-
The Future Of Nano Technology
Categories
- Ai
- Alan Watts
- Anatomy
- Andropause
- Anti-Aging Medicine
- Arthritis
- Artificial General Intelligence
- Artificial Intelligence
- Artificial Super Intelligence
- Ataxia
- Autism
- Biochemistry
- BioEngineering
- Biotechnology
- Bitcoin
- Chemistry
- Cryonics
- Cryptocurrency
- David Sinclair
- Dementia
- Diet Science
- Diseases
- Eczema
- Elon Musk
- Futurism
- Gene Medicine
- Gene therapy
- Gene Therapy
- Genetic Medicine
- Genetic Therapy
- Global News Feed
- Healthy Lifestyle
- Healthy Living
- HGH Physicians
- Hormone Optimization
- Hormone Replacement Therapy
- Hormone Replacement Treatment
- Human Genetic Engineering
- Human Immortality
- Human Longevity
- Human Reproduction
- Hypogonadism
- Hypopituitarism
- Hypothyroidism
- Immortality
- Immortality Medicine
- Inflammation
- Injectable Growth Hormone
- Integrative Medicine
- Life Skills
- Longevity
- Longevity Medicine
- Low T
- Machine Learning
- Mars Colony
- Medical School
- Menopause
- multiple-sclerosis
- Nano Medicine
- Nanomedicine
- Nanotechnology
- Neurology
- Parkinson's disease
- Pharmacogenomics
- Protein Folding
- Psoriasis
- Quantum Computing
- Regenerative Medicine
- Resveratrol
- Sermorelin Physicians
- Singularity
- Spacex
- Stem Cell Therapy
- Stem Cells
- Stemcell Therapy
- Testosterone
- Testosterone Physicians
- Transhuman
- Transhumanism
- Transhumanist
- Uncategorized
- Veganism
- Vegetarianism
- Vitamin Research
- Wellness
-
Recent Posts
- Don Lemon Tells All: CNN, Nikki Haley, His Battle with Elon Musk and Who You Won’t See on His New Show (Exclusive) – PEOPLE
- Elon Musk’s Response To Russia’s Nuclear Threat, Trump Vs. Biden Polls And More: Top Political Updates This Week – TradingView
- Elon Musk’s xAI releases Grok-1 architecture, while Apple advances multimodal AI research – SiliconANGLE News
- Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled X deal after taping an interview together – The Washington Post
- Elon Musk abruptly scraps X partnership with former CNN anchor Don Lemon – CBS News
Archives
Popular
Search Immortality Topics: |
Category Archives: David Sinclair
David Sinclair resigns as President of the Academy for Health & Lifespan Research – Longevity.Technology
On Wednesday, Dr Nir Barzilai, one of the co-founders of the Academy for Health & Lifespan Research took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to announce that Dr David Sinclair, also a co-founder of the Academy, had resigned as President.
Sinclair, who is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, had been chosen by his peers for the position in June of last year, succeeding Dr Felipe Sierra (now Chief Science Officer at Hevolution).
Longevity.Technology: The Academy for Health & Lifespan Research (AHLR) is dedicated to studying the mechanisms of aging and developing interventions to slow and reverse the process. With a current membership of 60 of the worlds foremost researchers and geroscientists, it elects members annually based on their scientific contributions and commitment to the community.
Barzilai made Wednesdays announcement on behalf of Eric Verdin, Laura Neiderhofer, Andre Bertram and himself. He thanked Sinclair for his service, and indicated that the academys Executive Director Risa Starr will temporarily handle the administrative responsibilities of the Presidency until its board can confirm a new president. Barzilai also asked members of the academy to immediately submit their nominations, either for others or themselves, and said the academy plans to announce the new president at its meeting on 3rd April.
We regret all the events that led to Davids resignation and take the lessons to heart, wrote Barzilai in his tweet. We hope we can move past these events. The Academy is about science and scientists; all else is secondary [1].
He added that the academy has decided to postpone its 2024 election of new members until after the confirmation of its next president.
Sinclairs resignation comes a week-and-a-half after former academy member Dr Matt Kaeberlein tweeted that after careful consideration he was renouncing his academy membership, citing ongoing behavior by Academy President Dr. David Sinclair that I find both personally and professionally unacceptable [2].
Commenting on Wednesdays announcement of David Sinclairs resignation, Longevity.Technology CEO and founder Phil Newman said: Strong personalities are important in the early stages of a new industry some lead, some challenge, and some both lead and challenge; either way, we need to thank these individuals for their contributions and preparedness to take the lead publicly. This exposure brings the benefits of social followers and commercial opportunities, but it also brings the challenges of scrutiny.
[1] https://twitter.com/NirBarzilaiMD/status/1767981636405043227 [2] https://twitter.com/mkaeberlein/status/1764361555557380198
Posted in David Sinclair
Comments Off on David Sinclair resigns as President of the Academy for Health & Lifespan Research – Longevity.Technology
How perfect do we have to be to age well? – Sydney Morning Herald
The ones who have raged with vitality against the dying of their lifes light have often raised as many questions as they have provided answers on longevity.
What does it take to age well? Getty
Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, and claimed her breasts remained as firm as two little apples, ate half a kilo of chocolate a week as well as drinking a glass of port each evening. British World War I veteran Henry Allingham suggested he had made it to 113 thanks to cigarettes, whisky, and wild, wild women. US World War II veteran Richard Overton, who lived to 112, that one secret to his long life was smoking cigars and drinking whisky, as he often did on the porch of his Austin home.
These centenarians are not poster children for the longevity secrets of sugar, tobacco and hard liquor. Rather, they are .
And, sadly for the rest of us, to hasten the end of our life, or at the very least, our health span.
Centenarians live longer because they get chronic diseases 20 to 30 years later than everybody else, says Dr Peter Attia, the author of the New York Times non-fiction bestseller, Outlive. Now their genes do that for them. [But] were going to have to use medicine, nutrition, sleep, exercise, etc to delay the onset of those chronic diseases.
So, how perfect do we have to be to do that? And how much room is there to have fun in our lives without compromising our health?
I guess it depends on what you consider fun, Attia tells me. Say my definition of fun is heroin and cocaine, then theres probably not a lot of room for fun because I think those risks are pretty high. Or if a person says, my idea of fun is never exercising, then its going to be really hard.
But Attia insists we dont have to be pristine to extend our health span.
I certainly dont consider myself a monk when it comes to food, says Attia, who adds that alcohol, for instance, is not good for us at any dose. But does that mean we should never, ever consume it? My view is if it gives you pleasure, it gives me pleasure.
He limits his favourite drinks tequila and red wine to four a week and tries not to drink within three hours of bedtime, so it doesnt disrupt his sleep. He adopts the same attitude of moderation towards chocolate or other foods that we enjoy.
I am no longer a dogmatic advocate of any particular way of eating, he writes, adding that the idea there is one perfect diet that works best for everyone is absolutely incorrect. Rather, he focuses on whether we are under or over-nourished, under or adequately muscled; and metabolically healthy or not.
What he is monk-like about is exercise, which includes , recommending that we move more than the bare minimum of the physical activity guidelines.
If a person wants to add a decade to their life, theyre going to have to do more than see the doctor and take their blood pressure and cholesterol medicine, he says, clarifying that those things still matter.
Along with physical activity, getting good sleep and nutrition, doing more may mean taking risks, something that he and others pursuing longevity and health span are willing to do to varying degrees.
We need to do more than the bare minimum, but do we need to be perfect? Getty
Harvard-based Australian biologist David Sinclair, a leading voice in anti-ageing research and lifespan extension, takes NAD+ booster supplement NMN, as well as resveratrol (which is reduced inflammation and risk of dementia) and metformin (which improves cardiometabolic health and increases lifespan ). Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, whose popular podcast explores longevity and health optimisation, also takes NMN (which theoretically boosts energy production and supports cellular repair, but comes with ), while podcaster Joe Rogan injects testosterone and , which advocates believe can boost growth hormone.
Yet there is a lack of good evidence in humans for most of these approaches. There are dosing and the interactions between different drugs.
Attia, who takes the medicine rapamycin, which , thinks about risk through the lens of investment. You could do nothing with your money and take no risk, or you could be sitting in Las Vegas gambling taking enormous risks, with enormous potential reward. There is, of course, a spectrum in between.
I think where you want to be on the spectrum is where you have the highest expected return, not the highest potential return. And I think the same is true in health, although its more difficult to quantify, Attia says.
That means considering the risk versus the expected return. He asks his patients whether they understand how a drug or supplement works; do they have a nutritional deficit or believe that super normal levels offer some benefit; is there a biomarker to track if its working; is there robust human data and if not, is there data across different species that demonstrates safety and efficacy. Finally, is it prescription-based or is it completely unregulated?
Dr Rosilene Ribeiro, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Sydneys Charles Perkins Centre, is more risk-averse than Attia. I would not recommend taking medication that has not been thoroughly tested and approved for human consumption, she says, adding that some of these drugs may and can interact with our diet in unknown ways.
Rapamycin has also been shown to affect immune function and cause adverse effects such as anaemia, leukopenia [low white blood cell count], elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, she says.
And although we are unlikely to ever attain it (and who would want to if it makes our life miserable?), Ribeiro believes we should strive towards lifestyle perfection. While genetics and environmental factors also play a significant role in our health and lifespan, lifestyle is one of the only factors we can generally control, she says. I would recommend that [people] focus their efforts there rather than taking medications with unknown side effects.
When thinking about how we approach risk and perfection in our pursuit of living well for longer, Attia believes one final question is worth considering.
After years of constantly tinkering and experimenting with different approaches to maximise his longevity and thinking of it as an engineering problem to be solved, he had a realisation:
Longevity is meaningless if your life sucks. Or if your relationships suck. None of it matters if your wife hates you. None of it matters if you are a shitty father ... all these need to be addressed if your life is to be worth prolonging - because the most important ingredient in the longevity equation is the why. Why do we want to live longer? For what? For whom?
Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. every Monday.
Read the original:
How perfect do we have to be to age well? - Sydney Morning Herald
Posted in David Sinclair
Comments Off on How perfect do we have to be to age well? – Sydney Morning Herald
Ask Sam Mailbag: Looking at the fit of the Bulls roster – NBA.com
Len Artick: We kept hearing that the Bulls are better than their record.At their best, they certainly are, but how about those other nights?You measure a team by consistency; not peak performance.People say, If they could do that every gameI say that if they could they would! If the Bulls truly are better than their record, there are only two questions: (1) Do the pieces fit? and (2) Does coach use them well?
Sam: Or you are what your record says you are? I dont believe they were, which is why I believe some substantial change is necessary. I agree with Karniovas not the blow it up kind. There seem to me enough there still to be a good core. But I do believe management and the coach has to get on the same page about the way the coach wants to play. If its more in transition, then they need some rebounding size. And if they want to stay more in the half court with someone like DeRozan, then definitely more shooting. I've suggested previously about maybe running more offense through Vuevi that could allow Coby White to be a point guard in the Denver model. But if not, some who is a more natural facilitator. Because after a year and a half out and with little likelihood Lonzo Ball will at least play next season or if he were to at any similar level, its difficult to make a case this group is better than a play-in candidate team. The appealing part as put on display in these playoffs is the Bulls with a few changes really may not be that far away given the incredible parity as play-in teams like Miami and the Lakers play for a chance to actually win the championship.
Brian Tucker: Whats your take on Ayton?Obviously talented but is he worth it to have on your team?Is he really a problem child on that Suns team, or is it a case of a young talent establishing ones game in the presence of stars being a tough challenge. I feel like he could be the scapegoat again and could be available.I wonder if theyd think a professional veteran like Vooch is a missing piece for their veteran roster, which would make for a sign-and-trade opportunity. I havent watched Ayton enough to know if that would be a good move for us, or if wed be better off keeping Vooch or looking elsewhere for a frontcourt refresh.
Sam: It does seem like its the end there for him and sitting out Game 6. He will be the scapegoat, and already has been among the fans in Phoenix. Remember, he got benched at the end of their also blowout closing game loss to Dallas last season and then the Suns only matched his free agency offer from the Pacers. Myles Turner deal? Then Ayton came to camp and said he never spoke with the coach about the benching. He hasnt produced in the playoffs, but they rarely run much for him with Booker and Durant dominating everything with Chris Paul out. By the way, its obvious you cant count on Paul by playoff time with injuries. They can save $45 million on his $60 million/two years if they release him next month. Will they? I was doing some lobbying for Ayton before the trade deadline when it looked like you maybe could get him in a package that included Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder and maybe a pick. I thought if you packaged up DeRozan and Vuevi with some veterans like maybe Alex Caruso you could quickly remake your team and the Suns would be in better position for the short term to get the first title in franchise history. But they obviously were holding out for Durant. I cant blame them for that. But now they dont have much but Aytons $32 million salary. He has potential, but he alone would be too much risk, it seems to me. Id try to retain Vuevi and build more offense through him.
Luis Rodriguez: I would like to know what your opinion is in regards to signing Nikola, I believe a combination of Brook Lopez and Kyle Kuzma or Jakob Poetl and Christian Wood or any combination of the four is a betterfit for me. This would address two positions improve shooting rebounding and defense overall, without breaking the bank.
Sam: Unless the Bulls were to release Vuevi and trade DeRozan into cap room (basically giving him away for nothing or draft picks) they would not be far enough under the salary cap to acquire top free agents. Plus, it seems like Lopez, Kuzma and Poeltl are committed to resigning with their teams. I believe the Bulls are at the early stages of their development for the 23-24 season, which starts with the lottery next Tuesday. If the Bulls happen to get a top-four pick and No. 1, which surely will be Victor Wembanyama, that would likely set a new direction. Which wouldnt mean going all into the draft and trading away veterans. But more so adding a young player to the current core without too many major changes. I believe Karniovas when he said at this point he is mostly committed to the players he has. But as we saw in the summer of 2021 when he added DeRozan, Ball and Alex Caruso, he seems like the kind of executive who is flexible and willing to quickly recalibrate. I expect that to be the agenda as the trading season and free agency unfolds and players become available. You never know what is going on within a team, and rival executives dont know, either, until they get a call asking if theyd be interested. I expect changes with the Bulls, but I cannot even guess at this time what they may be.
Ed Zelnis: I find myself wondering where we'd be if the Bulls had stuck by their draft picks through thick and thin, and also had not made the bad coaching hires they did. If the current Bulls starting five consisted of Wendell Carter Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, and Coby White, with a bench of Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, P-Will, Ayo, and maybe Dalen Terry or Doug McDermott, coached by either Billy Donovan or Tom Thibodeau, do you think such a team could still be playing in May? When I look over that list, it's hard to find fault with the front office in the draft department, but it's a scathing indictment of their coaching and player development.
Sam: There's no way to do that with injuries, contract issues (short contracts and a salary cap) and players upset with limited opportunity who want to move on. Remember, Jimmy is with his third team since the Bulls. Derrick, of course, was virtually out of the league at one point with so many injuries. Wendell and Lauri were pretty anxious to find new homes (and the community seemed to agree), and Thibs wanted his own team so he could be his own GM. That also didnt work out too well. Thats why two of the greatest societal evils of recent memory are social media and fantasy sports.
Rui Dias: What's your take on Joki and the fact that he wasn't the MVP or even in the All-NBA First Team? For a guy who average 24.5PTS , 11.8REB, 9.8AST per game. Shot 63% from the field including 38% from three-point range... was he robbed? Rules next season would exclude him from awards since he didn'tplay 70 games?
Sam: I would have voted for Embiid if only for when theres a tie at least give it to the guy who hasnt won before. I think Joki deserved it more this season than last when his team finished sixth. No matter how good you are, you shouldnt win MVP with a team that cant get one round of home court advantage no matter whos missing. You dont need MVPs to finish sixth. Embiid should have won last year. So maybe the makeup call, which Im fine with. But Embiid did average 33 points per game, the most for a center other than Wilt or Kareem (Bob McAdoo wasnt really a center; I think Gar Heard was defending a lot of the big scorers). And the 76ers had another winning season, which also is justification. If Embiiid is the MVP, then he has to be first team. Joki was second team, so thats correct. Both would have qualified since the NBA is changing the requirement to 65 games, which both barely made. Id rather see it at 70, but then the NBA wouldnt have many awards to give out.
John Leichenko: Is Embiid what Shaq should have been if he had developed his game? Ive never known what Shaqs claim as the most dominant player of all time means. He didnt dominate like Wilt. Or Michael. He didnt have much big center competition most of his career either. If there is any super hero that Shaq most resembles its the Hulk.
Sam: Lets not get too carried away since Embiid isnt quite Shaq yet. Sure, Embiid is more skilled with basketball requisites like shooting and ball handling. Which makes Shaq that much more impressive to have accomplished as much as he did. Imagine if he could shoot. So yes, Hulk-like, there never has been as physically an imposing a player in the NBA. And few ever got fouled more without going to the free throw line since it was so difficult to hurt Shaq or for him to even notice a 225-pound man was hitting him that the officials wouldnt call fouls. But Shaq was light on his feet and skilled enough around the basket to make basketball plays. Perhaps the league was fortunate that Shaq didnt really care about basketball that much. He was great fun to be around, generally the most popular player on the team who was glad to dress up as Santa and loved to entertain kids. It was the genesis of the issues between he and Kobe. Kobe was all about basketball and was offended Shaq not only was never in shape to start the season, but often took months to even try to get in shape. And then hed be the Finals MVP every time and dominate the playoffs. Its also why his decline was so abrupt when he went to the Suns, Cavs, Heat, etc. Shaq had a more wonderful attitude for life than the legends of the game like Michael, Kobe, Russell, Kareem, West who were so much more dedicated. Youd rather have spent time with Shaq more than any of them. Perhaps thats good for the NBA and competition. Because if Shaq really did care and had developed a game its difficult to contemplate what he could have accomplished.
Michael Wise: Who is the Bulls rep at the lottery Tuesday?
Sam: Its supposed to be Dalen Terry. Id have asked Steve Schanwald if I were the Bulls. The then marketing director who basically created the entertainment atmosphere that the Bulls are known for was the representative when the Bulls with a 1.7% chance moved up from ninth to No. 1 and selected Derrick Rose. No one talks about it much these days, but it wasnt the slam dunk to take Rose. There was not only among some Bulls staff but in the community some sentiment for Michael Beasley because the Bulls needed shooting (see, thats not new) and Beasley was being viewed as the next Kevin Durant. Basically until he got caught hiding women and drugs at the rookie orientation camp. The Bulls this year come into the Tuesday lottery at No. 11 with a 1.8% chance for No. 1. Rose became the star of that draft as the youngest ever MVP. But with his injuries, the players who have endured from that draft are No. 4 Russell Westbrook, No. 5 Kevin Love, No. 7 Eric Gordon and No. 10 Brook Lopez. Among others more than worth their spots were Robin Lopez at No. 15, JaVale McGee at No. 18, Serge Ibaka at No. 24, Nicholas Batum No. 25, George Hill No. 26 (so much for those mock drafts) and Goran Dragi No. 45. The big busts were in the top 10, Beasley at No. 2, OJ Mayo at No. 3 and Joe Alexander at No. 8. No. 9 where the Bulls were to pick was DJ Augustin.
Mike Sutera:I know you wouldn't want to trade him East, but I'd give DeMar to the Knicks. They have some tempting pieces. For Grimes, Fournier, and a 2023 first?
Sam: I think thats the kind of deal youd want to look at if they were moving DeRozan because hes basically just a one-year rental now at 34 with no guarantee hell resign. I can see hed make some sense for the Knicks as they need shooting and Thibs doesnt care for Fournier. And when Thibs is down on you, you are out. Fourier just has one more year left with a team option after that, and I think he's close with Vuevi. So maybe a revival.And he is a career 38% on threes with several seasons at 40 or more. Grimes also can make some shots, though they don't run much for him. Maybe you can get the Knicks to throw in Toppin, who Thibs also doesnt seem to like. Maybe flip Derrick Jones Jr. Plus, the Bulls want to get into this draft if they cant get a top four pick next week in the draft lottery. Id have to look at that because the Bulls really need to get bigger and get Patrick Williams at that starting wing position.
David Sinclair: Something that does not seem to be talked about after acquiring Pat Beverley and winning some games was that DeRozan had been moved to the 4 spot. A position he had played a lot in SA. Is there any positives of playing him more at the big forward spot long term?
Sam: No. I can expand on that. No way. I get it was a gimmicky kind of thing that had some success late in the season with the style Billy Donovan wanted to use in playing faster with more disruption on defense. But the Bulls shouldnt be fooled that its sustainable. You can see in these playoffs how much rebounding turns games, and you just cant keep putting those undersized guys out there at most every position. Not only for the lack of rebounding, but it also makes them more vulnerable to injury. The Bulls have sized down enough already since DeRozan really is a shooting guard. But it worked well enough with a big point guard in Lonzo Ball. Not a six foot Beverley. You maybe noticed in the play-in it took an historic Zach LaVine game to even get the Bulls past the first one, and then Miami just wore them down at the end.
Pete Ferro: Most of us seem to agree that theBulls need point guard help and better shooting but we don't have the budget to make this happen.Seems to me that giving Carlik Jones more of a run would makesense, at the very least as a back-up to say Coby.What am I missing?
Sam: There seems to be a stigma with being in the G League with some guys. I like Jones and believed he would have helped the Bulls because hes an actual point guard who can run a team and is a good shooter. But teams become beholden to the players they have invested in, so he wasnt going to get a chance ahead of Dosunmu and Dalen Terry. And then they brought in Patrick Beverley. A lot of life is opportunity, and if you dont get one no one really knows. His size probably is an issue with the team because he is listed at 6-foot, which usually means less. The Bulls seem determined like in the 2021 summer to prioritize a point guard, so he probably doesnt get a chance. But I wouldnt be opposed to seeing him. You know those Radford guys tend to be more than the experts believe they can be.
Ian Osorio: From what I have read Memphis isn't going to sign Dillon Brooks and I was wondering if the Bulls should get him now that he was announced as part of All NBA defensive second team. A potential lineup of Beverly, Zach, Demar, Brooks, VoochWith a second unit of Ayo, Coby, Caruso, PWill, and DrummondI don't know how to play it with DJJ and Javonte
Sam: Still kind of small since Brooks is about 6-foot-6. I know you can get away with smaller forwards in this NBA, but more like Draymond Green. And you saw Boston responded better going with Horford and Williams in Game 6. Little guards are cute. But if they are not Steph Curry, get some size.
Brodie Larsh: Assuming the Bulls don't get a draft pick, it seems like plan is to resign Vooch and Coby, and trade DeRozan for a PF. Have you heard a better trade than DeRozan to the Hawks for John Collins and Saddiq Bey? A sign and trade Jerami Grant for DeRozan may make sense as well with his connection to Donovan in OKC.
Sam: It might work for the Bulls since Bey was a nice addition, but I dont see how it makes much sense for Atlanta since they have the two point guards and DeAndre Hunter and want to work in AJ Griffin. They have wanted to move Collins, who doesnt ever seem to do much. But I might take a shot. Grant is a free agent looking for a big deal and really a wing player. Already with five teams, Id be cautious about a big deal for him. Ive mentioned the Lakers for DeMar since DeMar has expressed interest in playing there back home. But with two players (LeBron and Davis) making a combined $95 million the Lakers dont have much to offer. By the way, theres no Bulls plan to trade DeRozan for a power forward. Thats mostly fan and media speculation for now.
Mack Worth: Disney Rematch? Is this the NBAs worry? If 7th and 8th seed (Heat and Lakers) meet who will ever care about the regular season? Just more guys will coast and sit out and just be happy with getting 7-10 range.
Sam: Parity is welcome and makes for an exciting playoffs, which this has been. And should give more fan bases hope. You know, if those guys can get to the FinalsBut it strikes me as an existential problem for the NBA. I know theyre going to the 65 games thing for the awards. But those award bonuses are not much compared to their salaries. Some guys, like the Bulls three main guys, like to play and will play, so good for them. But you see, for example, with Miami Kyle Lowry obviously took the season off since all of a sudden hes playing 30 minutes every game at a high level. And, after all, if youre not an MVP candidate why worry about getting those 65 games to qualify? You know the league has to be rooting for Denver, which no one would ever say. But they were a rare top team to take at least most of the regular season seriously. You know Thibodeau teams will, but too many wont. Now just having to beat out five teams to get into the post season is an awful low bar. And it may actually work backward for the NBA with its new midseason tournament. I can see guys sitting out October and November and then playing since that's where they can make extra money in the tournament. The NBA should return to its long ago absence rules that if you want to miss a game you basically need a note from a league doctor. And if you dont get one you can lose pay for that game.
Art Alenik: Do you think think the salary cap has worked the way it was supposed to?Or even close?It probably does help with parity, so the richest teams cannot simply outbid the others and stack themselves with stars.But wasnt it also meant to curb the inflationary spiral of player salaries?It sure hasnt done that.We see now teams spending $20-40MM for a few stars and scrounging to fill out the roster without hitting the cap, or at least the luxury tax, with rookies or young players who havent established themselves yet.Its harder and harder to build a good balanced team without some luck.The owners dont care because their profits (and franchise values) keep increasing too.They just jack up the prices.The only real losers are the average fans who can no longer afford to attend a bunch of games.
Sam: Ive debated often about the owners not caring; look, the NBA has some owners who make a spectacle of themselves at games that I doubt is for the appearance fees. No one acts like that who doesnt care. The spike in franchise values was a surprise to everyone. So it became a great investment; but so was Microsoft and Nike. Theres hardly anyone who got into the NBA who couldnt have made more money in other ventures. I know what fans often believe out of frustration. But when your day is filled with questions (and criticisms) about how your team did, Im pretty sure you care more about its success than most anyone else. The salary cap, meanwhile, never was supposed to equalize salaries or create a ceiling. The players in negotiations were opposed to that. Its more what the owners preferred. But like in baseball when A-Rod one time wanted to take a lower deal to go to the Red Sox, the union overturned it on the precedent that it could suppress salaries. The player unions in most sports operate on the assumption of the rising tide floats all boats. Though with a salary cap and luxury tax penalties, the true result is creating the increasing income gaps that are familiar in society as a whole. The unions, though they'll deny it, generally operate for the benefit of the highest salaries players whose agents tend to have the largest voices with the unions. Isiah Thomas was a polarizing figure. But many of those issues surfaced when he was players union chief and tried to fund more for the so called middle class. Thats a lot what led to his estrangement with some of the games top stars.
Mitch Tobin: I've been watching the NBA for decades, and perhaps its just my imagination, but it seems as if all the complaining to the officials on virtually every play has become an annoying plague. Has it always been this way, or has it gotten worse? Whats particularly annoying is when players lag play going the other way while they gesticulate to the officials, as if that will make a difference.Props to Steph Curry, though. Sacramento was playing him pretty physically, hand checking him outside the three-point line on almost every play, and he rarely complained. I thought that hand checking was not supposed to be allowed anymore.
Sam: Let me assure you players always have complained to officials, and fans always have found conspiracies in the way their teams were treated by the officials. Though its more modern history, the Phil Jackson/Pat Riley referee debates were legendary game to game stuff in the 90s playoffs. Phil famously called hall of fame referee Dick Bavetta Knick Bavetta because Bavetta was from Brooklyn and grew up a Knicks fan. The league was not amused. But like with a lot of parent disciple or lack of with the trophies for all trend the NBA hasnt allowed its officials to, say, sternly remind Luka Doncic and LeBron they were not fouled on every single play of the season. A bit of the difference was years ago you had two officials per game who were stronger and somewhat more empowered who took some complaints and then began ejecting guys no matter their reputations. Players adjust quickly. They did then to some extent. Its really on the league to legislate, and for now it doesnt care to.
Larry Jurkens:It sure seems the officials are allowing significantly more physical play... and why do they quite often seem to wait to see if a shot went in before they call a foul? Shouldn't a foul be a foul no matter what?
Sam: Because if they called everything that the rule book states is a foul remember its not supposed to be a contact sport then the games would last about eight hours with 500 free throws. I believe NBA officials despite the flaws are the best in sports. Baseball is pretty easy, though we see plenty of strikes called outside those boxes. I assume before too long AI takes care of all that officiating; though I would enjoy it if it were Allen Iverson. Football is ridiculous. The announcers who generally are former players still cant figure out what is a catch. And have you ever seen a play without at least seven guys holding? I like what the NBA officials do because they come to understand the game and want to continue the flow. So theyll sometimes let fouls go if they see the guy is scoring. If the ball doesnt go in, theyll call something to equalize the play. Im also an advocate of the makeup call that used to be more common. The great officials want the players to decide the game; so when they make a mistake theyd often try to equalize it on the next play and then basically the statement to the players that the rest is on you. The playoffs are a bit different, but the regular season skews the game because so many of the home team announcers are whining about fouls that should have been called for their team and forget the fouls and flops of their team. If you watch just one team broadcast you tend to get caught up in what seems like bias. Id say a greater problem than the officials missing calls is all the fakery going on among the players trying to trick the officials into making calls. How do you justify complaining about what an official misses if so many players are basically trying to cheat the game with their face flag operations? Sorry, I don't have much sympathy.
Steve Walter: I've seen this Bulls team have crazy turnovers when pressed. A ball handler as a backup/replacement for Ball makes sense. It appears the organization doesn't see Carlik in this role. Shooting a respectable % from deep must be a priority for any new acquisitions. Assuming Vooch stays, a defensive minded, quick rotating four is critical to avoid the constant layup line we saw in so many Bulls losses. It would be so cool to see Derrick Jones Jr, Pat Williams, and Javonte playing the small wing against players their own size. Bobby Weiss, Wilbur Holland, and Mickey Johnson would make this team Champs!All the best from Fantasy Island.
Sam: Wilber is deceased and Bobby and Mickey dont quite move like they once did, so its probably not a plan for now.
Got a question for Sam?Submit your question to Sam atasksam@bulls.com
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or its Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Excerpt from:
Ask Sam Mailbag: Looking at the fit of the Bulls roster - NBA.com
Posted in David Sinclair
Comments Off on Ask Sam Mailbag: Looking at the fit of the Bulls roster – NBA.com
Comedy Night benefits Library Foundation | Wareham – Wareham Week
The Wareham Library Foundation is laughing all the way to the bank.
The foundation raised $5,484 at its second annual Comedy Night fundraiser on Saturday, May 6.
Were trying to reach different people to support the library, said Wareham Library Foundation President Eileen Scully.
About 70 people came to Stone Path Malt on Kenrick Road for food, beer, cornhole, ping pong, the Kentucky Derby and, most importantly, live comedy.
Three Massachusetts comedians performed: Host Pat McLoud from Weymouth, David Sinclair from New Bedford and headliner Chris Zito from Boston, who hosts a radio morning show on Mix 93-1 in Springfield and 96-1 SRS in Worcester.
The comedians performed some South Coast-specific humor, including a joke from Sinclair about his hometown of Fall River and the imprisonment of former mayor Jasiel Correia. The most popular topics for jokes were marriage and children.
Its like talking to an oak tree, Zito joked about his less-than-chatty 17-year-old son.Who is that kid?
Marion resident Gayle Santello said Zito was her favorite of the three comedians, and she loved having an opportunity to get out and laugh.
Its been kind of a stressful week, she said, and this is just what the doctor ordered.
She appreciated being able to support the library at the same time.
Libraries, when I was growing up, [were] my safe space, Santello said. I dont know what I would have done without the library.
The Wareham Library Foundation was founded in 2007 to raise funds for the Wareham Free Library. About 20% of the librarys overall funding comes from the foundation, which helps pay the salaries of the librarys part-time employees.
Along with proceeds from ticket sales, the foundation raffled off prizes, many of them donated by the 16 area businesses that sponsored Comedy Night.
Prizes included gift cards, bottles of wine and sports memorabilia, such as a hockey puck signed by Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins.
Original post:
Comedy Night benefits Library Foundation | Wareham - Wareham Week
Posted in David Sinclair
Comments Off on Comedy Night benefits Library Foundation | Wareham – Wareham Week
Scientist Discovers Aging Clock to Speed and Reverse Aging | Time
Its been 13 years in the making, but Dr. David Sinclair and his colleagues have finally answered the question of what drives aging. In a study published Jan. 12 in Cell, Sinclair, a professor of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School, describes a groundbreaking aging clock that can speed up or reverse the aging of cells.
Scientists studying aging have debated what drives the process of senescence in cellsand primarily focused on mutations in DNA that can, over time, mess up a cells normal operations and trigger the process of cell death. But that theory wasnt supported by the fact that older peoples cells often were not riddled with mutations, and that animals or people harboring a higher burden of mutated cells dont seem to age prematurely.
Sinclair therefore focused on another part of the genome, called the epigenome. Since all cells have the same DNA blueprint, the epigenome is what makes skin cells turn into skin cells and brain cells into brain cells. It does this by providing different instructions to different cells for which genes to turn on, and which to keep silent. Epigenetics is similar to the instructions dressmakers rely on from patterns to create shirts, pants, or jackets. The starting fabric is the same, but the pattern determines what shape and function the final article of clothing takes. With cells, the epigenetic instructions lead to cells with different physical structures and functions in a process called differentiation.
In the Cell paper, Sinclair and his team report that not only can they age mice on an accelerated timeline, but they can also reverse the effects of that aging and restore some of the biological signs of youthfulness to the animals. That reversibility makes a strong case for the fact that the main drivers of aging arent mutations to the DNA, but miscues in the epigenetic instructions that somehow go awry. Sinclair has long proposed that aging is the result of losing critical instructions that cells need to continue functioning, in what he calls the Information Theory of Aging. Underlying aging is information that is lost in cells, not just the accumulation of damage, he says. Thats a paradigm shift in how to think about aging.
His latest results seem to support that theory. Its similar to the way software programs operate off hardware, but sometimes become corrupt and need a reboot, says Sinclair. If the cause of aging was because a cell became full of mutations, then age reversal would not be possible, he says. But by showing that we can reverse the aging process, that shows that the system is intact, that there is a backup copy and the software needs to be rebooted.
In the mice, he and his team developed a way to reboot cells to restart the backup copy of epigenetic instructions, essentially erasing the corrupted signals that put the cells on the path toward aging. They mimicked the effects of aging on the epigenome by introducing breaks in the DNA of young mice. (Outside of the lab, epigenetic changes can be driven by a number of things, including smoking, exposure to pollution and chemicals.) Once aged in this way, within a matter of weeks Sinclair saw that the mice began to show signs of older ageincluding grey fur, lower body weight despite unaltered diet, reduced activity, and increased frailty.
Stay up-to-date on the latest health news, and get expert advice on living well in TIMEs Health Matters newsletter. Subscribe here.
The rebooting came in the form of a gene therapy involving three genes that instruct cells to reprogram themselvesin the case of the mice, the instructions guided the cells to restart the epigenetic changes that defined their identity as, for example, kidney and skin cells, two cell types that are prone to the effects of aging. These genes came from the suite of so-called Yamanaka stem cells factorsa set of four genes that Nobel scientist Shinya Yamanaka in 2006 discovered can turn back the clock on adult cells to their embryonic, stem cell state so they can start their development, or differentiation process, all over again. Sinclair didnt want to completely erase the cells epigenetic history, just reboot it enough to reset the epigenetic instructions. Using three of the four factors turned back the clock about 57%, enough to make the mice youthful again.
Were not making stem cells, but turning back the clock so they can regain their identity, says Sinclair. Ive been really surprised by how universally it works. We havent found a cell type yet that we cant age forward and backward.
Rejuvenating cells in mice is one thing, but will the process work in humans? Thats Sinclairs next step, and his team is already testing the system in non-human primates. The researchers are attaching a biological switch that would allow them to turn the clock on and off by tying the activation of the reprogramming genes to an antibiotic, doxycycline. Giving the animals doxycycline would start reversing the clock, and stopping the drug would halt the process. Sinclair is currently lab-testing the system with human neurons, skin, and fibroblast cells, which contribute to connective tissue.
In 2020, Sinclair reported that in mice, the process restored vision in older animals; the current results show that the system can apply to not just one tissue or organ, but the entire animal. He anticipates eye diseases will be the first condition used to test this aging reversal in people, since the gene therapy can be injected directly into the eye area.
We think of the processes behind aging, and diseases related to aging, as irreversible, says Sinclair. In the case of the eye, there is the misconception that you need to regrow new nerves. But in some cases the existing cells are just not functioning, so if you reboot them, they are fine. Its a new way to think about medicine.
That could mean that a host of diseasesincluding chronic conditions such as heart disease and even neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimerscould be treated in large part by reversing the aging process that leads to them. Even before that happens, the process could be an important new tool for researchers studying these diseases. In most cases, scientists rely on young animals or tissues to model diseases of aging, which doesnt always faithfully reproduce the condition of aging. The new system makes the mice very old rapidly, so we can, for example, make human brain tissue the equivalent of what you would find in a 70 year old and use those in the mouse model to study Alzheimers disease that way, Sinclair says.
Beyond that, the implications of being able to age and rejuvenate tissues, organs, or even entire animals or people are mind-bending. Sinclair has rejuvenated the eye nerves multiple times, which raises the more existential question for bioethicists and society of considering what it would mean to continually rewind the clock on aging.
This study is just the first step in redefining what it means to age, and Sinclair is the first to acknowledge that it raises more questions than answers. We dont understand how rejuvenation really works, but we know it works, he says. We can use it to rejuvenate parts of the body and hopefully make medicines that will be revolutionary. Now, when I see an older person, I dont look at them as old, I just look at them as someone whose system needs to be rebooted. Its no longer a question of if rejuvenation is possible, but a question of when.
More Must-Reads From TIME
Write to Andrew D. Johnson at andrew.johnson@time.com.
Read more from the original source:
Scientist Discovers Aging Clock to Speed and Reverse Aging | Time
Posted in David Sinclair
Comments Off on Scientist Discovers Aging Clock to Speed and Reverse Aging | Time