Archive for May, 2014
Locals Radio-Dr Thierry Vrain-Genetic Engineer speaks on the horrors of GMO’s and Roundup – Video
Locals Radio-Dr Thierry Vrain-Genetic Engineer speaks on the horrors of GMO #39;s and Roundup
Dr. Thierry Vrain, former genetic engineer and soil biologist with Agriculture Canada, spoke with us today about his concerns with genetically engineered crops (GMOs) and more importantly,...
By: Kevin Proteau
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Locals Radio-Dr Thierry Vrain-Genetic Engineer speaks on the horrors of GMO's and Roundup - Video
Genetic Engineering And Cloning – Video
Genetic Engineering And Cloning
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Genetic Engineering And Cloning - Video
Penn Medicine's Innovation Grant Program Announces Second Round Winners
PHILADELPHIA The Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation will fund three new initiatives in the second round of its Innovation Grant Program. The program encourages Penn employees and students to submit their ideas for advancing health and health care delivery. Winners receive funding and support from the Center for Health Care Innovation to facilitate the rapid translation of ideas into action and measurable outcomes over six months.
Fifty-six different ideas were submitted for review this spring. The winners include a cloud-based platform for ICU EEG monitoring and visualization of test results, a telemedicine effort to improve access to genetic testing and counseling services, and technology to improve prenatal services. Each winner will receive design support and between $5,000 and $75,000 in funding to further develop and test their idea.
The innovation grant program allows us to help thought leaders across Penn Medicine accelerate programs and practices with the potential to make a meaningful difference in health care delivery, said David Asch, MD, MBA, professor of medicine and executive director of the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation. We were excited by the level of interest from our colleagues, and we are eager to begin work in June.
Cloud-based platform for ICU EEG monitoring and visualizing results A team led by Brian Litt, MD, a professor in Neurology & Bioengineering, will build an automated, cloud-based platform for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) electroencephalogram (EEG) interpretation. Patients are monitored continuously with EEGs in ICUs worldwide. Recent studies show a large percentage of ICU patients have seizures, brain ischemia, encephalopathy, or other conditions that can be detected early on an EEG, allowing therapy to be initiated promptly.
However, continuous long-term EEG monitoring currently presents two major problems: it must be interpreted manually by physicians, delaying the delivery of results to the caregivers, and those caregivers rely on written reports from these studies, thus inhibiting the ability to view trends over time or forecast when a patients condition may deteriorate. The project aims to build an automated, cloud-based system for interpreting long-term ICU EEG data to speed response to changes in patients conditions and improve patient outcomes.
Telemedicine to improve access to genetic services Angela R. Bradbury, MD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology in the Abramson Cancer Center, will use telemedicine to increase access to genetic testing and counseling services.
Genetic testing for cancer susceptibility is now an essential component of oncology care, increasing the need for genetic counseling specialists to assist in care of patients and their families. Testing is typically available only at large, academic facilities, leaving many providers and patients without access to genetic counseling locally. Genetic testing should always be conducted in conjunction with proper pre- and post- test counseling to contextualize the test and outline what the results may mean. As genomic applications in oncology expand, the demand for genetic expertise will increase and gaps in delivery will worsen. Through an NIH study, Bradbury and her team showed telemedicine can be an effective way to expand genetic services to populations with limited or no access to care. The new project seeks to transition the teams research-supported telemedicine program to a sustainable clinical model.
Technology to Improve Prenatal Services Spearheaded by Ian Bennett, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Family Medicine & Community Health, this initiative uses text messages to engage and educate patients, enabling early interventions to reduce poor pregnancy outcomes.
Low income women have high rates of poor pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and preeclampsia. While signs of these conditions and associated risk factors can be identified in the course of prenatal care and targeted by interventions, the effectiveness of prenatal visits can be limited by patient literacy and engagement, as well as limited time to educate them. Delays in the identification of these disorders can result in poor perinatal outcomes.
Penn Medicines Helen O. Dickens Center for Women serves more than 3,000 low income patients each year, primarily African American women who are at increased risk for these outcomes. The project will create an application to deliver information regarding signs and symptoms of adverse pregnancy conditions to at risk women via text message. Fundamental to this project is the belief that an informed and engaged patient will increase the effectiveness of monitoring for pregnancy disorders.
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Penn Medicine's Innovation Grant Program Announces Second Round Winners
Reproductive medicine: The power of three
Illlustration by Vasava
Douglass Turnbull spends much of his time seeing patients who have untreatable, often fatal, diseases. But the neurologist has rarely felt more helpless than when he met Sharon Bernardi and her young son Edward.
Bernardi had lost three children within hours of birth, owing to a mysterious build-up of acid in their blood. So it was a huge relief when Edward seemed to develop normally. He did all his milestones: he sat up, he crawled and started to walk at 14 months, Bernardi recalls. But when he was about two years old, he began to fall over after taking a few steps; he eventually started having seizures. In 1994, when Edward was four, he was diagnosed with Leigh's disease, a condition that affects the central nervous system. Doctors told Sharon that her son would be lucky to reach his fifth birthday.
Turnbull, who works at Newcastle University, UK, remembers despairing that whatever we do, we're never going to be able to help families like that. His frustration sparked a quest to develop assisted-reproduction techniques to prevent disorders such as Leigh's disease, which are caused when children inherit devastating mutations in their mitochondria, the cell's energy-making structures.
The procedures sometimes called three-person in vitro fertilization (IVF) involve transferring nuclear genetic material from the egg of a woman with mutant mitochondria into another woman's healthy egg. Turnbull and others have tested the techniques in mice, monkeys and human egg cells in culture; now, they say, it is time to try them in people. The UK Parliament is set to vote on the issue later this year; if legislation passes, the country would be the first to allow this kind of genetic modification of unborn children.
Ewen Callaway talks to researchers and a patient about the techniques that replace faulty DNA in egg cells
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But some scientists have raised concerns over the safety of the procedures, and an increasingly vocal coalition of activists, ethicists and politicians argues that a 'yes' vote will lead down a slippery slope to designer babies. US regulators and scientists are closely watching the debate as they consider allowing similar procedures. I admire what they've done in Britain, says Dieter Egli, a stem-cell scientist at the New York Stem Cell Foundation, a non-profit research institute. I think they are far ahead in discussion of this, compared to the US.
The mitochondrion, according to one popular theory, was once a free-living bacterium that became trapped in a host cell, where it boosted the cell's capacity to generate the energy-carrying molecule ATP. As a result, each mitochondrion has its own genome but it no longer has all the genes it needs to function independently (the human mitochondrial genome, for example, has a paltry 37 genes).
Unlike the genome in the cell nucleus, which includes chromosomes from both parents, all of a person's mitochondria derive from the thousands contained in the mother's egg. For reasons still being studied, the mitochondrial genome is much less stable than the nuclear genome, accruing random DNA mutations about 1,000 times faster. As many as 1 in 5,000 children are born with diseases caused by these mutations, which affect power-hungry cells such as those in the brain and muscles. The severity of the conditions depends on the proportion of diseased mitochondria a mother passes on to her children.
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Reproductive medicine: The power of three
Minecraft | Attack of the B-Team E18: Fumbling Through Advanced Genetics – Video
Minecraft | Attack of the B-Team E18: Fumbling Through Advanced Genetics
I start to play with the Advanced Genetics mod having done only minimal research. This should be fun! ----------------- I #39;m SUPER excited about this modpack from the folks over at Technic....
By: Riella Cobb
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Minecraft | Attack of the B-Team E18: Fumbling Through Advanced Genetics - Video
Gene therapy hits blood cancers hard
In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success by using gene therapy to transform patients blood cells into soldiers that seek and destroy cancer.
A few patients with one type of leukemia were given this one-time, experimental therapy several years ago, and some remain cancer-free today. Now, at least six research groups have treated more than 120 patients with many types of blood and bone marrow cancers, with stunning results.
Its really exciting, said Dr. Janis Abkowitz, blood diseases chief at the University of Washington in Seattle and president of the American Society of Hematology. You can take a cell that belongs to a patient and engineer it to be an attack cell.
In one study, all five adults and 19 of 22 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, commonly known as ALL, had a complete remission, meaning no cancer could be found after treatment, although a few have relapsed since then.
These were gravely ill patients out of options. Some had tried multiple bone marrow transplants and up to 10 types of chemotherapy or other treatments.
Cancer was so advanced in Emily Whitehead, now 8, of Philipsburg, Pa., that doctors said her major organs would fail within days. She was the first child given the gene therapy; now almost two years later, she shows no sign of cancer.
The regimen also can be used to treat myeloma, lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, commonly known as CLL.
This has the potential to become the first gene therapy approved in the United States and the first for cancer worldwide, doctors said. Only one gene therapy is approved in Europe, for a rare metabolic disease.
The treatment involves filtering patients blood to remove millions of white blood cells called T-cells, altering them in the lab to contain a gene that targets cancer, and returning them to the patient in infusions over three days.
What we are giving essentially is a living drug permanently altered cells that multiply in the body into an army to fight the cancer, said Dr. David Porter, a University of Pennsylvania scientist who led one study.
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Gene therapy hits blood cancers hard
Novel RNAi therapy silences mutated Huntington's disease gene and reduces symptoms
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-May-2014
Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, May 21, 2014A targeted gene silencing strategy blocks production of the dysfunctional huntingtin (Htt) protein, the cause of Huntington's disease, a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative disorder. The effectiveness of this RNA interference (RNAi) approach in reducing levels of mutant Htt protein and disease symptoms in a mouse model of the disease is described in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Human Gene Therapy website.
Lisa Stanek and coauthors from Genzyme (Framingham, MA) used an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector to deliver a targeted nucleic acid sequence called a small interfering RNA (siRNA) into the cells of affected mice. The siRNA selectively binds to the mutated gene, blocking disease-causing Htt production. The authors present data demonstrating the ability to deliver the therapeutic RNAi into the cells, reduce mutant Htt levels, and impact behavioral deficits in the mice without causing any noticeable neurotoxicity, in their article "Silencing Mutant Huntingtin by Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated RNA Interference Ameliorates Disease Manifestations in the YAC128 Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease."
"The Genzyme group uses state-of-the-art delivery technology and a gene silencing approach to generate very promising preclinical data for Huntington's disease," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.
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About the Journal
Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.
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Novel RNAi therapy silences mutated Huntington's disease gene and reduces symptoms
Personalized Medicine Market – Video
Personalized Medicine Market
The personalized medicine and associated companion diagnostic market have huge opportunities for growth. This industry will revolutionize the healthcare system and will improve therapeutic...
By: Edel Ayres
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Personalized Medicine Market - Video
Participant Feedback: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference – Video
Participant Feedback: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference
On Feb. 10-11, 2014, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Canada and one of the world #39;s top five - hosted its inaugural conference, "Beyond the Genetic...
By: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
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Participant Feedback: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference - Video
Potential to Double Cancer Cure: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference – Video
Potential to Double Cancer Cure: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference
On Feb. 10-11, 2014, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre - the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Canada and one of the world #39;s top five - hosted its inaugural conference, "Beyond the Genetic...
By: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
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Potential to Double Cancer Cure: Princess Margaret 2014 Conference - Video
8th Annual Chair-Leader Event – Part 1 – Video
8th Annual Chair-Leader Event - Part 1
On May 7th, 2014 Members of Parliament representing all political parties cam together to participate in the 8th annual Chair-Leaders Campaign to raise awareness regarding accessibility barriers....
By: Spinal Cord Injury Canada TV
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8th Annual Chair-Leader Event - Part 1 - Video
Spinal cord injury patient in harness walking – Video
Spinal cord injury patient in harness walking
By: Chelsey Hensgen
Spinal Cord Injury Before Stem Cell Transplantation – Video
Spinal Cord Injury Before Stem Cell Transplantation
stem cell india, stem cell therapy india, stem cell in india, stem cell therapy in india, india stem cell, india stem cell therapy.
By: Stem Cell India
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Spinal Cord Injury Before Stem Cell Transplantation - Video
Multiple Sclerosis Treatment through Stem Cells – Video
Multiple Sclerosis Treatment through Stem Cells
Michael Racke, MD shares the latest advancements in stem cell research to providing treatment for Multiple Sclerosis at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
By: osumedicalcenter
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Multiple Sclerosis Treatment through Stem Cells - Video
2 Reasons Why Growth Factors and Stem Cells are a Breakthough for Aging Skin, Says Sublime Beauty
St. Petersburg, FL (PRWEB) May 20, 2014
A breakthrough for rejuvenating aging skin today includes topical stem cells rich in Growth Factors. These are non-embryonic stem cells.
Collagen is lost during the aging process as production slows down, a contributing factor in the formation of wrinkles, lines, sagging and thinning of skin.
"A very effective way to reduce wrinkles, improve skin quality and boost collagen levels is through Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media," says Kathy Heshelow, founder of Sublime Beauty. "Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media contains key ingredients for rejuvenation of skinespecially natural Growth Factors and other proteins."
2 reasons why these Growth Factors are key for anti-aging skin care:
1) Growth Factors, when used topically, stimulate skin to create more collagen. Results include smoother, healthier skin with diminished wrinkles. Collagen is the structure holding up skin, essential for smoothness.
2) Growth Factors help to replace and regenerate the nutrients needed by skin for rejuvenation. It promotes skin tissue repair and strengthens the elastic fibers which give the skin its softness and suppleness.
"We added our stem cell serum to the Sublime Beauty line for those that wanted a higher end, scientific formula," says Heshelow. "Our serum is of high purity with no fillers and is made in the U.S under strict conditions."
Expensive to make, Heshelow says the Sublime Beauty serum is less expensive than many similar serums found on the market, which can range from $300 to $500. "Our serum retails under $160," Heshelow says.
Use twice daily and see first results in about 2 weeks.
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2 Reasons Why Growth Factors and Stem Cells are a Breakthough for Aging Skin, Says Sublime Beauty
Introducing pioneering regenerative medicine
This post is sponsored by DIA.
Regenerative medicines and the latest regulatory issues surrounding them will be a hot topic for discussion at the DIA 2014 50th Annual Meeting. This years Annual Meeting will be in San Diego from June 15 to 19 and will feature a session titled Pioneering Regenerative Medicine: Trends in Regulations for New Therapy, under the Nonclinical and Translational Development/Early Phase Clinical Development track.
The session, to be held on June 16 from 8:30-10:00 AM, will introduce the first clinical research of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell products in Japan and review the current regulatory status and governmental efforts surrounding regenerative medicine. Speakers will also identify issues in the application of the new technology and discuss possible solutions.
iPS cells hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine because they can propagate indefinitely, as well as give rise to every other cell type in the body such as neurons, heart, pancreatic, and liver cells, and therefore represent a single source of cells that could be used to replace those lost to damage or disease. iPS cell technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto, Japan, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for the discovery alongside Sir John Gurdon.
The session will be chaired by Shinji Miyake, PhD, Professor of the Center for Clinical Research at Keio University School of Medicine in Japan.
The DIA 2014 50th Annual Meeting: Celebrate the Past Invent the Future is the largest multidisciplinary event that brings together a community of life sciences professionals at all levels and across all disciplines involved in the discovery, development, and life cycle management of medical products all with a common goal to foster innovation that will lead to the development of safe and effective medical products and therapies to patients.
This years event celebrates DIAs 50th Anniversary and will feature 260+ educational offerings over 21 tracks, 450+ exhibiting companies, over 125 representatives from global regulatory agencies, and much more. The meeting provides participants with a valuable opportunity to network with professionals from around the world, share knowledge, and build new relationships.
Find out more about DIA 2014 50th Annual Meeting at http://www.diahome.org/DIA2014.
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Introducing pioneering regenerative medicine
Dr. Todd Malan Named Chief Cell Therapy Officer at Okyanos Heart Institute
Freeport, The Bahamas (PRWEB) May 20, 2014
Okyanos Heart Institute has announced the addition of Dr. Todd Malan to their executive medical team as Chief Cell Therapy Officer and General Surgeon. He will perform and oversee the liposuction step of Okyanos treatment, removing a small amount of fat from patients from which their own stem cells are isolated. Cardiac cell therapy is intended for no-option heart patients who have exhausted the currently available standards of care for their condition, of which there are about 2 million in the United States alone.
Dr. Malan is founder of the Innovative Cosmetic Surgery Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, specializing in advanced liposuction and fat transfer procedures. A pioneer in adipose- (fat) derived stem cell research and fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, Dr. Malan became the first physician in the United States to utilize adult stem cells from fat tissue for soft tissue reconstruction. He has co-authored two medical textbooks on fat-derived stem cell therapies and has served as principal investigator on two Institutional Review Board- (IRB) approved adult stem cell trials.
As an active member of the adipose stem cell research community, Dr. Malan is very familiar with the therapeutic benefits of adult stem cells for cardiac, as demonstrated in clinical trials, said Dr. Howard Walpole, chief medical officer at Okyanos. He lends his experience and integrated knowledge of both innovative cosmetic surgery and stem cell therapy to our medical leadership team, he added.
"It is truly gratifying to see the gathering of like-minded researchers, clinicians, and administrators who see the remarkable value of developing evidence-based protocols for effective stem cell therapies, said Dr. Malan. He added, This project is a culmination of years of experience between industry leaders who are dedicated to making Okyanos a premier cell therapy center in the world. The work we do today will define the future of medicine for years to come."
Okyanos cardiac cell therapy is the first stem cell-based procedure for heart failure available to patients outside of clinical trials, wherein the patients own adipose-derived stem cells are infused directly into the damaged part of the heart via catheter. Okyanos will begin treating advanced heart disease patients in Freeport, The Bahamas, in the summer of 2014.
ABOUT OKYANOS HEART INSTITUTE: [Oh key AH nos] Based in Freeport, The Bahamas, Okyanos Heart Institutes mission is to bring a new standard of care and a better quality of life to patients with coronary artery disease using cardiac stem cell therapy. Okyanos adheres to U.S. surgical center standards and is led by founder and CEO Matt Feshbach, as well as Chief Medical Officer Howard T. Walpole Jr., M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I. Okyanos Treatment utilizes a unique blend of stem and regenerative cells derived from ones own adipose (fat) tissue. The cells, when placed into the heart via a minimally-invasive procedure, can stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis facilitates blood flow in the heart, which supports intake and use of oxygen (as demonstrated in rigorous clinical trials such as the PRECISE trial). The literary name Okyanos, the Greek god of rivers, symbolizes restoration of blood flow.
For more information, please visit http://www.okyanos.com/.
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Dr. Todd Malan Named Chief Cell Therapy Officer at Okyanos Heart Institute
DNA, cloning, and genetic engineering – Video
DNA, cloning, and genetic engineering
via YouTube Capture.
By: Lindsey Jackson
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DNA, cloning, and genetic engineering - Video
Can mobile phones cause allergic reactions?
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
20-May-2014
Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, May 20, 2014Studies have identified mobile phones and related devices as sources of metal sensitization and potential causes of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). Despite efforts to control allergen release in phones, many phones on the market release levels of metals, such as nickel and chromium, which are sufficient to induce ACD, according to an article in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ped.2013.0308.
In the article "Mobile Phone Dermatitis in Children and Adults: A Review of the Literature," a team of researchers led by Jacob Thyssen, MD, PhD, Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte (Hellerup, Denmark), Loma Linda University School of Medicine (Loma Linda, CA), and University of Arizona College of Medicine (Phoenix, AZ), review the current literature on mobile phone dermatitis in both children and adults. Nickel sensitization is common in children, resulting in ACD prevalence levels of up to 33%. This information is important for practitioners, particularly when evaluating patients with dermatitis of the face, neck, hands, breast, or anterior thighscommon places exposed to cell phones. The authors provide important diagnostic tips for practitioners and strategies to raise awareness of nickel- or chromium-induced mobile phone ACD.
"With the rising use of cell phones and other mobile devices, pediatricians can expect to see additional cases of ACD," says Editor-in-Chief Mary Cataletto, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY) and practicing pediatric pulmonologist at Winthrop University Hospital. "Thyssen's paper discusses diagnostic patch testing for common metal allergens and the value of spot testing of the patient's phone in establishing a causal relationship."
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About the Journal
Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal published in online with Open Access options and in print. The Journal synthesizes the pulmonary, allergy, and immunology communities in the advancement of the respiratory health of children. The Journal provides comprehensive coverage to further the understanding, and optimize the treatment, of some of the most common and costly chronic illnesses in children. It includes original translational, clinical, and epidemiologic research; public health, quality improvement, and case control studies; patient education research; and the latest research and standards of care for functional and genetic immune deficiencies and interstitial lung diseases. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology website at http://www.liebertpub.com/ped.
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Can mobile phones cause allergic reactions?
Lifestyle interventions are better than genetic tests for preventing type 2 diabetes
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
20-May-2014
Contact: Fiona Godwin medicinepress@plos.org PLOS
Targeted interventions based on genetic risk may not be the best approach for preventing type 2 diabetes and instead universal strategies to prevent obesity should be prioritized, according to new research published in this week's PLOS Medicine. This analysis, led by Claudia Langenberg from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, UK, suggests that the contribution of genetics to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is greatest in those who are younger and leaner. However, in this group, the absolute risk of developing type 2 diabetes is low and the number of people who would have to be screened in order to guide targeted prevention would be impractically large.
Diabetes is currently estimated to affect more than 380 million people and the epidemic is likely to increase to 592 million by 2035. Type 2 diabetes is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors, such as overweight and physically inactivity. While progress has been made in understanding the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes, the details of how adverse lifestyles combine with genetic risk to determine risk of developing type 2 diabetes are uncertain.
The authors quantified the association of genetic and lifestyle factors with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in a large cohort of 340,234 people in 8 European countries followed for 11.7 years. In this EPIC-InterAct study, 12,403 people developed type 2 diabetes. The researchers identified an individual's genetic risk by determining how many of a list of 49 known type 2 diabetes genetic variants each study participant carried. They then assessed how this genetic risk contributed to each individual's overall risk of developing type 2 diabetes after several risk factors (such as age, waist circumference, physical activity and Mediterranean diet) were taken into account.
They found that the relative increase in risk of type 2 diabetes for each additional adverse gene carried was greatest in participants who were younger and thinner at baseline. However, risk of developing type 2 diabetes was highest in people who were obese, whatever their level of genetic risk for diabetes. The 10-year cumulative incidence of type 2 diabetes was substantially greater for those with the lowest genetic risk who were overweight (1.29%) or obese (4.22%) compared to normal weight individuals with the highest genetic risk (0.89%).
Professor Nick Wareham, who led the EPIC-InterAct study said "this is the largest study to date examining the impact of genetic susceptibility and lifestyle factors on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes". He added that, "the high absolute risk associated with obesity at any level of genetic risk highlights the importance of population-wide, rather than genetically targeted, approaches to promoting healthy lifestyles that minimise excess weight".
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Funding: No funding bodies had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Funding for the InterAct project was provided by the EU FP6 programme (grant number LSHM_CT_2006_037197). In addition, InterAct investigators acknowledge funding from the following agencies: PWF: Swedish Research Council, Novo Nordisk, Swedish Diabetes Association, Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation; PD: Work was supported by the Wellcome Trust; LCG: Swedish Research Council; MJT: Health Research Fund (FIS) of the Spanish Ministry of Health; Murcia Regional Government (Nu 6236); LA: EJD: The Spanish Ministry of Health ISCII RETICC RD06/0020; RK: German Cancer Aid, German Ministry of Research (BMBF); TJK: Cancer Research UK; KTK: Medical Research Council UK, Cancer Research UK; APM: Wellcome Trust grant numbers WT098017 and WT090532; CN: Health Research Fund (FIS) of the Spanish Ministry of Health; Murcia Regional Government (Nu 6236); PMN: Swedish Research Council; KO: Danish Cancer Society; SP: Compagnia di San Paolo; JRQ: Asturias Regional Government; OR: The Vasterboten County Council; AMWS and DLvdA: Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS), Netherlands Cancer Registry (NKR), LK Research Funds, Dutch Prevention Funds, Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland), World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Statistics Netherlands; RT: AIRE-ONLUS Ragusa, AVIS-Ragusa, Sicilian Regional Government; YTvdS: Verification of diabetes cases was additionally funded by NL Agency grant IGE05012 and an Incentive Grant from the Board of the UMC Utrecht; IB: Wellcome Trust grant 098051 and United Kingdom NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre; MIM: InterAct, Wellcome Trust (083270/Z/07/Z), MRC (G0601261); ER: Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre.
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Lifestyle interventions are better than genetic tests for preventing type 2 diabetes
Research identifies genetic alterations in lung cancers that help select treatment
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
20-May-2014
Contact: Melissa Morgenweck morgenwm@mskcc.org 646-227-3633 The JAMA Network Journals
Multiplexed testing of lung cancer tumors identified genetic alterations that were helpful in selecting targeted treatments. Patients that received matched therapy for lung cancer lived longer than patients who did not receive directed therapy, although randomized clinical trials are required to determine if this treatment strategy improves survival, according to a study in the May 21 issue of JAMA.
The introduction of targeted therapy has transformed the care of patients with lung cancers by incorporating tumor genotyping into treatment decisions. Adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer, is diagnosed in 130,000 patients in the United States and 1 million persons worldwide each year. Adenocarcinoma is also the type of lung cancer with a higher than 50 percent estimated frequency of actionable oncogenic drivers, which are molecular abnormalities that are critical to cancer development. These drivers are defined as "actionable" because the effects of those abnormalities can be negated by agents directed against each genomic alteration, according to background information in the article.
Mark G. Kris, M.D., of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues examined the frequency of oncogenic drivers in patients with lung adenocarcinomas, and the proportion of patients in whom this data was used to select treatments targeting the identified driver(s) along with overall survival. From 2009 through 2012, 14 sites of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium enrolled patients with metastatic lung adenocarcinomas and tested the tumors of patients who met certain criteria for 10 oncogenic drivers.
During the study period, tumors from 1,007 patients were tested for at least 1 gene and 733 for 10 genes (patients with full genotyping). An oncogenic driver was found in 466 of 733 patients (64 percent). Results were used to select a targeted therapy or clinical trial in 275 of 1,007 patients (28 percent).
The 260 patients with an oncogenic driver and treatment with a targeted agent had a median (midpoint) survival of 3.5 years; the 318 patients with a driver and no targeted therapy, 2.4 years; and the 360 patients with no driver identified, 2.1 years.
The authors conclude that multiplexed tested aided physicians in selecting lung cancer therapies. Although individuals with drivers receiving a matched targeted agent lived longer, the study design was not appropriate to reach definitive conclusions about survival differences being attributable to the use of oncogenic drivers.
(doi:10.1001/jama.2014.3741; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
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Research identifies genetic alterations in lung cancers that help select treatment
Attack of the B Team ep 16 Advanced Genetics – Video
Attack of the B Team ep 16 Advanced Genetics
In this episode we make a hidden room and other cool stuff!!! DJ Snake Lil Jon - Turn Down for What.
By: Cody Thomas
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Attack of the B Team ep 16 Advanced Genetics - Video
SWTOR Legacy Fanfiction: Locations, Genetics, Emperor’s Wrath, Hand of the Emperor – Video
SWTOR Legacy Fanfiction: Locations, Genetics, Emperor #39;s Wrath, Hand of the Emperor
SWTOR Legacy Fanfiction: Genetics, Emperor #39;s Wrath and Hand Support the Creators, Don #39;t Block Ads! Play SWTOR for Free: http://play.any.tv/SHGn6 Shirts...
By: xLetalis
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SWTOR Legacy Fanfiction: Locations, Genetics, Emperor's Wrath, Hand of the Emperor - Video
Nine young scientists awarded by the Genetics Society of America for fruit fly research
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
20-May-2014
Contact: Raeka Aiyar, Ph.D. press@genetics-gsa.org 301-634-7302 Genetics Society of America
BETHESDA, MD (May 20, 2014) -- The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Drosophila research community are pleased to announce the winners of GSA Poster Awards at the 55th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, which took place in San Diego, March 26-30, 2014. These awards were made to undergraduate, graduate student, and postdoctoral researchers in recognition of the work they presented at the conference. Their projects, using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, spanned a diverse range of topics on the genetic and molecular basis of fundamental biological processes.
"We were very impressed with both the quality of the research and the clarity of presentation by the winning candidates," noted Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "It is gratifying to see such inspiring work by members of our community so early in their careers. We look forward to hearing much more about their contributions in the years to come. "
The recipients were chosen from 789 posters presented at the meeting, 561 of which were authored by GSA members and therefore eligible for an award.
2014 Drosophila Research Conference Poster Award Winners (for full release and photos, please visit the release URL http://www.genetics-gsa.org/media/releases/GSA_PR_20140520_Dros_poster_awards.pdf)
Postdoctoral Winners
FIRST PRIZE: Melanie I. Worley, University of California, Berkeley, USA Poster Title: "Chameleon: a mutant with an increased frequency of notum-to-wing transdetermination" Principal Investigator: Iswar K. Hariharan
SECOND PRIZE: Malini Natarajan, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA Poster Title: "Genome-wide analysis of tissue-specific effector genes in the Drosophila embryo" Principal Investigator: Julia Zeitlinger
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Nine young scientists awarded by the Genetics Society of America for fruit fly research
Nine Young Scientists Awarded by the Genetics Society of America for Research Presented at Fruit Fly Conference
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Newswise BETHESDA, MD (May 20, 2014) -- The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Drosophila research community are pleased to announce the winners of GSA Poster Awards at the 55th Annual Drosophila Research Conference, which took place in San Diego, March 2630, 2014. These awards were made to undergraduate, graduate student, and postdoctoral researchers in recognition of the work they presented at the conference. Their projects, using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, spanned a diverse range of topics on the genetic and molecular basis of fundamental biological processes.
"We were very impressed with both the quality of the research and the clarity of presentation by the winning candidates," noted Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "It is gratifying to see such inspiring work by members of our community so early in their careers. We look forward to hearing much more about their contributions in the years to come."
The recipients were chosen from 789 posters presented at the meeting, 561 of which were authored by GSA members and therefore eligible for an award.
2014 Drosophila Research Conference Poster Award Winners (for the full release including photos, please see http://www.genetics-gsa.org/media/releases/GSA_PR_20140520_Dros_poster_awards.pdf)
Postdoctoral Winners
FIRST PRIZE: Melanie I. Worley, University of California, Berkeley, USA Poster Title: "Chameleon: a mutant with an increased frequency of notum-to-wing transdetermination" Principal Investigator: Iswar K. Hariharan
SECOND PRIZE: Malini Natarajan, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA Poster Title: "Genome-wide analysis of tissue-specific effector genes in the Drosophila embryo" Principal Investigator: Julia Zeitlinger
THIRD PRIZE: Naoki Okamoto, RIKEN, Center for Developmental Biology (CDB), Kobe, Japan Poster Title: "Regulatory mechanism of the nutrient-dependent expression of Drosophila insulin-like peptide gene" Principal Investigator: Takashi Nishimura