As we reflect upon 2023, we are filled with gratitude for your commitment to our shared mission: advancing the understanding of the biological and physiological impacts of meditation on the human body. This year is highlighted by remarkable strides in research, with groundbreaking studies shedding light on the profound ways in which meditation empowers individuals to heal and thrive. Your generous contributions have fueled numerous projects, allowing us to explore meditation and its effects on overall well-being. With this report, we celebrate not only the scientific achievements but also our incredible Catalyst Community!
The paper details our research teams’ isolation and identification of SERPINA5, a protein that inhibits a SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-virus containing a spike protein from entering the cell. It also demonstrates that meditation not only elevates levels of SERPINA5 in the blood, but the more experienced you are as a meditator and the more you practice, the more protection you have against the virus.
Meditation and mindfulness are thought to have a wide range of benefits for overall wellbeing and mental health, but could they help individuals battle cancer, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s disease or diabetes? InnerScience Research Fund has committed to provide up to $10 million to the University of California San Diego over the next five years to support research on how meditation may impede the progression of serious terminal and chronic illnesses that affect millions of people each year.
When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, researchers were determined to discover how to help people fight off infections. In February 2020, InnerScience Research Fund partnered with UC San Diego to determine if meditation could protect against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Over 600,000 people died of cancer in 2021, while 1.9 million new diagnoses were made. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Though progress has been made in developing novel therapeutics, such as immunotherapy and precision medicine, to battle a number of unique cancers, these do not produce consistently effective results in every case and have potentially significant side effects that limit the patient’s quality of life.
