Category Archives: Immortality Medicine

Forty years ago, on October 30, 1974, two American heavyweights slugged it out in Zaire - today's Democratic Republic of Congo in a historic boxing match.

The Rumble in the Jungle, as the fight was advertised in the U.S. and abroad, matched former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali against the reigning champ, George Foreman. Ali knocked Foreman out to regain the crown, which he had lost seven years earlier when the U.S. government accused him of draft-dodging and boxing officials revoked his license.

Ali had traveled a long road to reach this point. After a three-and-a-half-year exile from boxing, he was reinstated in 1970. But he lost a heavyweight title fight in 1971 to Joe Frazier, who later succumbed to Foreman.

American sportswriter Jerry Izenberg said the impact of Alis victory in Zaire may be the greatest ever for a heavyweight bout. Alis legacy as a fighter, he said, would have been different had he lost.

It was a fairy tale," Izenberg said. "This guy was chasing a golden fleece and when he finally got within inches of it, someone else held the golden fleece. Frazier was out. It was fits and starts. It was like a morality play.

Ali made news not only by winning the fight, but also in the days leading up to it. Training in Zaire, he tried to endear himself to the country's people. He jogged with fans and spoke to the crowds, and he painted Foreman as the bad guy.

'Ali Bomaye'

Zaire was a Belgian colony before gaining independence in 1960. Knowing that Zaireans disliked Belgians, Ali told the media that the Texas-born Foreman was actually Belgian. Fans started chanting Ali Bomaye, or Ali, kill him!"

So Ali got off the plane, puts his hands in the air and he yells, `I hereby declare George a Belgian," Izenberg said.

"Well, the place went nuts," he added. "Beyond that, then that chant started, and they asked the interpreter what that meant and he said it meant `Ali, kill him. For the rest of the time that he was there, he was leading those chants all over town and all over the compound that we lived in.

Read more:
'Rumble in the Jungle' Turns 40

Man is probably the only animal who consciously knows he has to die.

Death happens to all living things. Nothing eschew from this phenomenon. Man could postpone, but ultimately must succumb to it. God gave no exceptions.

We can define death in myriad ways, yet none seems definite. It can mean differently from different individuals, epochs and cultures. Since time immemorial, the idea of death has posed eternal mystery, becoming the core of our religious, philosophical and scientific systems of thoughts.

We can perhaps deduce death into two traditional assumptions: continuity into the beyond that could be from heaven to hell into another state or being lead to eternity; or, simply the final exit toward nothingness.

Belief

Death has various schools of thoughts. In both primitive and sophisticate societies, death equates to a variety of beliefs from divine to the supernatural and to fictive-ephemeral statetoward a significant existence to another, or again, simply a final exit

Modern statistic however shows that humans rarely die because of old age per se. Death invariably follows some ailments, accident, shock or strain which the body is unable to overcome. Not very many die naturally.

The traditional definition of death by Blacks Law Dictionary was simple, stoppage of the circulation of the blood, and a cessation of the animal and vital function consequent thereupon, such as respiration and pulsation.

Death simply means the stoppage of breathing and heartbeat. Experts called this the clinical death; when one loses breath and heartbeat, one is dead and simply buriedseems like a mere biological event, a mere disintegration of organic into inorganic matter. Circulatory death is its current name.

Changing concept

Read the original post:
Death: Only Lazarus can refute

Forty years ago, on Oct. 30, 1974, two American heavyweights slugged it out in Zaire - today's Democratic Republic of Congo - in a historic boxing match. The Rumble in the Jungle, as the fight was advertised in the U.S. and abroad, matched former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali against the reigning champ, George Foreman. Ali knocked Foreman out to regain the crown, which he had lost seven years earlier when the U.S. government accused him of draft-dodging and boxing officials revoked his license.

Ali had traveled a long road to reach this point. After a three-and-a-half-year exile from boxing, he was reinstated in 1970. But he lost a heavyweight title fight in 1971 to Joe Frazier, who later succumbed to Foreman.

American sportswriter Jerry Izenberg said the impact of Alis victory in Zaire may be the greatest ever for a heavyweight bout. Alis legacy as a fighter, he said, would have been different had he lost.

It was a fairy tale," Izenberg said. "This guy was chasing a golden fleece and when he finally got within inches of it, someone else held the golden fleece. Frazier was out. It was fits and starts. It was like a morality play.

Ali made news not only by winning the fight, but also in the days leading up to it. Training in Zaire, he tried to endear himself to the country's people. He jogged with fans and spoke to the crowds, and he painted Foreman as the bad guy.

'Ali Bomaye'

Zaire was a Belgian colony before gaining independence in 1960. Knowing that Zaireans disliked Belgians, Ali told the media that the Texas-born Foreman was actually Belgian. Fans started chanting Ali Bomaye, or Ali, kill him!"

So Ali got off the plane, puts his hands in the air and he yells, `I hereby declare George a Belgian," Izenberg said. "Well, the place went nuts. Beyond that, then that chant started, and they asked the interpreter what that meant and he said it meant `Ali, kill him. For the rest of the time that he was there, he was leading those chants all over town and all over the compound that we lived in.

As he had done with other fighters, Ali taunted Foreman, using his wit and penchant for creative word choice. Case in point:

I said last night, I had a dream. When I got to Africa, I had one hell of a rumble. I had to beat Tarzans behind first for claiming to be the king of the jungle. For this fight, Ive wrestled with alligators, Ive tussled with a whale. Id handcuff lightning and put thunder in jail. You know Im bad. I have murdered a rock. I injured a stone, and I hospitalized a brick. Im so bad I made medicine sick. Im so fast, man, I can run through a hurricane and dont get wet. When George Foreman meets me, hell pay his debt. I can drown a drink of water and kill a dead tree. Wait 'til you see Muhammad Ali.

Read more:
Ali Regained Title in Historic Fight 40 Years Ago

Vanderbilts Eskind Biomedical Library is currently hosting a special exhibit, Harry Potters World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine, which will run through November 12.

Sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, the exhibit honors science, magic, and alchemy, connecting to Harry Potters world, which has magical roots in alchemy traditions of the Renaissance era. The exhibit presents books by the sixteenth century alchemist Paracelsus, the barber surgeon Ambrose Par, plus other illustrated works of anatomy, mythology, and botany. Old surgical kits scatter the tables, as do pharmaceutical bottles and blood-letting bowls, which were used when removing patients blood as a form of treatment.

This exhibit also includes a hands-on portion, which includes a mortar and pestle, hand-weights, an old microscope, and four batches of herbs much like the ones Harry Potter uses in his potion classes.

Vanderbilt supplants this exhibit with materials from its own collection, including a sixteenth century book on surgery, one of the oldest within Vanderbilts library system.

The exhibit is open from 9 am to 5:30 p.m. in the Historical Collections room on the third floor of the library, and includes six stations: Herbology, Potions, Monsters, Fantastic Beasts, Immortality, and Magical Creatures.

The rest is here:
Eskind Biomedical Library highlights world of Harry Potter

Her book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," raises and addresses questions of ethical issues of race and class in medical research

By Ross French on October 20, 2014

Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, will speak at UC Riverside on Nov. 20, 2014.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. The story of a set of human cells that have been used extensively in medical research for more than six decades, the tragic history of the woman they were taken from, and the accompanying ethical issues of race and class in medical research will be discussed in a free public lecture by New York Times bestselling writer Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 in the Highlander Union Building, room 302 on the campus of the University of California, Riverside.

Doors open at 5:15 p.m. and the lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. with a question and answer session to follow. A book signing will also take place at the conclusion of the evening. Seating is limited. Free parking will be available in Parking Lot 1.

Skloots book examines the history of the first-known human immortal cell line used for medical research, called HeLa, and the woman who unknowingly provided the cells, Henrietta Lacks. It has received several awards, including the National Academies Best Book of the Year Award, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Best Young Adult Book Award and the Heartland Prize for non-fiction.

Skloots appearance is part of the year-long lecture series hosted by The Immortality Project, which was established at UC Riverside in 2012 by Professor John Martin Fischer with a $5 million, three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation to undertake a rigorous examination of a wide range of issues related to immortality.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a certain kind of immortality not as a conscious being, and not just in terms of memories and fame, but as the donor of cells that continue to multiply indefinitely, Fischer said. The book is beautifully written and raises issues about social justice and informed consent. It discusses these difficult and disturbing issues in a way that remains humane and personally compelling throughout.

I think one of the things that really makes The Immortal Life powerful for students is that the story is so personal for them, Skloot said. Everyone in the world has benefited personally from HeLa cells in some way, and theres always a point in the book when readers realize this, whether its because theyve gotten vaccines developed using HeLa cells, were conceived through in vitro fertilization, or any number of other things. Students often tell me that their mother or father is alive because their cancer was treated with a drug made using HeLa cells I look forward to being with the students at UCR and sharing with them the way the Lackses story affects us all.

The cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Courtesy Rebecca Skloot

Original post:
Author Rebecca Skloot to Present Free Public Lecture at UCR as Part of Immortality Project Lecture Series

By Virnelli Mercader , Christian Post Contributor

October 10, 2014|3:02 pm

A scene from The Strain

"The Strain" season 1 finale titled "The Master" shows Eph and Fet on a mission as they infiltrate the theater through an underground passage where they discover the Master's coffin. Palmer is furious because the Master only restored his health but did not give him immortality, but Eichhorst assures him that he will get what he wishes for once he does the Master's bidding.

Later on, Setrakian and Eph confront the Master and force him outdoors into daylight, believing that this will cause his death. The Master, though badly burned, escapes and Setrakian could not believe that their plan didn't work. They regroup, and Zack stops at his mother's house and said that he has to get some medicine for his asthma, but what he actually got was a photo album. His mother, Kelly, then reappears. She has fully turned into a vampire. Eph shoots Kelly, but only manages to wound her before she escapes.

The season finale of "The Strain" reportedly pulled in 2.091 million total viewers on Oct. 5, which made it the top drama on cable on that night according to Deadline. It has also consistently performed well in DVR, pulling in more than 4 million viewers.

"The Strain" is based on the vampire novels by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, who also created the TV series. There are three books in "The Strain" series, and according to del Toro, the first two novels "The Strain" and "The Fall" will be covered by one season each, while the third book, "The Night Eternal," may be split into two or three seasons.

FX has renewed "The Strain" for a 13-episode second season, and production is set to begin in November 2014. Season 2 is slated to premiere in the summer of 2015.

'Insurgent' Movie News: 'Divergent' Sequel to Feature Love Triangle

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'The Strain' News: Season 1 Finale Recap, Show Renewed for Second Season

Five hundred years ago, Ponce de Leon searched in vain for the Fountain of Youth and immortality (in Florida, no less). Had old Ponce been a 21st-century man, he might have gone to his local supermarket and searched the aisles for humanitys latest health and longevity obsession, superfood. Virtually every newspaper, magazine and broadcast outlet, major or minor, has extolled the miracles of superfoods, often more than once. Superfoods are minimally processed foods that are so nutrient-packed they promise to protect your body against all manner of illness and add years to your life, all the while supercharging your sex life and growing hair on your head, never mind perking up your brain and freshening your breath. Theyre the veritable Fountain of Youthor at least thats what they say. Lets examine eight of the major superfoods, their purported super powers and the facts behind the hype machine.

1. Green Tea

The Story:Green tea has been popularized in the past several years as a health tonic extraordinaire. While commonly consumed in Japan, it only recently has caught on in America. Green tea, unlike regular black teas, is made from unfermented tea leaves (black tea uses the same leaf but it is fermented). This minimally processed tealeaf contains higher concentrations of antioxidants (specifically one called EGCG) which enthusiasts claim slows cellular growth and can prevent cancer. Green tea is also supposedly helpful in lowering cholesterol and battling Alzheimers disease.

The Reality:Green tea is good for you. Two or three cups a day, no argument there. Especially in lieu of sugary beverages or coffee with half-and-half. But studies have shown mixed results in lowering cholesterol (it lowered total cholesterol but the bad stuffLDL and triglycerideremained unchanged), and other studies have suggested it may block the effects of some anti-cancer medications. Additionally, drinking it piping hot may increase the chance of contracting esophageal cancer, especially among smokers and alcohol drinkers. Alzheimers? There have been no human trials to back up lab tests (which have shown some helpful benefit of green tea in combatting the disease).

2. Garlic

The Story:Who doesnt love garlic? So how convenient that it is also good for you. Super good, say proponents. The major health ingredient in garlic is allicin, and it is contained in all forms of garlic, even that powdered stuff you sprinkle on your slice. Garlic will lower your cholesterol, your blood pressure, prevent heart disease, and battle cancer to boot, treat yeast infections, and shrink the old prostate. And leave your breath minty fresh. No waitnot that last one.

The Reality:Eat your garlic. Its delicious. But studies suggest that garlics super powers are a bit stinky. They show a limited association with health benefits, but not a definitive cause-and-effect. Plus most of the studies of garlic are centered on a study of the so-called Mediterranean diet, which is high in garlic content, but also high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grain breads, monosaturated fats, red wine, and other healthy stuff. The health benefit may be with the diet as a whole, primarily from just eating a balanced low-processed diet. And beware, garlic appears to have some interaction with some HIV drugs. Current evidence does not support the use of garlic supplements toimprove health, says Alison Hornby, dietician and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association.

3. Dark Chocolate

The Story:Undoubtedly, there were celebrations galore when publications started touting the health benefits of eating dark chocolate. We knew it all along! Tastes good and good for you! And its true, sort of. Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants called flavonoids, which help lower blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease, battle diabetes, perk up the brain function, and lower the stress level. Not so fast, though.

The Reality:The studies on dark chocolate make associations but do not present conclusive evidence. While there is some evidence that it lowers blood pressure, there is no evidence that dark chocolate prevents heart disease. And chocolate products are generally packed with sugar and (in the case of milk chocolate) whole milk, which present other health questions. So by all means treat yourself to a small chunk of dark chocolate a day. Stick to dark chocolate high in cacao content (70% or more), or sprinkle some cacao nibs into your morning cereal. Just dont think they will be selling M&Ms in the health food store anytime soon.

Original post:
8 superfoods that arent all that super

By Jonathan Melvin

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 24, 2014 (Issue # 1830)

Legend has it that the numbers, if solved, reveal the secret to immortality. Photo: flickr

Tucked away in one of St. Petersburgs hundreds of claustrophobic courtyards is a less well-known relic of the northern capitals past. This relatively well-preserved historical monument, known as Griffins Tower, is perhaps one of the more mysterious attractions that the city has to offer, especially when considering the works intriguing origins.

Located on Vasilievky Island and roughly 11 meters high and two meters wide, the tower was built circa the 19th-century by a famous St. Petersburg pharmacist named William Pell. The tower was originally a part of Pells pharmaceutical factory, in which he produced various remedies and cures for the sick and unwell citizens of St. Petersburg. While one might consider such a construction merely commonplace, it is the legend behind the tower and the mysterious inscription upon its aged brick exterior that once brought many-a-tourist upon its secluded locale.

According to the legends surrounding the tower, William Pell was said to be more than a mere pharmacist. While the medicine man created traditional healing concoctions by day for the most typical of illnesses and diseases, by night the pharmacist was alleged to have used the tower to incubate magical griffins. The griffins, unfortunately, were said to be invisible save for a brief moment at midnight when the mystical creatures could be witnessed in the reflections of the windows looking in on the tower from the adjacent buildings within the courtyard. Few have ever claimed to witness the magical beasts.

While the griffins were said to be invisible, the inscriptions plastering the exterior brickwork of the tower are as plain as daylight. Perhaps the most mysterious aspect of the towers history, an extensive series of numbers each brick bearing its own numeral snakes its way around the entirety of the tower. Some locals allege that the numbers are a part of some master code of the universe. Ostensibly remaining to this day unsolved, one who happens to stumble upon the numerals secret message shall discover the secret of immortality.

Of course, for those out there who are more skeptical, there are other, more sensible explanations behind the towers mysterious code of numbers. While some might obsess over the secret behind the numbers, the numbers are actually of a much simpler nature. In fact, the numerals are a lengthy inventory identification number for a giant egg that was placed at the summit of the tower on May 1, 1994, by Alexei Kostroma, an artist linked with the creative association known as TUT-I-TAM. Symbolizing the purity of the city, the placing of the egg was inspired by the overlapping of International Workers Day and Orthodox Easter. In short, those unfamiliar with Kostromas inventory-tracking practices simply created the idea that the numbers were in fact the code of the universe.

Unfortunately, the giant egg no longer adorns the tower: having been replaced multiple times after being vandalized, the association has given up. Nonetheless, those wishing to witness this niche historical landmark can certainly seek it out, though local residents, in what can only be alleged as having been fed up with constant visitors, have blocked the courtyard with a gate. Thus, if you do indeed seek the answers to the universe, you will first have to be patient.

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Unraveling the Universe: Griffins Tower

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Newswise PHILADELPHIA Maintaining the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, is a requisite feature of cells that are able to continuously divide and also a hallmark of human cancer. Telomeres are much like the plastic cap on the ends of shoelaces -- they keep the ends of DNA from fraying, says Roger Greenberg, MD, PhD, associate professor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In a new study published this week in Cell, he and his colleagues describe a mechanism for how cancer cells take over one of the processes for telomere maintenance to gain an infinite lifespan.

Telomeres stay intact in most cancer cell types by means of a specialized enzyme called telomerase that adds the repetitive telomere DNA sequences to the ends of chromosomes. Cancer cells can also use a second method involving a DNA-repair-based mechanism, called alternative lengthening of telomeres, or ALT for short. In general, cancer cells take over either type of telomere maintenance machinery to become immortal. Overall, approximately fifteen percent of cancers use the ALT process for telomere lengthening, but some cancer types use ALT up to 40 to 50 percent of the time.

Greenbergs co-authors of the new findings are Nam Woo Cho and Robert L. Dilley, both MD/PhD students in his lab, and Michael A. Lampson, an associate professor of Biology at Penn. Greenberg is also an associate investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and director of Basic Science for the Basser Research Center for BRCA.

Going Fishing The team showed that when DNA breaks, it triggers DNA repair proteins like the breast cancer suppressor protein BRCA2 into action, along with other helper proteins, that attach to the damaged stretch of DNA. These proteins stretch out the DNA, allowing it to search for complementary sequences of telomere DNA. Breast cancer is linked to mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and mutations in several genes involved in BRCA-related pathways have also been associated with breast cancer susceptibility. Breast and ovarian cancers are associated with a breakdown in the DNA repair systems involving these BRCA and other related proteins.

This process of repair triggers the movement and clustering of telomeres like fish being reeled toward an angler, explains Greenberg. The broken telomeres use a telomere on a different chromosome the homologous telomere -- as a template for repair. In fact, in cancer cells that use ALT to maintain their telomeres, the team could visualize this process by imaging these clusters of telomeres coming together.

We are very excited about the data as it has provided new insights into this mechanism of telomere maintenance and ways to think about BRCA dependent and independent DNA recombination, he says. But, as with most scientific studies, many more questions are raised than answers provided.

The team would like to find other proteins involved in ALT and look for small molecule drugs that target this telomere maintenance mechanism in cancer cells to selectively kill cancer types that use ALT.

This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute (CA13885, CA17494), the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (GM101149), the Abramson Cancer Research Institute, and the Basser Research Center for BRCA.

Originally posted here:
How the Ends of Chromosomes Are Maintained for Cancer Cell Immortality

PHILADELPHIA Maintaining the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, is a requisite feature of cells that are able to continuously divide and also a hallmark of human cancer. Telomeres are much like the plastic cap on the ends of shoelaces -- they keep the ends of DNA from fraying, says Roger Greenberg, MD, PhD, associate professor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In a new study published this week in Cell, he and his colleagues describe a mechanism for how cancer cells take over one of the processes for telomere maintenance to gain an infinite lifespan.

Telomeres stay intact in most cancer cell types by means of a specialized enzyme called telomerase that adds the repetitive telomere DNA sequences to the ends of chromosomes. Cancer cells can also use a second method involving a DNA-repair-based mechanism, called alternative lengthening of telomeres, or ALT for short. In general, cancer cells take over either type of telomere maintenance machinery to become immortal. Overall, approximately fifteen percent of cancers use the ALT process for telomere lengthening, but some cancer types use ALT up to 40 to 50 percent of the time.

Greenbergs co-authors of the new findings are Nam Woo Cho and Robert L. Dilley, both MD/PhD students in his lab, and Michael A. Lampson, an associate professor of Biology at Penn. Greenberg is also an associate investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and director of Basic Science for the Basser Research Center for BRCA.

The team showed that when DNA breaks, it triggers DNA repair proteins like the breast cancer suppressor protein BRCA2 into action, along with other helper proteins, that attach to the damaged stretch of DNA. These proteins stretch out the DNA, allowing it to search for complementary sequences of telomere DNA. Breast cancer is linked to mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and mutations in several genes involved in BRCA-related pathways have also been associated with breast cancer susceptibility. Breast and ovarian cancers are associated with a breakdown in the DNA repair systems involving these BRCA and other related proteins.

This process of repair triggers the movement and clustering of telomeres like fish being reeled toward an angler, explains Greenberg. The broken telomeres use a telomere on a different chromosome the homologous telomere -- as a template for repair. In fact, in cancer cells that use ALT to maintain their telomeres, the team could visualize this process by imaging these clusters of telomeres coming together.

We are very excited about the data as it has provided new insights into this mechanism of telomere maintenance and ways to think about BRCA dependent and independent DNA recombination, he says. But, as with most scientific studies, many more questions are raised than answers provided.

The team would like to find other proteins involved in ALT and look for small molecule drugs that target this telomere maintenance mechanism in cancer cells to selectively kill cancer types that use ALT.

This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute (CA13885, CA17494), the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (GM101149), the Abramson Cancer Research Institute, and the Basser Research Center for BRCA.

See original here:
Penn Researchers Explain How Ends of Chromosomes are Maintained for Cancer Cell Immortality