Longevity science

People who reported drinking the most sugar-sweetened beverages were the most likely to have kidney stones. Those who drank one or more sugar-sweetened colas a day had a 23 percent higher risk than those who drank them once a week.

This is not a conclusive or comprehensive study, but it appears to demonstrate a link between soda and kidney stones.

Reducing sugary drinks, even just a few ounces a day, reduces your risk of blood pressure problems.

A study in 2010 found that decreasing the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (already-known culprits of weight gain) lead to a reduction in blood pressure.

Elevations in blood pressure increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Even a slight reduction, which could be achieved by cutting out 12 oz of sugary beverages per day, can make a difference in terms of heart health risk.

Scientists aren't certain why sugar affects blood pressure. One possible explanation is that sugar irritates the artery walls, which may prompts an increase in pressure.

Despite decades of study, scientists remained unsure as to how insulin binds to the insulin receptor on the surface of cells to allow them to take up sugar from the blood and transform it into energy.

Now, a definitive answer has now been found with a team of scientists capturing the first three-dimensional images of insulin “docking” to its receptor.

It is hoped that the new knowledge can be exploited to develop new and improved insulin medications to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Scientists have announced a new method of treating and preventing type II diabetes.

The new treatment focuses on VEGF-B, a protein within the body that affects how fat is transported and stored. Using an antibody/drug known as 2H10, the scientists were able to block the signaling of VEGF-B in mice and rats, which subsequently kept fat from accumulating in the “wrong” areas of the animals – namely their muscles, blood vessels and hearts.

The paper for this researched was published in Nature on Sept 26:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11464.html

Scientists have created artificial vascular networks for use in lab-grown organs, using sugar.

Before large three-dimensional human organs can be grown, scientists must figure out a reliable way of incorporating blood vessels into them – if the lab-grown organs simply take the form of a block of cells, the cells on the inside won’t be able to receive any nutrients, and will die.

Now, a team from the University of Pennsylvania and MIT has devised a way of building such vessels, using sugar. The scientists use a relatively inexpensive open-source RepRap 3D printer, which extrudes molten sugar...