Category Biology/Biotechnology

Study Probes how Eating Less Can Extend Lifespan

Eat less, live longer? Cutting calories may extend life span

Researchers tracked the health of nearly one thousand mice on a variety of diets to see if these diets would extend the mice’s lifespan. The study was designed to ensure that each mouse was genetically distinct, which allowed the team to better represent the genetic diversity of the human population. By doing so, the results are made more clinically relevant, elevating the study to one of the most significant investigations into aging and lifespan to date.

For nearly a century, laboratory studies have shown consistent results: eat less food, or eat less often, and an animal will live longer. But scientists have struggled to understand why these kinds of restrictive diets work to extend lifespan, and how to best implement them in humans...

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A matter of taste: Electronic Tongue Reveals AI ‘Inner Thoughts’

Device with three wires leading from the bottom next to a quarter
The electronic tongue comprises a graphene-based ion-sensitive field-effect transistor, or a conductive device that can detect chemical ions, linked to an artificial neural network, trained on various datasets. This is located in the top right of the device. Credit: Provided by the Das Lab. All Rights Reserved.

A recently developed electronic tongue is capable of identifying differences in similar liquids, such as milk with varying water content; diverse products, including soda types and coffee blends; signs of spoilage in fruit juices; and instances of food safety concerns...

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Team engineers New Enzyme to Produce Synthetic Genetic Material

John Chaput
“This is just the beginning,” says John Chaput, UC Irvine professor of pharmaceutical sciences. “We’re not just improving on existing drugs. We’re developing a whole new platform for creating therapies that aren’t possible with current technology.” Steve Zylius / UC Irvine

Discovery advances development of new therapeutic options for cancer and other diseases. A research team led by the University of California, Irvine has engineered an efficient new enzyme that can produce a synthetic genetic material called threose nucleic acid. The ability to synthesize artificial chains of TNA, which is inherently more stable than DNA, advances the discovery of potentially more powerful, precise therapeutic options to treat cancer and autoimmune, metabolic and infectious diseases.

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Scientists Discover a Secret to Regulating our Body Clock, Offering New Approach to End Jet Lag

A peptide (shown in mesh) with attached phosphate tags (red and orange spheres) blocks the active site of CK1δ. Tagging the tail end of CK1δ, a process known as auto-phosphorylation, makes the protein less active, and with that less able to fine-tune the body’s internal clocks. // Credit: Jon Philpott, Rajesh Narasimamurthy and David Virshup

Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and the University of California, Santa Cruz, have discovered the secret to regulating our internal clock. They identified that this regulator sits right at the tail end of Casein Kinase 1 delta (CK1δ), a protein which acts as a pacesetter for our internal biological clock or the natural 24-hour cycles that control sleep-wake patterns and other daily functions, known as circadian rhythm.

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