The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Fat From Liposuction May Be Good Source for Stem Cells

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by Aaron Saenz on September 16th, 2009
Obese? I've just got more stem cells to love, baby!

Obese? I've just got more stem cells to love, baby!

If you’ve been hunting for useful stem cells, look no further than your butt. Work done at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in California, and recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy for Sciences, revealed that fatty cells sucked out during liposuction could be coaxed into becoming stems cells. These induced Pluripotent Stem cells (iPS) found in fat could be useful in new treatments for diseases and therapies for injuries. Typical iPS cells have to be processed from skin cells over a period of weeks. The new fat iPS cells could be ready much faster and more efficienctly. The world of stem cell research is about to be invaded by fab flab from the lab.

With fatty tissue being a plentiful resource, the availability of stem cells is likely to increase. Of course, more stem cells doesn’t guarantee more stem cell treatments, but it will hopefully make those treatments easier to perform once they are ready. We’ve seen how stem cell therapies have the potential to cure blindness, heart disease, spinal injuries, kidney disease, diabetes, and many other illnesses. There’s a certain poetic justice in iPS cells from fatty tissue, since many of these conditions arrive from or cause obesity in the first place.

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CDC Report: Americans Living Longer, But Not As Long as Everyone Else

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by Aaron Saenz on August 26th, 2009

With the ongoing health care debate raging across the US, it’s good to know that we lived slightly longer in 2007 than in 2006. According to a report released on August 19th by the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, Americans reached a new peak in lifespan: 77.9 years. In fact, the last decade has given us a 1.4 year increase in our age at death. Yep, US citizens are living longer than they were just a few years ago, but they still aren’t living as long as almost any other developed country. How can we be getting better but still be lagging behind?

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) We aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Why are Americans living longer? (Left) Why aren't we living as long as everyone else? (Right)

Almost half of all deaths (48.5%) in this country are due to heart disease or cancer. The overall death rates for stroke, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer fell between 2006 and 2007, and lifespan rose as a result. It’s clear that those two culprits are what is keeping the US from the longevity it might otherwise have.

And longevity means a lot to us here at the hub. We’ve shown you surgical advances, and promising medical developments. We’ve given you a look at some of the oldest people in the world, and some of the healthiest places in the world. The one thing we’ve learned through it all is that the secret to a long life is really, really simple: lifestyle.

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The eScale: Broadcast your Weight to the World

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by Aaron Saenz on July 8th, 2009

The eScale will send your weight via cell phone signal to the Internet. Better start working out!

The eScale will send your weight via cell phone signal to the Internet. Better start working out!

If Reality TV has taught us anything about weight loss it’s that the more people who are watching you, the quicker you’ll drop the pounds. Social pressure is a key ingredient in the eScale from Body Trace. This bathroom scale comes equipped with a modified cell phone module allowing it to broadcast your weight to a Body Trace “motivational webpage.” There you, or your avatar, can display the fluctuations in your weight with all the pride or shame that you want. Along with a calorie calculator, BMI graph, and health tips, the Body Trace motivational page allows you to connect with friends and strangers to share in your experience. It’s social networking meets weight loss obsession.

This isn’t the first web-based weight loss device Singularity Hub has seen. There are smart toilets that will analyze your weight as you pee, as well as analyze it for your doctor. There are big differences with Body Trace, however. First, the eScale has a GSM network module, so it connects directly to the Body Trace server straight out of the box. No WiFi or other setup necessary. You just pop in the batteries (six D-cells included) and step on the eScale. It’s that simple. Second, Body Trace is really pushing the networking aspects of their motivational page. Looking at the screen shot, I am reminded of Facebook’s wall interface. It’s a nice concept, and I have no doubt that being able to share the weight loss struggle will really help some people achieve their goals.

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