Category Archives: Life Extension

Montreal community members crowded into the Redpath Museum Auditorium on Sept. 27 for a Freaky Friday lecture. In the talk, Professor Joe Schwarcz, Director of the McGill Office for Science and Society, discussed humanitys historical attempts to delay aging.

Nobody looks forward to getting old, Schwarcz said. Historically, there has been this search for the Fountain of Youth, and, over the years, many anti-aging regimens have been developed.

One such regimen consisted of bathing in sour donkey milk and was practiced by Queen Cleopatra in the first century BC. Modern science suggests that, since sour milk contains lactic acid, the remedy could have had a slight rejuvenating effect. Lactic acid belongs to a class of compounds called alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) that speed up the turnover of skin cells and are now marketed in cosmetic face creams.

In the 19th century, physiologist Charles Brown-Squard observed that eunuchs suffered from medical problems and hypothesized that a substance present in the testes was the key to health and longevity. He injected himself with extracts from dog testes, inspiring other researchers to further investigate gland transplants.

This tradition continued into the early 20th century when John Brinkley, a charlatan without medical credentials, made a fortune by transplanting the testicles of goats into the scrota of aging men.

He had very few complications because he never connected the goat testicles to anything, but he had plenty of men saying how happy they were, [] undoubtedly due to the placebo effect, Schwarcz said. Although we look back on these ventures as being virtually comical, [] this really was the beginning of hormonal therapy.

Attempts to exploit the gullibility of the public persisted, even as legitimate science advanced. Human growth hormone (HGH), the production of which declines as a person ages, became a widely promoted remedy after a 1990 study observed that HGH treatments increased lean mass and bone density in elderly men.

HGH, at the time, was very difficult to come by, Schwarcz said. But there were clinics that popped up [] that were offering HGH injections for much less than [the expected price], so no one knows what they were actually injecting.

When public awareness caught up, companies instead began marketing an HGH secretagogue, a substance that supposedly stimulates the secretion of raw materials to form HGH proteins inside the body. However, HGH levels decline because of the reduced activity of enzymes that assemble raw materials into proteins, not because of a shortage of raw materials.

Supplying these secretagogues is like supplying bricks and windows and doors and hoping that they will assemble themselves into a building, which will not happen because the builder is missing, Schwarcz said.

Schwarcz also noted that the manipulative tactics of advertisers are present in many modern anti-aging products.

Marketing very often uses clever words such as It may help [] and, as soon as you do that, you are protected legally, Schwarcz said.

Some companies push this principle above and beyond. Based in Arizona, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation specializes in cryonics, a pseudoscience that insists on freezing human corpses in the hope of resurrecting them in the future.

It [costs] at least $100,000, Schwarcz said. This is of course nonsense. When you are cold and dead, you are dead.

While some make expensive bets on futuristic technologies, Schwarczs recommendations for prolonging life are a lot less flashy. Okinawa Island in Japan is home to more centenarians than any other place in the world. The lifestyle of this population is characterized by a high consumption of fish, vegetables, and fruit, a low consumption of red meat and processed food, and high levels of activity.

Eating a proper balanced diet, [] exercise, and [genetics] are a few keys, but these are not highly marketable, Schwarcz said. There constantly are these miracle solutions, but there are no miracles.

The rest is here:

Searching for the Fountain of Youth - McGill Tribune

August 24, 2017 11:10 AM

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) The Texas Rangers have a name for their new ballpark slated to be open in 2020 and its very familiar.

The Rangers and Globe Life announced an extension of their naming rights partnership through the year 2048.

Proposed Rangers baseball stadium (credit: City of Arlington)

In a pressconferenceon Thursday, officials announced that the new ballpark will be called Globe Life Field, not to be confused with the Rangers current home, Globe Life Park.

The futurebillion-dollar climate-controlled stadium deal will keep the Texas Rangers in Arlington at least through 2054.

Half of the money for the new stadium comes from the city, the other half from the Rangers.

Last November, Arlington voters approved the extension of a half-cent sales tax, 2 percent hotel-occupancy tax and 5 percent car-rental tax for the new Rangers stadium.

That revenue previously went to defray Arlingtons $155 million debt on its share of the cost of AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFLs Dallas Cowboys.

The stadium should be completed in time for the 2020 MLB season.

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Rangers Renew Partnership With Globe Life For Stadium Naming Rights - CBS DFW

Lost tabs? No problem.

If I had a dollar for every time I'd accidentally closed a browser tab -- or worse, an entire windowful of 'em -- I'd be rich.

But there's a simple keyboard shortcut that can instantly correct this error: Ctrl-Shift-T.

OrApple-Shift-T, if you're using a Mac.

Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed to admit I only discovered the shortcut a few months back, but it's changed my life ever since. (I used to use a browser extension called TooManyTabs to do something similar, but this is way better.)

Just know that some browsers work better than others. With Chrome or Safari, you can restore an entire window full of tabs with this one quick three-button press, so long as your browser is open.

But with Firefox or Microsoft Edge, you can only restore tabs one at a time, and only if you opened those exact tabs in the same browser window.

If this keyboard shortcut is new to me, I'm betting it could be new to you too. If not, maybe it'll help someone else?

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The life-saving browser shortcut everyone should know - CNET

Manganese ore production from mines in the Northern Cape rose 19% to take advantage of strong manganese prices.

South32 spent $356m on capital projects in the past year, including $37m on the second phase of underground development at the Wessels manganese mine. In the past year, the company has also made an $81m investment into Arizona Mining and signed other agreements in exploration projects.

An additional $7m was spent on greenfields exploration, mainly for base metals in the Americas and Australia. Kerr said copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt were attractive commodities, suited to Chinas move to a consumption-led economy, and South32 has decades technical expertise.

In SA, the feasibility study into the $265m Klipspruit life extension project has been completed and a final investment decision will be made before end-December. Kerr said Klipspruits current reserve would be depleted by 2020.

Mike Fraser, president and chief operating officer for Africa, said Klipspruit was close to Eskoms Kusile power station and although it was an export coal mine, the mix could be changed to suit Eskoms needs.

At the end of June South32 held $1.6bn in net cash, five times more than a year ago.

It recently began a $500m share buyback programme, which was raised to $750m, as the most efficient mechanism for returning cash to shareholders. About $539m of the programme is still to be spent.

The shares added 1% to R30.73 after the announcement.

mathewsc@fm.co.za

Excerpt from:

South32 plans a BEE boost - Business Day (registration)

Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer

A memorial to 11-year-old Josue Flores rests at the site where he was killed May 17, 2016, in his Near Northside neighborhood.

A memorial to 11-year-old Josue Flores rests at the site where he was killed May 17, 2016, in his Near Northside neighborhood.

Near Northside seeks extension of rules aimed at homeless

Near Northside residents want to expand the parts of their neighborhood in which rules barring sitting, lying or sleeping on sidewalks during daytime can be enforced.

Residents won City Council approval last fall to apply those "civility" rules to a western portion of their area, and now are seeking to designate a larger area east of the light rail line along Main Street under the same regime.

Those involved have acknowledged the restrictions alone cannot address civic leaders' concerns about transients undermining the area's safety or quality of life, however.

Neighbors took up a petition last summer after the May 17, 2016, murder of a local boy, Josue Flores, who was stabbed to death on his way home from school, allegedly by a man police say had been staying at a Salvation Army outpost in the area.

That 300-bed shelter, which has operated on North Main for four decades, has combined with other bunk houses and free feeding sites and the neighborhood's three-year-old light rail line, residents say, to flood their neighborhood with vagrants.

Shopkeepers say they witness open-air sex acts and drug deals on the sidewalks and have demanded action from City Hall. One way to get results, they decided last summer, was to circulate the petition required to extend the city's "civility" rules to their area.

The rules, as they would be in the new section east of Main, are effective between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The civility ordinance has been in effect in the Central Business District, Midtown, Old Sixth Ward, Avondale and Greater Hyde Park since 2002, and in 2011 was extended to the east downtown area. South Post Oak was added this spring.

Here is a map comparing the current northside zone to the proposed one:

The neighborhood also has coalesced around solutions other than the civility rules.

Since Flores' death, dozens of mothers have organized a volunteer patrol that became Safe Walk Home Northside. City, county, rail and Houston ISD law enforcement started coordinating, andHouston police created a bike squad whose members spend most of their time in the area. HPD's central division officers also started meeting monthly with residents.

Local civic leaders lobbied to ensure their area was designated one of Mayor Sylvester Turner's five "Complete Communities" targeted for more investment and resources.

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Near Northside seeks extension of rules aimed at homeless - Chron.com

The competition to replace America's 1970s-era nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile program is now down to two large defense companies in a contract that the Air Force originally estimated would cost about $62 billion.

Yet there's still a lot of uncertainty about the project, and its acquisition costs for taxpayers could go up to as much as $140 billion. Also, some critics of the program suggest we should just continue maintaining the current nuclear missiles as a deterrent for another decade to save money.

Regardless, the Air Force announced late Monday that Boeing and Northrop Grumman each won three-year contracts for the "technology maturation and risk reduction," or essentially the preliminary design phase, of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system program.

Lockheed Martin had been in the running, but it didn't prevail.

GBSD is a modernization planned for the land-based Minuteman III, one leg of the nation's nuclear triad land, sea and air-based capabilities.

Boeing was the prime contractor on the Minuteman III system, which dates back to 1970s and has been undergoing continued maintenance to keep it in service.

"It was an important win for Boeing," Jefferies analyst Howard Rubel said in an interview. The analyst said Boeing's defense business has suffered several setbacks in recent years, including losing the long-range strike bomber contact to Northrop and having problems with its aerial tanker program.

However, he said Boeing and Northrop each are now "competing to be the eventual prime contractor" on the GBSD program. "You went from three competitors to two. You went from what I call broad concepts to now, two competing designers, who will come up with an industrialization concept that will...probably have some testing done to prove certain points along the way."

Boeing has yet to announce all of its partners in the GBSD program, and Northrop has announced some but not all.

Rubel said in a research note that he expects Orbital ATK and Aerjet Rocketdyne to also eventually get some work from the GBSD "as producers of large solid rocket motors. We expect the two companies to split the propulsion work in some fashion."

This is the first of several phases in the contract process for the GBSD program, although the Pentagon isn't expected to settle on a sole contractor for another few years. Production and then deployment aren't expected until the late 2020s.

The two contracts announced Monday, valued at no more than $359 million apiece, are just a small portion of what the overall program will cost. The Pentagon's independent cost assessment and program evaluation office last year upped the estimated acquisition cost to between $85 billion and about $140 billion.

"We are moving forward with modernization of the ground-based leg of the nuclear triad," Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said in a statement. "Our missiles were built in the 1970s. Things just wear out, and it becomes more expensive to maintain them than to replace them. We need to cost-effectively modernize."

The modernization of the nation's nuclear comes at a time when superpowers such as Russia and China are modernizing their weapons. Also there are rogue countries such as North Korea that also are a nuclear threat with missile development programs.

Even so, some have suggested that the nuclear weapon capability using bombers and submarines is a more effective deterrent because they are harder to detect and can be dispersed. The Trump administration is conducting a nuclear posture review that will debate whether the U.S. should maintain the triad.

Also, some critics of the GBSD program believe the Pentagon should keep the current Minuteman III missiles as a deterrent for at least another decade rather than replacing it right away.

"Sustaining the Minuteman III for a period of time (say 10-15 years) beyond 2030 would be cheaper than GBSD over that period," said Reif Kingston, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy for the ACA. "The case for deferring a decision on GBSD and pursuing another life extension of the Minuteman III is strong."

To be clear, Kingston said deferring the modernization would require a reduction, but not elimination, in the size of the current force of land-based nuclear ICBMs. "A smaller force would not diminish the overall strength and credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent," he said.

Added Kingston, "We haven't built a new intercontinental ballistic missile in decades. As the program proceeds, they will have start to get a better sense of the costs. But at this point, there's a lot of uncertainty, and the Air Force's estimate ($62 billion) by all accounts is unrealistically low."

According to Kingston, a good portion of the data that the Air Force and others in the Pentagon had to work with to get an acquisition estimate on the Minuteman III replacement is "old and incomplete."

Read more:

Competition to replace US nuclear missiles is down to 2 companies, but uncertainties remain - CNBC

David Black, Family Financial Education Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension, teaches a 90-minute course entitled, Establishing A Financial Foundation, to a class of 10 women at the Vernon County Jail on Tuesday afternoon. This was the second time Black has taught this class. He will lead this and other finance courses on a bi-weekly basis at the jail as part of the sheriffs effort to help people stay out of jail by providing them with job and life skills.

Johannes Brann

Sooner or later, nearly all of the prisoners in the Vernon County Jail will be released into society. To be successful on the outside, they will need a number of so-called soft skills or work-readiness training which include such things as how to interview, showing up for work, being on time and getting along with difficult people, whether they are supervisors, co-workers or customers.

Said Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher, They will also need to know how to manage money other than by stealing, selling drugs or by relying on payday loans and pawn shops.

This last needed skill is the reason behind the Establishing A Financial Foundation class taught by David Black, Family Financial Education Specialist with the University of Missouri Extension. For Black, who has a Masters of Business Administration and serves Vernon and four surrounding counties; Tuesday afternoon was his second one-hour class at the jail.

The first class was earlier this month and with all the questions it went about an hour-and-a-half, said Black. I think they were interested in what we covered.

Tuesdays class was even livelier as 10 women prisoners filed into a classroom in the jail.

Knowing that one of the most requested treats by prisoners is ice cream, the Sheriff put the students in a good frame of mind by providing cups, vanilla ice cream and root beer to make a root beer float.

Once all were seated, Black had a quiet and attentive class as he opened with one of his favorite quotes, Learning how to handle money is just as important as making it.

He went on to cover four areas: getting a transitional job, creating a spending plan, keeping your money safe and avoiding money traps.

Introducing the last topic, Black held up his hand and asked, How many of you ever got a pay day loan or used a pawn shop?

All hands shot up.

And how did that work out for you? asked Black.

Several called out, Awful.

Tell me, said Black pointing to one who had spoken aloud.

I pawned an air-compressor which cost over a $100 but he only gave me $8 to pawn it, said the sole person in the third row.

And what did it cost you to get it back? continued Black. I bet it cost you a lot more than eight dollars.

Yeah, it cost me like $15 for the compressor and it cost me a lot of trouble because the compressor wasnt mine to begin with.

Amidst laughter, another called out, Doing things like that is why youre here.

Being a skilled teacher and with the experience gained from his first career, Black waited for the laughter to die down and with all eyes on him asked, Do you see why theyre called money traps?

Every head nodded in agreement.

Realizing he had a teachable moment Black said, Mistakes happen to everyone. He paused and said, Everyone. But smart people learn from their mistakes and change things for the better, both with money and with life.

Heads nodded; message received.

Besides having a background in finance, his first career made him a natural fit for teaching in the jail.

Before I got into finance, my first career was in law enforcement, said Black. Altogether I put in about seven years with about three of those with the Joplin Police Department as a member of the patrol and the Special Response Team before joining Greene County.

Mosher and Chief Deputy Shayne Simmons had been discussing the need for various short term classes when Simmons attended a monthly meeting of the Vernon County Resource Group in place of the sheriff.

The VCRG consists of people from businesses, law enforcement, social service and religious groups across the county who have committed themselves to tackle various problems including public transportation and jobs for those released from jail.

At one particular meeting, Black mentioned the classes he has available through Extension and would be glad to teach. After the meeting, Simmons spoke to Black and that led to what are, for now, bi-weekly classes on finance at the jail.

Following Tuesdays class, Black said, The first two sessions were the same material and everyone in each class was female. In two weeks, the next class will be with males. The chief (Simmons) and I talked about varying things up so we cover other topics but all of mine will be on finance.

Black knew the material and clearly was at ease with his class.

Also on hand was Tonya Raines, program specialist with MU Extension for SkillUp, a state job-training program which is a partnership with the Missouri Department of Social Services, Missouri Job Centers and the Missouri Community College Association.

Raines was on hand to explain how those receiving food stamp benefits may be eligible for scholarships for short-term job training programs.

Its a case management program and for those who qualify, they can get up to $10,000 in short-term job and career training/education and even some equipment needed for a job as well as child care assistance, said Raines.

Asked for examples by the class she spoke of help getting a commercial drivers license and learning to drive a truck or becoming a Certified Nurse Assistant and then moving on to being a Medical Technician, Medical Assistant or Licensed Practical Nurse.

Several asked for contact information.

Shortly after the class ended, the sheriff returned from having served a search warrant.

Mosher said the purpose and goal is for those in class not to return to jail.

Said the sheriff, And if were not seeing them in here because theyre not breaking the law, thats a burglary report were not taking, thats a drug house were not having to kick the door in on. The bottom line is well increase safety and decrease crime in our county by helping people realize theres a better alternative and route they can keep on choosing.

The rest is here:

Extension brings finance class to jail - Nevada Herald

Preserving Life Through Cryonics

Cryonics is the practice of deep-freezing recently deceased bodies(or even just the brains of those who have recently died)in the hopes of one day reviving them. It has been the subject of serious scientific exploration and study as well as a fair share of pseudoscience, lore, and myth. Fictional accounts like Batmans Iceman, and the (untrue) rumors of Walt Disney being cryogenically frozen have, unfortunately, cast a speculative shadow over the field of cryonics.

But recently, for the first time ever in China, a woman has been cryogenically frozen. Zhan Wenlian died at the age of 49 from lung cancer and her husband, Gui Junmin, volunteered her for the cryonic procedure. Bothhe and his late wife wanted to donate her body to science to give back to society. He told Mirror UKthat hewas initially pitched the idea of cryonics with it being described as a life preservation project.

This procedure which has Wenlians body restingfacedownin 2,000 liters of liquid nitrogen was completed at theYinfeng Biological Group in Jinan. This project is the collaborative effortof the Yinfeng Biological Group, Qilu Hospital Shandong University and consultants from Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a nonprofit cryonics company based in the United States.

Even with all the faith many have in the procedure, the question remains: how scientifically possible is a project like this? Is this just an experiment to allow us to better understand human biology, orcould cryonics one day become a feasible option?

Cryonics is all about timing.The bodies of the deceased arecryogenically frozenimmediately after the heartstops beating. Freezing is a bit of a misleading term, because cryonic freezing is actually very specifically trying toavoidice crystal formation which damages the cells of the bodys tissues. Rapid cooling, rather than freezing, is a more accuratedescription of the process. A chemical cocktail of preservatives likeglycerol andpropandiol, in addition to antifreeze agents, are commonly used to get the body into a stable state where it wont be decaying, but also wont suffer damage from being stored at low temperatures for, conceivably, a very long time.

From there, the bodiesare given specific care that caters to the idea that death is a continuing process; one that can ultimately be reversed. The aim of cryonic preservation would be to one day be able to thaw the bodies and reanimate them at a cellular level preferably without too many epigenetic changes.

I tend to believe in new and emerging technologies, so I think it will be completely possible to revive her.

With ourcurrent understanding and technology, this process of reversingdeath so completely is just not possible. The closest kind of revival we have are themoments after clinical death where patients are revived by something such as cardiac defibrillation. Cryonics acts within this critical, albeit brief, period as well but works within the belief that death is a grey area. More of a processrather than a definite, final, event.

Just because we havent succeeded in reviving the dead yetdoesnt mean the field of cryonics isunnecessary or unimportant.This first case inChina is a major step forward for everyone researching inthe field of cryonics and those of us who may, one day, hope to benefit from advancements in it.

We may not be able to reverse death just yet,but it doesnt seem outof the realm of possibility to imagine that, with such wild scientific advancements underway, technology could one day allow it to be possible. Whether or not it does in our lifetimes, this most recent development is certainly a positive one.

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For The First Time Ever, A Woman in China Was Cryogenically Frozen - Futurism

Anyone who owns farmland may want to participate in a day-long seminar that will provide management strategies for this asset. The seminar is scheduled for Aug. 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center. Lunch will be included.

Pre-registration is requested by Aug. 25. The registration fee of $20 per person or $30 per couple covers handouts, refreshments and lunch. Contact Extension Educator Jessica Groskopf, 308-632-1247.

I am contacted monthly from citizens who have had their parents pass away, and now they are managing a farm for the first time in their lives, said Allan Vyhnalek, Extension Educator and event speaker. They may have even grown up there, but havent been around for 30 or 40 years, and need to understand that farming practices and management concepts have changed, Vyhnalek continued.

The workshop is designed to provide primer education for those that havent been on the farm much, or on the farm much recently. It is also designed to be a refresher course for those that would like to have the latest information on land management and rental.

Participants can use this seminar to answer questions they might have: Am I keeping the farm, or selling it? How do I manage a farm? If leasing, what are key lease provisions? What legal considerations do I have with this decision? And, how do we manage family communications and expectations when other family is involved? What does a soil test tell me? I hear about organic or natural production, how does that vary from what my farmer is currently doing? If corn and dry beans arent making money why dont we raise other crops? What should I expect for communications between the landlord and tenant? What are key pasture leasing considerations?

The program is being provided by Vyhnalek, Gary Stone, and Jim Jansen, Extension Educators from Nebraska Extension.

For more information or assistance contact Extension Educator Jessica Groskopf, 308-632-1247, jgroskopf2@unl.edu.

Gardeners invited to share excess bounty with food pantry

Do you have zucchini coming out of your ears? More tomatoes than you know what to do with? At this time of year many gardeners face the wonderful problem of too much bounty from their gardensbut no one wants to see good produce go to waste.

Nebraska Extensions CHOW (Cultivating Health Our Way) program has a solution.

This summer, the CHOW program and the Ever Green House in Gering have partnered to supply the food pantry at the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska (CAPWN) with fresh produce. Vegetables are grown in a donation garden at the Ever Green House with the help of volunteers, Extension Master Gardeners, and the SNAP-Ed program of Scotts Bluff and Morrill Counties, and then delivered to the food pantry.

Now, the partnership is inviting gardeners from all over the area to join in by dropping off quality produce that is simply more than they can use. The CHOW program will deliver the produce to the CAPWN food pantry.

Produce is an important source of vitamins but can be hard to come by at food pantries because of the shorter shelf life and difficulty of transporting it from major food banks, said Erin Kampbell, SNAP-Ed Assistant at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center. By providing locally grown produce to food pantries, families in a tough spot can still include vegetables in their diet.

The opportunity to donate abundant produce is great for gardeners, too, Kampbell said. Dropping off extras at the Ever Green House is a way to make sure quality produce that might otherwise spoil or get thrown away is used and enjoyed.

Produce of good quality can be delivered to the Ever Green House at Overland Trail Road and D Street in Gering from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesdays through September.

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Want just Digital Access? Get it today for only 99 cents a week!

Call 308-632-9010 or email circ@starherald.com to get started.

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Ag land management seminar planned for Aug. 28 at Scottsbluff; register by Aug. 25 - Scottsbluff Star Herald

Some of the North West Shelf Venture partners might either sell their stake in the operation or take an equity interest in potential projects such as Browse as one potential solution to find backfill liquids for Karratha gas plant in the next decade, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie.

The venture, which has been shipping liquefied natural gas for 28 years, will have an excess capacity of around 5 million tonnes per annum by 2025 as existing reserves are drained, Wood Mackenzie projected.

Wood analyst Saul Kavonic toldBusiness Newsthat there had never been a better time for the Woodside Petroleum-led venture to commence work on a solution, with a number of options competitive with other global projects.

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Acquisition could boost NWSV life extension case | Business News - Business News