Sunday 15 May 2016

[www.keralites.net] Scientists find product to restore youth

 

Scientists find product to restore youth


Gina Kolata,May 16, 2016, International New York Times

You can soak the film with sunscreen and protect yourself without worrying about sweat or water washing it away. Soon, it can be used to treat eczema,

The idea sounds like fantasy: an invisible film that can be painted on your skin and give it the elasticity of youth. Bags under the eyes vanish in seconds. Wrinkles disappear. 

Scientists at Harvard and MIT have discovered that it is not fantasy at all. Reporting in the journal Nature Materials on pilot studies with 170 subjects, the researchers say a "second skin" composed of commonly used chemicals deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration can accomplish that – and in small studies of it, so far no one has reported irritation or allergic reactions. 


Undereye bags are just the start. You can soak the film with sunscreen and protect yourself without worrying about sweat or water washing it away, researchers said. They expect it can be used to treat eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions by covering dry itchy patches with a film that moistures and soothes. 

The chemicals are siloxanes – their basic form is one atom of oxygen linked to two atoms of silicon – which form polymers, long chains of repeating units. The researchers made a large collection of them by modifying molecular features such as the chain length to get the ones with the properties they wanted. 

Then they devised a two-step process. First, a polymer, a clear liquid, is applied. Its chains are not very strong, though, so the next step is applying a product that links them together. By modifying the chemistry of the chains, researchers can alter the properties of the second skin, depending on how it will be used, making it more or less permeable, for example. A more permeable second skin might be used for undereye bags while a less permeable one might hold a medication in place. It can be removed with a solution that dissolves the polymer. 

The research was funded by a small, privately owned biotechnology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Living Proof, and the product is being developed by another similar  Cambridge company, Olivo Laboratories, which owns the patents. All of the authors on the new paper have an equity interest in Living Proof and so, indirectly, in Olivo. 

The report describes pilot studies, the first test of the product. The researchers say that they are not sure yet when they will have enough data to submit to the FDA for marketing approval – they will know more later this year. 

"I think it is brilliant," said Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia, who was not involved in the research. "What they have done is design a clever biomaterial that recapitulates the properties of young and healthy skin. They can use it as sort of a Band-Aid over old and aging skin and get very significant results." 

Dr Murad Alam, professor of dermatology at Northwestern University, who also was not associated with the study, was impressed, too, but he cautioned that it was still early. 

"This is a first step," he said, "and all these applications will require further work." But, he added, if the testing is successful, "I think it will be very popular." 

The idea for second skin originated more than a decade ago when Dr R Rox Anderson, a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, was approached by Living Proof, which had been working on a polymer to be used as a hair product. Since dermatologists also know about hair, the company consulted him. Why, Anderson asked the company executives, couldn't there be a polymer to put on skin? 

"A lot of what happens when we age and skin starts wrinkling and sagging is loss of elastic recoil," he said. "When we move skin, it doesn't snap back to what it used to be." What if there was a way to restore the elastic nature of skin? Anderson ticked off what would be needed: "It has to be nearly invisible. The skin still has to be able to breathe through this stuff. And it needs to be strong enough and elastic enough that it actually affects the recoil of the skin." That, he said, "is the challenge I put to them." Dr Robert Langer, a biomedical engineer who is a professor at MIT and a scientific founder of Living Proof, started searching for something that would work. "We made literally hundreds of polymers," he said. "We were looking for safety, spreadability, adherence, and the right kind of mechanical and optical properties." 

Long-lasting solution

The "skin" can last for more than a day. One of the first applications, said Dr Barbara A Gilchrest, a Harvard dermatology professor who is part of the research team, was on undereye bags, a condition that plagues so many middle-aged and older people. 
"We wanted something that is elegant, and the ultimate test is right there on your face," she said. "You really can't see it. It's there. It looks normal. We saw that as a very high bar. If you can achieve that you've done something impressive." 

The researchers emphasise that the second skin is significantly different from a product that Living Proof tried to market a few years ago as a cosmetic that could correct undereye bags. Those studies included tests on people with undereye bags and those with dry skin on their legs. In one study, participants put second skin on their forearms to see how quickly the skin returned to normal after it was pinched in a suction cup – a test of elasticity. In another study, people were randomly assigned to use second skin or a placebo under their eyes. Trained observers graded the subjects on the appearance of the undereye skin. The product's durability was tested in volunteers who wore it while running in heat and working up a sweat, while swimming, and while going out in a rainstorm. 

One of the important uses, the researchers said, is in treating eczema and the sort of dry skin that comes with aging, with dry itchy patches on the back and legs that keep people up at night, scratching. 

"We tell people to pat their skin with a damp washcloth and put on a heavy moisturiser, but that only lasts a short time," Gilchrest said. They end up with greasy goo all over the sheets, and they wake up in the middle of the night, terribly uncomfortable. We need something that was easier to use and didn't make a mess and stays. Which is what this stuff does."


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Posted by: Ravi Narasimhan <ravi.narasimhan.in@gmail.com>
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[www.keralites.net] Have you voted today 16-May-2016 in the assembly election Kerala, Tamilnadu, Puducherry ? [2 Attachments]

 

Have you voted today  in the assembly election Kerala, Tamilnadu, Puducherry ?

 

 

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[www.keralites.net] The Power of Prayer!

 










​Circulated by:
K.Raman​






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Posted by: Raman K <kraman_4@yahoo.com>
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[www.keralites.net] POSSIBLE INSURANCE FRAUD

 






There is some 'agency' which is trying to take advantage of us seniors with the fond hope of cashing in on our memory lapses or naivety or requirement of additional funds. 

On May 3 I got a call from a person who said his name was MANISH from an Insurance Agency in Mumbai. He "verified" my identity, and he had ALL my details rank, name, date of birth, address, wife's name and my phone numbers. This he very obviously got from some data base which had an old land line no, and of course he had my cell no. 

He then asked me about my Life Insurance policy which had matured, and whether i was in touch with my LIC agent. I gave him an affirmative re the insurance, and a negative about the agent, who has since passed on. He asked me how much i was paying the LIC monthly, or quarterly or annually. i told him that i did not remember. He kept on asking me to try and remember. He then told me that there was a sizable amount of money which was due to me and that his superior would call me "tomorrow" (May 04) and give me all the details. I said 'great' and additional money was most welcome. 

Then he queried if my wife (took her name correctly) had an insurance policy so that he could check up if she had some arrears or dues coming to her. I said she didn't have any. 

Then he went on to state that in order to enable the transfer, i would have to make a small investment. That's when i goofed. I told him "which sensible man will give some money to get what is his due - would you do it?" soon as the words were out of my mouth i realized the goof up, and then corrected myself told him, "never mind, i'll deal with that when your boss calls me tomorrow morning". The call ended.

Some time later i called him three times at hourly intervals. On the first two attempts i got a 'line busy' response. On the third attempt it rang, and i was pleasantly surprised when the person at the other end said his name was MANISH. I called off.

Today i await his 'Superior's call !!

This is PHISHING in progress. My LIC policy was paid up in 1981 and those guys at the LIC won't be able to 'suo moto' find records of last year let alone so many decades ago. Now i await his call today to see where it takes me.

I also see frequent warnings on the TV regarding this type of Insurance scam and that the insurance companies do not process on phone. SO PLEASE BEWARE AND DO NOT FALL INTO THEIR TRAP.

If that "superior" calls today I shall inform you all of what transpired. If you don't hear from me, it means that the call did not materialize and that one can definitely conclude that it was a phishing expedition gone wrong.

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Posted by: Raman K <kraman_4@yahoo.com>
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[www.keralites.net] Chai Pe Charcha in Lower Parel and Mirchi and Mime in Powai Mumbai have 25 mute employees [2 Attachments]

 


Chai Pe Charcha in Lower Parel and Mirchi and Mime in Powai Mumbai have staff who have speech impairment.
He will constantly look at your lips to figure out what you're saying, without saying a word in return.



Meanwhile, he will note your order down, with his colleagues mirroring his actions at other tables. This is the scene you will find at two restaurants in the city — Mirchi and Mime, and Chai Pe Charcha — which have employed only deaf-and-dumb people as their service staff.

Menu card in the restaurant

Mirchi And Mime, Powai Menu

At the Powai-based Mirchi and Mime, which has 25 mute employees, a waiter's uniform reads, 'Sign-language is my super power, what's yours?'. With inscrutable countenance and swift-hand gestures, he would ensure that your order is placed correctly.

MIRCH AND MIME DEAF WAITERS IN MUMBAI RESTAURANT
Video


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