วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 31 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2556

[rael-science] Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk‏

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/hold-the-fries-foods-linked-to-prostate-cancer-risk/81247921/

Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk

We all know that deep-fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, and doughnuts taste good but aren’t good for us. Now, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are presenting scientific evidence that these foods—when consumed once a week or more—are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. The effect appears to be slightly stronger with regard to more aggressive forms of the disease, defined as regional/distant stage, elevated Gleason score, or PSA level.

The team notes that previous studies have suggested that eating foods made with high-heat cooking methods, such as grilled meats, may increase the risk of prostate cancer, but this is the first study to examine deep frying in relation to prostate cancer risk. Deep-fried foods have previously been linked to cancers of the breast, lung, pancreas, head and neck, and esophagus.

For the study, the investigators analyzed data from two prior population-based case-control studies involving a total of 1,549 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 1,492 age-matched healthy controls. The men were Caucasian and African-American Seattle-area residents and ranged in age from 35 to 74 years. Participants were asked to fill out a dietary questionnaire about their usual food intake, including specific deep-fried foods.

They found that men who reported eating French fries, fried chicken, fried fish, and/or doughnuts at least once a week had an increased risk of prostate cancer that ranged from 30–37% as compared to men who said they ate such foods less than once a month.Weekly consumption of these foods was associated also with a slightly greater risk of more aggressive prostate cancer. The authors also surveyed men about consumption of snack chips, but found no association between chips and increased risk of prostate cancer.

The researchers controlled for factors such as age, race, family history of prostate cancer, body-mass index, and PSA screening history when calculating the association between eating deep-fried foods and prostate cancer risk.

Possible mechanisms behind the increased cancer risk, the team suggests, include the fact that when oil is heated to temperatures suitable for deep frying, potentially carcinogenic compounds can form in the fried food. These include acrylamide, heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehyde, and acrolein. These toxic compounds are increased with re-use of oil and increased length of frying time.

Foods cooked with high heat also contain high levels of advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs, which have been associated with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Deep-fried foods are among the highest in AGE content. A chicken breast deep fried for 20 minutes contains more than nine times the amount of AGEs as a chicken breast boiled for an hour, for example.

Because deep-fried foods are primarily eaten outside the home, it is possible that the link between these foods and prostate cancer risk may be a sign of high consumption of fast foods in general, the authors note, citing the dramatic increase in fast-food restaurants and fast-food consumption in the U.S. in the past several decades.

The study was recently published online in The Prostate, in a paper titled “Consumption of deep-fried foods and risk of prostate cancer”.

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"Ethics" is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history,
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.

Rael
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[rael-science] Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk‏

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Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk

The study was recently published online in The Prostate, in a paper titled “Consumption of deep-fried foods and risk of prostate cancer”.

[rael-science] A safer way to vaccinate‏

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/vaccine-film-delivery-hiv-0127.html

A safer way to vaccinate

Polymer film that gradually releases DNA coding for viral proteins could offer a better alternative to traditional vaccines.

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

January 27, 2013

Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV.

In recent years, many scientists have been exploring DNA as a potential alternative vaccine. About 20 years ago, DNA coding for viral proteins was found to induce strong immune responses in rodents, but so far, tests in humans have failed to duplicate that success.

In a paper appearing in the Jan. 27 online issue of Nature Materials, MIT researchers describe a new type of vaccine-delivery film that holds promise for improving the effectiveness of DNA vaccines. If such vaccines could be successfully delivered to humans, they could overcome not only the safety risks of using viruses to vaccinate against diseases such as HIV, but they would also be more stable, making it possible to ship and store them at room temperature.

This type of vaccine delivery would also eliminate the need to inject vaccines by syringe, says Darrell Irvine, an MIT professor of biological engineering and materials science and engineering. “You just apply the patch for a few minutes, take it off and it leaves behind these thin polymer films embedded in the skin,” he says.

Irvine and Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering, are the senior authors of the Nature Materials paper. Both are members of MIT’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The lead author of the paper is Peter DeMuth, a graduate student in biological engineering.

Gradual vaccine delivery

Scientists have had some recent success delivering DNA vaccines to human patients using a technique called electroporation. This method requires first injecting the DNA under the skin, then using electrodes to create an electric field that opens small pores in the membranes of cells in the skin, allowing DNA to get inside. However, the process can be painful and give varying results, Irvine says.

“It's showing some promise but it's certainly not ideal and it's not something you could imagine in a global prophylactic vaccine setting, especially in resource-poor countries,” he says.

Irvine and Hammond took a different approach to delivering DNA to the skin, creating a patch made of many layers of polymers embedded with the DNA vaccine. These polymer films are implanted under the skin using microneedles that penetrate about half a millimeter into the skin — deep enough to deliver the DNA to immune cells in the epidermis, but not deep enough to cause pain in the nerve endings of the dermis.

Once under the skin, the films degrade as they come in contact with water, releasing the vaccine over days or weeks. As the film breaks apart, the DNA strands become tangled up with pieces of the polymer, which protect the DNA and help it get inside cells.

The researchers can control how much DNA gets delivered by tuning the number of polymer layers. They can also control the rate of delivery by altering how hydrophobic (water-fearing) the film is. DNA injected on its own is usually broken down very quickly, before the immune system can generate a memory response. When the DNA is released over time, the immune system has more time to interact with it, boosting the vaccine’s effectiveness.

The polymer film also includes an adjuvant — a molecule that helps to boost the immune response. In this case, the adjuvant consists of strands of RNA that resemble viral RNA, which provokes inflammation and recruits immune cells to the area.

The ability to provoke inflammation is one of the key advantages of the new delivery system, says Michele Kutzler, an assistant professor at Drexel University College of Medicine. Other benefits include targeting the wealth of immune cells in the skin, the use of a biodegradable delivery material, and the possibility of pain-free vaccine delivery, she says.

“It’s an interesting approach that can be applied not just to delivery of DNA-based vaccine antigens, but other small molecules,” says Kutzler, who was not part of the research team.

Eliciting immune responses

In tests with mice, the researchers found that the immune response induced by the DNA-delivering film was as good as or better than that achieved with electroporation.

To test whether the vaccine might provoke a response in primates, the researchers applied a polymer film carrying DNA that codes for proteins from the simian form of HIV to macaque skin samples cultured in the lab. In skin treated with the film, DNA was easily detectable, while DNA injected alone was quickly broken down.

“The hope is that that's an indication that this will translate to large animals and hopefully humans,” Irvine says.

The researchers now plan to perform further tests in non-human primates before undertaking possible tests in humans. If successful, the vaccine-delivering patch could potentially be used to deliver vaccines for many different diseases, because the DNA sequence can be easily swapped out depending on the disease being targeted.

“If you're making a protein vaccine, every protein has its little quirks, and there are manufacturing issues that have to be solved to scale it up to humans. If you had a DNA platform, the DNA is going to behave the same no matter what antigen it’s encoding,” Irvine says.

[rael-science] Loads of Microbes Found High in Atmosphere‏

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Loads of Microbes Found High in Atmosphere

Many miles above the ground, microbes thrive in the sky.

A large number and wide variety of microorganisms were detected in the atmosphere 5 to 10 miles (8 to 15 kilometers) above the Earth's surface, according to a study published today (Jan. 28) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The results suggest that the community of high-atmosphere life is large and ever-changing. Some of the microbes appear to be transient visitors, while others seem stick around; a significant number of these little life-forms are likely able to survive by breaking down and making a meal of organic (or carbon-containing) chemicals floating in the high atmosphere, said study co-author Kostas Konstantinidis, an environmental microbiologist at Georgia Tech.

"There are a few species that are quite abundant," Konstantinidis told OurAmazingPlanet. "That becomes very interesting — what are all these cells doing up there, and how do they survive?" It's too early to know the answer to this question, however, he said.

About 60 percent of the cells sampled were still alive, the study found. The amount of cells found was about equivalent to what you would find in alpine snow, Konstantinidis added.

Microbes were collected on nine flights over and near the United States, mostly above the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea before, during and after Hurricanes Earl and Karl in 2010.

Sky-high pathogens?

Many of the microbes found high in the sky are similar to those in the oceans and freshwater environments, said Konstantinidis. But after Hurricane Karl passed over populated areas of the Caribbean in 2010, up to 25 percent of the microbes found high in the atmosphere were similar to those found in feces, the study found.

"In my mind, it's likely that some of them are pathogens," he said. It's unclear, however, because the genetic analysis the researchers did couldn't pin down the exact species of bacteria. This could represent a previously unknown way for diseases to spread, he said.

For some unknown reason, the proportion of microbes, relative to other particles like soil and dust, is higher at higher altitudes, Konstantinidis said. This could be because other particles are more likely to help water form ice crystals and clouds before falling out of the atmosphere as rain or snow, he added.

The paper is one of several recent studies that show how important microbes are to the functioning of the upper atmosphere. This study, and another one published last week in the journal PLoS ONE, suggest that microbes can help form clouds and alter their chemistry.

[rael-science] Re: Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years‏

Sorry, I just realized this story is 5 years old. Please disregard. Note that to date, no mammal's life has been extended more than 30%.

Damien

On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 3:54 PM, Damien Marsic <damien.marsic@gmail.com> wrote:

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
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Source: http://io9.com/345728/geneticists-discover-a-way-to-extend-lifespans-to-800-%20years
Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years

There is now a way to extend the lifespan of organisms so that humans could conceivably live to be 800 years old. In an amazing development, scientists at the University of Southern California have announced that they've extended the lifespan of yeast bacteria tenfold — and the recipe they used to do it might easily translate into humans. It involves tinkering with two genes, and cutting down your calorie intake. Tests have already started on people in Ecuador.

According to an announcement from PLoS Genetics:

Researchers have created baker's yeast capable of living to 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects. The basic but important discovery, achieved through a combination of dietary and genetic changes, brings scientists closer to controlling the survival and health of the unit of all living systems: the cell. "We're setting the foundation for reprogramming healthy life," says study leader Valter Longo of the University of Southern California.

Longo's group put baker's yeast on a calorie-restricted diet and knocked out two genes - RAS2 and SCH9 - that promote aging in yeast and cancer in humans.

"We got a 10-fold life span extension that is, I think, the longest one that has ever been achieved in any organism," Longo says. Normal yeast organisms live about a week.

"I would say 10-fold is pretty significant," says Anna McCormick, chief of the genetics and cell biology branch at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and Longo's program officer. The NIA funds such research in the hope of extending healthy life span in humans through the development of drugs that mimic the life-prolonging techniques used by Longo and others, McCormick adds.

Baker's yeast is one of the most studied and best understood organisms at the molecular and genetic level. Remarkably, in light of its simplicity, yeast has led to the discovery of some of the most important genes and pathways regulating aging and disease in mice and other mammals.

Longo's group next plans to further investigate life span extension in mice. The group is already studying a human population in Ecuador with mutations analogous to those described in yeast.

"People with two copies of the mutations have very small stature and other defects," Longo says. "We are now identifying the relatives with only one copy of the mutation, who are apparently normal. We hope that they will show a reduced incidence of diseases and an extended life span."

Longo cautions that, as in the Ecuador case, longevity mutations tend to come with severe growth deficits and other health problems. Finding drugs to extend the human life span without side effects will not be easy.

I've always been a skeptic when it comes to life-extending research, but this has me rethinking my position.

[rael-science] Dolphins form life raft to help dying friend‏

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The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23108-dolphins-form-life-raft-to-help-dying-friend.html

Dolphins form life raft to help dying friend

Video: Dolphins team up to rescue injured companion

Everybody's favourite cetacean just got a little more lovable. For the first time, dolphins have been spotted teaming up to try to rescue an injured group member. The act does not necessarily mean dolphins are selfless or can empathise with the pain of their kin, however.

Kyum Park of the Cetacean Research Institute in Ulsan, South Korea, and colleagues were surveying cetaceans in the Sea of Japan in June 2008. They spent a day following a group of about 400 long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis).

In the late morning they noticed that about 12 dolphins were swimming very close together. One female was in difficulties: it was wriggling and tipping from side to side, sometimes turning upside-down. Its pectoral flippers seemed to be paralysed.

Life raft

The other dolphins crowded around it, often diving beneath it and supporting it from below. After about 30 minutes, the dolphins formed into an impromptu raft: they swam side by side with the injured female on their backs. By keeping the injured female above water, they may have helped it to breathe, avoiding drowning (see video, above).

After another few minutes some of the helper dolphins left. The injured dolphin soon dropped into a vertical position. The remaining helpers appeared to try and prop it up, possibly to keep its head above the surface, but it soon stopped breathing, say the researchers. Five dolphins stayed with it and continued touching its body, until it sank out of sight.

"It does look like quite a sophisticated way of keeping the companion up in the water," says Karen McComb at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK. Such helping behaviours are only seen in intelligent, long-lived social Movie
Camera

animals. In most species, injured animals are quickly left behind.

For the love of pod

While it may seem selfless to help an injured fellow, McComb says the helper dolphins might get some benefit. Rescuing the struggling dolphin could help maintain their group, and thus control of their territory. Furthermore, if the group contains close relatives, protecting those relatives helps the dolphins preserve their shared genes.

The simple act of working together could also bond the group more strongly. "It makes a lot of sense in a highly intelligent and social animal for there to be support of an injured animal," McComb says.

The act of helping also seems to suggest that the dolphins understand when others are suffering, and can even empathise: that is, imagine themselves in the place of the suffering dolphin. But while this is possible, McComb says the helping behaviour could evolve without the need for empathy.

There have been reports of single dolphins helping others, generally mothers helping their calves, but no cases of groups of dolphins working together to help another. Dolphins have also been seen interacting with the corpses of dead dolphins, which some researchers interpret as a form of mourning.

[rael-science] Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years‏

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://io9.com/345728/geneticists-discover-a-way-to-extend-lifespans-to-800-%20years

Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years

There is now a way to extend the lifespan of organisms so that humans could conceivably live to be 800 years old. In an amazing development, scientists at the University of Southern California have announced that they've extended the lifespan of yeast bacteria tenfold — and the recipe they used to do it might easily translate into humans. It involves tinkering with two genes, and cutting down your calorie intake. Tests have already started on people in Ecuador.

According to an announcement from PLoS Genetics:

Researchers have created baker's yeast capable of living to 800 in yeast years without apparent side effects. The basic but important discovery, achieved through a combination of dietary and genetic changes, brings scientists closer to controlling the survival and health of the unit of all living systems: the cell. "We're setting the foundation for reprogramming healthy life," says study leader Valter Longo of the University of Southern California.

Longo's group put baker's yeast on a calorie-restricted diet and knocked out two genes - RAS2 and SCH9 - that promote aging in yeast and cancer in humans.

"We got a 10-fold life span extension that is, I think, the longest one that has ever been achieved in any organism," Longo says. Normal yeast organisms live about a week.

"I would say 10-fold is pretty significant," says Anna McCormick, chief of the genetics and cell biology branch at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and Longo's program officer. The NIA funds such research in the hope of extending healthy life span in humans through the development of drugs that mimic the life-prolonging techniques used by Longo and others, McCormick adds.

Baker's yeast is one of the most studied and best understood organisms at the molecular and genetic level. Remarkably, in light of its simplicity, yeast has led to the discovery of some of the most important genes and pathways regulating aging and disease in mice and other mammals.

Longo's group next plans to further investigate life span extension in mice. The group is already studying a human population in Ecuador with mutations analogous to those described in yeast.

"People with two copies of the mutations have very small stature and other defects," Longo says. "We are now identifying the relatives with only one copy of the mutation, who are apparently normal. We hope that they will show a reduced incidence of diseases and an extended life span."

Longo cautions that, as in the Ecuador case, longevity mutations tend to come with severe growth deficits and other health problems. Finding drugs to extend the human life span without side effects will not be easy.

I've always been a skeptic when it comes to life-extending research, but this has me rethinking my position.

MAELOHIMY

The Elohim Sound

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 31 มกราคม พ.ศ. 2556

[rael-science] Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk‏

Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk

[rael-science] Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk‏

Hold the Fries: Foods Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk

[rael-science] A safer way to vaccinate‏

A safer way to vaccinate

[rael-science] Loads of Microbes Found High in Atmosphere‏

Loads of Microbes Found High in Atmosphere

[rael-science] Re: Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years‏

Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years

[rael-science] Dolphins form life raft to help dying friend‏

Dolphins form life raft to help dying friend

Life raft

For the love of pod

[rael-science] Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years‏

Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years