New Jersey, United States The report is a comprehensive research study of the global Precision Medicine Software market, taking into account growth factors, recent trends, developments, opportunities and the competitive landscape. Market analysts and researchers performed an in-depth analysis of the Precision Medicine Software global market using research methodologies such as PESTLE and Porters Five Forces analysis. They provided precise and reliable data on the market and useful recommendations in order to help the actors to better understand the global scenario of the present and future market. The report includes an in-depth study of potential segments, including product type, application and end user, as well as their contribution to the overall size of the market.

Precision Medicine Software Market was valued at USD 1.2 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 2.8 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2019 to 2026.

This report covers a comprehensive study of the data affecting the Precision Medicine Software market with regard to manufacturers, suppliers, market players and customers. The report also includes an overview of technology applications and strategies used by market leaders. In addition to data compiled by type, application and region, the study includes personalized research to examine the intricacies of the global Precision Medicine Software market.

Key players in global Precision Medicine Software market include:

2bPrecise LLC, Syapse, PierianDx, Fabric Genomics, SOPHiA GENETICS SA, N-of-One, Foundation Medicine, Human Longevity, Sunquest Information Systems Translational Software,

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Global Precision Medicine Software Market: Research Methodology

The research methodology used by analysts play an integral role in how the publication has been prepared. Analysts have used primary and secondary research methodologies to make a comprehensive analysis. For accurate and precise analysis of the global Precision Medicine Software s market, analysts have a bottom-up and top-down approaches.The main sources include interviews, surveys and observations of seasoned analysts, and secondary sources cover reputable paid sources, trade journals and databases of industry organizations. Other research methods include SWOT analysis with In-Depth Market Analysis.

Drivers & Constraints of Precision Medicine Software Market:

Precision Medicine Software market competitiveness is the result of the expansion technique employed by market leaders. market dynamics and trends play an important role in this growth market. This report focuses on the value chain, the trend of volume and price factors that influence the market. The growth of world population and the constant evolution of consumer demand is the main cause of the market dynamics. In addition, market restrictions and limits and strategies used by companies to overcome these limits are included in market research.

Global Precision Medicine Software Market: Regional Analysis

This part of the report includes detailed information on the market in various regions. Each region offers different scope for markets because every region has a different government policies and other factors. The regions included in this report are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Information about the different areas helps the reader to understand better the global market.

Table of Content

1 Introduction of Precision Medicine Software Market

1.1 Overview of the Market 1.2 Scope of Report 1.3 Assumptions

2 Executive Summary

3 Research Methodology of Verified Market Research

3.1 Data Mining 3.2 Validation 3.3 Primary Interviews 3.4 List of Data Sources

4 Precision Medicine Software Market Outlook

4.1 Overview 4.2 Market Dynamics 4.2.1 Drivers 4.2.2 Restraints 4.2.3 Opportunities 4.3 Porters Five Force Model 4.4 Value Chain Analysis

5 Precision Medicine Software Market, By Deployment Model

5.1 Overview

6 Precision Medicine Software Market, By Solution

6.1 Overview

7 Precision Medicine Software Market, By Vertical

7.1 Overview

8 Precision Medicine Software Market, By Geography

8.1 Overview 8.2 North America 8.2.1 U.S. 8.2.2 Canada 8.2.3 Mexico 8.3 Europe 8.3.1 Germany 8.3.2 U.K. 8.3.3 France 8.3.4 Rest of Europe 8.4 Asia Pacific 8.4.1 China 8.4.2 Japan 8.4.3 India 8.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific 8.5 Rest of the World 8.5.1 Latin America 8.5.2 Middle East

9 Precision Medicine Software Market Competitive Landscape

9.1 Overview 9.2 Company Market Ranking 9.3 Key Development Strategies

10 Company Profiles

10.1.1 Overview 10.1.2 Financial Performance 10.1.3 Product Outlook 10.1.4 Key Developments

11 Appendix

11.1 Related Research

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Precision Medicine Software Market 2020 | Research, Opportunities, Emerging Trends, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts 2020-2026 - Instant Tech News

Emerging gene-therapy technology could help dogs live healthier, if not longer, lives as mans best friend.

A startup called Rejuvenate Bio launched out of George Churchs lab at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University on Thursday, with big plans to make work on gene therapy technology engineered to prevent and treat a slew of age-related diseases in dogs and extend their healthspan.

As we age, the propensity to be afflicted with disease(s) rises. But diseases are typically researched and treated individually, and the existing armamentarium of treatments does not accommodate the interconnectedness of illnesses that arise in lockstep with age. So, Harvard researchers took a macro-level approach to the problem of age-related diseases and developed a gene therapy focused on a trifecta of longevity associated genes: FGF21, Klotho and sTGFR2 which have previously been shown to be associated with increased health and lifespan benefits in mice that were genetically engineered to overexpress them.

Science hasnt yet found a way to make complex animals like dogs live forever, so the next best thing we can do is find a way to maintain health for as long as possible during the aging process, said Church in a report by the Wyss Institute.

The researchers created separate gene therapy delivery vehicles for each gene using a serotype of adeno-associated virus (AAV8) and then injected the AAV constructs into mouse models of obesity, type II diabetes, heart failure, and renal failure to assess efficacy.

The data were striking.FGF21 alone caused a complete reversal of weight gain and type II diabetes in obese, diabetic mice following a single shot, and a combination with sTGFR2 also diminished kidney atrophy by 75% in mice with renal fibrosis. The gene sTGFR2 alone and in combination with either of the other two gene therapies improved heart function in mice with heart failure, suggesting that that co-administration of FGF21andsTGFR2 could treat all four age-related conditions.

To be sure, in this initial study in mice the injected genes did not stray into the animals genomes and did not modify their natural DNA which is a concern given the existing eugenic practices prevalent in the pet industry.

Rejuvenate Bio on Thursday unveiled plans to kick off a pilot study testing the efficacy of this gene therapy technology in arresting mitral valve disease, which affects most Cavalier King Charles spaniels by age eight and causes heart failure. This pilot study will serve as a litmus test for an animal drug trial with the FDA, which tends to take about three years to complete.

If all goes well, the company hopes to expand the treatment to all canine breeds, as more than 7 million dogs in the United States suffer from mitral valve disease.

We want to get rid of the morbidities associated with aging, so dogs can be as happy and healthy as possible throughout their lives, said Rejuvenate Bios chief technology officer Noah Davidsohn, who is a former Research Scientist at the Wyss Institute and HMS. Davidsohns dog, named Bear, serves as Rejuvenates chief inspiration officer.

The first crop of FDA-approved gene therapies for humans such as Spark Therapeutics Luxturna and Novartis Zolgensma treat rare diseases. If Rejuvenates therapy is found to be safe and effective in dogs, it could open the door to similar therapies for age-related illnesses and indeed aging in humans, a field that has attracted an explosion of interest and funding.

Although early, the study in mice showed that these so-called longevity gene therapies can be combined into a single therapeutic mixture compared to the traditional paradigm that dictates different diseases necessitate multiple interventions (and arguably accumulative exposure to side-effects), the researchers concluded.

Meanwhile, the interest in treating diseases in pets if their human owners may be so inclined is on the rise, given that 67% of US households, or about 85 million families, own a pet, according to the 2019-2020 survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association.

For instance, to treat diseases like cancer in dogs surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation are existing alternatives. But targeted therapies are the next frontier. A Silicon Valley startup called the One Health Company raised $5 million last month to help figure out which human treatments can be repurposed for their canine counterparts. The company, which likened its technology to Foundation Medicines next-generation sequencing panel in an interview with STAT, helps sequence the dogs tumor and generates recommendations for treatment.

Read the rest here:
From mice to dogs, and someday man: George Church's gene therapy concoction for aging-related diseases - Endpoints News

Exercise provides innumerable health benefits, all of which coalesce to increase your life expectancy by protecting against chronic health complications.

According to Mayo Clinic, regular exercise can offer defence against a number of potentially life-threatening mechanisms, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

Emerging evidence also suggests it may be a potent weapon in the fight against cancer.

Despite the palpable health benefits, knowing what exercise to do and how frequently to do it can seem overwhelming if you are a beginner.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine suggests that the life-extending benefits of exercise can be achieved without getting bogged down in technical details, however.

The results of a pooled analysis found that running, a low-maintenance exercise that can be easily incorporated into your day, significantly lowered risk of death from any cause.

To gather their findings, researchers analysed swathes of data from relevant published research, conference presentations, and doctoral theses and dissertations in a broad range of academic databases.

READ MORE:How to live longer: This simple activity may increase your life expectancy

They looked for studies on the association between running/jogging and the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

When the study data were pooled, any amount of running was associated with a 27 percent lower risk of death from all causes for both sexes, compared with no running.

And it was associated with a 30 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and a 23 percent lower risk of death from cancer.

Crucially, even in small doses running had an outsized effect, for example, once weekly or less, lasting less than 50 minutes each time, and at a speed below six miles (8 km) an hour, still seemed to be associated with significant health/longevity benefits.

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This suggests that running for 25 minutes less than the recommended weekly duration of vigorous physical activity could reduce the risk of death.

Increasing the frequency and duration of running wasn't associated with a further lowering of the risk of death from any cause, however, the analysis showed.

In their concluding remarks, the researchers said: "Increased rates of participation in running, regardless of its dose, would probably lead to substantial improvements in population health and longevity."

If you have not been active for a while, you may want to ease into running, gradually increasing your fitness levels by walking first, says the NHS.

Once you develop more confidence, it is advisable to get a good pair of running shoes that suit your foot type may help improve comfort, explains the health site.

There are many types of trainers on the market, so get advice from a specialist running retailer, who'll assess your foot and find the right shoe for you, explains the health body.

To get into a running routine, it is also wise to plan your runs and work out when and where you're going to run and put it in your diary.

The NHS also recommends increase your pace and distance gradually over several outings to avoid injury and keep the experience enjoyable if you are starting out.

Start each run with a gentle warm-up of at least five minutes. This can include quick walking, marching on the spot, knee lifts, side stepping and climbing stairs, advises the health body.

As the health site points out, regular running for beginners means getting out at least twice a week.

Your running will improve as your body adapts to the consistent training stimulus, says the health body.

It's better to run twice a week, every week, than to run six times one week and then do no running for the next three weeks, it adds.

Read the original:
How to live longer: Doing this exercise just once a week can increase your life expectancy - Express.co.uk

The first episode of The Goop Lab, Gwyneth Paltrows new Netflix show, opens in Jamaica. The sun beams, the crystalline water sparkles, and a group of Goop staffers sit cross-legged in a circle, like schoolchildren poised for a read-aloud. Then, under the supervision of three psychedelic elders, they each drink a mug of psilocybin tea.

Its fitting that the series begins this way. The following episodes, each meant to explore the ideas that may seem out-there or too scary, feel a bit like navigating the surrealism of psychedelics. There are moments of absurdity, moments of poignancy. A woman is brought to tears by a psychic reading that involves a donkey; in another episode, a series of vulva portraiture flashes onscreen. By the end, the viewer may feel the way one Goop staffer describes feeling after the work-sponsored mushroom trip: really drained, physically and emotionally.

Since it began as an email newsletter in 2008, the Goop brand has become well-established for championing the unestablished. The products sold on its website include, among other things, a mustard seed detox bath, an aromatic spray for psychic vampires, and a supplement called Brain Dust. In 2017, the watchdog group Truth in Advertising filed a complaint with two district attorneys at the California Food, Drug and Medical Device Task Force asking the regulators to look into Goops claims about more than 50 of its products, including its vaginal eggs, which the Goop site suggested could increase vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance, and feminine energy in general. As a result, the company agreed to pay a $145,000 fine and submit to a five-year injunction, during which Goop promised not to say its products have "sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses or benefits which they do not have.

The Netflix show uses this skepticism as a runway. This isnt scienceits something much more lucrative. Were here one time, one life, Paltrow says in the first episode, addressing her staffers from the Goop headquarters in Santa Monica, California. How can we really milk the shit out of this? Shes referring to the shows approach to self-optimization, but could just as easily be talking about her business strategy.

As a multimillion-dollar business, Goop has perfected the art of manufacturing hope. Modern-day anxieties go in (stress, lack of desire, an undiagnosable medical condition) and out comes a strange but sellable solution (herbal supplements, crystals, reiki). The Goop Lab follows this formula as well. Each episode unpacks a controversial wellness ideacold therapy, energy healing, orgasm coaching, psychic communication, dieting for longevity, and psychedelic medicineand explores its merits with expert interviews, case studies, and a stunt from the Goop staffers. Many of these staffers out themselves as skeptics, talking on camera about how they do not believe in psychic mediumship or energy healing. In that sense, few of the episodes come off as outright endorsements. Then again, Paltrow and her staff dont do much to counterbalance or fact-check the claims of the experts they invite on the show. To that end, its worth mentioning that each episode includes a disclaimer: The show is meant to entertain and inform, not provide medical advice.

Paltrows colleagues call her GP, which abbreviates her name but also doubles for guinea pig. On the show, she tries several of the controversial wellness practices herselflike a five-day fast and, in one rather frightening scene, a facial that involves needling her own blood plasma back into her face. Mostly, though, Paltrow saves herself from much on-screen embarrassment. For those experiments, she sends her staff.

The Goop staff goes to Jamaica for the supervised psilocybin trip. They go to Lake Tahoe to practice hyperventilating and submerging themselves in freezing-cold water. They take erotic portraits in a workshop about sensuality, and they take turns reading each others psychic energies with a medium. Even though Goop staffers express skepticism, science and pseudoscience are woven so tightly together on the show that its difficult to find the seams.

Timothy Caulfield, who researches health law and policy at the University of Alberta, has called this the the wellness version of fake news and an infomercial for the gestalt that is Goop. (Caulfield is also the author of the 2016 book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? in which he seems to conclude, basically, yes.) Paltrow and her staffers occasionally raise their eyebrows at the claims made onscreen, but mostly, they are game to participate and promote the theories in each episode. Caulfield says thats for one obvious reason: Goop, the company, stands to profit from them.

The rest is here:
Sure, 'The Goop Lab' Is Absurdbut It Also Offers Hope - WIRED

It didnt take Pamela Alt long to decide that her dog, Archibald, should be part of a scientific study one with a goal of helping dogs live healthier, longer lives.

Alt, who lives in Richmond Beach, saw a Facebook post about the national study being conducted by the University of Washington and Texas A&M University. I signed up, she said.

Alt is one of about 72,000 people all over the U.S. who have agreed to provide information for the research, which is seeking dogs of all types and ages.

Archibald, an American Staffordshire terrier, has been part of her life for about five years, first by providing him a foster home and then adopting him from an animal shelter in 2015.

No one knows exactly how old he is, but the best guess is that he was about 2 years old when he first went to an animal shelter, so hes now about 8.

Alt, 45, said she had a toy poodle growing up. At the time, the knowledge about animal health was much more limited, she said. Since then, far more is known, helping guide her in providing good care for Archibald.

Alt said she was interested in participating in the study in part because of Archibalds health issues, including some skin problems, for which he sees an animal dermatologist, and a type of tumor he had on his head.

Helping lead the UWs Aging Dog Project is someone with big doggie cred. Matt Kaeberlein has three dogs himself, Dobby, 8, Chloe, 14, and Betty, a rescue dog whose age is estimated at between 13 and 15.

One of the goals is, we want to understand the aging process in dogs, said Kaeberlein, who works in the Department of Pathology at the UW School of Medicine. The thing we hope to accomplish is for them to live longer, healthier lives.

Initial publicity said the study was seeking 10,000 dogs. Kaeberlein said the goal is far larger. Wed want to study tens of thousands of dogs, he said. Wed love to get more than 100,000.

So what are they looking for? Dogs of any age, all breeds and living in homes of all economic incomes.

The steps for dog owners to sign up are designed to make it easy for them to participate, he said. First, go to the online site to nominate your dog. Once registered, a survey will be sent out in the following month or two.

The survey will take from 30 minutes to two hours to complete, asking about the dogs living environment such as where the dog sleeps, whether its exposed to secondhand smoke, how much time they spend outside and whether there are other dogs in the house.

Participants then will be asked to get the dogs health records from their veterinarian so it can be sent to the study. This information will help scientists better understand what things most influence a dogs longevity, such as what factors early in life have long-term consequences on their health.

One thing most dog owners know is big dogs age two to three times faster than small dogs, Kaeberlein said. Thats one of the things we want to understand why?

The study is being funded by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Dogs age roughly seven times faster than humans, so researchers hope they can find some trends in the study that would help people live healthier lives, too.

We can do in 10 years what we can do in 70 years in humans, Kaeberlein said.

There are features of aging shared across all animals. Our expectation is much of what we can learn about aging in dogs will also influence aging in people.

Kaeberlein has been studying the biology of aging since he was a graduate student. When the opportunity came to combine that interest with helping dogs through the Dog Aging Project, it was like the best thing in the world, he said.

Not only can we do important science, but theres the potential for helping peoples dogs live longer. I know how important that will be for the millions of dog owners who feel like their dog is part of their family.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

Sign up

There is still time to enroll your dog in the Dog Aging Project. Owners of any size, breed or age of dog can sign up for the study by going to http://www.dogagingproject.org.

Gallery

Pamela Alt practices some commands with Archibald, such as shake, at Yost Park in Edmonds. The pair are part of a University of Washington study on dog longevity. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Pamela Alt and Archibald at Yost Park in Edmonds are part of a University of Washington study. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

UWs Matt Kaeberlein, seen here with his dog, Dobby, wants to understand the aging process in dogs. (Family photo)

Matt Kaeberlein, helping to lead the University of Washington dog study, has three pooches, himself. They are Dobby, 8, Chloe, 14, and Betty, who is a rescue and likely is 13-15 years old. (Family photo)

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Sign your pooch up to help with national study on dog aging - The Daily Herald

If you feel about this past year the way that I do, dear reader, you may question why anyone would want to relive 2019. Well, newspaper traditions being what they are, columnists are expected to write The Year In Reviewcolumns. At my age, newspapers and I have something in common. Were both happy to have survived another year.

I began 2019 with a snarky multiple-choice test that mainly depended on my annoyance with President Donald Trump. That January column was to be the first of many columns inspired by our dysfunctional president. Sadly, your reaction to the column proved that you were even more annoyed at me than I was with the president. That theme (or is it meme?) persisted during 2019. Me annoyed with Trump. You annoyed with me.

After my equally snarky next column this one about Trumps proposed wall (hows that going, by the way?) I followed with a column about men and their underwear, of which I, at least, have first-hand knowledge. I like to think that Januarys columns demonstrated the wide diversity of my interests.

February began with a personal reminiscence about my familys politics. It took me about 70 years to find out that mom was a Democrat. Im a slow learner. Mom spent her final years disrupting the current events discussions at her nursing home arguing about the inadequacies of George W. Bush. Mom if you were alive today, you might actually appreciate good old Dubya. Sure, he never found the WMD, but at least he never tweeted and never held up aid to Ukraine.

As is my habit around Valentines Day, I handed out relationship advice in my next column. I mused that, in part, the longevity of my marriage of over half a century is due to inertia. Frans not mine. Im sticking close by the fire these days. Theres practically no market for a man with one kidney (his wifes), whose only skill is making restaurant reservations. I followed that column writing about things I learned recently (and forgot the next day). And proving that I can complain about the slightest things, I ended the month with a column in which I moaned about having to wipe down the tiles after Im done showering. Incredibly, I returned to complaining about the shower in another column later in the year.

March always comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, at least thats what mom used to say. Unfortunately, that was not reflected by March columns this year. The month opened with me writing an inane column citing what had happened on March 6 in history. Whats special about March 6? Nothing. And I took 900 words to prove it.

It was back to complaining in my next March column, this time about my voice- activated remote (yes, my complaints center on the trivial and are endless). I followed that column with another, this time grumbling about having to change the time on every clock and watch TWICE a year because of daylight saving time. In the same column, I debated the proper way to drape toilet paper. Over or under? (I can be helpful about so many things that no one cares about). In my final March column, I shared with you details of our momentous move from South Philly, where wed both lived all of our lives, to Center City. I begged forgiveness for deserting you. Strangely, you didnt seem all that sad that we were leaving.

The unquestionable highlight of my April columns was my return to complaining about my shower this time the one in our new apartment. You know Im desperate for non-Trump topics when I write TWO columns complaining about the bathroom shower.

In May, I ticked off a reader who had some special interest, likely monetary, in homeopathic medicine. I trashed it. Maybe the guy was just a big fan of St. Johns Wort?

June found me complaining about my Trump addiction. You agreed and suggested it might help if I stopped writing about him.

In a July column, I proved (as if this needed proving) that my favorite topic was and is myself. Incredibly, I actually interviewed myself. In print. And I used two columns to do it. As if to sum up your feelings, I titled my first column in August THE LAST STRAW.

In September, reaching for a subject no one had ever had any prior interest in, I treated readers to a detailed explanation of glamping. Not one reader has shown even a modicum of interest in the origins of glamping since that column, either.

In October, I found your patience with me waning when I accused Trump supporters of belonging to a cult. Many of you wrote back assuring me that keeping statues of the president in your finished basements proved nothing. Yes, but youve got to admit that burning incense in front of those statues while repeating Trumps inaugural address is a tad over-the-top.

You might accuse me of being cruel in one of my November columns, A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOSING, dealing with the inept history of the local Republican Party. But I wasnt the one thinking Billy Ciangalini would be our next mayor. The saddest thing about November was that we had to say goodbye to sports columnist Bill Lyon.

By December, I fancied myself a film critic (is there no end to my talents?) with a review of THE IRISHMAN, or as I called it, THE MEDIGAN.

As 2020 arrives, I enter my 57th year as columnist for the Review. And what does it say about you, that youre still reading this stuff?

You can follow Tom Cardella on Facebook. As if you havent had enough.

Link:
Cardella: The Year In Review - South Philly Review

#This excerpt was reprinted with permission. The full articlecan be readon theIssues and Insights site.

Much of the progress in medicine during the past half-century has involved expensive, high-tech diagnostic tests and therapies. The trend in this direction worries health economists and politicians because it has the potential to send already high health care costs into the stratosphere. Health care spending in 2017 reached $3.5 trillion, or a whopping 17.9% of the nation's gross domestic product, according togovernment statistics.

However, there is an important role as well for ingenious, low-tech, less-expensive approaches to improved health and increased longevity. The question is, how do we make them financially attractive?

The high-tech miracles will continue to garner headlines, but to control health care costs we will also need simpler and relatively inexpensive innovations. That has policy implications. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger wrote (in a different context): "We must continue to seek the affordable and plentiful at the expense of the exquisite and few." That applies to health care as well.

More:
High-Tech Gets The Headlines But Low-Tech Can Cut Health Care Costs And Save Lives - American Council on Science and Health

CohBar (CWBR) is a development-stage biotech company focused on drugs based on mitochondria-based therapeutics (MBTs), an emerging class of drugs with the potential to treat a wide range of diseases associated with aging and metabolic dysfunction, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, fibrosis, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and eventually aging itself. The company has applied for over 65 patents.

The stock is down 80% from its all-time high in January 2018, yet it has moved its lead drug into human clinical trials and has several preclinical programs in progress. This is an opportunity to own a leading company in a whole new therapeutic area at less than a $100 million market capitalization.

Dr. Pinchas Cohen, M.D., is the Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. He holds the William and Sylvia Kugel Dean's Chair in Gerontology and serves as the executive director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center. He is on the advisory board for the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging. He recently received the Glenn Award for Research in Biological Mechanisms of Aging for his research on aging, neurodegeneration, cancer, and diabetes with an emphasis on the emerging science of mitochondrial-derived peptides, which he discovered.

Dr. Nir Barzilai, M.D., is the Founding Director of the Institute for Aging Research, the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, and the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Human Aging Research, all at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He also directs the Longevity Genes Project, a genetics study of over 600 Ashkenazi Jewish families of centenarians and their children. Dr. Barzilai discovered several "longevity genes" in humans that were validated by others and appear to protect centenarians against major age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and dementia.

In 2007, Cohen and Barzilai formed CohBar. The company IPO'd in January 2015 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

You know that every cell in your body has the double helix of DNA - the genome. What you may not know is that most cells, with the notable exception of red blood cells, also contain mitochondria. Mitochondria generate most of each cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), used as a source of chemical energy. Without them, you would die in about 30 seconds. Cyanide poisons by inhibiting the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, thereby preventing the cells of an organism from creating ATP.

Mitochondria have their own independent DNA, inherited from the mother, which can transcribe a variety of mitochondrial proteins. There can be hundreds to thousands of mitochondria in a single cell. Mitochondrial DNA (miDNA) encodes only 37 genes, including 13 proteins essential for life and energy production in a cell. Point mutations in mitochondrial DNA have been associated with a broad spectrum of diseases, including muscle weakness, cardiomyopathy, optic nerve atrophy, retinal dystrophy, impaired hearing, and type 2 diabetes. Mitochondria control cell survival, tell old and defective cells to die, signal to the rest of the body when they are stressed, and appear to be a primary cause of aging.

Mitochondrial-derived peptides discovered by Dr. Cohen in the early 2000s are a new therapeutic paradigm. They go into the bloodstream to regulate metabolism, protect cell function, or cause cell death - the underlying factors of the diseases of aging. Humanin, the first mitochondrial peptide, is present in the brain, testes, and plasma. Humanin levels are higher in families with exceptional longevity and decline with age. A September 21, 2018, paper in Nature - Scientific Reports from Dr. Cohen's laboratory is titled: "Humanin Prevents Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Mice and is Associated with Improved Cognitive Age in Humans."

An earlier paper in Cell Metabolism, also from Dr. Cohen's lab, is titled: "The Mitochondrial-Derived Peptide MOTS-c Promotes Metabolic Homeostasis and Reduces Obesity and Insulin Resistance." MOTS-c is induced by exercise. This is the target of CohBar's first drug, now in Phase 1 human clinical trials for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity. It appears to have many other potential uses.

Source: CohBar

To develop mitochondrial-based drugs, CohBar first identifies and characterizes peptides with biological activity that are encoded within the mitochondria. Then it evaluates the therapeutic potential across different disease models. It files for intellectual property protection and has over 65 provisional patent applications that cover these peptides and their analogs - both composition of matter and method of use patents. The company's strategy is to "own the space" - to own the mitochondrial genome.

Once it has identified a mitochondrial-derived peptide or MDP, it optimizes its structure for potency and drug-like properties. These optimized peptides, or Analogs, are subjected to proprietary assays and validated disease models to match the greatest therapeutic potential to medical needs and market opportunities.

CohBar then has a mitochondrial-based therapeutic, or MBT, that can enter internal preclinical development to be partnered or advanced to the clinic. Many of the steps in this process are separately patentable.

Source: CohBar

CohBar has identified MDPs in type 2 diabetes, fibrosis, cancer, and other age-related diseases. All of these are in the discovery, optimization, and preclinical stages. Its lead drug, CB4211, is a MOTS-c analog in a Phase 1a/1b trial for safety and efficacy in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity. NASH is caused by excess free fatty acid released by lipolysis from abdominal fat that flows directly to the liver. That causes liver fat deposits, inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and eventually liver cancer. Between 12 million and 20 million US patients create a $20 billion to $40 billion market, and there are no approved therapies.

CB4211 has a novel mechanism of action - it inhibits lipolysis, which reduces fatty acid release, leading to a reduction of liver fat. The preclinical data in mice showed a significant 33% reduction in the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Activity Score after only three weeks, improvement in liver triglycerides and plasma ALT (alanine aminotransferase), and normalization of weight in obese animals. The Phase 1a/1b trial is scheduled to end next February, and we should see results in the summer of 2020.

CohBar has identified a new peptide for type 2 diabetes that improved glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese mice. They presented a poster at the June 2019 American Diabetes Association meeting and are optimizing its potency and drug-like qualities.

A new peptide has shown a significant reduction in tumor cell growth in cultured human tumor cells. Twenty different human tumor cell types have been screened against 20 CohBar peptides, and there is evidence of effects against a broad range of tumor types. CohBar also is exploring another new peptide analog that shows antifibrotic effects in lung cells. It has been effective in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis. Fibrosis is a major source of organ failure in an aging population and accounts for up to one-third of all deaths worldwide.

Mitochondria play a central role in energy production, cell signaling, and communication. Mitochondrial dysfunction may play a pivotal role in chronic diseases, providing opportunities for drugs that manage and cure the disease instead of just ameliorating the symptoms. CohBar "owns the space" with over 65 patent filings and six issued patents exclusively licensed from UCLA and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The company has evaluated over 100 peptides encoded in the mitochondrial DNA and their analogs for potential development into novel drugs treating a wide range of diseases.

It has an experienced drug discovery, development, and partnership team. CEO Steve Engle has over 30 years of executive experience with public biotech companies. He was the Chairman and CEO of XOMA (XOMA) and La Jolla Pharmaceuticals (LJPC). Chief Scientific Officer Ken Cundy PhD has over 30 years of drug development experience at Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) and Sterling Winthrop.

We are paying a market capitalization of well under $100 million for a company with broad patent protection of new ways to treat and cure the diseases of aging - and perhaps aging itself. There are different approaches to the difficult task of valuing any development-stage biotech stock (See here, here, and here for three examples). Obviously, if CohBar eventually develops drugs that can slow, stop, or even reverse aging, it will be an enormously successful company.

But the most conservative way to value any biotech is to calculate the ultimate value of their drugs in clinical trials and then use a high discount rate to get a value today. In CohBar's case, taking the midpoint estimate of $30 billion for the NASH market and adding $10 billion for the obesity market gives a $40 billion total available market. There are no treatments for NASH and nothing has caught on for obesity. Once CB4211 is approved, CohBar may be valued as if it can capture half of that market. But it won't be approved for about eight years, so we have to discount an ending valuation back to today using a high discount rate to reflect regulatory uncertainty and future dilution. A high 33% discount rate would give CWBR a discounted present value of $2 billion - more than 20x its current value. That may seem outrageous at first glance, but the risk is in the drug development process, not the valuation. A successful NASH and obesity drug should make CWBR worth multiple of its current value eight years from now.

CohBar is pioneering an entirely new therapeutic approach and therefore the risks of failure in human clinical trials, either for safety or, more likely, efficacy reasons are higher than usual. It will take it eight to ten years to bring its first drug to FDA approval. We can expect the FDA to be very cautious with the first mitochondria-based drugs.

The company had $14.4 million in cash and no debt at the end of September, which will carry it into the second half of 2020. CohBar's broad patent portfolio gives it, in the words of Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, "insurmountable opportunities" to partner out some development programs in return for milestone payments and eventual royalties. It is actively looking for non-dilutive partnerships with larger companies, but an investor has to assume there will be more financings coming. As I tell my subscribers, the second-worst news is: "Your biotech company just raised money." The first-worst news? "Your biotech company can't raise money."

CohBar is only in a Phase 1a/b safety and efficacy trial. These days, preclinical work has gotten so good that very few drugs fail their Phase 1a human safety trial. However, it is still true that efficacy in preclinical animal studies does not always translate to efficacy in human trials. Some investors may prefer to wait for the Phase 1 efficacy results to buy the stock, even if they have to pay a higher price for a de-risked situation. If mitochondrial medicine works as well as I expect it to, CohBar will offer many profitable entry opportunities over the next several years.

Disclosure: I am/we are long CWBR. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Additional disclosure: CWBR is one of seven $20-for-$1 biotech stocks that are current Buys in New World Investor. To see more go to newworldinvestor.com/welcome-seekingalpha-reader.

Originally posted here:
CohBar - The Pioneer In Mitochondrial Drugs - Seeking Alpha

VENTURA, Calif., Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --A California-based pet wellness company has launched a new natural health supplement formulated to boost your pet's immune system and protect dogs and cats against cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

"Cancer is the number-one killer of dogs and cats," explains VetSmart Formulas founder and CEO, Russ Kamalski. "We wanted to create a product that would help pets stay healthy and active for years to come. That's why we've spent the past few years perfecting the formula and making sure it includes active ingredients that have been proven to promote normal cell growth and support long-term health in pets."

The supplement's main ingredients are four medicinal mushrooms from Asia that have been proven to inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors, strengthen the immune system, lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and reduce inflammation. The product also includes a patented white turmeric extract that contains active ingredients that have been shown to protect against neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, cardiovascular risks, and liver damage.

Kamalski says that the powerful combination of natural ingredients is one of the most effective antioxidant supplements for pets and is designed to strengthen the immune system for both young pets as a preventative measure, and for those dogs and cats struggling with diseases such as cancer, it helps the pet's natural immune defenses in an extraordinary way.

"It is the responsibility of the pet owner to do everything possible to minimize the risk of cancer in their pets. That includes a sensible lifestyle with sufficient exercise, weight management, drinking clean water, healthy food intake, and avoiding toxins," says Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Shawn Messonnier, founder of Paws & Claws Animal Hospital in Plano, Texas. "Giving your pets a high-quality antioxidant supplement is highly recommended to further reduce the risk of cancer."

Kamalski, who has decades of experience in the natural health supplement industry, decided to develop this all-natural supplement when his 12-year-old dog, Sienna, developed bone cancer. The doctors gave her just a few months to live but Kamalski exhaustively researched alternative cancer treatments and developed an early prototype of the Critical Immune Defense formula to aid in her treatment and recovery. With the support of Sienna's veterinarian and oncologist, he succeeded in extending Sienna's life by almost two years.

"The oncologists who were treating her were amazed," Kamalski says. "Her tumors basically stopped growing and started to shrink. Not only did the product help slow the cancer growth, her quality of life dramatically improved. They'd never seen anything like it."

Critical Immune Defense is not available in retail stores and can be found at the Pet Wellness Direct Website: http://getvsf.com/cid-press

About VetSmart Formulas:VetSmart Formulas is a line of high-quality pet supplements sold directly to consumers by Pet Wellness Direct, an online pet wellness company founded in 2015. The company's all-natural products are made in the USA in FDA audited labs, have no artificial ingredients or flavors, are wheat-free, and are based on scientifically superior formulas that pet professionals demand. The company's board of advisors includes a professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine and four veterinarians who are passionate about protecting our pets from disease and increasing pet health and longevity.

Related Links:

Russ KamalskiCEOPet Wellness Direct888-212-8400, ext. 802inquiries@petwellnessdirect.com

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Pet Wellness Direct

Link:
New Immune-Boosting Pet Supplement May Add Years to the Life of Your Pet - PRNewswire

Not far from the picture-perfect tourist hubs of Santorini and Mykonos, where cruise ships unload tourists by the thousands, sits another Greek island, more rugged but no less remarkable. Ikaria is off the beaten path.

Up the winding mountain roads of this isolated isle, you're likely to notice brightly-painted boxes dotting the landscape. And what's happening inside those boxes is generating some buzz: Bees busy making a rare honey that locals believe is one of the secrets to a long life.

Beekeeper Andoni Karimalis explained to correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti that people on the island have been eating the honey for generations, to keep healthy and strong well into old age.

At work in her weaving studio, 109-year-old Yaya Joanna agrees there is something special about it.

So does 87-year-old-beekeeper Giorgos Stenos. He eats the honey "every single day."

Chef Diane Kochilas says she has a spoonful every morning.

"So, when the locals here say it's like their medicine, their daily vitamin, there's truth to that?" asked Vigliotti.

"There is truth to that," she replied. "And the local older guys say it's nature's Viagra. I don't know if I should be telling you that!"

To our knowledge, that claim hasn't been tested. But research has found that people here have among the highest life expectancies in the world. And the University of Athens concluded that Ikarians are more than twice as likely as Americans to reach age 90, often in better health.

Kochilas said, "What was it in 'Mary Poppins' 'Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down'? Well, a spoonful of honey, you don't need medicine!"

For centuries humans have valued honey for its medicinal properties. And in Ikaria, known in ancient times as the "healing island," the honey is different from that found on most supermarket shelves.

"First of all there's no industrial farming on the island," said Kochilas. "There's very few commercial undertaking whatsoever. So, nature is pretty pure."

As a result, the pollen and nectar collected by the bees is free of chemicals and pesticides normally found in commercial or private farming. And unlike most honey sold in the U.S., Ikarian honey is also unheated, unfiltered, and unpasteurized all processes which can destroy the natural vitamins and minerals.

In other words, said David Kahn, "It's going from the bees to somebody's mouth. Andoni (the beekeeper) is just facilitating."

David and his wife, Robyn, are also helping spread the word. The American expats who moved to the island a decade ago for a simpler life, introduced Andoni to a distributor in the U.S.

"When we first came, we had a lot of friends that would want the honey because we had it at our house," said Robyn. "They were like, 'What is this? It's so great?' So, he kept going up to Andoni all the time. They said, 'Where can we order this stuff?'"

"It's basically been a very well-kept secret," said David.

That secret, now, perhaps a little less well-kept.

So, how does Diane Kochilas feel about word spreading? "I have to be honest, that's a double-edged sword, because we want to share, of course, the goodness. But we also want to retain the purity of the place and keep it more or less as it is."

For more info:

Story produced by Mikaela Bufano.

Continued here:
Ikarian honey: The secret ingredient to long life? - CBS News

Welcome to the future of Preventive Medicine

Princeton Longevity Center is a next-generation medical facility providing the most advanced, integrated and individually tailored preventive medicine programs. With focus on early disease detection and evaluating and modifying risk for future disease, Princeton Longevity Centers Preventive Medicine and Executive Health programs give you the ability to take control of your future health before the onset of symptoms or other indications of a problem.

A Princeton Longevity Center Comprehensive Preventive Exams combines the newest and most advanced technology with the most in-depth assessment available to detect potential health problems. Our preventive medicine experts will show you simple, easy adjustments you can make that wont dramatically impact your lifestyle but will give you the tools you need to maximize your future health and keep you looking and feeling years younger. Our individually tailored programs will improve your health and longevity, enabling you to make the most of your future years for you and the people who depend on you.

Named one of the countrys top centers for a Comprehensive or Executive Physical exam by the Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine, the Princeton Longevity Center provides you with an exceptional level of personal care and attention.

When you visit Princeton Longevity Center, youll be met by a team of professionals that provides an extensive series of medical assessments, diagnostic tests and health screenings. On the same day well review all your results with you and give you as much time as you need to ask questions about them. Individualized attention from a team of Physicians, Exercise Physiologists, Registered Dietitians, Nurses and Patient Care Coordinators is a hallmark of our Preventive Medicine and Executive Health center. Patients come to Princeton Longevity Center because were not a hospital-based exam we are the specialist in prevention and early disease detection.

You will find that one day with Princeton Longevity Center will provide more insight into your health and future health than all your previous routine annual exams combined.

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The Future of Preventive Medicine || Princeton Longevity ...

Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham. Photo by Jeff Skeirik

The three-fold purpose of MEDICINE HUNTER, INC. is to promote natural, plant-based medicines, to protect the natural environment, and to support indigenous cultures. The company was founded by CHRIS KILHAM, a medicine hunter, author, educator and TV personality who has conducted medicinal plant research in over 45 countries and lectures worldwide about holistic wellness and botanical medicines. As a SPEAKER and guest expert on TV in U.S. and international markets, he advocates for traditional botanical medicines, including psychoactive and psychedelic plant medicines such as cannabis. Chris has been featured in The New York Times, Outside Magazine, Psychology Today, Playboy, LA Weekly and Newsweek and appeared on CNN, NBC Nightly News, The Dr. Oz Show, ABC Good Morning America, ABC Nightline, ABC 20/20 and many other top-tier media venues. He has written fourteen BOOKS, including The Ayahuasca Test Pilots Handbook, Psyche Delicacies and The Five Tibetans, which has been published in over 28 languages.

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Over the past several years, members of ayahuasca groups and various social media sites have referred to the supply of ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi, Malpighiaceae) in Peru as imperiled and environmentally devastated. And yet, the largest ayahuasca retreat centers in Iquitos (Loreto region) and Pucallpa (Ucayali region) appear well supplied with this vine. To determine supply, I conducted a multi-site field assessment in the Peruvian Amazon.

Cultivation of ayahuasca is very much on peoples minds, both from a sustainability standpoint and from a cost perspective. Cultivation of ayahuasca assures sustainability, and also offers full traceability of materials. These are great advantages. Additionally, there is a sense among many that ayahuasca, even if it is relatively plentiful in the Rio Tamaya area, will sooner or later become endangered if cultivation efforts are not widely initiated. Chris Kilham

Listen to Chris Kilham on Psychoactive Plants on Coast to Coast AM, July 2019.

Medicine hunter Chris Kilham is referred to by CNN as the Indiana Jones of Natural Medicine. In the first half, he talks about plants and herbs that enhance connection with the spirit world and healing. Working with companies to develop and popularize traditional plant-based food and medicinal products, he has traveled to such exotic locations as the Amazon, Congo, and Siberia. While researching kava on the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific during the 1990s, he learned that the plant provides a sense of tranquility and relaxation. Its popularity has spread in the ensuing years -- there are many kava bars in the US now -- you might see patrons speaking softly as one of the effects of the plant is that hearing becomes more acute, he noted.

He describes a region in Siberia, where cannabis was grown everywhere, and speaks about ayahuasca, first used by shamans in the Amazon. The psychoactive concoction is derived by mixing two plants, one of which activates the DMT in the other. It offers intensely transformational experiences, he reported, including remarkable healing visions and realizations. Kilham also details some of the dangers that have arisen on his travels, including disease, pirates, and transportation mishaps, as well as many of the bizarre food and drinks he's partaken. These include frog blender drinks, fried scorpions, snake liquor, and grubs.

MEDICINE HUNTER BOTANICAL PRODUCTS

Chris Kilham created these premium sustainable botanical formulas exclusively for Purity Products. Find them on PURITY PRODUCTS or AMAZON.

At Medicine Hunter, we believe that trade in medicinal plants, when conducted well and ethically, can result in a cascade of benefits. In order to promote trade effectively, we work with companies to investigate medicinal plants and to develop and market plant-based remedies. Chris Kilham

Chris is currently Brand Ambassador for KSM-66 Ashwagandha, the finest Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract in the world. KSM-66s certified organic, whole ashwagandha root extract sets the high bar for traceability, manufacturing excellence, superior composition, and clinical studies.

Of all the medicinal plants used in Indias several millennia old tradition of Ayurveda, Ashwagandha is the most highly prized. It is used in many cases, for virtually every condition. It is also especially good for restoring vitality and full sexual potency. - Chris Kilham

The articles, interviews, TV segments and presentations below are just a few examples that we hope you will enjoy. Please see IN THE MEDIA for many more! Please visit our SOCIAL MEDIA page for a current list of our various social media outlets. We look forward to connecting.

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Please see IN THE MEDIA for many more articles, interviews, stories and TV segments. Please visit our SOCIAL MEDIA page for a current list of our various social media outlets so we can keep in touch.

Chris Kilham and Zoe Helene traveled with journalist Steve Hendricks and photographer Ivan from Outside Magazine in the Peruvian Amazon for this story.

Business Insider recently talked to Chris Kilham, a "medicine hunter" who travels the world searching for natural remedies through medicinal plant research.

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Medicine Hunter | Medicine Hunter

NEW ORLEANS No question, Zion Williamson is the most popular sports figure in New Orleans -- not named Drew Brees.

Wednesday night, he didn't disappoint scoring 22 points in 18 minutes in his first game back on the basketball court since undergoing knee surgery in October to repair a torn meniscus.

Pelicans fans say they knew his play would be limited, but were surprised he came out of the game when he did.

"Very disappointed because he was on a hot streak and when players are on a hot streak, you want to keep them going," Daniel Bernard said.

"I understood why they did it, but it's just a tough decision as a coach," Ronald Fornerette Jr. said. "He's got his whole career ahead of him. You can't risk that."

Coach Alvin Gentry said it was the team medical staff's decision to pull Williamson out of the lineup.

"I ain't the brightest coach in the world, but I wasn't going to take him out in those situations unless I was told to," Gentry said.

Dr. Greg Stewart, Professor of Sports Medicine at Tulane University says when it comes to rehabbing from a meniscus tear, it's best to take it slow.

"A lot of what we're seeing with Zion is making sure that everything is healed and well," Stewart said. "The things that you worry about is the end of the bone getting rubbed raw and that can happen with this and some of the bone spurs."

RELATED: Twitter reacts: Zion debut sets it on fire

RELATED: What they're saying nationally about Zion's game last night

"The tissue is going to heal and get stronger," Stewart added. "But, you don't want to go and put all the stress on it all at once."

In a postgame interview, Williamson said it was hard to go back to the bench to finish the fourth quarter. He also said at 19, he's not really thinking about his longevity.

Dr. Stewart maintains the Pelicans are looking at both the team's and Williamson's best interests.

"They want Zion to be healthy and to be a Pelican for years to come, not weeks and months to come," Stewart said.

Fans are now excited to see what Williamson can do when he gets the green light to go all out.

"I believe the Pelicans are at a turning point now since Zion's back because he brings much spark to the lineup," Bernard said.

"I was at (Wednesday night's) game and it was a great experience," Fornerette said. "Best three minutes in that arena ever."

It's unclear how many minutes Williamson will get when the Pels take on the Denver Nuggets at the Smoothie King Arena, Friday night.

RELATED: Zion stuns basketball world with 17 points in 3-minute burst in debut

Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in theIOS App StoreorGoogle Play.

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Was it the right move to pull Zion? Doctors say yes - WWLTV.com

Vetek (Seniority) the Movement for Longevity and Quality of Life (Israel)

Summary

Due to the aging of the global population and the derivative increase in major aging-related non-communicable diseases and their economic burden, there is an urgent international need to promote the research, development and application of and education on effective and safe therapeutic geroscience interventions. These interventions are designed to mitigate degenerative aging processes, thus preventing and eliminating the main underlying contributors for major chronic aging-related diseases and thus improving the healthy and productive longevity for the elderly population. Insofar as aging is the main contributing factor of major chronic age-related diseases, the research and development efforts in the fields of geroscience and of major chronic diseases are integrally related. Israel can be an important contributor to these international R&D efforts, for which it can offer its proven record of scientific and technological achievements and innovation, its strong supportive infrastructure for research and development, its highly skilled scientific and technological work force, including leadership in diverse branches of biomedical research on aging and aging-related diseases. Yet a stronger effort will be needed to build on those strengths and realize the countrys potential in the field for the benefit of the Israeli and global population. Israel can help further promote the field, not only locally, but internationally, by creating and sharing policy suggestions for the advancement of the field.

1. Israel has made significant progress in the fields related to geroscience and combat of major aging-related diseases.

Israel can and should be an important contributor to the global geroscience endeavors, building on its scientific, technological and societal achievements in the field of aging and related fields[1]:

Building on the past achievements, there is still a vital need to develop the geroscience and healthy longevity field in Israel, and there exists a large space for the growth of the field.

There are several specific pressing needs and demands for the development of the geroscience and healthy longevity field in Israel. The needs and the corresponding recommendations listed below closely follow the points made by the Vetek and allied associations in their recommendations for Enhancing research, development and education for the promotion of healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases in the Israel National Masterplan on Aging. Yet, here they are given a wider international perspective, insofar as these needs and recommendations are quite common and applicable for virtually any country. Moreover, these needs and recommendations can be advocated and promoted via international frameworks and organizations, both globally and for specific countries on a case-by-case basis.

Today, there are about 980,000 people in Israel over the age 65 (about 11% of the countrys population), and it is expected that the number of the elderly will increase to 1.6 million by 2035. This reality demands the preparedness of the healthcare and welfare systems to provide worthy and sufficient services for the elderly, adequate solutions for the prevention of systemic economic and healthcare collapse, as well as for the equitable social inclusion of the elderly, and as a result the improvement of their quality of life and the countys economic growth. To achieve those goals, the advancement of medical research and development is a necessary condition. The aging-related health decline is the major cause of mortality, morbidity and disability. It is thus the root cause of all healthcare and economic challenges related to the population aging and should be addressed according to the severity of the problem. Therefore, considerable resources must be dedicated to the advancement of research, development and education aimed at the amelioration of degenerative aging processes and debilitating aging-related diseases in order to extend healthy longevity as much as possible for the entire population.

Yet, the investment of human and material resources in the field is still insufficient in Israel. Presently, the State of Israel expends only about 0.5% of its general research budget for the research of aging and aging-related diseases (just about $5M dedicated annual state budget). Except for the budget framework for science, technology and innovation for the older persons within the Ministry of Science and Technology, there are no other defined budget frameworks in Israel for research and development in the field of aging, healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases. There are limited support frameworks that can be adapted to the subject, such as research budgets for specific diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cancer, etc., which by their nature are aging-related diseases. But in fact, there are no dedicated support frameworks specifically addressing aging-related ill health as a whole (old-age multimorbidity), neither addressing aging as the primary contributing factor for age-related diseases, and there is almost no reference to the special medical needs and characteristics of the aging individuals and the older population. Their characteristics and medical needs are often dramatically different in terms of diagnosis and treatment from the younger population, and the difference may have a decisive impact on the effectiveness of treatment. There is also a lack of centralized R&D support frameworks for the field of aging in Israel, such as the NIH's National Institute on Aging that exists in the US.

Therefore, defined budget frameworks must be established for medical research and development that will specifically address the issue of aging, and promote healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases. Specifically, a defined significant percentage of the research and development budgets of the relevant ministries must be dedicated to the field. These should include the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Science and Technology; the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education; the Israel Innovation Authority; the Israel Science Foundation; the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities including the National Infrastructure Forum for Research and Development; the Ministry for Social Equality; the National Insurance Institute; the bi-national and international research programs in which Israel is a partner, particularly in the divisions concerning the research and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases.

These frameworks must provide funding for calls for research proposals, grants, scholarships, services and action plans designed to alleviate the degenerative aging process and improve the longevity and quality of life of the older population, on behalf and in cooperation of the relevant ministries and institutions.

There is a now a severe deficit of relevant educational materials of any kind in Israel, in the field of aging generally, and particular areas of geroscience and healthy longevity promotion in particular. Currently, aging research is severely under-represented in all academic and other educational frameworks. Good education may be considered a primary condition for progress. There is a need to address the large deficit of knowledge and training on the subject of biological aging, its biomedical improvement and healthy longevity, in most existing institutions of learning. The need should be obvious. It should be clear that prior to any research, development and application on biological aging, there is a need to educate specialists who will be able to contribute to the various aspects of the field. There is an even prior need to educate the broader public on the importance of such research to prepare the ground for further involvement.

Such education is currently very limited. In practical terms, there are presently rather few dedicated structures in Israel to promote and coordinate knowledge exchange and dissemination on biological aging and healthy longevity promotion. There is an urgent necessity for such educational structures to make the narrative on biology of aging and healthy longevity prevalent in the public and academic discourse. To improve the communication and integration, it appears to be crucially important to commonly include the subjects of biogerontology, geroscience and healthy longevity promotion as central parts of learning curricula, and not only in universities, but in every learning and teaching framework, especially those related to biology, medicine or natural sciences generally. Yet, unfortunately, and strangely enough, the study of the biology of aging and longevity is rarely a part of university curriculum and virtually never a part of high school or community education curriculum. Thus, there is a vast range of opportunities to develop educational and training materials and courses, including materials and courses of professional interest, from undergraduate to postgraduate levels, as well as of general interest, presenting recent advances in aging and longevity science. Educational teaching and training materials on the subject should be developed and disseminated for people at all education levels, both for the academia and the general public, for all age groups, for different sectors and in different languages, in accordance with their specific abilities and characteristics. Teaching programs that increase motivation and stimulate scientific thinking in the field should be developed for children, university students at different study stages (undergraduate and graduate), for interns and specialists, and as a part of adult enrichment studies.

In particular, it is necessary to develop study materials, such as courses, text books, problem solvers, guidelines and professional specialization programs in the biology of aging, especially for physicians and biologists in the fields adjacent to aging research, as well as educational materials for the general public. The materials for the general public should include lectures, reviews of the latest scientific developments in the field and practical recommendations for the promotion of healthy longevity and for the preparation of the younger generation to the challenges that expect them. There must be prepared and disseminated authoritative, evidence-based information about lifestyle regimens (such as nutrition, physical activity and rest) that promote healthy longevity and prevent aging-related ill health. A variety of educational teaching and training means should be developed, including conferences, printed materials, knowledge competitions, interactive web platforms, games and other accessible technological means. Relevant ministries and institutions should be involved in the development of and providing access to these educational programs, from the Ministry of Education and the Council for Higher Education to local authorities, public associations, and community centers. In order to facilitate the progress, there is a need to encourage the establishment of educational pilots and the examination of good practices in relevant ministries and other institutional frameworks.

One of the primary specific needs to develop the geroscience field, in Israel and elsewhere, appears to be the establishment of agreeable, scientific evidence-based evaluation criteria for the efficacy and safety of geroprotective (geroscience or healthspan-enhancing) therapies. Such commonly agreed evaluation criteria are presently lacking, in Israel and elsewhere. Yet, they appear to be absolutely necessary in order to set up the end points for the development of geroscience-based therapies and diagnostics and provide value-based incentives for academic, public and commercial R&D entities involved in the field. The field of geroscience is predicated on the recognition of aging as a major contributing and modifiable factor of pathogenesis, including such recognition in regulatory and budgeting frameworks. Yet, it appears that the primary necessary requirement for the degenerative aging process to be recognized as such a modifiable factor and therefore an indication for research, development and intervention, is to develop evidence-based diagnostic evaluation criteria and definitions for degenerative aging and for the efficacy and safety of potential means against it[17]. Without such scientifically grounded and clinically applicable diagnostic evaluation criteria and definitions, the discussions about treating, postponing, intervening into or even curing degenerative aging processes will be mere slogans. It appears to be impossible to treat, postpone, intervene into or cure a condition that it is impossible to diagnostically evaluate and measure the effectiveness and safety of treatment. Such evaluation criteria and measurements would need to become the basis for public geroscience-oriented health programs designed for the prevention of aging-related diseases, while measuring the effectiveness and safety of the interventions.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement improved evaluation measures and criteria for assessing the aging process, for the early diagnosis and prediction of multiple aging-related diseases (old-age multimorbidity), for examining the effectiveness of treatments for their prevention and for estimating and improving the older persons functional and employment abilities. Commonly agreed, science-based and authoritative guidelines should be provided for such measures by authoritative and representative national and international organizations. To develop such measures, it is necessary to increase and improve the collection and processing of various types of data on aging, including biological and medical data in combination with behavioral and social, economic and environmental data. In this process, it is necessary to establish and/or expand relevant databases (registries) and analytical platforms and tools (knowledge centers) in order to facilitate the collection, design, accessibility, analysis, integration and sharing of data on aging, promotion of healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases. These databases and analytical tools should be used predictively to model large amounts of data for more effective diagnosis and treatment and to allow personalized medicine for the older subjects, with reference to their aging process.

In Israel, in order to establish and expand these measurement and analysis systems, it is necessary to involve the relevant ministries and institutions, in particular the Ministry of Health, with the maximum possible cooperation of other entities who have access to data on aging, such as research institutions, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, local authorities and public and commercial research communities. The goals of evaluating the aging processes, early detection and prevention of aging-related ill health as a whole (preventing old-age multimorbidity) and extension of healthy lifespan, should be specifically defined in relevant frameworks and programs, such as the National Program for Personalized Medicine and the National Program for Digital Health, as well as relevant international health promotion programs where Israel takes part. Initiatives and pilots of different extents on the subject should be encouraged in all sectors, while supporting their cooperation.

The above needs and demands for the development of the geroscience and healthy longevity field, directly yield policy recommendations for the fields advancement. Currently, official policy recommendations for the promotion of the geroscience and healthy longevity field are lacking in most major international as well as national frameworks. Such recommendations, for both international and national policy frameworks, must be developed and advocated by authoritative and representative international organizations promoting geroscience research and education.

An exemplary effort to develop and advocate such policy recommendations is the position paper of the International Society on Aging and Disease (ISOAD), entitled The Critical Need to Promote Research of Aging and Aging-related Diseases to Improve Health and Longevity of the Elderly Population (2015)[18]. This position paper makes the general appeal that Governments should ensure the creation and implementation of the policies to promote research into the biology of aging and aging-related diseases, for improving the health of the global elderly population. It further provides specific policy suggestions with reference to enhancing funding, institutional support and incentives for biomedical aging research. This position paper has been translated to 12 languages and submitted for consideration to several governments. It has stimulated further discussion, encouraging the academic community, the general public and decision makers to elaborate on the policies to support the aging R&D field[19].

Such position papers and consultations can have tangible effects on public health policy and research policy, as evidenced by another position paper, jointly advanced by the International Society on Aging and Disease, American Federation for Aging Research, International Federation on Aging, International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and other leading organizations on aging, entitled Aging health and R&D for healthy longevity must be included into the WHO Work Program (2018)[20]. Largely thanks to this position paper and the associated advocacy campaign, the subject of healthy aging that had been originally absent, was eventually included into WHOs 13th General Programme of Work for 2019-2023, including specific end points for the reduction of elderly disability and increasing their healthy life expectancy. The contribution of this advocacy campaign was acknowledged by the director of the WHO Ageing and Life Course Division[21]. Another position paper followed the recent establishment of the UNESCO-affiliated Executive Committee on Anti-Aging and Disease Prevention, entitled The urgent need for international action for anti-aging and disease prevention[22].

These are preliminary examples, and more of such position papers, guidelines and advocacy efforts are needed to advance the geroscience and healthy longevity field, both at the national and international levels. Authoritative and representative international organizations should take on this work, preparing and advocating policy suggestions and guidelines, creating educational materials and providing platforms for scientific cooperation in the geroscience and healthy longevity field.

Specifically, building on the experience of the Israeli program for Enhancing research, development and education for the promotion of healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases within the Israel National Masterplan on Aging (see the previous section), such international organizations may consider advancing the following activities and policies, within specific countries and globally:

International organizations should advocate for a significant increase in the level of governmental and non-governmental funding for basic, applied, translational and clinical research and technological development for the mitigation of degenerative aging processes, aging-related chronic non-communicable diseases and disabilities, in order to extend the healthy and productive life expectancy for the entire population throughout the entire life course. Specifically, the international organizations should advocate for the allocation of defined significant percentages of the research and development budgets of the relevant budgeting frameworks to be dedicated explicitly for the geroscience and healthy longevity field, including bi-national and international research and development programs.

International organizations should create and expand academic and public education frameworks, programs and educational materials, considering the basic and applied research on aging processes and aging-related diseases, promoting healthy longevity, preventing aging-related diseases and improving the quality of life for the elderly, including biological, medical, technological, environmental and social aspects.

International organizations should develop and implement and/or advocate for the development and implementation of evidence-based evaluation criteria, measures and indicators to estimate the effects of aging, predict and detect at an early stage multiple aging-related diseases, and examine the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic and preventive interventions against them. Concomitantly, evaluation criteria, measures and indicators must be developed and advanced for the functional and employment capacity of the elderly and for the improvement of their functional capacity. Such evaluation criteria, measures and indicators should be used for establishing and/or improving public health systems for the early detection and prevention of degenerative aging processes and aging-related diseases.

Combined, these measures and policies should advance the geroscience and healthy longevity field, nationally and internationally, for the benefit of the elderly and the entire population.

References

[20] Stambler I, Jin K, Lederman S, Barzilai N, Olshansky SJ, Omokaro E, Barratt J, Anisimov VN, Rattan S, Yang S, Forster M, Byles J (2018). Aging health and R&D for healthy longevity must be included into the WHO Work Program. Aging and Disease, 9(2): 331-333 http://www.aginganddisease.org/article/2018/2152-5250/ad-9-2-331.shtml.

Ilia Stambler is an IEET Affiliate Scholar. He completed his PhD degree at the Department of Science, Technology and Society, Bar-Ilan University. His thesis subject, and his main interest, is the History of Life-extensionism in the 20th Century.

Link:
Israel can and should become an important contributor to the international geroscience research, development, application and education - Institute...

For Fast Companys Shape of Tomorrow series, were asking business leaders to share their inside perspective on how the COVID-19 era is transforming their industries. Heres whats been lostand what could be gainedin the new world order.

James Merlino,chief clinical transformation officer of the Cleveland Clinic

The old saying in crisis is never let the opportunity go to waste. Weve learned a couple things. One is that this has reemphasized the importance of safety. Were doing thermal screening for healthcare providers. Were testing any patient whos coming in for any surgery or ambulatory care. If theyre COVID-positive, well delay their procedure unless its an emergency.

The second thing is were seeing technology innovations, such as virtual rounding done on an iPad and virtual [visits]. Before COVID hit, we were doing 3,000 virtual visits a month. In March, we did 60,000. Then there are small things, such as putting IV pumps and ventilators outside the door in our COVID ICU.

We have to learn how to live with COVID. Some hospitals may suffer. But I want to believe that this is going to make us deliver care more efficiently. Weve been talking about social determinants and chronic health for a long time, but this is our opportunity to step in. COVID-19 preys on the elderly, on the socially disadvantaged. Going forward, we have to manage COVID-19 with more consistent care.

Nancy Lublin, CEO of Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization that provides free mental health texting services

If you were feeling things before, if you were struggling before, if you had an addiction or an eating disorder or anxiety or depression or a bad relationship, those things just became a lot harder. And even if you were perfect before, you are not perfect now.

53% of our texters before COVID were under the age of 17, and now the biggest age group were seeing is 18 to 34. Their lives have just been turned upside down. They were adulting, and now theyre home with their parents. Or theyre quarantined with roommates whom they didnt really know that well, or sheltering alone, and thats really hard. Or they have little children. Dating has been disrupted for the 18-to-34 age groupfor everybody.

When COVID first hit America, we saw a massive influx in anxiety. They were using words like freaked out, panic, and it was mostly about symptoms. That shifted into what we consider the second wave of feeling: the impact of the quarantines. Weve seen a 78% increase in domestic violence, a 44% increase in sexual abuse. Weve seen a huge increase in financial stress, people worried about homelessness, or thinking about financial ruin.

Mental health and well-being should be part of our education. One of the most important things is how to communicate with people, how to disagree with people, how to have productive relationships. And yet we dont learn any of this. Instead we learn calculuswhich I still havent used.

Christos Christou, international president of Doctors Without Borders

Because of COVID, it is now extremely challenging to move our resources and our people to those places that need them. Were not allowed to fly from Canada or Europe to Yemen, Tanzania, etc. And we are not allowed to export any material, because of nationalism, a very selfish approach by states, which are fighting against each other for supplies. They want to show that they can protect [their citizens]. They will ban any exportation of PPE and, in the event we get a new vaccine, they will make sure that they can stockpile it.

There are multiple crises within the COVID crisis. TB patients are not allowed to access any hospitals at the moment, and they need treatments every day. HIV patients, the same. We have war traumas. Some of the facilities have been repurposed, so its not easy for us to run surgeries. Malaria kills millions of people. We have the treatments, but [theyve] been affected a little bit because of all these debates about the chloroquine. We [also] have a rapid test for malaria. [But] the company that is producing this test has decided now that theres much more profit by repurposing it into a rapid test for COVID.

We have to rethink health systems. Its obvious that only public health systems and national health systems are going to provide the solution.

Im afraid for those places we cannot access. In Northwest Syria, [after] Idlib was bombed [in February], people were in desperate need of food, accommodation, and health services. All of a sudden, with COVID, everyone forgot about this situation. But this doesnt mean that their problems evaporated. Yemen is another place. In the past few days we have confirmed that theres a local transmission of COVID, and theres zero capacity. Im not talking about ventilators or ICU beds. They dont even have the test, the diagnostic. This is one of my nightmares.

[Source images: Videvo; _Aine_/iStock]The other one is related to those places where people live in high-density settlements. Im talking about communities like Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh, the Greek Islands, the favelas in Brazil, the [refugee] camps in Kenya. Anything related to good hygiene or stay-at-home policies in these place is just a luxury. [Its] not an option.

We have to rethink health systems. Its obvious that only public health systems and national health systems are going to provide the solution. If we leave it to the free market, their rules are different: Their driver is profit making. They have every right to do so, but you cannot ask for vaccines or therapeutics and diagnostics from those people. In this [pandemic], we should not allow anyone to profit from the solution.

Dr. Gianrico Farrugia,CEO of Mayo Clinic

COVID has enabled us to create virtual health as a new normal. Not only in terms of remote monitoring and acute medical care, but also for advanced care at home. For example, electrocardiograms can be done on a smartwatch to diagnose heart failure or to measure potassium.

As a nation, we have been promising and not delivering on telehealth now for several years, and that has had to do with licensure, regulation, billing, but also just healthcares reluctance to change. With those barriers removed, weve been able to move from maybe 400 to 35,000 virtual visits a week.

Some of the regulations that have been relaxed need to become permanentand in a way that can be enforced so patient safety does not suffer. We [shouldnt] go back to where we were, because we would have lost a huge opportunitythis tiny silver lining in the pandemic, which is the digital revolution of healthcare.

Yonatan Adiri,CEO of Healthy.io, a company that uses cellphone cameras to create clinical grade at-home tests for urinary tract infections and kidney disease

I dont buy that this has been the watershed moment for healthcare. The forces of status quo are very strong. Physicians can now practice across state lines; Medicare will reimburse remote patients sessions at the same price as in-person. People thought these things would take a decade to happen. We now have to work to keep this the new normal. All it takes is one company making false claims that creates a safety or efficacy issue and the whole thing will be rolled back.

If this had happened 10 years ago, it would have been a million-and-counting dead, and not 300,000 dead.

If this had happened 10 years agowithout computation, without DNA sequencing, without cloud, without bandwidth, without high-resolution selfie camerasit would have been a million-and-counting dead, and not 300,000 dead.

Andrew Diamond,chief medical officer at primary care company One Medical, which offers outdoor testing sites for COVID-19

We need a strategy to test enormous numbers of people, almost on a surveillance-like basis. And if you cant do that, then you need an alternative, like really robust contact tracing. I could see by the fall or maybe mid-winter that we could have technology where you couldat the door of your office building or apartment building or mass transit station or airport airline terminalspit into a disposable cup at a machine that gives you a readout in a matter of minutes.We also need to double down on taking care of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Some of the people who are most vulnerable to the worst effects of the infection are people with those conditions. Thats our bread and butter in primary care, but thats also how were actually going to contain the damage from COVID-19, as it lives with us for months and years to come.

Peter Diamandis,founder of the XPrize Foundation and several companies in the health space, including Cellularity, Human Longevity, and Covaxx

People feel abandoned by the healthcare system. They feel its dangerous to go to hospitals because theyre overloaded. There is a significant opportunity for new startups and for Apple, Google, and Amazon to step in and deliver much more efficient turnkey data-driven services.

The government should be pouring capital into research, but its going to be entrepreneurial companies that are in your home already that are delivering and collecting the data [that will] make you the CEO of your own health. How do you partner with AI to really understand whats going on and what your options are? I dont think health systems can innovate sufficiently [on their own].

Richard Park,cofounder of CityMD and CEO of Rendr Care

Whats going on now is this huge, bubbling, socioeconomic friction between the haves and the have-nots. COVID-19 is a real reflection of that, especially in New York. If you look at CityMD and its hot spots, its [where you find] the vulnerable populations.

I was born here in the States, but to immigrant parents, who migrated here in the late 60s. They were grateful to be second-class citizens here in the greatest country on the planet. That humility, that you are always in debt to the greater society . . . was an underlying theme at home.

Theres going to be more and more pressure to be efficient on healthcare, and so the baseline standards will get more and more meager.

[My family] would open stores and close stores and [have] terrible financial troubles. Not unlike so many other New Yorkers today, especially now with COVID. We had borrowed money from so many people to pay rent. It accentuated a tremendous amount of shame and guilt. I would, as a kid, walk around, knowing, That person lent us $5,000. That person lent us $10,000, over the years. I couldnt even look them in the eye. The beautiful part of it was, as a community, they lent us money and they knew they were never getting it back. And I finally actually paid back everybody. Some of that debt was more than 35 years old. People were never expecting it.

[Source images: Videvo; _Aine_/iStock]At CityMD, the other founders are immigrants, and they understood this. We made a decision early on not to separate Medicaid [patients] from [those with] commercial [insurance plans]. People said, You cant mix the two populations. The Wall Street banker will not sit next to the Medicaid person. Maybe that was true in the past, but we said, Were not going to do that. Now we know, it absolutely does work together.

Concierge medicine is wrong. I consider that wrong. Its not how I want to roll. I dont want to participate in that. [But] as the economy has difficulty, as Medicaid enrollment swells, revenue decreases at the state level. Its a bad mix: more enrollment, less revenue for it. This puts pressure on everybody. In the same way, employers have this impossible 5% year-over-year [increase in] healthcare costs. Its not sustainable. Theres going to be more and more pressure on healthcare to be efficient, and so the baseline standards will get more and more meager. Thats why the [concierge medical services] will arise. There are people who can afford it.

More from Fast Companys Shape of Tomorrow series:

Continued here:
Here's how COVID-19 is reshaping medicine, according to experts - Fast Company

In 1960, four young men met in a London cafe and so began Beyond the Fringe and a revolution that would change the face of British culture. One of this satirical gang of four was Jonathan Miller, who looked like a kinaesthetic Anglepoise lamp, as it was said, in continual motion and spoke as if ideas gushed from him like water from a bottomless reservoir. Astonishingly profuse, giddyingly versatile and connective, endlessly restless and firing on all synapses, Miller was a neurologist who became all at the same time, like a magic trick performed in plain sight a comedian, a theatre and opera director, a presenter of a landmark TV series about the body, a public intellectual, a famous feuder and a man who had a bewilderingly eloquent and informed opinion on just about anything.

For decades, the two men were at the heart of British cultural life, both as theoreticians and practitioners

In 1962, a young man arrived in the UK from Australia, and irreverently, joyously, hilariously set about demolishing the walls between high and low art. The Observer TV columns that made him famous were essays of comic genius that treated all genres with equal seriousness and equal mockery. People who didnt even own a TV bought the paper to read the high-wire weekly performance. Clive James was a TV critic who was also a TV star, a literary reviewer who was at the same time a poet and novelist, practising what he mocked, thin-skinned about being mocked right back.

For decades, the two men were at the heart of British cultural life, both as theoreticians and practitioners. And now, within days of each other, they are both gone.

It may be hard for a young person today to understand how astonishingly new, fresh, radical, destabilising and glorious their achievements were then. They burst onto a dreary postwar society of austerity and grim respectability, of strict hierarchies, of Norman Wisdom and wet Sunday afternoons, of knowing ones place and keeping to it.

For both, not keeping to ones place was the point, overturning the rules was the point, puncturing pomposity, skewering pretension, mocking revered establishments, demolishing old certainties, exuberantly and loudly speaking about things that had previously been whispered or not mentioned at all. The old ways were dying. The world was for the young.

Miller once called himself an informaliser; he brought jukeboxes into opera productions and Wittgenstein into standup comedy. He turned his fierce, pliant, democratic intelligence on all manner of subjects: imitating a sat-upon sofa, directing Alice in Wonderland, talking about Shakespeare to schoolchildren, arguing with Jehovahs Witnesses who came to his door.

And James described himself as a premature post-modernist, insisting like the US film critic Pauline Kael that the creative impulse could flourish in every arena, in gameshows as well as classical music, soap operas as well as classical ones. In his (nearly 900-page long) collection of essays, Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time, he gives us his maverick A-Z of 20th-century culture that leaps nimbly between figures such as Louis Armstrong, Sigmund Freud, Terry Gilliam, Coco Chanel

TS Eliot wrote about the music hall, but he didnt get up on stage. George Orwell praised the art of seaside postcards, but he didnt paint any himself. Miller and James collapsed boundaries not just between high and low culture, but between theory and practice. They were fearless in this, sometimes unwise, and of course they made mistakes and made themselves vulnerable and ridiculous. James the TV critic would probably have slated James the TV star. Miller was constantly lampooned in Private Eye as a garrulous pseud: Dr Jonathan pouring out his convoluted verbosity. He himself was always regretful about giving up his career in medicine and ambivalent about some of his work. (Looking back, he said: You think, what on earth was all that about?)

James had a late flowering during his time of slow dying, though Millers last years of frailty were silent ones

One unintended consequence of this demolition of borders and reconfiguration of the cultural landscape was that professions that had traditionally been working class were now invaded by the middle classes: boys from public schools could become standup comedians. (This mobility does not seem seemed to work the other way round, although in the 16th century Thomas Wolsey, the son of a butcher, could became an archbishop and cardinal.) Actors come from Eton now.

Miller and James were in the public eye as young men, middle-aged men, old men. James had a late flowering during his time of slow dying, although Millers last years of frailty were silent ones. They remained men of their time, whichever time that was and of course, they were men. It is hard to imagine a woman being allowed such longevity, or being accepted as both hilarious and serious.

James had strange views about women (Cultural Amnesia performs its own act of selective forgetting, including only a handful of women in its 100 entries) and cranky ones about climate change. But the public largely forgave him, while Germaine Greer who arrived in the UK at about the same time as James and who changed the world and how we live in it more profoundly than he or Miller has not been treated so tolerantly. Women are not so easily excused when they behave foolishly or make mistakes; usually, they are not excused at all.

It is easy to say that there will never be their like again how could there be? Like Brigitte Bardot, they were products of the society that they set about revolutionising. Now we are living in the age they helped to make, where a monolithic culture has been kicked over and a postmodern one has taken its place: one where Sam Mendes can direct Shakespeare one month and James Bond the next; where Stephen Fry is a comedian and a public intellectual; where young people watch Love Island and read WG Sebald; where irony runs through our discourse, sincerity is suspect and truth up for grabs.

For decades, Miller and James seemed unquenchable and unstoppable. It is strange to think that they both were stopped at the same time, two worlds ending. As James once wrote: I could go on, except I cant.

Nicci Gerrard is an author

See original here:
The playful pair who pricked the grim respectability of postwar British culture - The Guardian

Genome-Wide Association Studies, GWAS, look at the genomic milieu, but the presence or absence of a gene rarely tells the whole story. Genes, need to be transcribed, and ultimately metabolic products are created. Each of these inter-related levels has additional influencers and feedback mechanisms.Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analysis are all currently active areas of investigation in the field of omics.

Taking a page from Dracula, studies in which older and younger mice have their circulations surgically connected, termed parabiosis, demonstrate that younger mice age more quickly, while those older mice are rejuvenated. While that finding has prompted charlatans to offer the blood of young donors for sale, it has prompted serious research on how and which of the multitude of proteins within our blood influence aging. We are just at the beginning of these investigations, there are no causal factors identified, and there will be no pills or treatment coming in the short term. A new report from Nature Medicine reports from the frontier on how the protein composition of our blood, a fluid that contains proteins from nearly every cell and tissue, changes with age.

The researchers utilized blood samples from roughly 4300 individuals age 18 to 95 and identified approximately 1400 proteins whose concentrations changed over time. Phenotypically, we know that men age differently than women; a metabolic basis for that observation may come from the fact that of those 1400 aging proteins, almost two-thirds of them were significantly different in men versus women.

It is a combinatorial nightmare to consider how each of these 1400 proteins interacts, so the researchers grouped them to reduce the complexity of analysis. As you might expect, the pattern of change in the proteins, their trajectory varied over time, some linear, others exponential, but most in a non-linear manner. Those trajectories identified 8 clusters represented in this graphic.

The researchers poetically described the aggregate pattern created by these varying trajectories as undulating; and identified three crests at age 34, 60, and 78. And while there was some overlap, each of these crests was mostly unique compositions of proteins.

Altogether, these results showed that aging is a dynamic, non-linear process characterized by waves of changes in plasma proteins that reflect complex shifts in biological processes.

Many of the proteins identified were part of signaling pathways, proteins carrying information from tissue to tissue throughout the body. Other proteins represented additional key biologic pathways with little overlap, a finding consistent with the idea that aging reflects the loss of the resilience that redundancy provides.

The researchers point out that the changing protein profile, the proteomics, are at this juncture best thought of as biomarkers, not causal agents. It is just too early in the investigation to be more confident in their roles. There were able to create a proteomic clock to predict ones age with a great deal of accuracy. While they report that patients whose age was underestimated did better on cognitive and physical tests than their peers, they made no mention of the findings for those individuals whose age was overestimated.

Source: Undulating changes in human plasma proteome profiles across the lifespan Nature Medicine DOI: 10.1038/s41591-019-0673-2

Original post:
Welcome to the Proteome: A New Way to Look at Aging - American Council on Science and Health

ROCHESTER, Minn. If you are a doctor and devout person of faith, and if your religion says vegetarianism is the diet endorsed by the Bible, can you be expected to study the science of food and health without bias?

Its an emerging question for the communities waging battle over methodological weaknesses in the dietary sciences, one highlighted by a recent, widely reported Mayo Clinic clinician-authored paper on the association between diet and prostate cancer.

The publication, a Journal of the American Osteopathic Association study by the Mayo oncology and hematology fellow Dr. John Shin and four Mayo Clinic Scottsdale colleagues, reviewed 47 studies dating back 11 years. It rendered a timely, vegan-friendly conclusion that diets high in dairy products may be associated with increased prostate cancer risk, and diets high in plant-based foods may be associated with decreased prostate cancer risk. The study was reported in new outlets across the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

For those who heard the news and came away with new reasons to swear off animal foods, a valuable piece of context went missing, however. Shin, like thousands of other clinicians across the country, is Seventh-Day Adventist. Sermon-hosting sites offer links to the physicians religious lectures and he serves as a speaker in the Adventist Medical Evangelical Network (AMEN), an independent organization with the goal of uniting the church to restore Christs ministry of healing to the world, hastening His return.

Why should a nutrition researchers faith tradition matter? Because an Adventist ministry of healing includes the promotion of a plant-based diet. In response to a recent Forum News Service question asking if Adventism seeks to move the public towards a plant-based diet in keeping with religious beliefs about the foods that promote health, Shin responded in the affirmative.

Yes, he replied, because the original diet given to man in the garden of Eden as described in the Bible was a plant-based diet, Seventh-day Adventists believe that this is the ideal diet for maintaining and restoring health. Shin added that the purpose of the AMEN organization is to inspire Christian medical professionals to incorporate whole person care into their practices, and he disputed that its mission is to bring about dietary change.

Questionable science

Like much of the research that now informs the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the 47 studies the Shin paper analyzes to impugn dairy are of a methodologically weak form of science known as nutritional epidemiology, so-called case-control and cohort studies that contain no information about cause and effect. The studies were of varying size and quality, moreover, and their findings were all over the place. Most showed no effect, protective or harmful, for any foods in relation to prostate cancer.

Given these results, how did the Mayo group come to their dairy-cautioning, plant-promoting conclusions? By citing the plentiful number of studies with no finding, alongside the few studies showing plants were good and dairy was bad, all as part of the same trend. Shin says this step was justified because the vast majority of papers with findings, outnumbered though by null findings, showed plants to be protective and dairy harmful, a pattern favoring his vegan-friendly findings on foods and cancer.

Earlier this year, however, a team of Canadian researchers conducting a more rigorous statistical method found dairy to be without effect as often as harmful in relation to prostate cancer. The diagnosed rates of prostate cancer within the US during the period studied, moreover, are widely recognized to be inaccurate thanks to the overdiagnosis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings. When it comes to diet and prostate cancer, in other words, the room for investigator bias to affect an outcome is high.

Visions from God

Adventist dietary beliefs derive from the writings of Ellen White, its mid-19th century co-founder and spiritual prophet.

She would go into trances and receive what she called visions from God, says Ronald L. Numbers, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and expert on the history of Adventism. Numbers says White began to describe visions on diet and health, leading her to become a vegetarian distinguishing between clean and unclean meat according to the Levitical laws.

Among the hundreds of passages concerning diet which are attributed to White are several that look decidedly vegan or vegetarian. These include meat eating deranges the system, beclouds the intellect, and blunts the moral sensibilities, and, people everywhere should be taught how to cook without milk and eggs, so far as possible, and, grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. Numbers says Adventists have a diversity of views about the dietary positions of Ellen White.

But Adventist scholars have taken credit for over 100 years of moving food practices away from animal foods and toward plants. Whites contemporaries were early cereal pioneers in Battle Creek, Mich., and their products were instrumental in diverting Americans from bacon and eggs towards carbohydrate-laden breakfasts of today, changes believed to have contributed to the skyrocketing global burden of Type 2 diabetes and secondary illnesses of heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimers and some forms of cancer.

Contemporary Adventism has figured in over 300 health outcome studies of its communities, often conducted with NIH funding and in partnership with researchers from Harvard School of Public Health. Though studies of church-going populations have characteristics that limit their usefulness, this sustained appeal within the medical literature to the benefits of Adventist so-called lifestyle medicine is cited widely, including by the so-called Blue Zones longevity initiative adopted in cities like Albert Lea, Minn.

In perhaps the most direct position of influence on the direction of dietary policies today, Joan Sabate, an acknowledged Adventist and professor at the SDA-affiliated Loma Linda University School of Public Health, currently sits on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee of the USDA.

Shin says Adventists focus on health because we believe that when the body is healthy, the mind is better able to comprehend spiritual truths, thus enhancing ones relationship with God. He adds that the teetoling, tobacco- and caffeine-avoiding faith also promotes exercise, adequate sleep and spending time with family. But while exercise, sleep, and family time is largely uncontested in medicine, a rigorous debate exits over the wisdom of the advice to avoid animal foods.

Should being Adventist while studying nutrition require a disclaimer?

The real issue for me is that Seventh-Day Adventists began their religion as a health religion, so they are compromised in making broad decisions about societys health

The real issue for me is that Seventh-Day Adventists began their religion as a health religion, so they are compromised in making broad decisions about societys health, says Belinda Fettke, an Australian who blogs on the subject of Adventism and health. We should be asking them how best to do a vegetarian or vegan diet, because they understand it. But they shouldnt be telling the world that animal fats and protein are dangerous, which is what they do ... I dont think Ive ever come across a religion thats so involved in a health message, and I think thats a concern.

Shin counters that all researchers approach their work with a bias, its just that his is visible.

My Seventh-day Adventist faith provides me with the predisposition to believe that plant-based foods are healthful, and therefore I have an interest in conducting research to show whether or not this is true, he says. In this sense, my ability to maintain my objectivity in conducting diet-related research would be no more compromised than any other dietary researcher, the only difference being that my predispositions can be more readily traced to my religion.

He says he believes requiring a disclosure would imply that someone of that faith is somehow less qualified or trustworthy to conduct the research in question. It would be a form of discrimination.

When asked if a devout Adventist could make a dietary recommendation contrary to the faith, the historian Ronald Numbers is skeptical. That would be difficult, he says.

If you even found that eating pork contributed to health, you would be in a bad quandary ... I assume that the nutritional studies that show Adventists live longer, healthier lives are reasonably accurate. But then of course, studies of Mormonism show they live longer lives. And theyre not vegetarian.

So, should Adventists be asked disclose their faith when conducting nutrition studies?

That is an incredibly interesting question, he says.

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Are dietary studies influenced by religious beliefs? | State - Southernminn.com

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If you hit enough specific diseases, youre getting at the core aging components that are common to all of them, Church, a Wyss core faculty member, said in an interview Monday. Gene therapy gives you a testable therapy at scale in mice. And we can move from mice to dogs and then to humans. Were focusing on the reversal of age-related diseases so well be more healthy and youthful later in life.

The research is part of a broader emerging field, sometimes called geroscience. Its advocates believe that the best way to treat a variety of illnesses from cancers and heart disease to Alzheimers and macular degeneration is to attack the aging process itself.

Were taking a holistic approach, said Noah Davidsohn, a former research scientist in Churchs lab who is first author of the study. Rather than attack specific diseases, were trying to make patients generally healthier and, in the process, getting rid of as many age-related diseases as possible. Nobody wants to be old and in a wheelchair and not doing anything.

Bostons biomedical hub has become a hotbed of geroscience research.

Last winter, 16 of the worlds top longevity scientists, including Harvard scientist David Sinclair, professor of genetics and director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, formed a Boston-based academy that will seek to spotlight medical research on extending human life and developing drugs to slow the aging process. The nonprofit Academy for Health and Lifespan Research will share research and lobby governments in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to increase funding and create new paths to approve age-slowing therapies.

Previous studies in the field have also sought to slow aging and extend healthy life spans through small molecules that increase blood flow and endurance, or weed out zombie cells that send out toxins causing age-related maladies. But the Wyss Institute is the first to use therapy that combines genes to boost protein levels that diminish with aging. The genes were selected from a database developed over the past decade at Churchs lab.

We looked at the ones that had the biggest impact individually and then wanted to see if they would work more effectively in pairs and triples, Church said. Such an approach, he said, had the greatest potential to target multiple diseases through a one-and-done injection into the blood or muscle, a simple procedure akin to getting an influenza vaccine shot.

When deployed against obesity, type II diabetes, heart failure, and renal failure, a single formulation ... was able to treat all four diseases, according to the study published in PNAS. These results emphasize the promise of gene therapy for treating diverse age-related ailments, and demonstrate a new approach of combination gene therapy that may improve healthspan and longevity by addressing multiple diseases at once.

San Diego-based biotech startup Rejuvenate Bio, founded by Church and a pair of coauthors of the PNAS study, Davidsohn and Daniel Oliver, is pursuing a gene therapy to fight age-related diseases. The company has already begun working with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton to test the gene therapy combination in dogs.

Davidsohn, chief technology officer at Rejuvenate, said the company is focused for now on developing and marketing a treatment that can extend the health span of dogs, which can suffer from a range of age-related illnesses including heart and kidney problems, obesity, dementia, and hearing and vision loss similar to those afflicting humans.

His own 5-year-old dog, Bear, whom Davidsohn adopted while working in the Wyss Institute lab, was an inspiration and now holds the honorary title of chief inspiration officer at Rejuvenate. The company was launched in stealth mode about a year ago and now has eight employees.

While dogs will be an important market in their own right for the combination gene therapy, Davidsohn said, We would be happy if this ended up in humans.

Church said testing the experimental therapy in dogs is likely to take about two years. Then, if regulators approve it, clinical trials could begin in humans. But even if all goes well, he said, the gene therapy probably wont be available as a marketed product for more than a decade.

By then, he said, the cost of a gene therapy which now can top $1 million per patient for rare diseases could drop to thousands of dollars per patient in what would be a much larger market to treat multiple age-related diseases.

Some supporters of age-slowing research, such as Jay Olshansky, public health professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, have cautioned against expectations that scientists can radically lengthen life spans. Instead, they believe, the goal should be, as Olshansky puts it, pushing out the red zone, the time of frailty and disability at the end of life.

Church, however, has a more ambitious vision.

The important thing is getting good at age reversal, he said. If age reversal truly works, there is no upper limit on how long healthy lives can be extended.

Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman @globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeRobW.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the status of the collaboration between Rejuvenate Bio and George Churchs Wyss Institute Lab.

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