Vaccines Derived from Patients’ Tumor Cells Are Individualizing Cancer Treatment

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The first discovery of a cancer gene marker–the BRAF oncogene for melanoma and colorectal malignancies–back in 2002 changed the way many researchers thought about cancer treatment. Rather than approach the disease based on what region of the body it stemmed from, scientists began to identify cancers in terms of their genetic signatures. Researchers now recognize more than 200 kinds of cancer–all genetically unique. [More]

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Cancer – Health – Conditions and Diseases – Colorectal cancer – Management of cancer

Secondhand Smoke May Increase Psychological Stress, UK Study Says

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Exposure to secondhand smoke produces psychological stress and predisposes individuals to a higher risk of being hospitalized due to psychiatric illnesses.

In a study performed by researchers from the University College London, it was found that individuals who were exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to suffer from psychological distress than people who were not exposed. The risk of psychological distress from secondhand smoke exposure is a staggering 50% – a significant risk percentage.

In addition to psychological stress, it was also found that people who regularly inhaled other people’s smoke were 3 times more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric facility in less than 7 years.  Smokers on the other hand, are four times more likely to be hospitalized due to psychological distress and other psychiatric problems.

The dangers of passive smoking

The researchers were able to measure the degree of a person’s exposure to nicotine by marking and measuring the compound cotinine, which is the chemical byproduct of nicotine after it has been metabolized/processed by the body.  The compound cotinine can be found in a person’s saliva.  The UK study tracked more than 5,000 smokers and 2,000+ non-smokers; all respondents of the study had no prior history of mental illnesses.

Within six years of the study, forty-one individuals from both the groups were admitted to a psychiatric facility.  More than fourteen percent of all the subjects of the UK study reported some degree of psychological stress.  After filters were applied, the researchers stated that despite differences in social circumstance, the risk factors still applied to both smoker and non-smokers. The study made use of a general questionnaire, which allowed the researchers to measure the exposure of secondhand smoke.

Based on the study, “passive smoking” or mere exposure to secondhand smoke increases  a person’s risk for psychological stress by more sixty percent. Prior to the more recent UK study, earlier animal studies showed that tobacco can alter an animal’s mood, which suggested a link between tobacco use and clinical depression in humans.

Tobacco: a poor stress reliever

This study shows that tobacco use is not a good coping strategy – instead of providing stress relief, it actually produces psychological stress. In a study published by the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (Oxford University Press) it was found that younger individuals are more prone to using tobacco as a coping strategy against stress.  It was found that smoking did not provide any significant stress relief to the respondents.

Sources:
reuters.com
archpsyc.ama-assn.org
jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org

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GE Healthcare announces SaaS Electronic Medical Records Management

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http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/

GE Health Care is rolling out a new, cloud-based platform that makes it easier for physicians with small practices to maintain and keep track of the electronic medical records of their patients. The new SAAS offering is part of GE’s Centricity offering.

Introducing Centricity Advance
Colonnades Family Medicine is running on Centricity Advance, a web-based EMR solution launched today by GE Healthcare and specifically designed for the smaller physician practice.

Unlike most clinical and financial management solutions, Centricity Advance is a web-based service that costs less than a standard client-server software deployment and is maintained and supported with little or no strain on the healthcare provider’s resources, freeing up more time for patient care.

Ideal as a Web-Based Service
The fact that Centricity Advance was designed from the ground up as a web service is significant. Instead of simply providing web-based gateway into a standard EMR application, the Centricity Advance is created with anywhere/anytime access in mind, resulting in an intuitive and efficient interface without sacrificing functionality. Since system management is centralized as part of the Centricity Advance service, small practices don’t have to worry about data protection, updates, equipment failures and other typically stressful responsibilities of user-driven IT management.

Another key feature of Centricity Advance is the Patient Self-Service Portal, which connects patients to their care. By using their own secure password to log in, patients can communicate privately with their doctor and view their own information such as statements, prescriptions and lab results. Patients can also request and confirm appointments, request prescription refills and get automatic reminders for immunizations and lab tests.

Autologous Stem Cell Repair for Damaged Corneas

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From BusinessWeek: “Patients blinded in one or both eyes by chemical burns regained their vision after healthy stem cells were extracted from their eyes and reimplanted … The tissue was drawn from the limbus, an area at the junction of the cornea and white part of the eye. It was grown on a fibrous tissue, then layered onto the damaged eyes. The cells grew into healthy corneal tissue, transforming disfigured, opaque eyes into functioning ones with normal appearance and color … The stem-cell treatment restored sight to more than three-quarters of the 112 patients treated. … The key to success is to be certain that when the stem cells extracted from the limbus are grown in culture they have the right mix of stem cells and the differentiated cells that form the corneal tissue … If there are too few stem cells in the transplant, the improvement won’t last because there will be no reservoir to form the new corneal cells needed with the normal recycling of cells over time. … Depending on the depth of the injury, some patients regained sight in as little as two months. … Others with deeper injuries needed a second procedure and waited a year before sight was restored.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-18/stem-cells-from-own-eyes-restore-vision-to-blinded-patients.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Evolution and Gender Longevity Differences

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This particular researcher is somewhat fixated on TOR (when all you have is a hammer…) but this open access paper provides an interesting set of ideas on why men and women have differing life expectancies: “Women have lived longer than men in different countries and in every era … Yet, it is believed that men do not age faster than women but simply are weaker at every age. In contrast, I discuss that men [do] age faster. From [an] evolutionary perspective, high accidental death rate in young males is compatible with fast aging. Mechanistically, hyper-activated mTOR (Target of Rapamycin) may render young males robust at the cost of accelerated aging. But if women age slower, why then is it women who have menopause? Some believe that menopause is programmed and purposeful (grandmother theory). In contrast, I discuss how menopause is not programmed but rather is an aimless continuation of the same program that initially starts reproduction at puberty. This quasi-program causes over-activation of female reproductive system, which is very vulnerable to over-activation.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.impactaging.com/papers/v2/n5/full/100149.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Investing in Cryonics for the Long, Long Term

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An open access anthropology paper on cryonics, illustrating in a number of subtle and less subtle ways the eternal divide between students of soft sciences and students of hard sciences: “Cryonics is a particularly American social practice, created and taken up by a particular type of American: primarily a small faction of white, male, atheist, Libertarian, middle- and upper-middle-income, computer/engineering ‘geeks’ who believe passionately in the free market and its ability to support technological progress. In this article, I investigate the relations between the discourses and practices of cryonics and its underpinnings in the values associated with neoliberal capitalism. I take seriously the premise that cryonics is an investment in the possibility of an extended future and a potential insurance policy against death. I show how cryonics is conceived of as an attempt to gain sovereignty over the limits of biological time, achieved through both monetary investment and the banking of biological objects understood to be actual selves. Cryonics demonstrates a unique way in which time, capital, and biotechnoscience can come together in the name of future life. An examination of the extreme example of cryonics reveals how speculative economic reasoning is applied to lives and bodies in the United States. I argue that cryonics is one response to American anxieties about time, the impending decline of the human body, and its culmination in death that draws on logics of biomedicine, technological progress, and investment forms. I describe some of the many unique aspects of cryonics and some of its similarities to venture capitalism, mainstream biomedical practice, and other sites where investment in the self and biotechnoscience come together, chiefly in other forms of tissue banking.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a921989939&fulltext=713240928

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

22 Million Australian Cloud computing initiative to benefit life science researchers

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The Australian Research Collaboration Service (ARCS) http://www.arcs.org.au has launched its Computer Cloud scheme, a $22 million project funded by the government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

More details check http://www.arcs.org.au/index.php/services/cloud-computing

Bob Correll, the chief information officer for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, said his agency is also looking into using cloud computing for its electronic visa system

A Five Year Timeline for Tissue Engineered Livers

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From the Telegraph: a new methodology “could be used to recycle thousands of donated organs which are at present considered too old or damaged for transplantation. … Many livers have to be discarded because they are too old or too damaged to be of any use.
The new technique works by effectively chemically stripping the old liver down too its basic ’scaffold’ or exoskeleton in a process of called ‘decellularisation’. Onto this frame of connective tissue and blood vessels, they then regrow the new liver using stem cells from the patient. Stem cells from embryos could also be used. The effectively brand new liver is then transplanted back into the patient. At the moment the technique will require donor organs but it is hoped that eventually pig’s livers or artificial scaffolds can be used instead – effectively avoiding donors altogether. … This scaffold retains for the most part the detailed microarchitecture of the liver, including essential structures such as the blood vessels. We take advantage of this remaining structure to repopulate the scaffold with liver cells to recreate a functional liver. As we have shown this re-engineered liver performs the most essential liver functions in the lab and can be transplanted into rats and stays intact, with the cells able to survive.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7825180/Livers-grown-in-the-laboratory-could-solve-organ-transplant-shortage.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

More Tissue Engineered Skin

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From the Sydney Morning Herald: “A full thickness artificial skin which should dramatically reduce the pain and scarring associated with skin grafts is being developed by Sydney researchers. Burns experts from the University of Sydney and Concord Hospital have started animal trials of a living skin that is grown outside the body and is completely functional when grafted on to the body. Unlike traditional skin grafts, which involve only the thin outer layer of the skin known as the epidermis, the new skin will be able to replace the crucial second layer of skin called the dermis. … It takes the body weeks to grow into a skin graft and in that time a lot of excess elastic fibres and collagen will be produced that will then turn into a scar. The scar contracts and it can get so tight that patients lose the movement of their mouth and can’t talk, or they can’t bend their fingers. … Initial testing of the artificial dermis in mice has found it does not scar and contract when it is transplanted. … The research has been so successful that a new foundation has been created to centralise the burns research being done at three Sydney hospitals. … They hope to create scaffolds that can individualise the skin, allowing it to be different colours.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/fully-functional-artificial-skin-being-trialled-by-sydney-researchers-20100614-yaau.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Bone Scaffolds to Order

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Researchers continue to make progress in scaffolding materials that enable the body to regrow missing bone: “In contrast to long-term solutions based on titanium, degradable implants are intended to replace the missing pieces of bone only until the fissure closes itself up. That may last months or even years, depending on the size of the defect, the age and health status of the patient. A new implant improves the conditions for the healing process. It emerged from the “Resobone” project of the federal ministry for education and research, and is sized-to-fit for each patient. Unlike the conventional bony substitutes to date, it is not made up as a solid mass, but is porous instead. Precise little channels permeate the implant at intervals of just a few hundred micrometers. … The porous canals create a lattice structure which the adjacent bones can grow into. … the Resobone implants will primarily replace missing facial, maxillary and cranial bones. Currently, they are able to close fissures of up to 25 square centimeters in size. … The patient’s computer tomography serves as the template for the precision-fit production of the implants. The work processes – from CT imaging, to construction of the implant, through to its completion – are coordinated in such precise sequences that the replacement for a defective zygomatic bone can be produced in just a few hours, while a five-centimeter large section of cranium can be done overnight.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2010/06/bone-replacement-laser-melting.jsp

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Thoughts on Calorie Restriction

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A recent review paper: “Calorie Restriction (CR) research has expanded rapidly over the past few decades and CR remains the most highly reproducible, environmental intervention to improve health and extend lifespan in animal studies. Although many model organisms have consistently demonstrated positive responses to CR, it remains to be shown whether CR will extend lifespan in humans. Additionally, the current environment of excess caloric consumption and high incidence of overweight/obesity illustrate the improbable nature of the long-term adoption of a CR lifestyle by a significant proportion of the human population. Thus, the search for substances that can reproduce the beneficial physiologic responses of CR without a requisite calorie intake reduction, termed CR mimetics (CRMs), has gained momentum. … The first results from a long-term, randomized, controlled CR study in nonhuman primates showing statistically significant benefits on longevity have now been reported. Additionally, positive results from short-term, randomized, controlled CR studies in humans are suggestive of potential health and longevity gains, while test of proposed [CR mimetics] have shown both positive and mixed results in rodents. … Whether current positive results will translate into longevity gains for humans remains an open question. However, the apparent health benefits that have been observed with CR suggest that regardless of longevity gains, the promotion of healthy ageing and disease prevention may be attainable.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534066

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Coffee Can Prevent Certain Types of Cancer, New US Study Says

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Drinking coffee may reduce a person's chances of developing oral cancer and even brain tumors.

According to a study published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, it was found that people who drank three to four cups of coffee per day reduced their risk of neck & head cancer by as much as thirty-nine percent.

According to Dr. Mia Hashibe, a researcher from the University of Utah, the findings of the new study is significant because coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world.

The survival percentage for oral cancer and other associated cancers is low, so the findings provide hope for both men and women.  Unfortunately, the study did not make use of data from people who drank decaffeinated coffee.  In addition to oral cancer and neck cancer, another study (this time, from London)  discovered that coffee also reduced the risk of people developing tumors in the brain.

Other studies agree on the benefits of coffee

Studies around the world seem to acquiesce with the recent findings in the United States; it also appears that coffee may be more than just a cancer preventive:

1. A recent study performed in Sweden states that women who drank four to five cups of Scandinavian coffee (which requires boiling) reduced their risk of developing breast cancer over the long term.

It appears that boiled coffee provides more health benefits because it can contain up to eighty different fatty acids, which have been shown to have cancer-preventing effects when taken by the human body.  The benefits of boiled Scandinavian coffee was noted for women between the ages of 49 and 55.

2. According to researchers who published a study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, regular coffee intake may ward off adult-onset diabetes or type 2 diabetes.  In animal tests, it was shown that coffee increased the sensitivity of the animals to insulin.  Coffee was also effective in combating the sudden rise of blood glucose levels according to the researchers.

3. Past US studies show that coffee may be helpful in reducing LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels.  Coffee also contains polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants that protect the body from free radical damage.  Polyphenols are also present in abundant quantities in green tea.

4. Based on a Harvard Medical School study on aggressive/advanced prostate cancer and coffee-drinking, it was found that males who regularly drank coffee were sixty percent less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer, compared to males who did not drink coffee at all.

5. A Netherlands study produced the following findings for coffee consumption: 2 to 4 cups of coffee a day reduced the incidence of heart problems by twenty percent.  Coffee intake also slightly reduced the chances of a person dying from the most common causes (cancer, heart problems, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, etc.)

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com

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Stem Cell Tourism

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PopSci examines medical tourism for stem cell therapies, an entirely rational response to the unnecessary costs and delays imposed on medical development by the FDA: “The FDA thinks all stem-cell procedures should undergo clinical trials for safety and efficacy before companies begin selling them as therapies. Its formal review process, the agency maintains, is the only way to protect patients from treatments that are ineffective or downright dangerous. But with multistage clinical trials lasting up to five years and costing as much as $100 million, a growing number of doctors and patients have started pursuing other options. … In a controversial move in 2005, the FDA reclassified autologous stem cells that are manipulated by growth factors or other compounds as drugs. This criterion holds whether the cells are derived from a patient’s own body or from someone else’s. Many believe that the policy change gives the agency more authority than Congress ever intended it to have. Grekos’s theory is that pharmaceutical companies are pressuring the FDA to treat autologous stem cells as a drug in order to secure their own future profits.” Clinical trials are taking place overseas, as the article notes. The quality of therapies offered varies widely, as is true whether or not a market is regulated: this means you have to do some legwork to find out who is well regarded. But at least the option is available – there has to be freedom to experiment and to choose if there is to be rapid progress.

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-06/offshore-operations-crossing-atlantic-pursuit-stem-cells

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Calorie Restriction Slows Aspects of Brain Aging

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More data from primate studies: “Caloric restriction (CR) reduces the pathological effects of aging and extends the lifespan in many species, including nonhuman primates, although the effect on the brain is less well characterized. We used two common indicators of aging, motor performance speed and brain iron deposition measured in vivo using MRI, to determine the potential effect of CR on elderly rhesus macaques eating restricted and standard diets. Both the CR and control monkeys showed age-related increases in iron concentrations in globus pallidus (GP) and substantia nigra (SN), although the CR group had significantly less iron deposition in the GP, SN, red nucleus, and temporal cortex. A diet x age interaction revealed that CR modified age-related brain changes, evidenced as attenuation in the rate of iron accumulation in basal ganglia and parietal, temporal, and perirhinal cortex. Additionally, control monkeys had significantly slower fine motor performance on the Movement Assessment Panel, which was negatively correlated with iron accumulation in left SN and parietal lobe, although CR animals did not show this relationship. Our observations suggest that the CR-induced benefit of reduced iron deposition and preserved motor function may indicate neural protection similar to effects described previously in aging rodent and primate species.” You might recall that iron buildup is associated with lipofuscin accumulation in our cells, which damages the process of autophagy, which in turn leads to degeneration.

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20534842

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Omega 3: Not Just For the Heart

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Omega 3 can help reduce the incidence of age-related hearing loss.

We know that omega 3 fatty acids are good for the heart – but it appears that this wonder compound is not just good for the heart, but may also be beneficial to our ears as well.  Just recently, a study regarding the additional benefits of omega 3 fatty acids was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The omega 3 study

According to the US study, eating fish at least twice a week can reduce the risk for age-related hearing loss by a whopping forty-two percent.  Paul Mitchell, lead researcher, also stated that regular doses of omega 3 fatty acids can delay or even completely prevent age-related hearing loss (also known as presbycusis).

Mitchell and other researchers made use of questionnaires that were given out to 2,900+ respondents.  They measured the respondents’ fish intake with the prevalence of hearing loss.  An inverse trend was noted: respondents who ate a lot of fish tend to have minimal hearing loss.  The risk for age-related hearing loss was also reduced with increased fish consumption.

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent sensory-related conditions in the United States, affecting more than 30 million individuals around the country.

More reasons to love omega 3

Omega 3’s dazzling spectrum of benefits does not end with hearing loss prevention and heart health:

1. Omega 3 is considered an essential nutrient because it is required for normal body function.  The body is incapable of producing them; therefore, dietary sources of omega 3 are vital to good health.

2. Suffering from painful joints?  Existing studies state that regular doses of omega 3 can help ease the stiffness and inflammation associated with arthritic conditions.  If you have been prescribed anti-inflammatory medication already, you can still take omega 3 to increase the effectiveness of your current anti-inflammatory medication/s.

3. Eating more fish may reduce your risk for depression.  According to existing studies, cultures that consume fish on a very regular basis also have fewer incidences of clinical depression.  Omega 3 may also help treat depression as it enhances the potency of anti-depressant medication.

4. Pregnant women can also benefit from EPA & DHA: there is evidence that omega 3 fatty acids can improve the general wellness of pregnant women and also aid in the development of the unborn child – specifically with the child’s brain development.

5. In addition to calcium supplementation, omega 3 can also help people with osteoporosis. There is some evidence that this compound can help increase bone density.

6. Surprisingly, omega 3 can also be used by individuals with asthma.  In addition to improving the over-all condition of the lungs, omega 3 may also help reduce the amount of asthma medications a person needs to manage his/her condition.

7. Giving fish oil to school-aged kids can help manage the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD.

Sources:
nutraingredients.com
webmd.com

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European Study Confirms Calcium’s Heart-Healthy Benefits

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According to a European study, calcium is good not only for the bones of postmenopausal women, but also for their hearts.

In a very recent study presented in the Annual Congress of European League Against Rheumatism, researchers discovered that low levels of calcium  translated not only to weaker, less dense bones for postmenopausal women but it also predisposed the latter to high blood pressure.

According to the researchers, women with low calcium levels were forty-three percent more prone to developing degenerative bone conditions such as osteoporosis.  The same percentage applies to a woman’s risk of eventually developing hypertension.  According to Maria Manara, one of the key researchers, their study establishes the coordinates that associate low intake of calcium with heart problems and bone problems.

Further benefits of getting enough calcium

The RDA for calcium is 990 to 1,000 mg per day for individuals between the ages of nineteen and fifty, according to the National Institutes of Health.  Doses exceeding 2,500 milligrams per day may interfere with the body’s ability to absorb other nutrients.

Here are some more reasons to love your calcium supplements and low-fat dairy products:

1. According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidimiology, taking calcium reduces one’s risk of dying from a sudden heart attack.

2. Taking calcium along with the mineral magnesium may help reduce the risk of males from dying of different causes, including heart problems and certain cancer.

3. Combined with vitamin D supplementation, calcium may also help prevent the onset of prostate cancer.  According to another study, the same potent combination can also help stop colorectal cancer in its tracks.  According to Emory University researchers, laboratory tests show that the two nutrients are capable of normalizing intestinal cells.  The study made use of 2,000 mg of calcium, combined with 800 international units of vitamin D.

4. Based on a study published in Obesity Reviews, regular intake of calcium may help in weight loss efforts. Studies show that calcium increases the amount of fat excretion.  According to Arne Astrup, a researcher from the University of Copenhagen, calcium may also prevent folks from regaining the weight they have already lost.  It was noted that people who had formerly low calcium levels will have enhanced benefits from calcium supplementation.

5. Enough calcium ensures that your muscles will contract and relax efficiently whenever you are on the move.  Calcium deficiency can cause problems like muscle pain and cramps.

6. Having problems with premenstrual syndrome?  Adding calcium to your daily supplementation may help improve the symptoms of PMS.

7. Sufficient calcium also ensures that your teeth will remain firmly anchored in your gums.

Sources:
nutraingredients.com
nutraingredients.com
nutraingredients.com
nutraingredients.com
vitamins-nutrition.org

Discuss this post in Frank Mangano’s forum!

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells From Blood

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From Wired: “Blood drawn with a simple needle stick can be coaxed into producing stem cells that may have the ability to form any type of tissue in the body, three independent papers report… The new technique will allow scientists to tap a large, readily available source of personalized stem cells. … Because taking blood is safe, fast and efficient compared to current stem cell harvesting methods, some of which include biopsies and pretreatments with drugs, researchers hope that blood-derived stem cells could one day be used to study and treat diseases. … Three research groups used similar methods to prod certain immune cells in human blood to become induced pluripotent stem cells. Because they are reprogrammed adult cells, these stem cells share many of the same regenerative abilities as true embryonic stem cells but may not have as much versatility. … Scientists’ manipulations turned the stem cells in the new studies into several types of mature blood cells, including infection-fighting T cells. What’s more, all the groups showed that a batch of the stem cells implanted into mice developed into the three main types of progenitor cells found in human embryos.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/07/stem-cells-from-human-blood-can-be-reprogrammed/

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

A Religious Viewpoint

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A response to recent discussion of the Catholic hierarchy’s views on engineered longevity: “Michael Anissimov and Aubrey de Grey call our attention to Pope Benedict’s Holy Saturday address from 3 April of this year. In the address, the Pope presents perspective on immortalism, suggesting that radical extension of life as we currently know it is not a cure for death, but rather a cure for death must ‘transform our lives from within’ and ‘create a new life within us, truly fit for eternity’. The Pope’s message contains some ideas with which I disagree. For example, he questions the value of extending life hundreds of years and suggests it would be condemnation; does he consider us already condemned as a consequence of extending life well beyond the few decades that were available to our ancestors? Perhaps he does, as do many Catholics, embracing a doctrine of original sin and assuming life as we now know it to have no possibility of naturally improving beyond the consequences of that original sin. He reasons that immortalism would leave no room for youth, yet youth is precisely the goal of immortalism – not merely a perpetuation of geriatric hacks. He also reasons that immortalism would kill capacity for innovation, yet capacity for innovation has only improved as we’ve extended our lifespans. Finally, he implies that death itself is where we should look to find the beginning of the fullness of life. While I don’t consider death the absolute end of identity, I consider it to be among the worst of hollow and meaningless contradictions to equate death with life.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://lincoln.metacannon.net/2010/06/pope-benedict-and-immortalists.html

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

The Simple Answer That No-One Wants to Hear

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There’s nothing you can do right now that will have a greater immediate effect on your life expectancy than exercise and calorie restriction. The best thing you can do for future improvement is to help researchers raise funds to develop repair technologies for human aging. But no-one wants to hear that. Everyone wants a silver bullet now, and it doesn’t exist: “Friends occasionally ask me how they might best live healthy, longer. They inquire because I went to medical school, work in biotech, and focus professionally on developing drugs to treat diseases of aging by targeting aging genes. My response seems to surprise them, because it does not center on pharmaceutical products. The current answer on how to increase healthy human lifespan is simple: ‘Eat less, and exercise more.’ … Modern medicine has discovered an impressive number of lifesaving new drugs for devastating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and infectious diseases. Nevertheless, for most of us, active lifestyles and less food will have a more profound effect than taking more medicines. Hard as it is, we should walk, run, and bike more, and reduce our food intake. The best way we can increase our chances to live healthy, longer is simple: eat less and exercise more.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/07/05/a_simple_hard_answer_to_long_life/

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

McDonald’s threatened with lawsuit over toys in Happy Meals

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The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is planning to sue fast-food giant McDonald’s if the company does not comply with its demands to remove toys from “Happy Meals”. CSPI claims that marketing unhealthy food with toys is contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic and should be stopped immediately.

The announcement by CSPI comes just weeks after a California county banned not only toys but all other promotions aimed at children that involve McDonald’s Happy Meals. By doing this, the county believes that children will be less attracted to fatty foods that are high in salt and calories.

According to the same article, back in April, Santa Clara County, California, also banned toy promotions from fast food meals sold in unincorporated parts of the county.

Spokesmen from McDonald’s denied that Happy Meals are inherently unhealthy, citing the fact that the meals are of an appropriate size and that children have the option to swap out the fries and soda for apples and juice. They also explained that giving away toys with children’s meals is part of the fun of a family dining experience.

Since 2008 when apples were first introduced as an option in Happy Meals, customers have ordered them more than 100 million times, illustrating that when given healthier options, customers often choose them for their children instead. Read more…
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