Mostly Microbes and Infection

  Inflammasomes   are   cytosolic   multiprotein   complexes of the   innate immune system   responsible for the activation of inflammatory responses and   cell death . [ 1 ] [ 2 ]   They are formed as a result of specific   cytosolic   pattern recognition receptors   (PRRs), which are molecular sensors of microbe-derived   pathogen-associated molecular patterns   (PAMPs),   damage-associated molecular patterns   (DAMPs) from the host cell, or homeostatic disruptions. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]   Activation and assembly of the inflammasome promotes the activation of   caspase-1 , which then proteolytically cleaves pro-inflammatory cytokines,   interleukin 1β   (IL-1β) and   interleukin 18   (IL-18), as well as the pore-forming molecule gasdermin D ( GSDMD ). [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]   The N-terminal GSDMD fragment resulting from this cleavage induces a pro-inflammatory form of programmed c...

  The   human microbiome   is the aggregate of all   microbiota   that reside on or within   human tissues   and   biofluids   along with the corresponding   anatomical sites   in which they reside, [ 1 ] [ 2 ]   including the   gastrointestinal tract ,   skin ,   mammary glands ,   seminal fluid ,   uterus ,   ovarian follicles ,   lung ,   saliva ,   oral mucosa ,   ocular surface , and the   biliary tract . Types of   human microbiota   include   bacteria ,   archaea ,   fungi ,   protists , and   viruses . Though   micro-animals   can also live on the human body, they are typically excluded from this definition. In the context of   genomics , the term   human microbiome   is sometimes used to refer to the collective   genomes   of resident microorganisms; [ 3 ]   however, the term   human me...

  Life extension   is the concept of extending the human   lifespan , either modestly through improvements in medicine or dramatically by increasing the   maximum lifespan   beyond its generally-settled biological limit of   around 125 years . [ 1 ]   Several researchers in the area, along with "life extensionists", " immortalists ", or " longevists " (those who wish to achieve longer lives themselves), postulate that future breakthroughs in tissue   rejuvenation ,   stem cells ,   regenerative medicine ,   molecular   repair,   gene therapy , pharmaceuticals, and   organ   replacement (such as with artificial organs or   xenotransplantations ) will eventually enable humans to have indefinite lifespans through complete rejuvenation to a healthy youthful condition (agerasia [ 2 ] ). The ethical ramifications, if life extension becomes a possibility, are debated by   bioethicists .