Monthly Archives: January 2022

The 15 Most Groundbreaking NASA Missions – SlashGear

Posted: January 14, 2022 at 8:41 pm

Humankind has yearned to explore space since our ancestors began to study the night sky millennia ago. What weve been able to accomplish in the last 63+ years has taken the dedication, perseverance, and imagination of countless people. While many nations have aided in scores of missions outside of the Earths atmosphere, NASA has certainly had the lions share of firsts. Indeed, NASA successfully landed astronauts on the surface of the moon, collaborated with European governments on the exploration of Saturns largest moon, and developed space telescopes that capture the far reaches of the universe. While this list isnt meant to outline every major accomplishment, it will lend some perspective on what this U.S. space agency has been able to achieve since its creation in 1958 (via History).

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Formed in part as a response to the successful Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite, NASA raced to pull the U.S. ahead of their Cold War rival by the end of the following decade. Throughout some serious tragedies that have taken the lives of nearly 30 NASA crewmembers in different incidents over the years, the space agency stayed the course and continues to pave the way for the continued exploration of worlds beyond our own.

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When President John F. Kennedy gave his famous We choose to go to the Moon speech at Rice University on September 12, 1962, the United States was already behind the Soviets in the space race (via Science Focus). In an effort to boost both public and congressional support for increasing NASAs budget, Kennedy delivered an address that declared that the United States would land on the moon before the end of the decade.

The Apollo 11 mission was launched on July 16, 1969, carrying astronautsNeil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Buzz Aldrin. Four days later on July 20, Aldrin and Armstrong touched down on the moon via the Lunar Module. Together, they spent 21 hours and 36 minutes on the surface of the Earths moon (via NASA).

The three crew members of Apollo 11 safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. They were picked up by the recovery ship, the U.S.S. Hornet.

Humankind had finally accomplished a feat that only imagination could have previously captured. Altogether, it is estimated that 650 million people worldwide watched this event live, setting a new record that would be unsurpassed until Prince Charles married Lady Diana in 1981 (via Reference).

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Some NASA missions primarily result in data being transmitted for several years. Others continue to give scientists information for decades. The latter is certainly the case for both the Voyager 1 and its sister spacecraft Voyager 2. First launched on September 5, 1977, the Voyager 1s primary mission was to perform fly-bys of Saturn and Jupiter and relay images back to Earth for study (via Solar System). More than 44 years later, this spacecraft is still being propelled through space, having left our solar system in August of 2012. It is still transmitting data to this day.

Onboard the Voyager 1 is the Golden Record, which contains Earthly greetings to prospective other-worldly beings in over 55 languages. Recordings of music ranging from Chuck Berry to Beethoven are also contained in the record, as well as various images of Earths people.

There have been many observations made by Voyager 1 that have helped map out our solar system. The discoveries of two additional moons of Jupiter (Thebe and Metis), a thin ring around Jupiter, and five newly observed moons of Saturn have changed the known makeup of the bodies that rotate around our sun.

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The ability to capture images far beyond what Earthly telescopes can achieve was recognized in 1990. On April 24th of that year, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit via the space shuttle Discovery. Orbiting the Earth at more than 300 miles above its surface, the Hubble has been transmitting images back to Earth for over 30 years now (via HubbleSite).

Hubble has been able to show the people of Earth both the beauty and vastness of the worlds that exist beyond what our naked eye sees. Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson quipped, No matter what Hubble reveals planets, dense star fields, colorful interstellar nebulae, deadly black holes, graceful colliding galaxies, the large-scale structure of the Universe each image establishes your own private vista on the cosmos, (via Rocket Stem).

Hubble is able to stay functional in part due to various servicing missions that keep the space telescope maintained and updated. The last servicing mission was carried out in 2009.

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The first robotic rover to land on the surface of Mars, the Mars Pathfinder touched down on the surface of the Red Planet on July 4, 1997 (via NASA). Far outlasting its expected useful life, the Mars Pathfinder transmitted data to Earth until September 27, 1997, NASA also noted. Over that period, more than 2.3 billion bits of information were sent back to scientists on Earth, along with nearly 17,000 images.

NASA released information about an additional 15 separate soil tests conducted by The Pathfinder, in which the martian surface was analyzed. The test results concluded that the surface of Mars was once very wet and warm. Analyses of various rocks, along with the wind on the planets surface, help to build a better picture of how wind erosion impacted the planet.

This spacecraft consisted of two parts: a space lander and a rover (via NASA). The lander was named the Carl Sagan Memorial Station after the late famed astronomer. The rover itself was given the moniker Sojourner, after 19th century abolitionist and civil rights leader Sojourner Truth.

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The idea to maintain and constantly crew an orbiting space station was conceived early on in the NASA program. But it would take years of technological advances and international cooperation before this dream would become a reality. Under orders given by then-President Ronald Reagan, NASA began cooperating with the Japanese space program and the European Space Agency in 1984 (via ISS NationalLaboratory). By 1998, this collaboration would grow to include Russias Roscosmos and the Canadian Space Agency (via National Geographic).

Construction started in late 1998 and the International Space Station (ISS) was first occupied in 2000. It has been continuously occupied since, sometimes with as few as three crew members aboard.

The ISS continues to grow, and improvements are almost always occurring. While crew members carry out a large portion of these duties, they are also tasked with experiments and lab studies. The results will help steer humankind in the direction of being able to live indefinitely off the surface of the Earth. Learning how to deal with near weightlessness, exposure to radiation, and other hazards of space travel are just part of what scientists need to overcome before this is possible.

As of April 2021, 244 people from nine nations have been aboard the ISS (via Space).

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Kepler was an orbiter craft launched on March 7, 2009 (via NASA). The primary purpose of this spacecraft was to discover and observe exoplanets that are within the Milky Way galaxy. Exoplanets, a name given to planetary bodies that exist outside of our solar system, could be detected by Kepler via its observation of distant stars. Kepler watched stars for dips in the light that they emitted. The only body large enough to cause a noticeable dip in a stars light would be an orbiting planet.

Designed to monitor over 100,000 stars for the existence of exoplanets, Kepler eventually discovered more than 2,600 of them (via Exoplanets). Kepler stopped transmitting to Earth in October 2018, after more than nine years.

The legacy of the Kepler spacecraft is the sheer number of exoplanets that are mapped out, coupled with the knowledge that it helped to show scientists just how many more planetary bodies there are within our galaxy.

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Not only did the Soviets launch the first successful satellite into orbit in 1957, but they also beat the United States in putting a human being into orbit. As noted by Space, on April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth for 108 minutes while onboard the Vostok 1. Per NASA, not wanting to fall too far behind the Soviets, NASA recruited U.S. Navy test pilot Alan Shephard to be the first NASA astronaut to be sent into orbit. He was sent into space aboard the Mercury capsule (dubbed Freedom 7) on May 5, 1961.

While traveling in a sub-orbital trajectory for less time than his Soviet cosmonaut counterpart, Shephard went down in history as the first American to do so. This buoyed the spirits of the American people, as they saw that the United States remained capable of competing with the Soviets in the space race.

Shephard became an important figure within NASA, eventually walking on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 (via Biography).

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Before NASA could attempt a human landing on the moon, it needed to show that doing so could be done safely. Simulations performed on Earth only show so much, and the data and projections from these endeavors really dont do any justice to what a real lunar landing is like. This is where the Apollo 8 mission came into play.

Launched into space on December 21, 1968, this Apollo mission carried aboard three crewmembers, astronautsFrank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders. This was the first manned crew to leave aboard a rocket and the first to observe the Earth from a distance (via Solar System).

According to Smithsonian Air and Space, the purpose of Apollo 8 was to carry a crew to the moon and back, without landing on the moons surface. In order to carry out an actual moon landing, it was first necessary to make certain that the Apollo program was capable of not only reaching the moon but could also successfully orbit this body.

As an aside, the astronauts aboard Apollo 8 were the first to capture images of the Earth from lunar orbit. Their stunning photographs are still widely circulated today.

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As noted above, the Soviet governments successful launch of the Sputnik space satellite on October 4th, 1957 sent the United States government into a panic. With the knowledge that the Soviets also shared the capacity for nuclear warfare, U.S. government officials foresaw a nightmare scenario in which their Cold War enemy would dominate the night sky, forcing the United States to be at their mercy.

Not wasting any time, theU.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency commissioned the Jupiter rocket to carry its own satellite into orbit. OnJanuary 31, 1958, Explorer 1 was launched (via NASA). This satellite orbited the Earth more than 58,000 times before it crashed into the Earths atmosphere on March 31, 1970.

With the success of Explorer 1, the space race stepped into high gear. The U.S. government immediately constructed additional Explorer satellites, attempting four subsequent launches throughout 1958. Of the five total Explorers launched, only three made it out of the Earths atmosphere.

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The Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched on July 23, 1999. As the Earth itself absorbs X-rays as they enter its atmosphere, Chandra needed to be launched and situated beyond Earths orbit. After a successful launch, Chandra became renowned for being the worlds most powerful telescope (via NASA).

NASA launched the Chandra X-ray Observatory in order to detect and observe X-ray emissions from some of the hottest events in the universe. According to Chandra, this includes gathering data from stars that have exploded, areas around black holes, and galaxy clusters.

Four sensitive mirrors are on board, which bounce X-rays off of an optical bench. The images this observatory has captured include of a black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, the separation of dark matter from normal matter, and the regions surrounding black holes. Chandra has also been able to detect black holes across the universe, helping scientists begin to map out the vastness of what lies beyond the naked eye.

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As the costs associated with one-time use rockets took their toll on the federal governments budget, NASA scientists began to imagine a reusable vessel that could carry astronauts safely to and from space. According to Spaceline, designers presented their plans for the original space shuttle in late 1969, with NASA hopeful that a successful launch would be achieved no later than 1977.

History tells us that NASA was a little off the mark in their prediction. The first successful shuttle launch occurred on April 12, 1981. On this date, astronautsJohn Young and Robert Crippen were launched into space aboard the space shuttle Columbia. This mission marked the first of many for this particular shuttle until disaster struck decades later. On February 1, 2003, the Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earths atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

Over the course of the so-called Space Shuttle Era, NASA successfully launched five shuttles into space. Between the five shuttles, 135 shuttle missions were flown, carrying 833 different crew members. The shuttle program officially ended in 2011.

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July 20, 1976, marks the date when NASA first successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars (via Space). Following several failed Soviet attempts to land probes on the Red Planet, NASAs touchdown allowed the probe to transmit data for 90 days. The Viking probe was able to capture martian images for nearly six years, however.

Before transmission was ended in 1982, Viking 1 was able to send over 52,000 images back to Earth to be studied by scientists (via Solar System). It also successfully collected and analyzed soil samples from Mars, the results of which are still being analyzed. Scientists hope these photos provide a glimpse into how humans may be able to integrate into life on the red planet, with particular emphasis on how food might be grown sustainably.

Sophisticated instruments also were able to record temperatures on the surface of the planet at different times of the day and night. This data is being used, alongside the additional materials, to help determine how sending human astronauts to Mars can be safely accomplished in the future.

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The Cassini-Huygens Project shows what can be accomplished when different space agencies pool their resources and knowledge to move humanity forward in the age of space exploration. With a mission to explore Saturn and its moons, this endeavor was a collaboration of the European Space Agency, NASA, and the Italian governmentsAgenzia Spaziale Italiana (via NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory). With a focus on the moon Titan, in particular, the Cassini-Huygens Project was developed to hopefully discover what chemical reactions are happening in this moons atmosphere, as well as determine the source of the abundance of methane on Titan.

This mission consisted of two separate spacecraft, the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe. Cassini was constructed to continuously orbit Saturn, while the probe was to be launched from Cassini so that it could land on Titan.

Overall, this mission was structured so that the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe could conduct 27 separate scientific investigations. When the Huygens probe safely landed on the surface of Titan in 2005, scientists learned that the moons surface had the consistency of wet sand and was comprised of tiny ice pebbles (via ESA Education). The probe also detected carbon dioxide on the ground, which wasnt found in Titans atmosphere.

Cassini continued to orbit Saturn until September of 2017 when it ended its mission by plunging into Saturns atmosphere and disintegrating.

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Learning about the formation of what is perhaps the oldest planet in our solar system is key to learning about how our own planet was formed. Believed to have its beginning at a time when our sun was new, Jupiter was formed when massive amounts of dust and gases formed into a giant sphere (via Space).

Launched on August 5, 2011, the Juno spacecraft was engineered to give NASA scientists the most in-depth study of Jupiter to date. The mission was to hopefully learn more about Jupiters origin, atmosphere, interior, and magnetosphere. While Jupiter has been observed to be a gaseous sphere, it is thought to have a stable and solid core. According to NASA, testing this theory is an additional aim of the spacecrafts mission.

As described by NASA and shared with Phys.org, this spacecraft is built to withstand the intense amount of radiation that is emitted from Jupiter. While it has been orbiting the solar systems largest planet, Juno has observed never-before-seen low lightning and detected water near Jupiters equator.

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Launched in August 2003, the Spitzer Space Telescope has succeeded in being the first observatory to capture photos of planets that lie outside of our own solar system (via NASA). Known as extrasolar planets, images of these bodies were unable to be captured before this mission. Spitzer was able to discover the most remote planet from the Earth, orbiting a star nearly 13,000 light-years away. This telescope has also been able to capture a previously unknown ring of Saturn, a cluster of seven Earth-like planets rotating around a distant star, and has shown NASA the existence of the most remote galaxy in the universe, according to NASA (linked above).

The images transmitted from Spitzer are breathtaking. Since 2003, scientists have been able to study detailed photos showing weather conditions on some extrasolar planets, as well as photographic proof of water vapor on others (see link above).

What was originally intended to be a two-and-a-half-year mission has far exceeded NASAs expectations. Still in orbit, the telescope continued to send photos of bodies outside our solar system until the funding for this project ended on January 30, 2020 (via Space).

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The Expanse’s Finale Cements Its Place as One of TV’s Best Sci-Fi Shows – ComicBook.com

Posted: at 8:41 pm

Today, The Expanse comes to its end. Prime Video released the show's final episode, "Babylon's Ashes," depicting the showdown between Marco Inaros' (Keon Alexander) Free Navy and the united forces of Earth, Mars, and Kamina Drummer's (Cara Gee) Belters. The Expanse lasted for six seasons, rescued by Prime Video after Syfy unceremoniously canceled the series following its third season. Based on the first six novels in James S.A. Corey's (Ty Franck & David Abraham's) 9-volume sci-fi series, The Expanse's blend of realism and space opera has firmly etched its way into sci-fi history as one of the best genre television shows of all time.

To sum up The Expanse as succinctly as possible, one might call it sci-fi Game of Thrones, though that doesn't entirely do it justice, especially since it avoids most of Game of Thrones' excesses. It does bear a similar structure, following multiple point-of-view characters across a galaxy divided by seemingly unending and unchanging simmering conflict at the moment when an existential threat appears poised to wipe all other players off the board. And, as Game of Thrones deconstructed certain fantasy tropes, creating a sense of gritty realism in its fantasy world, The Expanse made a point of embracing many of the realities of space travel that other franchises choose to gloss over.

Concerns about fuel in Star Wars: The Last Jedi seemed like a jarring break in the franchise's rules, and Star Trek essentially treats spaceships like sea vessels. By contrast, The Expanse embraced the nuances and challenges of space travel physics as storytelling opportunities. Scarcity is omnipresent, making every bullet and torpedo fired during a space battle -- which directors often pointedly linger on -- matter. Important characters die due to the stress of the increased gravity from a hard burn through space. An entire system of inequality sprung up around humanity's extraplanetary evolution.

In The Expanse's galaxy, the United Nations, based on Earth, and the Martian Congressional Republic, an independent colony on Mars, divide power. Mars and Earth have long opposed each other on philosophical grounds that permeate their citizens' lifestyles. Practically everyone on Earth is reliant on some form of government assistance. Mars culture emphasizes hard work, fetishizing struggle in a way that appeals to its many soldiers and technocrats alike. It's essentially the blue- and red-state divide blown up to planetary-scale to encompass our solar system's blue and red planets.

And then there's the Belt, those doing the dirty work that keeps the galaxy going. They're disenfranchised, eking out an existence by working to supply the Inner Planets with resources even though Belters struggle going down a gravity well after generations spent living in zero or artificial gravity. Through their eyes, whatever conflicts may exist between Earth and Mars is nothing but petty squabbling among the privileged who jointly keep their boots on Belters' necks, viewing them only as terrorists and troublemakers.

This treatment leads to an entire Belter subculture, the rag-tag Outer Planets Alliance insurgency network, and some of the show's most fascinating characters. Detective Joe Miller (Thomas Jane) worked for the Earth company that owned his home station and, as a Belter, grew tired enough of living in what he saw as a defeatist culture that he embraced the Inners' cultural aesthetic. He went as far as to wear a hat despite never having had a sky above his head. Fred Johnson (Chad Coleman) was an Earther. He became disgusted enough at his role in keeping the Belters in their place that he defected and became the face of the OPA. His protege, Drummer, is a trueborn Belter, living in a polyamorous family made up of her shipmates. Thanks to Gee's performance, the inner conflict she goes through as she allies with the Inners against other Belters proves heartbreaking.

The divide also led to the rise of charismatic insurgent Marco Inaros, who irrevocably shifted the balance of power with a single rock flung at Earth. But, as eternal optimist James Holden (Steven Strait) concedes in the finale, Inaros was evil, but he had a point regarding the Inners' treatment of Belters.

And then comes that existential threat. Where Game of Thrones' invading White Walker horde was pretty straightforward, and its dragons interpretable as symbols of nuclear power, the protomolecule discovered in The Expanse's first season is both more sinister and more adaptable as a symbol. That's because the protomolecule itself isn't good or evil. It's an advanced technology, and like all technology, its moral value comes from its use. The Expanse cleverly uses the protomolecule to depict how the promises of technological advancement that will make all lives better often serve as cover for enhancing the lives of the already wealthy, often through creating new weapons for war or advanced tools for oppression. The threat of whatever wiped out the protomolecule's creators is out there, haunting every use of the ring gates like an ecological disaster waiting to happen. Yet, at the same time, The Expanse drives home the idea that humanity is plenty capable of wiping itself out well before that crisis could rear its head.

What's an average person to do in the face of all this existential dread? That, in part, is what The Expanse's final episode drives home. There are plenty of noble deeds to be done in "Babylon's Ashes." The show's heroic warriors -- the tempestuous Amos Burton (Wet Chatham) and battle-ready Bobby Draper (Frankie Adams) -- are at their most courageous. The intrigue is at its most intriguing, with the equally stately and ferocious Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Aghdashloo) setting the pace. But ultimately, the moment that will linger is Naomi Nagata (Dominque Tipper) and Holden's conversation after the fighting ends.

It's Naomi's monologue about how we'll never fully understand the effects our actions have on others, how our kind words may linger, or cruel ones may haunt a person throughout their entire lives, and we'd likely never know. All we can do is live our best lives and hope that others do the same and that things change for the better. After all the warfare and politics, that's the lasting message The Expanse leaves us with as it comes to its end.

Or does it? Fans who have read Corey's novels know that there's a 30-year time jump after the end of the sixth book, which is where the television adaptation concludes. And yet, The Expanse spent a significant chunk of its final six episodes introducing Laconia and its leader, Admiral Duarte (Dylan Taylor), and revealing what the stolen sample of protomolecule has wrought. These subplots only pay off in the final three books of the series and, despite a dramatic line about Duarte dealing with gods, they go unresolved in The Expanse's finale.

The last line of The Expanse is Naomi, in response to Holden bringing up the still missing protomolecule sample, telling him to stay in this moment for the time being. It's possible to read this as Naomi speaking to the audience. One might take it as a concession to the parts of Corey's story that The Expanse never got to tell. Or, perhaps with a dash of Holden's optimism, it could be telling viewers to savor the series' conclusion for now while awaiting whatever might come next.

Or maybe that's wishful thinking. Perhaps viewers will get to return to The Expanse's universe sooner or later, be it through a trilogy of films or a revival series years down the line. Or maybe they won't. Either way, the six seasons we've already seen are enough for The Expanse to stand alongside the likes of Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica as one of the great sci-fi shows in television history.

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Gameto Nets $20M on Path to Redefining Reproductive Longevity – BioSpace

Posted: at 8:40 pm

Doctors, philosophers and scientists have tinkered at extension of the human lifespan, trying to figure out how to prolong our perpetual flight from the reaches of death. Usually, though, the focus is on the addendum of years to the end of our lives.

A fresh, go-getting start-up called Gameto is pointing out that an extension of the human lifespan is not the end-all-be-all target of augmented human longevity. Instead, this biotechnology company is researching the longevity of one of the human bodys fastest aging organs: the ovaries, and on Monday, it announced $20million in Series A financing to expand these efforts.

Aging up to five times faster than the rest of the body, the subsequent decrease in fertility is what marks the start of menopause for the majority of women and the beginning of several associated symptoms and conditions that can heavily impact the daily lives of those experiencing it. And now that humans live almost twice as long as we used to, most women are looking at twice the amount of time spent with menopause and its after-effects.

Ovaries age five times faster than other organs, resulting in infertility, early menopause and increased years of poor health for women. We want to change the narrative of female reproductive longevity and address the root causes of sex/gender inequality in our society," said Gameto CEO Dr. Dina Radenkovic, M.D. in the press release.

With research that began in the laboratories of George Church at Harvard Medical Schools Wyss Institute, Gameto has created a three-part platform for ovarian therapeutics that will address menopause and assisted fertility: Fertilo, focused on the improvement of assisted fertility and working to eliminate female infertility; Deovo, focused on uncovering pharmaceutical treatments and constructing a computational platform for ovarian aging; and Ameno, focused on alleviating the medical burdens of menopause by finding a way to make it optional, not entirely unlike skipping the sugar pills in traditional birth control so that a woman doesnt start her period.

"We have strong preclinical evidence to believe in our platform," Dr. Radenkovic said. Its development is being guided by Martin Varsavsky, whose previous entrepreneurial efforts include a nationwide network of fertility centers that spans the United States known as Prelude Fertility.

Investment firms seem to agree, as Gameto originally raised $3 million in seed funding from the SALT Fund, Atomic founder Jack Abraham, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Coatue Management founder Dan Rose.

The Series A funding was led by Future Ventures with collaboration from Robert Nelsen, Anne Wojcicki, Bold Capital Partners and TA Ventures.

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The Smart Way of Choosing a Health Insurance Plan Amid Rise in COVID cases in India: Expert – Zee Business

Posted: at 8:40 pm

The Covid pandemic has brought to the fore discussions around healthcare capacity, advances in treatments as well as the cost of healthcare. The capacity of healthcare services in the public sector is limited, leaving a majority of people, about 75% according to a NITI Aayog estimate, to look for treatment in private healthcare facilities. However, healthcare costs are increasing, which is also a reflection of the advances in healthcare and the resultant human longevity.

Amid all this, choosing a correct health care policy becomes imperative. Now, how does one go about getting health cover for oneself and ones family, such that the cost is optimum and the risk of treatment costs optimally covered? Shefali Munjal, Executive Director, Hero Enterprise, shares knowledge about some of the things that should be kept in mind while choosing the health insurance plan:-

1. Opt for an exhaustive health cover

Shefali Munjal suggest, "Always consider a comprehensive plan which covers one against any and all illnesses and is not limited to a specific illness, like Covid. As illness is unpredictable, you never know when you might need financial coverage."

2. Check for a family floater option

"Check whether the insurer provides a family floater cover for the health plan you are considering. This will allow you to get your entire family covered at a lower premium, rather than opting for separate covers for individual family members," she said.

3. Look for higher Sum Insured (SI)

"With rising treatment costs, it is prudent to look for options that offer a higher Sum Insured, which can cover the treatment costs without placing a financial burden on the family. A higher amount of cover also enables one to upgrade their healthcare treatment without having to dip into own savings, which would have been earmarked for other life events and goals," she advised.

4. Look for a plan without caveats

"It is best to opt for a plan which does not have any sub-limits or co-payments. While these features help in bringing down the premium, they restrict your coverage amount at the time of a claim," she added.

5. Check for plans with complete coverage

"The plan opted for should cover the costs for consumables used in treatment, such as PPE kits, gloves, and masks, which can potentially add-up to a substantial cost," she further added.

6. Get covered for an entire year

Opt for a year-round cover and not a short-term cover of say six or nine months. This ensures that you always have coverage whenever anyone in your family falls ill.

7. Opt for a plan offering coverage in a single, private room

"Given the risk of infections and communicable diseases such as Covid, you wouldnt want to get yourself or your loved ones treated in a shared room where there is a risk of disease transmission," she further suggested.

8. Pre-hospitalization and post-hospitalization cover

"Always check what the number of days for which pre- and post- hospitalization cover is offered. A longer time duration helps in covering expenses on medicines, diagnostics, and doctor consultations before hospitalization and after discharge from the hospital," she added.

"Any illness strains a familys finances. This has come to the fore in the Covid pandemic. It is therefore imperative, and prudent, for Indian families to get themselves suitably insured for healthcare related expenses," she concluded.

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The Smart Way of Choosing a Health Insurance Plan Amid Rise in COVID cases in India: Expert - Zee Business

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LifeBank Chain Brings Ultimate Gene and Cell Therapy Benefits to Everyone – GlobeNewswire

Posted: at 8:40 pm

JERUSALEM, Jan. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, a start-up project "LifeBank Chain (LBC)" in Israel is utilizing advanced gene and cell technologies over blockchain to develop advanced therapies. They endeavor to further human longevity and expand access to genetics and cell treatments through cutting-edge technologies.

Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside human body's cells in an effort to treat or stop disease. Genes that don't work properly can cause disease. Gene therapy is the introduction of genes into existing cells to prevent or cure a wide range of diseases. Gene therapy is an exciting new approach that is just making the news. And it will change the field of medicine from what it is today. As scientists discover more genes and their functions, the potential of LBC's treatment is limitless.

Cell therapy is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect, for example, by transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy. LBC's cellular therapies are designed to improve the immune system's ability to fight cancer. Manufacturing them involves collecting a specific set of cells from the blood, modifying them to produce a more vigorous attack on a patient's cancer cells, and then reinjecting them into the patient.

Immune therapy is a new class of cancer treatment designed to boost or enhance the body's immune system to more efficiently target and destroy cancerous cells. Many experts believe that immunotherapy represents the most promising new cancer treatment since the development of chemotherapy.

LifeBank Chain (LBC) is on this journey. As a full-solution ancillary reagent, services, and instrument provider, LBC will provide flexible and pioneering tools to simplify patient workflow at every step of the manufacturing process.

Count on LBC to provide solutions focused on:

To achieve this ultimate goal, LifeBank Chain establishes a professional, open, and shared social organization -- LBC Life Alliance, inviting life technology companies, scientific research institutes, medical institutions, etc. to jointly solve medical, health, disease, and public health problems, and jointly build the application standards of gene and cell medical technology on the blockchain, and contribute to the cause of human health.

In order to promote the research of gene and cell therapy and the development of regenerative medicine, and ensure the safety and scientificity of gene and cell therapy and its research, LBC adopts comprehensive measures in relevant ethics, economy, law, technical management and public governance to create a better research environment for gene and cell therapy development.

LifeBank Chain:

https://lifebankchain.io

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lifebankchain

Email: lbc@lifebankchain.io

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Gene and Cell Therapy Benefits to Everyone

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The Longest-Living Animal in the World – 24/7 Wall St.

Posted: at 8:40 pm

The lifespan of Americans has increased considerably over the last century. Lifespan at birth in 1920 was 53 years. That figure jumped to 79 years in 2020. Some people live much longer than that. The oldest American on record lived to be 119. But human lifespans are a fraction of those of some animals.

To find the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data in the Human Ageing Genomic Resources database collection specifically, the AnAge animal longevity database.

Cynthia Kenyon is a biochemist and geneticist working on unlocking the secrets of longevity. At a TED talk in Edinburgh, Scotland, eight years ago, she talked about aging. There are some animals that dont seem to age, said Kenyon. If you look at birds, which live a long time, cells from the birds tend to be more resistant to a lot of environmental stresses like high temperature, or hydrogen peroxide.

About three-fourths of the species we considered are either fish or mammals like whales that live in the ocean. Size doesnt appear to be a factor in how long animals live. Salamanders called olms that weigh less than an ounce can live as long as 102 years. The largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, can live to be up to 110 years. Despite its size, the blue whale is not among the most dangerous mammals on Earth.

To identify the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed animal aging and longevity data from AnAge, a curated database on animal history, genomes, and longevity records, that is part of the Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR) suite of databases. The longest-living animals were identified by examining their maximum longevity, supplemented by our analysis of specimen, kingdom, and genus. Only organisms from the Kingdom Animalia were included. Animals from the phylum Porifera, such as sponges, were excluded. Average adult weight of each organism that were not provided by AnAge were confirmed by a variety of internet sources. Only animals considered to have an acceptable data quality or higher by AnAge were included.

The oldest living animal in the world is the Ocean quahog clam. Here are the details:> Oldest recorded: 507 years> Average adult weight: 0.5 lbs.> Habitat: Northern Atlantic Ocean

Methodology: To identify the longest living animal in the world, 24/7 Tempo reviewed animal aging and longevity data from AnAge, a curated database on animal history, genomes, and longevity records, that is part of the Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR) suite of databases. The longest-living animals were identified by examining their maximum longevity, supplemented by our analysis of specimen, kingdom, and genus. Only organisms from the Kingdom Animalia were included. Animals from the phylum Porifera, such as sponges, were excluded. Average adult weight of each organism that were not provided by AnAge were confirmed by a variety of internet sources. Only animals considered to have an acceptable data quality or higher by AnAge were included.

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New CEO and CTO appointed at Rejuve – Information Age

Posted: at 8:40 pm

AI-powered longevity research network Rejuve has announced the appointments of Jasmine Smith and Dr Deborah Duong as new CEO and CTO

The SingularityNET spinoff aims to extend the human health span with the aid of voluntarily donated medical data.

The new leadership team at Rejuve will help make the venture commercially available through the Longevity App, which will soon be available on iPhone and Android, allowing users to improve their health span while earning rewards for discounted healthcare products.

Decentralised network Rejuve is a spinoff of SingularityNET, which allows users to create, share, and monetise AI services at scale.

The company aims to extend the human health span as much as possible through research based on voluntarily donated medical data.

Data will be securely tracked through blockchain, with contributors retaining ownership of medical information as well as being granted compensation for supplying data in the form of tokens, redeemable for supplements, DNA test kits or longevity therapies.

New Rejuve CEO Jasmine Smith previously served for years as a community moderator in the SingularityNET ecosystem, her main focus being on transitioning Rejuve from an early-stage research initiative to a commercially available service.

As the new CEO, Smith will be responsible for ensuring growth of the community of data contributors, whose biodata will provide essential information for Rejuves longevity research.

Here is a list of the top chief executive and chief executive officer (CEO) appointments announced throughout tech. Read here

Following the appointment, Smith said: Longevity science is on the edge of amazing breakthroughs, with more funding and research than ever before.

However, longevity research should be a communal endeavour and not a perk for the privileged few. To ensure this, retaining ownership of the medical data we produce is crucial.

Too often, these data are siphoned and sold off before the contributors know it, without them seeing a reward. Longevity programs based on decentralised ownership of medical data, such as Rejuve, are the only way to ensure that the results of longevity research stay open, accessible and decentralised.

Dr Deborah Duong, an AI researcher focusing on computational social science, complex adaptive systems (CAS) and coevolutionary computation, will continue development of a tokenonomy based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarantee unconditional ownership of products by data and IP donors.

Dr Duong is currently researching emergent social phenomena among AI agents that generate data-driven casual models, as well as blockchain token economics that incentivise social good, bringing 30 years of experience in AI and CAS simulation to Rejuve ten of which have been in healthcare.

Below is a list of the biggest senior technology hires, including chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information officer (CIO) appointments. Read here

I envision the Rejuve ecosystem as the first true economy that uses the principles of decentralised AI to harness the power of social networks into scientific solutions to aging, new Rejuve CTO Duong commented.

This will be possible through a collaboration between decentralised AI and member stakeholders, incentivised to contribute through a just autonomous organisation that guarantees they own the fruits of their labour.

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Is it possible to reverse ageing? – The Star Online

Posted: at 8:40 pm

You may have seen some viral videos of extremely fit, white-haired senior citizens working out like they are still in their 20s or 30s.

They can be seen lifting heavy weights or doing pull-ups easily and nimbly, with well-toned and muscular bodies.

Whether they are male or female, it is an impressive feat for people in their 60s and beyond.

Although these individuals seem unusual, the idea of seniors remaining as fit and healthy as their younger counterparts may not be as uncommon in the future, if experts in the field of human longevity are to be believed.

One of these experts include Harvard geneticist Professor Dr David Sinclair, who has been studying the possibility of age reversal in humans for decades.

His bestselling book, Lifespan: Why We Age, and Why We Dont Have To, theorises that ageing is like a disease.

If it is curable, then we might be able to treat it just like any other disease, which could have the biggest impact on human health since antibiotics and public sanitation.

Before going further though, there are questions some of us might ask, e.g. if being able to reverse ageing implies that we will live longer than before, is it natural?

Does it go against our belief systems?

Shouldnt we just accept that humans arent immortal and just allow life to take its natural course?

ALSO READ: Humans can theoretically live forever, but it's a coin toss after 110

But the primary goal of researchers like Prof Sinclair is to improve our quality of life as we age.

Ageing itself isnt a bad thing, but there are disadvantages that come with it, such as increased risk of illnesses, immobility and frailty.

Thus, its much less about chasing a fountain of youth, and more about finding ways to prevent old-age problems that stop seniors from enjoying a full and active lifestyle in their golden years.

Reset to youth

Scientists classify cells as the simplest level of organisation in a living organism.

Ageing, on a cellular level, is often defined as the accumulation of destructive changes caused by changes to gene expression that gradually shift our cells to an aged state.

Based on years of study, researchers believe that they have found some key reasons as to why humans age.

These include a reduction of energy generated by the mitochondria (the power plants inside our cells), the shortening of telomeres (the caps on the end of chromosomes), a loss of stem cells, and an accumulation of so-called senescent cells (non-functioning zombie cells that linger in our skin and tissues).

While genetic reprogramming to regain youthful functions is one avenue of scientific exploration, researchers are also taking inspiration from creatures like the immortal jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii that can effectively reset its development and revert to a younger stage.

Prof Sinclair believes that maintaining a youthful appearance in old age involves reactivating genes called sirtuins descendants of an ancient survival circuit.

Sirtuins, he claims, are both the cause and the solution to ageing.

These genes can be turned on by modifying your lifestyle, such as intermittent fasting, or by taking dietary supplements that increase NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) a chemical that plays an integral role in metabolism.

Recently, Prof Sinclair and his team were able to successfully restore the vision of elderly blind mice suffering from a mouse version of glaucoma in their lab by cellular reprogramming to reinstate youthful function and successfully rejuvenate old cells in the mices eyes.

The process used by the scientists Reviver, which stands for recovery of information via epigenetic reprogramming has shown that old tissues can keep a record of youthful epigenetic information that can be accessed for functional age reversal.

That proves that even a complicated organ like the eye can be repaired, polished and made good as new, said Prof Sinclair.

We have no reason to suspect its any different in a human body.

Other developments

Prof Sinclair and his team arent the only ones making breakthroughs in longevity studies.

Here are some other initiatives being made to extend our quality of life:

> Organ regeneration

American biotechnology company LyGenesis has demonstrated that it can grow functional ectopic organs in patients lymph nodes via its organ regeneration technology platform.

In other words, theres a chance that we can get our organs to revert to a normal functioning state should they start to slow or fail.

The companys co-founder Dr Eric Lagasse first demonstrated that allogeneic hepatocytes i.e. genetically and immunologically dissimilar liver cells could re- generate and replace the function of the diseased liver in mice.

The study also showed impressive results in larger mammals, and Dr Lagasse and his team believe the method could ultimately help people with liver diseases.

This means that just one organ donor could potentially help multiple liver disease patients.

> Brain rewiring

The brain has 86 billion neurons, all of which are active.

American neurotechnology company Neurolink has been able to record rat brain activity using thousands of tiny electrodes implanted throughout their brains.

Co-founder Elon Musk has also unveiled a pig with a coin-sized computer chip, which he described as kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires.

That might seem like a strange concept, but imagine what the company could do for those suffering from dementia or Parkinsons disease.

If Neurolinks trials with humans are successful, then their devices will be used to help paraplegics operate computers or smartphones with just their mind.

> Measuring biological age

The epigenetic clock refers to the bodys epigenome, which acts as a tracker for changes in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) expression.

The tracking enables us to identify a persons biological age, which may be more or less than our chronological age.

Testing for biological age is done by selecting sets of DNA-methylation sites across the genome.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), human genetics and biostatistics professor Dr Steve Horvarth has created the most accurate test to date.

In time, his breakthrough may be instrumental in helping to show that age reversal may be possible.

> Prime editing

Weve reached a point where the discovery of diseases is often conducted at the genome level and a growing number of studies are finding overlap between common and rare human diseases.

This has enhanced our understanding of how diseases develop and may even bring us closer to a cure for all and any diseases.

Now, an advanced form of gene editing is taking another step in that direction.

Prime editing can, in theory, allow researchers to edit more types of genetic mutations than current technology.

In addition to correcting genetic mutations in cells that arent able to divide, prime editing could also be used to manipulate cells that rarely divide, such as those in the nervous system.

In the near future, untreatable neurological diseases like Huntingtons and Parkinsons may even have a cure.

Tips to stay young

OK, so while all these developments are still in their early stages, how do those of us approaching our golden years try to stay youthful right now?

According to Prof Sinclair, the first thing people should do to live longer is to eat less often.

I think the most important thing for increasing healthspan if theres just one thing I could say it would be to eat less often, he said.

Dont eat three meals a day.

He also recommended lifting weights, using biomarker feedback, sleeping well and reducing stress, and eating plants that have been stressed.

(Stressed plants are grown without fertilisers or pesticides, and produce their own defensive compounds, thus consuming these plants may also benefit our own biology.)

Prof Sinclair also shared about several supplements he considers to be longevity molecules or supplements that can help reduce inflammation, help control blood sugar and serve as fuel to power sirtuins.

One of them is resveratrol, which contains a natural compound found in red wine that may help lower blood sugar levels and inflammation.

The second is metformin, a common diabetes drug (doctors may prescribe it off-label for anti-ageing) that helps to control blood sugar levels, while acting like calorie restriction to protect against health problems and prolong life.

Metformin is derived from a medicinal plant called goats rue.

It first received attention when a study from the United Kingdom, involving more than 180,000 people, determined that those whose diabetes was treated with the drug lived notably longer than those who didnt use it.

Newer studies show that it may also have a beneficial effect on heart disease.

The third supplement that Prof Sinclair takes is called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), which converts into NAD+ through a series of chemical reactions.

NAD+, in turn, serves as the most important fuel for sirtuin enzymes and to reverse ageing, increase energy production and brain health, and lengthen telomeres, as well as for chromosome stability and immune cell signalling.

True longevity (or some may like to call it immortality) is still far away.

But institutions all over the world, from the US to Europe and Russia, are making concerted efforts to achieve this goal, and we may be living in the right time to see these developments come to reality.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a functional medicine practitioner. For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the readers own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

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BT Young Scientist: A year after Young Scientist win, Greg Tarr (18) runs firm, employs his dad and has a million in the bank – Independent.ie

Posted: at 8:40 pm

Within the first 30 minutes of winning the BT Young Scientist competition last year, Greg Tarr had an offer from a London-based investor wanting to put money into his software project to detect deepfake media.

hat email was shortly followed by a cascade of interest from other investors and employers one offering him a pretty high six-figure sum to come and work for them as an engineer.

It might have seemed like a tough choice for the then Leaving Cert student from Bandon Grammar School in Co Cork, but it was an easy decision to turn it down once he realised he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

Now, almost 12 months on, the 18-year-old has his own company and is a millionaire.

With the 58th BT Young Scientist competition in full swing this week, but again being held virtually for the second year in a row, Greg recalled the moment he found out about his own win.

He said his software could detect deepfake media which is usually a video of a person in which their face or body has been digitally altered so they appear to be someone else, typically used maliciously or to spread false information.

In the moments before he was crowned the winner, he was watching the proceedings with his parents on a screen in his bedroom.

I didnt expect to win at all. I was looking forward to seeing who would because I wanted to hear about what their project was, but it was me, he said.

Greg, who turns 19 this weekend, told the Irish Independent it has been a year of growth for him.

I think I grew up in a month I went from being 17 and having not paid any tax in my life and not having driven a car to owning an American company with an Irish subsidiary, having to find out about tax law and having one million in the bank in that year, he said.

He is now building AI infrastructure the motorways and bridges of the internet as CEO of his company, Inferex, with his dad, Richard Tarr, an engineer and former chief of technology at a data centre, working as head of infrastructure for his son.

Greg said they are currently looking to hire engineers and the firm will be expanding as fast as they can get talented people.

Meanwhile, this years contestants have focused on many tech and societal issues yet to be solved.

Eabha Mills (15), from Heywood Community School in Co Laois, worked with Leah Gilnagh and Madeleine Kavanagh (both 16) to see which sugars improve sports performance best.

They found pineapple gives a slow release of energy compared with the quick boost offered by Jelly Tots.

We now take pineapple at half-time in a hurling match, Eabha said.

A project by Miah OCallaghan (12), from Kinsale Community School, Co Cork, looks at encouraging the adoption of battery hens to help reduce the carbon footprint. His family have rescued 35 hens.

Frustrated with losing so many sliotars during practice, Noah Hill (14), from St Finians College, Co Westmeath, designed his project a device to help retrieve lost sliotars that his local GAA club, Clonkill, has expressed an interest in.

Aoife Duggan (13), from Sandford College, Ranelagh, Dublin, looked into human longevity and found the key to a long and healthy life lies in a joined-up approach to healthcare as well as a good diet and exercise.

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The Complete History of the Celestials, the Deviants, and the Eternals – Marvel Entertainment

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Have you triedMarvel Unlimitedyet? Its your all-access pass to over 29,000 Marvel comics, available at your fingertips. Download our supercharged app on theApp StoreorGoogle Playtoday!

In 1976, Jack Kirbys ETERNALS introduced a new lineup of gods to the Marvel Universe, a debut that was highly influential. From their first appearances, the Celestials, the Deviants, and the Eternals have been incorporated into the wide Marvel mythos. Their shared story continues in current series ETERNALS (2021), but the signs of the Celestials presence reaches far beyond. Earths Mightiest Heroes transformed the body of a Celestial into Avengers Mountain in AVENGERS (2018), while the space station, Knowhere, was built within a Celestials head. And the Celestials have always kept a close eye on Earth.

To get a better grasp on the link between the Celestials, the Deviants, and the Eternals, Marvel.com takes a look back at their shared history across millennia.

ETERNALS (1976) referred to the Celestials as space gods, but that doesnt mean theyre gods as we define the term. However, they are cosmic beings of immense power whose size and scope defy human perception. They may not be the almighty, but they have directly influenced the course of human history.

ULTIMATES 2 (2016) #6 revealed that the Celestials themselves have a creator: the First Firmament, a living embodiment of the very first universe. The Celestials and their counterparts, the Aspirants, were meant to be the First Firmaments servants. However, the Celestials' desire to allow their own creations to live and evolve led to a devastating war between the Celestials and the Aspirants that left the First Firmament shattered. War usually comes with the picture when it comes to the Celestials.

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