Sigilon Therapeutics Announces $80.3 Million Series B Financing to Advance Shielded Living Therapeutics to the Clinic – BioSpace

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Proceeds will advance first-in-human clinical trial for hemophilia A in 2020 and progression and expansion of Sigilons pipeline

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sigilon, Inc., a biotechnology company developing functional cures for patients with chronic diseases through its Shielded Living Therapeutics platform, today announced that it has completed a $80.3 million Series B financing. The funding will support the first-in-human clinical trial of Sigilons novel encapsulated cell therapy for hemophilia A, expected to begin in the first half of 2020, as well as continued advancement and expansion of Sigilons programs in rare blood disorders, lysosomal diseases and endocrine and immune disorders.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Longevity Vision Fund and funds managed by BlackRock joined founding investor Flagship Pioneering and other existing investors, including Eli Lilly and Company, in the financing round, which brings Sigilons total funding to more than $195 million.

Sigilon is driven to liberate patients from the fear of living with serious chronic diseases, and from alternative therapeutic approaches, said Rogerio Vivaldi, M.D., President and CEO of Sigilon. Our Shielded Living Therapeutics platform is designed to give patients who have chronic diseases a convenient, safe, long-term therapeutic benefit. We believe encapsulating engineered human cells in our proprietary matrix will enable us to deliver controlled doses of therapeutic proteins without the need for immunosuppression and without the risks associated with modifying patients genomes. We are pleased to welcome an exceptional group of investors who share our vision of offering more hope and less fear to patients and their caregivers as we enter the clinic with our lead program and continue to advance our other programs toward the clinic.

Sigilons Shielded Living Therapeutics platform offers patients with chronic disease the prospect of relief without disrupting their lives, said Douglas Cole, M.D., Managing Partner at Flagship Pioneering and Chairman of the Board at Sigilon. The near-term transition to clinical development and the platforms breadth and progress reflect the power and productivity of Sigilons approach. Successful conclusion of this financing puts the company in a strong position to build further value.

Sigilon was founded to develop immune-protected, bio-engineered cells to restore normal physiology in a wide range of diseases without immune rejection, liberating patients from the challenges associated with existing treatments for serious chronic diseases. Treatments based on Sigilons Shielded Living Therapeutics platform combine advanced cell engineering with cutting-edge innovations in biocompatible materials to pioneer a new class of medicines that have been designed to provide durable, redosable, controllable and safe potential treatment for chronic diseases.

Sigilons lead investigational therapy for hemophilia A, SIG-001, has received an Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sigilon expects to initiate a clinical trial of SIG-001 in the first half of 2020.

About Sigilon Therapeutics

Sigilon Therapeutics is developing functional cures for chronic diseases through its Shielded Living Therapeutics platform. Sigilons therapeutics consist of novel human cells engineered to produce the crucial proteins, enzymes or factors needed by patients living with chronic diseases such as hemophilia, diabetes and lysosomal disorders. The engineered cells are protected by Sigilons Afibromer biomaterials matrix, which shields them from immune rejection and fibrosis. Sigilon was founded by Flagship Pioneering in conjunction with Daniel Anderson, Ph.D., and Robert Langer, Sc.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200317005080/en/

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Sigilon Therapeutics Announces $80.3 Million Series B Financing to Advance Shielded Living Therapeutics to the Clinic - BioSpace

The Constellation of Frank Stella – The New York Times

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STARS THE KIND that appear in the cosmos have coordinates, not addresses, and the same is true for certain earthbound luminaries, too. One gloomy November morning, I follow my GPS to an anonymous set of buildings in the Hudson Valley. The rain buckets down forebodingly, but I know Im on the right track when I make out a set of immense cast-aluminum and stainless-steel sculptures by the side of the road, a few of them distinctly stellar in shape. For good measure, the name Stella is spray-painted on a piece of wood indicating the entrance.

This hangar-like structure, about a 90-minute drive north of Manhattan, has been Frank Stellas studio for the past two decades. The vast space, more easily traversed by golf cart than on foot, is divided into rooms for both fabrication and display. Here, I find more star variations: The grandest has 12 points and is made of glossy black carbon fiber. At over 20 by 20 feet, its puffily imposing and gently comic. Its neighbors are a pair of cleverly interlocking wooden stars, one in teak, another in birch, the humble quality of the carpentry a counterpoint to their complexity of form, reminiscent of da Vincis illustrations of the Platonic solids. More futuristic are two slightly smaller ones made from polished stainless steel; theyre what might have resulted if Buckminster Fuller had created cat toys for giants. When I look closer, I notice that some of them have built-in bases on their bottommost points that resemble little shoes: These stars have their feet planted on the ground.

As does the man himself. Stella, dressed in khakis and a blue fleece zip-up that has Team Stella stitched on it in white, is now 83, but hes retained the scrappy, unpretentious persona hes famous for, as well as the curly hair and glasses. This is the man who, nearly six decades ago, gave Minimalism its great tagline by proclaiming: What you see is what you see, his words a rallying cry for what art could be, and, equally, could do without. A fixed light in American arts galaxy since the 1960s, he has arguably influenced visual representation as powerfully as Andy Warhol.

Unlike many mid-20th-century artists who rose fast only to seemingly collapse under the pressure of their own reputations, Stella kept pushing himself by using new forms, materials and technologies. When he felt hed reached the limits of the flat canvas, he built out from it in reliefs inspired by Moby-Dick and Polish villages. In the 1980s and 90s, he made metal sculptures that looked like race cars or jet engines turned inside out, as well as unwieldy canvases covered in Pop-colored riots of form operatic assemblages of cones, pillars and graffiti-like brushwork, like something Charlie Sheens character might have had in his home in the 1987 film Wall Street. That the godfather of Minimalist painting turned into a progenitor of the contemporary baroque has always flummoxed critics.

Perhaps the secret to his longevity, his decade-upon-decade habit of creating, is again a matter of balanced forces, the measures hes taken to temper his bright-burning ambition. When we meet, the artist has just celebrated the arrival of his fifth grandchild, Sophie. (Stella, who has five children, has been married to Harriet McGurk, a pediatrician, since 1978, and they live in the same house in Greenwich Village hes owned since the 1960s; his first wife was the art critic Barbara Rose.) He seems to lack any real self-destructive impulse; he never succumbed to matters of lifestyle. When I ask him if he has any vices, he dodges. You have to ask my wife, he says dryly.

He has (at least) two, it turns out: cigars and fast cars, both of which have informed his work in various ways, from sculptures based on three-dimensional representations of his own smoke rings to his use of technological innovations derived from the auto industry, like carbon-fiber skin over steel or aluminum frames. In 1982, he was caught driving his silver Ferrari 105 miles per hour in a 55-mile-per-hour zone on the Taconic State Parkway, and in lieu of jail time, he delivered public lectures on his painting. His racing days are now long over, and he can no longer do much of the physical labor involved in art-making. And so it might seem hes come full circle, returning to the deceptively simple geometries he was making six decades ago, only now expanded into three dimensions.

Tentatively scheduled to open in May, a new show at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, in Ridgefield, Conn., Frank Stellas Stars, A Survey, will focus on Stellas use of the form at both ends of his career. Many artists have become fixated on the creation of a particular shape or motif throughout their lives: Jasper Johns and flags; Pablo Picasso and guitars; Louise Bourgeois and spiders. The ceaseless exploration of one form helps create an artists aesthetic universe, and Stella is part of this tradition. Stella means star in Italian, but the artists interest in the shape in geometry, the star polygon is recognized in both two and three dimensions with varying numbers of points is spatial, not narcissistic. He initially made star drawings in the 1960s (a set of lithographs from 1967 titled Star of Persia I; and II, first exhibited at the Aldrich in 1969, will be included in the show), though the majority of the exhibition will showcase the more recent sculptural work I observed in his studio, a study of the potential of the star in different materials, scales and formal variations, never repeated in the same way. Even with something as stable and as knowable as the star, Stella is able to reinvent it every time he approaches it and make you look at it in a different way, says Richard Klein, the Aldrichs director of exhibitions.

Star polygons have long been bound up with all sorts of human metaphysical projection, used as religious symbols and in ranking systems. As motifs associated with honor and glory and jobs well done, they decorate everything from national flags and sheriffs badges to toilet-training charts. But most of all, they symbolize the limits of human understanding, their geometric representation inseparable from their existence as celestial objects, luminous spheres of gas held together by their own gravity. Their lyricism aside, stars are our most archaic form of navigation as well as our best clues to the dimensions of the universe. Because light travels at a finite speed, the glow of a distant star is perceived by our earthbound eyes long after it has ceased to exist. Similarly finite, perhaps, is the rate of human understanding: In art history, were continually revising the past based on our relative position to it; the importance of an artist or an entire movement might become visible only in retrospect. So what, one wonders, is left to say about a man who has been famous now since the 1950s, and all the more so at a time in which figuration and portraiture have made comebacks, and when were all questioning arts relevance in a scary new decade?

STELLA NEVER WENT to art school, but from an early age, he had a no-nonsense relationship with a paintbrush: His father, a gynecologist, paid his way through medical school by painting houses, with Stella as his young assistant. My father would make me sand the floor; we had to do the sanding and scraping before you could hold the brush and then paint on the wall. So it was that kind of apprenticeship and familiarity, he says. While repainting the porch of their fishing cabin in New Hampshire Stella grew up in the Boston suburb of Malden his mother, a fashion illustrator and homemaker, decided to make a Jackson Pollock on the floor, dripping the paint in swirls. And my father had to explain to her that maybe it was good in art, but it wasnt going to work as a floor covering because we didnt have any sealer.

A story in one of his mothers Vogue magazines, featuring models posed in front of a painterly Franz Kline-esque Abstract Expressionist backdrop, provided him with an early clue that art wasnt only about figuration. At Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in the early 50s, when European abstraction was a prevailing force in studio art, Stella was especially influenced by the work of Hans Hofmann, a kind of proto-Abstract Expressionist from the 40s, and the Bauhaus color theorist Josef Albers. I had no mimetic ability, Stella tells me, but I was never interested in finding one, or cultivating one. No, I worked directly with the materials, actually. The big deal in postwar American painting was its materiality, and so that was heaven for me.

He started painting more seriously at Princeton, where he played lacrosse and wrestled, majored in history and studied art with William Seitz, who would become a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and with the painter Stephen Greene. After graduating in 1958, Stella moved to New York. When I left school, he says, I wanted to see what it was like to paint all the time. And at that time, it was between the Korean War and Vietnam, and we still had selective service. My induction exam was in September, so I thought, Ill go to New York [in the meantime], get a place, and Ill just paint and work and do odd jobs, and see what its like to do nothing but paint for three or four months. And then, unfortunately or rather, fortunately I failed my induction exams. And when I called up my father, I said, Im sorry, I have to go back to New York, I failed the exam. He said, Too bad, it would have made a man of you. The most important thing for them was that I shouldnt be a burden on society. He pauses. And we know what they meant by society.

Stella was only 23 when his work was included in a group show, Sixteen Americans, at MoMA in 1959. His Black Paintings bands of matte enamel (he used house painters brushes and house paint) separated by pinstripes of exposed canvas startled critics for their extremity of reduction, their intentionally flat affect, their refusal to appease. Cool, clever, and somehow less angstily reverential in feel than the Abstract Expressionist era that it helped supplant, Stellas work is now widely seen as a crucial evolutionary link in modern art, and a catalyst for the Minimalist movement to come. His emphasis on two-dimensional surfaces was a clear rejection of the idea of painting as a window into a three-dimensional space.

His participation in the MoMA show, alongside Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly and Louise Nevelson, launched his career four of his paintings were included in the exhibition but his first gallery show, with New Yorks Leo Castelli a year later, resulted in few sales. Stella eked out a living painting houses, renting cold-water flats and sharing studio space with Carl Andre and Hollis Frampton, his friends from Phillips Academy, but listening to him, its impossible not to feel nostalgia for a time in which you could arrive in Manhattan, these days largely a gated community for the wealthy, and simply go about making your art.

THERES AN ELEMENT of luck and things like that to it, but the fact of the matter is that the system was pretty supportive, says Stella when I remark on how he seemed to be exactly the right artist at exactly the right time. In New York, he was granted a sense of license to do whatever he wanted with paint, inspired by the artists he revered, among them Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman and Pollock. Stella found his own canvases growing larger large enough to have to be placed on the floor. They were no longer easel paintings, he says. Basically, I was standing up in front of a painting that was a little bit bigger than I was, and that was the working on it, like the way you would paint a wall in a house. And that was the kind of thing that I felt comfortable with. He singles out the abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler, who studied under Hofmann, as the artist he believes was one of the most undervalued in her lifetime. They were always interesting, always good, and very, very difficult paintings she made, and she was lucky if she could sell any of them, he recalls. Early in his career, she proposed a trade with him, but he was too intimidated to take her up on it.

When I ask him if hes in touch with anyone from that time, he shakes his head. No. The problem now is everybodys dead or dying. Im in the category of Is he still alive? artists. Yeah, you laugh, but I can show you a letter a guy was asking if I was still alive because he liked my work so much.

By the end of the 1960s, Stella had lost interest in flat surfaces. He started making constructions of felt, paper and wood that protruded from the surface of a stretched canvas in a relief. He named these works, like 1971s Chodorow II, after synagogues destroyed by the Nazis. In a way, the work could be seen as a kind of inverse of the type of painting that had dominated Western art since the Renaissance, which drew viewers into the canvas. The idea behind it all was to build a painting rather than paint a painting, says Stella. If I built it first, it was all mine, and then I could paint on that and thats all. The simple story would be that the Minimalist turned Maximalist when the former wore out its usefulness.

On many occasions, material experimentation offered a pathway forward: Thats a kind of necessity, because you get bogged down, you get worried. Youre always looking for something, as they say, a way out of the darkness. And its inevitable that you look to things. You look to what other people are doing, and you look to whats available, and you cant help looking for things. Mostly you look within the art world, but that seems like a limited vision, so you have to look outside. You have to get with the real world eventually.

In at least one such moment, Stella found himself compelled to look back in order to move forward. He used his 1982-83 residency at the American Academy in Rome to delve into the legacy of Caravaggio and Rubens. That research led eventually to Working Space, his 1986 book derived from a series of lectures that he delivered at Harvard in the early 80s, in which he framed his new work as an answer to a crisis in abstract painting. Stellas Moby-Dick series, which he began that year and continued until 1997, considered abstractions ability to illustrate narratives, with silhouettes alluding to waves and ships. The 90s and early aughts were critically tough for Stellas hectic forms, and yet many works from this time his mural-size Moby-Dick-inspired 1992 print, The Fountain, for example, or his underrated work in rugged painted metal, especially 2004s Ngebat, a twisted construction of stainless steel and carbon fiber now seem freshly exhilarating. You could argue that every artist working in Europe and America today has, in some fashion, been unconsciously influenced by Stella, and there are those who more explicitly credit him as an influence, such as the assemblage artist Jessica Jackson Hutchins and the abstract painter Sarah Morris.

Before I leave, Stella takes me on a tour of recent work, leading me behind the curtain hanging in the back of the studio. So, now youre going into the space where no women are allowed, he jokes. And lo, there I behold Stellas industrial sander, his spray-painter, as well as a glimpse of new work being fabricated for a private collector.

If entropy is the natural direction of all things the laws of physics, anyway, as well as contemporary art some things in our universe do, in fact, remain constant: Stellas star, at least, built on the principles of space, light, speed and seemingly infinite expansion, is unlikely to dim from art history anytime soon. Basically, everything is about being an artist, he says as we part ways. He pulls out a cigar as I thank him and gather my coat and umbrella. Youre welcome, he smiles. And dont say anything about the smoking.

Its an open question just how well Stellas ethos has fared over time. Once so thrillingly radical, Minimalist painting has inevitably lost some of its charge over the years; at a time in which art is often wrapped up in social and political questions, shunning pictorial representation and symbolic meaning for the essentials of color, shape and composition can feel oddly safe, something everyone can get behind: colorful geometries that could be printed on an Ikea duvet. And yet the sheer scale and panache of Stellas early work are undeniable. At the Art Institute of Chicagos Modern Wing, I often observe tourists stopping dead in their tracks in front of Hatra I, one of the first Protractor paintings Stella made beginning in 1967, which consist of sweeping, intersecting arcs, the shape of the canvas echoing that of the paint. Glowing with bright acrylic and measuring 20 by 10 feet, it still imparts a contact high. Sitting in Stellas presence and revisiting his work with him, I think what a misunderstanding it is to consider Minimalism as soulless or academic, a mere visual palate cleanser. On the contrary, it seeks feelings less easily named, an almost somatic response, a full-body awareness. What you see is what you see, but what you feel has always been important, too.

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The Constellation of Frank Stella - The New York Times

Need Vitamin C Supplementation? Eat these Foods – Longevity LIVE

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The COVID-19 pandemic is causing shortages of important medical devices, foods and products. You may be hoping to boost your immunity with additional vitamin C. Its important to know that fruits and vegetables are still the best food sources of vitamin C. Buy fresh (or even frozen) foods rich in vitamin C. Heres what you need to look out for.

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, plays many important roles in the body. This vitamin is key to the immune system, helping prevent infections and fight disease.

It is a water-soluble vitamin thats found in many foods, mostly in fruits and vegetables. Well-known for being a potent antioxidant, it also has positive effects on skin health and immune function. Vital for collagen synthesis, connective tissue, bones, teeth and your small blood vessels.

The human body cannot produce or store it. Therefore, its essential to consume it regularly in sufficient amounts.

The current daily value (DV) for vitamin C is 90 mg.

The list is sourced fromMyFoodData.com who sourced the information from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central.

Other Vitamin C Rich Foods

MyFoodData.com now releases the USDA data in a flat spreadsheet file format for public use. Find out more here.

According to Medical News Today, cooking may reduce the amount of the vitamin in fruits and vegetables. To optimize, the ODS recommends steaming or microwaving these foods.

Vitamin C is vital for your immune system, connective tissue and heart and blood vessel health, among many other important roles.

Not getting enough can have negative effects on your health.

While citrus fruits may be the most famous source of this particular vitamin, a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are rich in this vitamin and may even exceed the amounts found in citrus fruits.

By eating some foods suggested above each day, your immunity should be boosted.

Read this complete guide to boosting your immune system.

What are vitamins and how do they work? https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195878

Vitamin C in Disease Prevention and Cure: An Overview Shailja Chambial,Shailendra Dwivedi,Kamla Kant Shukla,Placheril J. John,andPraveen Sharma

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3783921/

Top Vitamin C Foods By Nutrient Density (Vitamin C Per Gram)

MyFoodData.com and U.S. Agricultural Research Service Food Data Central

20 Best foods for vitamin C Medical News Today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325067#does-cooking-affect-vitamin-c

National Institute of Health: Vitamin C Fact Sheet for Health Professionals https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/

20 Foods That Are High in Vitamin C Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-foods

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Need Vitamin C Supplementation? Eat these Foods - Longevity LIVE

Cancer in Dogs and Humans: How is it alike and how is it different? – Open Access Government

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Cancer recently passed cardiovascular disease to become the leading cause of human mortality across much of the industrialised world. Cancer is widely believed to be the leading cause of disease-related mortality in dogs as well. On the surface, it would be easy to assume this shared and tragic cancer epidemic in humans and dogs was a dark side of industrialisation and modernisation. After all, in much of the developed world, dogs have become integral members of human family units, living with humans in a common environment, sharing histories of lifestyle, nutrition, and environmental exposures.

Although the most common cancers in humans and dogs are different, the idea of a common origin is bolstered by the similar physical and microscopic appearance of tumors that form in the same anatomic locations as well as by the comparable clinical course of these diseases in both species. These similarities have positioned spontaneous cancers of dogs as unique models that can be used to better understand the origin and progression of human cancers and to develop safe and effective treatments.

The comparative oncology approach has yielded many interesting findings, including that the shared reality of cancer in humans and dogs is more complicated than exposure risks associated with modernisation. To understand the cancer epidemic, we must travel far back in time to the emergence of multicellularity. The fossil record documents cancer in animals for hundreds of millions of years. For example, a bone tumor recently identified in a 240-million-year-old turtle fossil supports the occurrence of cancer throughout evolution. This finding is by no means unique and it is probably not the oldest.

Today, cancer accounts for about 5% of deaths in almost every animal species. In the context of evolution, species adapt to a balance of resources, consumption, and lifespan over millions of years. Long-lived species such as whales, elephants, Amazon parrots, great white sharks, and naked mole rats, among others, acquired unique cancer-protective mechanisms: molecular safeguards that allow for innumerable cell divisions while reducing the probability of mutations that are necessary to initiate cancer. Over millions of years, these adaptive, cancer-protective solutions became inexorably linked to the expected lifespan of that species, and the adaptations seem to be as varied as there are species.

Dogs and humans were similarly subject to this selection over most of their evolutionary history. The dog family, for example, split from its last common ancestor about 6 million years ago, and our direct human ancestors split from other hominids approximately 2 million years ago. As they adapted to their respective biological niches, dogs developed an expected lifespan of 2 to 4 years and humans developed an expected lifespan of about 30 to 40 years. Infection, injury, and malnutrition were the most common causes of death for dogs, and infections, inter-human aggression, and accidents were the most common causes of death in ancestral humans.

At present, cancer accounts for about 5% of deaths in people up to the age of 35 and in dogs up to the age of 3 to 4 in developed countries, similar to the overall cancer mortality in the majority of other species. Beyond those evolutionarily-determined lifespan thresholds, the cancer risk increases several fold in people and in dogs. Over the past 200 years for humans and the past 50 years for dogs, the availability of health care, nutrition, energy, social protection, and other such modern changes have reduced overall mortality and expanded life expectancies. This has allowed people to live to about 80 years of age (twice our evolutionarily-determined lifespan) and for dogs to live to about 10 to 12 years of age (almost three times their evolutionarily-determined lifespan). Humans and dogs have no mechanisms that can protect their cells from the effects of mutations that occur over these newly expanded lifespans.

To add insult to injury, in both species, but especially in companion dogs, natural selection has been almost completely replaced by artificial selection. There are few natural selective pressures to guide evolution of cancer-protective mechanisms to support our long lifespan. The consequences are obvious. Shattering the evolutionary barriers of longevity without compensatory cancer-protective mechanisms makes dogs and humans increasingly vulnerable.

In all, there are about 700 genes in our genomes where mutations that alter function can promote cancer. We do not fully understand the interactions that occur among the products of these genes, or between these cancer-causing genes and the rest of our genome. But with few exceptions, the catalog of specific mutant genes in tumors arising from the same cell types or tissues in humans and dogs are vastly different. And yet, the molecular programs that characterise these homologous tumors are remarkably similar.

This raises important implications with regards to our efforts to learn from cancers across species. We must account for the glaring differences in causation while continuing our focus on commonalities. Dogs can teach us how expanded longevity overcomes a species cancer-protective mechanisms. Moreover, comparative approaches can help us to understand how constraints on the organisation of tumors into specific structures create vulnerabilities that we can exploit to attack or prevent cancer in both species.

Finally, cancer is not inevitable. Even with the risks of replication-induced mutations and longevity, only about 1/4th to 1/3rd of all humans and dogs are expected to develop cancer in their lifetime. It is a bit of a Russian roulette.

Incredible breakthroughs have been made in treatments for advanced human cancers, which raises hope for future applications in dogs. Still, the pace of research and progress is slow, and with cancer overtaking all other causes of death in both humans and dogs, alternative solutions are necessary. This has guided our recent efforts to develop robust diagnostic tests that identify cancer signatures before tumors form, paired with interventions that eliminate nascent malignancies. The benefits of a comparative, wholistic approach to guide this process are undeniable. We are convinced that these preventative strategies and others like them will be part of the solution to cancer. We are also convinced that comparative oncology approaches are necessary to continue progress for all species.

Acknowledgments: The author gratefully acknowledges Dr. Michelle Ritt and Dr. Michael Henson for their helpful discussions and suggestions.

Please note: This is a commercial profile

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Cancer in Dogs and Humans: How is it alike and how is it different? - Open Access Government

Find Out Here How To Shave Easily And Efficiently For These Rapidly Moving Modern Times – Forbes

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Braun Series 7

If one believes that modified grooming down results in being happier, more productive and more creative, than ones behavior will hear that out. How one is groomed has always been linked to how one behaves, hence the expression looks like a million bucks. The way you look affects the way you think, feel and act. Industry insiders have long observed that renewed attention to appearance is a sign of recovery and strength.

Managers are empowering employees to choose modified grooming methods from a variety of ways. Simply stated; good grooming habits is demonstrating your commitment and concern for your well-being during office hours. In fact, organizations are reporting such positive benefits from employees with clean grooming habits. Good grooming is here to stay and even part of a dress for success policy at many prominent corporations.

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Benjamin Wilson, Industrial Designer, Global Technology & DesignCommunications Lead for Braun & Gillette Venus. Procter & Gamble about the great history of the brand since 1921, why men are looking for tools to make their grooming effortless and that enable the looks they desire and why he believes that technology and needs will change, but Brauns principles will remain relevant!

Benjamin Wilson, Industrial Designer, Global Technology & Design Communications Lead for Braun & ... [+] Gillette Venus. Procter & Gamble

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about the great history, and development of your brand?

Ben Wilson:Since 1921, Braun has been a benchmark for useful, functional design and products of the highest quality - from its founding years as a radio manufacturer, to the debut of the S50 shaver in the '50s, not to mention its current innovations in personal care tools and the recent return to the audio market, Braun is a brand with longevity. The undeniable influence of the era of Fritz Eichler and the Ulm School of Design on the role of design in business includes the thinking that led to the iconic "less, but better" way of creating objects." From personal care to audio, timepieces to kitchen appliances, the Braun brand permeates many personal everyday products. Braun since day one hasbeen about creating better solutions and experiences that improve peoples lives.

My background: At the beginning of 2002, I decided to move to Europe to experience new cultures, learn more about myself and to start my design career. I now have an amazing family of 4 and enjoy being part of the European and P&G design scene. Names like Hans Gugelot, Wilhelm Wagenfeld and naturally Dieter Rams drew me to Germany.

To be able to call myself a Braun Designer and have the privilege to share the knowledge I have gained at Braun, is a great honour. I have made it my mission to share my learnings and play a role in ensuring that the next generation of designers understand that it is not merely an aesthetic, but an approach, a way of thinking and doing things that leads to better products, ones that meet human needs and that are created to stand the test of time -the Germans call this having a Haltung, a wayof doing things.

In addition to my industrial design experience, I have continuously represented Braun as an internal and external brand ambassador and moved from the executional design function to lead Braun Technology and Design Communications since 2016.

Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what is your competitive advantage in development and specialized product.

Ben Wilson: Braun can be summed up simply, it is, and always has been, about creating objects for use that are based on human needs and that are designed and engineered to the highest quality to stand the test of time. In short, for humans, simplicity of use and built to last. We call this Designed for what matters. The idea of respecting humans is an underlying, recurring theme of our story, fromlooking after the humans that work at Braun through to treating the users with respect by means of considering their needs and helping them have a good experience with Braun products over a long time.

Joseph DeAcetis: How do you intend to market to Millennial's and Gen Z - whom quite often, do not wish to follow the rules?

Ben Wilson: Having stood the test of time for almost 100 years, our Haltung has future. This generation, like various before, are looking for what will be next, what is most important for them and the world? What type of world do they want to live in? This generation, as Gary Vaynerchuk says,have options. Like no generation before, they have the ability to make change happen, to start a company, to go live within days and reach millions of people with their ideas... they dont have to settlefor mediocrity or things they dont agree with anymore. They are looking for things that are authentic, real and that are intrinsically good- our Haltung, way of doing things, has a future. Technology and needs will change, but our principles will remain relevant. Imagine if the generations to come understand what truly good design is? In my opinion, one of the most important Dieter Rams quotes is

Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great Design is making something memorable and meaningful.

A thought/quote developed in association with my long-term business partner and friend Dr. PeterKapos: In Brauns current marketing approach to Millennials and Gen Z, the company arereconnecting with their brand tradition, particularly as it was formed in the 1960sand 70s. Itsstandard practice for companies today to study their audiences in order to adapt messaging to fit theirperceived requirements. Braun have realised that theres already a clean dovetailing between its deeplevel ethos, its Haltung, and the concerns of young people. Considerations about better living through a more conscious and deliberate relation to objects, an emphasis on quality and experience, a desire to reduce clutter, noise and chaos, awareness about the direct relation between our individual choices as consumers and the future of a habitable planetall of these thoughts directly informed Braunindustrial design from the early 70s on. They are Braun Design DNA. Of course, these issues are alsoof urgent concern for a younger generation growing up in a precarious and, in many ways, perilous social and physical environment in which futures, both personal and planetary, are uncertain. So, forBraun, all that is required to find the marketers holy grail of relevance is just to be true to itself. That may sound cheesy, but it in practice this has required the company to take a long hard look at itself, and to make some brave decisions. Haltung is, after all, something that must be practiced rather than preached. As a company, Braun is looking forward to earning the regard of its young audiences as thecompanys Haltung is increasingly evident in itsproducts.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to us in details about the 3 new shavers?

Ben Wilson: Braun manufactures various shavers and the Braun Series9 is the Worlds most efficientelectric shaver, torture-tested on 3-5-day beards. The five shaving elements capture more hair in one stroke compared to other Braun shavers, for a flawless shave and provides both a close and gentle shave, without compromise.

However, this is not necessarily what all men are looking for when it comes to their grooming needs. Through extensive research we found that it takes a lot of attention and effort not to miss any hairs when shaving. Men generally just accept that there are some hard-to-reach areas whilst shaving, such as the jawline, and adapt their shaving technique to get the smoothest results. Therefore, Braun took on the challenge to address this and to deliver the ultimate shaving experience for men.

After several years of research and with the help of 10 s of thousands of men across the globe, Braun developed the NEW Series 7, Series 6 and Series 5 shavers with an extremely slim and perfectly balanced body. The new innovative slim drive system enabled the all new Series 7 3D flex head to ensure that the shaver head, which adapts to every contour of the face, can detail with ease and enables an easy smooth in-use experience that ensures closeness. This new generation of shavers brings together breakthrough technology, human first design and engineering excellence to provide a shaving experience that is easy, smooth and gentle.

Series 5

SERIES 5, SERIES 6 AND SERIES 7 HERO FEATURES EXPLAINED

A NEW slim and ergonomic design- the handle has been redesigned to deliver better shaving with

less effort:

The angle between the handle and the shaver head is designed to allow the shaver head to stay incontact with the skin.

The handle is slimmer to ensure a better grip and handling during the shave.

The shavers have been perfectly weighted to balance the device requiring less effort while shaving.

All three shavers can be used both wet and dry.

NEW and improved shaving systemfor more power delivered to the blades

Features advanced specialised cutting elements: a middle trimmer to capture longer hairs and twoultra-thin SensoFoils for a close and thorough shave.

For superior shaving performance, the Series 5, 6 and 7 all feature a new and improved direct drive system which enables this new generation of shavers to cut through even very dense facial hair.

NEW EasyClick system to upgrade your shaver with attachments:From the perfect 3-day stubble to perfectly smooth skin, the series 5, 6 and 7 can be upgraded with attachments for ultimate versatility. This is the first of its kind from Braun, all of this in a single tool!

Precision Trimmer: for moustache and sideburns trimming. Beard Trimmer: for beard styles from 0.5mm to 7mm.

Stubble Beard Trimmer: for a perfect and precise 3-day beard look without the effort, this is thanks to the hairs being captured inside the shaver head.

Body Groomer: for a head-to-toe grooming. Cleansing Brush: for deeppore-cleansing.

EasyClick functionality: Every attachment has been designed to be interchangeable with one simpleclick.

Fast charge technology:Powerful Li-Ion batteries provide a full charge in 60 minutes plus a 5-minute quick-charging mode, enough for one shave.

THE BRAUN SERIES 7 360 FLEX - A PERFECT COMBINATION OF REFINED CONTROL AND MOVEMENT

Combining breakthrough technology with intuitive design, the new Series 7 uses flexibility and adaptation to enable seamless close contact.

360 Flex System: The revolutionary Series 7 features a fully flexible head that responds to the contours of your face and neck, reaching every hair for a smoother shave, using less effort.

AutoSensing technology: The Series 7 uses Braun AutoSensing technology which automatically adapts to hair densityhelping to capture event more hairs in each stroke.

Series 6

THE BRAUN SERIES 6 - SENSITIVE TO YOUR SKIN

The Series 6 flexes to your skincare needs, meaning you never have to compromise on performance.

SensoFlex shaving head: Thegentle pivoting head and flexible blades of the Series 6 glide effortlessly over the curves of the face, reducing pressure on the skin and creating a sensitive yet close and comfortable shave.

Skin Heath Alliance: The Series 6 has been given dermatological accreditation from the Skin Heath Alliance, an independent organisation that verifies the safety of products for the skin.

THE BRAUN SERIES 5EASY AND DYNAMIC

The Series 5 offers an easy and efficient shave that simplifies your everyday shaving routine.

EasyClean System: The Series 5 features a built-in rinsing mechanism, allowing water to pass through the rinsing holes in the shaver head, clearing any shaving debris without the need to remove the shaving head.

Joseph DeAcetis: In your words, what are men seeking today in a good shaver and how has Braun developed specialized product to compete with this change?

Ben Wilson: When it comes to their grooming needs, men are looking for tools to make their grooming effortless and that enable the looks they desire. Needs change over time and trends come and go, at Braun we always strive to understand these shifts and ensure that we have the right solutions to offer.

As these needs change, just like the Brothers Braun did in 1955, Braun does research and seeks to understand what is desired and develops products that are designed for what matters. Today, men are grooming in more ways than ever, from a clean-shaven look, to 3-5 day and full beardswith this, the grooming jobs to be done and the challenges for our designers and engineers change. For example, our Series 9 was developed because many men shave during the week but then let their beard grow

from Thursday through Monday morning, where the shaver needs to be able to get through the 3-day weekend growth, lifting and cutting longer hairs. This is an immense challenge that our Series 9 hasachieved and is therefore able to carry the tittle most efficient shaver in the world, torture-tested on 3- 5-day beards. Every year, we welcome over 30,000 men to our European technical centers to test our products. This way we stay very closely connected to trends and predict the unmet needs of our users.

Another example is the introduction of our Autosensing technology into our Series 7 and styling products. This technology ensures that our shavers and stylers achieve constant and optimal speed, regardless of how much hair is being cut at one time. Just like in 1955, if you understand what people desire and develop against those needs and aspirations, and develop products with a defined Haltung, this leads to happy users and strong business results.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes in detail about the current offerings and why it is important for consumers to be aware of this brand

Ben Wilson: To best answer this, I would very much like to welcome you to our Braun Collection in Germany. Here you will be able to experience the true depth of the meaning of the Braun Haltung and why the world needs to know more about it, today more than ever. Let me try to give you a brief snapshot:

We at Braun design for what matters. This is founded on decades of developing products with a very specific Haltung. The brothers Braun, together with Fritz Eichler and Ulm school, did not simply createa vision of a better future; they made a future vision tangible. The vision was design for millions.They believed that everyone deserves products that are designed with humans in mind, easy to use, are reduced to what matters most and that are manufactured to stand the test of time. They wanted to reduce design back to the essentials, leaving out the non-essentials, summarised well by Dieter Ramsin the early 70 s with his idea of Less, but better. This is true sustainability, making things that areuseful and built to last. This leads to a keep culture and is something that the world needs more than ever. The Bauhaus idea of Less is More was given a radical new meaning in the context of the oilcrisis in the 70 sand scarcity of materials. The response to these conditions was that the world and thefuture requires Less, but better things.

Today, all products are developed with human needs in mind, from a tool like our S9 that can shave through 3-5-day beards with ease to those tools that are made to groom body areas... Our intentis to ensure that the needs are not only met, but maybe even create an experience that is surprising from time to time - in just how well they do the job they are intended to do, time and time again. This is Braun.

We aim to keep the promises we make when we enter a market. The return to audio equipment is another great example. The time is right to offer incredible technology, great design and innovative features like the mechanical microphone button. It might sound obviously simple but like most of our innovations it is founded on a deep user insight/need.

Series 7

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes about how computer-aided design helped in the development of your brand: both product make-up and e-commerce? Details please

Ben Wilson: CAD and Digital tools continue to evolve, new AI technologies are already changing the way engineers specify structures and robots are working in factories, buildings, bridges and houses. Product experiences are a combination of hardware and software technology. At Braun, we aim to use technology to enhance the experience in meaningful ways. A good example of this is the IPL device and supporting app, our IPL device is very intelligent, utilizing sensors and computing power, called Senso-Adapt technology, which adapts the light intensity in real time according to the tone of the skin in the area of use, this helps ensure that our users have an effective and safe in-use experience.

Joseph DeAcetis: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

Ben Wilson: Our Designers at Braun are involved from the first moments of understanding what is needed, all the way through to the manufacturing. This is how it has always been at Braun, a flux between what is needed, design and technology. The day-to-day roles vary from the status of theprojects that we lead... I think it is important to mention that the Braun design team is a mix ofindustrial, graphic and visual identity designers, but they are supported by the multifunctional teams that strive to create the best possible solutions. The team is always focused on keeping their promise, making sure the products are designed, engineered and tested to ensure they stand the test of time.

That being said, the development process can vary depending on whether we are creatinga new-to- the-world idea/technology or are improving on an existing / established technology. This will affecthow long the development process is- it can vary from 12 months to 5 years. Today, personally, much of my time is spent sharing insights like these to help more people around the globe understand why our products are so amazing and should be an essential part of their world.

Joseph DeAcetis: Where is the product made and why?

Ben Wilson: Braun was founded in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in 1921, and our new Series 5, 6 and 7 shaving technology is designed and engineered in Germany. We have a global supply and manufacturing network with Germany not only being a main manufacturing location but also the place where Braun is rooted and where our global design and engineering teams are located. All the knowledge, expertise and decades of experience in creating high quality electrical shaving and hair removal devices resides here.

Joseph DeAcetis: You have the floor: Talk to my viewers about why they should try this brand now? (details)

Ben Wilson: As mentioned, our products deliver top performance, are designed for what really matters to our users, are easy to use and built to last. This way of doing things helps ensure a positive in-use experience over time. To underline why: On a regular basis, I have the pleasure of guiding people through our 100 years of history and sharing stories that led us up to this moment in time. During these tours, I can pick up a hand-driven/powered torch from 1938 from the exhibition and demonstrate its use. That is Braun. Or that a simple Juicer, designed in 1972, is still in production today. One of my favorite questions I ask during my tours is: When the last time an orange changed? User needs can change or not, but when you keep the idea, design and engineering simple and ensure that they last, this is good for all. Good for the users, the planet and it is also good for the business. Make it once, make it right.

Joseph DeAcetis: How do you intend to keep customer's satisfied

Ben Wilson: Our quality is founded on decades of setting the highest standards. Benjamin Franklinonce said, The Bitterness of Poor Quality Remains Long After the Sweetness of Low Price is Forgotten. Today, this is something that, thankfully, more and more people are discovering again. Thetime for things of lesser quality and the quick sale are gone. The future generations deserve better,this was the vision that the brothers Braun and the Ulm School had in the 50 s: Make better products that people need and ensure they last. Design for millions.

Joseph DeAcetis: Talk to Forbes how Braun intends to play a positive role in the modern era of men's shaving?

Ben Wilson: By providing tools that do the jobs they are intended to do, keeping our promise of meeting the unmet grooming needs that men have with products that are designed for what matters, simple to use and built to last. It is our commitment to meetmenscurrent needs and strive to interpret the evolution of those needs in the future.

More here:
Find Out Here How To Shave Easily And Efficiently For These Rapidly Moving Modern Times - Forbes

How, where and why Montana became the grayest state in the West – The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

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People have been parsing the human lifespan into a taxonomy of ages forever. Aristotle proposed three categories: youthful, prime of life and elderly. Two thousand years later, Shakespeares Seven Ages of Man carved human chronology into seven slices, with the bodys final frailty circling back to the original oblivion of infancy. And in the 1980s, British historian Peter Laslett proposed a revised map of three ages, with a caveat for the third: it could be a time of post-retirement fulfillment and achievement, or it could collapse, a la Shakespeare, into dependence and decrepitude.

The character of any individuals third age hinges on some key factors, including health, wealth, community and the government policies and cultural customs that influence them. Navigating those factors requires independence, assistance, access and education. The latter, especially, is lacking. Missoula Aging Services Executive Director Susan Kohler told a room full of Montana journalists in November that one of the biggest impediments to a fulfilling third age is lack of preparedness.

Already, Montana is the oldest state west of the Mississippi, according to median age statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. With half the states population 40 or older, were the ninth oldest in the nation, out-grayed only by Florida, Maine and a few other eastern states.

Peak age is yet to come, according to demographic projections produced for the state Department of Commerce by consulting firm REMI. As of 2017, the baseline year used by those projections, 18% of Montanans were 65 or older, up from 14% in 2001. The figure is expected to climb to 22% by 2030 then plateau through 2040 as boomers reach the end of their lives.

Different parts of the state, however, are on very different trajectories. Sparsely populated rural counties tend to have higher percentages of seniors and are, in many cases, on track to become even more disproportionately older. Petroleum Countys 520 residents make it the lowest-population county in Montana, and by 2030, 37% of county residents will be past retirement age, up from 23% in 2017. For Teton County, northwest of Great Falls, the 2030 figure is projected to be 27%, up from 22%.

Population centers like the Billings area tend to trend closer to the state as a whole, age-wise, though college towns Missoula and Bozeman are substantially younger than other urban areas, and are expected to stay that way. Seniors 65 and over accounted for 16% of the population of Yellowstone County (including Billings) and 12% of the population of Gallatin County (including Bozeman) in 2017. Those figures are projected to rise to 21% and 15%, respectively, by 2030.

Counties with sizable Native American populations, such as Roosevelt County (including Wolf Point), Big Horn County (including Hardin and Crow Agency), and Glacier County (including Cut Bank and Browning) are also younger than neighboring rural areas. Roosevelt County, with only 11% of its population over 65, is the states youngest by that measure.

Driving those trends are three key demographic forces: birth, death and migration. Higher birth rates pull areas younger while longer lifespans populate communities with more elders. Migration, in turn, tends to siphon young, mobile residents away from some places and toward others.

Montanas population is skewing older, in part, as the oversized generation of baby boomers born in the aftermath of World War II, between 1946 to 1964, reaches retirement age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, longer life expectancies and declining birth rates are also a factor thats aging American communities across the nation. While average life expectancy in the U.S. was 68.2 in 1950, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, it was a decade longer, 78.6, in 2017.

In Montana, the median age of death is now 75 for men and 82 for women, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. Montanas Native communities are younger in part because death typically comes much earlier for American Indian Montanans, with DPHHS reporting a median age of death at 60 for Native men and 63 for Native women.

Counties with larger Native populations also tend to have higher birth rates, which means more young residents. For example, Roosevelt County, which is 57% Native, saw a rate of 22.3 births per 1,000 residents annually between 2010 and 2018, according to a Montana Free Press analysis of census data. The equivalent figure for Yellowstone County, in comparison, was 13.2.

Migration rounds out the picture. While Montana attracts some older migrants looking for a change of scenery in retirement, migration is on the balance a youthening force for destination communities, because young people constitute the lions share of movers. According to census estimates based on surveys conducted between 2014 and 2018, 58% of Montanas new arrivals to Montana are under the age of 30, versus just 11% who are 60 or older.

As such, migration patterns also contribute to the graying of places where there arent enough new arrivals to balance the number of young people moving away for school or work, creating the brain drain dynamic that has posed a challenge for swaths of rural Montana for decades.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MONTANA

Those trends create challenges.

At a community level, an older population means more demand for healthcare services. A 2012 study by economists at Montana State University, for example, estimated that the states aging demographics would necessitate increased state Medicaid spending. And with large portions of the healthcare system funded by the state-administered Medicaid program, aging creates public policy questions at the state government level as well.

At the same time, an aging population is predicted to diminish the proportion of states residents who are in the workforce and available to staff nursing jobs, not to mention other businesses. Montanas working-age population of residents between the ages of 15 and 64 was 64% of the populace as of 2017. While the total number of working-age Montanans is projected to increase with population growth, the working-age share of the population is expected to decrease slightly, to 60%, by 2030.

That study also concluded that the aging of Montana will produce a modest shift in state revenue sources away from income taxes, which are highest for workers in the peak of their careers, and toward property taxes, which are higher for older adults, including retirees, who tend to live in more valuable homes than younger residents.

An aging population doesnt just influence tax projections and hospital budgets and worker supply.

It affects family farming and Elks Clubs.

It affects churches and nonprofits and all manner of governmental safety nets, whose funding structures are already strained.

It affects the aging and the aged, many of whom face financial insecurity and isolation. And it affects the generations behind them, who are increasingly called on to care for elderly parents, even as many raise their own children, who may one day help care for them.

The average American life expectancy has increased by three decades over the course of the 20th century, contributing to the aging of America and suggesting the need for what a 2018 Stanford Center on Longevity initiative calls a new map of life that reimagines education, work, retirement, intergenerational relationships, financial planning and healthcare to support a society in which more of us than ever are living in Lasletts third age.

Montana is on the forefront of that national trend, giving Montanans an opportunity to, as Center on Longevity Director Laura Carstensen wrote in the Washington Post, redesign how we live.

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How, where and why Montana became the grayest state in the West - The Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Globalisation brought us unprecedented riches. Now were throwing them away – Telegraph.co.uk

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The Covid-19 outbreak marks the end of a golden age. For 75 years, we have been getting richer, freer and more interconnected. The economic liberalisation that followed the Second World War led to an unprecedented increase in human happiness. Wars became rarer. Famines, long considered inescapable, were all but eliminated. Literacy and longevity soared; violence and oppression plummeted. Why? Because countries that had previously had closed or communist economies gradually joined the global market.

The trouble is, we never made the effort to understand what was driving the enrichment. Indeed, we mulishly refused to believe that it was happening at all. Since 1945, the population of the world has roughly tripled, while the number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen by roughly two thirds. The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has fallen by around 90 per cent. Yet only 10 per cent of us believe that there has been any decline at all.

We are equally gloomy, and equally mistaken, about life expectancy, global inequality and access to education. The Swedish physician, Hans Rosling, who used to poll people about the state of the world, liked to joke that if the answers were written on bananas and tossed to chimpanzees, the chimps would pick the correct banana far more often than the temperamentally pessimistic humans.

That innate pessimism, so useful to our hunter-gatherer forebears but so misleading today, explains why we are reacting to the coronavirus by hunkering down, banning flights and moaning about global supply chains. We are thinking primevally, not rationally. Our lizard brains respond to an unfamiliar illness by wanting to shut everything out.

There is no scientific case for banning travel especially not from countries with similar rates of infection to your own. But, in times of stress, we fall back on our tribal heuristics, seeing strangers as likelier carriers of pathogens. Our mood will almost certainly harden as fear of infection gives way to actual infection.

Psychologists have long known that people who are suffering from cold or flu-like symptoms become grumpier in their personality and more authoritarian in their politics.

For two weeks now, we have been reading articles about how pandemics are a product of globalisation. We ought, say a hundred armchair experts, to reduce our dependence on places like China. We should grow more of our own food and, come to that, manufacture more of our own vaccines.

Again, these are arguments that address themselves to our inner caveman. They feel intuitive, but they are quite wrong. Pandemics are not a product of globalisation. In 1348, the Bishop of Bath wrote that a catastrophic pestilence from the East has arrived in a neighbouring kingdom and threatened to stretch its poisonous branches into this realm.

He was right. Around 50 per cent of the population perished. The central expectation this time is that the mortality rate will be around half of 1 per cent catastrophic enough by modern standards, but hardly a product of globalisation.

Nor does self-sufficiency offer security. Many countries used to aim to produce most or all of their food, and the consequences were often calamitous. Localised production is vulnerable to localised shocks: bad harvests, natural disasters, vermin.

The true guarantor of food security is the ability to draw on a dispersed web of global supply. The country with the cheapest food in the world is Singapore, which does not produce one edible ounce itself. At the other end of the scale, the only state which still experiences man-made famines is North Korea, where self-sufficiency is the ruling ideology.

The globalisation on which our wealth rests was never the subject of much debate. Few electorates were convinced by it. It simply happened and, because it worked, people went along with it. The trouble is that its foundations were always fragile. Bad is stronger than good, as the pioneering behavioural psychologist Amos Tversky liked to say. People will take for granted the creation of any number of jobs in retail, financial services, biotech, law, programming or the audio-visual sector. But close one shipyard and, supposedly, globalisation has failed.

Even before the epidemic began, a reaction was setting in. Protectionism was on the rise in Washington, Brussels and Beijing. Even in Right of centre circles, people were warning against the dogma of capitalism, and mouthing platitudes about markets serving society rather than the other way around. But there is nothing dogmatic about support for free markets.

It is based on what works empirically, not what feels right. Far from being ideological, it rests on the idea that we shouldnt impose our ideologies on other people. As for the idea of a market serving society, abstract nouns make poor servants. The market is not a living entity that can be put to work. It is better understood as an absence of coercive rules, a readiness to let affairs arrange themselves.

These arguments, hard to win at the best of times, are almost impossible to voice when people are panicking in the face of an impending plague.

We will look back at the period from 1945 to 2020 as the moment when freedom was given its chance and proved its worth, but was abandoned anyway. Open markets lifted billions from poverty, added decades to our lives, gave us powers that previous generations attributed to wizards or gods. And we never noticed.

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Globalisation brought us unprecedented riches. Now were throwing them away - Telegraph.co.uk

Between Real Estate And Science Fiction: Cities Of Immortals – Forbes

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The ongoing biotechnology revolution is less discussed than the digital one, but is on par with it, if not more prevalent. While less visible to the everyday eye, progress in healthcare and genetics will dramatically alter the way and where we live. Indeed, it feels like science fiction has crept into reality.

For some time now, it has been possible to create an embryonic precursor from someones blood cells. Essentially, this means that scientists can recreate a younger you in the form of an unevolved and unaged specimen, which could eventually turn into a fetus that will grow into an adult, with your DNA. Some scientists are suggesting that DNA doesnt age much; what does is the epigenetic, or the molecular processes that regulate the expressions of DNA.

Nowadays, a growing scientific movement views aging not as a consequence of growing older, but as a condition in and of itself, a pathology. In other words, aging is a disease that is not a result of a degradation of DNA, but of the epigenetic. Once we understand how to reboot it and restore the functioning of DNA, we could have treatments for aging and perhaps even the possibility to reverse it.

Highly controversial, of course. Nevertheless, we are slowly but surely moving toward dramatically extending human longevity and eventually, towardcellular regeneration (i.e., regrowing limbs).

There are substantial investments being made with this goal in mind, and results will be obtained much faster than we are aware. As an example, in the 1990s, gene therapy was perceived as high-risk and elusive. Today, a group of technologies named CRISPR-Cas9 enables scientists to edit genomes and alter DNA sequences, with the potential to correct genetic diseases and cure cancer.We may even be able to create immortality. Scientists have not yet found how to do it, but at some point, they well could.

Think of the luminaries the world lost early, of diseases or from causes that genetics research seeks to cure. Steve Jobs lived to be 56. He died as Apple just started really growing exponentially in a business sense, and in creativity benefiting from his decades of experience.

Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the Pritzker prize (considered the Nobel prize for architects) died in 2016 at age 65. She really began to be at the top of her field after 2000, or age 50. Considering that she still might have had her best years ahead, advances in longevity could have an enormously positive effect on our cities, if world-class architects and real estate developers are able to exponentially leverage their experience for longer. Good news.

Urbanism is turning into one of the worlds most pressing issues. Desirable cities are so unaffordable that housing negatively impairs national GDP growth by several points. And well-planned architecture has been found to reduce crime. Boosting longevity could have a direct correlation with much faster economic growth and lower crime. And immortality, all the more. All in all, as human progress accelerates, so should that of our cities and lifestyles.

Living longer would indeed drastically affect the demographic makeup of our cities. With the nationwide trend of migration back toward cities, downtowns have again become gravity centers as jobs, social life and opportunities are all located next to one another. In other words, cities are becoming harder to leave. As their inhabitants have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and live longer, the populations of cities like New York could explode. And so could real estate prices, by the sheer force of supply and demand not to mention that the older the population grows, the higher the amount of savings in the economy, hence additional capital increasing housing prices.

There urgently need to be solutions. Just based on migration trends, nearly 70% of the worlds population will live in cities in 2050. (That number is over 54% today, and was 34% in 1960.)

One solution could be a movement that is already making a comeback in todays world: multigenerational housing, through which several generations of a same family coexist under the same roof. Would the United States then become more like traditional Europe, where close-knit families often live together for decades into adulthood? The potential societal changes are enormous. Cities would, in this case, revert to what they had always been before: homes for whole families, as opposed to, say, downtowns of solely high-earning young professionals.

Additionally, advances in transportation such as ride-sharing will reduce the need to own our own cars. If we need fewer roads, we will have more space to build probably taller, if the aforementioned experts live longer and are able to develop the appropriate real estate structures. There's another factor increasing urban density.

And what about zoning? If we know we will live until 150, will we take a different outlook at community board meetings, and be more open to rezonings to allow the additional housing that enables our family members to stay close to us? Longevity could lead to less friction on hot-button local issues.

The science fiction of longevity and immortality is much closer to reality than we think. It should be embraced, as it features the potential to drastically improve the way we live together. Optimism is de rigueur for one of the planets most challenging and divisive issues. Public policy must follow and allow cities to shape themselves and grow in a way that retains all this means allowing sound, large-scale construction and urbanism.

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Between Real Estate And Science Fiction: Cities Of Immortals - Forbes

Start Spring With More Asparagus In Your Cooking – Longevity LIVE

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Start Spring off by improving your health with asparagus. This Spring vegetable is not only a tasty seasonal treat. It also has intriguing health benefits. In fact, asparagus will start Spring off by giving you a quick folate boost. It ranks high up in this department along with broccoli and spinach. Better yet, the vegetable contains antioxidants including vitamin C and carotenoids, other vitamins, minerals and fibre. Therefore it is probably one of the most beneficial vegetables.

Interestingly, major studies state that when you eat lots of fruit and vegetables there is a much lower risk of mortality, especially death from cardiovascular disease. On average, each additional serving of fruit and vegetables a day reduced mortality risk by about 5%. But asparagus contains benefits that exceed most vegetables and fruits. It also has compounds that help regulate blood pressure. This might reduce hypertension risk which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease.

Other than its delicious flavor, asparagus can also help fight cancer. Its good for your brain and may even help you slim down. Theres no nutritionally dense vegetable quite like asparagus to start Spring off healthier. Just remember that its best to eat your asparagus as soon as you buy it. Pair it with lots of other spring vegetables and flavors. Were thinking peas, garlic or baby potatoes.

According to research, the health benefits of asparagus extend far. Apparently it can help promote ahealthy pregnancy, improved fertility, relief from the pre-menstrual syndrome, and improved bone health. Moreover, this yummy vegetable may even help you to manage conditions like diabetes, hangovers, cataracts, rheumatism, depression,neurodegenerative diseases, and convulsions. Better yet, it could also reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and blood cholesterol.

It is also brilliant for digestive health and has shown anticancer potential. You dont need to worry about your waistline either because just 1 cup of cooked asparagus contains only40 calories. It also provides you with 4 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and 404 milligrams of potassium. We need lots of Potassium in our bodies because it regulates blood pressure. Researchers state that asparagus also contains a compound called asparaptine, which helps improve blood flow and in turn helps lower blood pressure.

Besides tasting amazing, this spring veggie is filled with reasons to enjoy it with your meals. Lets explore some benefits and why you should eat more asparagus.

Start Spring right with this nutrient-packed vegetable. Experts explain that asparagus is an excellent source of fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as chromium. This is a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells. So if youre trying to keep an eye on your blood sugar then this is great news for you.

For your information, asparagus is part of the herbaceous plant family. This includes avocado, kale and Brussels sprouts. Start Spring with asparagus because its especially rich in glutathione which is a detoxifying compound. This compound can help break down carcinogens and other harmful compounds like free radicals.

Thats why eating asparagus may help protect against and fight certain forms of cancer, such as bone, breast, colon, larynx and lung cancers.

Youll find that asparagus is one of the top-ranked fruits and vegetables for its ability to neutralize cell-damaging free radicals.

This is a great way to start Spring because it could help you slow the aging process and reduce inflammation.

Asparagus is an incredible addition to your cooking because it promotes a healthy brain which is key to living a happy, long life.

This is an integral anti-aging property. If you start spring with this delicious vegetable, you might help assist your brain in fighting cognitive decline. Like leafy greens, asparagus delivers folate, which works with vitamin B12-found in fish, poultry, meat and dairy-to help prevent cognitive impairment.

Moreover, studies using older adults with healthy levels of folate and B12 performed better on a test of response speed and mental flexibility. Therefore, if youre over age-50, then be sure youre getting enough B12. This is because your ability to absorb it decreases with age.

There are more studies demonstrating that asparagus racemosus is effective in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Some of which include Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and Huntingtons diseases. Theyve linked these benefits to the presence of phytoestrogens in asparagus which have certain neuroprotective effects. Neurodegenerative diseases are genetic or periodic conditions affecting the neurons of the human brain. The issue is that the body doesnt normally have the ability to replace the damaged neurons.

As you may know, depression is forever increasing around the world. We need to do as much as possible to help alleviate some of its symptoms.

Scientific research is showing the efficacy of asparagus racemosus as an anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drug. You see, now you can also help start Spring off on a happier note. Asparagus may even help enhance memory, increase the production and secretion of estrogen, and revitalize and calm the nervous system. A pretty amazing way to start Spring, right?

Asparagus contains high amounts of a nutrient called inulin. This is a kind of complex carbohydrate, commonly known as prebiotic.It does not get digested until it reaches the large intestine, where it is fed upon by a kind of good bacteria like lactobacilli. Inulin aids in the improved absorption of nutrients.

Start Spring with asparagus because it is also packed with high levels of the amino acid asparagine. This acts as a natural diuretic. Increased urination not only releases fluid but helps rid the body of excess salt. This is especially beneficial for people who suffer from edema (an accumulation of fluids in the bodys tissues) and those who have high blood pressure or other heart-related diseases.

You might also be wondering why eating asparagus causes a strong urinary odor. Well, experts explain that asparagus contains a unique compound that, when metabolized, gives off a distinctive smell in the urine. Young asparagus contains higher concentrations of the compound so the odor is stronger after eating it.

Fortunately, there are no harmful effects, either from the sulfuric compounds or the odor. So you can happily start Spring by cooking with more asparagus!

When shopping the most common type of asparagus is green. However, you might find two others in supermarkets and restaurants: white, which is more delicate and difficult to harvest, and purple, which is smaller and fruitier in flavor. No matter the type you choose start Spring with this vegetable. Asparagus is a delicious, versatile vegetable that can be cooked in a variety of ways or enjoyed raw in salads.

A hectic lifestyle and poor diet affect the number of essential nutrients taken on a daily basis. Heres why eating good foodis the best way to get the right balance of vitamins and minerals.

5 Powerful Health Benefits of Asparagus You Probably Didnt Know. Eating Well. http://www.eatingwell.com/article/17129/5-powerful-health-benefits-of-asparagus-you-probably-didnt-know/

17 Impressive Benefits Of Asparagus. Organic Facts. https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/vegetable/health-benefits-of-asparagus.html

Cancer: Treatments & Home Remedies. Organic Facts. https://www.organicfacts.net/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-cancer.html

Whats New And Beneficial About Asparagus? The Worlds Healthiest Foods. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=12

The Unique Health Benefits Of Asparagus. Noted. https://www.noted.co.nz/health/health-nutrition/asparagus-the-unique-health-benefits

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Start Spring With More Asparagus In Your Cooking - Longevity LIVE

Longevity And Anti-Senescence Therapy Market Overview, Consumption, Supply, Demand & Insights – Kentucky Journal 24

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The global longevity and anti-senescence therapies market should grow from $329.8 million in 2018 to $644.4 million by 2023 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% during 2018-2023.

Report Scope:

The scope of this report is broad and covers various therapies currently under trials in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market. The market estimation has been performed with consideration for revenue generation in the forecast years 2018-2023 after the expected availability of products in the market by 2023. The global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market has been segmented by the following therapies: Senolytic drug therapy, Gene therapy, Immunotherapy and Other therapies which includes stem cell-based therapies, etc.

Get Sample Copy Of The Report@https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11698

Revenue forecasts from 2028 to 2023 are given for each therapy and application, with estimated values derived from the expected revenue generation in the first year of launch.

The report also includes a discussion of the major players performing research or the potential players across each regional longevity and anti-senescence therapy market. Further, it explains the major drivers and regional dynamics of the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market and current trends within the industry.

The report concludes with a special focus on the vendor landscape and includes detailed profiles of the major vendors and potential entrants in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market.

Report Includes:

71 data tables and 40 additional tables An overview of the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2017 and 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023 Country specific data and analysis for the United States, Canada, Japan, China, India, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Middle East and Africa Detailed description of various anti-senescence therapies, such as senolytic drug therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy and other stem cell therapies, and their influence in slowing down aging or reverse aging process Coverage of various therapeutic drugs, devices and technologies and information on compounds used for the development of anti-ageing therapeutics A look at the clinical trials and expected launch of anti-senescence products Detailed profiles of the market leading companies and potential entrants in the global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market, including AgeX Therapeutics, CohBar Inc., PowerVision Inc., T.A. Sciences and Unity Biotechnology

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Summary

Global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market deals in the adoption of different therapies and treatment options used to extend human longevity and lifespan. Human longevity is typically used to describe the length of an individuals lifetime and is sometimes used as a synonym for life expectancy in the demography. Anti-senescence is the process by which cells stop dividing irreversibly and enter a stage of permanent growth arrest, eliminating cell death. Anti-senescence therapy is used in the treatment of senescence induced through unrepaired DNA damage or other cellular stresses.

Global longevity and anti-senescence market will witness rapid growth over the forecast period (2018-2023) owing to an increasing emphasis on Stem Cell Research and an increasing demand for cell-based assays in research and development.

An increasing geriatric population across the globe and a rising awareness of antiaging products among generation Y and later generations are the major factors expected to promote the growth of global longevity and anti-senescence market. Factors such as a surging level of disposable income and increasing advancements in anti-senescence technologies are also providing traction to the global longevity and anti-senescence market growth over the forecast period (2018-2023).

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the total geriatric population across the globe in 2016 was over REDACTED. By 2022, the global geriatric population (65 years and above) is anticipated to reach over REDACTED. An increasing geriatric population across the globe will generate huge growth prospectus to the market.

Senolytics, placenta stem cells and blood transfusions are some of the hot technologies picking up pace in the longevity and anti-anti-senescence market. Companies and start-ups across the globe such as Unity Biotechnology, Human Longevity Inc., Calico Life Sciences, Acorda Therapeutics, etc. are working extensively in this field for the extension of human longevity by focusing on study of genomics, microbiome, bioinformatics and stem cell therapies, etc. These factors are poised to drive market growth over the forecast period.

Global longevity and anti-senescence market is projected to rise at a CAGR of REDACTED during the forecast period of 2018 through 2023. In 2023, total revenues are expected to reach REDACTED, registering REDACTED in growth from REDACTED in 2018.

The report provides analysis based on each market segment including therapies and application. The therapies segment is further sub-segmented into Senolytic drug therapy, Gene therapy, Immunotherapy and Others. Senolytic drug therapy held the largest market revenue share of REDACTED in 2017. By 2023, total revenue from senolytic drug therapy is expected to reach REDACTED. Gene therapy segment is estimated to rise at the highest CAGR of REDACTED till 2023. The fastest growth of the gene therapy segment is due to the Large investments in genomics. For Instance; The National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) had a budget grant of REDACTED for REDACTED research projects in 2015, thus increasing funding to REDACTED for approximately REDACTED projects in 2016.

Report Analysis@https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/analysis/BCC/global-longevity-and-anti-senescence-therapy-market

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Longevity And Anti-Senescence Therapy Market Overview, Consumption, Supply, Demand & Insights - Kentucky Journal 24

Montana: the grayest state in the West – Montana Free Press

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By Eric Dietrich and Brad Tyer | March 12, 2020

Graying Pains: Challenges and Opportunities in the Wests Oldest State is a six-month series of weekly stories and broadcasts exploring the economic, cultural, and personal impacts of Montanas aging demographics. The series is coordinated by Montana Free Press and produced by The Montana Fourth Estate Project, a collaboration among 15 Montana newspapers, Yellowstone Public Radio, and the University of Montana School of Journalism.

For our publishing partners: This article is subject to reprint restrictions as detailed here. This story may not be republished prior to Thursday, March 26, 2020.

People have been parsing the human lifespan into a taxonomy of ages forever. Aristotle proposed three categories: youthful, prime of life, and elderly. Two thousand years later, Shakespeares Seven Ages of Man carved human chronology into seven slices, with the bodys final frailty circling back to the original oblivion of infancy. And in the 1980s, British historian Peter Laslett proposed a revised map of three ages, with a caveat for the third: it could be a time of post-retirement fulfillment and achievement, or it could collapse, a la Shakespeare, into dependence and decrepitude.

The character of any individuals third age hinges on some key factors, including health, wealth, community, and the government policies and cultural customs that influence them. Navigating those factors requires independence, assistance, access, and education. The latter, especially, is lacking. Missoula Aging Services Executive Director Susan Kohler told a room full of Montana journalists in November that one of the biggest impediments to a fulfilling third age is lack of preparedness.

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Already, Montana is the oldest state west of the Mississippi, according to median age statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. With half the states population 40 or older, were the 9th oldest in the nation, out-grayed only by Florida, Maine, and a few other eastern states.

Peak age is yet to come, according to demographic projections produced for the state Department of Commerce by consulting firm REMI. As of 2017, the baseline year used by those projections, 18% of Montanans were 65 or older, up from 14% in 2001. The figure is expected to climb to 22% by 2030 then plateau through 2040 as boomers reach the end of their lives.

Different parts of the state, however, are on very different trajectories. Sparsely populated rural counties tend to have higher percentages of seniorsand are, in many cases, on track to become even more disproportionately older. Petroleum Countys 520 residents make it the lowest-population county in Montana, and by 2030, 37% of county residents will be past retirement age,up from 23% in 2017. For Teton County, northwest of Great Falls, the 2030 figure is projected to be 27%, up from 22%.

Population centers like the Billings area tend to trend closer to the state as a whole, age-wise, though college towns Missoula and Bozeman are substantially younger than other urban areas, and are expected to stay that way. Seniors 65 and over accounted for 16% of the population of Yellowstone County (including Billings) and 12% of the population of Gallatin County (including Bozeman) in 2017. Those figures are projected to rise to 21% and 15%, respectively, by 2030.

Counties with sizable Native American populations, such as Roosevelt County (including Wolf Point), Big Horn County (including Hardin and Crow Agency), and Glacier County (including Cut Bank and Browning) are also younger than neighboring rural areas. Roosevelt County, with only 11% of its population over 65, is the states youngest by that measure.

WHY THE STATE IS AGING

Driving those trends are three key demographic forces: birth, death, and migration. Higher birth rates pull areas younger while longer lifespans populate communities with more elders. Migration, in turn, tends to siphon young, mobile residents away from some places and toward others.

Montanas population is skewing older,in part, as the oversized generation of baby boomers born in the aftermath of World War II, between 1946 to 1964, reaches retirement age. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, longer life expectancies and declining birth rates are also a factor thats aging American communities across the nation. While average life expectancy in the U.S. was 68.2 in 1950, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, it was a decade longer, 78.6, in 2017.

In Montana, the median age of death is now 75 for men and 82 for women, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. Montanas Native communities are younger in part because death typically comes much earlier for American Indian Montanans, with DPHHS reporting a median age of death at 60 for Native men and 63 for Native women.

Counties with larger Native populations also tend to have higher birth rates, which means more young residents. For example, Roosevelt County, which is 57% Native, saw a rate of 22.3 births per 1,000 residents annually between 2010 and 2018, according to a Montana Free Press analysis of census data. The equivalent figure for Yellowstone County, in comparison, was 13.2.

Migration rounds out the picture. While Montana attracts some older migrants looking for a change of scenery in retirement, migration is on the balance a youthening force for destination communities, because young people constitute the lions share of movers. According to census estimates based on surveys conducted between 2014 and 2018, 58% of Montanas new arrivals to Montana are under the age of 30, versus just 11% who are 60 or older.

As such, migration patterns also contribute to the graying of places where there arent enough new arrivals to balance the number of young people moving away for school or work, creating the brain drain dynamic that has posed a challenge for swaths of rural Montana for decades.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MONTANA

Those trends create challenges.

At a community level, an older population means more demand for health care services. A 2012 study by economists at Montana State University, for example, estimated that the states aging demographics would necessitate increased state Medicaid spending. And with large portions of the health care system funded by the state-administered Medicaid program, aging creates public policy questions at the state government level as well.

At the same time, an aging population is predicted to diminish the proportion of states residents who are in the workforce and available to staff nursing jobs,not to mention other businesses. Montanas working-age population of residents between the ages of 15 and 64 was 64% of the populace as of 2017. While the total number of working-age Montanans is projected to increase with population growth, the working-age share of the population is expected to decrease slightly, to 60%, by 2030.

That study also concluded that the aging of Montana will produce a modest shift in state revenue sources away from income taxes, which are highest for workers in the peak of their careers, and toward property taxes, which are higher for older adults, including retirees, who tend to live in more valuable homes than younger residents.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU

An aging population doesnt just influence tax projections and hospital budgets and worker supply.

It affects family farming and Elks Clubs.

It affects churches and nonprofits and all manner of governmental safety nets, whose funding structures are already strained.

It affects the aging and the aged, many of whom face financial insecurity and isolation. And it affects the generations behind them, who are increasingly called on to care for elderly parents, even as many raise their own children, who may one day help care for them.

The average American life expectancy has increased by three decades over the course of the 20th century, contributing to the aging of America and suggesting the need for what a 2018 Stanford Center on Longevity initiative calls a new map of life that reimagines education, work, retirement, intergenerational relationships, financial planning, and health care to support a society in which more of us than ever are living in Lasletts third age.

Montana is on the forefront of that national trend, giving Montanans an opportunity to, as Center on Longevity Director Laura Carstensen wrote in the Washington Post, redesign how we live.

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Coronavirus: What does a COVID-19 recovery mean for you – Gulf News

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Philippines, Mar 10: Passengers wear protective masks inside a crowded train following new cases of coronavirus in Manila. Image Credit: ANI

Dubai: As people across the globe look at the growing number of COVID-19 cases, now over 116,000, and the death toll of over 4,091, one key figure is being ignored - the recovery rate.

On Tuesday, China reported that a whopping 70 per cent of coronavirus cases in the country had'recovered'.

The total global number of recoveries, at the time of publishing, stands at 64,750 with 60,113 recoveries in China alone. Iran, the worst affected in the region, reported 2,731 recoveries.

recoveries out of over 116,000 coronavirus cases worldwide

In Macao, all 10 cases reported recovered, showcasing a 100 per cent recovery rate as of March 10. Sri Lanka, Gibraltar and Nepal also reported 100 per cent recovery - one case reported and recovered for each.

China

In China, recent days have seen more recoveries than new cases.Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan for the first time since the disease emerged, state media said, a trip intended to project confidence that his government has managed to stem its spread domestically.

Xi arrived Tuesday morning in the capital of hard-hit Hubei province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Wuhan, where the disease first emerged in December, has been quarantined since January 23.

What does a COVID-19 infection look like

In most cases, a person with COVID-19 or coronavirus infection has a fever which then goes away without specific treatment. This progression is called a 'mild case' and the World Health Organization reported thatnearly80 percent of all COVID-19 cases are mild.

Most involve fever, dry cough and, in some cases, shortness of breath. People with mild cases are expected to recover without any issues, and in many cases they may not be aware they're ever sick.

A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) studied the COVID-19 infection in 138 patients in Wuhanand came up with the most common progression seen in cases. 99 per cent of the cases surveyed,all of whom were hospitalised at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University during January had fever as a recorded symptom. Dry cough and fatigue were also common symptoms.Patients who developed complications did so within five days after they first started having the symptoms.

In the cases that do get worse, pneumonia is a common ailment which then could lead to further organ dysfunction.

What aids in the recovery?

The new coronavirus has no vaccine or cure yet, but what can be attributed to the 70 per cent recovery rate then?

Nothing in particular yet, studies and accounts show, except the humanimmune system. Many people who recovered had mild symptoms to begin with and did not develop further complications.

She initially tested negative for the virus on her return to India from Wuhan (January 24) but later developed symptoms. The student, who preferred to withhold her name and details, said she put herself in home-quarantine despite testing negative and having no symptoms. She got her temperature recordedregularly before getting a sore throat and she alerted her local government facility (January 27).

Despite no fever at the time, she was put on antibiotics and kept in quarantinewhile tests were done. In 48 hours her test came back positive (January 30), by which she also had a fever.The student prescribed anti-viral drugs,Oseltamivir IP 75 mg also known by the brand name Tamiflu, for five days.

She said, "I had no diet restrictions or anything. I continued in quarantine until February 20 and was tested every alternate day. A blood, urine, stool sample and nasal or throat swab was taken and samples sent to the NIV Pune. After testing negative for nearly a week I was declared free of COVID-19 and have returned home, resumed normal life."

None of her family members or friends contracted the virus from her, she said, as she had put herself in quarantine and followed necessary protocol.

From the time she tested positive, according to her account, it was 14 days before she started testing negative for nearly one week and being declared free of the virus.

Not every recovery story is the same

In Italy, a 38-year-old man named Mattia - who is believed to be patient one in the Lombardy area - was moved out of the intensive care unit and is on the way to recovery, authorities reported on Tuesday.

At the San Matteo hospital in Pavia, there was a sigh of relief after Mattia began breathing on his own Monday with just a small amount of oxygen assistance, said Dr. Francesco Mojoli, head of intensive care. He was moved out of the ICU to a sub-ICU unit and was speaking with doctors.

"This disease has a long life,'' Mojoli told RAI state television. "Now we hope that the fact that he was young and in good shape will help him get back to his normal life.''

Mattia first went to the hospital in Codogno on February18 complaining of flu-like symptoms. He was sent home but came back the next day after his condition worsened dramatically. He was only tested for coronavirus after doctors learned that in early February he had met with a man who had been to China.

By then, however, he had infected his wife and several doctors, nurses and patients at the Codogno hospital, creating what was thought initially to have been Italy's main cluster.

This case is an example of a case that went well over the 14-day mark due to complications and a lack of awareness. In most cases, however, 14 to 20 days is considered standard for monitoring symptoms and getting a conclusive positive/negative test.

The best route to recovery

As seen from many cases worldwide, the best way prevent infectionis basic hygiene and following quarantine protocols when necessary. The best route to recovery is to depend on one's own immune system.

Following the first reported recovery in the UAE,Gulf News spoke to a specialist in internal medicine, Dr Smitha Muraletharan, from Aster Hospital in Al Ghusais, to find out how patients can be cured of coronavirus infection in general.

UAE has reported 17 recovered cases as of March 10.

If you are healthy, you could just pass it off as a cough or cold, Dr Muraletharan told Gulf News. Theres no treatment or cure just support to help your immune system clear it.

Patients with mild to moderate infection when detected early and isolated can get their immune system strong enough to fight the virus, she added.

Risk of getting COVID-19 a second time

Reuters reported that Japan reported its first case who recovered from coronavirus and then became ill with the disease for a second time. This gave way to fears of getting re-infected post recovery and questions regarding the virus's life span.

A small study out of China on four medical professionals who had the virus, published by JAMA, suggests that the new coronavirus can persist in the body for at least two weeks after symptoms of the disease clear up.All of the cases recovered, and only one was hospitalized during the illness.

Recovery is determined if tests for COVID-19 come out negative for two or more consecutive days.The cases studied in Chinacontinued to get throat swabs for the coronavirus after five days for up to 13 days post-recovery - which showed positive.

"These findings suggest that at least a proportion of recovered patients still may be virus carriers," the study concludes.

It is not uncommon for a virus to live on in the human body despite 'recovery'. Viruses such as the Zika virus, Ebola etc. tend to live on in recovered patients for months. The mono virus or the Epstein-Barr Virus can exist in the body for an entire lifespan, in most cases staying dormant and without any issues. The virus that causes chicken pox, for example, remains in your nerve tissues after infection in a dormant state.

Immunity against coronavirus

The human body's response to viruses is what is called 'immunity' where antibodies are created to recognise and destroy viruses. The reason most people are immune to chicken pox post an infection is because of the antibodies created to respond to that particular virus -varicella zoster virus - which is still in the human system but is dormant. In another example, when testing recovered cases from the 1918 Spanish flu in a 2008 paper published in Nature science journal, 90 per cent of survivors still had a high concentration of antibodies against that specific virus strain.

In the coronavirus infection, the immune system is able to create antibodies as it does with all viruses which is what ultimately results in recovery. However, factors such as the strength and longevity ofthese antibodies along with the mutation pattern of the virus could lead to possible relapse.

- Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist at Temple University's College of Public Health

In the case of the Japanese woman who got sick again post a COVID-19 recovery, experts have various opinions.

The efficacy of antibodies created and the longevity of these is one angle.

Zhan Qingyuan, director of pneumonia prevention and treatment at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, had warned that this could happen. "For those patients who have been cured, there is a likelihood of a relapse," Zhan said in a press briefing on January 31. "The antibody will be generated; however, in certain individuals, the antibody cannot last that long."

In another angle, experts suggested dormancy of the virus andlater exacerbation.

Once you have the infection, it could remain dormant and with minimal symptoms, and then you can get an exacerbation if it finds its way into the lungs, Philip Tierno Jr., Professor of Microbiology and Pathology at NYU School of Medicine told Reuters.

Yet another angle is the mutation rate of the new coronavirus which is unknown as of now.

Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist at Temple University's College of Public Health told Live Science that viruses that stay behind in dormant states have a low chance of re-infection.

However, he added, there is always the possibility that the new coronavirus would mutate as it moves through populations, changing into a version that already-exposed immune systems can't recognize.

"The challenge is, how fast does this mutate?" Johnson said.

Testing for re-infection, recovery: Methods

There are many tests being researched as the best way to determine the presence of the virus. Some are very sensitive while others are not as sensitive in possibly dormant cases.

The study of the four Chinese medics with COVID-19, for example, showed positive results days after recovery from symptoms in a highly sensitive test that amplifies even the smallest viral molecule - the RT-PCR test (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction). This test studies RNA and DNA to analyse the presence of the virus.

In a paper published on February 26 in the Radiological Society of North America, it was found that a chest CT scan has a high sensitivity for diagnosis of COVID-19 and that it could be used as a primary tool for the current COVID-19 detection in epidemic areas.

As of now, the most common and easily accessible method of testing is the throat swab which is widely used in airports, hospitals and other quarantine facilities globally. TheCentre for Disease Control (CDC) recommends four swabs daily to determine recovery.

What does a recovery mean?

When the viral load or concentration goes down in a person, so much so that his immune system is able to fight back symptoms, his throat swabs start showing low or no evidence of the COVID-19 virus. This usually happens in a span of 15-21 days. The patient is tested every alternative day until his swabs test negative for the virus. Under such circumstances the patient is said to have recovered from COVID-19.

Explaining the process, Dr Mohammad Rafique, Medical Director of Prime Hospital, Head of Infection Control and specialist pulmonologist said recovery from COVID-19 infection did not mean one was completely virus free but the virus load had become lower and the bodys immune system had created antibodies to fight back.

Dr Mohammad Rafique

In general from studies conducted on patients one has learnt that the virus presents mild to moderate symptoms with headache, fever and cough, gastro-intestinal symptoms and so on, in younger people. Only those above 60 and with co-morbidities have severity and fatality. What makes it contagious is its high shedding rate. But when kept in isolation and with symptomatic treatment in many cases with double dose of anti-virals, the load of the virus comes down.

Dr Rafiqe added that simple Polymerase Chain Reactor tests (PCR) records the ability of the virus to replicate. When the PCR rates fall and the virus is present in very low copies it does not show in the assay. Naso-pharyngeal and throat swabs are taken every 24 hours and when these turn up negative, a person is said to have recovered. It means that the virus load is so low that it does not show up in the swab tests. That is when a persons immune system has be activated creating enough anti-bodies to combat it and he or she is said to have recovered.

Dr Satyam Parmar, head of Pathology at RAK Hospital explained : As per the guidelines of the Centre for Disease Control, four swabs, in 24 hours gaps are taken totally from the nasopharyngeal and throat area to check if the patient has recovered.

Dr Satyam Parmar

"When all of these turn negative only then is patient declared to have recovered from COVID-19. it is advisable that a patient who has recovered must still continue to be in isolation for four to five days as his immune system has developed antibodies but the virus might still be lurking in small numbers.. This is what happens in other strains of coronavirus such as MERS and SARS, explained Dr Parmar.

*All numbers and toll taken fromhttps://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ as of 6pm onMarch 10.

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Coronavirus: What does a COVID-19 recovery mean for you - Gulf News

The Fight against Socialism Isnt Over – National Review

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Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses a news conference in Burlington, Vt., March 11, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Bernie Sanders isnt a relic. Hes a preview of things to come.

Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief. Joe Bidens victories on Mini Tuesday make his delegate lead all but insurmountable. Bernie Sanderss electoral weakness, compared with his performance four years ago, has dulled the fear of an incipient socialist takeover of the worlds oldest political party. The left is said to have talked itself into believing its own propaganda and helped President Trump equate Democrats with socialism. Victory in the primary did not come from pledges to eliminate private health insurance or impose wealth taxes. It followed from the perception that Biden is the candidate best able to defeat Trump.

Dont write off the socialist revival just yet. Sanders might not win the Democratic nomination. But this outcome does not mean the forces that propelled him to second-place finishes in the two most recent Democratic primaries will vanish overnight. Abandoning the intellectual fight against socialism, both inside and outside the Democratic Party, would cede the field to an increasingly sophisticated and networked band of ideological activists whose influence in media and politics is greater than their numbers. Such ambivalence could have devastating consequences for American society.

The resurgent left has pushed Biden far beyond where he stood as vice president. And a socialist infrastructure guarantees the philosophys longevity. Aspiring Democratic politicians must at least deal with, if not pay obeisance to, groups such as the Working Families Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. Especially if they inhabit a deep-blue district ripe for picking by the Squad.

Fashionable, lively, radical, and controversial outlets, including Jacobin, Current Affairs, the Young Turks, Chapo Trap House, and Secular Talk, complement popular Instagram and Twitter accounts. And the New York Times magazines 1619 Project shows that the mainstream media is responsive to, and willing to participate in, the latest trends in anti-Americanism.

The most obvious reason not to dismiss the Sanders phenomenon is demographic. On Super Tuesday, Sanders won 30- to 44-year-olds by 18 points, and 18- to 29-year-olds by a staggering 43 points. He defeated Biden by nine points among Hispanic voters and by 25 points among Asian voters. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country. Hispanics are second. Sanderss protege, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 30-year-old woman of Puerto Rican descent, represents this ethno-generational cohort. Their place in American life will not be denied.

Right now, socialism is unpopular. Last month, only 45 percent of adults told Gallup they would vote for a socialist for president. Last year, a 51-percent majority said socialism would be a bad thing for the United States. But Gallup also found that the number who said socialism would be a good thing had risen to 43 percent in 2019 from 25 percent in 1942. A majority of Democrats have held positive views of socialism since 2010. A willingness to adopt the socialist ideal is most pronounced among the young. A YouGov poll conducted last year for the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation found that 70 percent of Millennials are either somewhat or extremely likely to vote for a socialist.

It is the decline in institutional religion that drives the resurgence of socialism. Gallup found that church membership among U.S. adults has dropped precipitously over the last two decades, to 50 percent in 2018 from 70 percent in 1998. Why? Because the percentage of adults who profess no religious affiliation has more than doubled. It has gone to 19 percent from 8 percent. The Millennials exhibit the lowest percentage of church membership among generations. Pew says the number of Americans who identify as Christians fell more than ten points over the last decade as the number of religiously unaffiliated spiked. Here too the largest falloff was among Millennials.

Religion not only offers answers to the most powerful, definitive, and ultimate questions of human existence and purpose. It anchors individuals in a particular authoritative tradition defined by doctrinal orthodoxy and refined through multigenerational practice. People released from these bonds are capable of believing anything. Thus, socialism has returned at the same time as climate apocalypticism, transhuman and transgender ideology, anti-vaccination movements, anti-Semitism, conspiracies, and ethnonationalism. In this climate of relativism and revisionism, where the most outlandish theories are a Google search away, both Marxism and utopian socialism seem credible. Nothing is too absurd.

Irving Kristol said that it is easy to point out how silly and counterproductive and even deadly socialism has been, in so many respects, but difficult to recognize its pull as an emotional attachment. The love of equality and progress makes for a special and durable political passion. Socialism, wrote Irving Howe in 1954, is the name of our desire. In the absence of an intellectually coherent and morally compelling account of the inequalities inherent to liberal democracy, so will the desire remain.

This piece originally appeared on the Washington Free Beacon.

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The Fight against Socialism Isnt Over - National Review

AgeX Therapeutics Researchers Publish Paper on the Age Reprogramming of Super-Centenarian Cells – Business Wire

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ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (AgeX; NYSE American: AGE), a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics for human aging and regeneration, announced a new paper co-authored by two AgeX scientists that could lead to new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of aging and why super-centenarians not only live the longest, but also experience extraordinary healthspans; an extension of the healthy years of life that compresses morbidity to a very short period near the end of life. The paper, Induced pluripotency and spontaneous reversal of cellular aging in supercentenarian donor cells, is published online in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications from Elsevier. The senior author is Dana Larocca, PhD, VP of Discovery Research at AgeX, and the first author is Jieun Lee, PhD, Scientist at AgeX.

Clearly, we can learn a lot about aging and longevity from the longest of the long-lived, the supercentenarians, and we hope that this paper accelerates such research, commented Dr. Larocca. Now that we have converted the cells of one of the longest-lived people in history, a deceased 114-year-old American woman, to a young pluripotent state, researchers can do so with cells from other supercentenarians. The goal is to understand specifically how these extreme agers manage to avoid the major chronic illnesses of aging better than any other age group including centenarians. We can essentially put their cells in a time machine and revert them to an earlier state, then study their biology to help unlock the mysteries of super-longevity. Scientists have long wondered, and now we know that we can indeed reset the developmental state and cellular age in the oldest of the old.

By way of comparison, the paper also describes undertaking a similar process with cells from two other donors: an eight-year-old with a rapid-aging syndrome commonly known as Progeria, and a 43-year-old, healthy disease-free control (HDC) subject. The paper notes that the supercentenarians cells reverted to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells at the same rate as the HDC subject and the Progeria patient. However, there may be some negative impact of extreme age on telomere resetting as this did not occur as frequently in the supercentenarian as in the other two donors.

The donated cells were from the longevity collection, a cell bank established by the NIHs National Institute on Aging.

About AgeX Therapeutics

AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American: AGE) is focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for human aging. Its PureStem and UniverCyte manufacturing and immunotolerance technologies are designed to work together to generate highly-defined, universal, allogeneic, off-the-shelf pluripotent stem cell-derived young cells of any type for application in a variety of diseases with a high unmet medical need. AgeX has two preclinical cell therapy programs: AGEX-VASC1 (vascular progenitor cells) for tissue ischemia and AGEX-BAT1 (brown fat cells) for Type II diabetes. AgeXs revolutionary longevity platform induced Tissue Regeneration (iTR) aims to unlock cellular immortality and regenerative capacity to reverse age-related changes within tissues. AGEX-iTR1547 is an iTR-based formulation in preclinical development. HyStem is AgeXs delivery technology to stably engraft PureStem cell therapies in the body. AgeX is developing its core product pipeline for use in the clinic to extend human healthspan and is seeking opportunities to establish licensing and collaboration agreements around its broad IP estate and proprietary technology platforms.

For more information, please visit http://www.agexinc.com or connect with the company on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not historical fact including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates should also be considered forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and as such should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of AgeX Therapeutics, Inc. and its subsidiaries particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements found in more detail in the Risk Factors section of AgeXs Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commissions (copies of which may be obtained at http://www.sec.gov). Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. AgeX specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

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AgeX Therapeutics Researchers Publish Paper on the Age Reprogramming of Super-Centenarian Cells - Business Wire

A Conversation With a Harvard Geneticist on How to Live (Well) Past 100 – InsideHook

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In Parks and Rec, Rob Lowes Chris Traeger is a perennially positive, supplement-popping 45-year-old who glides through the rooms of Pawnee City Hall with golden retriever energy. He brings vegetable loaves to birthday parties, regularly runs 10 miles during his lunch breaks and touts just 2.8% body fat. In Season 2 of the show, Traeger reveals his lifes goal: to live to 150.

Scientists believe that the first human being to live to a 150 years has already been born I believe I am that human being. At first, it sounds like just another quotable line from a show thats famous for them. Traeger isnt to be taken seriously, after all. One of his other signature adages is simply Stop pooping. (On the exceedingly rare occasions that Traegers body fails him, he lands in a dark place.)

Believe it or not, though, Traegers right. At least one scientist has been predicting humankinds potential to live to 150 for the better part of a decade, a man whos furthered the notion of aging as disease since he arrived at MIT in the late 1990s. That would be Australian Dr. David Sinclair, a biology rockstar and former Time 100 honoree with an Order of Australia (Down Unders version of knighthood), and his own genetics lab at Harvard Medical School.

In September of last year, Dr. Sinclair released Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Dont Have To. Its an explosive call to arms detailing Dr. Sinclairs core belief, which hes spent decades researching: most humans leave decades of high-quality life on the table simply because society doesnt afford aging the same attention and dollars it reserves for other health crises like cancer and heart disease. The book is one part memoir (Dr. Sinclair recalls the drawn-out final decades of his mother and grandmothers lives), one part crash-course in epigenetics (we hold far more in common with yeast cells than the common person knows) and one part sneak peek into the advancements being made in the worlds preeminent genetics labs (Dr. Sinclairs team has successfully cured blindness in mice).

Most refreshingly, though, Lifespan delights in giving answers. On top of the many science-fiction-esque wonders on display at Harvard Medical School each week (Dr. Sinclair is a pioneer of a practice called cellular programming, which effectively means resetting cells back to a younger age), the book includes functional day-to-day advice on how the layman or woman can activate survival processes in their epigenome, engaging specific sirtuin proteins (a class of protein that helps regulate cellular aging) to help foster greater longevity.

Basically, Sinclairs hypothesis is that eating a certain way, working out a certain way and exposure to a certain kind of temperature can make living past 100 a relative breeze. We recently caught up with Dr. Sinclair to discuss his book, intermittent fasting, Benjamin Button and more.

InsideHook: This book definitely doesnt mince concepts or words. Why was it important to you to write so boldly on aging as a disease?

Dr. David A. Sinclair: The world is in a stupor when it comes to aging. Theres a blind spot. I wrote the book to shake things up, and hopefully wake up those who dont think aging is important or worth working on. We focus as a society far too much on the end consequence of aging, playing whack-a-mole with these diseases that kill us. We ignore whats actually driving these diseases. The more we study aging, though, the more we realize that the diseases we treat are all manifestations of an underlying process. And its treatable.

Some of your peers in the field have said it isnt a good look to be so declarative in your predictions on aging. Have they changed their tune since the book was released?

I havent had any criticism from colleagues since the book came out. Either they havent read it, or theyre okay with my arguments. But also, the world is changing. What used to be considered crazy 10 years ago is no longer crazy. For example, scientists didnt used to say the phrase reversal of aging. But now, its a fact thats doable. Our field has proven that many aspects of aging are reversible, including blindness. Its also partly that I was ahead of the curve, and that things which were once forbidden are now in the realm of discussion and debate.

Im fascinated by the cellular reprogramming work your lab has done. In the book, you invoke F. Scott Fitzgeralds Benjamin Button story to describe how a 50-year-old could soon begin a routine that will have him/her feeling and looking 30 again. Are we actually close to seeing that sort of treatment in the developed world?

The first thing to say is we now understand that changes in your lifestyle can dramatically improve your age and physiology. We used to think that aging was just something that was in our genes, something that we couldnt modify. But very rapidly, within months of changing diet and exercise, you can reverse many aspects of aging. Its never too late, unless youre on your last legs. The fact that its that easy to slow down and reverse aspects of aging just with lifestyle changes totally fits with our understanding of molecular mechanisms. We should be able to slow aging even better with the reprogramming of cells. I see the work weve done as a proof of concept. While its true that Im working hard towards restoring eyesight in people whove lost their vision, its really just the beginning. This work is proof that its possible to restore the age of a complex tissue. In the same way that the Wright brothers werent building rockets to the moon, they could at least imagine that one day it would be possible. Weve shown that there is a backup copy of a youthful epigenome that we can turn on to reset the cell and get it to work again. If thats doable in the eye, it would be rather pessimistic to say we were just lucky to choose the right body part for this to work.

High-intensity training is one of the practices you cite as vital to this process. What about it encourages longevity genes?

Weve found that high-intensity training will induce the sirtuin defenses in the body, similar to what intermittent fasting does. When those genes come on, they defend the cell against diseases, and aging itself. When we dont engage those sirtuin genes, we dont reap the benefits. High-intensity training is particularly good at turning on the sirtuins, because it encourages a hypoxic response, which weve shown leads to the activation of these defense mechanisms. While walking is good, its not as good as doing high-intensity training.

Im glad you mentioned intermittent fasting, another practice you endorse. Are there any mistruths or misunderstandings in the way that popular media portrays it?

Based on recent results in animal studies, its not so much what you eat but when you eat. Of course, you cant eat a hamburger morning, noon and night, then fast the next day and expect to get the maximum benefits. That said, it seems to be more about just having a period of fasting in general. Theres one misconception that people need an optimal mix of protein, carbohydrates and fat, and that thats the most important thing to get right. Id say worry about that less, as long as youre getting nutrients and xenohormetic molecules, which are molecules produced by plants when theyre under stress. As long as youre doing those things, its far more important to skip meals.

One other thing: people claim that there is an optimal intermittent fasting protocol. The truth is, we dont know what the optimal is. Were still learning, and its individual. There are individual differences in all of us. There is a subset of people, myself included, who start producing glucose out of their livers early in the morning, at around 6 a.m. Which means, for me, to start eating breakfast around 7 a.m. makes no sense. Some people, though, have such low blood sugar in the morning that they can barely function. We also dont know the best method. Is it the 16/8 [hours, first on and then off of the fast]? Two days fasting out of every five? We really dont know yet. But we do know that if youre never hungry, if youre eating three meals a day and snacking in between, thats the worst thing you can do. It switches off your bodys defenses. Some fasting is better than none.

Do you eat meat?

I do, but its a gradient. Its mostly plants, then fish, rarely chicken, and almost never red meat.

From an aging perspective, do you recommend that people give up meat?

For the average person, focus on plants. Meat isnt going to kill you if you eat it once in a while, but the reason for the plant-based diet is we know where the hot spots are for longevity. We know what theyre eating. Its not a mystery. Theyre not carnivores. Theyre eating mostly plants, and a little bit of meat maybe, a bit of fish. Theyre consuming olive oil, avocados, red wine and other plants that have xenohormetic molecules. I dont think that thats a coincidence.

Theres been some coverage recently about the rise of wild swimming. In the UK, especially, people have started jumping into freezing cold water and claiming all sorts of health benefits. It reminded me of your points in the book about challenging the thermoneutral zone. Does one need to frequently experience extremely cold temperatures to reap benefits?

Cold baths, cryotherapy I was skeptical. I started out skeptical until proven otherwise. But theres some evidence that making brown fat is good. Adult humans can make brown fat as long as theyre not super old, and cold is a good way to do that. One of my favorite genes, the third of the seven sirtuin genes, boosts brown fat. All of these things that were talking about exercise, fasting, cold therapy, even a sauna its best to mix it up. You dont want to be constantly exercising, constantly hungry, or constantly at one temperature or another. You want to shock the body. Putting a few days of recovery in between makes a lot of sense. As for exposing yourself to cold, a little is still better than nothing. I do it once a week. But Im still trying to figure out when to do these ice baths. There was a study that an ice bath after a workout potentially lowers the benefit of the workout.

Lifespan devotes a ton of pages to metformin, the anti-diabetic medication thats been discovered to activate longevity genes. Are there adverse side effects from taking metformin? It seems a little too good to be true.

As far as drugs go, metformin is very safe. The World Health Organization declared it one of the essential medicines for humanity. One in 10,000 people have an adverse side reaction and have to stop taking it. The majority of complaints are attributed to a queasy stomach feeling until you get used to it. I actually dont mind, because it stops me from getting hungry. [Editors note: Dr. Sinclair takes metformin daily.] It doesnt give you anything like a greater risk of cancer or heart disease. The data actually suggests the opposite. The risk of getting old is pretty high, but the risk of taking metformin is pretty low, based on millions of people taking it.

Youre on the record saying the first person to live to 150 has been born. Would that person need to combine every single practice and innovation that you outline in this book in order to do so?

An important point of clarification: I dont think we have any technology today that would get us to 150. But if youre born today, you can be around until the mid-22nd century. Theres a lot thats going to happen between now and then. Were on a path of technological development. Once you see the trajectory and barriers are broken down, it gives me the license to say someone born today will live far longer than we can imagine. People born today will benefit from technologies that come about after were dead. The big breakthrough is being able to reprogram the body. If we can get that to work, wed be literally able to turn the clock back on cells. Weve done it once we managed to restore vision in mice but you might be able to reset cells twice. Or 100 times. Well just have to see.

Related: The Healthiest Blue Zone in Every State, Mapped

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A Conversation With a Harvard Geneticist on How to Live (Well) Past 100 - InsideHook

How do consumer DNA tests from the US and China stack up? – Abacus

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Spitting intotheplastic test tube, I felt nervous. I was offering up a piece of myself for decoding, and while this timethere was no silver-haired sage, it reminded me of a visit to a fortune teller when I was 21.

Then, I offeredthepalm of my hand in a bid to divine what fate had planned for me. Now, it wasDNA, with my saliva destined for a laboratory in southwest China, totheheadquarters ofChengdu 23Mofang Biotechnology Co., a startup thats seeking to tap a boom in consumer genetics intheworlds most populous nation.

Rising awareness of genetically-linked diseases like Alzheimers and a natural human curiosity for insight intothefuture is fueling a global market for direct-to-consumerDNAtesting thats predicted totripleoverthenext six years. In China, wherethegovernment has embraced genetics as part of its push to become a scientific superpower,theindustry is expected to see US$405 million in sales by 2022, according to Beijing research firm EO Intelligence, an eight-fold increase from 2018. Some 4 million people will send away test tubes of spit in China this year, and I had just become one ofthem.

Not only was I entering a world where lack of regulation has spawned an entire industry devoted to identifyingthefuture talents of newborn babiesthroughtheir genes, I was handing over my genetic code to a country wherethegovernment has been accused of usingDNAtesting to profile minority groups a concern that hit home whentheresults showed I was a member of one.

I wanted to see whethertheburgeoning industry delivered on its claims in China, where scientists have gained international attention and criticism for pushingtheboundaries of genetics. And as a child of Vietnamese immigrants totheUS, Ive long been curious about my ancestry and genetic makeup.

To get an idea of how this phenomenon is playing out intheworlds two biggest consumer markets, I comparedtheDNAtesting experience of 23Mofang withthefirm CEO Zhou Kun says it was inspired by:23andMe Inc., one ofthebest known consumer genetics outfits intheUS.

PushingtheEnvelope

Thedifferences betweenthetwo companies are stark.

23andMe was co-founded byAnne Wojcicki, a Wall Street biotech analyst once married toGoogleco-founderSergey Brin.TheMountain View, California-based firm has more than 10 million customers and has collected 1 billion genetic data points, according to itswebsite. Brin and Google were early investors.

By contrast, 23Mofang is run out oftheChinese city of Chengdu, and Zhou, 36, is a computer science graduate who createdthecompany after becoming convinced Chinas next boom would be inthelife sciences sector. 23Mofang expects to have 700,000 customers bytheend of this year, a number he projects will at least double in 2020.

Thedivergence betweenthetwo countries andtheir regulation oftheindustry is just as palpable. Chinas race to dominate genetics has seen it push ethical envelopes, with scientistHe Jiankuisparking a global outcry last year by claiming to have editedthegenes of twin baby girls.Theexperiment, which He said madethem immune to HIV, put a spotlight on Chinas laissez-faire approach to regulating genetic science andthebusinesses that have sprung up around it.

When my reports came back, 23Mofangs analysis was much more ambitious than its American peer. Its results gauged how long I will live, diagnosed a high propensity for saggy skin (recommending I use products including Olay and Estee Lauder creams) and gave me an optimist not prone to mood swings a higher-than-average risk of developing bipolar disorder. 23andMe doesnt assess mental illness, which Gil McVean, a geneticist at Oxford University, says is highly influenced by both environmental and genetic factors.

Thefortune teller who pored over my palm told me I would live to be a very old woman. 23Mofang initially said I had a better-than-average chance of living to 95, before revisingtheresults to say 58% of clients hadthesame results as I did, making me not that special, and perhaps not that long-living.

When I ranthefinding pastEric Topol, a geneticist who foundedtheScripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, he laughed. Ninety-five years old?Theres no way to put a number on longevity, he said. Its a gimmick. Its so ridiculous.

Zhou saidtheaccuracy ofthelongevity analysis, based on a 2014 genetics paper, is not too bad, thoughthecompany plans to updatetheanalysis with research thats being undertaken on Chinese elderly.

But when it comes to disease,theresults of both companies showed howthescience of genetics, particularly attheconsumer level, is still a moving target.

Its All AbouttheData

After claiming I had a 48% greater risk thanthegeneral population of developing type 2 diabetes, both 23Mofang and 23andMethen revisedtheresults.

First, 23andMe cuttherisk figure from its analysis, posted in an online portal I accessed with a password.Theoverview analysis that I have an increased likelihood of developingthedisease never changed. But a few months later,thefigure was back, with a slightly different explanation: Based on data from 23andMe research participants, people of European descent with genetics like yourshave an estimated 48% chance of developing type 2 diabetes at some point between your current age and 80.

Shirley Wu, 23andMes director of health product, saidthecompany occasionally updates its analysis. My risk figure might have changed if I indicated my ethnicity and age, she said. I hadnt given any biographical details or filled out any surveys on 23andMes site.

Your risk estimates will likely change over time as science gets better and as we have more data, Wu said. We are layering in different non-genetic risk factors, and that potentially updates our estimates.

Algorithms and data underpintheanalysis of both companies, asthey do for other genetic testing firms, so it apparently isnt unusual forDNAanalysis to shift as more research and data into diseases becomeavailable. Still, I was confused.

I reached out to Topol, who said that 23andMes diabetes finding likely didnt apply to me sincethevast majority of people studied forthedisease are of European descent. Wu saidthe American company does have a predominantly European database but has increased efforts to gather data for other ethnicities as well.

23Mofang, meanwhile, also revised my diabetes risk to 26%. My genes hadnt changed, so why hadtheresults? CEO Zhou saidthecompany is constantly updating its research and datasets, and that may changetheanalysis. As time goes by,there will be fewer corrections and greater accuracy, he said.

For now, theres a possibility you can later get a result thats opposite oftheinitial analysis, said Zhou.

Additionally,theaccuracy of genetic analysis varies hugelydepending onthetraits and conditions tested because some are less genetically linkedthan others.

Zhou isnt deterred by criticism. He said 23Mofang employs big data and artificial intelligence to findthecorrelations to diseases without relying on scientists to figure it out.

While its impossible to get things 100% right,thecompanys accuracy will get better with more data, he said.

Ancestry Mystery

You might assume thatthetwo companies would offer similar analysis of my ancestry, which Ive long thought to be three-fourths Vietnamese and one-fourth Chinese (my paternal grandfather migrated from China as a young man). Born in Vietnam and raised intheUS, I now live in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.

23andMes analysis mirrored what I knew, but my ancestry according to 23Mofang? 63% Han Chinese, 22% Dai an ethnic group in southwestern China and 3% Uyghur. (It didnt pick up my Vietnam ancestry becausetheanalysis only compares my genetics to those of other Chinese, according tothecompany.)

That led me tothebig question in this grand experiment: How safe is my data afterthesetests?

Human Rights Watch said in 2017 that Chinese authorities collectedDNAsamples from millions of people in Xinjiang,thepredominately Muslim region thats home totheUyghur ethnic group. Chinas use of mass detention and surveillance intheregion has drawn international condemnation. What if Beijing compelled companies to relinquishdata on all clients with Uyghur ancestry? Couldthedetails of my Uyghur heritage fall into government hands and put me at risk of discrimination or extra scrutiny on visits to China?

23Mofangs response tothese questions didnt give me much solace. Regulations enacted in July gavethegovernment access to data held by genetics companies for national security, public health and social interest reasons.Thecompany respectsthelaw, said Zhou. Ifthelaw permitsthegovernments access tothedata, we will give it, he said.

Theauthorities havent made any requests for customer data yet, Zhou pointed out. Chinas State Council, which issuedtheregulations, andtheMinistry of Science & Technology didnt respond to requests for comment.

Over intheUS, 23andMe said it never shares customer data with law enforcement unlesstheres a legally valid requestsuch as a search warrant or written court order.Thecompany said its had seven government requests for data on 10 individual accounts since 2015 and has not turned over any individual customer data. It uses all legal measures to challenge such requests to protect customers privacy, said spokeswoman Christine Pai.

No Protection

New York Universitybioethics professorArt Caplansays privacy protections on genetic information are poor in most countries, including in the USand China.

I dont think anyone can say theyre going to protect you, he said. In China, its even easier for the government. The government retains the right to look.

23andMe appeals to potential customers with the lure of being able to make more informed decisions about your health, but after taking tests on both sides of the Pacific and realizing how malleable the data can be, as well as the myriad factors that determine diseases and conditions, I am left more skeptical than enlightened.

I gave away something more valuable than a vial of spit the keys to my identity. It could become a powerful tool in understanding disease and developing new medicines, but in the end its entrepreneurs like Zhou who will ultimately decide what to do with my genetic data. He plans to eventually look for commercial uses, like working with pharmaceutical companies to develop medicines for specific diseases.

We want to leverage the big database we are putting together on Chinese people, Zhou said. But first, we need to figure out how to do it ethically.

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How do consumer DNA tests from the US and China stack up? - Abacus

Scott LaFee: Don’t Think Too Hard About This – Noozhawk

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By Scott LaFee | November 27, 2019 | 11:55 p.m.

Weve all heard the admonitions about how keeping mentally active boosts overall health and longevity. A new study suggests that busy brains might mean shorter lifespans, and excessive brain activity could be a risk factor for dementia.

Researchers documented the phenomenon across multiple species from humans to mice to roundworms (!) and said it appears people who live longer may have a regulatory gene that more effectively quiets unnecessary nerve activity.

They concede their findings appear counterintuitive and the full story in humans is likely to be much more complicated. So dont stop just yet taking those foreign language lessons, doing Sudoku and reading this column.

Adults have approximately 20,000 pores on their faces.

Of the 195 countries around the world, 119 were found to have an insufficient supply of blood units for health care and emergency use in 2017, according to a new study published in The Lancet Haematology.

Higher income countries were largely able to meet demand, but poor countries were not. South Sudan, for example, had a need 75 times greater than the countrys supply.

Its estimated that 10 to 20 donors can supply enough blood to help 1,000 people.

The 1992 book Sharks Dont Get Cancer spawned a huge increase in shark hunting as people sought shark parts as a treatment for various malignancies.

In fact, sharks do get cancer, and multiple studies have found no evidence that using shark cartilage or other tissues is an effective treatment for any type of cancer.

Cachexia: A complex syndrome associated with an underlying illness, such as cancer or AIDS, that results in ongoing muscle and weight loss that cannot be entirely reversed with dietary supplementation.

Nephophobia: Fear of clouds

The Major League Eating record for poutine is 28 pounds in 10 minutes, held by Joey Chestnut of San Jos.

Poutine is a Canadian dish consisting of French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. In Quebec, where it is believed to originate, a plate of poutine is routine cuisine.

A mans health can be judged by which he takes two at a time pills or stairs. Joan Welsh

This week in 1974, Dr. Christiaan Barnard of Cape Town, South Africa, performed the worlds first twin heart operation, implanting a second human heart alongside the old one in a 58-year-old man.

In the procedure, Barnard removed only the diseased portion of the patients heart one-third of the left ventricle. He then joined the left atrium to the atrium of a second donor heart.

The operation was considered less radical than total heart replacement and was conducted without a heart-lung machine. With both hearts beating, the second acted as a booster for the first.

The patient died four months later, however, of unrelated causes.

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like nonlinear dynamics. Sometimes they dont, and yet theyre still hard to figure out.

Heres an actual title of actual published research study: Stimulae Eliciting Sexual Behavior.

In this case, the specific topic was the sexual behavior of turkeys, in which a pair of researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the early 1960s wanted to know just how minimal turkey stimulae might be to still do the job. So they created a mock female bird and progressively removed parts of the model, assessing when a male turkey lost interest.

Finally, they got to just a stick-mounted head and neck, which the male turkey found just as appealing a mate as a whole bird.

Q: What does your spleen do?

A: The spleen is an organ located between the stomach and diaphragm. It makes new white blood cells and cleans old ones out of the body. Its also a place where immune cells congregate. Though these cells are spread throughout the body, they sometimes need to talk with one another, which they do when meeting in the spleen or in lymph nodes.

A person can live without a spleen, but their immune system is substantially impaired. Some people have a second spleen, called an accessory spleen, that is very small but may grow and function when the main spleen is removed.

There are thousands of exercises, and youve only got one body but that doesnt mean you cant try them all:

Its called the Superman, an easy exercise to strengthen back, buttocks, hips and shoulders. Lie prone (face down) on a floor mat, legs extended, arms extended overhead with palms facing each other. Relax head to align with spine.

Exhale, contract abdominal and core muscles and slowly and simultaneously raise both legs and arms a few inches off the floor. Avoid any rotational movement. Maintain head and torso position. Dont arch back or raise head. Hold this position briefly.

Gently inhale, and lower legs and arms to starting positions without any movement in lower back or hips. Repeat.

Q: How many kinds of tonsils are there?

A: Four. The palatine tonsils are the ones seen at the back of the throat. But there are also lingual tonsils (base of the tongue), tubal tonsils (around the opening of the Eustachian tube in the nasopharynx, which is the upper part of the cavity behind nose and mouth) and adenoid tonsils (high up in the throat behind the nose).

All together, these tonsils form Waldeyers ring, which serves as a gatekeeper to all things entering the airways and digestive tract, grabbing pathogens and warding off diseases.

I will see you tomorrow, if God wills it. Pope John Paul I (1912-1978).

Apparently, God didnt. Pope John Paul I suffered a heart attack and was found dead in bed with reading material and his bedside lamp still lit. He had been pope for just 33 days.

Scott LaFee is a staff writer at UC San Diego Health and the former chief science writer at The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he covered science, medicine and technology. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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Velocity launches and announces first close of pre-seed healthtech fund – BetaKit

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Velocity has launched a new healthtech fund for early-stage startups. In its first close, the fund has reached 80 percent of its $1 million USD target.

Were on pace to create high impact global healthtech juggernauts for Canada based out of the Waterloo Region.

The Velocity Health Tech Fund represents the incubators second pre-seed fund and will make investments of $50,000 to support founders working in areas such as medical devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health, and emerging health sector spaces. The fund, formed in partnership with Communitech, will also invest in the winners of the Velocity Fund Pitch Competition.

Velocity has not explicitly disclosed the funds LPs, but a press release named Dave Caputo, a past-chair of the board at Communitech and Richard Weinstein, an ophthalmologist based in Kitchener, as individual investors in the fund.

The rise in health technology companies incubating at Velocity reflects an increasing number of founders wanting to dedicate their energy and passion to simultaneously capture not only revenue from a multi-trillion dollar market, but also an opportunity to improve longevity and manage or cure disease, said Adrien Ct, Velocitys executive director.

RELATED: Outgoing director Jay Shah reflects on burnout as Velocity evolves leadership structure

The number of healthtech companies at Velocity has increased over the last six years, and over one-third of its incubated companies were in the healthtech sector in 2019. There are currently 27 healthtech startups being incubated at Velocity, and a third of those are in the process of, or have already completed, preclinical studies, while two are in human clinical trials.

Velocity stated that it has been reshaping its work to better meet the needs of healthtech companies. Last year, healthtech giant PerkinElmer moved its Canadian demonstration lab to Velocitys space. The incubator also said it has furthered its engagement with research labs likely to have healthtech spinouts, and has added business advisors with more healthtech experience.

In November, alumni and current companies of Velocity reached more than $1 billion CAD in venture capital since the incubator was launched 11 years ago. Velocity claims that since 2013, its incubated healthtech companies have gone on to raise over $50 million CAD in private investment.

More early-stage investment is required to fuel a thriving healthtech startups scene, said Caputo. Combined with the benefits of Velocitys highly differentiated startup resources and Communitechs scale-up programs, were on pace to create high impact global healthtech juggernauts for Canada based out of the Waterloo Region.

As our world faces growing (and already massive) challenges in human health, the commercialization of health technologies will be essential, Ct added. Simply put, its good business.

Image source Velocity

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Velocity launches and announces first close of pre-seed healthtech fund - BetaKit

Rich People Have Access to Better Microbes Than Poor People, Researchers Say – VICE UK

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This article originally appeared on VICE US.

Our bodies are home to an abundance of tiny organisms, collectively called the microbiome, which are essential to human health and longevity. But not all microbiomes are equal, according to an essay published on Tuesday in PLOS Biology that spotlights how access to healthy microbes is profoundly interlinked with social and economic inequities.

A team led by Suzanne Ishaq, an assistant professor at the University of Maine and an expert in animal microbiomes, outlines examples of the human microbiomes sensitivity to discrepancies in healthcare, nutrition, and safe environmental standards. This microbial inequality, as the essay calls it, raises the question of whether a healthy microbiome should be a right or a legal obligation for governments to pursue on behalf of people.

The diet that you eat and your lifestyle can have dramatic impacts on the gut microbes that you recruit and the benefits or the negatives that you derive from them, said Ishaq in a call. If you dont even have access to a good quality diet, you might be suffering the effects of not having those beneficial microbes and products in ways you might not have imagined.

Gaps in microbial health can emerge before a person is even born, because some of the most important microbes are fostered in utero. The fetal microbiome is influenced by the mothers access to healthy foods as well as her stress levels, which can be amplified by economic inequities. The availability of maternity leave or social support also affects the amount of time that new mothers can devote to breastfeeding their babies, which is another critical factor in the establishment of a healthy microbiome.

These microbial patterns play out over our entire lifetimes. Populations with access to quality nutrition will have better physical and mental health outcomes than those that do not, and that is reflected on a gut microbial level. The environmental quality of the buildings where we live and work also influence what lifeforms are inside us, as does our general proximity to greenspace, on the positive side, or polluting industrial and agricultural facilities, on the negative end.

Ishaq had been ruminating about these connections in her research for years, and decided to teach a special course on the subject at the University of Oregon over the summer. Fifteen undergraduate students with a wide variety of majors participated in the class, and are now co-authors on the new paper. Because the majority of the class were not science majors, the essay has an interdisciplinary approach that concludes with legal and political implications of microbial inequality, in addition to the medical dimensions.

They were actually much more familiar with the social policies than I was, given their background, which was really cool, Ishaq said of her students.

One of the questions the team explored is whether a healthy microbiome can be considered a human right or a legal obligation. One 2011 paper touched on this issue through the lens of biobanking, or archiving of human tissue, but there has never been a major legal case that establishes who owns an individuals microbiome, or if people are legally entitled to a healthy microbiome.

From the perspective of Ishaq and her colleagues, the dynamic nature of the microbiome suggests that legal arguments should emphasize access to healthy microbes, rather than ownership over ones microbiome.

Youre picking up and putting off hundreds of thousands of microbial cells every day so to think that whats in your gut is completely yours is probably the wrong way to think about it, Ishaq explained. They are more like passengers than things that you own.

In other words, healthy microbes could potentially be categorized as an essential resource or common good, like clean water, safe environments, and quality public health. Ishaq hopes the essay will encourage researchers across disciplines to think about the human microbiome as both a metric of social inequities, and a roadmap to more effectively bridge those divides.

It tends to be people that werent even involved with polluting water or growing too much food or pouring chemicals everywhere that end up being the ones that have to deal with these microbial-related problems, she said.

Addressing this problem will require restructuring our societies on the largest scales, in order to ensure that the small-scale lifeforms inside us can thrive, so that we can too.

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Frankenstein vs. The Wolfman: Who Would Win (And Why) – Screen Rant

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Frankenstein and The Wolf Man have met on the big screen once before inFrankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943), but the fight between the two of them, for the most part, didn't declare a clear winner.

Given the resurrection of Universal's "dark universe", modern audiences will soon see these beloved monsters on the big screen once more. Since they all exist in the same world, it would be very possible to, at some point, explore actual crossovers as has been done in the past with the franchise. With the popularity of crossover films likeFreddy vs. Jasonand ensemble films likeInfinity War, these crossovers could do really well and fans typically possess some sort of interest in exploring which of their favorite characters would best each other in a fight to the death.

Related: Penny Dreadful's John Clare Is The Most Underrated Frankenstein's Monster

Frankenstein vs The Wolf Man has been a popular idea before, most recently being used as a theme maze at the Hollywood Horror Nights and Halloween Horror Nights celebrations at Universal Studios in both Hollywood, California and Orlando, Florida. The concept was executed incredibly, but again, no clear victor was declared. So, in a grudge match between Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, who would win?

Frankenstein was originated in the novel of the same name in 1818 by Mary Shelley. His character was named after his creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein and was given the title of "Frankenstein's monster". Dr. Frankenstein was an ambitious medical student who was trying to figure out how to reanimate the dead. The doctor's mysterious lab employed a dubious mix of chemistry and alchemy to perform his experiments, so the secret to Frankenstein's birth is unknown, leavinghis general powers and abilities slightly vague. The final ingredientthat brought him to life was when he was struck with lightning during a massive thunderstorm.

His reanimated status allows for him to be hardy and difficult to kill. Longevity wise, Frankenstein isimmortal. He is composed of different human body parts, and it could be argued that, based onhis composition, these parts would be susceptible to physical damage, though would still prove difficult due to his superhuman strength and durability. Frankenstein also possesses an incredible capacity for intelligence, which he demonstrated in the novel when he learned two languages fluently and could read and write at the age of six weeks. The novel also addresses that he's remarkably agile for his size and faster than a normal human, possessing the ability to swim the English Channel. His senses are keener than a human's. Also, while he does have some regenerative ability, it is slower. For example, if he was shot by a gun, he could heal on his own, but it would take weeks without medical attention.

The Wolf Man is based off werewolf tales of old, where a scratch or bite from a wolf can turn a man into a blend of human and wolf that is controlled by the full moon. The original film follows Larry Talbot, who gets bitten during an unexpected attack. Prior to this, Talbot obtained a walking stick with a decorative silver head from an antique shop, and learns about werewolves from his love interest, Gwen. After his attack, Talbot seeks out answers from a gypsy fortune teller when he suspects the folklore may be real, and learns that the wolf who attacked him was, in a fact, a werewolf and the gypsy woman's son.

Related: Silver Bullet Should Be The Next Stephen King Movie

Traditionally, werewolves have the obvious animal instincts associated with wolves: keen senses, speed, the ability to hunt and track, and sharp teeth and claws. Werewolves add to these abilities by bestowing the cursed with beyond average strength and speed, stronger than man and wolf. They are also more resilient than traditional wolves, being able to regenerate quickly from injury so long as they aren't done with silver, as this will injure them greatly and has the potential to kill when done so in a fatal blow. In the original film, he was killed with his walking stick. Since wolves are cursed by the full moon, once they've transformed, they lack the humanity they have the rest of the time, and the animal instincts take over. This is why, typically speaking, those afflicted hate being werewolves because they typically have no memory of what happened while they were a wolf.

The ending ofFrankenstein Meets The Wolf Manwas actually considered to be weak because it didn't declare a victor. A reviewer from The New York Times said that the film was "a great disappointment" since the fight was done sort of as an afterthought and had no conclusion. He also suggested that Universal should consider this mash-up again in the future. Given the statistics on both monsters, The Wolf Man is the winner, but situationally, this fight could go either way. Overall, the werewolf's primary advantage over Frankenstein's monster is that he possesses animal instincts that would aid him and allow him to attack with abandon, where Frankenstein has humanity, reason, and would certainly defend himself against a creature, but might not be as aggressive in the fight.

Also, Frankenstein is composed of human parts, and since he was stitched together, the Wolf Man's teeth and claws could likely shred him with relative ease. Frankenstein could kill the Wolf Man if he had the proper tools for the job, which, given his intelligence, he could obtain and use, but if he was unprepared for the fight, it wouldn't go in his favor.

Next: Who Is The Invisible Man: Origin & Powers Explained

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Frankenstein vs. The Wolfman: Who Would Win (And Why) - Screen Rant