PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jun-2014

Contact: Raeka Aiyar, Ph.D. raiyar@genetics-gsa.org 202-412-1120 Genetics Society of America

BETHESDA, MD The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is proud to name nine early-career scientistsfour graduate students and five postdoctoral researchersas Fall 2014 recipients of GSA's DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics. The award provides a $1,000 travel grant for each recipient to attend any national or international meeting, conference, or laboratory course that will enhance his or her career.

"The winners of this award are young researchers who have already produced impressive research in important areas of genetics," said Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "In the spirit of Dr. Nasser's enthusiastic support of early-stage researchers, we are hopeful that the travel grants will provide useful support for the careers of these talented individuals."

The DeLill Nasser Award was established by GSA in 2001 to honor its namesake, DeLill Nasser (1929-2000), a long-time GSA member who provided critical support to many early-career researchers during her 22 years as program director in eukaryotic genetics at the National Science Foundation. The winners of the Fall 2014 DeLill Nasser Award are:

Postdoctoral Winners

Meleah A. Hickman, PhD, University of Minnesota, USA Research focus: "I study Candida albicans, the leading fungal pathogen of humans, and its sexual and unconventional ploidy transitions in response to antifungal drugs and environmental stresses in order to generate genetic and phenotypic variation and facilitate adaptation." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Judith Berman

Michelle D. Leach, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada Research focus: "I aim to understand the mechanisms by which pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans sense heat and activate the thermal adaptation mechanisms that promote infection." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Leah Cowen

Daniel A. Pollard, PhD, University of California, San Diego, USA Research focus: "I study how genetic differences among individuals affect the speed at which they make and break down proteins." Travel to: 2014 GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting Principal Investigator: Scott Rifkin

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Nine graduate students and postdocs receive GSA DeLill Nasser Award

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jun-2014

Contact: Cristy Gelling cgelling@thegsajournals.org 412-478-3537 Genetics Society of America

BETHESDA, MD June 17, 2014 Immunity is what stops you dying from a common cold or a tiny pinprick. Differences in resistance or tolerance to disease influence who catches the bug that's going around the office, or which species succumb to the deadly fungus devastating frogs around the world. But immunity involves more than just the immune cells that recognize and hunt down pathogens. It is influenced by the host's health, physiology, behavior, and environment. And underlying all these processes and their intricate interactions are the genes that govern their function.

This broader conception of the genetic underpinnings of host defenses against pathogens reflects the increasing complexity of ideas in this field. Scientists are turning to a wide variety of organisms and approaches to tame this complexity and, in some cases, to use their findings to improve human health. To encourage the emerging conversation between disciplines and to catalyze new advances, the Genetics Society of America journals GENETICS and G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics have launched an ongoing collection of research articles that address the genetics of immunity. Several articles from the collection are published today in a special section of the June issues of both journals, accompanied by a commentary article that places the articles in context.

So far, articles published in the collection include research on fruit flies, an important genetic model organism, addressing the ways in which the demands of mating and reproduction compete with immunity and how immunity changes with age. Other articles examine crucial applied questions, such as how genes influence autoimmune thyroid diseases, or which chickens are the most resistant to colonization by Campylobacter jejuni, one of the most common causes of food-borne illness in humans. Many more articles are listed in the collection, which will be bolstered by new articles as they are published.

"Defense against infection is profoundly important for our health, and for the agriculture and ecosystems that sustain us. But it is being increasingly recognized that immunity has complex determinants, so genetic research in this area is becoming broader and more diverse. We hope this collection will become a home for much exciting and significant research in this field in the future." says Brian Lazzaro, biologist at Cornell University and one of the editors of the new collection.

The collection includes research from City University of New York, Cornell University, Free University Berlin, German Cancer Research Center, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, National Jewish Health and University of Colorado, Trinity College, University of Dublin, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, University of Texas and the University of WisconsinMadison.

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CITATIONS: B. Lazzaro and D.S. Schneider The Genetics of Immunity. GENETICS June 2014 197:467-470; doi:10.1534/genetics.114.165449

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jun-2014

Contact: Jim Fessenden james.fessenden@umassmed.edu 508-856-2000 University of Massachusetts Medical School

WORCESTER, MA Victor R. Ambros, PhD, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has been awarded the 2014 Gruber Genetics Prize, along with long time collaborator Gary Ruvkun, PhD, professor of genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and David Baulcombe, PhD, professor of botany at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Ambros, the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and co-director of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, and his scientific colleagues, received the prize for their pioneering discoveries of the existence and function of microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, molecules that are now known to play a critical role in gene expression.

"The discoveries of these three pioneering scientists have opened major new areas in chemistry, biology, agriculture and medicine, and have revealed fundamental mechanisms that are shared among organisms as diverse as plants and animals, including humans," said H. Robert Horvitz, PhD, Gruber and Nobel Prize laureate, and David H. Koch Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Established in 2001, the Gruber Genetics Prize is awarded for fundamental insights in the field of genetics and may include original discoveries in genetic function, regulation, transmission and variation, as well as in genomic organization. The prize, which is awarded along with a gold medal and an unrestricted $500,000 cash award, will be presented to the recipients in San Diego on Oct. 19 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics.

The unlikely discovery of microRNAs, also known as miRNA, and their function dates back to the 1980s when Ambros and Dr. Ruvkun were both postdoctoral fellows in the lab of Dr. Horvitz at MIT, studying how the lin-4 and lin-14 genes regulate developmental timing in the nematode C. elegans. Ambros and Ruvkun wanted to understand how mutations of the lin-4 kept the worm's larvae from developing into fully formed animals, while mutations in the lin-14 gene caused the larvae to mature prematurely.

In 1989 Ambros established that lin-4 acts as a repressor of lin-14 activity. How lin-4 achieved this repression, however, was not known. In 1991, it was Ruvkun who established that genetic anomalies in lin-14's sequencespecifically in an area of the gene called the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR)were associated with excess production of the lin-14 protein produced from the messenger RNA that lin-4 targets.

A year later, Ambros successfully isolated and cloned lin-4. To his surprise, Ambros found that the gene's product was not a standard regulatory protein as he had expected, but a tiny non-protein-coding strand of RNA about 22 nucleotides long that is conserved in other nematode species.

Working together, Ambros and Ruvkun compared the lin-4 and lin-14 sequences and discovered that the 22-nucleotide lin-4 RNA and the 3' UTR were partially complementary and that the short complementary regions were highly conserved in evolutionary comparisons to other nematode lin-4 and lin-14 genes. They hypothesized that lin-4 RNA regulated lin-14 by binding to its 3' UTR sequences. Ruvkun then showed that lin-4 controlled the translation of the lin-14 mRNA into protein and it was through this channel that lin-4 achieved repression of lin-14.

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Victor Ambros named co-recipient of 2014 Gruber Genetics Prize

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Gene therapy for rare seeing impairment disorder shows promise for wider use, doctors say ,mesotheli
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Spinal Cord Injury 1: Epidemiology and Classification of SCI
Spinal cord injury epidemiology and classification of relevance to the hand surgeon undertaking tetraplegic reconstruction.

By: Dominic Power

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Spinal Cord Injury 1: Epidemiology and Classification of SCI - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Jun-2014

Contact: Lucia Lee NewsMedia@mssm.edu 212-241-9200 The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine

(New York June 9, 2014) -- A protein may be the key to maintaining the health of aging blood stem cells, according to work by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published online in Stem Cell Reports. Human adults keep stem cell pools on hand in key tissues, including the blood. These stem cells can become replacement cells for those lost to wear and tear. But as the blood stem cells age, their ability to regenerate blood declines, potentially contributing to anemia and the risk of cancers like acute myeloid leukemia and immune deficiency. Whether this age-related decline in stem cell health is at the root of overall aging is unclear.

The new Mount Sinai study reveals how loss of a protein called Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) affects the ability of blood stem cells to regenerate normally, at least in mouse models of human disease. This study has shown that young blood stem cells that lack SIRT1 behave like old ones. With use of advanced mouse models, she and her team found that blood stem cells without adequate SIRT1 resembled aged and defective stem cells, which are thought to be linked to development of malignancies.

"Our data shows that SIRT1 is a protein that is required to maintain the health of blood stem cells and supports the possibility that reduced function of this protein with age may compromise healthy aging," says Saghi Ghaffari, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Mount Sinai's Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine. "Further studies in the laboratory could improve are understanding between aging stem cells and disease."

Next for the team, which includes Pauline Rimmel, PhD, is to investigate whether or not increasing SIRT1 levels in blood stem cells protects them from unhealthy aging or rejuvenates old blood stem cells. The investigators also plan to look at whether SIRT1 therapy could treat diseases already linked to aging, faulty blood stem cells.

They also believe that SIRT1 might be important to maintaining the health of other types of stem cells in the body, which may be linked to overall aging.

The notion that SIRT1 is a powerful regulator of aging has been highly debated, but its connection to the health of blood stem cells "is now clear," says Dr. Ghaffari. "Identifying regulators of stem cell aging is of major significance for public health because of their potential power to promote healthy aging and provide targets to combat diseases of aging," Dr. Ghaffari says.

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Mount Sinai researchers identify protein that keeps blood stem cells healthy as they age

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Dr. Omar Gonzalez presents his Integrative Medicine Clinic in Mexico
http://www.placidway.com/profile/705/ - Watch this Video as Dr.Omar Gonzalez, MD, specialist in Stem Cell Therapy, Integrative Medicine and Chronic Diseases, presents his new clinic located...

By: placidways

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DUBLIN, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/v969qd/cell_separation) has announced the addition of the "Cell Separation Technologies Market- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019" report to their offering.

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130307/600769

This report consists of the market analysis for the various technologies used in the cell separation market. Increasing cell therapy oriented research and development globally is driving the cell separation technologies market towards significant growth. The stakeholders for this report include providers and manufacturers of cell separation technology instruments.

The cell separation technologies market is segmented on the basis of technologies that are available in the market and application areas of cell separation technologies. The various technology segments covered in this report are gradient centrifugation and separation based on surface markers. Separation based on surface markers technology include two different techniques namely, magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).

The application areas of cell separation technologies comprise stem cell research, immunology, neuroscience research and cancer research. Revenue forecast and market analysis for each segment has been given in this study for the period of 2011 to 2019 in terms of USD million in addition to the compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for each segment of technology and application. The CAGR is provided for forecast period of 2013 to 2019 and 2012 have been considered as base in year for market size estimation.

Geographically, global cell separation technologies market has been segmented into four areas namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). This report also provides the present and future market estimation in terms of USD million for the period 2011 to 2019, in addition to compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for each geographic area. Further to market size estimation, this report provides recommendations and highlights of the market that should be useful for current and new market players to grow and sustain in the global cell separation technologies market.

Market trends and dynamics such as restraints, opportunities and growth drivers that have impact on present and future position of this market are demonstrated in the market overview chapter of this study. In addition, the market overview chapter also consists of Porter's five forces analysis and market attractiveness by geography to give detailed analysis of the entire competitive status of the global cell separation technologies market.

Key information about the top market players operating in the global cell separation technologies market is given in the company profiles section of this report. Some of the key players profiled in this report include BD Bioscience, EMD Millipore, Mitenyi Biotec GmbH, and STEMCELL Technologies, Terumo BCT, pluriSelect GmbH, and Life Technologies (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.).

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Introduction

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Cell Separation Technologies Market- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

9-Jun-2014

Contact: Kimberly Brown kbrown@snmmi.org 703-652-6773 Society of Nuclear Medicine

St. Louis, Mo. (June 9, 2014) Researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2014 Annual Meeting revealed how a protein encourages the production of stem cells that regenerate damaged tissues of the heart following an acute attack (myocardial infarction). They further assert that it has a better chance of working if provided early in treatment. This was confirmed by molecular imaging, which captured patients' improved heart health after therapy.

If given after a heart attack, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilizes bone marrow stem cells that turn down the collateral damage of cell death that occurs after acute myocardial infarction. Other research has shown G-CSF having a beneficial impact on left ventricle ejection fraction, a measurement of how powerfully the heart is pumping oxygenated blood back into the aorta and the rest of the body with each beat. The objective of this study was to find out how beneficial the stem cellstimulating therapy would be if administered early during standard treatment. Early prescription of G-CSF happens to strengthen its effect immediately and after follow up.

"Previous studies have shown that giving G-CSF to unselected heart attack patients failed to satisfactorily improve their condition, but G-CSF may potentially be beneficial if given earlier than 37 hours following myocardial infarction and coronary intervention," remarked Takuji Toyama, MD, the study's principal researcher from the division of cardiology at Gunma Prefectural Cardiovascular Center in Maebashi, Japan. "This study shows that the first intravenous drip infusion of G-CSF during treatment just after hospitalization was able to rescue our patients. I am confident that with additional data from a forthcoming clinical trial, this protocol can be adopted as a standard of practice."

For this study, 40 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction were given either G-CSF therapy or saline intravenously for a total of five days beginning during a selected minimally invasive treatment, otherwise known as percutaneous cardiac intervention. Results of one year's worth of SPECT stress tests nailed how earlier start of G-CSF therapy in heart attack patients improves blood flow, access to essential energy and overall cardiac function.

Coronary heart disease caused one out of every six fatalities in the U.S. in 2010, according to 2014 statistics from the American Heart Association. An estimated 620,000 Americans suffered a first heart attack, and 295,000 had a recurrent episode. Collectively, heart attacks occur about once every 34 seconds. Coronary events cause about 379,559 deaths each year.

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Scientific Paper 239: Takuji Toyama, Hiroshi Hoshizaki, Hakuken Kan, Ren Kawaguchi, Hitoshi Adachi, Shigeru Ohsima, Division of Cardiology, Gunma Prefectural Cardiovascular Center, Maebashi, Japan; Masahiko Kurabayashi, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan, "Is the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor therapy in the earliest phase effective to rescue patients with acute myocardial infarction?" SNMMI's 61th Annual Meeting, June 7, 2014, St. Louis, Missouri.

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Stem cell-stimulating therapy saves heart attack patients

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SOUTH BEND, Ind.--- In the 1970's, researchers discovered that a newborn's umbilical cord blood contained special stem cells that could help fight certain diseases.

More than 30 years later doctors are still experimenting and learning more about the use of cord blood.

Amanda Canale doesn't take time with her daughter and niece for granted.

She's just happy to feel good.

"I've been in the hospital, and I've been sick my whole life," said Amanda.

Amanda was born with a rare blood disorder that required daily shots.

"Basically, I have no white blood cells. I have no immune system at all," said Amanda

At 23 she developed Leukemia and was given two weeks to live.

She desperately needed a Bone Marrow Transplant, but family members weren't matches.

Her doctor suggested an Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant.

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Umbilical cord blood helps to save lives

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Robert Waddell says he's glad the stem cells that healed him came from "a guy who was 50 years old" and not a human embryo.

As a Catholic, Waddell opposes the destruction of embryos and didn't want to rely on embryonic stem cells to cure his kidney disease. But he avoided this moral dilemma by getting bone marrow stem cells from a friend who donated a kidney as part of a University of Louisville study.

"It has nothing to do with embryonic stem cells," said Waddell, a 47-year-old father of four. "That made it a lot easier."

Recent strides in stem-cell research show adult stem cells to be ever-more-promising, many scientists say, quelling the controversy steeped in faith and science that has long surrounded embryonic stem cells.

In fact, University of Louisville researcher Scott Whittemore said the debate is almost moot.

"Realistically, (many scientists don't use) the types of stem cells that are so problematic anymore," he said, adding that adult stem cells can now be reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells. "The field has moved so fast."

In addition to these genetically reprogrammed adult cells - known as induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells - scientists are on the cusp of being able to turn one type of cell into another in the body without using stem cells at all. They shared some of the latest research last week at the annual International Society for Stem Cell Research in Vancouver.

"IPS cells overcame the main ethical issues," namely the use of embryos some Americans consider sacred human life, said Brett Spear, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the University of Kentucky who uses iPS cells to model liver disease.

But other scientists argue that embryonic stem cell research remains important.

Dr. George Daley, director of the stem cell transplant program at Boston Children's Hospital and past president of the research society, said embryonic cells are a tool in the search for cures.

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Stem-cell advances may quell ethics debate

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Author Rating:

Ten minutes into trying Stem Cellular Instant Eye Lift Products by Juice Beauty I knew I was hooked for life. These products are made for the rushing around "tired as all hell mommy who needs a quick pick me up. Your eyes will truly be transformed in 10 amazing minutes. The process is merely two steps (activator fluid meets algae face mask) and the result is reduced fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness. What you are left with is younger looking brighter eyes.

Each box contains six pure marine algae face masks and six Activator Fluid capsules. It is safe for all skin types and an authentic organic product. Vitamin C promotes brightness while white tea, cucumber and arnica extract reduces puffiness. Algae and Aloe hydrate, fruit stem cells promote firmness and camomile and hyaluronic acid encourage skin texture. This unique formula is created without use of parabens, petroleum, pesticides and other harmful additives and none of the products are tested on animals.

I was asking as you probably are how this can be accomplished so quickly. To start, pour the Activator fluid on the face masks and soak them. Once saturated, apply the mask under the eye for 10 minutes. Its that easy and you truly see results! You can choose to follow this treatment with Juice Beauty's Stem Cellular Eye Treatment. The initial treatment retails for around $75.00 while the supplemental treatments in the product line retail for $45-65. The whole line is completely worth the expense! I was amazed!

For more information or to purchase products please visit http://www.juicebeauty.com. You can also find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/juicebeauty, and at Amazon.com.

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Juice Beauty Stem Celluar Line

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2014 Vanderbilt GSC 3MT Finalist: Dikshya Bastakoty - Cardiovascular cell therapy
2014 Vanderbilt GSC 3MT Finalist: Dikshya Bastakoty - Cardiovascular cell therapy: teaching stem cells to fix the broken heart.

By: VanderbiltGSC

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2014 Vanderbilt GSC 3MT Finalist: Dikshya Bastakoty - Cardiovascular cell therapy - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

10-Jun-2014

Contact: Lucy Handford lucy.handford@monash.edu Monash University

Researchers have discovered that mutations in one of the brain's key genes could be responsible for impaired mental function in children born with an intellectual disability.

The research, published today in the journal, Human Molecular Genetics, proves that the gene, TUBB5, is essential for a healthy functioning brain.

It's estimated that intellectual disability affects up to four per cent of people worldwide, and two per cent of all Australians. One of the ways in which intellectual disability occurs is through genetic mutations, which cause problems with normal fetal brain development.

During fetal brain development, TUBB5 is essential for the proper placement and wiring of new neurons. When the gene is mutated, the brain, which sends and receives messages to the rest of the body, is impaired.

Lead researcher, Dr Julian Heng, from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University, said genetic mutations to TUBB5 could be responsible for a range of intellectual disabilities. It could also affect the development of basic motor skills such as walking.

"TUBB5 works like a type of scaffolding inside neurons, enabling them to shape their connections to other neurons, so it's essential for healthy brain development. If the scaffolding is faulty, in this case of TUBB5 mutates, it can have serious consequences," Dr Heng said.

These new findings build on the team's collaborative work with researchers in Austria, which led to the discovery of TUBB5 mutations in human brain disorders in 2012. By looking at just three unrelated patients with microcephaly, a rare brain disease in children, the team found striking similarities each had a mutation to TUBB5. The team also provided the first evidence that the TUBB5 mutations were responsible for each patient's disorder.

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Gene mutation discovery could explain brain disorders in children

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

11-Jun-2014

Contact: Siobhan Gallagher siobhan.gallagher@tufts.edu 617-636-6586 Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus

BOSTON (June 11, 2014) Researchers from Tufts have gained new insight into a protein associated with bipolar disorder. The study, published in the June 3 issue of Science Signaling, reveals that calcium channels in resting neurons activate the breakdown of Sp4, which belongs to a class of proteins called transcription factors that regulate gene expression.

This study, led by Grace Gill, identifies a molecular mechanism regulating Sp4 activity. Her previous research had determined that reduced levels of Sp4 in the brain are associated with bipolar disorder. Her work overall suggests that misregulation of Sp4 may contribute to the development of bipolar disorder.

"Understanding how transcription factors like Sp4 are regulated may provide us with ways to change neuronal gene expression to treat symptoms of mental illness, including bipolar disorder," said Gill, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of developmental, molecular & chemical biology at Tufts University School of Medicine and member of the neuroscience; genetics; and cell, molecular and developmental biology program faculties at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts.

The main goal of the study was to determine whether a specific type of calcium channel store-operated calcium channels drive the breakdown of Sp4 protein. Along the way, however, the research team also discovered that signaling by these calcium channels is most active in the so-called "off" or "resting" phase.

"The calcium-signaling regulation of Sp4 during the resting phase was unexpected and suggests two things: resting neurons are more active than we had thought and calcium signaling influences gene expression in both active and resting neurons," Gill said.

"We tend to think about cells being "on" or "off," but the reality of the biology is far more complex. Cells are always busy," she continued.

In neurons cells that can be stimulated by electrical signals transcription factors are regulated by calcium entry that is initiated when the cell depolarizes. Depolarization occurs when the overall voltage of the cell is increased. This is the "on" or "active" state for the cell. In contrast, when the cell's voltage is decreased, hyperpolarization occurs. This is called the "off" or "resting" phase for the cell.

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May 2014 Breaking News Mixing Human DNA with Animal DNA Last days final hour news prophecy
May 2014 Breaking News Mixing Human DNA with Animal DNA - Last Days End Times News Prophecy Update - Genetic Engineering.

By: nilay

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May 2014 Breaking News Mixing Human DNA with Animal DNA Last days final hour news prophecy - Video

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Welcome to GM in Australia, a The Conversation series looking at the facts, ethics, regulations and research into genetically modified (GM) crops. In this first instalment, Peter Langridge describes two GM techniques: selective breeding and genetic engineering.

GENETIC modification (GM) sounds very laboratory-based people in white coats inserting and deleting genes but the vast majority of GM work was completed in the field through selective breeding.

Early Middle Eastern farmers collected grain from natural grasslands, but they needed to time their harvest very carefully. If they were too early the grain wouldnt store well, and if they were too late the grain would spread over the ground making collection difficult.

At some stage, one of these early farmers must have noticed that some heads remained fixed on their stems even after the grain was fully dry. He obviously didnt understand this at the time, but these were plants with a mutation in the genes controlling seed dispersal.

Farmers began preferentially choosing plants with this useful mutation and planting them, perhaps the first case of breeding and selecting for a novel trait.

Gregor Mendel.

Wikimedia, CC BY

Systematic breeding really began in the early 1900s when scientists rediscovered Silesian monk Gregor Mendels groundbreaking work on genetic inheritance in peas.

Breeding involves utilising genetic variation to produce new combinations of genes and gene variants. A breeder will cross two different lines and then select offspring that have improved performance.

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GM: from the field to the lab

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Take a hot new method that's opened up a new era of genetic engineering, apply it to the wonder stem cells that in 2012 won their discoverer a Nobel prize, and you might just have a tool to cure HIV infection.

That's the hope of researchers led by Yuet Kan of the University of California, San Francisco and they have proved the basic principle, altering the genome of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to give them a rare natural mutation that allows some people to resist HIV.

Kan's work relies on "genome editing" snipping out a particular DNA sequence and replacing it with another. It's much more precise than traditional forms of genetic engineering, in which sequences are added to the genome at random locations.

To alter the stem cells, Kan's team turned to the CRISPR-Cas9 system, a super-efficient method of genome editing based on an ancient bacterial "immune system". In bacteria, the system takes fragments of DNA from invading viruses and splices them into the cell's own DNA, where they act like "wanted" posters, allowing the viruses to be recognised and attacked in future.

About 1 per cent of people of European descent are resistant to HIV, because they carry two copies of a mutation in the gene for a protein called CCR5. The virus must lock onto this protein before it can invade white blood cells, and the mutations prevent it from doing so.

Using a bone marrow transplant from a naturally HIV-resistant person, Timothy Ray Brown was famously "cured" of HIV infection. Kan's goal is to achieve the same result without the need to find compatible HIV-resistant bone marrow donors who are in vanishingly short supply.

It's fairly easy to make iPSCs from a person's cells, which then have the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body. So if iPSCs could be given two copies of the protective mutation, it should be possible to make personalised versions of the therapy that cleared HIV from Brown's body. Kan's team has now shown that CRISPR-Cas9 can efficiently make the necessary genome edit. As expected, white blood cells grown from these altered stem cells were resistant to HIV upon testing.

"It's a really fantastic application of the tool," says Philip Gregory, chief scientific officer with Sangamo BioSciences of Richmond, California. However, he warns that there is a long way to go before it can be turned into a practical therapy.

Kan has not yet grown the iPSCs into the specific type of white blood cells called CD4+ T cells that are ravaged by HIV. What he instead plans to do is turn the iPSCs into blood-forming stem cells, which when transplanted into the body would give rise to all of the cell types found in the blood. "One of the problems is converting iPSCs into a type of cell that is transplantable," says Kan. "It is a big hurdle."

Regulators will also need to be convinced that cells that have been subjected to extensive genetic manipulation both to create the iPSCs, and to give them the protective mutation are safe.

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Gene editing tool can write HIV out of the picture

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Clewiston, FL -

Numbers released Wednesday by the US Department of Agriculture show production of oranges in Florida is projected to be down 22 percent this month compared to the same time last year.

Citrus experts expect the numbers will continue to fall.

The main reason for the decline comes from an insect that is as common as the mosquito in Florida, which is spreading an incurable disease called Citrus Greening.

Oranges are a $9-billion industry in the state and to help protect it, everything is being considered including genetic engineering.

Southern Gardens Citrus in Clewiston is spearheading some genetic research. Its facility processes 25,000 oranges per minute, with the capacity of making 600,000 gallons of juice per day.

The groves feeding the facility are in visible distress. There are rows of stumps left behind from infected trees, where 800,000 have been infected so far.

President of Southern Gardens Citrus, Ricke Kress, has been looking for a cure for nine years. He's been with the company since 2005, which is the same year the disease was found in his groves.

"I had been here about a month." Kress Said, adding, "if we take out every infected tree we're basically not going to have any trees left.

Citrus Greening is spread through bacteria called Asian Citrus Psyllid, which essentially cuts off nutritional flow inside of the tree.

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Florida orange production down, projections show

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WASHINGTON - A rare set of genetic mutations found in fewer than one percent of the population may cut the risk of heart disease by 40 percent, researchers said Wednesday.

The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine show how certain flaws in a gene called APOC3 work to reduce a certain type of fat found in blood, known as triglycerides.

About one in 150 people carry one of these four genetic mutations, said the findings based on a study of the DNA of nearly 4,000 people of European and African ancestry.

Normal levels of triglycerides are generally less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Among those with any of the four APOC3 mutations, triglyceride levels were around 85 mg/dL.

"Based on our findings, we predict that lowering triglycerides specifically through inhibition of APOC3 would have a beneficial effect by lowering disease risk," said senior co-author Alex Reiner, a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington's School of Public Health.

Drugs already exist that can lower triglycerides -- which like cholesterol are a type of lipid in the blood -- but these have not been proven to lower the risk of heart disease, perhaps because they don't lower the lipids enough, researchers said.

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Gene flaws that reduce fat in blood may protect against heart disease

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2013 08 07 Q A 193 Fasting on Watermelon, Cholesterol, Genetics Experiences
Web site: http://www.drmorsesherbalhealthclub.com Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/robertmorsend.

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2013 08 07 Q&A 193 Fasting on Watermelon, Cholesterol, Genetics & Experiences - Video

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EX-GEN - CLOSER (Extreme Genetics 0.2) - 3D Vision Recordings // Out 15/07/2k14
3DVEP010 EX-GEN EXTREME GENETICS 0.2 Tracklist: 01 CLOSER 02 PROMETHEUS with ABSOLUM 03 RETREAT The EX-GEN strike back !!! The scientists were hard at work i...

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Advanced Genetics - Minecraft Mod
Minecraft Mod - Playlist: http://castcrafter.de/MinecraftMods Advanced Genetics: http://castcrafter.de/AdvancedGenetics Abonnieren: http://bit.ly/1qTeka2 Twitter: http://bit.ly/ZcZ...

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Advanced Genetics - Minecraft Mod - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

10-Jun-2014

Contact: Ronald Rogers rrogers@myriad.com 801-584-3065 Myriad Genetics, Inc.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 10, 2014 Crescendo Bioscience, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), today announced that Vectra DA data will be featured in eight posters at the 2014 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Meeting, June 11-14, 2014, in Paris, France. Vectra DA is a quantitative, objective multi-biomarker test to measure disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Vectra DA test offers insight into the biological processes that drive disease activity to help rheumatologists manage RA and improve patient care.

At EULAR, data will be presented by researchers from the Swedish Farmacotherapy (SWEFOT) clinical trial that demonstrate the clinical utility of Vectra DA in assessing the risk of future joint damage at multiple points in time. Additionally, SWEFOT data indicate that changes in Vectra DA scores were associated with favorable response to both non-biologic and biologic therapies. Further, the data demonstrate that Vectra DA may have the potential to serve as an inclusion criterion for assessing patients who are candidates for clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis.

"The breadth of data presented at EULAR is representative of the clinical utility of Vectra DA in the overall management of RA," said Oscar Segurado, chief medical officer at Crescendo Bioscience. "Vectra DA provides physicians with important, actionable insight to better assess risk of radiographic progression as well as manage therapy decisions in their patients with a precise and standardized tool. The EULAR data also point out the opportunity to identify more patients that may be eligible to participate in clinical trials."

The data to be presented at this EULAR meeting will build on a recently published study in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Diseases that demonstrated that Vectra DA scores at the start of the SWEFOT clinical study predicted radiographic progression of joint damage over the following year. The new data from the SWEFOT study being presented at EULAR demonstrate that Vectra DA scores at 3 months and 12 months also were predictive of subsequent radiographic progression over the following 2 years. Additionally, patients in the SWEFOT study who did not respond to 3 months of initial methotrexate therapy were randomized to receive either non-biological DMARD triple therapy or anti-TNF (infliximab) therapy. Patients with a high Vectra DA score at baseline that remained high following therapy were at a high risk for radiographic progression. By contrast, risk for progression was significantly lower among patients with a high Vectra DA score at baseline, but lower Vectra DA score following treatment. At all measured time points, low Vectra DA scores were associated with low risk for subsequent radiographic progression.

"These are clinically relevant findings for rheumatologists taking care of patients with RA," said Ronald F. van Vollenhoven, M.D., Ph.D, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "These data show that Vectra DA may help identify those patients at higher and lower risks for radiographic progression while receiving antirheumatic therapy."

Poster Tour Presentations

Title: Using the multi-biomarker disease activity score as a complementary inclusion criterion for clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis may enhance recruitment. Presenter: Ronald van Vollenhoven Date: Presentation: June 13, 2014 12:00 PM, Room 251 Poster: June 14, 2014; 10:15 AM, Poster Area D, Level 4 Key Finding: In this analysis of the SWEFOT study, Vectra DA was found to be potentially useful as an inclusion criterion in clinical trials. Recruitment for clinical trials in patients with active RA may be enhanced by including patients with a Vectra DA score > 44 in addition to the conventional approach of only using patients with a CRP > 10 mg/L. This enhancement was achieved with a comparable response to treatment and subsequent radiographic progression. In this study the number of eligible DMARD nave patients increased by 24 percent and the number of eligible MTX Non-responder patients increased by 47 percent.

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Crescendo Bioscience to present multiple studies at 2014 EULAR Meeting

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Genetics start-up 23andMe said on Friday it is one step closer to resuming sales of its full-fledged health product, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepting its first health report for review.

The home genetics company said in a blog post that the FDA will begin evaluating the company's submission for a 510(k) application, a regulatory process that applies to most medical devices sold in the United States.

Kathy Hibbs, 23andMe's chief legal and regulatory officer, said in the blog post that the submission focused on one single inherited condition, called Bloom Syndrome.

"Once cleared, it will help 23andMe, and the FDA, establish the parameters for future submissions,'' Hibbs writes.

Read More 3 promising tech darlings that fell flat

In November of 2013, the Google-backed firm stopped selling its $99 DNA test until it obtained marketing authorization from the FDA. 23andMe had previously said in its marketing materials that it could deliver insights about people's genetic predispositions toward "254 diseases and conditions.''

But in a public warning letter last November, addressed to 23andMe's chief executive Anne Wojcicki, the FDA expressed concerns about the "public health consequences of inaccurate results'' from 23andMe's genetic test kit.

Bradley Merrill Thompson, a product regulatory attorney with Epstein Becker & Green, said this was an important "milestone'' for 23andMe. The process may still take time, he added, as FDA will likely have further questions or requests for information.

Read More China's genomics success shows big data challenges

"But this does reveal 23andMe's strategyand that's to go through the process with the FDA.''

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23andMe on path to FDA approval

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