immortality gene sheds light on human aging

By Leon Gettler
December 9, 2012

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Dorian Gray move aside, scientists have discovered that the immortal hydra polyp might help produce advanced rejuvenation therapies for humans (Photo: CAU/Fraune)
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The tiny freshwater polyp Hydra is a remarkable creature. It does not show any signs of aging and appears to be immortal. Researchers from Kiel University have examined this phenomenon and uncovered an important link to the aging process in humans that could lead to the development of advanced rejuvenation therapies.

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How does the polyp Hydra do this? It accomplishes the feat of apparent immortality by reproducing through budding rather than mating. Each polyp contains stem cells capable of continuous proliferation. Without this endless supply of regenerating stem cells, the animals could not reproduce.
Geneticists at Kiel University, together with the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, discovered that the same longevity gene that makes the hydra immortal may also explain why humans get older, and more infirm.
"Surprisingly, our search for the gene that causes Hydra to be immortal led us to the so-called FoxO gene," says Anna-Marei Böhm, PhD student and first author of the study.
All animals and humans have a FoxO gene. Until now, no one has been able to work out if FoxO plays a role in aging and why human stem cells become fewer and inactive with increasing age. The growing inactivity of stem cells as we age is critical. Because our stem cells lose the ability to proliferate and form new cells, aging tissue cannot regenerate any more. As a result, our muscles decline.
The Kiel researchers examined FoxO in several genetically modified polyps: Hydra with normal FoxO, with inactive FoxO and with enhanced FoxO. The scientists found that animals without FoxO possess significantly fewer stem cells.
“Our research group demonstrated for the first time that there is a direct link between the FoxO gene and aging“, says Thomas Bosch from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University, who led the Hydra study. “FoxO has been found to be particularly active in centenarians – people older than one hundred years – which is why we believe that FoxO plays a key role in aging – not only in Hydra but also in humans.”
The study has produced two conclusions. First, the FoxO gene plays a key role in the maintenance of stem cells and thus determines the life span of all animals. Secondly, the aging and longevity of organisms depends on two factors: the maintenance of stem cells and the maintenance of a functioning immune system.
The hypothesis can’t be verified yet on human beings as that would require genetic manipulation. Nonetheless, the research is a big step forward and more studies on the Hydra and the FoxO gene are planned which could lay the foundations for the development of advanced rejuvenation therapy for humans in the future.
Source: Kiel University

flexible keyboard rolls up like a sheet of paper

By Jonathan Fincher
December 11, 2012

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The Qii is a thin, flexible keyboard that connects wirelessly to smart devices and rolls up into a portable case about the size of a roll of coins
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Keyboards have come a long way from the plastic dust traps of yesteryear. In just the past few months, we've seen virtual keyboards that project onto any surface and gloves that let users "type" in thin air. Now a handful of inventors have created the Qii, a thin, flexible keyboard that connects wirelessly to smart devices and rolls up into a portable case that fits in your pocket.

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There have been a few keyboards that could be rolled up in the past, but these still only shrunk to the size of a magazine, which is still a bit bulky. When it's stored away, the Qii (pronounced key) is about as big as a roll of coins, but can be pulled out easily like a tape measure and laid over almost any surface to type on.
With a corresponding app, the keyboard connects to supported smart devices over Bluetooth. The full QWERTY keyboard also has a textured surface for easier touch typing and an anti-fingerprint coating that can be washed with just soap and water. To top it all off, the case itself is a touchpad that lets users scroll through and select items onscreen.
Over a period of several years, the team behind the bendable keyboard developed a technique for printing programmable touch sensors onto a new carbon-based nanomaterial that can conduct electricity. The result was a transparent film that can be programmed to detect the force and position of a finger touching it. Surprisingly, the flexibility of this film also enhances the keyboard's resilience. Since all the electronic components are printed flat and made of water and dirt resistant materials, the keyboard can survive drink spills and even being hit with a hammer.

There are plenty of possibilities for an ultra-thin wireless touch sensor, and the designers hope this will be the first of many products to use the technology. The Qii's electronics are built into a bendable plastic for now, but with future development, similar electronic components could be printed on a smaller scale and onto almost any material, even paper. And since it's completely programmable, different apps could yield wildly different uses for the material aside from a QWERTY keyboard.
The makers of the Qii are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to finalize the product and bring it to full production, but there's still plenty of testing and design work left to finish, particularly with getting all the components to fit inside the case properly. As of this writing, there's less than 30 days left for it to reach its US$1,850,000 goal with just over $9,000 in contributions, which doesn't seem like a good sign unfortunately.

You can still reserve your own Qii in a variety of colors for donations starting at US$120 however, with delivery expected for October 2013, provided the Indiegogo campaign reaches it's target. Certain contributors who donate a significant amount will also have the chance to work with the team to program the material with their own custom functions.
Check out the video below to see how the Qii rolls out onto any surface to act as a working keyboard almost anywhere

DARPA foam fights internal bleeding

By David Szondy
December 11, 2012

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Animation still of the DARPA foam being injected
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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing a foam that can be injected into the body cavities of battlefield wounded to protect them from internal abdominal bleeding. The agency hopes that when perfected, the foam will help the wounded to survive the critical minutes needed to transport them to proper surgical facilities for treatment.
Developed by Arsenal Medical, Inc. as part of DARPA’s Wound Stasis program, the product is a polyurethane polymer foam designed to control internal hemorrhaging for at least an hour and is designed to be easy for doctors and surgeons to remove.
The “Golden Hour” is the 60 minutes when initial treatment of battlefield casualties means the probable difference between life and death. Abdominal injuries are particularly dangerous during this time because they can’t be treated with compression pads or tourniquets. This means that internal bleeding is a real threat to survival before proper facilities can be reached.
The polymer foam is intended to be injected into the abdominal cavity by a field medic in two liquid phases – a polyol phase and an isocyanate phase. When the liquids combine, they react and expand to 30 times their original volume – a bit like foam thermal insulation. As the foam expands, it fills the intact abdominal cavity and hardens into a dressing that molds itself to the internal organs and resists blood loss. Removing the foam is also remarkably easy. In tests, it showed little signs of sticking to tissues and surgeons were able to remove it in a solid block in less than a minute.

No human tests have been conducted, but work has been done with test swine injuries. Preclinical data presented by project members at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma in Kauai, Hawaii showed that the foam raised survival rates for liver injuries after three hours from 8 to 72 percent, while reducing blood loss six fold.
Arsenal Medical is currently working on Phase II of the project under a US$15.5 million contract from DARPA. Meanwhile, the agency is hoping for clinical trials.
“If testing bears out, the foam technology could affect up to 50 percent of potentially survivable battlefield wounds," says DARPA program manager Brian Holloway. "We look forward to working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on future regulatory submission of this device, and with our partners, the Army Institute of Surgical Research and Special Operations Command, on getting this technology to where it’s desperately needed on the front lines.”
The animation below shows the foam in action.
Source: DARPA