Jan
27
Medscape.com, by Denise Mann, January 26, 2012 — Our genes may play a role in shaping how sharp we remain as we grow older.
Researchers analyzed genetic material from about 2,000 people to determine how intelligence changes from childhood to adulthood. All of the study participants took tests that measured their general intelligence at age 11 and then again when they were 65, 70, or 79.
Genes accounted for about 24% of the mental changes that occur across the life cycle.
This means that environment also plays a big role in shaping and maintaining our intelligence and mental ability as we grow older.
Now it is up to gene hunters to identify the specific genes responsible for these changes. “The study will encourage those researchers looking for the genetic and environmental contributions to why some people’s cognitive functions age better than others,” says researcher Ian J. Deary, PhD, in an email. He is a professor of psychology at the University of Edinburgh in the U.K.
The new findings appear in Nature.
It’s Not All in Your Genes
Yes, there is a significant genetic component to the change in our intelligence from childhood to late adulthood, says Clark McKown, PhD. He is the director of the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center in Skokie, Ill.
The new study is “scientifically exciting and important,” but there are a lot of “ifs” here, he says. “If we can figure out what the genetic [indicators] are of [mental] decline, and if we can develop a screening test, and if we can develop therapies, we may be able to screen people early in life and intervene to lower their risk,” McKown says.
None of this is possible today. Stay tuned, he says. “In the meantime, there is a huge environmental contribution to maintaining our [mental] abilities as we age,” he says.
Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and maintaining an active social life can help you stay mentally sharp, McKown tells WebMD. “Genes are not destiny by any stretch,” he says.
Another Rush University neuropsychologist agrees. S. Duke Han, PhD, says that there are things we can all do today that will affect our risk for developing mental problems as we age.
“It is not all in the genes,” he says. “There is room for manipulation.”
SOURCES:
Deary, I. Nature, Jan. 2012. In press.
Ian J. Deary, PhD, professor of psychology, University of Edinburgh, U.K.
S. Duke Han, PhD, neuropsychologist, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.
Clark McKown, PhD, director, Rush NeuroBehavioral Center, Skokie, Ill.
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Jan
27
(Photo: Salk Institute for Biological / IBTimes Staff Reporter)
In young Fruit Flies (left), the intestinal tissues are highly organized, as shown by the even distribution of different cell types, each represented by a different color. As flies age, this order breaks down, caused by unregulated stem cell activity and inability to form cells with specialized functions. The Salk scientists and their collaborators discovered that activating the Fruit Fly version of the PCG-1 gene delayed this aging process, while simultaneously extending lifespan.
International Business Times.com, 2012, by Sangeeta – Research into the eternal human aspiration to stay forever young continues to bring forth new meanings for and sources of the elusive “fountain of youth”. In yet another attempt, scientists have taken a cue from the ubiquitous Fruit Fly to satiate our hunger for evergreen youth.
A new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, explains how an understanding of the Fruit Fly’s intestine has helped researchers explore the impact of minimal diets on longevity. The new finding is seen as a precursor to discovering new clues on the impact of aging on stem cell behavior. The findings also suggest that the Fruit Fly version of a gene known as PCG-1, which is also found in human DNA, could act as a biological guide to slowing down the aging process. A further insight from the study suggests the possibility of exploring and finding targeted drug remedies to counter aging or age-related diseases.
Although it is a well-documented fact that restricting calories during daily food intake is the easiest strategy to extend life spans for both humans and animals, little is known about biological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.
Previous studies, however, have shown that the cells of calorie-restricted animals have greater numbers of energy-generating structures known as mitochondria. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and from the University of California, Los Angeles, investigated the chain of connections between mitochondria and longevity.
“Fruit flies and humans have a lot more in common than most people think,” said Leanne Jones, an Associate Professor at Salk’s Laboratory of Genetics and a lead scientist on the project, “There is a tremendous amount of similarity between a human small intestine and the fruit fly intestine.”
The researchers found that boosting the activity of dPGC-1, the Fruit Fly version of the gene, resulted in greater numbers of mitochondria and more energy-production in flies; the same phenomenon is seen in organisms on calorie restricted diets.
When the activity of the gene was accelerated in stem and progenitor cells of the intestine, which serve to replenish intestinal tissues, these cellular changes correspond with better health and longer lifespan.
The flies lived between 20 and 50 percent longer, depending on the method and extent to which the activity of the gene was altered.
“Their intestines were beautiful,” said Christopher L. Koehler, a doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego, who conducts research in Jones’ laboratory, “The flies with the modified gene activity were much more active and robust than the other flies.”
Scientists theorized that one reason for this could be the boosting of PCG-1 led to stem cells being stimulated to replenishing intestinal tissues, thereby keeping the flies’ intestines healthier.
“Slowing the aging of a single, important organ, in this case the intestine — could have a dramatic effect on overall health and longevity,” Jones said, “In a disease that affects multiple tissues, for instance, you might focus on keeping one organ healthy, and to do that you might be able to utilize PGC-1.”
The PCG-1 gene regulates the number of these cellular power plants, which convert sugars and fats from food into energy for cellular functions. Previous studies have confirmed that animals on restricted diets lived more than twice as long, on average, as those on non-restricted diets.
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Jan
27
By studying the roundworm, Dr. Cynthia Kenyon and her team have pinpointed a combination of rare genes that seem to counter the effects of aging. (ABC News)
BY JAY SCHADLER, JAKE WHITMAN AND ENJOLI FRANCIS
Nov. 17, 2011
Do you dream of looking like your 30-year-old self when you hit 60?
Well, the secrets to the fountain of youth may be bubbling up in a nearby lab — and you have a roundworm to thank for it.
By studying the critter — about the size of a comma — biochemist Cynthia Kenyon and her team have pinpointed a combination of rare genes that seem to counter the effects of aging.
Kenyon, the director of the Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging, presented her research on prolonging youth in Edinburgh, Scotland at TEDGlobal 2011.
Roundworms are elderly and wrinkled at 10 days and by the time they reach two weeks, they’re dead. Kenyon found that by masking the DNA’s daf-2 gene, her team could extend the roundworms’ lives sixfold.
The secret: A mutation to the daf-2 gene slowed down the aging process. A mutated worm took two days to age as much as a normal worm.
“You have something you never thought was possible,” Kenyon told ABC News. “These worms should be dead, a long time ago. … But they’re not dead. They’re moving. They’re young.”
her lab, one roundworm that was 90 in human years looked and acted like a 30-year-old.
“It is amazing, and this I think is so important,” Kenyon said. “This says more than you can ever say with words.”
“If you look in nature, you see that different kinds of animals can have really different life spans,” she said during her TED presentation. “There are some tortoises that are called blandings turtles. They’ve been found to be 70 years old, and when you look at these 70-year-old turtles, you can’t tell the difference just by looking between those turtles and 20-year-old turtles.”
Kenyon said that the daf-2 gene might also affect human lifespan. Though she said more research needed to be done, one study showed that people who lived to 100 were more likely than others to carry mutations in the gene.
Kenyon said it was possible that youth-boosting drugs could be 15 years away.
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A Blood Test to Tell How Long You’ll Live
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Jan
27
LA Health Examiner, by Robin Wulffson MD – At the end of 2011, UCLA biologists reported that they had slowed the aging process in fruit flies. They activated a gene called PGC-1, which increases the activity of mitochondria, the tiny power generators in cells that control cell growth and tell cells when to live and die. “We took this gene and boosted its activity in different cells and tissues of the fly and asked whether this impacts the aging process,” said David Walker, an assistant professor of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA and a senior author of the study. “We discovered that when we boost PGC-1 within the fly’s digestive tract, the fly lives significantly longer. We also studied neurons, muscle and other tissue types and did not find life extension; this is telling us there is something important about the digestive tract.”
The research appears in an online edition of the journal Cell Metabolism, and will be published in an upcoming print edition. “By activating this one gene in this one tissue—the intestine—the fly lives longer; we slow aging of the intestine, and that has a positive effect on the whole animal,” said Dr. Walker, adding, “Our study shows that increasing PGC-1 gene activity in the intestine can slow aging, both at the cellular level and at the level of the whole animal.”
The biologists delayed the aging of the flies’ intestines and extended their lives by as much as 50%. Dr. Walker noted that fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) have a life span of about two months. They start showing signs of aging after about one month, and they slow down, become less active and die. They are an excellent model for studying aging because scientists know every one of their genes and can switch individual genes on and off. “We all think about protecting the brain and the heart, but the intestine is a vital tissue type for healthy aging,” Dr. Walker said. “If anything goes wrong with the mitochondria in cells, the consequences could be devastating, and if anything goes wrong with our intestines, that may have devastating consequences for other tissue types and organs. Not only is the intestine essential for the uptake of nutrients that are a vital source of energy, but it is also an important barrier that protects us from toxins and pathogens in the environment. The intestine has to be well-maintained. He explained that the PGC-1 gene activates the cells’ mitochondria and regulates mitochondrial activity in mammals and flies. The gene is a potential target for pharmaceuticals to combat age-related diseases.
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Jan
27
Mayo researchers found that by using a drug to target and kill senescent cells, they could essentially freeze some aspects of the aging process
Credits:
Robin Wulffson, MD
Many women undergo plastic surgery to maintain a youthful appearance; however, it would be preferable to take medication that would prevent the development of wrinkles and other signs of aging in the first place. On November 3, researchers at the Mayo Clinic published the results of a study in the journal Nature, which reported that they postponed or even prevented such afflictions as cataracts and wrinkle-inducing fat loss in mice by removing cells that had stopped dividing. They showed that removing a cell from the body that has stopped dividing, known as a senescent cell, can delay or prevent age-related health issues. Most young, healthy cells are constantly dividing in order to keep body tissues and organs functioning properly; however, these cells eventually become senescent, quit dividing, and are replaced by other cells. These senescent cells produce harmful compounds, which can cause inflammation. Chronic tissue inflammation with aging is thought to underlie conditions such as dementia, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. The process occurs throughout life; however, a person’s ability to clear such cells from his or her body decreases with age, resulting in a buildup.
The researchers found that by using a drug to target and kill senescent cells, they could essentially freeze some aspects of the aging process. Although the research is in an early stage, it suggests that senescent-cell clearance could be one path to staying healthy while aging. “If you could clear senescent cells, you perhaps could treat age-related diseases as a group rather than individually,” said Dr. Jan van Deursen, senior author of the paper. The importance of cell senescence to the aging process has long been suspected; however, these findings definitively demonstrate that these cells play a role in age-related conditions.
Senescent cells make up only a small portion of cells (5% or less) in the tissue of elderly people; however, their effects can be widespread, the researchers noted. Because senescence is believed to have developed as a defense against cancer, in which cells divide uncontrollably, simply halting the process could be dangerous. For decades, however, researchers have theorized that the damage inflicted by senescent cells might be halted by either removing them from the body or neutralizing the effects of the harmful substances they produced.
The researchers used mice designed to age faster than normal and treated them with a drug that identifies cells that have stopped dividing. The drug then initiates the natural process that leads to cell death by puncturing the membranes of those cells alone. They treated some mice over the course of their lifetimes and found a “quite dramatic delay” in the development of cataracts and age-related changes to muscle and fat, Dr. van Deursen said. In some mice, the compound was administered in old age. Clearance of senescent cells in those mice did not reverse the decline that had already occurred; however, it did prevent further deterioration.
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Jan
27
Maintaining a youthful appearance is a high priority item for many women. Over the past several years, hyaluronic acid fillers have become the most popular agents used in United States to improve facial appearance. Hyaluronic acid is a natural component of the skin; it plays a critical role in providing volume to skin by retaining water. Current brands of hyaluronic acid fillers include DermaLive®, Hylaform®, and Juvéderm®. These fillers are widely used as a non-toxic, and relatively harmless injectable alternatives to cosmetic surgery for the treatment of facial lipoatrophy (loss of fatty tissue) particularly in the region of the cheeks and chin. Allergic reactions have not been reported with Hyaluronic acid. The benefits are not permanent; however, facial improvement usually lasts for about one year. The injection of Hyaluronic fillers into the face has Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Injection into the facial skin is done by a trained healthcare professional (a physician or a RN under the supervision of a trained physician). Treatments cost around $1,000.00.
Often, a local anesthetic is applied before the injection, which is done with a fine needle. Most patients report only mild discomfort during the procedure. Usually, only a single series of injections is needed.
Another popular substance for improving facial appearance is botulinum toxin (Botox®). It is most commonly used to remove lines on the forehead and around the eyes. Treatments do not last as long as hyaluronic acid, approximately three months. Furthermore, botulinum toxin is a toxin, which may have unpleasant or potentially serious side effects.
Of course, preventive measures are always better than treatment. Facial wrinkles occur as part of the aging process; however, proper skin care can prolong this process to a large degree. The two best preventive measures are avoidance of sun exposure and avoidance of tobacco. Both sun exposure and smoking damage the skin. Skin damage from smoking is due to cigarette smoke coming in contact with facial tissue.
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Jan
27
What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. Elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly extend youthful human life.
Cynthia Kenyon: Longevity Experiments
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Jan
26
A non-destructive method for imaging single proteins could help solve one of the biggest challenges in biology
MIT Technology Review, January 24, 2012 – The behavior and function of proteins is largely determined by their shape. So one of the great ongoing quests in biology is to understand and model the structure of proteins.
That’s a tricky task. Biologists currently do it using techniques such as X-ray crystallography, which requires millions of protein chains to form into a crystal. The trouble is that most proteins don’t form crystals. And even when they do, not all the molecules will be in the same conformation and so the diffraction pattern can end up being a kind of average of several different shapes.
That’s why biologists know the shape of less than 2 per cent of the proteins in humans.
What’s needed, of course, is a way of imaging individual proteins. One idea is to us x-rays or electron beams to do the trick and indeed some groups have had some success with this technique. But the disadvantage is that beams with an energy of a few KeV tend to destroy biomolecules so it’s not clear how accurate these images can be. Nether is it possible to view the molecules over time.
Today, Jean Nicholas Longchamp and pals at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have found a way round this. These guys make the entirely sensible suggestion of imaging proteins using low energy electron beams that don’t destroy biomolecules.
At this energy, electron beams have a wavelength of a nanometer or so, making them perfect not just for imaging with atomic resolution, but for holography.
And that’s exactly what these guys have done. They’ve created an electron hologram of a protein molecule called ferritin–that’s the football-shaped protein that stores and releases iron and is found in almost all living things.
The technique is fairly straightforward. They mix ferritin and carbon nanotubes in water which they then allow to evaporate. This leaves carbon nanotubes with single ferritin proteins bonded to them.
The evaporation takes place in a sieve-like container and leaves some of the ferritin-carrying nanotubes suspended across the holes in the sieve. That allows Longchamp and co to send the low energy electron beam from one side of the hole and then record the interference pattern on the other.
The result is the first atomic resolution electron hologram of ferritin ever made in a non-destructive way. “We have reported the very first non-destructive investigation of an individual protein by means of low-energy electron holography,” they say.
They’ve even compared their images to ones of ferritin imaged with high energy electrons and are able to show the damage that the high energy bombardment causes.
That’s exciting news. The problem of accurately determining the structure, and therefore the function, of proteins is a major headache for biologists and one that low energy electron holography could help to solve quickly. “The sample preparation method can be applied to a broad class of molecules,” say Longchamp and friends.
They now want to improve the resolution of their technique and have a number of tricks up their sleeves that they are no doubt investigating.
Given that the technique is relatively straightforward and inexpensive, expect to see an explosion of interest in single molecule structural biology at atomic resolution.
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1201.4300: Non-Destructive Imaging Of An Individual Protein
Demonstration of Actuation-at-a-Distance Effect for Labs on a Chip
Microelectromechanical devices could soon be remotely controlled using light thanks to a proof-of-concept experiment demonstrating “photoelectrowetting.”
Moving water is fairly straightforward on the human scale: a pump or a bucket will usually do the trick. But in the last couple of decades, various teams have begun to study ways of moving liquids around on the much smaller scale of micrometres.
Their goal is to create devices, such as a lab-on-a-chip, that can carry out self-contained chemical and biological tests on tiny samples. To that end, researchers have developed various new ways to move liquid around using exotic pumps relying on things like electric fields. So-called microfluidic devices are having a big impact in areas from pathogen identification to environmental monitoring
Last year, Steve Arscott at the The University of Lille in France added another tool to this armoury. He showed that light could modify the wetting angle of a conducting droplet sitting on an insulated conductor.
This system is essentially a capacitor: one conductor separated from another by an insulating layer. Physicists have known for some time that changing the voltage in such a capacitor sets up a force that alters the wetting angle of the droplet. This effect, known as electrowetting, is the basis for various kinds of electric pumps.
Photoelectrowetting works in a similar way, says Arscott. With a voltage across the capacitor, the incident light generates charge pairs within the droplet that influence the electric field in the capacitor and this changes the wetting angle.
That was an interesting advance because it raised the prospect of pumping small volumes of water using light and very little power (since there is almost no flow of current).
Today, he and his pal Matthieu Gaude put the photoelectrowetting effect into action. These guys have made a cantilever sitting above an insulated conductor and placed a droplet of water between them so that it fills the gap by capillary action (see above).
Zapping this system with light changes the wetting angle the droplet makes with the cantilever and the electrode below. This makes the droplet thinner, pulling the cantilever down.
The ability to actuate at a distance using light alone could have many applications because it eliminates the need for the complex circuitry and pumps now used to transport droplets. It could also allow optical addressing of autonomous, wireless sensors.
Incidentally. that’s not unlike the light actuation of metamaterials we looked at yesterday. Perhaps there’s a new era of light actuation ahead.
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1201.2873: “Actuation At A Distance” Of Microelectromechanical Systems Using Photoelectrowetting: Proof-Of-Concept
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Jan
26
Taken in various locations around Maniwa and Okayama Prefecture in Japan between 2008-2011 this brilliant series of photographs captures the wild frenzy of gold fireflies as they mate after thunderstorms during the June to July rainy season. Shot using a slow shutter speed, the neon green and yellow contrails seem almost digitally imposed on the scenic landscapes, but I assure you these are real.
Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh
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Jan
25
Year of the Dragon
Lincoln Center, NYC, Jan 24, 2012, Gala Performance of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Dragon Dance at Lincoln Center, NYC, on Tuesday 24th January 2012, with Lang Lang the Great Chinese Pianist, Gala Concert Celebration
Credit:Ramin Talaie for The Wall Street Journal
Dragon Dancers Herald the Start of Lunar New Year at Roosevelt Park in Manhattan’s Chinatown
2012 Lunar New Year in Boston, MA, USA
Former North Koreans, now living in South Korea, release cake snacks in balloons, to go over the border, to celebrate 2012 Year of the Dragon
New Year’s Tet Celebration Market Display in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2012 Celebrating the New Year in Saigon
Traditional Decoration for New Year in Japan
Hong Kong
Kuala Lumpur, Malasia
2012 New Year’s Feast in Mongolia
2012 Traditional New Year Game in Korea
2012 Year of Dragon Celebration in Mijas, Spain
2012 New Year Celebration in Tibet
Korea
South Korean Soldiers Celebrate the Lunar New Year, bowing with respect to ancestors.
Singapore
Hanoi, Vietnam
Taiwan
Bangkok, Thailand
Seoul, Korea
Manila, Philippines
Seoul, Korea
Cambodia
Chinatown, Lima, Peru
Singapore
Cambodia
Shanghai
Jakarta
Beijing
Central Java
Jakarta
Manila, Philippines
Indonesia
North Sumatra
Thailand
Manila, Philippines
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