Study: Playing board games like Chess, Mahjong, Go, helps slow cognitive decline as we age (but with clear differences in neurobiology and function)
Conclusions: Traditional board games may slow global cognitive decline and improve the quality of life in elderly subjects. Different games have varying impacts on specific cognitive domains, possibly mediated by functional and biological factors.
The Study in Context:
Study: For better memory and thinking skills at age 70 (and beyond), play cards and board games from age 11
How learning changes your brain
Solving the Brain Fitness Puzzle Is the Key to Self-Empowered Aging
The post Study: Playing board games like Chess, Mahjong, Go, helps slow cognitive decline as we age (but with clear differences in neurobio...
Source: SharpBrains - October 25, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning aging Alzheimer’s Disease BDNF chess cognition cognitive decline Cognitive-impairment dementia Go Mahjong neurobiology primary prevention recreational games secondary preve Source Type: blogs
The Ultimate Guide to Superfoods: Nourishing the Brain Beyond Basics
Conclusion
As we stand at the crossroads of ancient tradition and groundbreaking technologies, it's evident that our past still holds the key to our future. And in researching longevity and the desire for an active and healthy life, nutrition emerges as our ally.
We broke down the benefits of the 5 most overlooked superfoods and how to introduce them into our diet seamlessly, as well as the juxtaposition between age-old wisdom and cutting-edge science by showcasing humanity's continuous journey towards holistic well-being.
Incorporating them into our diets is more than just a trend; it's a testament to...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - October 25, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Nahla Davies Tags: featured health and fitness productivity tips self-improvement superfoods Source Type: blogs
Understanding RNA-Modifying Enzymes: Q & A With Jeffrey Mugridge
Credit: Courtesy of Jeffrey Mugridge.
“One of the best aspects of research is the excitement of discovery, being the first person in the world to know a small detail about the system you’re studying,” says Jeffrey Mugridge, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Delaware in Newark. We talked with Dr. Mugridge about how a pet store job sparked his early interest in science, why he decided to change his career trajectory after graduate school, and what he believes is key to being a successful researcher.
Q: How did you first become interested in science?
A: ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 25, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Profiles RNA Source Type: blogs
Questions grow about the validity and usefulness of direct-to-consumer blood tests for Alzheimer ’s Disease
For the first time, people worried about their risk of Alzheimer’s disease can go online, order a blood test, and receive results in the privacy of their homes.
This might seem appealing on the surface, but the development has Alzheimer’s researchers and clinicians up in arms.
The Quest Diagnostics blood test, AD-Detect, measures elevated levels of amyloid-beta proteins, a signature characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Introduced in late July, the test is targeted primarily at people 50 and older who suspect their memory and thinking might be impaired and people with a family history of Alzheimer’s or genetic risks for t...
Source: SharpBrains - October 19, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Judith Graham at Kaiser Health News Tags: Brain/ Mental Health AD-Detect Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s biomarker amyloid-beta proteins brain health brain pathology cognitive cognitive-symptoms mini-strokes neurology neuropsychologist Quest Diagnostics sleep apnea Source Type: blogs
A Periodic Look at Elements
It’s National Chemistry Week! To celebrate, we’re looking back at a few recent blog posts highlighting elements important for human health and scientific research. Check out the posts and tell us what your favorite element is in the comments section!
Credit: Adapted from Compound Interest. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Got Calcium?
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in our bodies. It’s essential for lots of important functions—including keeping bones strong and allowing muscles to move. Even clicking on this post to learn more about its many roles requires calcium!
Credit: Adapted from Compound...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 18, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Element Source Type: blogs
A 20-something woman with cardiac arrest.
The patient is a 20 something female. She is healthy with no known cardiac disease. She was admitted to the neurology department due to headache and vomiting. She was found to have a viral CNS infection. A few days into her hospital stay she developedchest discomfort and the following ECG was recorded. What do you think? Why such large T-waves? Are these hyperacute T-waves? Are these ECG changes related to the CNS infection perhaps? What disease processes would you put on your list of differential diagnoses?When I saw the ECG of this patient I saw that there was definitely something " off " . I didn ' t get...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - October 18, 2023 Category: Cardiology Authors: Magnus Nossen Source Type: blogs
Shear-Thinning Biomaterial for Embolic Applications: Interview with Upma Sharma, President and CEO of Arsenal Medical
Arsenal Medical, a medtech company based in Massachusetts, has developed Neocast, an embolic biomaterial designed for catheter-mediated embolization procedures. Conventional materials for embolization can have several limitations, including a lack of radiopacity, catheter clogging, catheter entrapment at the delivery site, solvent-mediated pain at the delivery site, and they can even cause sparking of electrocautery tools.
Neocast is solvent-free, avoiding delivery site pain, and functions with a unique shear-thinning action that allows deep vessel penetration. The material flows with the blood to embolize distal vessel...
Source: Medgadget - October 17, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Cardiac Surgery Cardiology Exclusive Materials Neurosurgery Radiology Vascular Surgery ArsenalMedical embolization Source Type: blogs
How Do Medicines Work?
Credit: iStock.
What we put into our bodies can affect how they function and what they do. For example, a sugary snack will probably make you feel differently than a high-protein meal. Similarly, different medicines elicit different responses in your body, and pharmacologists try to fine-tune each medicine to balance the desired (on-target) with the undesired (off-target) effects—a branch of pharmacology called pharmacodynamics.
Most medicines work by binding to a molecular target, usually proteins like receptors or enzymes, and either blocking or supporting its activity, which results in their therapeutic effects.
...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 16, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Common questions Medicines Miniseries Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 16th 2023
In conclusion, a number of studies have shown that CD4+ Treg cells are crucial in the maintenance of peripheral tolerance and have an important role in the control of atherosclerosis-related inflammation. Therefore, Treg cells are a promising target of major research efforts focused on immune-modulating therapies against atherosclerosis. Developing anti-atherosclerotic Treg-based therapies faces challenges. However, rapid progress in genetic, epigenetic, and molecular aspects of cellular immunology gives hope for a fast-track solution.
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Delivering Senolytic Nanoparticles to Atheroscle...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 15, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
The Mindful Body argues against mindlessly accepting age-related decline in cognition and health as inevitable
In 1979, Harvard researcher Ellen Langer invited elderly men to spend a week at a retreat designed to remind them of their younger days, surrounded by the art, music, food, games, décor, and more from the late 1950s. Afterward, the men were tested and found to have made significant gains in hearing, memory, dexterity, posture, and general well-being. It was as if being in a place signaling their younger days made them physiologically “younger.”
Maybe you, too, have had an experience where your mind seemed to affect your health. It turns out there’s a reason for that, according to Langer, author of the new book The M...
Source: SharpBrains - October 9, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Greater Good Science Center Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Education & Lifelong Learning anti-anxiety medication anti-depressants book cognition cognitive change cognitive-abilities Ellen Langer mind mindfulness-meditation mindlessly physiology placebo studies Th Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, October 9th 2023
Fight Aging! publishes news and commentary relevant to the goal of ending all age-related disease, to be achieved by bringing the mechanisms of aging under the control of modern medicine. This weekly newsletter is sent to thousands of interested subscribers. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the newsletter,
please visit:
https://www.fightaging.org/newsletter/
Longevity Industry Consulting Services
Reason, the founder of Fight Aging! and Repair Biotechnologies, offers strategic consulting services to investors, entrepreneurs, and others interested in the longevity industry and its complexities. To find out m...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 8, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Briya Raises $11.5M Series A, Accelerates U.S. Rollout of Blockchain-Secured Data Exchange Platform to Enhance Collaboration Between Hospitals and Life Sciences
Briya Enables Hospitals to Increase Revenue While Research Organizations Capitalize on Most Comprehensive Anonymized Data to Develop and Implement Patient Treatments
Briya, an end-to-end healthcare data exchange platform, today announced the completion of an $11.5 million Series A round of financing, bringing the company’s total funding to $17 million. The round was led by Team8, includes existing investors Insight Partners and Amiti Ventures, and is joined by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
The funding will support Briya’s mission to transform how data is exchanged between healthcare organizations and life sc...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - October 5, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Amiti Ventures Berlin Institute of Health BIH Briya Charité Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin David Lazerson Dr. Jawed Nawabi George Kaiser Family Foundation Health IT Funding Health IT Fundi Source Type: blogs
T Cells Coordinate with Microglia in the Alzheimer's Brain
The brain is immune privileged and has its own immune system separated from that of the rest of the body by the blood-brain barrier. It isn't true that T cells of the adaptive immune system are never found in the brain, however. There are ways in, and as researchers show here, T cells do play a role in coordinating the immune defense against issues such the excessive protein aggregation characteristic of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. There is an increasing focus on immune system dysfunction and chronic inflammation in the aging of the brain and onset of neurodegeneration. Exerting greater contro...
Source: Fight Aging! - October 5, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Claira Sohn Cultivates Neurons and Diversity in the STEM Community
Credit: Courtesy of Claira Sohn.
Claira Sohn credits her grandfather with sparking her interest in science. Although he never studied science at a 4-year university due to financial limitations, he took many community college classes and worked in chemistry labs developing products such as hair dyes and dissolvable stitches. “Every morning, my grandfather would take me to school, and we’d stop to get orange juice and a cookie and talk about science. When I was in elementary school, he bought me a book about quantum mechanics written for kids,” she says. “He inspired me to ask questions and encouraged me to go to ...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 4, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Cells Diseases Profiles Training Source Type: blogs
Beyond the clinic: Can digital therapeutics (DTx) help boost mental health in the workforce at scale?
Hoping to Avoid Pear’s Fate, Behavioral Health-Focused DTx Companies Look to Employer Market (Behavioral Health Business):
The digital therapeutics (DTx) industry is at a crossroads after one of the most prominent companies in the space, Pear Therapeutics, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. The turmoil comes after DTx began catching on in the behavioral health field.
Despite Pear’s setback, some believe there’s now a chance for other digital therapeutics companies to learn from their competitor’s mistakes and pave the way for DTx. One of the most challenging questions for the burgeoning sector remains payment ...
Source: SharpBrains - October 2, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation Calm digital therapeutics DTx FDA Pear Therapeutics Wondr Health Wysa Source Type: blogs
