Category Archives: Longevity Medicine

Russian cryonics provider KrioRus is starting to receive the sort of mixed press attention that Alcor did five years ago or so: "'I don't ever want to die... It wouldn't suit me,' said Innokenty Osadchy. Fortunately, the 35-year-old investment banker is certain he has found a loophole out of death. Osadchy is ready to pay a small fortune to freeze his brain until future technology allows him to continue his life - after being transplanted into a new body and resuscitated. 'Why do I have to die in a couple decades? I don't see any logic in this. It won't be another life, it'll be the continuation of my life. I don't ever want to die ever. Not in a year, not in a million years.' Osadchy and other clients of Russian cryonics company KrioRus believe the brain operates like a computer hard-drive and its contents can be frozen and stored for the future. 'We know that the personality is stored in the brain. So when a person's body is old, there's no reason to keep it,' said Danila Medvedev, who runs KrioRus, the first cryonics outfit outside the United States. ... Since its 2005 launch, KrioRus has been building new vats, in anticipation of the 30 clients, like Osadchy, with whom it already has contracts."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hcee6gk4tTAqxAfRk1MhcG5dMELw

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

This paper suggests that the relationship between mitochondrial DNA variants and longevity is complex: “There is substantial evidence that mitochondria are involved in the aging process. Mitochondrial function requires the coordinated expression of hundreds of nuclear genes and a few dozen mitochondrial genes, many of which have been associated with either extended or shortened life span. Impaired mitochondrial function resulting from mtDNA and nuclear DNA variation is likely to contribute to an imbalance in cellular energy homeostasis, increased vulnerability to oxidative stress, and an increased rate of cellular senescence and aging. The complex genetic architecture of mitochondria suggests that there may be an equally complex set of gene interactions (epistases) involving genetic variation in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Results from Drosophila suggest that the effects of mtDNA haplotypes on longevity vary among different nuclear allelic backgrounds, which could account for the inconsistent associations that have been observed between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups and survival in humans. … We hypothesize that aging and longevity, as complex traits having a significant genetic component, are likely to be controlled by nuclear gene variants interacting with both inherited and somatic mtDNA variability.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20601194

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

This post at Less Wrong makes the case for cryonics as a business that would work well at large scale: “Cryonics scales very well. People who argue from the perspective that cryonics is costly are probably not aware of this fact. Even assuming you needed to come up with the lump sum all at once rather than steadily pay into life insurance, the fact is that most people would be able to afford it if most people wanted it. There are some basic physical reasons why this is the case. … Surface area is where heat gains entry. Thus if you have a huge container holding cryogenic goods (humans in this case) it costs less per unit volume (human) than is the case with a smaller container that is equally well insulated. … liquid nitrogen, the super-cheap coolant used by cryonics facilities around the world, is vastly cheaper (more than a factor of 10) when purchased in huge quantities of several tons. The scaling factors for storage tanks and high-capacity tanker trucks are a big part of the reason for this. … The conclusion I get from this is that there is a very strong self-interested case (as well as the altruistic case) to be made for the promotion of megascale cryonics towards the mainstream, as opposed to small independently run units for a few of us die-hard futurists.”

View the Article Under Discussion: http://lesswrong.com/lw/2f5/cryonics_wants_to_be_big/

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

This paper suggests that the relationship between mitochondrial DNA variants and longevity is complex: "There is substantial evidence that mitochondria are involved in the aging process. Mitochondrial function requires the coordinated expression of hundreds of nuclear genes and a few dozen mitochondrial genes, many of which have been associated with either extended or shortened life span. Impaired mitochondrial function resulting from mtDNA and nuclear DNA variation is likely to contribute to an imbalance in cellular energy homeostasis, increased vulnerability to oxidative stress, and an increased rate of cellular senescence and aging. The complex genetic architecture of mitochondria suggests that there may be an equally complex set of gene interactions (epistases) involving genetic variation in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Results from Drosophila suggest that the effects of mtDNA haplotypes on longevity vary among different nuclear allelic backgrounds, which could account for the inconsistent associations that have been observed between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups and survival in humans. ... We hypothesize that aging and longevity, as complex traits having a significant genetic component, are likely to be controlled by nuclear gene variants interacting with both inherited and somatic mtDNA variability."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20601194

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

This post at Less Wrong makes the case for cryonics as a business that would work well at large scale: "Cryonics scales very well. People who argue from the perspective that cryonics is costly are probably not aware of this fact. Even assuming you needed to come up with the lump sum all at once rather than steadily pay into life insurance, the fact is that most people would be able to afford it if most people wanted it. There are some basic physical reasons why this is the case. ... Surface area is where heat gains entry. Thus if you have a huge container holding cryogenic goods (humans in this case) it costs less per unit volume (human) than is the case with a smaller container that is equally well insulated. ... liquid nitrogen, the super-cheap coolant used by cryonics facilities around the world, is vastly cheaper (more than a factor of 10) when purchased in huge quantities of several tons. The scaling factors for storage tanks and high-capacity tanker trucks are a big part of the reason for this. ... The conclusion I get from this is that there is a very strong self-interested case (as well as the altruistic case) to be made for the promotion of megascale cryonics towards the mainstream, as opposed to small independently run units for a few of us die-hard futurists."

View the Article Under Discussion: http://lesswrong.com/lw/2f5/cryonics_wants_to_be_big/

Read More Longevity Meme Commentary: http://www.longevitymeme.org/news/

Drinking coffee may reduce a person's chances of developing oral cancer and even brain tumors.

According to a study published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, it was found that people who drank three to four cups of coffee per day reduced their risk of neck & head cancer by as much as thirty-nine percent.

According to Dr. Mia Hashibe, a researcher from the University of Utah, the findings of the new study is significant because coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world.

The survival percentage for oral cancer and other associated cancers is low, so the findings provide hope for both men and women.  Unfortunately, the study did not make use of data from people who drank decaffeinated coffee.  In addition to oral cancer and neck cancer, another study (this time, from London)  discovered that coffee also reduced the risk of people developing tumors in the brain.

Other studies agree on the benefits of coffee

Studies around the world seem to acquiesce with the recent findings in the United States; it also appears that coffee may be more than just a cancer preventive:

1. A recent study performed in Sweden states that women who drank four to five cups of Scandinavian coffee (which requires boiling) reduced their risk of developing breast cancer over the long term.

It appears that boiled coffee provides more health benefits because it can contain up to eighty different fatty acids, which have been shown to have cancer-preventing effects when taken by the human body.  The benefits of boiled Scandinavian coffee was noted for women between the ages of 49 and 55.

2. According to researchers who published a study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, regular coffee intake may ward off adult-onset diabetes or type 2 diabetes.  In animal tests, it was shown that coffee increased the sensitivity of the animals to insulin.  Coffee was also effective in combating the sudden rise of blood glucose levels according to the researchers.

3. Past US studies show that coffee may be helpful in reducing LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels.  Coffee also contains polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants that protect the body from free radical damage.  Polyphenols are also present in abundant quantities in green tea.

4. Based on a Harvard Medical School study on aggressive/advanced prostate cancer and coffee-drinking, it was found that males who regularly drank coffee were sixty percent less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer, compared to males who did not drink coffee at all.

5. A Netherlands study produced the following findings for coffee consumption: 2 to 4 cups of coffee a day reduced the incidence of heart problems by twenty percent.  Coffee intake also slightly reduced the chances of a person dying from the most common causes (cancer, heart problems, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, etc.)

Sources:
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com
sciencedaily.com

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