It's not clear. While psychological stress can lead to DNA damage associated with aging, it's not clear whether this damage manifests itself visibly. But that hasn't stopped some news outlets from heralding a link between stress and graying hair. When a 2011 study showed a mechanism through which stress could cause DNA damage, articles in the Daily Mail, Yahoo, and elsewhere touted the study as proof that stress can cause visible aging. "Stress Really Does Make Your Hair Go Gray, Scientists Find," proclaimed the headline in the Telegraph.

However, the study had little or nothing to do with gray hair, with the words gray and hair never even appearing. Furthermore, the study used adrenaline, not stress, and it was conducted on mice, not people.

As William Saletan pointed out in Slate in 2009, many other studies have found no relationship between early graying and aging. A Danish study of 20,000 men and women could find no relationship between deaths from heart disease and outward signs of aging, such as balding, wrinkly skin, and gray hair. Instead, most graying seems to be determined by genetics. If presidents tend to go gray in office, it may simply be because most normal graying happens during the same years in which presidents serve.

"Overnight" graying from stress is extremely rare, if it exists at all. Though traumatized fictional characters have had their hair suddenly turn white since at least the days of Shakespeare, the phenomenon remains unproven.

Photo selection can also exaggerate the appearance of aging. While Obama's sprinkles of gray started making headlines just 44 days into his presidency, a Huffington Post article this week actually complimented the president's "amazing glow." A CNN commentator agreed, remarking that he "looks five years younger."

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Stress or genetics?

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AUSTRALIAN Wool Innovation has outlined the direction of a new sheep genetics program to be considered by its board later this year that will investigate the accuracy of early-life assessment of the genetic merit of sheep.

The proposed new Lifetime Productivity Project is based on feedback from the industry of moves toward collecting more information on individual animals at younger ages.

And while the project may draw criticism as being a replacement for AWIs Information Nucleus Flock investment, AWI says the need for improved lifetime productivity data has been around for decades, well before the nucleus flock, and requires data from larger numbers of sheep.

A planning team including up to nine organisations and research bodies with a history of sheep breeding research is drafting the project proposal to go to the AWI board for consideration in July or August. There will be a three to four-month industry consultation period before then to receive feedback on the proposal from growers groups, researchers and other stakeholders.

AWI head of on-farm R&D Jane Littlejohn said while breeding values were increasingly accepted by sheep breeders as an effective genetic evaluation tool, there were still issues to resolve to improve their acceptance.

We must focus on the reasons why more wool producers and stud breeders have not taken up these new technologies faster and whether it can be improved, she said.

Dr Littlejohn said the proposed project would examine issues around adoption by breeders of Australian Sheep Breeding Values including:

This project will significantly improve our understanding of the genetics of lifetime reproductive performance and its interaction with other traits such as growth and wool production, she said.

The progeny bred in the project would be evaluated over their lifetime for a range of wool, meat, disease and reproduction traits. DNA samples will be collected for genomic evaluation of predictors of lifetime performance.

Additionally, the availability of lifetime performance information, effects such as birth-rearing type and age-of-dam, pedigree and genomic information will contribute to the development of genomic-enhanced breeding values for lifetime traits.

Excerpt from:
AWI's new genetics

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BOTHELL, Wash. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502), today announced the initiation of a global phase III clinical trial evaluating ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed CD30-positive mature T-cell lymphoma (MTCL) patients, including patients with systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) and other types of peripheral T-cell lymphomas. The trial, also known as ECHELON-2, is being conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) agreement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and also received scientific advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed to CD30. ADCETRIS is currently not approved for use in the front-line treatment of MTCL.

The standard of care for newly diagnosed MTCL, a chemotherapy regimen called CHOP, has not changed in more than three decades, and there is a significant need to identify enhanced treatment options for these patients, said Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at Seattle Genetics. Recent phase I data from 26 patients presented at the ASH annual meeting showed that adding ADCETRIS to CHP resulted in compelling antitumor activity, with 100 percent of the patients experiencing a response, and a manageable safety profile. Our goal with this phase III trial is to redefine the standard of care for front-line treatment of MTCL.

This is the third global phase III trial with ADCETRIS to be initiated in the past nine months, said Karen Ferrante, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Millennium. This trial represents another major achievement in our aspiration to bring important new therapies to patients with CD30-expressing malignancies by evaluating ADCETRIS in the front-line setting.

The ECHELON-2 study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center global phase III trial designed to investigate ADCETRIS in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (A+CHP) versus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) as front-line therapy in patients with CD30-expressing MTCL. The primary endpoint is progression-free survival (PFS) per independent review facility assessment using the Revised Response Criteria for malignant lymphoma (Cheson, 2007). Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS), complete remission (CR) rate and safety. The trial will be conducted in North America, Europe and Asia and is expected to enroll approximately 300 patients (approximately 150 patients per treatment arm). A molecular companion diagnostic test will be used in this trial to identify eligible patients based on CD30 expression. The companion diagnostic test is being developed under a previously announced collaboration agreement with Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (Ventana), Millennium and Seattle Genetics.

At the recent 54th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition held December 8-11, 2012 in Atlanta, GA, encouraging phase I data were presented from an abstract titled Brentuximab Vedotin Administered Concurrently with Multi-Agent Chemotherapy as Front-line Treatment of ALCL and Other CD30-Positive Mature T-Cell and NK-Cell Lymphomas (Abstract #60). The clinical trial was conducted to evaluate ADCETRIS in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed MTCL patients, including patients with sALCL. Data were reported from 26 previously untreated patients who received the combination regimen of ADCETRIS plus CHP.

After completing a combination regimen of ADCETRIS plus CHP, 26 of 26 patients (100 percent) treated with ADCETRIS plus CHP had an objective response, including 23 patients (88 percent) with a complete remission. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade regardless of relationship occurring in more than 30 percent of patients were nausea (62 percent), peripheral sensory neuropathy (62 percent), diarrhea (58 percent), fatigue (54 percent) and alopecia (46 percent). The most common Grade 3 or 4 treatment-emergent adverse events regardless of relationship included Grade 3 febrile neutropenia, peripheral sensory neuropathy, nausea and dyspnea and Grade 4 nausea and diarrhea. The abstract can be found at http://www.hematology.org.

More information about the ECHELON-2 phase III trial of ADCETRIS in front-line CD30-expressing MTCL, including enrolling centers, will be available by visiting http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About ADCETRIS

ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) is an ADC comprising an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody attached by a protease-cleavable linker to a microtubule disrupting agent, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), utilizing Seattle Genetics proprietary technology. The ADC employs a linker system that is designed to be stable in the bloodstream but to release MMAE upon internalization into CD30-expressing tumor cells.

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Seattle Genetics and Millennium Initiate Global Phase III Clinical Trial of ADCETRIS® (Brentuximab Vedotin) in Front ...

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BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Seattle Genetics, Inc. (SGEN) today presented interim results from a phase I clinical trial evaluating ASG-5ME for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2013 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium being held January 24-26, 2013 in San Francisco, CA. ASG-5ME is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting the SLC44A4 antigen and is being co-developed by Seattle Genetics and Agensys, Inc., an affiliate of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., for the treatment of solid tumors. The phase I data from the ASG-5ME clinical trial in advanced pancreatic cancer identified the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for weekly administration, demonstrated tolerability and provided preliminary evidence for antitumor activity.

Pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease, with a median survival of only six months for metastatic disease and a five-year survival rate of less than six percent, said Jonathan Drachman, M.D., Senior Vice President, Research and Translational Medicine of Seattle Genetics. There is an urgent need to identify more effective therapeutic options for these patients, and we are encouraged by the tolerability and evidence of antitumor activity observed in this phase I trial. We look forward to further results from ongoing trials of ASG-5ME in prostate and gastric cancer.

ADCs are monoclonal antibodies that are designed to deliver cytotoxic agents selectively to tumor cells. This approach is designed to spare non-targeted cells and thus reduce many of the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy while enhancing antitumor activity. With over a decade of experience and knowledge in ADC innovation, Seattle Genetics has developed proprietary technology employing synthetic cytotoxic agents, such as monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), and stable linker systems that attach these cytotoxic agents to the antibody. Seattle Genetics linker systems are designed to be stable in the bloodstream and release the cell-killing agent once inside targeted cancer cells. ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) is the first drug approved utilizing Seattle Genetics ADC technology.

A Phase I Study of ASG-5ME, a Novel Antibody-Drug Conjugate, in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (Abstract #176)

A phase I clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and activity and to identify the MTD of ASG-5ME in patients with metastatic PDA. At the time of data analysis, 35 patients with metastatic PDA were enrolled in the trial. These patients had a median age of 63 and were heavily pretreated with a median of three prior therapies. The median time since initial PDA diagnosis and time since identification of metastatic disease was 1.4 years and 0.59 years, respectively. Patients received doses ranging from 0.3 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) to 1.5 mg/kg administered weekly for three out of every four weeks.

Key findings included:

Enrollment of PDA patients to this ASG-5ME phase I trial is complete. Enrollment of patients with relapsed or refractory gastric adenocarcinoma is ongoing. In addition, Seattle Genetics and Agensys are evaluating ASG-5ME in a phase I study for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). For more information about the trials, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant (cancerous) cells grow, divide and spread in the tissues of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95 percent of tumors, is adenocarcinoma arising within the exocrine component of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and for all stages of the disease combined, the one- and five-year relative survival rates are 25 percent and six percent, respectively.

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Seattle Genetics Announces Data from ASG-5ME Phase I Clinical Trial for Pancreatic Cancer

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Gene Therapy OA Video v1

By: deanthompsonbeehive

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Gene Therapy OA Video v1 - Video

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Public release date: 24-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gregory Harris gregory.harris@albertahealthservices.ca 403-619-3108 Alberta Health Services

CALGARY Researchers in Calgary have launched the first gene therapy clinical trial in the world for Fabry disease, a rare inherited enzyme deficiency that can shorten the lifespan of people who have it by as much as 40 years.

Researchers will first remove a quantity of stem cells from a Fabry patient's blood. Then a working copy of a new gene will be inserted into the stem cells using a specially engineered virus. During the final phase of the trial, researchers hope to transplant these stem cells back into the donor patient and the new, working copy of the gene will make the missing enzyme.

The clinical trial has been prompted by promising gene therapy results in mice performed in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Medin at the University Health Network in Toronto. Dr. Medin is the principal investigator of the pan-Canada team grant that is supporting this trial.

"We hope this will one day become a form of treatment that effectively cures Fabry disease," says Dr. Aneal Khan, a medical geneticist based at Alberta Children's Hospital, who is leading the Calgary segment of the national project.

"It could also help establish a platform on which we can create gene therapies for other illnesses and establish Calgary as a national leader in this experimental field of interventional genetics."

Although several gene therapies have been used in Canada for cancer, this study will be the first in the country to test a gene therapy for an inherited metabolic disorder.

People with Fabry disease have a change in a gene called GLA and can't make enough enzyme to break down a fatty substance called Gb3. The build-up of Gb3 can lead to problems in the kidneys, heart and brain. About 400 Canadians, including 25 Calgarians, have Fabry disease.

Although the project is headquartered in Toronto, physicians and scientists in Calgary will play a major role in the clinical trial. In particular, the lab at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary has specialized expertise in the stem cell filtering process that will be used for the clinical trial.

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Canada launches first gene therapy trial for Fabry disease

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Thelma 8 weeks after Stem Cell Therapy

By: krazykp12

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Thelma 8 weeks after Stem Cell Therapy - Video

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Personalized Medicine Used for the Treatment of Lung Cancer - Joshua R. Sonett, MD
This video describes personlized medicine and tells how it is used to treat lung cancer. For more information, visit http://www.columbiathoracic.org or call 212-305-3408

By: ColumbiaSurgery

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Personalized Medicine Used for the Treatment of Lung Cancer - Joshua R. Sonett, MD - Video

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Alexandra Glucksmann Personalized Medicine
This clip is part of the Career Girls ongoing series of career guidance/inspiration videos. See more at http://www.careergirls.org

By: careergirls

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Alexandra Glucksmann Personalized Medicine - Video

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Eddie Moreno C-2/C-3 Complete Spinal Cord Injury Scooter Arm Exercise at Beyond The Chair
Eddie is using the Ab Dolly to move his arms. He is a C-2/C-3 Complete Spinal Cord Injury and is one of our scholarship recipients for training!

By: beyondthechairtexas

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Eddie Moreno C-2/C-3 Complete Spinal Cord Injury Scooter Arm Exercise at Beyond The Chair - Video

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OMICS Group Regenerative Medicine-2012 Relevant Conference
OMICS Group Regenerative Medicine-2012 Relevant Conference

By: omicsvideos

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OMICS Group Regenerative Medicine-2012 Relevant Conference - Video

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OTT: Breakfast Club Winter 2012 - Human Stem Cells 3.0: The Holy Grail of Regenerative Medicine
Human Stem Cells 3.0: The Holy Grail of Regenerative Medicine Techid: 12022

By: EmoryUniversity

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OTT: Breakfast Club Winter 2012 - Human Stem Cells 3.0: The Holy Grail of Regenerative Medicine - Video

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Stan Wang talks about creating non-embryonic stem for use n regenerative medicine
Gates Cambridge Scholar Stan Wang is pursuing a PhD in medicine supervised by recent Nobel Prize winner Sir John Gurdon. Stan works on a technique which takes tissue from any part the human body and gives it embryonic stem cell-like properties. This could have a huge impact on the world of regenerative medicine.

By: GatesCambridge

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Stan Wang talks about creating non-embryonic stem for use n regenerative medicine - Video

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Gene Luen Yangs breakout 2006 graphic novel,American Born Chinese, won a lot of accolades for the Oakland, California-based writer, artist and educator, including several that also marked milestones for the medium of sequential art: both the first time a graphic novel was named a finalist for the National Book Award and the first time a graphic novel earned the Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association.

Now, Yang announces his latest graphic novel project,Boxers & Saints,exclusively at Wired.com. Due out this September from First Second Books, the slipcased edition will contain two volumes thatexplore the stories of two peasants during the Boxer Rebellion in China who struggle with issues of identity during a time in Chinese history when many were asked to choose between their country and their faith.WhileBoxerstells the story of a peasant who joins the Rebellion,Saintsfollows the spiritual journey of a Chinese woman who converts to Catholicism.

Yang shared his thoughts on the upcoming release with Wired, along with a 10-page excerpt from Boxers.

Wired: The format of Boxers & Saints is rather unusual, where youre publishing two separate volumes with shared characters and thematic connections. Why approach the stories in that way?

Gene Yang: I first became interested in the Boxer Rebellion in 2000. That year, Pope John Paul II canonized 87 Chinese Catholics. This was the first time the Roman Catholic Church has recognized the Chinese in this way. Im Catholic, and I grew up in a Chinese Catholic community in the Bay Area. My home church was really excited about the canonizations and had all sorts of celebrations.

When I looked into the lives of the Chinese saints, I discovered that many of them had died during the Boxer Rebellion, a war that occurred on Chinese soil in the year 1900. Back then, the Chinese government was incredibly weak. Western powers were able to establish concessions pieces of land that functioned as colonies all across China. The poor, hungry, illiterate teenagers living in the Chinese countryside felt embarrassed by their nations weakness, so they came up with this ritual that they believed would give them mystical powers. Armed with these powers, they marched across their homeland into the major cities, killing European missionaries, merchants, soldiers, and Chinese Christians. Because their martial arts reminded the Europeans of boxing, they became known as the Boxers. John Paul IIs canonized saints were among the Boxers victims.

The more I read about the Boxer Rebellion, the more conflicted I felt. Who were the protagonists here? Who was more deserving of our sympathy? The Boxers or their Chinese Christian victims? When the Vatican announced the canonizations, the Chinese government issued a protest. They believed the Catholic Church was honoring women and men who betrayed their own culture. In many ways, the Boxer Rebellion embodies a conflict that some Asian and Asian American Christians struggle with, a conflict between our Eastern cultural heritage and our Western faithThe two volume structure is meant to reflect this conflict. In one volume, the Boxers are the protagonists. In the other, the Chinese Christians are.

Wired: How necessary are the two stories to each other? Taken separately, both give complete stories, but read together, the connections between the two make both into far deeper and richer experiences. Was there ever any discussion about putting them out as separate books, or dropping one of the stories altogether?

Yang: I tried to give each volume a satisfying beginning, middle, and end so that they could be read separately. I also tried to write them so they could be read in either order. Early on, there was some debate about whether to publish the project as a single volume, but I really wanted it to be two separate volumes to reflect its dual nature. The folks at First Second Books have been incredibly generous and understanding.

Wired: Was there ever any worry about whether or not historical fiction about a Chinese Revolution and spiritual awakeningswould be a hard sell to readers? Did that impact the way you wrote?

More here:
Exclusive: Gene Luen Yang Announces New Boxers and Saints Graphic Novels

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Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Schizophrenia Also Included In: Genetics Article Date: 24 Jan 2013 - 0:00 PST

Current ratings for: Gene Associated With Schizophrenia Identified

NPAS3 is responsible for regulating and making sure that healthy neurons are consistently developed, particularly in the hippocampus - a region of the brain affected in schizophrenia. An abnormal mutation of this gene was found among certain members of a single family - the mutation caused the NPAS3 to function improperly, which was detrimental to for brain development. The gene assigns instructions for the production of a protein containing 933 amino acids.

The lead author of the study Frederick C. Nucifora Jr., Ph.D., D.O., M.H.S., said:

Schizophrenia is a somewhat common condition, affecting seven in every 1,000 American adults; it is characterized by severe hallucinations, delusions and overall impaired cognition. It is thought to be caused by a mixture of environmental and genetic factors.

The authors believe that studying the biological role of NPAS3 will provide insight into how other genes may also be the cause of mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

The researchers collected blood samples from 34 people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and analyzed them to study their DNA. Each of the participants belonged to families with a history of mental illness. The scientists were focusing on seeking out people with a NPAS3 mutation, they ended up finding one and carried out a series of blood tests on members of that family, including two parents and four adult children.

In order to determine whether this specific mutation has any effect on the way NPAS3 should normally function, Nucifora and his team carried out a separate experiment. The researchers grew neurons with mutated and normal versions of the gene in a dish and analyzed any significant differences. They found that the normal version of the gene had very long extensions which enables it to make good neuronal connections with other cells - the mutated version had much shorter extensions in comparison.

Nucifora said:

The team is now planning on conducting further research in mice with the NPAS3 mutation.

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Gene Associated With Schizophrenia Identified

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A rogue gene that drives the spread of aggressive breast cancer could help scientists develop better forms of diagnosis and treatment.

The mutant gene, known as KLF6-SV1, may provide a test marker for more dangerous breast cancers.

Targeting it could also help to treat some women with a poor prognosis.

"Breast cancer is a genetically complex disease and it remains a challenge to predict disease outcomes and which patients may benefit from more aggressive treatment," said study leader Dr Goutham Narla, from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the US.

"Our research has uncovered a promising gene marker that will not only help us better identify tumours that behave badly, but provide a basis for developing and personalising therapies to better treat our patients."

Results of a massive gene analysis, published last month in the journal Nature, shows that there are four major classes of breast cancer, the Associated Press reported. "With this study, we're one giant step closer to understanding the genetic origins of the four major subtypes of breast cancer," study researcher Matthew Ellis, M.B., B.Chir., Ph.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine and the Siteman Cancer Center, said in a statement. "Now, we can investigate which drugs work best for patients based on the genetic profiles of their tumors," he added in the statement. "For basal-like breast tumors, it's clear they are genetically more similar to ovarian tumors than to other breast cancers. Whether they can be treated the same way is an intriguing possibility that needs to be explored."

Men are less likely to get breast cancer than women -- but when they do, it's often deadlier, according to a study presented earlier this year at the American Society of Breast Surgeons meeting. The Associated Press reported that men diagnosed with breast cancer live, on average, two fewer years than women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, and are also more likely to have the breast cancer spread, have larger tumors when the cancer is discovered, and be diagnosed later.

Cadmium -- a toxic metal that can be present in foods like shellfish, root vegetables, offal and cereals -- may raise risk of breast cancer, according to a March 2012 study in the journal Cancer Research. The research included 56,000 women. Researchers were able to analyze about how much cadmium each woman was consuming based on the cadmium-rich foods in her diet. They found that those who consumed the most cadmium had a 21 percent higher breast cancer risk, compared with those who consumed the least cadmium, HuffPost's Catherine Pearson reported.

Getting six or fewer hours of sleep may raise the risk of recurrent breast cancer among post-menopausal breast cancer patients, according to a study in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. However, this same link was not observed for pre-menopausal breast cancer patients. The findings suggest "that lack of sufficient sleep may cause more aggressive tumors, but more research will need to be done to verify this finding and understand the causes of this association," study researcher Cheryl Thompson, Ph.D. said in the statement.

A smallpox virus seems to be promising against a hard-to-treat form of breast cancer, called triple-negative breast cancer, according to a study in mice presented at the 2012 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. "Based upon pathology, we could see that at least 60 percent of the tumors were completely regressed and the other 40 percent had very little areas of tumor cells present with a lot of necrosis, which is a sign that the tumor was responding to therapy," study researcher Dr. Sepideh Gholami, M.D., of Stanford University Medical Center, said in a statement. ABC News pointed out that this kind of breast cancer is notoriously hard to treat because it doesn't respond to other hormonal or immune treatments.

Link:
Gene Provides Clue To Breast Cancer Surgery

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ArmA 2 DMRPK lolwut
Through years of cross breeding and genetic engineering. I give you, the DMRPK...

By: MrWafflesaurus

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ArmA 2 DMRPK lolwut - Video

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Sustainable supper
Moving into the next decade, Australia faces the serious issue of food security. Whether it be drought and climate change affecting production, the export of crops to impoverished countries, or foreign investors buying our valuable land, it is impossible to exactly match local food production with regional demand. Australians no longer have the assurance that their produce will be fresh, local and reasonably priced.Proposed solutions range from genetic engineering and food innovations, to vertical farming and urban fringe farms. So what is the best way to ensure our families are fed, economy kept strong and quality of life maintained? How urgently do we need an answer and how are we preparing the next generation to deal with these issues? Join Geoff Wilson, President of the Green Infrastructure Network Australia and Director (Australia) of the World Green Infrastructure Network, with permaculture gardener Tim Lang in conversation with Professor Geoff Lawrence from the Global Change Institute, as they tackle the issue of food security on a global basis, and explore the prospect of fresher and healthier urban food in Brisbane. Part of the IDEAS 2011 program. Speakers: Geoff Wilson, Tim Lang and Geoff Lawrence Duration: 1:17:49 minutes Date: Wed 6 April 2011

By: statelibraryqld

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Sustainable supper - Video

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Public release date: 23-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2013A small compound called an aptamer that specifically targets and stimulates a human immune cell can greatly increase the effectiveness of an immunotherapeutic drug designed to destroy malignant or virus-infected cells. The development of a novel apatamer that recognizes activated T-lymphocytes and can boost the therapeutic effect of cell-based vaccines is described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).

Elizabeth Pratico, Bruce Sullenger, and Smita Nair, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, describe the innovative techniques they used to create an aptamera short sequence of nucleic acidsthat binds to the human protein OX40, a costimulatory molecule present on the surface of already activated immune cells.

In the article "Identification and Characterization of an Agonistic Aptamer Against the T Cell Costimulatory Receptor, OX40," (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/nat.2012.0388) the researchers demonstrate that binding of the aptamer to OX40 on activated T cells enhances the cells' ability to proliferate and to produce the immunostimulatory cytokine interferon-gamma. The authors envision future studies that would evaluate the therapeutic potential of the human OX40 aptamer, which could be used to stimulate T cells during the production of patient-specific vaccines for use in cell therapy and personalized medicine.

"The therapeutic potential of aptamers has always been one of their most promising aspects," says Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD, SomaLogic, Inc., Boulder, CO. "This elegant work by the Duke team underlines that promise while extending it into the critical area of immunotherapy."

###

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is under the editorial leadership of Co-Editors-in-Chief Bruce A. Sullenger, PhD, Duke Translational Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, and C.A. Stein, MD, PhD, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA; and Executive Editor Fintan Steele, PhD (SomaLogic, Boulder, CO).

About the Journal

Nucleic Acid Therapeutics (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat) is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that focuses on cutting-edge basic research, therapeutic applications, and drug development using nucleic acids or related compounds to alter gene expression. Nucleic Acid Therapeutics is the Official Journal of the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society (http://www.oligotherapeutics.org). Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Nucleic Acid Therapeutics website (http://www.liebertpub.com/nat).

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Novel aptamer boosts T cell-based immune response to therapeutic vaccines

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By Annie Hauser

Beta carotene, the nutrient that gives red and orange fruits and vegetables their color, might lower a person's risk for type 2 diabetes if they have a certain genetic predisposition to the disease, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers report in the journal Human Genetics.

Meanwhile, gamma tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the American diet, could increase a person's risk for type 2 diabetes, the study finds. This conclusion doesn't necessarily mean that vitamin E, which is most commonly found in seeds and nuts, is bad for you, researchers caution.

More from Everyday Health: When Incontinence Strikes Young Aspirin Use Linked to Macular Degeneration Melamine from Soup Bowls Found in Urine

More research is needed to determine whether beta carotene and vitamin E truly prevent or cause type 2 diabetes, or whether they are simply markers for the disease.

The scientists used what they call a "big data" approach to reference gene variants associated with type 2 diabetes risk and blood levels of different nutrients. In people with one such predispositioning gene variant, researchers saw that beta carotene reduced type 2 diabetes risk while gamma tocopherol was correlated with risk for the disease.

Because both nutrients interacted with the same genetic variant, researchers also believe this finding paves the way for more study of the specific gene SLC30A4. Some 50 percent to 60 percent of Americans have SLC30A4, which previous research has linked to type 2 diabetes risk. But it's just one of 18 genetic variants associated with an increased risk for the disease.

In 2010, lead researchers Chirag Patel, PhD, and Atul Butte, MD, PhD, compared people with or without high blood sugar a defining marker of type 2 diabetes to the two groups' exposures to environmental substances. That analysis found five environmental substances, including gamma tocopherol and beta carotene, that affected type 2 diabetes risk.

Now, Patel, Butte, and their colleagues are conducting mice studies of purified beta carotene and gamma tocopherol to see whether the substances themselves prevent or accelerate type 2 diabetes.

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Beta Carotene Could Lower Risk Of Diabetes For Some, Study Finds

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vkkh7b/personalized) has announced the addition of Jain PharmaBiotech's new report "Personalized Medicine - Scientific and Commercial Aspects" to their offering.

The aim of personalized medicine or individualized treatment is to match the right drug to the right patient and, in some cases, even to design the appropriate treatment for a patient according to his/her genotype. This report describes the latest concepts of development of personalized medicine based on pharmacogenomics, pharmacogenetics,pharmacoproteomics, and metabolomics. Basic technologies of molecular diagnostics play an important role, particularly those for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. Diagnosis is integrated with therapy for selection of the treatment as well for monitoring the results. Biochip/microarray technologies are also important and finally bioinformatics is needed to analyze the immense amount of data generated by various technologies.

Pharmacogenetics, the study of influence of genetic factors on drug action and metabolism, is used for predicting adverse reactions of drugs. Several enzymes are involved in drug metabolism of which the most important ones are those belonging to the family of cytochrome P450. The knowledge of the effects of polymorphisms of genes for the enzymes is applied in drug discovery and development as well as in clinical use of drugs. Cost-effective methods for genotyping are being developed and it would be desirable to include this information in the patient's record for the guidance of the physician to individualize the treatment. Pharmacogenomics, a term that overlaps with pharmacogenetics but is distinct, deals with the application of genomics to drug discovery and development. It involves the mechanism of action of drugs on cells as revealed by gene expression patterns. Pharmacoproteomics is an important contribution to personalized medicine as it is a more functional representation of patient-to-patient variation than that provided by genotyping. A 'pharmacometabonomic' approach to personalizing drug treatment is also described.

Biological therapies such as those which use patient's own cells are considered to be personalized medicines. Vaccines are prepared from individual patient's tumor cells. Individualized therapeutic strategies using monoclonal bodies can be directed at specific genetic and immunologic targets. Ex vivo gene therapy involves the genetic modification of the patient's cells in vitro, prior to reimplantation of these cells in the patient's body.

Various technologies are integrated to develop personalized therapies for specific therapeutic areas described in the report. Examples of this are genotyping for drug resistance in HIV infection, personalized therapy of cancer, antipsychotics for schizophrenia, antidepressant therapy, antihypertensive therapy and personalized approach to neurological disorders. Although genotyping is not yet a part of clinically accepted routine, it is expected to have this status by the year 2016.

Increase in efficacy and safety of treatment by individualizing it has benefits in financial terms. Information is presented to show that personalized medicine will be cost-effective in healthcare systems. For the pharmaceutical companies, segmentation of the market may not leave room for conventional blockbusters but smaller and exclusive markets for personalized medicines would be profitable. Marketing opportunities for such a system are described with market estimates from 2011-2021.

Profiles of 279 companies involved in developing technologies for personalized medicines, along with 500 collaborations are included in the part II of the report. Finally the bibliography contains over 650 selected publications cited in the report. The report is supplemented by 65 tables and 18 figures.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

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Research and Markets: Personalized Medicine - Scientific and Commercial Aspects - 2013 Report

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --The Salk Institute for Biological Studies has received a $42 million giftthe largest in the Institute's historyto establish the Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine (HCGM), a research center dedicated to decoding the common genetic factors underlying many complex chronic human diseases.

The award, from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, will support interdisciplinary research that paves the way to new therapies for chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

"This remarkable gift reflects the strong partnership between Salk and the Helmsley Charitable Trust and their commitment that the Institute stay at the forefront of biomedical research," said William R. Brody, Salk president. "By working together, Salk and the Trust have successfully sculpted this unprecedented grant. It will provide vital funding to enable our scientists to pursue the kinds of transformative scientific discoveries and advancements that will have worldwide impact on people's health for generations to come. With its scale and unique focus on supporting vitally important basic scientific research, the Helmsley Charitable Trust stands among philanthropy's vanguard in promoting innovative cross-disciplinary initiatives such as this one."

John Codey, a trustee for the Helmsley Charitable Trust, said that the Trust decided to establish the center at Salk because of the Institute's long track record of ground-breaking discoveries and the growing need to address chronic diseases.

"Millions of people suffer from chronic illnesses, and these diseases are placing an unsustainable burden on our healthcare system," Codey says. "The Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine will help to address this by serving as an incubator for tomorrow's clinical treatments and cures."

Broadly defined, genomic medicine is the science of using maps of human DNAthe genometo understand how cells operate and generate new therapies for human disease. The Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine (HCGM) will allow Salk researchers to use genomic data and powerful new technologies to decipher the molecular and genetic mechanisms that go awry in chronic disease.

The center will include scientists who are leaders in a range of biomedical research fields, including stem cell biology, endocrinology, cancer biology, metabolism, neurobiology, developmental biology, inflammation, and gene therapy. They will combine their efforts to understand how certain cellular pathways serve as lynchpins for chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders. For instance, Salk researchers are finding that the cellular pathways involved in inflammation play a role in a range of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. This suggests that developing therapies that address inflammation could help prevent and treat a broad range of disorders.

The all-star team of Salk scientists includes Fred Gage, Inder Verma, Ronald Evans, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Rueben Shaw and Marc Montminy.

"The scientific collaborations fostered by HCGM will far exceed the efforts of any individual participating laboratory," says Salk scientist Inder Verma, project leader of the new partnership between Salk and the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "The state-of-the-art core facilities made possible by this grant will offer access to technology and support that no researcher could get on their own."

In addition to charting the common genomic basis for chronic conditions and uncovering new potential targets for therapies, the center's researchers will explore how genomic networks control stem cell development. This will allow researchers to manipulate genes to make stem cells useful for studying disease and regenerative medicine. The center will also explore how disease alters the epigenome, chemical switches on the DNA molecule which influences genetic activity, which may explain why patients with similar genetic profiles respond differently to treatment.

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Salk Institute Awarded Historic $42 Million Grant From the Helmsley Charitable Trust

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Asia-Pacific In Vitro Diagnostics Market Outlook to 2018- Clinical Chemistry Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology and Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology and Microbiology Culture

http://www.reportlinker.com/p0750271/Asia-Pacific-In-Vitro-Diagnostics-Market-Outlook-to-2018--Clinical-Chemistry-Genetic-Testing-Haematology-Histology-and-Cytology-Immuno-Chemistry-Infectious-Immunology-and-Microbiology-Culture.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=In_Vitro_Diagnostic

Asia-Pacific In Vitro Diagnostics Market Outlook to 2018- Clinical Chemistry Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology and Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology and Microbiology Culture

Summary

GlobalData's new report, "Asia-Pacific In Vitro Diagnostics Market Outlook to 2018- Clinical Chemistry Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology and Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology and Microbiology Culture" provides key market data on the Asia-Pacific In Vitro Diagnostics market Australia, China, India and Japan. The report provides value (USD million) data for all the market categories Clinical Chemistry, Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology And Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology and Microbiology Culture. The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for each of the aforementioned market categories. The report is supplemented with global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants.

This report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research and in-house analysis by GlobalData's team of industry experts.

Scope

- Countries covered include Australia, China, India and Japan.

- Market size and company share data for In Vitro Diagnostics market categories Clinical Chemistry, Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology And Cytology, Immuno Chemistry, Infectious Immunology and Microbiology Culture.

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Asia-Pacific In Vitro Diagnostics Market Outlook to 2018- Clinical Chemistry Genetic Testing, Haematology, Histology ...

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Cancer Breakthrough - Breakthrough for Cancer
Cancer Breakthrough. http://www.CancerUncensored.com. Welcome to today #39;s issue of cancer uncensored. Hi, I #39;m Chris, and I am the author of cancer uncensored, a step-by-step guide to cancer prevention, early detection and cancer survival. In today #39;s video,I would like to give you an overview of cancer. I #39;m going to briefly talk about exactly what cancer is, what causes it, what the symptoms are, how you can actively avoid it. I will also go over current treatment procedures and alternative treatment. I #39;ll also let you know where you can go to obtain the most up-to-date news and breakthroughs. Before we get stuck in, I ought to address two points Firstly, most people are afraid of cancer. I can fully understand that, as my wife has cancer, but as a society, we must not let the dread of the condition prevent us from taking steps to understand it, as that way we can actively prevent it. One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our lifetimes, and yet 85% of cancer is preventable! This video, and my book, cancer uncensored, can tell you how. So take in as much of this data as you can, as it could save your life. Secondly, you need to realise that cancer isn #39;t entirely understood. We have quite a few very solid theories, and lots of study data, but if cancer was fully understood, we might be closer to a cure. To quote Thomas Edison, "The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition." But as ...

By: CancerUncensored

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Cancer Breakthrough - Breakthrough for Cancer - Video

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Cancer News - News On Cancer
Cancer News. http://www.CancerUncensored.com. Welcome to today #39;s issue of cancer uncensored. Hi, I #39;m Chris, and I am the author of cancer uncensored, a step-by-step guide to cancer prevention, early detection and cancer survival. In today #39;s video,I am going to present you with an overview of cancer. I am going to briefly talk about what cancer is, what causes it, what symptoms there are, what you can do to prevent it. I #39;ll also cover current treatment procedures and alternative medicine. I #39;m going to also tell you where you can go to obtain the most up-to-date news and breakthroughs. Before we get stuck in, I should address two points Firstly, people are terrified of cancer. I can fully understand that, as my wife has cancer, but as a society, we must not let the fear of the disease prevent us from taking steps to understand it, because that way we can actively prevent it. One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer within our lifetimes, and yet 85% of cancer is preventable! This video, and my book, cancer uncensored, can tell you how. So take in as much of this information as you can, as it could save your life. Secondly, you must understand that cancer isn #39;t totally understood. We have a number of very solid theories, and plenty of study data, but if cancer was fully understood, we would be even closer to a cure. As Thomas Edison once said, "The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition ...

By: CancerUncensored

Original post:
Cancer News - News On Cancer - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith