Monday, October 31, 2016

Study reveals a natural compound which reduces signs of ageing

  • IANS, New York
  •  |  
  • Updated: Oct 31, 2016 11:18 IST

A natural compound found in vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cucumber are potential anti-ageing remedies. (Shutterstock, iStock)

According to a study, supplements of a natural compound can compensate the human body for the loss of energy production, and reduce the typical signs of ageing.
With age, the body structure loses its capacity to make a key element of energy production called NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). This results in gradual weight gain, loss of insulin sensitivity and decline in physical activity.
A team of researchers at Washington University - St. Louis, has found a natural compound called NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) with potential anti-ageing remedies. NMN naturally occurs in a number of foods, including broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, edamame and avocado.
The research, conducted on ageing mice, showed a way to slow the physiologic decline in them, which means older mice can have metabolism and energy levels resembling that of younger mice.
“Since human cells rely on this same energy production process, we are hopeful this will translate into a method to help people remain healthier as they age,” said Shin-ichiro Imai, Professor at Washington University - St. Louis.

Edemame is a commonly-found bean used cuisine of China, Japan, Korea and Hawaii.


The study showed that NMN supplementation has long-term benefits in skeletal muscle, liver function, bone density, eye function, insulin sensitivity, immune function, body weight and physical activity levels.
Administering NMN was found to help energy metabolism by improving the function of mitochondria, powerhouse of cells.
Further, the mice given NMN gained less weight with ageing even as they consumed more food, likely because their boosted metabolism generated more energy for physical activity.
In addition, NMN supplementation led to improved insulin sensitivity in the older mice, better functioning of the mouse retina as well as increased tear production, which is often lost with ageing.

Avocado, originally coming from South Mexico, can grow in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world.


On the other hand, these NMN supplementation had no effect in the young mice because they are still making plenty of their own NMN, the researchers said.
NMN, when dissolved in drinking water and given to mice, appeared in its bloodstream in less than three minutes. This NMN in the blood could then quickly convert to NAD in multiple tissues, reducing the signs of ageing.
“We wanted to make sure that when we give NMN through drinking water, it actually goes into the blood circulation and into tissues,” Imai said.
The study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

5 Habits That Are Stopping You From Becoming Rich

Tesla shows off solar roof tiles


Tesla solar roof in Los Angeles in Los Angeles, 28 October 2016Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe new tiles look better than existing solar roofs, Tesla says

Roof tiles with built-in solar panels have been unveiled by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
The tiles, made from glass, are intended to be a more attractive way to add solar panels to homes, compared with currently-used solar technology.
The launch took place in Universal Studios, Los Angeles, on what used to be the set for the television show Desperate Housewives.
It comes with Tesla due to take over struggling energy firm Solar City.
Some of the electric carmaker's investors have expressed concern over the takeover, suggesting it is a Tesla-funded bail-out of a company Mr Musk has a vested interest in as its biggest shareholder.
Solar City’s chief executive is Mr Musk’s cousin.

The unveiling of new solar roof tiles by Tesla, 28 October 2016Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionThe product was showcased on houses which once served as the set for Desperate Housewives

Bringing the solar tiles to the Desperate Housewives set was a way of displaying the idea’s key selling point: it looks far better than solar panelling. Mr Musk jokingly described it as a “sweet roof!”.
No price was given for the tiles, which come in a variety of colours and styles, though Mr Musk did say it would be cheaper than fitting a traditional roof and then adding solar on top.
Also part of the launch was Powerwall 2, Tesla’s home battery product. The primary function of the Powerwall is to store any surplus energy from the solar panels. It will cost $5,500 (£4,511), Mr Musk said.
Tesla posted a surprise profit in its last quarterly earnings - its first in three years.
The $2.6bn acquisition of Solar City seems set to see the company plunge back into the red, but Mr Musk insisted on Friday that the deal made sense as having separate companies would “slow things down”.
Tesla shareholders vote on the acquisition on 17 November.

What a house fitted with Tesla's solar roof tiles may look likeImage copyrightTESLA
Image captionWhat a house fitted with Tesla's solar roof tiles may look like

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Friday, October 28, 2016

Scientists say weird signals from space are ‘probably’ aliens

A team of astronomers believes that strange signals emanating from a cluster of stars are actually aliens trying to tell the universe they exist.
The study, which appeared in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, analyzed the odd beams of light from 234 stars — a fraction of the 2.5 million that were observed.
The bizarre beacons led the paper’s authors, Ermanno F. Borra and Eric Trottier from Laval University in Quebec, to conclude that it’s “probably” aliens.
Modal Trigger
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope in Sunspot, New MexicoPhoto: SDSS/NASA
“We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an [extraterrestrial intelligence] signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis,” wrote Borra and Trottier.
They also note that their findings align with the Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI) hypothesis, since the mysterious activity only occurred in a tiny fraction of stars. The hypothesis also suggests that an intelligent life force would use a more sophisticated optical beacon than, say, radio waves to reveal its existence.
Researchers sifted through data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey — an 8-foot-diameter telescope in Sunspot, New Mexico — to separate natural signals from ones that appeared generated.
But there are more skeptics than not, including the authors themselves, who acknowledge the hypothesis still needs work. For starters, the data need to be verified by at least two other telescopes and all natural causes need to be ruled out.
“Although unlikely,” the study notes “there is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars.”
Breakthrough Listen — a $100 million global effort to hunt for alien life, backed by Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg — said the signals are worth additional research, but not to get too excited.
“It is too early to unequivocally attribute these purported signals to the activities of extraterrestrial civilizations,” the organization said in a statement. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
Scientists think they know where the aliens are hiding:

Monday, October 24, 2016


 GEORGIA

Teen Wakes Up From Coma Speaking Fluent Spanish: ‘It Was Weird’

"My son is awake, I don’t care what language he’s speaking"



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Teen's Family Says He Spoke Only Spanish After Waking from Coma
A Georgia teenager says he was able to speak solely in Spanish after coming out of a coma, despite not knowing the language before.
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A Georgia teenager who suffered a life-threatening head injury last month while playing soccer awoke from a coma speaking fluent Spanish for the first time in his life.
Rueben Nsemoh, 16, shocked family members and doctors when he opened his eyes after a three-day coma and began uttering sentences in Spanish, despite having known only a few words before his accident.
“It started flowing out,” the teen told TIME on Monday. “I felt like it was like second nature for me. I wasn’t speaking my English right, and every time I tried to speak it I would have a seizure.”
“It was weird,” Rueben added. “It was not scary at all. I actually liked it a lot. It was really unique to me.”
Another teenager accidentally kicked Rueben on the right side of his head during a game on Sept. 24 after Rueben dove for a loose ball, he said.
Rueben, an aspiring professional soccer player, suffered a severe concussion, went into shock and had to be airlifted to a hospital, according to his mother, Dorah Nsemoh.
Days after being treated in the intensive care unit, Rueben finally started stirring again. He began moving his hand and gesturing for food. And then he blurted out: “Tengo hambre,” or “I am hungry” in Spanish.
“I was very shocked. That’s something he’s never done before. When he got up and he started speaking Spanish, I was confused,” said Nsemoh, a 54-year-old high school teacher who is from Nigeria.
Nsemoh then ran out of the room to find help and brought back a nurse. “A nurse asked me what language does he speak. I said, ‘I speak English. He speaks English. We’re not Spanish-based people,’” Nsemoh said.
Doctors have not told the family why Rueben woke up speaking perfect Spanish, although they have sought consultation with a neurologist.
It’s not unprecedented for patients to start speaking a different language or using different accents after a major trauma. In June, a Texas woman made headlines after she had surgery on her lower jaw and then suddenly started speaking with a British accent.
That case was diagnosed as foreign accent syndrome, a very rare condition in which people speak with a different accent, usually after head trauma or stroke, according to CNN. Severe cases of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and concussions can also cause changes in language function, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rueben says he could recite just a few phrases in Spanish before his accident. The only ways he had heard Spanish were from his brother, who had previously studied in Spain, and his Spanish-speaking teammates.
In the weeks after the accident, Rueben gradually recovered the ability to speak English, and now he speaks both languages fluently, although he says the Spanish has begun to fade.
Doctors say Rueben’s brain scans suggest he will fully heal, but the family has been overwhelmed by mounting medical bills in the $250,000 range, Nsemoh said. A GoFundMe page for Rueben has collected more than $11,000 to go toward the teen’s medical costs.
“Definitely, it’s a miracle,” Nsemoh said. “My son is awake, I don’t care what language he’s speaking. Whatever went on, he’s alive today and I believe 100 percent in recovery.”