Category Archives: Human Longevity

As the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing entered their second week, reports emerged of a controversy that symbolized a predicament threatening two of the globes biggest sporting events.

It had nothing to do with doping, dubious scoring, collusion or corruption. Rather, the Olympic flame that emblem of peace and solidarity ignited quadrennially in Greece by the suns rays had apparently been snuffed out.

In an echo of 2008, when a relay torch was rumored to have been extinguished during pro-Tibet protests in the buildup to the Beijing Summer Games, Chinese officials insisted the flame had in fact remained alight, and a snowstorm had merely affected visibility.

In truth, the Olympic flame has been flickering unsteadily for some time, its longevity jeopardized by waning interest and rising dissatisfaction.

U.S. cross-country skier Caitlin Patterson trains in Zhangjiakou, China, ahead of the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese capital was awarded the Games in a two-horse race with Almaty in Kazakhstan. | DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Fewer and fewer nations are bidding for either the Summer or Winter Games. Eight potential hosts dropped out of the race for this years event, leaving Beijing to battle it out with Almaty in Kazakhstan, another nation known for its state-muzzled media and human rights abuses that have led to bloody revolts in recent weeks.

The Summer Games have fared little better. Five of the seven cities bidding for the 2024 iteration withdrew their bids, essentially gifting the Games to Paris, whose sole remaining rival, Los Angeles, was compensated with the staging rights for 2028.

That arrangement was hastily engineered by the International Olympic Committee due to the paucity of alternatives, as was the case with the subsequent event in 2032, which was offered to Brisbane, Australia, as it was the only viable option.

The root of the problem is that few today can afford to host the Games. The first time an Olympics turned any notable profit was 1984, when commercialization in the form of broadcasting rights, private investment and sponsorship deals enabled Los Angeles to deliver a surplus of $215 million.

The National Ski Jumping Center in Zhangjiakou, China | HANNAH MCKAY / REUTERS

After civil unrest forced Tehrans dropout, Los Angeles was the only option then, too, an outcome of Montreal 1976 suffering losses of $1.5 billion debt that took almost three decades to pay off.

And while LAs success in the 1980s led to an increase in wannabe hosts, most wound up like the Canadian city, drowning in red ink. Athens in 2004 overspent to such a degree that it sent Greece into economic meltdown, while a dozen years later Rio de Janeiros deficit topped $2 billion the largest to date.

Hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention a disapproving public, Tokyo 2020 looks set to trump that. When final data is released in April, revenues are expected to be around half the officially stated $13.6 billion costs.

There was meaning to the Olympics until about 20 or 30 years ago, but the model has aged badly, says Ryu Honma, author of 2021s The Deadly Sins of the Tokyo Olympics, in which he argues vested interests and other little-reported issues brought actual costs for Tokyo 2020 to around 3.5 trillion ($30.3 billion). Theres no value in it now, especially for democratic nations.

The snowboarding events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics attracted an international broadcast audience, but the tangible benefits to the host country have been limited. | DYLAN MARTINEZ / REUTERS

An increasingly skeptical public is demanding change, he says, adding that negative polls can very quickly dampen any enthusiasm a city might have for hosting the event.

Indeed, according to a study from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany, only one of the 13 bids that dropped out of the running for Games to be held between 2022 and 2028 enjoyed support in referendums.

The essence of that outdated model comes in the form of appeals to the public to make sacrifices on the pretext of advancement, namely economic growth, says Kosuke Tomita, a researcher at Nippon Sports Science University.

If the argument is convincing, residents have traditionally turned a blind eye to any collateral damage the stripping of protected highlands for the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo, or the forced relocation of 200 Tokyo households to make way for the New National Stadium in 2020 being two domestic examples, he adds.

Kosuke Tomita, a researcher at Nippon Sports Science University, says the IOCs outdated model for hosting the Olympics appeals to the public to make sacrifices on the pretext of advancement, namely economic growth. | ROB GILHOOLY

But the public wont accept this pretext anymore, says Tomita, who has penned several studies and books about the Olympics. Voices have increasingly been rising against it.

So loud have those voices become, that it is now increasingly difficult to see what the future holds for the Games, if indeed they have one.

The International Olympic Committee desperately wants to reverse the trend among democratic nations, which are seen as trustworthy custodians not least of all during difficult times such as pandemics, Tomita says.

Yet, motivated perhaps by those countries flitting interest in staging the events, the IOC has increasingly turned its attention to nondemocratic states.

Some believe a systematic rotation of the Games around previous hosts with suitable existing infrastructure could help reduce the costs borne by a single nation in future. | DENIS BALIBOUSE / REUTERS

According to the Mainz University study, the IOC has sought to actively strengthen its ties with autocratic regimes because, in addition to the absence of any public dissent, or cost concerns, it provides Games organizers with an insurance policy for times when there is no potential host from a democratic nation.

Despite the opposition and detrimental effects on its brand image keeping good working relations with authoritarian governments helps the IOC to secure the future of its main revenue driver, the Olympic Games, thus providing for its own future, the study states.

Tomita agrees, saying a shift of focus provides the IOC with numerous options many, but not all of them, in nondemocratic countries. This is exemplified by other sports such as soccer, whose flagship competition, the FIFA World Cup, will be held in Qatar later this year.

The subject of the Olympics having issues or having reached some kind of limit is a viewpoint expressed largely by developed nations that have been central to carrying the modern Olympics since their inception, Tomita says. But, if you look a little more globally, the Arab states, Africa and Southeast Asia are home to nations that still have room for growth, and mega-events such as the Olympics can be a way to help elevate them in the world.

Chinas government has so far disclosed little about the costs associated with hosting the Games, but analysts expect it to be at least $3 billion. | MARKO DJURICA / REUTERS

A downside of such an approach, Tomita argues, is that it would likely result in the perpetuation of the current system, delaying the implementation of any meaningful measures to tackle lingering issues, such as economic costs, social displacement and green washing.

The situation has already forced the IOC to react, rolling out recommendations in 2018 that it says could save host nations hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is a fundamental rethinking of the organization of future Games, IOC chief Thomas Bach stated on the organizations website. This will lead to a new norm from the candidature for and the delivery of the Games through to their legacy.

At the heart of the new recommendations is the reuse of existing facilities, plus the introduction of an Olympic TV station, an idea perhaps prompted by the $2.9 billion that was reportedly pocketed by U.S. broadcaster NBCUniversal for its coverage of the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium during the womens singles table tennis competition at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. Fans were barred from the venues due to concerns over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. | ALEXANDRA GARCIA / THE NEW YORK TIMES

The IOC says it has already begun part of this process in China, with the repurposing of some facilities used in 2008, but author Honma questions the sincerity of such proposals.

Tokyo 2020 officials, he notes, reversed similar plans to reuse existing facilities in favor of building seven new ones. The move more than doubled the original budget, and left behind a little-wanted legacy that could continue to cost taxpayers for years to come, he says.

Before the 1964 Olympics, they built a shinkansen line, metropolitan expressways and made other improvements that benefited everyone, even today, and contributed significantly to Japans growth, Honma says. Tokyo 2020 left behind no such thing. Despite saying otherwise, they created seven new venues, all but one of which is predicted to be in deficit to the tune of billions of yen per year.

A trampolinist competes in front of an empty stadium at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. | DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES

The oversized and difficult to repurpose New National Stadium alone will cost taxpayers 2 billion per annum, he says, adding such inconvenient truths have been little reported by Japans big five media outlets, all of which were among the 67 sponsors of the 2020 Games.

Critics of the Olympics have presented new ideas of their own, such as creating a permanent home for the event in Greece, which would serve both as a nod to its origins and a solution to the costly bidding wars that seem at odds with the Games underlying principle of global congregation.

Some believe a systematic rotation of the Games around previous hosts with suitable existing infrastructure could also provide an answer.

Others have even suggested spreading the economic burden of hosting the Olympics by holding the events in multiple locations every four years.

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, does not believe that continuing to hold the Olympics the same way and on the same scale is sustainable in the future. | ROB GILHOOLY

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, agrees that change is needed, but that some essential ingredients will need to remain to ensure survival.

I dont think that continuing to do things the same way and on the same scale is a guarantee for the future, says Hashimoto, a former cyclist and skater who took part in seven Summer and Winter Olympics between 1984 and 1996.

But I think it also depends on how the host city or country views the Olympics and Paralympics, she says. If you want to spend more and more money on them, you can do so exhaustively, but a different direction would be to simply put all of your efforts into the sports themselves.

This, she said, would bring the events closer to their pre-1984, pre-commercialization roots.

I think we are already starting to see a move back in that direction, she says.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Games. The Olympic flame has been flickering unsteadily for some time, its longevity jeopardized by waning interest and rising dissatisfaction. | BRIAN SNYDER / REUTERS

Hashimoto recently returned from a field trip to Beijing, where she was struck by how the buoyant atmosphere contrasted with Tokyo 2020. Both were hit by the coronavirus pandemic, though the latter will be better remembered by disgruntled protesters right up to the closing ceremony, she says.

There was none of that in Beijing no protests, no criticism about costs, she says.

This probably says more about the perils of dissent in China, where activists were reportedly rounded up by authorities in the buildup to the Games, undesirable social media accounts closed and athletes warned against commenting on the nations dreadful human rights record.

Yet, it might also offer an insight into what the future has in store for the Games an all-smiles event held by authoritarian nations far away from the host city, using snow that isnt real on protected mountains where millions of trees have been cleared and transplanted elsewhere. Then again, it might all just go virtual, with esports coming to the rescue.

No matter what the situation is, no matter what form (the Olympics) takes, I think that people essentially want to see the potential of humanity through sports, Hashimoto says. As long as this aspect continues to appeal, I think the Olympics will live on.

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After Beijing 2022, uncertainty clouds the future of the Olympics - The Japan Times

Almost four years ago, Phil Mickelson was a linchpin in golfs bizarre dip into the waters of pay-per-view television.

The event, called The Match, was a head-to-head match play event against one-time rival Tiger Woods for a mega purse of $9 million ($A12.5m).

It was hardly The Rumble in the Jungle.

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The showdown was awkward and slow with long walks up fairways jarring proof that one vs one golf is not exactly a triumph for broadcast television.

There was a tackiness, too, such as Mickelson baiting Woods into a $A280,000 side bet that he would birdie the first hole, and a $A420,000 wager on closest-to-the-pin at the 13th.

The only winner in the end was Mickelson, who defeated Woods in darkness after four playoff holes, and lost only one of five side bets.

READ MORE

How golfs $2.9bn Saudi rebellion unravelled before our eyes

Egotistical Mickelson facing backlash over $3bn golf revolt

Its an event worth revisiting this week after Mickelson completed a full-scale heel turn that would make even the most villainous of wrestling stars blush.

On Thursday, the proposed $2.9bn Saudi-backed Super Golf League was all but certain to take off, posing a existential threat to the established PGA and European Tours.

But in the space of one four-day tournament on Americas west coast, the Saudi plan has unravelled spectacularly.

The splinter league is still set to be launched, but it could be dead on arrival with the biggest names in golf recommitting to the PGA Tour.

To be seen alongside Mickelson now is to commit some sort of brand reputation suicide.

The turning point was comments made by Mickelson that have been slammed as morally bankrupt, and breathtakingly greedy.

In remarks to biographer Alan Shipnuck, that were made public via the Fire Pit Collective website on Thursday, Mickelson acknowledged Saudi Arabias appalling human rights record, and cited the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

He nonetheless expressed his desire to potentially join the breakaway tour the Saudis are bankrolling, merely to gain leverage against the PGA Tour.

Theyre scary motherf-----s to get involved with, Mickelson is quoted as saying.

We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay.

Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.

The comments threaten to be a permanent stain on the legacy of the six-time major-winner.

Mickelsons golfing success long went hand-in-hand with his legendary appetite for gambling on-course.

The Match was the moment the two were married and, in a way, strangely celebrated.

But its clear at this stage in his career that Mickelson puts as much value on financial gain as he does winning and gamesmanship.

When Mickelson went on to clinch the 2021 PGA Championship from out of no where, there was a feeling that his legacy would be cemented in his longevity and major wins.

But his brazen willingness to associate with the Saudi regime in an attempt to strongarm the PGA Tour into making changes that would generate him greater wealth has, understandably, gone down like a lead balloon.

World No.8 Justin Thomas labelled Mickelsons comments as egotistical, while Rory McIlroy went a step further by calling them naive, selfish, egotistical, ignorant.

Meanwhile, Golf Channel analyst Eamon Lynch said: I cannot think of a more morally bankrupt statement that any public figure could make.

Lynch later doubled down in a scathing column for USA Today, in which he said that Mickelson had brought himself and the Super Golf League to the brink of ruin.

An old adage holds that if you wait by the riverbank long enough, the bodies of your enemies will eventually float by, Lynch wrote.

Thats as good a metaphor as any for how some golf industry executives must have felt in the wake of recent comments by Phil Mickelson that incinerated his reputation, alienated most every constituency in the game, exposed him to disciplinary action, and otherwise cast him in a light so unflatteringly amoral that even Greg Norman might hesitate to be seen in his company.

He added: If hes assembling an army to go over the top with him (to the SGL), it is starting to resemble more a mangy assortment of moth-eaten veterans than an elite fighting force.

The charlatan Tour members involved in this scheme Mickelson and Norman chief among them have never been more isolated from their peers, never more exposed in their heartless opportunism, and never more lacking in public support.

Columnist for The Washington Post Jennifer Rubin was also scathing in her assessment, saying that Mickelson showed a breathtaking greed and unabashed sustain for others suffering.

Mickelsons Faustian bargain with the Saudis brought on a furious reaction because his reasoning was patently amoral and because the stakes for him (a new golf tournament for already rich and successful golfers) are pathetically small, Rubin wrote, while arguing he is not alone while citing political examples.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports' golf expert Rich Beem wrote in his own column that Mickelsons stance was confusing and he stood to make enemies of his colleagues.

Beem said it was confusing that Mickelson would not attempt to gain support from fellow players to rally against the PGA Tours stronghold of media rights and instead negotiate with a rival league .

Why go about this in a completely roundabout way and make it so controversial? Beem wrote. It doesnt make sense to me.

When they hear all this from Phil I think they are thinking why is he saying all this?

And without educating them, Phil is separating himself from the PGA Tour.

He may have just done so irreparably.

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The heartless move that brought morally bankrupt golf legend to the brink of ruin - Fox Sports

Selected Publications

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Dimmock D, Trapane P, Feigenbaum A, Keegan CE, Cederbaum S, Gibson J, Gambello MJ, Vaux K, Ward P, Rice GM, Wolff JA, O'Brien WE, Fang P. Novel human pathological mutations. Gene symbol: ASS1. Disease: Citrullinaemia. Human Genetics. 2009 Aug;126(2):341.

Dimmock DP, Trapane P, Feigenbaum A, Keegan CE, Cederbaum S, Gibson J, Gambello MJ, Vaux K, Ward P, O'Brien WE, Fang P. The role of molecular testing and enzyme analysis in the management of hypomorphic citrullinemia. American Journal of Medical Genetics A. 2010 Apr;152A(4):1061.

Eichenfield LF, Krakowski AC, Piggott C, Del Rosso J, Baldwin H, Friedlander SF, Levy M, Lucky A, Mancini AJ, Orlow SJ, Yan AC, Vaux KK, Webster G, Zaenglein AL, Thiboutot DM. Evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric acne. Pediatrics. 2013 May;131 Suppl 3:S163-86.

Akizu N, Cantagrel V, Schroth J, Cai N, Vaux K, McCloskey D, Naviaux RK, Van Vleet J, Fenstermaker AG, Silhavy JL, Scheliga JS, Toyama K, Morisaki H, Sonmez FM, Celep F, Oraby A, Zaki MS, Al-Baradie R, Faqeih EA, Saleh MA, Spencer E, Rosti RO, Scott E, Nickerson E, Gabriel S, Morisaki T, Holmes EW, Gleeson JG. AMPD2 regulates GTP synthesis and is mutated in a potentially treatable neurodegenerative brainstem disorder. Cell. 2013 Aug 1;154(3):505-17.

Rosti RO, Sadek AA, Vaux KK, Gleeson JG. The Genetic Landscape of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. 2013 Oct 1. 56(1):12-8

Gaia Novarino, Ali G. Fenstermaker, Maha S. Zaki, Matan Hofree, Jennifer L. Silhavy, Andrew D. Heiberg, Mostafa Abdellateef, Basak Rosti, Eric Scott, Lobna Mansour, Amira Masri, Hulya Kayserili, Jumana Y. Al-Aama, Ghada M.H. Abdel-Salam, Ariana Karminejad, Majdi Kara, Bulent Kara, Bita Bozorgmehri, Tawfeg Ben-Omran, Faezeh Mojahedi, Iman Gamal El Din Mahmoud, Naima Bouslam, Ahmed Bouhouche, Ali Benomar, Sylvain Hanein, Laure Raymond, Sylvie Forlani, Massimo Mascaro, Laila Selim, Nabil Shehata, Nasir Al-Allawi, P.S. Bindu, Matloob Azam, Murat Gunel, Ahmet Caglayan, Kaya Bilguvar, Asli Tolun, Mahmoud Y. Issa, Jana Schroth, Emily G. Spencer, Rasim O. Rosti, Naiara Akizu, Keith K. Vaux, Anide Johansen, Alice A. Koh, Hisham Megahed, Alexandra Durr, Alexis Brice, Giovanni Stevanin, Stacy Gabriel, Trey Ideker, Joseph G. Gleeson. Exome Sequencing Links Corticospinal Motor Neuron Disease to Common Neurodegenerative Disorders. Science. 2014 Jan 31;343(6170):506-11.

Akizu N, Cantagrel V, Zaki MS, Al-Gazali L, Wang X, Rosti RO, Dikoglu E, Gelot AB, Rosti B, Vaux KK, Scott EM, Silhavy JL, Schroth J, Copeland B, Schaffer AE, Gordts PL, Esko JD, Buschman MD, Field SJ, Napolitano G, Abdel-Salam GM, Ozgul RK, Sagroglu MS, Azam M, Ismail S, Aglan M, Selim L, Mahmoud IG, Abdel-Hadi S, Badawy AE, Sadek AA, Mojahedi F, Kayserili H, Masri A, Bastaki L, Temtamy S, Muller U, Desguerre I, Casanova JL, Dursun A, Gunel M, Gabriel SB, de Lonlay P, Gleeson JG. Biallelic mutations in SNX14 cause a syndromic form of cerebellar atrophy and lysosome-autophagosome dysfunction. Nature Genetics. 2015 May;47(5):528-34.

Chambers, CD; Zellner, JA, Feldman, H; Akshoomoff, N; Xu, R; Coles, CD; Kable, JA; Manning, M; Adam, M; Vaux, K; Developing A Valid Prevalence Estimate For Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders In A Large, Diverse Urban US Community. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. 2015 June: 260A

Guemez-Gamboa A, Nguyen LN, Yang H, Zaki MS, Kara M, Ben-Omran T, Akizu N, Rosti RO, Rosti B, Scott E, Schroth J, Copeland B, Vaux KK, Cazenave-Gassiot A, Quek DQ, Wong BH, Tan BC, Wenk MR, Gunel M, Gabriel S, Chi NC, Silver DL, Gleeson JG. Inactivating mutations in MFSD2A, required for omega-3 fatty acid transport in brain, cause a lethal microcephaly syndrome. Nature Genetics. 2015 Jul;47(7):809-13.

Roosing S, Hofree M, Kim S, Scott E, Copeland B, Romani M, Silhavy JL, Rosti RO, Schroth J, Mazza T, Miccinilli E, Zaki MS, Swoboda KJ, Milisa-Drautz J, Dobyns WB, Mikati M, Incecik F, Azam M, Borgatti R, Romaniello R, Boustany RM, Clericuzio CL, D'Arrigo S, Strmme P, Boltshauser E, Stanzial F, Mirabelli-Badenier M, Moroni I, Bertini E, Emma F, Steinlin M, Hildebrandt F, Johnson CA, Freilinger M, Vaux KK, Gabriel SB, Aza-Blanc P, Heynen-Genel S, Ideker T, Dynlacht BD, Lee JE, Valente EM, Kim J, Gleeson JG. Functional genome-wide siRNA screen identifies KIAA0586 as mutated in Joubert syndrome. Elife (Howard Hughes Foundation). 2015 May 30;4.

Rosti RO, Dikoglu E, Zaki MS, Abdel-Salam G, Makhseed N, Sese JC, Musaev D, Rosti B, Harbert MJ, Jones MC, Vaux KK, Gleeson JG. Extending the mutation spectrum for Galloway-Mowat syndrome to include homozygous missense mutations in the WDR73 gene. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A. 2016; 170A(4):992-8.

Ilse Meerschaut, Justine Petre, Nicole Revencu, Damien Lederer, Milen Vilenov, Thomy de Ravel, Djalila Mekahli, Keith Vaux, Jonathan Sebat, Fadi Hamdan, Jacques Michaud, Pablo Lapunzina, Nataliya Di Donato, Louanne Hudgins, Andrea Hanson- Kahn, Bruno Dallapiccola, Antonio Novelli, Joris Andrieux, Magdalena Budisteanu and Bert Callewaert. FOXP1-related Intellectual Disability Syndrome: a Recognizable Entity. Belgian Journal of Pediatrics, 2016 18:9999.

Brandler WM, Antaki D, Gujral M, Noor M, Rosanio G, Chapman TR, Barrera DJ, Lin GN, Malhotra D, Watts AC, Wong LC, Estabillo JA, Gadomski TE, Hong O, Fuentes Fajardo KV, Bhandari A, Owen R, Baughn M, Yuan J, Solomon T, Moyzis AG, Maile MS, Sanders SJ, Reiner GE, Vaux KK, Strom CM, Zhang K, Muotri AR, Akshoomoff N, Leal SM, Pierce K, Courchesne E, Iakoucheva LM Corsello C, and Sebat J. Frequency and Complexity of De Novo Structural Mutation in Autism. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2016 Apr 7;98(4):667-79.

Brandler WM, Antaki D, Gujral M, Kleiber ML, Whitney J, Maile MS, Hong O, Chapman TR, Tan S, Tandon P, Pang T, Tang SC, Vaux KK, Yang Y, Harrington E, Juul S, Turner DJ, Thiruvahindrapuram B, Kaur G, Wang Z, Kingsmore SF, Gleeson JG, Bisson D, Kakaradov B, Telenti A, Venter JC, Corominas R, Toma C, Cormand B, Rueda I, Guijarro S, Messer KS, Nievergelt CM, Arranz MJ, Courchesne E, Pierce K, Muotri AR, Iakoucheva LM, Hervas A, Scherer SW, Corsello C, Sebat J. Paternally inherited cis-regulatory structural variants are associated with autism. Science. 2018 Apr 20;360(6386):327-331.

Meerschaut I, Rochefort D, Revencu N, Petre J, Corsello C, Rouleau Ga, Hamdan Ff, Michaud Jl, Morton J, Radley J, Ragge N, Garcia-Minaur S, Lapunzina P, Bralo Mp, Mori Ma, Moortgat S, Benoit V, Mary S, Bockaert N, Oostra A, Vanakker O, Velinov M, De Ravel Tj, Mekahli D, Sebat J, Vaux KK, Didonato N, Hanson-Kahn Ak, Hudgins L, Dallapiccola B, Novelli A, Tarani L, Andrieux J, Parker Mj, Neas K, Ceulemans B, Schoonjans As, Prchalova D, Havlovicova M, Hancarova M, Budisteanu M, Dheedene A, Menten B, Dion Pa, Lederer D, Callewaert B. Foxp1-Related Intellectual Disability Syndrome: A Recognisable Entity. Journal Of Medical Genetics 2017;54:613-623.

May PA, Chambers CD, Kalberg WO, Zellner J, Feldman H, Buckley D, Kopald D, Hasken JM, Xu R, Honerkamp-Smith G, Taras H, Manning MA, Robinson LK, Adam MP, Abdul-Rahman O, Vaux K, Jewett T, Elliott AJ, Kable JA, Akshoomoff N, Falk D, Arroyo JA, Hereld D, Riley EP, Charness ME, Coles CD, Warren KR, Jones KL, Hoyme HE. Prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in 4 US Communities. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 2018 Feb 6;319(5):474-482.

Ghosh SG, Becker K, Huang H, Dixon-Salazar T, Chai G, Salpietro V, Al-Gazali L, Waisfisz Q, Wang H, Vaux KK, Stanley V, Manole A, Akpulat U, Weiss MM, Efthymiou S, Hanna MG, Minetti C, Striano P, Pisciotta L, De Grandis E, Altmuller J, Nurnberg P, Thiele H, Yis U, Okur TD, Polat AI, Amiri N, Doosti M, Karimani EG, Toosi MB, Haddad G, Karakaya M, Wirth B, van Hagen JM, Wolf NI, Maroofian R, Houlden H, Cirak S, Gleeson JG. Biallelic Mutations in ADPRHL2, Encoding ADP-Ribosylhydrolase 3, Lead to a Degenerative Pediatric Stress-Induced Epileptic Ataxia Syndrome. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2018 Sep 6;103(3):431-439. Epub 2018 Aug 9. Erratum in: Am J Hum Genet. 2018 Nov 1;103(5):826.

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Chambers CD, Johnson DL, Xu R, Luo Y, Lopez-Jimenez J, Adam MP, Braddock SR, Robinson LK, Vaux K, Lyons Jones K; OTIS Collaborative Research Group. Birth outcomes in women who have taken adalimumab in pregnancy: A prospective cohort study. PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0223603. 2019 Oct 18.

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Doctors Page - Health Nucleus

The five Blue Zones, which represent the regions of the world where people tend to live the longest and have the highest quality of life, include Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California.

The reasons that these areas are considered longevity hotspots have been heavily researched by Dan Buettner, the founder of Blue Zones and a National Geographic researcher and New York Times bestselling author. He has found that many lifestyle routines practiced by the people living in these regionsnaturally boost their longevity, such as maintaining a positive outlook and valuing self-worth, moving consistently throughout the day, following a largely plant-based diet high in antioxidants and nutrients, and having a strong sense of community.

Maintaining a positive outlook and a connectedness to your community is strongly associated with decreased stress levels, says Kelly Jones, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN. "However, diet also plays a huge role in promoting a more pleasant mood and greater heart and brain health, disease prevention, and thus improved longevity."

The rich culinary traditions, it's important to note, vary largely among the five Blue Zones (due to natural differences in culture, history, and landscape), but the nutrients consumed in these regions have many similarities. On average, plant foods make up around 80 percent of the diets of those living in these regions, and the remainder is made up of fish, eggs, and sometimes dairy, says Jones.Roughly 65 percent of meals in the Blue Zones are carbohydrate-based, says Jones, with an emphasis on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Meat is, on average, consumed in two-ounce portions about five times per month, fish fewer than three ounces up to three times per week, and at least 1/2 cup per day of beans, which are packed with more nutrients than most other foods on earth, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, and author of The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook. Dairy and eggs are consumed in moderate amounts, and added sugars are limitedwith a maximum intake of 28 grams or seven teaspoons per dayand beverages include mostly water with some coffee, tea, and wine, says Harris-Pincus. (Indeed, most of the Blue Zones regions consume red wine in moderation, though those in Loma Linda, CA dont consume any alcohol.)

The Blue Zones diet also incorporates plenty of breadand yes, it is considered a healthy staple. It's unfortunate that carbohydrates have become so demonized in our society, says Jones. Remember: Many plant foods contain carbohydrates, which is the primary source of energy for most human beings on earth. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating bread.

Unfortunately, the majority of bread sold in the United States is highly refined, meaning stripped of the beneficial fiber that helps boost digestion and heart health. In the U.S., bread tends to be less fresh and more processed than in other countries," says Jones. "And in general, Americans have less variety in their diets when it comes to starches, meaning fewer whole grains and more refined white flour."

Those living in the Blue Zones, on the other hand, tend to bake their bread from scratchand with fewer ingredients and more whole grains. Research consistently shows that diets rich in whole grains are associated with healthier aging and longevity, says Jones. Even in Blue Zones regions (such as Ikaria) where bread made with refined flour is among the most popular varieties, citizens pair their slices with fresh fruit, veggies, beans, nuts, avocado, lentils, seeds, and healthy fats like olive oil.

Whats more, baking homemade bread is also an activity that reduces stress and elevates happiness levels. In the Blue Zones regions, the act of making bread from scratch alone brings about more of an appreciation of food and may even be associated with slowing down at meals to enjoy the product of their labor, says Jones. And when done with friends or family, it provides the invaluable feelings of connectedness and gratitude.

Interested in what types of bread are most commonly consumed in the Blue Zones? Read on for the best types of bread for longevity, according to Jones and Harris-Pincus.

Ingredients in sourdough bread made from scratch are simple: water, flour, and sourdough starter is all thats required. Sourdough is a common bread in Ikaria and Sardinia, where its often made from a homemade sourdough starter, whole wheat and semolina flours, and a bit of salt and pepper.

"Thanks to the process of fermentation required for making starter, sourdough bread tends to have more prebiotic properties and also may enhance nutrient absorption compared to other forms of bread, especially those made without whole grains, says Jones. Prebiotic and probiotic foods can boost gut health, immunity, and longevity.

Eating sourdough bread made from high-quality starter can actually lower the glycemic load of your entire meal because it's considered a fermented food, adds Harris-Pincus. A lower glycemic index food won't spike your blood sugar as much as a high-glycemic index one, which is a nice perk for diabetics and those working to maintain more stable blood sugars.

In addition to sourdough, many people living in the Blue Zones tend to eat whole grain bread. According to the Blue Zones food guidelines, breads in Ikaria and Sardinia are made from a variety of whole grains such as wheat, rye, and barley, all of which offer a wide spectrum of nutrients, such as tryptophan, an amino acid. It's also common for residents of the Blue Zones to grind their own grains to make bread, and their whole wheat bread looks a lot different than anything we would buy on a supermarket shelf," says Harris-Pincus. "This is because it typically contains only a few ingredients and is typically 100 percent whole grain."

Simply using whole wheat or other whole grains in the bread can offer more fiber, plant protein, nutrients, and antioxidants, all of which improve heart health and longevity. Whole wheat bread can be made with just yeast, whole wheat flour, and water. Wheat is very nutritious, as it provides energizing starch, gut supportive fiber, iron, a variety of B-vitamins, magnesium, potassium, and the antioxidant and mineral selenium, says Jones.

Pita bread is another bread staple thats considered a staple in the Blue Zones region of Ikariaand it tastes great with vegetables and/or plant proteins, like lentils, bean dip, or hummus spread on top. Pita bread will contain the same ingredients as wheat bread but the key with any bread is to include it in meals and snacks that offer adequate protein, fiber, and fat to help balance blood sugar response and provide your body with key vitamins and minerals, says Jones. Thats where those toppers come in, all of which have protein, fiber, and antioxidants (especially when paired with fresh vegetables). For some heart-healthy fat, a drizzle of olive oil can easily do the trick.

Cornmeal, or ground dried corn, has been used for thousands of years and is the base for many staple foods like tortillas, grits, and polenta," says Harris-Pincus. "Plus it's an excellent source of protein, vitamin A, fiber, and essential minerals."

According to Harris-Pincus, cornbread in Loma Linda is made with a few common ingredients, but integrates more whole grains and fiber. Its made with cornmeal and unbleached or spelt flour, flaxseed meal, and with the rest of cornbreads standard ingredients, such vegetable oil, soy milk, salt, baking powder, and an unrefined sweetener, like maple syrup. The flaxseed and spelt provide healthy fats (including omega-3 fatty acids) and fiber, both of which promote greater gut health, brain health, and heart health. Serve cornbread with beans or vegetarian chili for the ultimate longevity-boosting warming winter meal.

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The 4 Types of Bread the Longest-Living People on the Planet Eat Every Day - Well+Good

Sleep apnea, commonly known as obstructive sleep apnea, is when the deep sleep pattern of an individual is disturbed due to limited airflow to the body through air passage. In this case, the upper respiratory system gets blocked or narrowed down as throat muscles relax during the sleep. The brain repeatedly sends signals to the human body to wake up and continue the breathing.A person suffering from sleep apnea is unable to get deep sleep as the frequency of the disturbance can go up to 30 times in a night.One of the big symptoms of sleep apnea is snoring and feeling tired even after a full night's sleep. So what exactly happens in this condition? The soft tissue of the mouth and throat give support to the soft palate, the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate called uvula, the tonsils, and the side walls of the throat and the tongue. Sometimes these throat muscles relax, restricting the airway and limiting the flow of oxygen to the body.

Also Read: Why is obstructive sleep apnea concerning? Does it increase your risk of chronic illnesses?

As soon as the brain gets the signal that oxygen level has lowered in the blood, it signals the body to wake up for breathing.

There are three kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea which is the most common one, the central sleep apnea which has less occurrence and the complex sleep apnea in which the patient gets both the first type of sleep apnea at a time.

Experts have linked the occurrence of sleep apnea with the longevity of a human being. Sleep apnea triggers chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension and studies have shown that it decreases the longevity of the person by several years.

Also Read: Workouts to avoid if you have hypertension and what to do

"The people are very tired in the morning, can have high BP, severe acidity and in very advanced cases they can have seizures or they can fall asleep while doing normal activities like driving. So it is a very high risk disease, many times if people get admitted with obstructive sleep apnea, it complicates with pneumonia and other medical conditions as well, Dr. Aviral Roy Consultant- Intensivist, Medica Superspecialty Hospital told ETimes.

Read the original:
Sleep apnea: Know what is the underlying cause, comorbidities that can exacerbate it - Times of India

What is the future of sustainable living? As more and more consumers become self-aware of their habits, they also become aware of how their spending habits can influence the planet. As such, they are focused on spending money on brands that share their ethical value, and businesses have started to take notice. So, what is the future of sustainable business? Well, a two-day event set to happen towards the end of this month in London is hoping to answer this question.

The sustainability revolution will be the third major social and economic turning point in human history HRH Prince Charles

Sustainability Live: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Businesses is a two-day event that is set to take place in Londons Tobacco Dock on February 23rd 24th, 2022. During the event, top decision-makers from the worlds largest corporations such as IBM, PwC, Tiger Brands, Unilever, Rolls-Royce, and more will join together to discuss their own commitments to sustainability as well as learn about others and create meaningful partnerships.

The conference will have a strong focus on creating actionable change and real-world partnerships. Throughout the two days, several stages of talks by global industry leaders will shine a light on sustainability, and these talks will be centered around a fully catered networking area.

If youre looking to make a difference, but are also interested in supporting brands that want to make a change, then this is a conference that you cannot afford to miss. For more information on the conference, please click here.

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Sustainability Live: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Businesses - Longevity LIVE - Longevity LIVE

Is sitting on the floor and getting up an easy job for you? Or do you avoid it because it is a strain?  |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

The human body is a lever system with muscles and joints of bones aiding ease of movement. For our well-being, mobility is key. Erin Bunch writes in WellAndGood.comthat sitting on the floor may not be that comfortable, especially when compared with the relative luxury of a chair, but the simple practice is great for your longevity, according to a study of the world's longest-living populations.

There is a Danish twin study that concluded that the average persons lifespan is 20 per cent determined by genetics and 80 per cent determined by environment and lifestyle. That means we are in control of our future and not at the mercy of our genes as we may have originally thought.

That is exactly what Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner says about people living in Okinawa, Japan, who keep furniture to a minimum in their homes, so they naturally do most of their sitting on the floor. These small changes to their environment have made positive changes to their health and it is for the entire world to see. People that live in the blue zones of the world move every 20 minutes because their environments are set up that way. Their environments literally move them.

"The longest-lived women in the history of the world lived in Okinawa, and I know from personal experience that they sat on the floor," he says. "I spent two days with a 103-year-old woman and saw her get up and down from the floor 30 or 40 times, so that's like 30 or 40 squats done daily."

According to StockBridgeOsteopathicPractice.com, the Okinawa residents sit and get up from the floor hundreds of times per day. This exercises their legs, back, and core in a natural way as they get up and down all day long. Sitting on the floor also improves posture and increases overall strength, flexibility, and mobility. The reportcites that studies correlate the ability to sit and rise from the floor without support with a longer life expectancy. Sitting on the floor also develops musculoskeletal fitness.

Dana Santas, a celebrated Breathing, Mobility & MindBody coach to professional sports teams who runs the Instagram handle @mobilitymaker posts, "This floor-sit-to-stand exercise is only possible with a combination of mobility, stability & strengthand how you breathe has a significant impact on your ability to access & integrate all three.

Santas writes that by exhaling to initiate the drive up, you enable better engagement of your pelvic floor integrated with your core (especially TVA) while optimally positioning your ribcage and pelvis to support the necessary hip and spine movement.

Not used to squatting on the floor?Santas offers some practical suggestions that will get you into the groove slowly. You can modify this exercise in a few ways:

What are the key elements that are necessary for this movement? Mobility coach Dana Santas advises that you need to understand and incorporate the following:

Your ability to stand up from a seated, cross-legged position without using any of your limbs (known as the sitting-rising test) is a good marker of your longevity. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology suggests that those least able to complete this movement were five or six times more likely to die than those who were best able to complete the task, claims the report in WellAndGood.com.

It is well known that aerobic fitness is strongly related to survival, but our study also shows that maintaining high levels of body flexibility, muscle strength, power-to-body weight ratio and coordination are not only good for performing daily activities but have a favourable influence on life expectancy, the study's lead researcher, Claudio Gil Arajo, said in a press release.

Why muscular-skeletal fitness matters:Having overall good muscular-skeletal fitness and mobility can help prevent you from falling down when you're older, which is one of the top causes of unintentional injury-related death for those over 65. Also, if you are able to sit down and stand back up from the floor with relative ease, its a wonderful sign of overall structural, skeletal health and muscular balance and alignment, body alignment specialist Lauren Roxburgh tells Erin Bunch writes in WellAndGood.com.

"The key to longevity, staying flexible, fluid, and maintaining a healthy body is to create continual postural shifts throughout the day (as you're able)," she says. "So sitting on the floor and periodically doing long, deep squats are a great way to boost circulation, blood flow, and energy, increase flexibility and range of motion, create space and build some deeper awareness of your body while helping you feel grounded."

It is quite likely that any of us who are able to repeatedly stand up from a seated position on the floor will live up to be 100.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a professional healthcare provider if you have any specific questions about any medical matter.

Read more from the original source:
Can you sit on the floor with ease and stand up without support? You will live to be 100! - Times Now

By JENERALI ULIMWENGU

Last week I found myself joining India (and a great part of the world) in mourning a monument, in the person of the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who had passed at the young age of 92.

I use the adjective young because the legacy this girl leaves behind her is forever juvenile and evergreen, so much so that she qualifies to be used in that famous expression Death be not so proud, by John Donne.

For, indeed, when you consider the work of this most illustrious diva, how can you not agree that even those that poor death believes to be able to overthrow do not in reality die.

What one achieves in those few days allowed by life offers enough span in which one expresses oneself as one wills to do and to expire only when one is assured of having done ones duty to humanity.

I came into contact with the Nightingale of India in high school, via the kind intervention of an Indian fellow student (I think his name was Akberali if I remember well) who taught me one of her famous sons, Mera Saya and soon I could sing it more or less well, and learnt what it meant: Wherever you go, my shadow will always follow you. I came to encounter that song many places I visited, until it soon became clear to me that it was a song that mobilised a lot of sentimental energy.

Of course, visiting India was such an occasion, but the song was in so many other places, including ones where I had not expected such a huge Indian artistic influence, such as when I visited Morocco for the first time in the 1970s, and found out, to my utter surprise, that Indian music was very much in vogue there.

Much has been said about Lata in the wake of her departure, but one thing remains incontrovertible. It is not only the longevity of her life that made her fame, for individuals abound who live as long as Methusellah but in the end leave only memories of disgust and bother, while some live only brief candle in the wind existences but upon death leave the world disconsolate.

The obvious example here is the Hollywood goddess, Marylin Monroe who got that title from Elton John, and others can be cited.

Longevity came in handy for Lata, yes, but she was helped by the fact her work as an artiste accompanied her nation in joy and sorrow, serenading a new and confident India at the dawn of a difficult and thorny independence, through the tribulations of the early years of the Cold War (a disastrous war with a no-less-assertive China), the imperious rule of a number of prime ministers including Indira Gandhi.

It could be said to have been decided by fate rather than her own volition, but every time her country were in dire need she was there to pride solace to sinking spirits and healing for bruised souls. No wonder, then, that most commentaries dwelt on the 1962 Indian disaster when it is aid that when she sang, Jawaharllal Pandit Nehru, the father of Indian independence, could not contain his tears.

Such women they tend to be all female can be found throughout history, as recent examples will show us. A quick search will tell us of the French icon, Edith Piaf, the Egyptian Oum Kulthoum, the American Joan Baez, the Cuban Celia Cruz, the South African Miriam Makeba, the Lebanese Fayrouz and others.

A nation is made up of so many elements, some of them even inimical to each other. In the case of India, a nation that was colonised by the British at the time that it was, saw itself sliced into two right at independence, and has ever since rekindled its aggressive antipathy to this day, so much so that the worst is feared every time flareup is reported in that zone.

Of course, it has never been all conflict, strife and war. Even the most fearsome warriors find a time to pause and engage in tournaments and festivals to allow themselves a breather. It is during those moments of respite that we experience the expressions of the beautiful representations of the human spirit, including sentiments of non-platonic love and the pursuit of sensual pleasures.

The combination of this and the patriotic fervour expressed when countries, nations and societies are faced with existential threats is what makes people like Mangeshkar immortal. They become the embodiment of a people when that peoples very existence is denied like Makeba under Apartheid; or Joan Baez under Richard Nixon, or Kulthoum under Israeli occupation; or Celia Cruz under the American embargo on Cuba; or Fayrouz amidst Israels pulverization of Beirut; or Joan Baez during Americas carpet-bombing of Vietnam.

To all these women of courage laced with beautiful voices, I raise my goblet to you: Meera saya, saathu hooga!

Jenerali Ulimwengu is now on YouTube via jeneralionline tv. E-mail: [emailprotected]

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Go well Nightingale of India, your melodies will live forever - The East African

Decades of research has shown that limits on calorie intake by flies, worms, and mice can enhance life span in laboratory conditions. But whether such calorie restriction can do the same for humans remains unclear. Now a new study led by Yale researchers confirms the health benefits of moderate calorie restrictions in humans and identifies a key protein that could be harnessed to extend health in humans.

The findings were published Feb. 10 in Science.

The research was based on results from the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE) clinical trial, the first controlled study of calorie restriction in healthy humans. For the trial, researchers first established baseline calorie intake among more than 200 study participants. The researchers then asked a share of those participants to reduce their calorie intake by 14% while the rest continued to eat as usual, and analyzed the long-term health effects of calorie restriction over the next two years.

The overall aim of the clinical trial was to see if calorie restriction is as beneficial for humans as it is for lab animals, said Vishwa Deep Dixit, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology, Immunobiology, and Comparative Medicine, and senior author of the study. And if it is, he said, researchers wanted to better understand what calorie restriction does to the body specifically that leads to improved health.

Since previous research has shown that calorie restriction in mice can increase infections, Dixit also wanted to determine how calorie restriction might be linked to inflammation and the immune response.

Because we know that chronic low-grade inflammation in humans is a major trigger of many chronic diseases and, therefore, has a negative effect on life span, said Dixit, who is also director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging. Here were asking: What is calorie restriction doing to the immune and metabolic systems and if it is indeed beneficial, how can we harness the endogenous pathways that mimic its effects in humans?

Dixit and his team started by analyzing the thymus, a gland that sits above the heart and produces T cells, a type of white blood cell and an essential part of the immune system. The thymus ages at a faster rate than other organs. By the time healthy adults reach the age of 40, said Dixit, 70% of the thymus is already fatty and nonfunctional. And as it ages, the thymus produces fewer T cells. As we get older, we begin to feel the absence of new T cells because the ones we have left arent great at fighting new pathogens, said Dixit. Thats one of the reasons why elderly people are at greater risk for illness.

For the study, the research team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine if there were functional differences between the thymus glands of those who were restricting calories and those who were not. They found that the thymus glands in participants with limited calorie intake had less fat and greater functional volume after two years of calorie restriction, meaning they were producing more T cells than they were at the start of the study. But participants who werent restricting their calories had no change in functional volume.

The fact that this organ can be rejuvenated is, in my view, stunning because there is very little evidence of that happening in humans, said Dixit. That this is even possible is very exciting.

With such a dramatic effect on the thymus, Dixit and his colleagues expected to also find effects on the immune cells that the thymus was producing, changes that might underlie the overall benefits of calorie restriction. But when they sequenced the genes in those cells, they found there were no changes in gene expression after two years of calorie restriction.

This observation required the researchers to take a closer look, which revealed a surprising finding: It turns out that the action was really in the tissue microenvironment not the blood T cells, Dixit said.

Dixit and his team had studied adipose tissue, or body fat, of participants undergoing calorie restriction at three time points: at the beginning of the study, after one year, and after two. Body fat is very important, Dixit said, because it hosts a robust immune system. There are several types of immune cells in fat, and when they are aberrantly activated, they become a source of inflammation, he explained.

We found remarkable changes in the gene expression of adipose tissue after one year that were sustained through year two, said Dixit. This revealed some genes that were implicated in extending life in animals but also unique calorie restriction-mimicking targets that may improve metabolic and anti-inflammatory response in humans.

Recognizing this, the researchers then set out to see if any of the genes they identified in their analysis might be driving some of the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. They honed in on the gene for PLA2G7 or group VII A platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase which was one of the genes significantly inhibited following calorie restriction. PLA2G7 is a protein produced by immune cells known as macrophages.

This change in PLA2G7 gene expression observed in participants who were limiting their calorie intake suggested the protein might be linked to the effects of calorie restriction. To better understand if PLA2G7causedsome of the effects observed with calorie restriction, the researchers also tracked what happened when the protein was reduced in mice in a laboratory experiment.

We found that reducing PLA2G7 in mice yielded benefits that were similar to what we saw with calorie restriction in humans, said Olga Spadaro, a former research scientist at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. Specifically, the thymus glands of these mice were functional for a longer time, the mice were protected from diet-induced weight gain, and they were protected from age-related inflammation.

These effects occurred because PLA2G7 targets a specific mechanism of inflammation called the NLRP3 inflammasome, researchers said. Lowering PLA2G7 protected aged mice from inflammation.

These findings demonstrate that PLA2G7 is one of the drivers of the effects of calorie restriction, said Dixit. Identifying these drivers helps us understand how the metabolic system and the immune system talk to each other, which can point us to potential targets that can improve immune function, reduce inflammation, and potentially even enhance healthy lifespan.

For instance, it might be possible to manipulate PLA2G7 and get the benefits of calorie restriction without having to actually restrict calories, which can be harmful for some people, he said.

Theres so much debate about what type of diet is better low carbohydrates or fat, increased protein, intermittent fasting, etc. and I think time will tell which of these are important, said Dixit. But CALERIE is a very well-controlled study that shows a simple reduction in calories, and no specific diet, has a remarkable effect in terms of biology and shifting the immuno-metabolic state in a direction thats protective of human health. So from a public health standpoint, I think it gives hope.

More here:
Calorie restriction trial reveals key factors in enhancing human health - Yale News

The first true longevity biotechnology family

There comes a time in everyones life when finding the perfect work-life balance becomes challenging. For many researchers and clinicians, work often takes precedence over everything else. Our desire to succeed professionally, push AI-driven research to new heights, and take novel drugs toward clinical trials can force us to set aside personal priorities like a spouse, family, personal and spiritual growth. There are many of us who enjoy and relish our professional lives, and theres nothing wrong with that. For example, immersing yourself completely in longevity research for the betterment of humankind is a very noble cause from the perspective of effective altruism.

But at the same time, it can be easy to normalize working long hours and exerting ourselves under extreme amounts of stress. Also sometimes, its just not possible to make changes at work. However, the lack of balance between professional and personal life can cause burnout (a syndrome that can impair job performance and result in poor health). So no matter how challenging it becomes to balance your professional and personal life, it is crucial to try and find a balance because it actually helps improve your physical, emotional and mental well-being. After all, whats the point of living a long and healthy life if youre neither happy nor feel fulfilled?

In my quest to figure out the perfect formula for a healthy work-life balance, a thought struck me: its very rare, almost impossible to find a PhD couple working in longevity. There are almost 8 billion people on the planet and it is safe to assume that around 3 billion of them are in their reproductive years. However, finding your true better half is sometimes very hard, and for some people it is almost impossible. It is especially difficult for scientists in the nascent field of longevity biotechnology - a new credible science of healthspan extension.

The longevity biotechnology industry is rapidly emerging with hundreds of scientists joining the field just in the past few years and multiple biotechnology companies openly stating life - and health - extension as their primary goal and operating within the credible biopharmaceutical framework. Over 2,500 scientists from all over the world regularly attend the annual ARDD meetings, thousands of medical doctors are engaging in longevity medicine, and there are tens of thousands of longevity enthusiasts.

After a series of articles covering the wonderful women in longevity medicine, on this Valentines Day I would like to point your attention to the worlds first Longevity Couple - two highly-educated and impactful professionals in this emerging new branch of biomedicine, who found each other, got married, and are living the dream, enjoying each others company, and making this world a little bit better every day.

Ned is 54 but looks at least 15 years younger. He is a serial company builder and a drug hunter, having co-founded four biotech companies: Syrrx, Achaogen, Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, and UNITY Biotechnology. Collectively these companies have raised over $2 billion in the financing, have led to three successful IPOs, and two M&A acquisitions (Syrrx and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals were acquired by Takeda and Allergan, respectively). Ned is also responsible for four FDA-approved medicines, including Alogliptin, Trelagliptin, Zemdri, and Kybella. Apart from this, Ned holds dozens of allowed patents in various fields such as nano volume crystallography, antibiotic resistance, aesthetic medicine, and cellular senescence. His academic qualifications include a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and an AB in Biology from Harvard.

Dr. Maria Konovalenko obtained her PhD in the biology of aging in a joint program between the ... [+] University of Southern California and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Maria is 34 but looks like a teenager. She is currently Scientist in Residence at Formic Ventures, a diversified venture capital firm that makes early stage investments in biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and tools that help accelerate scientific research. From 2008-2016, Maria was part of a team at a Moscow-based non-profit called The Science for Life Extension Foundation and has been raising funding for longevity and regenerative medicine research from both government and private sources. She is also one of the organizers of the Genetics of Aging and Longevity Conference series. Maria obtained her PhD in the biology of aging in a joint program between the University of Southern California and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. She got both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, probably the best physics and engineering school in the post-Soviet space.

In 2015, Ned was visiting the Buck Institute for Research and Aging to set up a new company. It was there that he crossed paths with Maria, who at the time was doing research on aging of stem cells in respiratory epithelium as well as the overlap between mTOR signaling and cellular senescence. Ned knew right then that he wanted to meet Maria. But he didnt want to approach her with a simple hi because he knew that wouldnt make much of an impression. Instead, he decided to take a different route.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 29: Laura Deming of National Geographic Channels' 'Breakthrough' attends ... [+] the Getty Images Portrait Studio powered by Samsung Galaxy at 2015 Summer TCA's at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 29, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Samsung)

He rented a house in Napa Valley and recruited Laura Deming, a fellow longevity enthusiast whose work focuses on life extension, and using biological research to reduce or reverse the effects of aging. Ned and Laura planned a series of parties at Neds house as a way for Ned and Maria to meet with plausible deniability. The parties were spaced out by two weeks. The strategy worked; and after the second party, Ned invited Maria to a dinner date. I had no idea it was a date, Maria admits. Ned had to tell me explicitly, this is a date and Im interested in you. The two started dating and got married in 2018.

Not only are Ned and Maria a super successful PhD couple, they also maintain a very healthy balance between their professional and private lives. Being partnered with other scientists is something that will bring you tremendous joy and peace and simplicity in your life said Ned when I asked for his opinion on whether scientists should date other scientists, non-scientists just care about other things in the world.

Ned David and Maria Konovalenko

In this interview, we talked about how they met, what they talk about over breakfast (spoiler: it includes discussions on research papers and other cool stuff), how they spend their time together as a longevity couple, and we also talked about some of their favorite video games.

The world of biogerontology is very small and almost everyone knows each other, and for someone who spent over 18 years in the field and co-founded the largest conference in aging research for drug discovery, I know pretty much everyone. There are several well-known couples working in the field and I am hoping to cover them in the next Valentines Day edition, but no couple is as colorful and famous as these two PhD love birds.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Ned, tell us how you first became interested in longevity biotechnology? And how did that help you to meet Maria?

Ned David: Before I ever worked on anything related to longevity, I spent about 12 years as a drug hunter where I would build companies and put molecules in the clinic. I got involved in a project where we had to eliminate senescent cells; so we put a company together in that space. While I was incubating this company at the Buck Institute, I would see Maria walk by my office a few times a day because my office was right between her lab and the bathroom. Thats when I decided to meet this woman. I knew that simply going up to her and saying hi would be a terrible idea, so I actually recruited Laura Deming to help me. Laura and I came up with a plan of throwing a series of parties and inviting guests, but the purpose of these parties was so I could meet Maria with plausible deniability. When we were about 80% of the way through with the first party, and she hadn't shown up, I thought oh my God, we put all this energy and effort into this whole thing and she's not here! Then about an hour before the party was ending, she walked in and I was like oh yes, I'm so excited! We talked for three hours straight and that's when our relationship began.

Alex Zhavoronkov: How many parties did it take for you to go on your first date?

Ned David: The parties were spaced out by two weeks. At party one, I think Maria thought I was cool and interesting, but there were another two weeks until party two. We had a date after that party but she didn't seem to fully recognize that I was interested in her.

Maria Konovalenko: I had no idea it was a date. Ned had to tell me explicitly, this is a date and Im interested in you.

Ned David: You know, whatever kind of receptor allows one to detect if someone's interested in them, Marias has a loss of function. Id often notice when another male is interested in her, Id point out and say, you know that guy was flirting with you? And she would have no idea.

Maria Konovalenko: That's true. I can see what's going on around other people, in terms of romantic interests, but I can never detect anything that is directed at me. I don't know if its for the better or for worse.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Maria, now that we know the story from Neds perspective, can you tell us your perspective?

Maria Konovalenko: I have been a fan of Laura Deming even prior to being invited to the parties. So when she reached out to me with the invitation, I was really excited to go. The reason I was so late to reach the party was because there was a Conference on Effective Altruism at which Elon Musk was speaking that day at the Google offices in Menlo Park. Just imagine the geography; Menlo Park to Napa Valley was about a four-hour drive. I could barely feel myself after such a long drive but when I walked in and met Laura, I was so excited. But Laura very, very sweetly said, I actually have a co-host, come meet Ned. And so we started talking and didn't stop for three hours straight. And it was so amazing. I shared notes from the Gordon conference on aging that I went to, and we discussed some recent talks and I was just very impressed with how well-versed Ned was in the biology of aging.

Ned David: She thought my hair was weird.

Maria Konovalenko: Yeah, a little bit. I also met Neds son and it became obvious that we all share a love for video games.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Which ones?

Maria Konovalenko: At the time it was StarCraft. We also play DOTA and New World.

Ned David: Honestly, both Maria and I play a lot of video games.

Maria Konovalenko: But I don't do shooters, I'm more into strategy games.

Alex Zhavoronkov: So you both have a passion for video games. How much time do you think you spend playing video games each week?

Ned David: Since I have a lot of work to do these days, I can maybe carve out 20 minutes over the weekend.

Alex Zhavoronkov: What about you, Maria?

Maria Konovalenko: I would say I have a little bit more time than Ned.

Alex Zhavoronkov: So I'm curious to know how different it is, from the experience standpoint of any past relationship, to be in love with somebody who is also in longevity and is a scientist?

Ned David: I would say it means everything. Having the same values as your partner is the most important thing because ultimately, what are values? Its the things you care about. And ultimately, you are the sum of the things you care about, right? And if you end up caring about the same things as your partner, everything is easy. People always talk about relationships being lots of work. We've been together for almost seven years. It is not any work. Being with Maria is as easy as breathing.

Maria Konovalenko: I would second that from my perspective as well. Definitely.

Ned David: We almost never get into conflicts, you know, except occasionally over her playing too many video games.

Maria Konovalenko: .

Alex Zhavoronkov: Do you think you would ever be able to date somebody who is not a scientist or doesnt work in longevity?

Maria Konovalenko: Absolutely not. Well, first of all, I don't think I want to ever date anybody else.

Ned David: Yeah, but if suddenly either of us was vaporized from this earth, right? First of all, Maria is the love of my life. And you could screen through the other 3.5 billion humans and I would not find someone as well matched to the things I think are cool and beautiful and that I care about. I don't think it's longevity per se, but I do think it would be cuckoo not to be partnered with another scientist.

Alex Zhavoronkov: One of my friends once advised me not to marry another scientist because if I do, we would always end up competing with each other as scientists and one of us would have to take a dominant role. Do you feel that at all in your relationship?

Ned David: Some people might have a relatively narrow definition of what it means to be a scientist. Like, at an academic institution, people are competing for grants and tenure. Thats just neither of us. Thats not our lives. What's funny is, both of us are competitive athletes, but I don't think I'm fundamentally a very competitive person. And neither is she. Were fundamentally interested in building things that last and are beautiful, like making medicines.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Do you ever get into scientific arguments? And if yes, who takes the upper hand?

Maria Konovalenko: Rather than arguments, we have discussions.

Ned David: Yeah, we have epistemological disagreements.

Maria Konovalenko: If there is a bottleneck, let's say in a discussion of some sort, more often than not, it stems from me missing a certain piece of the puzzle or a certain anecdote. And then Ned and I always reach a consensus in the end. We have ongoing intellectual discussions that are not necessarily scientific in nature.

Ned David: They tend to be epistemological. Like the debate about what is knowable. And how do you know that you know something? So one area I think we have an ongoing debate about is the probability of general AI and its impact on our species. We also have different views on the pluses and minuses of social media and how it impacts science.

Alex Zhavoronkov: And what about longevity science?

Ned David: Almost every day.

Maria Konovalenko: Yeah.

Ned David: In the last 48 hours, two interesting papers came out. Each of us found the papers independently. She actually posted about it on social media without discussing it with me. We didnt even talk about what it did or didnt mean.

Maria Konovalenko: And these arent disagreements.

Ned David: Her reaction to the paper on limb regeneration was that it was really beautiful; my reaction to it was that this is the very beginning of that enterprise and how now is the time for omics to try to break apart what's going on.

Maria Konovalenko: And I dont disagree with that at all.

Ned David: So it just means we took different things from it.

Alex Zhavoronkov: So you discuss papers every day? Thats heaven!

Maria Konovalenko: Its absolute heaven! We also come up with ideas for experiments and we generate new ideas.

Ned David: This morning over coffee we talked about doing omics in that Xenopus regeneration model.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Do you have any plans of publishing papers together?

Maria Konovalenko: No.

Ned David: Because we don't live in a critically paper-driven world. She's now a venture capitalist investing money; I'm a company builder and drug hunter. So that's kind of where our mind goes.

Alex Zhavoronkov: How do you spend most of your free time together?

Ned David: Either cooking, walking the dogs, or watching some TV shows.

Alex Zhavoronkov: What about activities that are related to longevity?

Maria Konovalenko: We used to run together but now our backs wouldn't allow for that.

Alex Zhavoronkov: You guys have a little bit of an age gap as well, right?

Maria Konovalenko: 18 years apart.

Alex Zhavoronkov: So statistically, if you look at male and female longevity, Ned is expected to die sooner than you. Are you concerned about that at all?

Maria Konovalenko: Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor have a very, very big difference in age. In an NPR interview, they were asked the same thing and the older spouse said if she dies, she dies.

Alex Zhavoronkov: So the next question is, would you consider doing something about it? Ned, any plans for longevity interventions?

Ned David: Usually Im very proactive but the only thing I'm doing right now is rapamycin.

Maria Konovalenko: We also exercise a lot.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Do you know of other couples like you, who are longevity-focused and successful?

Maria Konovalenko: Well, there is Kristen Fortney and Justin Rebo - both of them are in longevity.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Oh, it slipped my mind, Kristen is a dear friend. I will need to add them to my list and interview them for Valentines longevity article next year. Also, there is Morgan Levine and her husband Zachary Levine. I think both of them were at Yale and now are going to Altos Labs. Both are established scientists and Morgan made contributions to aging biomarkers but I think that they are not openly promoting longevity biotechnology. It may be a good idea to interview them one day.

Alex Zhavoronkov: What would you like the readers to know about a longevity couple? What makes you proud about being together and being in longevity?

Maria Konovalenko: I don't know if it makes me proud but every day I feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world being married to Ned. Pride would be the wrong word. It's just being able to share my life and my time with a very like-minded person who I share a lot of values and interests with. That's kind of the coolest thing.

Ned David: Same.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Is there any additional incentive to do more work on longevity when youre in a relationship?

Ned David: I would say so. Actually, we do some things together from the longevity protocol. So every year we do a full-body MRI.

Maria Konovalenko: To catch any early cancer.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Very cool idea.

Maria Konovalenko: We also do a liquid biopsy test for the same reason, and we do those things absolutely together.

Ned David: In all probability, just given genetics and our athletics thing, the thing that will likely kill us is cancer. And so, if you can basically every six months do a cancer screen for the whole body, right? That's what we're doing.

Alex Zhavoronkov: One last question for the other scientists in longevity, what would your recommendation be to find each other, and should they find each other?

Ned David: I absolutely think that for single people that are studying science, being partnered with other scientists is something that will bring you tremendous joy and peace and simplicity in your life. When I reflect on times before Maria, the silly disagreements that one got into because non-scientists just care about other things in the world, right? And having to go back and endure those value systems just sounds like a horror show.

Longevity Valentines

There are other famous families in academia where each spouse is working on aging and can call each other Doctor, including the famous Gorbunova and Seluanov laboratory at Rochester and Kristen Fortney and Justin Rebo and I hope to see more as the industry expands and more credible people join the field and partner. I am looking forward to covering these wonderful families next year. It is also worthwhile to highlight the wonderful and highly successful longevity physicians who, to the best of my knowledge are still single: Dr. Evelyne Bischof, Dr. Christine Huang Yuan, and Dr. Dina Radenkovic. Many of these wonderful scientists usually convene at the ARDD conference transpiring annually at the University of Copenhagen. I hope that Ned and Maria longevity union will serve as an example and model for the many of us in the longevity community.

See the rest here:
Forever In Love And In Love With Forever: Introducing The World's First True Longevity Couple - Forbes