Category Archives: Human Longevity

A taxidermied Cumulina holds a block of toy cheese. Cade Martin

It was a sad day in the department of anatomy and reproductive biology at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. On May 5, 2000, an elderly mouse named Cumulina, whose birth had captured international headlines, died of natural causes. She was special, Ryuzo Yanagimachi, the laboratorys principal investigator, said at the time.

Born on October 3, 1997, Cumulina was the first successfully cloned mouse and the second mammal ever cloned from an adult cell. She was also the forerunner of a technique that would establish once and for all that the long-awaited possibility of cloning animals could be readily accomplished. Her birth came just 15 months after the birth of Dolly the Sheep, the worlds first mammal cloned from an adult cell, had shocked scientists and the public alike, raising ethical questions in some quarters about the science fiction-like possibility of human cloning while also inspiring worldwide hopes of coming breakthroughs in biomedicine.

Dollys success proved complicated, though; of the 277 embryos her stewards at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh cloned in 1996, Dolly was the only one born. The teams method involved removing the nucleus from a Scottish Blackface sheeps egg cell and electroshocking it with a mammary gland cell from a Finn Dorset sheep to enable the two to fuse. They then implanted this unusual egg cellwhich contained a full complement of DNA but had never been fertilizedinto a ewe, who brought it to term.

The Roslin scientists would produce two more cloned ewes in 1997 using a similar technique. But in the meantime, Teruhiko Wakayama, one of Yanagimachis postdoctoral researchers in Hawaii, came up with another idea.

Wakayama had been galvanized by news of Dollys birth, and spent free time in the lab to try to create a mouse clone. He removed nuclei from egg cells and replaced them by injecting nuclei taken from adult mouse cumulus cells, which normally play a role in egg maturation. He then implanted these special eggs into surrogate female mice to see whether they would successfully give birth.

After a number of failed attempts in the fall of 1997, Wakayama and Yanagimachi produced a stunning result: a healthy female mouse pup. He named her Cumulina, after the cells he had used to create her. Celebrated internationally for his achievement, Wakayama went on to become a professor at the University of Yamanashi in Japan and Yanagimachi founded the Institute for Biogenesis Research at the University of Hawaii.

In the year after Cumulinas birth, Wakayama and Yanagimachi made 84 more cloned mice, putting to rest lingering skepticism over whether cloning was practicable. Wakayamas method proved more efficient than the one the Roslin scientists had used to produce Dolly. Cumulina truly represented a breakthrough in the cloning technique, says W. Steven Ward, director of the University of Hawaiis Institute for Biogenesis Research.

So far scientists have cloned more than 20 types of animals. Mice created through the nuclear transfer method that was used to make Cumulina are now the most abundant cloned animals in the world. Nonetheless, some of the more spectacular scenarios from the 1990s about cloning have not come true. Researchers still have not managed, for example, to replace a dying persons failing organ with a new one generated from cloned cells. But the early work that produced Dolly, Cumulina and other cloned animals has contributed to advances in stem-cell technologies that are now helping scientists explore regenerative medicine, investigate the underpinnings of diseases ranging from leukemia to diabetes and research new pharmaceuticals.

Laboratory mice typically dont reach old age, but Yanagimachis crew made every effort to ensure Cumulinas longevity. They even threw birthday parties for her. She was a pretty pampered mouse, says Kristen Frederick-Frost, curator of modern science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Cumulina lived well past age 2, the equivalent of over 90 in human years. After she died, Yanagimachi preserved her in a freezer until a local high school teacher offered to taxidermy her body. The teacher posed Cumulina holding a block of fake cheese, and the stuffed mouse sat on display in Yanagimachis lab for a couple of years before being relegated to a closet. In 2004, she barely escaped being washed away in a flood, and has since spent most of her time in storage.

Yanagimachi retired in 2005, and last year, Ward contacted curators at the National Museum of American History. The decision to accept Cumulina was a no-brainer, Frederick-Frost says. The collection also includes OncoMouse, the worlds first patented genetically modified animal, who, along with his successors, was used for cancer research.

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Why the Cumulina Mouse Is Headed to the Smithsonian | At the Smithsonian - Smithsonian Magazine

Christianity is often regarded as a staunch opponent of veganism after all, most Christian denominations are highly carnivorous in their dietary ethics. Many proclaim liberty to consume animal flesh as they assume animals to be a gift created for food by God.

The Bibles depiction of human-animal relations has been used to justify this position. According to the book of Genesis (1:26), God entrusted humans with dominion over the animal kingdom. For centuries, this text was used to justify slaughter and meat consumption by many who understood it to imply rulership.

However, there have been some contemporary challenges to this interpretation. Several Christian communities teach that instead of ruling and dominating, humans should think of themselves as having stewardship over the planet and every creature. Among these is the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which highlights that right next to the Bibles text on dominion is a passage saying that God created plants, seeds and fruits to be human food, and therefore human diets should be entirely plant-based (Genesis 1:29).

I am fascinated by this topic as I am both an Adventist community member and an academic who researches food and sustainability in spiritual communities. So heres why Adventists came to be often entirely plant-based or vegetarian, and what others might be able to learn from them. How do they challenge and impact dietary choice across the world, and what more could they do?

First registered in the US in 1863, the Seventh-day Adventist Church today claims more than 20 million members worldwide across nearly 100,000 different churches. Through its history, the church has paved the way in the promotion of meat-free lifestyles.

Founding member and prolific writer Ellen White encouraged the community to abstain from animal products to maintain good health. Although her focus was on human health and wellbeing, her statements about compassion towards animals as sentient beings were almost unprecedented at the time. For example, she wrote in a 1905 book chapter titled Reasons for Discarding Flesh Foods:

[The animals] manifest sympathy and tenderness toward their companions in suffering. Many animals show an affection for those who have charge of them, far superior to the affection shown by some of the human race. They form attachments for man which are not broken without great suffering to them. What man with a human heart, who has ever cared for domestic animals, could look into their eyes, so full of confidence and affection, and willingly give them over to the butchers knife? How could he devour their flesh as a sweet morsel?

Since the 19th century, Seventh-day Adventists have established hospitals, educational institutions and lifestyle centres worldwide. Historical health businesses such as Kelloggs (cornflakes were first developed for patients at an Adventist-run sanitorium), Loma Linda Foods, Worthington Foods and Granovita were formed. Although not mandatory, a vegetarian or entirely plant-based diet is followed by many of its members, making the community a special sampling target for medical research.

A longevity study conducted by the churchs associated university and published in 2001 showed that Seventh-day Adventists live around six years longer than the average citizen (for specifically vegetarian Adventist males, its almost a decade). Demographers have even identified Loma Linda, a small city in California where about a third of the population is Adventist, as one of five so-called blue zones of the world where people live the longest. Many Adventist centenarians living in the town testify to the benefits of a plant-based diet among other lifestyle practices related to prayer, sports or work.

Apart from the focus on personal health, the churchs official statements on environmental protection talk about the threats caused by emissions of destructive gasses and the depletion of non-renewable resources. Leaders of the church call for respect of creation, restraint in the use of the worlds resources, reevaluation of ones needs, and reaffirmation of the dignity of created life.

However, despite these occasional messages, it seems that Adventists themselves still most commonly cite human interests as their reason for plant-based diets. I recently conducted a pilot study involving 12 health professionals employed by the worldwide church. The following results are due to be published in a peer-reviewed journal later in 2022.

I showed all these people a photograph of a pig with her piglets confined in a tight cage in which she could hardly turn around. Asked to express their diet-related opinion by reflecting on the photo, ten of the 12 solely mentioned health-related concerns about eating such an animal, while only one referenced animal compassion and another one environmental problems. These proportions also appear to reflect the churchs publications and online communication channels relating to diet and lifestyle.

So while there may be room to learn from Seventh-day Adventists if youre aiming for a longer life, Adventists themselves could also extend their sphere of interest and influence to include animal compassion and environmental concerns into their communication about a meat-free lifestyle. By fostering conversations from a wider range of perspectives, plant-based practitioners could attract a higher number of friends and followers willing to benefit people, animals and planet all at once.

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Why Seventh-day Adventists are so often vegan or vegetarian - The Conversation Indonesia

When it comes to taking care of yourself, one might think of the immediate role of diet and exercise in ensuring future health and longevity.

But untreated stress is often the cause of many illnesses, along with depression and anxiety.

And while stress is a natural part of the human experience, ensuring that its kept in check is an essential part of taking care of oneself.

For many, the word yoga will inevitably conjure up varying images for each individual, depending on their experience with the practice. And while there are many ways to practice, local instructor Misty Caples is dedicated to making sure each person gets the right benefits from the right program.

Caples keeps busy teaching a variety of practices for a variety of demographics, ranging from kids to seniors. She can be found at Piedmont Fitness, Blue Lotus, Summit YMCA and the Carnegie, where she recently hosted a mindfulness and meditation class.

The class focused on meditation and breathwork, "which are really beneficial for our mental health, Caples said.

However, yoga practice isnt just a side hustle for the instructor. Shes personally witnessed the healing power of yoga and wants to share her success with all who are interested in transforming their lives.

Caples began her journey into yoga eight years ago while still living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stuck in a stressful job, she began noticing the impact it was having on her physical and mental health.

"I have a family history of mental illness and depression, and I saw myself falling into the same patterns as family members, she said. "Someone invited me to a yoga class, and something really resonated and I just kept going. It made a huge difference in my life. I decided I wanted to do the same for others.

Her husband soon took a new job in Georgia, and the family relocated to Peachtree City. Undaunted, Caples began traveling back to Charlotte every third weekend to train as a yoga instructor until graduating in October 2018.

She began teaching in a Sharpsburg studio until the pandemic caused everything to shut down.

The pandemic was a major catalyst for witnessing the importance of self-care in a very uncertain time, according to Caples.

"I cant even imagine what 2020 would have been like without my training, she said. "I saw it take a toll on a good bit of people.

During that period, she taught classes on Facebook live, which not only helped her students but Caples, too.

"During the pandemic, I had those that I had been teaching reach out about private sessions. From there it just grew, she said.

Once the studios opened back up, she was hired at Blue Lotus, where she currently teaches two 6:30 a.m. classes.

However, new avenues to help others kept opening up for Caples.

(Photo by Susan Crutchfield)

A practice for every body

Caples currently teaches chair and gentle yoga at Piedmont Fitness and at the Carnegie Library.

Typically, the majority of students in chair yoga are older adults. Seniors, who often struggle with pain, joint stress, imbalance, osteoarthritis and other physical limitations, can benefit from incorporating a yoga practice into their daily routine.

Seniors are also at risk for higher rates of depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. Memory can decline, balance can be impaired, and with that, sense of self can suffer.

Yoga, especially restorative yoga, can also offer a wide array of health benefits working physical and psychological wonders.

Linda Arnall is a regular in Caples chair yoga class and began attending after a knee replacement surgery.

I also have arthritis and need exercise, but nothing too strenuous, and this is exactly that, she said. We stretch and really focus on breathing, which is good. Its a very calming class and we always leave feeling stress-free in a nice frame of mind.

While the utilization of the chair is a primary instrument in the course, Arnall said Caples is very innovative in her approach to teaching. A recent class incorporated dancing and parachute games.

We do a variety of other exercises, but no matter what, its always a fun class, she said. We all do what we can do, and she encourages that. Everyone in there has become a little family, and a great teacher always cares about her students, which she does."

A recent study revealed yoga can help manage osteoarthritis in elderly women. Not only can these low-impact moves loosen your muscles, but they can also tone your supporting muscles and help prevent injury.

But often, taking the first step into something as potentially daunting as yoga is understandably difficult for some. However, Caples encourages those who are curious to take that leap of faith.

"I have found yoga classes and instructors tend to be very welcoming and want to help those who are starting out, she said. "In my experience, if they can get over the fear and come to a class they will be made to feel welcomed. They can reach out to an instructor to ask any questions beforehand.

Caples has also added Intermediate yoga classes in the evening at Piedmont Fitness and also teaches at the YMCA. With a variety of styles, there is a practice for every person and Caples urges those who are interested to reach out.

Its extremely important not to compare, she said. Each person's practice is going to be different because our bodies are different and we have all gone through different things. But thats what I like about yoga its such a personal thing. There is no comparison and no judgment.

In a successful practice, there is no final destination or finish. The practice is a gradual progression that allows the student to enjoy the benefits while continuing to improve.

Maybe you start out with a couple of minutes of meditation, and thats all you can do right now. Eventually, you become more used to it, and you start to see the benefits so you do it for longer, she said. Its the same with physical practice and breathwork.

Caples said shes extremely grateful to do something that she loves but makes a positive difference in people's lives.

"Ive met some wonderful, extraordinary human beings, and Im grateful for the wonderful yoga community that has allowed me the opportunity to do something I love and am passionate about, she said. It might be cliche to say, but it really is about the journey. There is always something more to learn and continuous growth to be had.

Link:
Focusing on the journey - Newnan Times-Herald

Loma Linda University Health researchers say high consumption of ultra-processed foods and, separately, high consumption of red meat may be important mortality indicators. Their recently published study adds to a growing body of knowledge about how ultra-processed foods and red meat impact human health and longevity.

Compared to past literature analyzing ultra-processed and animal-based foods health impacts, this study included one of the largest cohorts, with over 77,000 participants. It also considered a diverse array of diets, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian. As a result, outcomes provided new insights about ultra-processed foods as a common denominator of mortality across vegetarians and non-vegetarians, says Gary Fraser, MBChB, PhD, a study author, and professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and School of Public Health.

Our study addresses the question of what can make a vegetarian diet healthy or unhealthy, Fraser says. It seems that the proportion of ultra-processed foods in someones diet is actually more important with respect to mortality than the proportion of animal-derived foods they eat, the exception being red meat.

Fraser says the study exposes how it is possible to be a bad vegetarian or a good non-vegetarian because it isolates the health impacts of processed foods in the diet whether its vegetarian or not. Results revealed that vegetarians who ate a lot of processed foods as part of their diets faced a similar proportionate increase in mortality outcomes as non-vegetarians who ate a lot of processed foods in their diets.

The study, Ultra-processed food intake and animal-based food intake and mortality in the Adventist health study-2, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, assesses the mortality risks of two dietary factors independent of each other:

Seven LLU researchers gathered data from an observational prospective cohort study in North America, recruited from Seventh-day Adventist churches, comprising of77,437 female and male participants. Participants completed a frequency food questionnaire including over 200 food items to describe their diets. They also provided other health-related and demographic information about themselves, including sex, race, geographic region, education, marital status, rate of tobacco and alcohol use, exercise, sleep, BMI, and comorbid conditions with cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

Researchers then analyzed participants health and demographic information in conjunction with their mortality data, provided by the National Death Index, for a mean timeframe of about seven and a half years. Next, researchers used a statistical model to help them consider each variable independently of others and produce a cause-specific mortality analysis.

They adjusted their statistical model to focus on ultra-processed food intake irrespective of other factors like animal-food consumption or age. In doing so, Fraser and co-authors found that people who obtained half of their total calories from ultra-processed foods faced a 14% increase in mortality compared to people who received only 12.5% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods.

Study authors report that high consumption levels of ultra-processed foods were associated with mortality related to respiratory, neurologic, and renal conditions particularly Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (even when restricted to people who never smoked). However, high ultra-processed food consumption was not associated with mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or endocrine conditions.

Results did not reveal an association between mortality and dietary intake of total animal-based foods. Once researchers parsed animal-based foods into sub-categories, however, they found a statistically significant 8% increase in the mortality risk associated with moderate (approximately 1 oz per day) consumption of red meat compared to no red meat.

Overall, Fraser says the study demonstrated how greater consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with higher all-cause mortality, even in a health-conscious Adventist population with many vegetarians. Such findings of ultra-processed food consumption and mortality provide a "helpful confirmation of what people expected, he says.

The study calls for further research into the specific health effects of ultra-processed foods consumption in humans. While research endeavors continue to deepen understanding of how ultra-processed foods impact our health, Fraser advises avoiding consuming them at high levels.

If youre interested in living longer or to your maximal potential, youd be wise to avoid a diet filled with ultra-processed foods and replace them with less processed or unprocessed foods," Fraser says. "At the same time, avoid eating a lot of red meat. Its as simple as that.

To learn more about research at LLU, visit https://researchaffairs.llu.edu/ or call 909-558-8544.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Observational study

People

Ultra-processed food intake and animal-based food intake and mortality in the Adventist health study-2

22-Feb-2022

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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LLU study associates higher mortality with eating lots of ultra-processed foods, red meat - EurekAlert

David Chickering| Chippewa Luce Mackinac Conservation District

The Kirtlands warbler is a small gray and yellow bird which happens to be one of the rarest songbirds in North America. These birds are very particular about establishing nests and rearing of the next generation of birds.

This warbler nests at the base of trees along the edges of newer, and fairly dense, Jack Pine stands which have a particular biology all their own. Suitable Jack Pine stands have been found in Northern Michigan as well as parts of Wisconsin and Ontario, but due to increasing human population and its associated impact on forest management this habitat has become harder to find.

The Jack Pine is a coniferous tree and is a fire dependent species. This means that it has serotinous cones which require heat to open and release viable seeds. Historically, this heat is provided by periodic fires on the landscape. These large forest fires are less common now due to managing forests for human and property safety. Conservation specialists and foresters have developed new methods of planting which can mimic this type of fire disturbance by way of clear-cutting and replanting to maximize forest edges and ensure proper density for nesting.

The Kirtlands Warbler spends the winters in the Bahamas and migrates to Northern Michigan to build its nest on the ground. They begin nesting in a Jack Pine forest when the trees are 5-6 feet tall and around 7 years old. They will use this forest until the trees reach 10-16 feet in height and are around 20 years old.

After that point, the trees are likely too tall to provide the proper protection and desirable habitat and the birds will look for a younger stand of Jack Pine. The ideal density for nesting is too tight to provide desirable lumber from the planting, which has caused some difficulties in optimizing the land use for both protection of bird habitat and effective use of the biomass provided by the trees.

Large-acre plantings of Jack Pine have been the focus for many conservation agencies over the past few decades which have improved the outlook for the Kirtlands Warbler longevity. Plantings this spring in Northern Lower Michigan have established over 6,000 acres of new habitat which will be ready to provide nesting locations in about 7 years. Conservation efforts like this have helped increase the population from 200 birds to an estimated 3,000 birds and have played a vital role in their graduation from the endangered species list to a threatened species.

For more information about Kirtlands Warbler habitat establishment contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office, Forest Service or Department of Natural Resources office.

David Chickering is a conservation engineer for the Chippewa Luce MackinacConservationDistrict.

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Opinion: The Kirtland's Warbler: Singing a song of conservation success - Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Studies in worms, flies, rodents, and monkeys have demonstrated that diets that severely restrict total calorie intake, while providing all the essential nutrients, extend average lifespan.

The research shows that in all these organisms, food shortages trigger physiological changes that promote longevity and delay the onset of age-related disease.

Calorie-restricted diets in humans, which involve reducing average calorie intake by around a third, may also extend human lifespan, though hard evidence is currently lacking.

Animal studies have revealed that timing of calorie restriction can have an effect due to the circadian system, which controls daily cycles of physiology, metabolism, and behaviors such as eating. This has also been linked to aging.

This led researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX, to investigate whether the timing of meals contributes to the life-extending effects of calorie restriction.

Numerous studies have shown that calorie restriction increases the average lifespan of mice. But most of this research has involved scientists feeding calorie-restricted diets to laboratory mice during the day.

Unlike humans, mice are nocturnal, which means they have evolved to feed at night.

So for their study, the scientists used automatic feeders to ensure that some of the mice ate only during the night.

To determine whether the timing of meals had an effect on lifespan independently of calorie restriction and fasting they split the animals into 6 groups.

In one group, which served as a control, the animals could eat ad libitum (as much as they wanted, whenever they wanted).

The remaining 5 groups ate calorie-restricted diets (3040% fewer calories) with the same total calorie intake but different feeding schedules.

Control mice that ate ad libitum had a median lifespan of 800 days, whereas mice on a calorie-restricted diet with food available around the clock lived 875 days, or 10% longer.

Mice on the calorie-restricted diet that ate only during the day (the inactive phase of their circadian cycle) and fasted for 12 hours overnight lived 959 days. In other words, they lived almost 20% longer than the controls.

But calorie-restricted mice that only ate during their active phase, then fasted for the remaining 12 hours, lived the longest. These animals clocked up an average 1,068 days of lifespan, which was nearly 35% longer than the control animals.

The scientists have reported their findings in Science.

We have discovered a new facet to caloric restriction that dramatically extends lifespan in our lab animals, says senior author Dr. Joseph Takahashi, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and chair of neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

If these findings hold true in people, we might want to rethink whether we really want that midnight snack, he adds.

They also found that calorie-restricted diets improved the animals regulation of glucose levels and insulin sensitivity, but the improvements were greatest for mice that ate only at night (their active phase).

This suggests that the mice were healthier and aged more slowly, Dr. Takahashi told Medical News Today.

The researchers found that, in all the mice, aging increased the activity of genes involved in inflammation and decreased the activity of genes involved in metabolism and circadian rhythms.

Calorie restriction slowed down these age-related changes, but mice that only ate a night reaped the greatest benefits.

Since aging can be considered a progressive ramping up of inflammation, [calorie restriction] is also delaying this age-related increase in inflammation, which is also consistent with delaying the aging process, said Dr. Takahashi.

The authors note some limitations of their study.

In particular, they write that sleep disruption in the mice that ate during the day (during their inactive phase) may have contributed to their shorter lifespan.

In addition, all the mice in the study were male. The authors write that in females, ovarian hormones may provide some protection against disruptions in circadian rhythms.

As with all research that involves animal models, the study may not translate well to humans.

If the findings do apply to humans, which have the opposite active phase to mice, the scientists suggest that eating early in the evening is best for healthy aging.

One day it may even be possible to develop drugs that target circadian genes or the proteins that they make, in order to mimic the anti-aging benefits of eating only during the active phase.

[W]e are working on this idea and searching for drugs that can enhance circadian alignment, said Dr. Takahashi. Fingers crossed!

Eating late at night interferes with the bodys ability to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range.

A recent study found this was particularly true for people with a particular variation of the gene for the melatonin receptor.

Melatonin is a hormone that helps to govern the sleep-wake cycle. As its levels increase in the evening, this not only triggers sleepiness but also impairs insulin secretion.

As a result, the body has more difficulty controlling blood sugar levels after meals close to bedtime.

Since many people opt for carbohydrate-rich snacks in late evenings, such as chips, cookies, candy, or popcorn, these snacks are more likely to impair blood sugar control and increase ones risk for prediabetes and diabetes, said Mariam Eid, R.D., L.D., a dietitian and founder of A Happy AOneC, which advises teens and young adults recently diagnosed with prediabetes.

Therefore, consuming carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks earlier in the day promotes better blood sugar balance and supports the prevention of prediabetes and diabetes, she told MNT.

The rest is here:
Eating earlier in the evening may have anti-aging benefits - Medical News Today

Once upon a time, I had a pretty awkward and comical date in Santa Monica. I was new-ish to Los Angeles and decided to try out a dating site that was famous for its robust matching algorithms. However, on this particular evening on Pico Boulevard, their matching science was, well, not so robust.

I probably should have known something was awry when the handsome maitre d' wished me "good luck" in a distinct, you're-gonna-need-it kind of tone before taking me to the table where my date was already seated.

In lieu of a warm salutation, my date stood up, scanned me from toes to head (yes, in that particular order), and proclaimed with some audible disappointment, "You're taller than yourdating appprofile said." I replied, "It's nice to meet you too" like any gracious Southern lady would, and proceeded to sit my tall self down. (I'm actually a not-so-tall 5-feet-6-inches, but as my dating profile clearly stated, "I like to wear heels," so you know, do the math.)

The rest of that date could inspire a Saturday Night Live skit, but allow me to cut to the nutrition-relevant chase (since this articleisabout nutrition principles and foodstuffs for a long and healthy life, I promise).

Originally posted here:
You Have Control Over Your Healthspan: A PhD's Go-To Nutrients For Longevity - mindbodygreen.com

Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - May 18, 2022) - JZZ Technologies Inc. (OTC Pink: JZZI), a diversified technology company focused on digital media and strategic biotechnology acquisitions related to human life extension including human longevity ("JZZ" or the "Company"), is entering into a working relationship with North Brunswick, New Jersey-based DataBoss Inc. ("DataBoss") which is creating relationships with other anticipated entities to validate and enhance its proprietary marketing database of seniors for the purpose of licensing portions of the database to a number of Big Tech companies which are looking to expand their audience reach.

JZZ Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary Active Lifestyle, has been validating the marketing value of its database of over 35 million seniors. DataBoss has advised JZZ that it has independently valued the database at more than $3 per individual record.

DataBoss, along with other entities with which it is creating relationships, will be assisting JZZ in licensing targeted portions of the database in blocks of several hundred thousand records per agreement to Big Tech companies over the coming quarters. JZZ anticipates that it will be generating revenues of approximately $1 million per month from the licensing agreements. As the database continues to be validated and additional seniors are added, JZZ anticipates substantial revenue growth generated from future licensing agreements.

DataBoss, a leading data and technology company, was founded by Neel Sawant who serves its current president and CEO.

Neel Sawant has over 30-years of International executive IT leadership experience. His expertise lies in identifying innovative, next generation products and solutions and undervalued companies with strategic synergies that can be leveraged for growth in a multi-billion-dollar market. His expertise lies in effectively combining culturally diverse subsidiaries and acquisitions with excellent business processes and strategy development skills.

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Mr. Sawant's approach is client centric, with the ability to initiate and grow profitable alliances with global vendors and suppliers. By applying this approach, he has successfully developed and sold a rollup corporation (Sii Group) which operated internationally. He presently focuses on M&A and helping companies list with major exchanges, such as at NASDAQ, which companies have an aggregate market cap which exceeds $10 billion. Companies that Mr. Sawant has been engaged with include AmpliTech Group. Inc, Coeptis Therapeutics, CB Scientific Inc., Gourmet Provisions International, Quantum Kore, Xeriant Aerospace, BlockQuarry, TGI Power, Ealixir Inc. and Shubh Network, among others.

Charles Cardona, JZZ's CEO, stated, "JZZ expects to announce new, significant gains in revenues, new strategic partnerships and new products in the coming months resulting from our relationship with DataBoss and Big Tech partners. We're also working on a number of investment initiatives to support our anticipated growth."

Neel Sawant, CEO of DataBoss, commented, "I am excited at the prospect of DataBoss helping monetize the proprietary ActiveLifestyle Media database owned by JZZ Technologies. I am confident we can maximize its values and immediately create new products for a broad range of companies. With our shared capabilities, I believe JZZ's database would help Big Tech companies increase their outreach to new clients."

About DataBoss Inc.

DataBoss Inc., with its unique combination of data-driven decision systems and experienced experts, identifies and facilitates investments in high-potential profit oriented yet responsible companies that provide value to society through sustainable technologies with applications in cleantech, health tech, and other emerging technologies. For more information, please visit Databoss.network.

About JZZ Technologies, Inc.

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company engaged in the following three distinct business sectors: (i) its digital media business which includes online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, and digital marketing, targeted to active adults 55+, (ii) strategic biotechnology and bioscience related to Human Life Extension and (iii) Human Longevity that can be immediately leveraged to support improved quality of life for the senior population. For more information, please visit http://www.jzztechnologies.com.

Press Contact:JZZ Technologies, Inc.Charles Cardona, CEOccardona@jzztechnologies.com

DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the Company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/124442

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. Receives Significant Increase in Valuation of Its Proprietary Database of over 35 Million Seniors - Yahoo Finance

BERLIN, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2022 / The Forever Healthy Foundation is pleased to announce the worlds first Rejuvenation Startup Summit will be held October 14-15, 2022 in Berlin. The Rejuvenation Startup Summit is a vibrant networking event for rejuvenation startups, longevity investors, and translational researchers, and aims to accelerate the development of the rejuvenation biotech industry.

Startups will be able to connect with investors in the longevity space, present their approach, and get them interested in their work. Investors can meet the most promising rejuvenation startups from all over the world and get in touch with them straight away. Researchers with a startup itch can learn how to successfully break out of the lab and found or join a rejuvenation startup.

The summit brings together all those working on therapies that aim to vastly extend the healthy human lifespan. In addition to an exciting range of keynote speeches, presentations, and panels, the summit features an all-day startup forum for easy networking. Starting midday on Friday and finishing off on Saturday night with a big party, it offers ample opportunity to connect, learn and network with the most relevant players in the field.

The Rejuvenation Startup Summit is not only open to startups, investors, and translational scientists all interested members of the broader longevity movement, scientists from related fields, aspiring students, and the general media are welcome.

Learn more at: https://forever-healthy.org/summit

About Forever Healthy

Forever Healthy is Michael Greves humanitarian initiative with the mission of enabling people to vastly extend their healthy lifespan. Forever Healthys projects include evaluation of new rejuvenation therapies, evidenced-based curation of the worlds cutting-edge medical knowledge, funding translational research on the root causes of aging, and hosting the annual Undoing Aging Conference and the Rejuvenation Startup Summit. Greves venture capital firm, Kizoo, which provides mentoring, seed and follow-on financing for rejuvenation biotech startups, is also part of the initiative. To date, Kizoo has funded fourteen startups turning research on the root causes of aging into therapies for human application.

Learn more at https://www.forever-healthy.org

Media Contact for Forever Healthy

Frank Schueler, Chief Operating Officer[emailprotected]

SOURCE: Forever Healthy Foundation gGmbH

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/702009/Rejuvenation-Startup-Summit-premieres-October-14-15-2022-in-Berlin

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Rejuvenation Startup Summit premieres October, 14-15, 2022 in Berlin - Digital Journal

Concept of a healthy female reproductive system.

The field of female reproductive longevity and inequality is getting more and more attention. In fact, it is one of the hottest areas of the emerging longevity biotechnology industry, and every venture firm in the field is either investing, incubating, or looking for projects in this area. Companies like BOLD Capital, Future Ventures, LongeVC, and iconic biotechnology investors including Bob Nelsen and Christian Angermayer, are all active and significant partners in this area of science. While females generally live longer than men, their reproductive period is limitedsomething that is often overlooked. A females peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. Fertility starts to decline by age 30, and this decline becomes more rapid once women reach the mid-30s. By 45, fertility declines so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely for most women. Likewise, women begin life with a fixed number of eggs in their ovaries, usually around one million. This number decreases as women age. Ovaries age faster than the rest of a womans bodyan understudied phenomenon of a neglected organ. None of us would be here without them. Yet surprisingly little is known about the avocado-shaped organ thats nestled inside half of all humans.

Functional decline in female fertility with age

The ovaries also influence a womans overall health and well-being. This includes how they age, since this organ tends to lose its function with age faster than any other tissue. This is called asynchronous aging, and its one reason why a womans fertility declines, and menopause strikes, while they are still relatively young.

In one of my previous articles, I wrote about Gameto, a biotechnology company that is translating the impact of ovarian aging to develop solutions to improve fertility and stop the impact of menopause on female health. Gametos co-founder and CEO Dina Radenkovic told me about her intention to redefine the narrative around female reproductive longevity and making it more around health and longevity. Gameto is building a platform for ovarian therapeutics to address menopause and improve assisted fertility. Dina told me she hopes it will make women suffer fewer health problems in their later lives. Neglecting the ovariesexcept for their crucial role in IVF treatmentshas been part of a general disregard for many aspects of womens health in the biomedical world.

What surprises me is this: If overall life expectancy is increasing, and it has consistently over the past decade, then shouldnt there be more focus on extending female reproductive life too? Without extending female reproductive life, we are worsening gender inequality in society.

Just two years ago, Nature published a major study out of Stanford University on the variability in rates of cellular aging in 17 major organs. These included the heart, kidney, and spleenbut not the ovaries, despite it being #1 among organs that rapidly age and are known to influence cellular aging in the rest of the body upon their decline.

Luckily, tides are turning, and female reproductive longevity and inequality are rapidly turning into the hottest research areas in longevity science and investment themes in longevity venture capital.

The official headshot of Maryanna Sayenko, co-founder of Future Ventures

I think womens reproductive longevity is becoming an interesting investment sector because its at the nexus of several important trends. Research in this space is finally getting the recognition and influx of talent that it so desperately needs, thanks in large part to efforts of people like Jennifer Garrison who have been championing the needs of the field. Second, investors are recognizing that addressing longevity without attending to womens reproductive longevity is a laughably incomplete picture. Finally, in the last few years incredible entrepreneurs are taking the risk and entering the space with scientifically credible companies, says Maryanna Saenko, a celebrity venture capitalist who co-pilots Future Ventures together with Steve Jurvetson. Saenko and Jurvetson recently backed Gameto and Cambrian Biosciences.

Dr. Daisy Robinton, scientist, model, entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Oviva Therapeutics

In 2020, molecular biologist Daisy Robinton, while working with a biotechnology company to help develop a potential treatment for COVID-19, was told by male colleagues on a Zoom call to consider excluding female mice from testing to avoid unpredictable noise that they believe can obfuscate clear conclusions. Daisya 35 year-old Harvard PhD who is fast becoming a Millennial firebrand on the topic of womens health in TEDx and other talkskept her cool so as not to be labeled difficult, something that women in scienceor any disciplinehave to always be aware of, she said. Taking a deep breath on the Zoom call, she suggested as calmly as possible that including female physiology is critical to developing any therapeutic to be used for a general population.

Dr. James Peyer, founder and CEO, Cambrian Biopharma

In the Spring of 2020 Daisy joined Cambrian Biopharma, which is developing therapeutics to combat the diseases of aging like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimers disease. She convinced Cambrian co-founder and CEO James Peyer, a biologist and former venture capitalist, to add the aging of ovaries to his companys roster. This led a few months later to the formation of a new company under the Cambrian umbrella co-founded by Daisy called Oviva Therapeutics, powered by $11.5 million in seed fundinga big number for a just-hatched company.

The focus of Daisys company emerged out of her concern and curiosity about her own fertility. In 2018, at age 31, she began to wonder about her own prospects for having children in the futuresince kids now seemed a ways offshe began a deep-dive into issues of fertility. This included what was known, and not known, about the ovaries. I discovered that the ovaries are the first organ that really goes kaput, she said, leading to an accelerated decline in health for womenaffecting bone density, cardiovascular health, sexual function, metabolism, and on and on.

Overall, she noted, cellular aging accelerates an average of six percent after women reach menopause, typically beginning at age 52. And yet we have not put a lot of funding or effort into studying and understanding what this means for our health or how to create solutions to improve the negative consequences, she said.

Teaming up with Harvard molecular biologist and reproductive biology expert David Ppin, Daisy learned that a hormone produced by the ovaries called Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) might be used to extend the functional life of the ovaries. Normally, AMH is used in IVF to measure the fertility of a patient. Ppin was experimenting with it to see if it would slow the progression of ovarian cancer.

Thats when he noticed that flooding ovaries with AMH also suppresses a process known as folliculogenesis. This is a process where some of the immatureor primordial folliclesare recruited for maturation, explained Daisy. Each month of an adult womans reproductive cycle, a group of roughly 1,000 follicles will mature, ultimately leading to ovulation of a single egg from just one follicle, the dominant follicle. The remaining follicles then die and wither away. This process eventually leads to a depletion of most of a womans follicles and the subsequent triggering of menopause. Using AMH to limit folliculogenesis preserves the possibility in the future that the follicles which women are born with and slowly lose over time do not get fully depleted, said Daisy.

We stumbled on this accidently, said Ppin. The result astonished us. When we added AMH, almost all of the immature follicles stopped growing, meaning the ovulation process largely froze in place, thus preserving the ovaries ability to produce mature eggs at a later date.

Harvard pediatric surgeon Patricia Donohoe, one of the great pioneers of reproductive medicine, also has worked closely with Ppin and is a co-founder and key advisor to Oviva and to Daisy. Ppin and Donoahoe developed a bio-engineered version of the naturally occurring AMH hormone. Pre-clinical data indicate that this bio-engineered AMH can protect the immature follicles during chemotherapy treatment, and potentially be used to improve IVF protocols by increasing the yield of viable eggs by 2-3x, a huge deal for women over the age 35.

The bioengineered form of AMH remains experimental, with the company running pre-clinical trials in mice and non-human primates. It is possible this will not succeed, said Daisy, most drug candidates dont, even those that reach human clinical trials. If this happens, she added, Oviva is poised to pivot to develop alternative treatments that would extend ovarian function and ultimately female healthspan.

Im excited about getting support and funding for studying the ovaries, said Daisy. Its a watershed moment in the history of womens health. She also welcomes others to join in.

To understand this field a bit better, I recently chatted about this topic with Daisy.

1. Female reproductive longevity and inequality seem to be a very hot topic. Why now? In your opinion, what triggered this sudden interest from the VCs?

Dr. Daisy Robinton, founder and CEO, Oviva Therapeutics

There has been a growing wave of interest in womens health over the last few years. In some ways COVID highlighted this in a somewhat backwards way. Early on there were statistics suggesting that more men were dying from COVID19 infection than women. This spurred an influx of funding to study female physiology to better understand why and potentially leverage these mechanisms to help men. Because we have historically overlooked females in biomedical research and clinical development, there is so much we dont know.

I think women are being more vocal about their needs, and an increase of women in power or positions of authority to help drive this change. And - there has also been a growing recognition that women have a lot of economic power behind them and the market for womens health is huge. Menopause alone has a market size of 14.7 billion and is growing. The US fertility market alone is $8 billion. And this doesnt even touch the various indications women suffer from that have little to no resources - things that I know patients would pay an arm and a leg to feel better from (endometriosis, PCOS, etc).

And then theres Roe v Wade, which of course is more immediate but brings into stark urgency the threat to womens health, reproductive freedoms and agency. This is a flashpoint and I am both furious and passionate about helping drive change so that females have more opportunities to live healthy, vibrant, resilient lives, so that we can feel and experience agency throughout our lives no matter our age.

2. Can you shine some light on how Oviva approaches the ovarian longevity challenge?

Our fundamental hypothesis is that ovarian function is inherently linked to healthspan, and by preserving or extending ovarian function we will also extend healthspan. Our first hypothesis that we are working on to address this is that through protecting or preserving the ovarian reserve - and therefore not depleting the ovarian reserve which ultimately triggers menopause and ovarian decline will prevent the ovaries from declining in function. Without the signal from a depleted ovarian reserve to shut down, the ovaries will believe that they should keep working rather than senescing and triggering menopause. The AMH/AMHR2 axis is the earliest known point where we can influence this AMH works by preventing immature (or primordial) follicles, each housing a single egg, from leaving the ovarian reserve. By leveraging this mechanism we aim to prevent the attrition of eggs (and primordial follicles) and thus preserve the ovarian reserve.

3. You share some investors with Gameto, can you please expand on how you are different?

Cambrian is our sole investor we are approaching this goal through the lens of longevity and with the hypothesis that extending ovarian function will significantly impact female health. Additionally, we are developing a candidate targeting the AMH/AMR2 axis which has yet to have any clinical development around it to date and are taking a very focused approach to this. The mechanism is fundamentally different from what Gameto is doing (cellular reprogramming), though the goals are similar. Frankly I think this is actually very important - ultimately what will serve women and patients best is having options to choose from. Much like birth control, different people will want or need distinct methodologies/therapeutics to support their health, so I am thrilled that we have a growing field working towards this goal of ovarian longevity. Gameto is working to reconstitute the ovaries, whereas we are looking to support and preserve the endogenous ovaries.

Also, we decided early on to develop a focused, rigorous program that was built out to thoughtfully de-risk as much as possible and to take us to clinic efficiently and effectively. We are initiating talks with the FDA this year, and this seed funding will take this program to IND submission. We have additional programs in early stages of development (more on that later this year will be tied to our Series A), but we felt strongly that we want to devote our attention to this first program and indication in order to drive it forward effectively without diluting our attention across multiple assets to start. We believe this allows us to take a deeper, more rigorous approach to what we are doing and build from a strong foundation. This focused approach sets us apart from other companies in the space that share our mission and who I hope succeed! and who are working on several things simultaneously. For us this seed round and focused approach - we believe - is the most effective strategy to get to clinic and be successful. Related to this, our candidate is closest to clinic and we are excited to test in humans soon and determine whether this has the potential for our broader vision of extending ovarian function - but one step at a time.

4. What do you see as the major obstacles to achieving ovarian longevity?

There are many fundamental questions about ovarian physiology - and womens health more broadly - that remain unanswered. In order to make a positive impact on ovarian biology we also have to understand the consequences of extending ovarian function (positive and negative) to ensure what were doing is safe in humans and achieving the desired goal, which is ultimately to provide therapeutic options to women that preserve agency over their bodies and reproductive health.

5. In the pharmaceutical industry we usually go after specific diseases. And in longevity biotechnology, most companies try to go after dual-purpose targets that may work in aging and disease. What indications are you targeting?

For our first program we are targeting poor responders to IVF. Similar to the longevity field we view this as an important stepping stone to advance our broader goal of prolonging ovarian function and forestalling the negative consequences that occur as the ovaries decline with age. This first indication (and those to follow, currently confidential) will enable us to establish safety and efficacy (evaluating efficacy and function in humans).

Oviva is one of 19 offspring companies tucked into the Cambrian fold that address certain system-wide triggers of aging. These include using stem cells to regenerate damaged or aging tissue; a treatment that counters the effects of those dwindling telomeres; and yet another that inhibits the formation of fibrotic cells that thicken and cause damage to the lung, uterus and other organs. To learn about longevity biotechnology, Cambrian biosciences, and many other cutting-edge academic and industry projects, consider registering for the 9th annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference, 29.08-2.09 in Denmark, hosted by the University of Copenhagen.

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Can We Fix Ovarian Aging? Here Is One Startup Up For The Task! - Forbes