Quantum Biology Wandering where the edge is – Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ev1

I have had thoughts about quantum mechanics and biology for many years - ever since my thermodynamics class in chemistry as an undergrad. I discussed and developed them over the years. When I thought it was ready, decades ago, I wrote to Linus Pauling about my speculation that the most important differentiator for life is that from the molecular scale to the organization of organs, chaos (in the mathematical chaos theory sense) is the organizing principle. This means that living organisms are all potentially sensitive to quantum events. He was kind enough to write back, and I think it intrigued him, but there was no experiment that I could conceive of to do in support.

Some years later, I was talking to an older psychiatrist friend about this idea in the context of pondering the mystery of consciousness. He liked it, and called up his friend Arthur Young, insisting that I go spend a day with Arthur. I think that Arthur Young, who had made is fortune on patents on the helicopter, was rather disappointed in me at first, as I was unaware of who he was, or his thinking prior to our day at his house in Berkeley, chatting over tea and biscuits. I remember this little sign, The Institute for the Study of Consciousness. But, he was a gracious host, and tolerant of this ignorant nabob who was 50 years his junior. We ended up talking for hours.

At one point I asked him if he had thought about the possible implication of the quantum wave equation's necessity for an observation to collapse it into a specific state from all states. He was one of the few people who knew exactly what I was talking about, and he told me, "Oh, yes. I asked Werner a question quite similar to that." (This implication is that consciousness, or what have you, the omnipresent observer, is an integral part of the fundamental physics of our universe.)

A bit puzzled, I asked him who he that was. He frowned a bit and said, Heisenberg. The light dawned on me, and he smiled and told me that he had been lifelong friends with Werner Heisenberg from his time in college. And he told me that Werner had responded by saying that he didn't want his career derailed in religion and epistemology. "That is a battle for a younger man, he said.

There is another quote attributed to Werner that I think indicates that Arthur was telling me the truth about it. The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you. I think that what Werner was alluding to is probably this matter in quantum mechanics.

One of my earliest thoughts on this relative to neuroscience is that our sensitivity to quantum events means that living organisms are organized to exploit a hole in probability. (No, this doesn't violate thermodynamics - think it through.) That hole is that even though 99% of some stochastic set of quantum events go one way, when looking at any single event with two states, for that single quantum the probability is 50%.

I don't agree with Hammeroff that we have a location for quantum computing in the microtubules. I think it's more general than that. I can't find any reason in physics to localize our quantum sensitivity to any specific molecule or location. This makes things complicated. Maybe I'm wrong, but I haven't been able to justify his idea that it's localized.

I don't have any hard answers, but I think that there is enough here to think about and take seriously.

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Quantum Biology Wandering where the edge is - Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

New behavioral therapy to support Japanese mothers of children … – Science Daily

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ev1

New behavioral therapy to support Japanese mothers of children ...
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Researchers have successfully adapted a parent-training program for ADHD for use with families in Japan, where ADHD-specific behavioral interventions are ...

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New behavioral therapy to support Japanese mothers of children ... - Science Daily

Hotspex Hires P&G Veteran as Behavioral Science Lead – Daily Research News Online

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ev1

Employee-owned marketing research firm Hotspex has appointed former Proctor & Gamble (P&G) veteran Dan Young as Chief Behavioral Scientist.

The company offers access to consumer panels comprising more than four million households in over 40 countries, delivering research-based recommendations throughout the brand cycle. Young (pictured) joins with 30 years' behavioral science expertise gained at household goods giant P&G. Here he played a leadership role in market research innovation, product development, brand strategy, design, and communications - drawing on knowledge of behavioral sciences and psychophysiology, and using techniques such as cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, and a range of research methodologies to understand consumer memory associations, motivations and needs.

In his new role, Young will expand Hotspex' capabilities in applying cognitive and social psychology and neuroscience to client business questions. He will also coach and mentor the firm's Behavioral and Market Science teams. Commenting on his appointment, Young said: 'What really caught my attention about Hotspex is its growing team of curious PhDs in the fields of cognitive psychology and behaviour, and its track record for innovating within the insights industry'.

Web site: http://www.hotspex.com .

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Hotspex Hires P&G Veteran as Behavioral Science Lead - Daily Research News Online

Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men's memories – The Ledger

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ev1

By Lindsey Tanner, The Associated Press

CHICAGO Testosterone treatment did not improve older men's memory or mental function in the latest results from landmark government research that challenges the anti-aging claims of popular supplements.

While testosterone use for one year appeared to strengthen bones and reduce anemia, it also showed signs of worsening artery disease and questions remain about other potential risks. The researchers said more studies are needed to determine long-term effects the kind of research the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already asked supplement makers to conduct.

"I don't think anybody would interpret these results as saying, 'Wow, this is a fountain of youth, this is a magical anti-aging potion,'" said study co-author Susan Ellenberg, a University of Pennsylvania researcher.

The results are from the final four studies in a seven-part project mostly funded by the National Institute on Aging, involving nearly 800 U.S. men aged 65 and older with low testosterone levels. The goal was to see if rubbing testosterone gel on the skin daily for a year could treat problems linked with low levels of the male hormone, which declines with age. Half the men in each group used the real thing and half used fake gel.

Results published a year ago from the same research linked testosterone with mostly modest improvement in sexual performance, walking strength and mood.

The key new findings:

Testosterone had no effect on memory or mental function, based on tests given before, halfway and at the end of treatment to nearly 500 men with age-related memory decline.

Among almost 140 men who underwent heart artery imaging tests to see if the hormone slowed progression of plaque, those who used testosterone had more plaque buildup and narrower arteries after a year than the fake gel group. Those changes could signal increased chances for heart attacks although none occurred in the study. Men in this sub-study were already more vulnerable for heart problems because of conditions including artery disease, obesity and high blood pressure.

Among about 200 men given bone imaging tests before and at the end of treatment, those on testosterone showed increases in bone density and strength, especially in the spine, while minimal changes were found in the group that used fake gel. The improvement was similar to bone changes seen with treatment for osteoporosis, although most men studied did not have that bone-thinning condition, which can lead to fractures.

Among 126 men with anemia, a fatigue-linked condition involving inadequate red blood cells, those on testosterone showed substantial improvement. By the study's end, anemia had vanished in almost 60 percent of men on testosterone compared with 22 percent of the fake gel group. The hormone group also reported having more energy. "The overall health benefits, however, remain to be determined," the researchers said.

The studies were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association and JAMA Internal Medicine. AbbVie Pharmaceuticals provided its gel for the study and helped pay for the research but had no other role in the study.

The research was not designed to look at risks and does not apply to younger men or those with normal levels of testosterone, said study leader Dr. Peter Snyder, a University of Pennsylvania hormone specialist. It's also not known if other forms of testosterone supplements would have similar effects in older men with low levels.

Prescription testosterone products including gel are approved only for men with low levels of the hormones caused by various medical conditions. Benefits and risks are unknown in men whose levels are low due only to aging, the FDA says. The agency requires testosterone labels to include possible risks for heart attacks and strokes, based on some previous studies.

A separate study published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine found that men using prescription testosterone gel, patches or injections had fewer heart attacks and strokes during about three years of follow-up than non-users. But this was only observational data in men aged 40 and up, not rigorous research testing the hormone against a placebo.

Clarifying testosterone's effects on heart problems, fractures and age-related disability will require larger, longer studies, said Dr. Evan Hadley of the National Institute on Aging. He said decisions about whether to use testosterone should take into account men's individual risks for conditions the hormone could affect.

___

Online:

National Institute on Aging: http://www.nia.nih.gov

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Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men's memories - The Ledger

Potential of Adipose-derived Stem Cells in Anti-Aging Treatments – Technology Networks (press release) (registration) (blog)

Posted on February 22, 2017 by ev1

Adult stem cells collected directly from human fat are more stable than other cells such as fibroblasts from the skin and have the potential for use in anti-aging treatments, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They made the discovery after developing a new model to study chronological aging of these cells.

Chronological aging shows the natural life cycle of the cells as opposed to cells that have been unnaturally replicated multiple times or otherwise manipulated in a lab. In order to preserve the cells in their natural state, Penn researchers developed a system to collect and store them without manipulating them, making them available for this study. They found stem cells collected directly from human fat called adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) can make more proteins than originally thought. This gives them the ability to replicate and maintain their stability, a finding that held true in cells collected from patients of all ages.

Our study shows these cells are very robust, even when they are collected from older patients, said Ivona Percec, MD, director of Basic Science Research in the Center for Human Appearance and the studys lead author. It also shows these cells can be potentially used safely in the future, because they require minimal manipulation and maintenance.

Stem cells are currently used in a variety of anti-aging treatments and are commonly collected from a variety of tissues. But Percecs team specifically found ASCs to be more stable than other cells, a finding that can potentially open the door to new therapies for the prevention and treatment of aging-related diseases.

Unlike other adult human stem cells, the rate at which these ASCs multiply stays consistent with age, Percec said. That means these cells could be far more stable and helpful as we continue to study natural aging.

ASCs are not currently approved for direct use by the Food and Drug Administration, so more research is needed. Percec said the next step for her team is to study how chromatin is regulated in ASCs. Essentially, they want to know how tightly the DNA is wound around proteins inside these cells and how this affects aging. The more open the chromatin is, the more the traits affected by the genes inside will be expressed. Percec said she hopes to find out how ASCs can maintain an open profile with aging.

Reference:

Shan, X., Roberts, C., Kim, E. J., Brenner, A., Grant, G., & Percec, I. (2017). Transcriptional and Cell Cycle Alterations Mark Aging of Primary Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells. Stem Cells. doi:10.1002/stem.2592

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by Penn Medicine. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Potential of Adipose-derived Stem Cells in Anti-Aging Treatments - Technology Networks (press release) (registration) (blog)

Preparing students for a future in chemistry – Royal Society of Chemistry

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

Building stronger links

Our president, Sir John Holman, says: "Chemists and chemistry make a massive contribution to our nations wellbeing, and we need people with the right skills so our economy can flourish in the future.

"Further Education Colleges play such an important role in preparing people for a future in chemistry whether thats by giving them the technical skills to work in industry or by preparing them for further study at university.

"Were pleased to sign this agreement, which forms part of our commitment to building stronger links with the further education sector, and we look forward to working together to give chemistry students the best possible start in their careers."

Dr Helen West, Head of Science and Access within the Faculty of STEAM at Cambridge Regional College said: "This is a marvellous opportunity to consolidate the excellent work that is done at CRC by staff and students alike, and on apprenticeship schemes in particular.

"Our chemistry lecturer, Ursula Lowe, was the first recipient of the national STEM Excellence Award for teaching in Further Education last year and recognises the importance of practical skills in chemistry. We work with a broad range of companies in and around Cambridge and we look forward very much to welcoming new ones to look around our facilities."

The college has full-time apprenticeships and day-release courses in Science, as well as more advanced courses for 19+ learners, including popular Access to Science programmes and HNC/HND in Biological Sciences for Industry. The focus of all of them is to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to work in science-based industries or to enable progression to an undergraduate degree or further professional qualifications in science-related areas.

Past students have gone on to universities across the country to study subjects from biochemistry and environmental science, to nursing and archaeology. Apprenticeships in the health and bioscience industries are a popular career option and students also go straight into jobs in the industry.

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Preparing students for a future in chemistry - Royal Society of Chemistry

MPs clash with biotechnology researchers over GMO ban | The Star … – The Star, Kenya

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

MPs on Tuesday clashed with biotechnology researchers over the lifting of the GMO ban.

The law makers dismissed a call to have the ban lifted and called for development of home grown biotechnology solutions rather than imposing "foreign ideologies".

Our researchers should focus on home grown technologies that address some of the challenges farmers are facing such as aflatoxin, drought tolerant crop varieties and the stem borer pest, said Agriculture Parliamentary committee chair Noor Mohammed.

He assured local scientists that as long as they focus on need based research, the committee will lobby the government to allocate more resources.

Mohammed made the remarks during a consultative meeting between the committee and biotechnology stakeholders.

He noted that there has not been any scientific evidence on the safety of GMOs, or any guarantee that it can offer a solution to food insecurity in the country.

Read: University students want government to issue licence of GMO maize

Also read: State launches GMO labelling mark amid jitters of effect on existent ban

There is no research in the world specifically stating on the safety of the technology. Let any scientist give evidence in Kenya own up and that GMO is safe for human consumption, he said.

Mohammed stated that MPs remarks should not be construed to mean that the political class in the country is against the introduction of GMO, but warned the researchers and other experts against issuing conflicting statements.

He said all the Parliamentary committees - health, agriculture, environment, education - and all the biotechnology researchers need to work together with a view to providing a common approach regarding the issue.

Dr Margaret Karembu emphasised on the need by the government to allow application of GMO as one of the tools to taming food insecurity and enhancing agricultural productivity.

Any country that does not give opportunity to researcher will forever rely on other peoples products. GMOs have been proven safe by the World Health Organization and other global biotechnology players, said Karembu.

Willy Tonui, the National Biosafety Authority CEO, assured Kenyans that there is no GMO product in the market and that the government is vigilant in monitoring all the foreign materials that are being imported in the county.

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MPs clash with biotechnology researchers over GMO ban | The Star ... - The Star, Kenya

Minuteman HS Receives Biotechnology Lab Grant – Patch.com

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

Patch.com

Minuteman HS Receives Biotechnology Lab Grant
Patch.com
From Minuteman HS:Minuteman High School has landed another major grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to help upgrade its Biotechnology program. The $108,172 competitive grant will enable the school to outfit its Biotechnology lab with ...

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Grey’s Anatomy Round Table: Is Bailey Cut Out For Being Chief? – TV Fanatic

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

OnGrey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 13the friction between members of the hospital got infinitely worse, and sides were being taken amongst the attendings. The other attendings, Maggie in particular, made April's first day as interim Chief of Surgery, difficult.

Eliza begin the second phase of her teaching program, which allowed Ben and Stephanie to perform solo surgeries with no aid. Ben's surgery was successful but Stephanie's went badly.

Join TV Fanatics Tiffany, Amanda, and Jasmine as they discuss whether it was fair that the others ostracizedApril, whether a truce is on the horizon amongst the fractured group of friends, and much more.

Do you think it was fair that the other doctors ostracized April for taking Meredith's position?

Tiffany: I know it may seem childish but yes. I didn't buy April's argument that she was just doing her job. I think she saw an opportunity to have a higher position, even if it belonged to someone else, and took it.

I understand it, a lot of people who do it but don't pretend like you did it for some other, nobler reason. Especially considering how strongly she felt about Webber's cause right before that.

Amanda: I think it was really unfair for the doctors to turn their backs. Was April really supposed to say no? The patients would suffer. Someone needs to help out and take charge without Meredith there.

I also find it really annoying that Meredith seems to do no wrong in the eyes of her friends, but April is constantly criticized or made fun of. The girl went into a war zone and helped people. That's a lot more than a lot of these other doctors have done. Give the woman some credit. She's a great doctor.

Jasmine: I'll fall somewhere in the middle with this. It was childish, but I completely understand it and I probably would have been the same way. It didn't spill over into them not being able to do their jobs.

I don't think April was being opportunistic. I do think that April is a chronic do-gooder, obsessively so, and that has been an issue for her ever since Derek brought her back after her mistake.

I feel like in April's mind she had to take it. She knew what it was like to lose her job before, and she didn't want a repeat of that again. She was offered the position after Meredith was suspended, so I get feeling like she had no choice.

Plus, if she didn't take it, and no one else would touch it, then somebody knew would potentially be brought in, and that is the root of the problem as it is. I don't like April's choice, and I would have shut her out too, but I get why she did it. And I agree with Amanda about Meredith. It's irritated me for all thirteen seasons.

Watch Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 13 Online

Did finding out that Eliza never lost a child before this one make you sympathize with her more? Or does it make you question her methods even further?

Tiffany: Nope, still hate her. It was definitely her fault they lost the little boy. Stephanie is a great resident and I initially thought she'd be fine but why in the world would you risk a kid's life on a first-time solo surgery?

I think they got a little too caught up in their excitement and it became more about the surgery than the patient. This seems to happen a lot with Minnick. She's so focused on her methods and the residents that she doesn't consider anyone or anything else.

Amanda: I don't feel one way or the other about Eliza, but it does seem unrealistic that she would make it this far in her career without seeing a child die. If her reaction was any indication, she's a lot more fragile than she's been letting on.

Jasmine: Words cannot describe how little I care about Eliza. I'm just done with her. I find her character incredibly irritating for so many reasons. One of which, what Tiffany mentioned above. I can't deal with this woman's total disregard for patients.

She makes Yang look like Mother Theresa. I find her attitude and approach abhorrent, and the fact that she never lost a kid before, and has limited experience in things outside of her field, tells me she's not a good fit here.

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Is Bailey cut out for being Chief or do you think it would be better if someone else took over?

Tiffany: I think Bailey will ultimately be a great chief, but right now she's not acting like Bailey, she's impersonating Catherine and Catherine would not make a good chief. She's pushy, arrogant, stubborn, and thinks she knows what's best for everyone.

It was her whispering in Bailey's ear that caused all these problems to begin with. Bailey could have upgraded the teaching program and brought in Minnick without blindsiding Webber and pushing him out altogether. Now it's gone so far I think she's just too proud to stop it. At this point, I only see things getting worse.

Amanda: I think Bailey is a wonderful Chief. She has made some missteps along the way, but she's ultimately trying to do what she thinks is best for the hospital. Sometimes being the boss means you won't be popular with your employees when you make difficult decisions.

Jasmine: I think Bailey worked her whole life to get to this point. Hell, Richard trained and mentored her to get to this point. She's his legacy. I think she's great when she handles things on her own.

But the Bailey of late, she's not walking her own path and she's being too easily influenced by too many outside forces. I love Bailey. She's a force of nature, but I'm not seeing much of that Bailey right now.

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Do you think we're closer to a truce being called between the doctors involved in this Bailey and Eliza versus Richard and Meredith debacle?

Tiffany: I don't think so. If anything it looks like sides are forming -- Bailey, Minnick, Catherine and April against everyone else.

Amanda: I don't see an end in sight right now. Everyone is still fuming and both sides are drawing firmer lines in the sand.

Jasmine: Initially, I was thinking we may have been closer to a truce, what with Eliza breaking down and Bailey and Webber getting to share some of their feelings with each other, but now I'm thinking it's going to be a while.

It looks like more lines are being drawn in the sand, and with Alex coming back...who knows what's going to happen next? They may be more divided than ever.

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Are there other storylines or plots that you miss? Or are you enjoying the Webber and Minnick one?

Tiffany: I'm not necessarily enjoying the Webber/Minnick storyline but I'm definitely invested (#TeamWebber). I'm ready for Alex to come back to the hospital and wondering when we'll finally see Owen's mysterious sister.

Amanda: I want to get to Alex's transition back to working at the hospital. I have hated this Webber/Minnick storyline from day one. Everyone is acting like a child and it needs to stop!

Jasmine: I, too, am invested enough in this arc to not be too bothered by it. I like the fact that it does involve multiple characters. I just want some resolution on a few things, like the Omelia situation.

I also feel like they teased this potential story arc about Owen's sister, and we haven't seen anything else. And there are a few characters that are so underused or misused right now. It wouldn't kill them to show some other things too.

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What was your favorite and/or least favorite part of the episode?

Tiffany: I think my least favorite part was seeing April and Catherine celebrate over dinner. One of the best doctors is suspended, there is nothing but conflict within the hospital staff, and they just lost a child but yeah, celebrate.

I'm all about strong females but the two of them, along with Bailey and Minnick, have
created an unhappy, cantankerous, atmosphere and the way they're forcing their new found power down everyone's throats bothers me.

Amanda: I liked seeing April stand up for herself against Jackson. She was right when she said no one takes her seriously. Someone needed to help out, and she had every right to step in and work with the patients.

Jasmine: My least favorite part was almost the entire situation with the kid. Stephanie reminds me of Yang sometimes, which I like, but I seriously disliked the way she got dragged into Eliza's cavalier attitude towards patients.

I can't quite put my finger on what makes it so different than what the original characters (especially Christina) used to do or say, but it is. Somehow it's...too far and unbecoming.

My favorite scene was Webber comforting Stephanie. Fantastic scene.

9 Times Michael Cordero Stole Our Hearts

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Who was the MVP?

Tiffany: Webber. He was resistant at first but when he joined Warren in the OR it really seemed like he was ready to assist him. Then after Bailey butted in, and screamed at him, he still stepped up for Stephanie when Minnick flaked on her.

Amanda: Arizona was great at playing both sides of the feud at the hospital. She's obviously on Webber's side, but she was still able to lend an ear to Minnick and give her some advice.

Jasmine: Ben. He kicked ass on his first solo surgery and it made me so proud. He also called Bailey and Webber out on behaving like children and ruining his moment, and I loved that. Go Ben!

Do you agree with our Round Table? Hit the comments below!

You can watch Grey's Anatomy online right here via TV Fanatic!

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Jasmine Blu is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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Anatomy Lab Live: Review of Solihull show where fine dining and autopsies are on menu – Birmingham Mail

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

Solihull has played host to a new dinner show with real heart... and lungs, brains and intestines.

Because diners at the Village Hotel were offered an extra course with their meal - live dissection.

Welcome to Anatomy Lab Live, the brainchild of teacher Sam Piri, who was inspired to create this evenings infotainment after watching the delight of schoolchildren studying biology.

The event begins with a good dinner of salmon, served with roast potatoes, green beans and roasted butternut squash and carrots, followed by apple pie and custard or Eton mess - washed down with wine or lager.

The only clue of what is to come is an unsettling table centre piece, made up of medical waste sacks, syringes, and petri dishes.

After the food has been cleared away, a curtain is drawn back to reveal an operating theatre, complete with a body lying on a trolley, feet poking out from under a white sheet.

Dressed in full scrubs, pathologist Sam peels back the blanket and reaches carefully into the gaping chest.

There is a gasp from the audience as he pulls out the heart and lungs, holding them high for everyone to see, before setting them down on a stainless-steel table.

Former forensic science student Kellie Bown at the next table to me, is clearly enjoying herself. Its like the most macabre dinner party ever, she says.

Thankfully all is not quite as it seems - the body on the operating table is plastic, the insides pig organs, chosen because they are almost identical to humans.

The operating theatre is a decommissioned pathology laboratory from a Sheffield hospital, rebuilt inside the banqueting room at the Village Hotel in Solihull.

This is only the opening night in Birmingham, but the show is proving offally popular with tickets for Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Blackpool performances already sold out.

Sam dissects the brain, heart and lungs for the audience to see how they work. He explains the left lung is smaller than the right to make space for the heart and demonstrates by feeding a plastic tube into the lungs, then putting the other end to his pursed lips and blowing them up like a ballon.

He even brings the organs round to each table so we can get a closer look.

If things start getting a bit too much for people, they are free to walk out, get some fresh air and compose themselves, then come back in, he says.

The brains look like blotches of blancmange spilt on the tabletop and smell like the bin in a butchers shop. Suddenly Im glad we werent served pork for dinner.

I take a deep breath and lean in for a closer look but Kellie keeps her distance, covering her mouth and nose as her face turns the same shade of pale pinks as the pig brains.

I wasnt expecting to get so close, she admits. I dont mind looking at them, its the smell I cant stand. I dont eat meat!

Not everyone is so squeamish. During the mid-show interval 100 diners don rubber gloves to poke and prod the organs, even picking them up to pose for photographs.

Eve Hubbleday is here to indulge her fascination with anatomy and rummages around inside the body as if she was digging through the discount bin at the Next sale.

The 32 year-old, from Birmingham, says: Ive always been interested in the human body, but this is the first time Ive seen anything like this. The chance to get hands on was too good to miss.

Her fianc Tom Ruthven, 30, is president of Coventry University Occupational Therapy Society and is one of many students in the audience.

This is a great chance to see the inner workings of the human body after learning all the theory during our lectures, he says. Its is a lot more interactive than the stuff we do in the classroom.

Fellow society member Beth Waudby, 20, adds: And a lot more fun. Im really enjoying it.

The second half starts with Sam pulling out the stomach and intestines, which resemble a deep sea monster and smell equally foul.

Sam points to the gallbladder, the luminous bile inside glowing green. It looks like a dinosaur egg, thats the only way I can describe it, he says.

Then comes the pancreas which feels a bit like a bunch of grapes.

The intestines and other organs are bought from slaughter houses that kill 3,500 pigs each day to meet demand for pork, sausages and bacon.

Sams company Vivit Apparatus which is Latin for Living Machine has a special licence from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) to put on these shows.

His team also use the organs and hand-drawn diagrams to explain how diseases like meningitis and strokes effect the body.

Sam says: With the NHS in crisis under unprecedented pressure, we want to educate people so they understand and can take ownership for their own health.

They even amputate a leg using an enormous pork thigh between the plastic torso and knee.

Medical student Alice Gwyn-Jones, 23, spends several minutes cutting through the flesh and bone with a giant hacksaw before Sam delicate carves it to show the audience the bone and artery.

Alice says: If this was a live patient, you would need to clamp the artery first to stop blood spurting everywhere.

At the end of the evening the discarded organs are tipped into the heavy duty yellow sacks labelled, Clinical waste for incineration only, to dispose of them safely.

Sams dad Kevin, the companys chief operating officer, says: Thats the worst part of the job, the smell is unbelievable. In summer its so bad we have to tape the bin lid shut.

With that I make my way home, taking time to digest everything I have learned before deciding Ill probably pass on those sausages I was intending to have for breakfast tomorrow.

*There are still a few tickets left for Anatomy Lab Live in London, Leeds, Plymouth, Exeter, and Cornwall at http://www.anatomylablive.co.uk.

Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men’s memories – WCBI

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

CHICAGO (AP) Testosterone treatment did not improve older mens memory or mental function in the latest results from landmark government research that challenges the anti-aging claims of popular supplements.

I dont think anybody would interpret these results as saying, Wow, this is a fountain of youth, this is a magical anti-aging potion,' said study co-author Susan Ellenberg, a University of Pennsylvania researcher.

Results published a year ago from the same research linked testosterone with mostly modest improvement in sexual performance, walking strength and mood.

The key new findings:

Testosterone had no effect on memory or mental function, based on tests given before, halfway and at the end of treatment to nearly 500 men with age-related memory decline.

Among 126 men with anemia, a fatigue-linked condition involving inadequate red blood cells, those on testosterone showed substantial improvement. By the studys end, anemia had vanished in almost 60 percent of men on testosterone compared with 22 percent of the fake gel group. The hormone group also reported having more energy. The overall health benefits, however, remain to be determined, the researchers said.

The research was not designed to look at risks and does not apply to younger men or those with normal levels of testosterone, said study leader Dr. Peter Snyder, a University of Pennsylvania hormone specialist. Its also not known if other forms of testosterone supplements would have similar effects in older men with low levels.

Clarifying testosterones effects on heart problems, fractures and age-related disability will require larger, longer studies, said Dr. Evan Hadley of the National Institute on Aging. He said decisions about whether to use testosterone should take into account mens individual risks for conditions the hormone could affect.

___

Online:

National Institute on Aging: http://www.nia.nih.gov

___

Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/lindsey-tanner

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Testosterone gel shows no benefit for older men's memories - WCBI

Protein-bound gold enables in-mouse catalysis – Chemistry World (subscription)

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

Transition metal-catalysed reactions have traditionally been confined to test tubes and round-bottom flasks but now researchers have performed the first gold-catalysed reaction in live mice. The team used the reaction to image the animals organs and hopes that similar reactions could eventually have applications such as targeted, in-body drug synthesis.

In vivo metal catalysis has so far been limited to cell cultures with the most advanced organism being zebrafish embryos. This is because the cellular environments inside living bodies present unique challenges for metal catalysts, which can be sensitive to air and water.

Katsunori Tanaka and colleagues from Japans Riken research institute solved these problems by tagging a gold catalyst, known for its water and air stability, onto one of two carrier proteins. When injected into living mice, the protein transports the catalyst to either the liver or intestine, where it triggers an amide bond formation between an added propargyl ester and amines that sit on the outside of cells.

Attaching a fluorescent label onto the propargyl ester allowed Tanakas team to image the animals livers with noninvasive infrared imaging. The researchers are now looking into other proteins that can carry catalysts to a larger number of target organs or even into tumour tissues, where metal-catalysed reactions could synthesise or activate drugs.

Link:
Protein-bound gold enables in-mouse catalysis - Chemistry World (subscription)

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Meredith Gets Caught Between Alex & Riggs in ‘Civil War’ – Moviefone

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

"Grey's Anatomy" Season 13 finally has some semi-good news for Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). ABC's scoop on Episode 15, "Civil War" sounds especially promising for fans who 1) want Meredith to get back in the hospital game after her suspension, and 2) want to see more of Meredith and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). It's possible Mer and Alex may even get to work at the hospital at the same time again!

ABC just released details -- although not yet photos -- on "Civil War," and this time it doesn't sound like Eliza Minnick (Marika Dominiczyk) is the main focus of the war. Instead, there are multiple battlefronts, including a work (and love?) triangle between Meredith, Alex, and Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson).

Here's ABC's tease for "Civil War," which airs Thursday, March 9:

"Richard, Jackson, April and Catherine tackle a grueling trauma case intensified by hospital politics. Amelia finally faces her feelings about Owen, and Meredith gets caught between Nathan and Alex over a patient."

Obvious question: Who gets to be Iron Man in this "Civil War"? On a slightly more serious note, it's good to see Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) might actually start talking to her own husband again. The rest of the episode sounds tense, but tense can be good (when it's not infuriating).

At this point, Episode 14 has yet to air. Here's the ABC synopsis for this Thursday's February 23 episode, called "Back Where You Belong":

"Alex returns to the hospital and discovers a lot has changed since he left. Meanwhile, Jo has to make a difficult decision on a case, and Arizona tries to distance herself from Eliza."

Here's that promo:Based on ABC's photos for this episode (including the shot above), it looks like Riggs and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) will be spending a lot of time together. Maybe they'll bond?

In case you're wondering about the week gap between Feb. 23's Episode 14 and March 9's Episode 15, it's because "When We Rise: The People Behind the Story" is airing from 8 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, before "When We Rise" airs from 9 to 11 p.m. There's no "Grey's" that week.

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'Grey's Anatomy': Meredith Gets Caught Between Alex & Riggs in 'Civil War' - Moviefone

Gruesome new night out of dinner and dissection as real human body is dismembered in front of you – Mirror.co.uk

Posted on February 21, 2017 by ev1

It's a new show with real heart... and lungs, brains and intestines.

If youve had enough of dinner dances, maybe a morbid new night out is for you - dinner and dissection.

But not if youre at all squeamish, as watching a human body dismembered in front of you risks that dinner making a second appearance.

Welcome to Anatomy Lab Live, the brainchild of teacher Sam Piri, who was inspired to create this evenings infotainment after watching the delight of schoolchildren studying biology as they got to grips with pig penises and tried to burst pigs stomachs.

The only clue of what is to come is an unsettling table centre piece, made up of medical waste sacks, syringes, and petri dishes.

After the food has been cleared away, a curtain is drawn back to reveal an operating theatre, complete with a body lying on a trolley, feet poking out from under a white sheet.

Dressed in full scrubs, pathologist Sam peels back the blanket and reaches carefully into the gaping chest.

There is a gasp from the audience as he pulls out the heart and lungs, holding them high for everyone to see, before setting them down on a stainless-steel table.

Former forensic science student Kellie Bown at the next table to me, is clearly enjoying herself. Its like the most macabre dinner party ever, she says.

Thankfully all is not quite as it seems - the body on the operating table is plastic, the insides pig organs, chosen because they are almost identical to humans.

The operating theatre is a decommissioned pathology laboratory from a Sheffield hospital, rebuilt inside the banqueting room at the Village Hotel in Solihull, just outside Birmingham.

This is only the opening night in Birmingham, but the show is proving offally popular with tickets for Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle and Blackpool performances already sold out.

Sam dissects the brain, heart and lungs for the audience to see how they work.

He explains the left lung is smaller than the right to make space for the heart and demonstrates by feeding a plastic tube into the lungs, then putting the other end to his pursed lips and blowing them up like a ballon.