Category Archives: Immortality Medicine

When the biologist Andrew Steele tells people his thoughts on ageing that we might one day cure it as if it were any other disease they are often incredulous and sometimes hostile. Once, at a friends wedding, he left a group of guests mildly incensed for suggesting that near-future humans might live well into their 100s. A similar thing happens at dinner parties, where the responses are more polite but no less sceptical. He understands the reaction. We think of ageing as an inescapable fact of life were born, we grow old, so it goes. Thats been the narrative for thousands of years, he says, on a video call. But what if it didnt have to be?

Steele began professional life as a physicist. As a child, he was fascinated by space, the way many scientists are. But he has spent the past three years researching a book about biogerontology, the scientific study of ageing, in which he argues the case for a future in which our lives go on and on. Steele considers ageing the greatest humanitarian issue of our time. When he describes growing old as the biggest cause of suffering in the world, he is being earnest. Ageing is this inevitable, creeping thing that happens, he says. He is wearing a button-down shirt and, at 35, a look of still-youthful optimism. Were all quite blind to its magnitude. But what do people die of? Cancer. Heart disease. Stroke. These things all occur in old people, and they primarily occur because of the ageing process.

Steele defines ageing as the exponential increase in death and suffering with time, and he thinks it would be helpful to finally grapple with this raw quantity of suffering. The human risk of death doubles every seven or eight years. We tend to breeze through the first five or six decades of life relatively unscathed, health-wise. Maybe we wake up at 50 with an ache, or slightly sagging skin, but still we are generally considered unlucky if we discover a tumour or develop arthritis or suffer heart problems. The death of a 50-year-old from disease is a premature death.

But at some point in our 60s a kind of cliff edge appears, and often we have no choice but to stumble over it. Easy movements become hard. We begin to lose our hearing and our sight. Frustrating and embarrassing things start to happen. Why cant I feel the tips of my toes? What on earth has happened to my hip? The body has worked tirelessly for years, and the cumulative internal effects of that action the problematic buildup of aged, senescent cells; the dangerous mutations of other cells; the steady decline of the immune system; the general wearing-down of the bodys structures suddenly predispose us to a variety of age-related diseases: cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dementia. A 10-year-olds risk of death is 0.00875%. At 65, the risk has risen to 1%. By the time we turn 92 we have a one in five chance of dying that year. For decades we are mostly fine, Steele says, and then, all of a sudden, were not.

The dream of anti-ageing medicine, Steele writes in his book, Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old, is treatments that would identify the root causes of dysfunction as we get older, then slow their progression or reverse them entirely. These root causes are what biogerontologists call hallmarks. Cancer isnt a hallmark of ageing, Steele says now. But its caused by several of the hallmarks of ageing. If scientists can address those hallmarks, we can come up with treatments that slow down the whole ageing process, deferring diseases into the future.

The hope isnt that we get to live longer for the sake of it, it is that we live longer in good health. Some people call this longevity; Steele refers to increasing a persons healthspan. Theres this misconception when you talk to people about treating ageing, he says. They imagine theyre going to live longer but in a state of terrible decrepitude, that youre going to extend their 80s and 90s so theyre sat in a care home for 50 years. That doesnt make sense from a logical perspective or a practical one.

I say, What would be the point?

Exactly!

Its just more pain

Nobody would want it, he says. Then he raises an eyebrow. Its surprising that people would actually think scientists would want that.

Humans have been searching for a cure for ageing for thousands of years. Herodotus wrote of the Fountain of Youth in the 5th century BC; countless people have made lengthy, futile quests for life-extending elixirs. Until recently, very little was known about why we age and how. For a long time, scientists looked at it and thought, Oh God, this is going to be some immeasurably complex process that we cant possibly hope to study in a lab, Steele says, which dissuaded research. Until the 1960s, it was generally accepted that our role on this Earth was to produce children, and that once wed succeeded in that undertaking, our bodies, fulfilled of function, would be left to slowly fade.

But in the past three decades biogerontological research has accelerated, and recent successes have sparked excitement. A 2015 study, published by the Mayo Clinic, in the US, found that using a combination of existing drugs dasatinib, a cancer medicine, and quercetin, which is sometimes used as a dietary suppressant to remove senescent cells in mice reversed a number of signs of ageing, including improving heart function. A 2018 study that used the same drugs found that the combination slowed or partially reversed the ageing process in older mice. In another study, the drug spermidine extended the lifespans of mice by 10%, and studies using the drug rapamycin have extended the healthspans of mice, worms and flies, though it comes with problematic side-effects, including the suppression of the immune system and the loss of hair. Last year, scientists in Texas transplanted stem cells from young mice into elderly ones, adding three months to their average lifespans, which in equivalent human terms could be worth more than a decade.

To Steele this is all thrilling. The pace of change has been dizzying, he says of recent developments. Though it is the fact that human trials have begun that excites him most. After the success in mice, the first trial aimed at removing senescent cells in humans began in 2018, and others are ongoing. A more recent study found that a combination of hormones and drugs appears to help rejuvenate the thymus, which contributes to the immune system but degenerates rapidly with age. Next year, a landmark trial will begin to investigate whether metformin, a drug used to treat diabetes, might in fact delay the development or progression of age-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and dementia.

In Ageless, Steele writes, This collection of evidence is tantalising, and foreshadows a future where ageing will be treated. He also writes: This future may not be far away. When I ask him what he means by not far away, exactly, he smiles. Scientists are rightly sceptical, he says, but its important to say that a lot of significant breakthroughs could happen in the lifespan of people alive today.

I ask, Can you be more specific?

Eventually, he says, I think we are very likely to have a drug that treats ageing in the next 10 years.

Steele believes we will be hopelessly unlucky if scientists dont make a breakthrough within that time, given how many human trials are in progress or upcoming. And although these breakthroughs wont result in treatments that extend our lives by 100 years, they will give us enough extra time to ensure were alive for subsequent breakthroughs, subsequent treatments, subsequent additions in lifespan and so on. Our lives will be extended not all in one go but incrementally one year, another year, suddenly were 150. In Ageless, Steele talks of a generation of people that grows up expecting to die but, thanks to an accumulation of new treatments, each more effective than the last, just doesnt. One after another, he writes, lifesaving medical breakthroughs will push their funerals further and further into the future.

What Steele is talking about isnt immortality; people will continue to die. Science wont help if, looking down at your phone, you walk out into the road and get hit by a car. Or if you fall off a ladder and break your neck. Or if you are unlucky enough to be hit by a missile in a war zone. Or if you contract a virulent infectious disease that has no vaccine. But it will result in lifespans that are significantly longer than what we currently consider normal.

I ask if Steele expects there to someday be lots of 150-year-olds wandering around, as healthy as 20-year-olds.

Yes, he says, if it all works.

I say, 200-year-olds playing football in the park?

Why not? he says. The trouble is, saying were going to have 150-year-olds walking around looking like 20-year-olds, its weird. It sounds sci-fi. It sounds a bit creepy. Ultimately, I dont want this because I want to have a load of 150-year-olds looking like 20-year-olds, I want it because those 150-year-olds wont have cancer, they wont have heart disease, they wont be struggling with arthritis. Theyll still be playing with their grandkids, their great-grandkids even. Its about the health and lifestyle benefits.

When Steele brings up his work with people, the question he gets asked most often is: What about overpopulation? He has a go-to answer he thinks highlights the ridiculousness of the question. Imagine were staring down the barrel of 15bn people on Earth, he says. There are lots of ways to try and tackle that problem. Would one of them be: invent ageing?

That he is asked this question so frequently frustrates him. More so, he is bothered by the implication that what he is suggesting is somehow weird or inhuman or unholy, rather than ultimately helpful for society. If Id just written a book about how were going to cure childhood leukaemia using some amazing new medicine, he says, literally nobody would be like, But isnt that going to increase the global population?

He shakes his head.

What Im saying is, Here is an idea that could cure cancer, heart disease, stroke Curing any one of those things would get you plaudits. But as soon as you suggest a potentially effective way of dealing with them altogether, suddenly youre some mad scientist who wants to overpopulate us into some terrible environmental apocalypse?

Steele considers this a major hurdle in biogerontologys potential success our incredible bias toward the status quo of ageing as an inevitable process, and our inability to accept it as preventable. If we lived in a society where there was no ageing, and suddenly two-thirds of people started degenerating over decades, started losing their strength, started losing their mental faculties, and then succumbing to these awful diseases, it would be unthinkable. And of course, wed set to work trying to cure it.

He makes reference to the pandemic. The coronavirus exemplifies the problem we have in terms of funding science, in trying to confront these kinds of challenges. Because its so acute, because it all of a sudden appeared on the scene and the entire global economy was dragged to a halt, we see this very clear, current, present need to do something about it. And yet if you look at ageing, or even climate change, these are slow-moving disasters, and so theyre easy to miss. It is not lost on him that ageing-related drugs might have reduced the impact of the coronavirus, given it is a disease that is particularly life-threatening among older populations. To this end, he thinks biogerontology will eventually dramatically change the role of medicine, from being primarily reactive to primarily preventive. Weve somehow unintentionally drifted into this state in society where we end up treating endpoints, almost in a state of panic, at the last minute, he says, rather than preventing them beforehand.

Steele considers Ageless a call to arms, and is hopeful it presents enough evidence to finally convince the public as well as regulators, who currently dont define ageing as a disease, which makes it difficult to receive support for trials that ageing is a problem to be fixed. There is a kneejerk reaction to biogerontology, just because it sounds strange, he says. We place ageing research in this separate category socially, morally, ethically, even scientifically. When, actually, its just an extension of the normal goals of modern medicine.

Writing a book on ageing, it turns out, is a good way to make you reappraise your own lifestyle. These days, Steele is running more than he used to, and he has begun to watch what and how much he eats. Its not like I was ever a massive couch potato, he says. But, equally, I have tried to optimise things. In the absence of anti-ageing drugs, he suggests we all do the same. It seems that a lot of the sort of basic health advice that everyone can recite do some exercise, dont be overweight, try to eat a broad range of foods, dont smoke all that stuff basically slows down the ageing process.

I tell him Ive spoken to people who are taking several unproven supplements a day, hoping to eke out a few more years, and of others who, ahead of the trial, are already taking the experimental drug metformin.

Given that Im in my 30s, he says, I think the case against metformin is stronger than the case for. The evidence is suggestive, but its not conclusive. And theres a spectrum. There are people who are experimenting with senolytics. There was the case of the biotech CEO who went to Colombia and had gene therapy. But the data in humans just isnt there. He adds: The same is true of so many of these supplements and health foods. If any of these things did have a substantial effect, wed know about it.

When I ask him what he thinks of the anti-ageing industry all of those creams and serums that promise rejuvenation, our modern-day elixirs he says, Id like to completely obviate it. If the breakthroughs do come, they are likely to significantly change the structure of our time on Earth. We are used to the three-act life: we are young and learn, we are middle-aged and work, we are old and retire. But what happens if we live another 100 years? Might we go back to school at 60, or switch careers at 105 or, at 40, decide to take some kind of 20-year soul-searching hiatus, knowing well have a century or more to do other things having returned from whatever wilderness we had run away to?

And what about death? At one point during our conversation, I ask Steele if he imagines a time when dying becomes a choice. He thinks the question is overblown. Because death is inevitable people have rationalised it as something that drives life, or gives life meaning, or adds some sort of poetry to the human condition, he says. But I think, broadly speaking, death is bad. If there was less death in the world, I think most people would agree that was a good thing. And though my passion for treating ageing isnt driven by reducing the amount of death, its driven by reducing ill health in later life, its driven by conquering disease, its driven by getting rid of suffering, if theres less death as a side-effect? I dont think thats a bad thing.

Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old by Andrew Steele is published by Bloomsbury at 20. Buy it from guardianbookshop.com for 17.40

The root causes of ageing are called hallmarks. Treat these and you slow ageing.

1. Genomic instability As we age, we accumulate genetic damage. Simply, over time, our DNA gets mangled. It is thought that if scientists can find a way to repair that damage, they will then be able impact the ageing process.

2. Cellular senescence The longer we live, the more chance we have of experiencing a build-up of senescent (old) cells, which tend to hang around in the body and can contribute to the onset of age-related diseases.

3. Mitochondrial dysfunction Mitochondria are organelles that generate the energy our cells need to power necessary biochemical reactions. It has been found that mitochondrial dysfunction can accelerate ageing.

Originally posted here:
Do we have to age? - The Guardian

Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel a part of the digestive system that includes the colon and rectum. The effectiveness of treatment intentions depend on how far the cancer has progressed when it is picked up. This underscores the importance of responding to symptoms if and when they arise.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of bowel cancer can be subtle and do not necessarily make you feel ill so it can be hard to attach the dots.

Due to its location, many bowel cancer symptoms stem from a disruption to the digestive system.

According to Macmillan Cancer Support, one telltale sign is the feeling that you have not emptied your bowel properly after you poo.

Other warning signs include:

READ MORE:Bowel cancer warning: Check your toilet paper after wiping key symptom

When you first see a GP, theyll ask about your symptoms and whether you have a family history of bowel cancer, explains the health body.

As it explains, theyll usually carry out a simple examination of your bottom, known as a digital rectal examination (DRE), and examine your tummy (abdomen).

This is a useful way of checking whether there are any lumps in your tummy or bottom (rectum).

The exact cause of bowel cancer is unknown. However, research has shown several factors may make you more likely to develop it.

It is worth noting that having one or more risk factors doesnt mean that you will definitely get bowel cancer.

Your risk of developing bowel (colon and rectal) cancer depends on many things including age, genetics and lifestyle factors.

According to Cancer Research UK, many studies have shown that eating lots of red and processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer.

It is estimated that around 13 out of 100 bowel cancer cases (around 13 percent) in the UK are linked to eating these meats, warns the charity.

Processed meat is any meat that has been treated to preserve it and/or add flavour for example, bacon, salami, sausages, canned meat, or chicken nuggets.

A linked lifestyle factor is obesity, which is tied to 11 out of 100 bowel cancers, current estimates suggest.

Obesity means being very overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. And being overweight is a BMI of between 25 and 30.

Other risk factors include:

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Source

Follow this link:
Bowel cancer symptoms: Signs include feeling that you have not emptied your bowel properly - TechnoCodex

Hunt & Hussy Hicks = best Sunday eva!

Theres been hardly any gigs out there, 2020 was the year that killed fun. So when stuff happens you need to get out there and support it. Especially the arts. We in the arts have had one of the hardest years ever, and its not like being a creative is usually a walk in the park. Then Lisa Hunt pulled together Summerstage a fundraiser for Red Devils Park in Byron Bay and a chance for audiences and performers to be reunited. This Sunday sees the divine Lisa Hunt and her incredible band, Forever Soul, headline. Lisa began singing in the great African American tradition of gospel church where the foundations were laid for her soulful singing style. She went on to study voice at The City College of New York where she received a BFA in music. She has gone on to sell more than one million records around the world she really is incredible. Sundays show will be supported by the powerhouse that is Hussy Hicks Julz Parker and Leesa Gentz; the girls that Sarah Howells from Double J declared as artists [that] need to be seen to be believed. If you want three women to blow your mind this is the show!

For tickets go to summerstagebyronbay.com.au

Emily Wurramara and ine Tyrrell dont share the same blood but they call each other sister. Sisters by story. As much as DNA holds the keys to their identity, so does the story of where theyve each come from and the legends and mythologies from their lands that are so delicately woven into their ancestral memories. Emily Wurramara and ine Tyrrell both hold a deep spiritual and generational connection to their homes, and through song and story they hope to connect you all to your own too.

These incredibly talented vocalists are making a little stop off in Murwillumbah, on their way through to Woodford Folk Festival, to kick off 2021 in the glory of matriarchal music making. Featuring a two-hour show (one hour set each with a 30 minute intermission), this amazing duo will be bringing their songs, stories and sisterhood into the glorious setting of The Regent Theatre, in Murwillumbah, on Friday.

Show at 9pm. Tickets for this magical performance are $40 ($35 concession.)

The Starlight Festival, created by Raym Richards in the Byron Surf club 25 years ago, is now run by his daughter, Rosie Richards. The festival has flourished into a healing festival that capitalises the true Essence of Byron Bay. This festival is a special and sacred event that brings many locals and visitors together. The Starlight Festival offers a place of conscious living, awakening and sharing of knowledge. Festival curator Rosie says, Starlight Festival offers you a chance to sample a wide range of transformative experiences in one place. Experiences, offered by devoted practitioners, that arent available in our daily lives. Its a chance for people to connect and treat themselves by participating and soaking up the knowledge that this incredible weekend has to offer.

Starlight Festival; a festival of conscious living, of awakening and connection; through interactive workshops, soundbaths, yoga, shamanic journeys and talks with local, national and international presenters. Bangalow A&I Hall: $30 admission (single day), four day pass $75, locals two-for-one days, ThursdaySunday.

Tickets online or at the door.www.starlightfestival.com.au

Every January Austen Tayshus, the legendary white pointer of Australian comedy makes his way to Byron Bay. Its his favourite show of the year. Its a smart crowd he says. And hes right. Not everyone is going to get a Tayshus show, but Byron, he reckons, does. And that he believes is the point. Austen likes to make people think. Push them to the brink of their comfort zones. And sometimes, way over the edge.

Its why hes such a fierce figure in the Aussie comedy scene, a scene where many comics and promoters are terrified of him. Austen, aka Sandy Gutman, doesnt play safe. He doesnt suck up to venue owners. And he certainly doesnt stroke the ego of other performers or promoters. In a landscape where comedy tends to lose its edge because of the corporate need to be mainstream and to be commercially successful, Austen Tayshus still doesnt give a rats. He is a lone wolf. Smarter, funnier, and more experienced than anyone else in Aussie comedy. But be warned; hes also a lot more dangerous. A Tayshus show is not for the faint hearted!

There are few comics with the tenacity and killer instinct of Austen Tayshus. The comedy superstar, who first came into being in 1981, has the ability to take a room hostage just with his tongue. Hes the closest thing the Australian comedy scene has to its very own Bill Hicks. Topical, dangerous, irreverent hes the high priest of satire; unflappable and relentless. Every Austen show is unique. He has the ability to weave current politics, whats happening in the room, philosophy, anthropology, religion, sport (of course), and the Pope, all into one gag.

Tayshus is a man of controversy. There is no subject he wont dissect. Uncomfortable, confronting, but always illuminating, an Austen Tayshus show is both comic and cleansing. He doesnt need you to like him. In fact hed probably prefer it if you didnt.

Get the full COVID download Saturday at the Mullumbimby Ex-Services at 8pm. Sunday at the Byron Services at 5pm and Monday back at the Byron club at 8pm. All tix are $40 on mandynolan.com.au

Mullumbimby Ex-Services Club presents Aria Hall of Fame inductee, #1 selling artist, King of Pop, and Australian Icon: Russell Morris! Shooting to fame in the mid 60s with Somebodys Image, Russell had a string of hits including Hush and the Bob Dylan classic Baby Blue. In 1969 he and producer Molly Meldrum released The Real Thing, Australias only true psychedelic #1 hit and a song that is played regularly on commercial radio to this day. Following that, Russell penned breakthrough hits such as: Sweet Sweet Love, Wings of an Eagle, Rachel, Part 3 into Paper Walls, The Girl That I Love and many, many more.

In 2012 Russell released the Sharkmouth Album; a collection of tunes written about Australian historical characters. Sharkmouth reached #1 position on the iTunes Blues Charts; and #1 on the Australian Blues Radio Charts with Russell going on to win the 2013 ARIA award for Best Blues n Roots album.

In 2019 Russell released a new album produced by Nick DiDia and Bernard Fanning. After five decades on the road, an album can almost write itself. It might arrive in the space of a few months, fully formed in vision and texture in the mind of the vigilant creator. But it takes a rare combination of talent and circumstances to realise that vision as vividly as Black and Blue Heart.

Constantly in demand, Russell stills tours nationally throughout the year, as well as making appearances internationally.

Hes at the club for a one-off limited ticket show on Sunday 17 January at 4pm. Tickets $35 online http://www.mullumexservices.com.au/what-s-on

Are you a documentary lover? Do you find is truth often more fascinating than fiction? In these days of information overload and divisiveness, where people routinely use media not so much to stay informed as to reinforce their own point of view, documentaries are often essential viewing. They allow us to become informed and engaged with the beautiful and tragic in todays world, frequently focusing our attention on issues faced by other human beings that, in light of our shared humanity, we would be heartless to ignore.

Here are a few of the documentaries screening at the upcoming Bangalow Film Festival:

Winner of the 2020 Documentary Australia Foundation for Best Australian Documentary, Descent is thrilling, punishing, and beyond treacherous. Freediving in freezing water is not for the timid, but for Kiki Bosch, it was a life saver. Kiki dives into the worlds coldest waters on one breath, without a wetsuit. Shes plunged into Finlands frozen lakes, and under Greenlands icebergs. Her initiation into this sport began as a search for healing, following the debilitating trauma of a sexual assault. After discovering the immense release from ice freediving, Kiki has travelled far and wide, not only to push her own physical and psychological limits, but also to inspire others to harness the power of the cold. This unique documentary features stunning underwater footage shot by Australian underwater cinematographers Stefan Andrews, Spencer Frost, Peter Lightowler, and debut director, Nays Baghai.

Called a maverick, a miracle-worker, and a quack, Dr. Marty Goldstein is a pioneer of integrative veterinary medicine. By holistically treating animals after other vets have given up, Goldstein provides a last hope for pet owners with nothing left to lose.

The Dog Doc offers a thought-provoking look at alternatives for the animal healthcare industrys approach to medicine.

The Atlantics first feature documentary is the definitive inside story of the movement that has come to be known as the alt-right. With unprecedented access, White Noise tracks the rise of far-right nationalism by focusing on the lives of three of its main proponents: Mike Cernovich, a conspiracy theorist and sex blogger turned media entrepreneur; Lauren Southern, an anti-feminist, anti-immigration YouTube star; and Richard Spencer, a white-power ideologue.

Presented in partnership with Barefoot Law.

Charming 83-year-old Sergio Chamy is recruited as a mole agent by private eye Rmulo Aitken to investigate suspected abuse and theft in a Chilean nursing home. Intrigued by this opportunity to distract himself after losing his wife, Sergio embarks on an unlikely adventure armed with camera-embedded spy gizmos and clumsy code words. In a beguiling twist, Sergio begins to forge deepening connections with the residents and finds himself crowned king of the nursing home. Hailed as one of 2020s best films, Maite Alberdis spy-thriller documentary is an exquisite tale of humanitys desire for companionship, care and empathy, and a poignant reminder of the inevitability of ageing.

The Truffle Hunters follows a handful of men, between seventy and eighty years young, in Piedmont, Italy, on their search for the elusive Alba truffle. Theyre guided by a secret culture passed down through generations, as well as by the noses of their cherished and expertly trained dogs.

The documentary subtly explores the devastating effects of climate change and deforestation on an age-old tradition through a visually stunning narrative that celebrates life and exalts the human spirit.

Writer, visual artist, and pioneer of the Queer movement in Latin America, Pedro Lemebel shook up conservative Chilean society during Pinochets dictatorship in the 1980s. Body, blood and fire were protagonists in his work that he attempted to perpetuate in the last eight years of his life in a film he did not live to see finished. In an intimate and political journey through his risky performances dealing with homosexuality and human rights, Lemebel portrays a culmination of yearning toward immortality.

History Meets Patisserie. Documenting the collaboration between world renowned chef Yotam Ottolenghi (Plenty, Jerusalem) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this feature film follows five visionary pastry makers as they endeavour to construct an extravagant food gala based on the art exhibit Visitors to Versailles. Exploring the relationship between modern-day social media and the open court of the French Monarchy, the film studies the alarmingly cyclical intersection between food, culture, and history.

Full program and ticket sales available now at: http://www.bangalowfilmfestival.com.au

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week or maybe more we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

See the article here:
Entertainment in the Byron Shire for the week beginning 6 January, 2021 - Echonetdaily

In good news for the people, Israeli scientists have done revolutionary research that will help a person remain young, and he or she will be able to attain a body like that of a 25-year-old even at the age of 75 years. The elderly people on whom this experiment was done, their body has become like that of a 25-year-old. If this research is successfully done, then this will prove to be a boon not only for the elderly but also for every person in the world.

This research has been done by scientists of the Tel Aviv University of Israel and Shamir Medical Center. In this research, 35 elderly people above the age of 64 years were included. None of these elders had any serious health problems. These 35 people were given pure oxygen for five days, 90 minutes a week. For this, these elders used to be sent to a pressurized chamber and this process lasted for three months. But when its results came, it surprised the scientists all over the world.

Researchers claimed that after this experiment, not only these 35 elderly people stopped ageing, but their bodies at the level of healthy cells became equal to a youth of 25 years. That is, in just three months, scientists successfully carried out the process of Reverse Ageing. When a person starts looking younger than his present age, it is called Reverse Ageing. Scientists succeeded in stopping two age-enhancing processes in their experiments.

Its first effect appeared on the Chromosome. Chromosomes are made up of DNA present in the body and chromosomes contain the complete genetic information of any organism. The last end of these chromosomes is called Telomere. To put it simply, Telomere are exactly like the front and rear bumpers in your car whose job is to protect the chromosomes at the time of the collision. Chromosomes continuously increase their numbers and prepare their own copies.

During this time, Telomere does the job of protecting old and new chromosomes from a collision. But due to this repeated collision, Telomere starts to wear out and become shorter in length. But when they become very small in length, then the chromosomes cannot make their copies, due to which the formation of new cells stops. Cells either die or their growth stops and these dormant cells become the cause of old age and serious diseases.

But scientists, through their experiment, not only prevented the length of telomere to being reduced but also the number of inactive cells due to Oxygen Therapy started to decrease. This not only halted the age of the elderly involved in the research but the birth of new and refreshed efforts made their body as it is.

During this period, these elders were not given oxygen for 90 minutes continuously but this process was also stopped in between. The result of increasing and decreasing the amount of oxygen in the body was that this struggle started, the elders were made young again. However, scientists warn that people should not repeat this use of Oxygen Therapy in their homes, as it can also cause harm to your body.

This experiment has taken place in Israel and some time ago. The famous Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari wrote in his famous book Homo Dais that death for religious people may be a decision taken by God but for scientists death in the body is a technical Glitch. A technical flaw which stops the working of the whole system of the body. Harari says that scientists can correct this technical glitch in labs and death can be avoided. That is, humans can also be made immortal. In Latin language, Homo means man and Deus means deity. That is, the title of the book of Yuval Noah Harari also states that in the coming days man will not be less than any deity.

And now scientists are proving this to be true by performing miracles in Lab. But this is not the first attempt in this context, but humans have been making efforts for thousands of years to stop ageing and make themselves immortal.

Ayurveda is one such medical practice whose history is more than 5,000 years old. The method used to prevent age in Ayurveda is called Rasayana. For example, Chyawanprash is a chemical made from herbs. 5,000 years ago, King Gilgamesh of Egypt designed a complete age-stopping program based on China's medical practice.

Thousands of years ago, women in Greece also prevented their age from growing with honey and a special type of oil. About two thousand years ago there was a very famous queen in Egypt whose name was Cleopatra. It is said that she was very beautiful and she used to use donkey milk to maintain her beauty. One may find it strange but now this milk has started selling once again in the market and the price of a liter is between Rs 5-7 thousand per liter and it is used extensively in beauty products which are made to look beautiful.

In the 7th century, Chinese queen Wu Zetian used a medicine made from a special type of plant to keep her skin young. This plant is called Mother Wort Plant in English.

Israeli scientists gave pure oxygen to the elderly in a very controlled environment and this experiment was successful. But the famous singer and dancer of America Michael Jackson was not so lucky. He spent about seven and a half lakh rupees building an oxygen chamber in his house. Michael Jackson used to sleep in this chamber on the beach. It is said that he wanted to live for 150 years.

He did a lot of hard work for this, sometimes changed his complexion, sometimes changed the shape of his face by getting plastic surgery and sometimes tried to stop his age by eating a lot of medicines. It is claimed that Michael Jackson loved his life so much that he did not eat food until his teammates tasted it and decided that it did not contain poison. But despite all these, he died of a heart attack at the age of just 50.

Anti-Aging Products worldwide, the products that claim to stop your growing age, have a market of more than 3 lakh 88 thousand crores. The highest demand for such products is in countries like China, Australia, India and South Korea. The market of Anti-Aging Products in these countries alone will be more than 83 thousand crores by 2027.

American industrialist Bill Marris, who introduced Google Ventures, claimed a few years ago that thanks to science and technology, humans could live for at least 500 years.

In 2013, Calico, a company working in this direction, was founded. These companies are working with big pharmaceutical companies and medical institutes of the world on projects that are aimed at increasing the lifespan of humans. This company is working on a plan to increase the lifespan of humans with a funding of 19 thousand crores.

American inventor and industrialist Ray Kurzweil (Ray Karjvel) claims that by the year 2045 humans will be able to upload their brain into machines. That is, whether you are physically immortal or not, after 25 years from now your mind will definitely become immortal in digital form. That is, even after the body is over, it will be possible to store your memories and feelings forever.

According to research by America's Buck Institute for Research on Aging, it is possible to increase the lifespan of humans by 4 to 5 times. But the question is why people don't want to look old and why people want to stop their growing age and reverse it and is your body really old according to your age or is it something else.

To understand this, an experiment was conducted in New Zealand on 9,400 people for several decades. Those who were involved in this experiment were 26, 28 and 38 years of age. At the end of the research, it was found that the age and physical health of some people were running parallel to each other. But there were some people who were 28 years old but their body parts had become like 60 years old.

Psychologists believe that the desire to always look young is not in humans' minds from today but for thousands of years. A person's body starts growing old, but humans do not want to accept that their body is not as capable as before.

The second sense is of retirement. People do not want to retire, because by doing so, you lose everything you have earned so far. People want to keep their identity and fear of losing their identity does not allow them to believe that they are old now.

In order to explain how people feel happy after finding themselves young again, we found a video today. In this video, with the help of a Mobile Phone Application, an attempt was made to replace the face of elderly people with a young face. That is, these elders were taken back in time and were reminded of how these people looked in their youth.

But to live long, you do not need to depend on science only. If you want, you can start it by changing the way you live your life from today itself. For example, there is a village in China called Chemiyang. There are hundreds of people living in this village, whose age is more than a hundred. That is, these people have seen an entire century. During this time these two people became witnesses of World War two times. They faced many epidemics and witnessed civil wars. But still, hundreds of people in this village were successful in getting a long life. Take note of the reason behind this.

One reason is that the economy here is still based on agriculture and there are no industries around. The environment is clean and the people here work even at the age of 100 and this keeps their physical exercise. The food of these people is healthy, a good amount of fruits and vegetables are easily available here and the essential nutrients in the soil of this village are also abundant. Due to all these reasons, people here have had a long life. You can also give yourself a long life gift by incorporating exercise into your life, making your food healthy and staying away from contaminated air water.

Famous film director Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed a famous film in 1971 in which Rajesh Khanna, who plays Anand, says that Babu Moshay life should not be long. But most people want to make their life bigger, not just longer. Death is a matter of grief or happiness. Humans today need to understand this difference. It cannot be said when science will conquer death. But if you wish, you can overcome the fear of death today.

If death arises in front of any of us today will we be able to accept death happily? Can we tell ourselves what we have done so far, done it with utmost dedication, done with complete diligence and our death cannot take away our labour from us? There will probably be very few people in this world to say this.

Because most of the people spend all their life just storing--someone loves money, someone loves power, someone loves to store material things and this hobby makes people think about stopping immortality or age. Scientists can definitely do this by giving you some medicines. But this too is only to avoid death for a while. If you really want to be immortal, then you can make your life so memorable that even after you leave, the things and memories related to you will always be alive.

See the original post:
DNA exclusive: Human urge to reverse ageing can be traced to thousands of years ago - Zee News

The late Dr Edward Kigonya

He was a great teacher and mentor to many of his students, who will never forget his integrity and love for medicine.

CELEBRATING LIFE

Dr Edward Kigonya was born in 1941 to Joseph Wasswa Masanso and Angella Namusoke of Bugonzi, Masaka.

He attended Kibanda Primary School, St Henry's College Kitovu (for his O-Level and A- Level education).

He then joined Lovanium University in Kishansha (DRC), in 1962 to pursue his first degree in Medicine; and graduated from Makerere University with a Masters in Medicine in 1974.

He met his wife Dr Rosemary Nakasi Nsibirwa (RIP) at Makerere University and they were officially wed in 1973. He then went on to do a fellowship in Nephrology at Glasgow University in Scotland.

Dr Kigonya was a loving father to John, Peter, Edward, Simon, Kate, Angella, Rose and Maria and is fondly remembered by his grandchildren Joshua, Rachael, Jonathan, Oliver, Luca, Mathew, Rosie, Daudi Junior and Edward.

He was a very loving uncle to multitudes of his nieces and nephews who dearly loved and cared for him.

He was a great teacher and mentor to many of his students, who will never forget his integrity and love for medicine.

Dr Kigonya has had a very successful and long career as a medical practitioner in Uganda.

He served as Medical Superintendent of Mulago Hospital and a Senior Consultant Physician, also heading the department of Nephrology.

He was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of St Francis Hospital, Nsambya from 2001, co-founder of Kampala Hospital and lectured at many medical schools.

Together with his wife, Dr Rose Kigonya, they founded Nile Clinic, a general practice that had its home first in Najjanankumbi, then Nkrumah Road, and later on Kampala Road.

He has served as Board member on other organisations and made a great contribution in the field of medicine. He also served as the President of the African Medical Association.

He also represented the Medical workers to the Buganda Lukiiko in 2009.

Tributes from the family members

Susan Nsibirwa

Uncle Eddie was full of life, the heart of the party who always loved to have his family abnd friends around him.

Sunday afternoons in Mbuya were our normal. Easter celebrations, Christmas, Boxing Day, there was never a day that was not worth a celebration.

A true definition of what family is; the bonds that tie us, and make us enjoy each other's company.

He was proud of each of us, our achievements in life - and always introduced us to his guests with a tone of pride in his voice.

Before a meal, he always told us to give thanks, not to ask. It is hard not to think of him as our late Senga Rose's better half, the two doctors at Nile Clinic- a powerful tag team, whether at Mulago or in their personal space.

He had conquered so much, influenced so many, taught hundreds, only to slip away unnoticed on a quiet Monday night.

But we give thanks to God all the same!! How can we not celebrate our MTN Marathon running Uncle, a senior medical practitioner, a father, grandfather, uncle, friend!! Sunday afternoons will be hardly the sane. Indeed family celebrations will never be the same. Rest in peace, Uncle Eddie.

Margaret Nakkato Nsibirwa

Uncle Eddy will be truly missed and fondly remembered for his smile. Whenever he shared his many stories, he always had this contagious smile.

Uncle Eddie loved his relatives, and enjoyed entertaining all of us.

Uncle would always tell me, "Nakato, you should have been in marketing." He probably saw something that I did not see of myself.

He was a story teller. We all looked forward to listening to his stories. We shall miss him. May he rest in peace.

Dr Ssentamu Timothy, Orthopedic Surgeon

Dear Uncle, from rags you picked me, at a tender age of 13, when I lost my dad and everything turned dark.

You told me not to worry and you stepped into my life. You took me to the best schools in the country and took care of every aspect of my life, together with my seven siblings.

Even when you didn't have enough for yourself, you made sure we had everything we needed.

Yet we are just a small number out of the multitudes whose lives you touched socially, morally and professionally.

The Lord has chosen to take you at a time when we needed to celebrate these successes. The world mourns you, but I chose to celebrate you, Uncle.

We miss you dearly, but I know you are in a better place because you served the will of the Most High God.

Angella Kigonya Muwanguzi

If there is one thing we knew about Daddy, it is that he enjoyed his life; even the simplest of things were an opportunity for him to celebrate and have a good time.

This is why he always had people over on Sunday. To us his children, we will always treasure the love, the sacrifice, and the care that daddy showed us unconditionally.

We are comforted by the truth that daddy lived a beautiful life, he did what he loved and he was admired and loved by many.

He was very generous and compassionate. His legacy will live on through us. We love you forever daddy.

Kasalina, Simon, Maria and Rose Kigonya

Daddy was an amazing man. He lived a life of love, dedication, commitment, devotion to those he loved, those he knew and all who came to know him.

And that is exactly what we want this to be. A celebration of an amazing man.

"And which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (Timothy 1:10).

And so we celebrate a legacy of a life well lived; a legacy of devotion to all he knew.

Dad worked in Mulago together with our mom for practically all their lives.

They could have taken up lots of opportunities to work abroad but they desired to serve their country and serve it they did.

We haven't met a single doctor who didn't tell us they were either taught by our father, or they were impacted by him in one way or another.

He loved people, loved to be around people. He loved to celebrate them in all their accomplishments in life and he loved to support them as they made their way in life.

Dad loved his children, both biological and non-biological. He sacrificed everything for them.

We celebrate an amazing man, a legacy of devotion, commitment, love, joy.

The Hon Maria Kiwanuka

Uncle Kigonya was fun for everybody, the teens in particular. You would go to his residence in Nakasero and find in his seating room dozens of his students.

The students would pretend to be visiting him, but actually, their true intention is to drink beer.

I remember one occasion when Deborah Lule declined to eat Matooke because of ulcers and uncle told him, "Sorry, but good enough, the ulcers don't prevent you from taking a beer."

Uncle was always very happy whenever he saw us achieving. We are going to miss him a lot.

The Hon Rhoda Kalema

Our brother in-law, Dr Kigonya loved our sister in a way that is beyond human understanding.

He also extended his love to all of us his in-laws. He also always gave special attention to his children. I appeal to our children to remain united.

The rest is here:
Fare Thee Well, Dr Edward Kigonya - New Vision

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford are defending the results and methods used in their phase three vaccine trials on the back of criticism from experts in the U.S., stressing the "highest standards" were used and that "additional analysis will be conducted."

AstraZeneca shares are down by around 6% this week after questions were raised over its vaccine candidate, for which the company said combined results revealed it to be 70% effective. The figure came from combining a smaller group of people who received an unintentionally lower dose of the vaccine and by what a company spokesperson has called "serendipity" produced 90% effectiveness, and a larger group who received a higher dosage, showing only 62% effectiveness.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, confirmed to Bloomberg on Thursday the British pharmaceutical giant was likely to run an additional global trial to evaluate the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine.

Chief of the White House's Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, and others in the U.S. have expressed concern over the age group tested, saying 90% efficacy was only shown for the lowest risk group, which numbered 2,741 people below the age of 55. The group whose results displayed 62% effectiveness numbered 8,895.

AstraZeneca pushed back against the criticism, emphasizing monitoring of the study by the external Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) and the fact that the data released Monday constituted mere interim results and that more data would follow.

"The studies were conducted to the highest standards," a spokesperson for AstraZeneca told CNBC on Thursday. "An independent DSMB safety monitoring committee oversees the studies to ensure safety and quality. The DSMB determined that the analysis met its primary endpoint showing protection from COVID-19 occurring 14 days or more after receiving two doses of the vaccine."

"More data will continue to accumulate and additional analysis will be conducted refining the efficacy reading and establishing the duration of protection," the spokesperson said.

AstraZeneca announces its vaccine efficacy rate, CDC group meets to discuss distribution

Click to expand

UP NEXT

The University of Oxford, for its part, explained the discrepancy between dosage allotments. It said an initial over-estimation of the dose of the new vaccine batches had resulted "in a half dose of the vaccine being administered as the first dose" due to a "difference in the manufacturing process."

"The methods for measuring the concentration are now established and we can ensure that all batches of vaccine are now equivalent," it added.

Particularly harsh criticism came from U.S.-based health care and biotech investment bank SVB Leerink, whose analysts wrote Monday: "We believe that this product will never be licensed in the U.S."

"This belief is based on the design of the company's pivotal trials which does not appear to match the FDA's requirements for representation of minorities, severe cases, previously infected individuals and elderly and other increase risk populations," the analysis said.

In response, a spokesperson at AstraZeneca stressed the results were interim and that more data was to be accumulated and more analysis to be carried out.

Defenders of the trials have pointed out that the criticism seems to come primarily from within the U.S., home of the only other Western vaccine candidates to announce higher effectiveness in their vaccine test results: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, who earlier this month announced their vaccines showed as much as 95% effectiveness.

John LaMattina, a former president of Pfizer Global R&D, tweeted on Tuesday: "Hard to believe that the FDA will issue an EUA for a vaccine whose optimal dose has only been given to 2,300 people. More data for this dosing regiment will be needed." Slaoui was previously on the board at Moderna and also worked at GlaxoSmithKline.

Outside of the U.S., the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine garnered praise, particularly for its relative ease of manufacturing and transport and its low cost compared to potential competitors. The vaccine would sell at between $3 and $5 per dose while those of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna would go for $20 per dose and $32 to $37 per dose, respectively.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate, as an mRNA vaccine, also requires extremely cold storage temperatures of negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit and special transport equipment. The Moderna vaccine can be stored for up to six months at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

The developing world could use AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, says Johns Hopkins doctor

Click to expand

UP NEXT

The Oxford-Astrazeneca results "are very positive results when we recall that the hurdle for a good enough vaccine was set at 50-60%, in line with the flu virus," Dr. Gillies O'Bryan-Tear, policy chair at the U.K.-based Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, said Monday.

"The great advantage of this Oxford vaccine over the mRNA vaccines is that it can be manufactured easily and transported at ordinary fridge (not freezer) temperatures, so can be transported and stored using the existing vaccine cold chain infrastructure. The group has promised to provide the vaccine not-for-profit to developing nations."

AstraZeneca has said its vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (36-46 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least six months and administered within existing health-care settings. It has also pledged to distribute the vaccine at no profit "for the duration of the pandemic."

CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

Continue reading here:
AstraZeneca and Oxford defend Covid vaccine trials after questions raised in the US - msnNOW

When the New York Times and CNN recently referred to the staged town hall spectacles of Biden and Trump as dueling events, they inadvertently revealed the truth that U.S. presidential elections are Americas favorite movie and that the corporate media is in the entertainment business.

While it is ludicrous to imagine these tottering actors crossing swords in tights, their skirmishes in suits and ties are good for a few laughs, if you have the stomach to watch them. Only people who still believe in professional wrestling would think these clowns dont work for the same bosses the Umbrella People, aka the power elites, the national security state, etc., who own the country and choose their stooges to represent their interests in the White House.

I much prefer Mel Brooks, a genuinely funny guy.

The columnist Russell Baker once said the purpose of such political entertainment is to provide a manageably small cast for a national sitcom, or soap opera, or docudrama, making it easy for media people to persuade themselves they are covering the news while mostly just entertaining us.

As for debates and town hall farces in television prime time, the witty Baker said that the charm of television entertainment is its ability to bridge the chasm between dinner and bedtime without mental distraction.

Now lets proceed to the dark side, where the sardonic screams of laughter dissolve into tears.

For such entertainment serves a devious distracting purpose: to conceal the nature of social evil and the driving forces behind American politics today. It is not particularly complicated unless the syllogism All cats die/Socrates is dead/ therefore Socrates is a cat rings true.

Then its an impossible conundrum.

We are not cats or Socrates, as far as I know. But like them, we will also die. Everyone knows this, but the thought of death is not particularly have-a-nice-dayish, so people deny it as much as possible in a host of ways. Most people prefer life over death, and when death does approach and can no longer be denied, most hope for immortality in some way, shape, or form.

Yes, there are those who assert this isnt true for them, and there is no reason to doubt their sincerity. There are philosophical arguments to support their position, such as that of the Roman poet Lucretius in his famous poem De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). But I would maintain with the great psychoanalyst Rollo May that all such naturalistic efforts, including Lucretiuss, to explain away human anxiety rooted in death, founder on the human emotions of pity, grief, love, and loneliness. Rational explanations take us only so far. In their efforts to deny the human condition and dismiss the spiritual dimension, the irrational, and the daimonic, they open the door to madness, as is happening today with the push by the worlds economic elite to convince people that they are machines and that their machine dreams will conquer death.

For those who love life, it seems axiomatic to me that some form of perpetuation and redemption of an individuals life in the face and fear of death is widely desired. This can take many forms: a literal afterlife, fame, heirs, monuments, money, children, etc. History is quite clear that people have always sought some way of transcending their physical fates.

This was aptly noted by Graham Greene, the English novelist, when, as an old man approaching death, he was asked if he was disappointed at not receiving the Nobel Prize, and he said no, since he was hoping for a greater prize.

In his important book, The Denial of Death (Pulitzer Prize 1974 for general non-fiction), the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, puts it succinctly:

Man is literally split in two: he has an awareness of his own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature with a towering majesty, and yet goes back into the ground a few feet in order blindly and dumbly to rot and disappear forever.

Faced with such an impossible situation, then, overwhelmed from childhood with a sense of ones own ultimate physical powerlessness but being symbolic creatures as well as physical ones, the normal person learns to repress the terror of death by building various defenses that allow one to believe that he ultimately controls his death. Ones natural impotence is then hidden within the vital lie of character; one lives within the manageable social world that helps one blot out existential awareness by offering various social games and cultural symbols, agreed forms of madness that narcotize the fear. One learns to adjust. The aim is to cut life down to manageable proportions, domesticate terror, and trust in the cultural and social authorities for protection and reassurance. Obedience is key.

Listen to Big Daddy and he will rescue you , especially when he first tells you that Mr. Pumpkin Head is coming to get you unless you run into his protective embrace.

These days, its Halloween all year round in the land of the free and the home of the brave where the fear of death is handed out like poisoned candy and Big Daddy waits at the door disguised as everyones benevolent grandfather. To be treated, you must be masked. That is his trick. Stay well, he mutters, after he drops a dollop of sweet fear into your bag and cackles behind his face.

Everywhere you look these days, people are doubly masked. The paper kind and by definition, since the the word person, being derived from the Latin, persona, means mask, while there is another Latin word, larva, that also means mask or ghost or evil spirit. Clearly there is a dance contest underway, a danse macabre. And who will win nobody knows.

Every conflict over truth, wrote the psychoanalyst Otto Rank, is in the last analysis just the same old struggle over immortality.

This is exactly what is going on now with the fierce disagreements over Covid-19.

Like the attacks of September 11, 2001, the anthrax attacks, the ginning up of terrorism fear with Homeland Securitys color-coded warning system, the lies about weapons of mass-destruction, and the coronavirus early warning systems, people have adopted positions upon which they stake their psychological lives. To admit you were snookered is a little death that is hard to swallow.

We are being subjected to mind-control on a vast scale, the continual pumping up of the fear of death to control the population. Americans have been living in an atmosphere of dread for almost twenty years. Its so old and so obvious but cuts so deep it works like a charm. You dont want to die, do you, so come here into Big Daddys arms.

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell writes that The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. It is a famous quote that is not true when taken out of context. The Umbrella People and their lackeys dont seek power entirely for its own sake. They have a larger agenda: immortality.

If one reads Orwell carefully, one comes upon a key passage that clarifies the previous quote. The evil OBrien, the torturer and member of the Inner Party who poses as a member of the resistance to Big Brother (sound familiar?), asks his victim Winston Smith to reverse the slogan from Freedom is Slavery to Slavery is Freedom:

Alone free the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is destined to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he is the Party, then he will be all-powerful and immortal. The second thing for you to realize is that power is power over human beings. Over the body but, above all, over the mind. Power over matter external reality as you would call it is not important. Already our control over matter is absolute.

All power is fundamentally power to deny mortality. This is true whether it is the power of the state or church. And it is always sacred power.

Many often ask why do the super-rich and powerful always want more. Its simple. They wish to transcend their pre-existing human mortality and become gods immortals. They stupidly believe that if they can lord it over others, kill, dominate, achieve status, become billionaires, presidents, magnates, celebrities, etc., they will somehow live in some weird forever.

In a process that has spanned at least a hundred and fifty years or so, our traditional cultural/religious symbol systems have been radically undermined, most momentously by the Faustian creation of Lord Nuke. All forms of symbolic immortality (theological, biological, creative, natural, and experiential) that formerly provided a sense of continuity have been severely threatened. This is the haunting specter lurking in the background of life today.

What is death? How to defeat or transcend it? How to affirm life in the face of death?

One paradoxical way that political leaders do this is by killing. Followers who accede to such killing join their leaders, not simply to see others dead, but to acquire power over death itself to kill their own deaths. It is perverse, of course, and is summed up in the saying to love the bomb joyously, to experience the nightmare of oblivion as ecstasy. Isnt this what the philosophy of voting for the lesser of two evil is about? At least he will be our killer. Our evil killer, but not as bad as yours. You lose.

I have read that there is a painting still visible at the entrance to a house in ruined Pompeii that tells us much about power and wealth. It perfectly symbolizes the meaning of the economic gap between the super-rich e.g. those behind the World Economic Forum, the CIA, the presidential candidates, the corporate media and the rest of us. It pictures a man weighing his penis on a scale of gold coins. Gold, God, wealth, and power. Its an old story.

Today, however, there is a difference, for the spirit of nihilism has grown as belief in the spiritual dimension and God has diminished dramatically. Money or gold, wealth in all its forms, is todays foremost immortality symbol, a sign that one is powerful and can conquer death. What else are Trumps gold-emblazoned Tower and hair, and Bidens boastfully admitted threat to withhold one billion dollars from Ukraine unless they fire the prosecutor investigating his son, Hunter. The greasing of palms, bribery, tax theft, etc. par for the course in a corrupt society run by thieves and criminals.

Becker says of this wealth obsession:

The only hint we get of the cultural repression seeping through is that even dedicated financiers wash their hands after handling money. The victory over death is a fantasy that cannot be fully believed in; money doesnt entirely banish feces [decay and death that is of course defeated with toilet paper as Covid-19 has proven], and so the threat of germs and vulnerability in the very process of securing immortality.

Pseudo immortality.

Enter Covid-19. Like the attacks of September 11, 2001, it is death writ large. An insidious terrorist threat. Invisible, sneaky, ready to pounce. Fear and trembling. So-called surprise attacks that were preceded by simulations and live drills. Numerous parallels, too many to mention. Lets not. Have a nice day! Stay safe!

So what do the super-rich controllers want now? What are the World Economic Forums Claus Schwab, Google and the Defense Departments Eric Schmidt, Bill Gates, Ray Kurzweil of Google and The Singularity, et al. pushing now that Covid-19 has so many cowering in fear?

These people have realized that the thing that their money and power must do is to create a world where trans-humanism must triumph and people of flesh and blood must be induced and forced to become the machines they have been told they are. If you doubt this is underway, research the World Economic Forums agenda, see what the Great Reset is about, the Build Back Better slogans, the massive push to create on-line existence for everyone, etc. As a recent ad I saw says: The world is going digital.

The goal of these mad technocratic elites is to create a fabricated reality where the visible world becomes nearly meaningless once the screen world becomes peoples window on the world. An electronic nothingness to replace reality as people in the industrialized countries gleefully embrace digital wraparound apparitions and the poor and vulnerable of this world suffer and die out of sight and out of mind. It is the fundamental seismic shift of our era and perhaps the greatest propaganda operation ever undertaken. A sort of end-times desperate gambit.

And it just so happens to revolve around the use of death fear to accomplish its goals.

But for the elites, there will be no death. For having realized that their stolen wealth and power can only take them so far, and they too will become food for worms, they have commandeered science and medicine to undertake their immortality projects. If medicine fails to find for them the secret of immortality, then computer science and Artificial Intelligence will, and they will be uploaded into computers and live forever in their beloved cyberspace. Digital immortality is not a joke for these people see Kurzweils (the director of engineering at Google) The Singularity, etc. for they are actually insane but hold key positions throughout the computer and biotechnology industries. Check where the super rich invest their money to confirm this. None of it is secret.

Having heeded Russell Bakers words about television offering no mental distraction between dinner and bedtime, I took to my crib early, knowing Tweedledee and Tweedledum would be dueling again, this time in what they humorously called a debate. I was surrounded by my stuffed animals that protected me and I slept safe and sound.

Upon awakening, I read that the gladiators had exchanged blows but that both were left standing for the big showdown on November 3. I also noticed that each had used the words dark winter in reference to Covid-19. Biden said one was coming and Trump said he didnt know.

Neither, of course, spoke of the Dark Winter Exercise, a senior level war game conducted on June 22-23, 2001, about a biological attack, a smallpox outbreak, the public health response, the lack of vaccines, the need for quarantine and isolation, the restriction of civil liberties, and the role of the Defense Department and the military in the response. Nor did they speak of anthrax attacks, but the Canadian researcher, Graeme MacQueen, will here fill you in on both, in case you dont know. Maybe the boys just forgot.

I am sure they didnt talk about the elements of Trumps Operation Warp Speed, but if you wish to understand how we are being gamed, Whitney Webb will tell you here.

Was there any mention of the Russians? I havent heard. They are always a kind of a solution. As my friend Joe Green has said:

All dissenting opinions are Russian. I think Socrates said that. Im paraphrasing.

Maybe many are still Waiting for the Barbarians.

This article was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2020 at 10:20am and is filed under General, Opinion.

Go here to read the rest:
Death, Money, and the Dueling Frauds: Trump and Biden - Dissident Voice

GlobeNewswire

The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8. 4% during 2020-2027. The drug modelling software market is growing primarily due to increasing adoption of in-silico modelling tools in drug discovery and rising economic burden of drug discovery in North America.New York, Oct. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "North America Drug Modelling Software Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis By roduct Type ; Application, and Country" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05978895/?utm_source=GNW Additionally, growing adoption of artificial intelligence in drug discovery and strategic activities by market players are likely to fuel the growth of the drug modelling software market during the forecast period. However, factors such as lack of data standardization are likely to restrain the growth of the market. Drug modelling has become an essential tool in the drug design process.Software-based drug discovery and development methods are playing a key role in the development of novel drugs. Software-based methods, such structure-based virtual screening, structure-based drug design, as molecular modelling, ligand interaction, and molecular dynamics, are considered to be a powerful tool for investigation of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of drugs.These methods are fast and accurate. They provide valuable insights of experimental findings and mechanisms of action. In addition, appropriate implementation of these techniques may help in reducing cost of drug designing and development. Traditional drug discovery and development method is capital-intensive and time-consuming.Moreover, it has high failure rates. It involves experimental screening of existing libraries of molecules followed by many rounds of chemical synthesis.The process of drug development, from the discovery of a lead compound to its commercial launch, is estimated to take around 10-15 years along with the investment of a huge amount of money. As per the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the average cost to research and develop a successful drug is estimated to be US$ 2.6 billion. Moreover, only a small proportion of leads that are selected for further investigation during the initial stages of research are translated into clinical research studies. Over a period, the complexities of drug discovery have increased owing to the increasing size of biologics. As a result, there has been a direct rise in R&D expenditure in the pharmaceutical sector. As per the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, in 2017, biopharmaceutical companies sponsored more than 4,500 clinical trials in the US. These trials accounted for approximately US$ 43 billion; moreover, in 2017, biopharmaceutical companies in the US invested around US$ 97 billion in R&D. At present, the pharmaceutical industry is under tremendous pressure to cope with rising capital requirements in drug discovery research and avoid losses due to drug failure. In the past few years, several computational tools have been developed for the identification, selection, and optimization of pharmacological lead candidates.Currently, there are several computational approaches available for the drug discovery process. The predictive power of these tools has been proven to be very advantageous, allowing researchers to bypass the screening of billions of molecules.As a result, computational services, such as quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR), modelling, and computer-aided drug design (CADD), have now become an integral part of the pharmaceutical industry. Moreover, pharmaceutical companies that are focused on the development of large molecules are likely to continue outsourcing their respective drug discovery and development operations from drug modelling providers. Drugs are essential to curb COVID-19; more than 206,000 people have tragically died from the disease. In the U.S., to give the drug modelling technology a push, ImmunityBio and Microsoft collaborated to support for the research. Supporting COVID-19 vaccine and drug development is the main aim of ImmunityBios collaboration with Microsoft to leverage the latters Azure platform to create a 3D model of SARS-CoV-2s spike protein. Additionally, Research projects and innovations related to COVID-19 have ramped up quickly across the University of Michigan, spurred by doctors, public health experts, scientists, economists, and engineers; and encouraged by research leaders. With the emerging outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the drug modelling market is likely to be positively impacted. In 2019, the software segment based on product type accounted for the highest share of the market.Also, the same segment is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Growth of this segment can be attributed to rise in demand for effective therapeutics and increase in drug discovery efforts of various biologics across a wide range of therapeutics. In addition, strategic activities by service providers, such as collaborations, product advancement, and product launch, in order to accelerate drug discovery timeline are further accelerating the growth of the market. A few of the major secondary sources associated with the North America drug modelling software market report include World Health Organization (WHO), OECD Health Statistics 2015, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05978895/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001

Excerpt from:
Watch 'Fantasy Football Live' for last-minute Week 7 news and sit-start advice - Yahoo Finance Australia

Best Comic of the Week:

Alienated #5 Ive been impressed with this book from the beginning, but I feel like Simon Spurrier and Chris Wildgoose continue to level up with each new issue, especially this one. We are getting close to the end of this series, which is about three teenagers who end up being psychically connected to one another through an alien entity they find in the woods. Samir and Samantha have both used the alien to help explore their lingering anger at family or ex-boyfriends, but now Sam has taken control of Chip, and his anger knows no bounds. This series has been a really good exploration of the minds of young people, and while the other two move towards a better understanding of their place in the world, and their responsibility to it, its Sam, the untrusting wounded white cis male who needs to take things too far. Theres a subtlety to this that I really appreciate, and I highly recommend this book.

Empyre #5 This issue, unlike some previous ones, is pretty action filled. We learn why Teddy is acting so strangely, and get to see the Black Panther make a heroic stand against the Cotati in Wakanda (so does Wakanda need to get trashed in every third event for a reason now?). Al Ewing strikes a better balance between action and character moments (showing us Teddy and Billys wedding), while Valerio Schiti continues to make this book impressive, visually. I dont see Empyre ever being included as a classic event, but its recovering from some early lost ground.

Empyre: X-Men #3 Maybe its the three writers, or that a group of psychic X-Men that are brought to the fight on Genosha appear and disappear at random, or that Nightcrawler apparently can teleport halfway around the globe now, but this issue lost me a few times. I still dont entirely understand what the Cotati are doing on Genosha, what the mutant zombies are around for, or what role Hordeculture are supposed to play in this story. I think the biggest issue is that, at three issues in, weve now had 7 or 8 writers telling what is supposed to be a single story, in a big event version of that game people play where each one contributes the next sentence to a tale. It never works out.

Excellence #9 I love this series, but I found I got a little confused in a few spots with this issue. Spencer perhaps overplays his hand in trying to find some information in the Aegiss library, but what he does find is kind of shocking and further ratchets up the tension in this series. Brandon Thomas and Khary Randolph are doing the best work of their careers on this book, but it cant be read casually.

Immortal Hulk #36 The Leader stirs the pot quite a bit when Gamma Flight comes to take the Hulk in, but Jackie, the reporter, feels that she has a better way of solving things without escalating to more violence. Al Ewings run on this series feels very timely, and continues to be the most interesting take on the Hulk weve seen in a very long time.

Marauders #11 Its time to finally resolve whats been happening with Kate Pryde, and her inability to be resurrected in this issue, and Lockheed finally makes his way home. This is a solid issue, but its a little decompressed, and with the massive gap between issues, it was a little difficult to remember all thats been going on. I dont know if its necessary to start labelling all the X-books with the Path to X of Swords labels

Oblivion Song #26 The Kuthaal prepare to invade the Earth, and that gives Dakuul more opportunities to be brutal. Much of this issue focuses on the Kuthaal, and its only in the last few pages that we get to see Nate at all. Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici are in the process of switching things up on this book, and taking the excitement to a new level. I really love this title, which is unpredictable and very cool looking.

Star Wars: Darth Vader #4 Vader is on a hunt to discover how Padm hid Lukes existence from him, and that has taken him to Naboo, where he keeps coming across all the people that knew her in her life, which at this point is at least eighteen years prior. I keep waiting for someone to raise how weird and inappropriate Anikin and Padms relationship was, given that she was at least ten years older than him and knew him when he was a child, but it doesnt come up, Instead, we see some great scenes of Vader fighting monsters and decent people. Rafaelle Iencos art makes this series a must-buy.

Undone by Blood or The Shadow of a Wanted Man #5 Im really happy to see that this title will be returning in the future, with a new alternate title, and will continue to draw a parallel between the gunslinger novel featured in the story and the more contemporary main story. This series, by Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, and Sami Kivel, has a Stray Bullets vibe to it (man, I miss that series), and that doesnt shy away from some pretty dark places. This arc ends with the girl finally confronting her familys killers, although it doesnt seem like the retribution shes been seeking provides her with any real sense of closure. Ive been increasingly impressed with Aftershocks lineup this year, and look forward to more Thompson/Nadler work from them.

Vampirella #12 One of the cooler things about Christopher Priests run with Vampirella has been his use of a cranky psychiatrist, Dr. Chary, as a POV character and frame for the story. In this issue, as he digs a little more into Vampirellas mother, Liliths, history, he becomes a part of the story. I still have no idea if Priest is staying faithful to previous runs with this character, or if this is a massive reboot for her, but I dont really care, as I find this run to be fantastic.

X-Force #11 The citizens of Krakoa are still dealing with some of the fallout of the first attack that X-Force had to fight off, as the genetically modified soldiers that attacked them are basically Trojan Horses for another threat. Mixed into this is Colossuss reluctance to continue fighting all the time. I like Peter a lot, and its nice to see him get some use. One of my complaints about all of the Dawn of X books is that they dont leave enough space for character moments and work. Everyones so secure in their immortality, that its only the former villains who have any reason to grow as people (this is not just this title, but its something I was thinking about as we saw a few more main and secondary characters go down once again).

Amazing Spider-Man #46

Detective Comics #1025

Dr. Strange: Surgeon Supreme #2-4 It feels like Mark Waid got the mix right with this newest Dr. Strange series, abandoning his outer space adventures for a focus on Stephen reentering medicine, and having to juggle his duties to his patients with his mystical duties. Kev Walker is just the right artist for the stories that Waid has chosen to tell, as he has Strange battling a demon that uses tattoos to eat the souls of people, and has Doctor Druid scrubbing in to assist with a demonic suicide bomb. Its a very cool take on Strange.

Keleketla! Keleketla! Ninja Tune founders Coldcut travelled to South Africa to record this album with a variety of musicians and vocalists, and then added additional music from the London jazz scene and horns from New Yorkers Antibalas. The result is a very lush album full of beats and polyrhythms that reminds me a little of the late 90s fashion for globalized electronic music. Parts of this album sound like vintage Trans-Global Underground, but it comes off as fresh, new, and as impressive as its list of contributors.

Derrick Hodge Color of Noize Derrick Hodge first came to my attention as Robert Glaspers bass player, and while Glasper doesnt appear on this album, his influence is everywhere. This is a very nice, chill album.

GoGo Penguin GoGo Penguin This British trio deliver once again with their signature spaced out approach to beat-oriented jazz. This is a great album to disappear into.

Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Roy Ayers Jazz is Dead 002 I love the Jazz is Dead series, which has Midnight Hour and Luke Cage soundtrack stars Younge and Muhammad collaborating with jazz greats. On this one, they work with vibraphonist Roy Ayers to produce some beautiful vibes.

Tags: The Weekly Round-Up

Visit link:
The Weekly Round-Up #558 With Alienated #5, Empyre #5, Undone By Blood Or The Shadow Of A Wanted Man #5 & More Plus The Week In Music! - Inside...

Netflix kicks back with another international action thriller, The Old Guard, which you likely thought would resemble its previous Hemsworth-athon, Extraction, but realized was actually closer to The Expendables meets Interview with the Vampire. Confusing genre. Still some pretty decent action. (Can we get a Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth movie now, please? Our fight money is on Theron.)

The Old Guard, based on the graphic novel written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Leandro Fernandez, follows a group of immortal soldiers who heal Wolverine-style (though its unclear how they overcome explosions or missing limbs; do they, like, grow them back?). The power arrives randomly during an individuals life and also disappears randomly, or when the plot calls for it. The disappearance is supposed to mean something, but seems to only mean someone is getting ... old.

Age becomes, then, a salient talking point throughout the film. We learn that two characters were vampire bittener, we mean, immortalizedsometime during the Crusades (so, anywhere between 1095 and 1492, though likely closer to the First Crusades). Another character became immortalized in the 19th century. And then theres Andy, also referred to as Andromache of Scythia.

Andy is the oldest known soldier. She doesnt remember exactly when she first realized her immortality, which seems odd.

The Old Guard Book One: Opening Fire

$15.18

(Other questions Does time move slower for Andy since shes so old? Does her brain stay its age forever, and if so wouldnt she also be super smart and not just good at killing? And if you are super smart, why keep killing if all you want is to better humanity? Couldn't you learn everything there is to know about medicine and just, like, do experiments for hundreds of years? Also, why abandon Quynh when you have literally centuries to find her, and those Spanish ships couldnt have gone THAT far out to sea? And can you really drown forever if your lungs are still full of water? Wouldnt you just stay asleep?) We digress

The hint is in that word "Scythia," which Copley mentions toward the end of the film. The word also appears during the bulletin board credits.

Scythia was a nomadic empire located across much or Eurasia in what is now Ukraine, Russia, and Crimea. Like the Mongols, the Scythians were revered for their horse-riding and warring. Historians trace the Scythians as far back as the 8th century BCE. That would be almost 3,000 years ago, making Andy very old. The empire collapsed at the hands of the Sarmatians before 200 CE.

Theron's Andy is, therefore, anywhere from 3,000 to about 1,800 years old.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

This commenting section is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page. You may be able to find more information on their web site.

Read the original here:
How Old Is Andy in The Old Guard? - Charlize Theron Character Age - Men's Health