Mostly Microbes and Infection

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  limit of 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 . The sale of purported anti-aging products such as supplements and hormon...

by  Jarrod Cortez   ,  Ignacio Romero   ,  Jason Ngo   ,  Md Sayed Tanveer Azam   ,  Chuang Niu   ,  Cássio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-da-Silva   ,  Leticia Ferreira Cabido   ,  David M Ojcius   ,  Wei-Chun Chin   ,  Ge Wang   ,  Changqing Li   Background:  Periodontal disease affects over 50% of the global population and is characterized by gingivitis as the initial sign. One dental health issue that may contribute to the development of periodontal disease is foreign body gingivitis (FBG), which can result from exposure to some kinds of foreign metal particles from dental products or food. Objective:  We design a novel, portable, affordable, multispectral X-ray and fluorescence optical microscopic imaging system dedicated to detecting and differentiating metal oxide particles in dental pathological tissues. A novel denoising algorithm is applied. We verify the feasibility ...

by Jan Martel, David M. Ojcius, John D. Young.     Senescence is a condition of cell cycle arrest that increases inflammation and contributes to the development of chronic diseases in the aging human body. While several compounds described as senolytics and senomorphics produce health benefits by reducing the burden of senescence, less attention has been devoted to lifestyle interventions that produce similar effects. We describe here the effects of exercise, nutrition, caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, phytochemicals from natural products, prebiotics and probiotics, and adequate sleep on senescence in model organisms and humans. These interventions can be integrated within a healthy lifestyle to reduce senescence and inflammation and delay the consequences of aging.

Assistant Provost for Research:   David Ojcius.  The  Office of Research and Sponsored Programs strives to provide the highest quality of support to faculty, staff, and students by facilitating proposal processing; managing submission and review; and administration of awards/contracts and Research Compliance.

  Calorie Restriction is known to delay progression of age-related diseases in animal models. A new study suggests the same biological mechanisms may apply to humans.

Scientists have used CRISPR to create chickens that have some resistance to avian flu . The research is "proof of concept that we can move toward making chickens resistant to the virus".

Urbanization associates with restricted gut microbiome diversity & delayed maturation in infants in Senegal. •Urban infants also more susceptible to infectious diseases •Urban mothers had higher abundance of Lachnospiraceae & Enterobacter