLaurin said. "We have a lot of guys who are competitive and hungry. And they want to see Washington be back on top. We all know where we want to head to. And I think were all on the same page with that. But we also understand that its going to take the work and dedication from everybody involved to get there.

I want to be a part of that," he continued. "Its a place where I was drafted to. A place where the fans show me so much love and appreciation and are so passionate about just this fan base and this organization and the history of it something I wanted to be a part of, especially with where were at now and where I feel like were heading.

Rivera stood just a few feet to McLaurin's left throughout the 30-minute press conference on Wednesday. A slight grin remained on the head coach's face for much of the session, as Rivera didn't even need to hide just how big of a moment extending McLaurin means for this football team.

"Its one of those things as a football coach to be able to have players that fit what you're trying to do and understand, and really kind of see the vision that you have. And with Terry that's somebody that we believe we have," Rivera said.

It's no secret that this extension is life-changing for McLaurin, both on and off the field. But the grind and all the adversity he's had to go through until this point won't be lost on the receiver, either, just because he's earned this lucrative contract.

"I'm just really excited for what's to come and to continue to get back out there and really go back out there with my day one approach of earning my spot on this team like I was my rookie year," McLaurin said. "I'm trying to earn it all over again. That's genuinely my perspective and how I operate each and every day.

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Terry McLaurin cried after signing extension with Commanders - NBC Sports

Neighbours at war over ‘monstrous’ extension that’s knocked thousands off value of home – The Mirror

Rod and Alison Pearson, from Nottinghamshire, claim their neighbour's loft conversion has caused them trouble for a whole year - and now say the "unbearable" construction blocks sunlight into their home

Image: Nottingham Post / BPM Media)

Neighbours have found themselves at war over a "monstrous" extension that one side claims has knocked thousands off value off the value of their home.

Rod and Alison Pearson, from Nottinghamshire, claim their neighbour's loft conversion has caused them trouble for a whole year - and now say the "unbearable" construction blocks sunlight into their home.

The couple even say they are now considering moving home after only four years living there - but fear the extension has potentially knocked 10,000 off the value of their property.

Rod, 56, said: We had an estate agent around - he said the extension has knocked 10,000 off our property.

You walk out of our conservatory and look up, and its just unbearable.

Our garden used to get the sun in the morning. It was lovely to sit out there with a coffee. Thats all gone."

Image:

Rod and Alison bought their three-bed home for 167,000 four years ago, reports The Sun - before they were aware next door had plans to transform their loft into office space, a playroom and print room

Plans for the major conversion were approved by the City of Nottingham Council - despite objections from Rod and Alison, who challenged on the basis it would infringe on their home life.

Rod said the extension resembled a "bungalow that's been plonked up top" of the house, saying he felt like it was hanging over you when they went outside.

Recently, in a baffling neighbourly dispute, a mum has been left frustrated after her neighbour demanded that she and her family stop using the lower half of their own garden - because it ruins his view.

The woman explained that the houses in her area are positioned in such a way that her neighbour's house backs onto her garden, and there is one window in the neighbour's property that looks out onto her outside space.

She claimed that her neighbour initially asked her to stop using the bottom half of her garden because it "affected his privacy" when he was using the room with this window in.

But after she put up a taller fence so that she could continue using her garden, the neighbour complained again - this time because he "wanted the view of her garden back".

In a post on Mumsnet, she said: "We live in a house where two separate streets meet and have adjoining gardens. The back wall of our neighbour's house is the boundary wall to our garden. There is a downstairs window on this wall that looks directly into our garden.

"Our neighbour asked us not to use the bottom part of our garden as it affected his privacy when he used this room. We put a screen up so we could use our garden privately, but the neighbour has complained that it affects his light and wants the view of our garden back.

"Weve asked him to close his curtains but he refuses and he cant see anywhere other than our garden from the window so its not like hes using our garden to look over to a better view."

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Neighbours at war over 'monstrous' extension that's knocked thousands off value of home - The Mirror

SOCOM is working on a new and improved Navy SEAL Delivery Vehicle – Business Insider

To remain effective in an era of near-peer warfare and to counter China's growing military, US Special Operations Command and the Navy SEALs are working on two new and improved mini-submarines that are expected to enter service soon.

The two new special-operations mini-subs the Mark 11 Shallow Water Combat Submersible and the Dry Combat Submersible will be the backbone of Naval Special Warfare's submersible fleet for decades to come.

The Mark 11 will replace the Mark 8 Mod 1 mini-sub. The new mini-sub comes with an increased operational range and payload, more advanced sensors, improved navigation systems, and a new command-and-control structure that will allow new technologies to be introduced more efficiently.

At 23 feet long, the Mark 11 will be able to carry six Navy SEALs: two crew and four combat divers. The mini-sub will be to dive to about 165 feet and will be flooded while in use, meaning the SEAL operators will be exposed to the elements and will have to use dry suits and oxygen tanks. (The British Special Boat Service has also ordered the Mark 11.)

SOCOM expects the Mark 11 to hit initial operating capability this summer. Should everything go according to plan, the new SEAL Delivery Vehicle will begin to phase out the Mark 8, which has been in service since the 1980s.

The Dry Combat Submersible is much larger and heavier. The 40-foot mini-submarine will have a vastly longer operational range and greater payload capacity than the Mark 11 and be more comfortable for the 10 commandos two crew and eight combat divers it will be able to carry.

At a recent industry conference, Cmdr. John Conway, SOCOM's program manager for special-operations forces undersea systems, likened the Dry Combat Submersible to "an electric truck" that can do a lot of things at the same time and can be adapted and improved with new sensors and systems in response to future threats and operational environments.

Naval Special Warfare is also looking at "other nontraditional ways to launch" the Mark 11, such as "a containerized solution" off of "some vessel of opportunity or things like that," Navy Cmdr. James Hanlon, SOCOM's program manager for special-operations maritime systems, said at the conference, according to Defense News.

In addition to the new Mark 11 and Dry Combat Submersible, Naval Special Warfare is working on a service-life extension program for the Dry Deck Shelter, which is attached to a submarine's hull and allows SEALs and other combat divers to exit and enter the submarine while underway.

The Navy's six Dry Deck Shelters were built between 1982 and 1991 and were expected to have service lives of 40 years. The planned extension would allow them to operate until the 2050s

The Navy SEAL teams are most well known for their direct-action capabilities. High-profile operations over the last 20 years, including the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, have fostered a belief that all that SEALs do is kick down doors and go after bad guys.

But SEAL teams have other capabilities and are proficient in many skill sets. The SEAL Delivery Vehicles are perhaps one of their most exotic capabilities, and the two SEAL Delivery Vehicle teams specialize in three mission sets: underwater insertion and extraction of special operations troops, underwater special reconnaissance, and underwater special operations.

In addition, SEAL Delivery Vehicle teams can support maritime counterterrorism operations by stealthily moving special operators close to a target that is in or near the water.

Generally, SEAL operators avoid an assignment to a SEAL Delivery Vehicle team because of the extremely difficult mission set. Although all Navy SEALs are combat divers, SEAL Delivery Vehicle team members take combat diving to the next level. Eight- to 10-hour dives are not uncommon.

Naval Special Warfare Command, which oversees the SEALs, has two delivery vehicle teams, which were first stood up in the early 1980s.

SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, now based in Hawaii, is dedicated to the West Coast and operations in the Pacific. SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two was deactivated in 2008 but reestablished in 2019 amid the shift toward great-power competition. SDVT-2 is based in Little Creek, Virginia, and is the dedicated delivery vehicle unit for the East Coast and operations in Europe.

The delivery vehicle teams are now part of Naval Special Warfare Group 8, which was created in 2020 through the consolidation of two other special warfare groups. The officer who led the group with the delivery vehicle teams was selected to lead Group 8 when it was formed, suggesting SDVs will have an important role going forward.

SEAL Delivery Vehicles are SOCOM's only special-operations submersible capability. In a conflict with China, mini-subs paired with the Navy's attack submarines would be ideal for getting SEALs into tough spots and denied areas, which will be essential for countering China's anti-access/area-denial umbrellaover the Western Pacific.

"Our relationship with our submarine force has never been closer," Rear Adm. Hugh Howard III, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, told senators in May. "We see the undersea as absolutely critical to deterrence. I think that it is a place that we maintain advantage, and it is a place where we must maintain advantage to critically deter our peer adversaries."

See more here:

SOCOM is working on a new and improved Navy SEAL Delivery Vehicle - Business Insider

Is the metaverse the next Zoom or the next 3D TV? Look beyond the hype – iNews

This is Geek Week, my newsletter about whatever nerdy things have happened to catch my eye over the past seven days. Heres me, musing about something I dont fully understand in an attempt to get my head around it: I imagine thats how most editions will be. If youd like to get this direct to your inbox, every single week,you can sign up here.

As is my right and privilege, I want to write an entire newsletter off the back of a single sentence I read in a BBC Futures article several months ago.

The article was this one: Apparently, its the next big thing. What is the metaverse? Its about (obviously) the metaverse: the idea of a virtual-reality internet where we all walk around inside a 3D world and have meetings and so on.

And the line that caught my interest was: Hype about digital worlds and augmented reality pops up every few years, but usually dies away.

This is the sort of thing that might end me up in Pseuds Corner, but: Scottish philosopher David Hume would have loved that sentence.

Hume pointed out (Im writing this from dusty memories of philosophy seminars in the early 2000s, so it wont be perfect, but I think its basically about right) that we never see one thing cause another thing. We see a thing, and then we see the next thing, and we infer cause. We see a billiard ball hit another billiard ball, and we see the other billiard ball move, but we never see one thing cause the other.

So how do we decide what causes what? For Hume, we have to use induction: if every time we see Event A, it is followed by Event B, but if we dont see Event A we dont see Event B, then we can start to think that A causes B.

But theres a problem with induction. Philosophers loved to prove stuff. All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; ergo Socrates is mortal, that sort of thing. All bachelors are unmarried. No power of two is divisible by three. These things are logical truths: If you accept the premises, you cant help but accept the conclusion.

That doesnt work with induction, though. You see the sun rise a thousand times, but you can never logically prove that it will rise tomorrow. The turkey notices that the farmer feeds him 364 days in a row, and is thus taken entirely by surprise on the 365th, when the farmer slaughters him and roasts him for Christmas.

Hume points out that you can only think of inductive reasoning in terms of probability. I think its likely that the sun will come up tomorrow: but I cant prove it, in mathematical/formal Aristotelian logic terms.

OK, so the metaverse. Hype about digital worlds and augmented reality pops up every few years, but usually dies away.

Every time you have seen the sun rise in the past, its risen the next day too. Every time the farmer fed the turkey, he fed it the next day too. Every time hype about virtual reality pops up, it dies away. But can you actually draw any conclusions from those things? After all, if you said The sun has always come up before, ergo I predict it will come up tomorrow, youd be making a correct prediction. If you said The farmer has always fed me before, ergo hell feed me tomorrow, youd be wrong (eventually, but importantly). Is Tech hype has always faded away before, ergo itll fade away again like the sun, or like the turkey?

Well, lets look at some other things. Video-calling technology is the obvious example. There was hype about that every few years. I learn from Wikipedia that it was first mooted in the 1870s, basically immediately after the invention of the telephone. The German Reich had closed-circuit television technology which allowed video calls in 1936. In the 70s AT&T released the Picturephone to great fanfare. In the 90s it started to work over the internet.

There have been various waves of hype about it. And each one died away, because the tech wasnt quite there, or it was too expensive, or not enough people had the kit to make it work. And you could reasonably have drawn the conclusion Hype about video-telephones pops up every few years, but usually dies away. And then the pandemic happened and suddenly a large percentage of us are doing it every day. No one is ever going to talk about video-calling hype again, because its just something we do and itd be weird to hype it in the same way itd be weird to hype, I dunno, bookshelves. Its just a technology that we have and that works and that is useful.

On the other hand, 3D glasses. Everyone thought that was the future of cinema, and then it died away, and then it came back (Avatar!) and then there was that brief 3D television thing, and that died away. And I dont think thats a product of the tech not being there polarised glasses are cheap, using two cameras instead of one isnt exactly ground-breaking stuff I think its that its basically a novelty, and the inconvenience and discomfort of having to wear the silly glasses outweigh the gains to your Viewing Experience of seeing things in 3D. Sometimes hype cycles really are just hype cycles.

Whats the difference between video-conferencing and 3D glasses? Whats the difference between the sun rising and the farmer killing the turkey?

The fundamental difference is one of theory. We have a really good theory to explain why we should predict the sun to rise tomorrow: Newtonian physics (we can do even better if we use relativity, but Newtons laws are fine). You predict that the sun will rise tomorrow because your theory says that the Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours. That theory predicts lots of previous data, makes sense in the light of other theories, and generally seems pretty sound. Predicting that the sun wont rise tomorrow would mean rewriting a lot of what we think we know about the universe.

Whereas whats the turkeys theory for why the farmer is feeding him? Because he loves me and wants me to be happy, maybe, which is nice, but there are lots of equally plausible theories that could explain the data just as well.

The point is that you cant just look at the fact that there have been hype cycles and say from that that the thing will never happen. There have been AI winters before times when AI research stopped being fashionable, and funding into it slowed but I dont think there will be any more, because now AI is making people money. Theres a current hype cycle around fusion power, and maybe itll die away like the last several (fusion is 30 years away and always will be), but maybe one day itll just become profitable. [This thing] is coming and itll change the world will always be wrong every single time until its right.

So you need to look at the theory behind it and decide as best you can, not just on the hype cycle, whether you think its likely.

This isnt just true of new technology, by the way. Its true of disasters as well (every warning of an apocalypse will be false apart from one). Experts told us swine flu/bird flu/SARS/MERS would be a devastating global pandemic, and they were wrong every time, so we dont need to worry about this novel coronavirus.

There are various up-and-coming technologies that get repeatedly hyped and then die away again. Artificial general intelligence: people have thought that was on its way many times. Fusion energy. Life extension. Space colonies. Virtual reality.

For what its worth, I think true artificial intelligence and fusion energy probably will happen in the next few decades nature has proved theyre both possible (you can make an intelligent being out of neurons, you can make a fusion reactor in a star), obvious progress has been made towards them, and crucially people will be able to make lots of money out of both of them.

(Cheap energy is obviously valuable; really, really clever machines that can do exactly what you ask of them will have an incredibly wide array of uses if we manage to stop them from killing us all.)

Life extension seems to be plausible and, lets face it, rich people will pay for it once its available but super expensive, so I suspect theres a good chance of that happening. Space colonies are not likely to be profitable, but the worlds two richest people are interested in them and keep pushing money into technology that could make it happen, so I can see how that might happen.

And the metaverse I dont know. It always seems like a pain in the arse to me. The headsets are uncomfortable and I dont know if most of the use cases (conferencing etc) are so much better than a Zoom call that itd make it worthwhile. Maybe theyll get less clunky over time, but its pretty unlikely theyll ever get less clunky than a pair of 3D glasses. But Mark Zuckerberg obviously thinks its worth betting heavily on, and hes probably looked into it more closely than me.

But you cant know any of that just from looking at whether the hype has come and gone in the past. We do that too often. The climate has always changed! [So we shouldnt worry about it changing now.] Fusion is 30 years away and always will be! [So its not coming soon.]

Instead you have to actually look at the details. Its not enough to say that the farmer feeds you every day, so he always will. Sometimes Christmas happens.

Why do so many people believe things that are patently untrue? The point of believing things, surely, is to help us navigate the world: if there is a big hole in the ground in front of us, it is useful to believe that there is a big hole in the ground in front of us, so that we dont fall into it and break our legs. But lots of us all of us, probably believe things that are clearly untrue. A few that are probably relatively uncontroversial among Geek Week readers: astrology can predict your future; vaccines cause autism; there was a paedophile conspiracy involving Hillary Clinton run out of a Washington pizza restaurant.

(I dont know which of my beliefs are clearly untrue if I did Id stop believing them but it seems overwhelmingly likely that some of them are.)

Kevin Simler makes the case that beliefs have several roles. Some beliefs help us navigate the world. But others help us maintain social standing. Whether or not I believe in climate change will have very little effect on the actual outcomes of climate change, but it will have a huge effect on my ability to enjoy nice dinner parties in north London (or chats with rural Republicans in the American Midwest). He compares it to employees in a company in a corrupt, nepotistic town:

Consider the case of Acme Corp, a property development firm in a small town called Nepotsville. The unwritten rule of doing business in Nepotsville is that companies are expected to hire the city councils friends and family members. Companies that make these strategic hires end up getting their permits approved and winning contracts from the city. Meanwhile, companies that refuse to play ball find themselves getting sued, smeared in the local papers, and shut out of new business.

In this environment, Acme faces two kinds of incentives, one pragmatic and one political. First, like any business, it needs to complete projects on time and under budget. And in order to do that, it needs to act like a meritocracy, that is, by hiring qualified workers, monitoring their performance, and firing those who dont pull their weight. But at the same time, Acme also needs to appease the city council. And thus it needs to engage in a little cronyism, that is, by hiring workers who happen to be well-connected to the city council (even if theyre unqualified) and preventing those crony workers from being fired (even when they do shoddy work).

It might make sense to hire the mayors useless nephew, even though you know he wont pull his weight, because it will make your companys life easier. By comparison, it might make sense to believe things that arent true, as a signal that youre part of Team We Believe That Stuff. Sometimes those beliefs will actually be true.

Ive used relatively uncontroversial examples above. But I bet you could think of more mainstream beliefs that are clearly untrue (I cant face the row). And the real trick is to try to work out which of your own beliefs are held at least partly for crony reasons, because its just not plausible that there arent any.

This is Geek Week with Tom Chivers, a subscriber-only newsletter from i. If youd like to get this direct to your inbox, every single week,you can sign up here.

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Is the metaverse the next Zoom or the next 3D TV? Look beyond the hype - iNews

How to live forever – Financial Times

This is an audio transcript of the FT Weekend podcast episode: How to live forever

Lilah RaptopoulosHello FT Weekend listeners, its Lilah. Im away on vacation this week so weve reached into the vault to bring you one of our favourite episodes. My team and I talk about this episode a lot. Its about living forever and the ethics of radical life extension. Its also about defying death on this outrageous family summer vacation, which feels relevant for the season. One quick note: this episode first published in November. So in the beginning, when I say last year, I mean March of 2020. Okay, enjoy the show.

Did I ever tell you about the time Ira Glass almost gave me coronavirus? It was the last day of going about our normal lives in March of 2020, and everything was starting to shut down and my office was closing, so I packed up my laptop and my keyboard and some of my notebooks into these kind of unwieldy tote bags and I slung them over my shoulder and headed home. But my last stop was this one final interview with the iconic radio host in the studios of This American Life. So Ira and I sat together in the small audio booth for an hour, and we talked about the art of storytelling, and then I left. The next day his assistant emailed me to say that I might have coronavirus because Ira might have coronavirus because he had shaken hands with someone who had coronavirus. And I remember thinking, this cannot be how I go. And that was my first brush with mortality during the pandemic and the first of many. For the next few months, mortality and I became friends. We, like, encountered each other very regularly, going to the grocery store, passing a neighbour in the hallway, taking a walk. We all encountered it, all the time. There are some people who come face to face with death early because theyve had loved ones get sick and pass. And it happens more often to us as we get older. But these past 18 months, its been different. We have a new relationship with death. Weve had to face it either as a reality or as a real possibility.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Lilah RaptopoulosThis is FT Weekend, the podcast. Im Lilah Raptopoulous. This weekend, were thinking about mortality. Do we look death in the face or do we avoid it altogether? Were going to the extreme ends. One of the worlds top climbers defies death by scaling treacherous mountains with his kids. And FT science writer Anjana Ahuja takes us through the science of living for hundreds of years.

[CLIP PLAYING]

Leo HouldingWhat did you do today, Jackson?

Jackson HouldingWe climbed up the Pingora Peak.

Leo HouldingWhich ones that? You point to it.

Jackson HouldingThat one.

Lilah RaptopoulosThats Leo Houlding, an outdoor adventurer and a guest writer for FT weekend, chatting with his four-year-old son, Jackson.

[CLIP PLAYING]

Leo HouldingWas it hard?

Jackson HouldingUmm, not very, but a bit.

Leo HouldingWas it were you scared at all?

Jackson HouldingNo.

Lilah RaptopoulosLeo recently took his family on a vacation that would leave most of us fearing for our lives. Thats them climbing up Pingora Peak, a mountain described by the first Europeans who saw it as impossible. It was a 14-day trek deep in Wind River Country in the wilderness of Wyoming. He and his wife, Jessica, took their two kids scrambling up isolated technical terrain. Theyre four and eight. Heres Leo with his daughter, Freya, climbing Wolfs Head, a 12,000-foot summit that would be hard for most adults.

[CLIP PLAYING]

Leo HouldingWhats happening, Freya?

Freya HouldingAh, well, Ive just gone up that ridge and Im, whoo! That ridge.

Leo HouldingAwesome. [Freya making sounds while climbing] There goes Freya, heading up that east ridge of the Wolfs Head. Pretty epic. One of the more epic features youre ever likely to see anywhere in the world.

Lilah RaptopoulosOn this trip, there was no cell service. They slept in tents and they brought all their food. Some of the climbing was almost vertical roped climbing and full harnesses. Leo talks about all of this in his piece, which Ive linked to in the show notes, but it sounded so outrageous that I wanted to talk to him about it.

Leo HouldingI think discomfort is underrated and our lives are so comfortable these days. Were all kind of obsessed with making everything as comfortable as possible, whereas actually a good dose of discomfort just makes you appreciate a little bit of comfort so much more.

Lilah RaptopoulosIt should be said that Leo is sort of a climbing celebrity. Hes considered one of the best in the world. You may have seen him. Hes been in documentaries like The Wildest Dream, an Imax film that documents a climb up Everest. And hes been on TV shows like Top Gear. Hes been to Antarctica twice to climb some of the most secluded mountains in the world. So it isnt just that he wants to torture his kids. He believes in this stuff for himself, too. So off they went into the wilderness, the whole family, and two unexpected hired hands.

Leo HouldingThe problem is to do that as a family of four, you need quite a lot of stuff. Aside from the climbing gear, you need all the camping gear, sleeping gear, cooking gear and, most of all, you need food for 14 days. Total was about 100 kilos of equipment. And thats where the llamas came in. (Laughter)

Lilah Raptopoulos(Laughter) Right. Okay. So in your story, youre talking about your van getting stuck and your kids being kind of like unsure about it and youre waiting for someone to help you out. And then this groan comes from the trailer behind you.

Leo HouldingNot many people know that llama trekking is a thing in the western states. There are a couple of outfitters who rent you llamas unguided. Theyre extremely easy animals to look after, unlike horses, which, you know, you kind of have to know stuff to handle horses.

Lilah RaptopoulosSo Leo, his wife, two kids, two llamas, 14 days worth of food and gear. They avoid a moose almost immediately as they get into the backwoods. And at this point, theyre going upwards, but not climbing just yet. On the walk to their camping spot, they meet a hiker who shows them an edible mushroom the size of a football. So they take that with them. And then when they set up camp, Leos wife, Jessica, casts her fishing rod out and immediately pulls back a perfect fish. Like in the movies.

At that stage, what were you thinking? Were you thinking, okay, were good. This is going to be an easy trip?

Leo HouldingI knew it wasnt going to be an easy trip because going into the backcountry is never easy. In fact, its very hard, but its simple. You know, you dont have all the complications of modern life. Its much more about shelter and food and looking after each other. I mean, we went into the Wind Rivers with a couple of objectives in mind, some big cliffs. But for most people that go there, they go there simply to experience the wilderness. Thats something that I would recommend to absolutely everyone.

Lilah RaptopoulosBut Leo and his family arent everyone. Jessica is also an experienced mountain climber, so on that third day, they take their kids out to climb some serious, bare-faced rocks.

Leo HouldingWe did this peak called Pingora, the east ledges of Pingora, which is Jacksons first big climb where he didnt get carried. And I mean, it is a big climb. Its 1,000 feet of climbing, but the face is 2,000 feet high. You kind of come in from the side. So its, its incredibly spectacular.

Lilah RaptopoulosThe following day, Leo takes Freya on a climb thats too hard for Jackson, so they go with one of his climbing buddies.

Leo HouldingIts definitely one of the best kind of easier climbs in North America, if not the world. Its this knife-edge ridge, you know, no more than a metre wide with pretty much 300m drops on both sides, outrageously exposed. Its quite complicated terrain. You have to squirm through chimneys and you have to rappel a bit and you have to go sideways. Going sideways in climbing is actually more difficult to protect than going straight up, and watching my little girl, she got scared, you know. Of course she got scared. But she faced her fear, she controlled her breathing and she absolutely loved it. She was just grinning from ear to ear the whole day.

Lilah RaptopoulosYeah, I have to say, as you tell the story, my heart is beating fast. I imagine that, like a lot of it. And tell me if Im wrong, that a lot of it is just deciding kind of not to be scared.

Leo HouldingThats a big part of it for sure. You know, kids, whatever you introduce them to is normal for them. So Jackson, whos only five, he was only four this summer when when we did some big climbs out in America. Hes just picking his nose, eating his sweets, looking at the birds, wittering away like any other four-year-old would in any other situation. Freya is extremely confident. Shes grown up in the mountains so shes way better than most adults in that terrain. In fact, we actually overtook a couple of adult teams and they were polite about it. But it must have been a little disheartening seeing a cute little eight-year-old skipping past you (laughter) on your big adventure.

Lilah RaptopoulosAll along, Leo had planned to go on an even more serious climb right at the end of their two weeks. Just him and his climbing partner. Theyre gone for just 24 hours. And when they get back nursing cramps and muscle spasms, they find out that the rest of his family had to fend off a bear. Did I not mention? The story also includes a bear.

Leo HouldingShe tried the old banging pans together to scare it off. She did have a kind of bear spray and a hiking pole, but it was snuffling around for, you know, a few hours through the night. And then she realised there was still some food in the pots, in one of these stuff sacks. So she gingerly pushed it out from underneath the tent and ironically, the noise of that scared it off.

Lilah RaptopoulosIf you have kids at this point, you might be asking yourself, is this a little too dangerous? Why is this guy putting his kids at risk? Going into the backcountry with two little kids is one thing, but treacherous climbs, foraged food, bears?

Leo HouldingI mean, theres no question that going into the mountains, going into the backcountry is dangerous. But sometimes people think of me as a professional climber, as an adventurer, as a risk-taker. But the truth is, its very much about risk management. Its about reducing the risks as much as possible. Any idiot can roll the dice a couple of times and get away with it. But when you do it professionally and you do high-risk stuff all the time, you have to do it with a very high degree of safety. But, you know, risk is an inherent part of all life, not just lives of adventure and life in the mountains. You kind of have to accept risk in life to be able to go out and make the most of it.

Lilah RaptopoulosBut Leo says thats the point.

Leo HouldingYou know, we had a couple of pretty serious storms and there was a lot of tears and screaming, as there is in many situations with kids. But actually, sometimes its the, its the low points, its the negative experiences which are the most memorable and most formative. Now, when you get to the top of the mountain, its all smiles and high fives and sunshine. Thats great. But when youre being pelted by hail, thats kind of leaving bruises. And, you know, my wife and I were literally stooped over the kids protecting them from this vicious hail storm. And thats when they learn, as we do, that, you know, you can survive, you can endure, you can push on through, dont give up. And you just have to kind of stay on top of the situation. And then when the sun does come out, you can dry off and live to fight another day.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Lilah RaptopoulosAnd from looking death in the eye to trying to delay it forever. If you had the chance to undergo a therapy that would let you live for 200 years in your prime body, would you do it? Im talking 200 years in the body of a 35-year-old. Not just a longer life, but a longer life thats actually good. There are scientists working hard on making that possible right now, thanks in part to funding from billionaires like Jeff Bezos. But if Bezoss space launch was criticised for wasting money, how do we feel about his quest for eternal life? Should we consider it urgent medical research? Or is this just rich mans folly? Do we really want a hacker biology to live to 200? Think about it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Anjana AhujaYou know, if a woman could reset her biology and have the biology of a, you know, perpetually of a 30-year-old, then what happens to the concept of generations? Are we all going to be living you know, when we talk about multigenerational households, are we talking about instead of the three at the moment, maybe four, five, six?

Lilah RaptopoulosThats Anjana Ahuja, a contributing science writer for the FT. Anjana recently wrote the cover story for Life & Arts on this radical idea. It was called, Can we defeat death? And it asks just that. Can we actually live for hundreds of years or forever? And yeah, thats a real headline from a real newspaper, not a sci-fi novel, written by a real, distinguished journalist who actually has a PhD in space physics. So heres where we are. We arent close yet to making humans age in reverse. But scientists have been able to de-age cells in living organisms. There are mice that go blind from ageing. And we can manipulate their genes so that they can see again. Were close enough to a Benjamin Button situation that philosophers are now publishing books about the morality of extending the human lifespan.

So I cant stop thinking about your piece. (Laughter) Im just like, yeah, and Im wondering, like, where this started for you. Where did you start reporting it?

Anjana AhujaBack in September, I wrote a column about Altos Labs. I found out that it was being set up, it was being funded by Jeff Bezos. And to me, it seemed like a really serious outfit in terms of the money that was going into it, the people they were recruiting. And Ive always thought this, that actually somebody, sooner or later, is going to look at ageing as a technological problem because there is so much research into kind of interfering, trying to hack the ageing process.

Lilah RaptopoulosAltos is a Silicon Valley start-up and Anjana says it expands on the work of Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Prize-winning physiologist who heads Altoss scientific board. In 2006, Yamanaka made a discovery that some people consider even more important than the discovery of the DNAs double helix.

News clipThe Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute has today decided to award the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine 2012 to Shinya Yamanaka.

Lilah RaptopoulosHis research showed that if you take an adult mouse cell and bathed in a mixture of four proteins, you can reset that cells age back to its embryonic state. In 2007, he proved that it could be done with human skin cells. Let me say that again. If you dunk individual cells in this particular cocktail of proteins, you can make those cells not just stop ageing. You can make them younger. And we, of course, are made entirely of cells.

Im curious what, like, the practical implications would be of these findings? Like, would it be just that individual parts of your body, those cells, could kind of Benjamin Button themselves backwards and yet you still would look old? Like, is there is there a way to sort of make the entire body young? Thats a very dumb question. But is there a way to make the whole body younger?

Anjana AhujaNo, its not a dumb question at all. I think thats really what these billionaires are hoping for, isnt it, to kind of freeze themselves in some kind of eternally youthful state? I think thats a very good question. The key is how you translate from individual cells up to whole organisms.

Lilah RaptopoulosThe name for what happens when you bathe cells in the Yamanaka Factor proteins is cellular reprogramming. Scientists try to reprogramme the cells of an entire body on mice, but when they did, the mice grew these horrible malignant tumours. Anjana put it like this. She said once you bring the cells back to their embryonic state, they lose their life plan. They dont know what to do next, so they grow into cancers. But there are companies right now working to see if you can apply these factors incrementally to de-age cells as far as you can without them developing cancer and then to do it again.

Anjana AhujaI suspect people will be quicker to apply it to individual organs first, individual tissues. You know, when you think about the number of people whose organs just wear out, they need transplants. So that might be an option.

Lilah RaptopoulosThis research, it isnt the only path to reverse ageing. A California scientist has been giving a small group of middle-aged men this cocktail of drugs that includes diabetes medication. Its made their thymus glands, which is a key part of the immune system, younger by two-and-a-half years. David Sinclair, a Harvard geneticist and one of the biggest names in anti-ageing. Hes doing a lot to experiment on his own body, including only eating one or two meals a day to put his body into survival mode. But Yamanakas discovery and where its going, thats whats really changing the game for longevity research. And to tell you the truth, thinking about it really pushed me on my assumptions about scientific progress, especially progress driven by Jeff Bezos.

These stories can look a little like the stories of men with too much money in Silicon Valley (laughter) just trying to like, kind of like, still be young and cool, right? Like, kind of suspend reality and like, isnt there something, even if its hard, comforting about the fact that we understand that, like, theres a limit to our lives and we understand the arc of it and, and we all die.

Anjana AhujaYeah, I mean, why dont these billionaires put their money to solving climate change and starvation and, you know, giving us clean drinking water and that kind of thing? You know, whats really interesting to me, I think, is when you think about what healthcare is.

Lilah RaptopoulosMmhmm.

Anjana AhujaIts about postponing death.

Lilah RaptopoulosYeah.

Anjana AhujaYou know, if you say to someone, you know, if you could not have cancer, not have heart disease, not have Alzheimers, not have dementia, if you could find a therapy that did that, would you take it? And I think there would be a lot of people that would say yes.

Lilah RaptopoulosMmhmm.

Anjana AhujaAnd what the scientists are saying, well, actually, you know, ageing is the common factor in lots of these diseases.

Lilah RaptopoulosMmhmm.

Anjana AhujaSo instead of, you know, kind of waiting till Alzheimers or heart disease or diabetes hits, why dont we make an upstream intervention and stop the root cause, or one root cause, which is ageing?

Lilah RaptopoulosAt the moment, though, most people seem to be sceptical of radical life extension. Anjana quotes the survey in her piece that only four per cent of Americans recently said theyd want to live past 120. Statistically, thats pretty close to no Americans wanting to live past 120. And Anjanas right! Part of that scepticism is that we cant imagine our world without Alzheimers, cancer and heart disease because the image we have is of old age as we know it now, one that is inextricably linked to disease and frailty and loneliness. But even if we could get rid of the negative consequences of ageing, if we can have lives that arent just longer but good till the end, should we? Have we really thought this through? What about the climate crisis and overpopulation and burning through our limited resources? What about marriage? Can you stay married to one person for 150 years? How many careers should we have over 200 years? What about dictators who dont ever die? Supreme Court justices? What about the House of Lords?

Anjana AhujaWhat do you do in the judicial system? You know, what does a life sentence mean, if youre living for 150, 200 years?

Lilah RaptopoulosYeah.

Anjana AhujaAnd just this idea that kind of a lot of institutions in society are set up with finite life spans in mind.

Lilah RaptopoulosAs we ended this conversation, I held two opposing feelings at once. One is, if this discovery happened today, it would be a nightmare on a macro scale, and we are not ready for it. And the other is, if I could give someone I love whos suffering from degenerative disease a pill to stop their pain or to reverse the damage, I would in a heartbeat, no question. And to not feel that way is kind of to be against progress.

Anjana AhujaI think there are some really important issues that may well become more important in the decades ahead. I dont know how close any of this is to fruition, this work about, you know, radical life extending. Could I live to 200? I dont know. And Im not sure that I would necessarily be able to make that decision today.

Lilah RaptopoulosYeah.

Anjana AhujaI think I would want to see what state the science was in, what state the research was in, what state I was in, and what kind of life I felt I could have, how I felt psychologically about it, what my family feel about it. You know, do they want me hanging around for a hundred years (laughter)?

Lilah RaptopoulosWould the people around you also be hanging around for an extra 100 years?

Anjana AhujaExactly. You know, we are going to get horribly bored with each other. So who knows? I mean, these are really big issues, but I hope that the piece is open to debate and we should talk about these things. Theyre always good because you never know how fast science is going to progress. Yeah. And sometimes, as weve seen with, you know, gene editing and CRISPR, sometimes these things hit before weve had a chance to think about them.

Lilah RaptopoulosMmhmm.

Anjana AhujaAnd I think its always really useful for us to just take a step back and reflect on how we live, how science might change things, and on what we feel comfortable with and, and, you know, the future of our species and our society.

Lilah RaptopoulosAnjana, youve given me so much to think about and probably our listeners too. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Anjana AhujaOh, its been my pleasure, Lilah. Thank you for having me!

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Lilah RaptopoulosAnd a final thought. We may be doing some of this life extension work already. We do live in a world of optimisation. We have apps to help us meditate. Our phones count our steps. We have strange little tools we attach to the back of our necks to help our posture. My watch tells me to stand up and breathe. My friends have a bed that heats up and cools down according to their optimal body temperature. There are start-ups that make vitamins specifically for your personal constitution. This isnt just scientists in a lab testing proteins on mice. This is kind of already happening.

Tiffany DarkeSo actually, what these tools, all the good tools for longevity that are coming into the market do is they help increase your health span as opposed to your life span.

Lilah RaptopoulosThats Tiffany Darke. Shes a regular contributor to the FTs luxury magazine, How to Spend It. She just wrote a piece on what the really rich are doing now to optimise their health. And shes pretty into it.

Tiffany DarkeIm a bit of a luxury junkie. Ive always, like, appreciated fashion. And I think that the science and the thought leadership around the luxury wellness industry has sort of increased exponentially in recent years.

Lilah RaptopoulosLets be clear. Living long is a luxury. The difference between being wealthy and poor can translate to living 10 or 20 years longer or shorter. And living long well, thats an even bigger luxury. In the UK, 20 per cent of mens lives are spent in poor health, a number thats increasing. And for women, thats even higher. Its 23 per cent. But for those that can afford it, there are a lot of new options. Were going to take you through a few of them here. The first is called RoseBar. Its a destination longevity programme and its marketing offers you a pretty bold promise.

Tiffany DarkeIt says a year from now, you can be younger. So they are promising reversal of ageing.

Lilah RaptopoulosThe RoseBar programme is a year-long programme. First they run longevity diagnostics and your bloodwork to see if youre on any negative health trajectories. And if you are, they put you on antidotes, which could be plasma treatments or even stem cell manipulation. From there, they give you fitness and diet advice and monthly check-ins. And the first programme launches this month at a resort in Ibiza. Its got a hyperbaric chamber, cryotherapy and IV facilities and literal shamans. Its like buying a souped-up life coach.

Tiffany DarkeYes, yes, life coach but with lots of kind of doctors and clinicians and all the sort of fun toys that surround the longevity industry as well.

Lilah RaptopoulosThe cost is, base, 15,000.

Tiffany DarkePlus the actual residential costs, plus getting there, plus the cost of the nutraceuticals, plus all the treatments.

Lilah RaptopoulosIf thats a bit too steep for you, theres a start-up called Thriva. Its an app that sends you a blood sample kit. The cost starts around $30 and can go as high as almost $200 per test, depending on your add-ons.

Tiffany DarkeIm warning you, its totally addictive. So you download this app on to your phone and then they send you a blood test and you do your blood test every three months. And its really easy at home, pinprick in the end of your finger.

Lilah RaptopoulosThey test what your doctor does at a normal check-up: your cholesterol, kidney and liver function, testosterone, vitamin levels. But they test it way more frequently and they put the results in an app, gamified. Next are the supplements. Lima sells supplements with nine scientifically backed ingredients: D3, keratin, ashwagandha, turmeric, stuff like that, but branded to look cool. You may have heard them referred to as the supermodel supplements: four pills a day, $300 a month, and you even get a luxe copper vessel to store them in.

Tiffany DarkeTheres a lot of hocus-pocus in the supplement market and, you know, a lot of good marketing, but actually there are supplements out there that do use good, patented adaptive medicines and at the dosages that your body needs to really thrive.

Lilah RaptopoulosWhich begs the question, are these just high-tech tools reminding us to do the obvious? Eat vegetables, avoid processed foods, take your vitamins, drink water, get sleep, exercise. Its all advice thats as old as time, but its a lot easier to follow when you can afford to get real-time data. And it doesnt hurt to have a shaman reminding you on a beach in Ibiza.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Lilah RaptopoulosThats it for this week. Youve been listening to FT Weekend, the podcast from the Financial Times. Please keep in touch, say hi, tell me what you like, what issues you want to hear us explore. You can email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. Were on Twitter @FTWeekendPod and Im on Instagram and Twitter @LilahRap. Ill put some photos of Leos family adventure on my feeds and, really, reach out. We love to put listeners on the show. In our show notes, as always, are links to everything mentioned. Theres also a special discount there on an FT Weekend subscription or even an FT.com trial. Weve got the best discounts collected for you in that link, which you can also get to at ft.com/weekendpodcast. Please leave us a review and share the show on your Twitter or Instagram story or with a few friends. This really is the best way you can help support the show.

Im Lilah Raptopoulos. Katya Kumkova and George Drake Jr are our senior producers. Lulu Smyth and Josh Gabert Doyan are our assistant producers, and Breen Turner is our sound engineer, with original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley and Manuela Saragosa are our executive producers, and we have editorial direction from ReneKaplan. Well find each other again next week.

Continued here:

How to live forever - Financial Times

Why longevity matters to everyone: Living longer lives in the world of Web3 – Cointelegraph

Expected to reach a market size of $128 billion by 2028, the longevity sector is no longer something that those outside the medical world can ignore. In the next few years, life-extending technologies and treatments for aging-related diseases will reach human trials. There is an exciting wave of development happening in research labs and technology centers across the globe, with more and more early adopters embarking on their longevity journeys.

As Ive remarked in my earlier article, the crypto community would do well to learn more and engage in the growing longevity field. Longevity not only incorporates disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technologies but also has a visionary spirit and is supported by stakeholders dedicated to improving the human aging experience.

To share more about this up-and-coming sector, I spoke with three individuals about their alignment with longevity science and why they want you to know about the opportunities afforded by embracing longevity. The sector has already shown tremendous support in favor of the industry. The insights from one of the worlds foremost longevity physicians, the founder of the worlds leading full-service blockchain technology company, are unique but share a common theme: It is time for the world to pay attention to what the future holds for human lifespans.

As a longevity physician, my goal is to maintain or even improve the quality of life for someone. But the term longevity conjures images of living longer. But its more than just that. Life has to be fulfilling. It has to be fun. In longevity medicine, it is essential to focus on physical health as well as behavioral and mental health. All these pieces fit to make a healthy human.

In general, I am not a fan of sweeping recommendations. I like personalization. I like structure. I especially like structure when developing treatment trajectories for a patient. Of course, there is a foundation of longevity that incorporates common themes. However, I do not have typical recommendations for everybody.

I look at the unique characteristics of each patient in several different categories. The first category is metabolic optimization. This category encompasses nutritional improvements, exercise and hormones. Some people are athletes, and I also work with pre- and post-menopausal women. Some patients are preparing for pregnancy. These unique characteristics factor into the recommendations.

The second category is sleep. Many people underestimate how important sleep is to maintaining healthy bodily functions. As part of patient evaluation, I look at how easily the patient falls asleep and how optimal the sleep is based on oxygen levels, the number of apnea episodes, and more.

The third optimization area is cognition. Neurodegeneration is a significant concern for individuals as they age, and optimizing this area requires early prevention of any cognitive decline or neurosurgical health. Cognition also includes mental health. I am trained in psychiatry, so mental health is essential to me. A lot of people are already on antipsychotics or antidepressants. I meet patients where they are and help them achieve their goals of improving mental health.

As you can see, we very much focus on the granular level in longevity treatment. We focus on all aspects of a person to ensure treatments work in harmony. Physicians and patients need to remember that flexibility is key for any medical success. Longevity treatment should be just as flexible.

My interest in longevity began as a personal one. Running a global, billion-dollar company takes a toll on you. To achieve our mission, I realized that I needed to optimize not only my health but also my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development. Health is usually one of the first things people neglect when they are focused elsewhere.

I started reading about everything that was considered cutting-edge in the field, from intermittent fasting to veganism. I even went as detailed to evaluate the micronutrients of different fruits and vegetables I was eating to balance them. When you start researching these things, you will eventually come to the field of longevity because longevity is all about the optimization of your life and health. That speaks to the engineer in me. We look at what we can optimize and how to do it. I spent more than a year optimizing my health, food, sleep everything. And now, I feel better than I did in my 20s!

I became a patron of the Longevity Science Foundation because I genuinely believe longevity should not just belong to one group of people. Everyone deserves access to the tools and science to live longer and healthier lives. I support the mission of the foundation to democratize access to this information because everyone has the right to it. Longevity should be shared.

What is the point of living a longer and healthier life if you are the only person benefiting from it? What kind of a world will you inherit? How can you build a better one if you are alone? Longevity is a crucial piece of our collective future. Crypto, blockchain and Web3 make it easier for us to work together and support each other while protecting ourselves. Longevity science means we can do that while living longer, being healthier and being happier. In other words: A better existence is out there for humans if we collaborate and create more open systems accessible to everyone.

Ive been an early pioneer in emerging technologies since 2005, entering spaces, such as mobile payments, renewable energy, the Internet of Things, CRISPR and cryptocurrencies, years before they reached mainstream understanding and recognition. Working at this leading edge requires one to constantly question the status quo and to search for optimization. Im bringing the same pioneering attitude to longevity: There is more to longevity medicine than the extension of life. Its about nudging our evolutionary engine. It is a challenging yet thrilling quest.

Our ancestors had countless challenges to overcome as we moved from caves to dwellings to tribes to cities to where we are now. We had to deal with predators, disease, famine, war, infection. While many of these challenges still exist, we have defenses against many of them. These are defenses that we developed outside of ourselves. There was nothing evolutionary about them. Today, it is a combination of internal and external development that is furthering society. Thanks to incredible technological breakthroughs, we are able to access products that aid in our evolutionary process.

However, our biological evolution has been outpaced by a technological revolution. Simply put, the human brain cannot advance with the same inertia as current technological progress. This might seem like a scary concept, but its also an exciting one. This unprecedented progress is inspiring. I see this spirit in the crypto community, and I see it again in longevity medicine. There is a powerful movement to improve the way existing systems like the financial sector function by disrupting and democratizing them. I see the longevity thesis as a disruptor of the way we age.

Longevity medicine is about the balance of technology and our own awareness to be more present and a reminder of the basics. In some aspects, our quality of life is even worse than that of our ancestors, as we have less time to do the things we love. Our appetite for connection is decreasing as a result of constant technology usage and less human interaction. Thus, longevity is about making a plan for yourself that looks beyond a pill, injection, hyperbaric chamber or an expensive health spa. Instead, it is about establishing a daily routine and lasting, sustained change versus mindless, endless growth for the sake of growth. It requires planning, restrategizing our healthcare costs, and upgrading where it makes sense.

You commit to that in your work. Are you ready to do that for your life?

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Garri Zmudze is a managing partner at LongeVC, a Switzerland- and Cyprus-based venture capital firm accelerating innovative startups in biotech and longevity. He is a seasoned business expert and angel investor with several successful exits across biotech and tech companies. He is a long-time supporter and investor in biotech companies, including Insilico Medicine, Deep Longevity and Basepaws.

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Why longevity matters to everyone: Living longer lives in the world of Web3 - Cointelegraph

UMaine’s research, partnerships to promote housing and food security focus of visit by state policymakers and affordable housing advocates – UMaine…

Legislators, affordable housing developers and representatives of health and social service organizations visited the University of Maines Rogers Farm Forage and Crop Research Facility in Old Town on Friday to learn about UMaine Cooperative Extensions Harvest for Hunger and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education programs, which put resources in low-income Mainers hands to promote food security and health.

Legislators and affordable housing developers and advocates visited the University of Maine on Friday to see how the states flagship university is advancing housing and food security through research, innovation and partnerships.

The daylong summit showcasing solutions to one of the states grand challenges was organized by UMaine and the University of Maine System in partnership with the Legislatures bipartisan Housing and Homelessness Caucus and MaineHousing.

It included a tour of the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC), where, under the leadership of founding director Habib Dagher, research is underway to use Maine wood and the worlds largest 3D printer to help develop affordable housing. In the face of worker and supply shortages, the innovative process would reduce labor and materials needs and costs compared to standard construction, while improving housing sustainability and availability for those in need.

A new Green Engineering and Materials Factory of the Future is planned to further expand the Composites Centers world-leading work in biobased materials development. Already, $35 million in federal funding for the project, which is expected to break ground in 2023, has been secured by the Maine Congressional Delegation led by Sen. Susan Collins, and the Mills Administration has additionally committed $15 million through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan.

Visitors also heard from researchers with the UMaine Center on Aging about the housing and health needs of older Mainers, and how technology, smart engineering and technical assistance from the university can help communities become more livable across the life span including to allow Mainers to age in place.

As the states R1 research university, UMaine has the responsibility and the resources to address Maines grand challenges, and few are more urgent than access to safe affordable housing for working families and older Mainers, explained President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, who is also the UMS vice chancellor for research and innovation.

We are grateful for the investment from state and federal policymakers and the public that allows us to innovate and partner to improve Maines future, as we showcased on Friday. From biobased affordable housing manufacturing to sustainable agriculture to rural health care delivery, our research and development signature strengths are in areas that most matter to Maine and can help make this the best state in which to live, work and learn, she said.

Participating legislators came from eight counties. Statewide housing providers like Community Housing of Maine and local housing authorities in communities, including Bath and Biddeford, as well as nonprofit health and social service organizations like Amistad, Preble Street and Penobscot Community Health Care also attended.

I believe Maine can lead the way in solving housing challenges with creative solutions. I wanted to bring the people who work on housing policy, homelessness and affordable housing to see how UMaines innovations can help our work. Together, we are developing the tools to grow the supply of housing to meet demand in Maine, said Rep. Victoria Morales of South Portland, who chairs the Housing and Homelessness Caucus and helped organize the visit.

To grow our economy and sustain our rural communities like those I represent in Washington and Hancock counties, Maine workers and families must have access to safe, affordable housing and food. It was wonderful to see firsthand how the University of Maine is developing solutions and providing direct assistance to address these important issues, and to share with university leaders the needs we are seeing in our districts for which they could provide help, said Sen. Marianne Moore, of Calais, who attended Friday.

MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan said innovations that make building construction more efficient will be an important component to closing the housing gap in Maine and the U.S.

This homegrown technology coming from our own University of Maine is something we can all be really proud of, Brennan said. Not only does it put our state at the front of the pack in solving the housing crisis, it will also directly make housing more attainable and affordable for thousands of Maine families.

The group also went to Rogers Farm in Old Town, a university research site where crops are grown as part of sustainable agriculture research, and UMaine Cooperative Extension has teaching projects, and donates to area food pantries and shelters through the Maine Harvest for Hunger program.

Run by UMaine Extension, Harvest for Hunger helps home, school and commercial growers contribute extra fresh fruit and vegetables to those in need in their communities, a process known as gleaning. Since the programs inception in 2000, more than 3.3 million pounds of produce has been donated. More information is available at extension.umaine.edu/harvest-for-hunger. Extensions Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program that serves low-income Mainers was also overviewed during the visit.

The Black Bear Exchange, UMaines on-campus food and clothing pantry, also receives produce through the program and was highlighted Friday as part of a university-led discussion on its efforts to meet students basic needs and realize social mobility through affordable access to higher education.

Last month following supplemental appropriations from the Legislature and Gov. Janet Mills, UMS Trustees voted to hold in-state tuition flat for the seventh time in a decade to help Maine students and families recover from the economic impact of the pandemic and in the face of inflation. Additionally, since the start of the pandemic, Maines public universities have passed onto students more than $55 million in emergency aid provided through three federal relief packages.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, nagle@maine.edu

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UMaine's research, partnerships to promote housing and food security focus of visit by state policymakers and affordable housing advocates - UMaine...

Gene therapy showcases technique to extend life in mice – Chemistry World

Mice receiving a gene for a telomere-building enzyme have had their lifespan extended by 41%. Treatment with another gene, this time for follistatin (FST), extended their lives by 36%. Both treatments significantly boosted glucose tolerance, physical performance and stalled body mass decline and fur loss.

The life extension came as a surprise to the researchers. We wanted to see what the effects were [of the gene therapy], explains Hua Zhu at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. In the meantime, we saw that the [24] control mice died, whereas all [36]experimental mice were still alive, so the treatment clearly was significantly increasing the lifespan of the mice.

Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences that cap chromosomes and tend to shorten with ageing. Efforts to extend the healthy lifespan of people is an active area of research, and features a range of techniques such as caloric restriction and small molecules that target metabolic pathways linked to ageing.

The researchers delivered the gene for telomerase reverse transcriptase, which activates and encourages telomere lengthening, and FST, a secretory protein with an important role in muscle development and maintenance, using a herpes virus.

Monthly treatment began in mice aged 18 months. After two months, the treated mice looked stronger and had shinier, healthier fur than controls, which started to lose their fur and suffered declining body weight, notes Zhu. Injections were repeated monthly to sustain high levels of the protein. All mice in control groups died by 29 months, while the mice in the experimental groups died between 38 and 42 months.

Liz Parrish, chief executive of the biotech firm BioViva that provided funding for the research, notes that the next step will be to test the safety and efficacy of the gene therapy in monkeys using weakened strains of a rhesus virus. Based on the result of the monkey studies, we will submit our report to the [US Food and Drug Administration] to give us permission to start clinical trials in humans, she explains.

There are major hurdles for anyone wishing to treat ageing with a gene therapy approach, says Ilaria Bellantuono, a professor of muscular ageing at the University of Sheffield, UK. We find difficulties proposing a drug approach, which is far less expensive and risky, so a gene therapy approach would encounter [a] higher level of resistance.

Bellantuono says that it is still hard for any treatment for ageing to compete with diet and exercise. Therefore, the best approach would be to target an age-related condition such as muscle loss or dementia, she says. This would require a clinical trial to test whether the intervention prevents such conditions.

A preventive trial is very complex. You need to give the treatment. Then wait for the disease to manifest, says Bellantuono. You would need biomarkers, which would tell us within three to six months whether an intervention gene therapy or drug is working.

Peter Lansdorp, a molecular biologist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, notes that ageing is multi-factorial and it seems unlikely that a single protein could have such a large impact on lifespan. He notes also that side effects from repeated activation of the immune system by viral vector infection are of concern in humans, but not so much in mice. First, possible effects of the transgene on viral virulence need to be excluded, Lansdorp says. Next this study needs to be reproduced in mice by other, independent groups.

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Gene therapy showcases technique to extend life in mice - Chemistry World

Dodgers: Mookie Betts Explains Why He Denied the Red Sox Extension Offer – Dodgers Nation

Life could have looked very different for the Dodgers if the Red Sox were playing better. Coming off of a third-place finish in the AL East in 2019, they had to decide what to do with Mookie Betts. The superstar outfielder was set to hit free agency after the 2020 season, and they werent sure how competitive they would be.

Ultimately, they did make an offer to Betts for a long-term extension. That deal was reported to be in the range of $300 million with the number of years often being disputed. The Dodgers would later sign him to a massive 12-year extension that paid out an additional $365 million.

And it sounds like that was the different-maker for Betts in his decision. Speaking with Boston media this week, he talked about receiving an offer to continue playing for the Red Sox. His team just didnt feel like the offer met his value.

There was an offer that was put out there and we just declined and we felt, I just wanted to get my value, man. Thats all. Just like any person that lives, they want to get their value, what theyre worth. Thats pretty much all that that it was. Just the numbers didnt align, which is normal.

Obviously, the Dodgers very much thought he was worth the extra $65 million. They offered him that deal before ever playing a meaningful game. He rewarded that faith in him immediately, leading Los Angeles to its first World Series title since 1988.

But Mookie also made sure to clarify that it really was just business. There was nothing about him not wanting to play in Boston or not enjoying his time there. But when it comes down to it, baseball is a business. And the Dodgers are in the business of paying their players.

Dodgers Coach Reveals Odd Trick Used to Help Tony Gonsolin

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Dodgers: Mookie Betts Explains Why He Denied the Red Sox Extension Offer - Dodgers Nation

Wondering How To Win An Impact Award? Here’s What You Need To Know! – B&T

The Australian Impact Awards, powered by Wavia, is the latest of our events to go live, and were excited to see what people bring to the table. So how the heck do you go about winning an Impact award?

For the uninitiated, the Australian Impact Awards, powered by Wavia, is an awards night celebrating those who have made big changes in the tech industry. Promoting the idea of a sustainable future, the awards will highlight individuals who have made promising developments in everything from 3D printing to nanotechnology with the goal of a better future in mind.

Submissions are open, so you can enter yourself or someone you know now but how do you actually get yourself one of these shiny trophies?

First off, youll need to familiarise yourself with the awards themselves, so make sure to check out the website and give it a read.

Next, youll need to figure out what category youre going for. Theres a total of 14 categories available, which can make it pretty daunting, but dont fret! Lets go through them one by one.

Premium Impact Award: This is your all-stars category, where the judges will select a winner who they believe to have made the biggest impact in their respective field. Dont worry too much about this one (unless your ego cant handle the thought of losing, in which case worry quite a bit).

The Peoples Choice Award: The popularity contest of the night. The public will decide who they believe to have made the biggest impact, so if youre gunning for this category make sure you arent making any enemies on Twitter.

Food Sustainability Award: Foodies rejoice! If youre making waves in the food industry for your innovations and sustainable choices, youll want to apply for this one.

Be The Change Award: This ones for those working in governance. Apply here if youre working to make positive change, staying transparent, and not succumbing to evil Senators or anything.

Leading for Change Award: The education category! Youll want to apply for this one if youre a teacher, mentor or educator who believes in helping young people towards a better future.

Life Extension Award: Look, none of us want to die particularly soon. If youre someone working in better quality of life and longer, healthier lifespans, then this could be yours to claim.

Force for Change Award: This award is for the environmentalists, so youll want to apply if youre actively working to make the environment cleaner and healthier.

Spending for Change Award: Shopping is often thought of as having a pretty negative environmental impact, so if youre making change in the field then this award is the one you want.

Playing for Change Award: Not that those working in entertainment need more excuses to win awards, but if you are working on sustainability in the arts then make sure to get a submission in.

Healing for Change Award: Healthcare workers deserve some love too, so heres an award to go for if youre making some strong changes in the health sector.

Innovation for Financial Impact Award: This award is for people working towards global financial sustainability. Nuff said.

Shelter for All Award: Given the current housing market situation, its a good time to celebrate those who are working towards sustainable housing and using environmentally friendly materials!

The Future Is Faster Than You Think: Alright, this ones a little complicated. Basically, this award revolves around the idea of a moonshot a solution to one of the UNs 17 sustainable development goals. Were looking for anyone who can create a moonshot that tackles one of these goals or suggests an 18th check out the Project Moonshot website for more information.

Inclusion: The final category is for those supporting people with disability and making an impact on how disability is viewed in their field. If youre fighting the good fight, then get yourself a submission for this one.

Phew thats the lot of them! Now its time to get yourself a submission again, using the website here. Remember, late entries close on September 12, so dont leave it too late!

If your submission survives the gaze of our experienced judges, then you can expect to see your name on our list of finalists, which will be published on October 21. Then, its just about steeling your nerves until the awards night itself on November 9 at the Calyx in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney!

Remember, tickets are on sale now, and youll need to pick yours up if youre planning on attending the awards night. That includes finalists, so make sure to tick that off as well.

And thats it! Best of luck to all who enter, and we hope to see you all at the event this November as we celebrate some truly remarkable impacts.

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Wondering How To Win An Impact Award? Here's What You Need To Know! - B&T

Stop, in the name of Life | News, Sports, Jobs – The Adirondack Daily Enterprise

At last, summer has come to My Home Town and I know this because the tell-tale sign has appeared.

Is it sunshine and warmth?

No.

Is it black flies and mosquitoes?

No.

Seasonal allergies? Lush green landscape? Shorts and t-shirts?

No no and no.

So what is it?

Its the Saranac Lake near-death experience called crossing our downtown streets. Or more exactly, trying to cross them.

A typical example: Last week, I came out of the post office and wanted to go to the Enterprise building across the street. I look right. No cars in sight. I look left, and at the light, about 50 yards away, a group of cars is approaching.

Plenty of time to get across, I figure. But I figured wrong.

After Im 10 feet into the crosswalk, the lead car speeds up, brushing me back to the sidewalk. The next three cars flash by, bumper to bumper, either unaware or uncaring that I exist, much less want to cross the street even though I have right of way.

I flash them the Hawaiian peace sign, hoping one of themll see it in their rearview mirror, but knowing they wont.

Then I get a break. No cars are coming in either direction, so I sprint across the street and get to the other side untouched but unmollified.

So what about Saranac Lake in summer makes it easier to cross the Korean DMZ than our streets?

That bit at the post office couldve been repeated throughout the town. At the bottom or top of Berkeley hill. On upper Broadway or on Main Street in front of the village lot. On Church Street Extension, near Noris. Damned near every crossing is a Patrol Boys Worst Nightmare. This is especially true for any stretch where the Hell Drivers can get up a good head of steam. My fave crossing is between Lakeview Deli and the boat launch, a dream-come-true if youre channeling Evil Knieval.

OK, I exaggerated a bit. You can cross where theres a traffic light or stop signs. But if not, not.

So why dont drivers stop for pedestrians here?

Could be a bunch of reasons. People in cars are insulated from the environment, especially if theyve got tunes or AC on. So that accounts for one group. Another bunch and not a small one are texting. Another bunch are just schmucks. And another bunch do it for another bunch of reasons. But I dont care why they do it I just want it to end. Which it will not do, of and by itself.

In days gone by

We could, of course, just keep accepting it, as we have done. Or we could even embrace it, and I have a great idea for that: A brand-new village motto: Welcome to Saranac Lake, where the streets are safe and the crosswalks are mean.

Or maybe, just maybe, we could take steps to correct the situation.

How could that be done, you ask?

Since unenforced laws dont get obeyed but enforced ones do, the obvious course is to enforce the law. And while you cant tell from what goes on here, New York state law specifically states pedestrians have right of way in all crosswalks, and in all intersections, even those without marked crosswalks.

Or to put it differently, drivers have to stop for anyone in a crosswalk or intersection. Period.

The only way thats gonna happen, of course, is if our local constabulary make sure it does. And the only way thatll happen is if they are out on the streets, on foot, which they used to do when you and I were young, Maggie.

Thats right the town cops used to be on foot patrols as a matter of course. And they regularly stopped cars to help peeps cross the street. But beyond that, there was another great advantage to them being on the sidewalks: We knew all the cops by name, we talked to them, and as a result we liked and trusted them.

By contrast, today I see the cops throughout the day, but only as they drive by. I have no chance to talk to them or even know their names. In fact, I know only one of our town cops, and thats because Ive known him since he was a kid. Our atrocious pedestrian rights situation aside, does anyone think not knowing our police is healthy for a town of 4,500?

In days to come maybe

I anticipate a counter-argument that times have changed and our ways of dealing with things like law enforcement have changed with them. And maybe one of those changes is cops simply cant be patrolling the streets all the time. And while thats true, it still doesnt do doodle-squat to address the traffic situation.

So what can be done?

Good question.

Hows about this as a suggestion: Have the police enforce the street crossing laws the same way everything is enforced selectively. They wouldnt have to be on the streets all the time, just some of it. If our police had a presence at various times throughout the day every day making sure drivers bloody well obeyed pedestrians rights laws, I cant see how it wouldnt improve the situation. At the very least, what could we lose by giving it a try?

I realize no actions will be changed before the thinking behind them is. So hows about thinking about this:

Texting is perfectly legal, but illegal while driving. Smoking pot is also legal, but also not while driving, and not in public. That said, if I were to stand in Berkeley Square in mid-day and start puffing away on a Tommy Chong bong, you can bet a bunch of our good burghers would call the cops and Id be carted off to the hoosegow before I could sing two verses of Light my Fire.

Meanwhile, in the time it took me to light up and get hauled away, at least a dozen cars wouldve driven by with the drivers looking at their texts instead of the road.

And which of us, me with a slight cough and ruby-red eyes, or them with their distracted driving, would pose the greater danger to the public at large?

(BTW, if youre looking for a great example of a rhetorical question, you need look no further.)

I realize as a result of this column, some people will consider me anti-cop. But Im not.

If anything, when it comes to this issue, I am clearly pro-life.

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DNV and LR Approve Methane Abatement Technology Design to Reduce Slip – The Maritime Executive

Capturing methane from ship's emissions would address one of the key concerns for LNG-fueled ships (file photo)

PublishedJun 8, 2022 4:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

One of the challenges to the future of liquified natural gas as a maritime fuel and a major point of contention from the environmental community is methane slip where unburnt LNG is released into the environment. A Swiss-based climate tech company, Daphne Technologies, reports that it has received design approvals from both DNV and Lloyds Register for a methane abatement technology that addresses the issue.

Environmentalists point out that methane slip is one of the most harmful greenhouse gas emissions as it increases ground-level ozone. While the LNG industry reports that the newest engines greatly reduce or eliminate methane slip, research efforts are also underway to develop solutions to capture unburnt methane from a ships emissions. Using a plug-and-play approach, Daphne Technologies reports its solution reduces over 90 percent of methane slip from LNG-powered engines, providing a life extension to LNG as a marine fuel, and a clear pathway to carbon neutral shipping industry.

As the maritime industry continues its drive towards decarbonization, the use of lower carbon intensity fuels is essential," said Martin Cartwright, Global Business Director Gas Carriers and FSRUs at DNV Maritime. "LNG is a key transition fuel to cut GHGs and other emissions to air today, with the potential to become a net-zero option as more Bio- and E-LNG comes online. LNG fueled vessel orders have developed rapidly over the last several years, and reducing their operational emission by reducing methane slip will only enhance the GHG benefits over conventionally fueled vessels.

Launched as a spin-off from The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne in 2017, Daphne Technology is conducting research and developing systems to help the maritime industry reduce emissions. The company is working on several applications of its technologies for LNG and heavy fuel. The company has developed an energy-efficient process using high-energy electrons that convert pollutants in the exhaust into non-hazardous forms.

Daphne's system uses a plug-and-play designand can be retrofittedonto existing LNG-fueled ships

Daphnes solution is a non-catalytic exhaust gas purification system developed to limit methane slip from LNG fuel engines, in tandem with reducing other emissions such as NOx, SOx, and PM (Black Carbon). Called SlipPure, the system received Approval in Principle from both of the classification societies. SlipPure the company reports can also be combined with carbon capture technologies.

"The transition to sustainable energy sources is fundamentally reshaping the global economy. A dramatic reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is necessary to reach real-zero," says Dr. Mario Michan, CEO and Founder of Daphne Technology. "The Approval in Principle demonstrates that our technology can be installed on vessels, and is an important milestone for Daphne Technology, bringing us a step closer to deploying and commercializing our SlipPureTM system.

The company expects to proceed to pilot applications and further development to full commercialization of the system. They believe it will be applicable to a broad range of LNG carriers and LNG-fueled ships and retrofitted onto existing ships.

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DNV and LR Approve Methane Abatement Technology Design to Reduce Slip - The Maritime Executive

House panel aims to save five ships from retirement, rejecting Navy’s plan to decommission them – Stars and Stripes

USS Vicksburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, passes through the Strait of Gibraltar on March 31, 2015. The House Armed Services Committees subpanel on seapower and projection forces plans to prohibit the Navy from cutting the Vicksburg as well as four landing dock ships from its fleet, according to committee aides. (Anthony Hilkowski/U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON House lawmakers will push to save five ships that the Navy is slating for retirement, rejecting the service branchs proposal to decommission 24 ships in its fiscal 2023 budget.

The House Armed Services Committees subpanel on seapower and projection forces plans to prohibit the Navy from cutting the cruiser USS Vicksburg as well as four landing dock ships from its fleet, according to committee aides. Lawmakers will recommend the changes to the full House committee this week as it drafts the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual sweeping military policy and funding bill.

Theres consensus that USS Vicksburg should be retained, an aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity. With respect to [landing dock ships], theres strong support for the commandant of the Marine Corps assessment that he needs no fewer than 31 amphibious ships so prohibiting the retirement of the [landing dock ships] certainly gets after that.

The USS Vicksburg, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser that launched in 1991, is nearing the end of a nearly $500 million modernization overhaul in Virginia that began in 2020. Rep. Kay Granger, the ranking Republican of the House Appropriations Committee, admonished Navy officials at a hearing last month for seeking to decommission the cruiser.

At a time when the ship is still in its maintenance period, the Navy is proposing to scrap it, the Texas congresswoman said. If the Navy experts expect Congress to support its vision for this fleet, it must do a much better job of managing the inventory it has. We will not stand idly by as valuable taxpayer funds are wasted.

Other cruisers on the Navys chopping block include USS Bunker Hill, USS Mobile Bay, USS San Jacinto and USS Lake Champlain.

Retirements are also planned for two Los Angeles-class submarines, two oilers, two expeditionary transfer docks and all nine of the Navys Freedom-class littoral combat ships, some of which have been in service less than five years. One of the four landing dock ships that lawmakers are hoping to keep the Whidbey Island-class USS Tortuga is undergoing the same service-life extension repairs as the USS Vicksburg.

Navy officials said decommissioning will save about $3.6 billion in the next five years, allowing the Navy to get rid of aging ships and systems that are expensive to maintain and instead invest in unmanned platforms and other technology. The divest to invest strategy has repeatedly frustrated lawmakers who are warily eyeing Chinas rapidly growing fleet.

Congress last year reversed the Navys plan to retire seven cruisers, forcing the service to hang on to two, and ordered the Navy to build 13 ships instead of a requested eight. Next years proposed $180 billion Navy budget also calls for building eight ships a plan that Rep. Elaine Luria, a retired Navy commander, described as anemic.

The Navy has no strategy, Luria, D-Va., tweeted in March. Stop saying you do, because if you did you would be able to explain how this fleet size will allow us to defend Taiwan.

Rep. Rob Wittman, the ranking Republican on the seapower subcommittee, noted last month that the Navy is congressionally mandated to have 355 ships. The Navys proposed cuts would immediately shrink the current 298-ship fleet to 285 ships, he said.

We dont expand our naval capacity and capabilities by subtracting more than we add, the Virginia congressman said. The budget request definitely does not support [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austins stated intent of pacing the Chinese naval capabilities whose force is expected to exceed 460 ships by the turn of this decade, at which point our fleet will be only two-thirds the size of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy.

Despite the criticism, the subcommittee will recommend sticking to the Navys shipbuilding plan, committee aides said. The Navy is aiming to acquire two Virginia-class attack submarines, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, one frigate, one amphibious transport dock, one oiler and one towing, salvage and rescue ship.

House lawmakers will also seek to set a statutory floor of 31 amphibious ships and require the Navy secretary to consult with the Marine Corps commandant on all major decisions concerning amphibious force structure and capability, committee aides said.

Other recommendations by the subcommittee include allowing the Air Force to retire eight of its C-130 transport aircraft and 13 of its air-refueling tanker aircraft and authorizing the Navy secretary to enter into procurement contracts for up to 15 guided-missile destroyers and up to 25 Ship-to-Shore connector crafts, according to aides.

The House Armed Services Committee will announce parts of its legislative agenda for the 2023 NDAA during six subcommittee markups this week, with a full committee markup scheduled for June 22. The Senate Armed Services Committee will begin unveiling its version of the bill next week.

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House panel aims to save five ships from retirement, rejecting Navy's plan to decommission them - Stars and Stripes

MSM Malaysia Berhad : IS FOCUSED ON TURNAROUND PLAN AMIDST THE RISING MAIN PRODUCTION COST – Marketscreener.com

MSM IS FOCUSED ON TURNAROUND PLAN AMIDST THE

RISING MAIN PRODUCTION COST

KUALA LUMPUR, JUNE 8, 2022 - MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad (MSM) remains focused on sustaining its turnaround plan amidst the rising main production cost elements namely raw sugar, freight, natural gas and foreign exchange. The producer of the national refined sugar brand "Gula Prai" has turnaround with improved financial performance since 2020 despite market challenges.

Relatively, MSM recorded an improved profit before tax (PBT) of RM81 million for FY2021, against RM36 million in FY2020. The Group also recorded 3% increase in revenue of RM2.26 billion for 12 months FY2021 compared to RM2.18 billion in the last financial year. During FY2021, gain from disposal of MSM Perlis Sdn Bhd amounting to RM91.8 million has contributed to the Group recording a total consolidated PBT of RM170 million.

Within a continually challenging environment, MSM key focus for 2021 was on the execution of the turnaround plan through reorganisation and asset optimisation, staying resilient with strengthened income streams and building integration for sustainable performance.

"For financial year 2021 (FY2021), MSM recorded a revenue of RM2.3 billion with a profit before tax (PBT) of RM81 million on the back of total assets of RM2.87 billion. This is an encouraging improvement from 2020 despite challenges faced throughout the year. MSM also has returned to a dividend-paying stock where we declared a dividend of 3 sen per share for FY2021," said MSM Group Chief Executive Officer, Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad during the 11th Annual General Meeting that was held virtually today attended by 1,057 shareholders online.

MSM produced close to 900,000 tonnes of refined sugar that is sold under "Gula Prai" brand amidst slower domestic and competitive international markets in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the movement control order. MSM was challenged by many different factors in 2021 but appropriate mitigation measures were taken to address them.

MSM has a dynamic 3-year strategic blueprint with 2021 being Turnaround, 2022 Resilient and 2023 Integration. MSM Johor remains a key focus of MSM Group on the ramp-up programme and achieving profitability while MSM Prai will be undergoing a rejuvenation process with a 30-year life extension in sweating the assets.

"We will work to increase our domestic market share while opening up new market channels through Last Mile general trades, HORECA and small SKU packaging suited for convenient chains. MSM shall continue to gain greater market share within Asia Pacific and penetrate Singapore retail segment viewed from a domestic lens and logistics strategy. We shall also increase more volumes of value-added products such as liquid sugar and premix which has higher margins and great demand in markets like China. As part of strengthening Johor, MSM remains open to have a right fit partner with strong export market and operational experience," Syed Feizal said.

As for financial year 2022 (FY2022), MSM foresees greater challenges with rising main production cost. For first quarter (1Q) FY2022, MSM posted an expected loss after tax (LAT) of RM28 million as compared to profit after tax (PAT) of RM31 million for 1Q2021. This was largely due to higher production cost largely 29% higher NY11, 57% increase in freight cost and weaker Ringgit. The Group's refining cost also recorded an increase of 28%, largely driven by 86% increase in gas cost. In response to cost pressures, MSM as a joint industry has engaged the government on the need to revise the controlled ceiling prices for the retail segment. The sugar refining price has had a net increase of only 1 sen/kg since 2011.

"We strived to reinforce our brand positioning, stayed on track for current and long-term targets maximising our capabilities through market expansion and greater outreach. Critically, we continued to strengthen our balance sheet and enhanced liquidity. MSM has a healthy gearing ratio of 26% in FY2021 versus 33% in FY2020. In initiatives, we stepped-up with acceleration our ESG journey and kicked-off digitalisation towards IR 4.0 during the year," Syed Feizal added.

Moving forward, MSM will further exploring strategic partnership to strengthen export segment and to further unlock synergistic value in 2022 in ensuring consistent returns and greater shareholder value as the nation's leading premium sugar refiner.

-ENDS-

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About MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad (MSM)

MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad (MSM) is Malaysia's leading refined sugar producer and one of the biggest sugar refiners in Asia. MSM is involved in producing, marketing and selling refined sugar products under the "Gula Prai" brand. The company conducts its business principally through two operating subsidiaries, MSM Prai Berhad and MSM Sugar Refinery (Johor) Sdn Bhd. In addition, MSM also operates a logistics company - MSM Logistics Sdn Bhd.

At present, MSM's annual production capacity is up to 2.05 million tonnes of refined sugar. In 2021, MSM produced 895,222 tonnes of refined sugar, of which 246,101 tonnes are catered for the export market. Currently, MSM corroborates up to 60% of the domestic market share. MSM has been listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia since 2011 and has a market capitalisation of RM900 million as at 31 December 2021. MSM combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility for a sustainable future.

MSM offers a variety of products ranging from white refined sugar of various grain sizes to soft brown sugar. These are marketed and sold in a variety of packaging options under its flagship brand - Gula Prai. MSM also sells molasses, a by-product of the refining process, to distilleries and producers of ethanol, animal feed and yeast, among other products. Aside from household consumers, MSM sells to a wide range of customers in Malaysia and in other countries directly and indirectly through traders, wholesalers and distributors. Its customers include major companies in the beverage and confectionery industries, hotels, restaurants and food outlets.

For more information, please visit http://www.msmsugar.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this media release regarding MSM's operations may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by key words such as "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "outlook" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. These statements relate to the plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future operations and performance of MSM. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to various events, risks, uncertainties and other factors. We neither intend to nor assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Siti Noorbaya Mohd Yunus

Syahidah Ismail

+603 2181 5018 ext. 158

+603 2181 5018 ext. 154

+6016 677 6118

+6019 225 9705

noorbaya.my@msmsugar.com

syahidah.i@msmsugar.com

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Disclaimer

MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd published this content on 08 June 2022 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 08 June 2022 08:31:07 UTC.

Publicnow 2022

Technical analysis trends MSM MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BERHAD

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MSM Malaysia Berhad : IS FOCUSED ON TURNAROUND PLAN AMIDST THE RISING MAIN PRODUCTION COST - Marketscreener.com

MiG-31 Foxhound Is One Really Fast Russian Jet – 19FortyFive

When the MiG-25 Foxbat entered service with the Soviet Union in 1970, it gave NATO airpower planners plenty to worry about. The Foxbat was the fastest interceptor in the world at the time, and the ever-pervasive fear of the unknown flew alongside it. However, much of that fear dissipated after the defection of MiG-25 pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko in 1976. Belenko helped to eliminate the aura of mystery that had surrounded this high-speed aircraft.

But the Soviet war machine didnt let Belenkos defection deter them from improving on the concept. Thus the MiG-31 Foxhound was born.

From Foxbat to Foxhound

The Foxhound made her maiden flight in September 1975 and officially entered into service with the Soviet PVO (voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony, or Anti-Air Defense Troops) in 1981.

The MiG-31 bears a striking cosmetic resemblance to the MiG-25, which probably explains at least in part why NATO retained the Fox portion when assigning its codename to the successor aircraft. However, look beneath the surface and you will find the Foxhound equipped with state-of-the-art digital avionics that its older foxy sibling lacked.

For one thing, the MiG-31 was the first Soviet fighter aircraft to have true look-down/shoot-down capability, thanks to its phased array radar. Earlier USSR fighter radars had a tendency to run afoul of ground clutter. In addition, the Foxhound can work efficiently in all weather conditions while fulfilling visual flight rules and instrument flight rules, day and night.

Yet another improvement was the newer planes extended range, which increased to 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) upon initial takeoff, and further bolstered to 3,400 miles (5,400 kilometers) with one aerial refueling. By contrast, the gas-guzzling Foxbat bore the curse of a relatively short range: 1,160 miles (1,860 kilometers) at Mach 0.9 and 1,013 miles (1,630 kilometers) when zipping along at Mach 2.35. This underscored how lucky the aforementioned Belenko was to make his initial escape from Vladivostok to Hokkaido, Japan. (In retrospect, perhaps NATO shouldve codenamed the MiG-25 the Cheetah. It can pursue its prey at tremendous speeds, but only for short distances.)

The Foxhounds pilots also enjoyed a reduced likelihood of failure to communicate. As my 1945 colleague Caleb Larson explains,MiG-31s can network with other airplanes in their sortie, relaying information on enemy aircraft locations and thus covering a much wider area than unnetworked groups of airplanes.

Foxhound Flies On

Five hundred and nineteen Foxhounds have been produced so far, out of which 370 were delivered to the Russian Air Force and 30 are in service with Kazakh air force. In July 2020, Russias Defense Ministry announced its intention to invest in modernization and life extension programs for its MiG-31 fleet.

MiG-31 customers outside of the former Soviet republics have been few and far between. In 1992, right on the heels of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the cash-starved post-Soviet Russian arms industry offered the Mig-31 to Finland, but the Finns turned it down. Meanwhile, Syria ordered eight MiG-31E airframes for its own air force in 2007, but the order was suspended in May 2007. Six of these MiGs may or not have been delivered to Syria as of August 2015, depending on whether you choose to believe the Turkish or the Russian media.

What is not in dispute is that the Russians themselves have deployed the MiG-31 in missions over Syria. In addition, the Foxhound has been blooded in Vladimir Putins so-called special military operation in Ukraine. On March 18, a MiG-31K variant launched a strike on a Ukrainian arms depot near the Polish border, evidently using a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile. In turn, on April 26, the Ukrainians managed to shoot down a Foxhound with a British-made Starstreak missile.

Specifications

General Characteristics

Crew: Two (pilot and weapons system officer)

Length: 22.69 m (74 ft 5 in)

Wingspan: 13.46 m (44 ft 2 in)

Height: 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in)

Wing area: 61.6 m (663 ft)

Empty weight: 21,820 kg (48,100 lb)

Armament

1 GSh-6-23 23 mm cannon with 260 rounds.

Fuselage recesses for 4 R-33 (AA-9 Amos) (or for MiG-31M/BM only 6 R-37 (AA-X-13 Arrow) long-range air-to-air missiles)

4 underwing pylons for a combination of:

Christian D. Orr is a former Air Force officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch and The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security.

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MiG-31 Foxhound Is One Really Fast Russian Jet - 19FortyFive