Yes, men can get breast cancer here are the symptoms to watch for – Insider – INSIDER

While breast cancer is usually considered a disease that only affects women, anyone with breast cells and tissue can be diagnosed with breast cancer, males included. Even so, male breast cancer is rare.

"This isn't a disease that's 'just for women.' Patients often don't realize this which can, unfortunately, lead to delays in diagnosis," says Abisola Olulade, MD, a family medicine physician at Sharp Rees-Stealy Downtown in San Diego, California. "In the United States, male breast cancer represents between 0.5% and 1.0% of all breast cancers diagnosed each year. This means that about one out of every 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the United States is found in a man."

In this article we'll discuss the most common forms of male breast cancers, its symptoms, and potential risk factors.

Male breast cancer occurs when malignant cells form in the tissues of the breast. Common forms of male breast cancer include:

Unfortunately, doctors are still unsure of the exact causes of breast cancer, though genetics and increased levels of estrogen may be risk factors.

In particular, increased estrogen is associated with conditions like liver disease, obesity, and certain hormone therapies like anti-androgen therapy, says Monisha Bhanote, MD, a triple board-certified physician and cytopathology specialist in Jacksonville Beach, FL. where she runs her own private practice.

"Hereditary causes may include BRCA2 mutation carriers, PTEN mutation (Cowden syndrome), and CHEK2 mutation carriers," says Bhanote

BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BReast CAncer genes 1 and 2) are genes that are related to breast cancer risk. While everyone has both BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, some people inherit a gene mutation in one or both of these genes. This mutation increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

"Men with BRCA mutations are recommended to have annual screening," says Bhanote. "Examination for any masses, nipple discharge, or skin dimpling/puckering on a daily basis will

be helpful."

Additional factors that may increase a person's risk are medications such as antidepressants, marijuana, and radiation from cancer treatment.

Male breast cancer spreads in the same way that female breast cancer spreads, through the lymphatics and blood vessels. An estimated 520 men will die from breast cancer this year.

Signs and symptoms of male breast cancer can include:

While finding a lump on one or both of your breasts can be alarming, finding a lump doesn't necessarily mean that you have breast cancer. It could be gynecomastia or enlarged breast tissue.

Though gynecomastia has many causes, liver disease and drugs or medications that contain high doses of testosterone account for about 25% of gynecomastia cases, according to Harvard Men's Health Watch.

Gynecomastia is often benign and resolves on its own. That being said, it's still a good idea to see your doctor if you notice any lumps or changes, especially if you're experiencing pain or discomfort.

Because men are less likely to receive a mammogram, it's important to learn how to perform a male self-breast examination. As a patient, it's imperative to become familiar with your body so you can advocate for yourself and notice when changes occur. Here's a quick step-by-step guide on how to self-check your breasts at home:

You can also check your breasts while lying down. To do this, set a pillow underneath your right shoulder and bend your right arm over your head. Use the fingertips of your left hand to check all areas of your breast and armpit. Once you're finished, switch the pillow to your left shoulder and repeat this process.

If you're uncomfortable doing a self-breast examination, or you fear that you're not doing it correctly, ask your physician to perform a clinical breast exam for you. Depending on how the examination goes, your physician may order a mammogram, an ultrasound, or an MRI.

If you're diagnosed with male breast cancer, your treatment plan will depend on how far the cancer has spread. Practicing monthly self-breast exams, in addition to receiving a breast examination by your physician, could improve your chances of detecting breast abnormalities early. Early detection is the key to successful treatment.

Possible treatments for male breast cancer include:

Although researchers can't pinpoint the causes of breast cancer in men, they have found a few risk factors.

Risk factors that may lead to developing male breast cancer include:

"Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do to prevent male breast cancer," says Nicholas Jones, MD, FACS. "However, you can lower your risks by being active, and limiting your alcohol consumption."

In addition, avoiding hormonal supplements, such as sexual performance enhancement supplements, may help to prevent male breast cancer. According to a 2019 study, the use of hormonal male enhancement supplements can lead to the higher levels of androgens, which may cause the growth of tumors.

Though the likelihood of developing male breast cancer is low, it's important to pay attention to your body. If you notice any changes in your skin color, new rashes, lumps, or bumps, you should seek medical help right away.

"There isn't a great screening tool for men," Jones adds. "The best action is to know your body, live a healthy lifestyle and if you notice anything out of the norm, visit your doctor. Specifically for male breast cancer, any change involving the nipple may be a sign that there is an underlying cancer."

Read more:
Yes, men can get breast cancer here are the symptoms to watch for - Insider - INSIDER

Conspiracy Theorists Believe Jeffrey Epstein, Who Died in 2019, Is Alive at His New Mexico Ranch. He Is Not. – Inside Edition

Convicted sex offender and multimillionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell more than a year ago, but according to conspiracy theorists he is alive and well and at his ranch in New Mexico, the New York Post reported.

The YouTube channel ABQ Raw told viewers that Epstein could be seen in a red truck, near the fence line of the property of his ranch. The driver of the truck is said to have had a striking resemblance to the recently deceased Jeffrey Epstein. The poster says Epstein must have rode off into the sunset after faking his death, the New York Post reported.

Epstein, 66, did not fake his own death, but instead took his own life after beingcharged in July 2019 with the sexual trafficking of girls as young as 14.

Epstein conned people about his wealth, his financial stature and personal accomplishments, and deceived people in his pursuit to form valuable relationships with political and global leaders, scientists and other titans ofindustry, officials said. Epstein also hada fascination with transhumanism, the science of improving the human population through genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, The New York Times reported. Before hisdeath, Epstein hoped to seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating womenat his New Mexico ranch, the Times reported.

On Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell in the Special Housing Unit of Manhattan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan around 6:30 a.m. Jail staff tried to revive him, and then called for an ambulance.

He was taken to New York Downtown Hospital around 7:30 a.m. anddeclared dead a short time later. The city Medical Examiners office took Epsteins body from the hospital to the city morgue at Bellevue Medical Center Saturday afternoon to determine the cause of death, the Post reported.

RELATED STORIES

Jeffrey Epstein's First-Known Accuser Says He Posed as Victoria's Secret Recruiter

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein Confidante and British Socialite, Arrested on Sex Charges

New York Coroner Rejects Claim That Jeffrey Epstein's Death Was 'Homicide'

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

View post:
Conspiracy Theorists Believe Jeffrey Epstein, Who Died in 2019, Is Alive at His New Mexico Ranch. He Is Not. - Inside Edition

What are proteins and why do they fold? – DW (English)

The proteins in our bodies are easily confused with the proteinin food.There are similarities and links between the two for example, both consist of amino acids.

But, when scientists talk about proteins in biology, they are talking about tiny butcomplex molecules that perform a huge range of functions at a cellular level, keeping us healthy and functioning as a whole.

Scientists will often talk about proteins "folding" and say that when they fold properly, we're OK. The way they fold determines their shape, or 3D structure, and that determines their function.

But, when proteins fail to fold properly, they malfunction, leaving us susceptible to potentially life-threatening conditions.

We don't fully understand why: why proteins fold and how, and why it doesn't always work out.

When proteins go wrong: 'Lewy bodies' or protein deposits in neurons can lead to Parkinson's cisease

The whole thing has been bugging biologists for 50 or 60 years, with three questions summarized as the "protein-folding problem."

It appears that that final question has now been answered, at least in part.

An artificial intelligence systemknown as AlphaFold can apparently predict the structure of proteins.

AlphaFold is a descendant of AlphaGo a gaming AI that beat human GO champion Lee Sedol in 2016. GO is a game like chess but tougher to the power of 10.

DeepMind,the company behind AlphaFold, is calling it a "major scientific advance."

To be fair, it's not the first time that scientists have reported they have used computer modeling to predict the structure of proteins;they have done that for a decade or more.

Perhaps it's the scale that AI brings to the field the ability to do more, faster. DeepMind say they hope to sequence the human proteome soon, the same way that scientists sequenced the human genome and gave us all our knowledge about DNA.

But why do it? What is it about proteins that makes them so important for life?

Well, predicting protein structure may help scientists predict your health for instance, the kinds of cancer you may or may not be at risk of developing.

Proteins are indeed vital for life they are like mechanical components, such ascogs in a watch or strings and keys in a piano.

Proteins form when amino acids connect in a chain. And that chain "folds" into a 3D structure. When it fails to fold, it forms a veritable mess a sticky lump of dysfunctional nothing.

Proteins can lend strength to muscle cells, or form neurons in the brain.The US National Institutes of Health lists five main groups of proteins and their functions:

There can be between 20,000 and 100,000 unique types of proteins within a human cell. They form out of an average of 300 amino acids, sometimes referred to as protein building blocks. Each is a mix of the 22 differentknown amino acids.

Those amino acids are chained together, and the sequence, or order, of that chain determines how the protein folds upon itselfand, ultimately, its function.

Protein-folding can be a process of hit-and-miss. It's a four-part process that usually begins with twobasic folds.

Healthy proteins depend on a specific sequence of amino acids and how the molecule 'folds' and coils

First, parts of a protein chain coil up into what areknown as "alpha helices."

Then, other parts or regions of the protein form "beta sheets," which look a bit like the improvised paper fans we make on a hot summer's day.

In steps three and four, you get more complex shapes. The two basic structures combine into tubes and other shapes that resemble propellers, horseshoes or jelly rolls. And that gives them their function.

Tube or tunnel-like proteins, for instance, can act as an express route for traffic to flow in and out of cells. There are "coiled coils" that move like snakes to enable a function in DNA clearly, it takes all types in the human body.

Successful protein folding depends on a number of things, such as temperature, sufficient space in a celland, it is said, even electrical and magnetic fields.

Temperature and acidity (pH values) in a cell, for instance, can affect the stability of a protein its ability to hold its shape and therefore perform its correct function.

Chaperone proteins can assist other proteins while folding and help mitigate bad folding. But it doesn't always work.

Misfolded proteins are thought to contribute to a range of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's andHuntington's diseaseand ALS.

It's thought that when a protein fails to foldand perform a specific function, known as "loss of function," that specific job just doesn't get done.

As a result, cells can get tired for instance, when a protein isn't there to give them the energy they need and eventually they get sick.

Researchers have been trying to understand why some proteins misfold more than others, why chaperones sometimes fail to help, and why exactly misfolded proteins cause the diseases they are believed to cause.

Who knows? DeepMind's AlphaFold may help scientists answer these questions a lot faster now. Or throw up even more questions to answer.

Bugs can be tasty. So why is it that we don't we eat more of them? There are plenty of reasons to do so: insects are easy to raise and consume fewer resources than cows, sheep or pigs. They dont need pastures, they multiply quickly and they don't produce greenhouse gasses.

Water bugs, scorpions, cockroaches - on a stick or fried to accompany beer: these are delicacies in Asia, and healthy ones at that. Insects, especially larvae, are an energy and protein bomb. One hundred grams of termites, for example, have 610 calories - more than chocolate! Add to that 38 grams of protein and 46 grams of fat.

Insects are full of unsaturated fatty acids, iron, vitamins and minerals says the UNS Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The organization wants to increase the popularity of insect recipes around the world.

In many countries around the world, insects have long been a popular treat, especially in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Mopane caterpillars, like the ones shown here, are a delicacy in southern Africa. They're typically boiled, roasted or grilled.

Even international fine cuisine features insects. And in Mexican restaurants, worms with guacamole are a popular snack. Meanwhile, new restaurants in Germany are starting to pop up that offer grasshoppers, meal worms and caterpillars to foodies with a taste for adventure.

In Europe and America, beetles, grubs, locusts and other creepy crawlers are usually met with a yuck! The thought of eating deep-fried tarantulas, a popular treat in Cambodia, is met with great disgust. But is there a good reason for that response?

Fine food specialists Terre Exotique (Exotic Earth) offer a grilled grasshopper snack. The French company currently sells the crunchy critters online via special order. A 30-gram jar goes for $11.50 (9 euros).

There are about 1,000 edible insect varieties in the world. Bees are one of them. They're a sustainable source of nutrition, full of protein and vitamins - and tasty for the most part. The world needs to discover this delicacy, says the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

In 2012, researchers used ecological criteria to monitor mealworm production at an insect farm in the Netherlands. The result? For the production of one kilogram of edible protein, worm farms use less energy and much less space than dairy or beef farms.

Even in Germany, insects used to be eaten in abundance. May beetle soup was popular until the mid-1900s. The taste has been described as reminiscent of crab soup. In addition, beetles were sugared or candied, then sold in pastry shops.

French start-up Ynsect is cooking up plans to offer ground up mealworms as a cost-effective feed for animals like fish, chicken and pigs. This could benefit the European market, where 70 percent of animal feed is imported.

Author: Lori Herber

The rest is here:
What are proteins and why do they fold? - DW (English)

Has Google’s DeepMind revolutionized biology? | TheHill – The Hill

Every budding biologist learns about proteins and the amino acids that build them. Proteins are the building blocks of life, but knowing the sequence for the protein is only half of the story. How the protein folds onto itself determines what sections are exposed and can interact with other molecules, and therefore also what sections are hidden.

This is called the protein folding problemand has stumped the scientific community for about 50 years. Scores of researchers around the world are working to predict how proteins are folded, many using artificial intelligence (AI).

Biologists want to be able to predict how a protein folds because that gives insight into what it does and how it functions in the body. Geneticists and researchers have gained understanding about genes that encode for proteins, but experts have less knowledge about what happens when proteins are released to do their jobs.

One group at DeepMind, a Google AI offshoot, built an AI system that has done what others have not been able to. The group entered their algorithm, called AlphaFold, in the biennial protein-structure prediction challenge called Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP). The organizers of CASP look at the accuracy of predictions to assess how good the solutions are. The assessment is done blind, meaning the assessors dont know whose results they are looking at.

BREAKING NEWS ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

CDC CUTS LENGTH OF COVID-19 QUARANTINE TIME AFTER EXPOSURE

UK BECOMES FIRST WESTERN NATION TO AUTHORIZE COVID-19 VACCINE

CDC DECIDES WHO WILL RECEIVE FIRST DOSES OF COVID-19 VACCINES

CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC WAS SPREADING IN US LAST CHRISTMAS, LONG BEFORE IT WAS IDENTIFIED IN CHINA, NEW STUDY FINDS

This year, AlphaFold has come out on top, beating its past performance and others in the competition.

This is a big deal,said John Moult, who is a computational biologist at the University of Maryland in College Park and co-founded CASP in 1994, to Nature. In some sense the problem is solved.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Research groups that dont use AI usually focus on experiments and collect data like X-ray diffraction data. One group that was trying to figure out a bacteria protein has been studying it for a decade while AlphaFold solved it in half an hour, according to Nature.

This is a problem that I was beginning to think would not get solved in my lifetime,said Janet Thornton, who is a structural biologist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute and a past assessor for CASP, to Nature.

DeepMind is mostly known for its success in chess, Go and other games. Demis Hassabis, DeepMinds founder and chief executive,said to The Guardian, These algorithms are now becoming mature enough and powerful enough to be applicable to really challenging scientific problems.

READ MORE LIKE THIS FROM CHANGING AMERICA

LIQUID BIOPSIES COULD LEAD TO EARLY CANCER DETECTION

CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC WAS SPREADING IN US LAST CHRISTMAS, LONG BEFORE IT WAS IDENTIFIED IN CHINA, NEW STUDY FINDS

SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEPRESSION ARE SET TO COLLIDE THIS WINTER

WOMEN OF COLOR ARE TIPPING THE BALANCE OF POWER IN U.S. CITIES

Read more:
Has Google's DeepMind revolutionized biology? | TheHill - The Hill

Will AI empower scientists or replace them? – Techerati

Googles DeepMind AI team solved a long-running biological problem

Scientists are not about to lose their jobs to more sophisticated artificial intelligence instead it will help them work even better, an expert in the field has said following a Google breakthrough.

Last week, the tech giants DeepMind AI specialists based in the UK made a leap forward in solving one of biologys biggest challenges, the five-decade-old protein folding problem.

Determining the structure of a protein opens up a world of possibilities, from understanding neurological diseases like Parkinsons, to discovering new drugs.

The problem is there are so many and it takes time to understand them all we have only managed to unfold a fraction of the millions of known proteins in living things.

But what does this mean for scientists going forward?

Like many jobs touched by technology, it does not mean their skills will no longer be needed, according to Dr Aldo Faisal, professor of AI and neuroscience at Imperial College London.

Instead it will cut down on mundane tasks, allow research to be carried out faster, and enable scientists to concentrate on more in-depth experiments.

I think what were going to see is that AI is going to empower scientists, its not about replacing scientists, its about empowering them to be able to do more and effectively taking away the boring parts of the work so to speak that are routine and mundane and allowing them to move quicker, discover things faster and I think thats one of the biggest appeals of AI, Dr Faisal told the PA news agency.

The protein folding and AlphaFold is beautiful because it shows that one can test hypotheses much, much quicker than with current conventional technologies about how protein folds and of course how protein folds tell us something about how they can function, interact and so this will basically save time and allow people to very quickly explore protein structures without having to do costly and slow great experiments.

Although AI has been used to revolutionise science for several years, Dr Faisal said we are seeing loads of other applications arrive and he expects more to come.

For example, earlier this year a group of scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used AI to help them uncover new types of powerful antibiotics, capable of killing some of the worlds most problematic disease-causing bacteria.

That was a very fortuitous discovery they made using AI and were seeing loads of other applications in understanding, basically, bringing together data about health care and environment and the context in which people live in relating that to the genes and the function of proteins inside their body, Dr Faisal continued.

Establishing these links, basically connecting healthcare data, connecting daily life data,

See the article here:
Will AI empower scientists or replace them? - Techerati

Tech.eu Podcast #198: Even more money for e-scooters, new VC funds, protein folding, and we talk to Sebastian Peck of InMotion Ventures – Tech.eu

The Tech.eu Podcast is a show in which we discuss some of the most interesting stories from the European technology scene and interview leading entrepreneurs and investors from across the region.

This week, we talk about whats going on in European tech, including some of the biggest funding rounds of the week, new VC funds, science and research news, and much more. Weve also spoken to Sebastian Peck, managing director of InMotion Ventures.

You can find the latest episode embedded below. Subscribe today and dont miss new episodes:

And here are the notes and links for this weeks episode:

Voi, the European micromobility rental company, raises $160 million additional equity and debt funding

UK-based HungryPanda raises $70 million to expand its online Asian food delivery business worldwide

Monzo, the UK challenger bank, picks up additional 60 million in funding

UK edtech startup MEL Science snags $14 million Series B

SoftBank buys 10.1 percent stake in Sinch after its meteoric surge

This is where Target Global wants to invest its new 300+ million fund

Firstminute Capital launches second $111 million fund, featuring a whos-who of founders as LPs

The European Investment Bank Group debuts new 150 million financing instrument to support European AI tech firms

London AI lab claims breakthrough that could accelerate drug discovery

Interview with Sebastian Peck, managing director of InMotion Ventures, a firm backed by Jaguar Land Rover

We hope you enjoy(ed) the podcast! Please feel free to email us with any questions, suggestions, and opinions topodcast@tech.eu or tweet at us @tech_eu.

Image credit: National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Link:
Tech.eu Podcast #198: Even more money for e-scooters, new VC funds, protein folding, and we talk to Sebastian Peck of InMotion Ventures - Tech.eu

The Cyberlaw Podcast: It’s Time to Pay Attention When Attention Stops Paying – Lawfare

Did you ever wonder where all that tech money came from all of a sudden? Turns out, a lot of it comes from online programmatic ads, an industry that gets little attention even from the companies, such as Google, that it made wealthy. That lack of attention is pretty ironic, because lack of attention is whats going to kill the industry, according to Tim Hwang, former Google policy maven and current research fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET).

In our interview, Tim Hwang explains the remarkably complex industry and the dynamics that are gradually leaching the value out of its value proposition. Tim thinks were in an attention bubble, and the popping will be messy. Im persuaded the bubble is here but not that its end will be disastrous outside of Silicon Valley.

Sultan Meghji and I celebrate what seems like excellent news about a practical artificial intelligence (AI) achievement in predicting protein folding. Its a big deal, and an ideal problem for AI, with one exception. The parts of the problem that AI hasnt solved would be a lot easier for humans to work on if AI could tell us how it solved the parts it did figure out. Explainability, it turns out, is the key to collaborative AI-human work.

We welcome first time participant and long-time listener Jordan Schneider to the panel. Jordan is the host of the unmissable ChinaTalk podcast. Given his expertise, we naturally ask him about Australia. Actually, its natural, because Australia is now the testing ground for many of Chinas efforts to exercise power over independent countries using cyber power along with trade. Among the highlights: Chinese tweets highlighting a report about Australian war crimes followed by ham-handed tweet-boosting bot campaigns. And in a move that ought to be featured in future justifications of the Trump administrations ban on WeChat, the platform refused to carry the Australian prime ministers criticism of the war-crimes tweet.

Sen. Ted Cruz, call your office! And this will have to be Sen. Cruzs fight, because it looks more and more as though the Trump administration has thrown in the towel. Its claim that it is negotiating a TikTok sale after ordering divestment is getting thinner; now the divestment deadline has completely disappeared, as the government simply says that negotiations continue. Nick Weaver is on track to win his bet with me that CFIUS wont make good on its order before the mess is shoveled onto President-elect Joe Bidens plate.

Whoever was in charge of beating up WeChat and TikTok may have left the government early, but the team thats sticking pins in other Chinese companies is still hard at work. Jordan and Brian Egan talk about the addition of SMIC to the amorphous defense blacklist. And Congress has passed a law (awaiting the presidents signature) that will make life hard for Chinese firms listed on U.S. exchanges.

China, meanwhile, isnt taking this lying down, Jordan reports. It is mirror-imaging all the Western laws that it sees as targeting China, including bans on exports of Chinese products and technology. It is racing (on what Jordan thinks is a twenty-year pace) to create its own chip design capabilities. And with some success. Sultan takes some of the hype out of Chinas claims to quantum supremacy. Though even dehyped, Chinas achievement should be making those who rely on RSA-style crypto just a bit nervous (thats all of us, by the way).

Michael Weiner previews the still veiled state antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and promises to come back with details as soon as its filed.

In quick hits, I explain why we havent covered the Iranian claim that their scientist was rubbed out by an Israeli killer robot machine gun: I dont actually believe them. Brian explains that another law aimed at China and its use of Xinjian forced labor is attracting lobbyists but likely to pass. Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola have all taken hits for lobbying on the bill; none of them say they oppose the bill, but it turns out theres a reason for that. Lobbyists have largely picked the bones clean.

President Trump is leaving office in typical fashiongesturing in the right direction but uninteresting in actually getting there. In a Too Much Too Late negotiating move, the President has threatened to veto the defense authorization act if it doesnt include a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. If hes yearning to wield the veto, the Democrats and GOP alike seem willing to give him the chance. They may even override, or wait until Jan. 20 to pass it again.

Finally, I commend to interested listeners the oral argument in the Supreme Courts Van Buren case, about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The solicitor generals footwork in making up quasi textual limitations on the more sweeping readings of the act is admirable, and it may well be enough to keep van Buren in jail, where he probably belongs for some crime, if not this one.

And more.

Download the 341st Episode (mp3)

You can subscribe to The Cyberlaw Podcast using iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or our RSS feed. As always, The Cyberlaw Podcast is open to feedback. Be sure to engage with @stewartbaker on Twitter. Send your questions, comments, and suggestions for topics or interviewees to CyberlawPodcast@steptoe.com. Remember: If your suggested guest appears on the show, we will send you a highly coveted Cyberlaw Podcast mug!

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not reflect the opinions of their institutions, clients, friends, families, or pets.

Originally posted here:
The Cyberlaw Podcast: It's Time to Pay Attention When Attention Stops Paying - Lawfare

Building better vaccines for the elderly | The Source – Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

As human lifespans have gotten longer, certain proteins in our bodies are increasingly prone to take on alternative shapes. These misfolded proteins can ultimately trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Lou Gehrigs disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Meredith Jackrel, assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and her lab group study protein misfolding disorders. They are especially interested in how protein misfolding occurs, how it leads to disease and how scientists might be able to prevent or even reverse protein misfolding. Their work promises applications in flu vaccines as well as in the current coronavirus pandemic.

In this Q&A, Jackrel describes how her labs expertise in protein misfolding and neurodegenerative diseases has made them uniquely qualified to work on developing new amyloid-inspired vaccine technologies aimed at elderly populations.

How does your research relate to the current pandemic?

We are working on the development of new vaccine technologies specifically tailored to elderly populations. We originally initiated this project to evaluate new flu vaccine technologies, but this approach could also be relevant to COVID-19 since seniors are particularly susceptible to its severe complications.

A general problem with vaccination of elderly individuals is immuosenescence, or age-related dysfunction of the immune system. Immunosenescence is typically overcome by the addition of adjuvants to improve immune response and efficacy. However, adjuvants create local inflammation, which obstructs the immune system and makes vaccines less effective.

A colleague at WashU in biomedical engineering, Jai Rudra, studies self-assembling peptides as materials for developing novel vaccines that do not require the use of adjuvants. These self-adjuvanting peptide nanofibers are hypothesized to trigger the autophagy pathway, a kind of cellular recycling that can also promote good immunological functions, which has emerged as a potential vaccine target. Administration of these peptide nanofibers leads to robust, high-affinity, and neutralizing antibody responses without local reactions, making them attractive for vaccine delivery in the elderly.

To further pursue application of these nanofibers, we must now investigate the toxicity and clearance mechanism of these materials.

How are you using your expertise in protein folding/misfolding in your work on vaccine technology?

Peptide nanofiber materials rapidly assemble into configurations that closely resemble the underlying causes of neurodegenerative disorders. These amyloids are recognized as clumps of proteins that accumulate in patients with Alzheimers, Huntingtons and Parkinsons disease.

While there are key differences that we anticipate will not make use of these materials problematic, it is nonetheless essential that the safety and clearance mechanism of the peptide nanofiber vaccines be thoroughly tested. My labs expertise in the development of model systems to study the toxicity and mechanism of disease-associated amyloid proteins is therefore highly relevant to this project.

Furthermore, due to the complexities of studying the peptide nanofibers in mammalian cells, my labs expertise in the use of Bakers yeast as a model system is proving highly relevant for studying the mechanism of clearance of these new materials.

What are your specific goals in this project?

The primary goals for my lab are to determine the toxicity and mechanism of clearance of the peptide nanofiber vaccines in a yeast model system. We aim to compare the toxicity of the nanofibers to the toxicity of disease-associated proteins. We will also employ autophagy-deficient yeast models to establish the mechanism of clearance of the nanofibers. The Rudra lab then aims to assess the efficacy of the nanofiber-based vaccines in aged mice.

Where does the project stand now? What are the next steps?

We have established a yeast model system of these peptide nanofibers and completed much of the preliminary work. Excitingly, we have confirmed that these peptide nanofibers are not toxic in yeast and have made some new insights into their mechanism of clearance. We aim to complete the early stage of this project shortly, and the Rudra lab has begun work in animal systems. Once we complete work with the nanofibers alone, we will begin to test conjugates to various vaccine targets, notably those that underpin COVID-19.

Read this article:
Building better vaccines for the elderly | The Source - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

Mouse Aging Cell Atlas enables discovery of cellular-specific aging changes in different cell types and organs – National Institute on Aging

Aging is a significant risk factor for developing many chronic diseases, and gaining a better understanding of the genetic, molecular, and cellular processes responsible for the aging process is vital to improving quality of life. To this end, two studies, funded in part by NIA and published in Nature, used mouse models to catalog and identify multiple cell-specific and cellular composition changes in different cell types and organs related to the aging process.

The first study describes the creation of a single-cell transcriptomic mouse cell atlas that captures cell-type-specific hallmarks across the lifespan of the mouse. The Tabula Muris Senis or Mouse Aging Cell Atlas provides molecular information on age-related changes in specific cell types across 23 tissues and organs. In the second study, using data from the atlas, researchers found that not only do cell-specific changes occur across multiple cell types and organs, but age-related changes also occur in the cellular composition of different organs.

To create the mouse atlas, researchers performed single-cell RNA sequencing on more than 350,000 cells from male and female mice ranging from one to 30 months old, which models the human aging process from infancy to approximately 100 years old. Data were collected for mice in six age groups at 1, 3, 18, 21, 24 and 30 months. By analyzing multiple organs from the same mouse over that time span, researchers were able to obtain data controlled for age, environment, and epigenetic effects.

Researchers observed that changes in the relative composition of a given cell type with age are more meaningful than comparing proportions of different cell types at a single age. In one analysis of their data, they used the Genome Analysis ToolKit to identify specific gene mutations across all samples simultaneously. They focused on genes that were expressed in at least 75% of cells for each age group within a particular tissue and observed an age-related increase in mutations across all the organs they analyzed. This supports other studies indicating that genomic instability is a hallmark of aging and suggests it occurs in many organs of the body.

In the second study, researchers performed bulk RNA sequencing of proteins and data from the mouse atlas to demonstrate a progression of aging both within and among different organs.

They measured plasma proteins and sequenced RNA from 17 isolated organ types from male and female mice from one month old to maturity (3-6 months old) and aging through adulthood (median 27 months old). Researchers then analyzed whether differentially expressed genes (DEGs) arise and whether they persist with advancing age. Differential gene expression is the activation of different genes within a cell that define its function.

Few DEGs were observed between organs at similar ages but they increased markedly with advancing mouse age, especially when compared with one-month-old mice that were undergoing development. Among their findings on DEGs, they discovered gene expression trajectories that were similar to aging-related processes, including mitochondria dysfunction, impaired protein folding, and inflammation. They also noted that changes in DEGs for common biological pathways in tissues did not seem to be driven by changes in transcription regulatory factors, which turn gene expression on and off. This suggests that additional gene regulatory sites may come into play in the dynamics of DEGs with aging. Further, researchers found that DEGs that began in middle age were highly correlated to similar patterns in later life, indicating that some harmful changes begin earlier in life. The researchers noted that better understanding of these processes may lead to improved interventions to enhance healthspan benefits.

These studies highlight the utility of the Mouse Aging Cell Atlas, as well as the work that can stem from enhanced understanding of aging processes at the cellular, tissue, and organ system level. Future research using these characterizations of aging may help with the development and application of interventions to increase the healthspan and delay aging-related diseases. The mouse atlas data set is available at https://tabula-muris-senis.ds.czbiohub.org/.

This research was supported in part by NIA grants R01-AG045034 and DP1-AG053015.

References: Tabula Muris Consortium. A single-cell transcriptomic atlas characterizes ageing tissues in the mouse. Nature. 2020;583(7817):590-595. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2496-1.

Schaum N, et al. Ageing hallmarks exhibit organ-specific temporal signatures. Nature. 2020;583(7817):596-602. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2499-y.

Original post:
Mouse Aging Cell Atlas enables discovery of cellular-specific aging changes in different cell types and organs - National Institute on Aging

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Size, Opportunities, Dynamic, Outlook and Forecast To 2027 – Cheshire Media

Fort Collins, Colorado Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market report on in-depth research, sales estimates, and growth forecast details by segments, regions and research scope, historical data, key players, and growth value.

The Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020 analysis provides a basic summary of the trade along with definitions, classifications, uses, and trade chain structure. Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy market study is provided for the international markets, along with development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are mentioned in the same way as production processes and value structures are analyzed. This report also provides information on import/export consumption, supply and demand, costs, prices, sales, and gross margins.

Download Exclusive Sample PDF along with few company profiles @ https://reportsglobe.com/download-sample/?rid=75349

The Major Players Profiled in this Report include

Impact of Covid-19 on this Market:

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market report analyses the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Testosterone Replacement Therapy industry. Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to almost 180+ countries around the globe with the World Health Organization declaring it a public health emergency. The global impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are already starting to be felt, and will significantly affect the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market in 2020.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought effects on many aspects, like flight cancellations; travel bans and quarantines; restaurants closed; all indoor events restricted; emergency declared in many countries; massive slowing of the supply chain; stock market unpredictability; falling business assurance, growing panic among the population, and uncertainty about future.

COVID-19 can affect the global economy in 3 main ways: by directly affecting production and demand, by creating supply chain and market disturbance, and by its financial impact on firms and financial markets.

Request a Discount on the report @ https://reportsglobe.com/ask-for-discount/?rid=75349

Market Segments and Sub-segments Covered in the Report are as per below:

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Segmentation, By Type

Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Segmentation, By Applications

This Market Study covers the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Size across segments. It aims at estimating the market size and the growth potential of the market across segments by component, data type, deployment type, organization size, vertical, and region. This Testosterone Replacement Therapy study also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key market players, along with their company profiles, key observations related to product and business offerings, recent developments, and key market strategies.

Request customization of the report @https://reportsglobe.com/need-customization/?rid=75349

Reason to purchase Testosterone Replacement Therapy market report:

Finally, the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report is a credible source of market research that will accelerate your business exponentially. The report gives the most important regional framework conditions, economic situations with item value, advantage, limit, production, supply, demand, market development rate and number, etc. Testosterone Replacement Therapy Industry Report Also includes a new SWOT review task, speculative test research, and corporate return on investment research.

To learn more about the report, visit @ https://reportsglobe.com/product/global-covid-19-impacttestosterone-replacement-therapy-sales-market/

Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report versions like North America, Europe, or Asia.

How Reports Globe is different than other Market Research Providers

The inception of Reports Globe has been backed by providing clients with a holistic view of market conditions and future possibilities/opportunities to reap maximum profits out of their businesses and assist in decision making. Our team of in-house analysts and consultants works tirelessly to understand your needs and suggest the best possible solutions to fulfill your research requirements.

Our team at Reports Globe follows a rigorous process of data validation, which allows us to publish reports from publishers with minimum or no deviations. Reports Globe collects, segregates, and publishes more than 500 reports annually that cater to products and services across numerous domains.

Contact us:

Mr. Mark Willams

Account Manager

US: +1-970-672-0390

Email:[emailprotected]

Web:reportsglobe.com

Read the rest here:
Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Size, Opportunities, Dynamic, Outlook and Forecast To 2027 - Cheshire Media

Myths and Facts about Modern Testosterone Replacement Therapy – Morningside Maryland

If someone is diagnosed with low T (testosterone), then testosterone replacement therapy, commonly called TRT, provides several benefits. However, there are risks to be aware of, too.

It is possible to learn more about testosterone replacement therapy by clicking here or by reading the information below.

The short answer to this is yes. TRT can have side effects. For example, it may cause oily skin or acne, a low sperm count that causes infertility, an increased risk of blood clots, and testicles shrinkage. Potential other side effects include an increased risk of a stroke or heart attack and larger breasts.

There is information from the Endocrine Society that says a person should not have TRT if they have been diagnosed with breast cancer or prostate cancer. However, there are other studies that have suggested that men who have been treated successfully for prostate cancer could be a candidate for TRT if they are watched for any signs of disease. Before beginning TRT, a doctor needs to access the individuals risk for developing prostate cancer.

In some situations, a doctor may tell someone not to seek TRT treatment if they are dealing with certain conditions. This includes obstructive sleep apnea, urinary tract issues, enlarged prostate, high red blood cell counts, and severe congestive heart failure. TRT is not good to use for those who are dealing with low testosterone because of aging.

If someone has low testosterone, TRT can restore their ability to have strong and healthy erections and may even boost their sex drive. ED has several other potential causes, too. In many cases, low testosterone is not the cause or the only cause of ED. It is best for an individual to talk to their doctor to determine the underlying issue.

There are a few options when it comes to testosterone replacement therapy.

One option is patches. These are simple to use and apply. However, the patches can also cause rashes on the skin and may have to be used more than one time per day. Another option is a gel. It is possible to rub the gel into the skin each day. This option is convenient; however, it is essential that the user is cautious when using it. They cannot allow the treated area to touch or come in contact with anyone else for a few hours after applying it. If this happens, they could get testosterone into the other persons system. It is now possible to purchase a nasal gel, which will eliminate the exposure risk.

Another option for testosterone therapy is a buccal patch. This is applied to the upper arm, two times per day. The patches are convenient; however, they can result in gum disease or irritation. An injection can be used two to 10 weeks apart. They are very affordable compared to other treatment options. However, injections do not always provide steady or consistent results. The persons testosterone levels are going to fall between the doses.

For something that is more long-lasting, subcutaneous pellets are available. A doctor will put these beneath the skin every three to six months. They are extremely convenient after being put in but will require minor surgery each time they are used.

A doctor will measure a persons testosterone level at the three and six-month mark after treatment starts. After this testing, an individual will be tested one time per year. If testosterone levels are fine, they will remain on the same dose.

If a persons testosterone levels are too low, the dose could be adjusted. When testing testosterone levels, a doctor will check a persons red blood cell levels, as well. In about one to two years of TRT, a doctor can measure the persons bone density if they were dealing with osteoporosis when treatment was started. A doctor will also evaluate the individuals risk of prostate cancer when treatment begins. Additional tests may be done at the three- and the six-month marks, too. After that, they will be conducted annually.

Anyone who is undergoing TRT needs to call for medical help right away if they have certain symptoms. These symptoms include chest pain, slurred speech, trouble breathing, shortness of breath, weakness in just one side of their body.

When someone begins taking TRT, they will have to stay with the treatment indefinitely. It is important to note that TRT is not designed to cure cases of low testosterone. This means that the symptoms may return if the person stops taking the prescribed treatment.

When it comes to low T treatment, there are several factors to consider. If a man suspects they are dealing with this issue, it is a good idea to set up an appointment with their doctor. By doing this, they can find out if this type of treatment may be beneficial. Being informed is one of the best ways to know if this type of treatment is needed and if it is going to provide the desired outcome for an individual.

Remember, each case of low T is unique. This means it is up to an individual and their doctor to find the right treatment option. Usually, one of the TRT methods mentioned above will be effective. In the long run, this may be the treatment the individual has sought for years.

Related

Original post:
Myths and Facts about Modern Testosterone Replacement Therapy - Morningside Maryland

Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast by Type and by Application (2020-2027) with Detailed Development History – Cheshire Media

Coherent Market Insights offers a latest study on Testosterone Replacement Therapy market featuring a holistic view of the market size, industry share, profit estimates, SWOT analysis and the regional landscape of the business. The report precisely expounds key challenges and future growth prospects of the market, while highlighting the current competitive scene and analyzes the expansion strategies adopted by leading market players.

Request a sample Report of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market at: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2024

The new research report on Testosterone Replacement Therapy market offers a thorough analysis of this industry vertical. As per the report, Testosterone Replacement Therapy market is predicted to acquire notable gains and record a significant growth during the estimated timeframe.

The Testosterone Replacement Therapy market report emphasizes on the current industry trends and entails details about market size, revenue forecast, and sales volume over the study duration. In addition, the report provides data with regards to the market drivers that will positively influence the revenue graph, alongside the segmentations influencing the industry size.

Some of the key players/Manufacturers involved in the Testosterone Replacement Therapy MarketAbbVie, Inc., Bayer AG, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Kyowa Kirin International plc, Pfizer, Inc., Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and Perrigo Company plc.

Research and Methodology

For the research, the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Markets research teams are adopted various high-end techniques. Industry best analysts are worked on this report. They collected data from various reliable sources and have taken samples of different market segments. They utilize both qualitative and quantitative data in this report. All data are based on primary sources, which are focused on the assessment year 2020-2027. For wise decision-making, they have also done SWOT analysis, which can also help them know their predicted future results. This report also helps to develop Testosterone Replacement Therapy market growth by improvising its strategic models.

Detailed Segmentation:

By Active Ingredient TypeTestosteroneMethyl TestosteroneTestosterone UndecanoateTestosterone EnanthateTestosterone CypionateBy Route of AdministrationInjectablesParenteral

If opting for the Global version of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market analysis is provided for major regions as follows:

North America (The US, Canada, and Mexico)

Europe (the UK, Germany, France, and Rest of Europe)

Asia Pacific (China, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific)

Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America)

Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)

Key Benefits:

This study gives a detailed analysis of drivers and factors limiting the market expansion of Testosterone Replacement Therapy

The micro-level analysis is conducted based on its product types, end-user applications, and geographies

Porters five forces model gives an in-depth analysis of buyers and suppliers, threats of new entrants & substitutes and competition amongst the key market players

By understanding the value chain analysis, the stakeholders can get a clear and detailed picture of this Testosterone Replacement Therapy market

Apply Promo Code CHRISTMAS2020 And Get Instant Discount Of USD 1000

Ask for Discount on Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report at:https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/2024

**Note: Year End Discount

If you purchase the report this year:

Flat 20% instant discount

25% discount on 2nd report

15 % free customization

Reasons to Buy a Full Report In depth analysis by industry experts Use of data triangulation method for examining the various aspects of the market Detailed profiling of the major competitors in the market A complete overview of the market landscape Computed Annual Growth Rate is calculated for period, 2020-2027

The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:

Chapter 1, to describe Testosterone Replacement Therapy product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force and market risks.

Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Testosterone Replacement Therapy , with price, sales, revenue and global market share of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in 2018 and 2020.

Chapter 3, the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market trends competitive situation, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.

Chapter 4, the Testosterone Replacement Therapy breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions, from 2016 to 2020.

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue and market share for key countries in the world, from 2016 to 2020.

Chapter 10 and 11, to segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2016 to 2020.

Chapter 12, Testosterone Replacement Therapy market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2020 to 2025.

Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Testosterone Replacement Therapy sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix and data source.

The research study can answer the following Key questions:

What will be the progress rate of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market for the conjecture period, 2020-2027?

What are the prominent factors driving the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market across different regions?

Who are the major vendors dominating the Testosterone Replacement Therapy industry and what are their winning strategies?

What will be the market scope for the estimated period?

What are the major trends shaping the expansion of the industry in the coming years?

What are the challenges faced by the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market?

Actual Numbers & In-Depth Analysis, Business opportunities, Market Size Estimation Available in Full Report.

Contacts US:

Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights,1001 4th Ave,#3200 Seattle, WA 98154, U.S.Phone: US +1-206-701-6702/UK +44-020 8133 4027Email:[emailprotected]

Continued here:
Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Forecast by Type and by Application (2020-2027) with Detailed Development History - Cheshire Media

Is Lipocine Inc (LPCN) a Stock to Watch This Week? – InvestorsObserver

The market has been high on Lipocine Inc (LPCN) stock recently. LPCN gets a Bullish score from InvestorsObserver's Stock Sentiment Indicator.

Sentiment uses short term technical analysis to gauge whether a stock is desired by investors. As a technical indicator, it focuses on recent trends as opposed to the long term health of the underlying company. Updates for the company such as a earnings release can move the stock away from current trends.

Price action is generally the best indicator of sentiment. For a stock to go up, investors must feel good about it. Similarly, a stock that is in a downtrend must be out of favor.

InvestorsObservers Sentiment Indicator considers price action and recent trends in volume. Increasing volumes often mean that a trend is strengthening, while decreasing volumes can signal that a reversal could come soon.

The options market is another place to get signals about sentiment. Since options allow investors to place bets on the price of a stock, we consider the ratio of calls and puts for stocks where options are available.

Lipocine Inc (LPCN) stock is higher by 6.88% while the S&P 500 is lower by -0.33% as of 1:30 PM on Monday, Dec 7. LPCN is higher by $0.11 from the previous closing price of $1.54 on volume of 1,510,095 shares. Over the past year the S&P 500 has gained 17.57% while LPCN is higher by 312.50%. LPCN lost -$0.44 per share in the over the last 12 months.

To see InvestorsObserver's Sentiment Score for Lipocine Inc click here.

Lipocine Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. It is focused on oral drug delivery technology for the development of pharmaceutical products focusing on metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's product TLANDO, is an oral testosterone replacement therapy ("TRT"). It also has other products in the pipeline such as LPCN 1144, LPCN 1148 and LPCN 1107.

Click Here to get the full Stock Score Report on Lipocine Inc (LPCN) Stock.

Here is the original post:
Is Lipocine Inc (LPCN) a Stock to Watch This Week? - InvestorsObserver

Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020 Industry Research, Review, Growth, Segmentation, Key Players Analysis and Forecast to 2026 -…

The latest Testosterone Replacement Therapy market research report offers a top to bottom analysis of this business sphere in terms of potential industry size, supply chain, growth dynamics, opportunity analysis, and competitive landscape. Furthermore, it extends through abstracts on various industry segments, inclusive of a rundown of the business scenario across the various regional markets. Additionally, the study provide insights into to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and recommends strategies that could maximize ROI amid these uncertain times.

Key areas covered in the Covid-19 impact assessment:

An overview of the regional analysis:

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.express-journal.com/request-sample/279548

Other important inclusions in the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market report:

Key Questions Answered in The Report:

What will the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market growth rate?

What are the key factors driving the global Testosterone Replacement Therapy market?

Who are the key manufacturers in Testosterone Replacement Therapy market space?

What are the market opportunities and overview of the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market?

What are sales, revenue, and price analysis of top manufacturers of Testosterone Replacement Therapy market?

What are the Testosterone Replacement Therapy market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Industry?

What are sales, revenue, and price analysis by types and applications of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Industry?

Request Customization on This Report @ https://www.express-journal.com/request-for-customization/279548

More here:
Global Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market 2020 Industry Research, Review, Growth, Segmentation, Key Players Analysis and Forecast to 2026 -...

This Plant-Based Influencer Reversed Prediabetes and Lost 80 Lbs – The Beet

JennyLee Molina is a vegan influencer, entrepreneur, and mom. For years, she fell prey to the Standard American Diet (SAD) where she chose convenience over health like many other Americans until she found out she was at risk of contracting a chronic illness. In an effort to save her health, she implemented a vegan lifestyle immediately after her prediabetes diagnosis, a condition that impacts 1 in 3 individuals in the United States. Not only did she successfully reverse her prediabetes, but also brought her cholesterol and triglycerides to healthy levels while losing over 80 lbs. Now, she uses her platform @jennyleeisme to inspire others to incorporate lifestyle changes and regain their health with a plant-based diet.

The Beet chatted with JennyLee, where she talks about her health journey, the steps she took to cultivate a plant-based diet, and what inspired her the most along the way. Let her words inspire you to optimize your health and nourish your body by filling your meals with delicious plants!

JennyLee Molina: My vegan lifestyle began during my pregnancy in 2010. I was first exposed to vegetarianism when I picked up vegetarian prenatal multivitamins at the grocery store. I had no idea multivitamin gummies contain gelatin, which is made from animal bones. I started paying more attention to what I ate and attempted to educate myself with nutrition while I was expecting. One day, right when I was about to eat eggs with meat for breakfast, I realized it totally disgusted me out. This incident first sparked my aversion to meat products but it took a long journey to become a vegan.

JM: Throughout my pregnancy, I attempted to avoid meat as I figured it just did not fit right with my body. However, it was super difficult as I come from a culture where the majority of meals have meat and dairy. I was not equipped with the knowledge and support to go vegan so for a while even after my pregnancy I just stuck to my old ways of eating meat and processed foods. I started gaining a lot of weight and treating exercise as a luxury instead of making it a part of my daily routine.

All of this was taking a huge toll on my health and my physician soon recommended I get labs done. When I got my results, I found myself facing a sobering reality. At only 35, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I was suffering from sleep apnea and I had high triglycerides and high cholesterol. I was obese and I had also grown complacent. I soon realized that this was not a surprise looking at my existing diet and sedentary lifestyle but I had the power to change the course of my health for the better. All of these health problems were my wake-up call to optimize my own health and wellbeing.

JM: In the span of 7 months, I completely reversed my prediabetes, lowered my triglycerides and cholesterol, and improved my sleep apnea. I started with small changes, such as opting for a fresh green smoothie instead of a glass of sugary juice. I cut processed foods out of my diet and started eating more whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Additionally, I gave up my sedentary lifestyle and became a gym rat where I now workout daily to stay fit. Somedays I felt like going back to my old days, but my self-love and motivation to get better propelled me to keep going. I have lost over 80 lbs and still keep slaying my goals!

JM: Prior to my transition, my doctor suggested I have weight loss surgery to lose weight. However, I disapproved of his recommendation and focused on improving my weight with lifestyle changes instead. Seven months later, my doctor was super shocked when I visited him after my transition. I got re-tested and found out all of my levels (blood sugar, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol) were normal. He was glad to see I completely changed my habits and continues to encourage me to maintain this healthy lifestyle!

JM: I was a busy, entrepreneur mom when I initiated my plant-based lifestyle. I was not available to cook dinner every night so I ended up ordering a local plant-based meal delivery service on the weekdays. I always tell people that if they are busy, they should find someone to cook healthy meals for them instead of compromising what they eat. It is easy to turn to convenience food when youre busy, but prioritizing what you put in your body will be beneficial for good health in the long-run.

I also started cooking a lot of my favorite meals plant-style by swapping out the meat for beans or removing the meat altogether. For instance, in my Cuban culture, Frijoles Colorados (red beans) is generally prepared with meat, but I prepare it with tons of veggies instead. With these small adjustments, I am able to enjoy my favorite comfort foods without incorporating traditional animal products. Moreover, I found that becoming vegan wasnt super expensive as I would buy beans, lentils, and frozen vegetables in bulk. These ingredients are still the base of the majority of my meals, combined with tons of herbs and seasonings.

JM: I definitely received a lot of support from my family because they saw how much a vegan diet improved my health. Whenever I visit family, they always make sure that they have prepared some type of vegan food for me to eat. My mom is not even plant-based, but she makes the best veggie sandwiches. I also inspired a lot of family and friends to adopt healthy lifestyle changes based on my actions alone. For instance, my husband was inspired to start working out more. I continue to use my voice and platform for change to empower others in adopting lifestyle changes and regaining their health.

JM: I think I have surely expanded my palate and opened my eyes to a diverse variety of new foods since I became vegan. I dont eat a lot of white rice, but I eat a lot of legumes and whole grains such as quinoa and lentils. Every day, I will aim to eat at least one huge green salad with tons of veggies and protein. My favorite dressing for that salad generally consists of liquid aminos, salt and pepper, lemon juice, and fresh hummus. I also try a lot of new plant-based restaurants and cafes in the area to taste different plant-powered meals.

Breakfast: I usually have an almond milk cafe con leche and avocado toast with sprouts.

Lunch: I usually have my big green salad with some chickpeas or other beans.

Dinner: I usually have a veggie stir-fry with brown rice or quinoa.

JM: I would say to do research to learn more about a plant-based diet. I think theres a lot of great movies and documentaries that helped me go vegan, like Game Changers. Theres also a lot of great social media accounts out there that inspired me, such as @plantbasedgutdoc and @plantbasedrd. You may not have any friends and family that are vegan, but you can cultivate an empowering community online.

JM: I am all about loving your food and loving your life. I understand food is fuel but I am a foodie first. You don't have to eat what you dont like to be healthy. By incorporating healthy foods into your life, you are going to love your life more.

Continued here:
This Plant-Based Influencer Reversed Prediabetes and Lost 80 Lbs - The Beet

Vegetarianism Linked with Increased Risk of Bone Fractures – News18

While there are many benefits to adopting a vegetarian lifestyle, there is a small chance vegetarianism can actually put you at risk for increased fractures. According to a new study, vegetarian diets can be low in some nutrients like calcium, zinc, B12 vitamin, protein. As already established, calcium and these elements are essential for bone strength.

The study was published in the journal of BMC (BIOMED CENTRAL). The comparative study observed that vegans and vegetarians, as opposed to meat and fish eaters, lacked adequate calcium and protein required by the body. They also had a 43% higher risk of bone fractures. Site-specific fractures like hips, legs, and vertebrae chances also increased.

We found that vegans had a higher risk of total fractures which resulted in close to 20 more cases per 1000 people over a 10-year period compared to people who ate meat, said lead author Dr Tammy Tong, Nutritional Epidemiologist from the University of Oxford. She added the risk in vegans was 2-3 times higher.

The researchers examined 55,000 people in the EPIC-Oxford study. Out of the 54,898 participants, 29,380 ate meat, 8,037 ate fish (but did not eat meat), 15,499 were vegetarians, and 1,982 were vegans when they were recruited. First analysed during 1990s to 2001 and then again in 2010. They were studied till 2016 to assess fracture risks.

There were 3,941 fractures reported during the study

945 hips, 889 wrists, 566 arms, 520 ankles, 366 legs, and 467 fractures at other main sites (clavicle, ribs and vertebrae). BMI, dietary calcium, and dietary protein intake were attributed to these observations.

This study showed that vegans, who on average had lower BMI as well as lower intakes of calcium and protein than meat-eaters, had higher risks of fractures at several sites, said Dr Tong. She admitted that a plant-based diet, when well-balanced, can improve nutrient levels and lower risks of diseases including heart disease and diabetes.

However, the study cannot conclusively prove the fractures were because of the diet or differentiate fractures from a fall from standing height and those that were caused by accidents. They say a broader analysis will be required with more diverse subjects.

Read the original:
Vegetarianism Linked with Increased Risk of Bone Fractures - News18

More than one in 10 Australians will be having a meat-free Christmas – NEWS.com.au

The traditional glazed ham and prawns on ice will not make the plate for more than one in 10 Australians this Christmas.

New research by Finder found 12 per cent of Australians would serve up a meat-free menu on December 25.

Melbourne woman Kayla Mossuto and her husband Piers will joins millions of Australians who will be preparing meat-free dishes this Christmas, much to the their meat-eating families distaste.

Ms Mossuto switched to vegetarianism more than a decade ago, while her hubby who has Italian heritage and is from a family of meat eaters only adopted the trend during the last 12 months, mainly for sustainability reasons.

Weve been trying to improve our environmental impact, she said.

The sustainability factor has become more prominent and a contributing factor to maintaining that is a vegetarian diet.

The surge in Australians ditching meat continues, with 27 per cent of Australians reducing their meat intake over the last year.

In April, Roy Morgan found 2.5 million Australians were either vegetarian or had dramatically decreased their meat intake, many for environmental reasons.

Finders sustainability expert Ben King said going meat-free was not just good for the environment but peoples pockets too.

You dont have to cut meat from the menu altogether. Subbing out the glazed ham for a vegetarian alternative could save you upwards of $40 on your Christmas lunch, he said.

Making vegies the mainstay this Christmas is totally doable, and theres a misconception that it wont be as tasty.

As the nation grows more environmentally conscious, many Aussies are also considering adopting other measures to preserve the planet and reduce waste this Christmas.

More than half (51 per cent) said they wanted to make an environmentally conscious choice, with 24 per cent pledging to ditch disposable dinnerware, Finders researchers found.

The same percentage of people will swap old-school wrapping with recycled paper and 14 per cent will decorate using solar powered lights.

A staggering $400 million was forked out on unwanted gifts last Christmas, many of which ended up in landfill.

See original here:
More than one in 10 Australians will be having a meat-free Christmas - NEWS.com.au

Eight Duke Books on Religion and Spirituality – Duke Today

This month we offer a collection of Duke-authored books that explore historical and current aspects of faith, spirituality and religious culture in society.

These books along with manyothers are available atthe Duke University Libraries, the Gothic Bookshop or the Regulator Bookshop.

What It's About:Professor Marc Z. Brettler and co-author Amy-Jill Levine take readers on a guided tour of the most popular Hebrew Bible passages quoted in the New Testament to show what the texts meant in their original contexts and then how Jews and Christians, over time, understood those same texts. Comparing various interpretations historical, literary, and theological - of each ancient text, Levine and Brettler offer deeper understandings of the original narratives and their many afterlives. They show how the text speaks to different generations under changed circumstances, and so illuminate the Bibles ongoing significance.

What It's About:How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the prosperity gospel movement come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Professor Kate Bowler's Blessed traces the roots of the prosperity gospel: from the touring mesmerists, metaphysical sages, Pentecostal healers, business oracles, and princely prophets of the early 20th century; through mid-century positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale and revivalists like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin; to today's hugely successful prosperity preachers.

What It's About:In Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition, Professor Omid Safi translates more than 200 poems into contemporary English from the original Arabic and Persian. In this anthology of newly translated poetry, Safi focuses on love especially ishq/eshq, what he renders as radical love. The volume organizes translations of Quran and Hadith, Sufi mystics and poets into four thematic sections: God of Love, Path of Love, Lover & Beloved, and Beloved Community. Radical Love introduces readers to key ideas from Islamic mysticism that are rooted in firsthand knowledge of Arabic and Persian texts.

What It's About:Opening Israels Scriptures is a collection of 36 essays on the Hebrew Bible from Genesis to Chronicles which gives insight into the complexity of the Hebrew Scriptures as a theological resource. Based on more than two decades of lectures on Old Testament interpretation, Professor Ellen F. Davis offers a selective yet comprehensive guide to the core concepts, literary patterns, storylines, and theological perspectives that are central to Israel's Scriptures.

What It's About: In God? A Debate between a Christian and an Atheist, Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and William Lane Craig bring to the printed page two debates they held before live audiences. Avoiding overly esoteric arguments, the two directly address issues such as religious experience, the Bible, evil, eternity, the origin of the universe, design, and the supposed connection between morality and the existence of God. The book is composed of six chapters that alternate between Craig and Sinnott-Armstrong, so that each separate point can be discussed as it arises.

What It's About:In these devotions for the season of Advent, the Rev. Dr. Luke Powery dean of the Duke University Chapel and associate professor at Duke Divinity School leads the reader through the spirituals as they confront the mystery of incarnation and redemption. In Rise Up, Shepherd! each devotion features the lyrics of the spiritual, a reflection on the spiritual's meaning, a Scripture verse, and a brief prayer.

What It's About:In Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating Professor Norman Wirzba demonstrates that eating is of profound economic, moral, and theological significance. Unlike books that focus on vegetarianism or food distribution as the key theological matters, this book broadens the scope to include discussions on the sacramental character of eating, eating's ecological and social contexts, the meaning of death and sacrifice as they relate to eating, the Eucharist as the place of inspiration and orientation, the importance of saying grace, and whether or not there will be eating in heaven.

What It's About: Though fascinated with the land of their traditions birth, virtually no Japanese Buddhists visited the Indian subcontinent before the 19th century. In the richly illustrated "Seeking kyamuni," Professor Richard M. Jaffe reveals the experiences of the first Japanese Buddhists who traveled to South Asia in search of Buddhist knowledge beginning in 1873. Analyzing the impact of these voyages on Japanese conceptions of Buddhism, he argues that South Asia developed into a pivotal nexus for the development of twentieth-century Japanese Buddhism.

Read more on the Duke Today Books Page

Original post:
Eight Duke Books on Religion and Spirituality - Duke Today

The non-dairy queen taking on the choc giants – Elite Business Magazine

From their kitchen table, to supermarket shelves via Dragons Den, the founders of vegan chocolate brand LoveRaw, Manav and Rimi Thapar, have set their sights on the established giants of the UK choc market.

Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned lacto-ovo vegetarian? Did they become extinct?

After years of slow but steady progress in establishing veggie brands like Linda McCartney, Quorn and RealEat in supermarkets, the cruelty-free food market has suddenly made a quantum leap towards full-on veganism by-passing most peoples usual first step in giving up meat, which is vegetarianism.

Research from Finder estimates that the number of vegans in the UK increased by a massive 419,000 (62 per cent) over the past 12 months. A not-insignificant 7.5 per cent of the UK now claim to be vegan in 2020, whereas 14 per cent claim to be vegetarian. Vegan food suits both of course. And then theres the flexitarians, that eat both vegan and meat. Go figure.

Clearly then Manav and Rimi Thapars LoveRaw business, with its brand of vegan chocolate, is riding a sizeable wave and, in fact, having started back in 2013 in their own kitchen, caught that wave early on.

Manav [Rimis husband] and I were your typical twenty something millennials, explains Rimi Thapar. We both worked independently of each other: I was working in Investment Banking and Manav in Textile Distribution. Both miles away from anything food or FMCG related and not particularly mindful about food. Our idea of healthy was calorie counting. At the time we were living in the south of Spain and started visiting farmers markets and really appreciating seasonal fresh produce, and our vegan journey started from there. Our brand and products have really evolved since then. Today we make indulgent vegan chocolate products.

Although not exactly a rags to riches story (both had well-paid jobs) it is a classic entrepreneurial, cottage industry tale of kitchen table to supermarket, started with no investment (and, it has be said no real level of expertise either) but a lot of determination and trial and error.

I wanted to start the business with minimal cost and risks, and the quickest route to market was making the products at home, explains Thapar. Also coupled with the fact that every contract manufacturer turned us away as we didn't meet their minimum quantity requirements. We got our big break when we launched with Wholefoods. Our first order was 5,000 units, which increased over a few months. We were making around 3,000 units a week in a tiny kitchen working 18 hours a day and even when I reached the minimum requirements of the factory, I worked from the kitchen until I reached full capacity.

Searching for an investment boost the pair even appeared on Dragons Den. Having received an offer from Deborah Meaden, however, they decided not to take the investment but did receive a PR and branding uplift from the experience.

We needed the investment but intuitively it didn't feel right to give away so much of the business. A business which we had invested so much time, effort and emotion in. It was the right decision as we went on to raise much more money financially, and at a higher valuation.

Progress has been made since then, with the brand stocked in Holland & Barrett, Boots, Waitrose, Wholefoods, Ocado, Revital, As Nature Intended, The Vegan Kind, Selfridges, Various petrol station forecourts and independent retail stores. In the last 12 months the firm has experienced 114% YOY growth during Covid.

With a staff of around 13, the headcount has also tripled from two years ago.

This year we have mainly focused on sales and digital growth, growing our sales team from one to three people and taking on a digital marketer earlier in the year to support our growing direct to consumer sales since COVID 19.

Unless you believe that the rapid rise of vegan product at retail is a passing fad (and Thapar is somewhat unsurprisingly of the opinion that it is not) then there is still a lot of potential for growth as more and more people convert to plant-based foods.

Paradoxically, what gives this trend some stickability is the fact that it is not so much about the widespread adoption of a strict vegan lifestyle, but more about people adding vegan products onto their shopping list. Its those flexitarians. And that means it is much more likely to have permanence on supermarket shelves.

There are so many factors which have contributed towards the shift to vegan: health, environment, animal welfare, social media, comments Thapar. I think the food industry has been exposed a lot over the past few years and there is more transparency about the source of what we eat, especially the meat and dairy industry. Most consumers are not converting to full veganism however, more-so taking a flexitarian approach, where they have the choice to eat partially vegan and non-vegan, but still contributing towards their health and the environment. I don't think you can scroll through Instagram without seeing a user's vegan breakfast, lunch or healthy smoothie.

Now that the brand has emerged from the kitchen, sights are set high - on market leadership of the vegan chocolate market, no less and beyond- and having obtained fresh investment, the Thapars are already developing a range beyond its initial launch.

The brand and product offering has evolved since we launched in 2013 and we are confident in continuing to grow our range of indulgent vegan chocolate snacks. Not letting COVID get in the way of progressing, we are working on new products and extending ranges. I think now is even more of an important time to innovate and be dynamic to the current market conditions.

Thats where the fresh investment comes in.

We have invested in new hires, new product development, working capital, marketing and generally building the brand.

Ultimately, LoveRaw does not want to be just a vegan chocolate brand but wants to make an impact in the established dairy-based choc market too.

We want to be recognised as the leading vegan chocolate brand that disrupts the mainstream chocolate market, and we want to be accessible to all UK consumers. Most importantly we want to have a good time along the way and to make our journey memorable.

Lofty ambitions indeed. Looks like the Dragons missed a sweet deal on this one.

Read this article:
The non-dairy queen taking on the choc giants - Elite Business Magazine

Karnataka: BJP Revives Plan to Impose Blanket Ban on Cattle Slaughter – The Wire

Mangaluru: On November 27, addressing the media, Karnataka animal husbandry minister Prabhu Chavan said, After the government came in, we had promised go mata is our mother, they should not be slaughtered. The Bill will 100% be introduced this coming session. He was announcing the decision taken in the cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru to introduce a Bill that aims to achieve the BJPs long-standing goal of a stringent anti-cow slaughter law in the state.

The Bill, if implemented, will impose a blanket ban on cow slaughter and the sale and consumption of beef in the state. Apart from the prohibition of cow slaughter, the Bill also bans the slaughter of the calf of a cow and bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of a she-buffalo too.

The Bill revives the BJPs plan, first mulled in 2010, to ban the slaughter of cattle. In that year, the B.S. Yediyurappa government introduced the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010. However, among staunch opposition, the BJP could not succeed in getting the law passed. And when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government assumed power in 2013, the Bill was abandoned.

A decade later, the Yediyurappa government is once again attempting to pass the Bill, something the BJP had mentioned in their 2018 manifesto too.

Karnataka CM B.S. Yediyurappa. Credit: PTI

Karnataka is not the first state to plan a stringent anti-cow slaughter law. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Telangana already have such laws in place.

Cow slaughter is forbidden in most parts of the country. In Karnataka, the anti-cow slaughter law The Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964 has been in force. Unlike the new proposed Bill, under the 1964 Act, permits the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and buffaloes if they are more than 12 years old or if they are unfit for breeding/do not give milk.

Also Read: Whatever the BJP May Say, the Cost of Protecting Cows Is High

Opposition from rights, farmers and other groups

The new proposed Bill is facing opposition from human rights groups, farmers associations and several butcher communities in the state. If passed, the cow protection Act will not just stop sales of the meat in the state and thereby directly impact the Qureshi butcher community but also hurt farmers and cattle herders deeply, farmers organisations feel.

For farmers, too, looking after an old, ailing cattle is not a viable option. In September, several farmers and anti-caste organisations had come together to oppose the states move.

J.M. Veerasangaiah, working president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, said at a press conference organised in Bengaluru at the time that Yediyurappa had failed to enact the law in 2010 because of opposition from the farming community. The farming community is suffering severe economic hardship in the state because of the pandemic. The sale of aged cows, bullocks and buffaloes allows a farmer to alleviate his dire situation slightly and this law will even prevent that. Somehow, the BJPs ideology wants us to feel that vegetarianism is supreme whereas non-vegetarianism is bad, but how will the poor, Dalits and religious minorities get nutritional food without beef? he asked.

R. Mohan Raj, the state convener of the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, had called it an attack on an individuals choice of food. Food culture is unique and the constitution gives everyone the right to eat whatever they want. This anti-peoples Bill should not be tabled The BJP shows that they are targeting Muslims, but their real target is Dalits, Raj said.

On December 1, a Qureshi butchers association met the former chief minister and the current leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, appealing him to oppose the Bill in the assembly. Siddaramaiah, a vocal opponent of the Bill right from the start, has been questioning the BJPs intent.

Qureshi butchers association meets Siddaramaiah. Photo: thecognate.com

Why is Cow slaughter not banned in Goa even though @BJP4Goa is in power? Why only in Karnataka? he asked in one of his messages on social media.

Regardless of the law, there has been a long history of violent vigilante campaign in Karnataka against the consumption of beef. As early as in March 2005, a father and son duo were paraded naked for hours and then violently attacked, allegedly by a mob that included members of the Hindu Yuva Sena, Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The victims, identified as Hajabba (60) and his son Hasanabba (25), suffered several internal injuries in the mob attack. The same year, another person, Azaruddin, was attacked while transporting a legitimately purchased cattle from Amasebail near Kundapur to Moodabidri in Dakshin Kannada in a tempo. Azaruddin was killed on the spot and one policeman who had intervened was also severely injured in the attack.

Shabeer Ahamed of the Karwan e Mohabbat, a peoples campaign for solidarity to survivors of hate crimes, says that with or without the Bill, the state has witnessed several violent attacks, many of which led to deaths. Several vendors and cattle transporters have been targeted across the state. These attacks were all in the public space, in full public view. But almost all have led to acquittals, Ahamed says.

Since 2005, at least nine persons have lost their lives and close to 200 other incidents of mob vigilantism against cow trade and slaughter have been reported across Karnataka. Most of them were cattle transporters who belong to lower socio-economic castes such as the Qureshis. The most recent incident was from 2018, when a suspected cattle trader Hussainabba was killed in Udipi district.

See more here:
Karnataka: BJP Revives Plan to Impose Blanket Ban on Cattle Slaughter - The Wire