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Waterborne germs sicken millions + Lemurs aid human cryogenic sleep & space travel

#1
C C Offline
Waterborne germs sicken millions of Americans a year, CDC report finds
https://gizmodo.com/waterborne-germs-sic...1845896184

INTRO: Waterborne illnesses like swimmer’s ear, norovirus, and Legionnaires’ disease sicken over 7 million Americans, hospitalize more than 100,000, and kill nearly 7,000 each year, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. The germs also rack up billions in health care costs. The report, published by the CDC on Wednesday, is the first of its kind to try to estimate how much suffering waterborne germs cause in the U.S. every year. The estimates are based on multiple sources of information, including surveillance data from emergency rooms, hospitals, and doctors’ offices. It focuses on 17 commonly reported infectious diseases spread through contaminated water—not just what we drink, but also the water found in swimming pools and hot tubs, as well as aerosolized water from air-conditioning units, for example... (MORE)


Hibernating lemurs may be key to cryogenic sleep for human space travel
https://theconversation.com/hibernating-...vel-148408

EXCERPTS: . . . Suspended animation and biostasis may elicit science fiction images of humans in cryosleep pods. If we could put humans in a state of suspended animation by greatly slowing or even fully halting metabolic activity, we could alleviate issues surrounding space travel: time, health concerns, spacecraft size and supply allocation.

[...] Animals who spend the winter in states of suspended animation — hibernation — don’t experience significant muscle and bone wasting. Their existence and ability to reversibly turn off biological processes seemingly necessary for life may well hold the key to creating the conditions required for the human hibernation strategy that could pave our way to surviving long interstellar voyages to distant stars.

[...] One of the driving forces behind this extreme ability is microRNAs — short pieces of RNA that act as molecular gene silencers. MicroRNAs can regulate gene expression without altering the genetic code itself. By studying the microRNA strategy these animals use, we can exploit this genetic on/off switch for rapid, reversible changes that could aid hibernation in humans.

Our work on gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) shows how microRNAs control which biological processes remain on to protect the animal and which ones are switched off to save energy. Some of these microRNAs were found to combat muscle wasting during hibernation. Other roles seem to involve preventing cell death, slowing down or stopping unnecessary cell growth, and switching fuel stores from quickly consumed sugars to slower-burned fats.

While microRNAs are a promising avenue of research, they are just one piece of the puzzle. Our lab is also looking into other aspects of how primates hibernate, such as how these lemurs protect their cells from stress, control global gene levels and how they store enough energy to survive hibernation... (MORE - details)
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#2
Tunov Offline
One of my only hopes for a better personal future, even as unlikely as cryonics looks right now.
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