Making Skin Cells 30 Years Younger

Stock photo of fibroblasts (skin cells) labeled with fluorescent dyes. 

(Image credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Researchers in the U.K. have developed a way to reverse the aging process in skin cells, turning back the biological clock by about 30 years.


De-aging cells has become increasingly common in the last decade, with researchers reprogramming multiple mouse, rat and human cell types. But never before have cells been de-aged by so many years and still retained their specific type and function.


The method, developed by Diljeet Gill, a postdoctoral candidate at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, and his colleagues, was published April 8 in the journal eLife, and has been dubbed "maturation phase transient reprogramming."


The researchers applied this technique to fibroblasts (a common type of skin cell) from three middle-aged donors — who averaged at about 50 years old — then compared them to younger cells from donors aged 20 to 22. The researchers found that the middle-aged cells were similar to the younger cells, both chemically and genetically. When explored further, the team even noticed that the technique had affected genes related to age-related diseases, like Alzheimer's disease and cataracts.

last
In addition, Gill and his colleagues looked at the behavior of the fibroblasts to determine if they could also act like younger skin cells. When they wounded a layer of the cells, they found that the rejuvenated cells quickly moved to fill the gap — the same way that younger cells behave when healing wounds.


This study is not the first to de-age skin cells. That title goes to Nobel prize winner Shinya Yamanaka, who genetically reprogrammed mouse skin cells and turned them into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, back in 2006. These iPSCs resemble cells in early development, and have the potential to form any cell type in the body.  READ MORE...

Turin, Italy

 

NASA Teleports Physician to Space Station

NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid gives a space greeting Oct. 8, 2021, as he is holoported 

on to the International Space Station.  ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet

What's happening  --  A NASA flight surgeon was holoported beyond Earth and shook hands with astronaut Thomas Pesquet

Why it matters  --  "It is a brand new way of human exploration where our human entity is able to travel off the planet," according to NASA flight surgeon, Josef Schmid.

I have a new noun to add to your vocabulary: holoportation. It's an amalgam of "hologram" and "teleportation," and it isn't a niche sci-fi term buried somewhere in Isaac Asimov novels and Star Trek episodes.

In October, NASA used this mind-boggling, futuristic mechanism to bring NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid onto the International Space Station while he was safely planted on our planet. No rockets necessary.

Schmid was joined on this transdimensional journey by Fernando De La Pena Llaca, the CEO of AEXA Aerospace, an organization that helped develop the holoportation equipment, and a few other team members.

"It is a brand new way of human exploration where our human entity is able to travel off the planet," Schmid said in a statement earlier in April. "Our physical body is not there, but our human entity absolutely is there."  READ MORE...

Lightbulbs

Bird Shower

 

Starlink and Hawaiian Airlines

Under the terms of the agreement, Hawaiian Airlines will offer SpaceX's high-speed, low-latency broadband internet service to its guests free of charge onboard flights between the islands and the continental U.S, Asia and Oceania. (Hawaiian Airlines)

Under the terms of the agreement, Hawaiian Airlines will become the first major airline to offer Starlink's high-speed, low-latency broadband internet service to its guests free of charge onboard flights between the islands and the continental United States, Asia and Oceania.


Hawaiian Airlines offers approximately 130 daily flights within the Hawaiian Islands, daily nonstop flights between Hawaii and 16 U.S. gateway cities, and service connecting Honolulu and American Samoa, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Tahiti.


Hawaii’s largest and longest-serving carrier will equip its Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft, as well as an incoming fleet of Boeing 787-9s, with Starlink's service. Hawaiian does not currently plan to deploy Starlink on its Boeing 717 aircraft that operate short flights between the Hawaiian Islands.


Hawaiian and Starlink are in the initial stages of implementation and expect to begin installing the service on select aircraft next year.  READ MORE...

Speaking Out

 

Disney's Prices

An impassioned Guest took to social media to discuss their issues with the Walt Disney World Resort currently.

While some Guests have been able to ignore certain issues while in the Parks, many are starting to feel frustrated about the Resort in Orlando, Florida, claiming it’s getting too crowded and too expensive. One of the biggest complaints we’ve seen from Guests lately has been caused by the new Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane systems which were introduced in late 2021.

This replacement for Disney’s FastPass system has seen much criticism and frustration, leaving many Guests feeling confused by the service. In theory, this paid service should enhance Guests’ experience at the Parks, but in practice, it seemed to just be an expensive itinerary planner for some, while others love using the system. These paid services allow Guests to skip lines for a price, meaning Disney now has a financial incentive to have long lines. At Disney World, for $15.00 per day per Guest, you can skip the long standby queue by making a Lightning Lane reservation (new FastPass) and returning at that time.

In a post shared on Reddit, one Guest discussed the expensive nature of the Disney Parks at the moment:


Disney World. Instead of pricing people out of your parks, invest in your customers and build a 5th and maybe 6th park. Invest in your employees by paying them a better than living wage and emphasize training and retaining world class employees. Increase guest and employee experience

I love Disney, and I want as many people to experience it as possible. I understand supply and demand. I understand scarcity. I understand that certain people due to economic circumstances should not have access to this place. I understand profit is king. I get it. I love WDW though and I feel that the stewards charged with protecting it have taken a very wrong turn.  READ MORE...

Exercising

 

Self-Sabotage

• Many self-sabotaging cycles are trauma responses and patterns learned earlier in life as self-preservation.
• A fear of abandonment is really a fear of intimacy and connection.
• To change these patterns, we need to be willing to unlearn patterns of self-preservation while learning patterns of self-healing.

Source: twise/unsplash

Familiar and comfortable are not the same thing as healthy and safe. Yet, we are often attracted to what is familiar and comfortable because it resonates with our early conditioning. Until we begin taking a deep dive into our personal history, our repetitive patterns, and our learned conditioning, our ability to see whether we’re engaging in self-sabotaging behavior may be blurred. 

We may be in denial or turn to rationalizations or projections as excuses for why we continue repeating unhealthy patterns. At the core of all self-sabotaging behavior, we typically find fears of being abandoned, not feeling "good enough," and struggles with self-identity and self-esteem. However, once we peel back these layers, we begin seeing that many self-sabotaging cycles are trauma responses and patterns learned earlier in life as self-preservation.

Why We Self-Sabotage

Unresolved trauma: If we grew up in a toxic family, we were probably handed certain implicit roles, often for survival. We may have had narcissistic or abusive parents who shamed us, physically abused us, or emotionally neglected us. Or we may have had a parent who enabled others in the family to continue cycles of self-defeating behavior, including their own. 

These wounds are what get carried with us as self-sabotaging behavior. We often recreate the same patterns in our adult relationships that were modeled and conditioned for us in our childhood, including messages of not feeling worthy, fearing abandonment, or believing maladaptive mindsets that were taught as normal. Eventually, we wind up turning to more misery as “comfortable” or “familiar.”  READ MORE...

Rainndrops

Online Classes

 

For over 10 years I wore a mustache and while I did look very similar to the caricature illustrated above, I decided that I no longer wanted to be bothered by its maintenance...  so, off it came.

My PROBLEM all my life has been that I am very outspoken and so much so that I have been terminated from employment numerous times because of my outspoken behavior much to the constant disappointment of my spouse who has had to live wide the adverse side effects of my bullshit. 

Today, I am speaking out against education, specifically online education which seems to be gaining traction, especially in light of the COVID Pandemic that had become a global nightmare.

Personally, I have designed online courses and have taught online courses and in both instances, I have come to believe that online instruction is by far THE WORST WAY TO LEARN...  in general...  I say in general because for some people, online education is not only ideal but perfect.

My biggest problem with online education is...  it is very difficult to be hands on...  The best way to learn is to teach other.  The second best way to learn is to be hands on.

For me, learning means RETENTION.

The next problem I have is student interaction.  It is difficult to simulate student interaction in an online environment without being in some sort of chat room...  and, even in those chat rooms, there is very little that the instructor can do to stimulate the conversation and interaction.

My next problem is the quizzes.  Most quizzes are multiple-choice, T/F, fill in the blank, match items, and essay questions.  Online courses avoid essay questions because the instructor will have to do some work.  But more importantly, students have a very hard time answering essay questions as they have not been taught how to drill down on a subject or answer a question with a response longer than 1-2 short sentences.

How can an opinion be formulated in one to two sentences?

How can a student demonstrate competency and UNDERSTANDING in one to two sentences?

I can imagine teaching math in an online environment...  but, I cannot imagine teaching theoretical physics in an online environment...  or even applied psychology.

Opinions are like assholes...  everybody has got one...

MRI & The Lower Back (L4/L5)

L4/L5 are two disks in the lower spine of the human body and are more than likely involved when there is lower back pain being experienced by an adult in their 70s like myself...

Tomorrow, I will have an MRI performed on my lower back to determine the cause of my problems...

According to my research, my discomfort and inability to walk correctly could come from:

• a slipped disk
• a bulging disk
• bone degeneration
• pinched nerve

There are other issues but these are the main ones...  and the solutions are:

• do nothing
• injections
• surgery
• therapy

Of course, insurance has a lot to do with what type of treatment is offered unless you have the out-of-pocket funds to pay for what the insurance company does not...

My MRI will be sedated and because I needed to be sedated I had to wait two months for the procedure.  Many people think I am a PUSSY for needing to be sedated but I really don't give a shit what they think...  what I care about is what I think and what I need to have done for my own mental health and well being.

There is one good thing about being in one's 70s and that is you don't have to concern yourself with what others think.

American Freedom

 Anybody that starts dicking around with my Freedom of Speech really gets my nose out of joint...  

Personally, I don't give a damn about a conservative's point-of-view nor do I give a rat's ass about a liberal's point-of-view...  but what gets me pissed is not being able to hear both sides...

Freedom of speech is not an athletic competition where if one side wins, that's the views that we have to listen to until the next competition...

Freedom of speech is a constitutional right and that constitutional right does not favor one view over another view...  the constitution favors both views and demands both views be heard otherwise we do not have freedom of speech.

Now that Elon Musk has purchased TWITTER everyone on the liberal side of the fence perceives that it is going to favor the conservatives...  especially since before the purchase Twitter favored the liberals...  BUT THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN...  Musk might be a conservative but he is also intelligent enough to realize that freedom of speech actually means allowing BOTH SIDES to be heard equally....

What a concept!!!  just like the My Pillow guy saying he has towels that work...

Dragonfire

Emotional Intelligence

Healthy emotional intelligence can bring you greater joy and fulfillment in your own life, and it surely has the power to increase the quality of your relationships. There's a reason why my recent book Date Smart, which sets out to help people find and build healthy relationships, focuses so heavily on EQ skills: Solid emotional intelligence is critical for all healthy intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. In truth, with so much change and chaos in the world, emotional intelligence is the go-to quality we all need.


But emotional intelligence is not a given. We have to work to gain and maintain our EQ throughout life.

There are five core aspects of EQ:

1. Self-knowledge
2. Self-control
3. Social skills
4. Empathy
5. Personal motivation for self-growth

The depth and breadth of these key components might seem intimidating, but increasing your EQ doesn't need to be complicated. Over the years working with clients as a clinical psychologist, I've developed a simple, actionable strategy that reliably helps people grow in each of these areas simultaneously.

The method is a simple "1-2-3" process. As situations come up in life that bring up uncomfortable thoughts and feelings such as anger, irritation, or confusion, mentally run through these three steps. 

Although the process may feel unfamiliar at first, it will become second nature with patience, practice, and perseverance. Each step naturally increases all five of the core EQ aspects, though some steps will hone certain EQ elements more than others.

With this little "1-2-3" mindset shift—and a lot of ongoing practice—you'll feel your level of EQ growing stronger by the day:  

TO READ ABOUT THESE THREE STEPS, CLICK HERE...

Skateboarding

 

Lakes in the USA

Most of the United States doesn’t live along the Pacific or Atlantic Coasts, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t inland wonders and beautiful beaches. 14 of the clearest lakes in the US offer up an alternative paradise.

As with most bodies of water, the biggest threat to these natural resources is human development and debris left behind after recreational use. If you’re going to visit one of the clearest lakes in America, make sure to pack out everything that you packed in.

So where can you find some of the clearest lakes in the United States?

Here are 14 of the clearest lakes in the US:

1. Lake Tahoe
2. Hanging Lake
3. Crater Lake
4. Torch Lake
5. Norris Lake
6. Newfound Lake
7. Flathead Lake
8. Lake Chelan
9. Lake Murray
10. Lake Coeur D’Alene
11. Lake George
12. Lake Winnipesaukee
13. Lake Powell
14. Deer Lake

TO READ MORE ABOUT EACH OF THESE LAKES, CLICK HERE...

Dancing Ladies

 

Fighting COVID with Superstition

Columbia University reverted their COVID-19 policy, requiring students to mask indoors.

Gabriele Holtermann

Boy, is US higher education full of idiots: Columbia University, affiliated Barnard College and Pace University, among other schools, have all started requiring masking indoors again.

Columbia-Barnard only scrapped the mandate on March 14, so students got less than a month to breathe free, and now will be muzzled through June.

And all because campus administrators deem it more important to virtue-signal than to follow the actual science. They blame an uptick in COVID cases, though COVID poses no significant risk to their fully vaccinated student bodies.

Plus, as noted above, case numbers stopped being a useful indicator of coronavirus perils at least a year ago.

And just 0.001% of 15- to 24-year-olds are at risk of dying from COVID, per data from Johns Hopkins. And masking does very little to reduce transmission risks, anyway.

COVID is now endemic, not pandemic — meaning we’ll have to learn to live with the background risks it poses, just like the flu. It’ll help that learning process when the supposedly smartest folks in America stop relying on superstition to “fight” it.