Category Archives: Human Longevity

Grammy Award-winning artist Ciara has launched a new fashion company alongside her husband, NFL star Russell Wilson, and former Lululemon CEO Christine Day. But the brand, called the House of LR&C, has a mission beyond just the clothes it sells, Ciara and Day told CNBC on Wednesday.

"We're not only doing the fashion part. We're also combining the passion for fashion but also the passion for impact. That was really important to both Russell and I and also Christine in creating our company. There has to be more to it than fashion," Ciara said on "Closing Bell."

In addition to an emphasis on environmental sustainability, 3% of each purchase goes to the Why Not You Foundation, which Wilson founded in 2014. It supports efforts on education access, poverty reduction and children's health.

Day, who left Lululemon in late 2013 after more than five years at the athletic apparel company, said the launch of the brand during the coronavirus pandemic comes at an "inflection point" for the retail industry. "I think some of the things the consumers are looking for are really that sustainability, versatility, longevity in their garments," said Day, also a former executive at Starbucks.

She said the House of LR&C is looking to fill a gap in the market with younger shoppers who are socially minded. "They want to see companies building business models that matter, that have inclusion and unity and sustainability and love, and there's not enough of that in this world," Day said.

The company's two clothing lines for now are Good Man Brand, which Wilson founded in 2016, and the newly launched Human Nation, which sells casual, gender-neutral items. A women's brand also is in the works, Day said.

The official launch of the House of LR&C this week comes during the holiday shopping season, which has been altered by the pandemic. Monday was the largest U.S. internet shopping day ever, according to Adobe Analytics data.

Clothes are for sale directly through its website, but Day said going beyond the direct-to-consumer route by inking partnerships with Kohl's and Nordstrom also is critical. Ciara said the House of LR&C's mission was aligned with the retailers that are known for their brick-and-mortar presence.

"If you look at the landscape and just how the world is changing, especially with ... companies like Kohl's, they're also evolving with the times," Ciara said. "I've been fortunate to do some really cool things with Kohl's already. We just like where they were going with things. We sat down and talked about our vision for what we were doing, we really connected, and we felt that the plan they had really made sense for what we were trying to do and vice versa."

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Ciara and ex-Lululemon CEO launch new clothing brand with 'more to it than fashion' - CNBC

When the internal combustion engine is phased out and zero-emission electric vehicles rule the road, well still have tires. Lots of tires. After all, there is no substitute for the tire as we know it today and these everyday objects are more complex than you might think. Of course were all familiar with the outer tread made from synthetic and natural rubber, but tires also include other components made with a variety of materials, including steel, nylon, polyester and rayon.

The component-rich nature of tires serves to improve their longevity and performance. But their complexity makes it all the more important to understand the potential human health and environmental impacts associated with their lifecycle particularly as the number of vehicles on the road increases, topping the 1 billion mark for the first time in 2009. According to some estimates, this figure could hit 2 billion within 15 years.

With the potential for rising demand and corresponding impacts in mind, back in 2005 a group of leading tire company CEOs set out to study a range of tire lifecycle issues on an organized basis.

The idea gave birth to the Tire Industry Project. Organized as a voluntary collaboration under the umbrella of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the groups membership is currently comprised of 11 major tire companies and co-led by Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin.

With the assistance and work of independent consultants and advisors, TIP conducts original research and deploys analytic tools of its own invention. In addition to disseminating results to members, TIP shares information with government agencies, other research institutions and the general public.

TIP member companies account for more than 60 percent of the global tire industry. Through scheduled biennial meetings, participating CEOs select research topics based on potential human health and environmental impacts within the tire lifecycle. They also consider how TIP can fill existing knowledge gaps with original, scientific research.

The main role of TIP is to generate knowledge and science related to human health and environmental impacts, Director Anne Ccile Rmont told TriplePundit. TIP came from CEOs who realized that if they mutualized their efforts, it would be more efficient, and they would achieve a much greater impact.

TIP research bears that out. One of the initial projects involved identifying the most commonly used chemicals in tire manufacturing and assessing their current and potential regulatory status. The work resulted in a short list of chemicals that needed additional analysis.

In another early project, TIP discovered a void of science-based knowledge around the topic of particles generated by tires on the road. When TIP started its research, there was not even a science-based consensus on what the particles look like, how to collect samples, and how to evaluate them. The dearth of information on what are now known as tire and road wear particles (TRWP) led TIP to multiple research projects that continue to have significant impact on the research community, as attention turns to microplastics in the ocean and other emerging issues.

TIP started looking into understanding TRWP, how they are formed, what they look like, and what they are made of, in order to be able to recognize them and understand any potential impacts on human health and the environment, Rmont explained.

So far, the groups research indicates that TRWP are unlikely to negatively impact human health and the environment, and that few TRWP are likely to reach the ocean. But the project created a greater understanding of where the particles do settle before degradation namely, along roadsides and, to a lesser extent, in freshwater sediment, which could lead to a holistic approach to prevent TRWP from entering the environment.

From the initial focus on topics including the chemicals used in tire manufacturing, and tire wear, TIP has recently widened its scope to engage in broader sustainability issues tied to the tire industrys increasing use of natural rubber.

Natural rubber is, of course, biodegradable and renewable, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Natural rubber mainly comes from Southeast Asia, and 85 percent comes from smallholder farmers. Its production has been associated with a range of issues, including deforestation and [poor] working conditions, Rmont told TriplePundit.

In 2017, the CEOs of TIP agreed to support the formation of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), a multi-stakeholder organization focused on socioeconomic and environmental factors across the natural rubber value chain. We have been proactive in terms of looking for solutions, establishing an organization, creating benchmarks and performing a full lifecycle assessment, Rmont said.

In an update earlier this year, GPSNR outlined the scope of its mission, noting that the organization recognizes the need to work toward economic sustainability within the natural rubber industry, ensuring that the earnings of millions of smallholders and farmworkers are enough for them to enjoy a decent standard of living.

Further research into tire manufacturing chemicals and TRWP will continue this year and next. The coalition will also move stakeholder engagement around end-of-life tire management forward, having recently published an updated global state of knowledge report on the management of tires at end-of-life. And it will develop a World Business Council for Sustainable Development SDG Sector Roadmap, with the aim of articulating how the tire industry can work to support the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

In the coming months, in partnership with TIP, well take a closer look at each of these stages of the tire lifecycle, what the industry is doing to understand potential impacts, and how the sustainable tires of the future are taking shape. You can follow the series here.

This article series is sponsored by the Tire Industry Projectand produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.Members of the Tire Industry Project (in alphabetical order) are Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper Tire, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho Tire, Michelin, Pirelli, Sumitomo Rubber, Toyo Tires, and Yokohama Rubber.

Image:Manuel Mena/Unsplash

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Re-Inventing the Wheel: How CEOs Are Driving the Sustainable Tire of the Future - Triple Pundit

Heres the million, or lets say, billion-dollarquestion: What is aging well and how do you do it? Whats the secret elixir?

There are expert presentations on a TedTalk playlist: How toMake You Feel Good About Getting Older.And there are droves of self-help books, exercise regimes, healthy diet gurusand lines of cosmetics that this query has spawned.

Thats where Marc Freedman, founder and chief executive ofEncore.org and the author of How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations, comes in.

Freedman is one of those experts on thelongevity revolution who makes you stop and listen. Really listen. Trust me onthis. In his latest book, out in paperback this week, he explores longevity,youth, purpose and happiness, and the role older people can play in giving backto the next generation.

Hes not a disciple of retirement. As he told me in an interview: All too often, individuals are left to their own devices when it comes to finding a new sense of purpose in a postretirement period that could be as long as the middle years in duration. Many feel like they are all alone in navigating the new terrain, practically and emotionally.

Learning to age well requires anemotional shift. More yesterdays than tomorrows has a way of adding an urgencyto this stage of life. Time is more precious. Freedman says. Questions ofpurpose and legacy are more prominent. That can sound depressing, but for manypeople it is a powerful source of motivation for making the most of thisperiod.

I spoke with Freedman about hisbook, How to Live Forever, and his views of aging well. The highlights of ourconversation are below and have been edited and condensed.

We now have more people over 60 in this country than under18. How can we make an aging society work?

America is becoming a much more multigenerational society,with five generations alive at the same time. This is no temporary blip; its apermanent shift. Some see this transformation producing a zero-sum battlebetween old and young over scarce resources, but this dystopian scenario runscounter to much of human history.

Actually, theres good reason for optimism. Anthropologists now believe it was the role of grandmothers caring for young children (and allowing mothers to gather more food) that served as the turning point in our becoming human beings in the first place. And developmental psychologists studying both ends of the age spectrum today are discovering that the needs and assets of younger and older people fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Just ask any grandparent.

Nows the time to build on these inherent and complementaryassets. Lets find new ways to bring the generations together to forge bonds,find joint purpose, and bridge divides. Intergenerational connection could be adefining feature of American resilience in the 21st century.

How has the pandemic affected the generational divide?

Lets face it, a powerful message to our generation I saythis as a 62-year-old has been stay home, stay safe and stay out of theway. That message has reinforced ageism and the age segregation that has grownso rampant in American society. Its driven a wedge between generations, withinfamilies and in communities.

At the same time, by separating us, the pandemic hasawakened a deeper appreciation for our essential interdependence across age andled to calls for the creativity that will be needed to bring young and oldtogether again when its over.

You call for dramatic innovation in the ways we bringgenerations together. What are you seeing in the past few years that excitesyou?

Were going to need to be as creative in bringing people together across age as weve been in splitting them apart, an imperative all the more urgent in the context of COVIDs toll. The good news is that innovation is already under way.

I recounted many examples of innovative practices in Howto Live Forever, but Im even more heartened by the wave of innovation Ivewitnessed since the book was first published two years ago. One of my favoriteexamples is Nuns and Nones,originated by a group of young changemakers, spiritually-inclined butreligiously unaffiliated (the nones), who sought out older Women Religiousall over the country (the nuns) for guidance about living a good life andleaving the world better than we found it.

Nuns and Nones also underscores how much of the push towardgenerational connection and collaboration is coming from young people. Youngsocial entrepreneurs are behind Nesterly, a homesharingplatform that brings homeowners with room to spare together with collegestudents who need affordable rents; Big & Mini, acommunity thats reducing isolation by helping to create intergenerationalfriendships; and Mon Ami, an app thats beingused by governments and nonprofits to mobilize large-scale volunteer efforts.

And there are so many more. I encourage folks to take a lookat our 15 new Gen2Gen Innovation Fellows.The work theyre doing gives me confidence about our future.

How can individuals age-integrate their own lives, even inthe pandemic?

It all comes down to a pair of priorities: proximity andpurpose. Hows that for alliteration!

By proximity, I mean finding ways to encounter individuals of different ages and generations, whether in the course of daily life or even via Zoom. To resist the scourge of age segregation.And by purpose, Im talking about the need to make these intergenerational connections in ways that reinforce common, shared interests that animate our lives.

We could go a long way to finding proximity and purpose inthis country, for example, by creating intergenerational service programs aimedat connecting youngers and olders to use their complementary skills to solvelocal problems like contact tracing, feeding the hungry, educating children,and rebuilding after disasters.

But theres one more way to age-integrate that anyone can doright now, no infrastructure needed. In a word, listen. One of my mentors, inhis 80s at the time, once told me its a lot more important to be interestedthan to be interesting. Its certainly one of the keys to bridgingdifference, across age as well as many other divides.

Does it matter that we now have the oldest president in thenations history?

Its a striking paradox: Just as were pushing more and moreolder people to the sidelines during this time of pandemic increasing notonly loneliness but its close cousin, purposelessness weve also witnessedthe leadership of so many older men and women.

The nearly 80-year-old Dr. Anthony Fauci has served as a voice of calm reason and deep knowledge throughout the battle with COVID. Elder icons like the late Congressman John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg continued their lifes work to build an equitable society with deep passion to the very end. And now we have the oldest president-elect in American history.

Some express legitimate concerns about a gerontocracy holding on to power at the expense of younger people. All the more reason that our elder leaders, starting with the new president, should take this moment to call the generations to common purpose, to ask old and young alike to roll up their sleeves to create a stronger, more cohesive society together, and to make the most of the multigenerational moment already washing over us.

Thanks for your time, Marc. My personal favorite takeaway. Its a lot more important to be interested than to be interesting.

Kerry Hannonisa leading expert and strategist on work and jobs, entrepreneurship, personalfinance and retirement. Kerry is the author of more than a dozen books,includingGreat Pajama Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Working From Home,Never Too Old To Get Rich: The Entrepreneurs Guide To Startinga Business Mid-Life,Great Jobs for Everyone 50+,andMoney Confidence.Her on Twitter@kerryhannon

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What is the secret to aging well? - MarketWatch

Newswise As people age, they progressively lose muscle mass and strength, and this can lead to frailty and other age-related diseases. As the causes for the decline remain largely unknown, promoting muscle health is an area of great research interest. A recent study led by the researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has shown how a molecule found in muscles responds to weak magnetic fields to promote muscle health.

Led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregn from the NUS Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), the team found that a protein known as TRPC1 responds to weak oscillating magnetic fields. Such a response is normally activated when the body exercises. This responsiveness to magnets could be used to stimulate muscle recovery, which could improve the life quality for patients with impaired mobility, in an increasingly ageing society.

The use of pulsed magnetic fields to simulate some of the effects of exercise will greatly benefit patients with muscle injury, stroke, and frailty as a result of advanced age, said lead researcher Assoc Prof Franco-Obregn, who is also from the NUS Department of Surgery.

The NUS research team collaborated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) on this study, and their results were first published online in Advanced Biosystems on 2 September 2020. The work was also featured on the cover of the journals print edition on 27 November 2020.

Magnets and muscle health

The magnetic fields that the research team used to stimulate the muscle health were only 10 to 15 times stronger than the Earths magnetic field, yet still much weaker than a common bar magnet, raising the intriguing possibility that weak magnetism is a stimulus that muscles naturally interact with.

To test this theory, the research team first used a special experimental setup to cancel the effect of all surrounding magnetic fields. The researchers found that the muscle cells indeed grew more slowly when shielded from all environmental magnetic fields. These observations strongly supported the notion that the Earths magnetic field naturally interacts with muscles to elicit biological responses.

To show the involvement of TRPC1 as an antenna for natural magnetism to promote muscle health, the researchers genetically engineered mutant muscle cells that were unresponsive to any magnetic field by deleting TRPC1 from their genomes. The researchers were then able to reinstate magnetic sensitivity by selectively delivering TRPC1 to these mutant muscle cells in small vesicles that fused with the mutant cells.

In their previous studies, the researchers have shown that response to such magnetic fields were strongly correlated to the presence of TRPC1, and it included the rejuvenation of cartilage by indirectly regulating the gut microbiome, fat burning and insulin-sensitivity via positive actions on muscle. The present study provided conclusive evidence that TRPC1 serves as an ubiquitous biological antenna to surrounding magnetic fields to modulate human physiology, particularly when targeted for muscle health.

Metabolic changes similar to those achieved with exercise have been observed in previous clinical trials and studies led by Assoc Prof Franco-Obregn. Encouraging benefits of using the magnetic fields to stimulate muscle cells have been found, with as little as 10 minutes of exposure per week. This tantalising possibility, to improve muscle health without exercising, could facilitate recovering and rehabilitation of patients with muscle dysfunction.

Assoc Prof Franco-Obregn shared, About 40 per cent of an average persons body is muscle. Our results demonstrate a metabolic interaction between muscle and magnetism which hopefully can be exploited to improve human health and longevity.

Next steps

This study represents a milestone in the understanding of how a key protein may developmentally react to magnetic fields.

Metabolic health such as weight, blood sugar levels, insulin, and cholesterol are strongly influenced by muscle health. As exercise is a strong modulator of metabolic diseases through the working of the muscles, and magnetic fields exert similar benefits of exercise, such magnetism may help patients who are unable to undertake exercise because of injury, disease, or frailty. As such, the NUS iHealthtech research team is now working to extend their study to reduce drug dependence for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes.

We hope that our research can help alleviate side effects by reducing the use of drugs for disease treatment, and to improve the quality of life of the patients, said Assoc Prof Franco-Obregn.

This project has recently won the Catalyst Award in the inaugural Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards conferred by the US National Academy of Medicine. The team was recognised for their breakthrough innovation to extend human health and function later in life.

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NUS-led team uncovers molecule that promotes muscle health when magnetised - Newswise

Harm prevention policies must take the long view

The maintenance of brain health is central to health and wellbeing across the lifespan.1 Evidence suggests three periods of dynamic brain changes that may be particularly sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol: gestation (from conception to birth), later adolescence (15-19 years), and older adulthood (over 65 years). Highly prevalent patterns of alcohol use may cause harm during these sensitive periods, including low level prenatal alcohol exposure, adolescent binge drinking, and low-to-moderate alcohol use in older adulthood.2 Although these patterns of alcohol exposure may be associated with less harm to individuals than sustained heavy drinking, the overall burden of harm in populations is likely to be large.

From fetal development to later life, the human brain goes through several periods of dynamic change. The prenatal period is characterised by extensive production, migration, and differentiation of neurons, accompanied by substantial apoptosis.3 Adolescence is characterised by synaptic pruning and increased axonal myelination.4 Older adulthood is associated with brain atrophy, which accelerates after the age of 65 years, largely driven by decreases in neuron size and reductions in the number of dendritic spines and synapses.5 Each of these changes in neurocircuitry could increase sensitivity to the effects of environmental exposures such as alcohol.6

Globally, around 10% of pregnant women consume alcohol, with the rates considerably higher in European countries than the global average.7 Heavy alcohol use during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, associated with widespread reductions in brain volume and cognitive impairment. But recent evidence indicates that even low or moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy is significantly associated with poorer psychological and behavioural outcomes in offspring, partially mediated by aberrant brain structure.8

More than 20% of 15-19 year olds in European and other high income countries report at least occasional binge drinking (defined as 60 g of ethanol in a single drinking occasion).9 Longitudinal studies indicate that the transition to binge drinking in adolescence is associated with reduced neocortical volume and functional connectivity, attenuated white matter development, and small to moderate deficits in a wide range of cognitive functions.410 In older people, alcohol use disorders were recently shown to be one of the strongest modifiable risk factors for all types of dementia (particularly early onset) compared with other established risk factors such as hypertension and smoking.11

Although alcohol use disorders are relatively rare in older adults, many older people frequently consume low to moderate amounts of alcohol.12 Recently, even moderate drinking was shown to be associated with small but significant loss of brain volume in midlife,13 supporting previous research indicating an association between low risk drinking and brain damage in older adults.2 However, it is currently unclear whether these structural changes translate into functional cognitive impairment.

The evidence for the adverse effects of alcohol on brain health is compelling, but it is limited by the observational nature of the analyses. These findings require further replication, with a focus on more rigorous causal modelling.

Demographic trends may compound the effect of alcohol use on brain health. Women are now just as likely as men to drink alcohol and experience alcohol related harms.14 In higher income countries, consumption has increased among older people15 while in low and middle income countries, consumption and related harms have increased across the population. Global consumption is forecast to rise further in the next decade.16 The effects of the covid-19 pandemic on alcohol use and related harms are unclear, but alcohol use increased in the long term after other major public health crises.16

A lifecourse perspective on brain health supports the formulation of policy and public health interventions to reduce alcohol use and misuse at all ages. This could increase longevity and quality of life by reducing the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, aberrant neurocognitive development in adolescence, and dementia in later life. An integrated approach to harm reduction across the lifespan is required in public health, mental health, primary care, social care, and voluntary sectors.17

Population based interventions such as guidelines on low risk drinking, alcohol pricing policies, and lower drink driving limits need to be accompanied by the development of training and care pathways that consider the human brain at risk throughout life. The effect of harm reduction strategies on maintaining brain health in both individuals and populations can then be more fully evaluated.

Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no interests to declare.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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Lifetime perspective on alcohol and brain health - The BMJ

Wilmington, November, 2020: Axiom Market Research & Consulting added a report on global Stem Cell which includes study on various market segments across various countries of key regions across the globe. Post COVID-19 pandemic impressive growth anticipated for this market. The global market is estimated and forecasted in terms of revenue (USD Million) generated by the Stem Cell market.

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Some of the key participants in the stem cells market include Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Mesoblast Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., STEMCELL Technologies Inc., Osiris Therapeutics Inc, Celgene Corporation, BioTime, Inc., Cynata Therapeutics Limited, Human Longevity Inc, Cellular Engineering Technologies Inc., U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. Caladrius Biosciences, Inc., and Promethera Biosciences.

Covid-19 Impact Analysis on Stem Cell Market

The global pandemic of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has triggered stock market unpredictability, tight border controls, and worldwide lockdown, leading the biotechnology industry, as well as large companies and governments, to restock supply chains. The whole world is experiencing severe impact on social and financial sectors, and all global industries are facing challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exclusive COVID-19 Impact Analysis report by Axiom MRC explores the outbreak of COVID-19, its impact on the global and regional economies, and its implications on the healthcare sector. The report studies the effect of the pandemic on the global economy by evaluating factors like consumption, GDP, business investment, key players marketing strategies, key supply and demand-side factors, epidemiological swing factors, inventory, and governmental policies & decisions.

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Stem Cell Market Regional Analysis

This study includes market size, share trend, competitive intelligence of developed markets, growth markets and niche regions/countries of:

Research objectives and key highlights of the market study:-

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Axiom Market Research & Consulting is leading market research, business consulting and data analytics company serving the Fortune 5000 companies organizations of Healthcare, Chemicals, Food and Beverage, Technology etc. with quality solutions.

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Stem Cell Market Analysis By Industry Value, Market Size, Top Companies And Growth Forecast To 2027 - Cheshire Media