Archive for the ‘Female Genetics’ Category

Good science fiction has always been based in truth. George Lucas borrowed from the history of World War II for the look and feel of the original Star Wars trilogy, even Mary Shellys Frankenstein, the first of the genre,* is steeped in allegory for the world she lived in.

But what about the accuracy of the science used in sci-fi? Some movies use a lot of suspension of disbelief, bad physics and downright poor research to propel their storyline forward.

While bad science in science fiction isnt necessarily bad to watch, here are some movies that get a lot right and some that really miss the mark.

These are not documentaries and should not be treated as such. They are Hollywoodized for the sake of audience attention spans and to make things more interesting.

(*Some cite Lady Margaret Cavendish as the spark for science fiction as a genre with her 1666 novel The Blazing World. Bottom line, the genre was pretty much invented by women, the gender most widely underrepresented throughout the genre, but thats another list.)

The Best

Keir Dullea in a scene from 2001: A Space Odyessy (1968).

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) What is this movie about? A lot of things, and apparently according to director/writer Stanley Kubrick and co-writer Arthur C. Clarke, if you can figure it all out, they failed to do their jobs. Suffice it to say, the classic sci-fi movie is full of not only well-predicted events and ideas of the future (corporate sponsorship, commercial spaceflight) but it also did a remarkable job of staying as scientifically accurate as it could. Kubrick hired aerospace engineers to design devices in the spacecraft interiors instead of usual prop makers, and artists employed by NASA were hired to design spacesuits and capsules. The result was at first not well-received by audiences or critics but with time it found its place and cemented itself as one of the greatest and most accurate (scientifically speaking) films ever made. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

Jodie Foster stars in "Contact" (1997).

Contact (1997) While a lot of sci-fi nerds have a lot of issues with this one mostly due to the ending, which I personally enjoyed Contact has a lot of things going for it. First and foremost, it has a female main character! She is clearly the smartest person in the room, though the dudes around her arent as interested in listening to her. The story follows Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) and her work with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program and her discovery of a radio transmission coming from around the Vega system, which relies on a series of prime numbers to send information from beyond our solar system. The novel the film is based on took an unusual route to existence. Author and scientist Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan worked together to create a screenplay in 1979. When the original film stalled, Sagan turned it into a book, which was then made into the film after his death. The movie that was made follows Sagans original story well along with the science and protocols that exist in real life. Rent it on Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

Ethan Hawke in a scene from Gattaca (1997).

Gattaca (1997) The film starring Ethan Hawke, Jude Law and Uma Thurman is a staple in many science classrooms when discussing the subject of genetics. Following the idea that in the near future, parents can choose the genetic makeup of their children, making them more attractive, intelligent, faster, stronger, etc., it becomes more common for children to be conceived this way rather than the old-fashioned route. For the few who are conceived through traditional means, they are looked on as second-class citizens, struggling with diseases or other ailments that would never occur in humans whose genetics have been chosen for them. The movie sparks a great debate between science and nature, and prejudices based on DNA. Stream it on Crackle, Tubi or CBS All Access or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.

A scene from "Finding Nemo" (2003).

Finding Nemo (2003) Yes, it may be surprising to see the heart-tugging animated movie about a fish is one of the more accurate films, but here it is. Ignoring the truth about real clownfishs ability to switch between using their male or female reproductive traits based on whether the dominant female in the community should die, the rest of the film depicts an unusually high accuracy when it comes to most marine biology and ecology. Fish do travel along the East Australian Current as described in the movie (though not as fast), and clownfish do live in sea anemones (at least the species depicted does), then there are the more subtle accuracies like the rows of sharks teeth, fish communications, even nods to poaching. The heartwarming story surrounds the incredible journey of clownfish Marlin and his search for his son Nemo, who has been scooped up by a diver and taken to Sydney. With the help of a forgetful blue tang fish named Dory, theyll go on the adventure of their lives to find Nemo. Stream it on Disney Plus or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.

Matt Damon stars in "The Martian" (2015).

The Martian (2015) The inciting incident of the film, a major storm that leaves scientist Mark Watney (played by the always steady Matt Damon) behind on Mars, isnt actually possible in real life, and there are a few liberties taken for the sake of drama and aesthetics. But a lot of films use of science is sound. Screenwriter and original novelist Andy Weir took great care to research the ins and outs of orbital mechanics, Martian conditions, spaceflight and botany. The film is a basic survival/rescue story that is well told and compelling throughout as NASA and the Chinese space program work together (what a concept!) to bring the lost astronaut home. Plus there are some great lines including Whatneys Im going to science the s--t outta this. Stream it on Hulu (with Live TV subscription) or rent it from Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or YouTube.

The Worst

Ben Affleck and Michael Clarke Duncan in a scene from "Armageddon" (1998).

Armageddon (1998) If you split an asteroid or giant meteorite in two, you will just have two of them to hit the earth. They wont conveniently split and go around it. Its also not a great movie.

Dennis Quaid, left, and Dash Mihok in "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004)

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Arguably one of the most inaccurate depiction of the laws of thermodynamics and just a bad movie in general, The Day After Tomorrow ignores so many facts for the sake of drama its hard to list them all here. One of the main points is that the great freeze and sudden glaciation of the planet comes from a discovery on the part of paleoclimatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation current, which brings warm air from the equatorial tropics, has failed and this will cause another ice age. While the current is now known to be slowing down, and the climate of Western Europe will be drastically affected by it, its going to take around 400 years for that to happen. What follows in the film is even more egregious: Giant and impossible storms across the planet aid in triggering the ice age, ice sheets in Greenland melt suddenly and ocean levels rise at a laughable level. Then when the ice does form, the oceans dont then recede as normal physics dictates.

Sandra Bullock in a scene from Gravity (2013).

Gravity (2013) Between implausible events and just poor research, Gravity sinks into the worst category in terms of how it uses the science its trying to depict. For one, George Clooney is meant to be playing an incredibly adept astronaut, but the way he is portrayed as a braggart who showboats and takes a series of unnecessary risks while out on spacewalks. But the biggest problem comes with a spoiler and how space works. Youve been warned. George Clooney didnt have to die. Not even close to it. When he and Sandra Bullock are tethered, he decides to sacrifice himself and let go, floating off into the abyss. Well, thats not how space works. You cant just let go of something and expect to be flung off into oblivion without being pushed by something. Plus all that Sandra Bullock needed to do was give the rope a slight tug and good ol George would come sailing back up to her.

Sam Neill in a scene from Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park (1993) I will forever love this film no matter what. Its great and it holds up story-wise and effects-wise. Im not getting into its physical interpretations of some of the dinosaurs within it as it used the information they had available to them at the time. Heres the main thing the movie got wrong though: You really cant get the blood from a fossilized mosquito to give you the DNA patterns needed to replicate a dinosaur. The DNA would be destroyed after about 6 million years, and since the dinos they re-created lived something between 100-200 million years ago, it seems impossible to clone the creatures.

Scarlett Johansson in "Lucy" (2014).

Lucy (2013) The entire premise is based on the old saying that humans only use about 10 percent of their brain capacity and what would happen if someone could access 100% of that power. Well, its wrong from the get-go. Humans use 100% of their brain. Apparently, writer-director Luc Besson knew this and went for it anyway. That didnt make any difference the movie is still a stinker.

See original here:
Movies that got science right and ones that got it oh so wrong - Bend Bulletin

Dublin, May 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Fertility Clinics & Infertility Services Industry (U.S.)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This 4th edition report examines the $6 billion infertility services/fertility clinics industry.

This loosely regulated baby business grew strongly from 2014 to 2019, boosted both by demand domestically and via medical tourism patients from Europe and China. However, due to the Coronavirus, the industry will be hit hard in 2020, as many clinics shut down for two months and foreign patients are not coming to the U.S. any longer.

ART (assisted reproductive technology) now produces more than 50,000 babies per year in the U.S. via 330,000 IVF procedures, and demand is growing from the ranks of 7+ million infertile women, many of which delayed childbearing due to careers. There are about 450 U.S. fertility clinics, 100+ sperm banks, an unknown number of egg donors, and 1,700 reproductive endocrinologists competing for the business, which is lucrative.In addition, the U.S. market for fertility drugs is worth about $749 million. Only two large chains, IntegraMed and Prelude Fertility exist, as most programs are run by small MD practices or are part of a hospital or University. The market is fragmented, served by mostly small regional clinics.

This 4th edition study examines the nature/evolution of the business, national receipts/growth from 1988 to 2019, 2020 forecast, 2025 forecast, infertile customer demographics, key industry trends, industry regulation, pricing, industry consolidation, insurance coverage, ethical issues, and more. Contains results of the latest (2015-2018) CDC ART survey national data, with IVF success rates and long-term trends, as well as European ART cycles and outlook. The report also examines the nature/size of the U.S. sperm banks, egg donors, and fertility drugs markets, and surrogacy programs.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Introduction

2. Report Scope & Methodology, Sources used

3. Executive Overview of Major Findings

4. Nature & Structure of the Industry

5. Patient Demographics

6. Industry Size and Growth

7. Sperm Banks

8. Egg Donor Market

9. The Fertility Drugs Market

10. Findings of 2016-2018 CDC ART Surveys on Assisted Reproductive Technology

11. Tables and analyses of 2016 report: National Summary

12. Text, analyses & discussion covering these topics: (long-term trend data)

13. List of recent fertility start-up companies.

14. Industry Reference Directory

15. List of adoption and fertility services industry trade groups, associations, surveys, consultants, articles, and other sources.

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y55htc

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

More here:
Insights into the Fertility Clinics & Infertility Services Industry in the US to 2025 - Featuring Allan Guttmacher Institute, California Cryobank...

22 May 2020

Hair thinning is when one experiences mild to moderate hair loss for an extended period of time. Your hair loses its volume and gives the appearance of thinner areas of hair on your head.

Hair thinning

This is a concern for most people and many companies such asManual, a UK company offer treatments to combat this.

A lot of factors contribute to hair loss. Medical conditions, genetics, and the aging process have been highlighted many times in the past. However, not many are aware that your diet can play a big part in it too.

In this article, well take a look at how the lack of (or excess) nutrients may be linked with hair thinning.

What is a Nutrient Deficiency?

Nutrient deficiency or malnutrition is when your body does not get enough vitamins or minerals needed to sustain itself. You may picture this happening in only the poverty-ridden places in the world, but dont be surprised that your traditional Western dietcan lack certain nutrients as well.

Now, lets take a look at the nutrients commonly linked to hair loss:

Iron

Iron deficiency is the most common type of nutrient deficiency. Foods rich in iron include beef, chicken liver, and sardines. Contrary to popular belief, vegans and vegetarians arent at a higher risk of iron deficiency if their diets are well-balanced with a reasonable portion of whole grains, legumes, and nuts.

Women of reproductive age are more susceptible to iron deficiency due to excessive blood loss during their menstrual cycles.

Iron is crucial in the process of cell growth. They are a component of an enzyme called ribonucleotide reductase. When iron levels are low, hair follicles may not be able to grow effectively, and the amount of hair you naturally shed every day outpaces the rate in which your hair grows.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A can be found naturally in many of our food sources such as leafy vegetables, eggs, and fish. This vitamin is important in cell growth. Generally speaking, if you follow a Western diet, the risk of vitamin A deficiency is unlikely.

Based on current research, there isnt solid evidence to state that vitamin A deficiency can cause hair thinning. However, high levels of vitamin A can.

According to hairlossdoctors.com, excessive vitamin A causes hair follicles to reach the end of the growth phase quicker and fall off faster than the rate in which the body produces more hair.

Vitamin D

The sunshine vitamin or vitamin D is unique in the sense that it acts similarly to hormones. Currently, research has shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and alopecia areata, a disorder that causes bald patches to form.

Vitamin D encourages hair follicle growth and your hair growth may be negatively affected when you dont have enough of it. A natural way to get your daily dose of vitamin D is to be out and about under the sun for 10-30 minutes multiple days a week followed by a diet consisting, fatty fish, egg yolks, mushrooms, and cheese.

During the colder months where there isnt much daylight, you should consider supplementing yourself with vitamin D, as suggested by the NHS.

Disclaimer

Although there are links between nutrient deficiencies and hair loss, there isnt a lot of evidence that could directly correlate this to hair loss and the advice here should not be taken as medical advice. If you are experiencing thinning hair, you should consult your dermatologist as they will assess their patients on a case-by-case basis.

More here:
Nutrition and Hair Thinning - FemaleFirst.co.uk

We dont know if the intention of the creators of Twitter was the platform to become a place for ongoing discussion of any topics; what seems increasingly evident is that it is the social network of the opinadores. And with their tweets as a speaker, some people become trend by launching their reflections more or less successful.

One of the last to become viral has been Wall Street Wolverinean influencer remarkable with close to 100,000 followers he says that to say that the beauty standards are more stringent in women that in men is have no idea. A little bit of the urge to fight had, it is hard to see another way.

Wolverine is also youtuberwith 300,000 followers on that platform talking about political and economical topics. But yesterday he stressed especially on Twitter for his attempts to prove that being attractive is more difficult for men than for women. And first example, puts Margot Robbie at the side of Chris Hemsworth, perhaps a comparison is ill-chosen.

His meditations include phrases like this: A woman with a balanced diet and exercise you can achieve that physique without too much of a problem with constancy. The physical man are, instead, very advanced. Are physical or many years of training or directly use chemistry to achieve it. Given the fact that in order to be attractive you have to be a weightlifter semi-professional, of course.

Among the thousands of comments, a high percentage despising the words of Wolverine, there is a multitude of girls that argue that even doing exercise and maintaining a healthy diet will not get those bodies Something obvious to anyone familiar with the concepts of metabolism and genetics, but the youtuber refuses to accept as well.

Nor is it easy to follow him in his thread of reasoning: it Is a glimpse of a culture of envy and mediocrity tremendous. Chasing the extraordinary vanagloriar conformismshe says as an apparent response to the criticism he has been receiving and as a meditation end of the thread. Ehm, what?

The fact that put to Angelina Jolie as one of the female examples, suspect that has happened at some time or other the operating room, gives a clue that the argument has, to be generous, points flimsy. As his own formulation to begin with.

Read more:
Is it more difficult to be good that be good? The debate is on Twitter - Play Crazy Game

A NEW promotional body has been set up to bring together the marketing of all types of Mule sheep.

The Mule Group aims to promote the 'adaptability, profitability and ideal mothering characteristics' of females from each of the five main Mule Societies Scotch Mules, North of England Mules, Welsh Mules, Cheviot Mules and Highland Mules.

While each society has always worked as an individual association and will continue to do so, there is a commonality between them in that they all share the same sire in the Bluefaced Leicester and the Bluefaced Leicester Association is supporting the new group to promote the overall message that Mules are the UK's 'Number One commercial breeding female' and ensure marketing of the cross-breds reaches its full potential.

It is estimated that 400,000 mule females are sold annually, with enough breeders involved to give the Mule Group a combined membership of 3500.

Newly appointed chairman of the group, Derek Hall, of the Firth flock, Penicuik, is confident the new initiative will increase demand for both the females and the Bluefaced Leicester breed.

It is important we challenge our competitors and the only way we can do that is to join forces under the one umbrella to promote the attributes of Mules," said Mr Hall. "There is variation in the different types of Mules, however, their key traits of hybrid vigour and mothering ability are all similar.

The message we want to push is that the Mule is adaptable and ultimately ensures profitability to any flock," he said. The Mule is the key link in the sheep industry that brings the hills and uplands, right down to the lowlands together. It is now our challenge to cooperate with each other to ensure the best marketing of the mighty Mule!"

According to Mr Hall, the hybrid vigour of the Mule produces a breeding female that is hardier, with 'amazing' mothering abilities, that can perform well in many different systems.

The hybrid vigour comes from the uniqueness of the Bluefaced Leicester, which is genetically, a different breed of sheep to all others, consequently, the genetics from the Blue provide a higher level of hybrid vigour than any other breed," he asserted. "This in turn ensures a hardy cross-bred female with attributes that outperform that of any other breed or cross."

I am really excited to see where The Mule Group takes us because there is so much room to develop and expand the breeding potential of the Mule and everyone seems to be up for the challenge. Whatever the question, the answer is the Mule!"

See original here:
Mule societies pull together - The Scottish Farmer

More men have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, across the world than women except in Canada.

According to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, more women have been diagnosed with COVID-19 than men, and more women have died as a result. As of May 15, 55 per cent of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are women, and 45 per cent are men.

Of the total deaths, 53 per cent are women and 47 per cent are men.

READ MORE: How many people is coronavirus really killing? Ontarios data cant tell us

The provinces with the highest number of cases and deaths Quebec and Ontario also have starker gaps between the genders, according to daily provincial epidemiologic summaries.

In Ontario, currently around 57 per cent of those infected are women, while close to 42 per cent are men. Similarly, in Quebec, close to 60 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases are women and around 54 per cent of deaths are also women.

This kind of data stands out from other countries who track coronavirus cases, as the vast majority have had more men than women die of COVID-19 since the emergence of the virus, according to Global Health 50/50, an organization out of the UCL Centre for Gender and Global Health in London, England.

Its difficult to discern why women are being more affected by COVID-19 in Canada, but there are several factors that could impact how the virus impacts different genders, says Colin Furness, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto who specializes in infection control.

One possible reason could be because there are more female residents in Canadas long-term care homes, where the brunt of the cases and deaths in Canada are concentrated, Furness said.

READ MORE: Coronavirus numbers miss some deaths, experts warn. Heres why

Eighty-two per cent of Canadas COVID-19-related deaths have been in nursing homes, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Because of life expectancy differences, you are going to have more women represented in , Furness said, pointing out that Canadian women have higher life expectancies than men.

Data published in 2018 by Statistics Canada found that women were more likely to be widowed than men, and were more likely to be living in a nursing home or seniors residence.

Other countries are not seeing their long-term care homes ravaged by COVID-19 to the extent that Canada has. A study by the International Long-Term Care Policy Network published this month found that compared to 14 other countries, Canada had the most COVID-19-related deaths in long-term care.

Along with a higher representation in nursing homes, women are also more likely to work in caring professions that involve a lot of interaction with other people, Furness said.

This includes jobs like personal support workers (PSWs), like those who work in long-term care homes, he said. A recent study on PSWs in Canada found that workers are largely women and people of colour and/or immigrants.

READ MORE: Canadas lack of race-based COVID-19 data hurting Black Canadians: experts

A report published in February by the Ontario Health Coalition found that Ontario is facing a shortage of PSWs as many leave the profession due to being overworked, underpaid or injured on the job.

Last month, after a second PSW in Ontario died due to COVID-19, the union representing health care workers across the province blamed their deaths due to a lack of available personal protective equipment (PPE).

A report by Global News in April also found that long-term care homes across the country are struggling to access PPE.

Its also important to assess exactly which women are being impacted by COVID-19, said Suzanne Sicchia, an associate professor at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

If data on race and socioeconomic status is collected, its likely to show women of colour are being disproportionately impacted, she said. More women of colour are employed as personal support workers in Canada, and research has found that people of colour often have worse health outcomes.

Canada should also be collecting data when it comes to the care work women do, personally and professionally, she said.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: 3rd Ontario personal support worker dies from COVID-19

Paid or unpaid, womens care work, for the sick and elderly at home, in their extended family, in their communities, is another possible source of elevated risk of infection, Sicchia said.

Many often think health is shaped by lifestyle choices or genetics, which are important. But its crucial to remember there are a multitude of other factors that shape the health of individuals or populations including income, employment, social status and racism, Sicchia said.

While more women in long-term care along with the number of women working as care providers are factors, its difficult to make concrete assessments without consistent data being collected by governments, Sicchia said.

Undoubtedly there are other determinants at play, and this is why more research and the collection of race-based data and data on other intersecting determinants of health is so important.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptomscan include fever, cough and difficulty breathing very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms,contact public health authorities.

Toprevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.

For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News,click here.

2020Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Originally posted here:
More Canadian women have COVID-19 and are dying as a result. Here's some possible reasons why - q107.com

Business partners Soyama Mthongana and Athenkosi Denga, both 26, started farming in Peddie in the Eastern Cape in 2011, but only formalised their business, Lizwe Meat, in 2015.

Growing up in Port Elizabeth, the pair learnt about farming from their fathers and grandfathers, who ran livestock. From the outset, Mthongana and Dengas goal was to build on the knowledge they had gained from their families, and find innovative ways to farm better at a commercial level.

When starting out on their own, they decided to run farms independently from their families.

Setting an exampleDenga says that one of the purposes of their business operation is to demonstrate that black South African youth can produce quality beef cattle.

We cant leave unchallenged the stigma that farming is for the older generation.

He adds that a successful livestock business requires substantial financial investment in land, labour and infrastructure, as well investing time and resources to upskill oneself. This is why he and Mthongana took up studies specifically to help them in their business operation.

Between them, they hold degrees in marketing, accounting and business administration. Denga is in the process of completing a masters degree that researches ways of improving beef sales in South Africa.

The partners farming operation is run on leased land.

Were in year four of a 10-year lease of a 600ha farm. About 400ha is suitable for grazing, Denga says.

They have a commercial beef cattle herd consisting of 88 Bonsmara, Brangus and Hereford-type animals.

The genetic traits of these breeds, such as good feed conversion, are well suited to the environment we farm in. The weaners produced by the herd perform well in the feedlot.

The South African market requires cattle that produce tender carcasses with a high meat-to-bone ratio and uniform marbling.

They have three bulls and 85 female animals and produce about 75 weaners a year. From 2015 they decided to farm only one breed, and chose the Bonsmara because of its good performance record in the feedlot industry.

They are still in the process of converting their existing mixed herd to a pure Bonsmara herd by bringing in more Bonsmara bulls.

Over the long term, they also intend acquiring more land to grow their operation further.

Grazing campsDenga and Mthongana have implemented a rotational grazing system.

Without this system, the farm will be overgrazed, and it will take a long time to recover, he says.

They have four camps, and use two for their female animals, keeping between 40 and 45 in each camp. The bulls are kept in the third camp and the fourth is left to rest.

According to Denga, the cattle should be moved on before the grass is grazed down to its roots, as this has a negative effect on regrowth.

Production systemDuring the breeding season, one bull is taken to each female animal camp and a third is alternated between the two camps, so at times there are two bulls in one camp. The bulls run with the cows/heifers for three months, and calving is in October.

At the moment, we achieve a conception rate of 90%. However, were working on this by improving the genetics of the herd, says Denga.

They implement a strict culling regime; any cow that fails to produce one calf a year is culled. The calves stay with their dams until they are weaned at seven to eight months.

Their calving rate is about 90% and their weaning rate 95%.

Calves are not weighed at birth, but at weaning; the partners aim for a weaning weight of 210kg, at which point the weaners can be marketed to feedlots.

To ensure the health of our herd, we maintain constant communication with the provincial agriculture department state veterinarian, Dr Chauke Maluleke, to find out what diseases are prevalent in the area, and we vaccinate and treat animals accordingly, says Denga.

Feedlots and auctionsIn addition to selling weaners directly to feedlots, Mthongana and Denga sell their cattle through auctions, which they organise in partnership with GWK and the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC).

Auctions are not easily accessible for emerging and communal farmers because of the costs associated with them.

Transport to and from the auction for individual farmers can be prohibitively high.

This was the main reason we decided to become involved in auctions, and host them in such a way that theyd become more widely accessible, Denga says.

They conducted market research about which areas needed access to markets, and started by focusing on an area close to Mthatha in the former Transkei.

According to Denga, the livestock at auctions sells itself as people can see which animals are in good health.

These events also give farmers an opportunity to benchmark themselves against other farmers, and share information on how to improve the quality of their animals.

In addition, auctions create healthy competition between farmers and inspire them to produce better-quality livestock.

Denga adds that some older farmers are not knowledgeable about the South African red meat grading system and the market demand for tender beef from younger animals.

In our experience, many of the older farmers we deal with dont understand that this is where the industry is going, he says.

Denga says he and Mthongana hold most of their auctions close to the end of the year, when the majority of farmers want to sell their cattle to satisfy increased demand. The auctions are hosted in temporary structures set up at different venues in the rural areas.

We try to meet the farmers who participate halfway by offering them a reasonable rate to assist with transport to and from the auction venues, says Denga.

Auctions also represent a safer way for farmers to sell their cattle, as all proceeds from sales are transferred electronically, which is more secure than dealing on the informal market, says Denga.

Agriculture has great potential to contribute to South Africas economy. We believe that farming is where the countrys next generation of millionaires will come from.

Email Athenkosi Denga at [emailprotected], or Soyama Mthongana at [emailprotected].

See more here:
Two young cattle farmers bring auctions to communal areas - Farmer's Weekly

In a new study from the University of Exeter, researchers have identified a hybrid lobster species with both American and European genes.

According to study co-author Dr. Charlie Ellis, the discovery has potentially concerning implications for the lobster industry and conservation efforts, and further research is needed to assess the extent of the threat.

Lobsters imported from North America have been washing up on European shores in recent years. Experts have feared that the American lobsters may establish themselves as a native species or spread disease.

There have also been concerns about the negative effects of hybridization, but lab studies suggested that the European and American lobsters were not likely to mate.

Now, the offspring of a female American lobster found in a fjord in Sweden have been genetically identified as being clearly distinct from both European and American lobsters.

We had just developed a genetic test for seafood traceability that could separate any American lobsters mislabeled as more expensive European equivalents once theyve been cooked and shell coloration is no longer a useful indicator of the species, said Dr. Ellis.

What we found when we tested these offspring is that they came out exactly in the middle of this separation half American and half European so these lobsters were hybrids.

Until recently, it was thought that American and European lobsters would avoid crossbreeding, but this introduced American female has mated with a native European male, probably because she was unable to find an American male.

We now need to check whether any mature adult hybrids are fertile, because if they are then they have the ability to spread these unwanted American genes far and wide across our native lobster stocks.

According to the researchers, the study highlights the vital use of genetics to distinguish hybrid lobsters which might look almost identical to a pure strain.

It is particularly concerning that we seem to have found American lobster genes in one of our lobster reserves, said study co-author Linda Svanberg.

The better news is we now have this genetic tool to test lobsters or their eggs for hybridisation, so we can use it to track the spread of these alien genes to assess how big a threat this presents to our native lobster species, said study lead author Dr. Jamie Stevens.

For a range of conservation reasons, including potential contact with American lobsters, the researchers advise that the general public should never release a marketed lobster back into the wild.

Although we appreciate that all animal-lovers have concern for the fate of individual animals, in this case the rescue of one animal might endanger the health of the entire wild population, so once a lobster has entered the seafood supply chain thats where it should stay, said Dr. Tom Jenkins.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

See the rest here:
Hybrid lobster species discovered with new genetic test Earth.com - Earth.com

With the help of a mouse model, researchers have found that the immune responses in a female before pregnancy can help predict how her offsprings are to have behavioural deficits if the immune system is activated during pregnancy. The results of the study could help resolve what role serious infections during pregnancy play in the later development of conditions such as autism and schizophrenia in the offspring.

The researchers from the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis co-authored the study findings published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Both genetics and a variety of environmental risk factors are thought to play a role in mental illness, said Professor Kim McAllister, director of the Center for Neuroscience and senior author on the paper.

"Most pregnancies are resilient, although the risk from maternal immune activation is low, it could provide a way into the underlying problems that lead to schizophrenia or autism," she said. "Our research focuses on how to predict which pregnancies are at risk and discover new ways to intervene and prevent disease in offspring."

The first evidence for a role for maternal infection in mental and developmental disorders came from the influenza epidemic of 1918, McAllister said. Epidemiological studies 15 to 20 years later of children who were in gestation at the time showed an increase in these disorders. Other evidence comes from animal studies.Apart from influenza, a wide variety of viruses and bacteria have been implicated in maternal immune activation. So the effect is more likely due to the mother's reaction to infections than with the infectious organism itself.

To reproduce this in mice, McAllister's team doses pregnant mice with a molecule called polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, or poly (I:C), which is double-stranded RNA, the genetic material for many viruses including influenza and coronaviruses. The immune system recognizes poly (I:C) as if it were a virus and triggers an immediate inflammatory response, especially releasing a molecule called interleukin-6, or IL-6.

The mice continue with the pregnancy and when the offspring are about 2 months old, the researchers test them for behavioural abnormalities, such as repetitive behaviours or freezing in place. Professor Judy Van de Water, an immunologist at the UC Davis School of Medicine and part of Estes' thesis committee, suggested looking at baseline immune reactivity in the mice before they became pregnant.

When they did that, the team found that the IL-6 response of a particular mouse to poly (I:C) before it became pregnant could predict the likelihood of behavioural problems in offspring if the mouse were treated with poly (I:C) later during pregnancy. "People assume that their mice are all the same, but there is clearly a wide range of baseline immunoreactivity," McAllister said. That baseline immunoreactivity turns out to predict resilience or susceptibility to immune activation during pregnancy.

"We can dose them with poly (I:C) and look at the IL-6 response and predict which ones will have affected offspring if we treat them during pregnancy," she said.With a reliable model for resilience and susceptibility, researchers can start to work out what genes and proteins involved in brain development are affected by immune activation and how this could lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. "The next steps are to figure out what it is that is different about those mice," McAllister said.

"Now that we can predict which mice are at risk, we want to determine how specific patterns of immune signalling in the mom cause distinct outcomes in offspring. We are hoping to figure out how maternal infection can lead to no problem in many pregnancies and to a range of distinct diseases in offspring from other pregnancies," McAllister added. Secondly, it could lead to biomarkers for identifying pregnancies at higher risk from infections and taking steps to protect mothers by vaccination or treatment.

That will likely involve further work in mice followed up with experiments in nonhuman primates before moving into human studies. (ANI)

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Study analyses risks of maternal infections, neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring - Devdiscourse

On the morning of Dec. 20, 2019, the Chinese fish monger Chen Qingbo was cleaning out his stand at the market, completely unaware that he would soon become the focus of intense scientific research, that he was carrying a virus within him of a kind the world had never seen before. He was unaware that his fate was linked closely with that of all of humanity.

He had been up since 5 a.m. and had already made deliveries to his primary customers, including a number of hotels and restaurants in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan. The Huanan retail and wholesale market, located not far from the train station, had been his base of operations for the last 10 years. By around 11 a.m., he had finished his work for the day and climbed into his Chevrolet for the short drive from the market to his home.

Chen is a sturdily built 42-year-old with a buzz cut and round glasses, married with two children. His small company employs three workers and he owns two delivery trucks, an apartment in Wuhan and two other apartments in his home province of Fujian. He works every day of the week, including weekends. "But on that Friday," he says, "I felt strangely tired and despondent."

Indeed, he was feeling so poorly that afternoon that he dropped by a doctor's office in his neighborhood and he received an infusion, not an uncommon treatment in China. He then went back to work on Saturday and again on Sunday and Monday, but he was feeling worse by the day, with the doctor suspecting a viral infection. Then, on Tuesday, Chen could no longer make it to the market: He had developed a fever and a cough. On Thursday, he checked into the Central Hospital of Wuhan.

Just four days later, Chen was fighting for his life. From the sample that doctors took from his lungs, a laboratory in Shanghai ultimately managed to sequence for the very first time the complete genome of an unknown virus: SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the pandemic that would ultimately spread across the entire world.

On that Dec. 20 in Wuhan, the day that Chen began feeling ill, there was nothing to indicate that a catastrophe was on the horizon. Like all cities in China, Wuhan was preparing for the Chinese New Year's festival at the end of January, an atmosphere comparable to that in Europe ahead of the Christmas holidays - days of pleasant anticipation combined with hectic preparations. Companies were planning parties while workers and students were buying train tickets back home. Communist Party officials also had plenty to do: In early January, city and provincial parliaments were scheduled to meet, an annual ritual.

Wuhan is a vast metropolis, with a population larger than that of cities like New York, London and Paris. It is a place where important rail lines and shipping routes meet, a wealthy, modern city on the banks of the Yangtze River with an impressive skyline and an historical town center built in the European colonial style. The city's politicians and business leaders have long hoped to see Wuhan on a par with other huge Yangtze megalopolises like Shanghai, Nanjing and Chongqing.

Instead, the name Wuhan has become synonymous the world over with a pandemic. That day in December 2019, it became the birthplace of a crisis that can only be compared with the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. And with the 2008 financial crisis, the consequences of which have already been overshadowed by what we are experiencing today.

The novel coronavirus has thus far killed more than 260,000 people officially and has plunged the global economy into an historical recession. It has changed the day-to-day lives of people around the world, fundamentally altered citizens' relationship with the state and reshaped geopolitics.

The article you are reading originally appeared in German in issue 20/2020 (May 09, 2020) of DER SPIEGEL.

The political and economic consequences of the coronavirus are so significant that the entire world order may ultimately be transfigured. It may slow globalization, or it may accelerate it. It could catapult the world out of the industrial age into a new era. The only thing that is certain is that change is coming.

More than four months after fish monger Chen became one of the very first people to come down with the respiratory illness later named COVID-19, there are a number of theories and opinions in circulation about the origins and spread of the illness. DER SPIEGEL has reconstructed events in Wuhan in an effort to learn how the outbreak could have happened and what took place in the early days in the city's hospitals and health agencies. And to learn whether the global pandemic could have been prevented if officials, doctors and politicians had behaved differently. In short, to learn who might share the blame for this pandemic.

This reconstruction is based on numerous discussions and meetings, on reporting in Wuhan itself but also on reporting by Chinese journalists. A complete picture can only be provided by an in-depth international investigation of the kind being demanded by experts and politicians around the world - an investigation that Beijing has thus far resisted. But it can already be said with certainty that mistakes were made in Wuhan and that the global spread of the disease could, at the very least, have been slowed.

It isn't known when and where the first person became infected with SARS-CoV-2. But it is considered extremely likely that the precursor to the pathogen comes from bats and based on genetic analysis, it is believed that the virus jumped to humans only one single time, at some point in fall 2019.

A traditional market in Wuhan: The virus only jumped to a human on one single occasion.

That is rather unusual. It is generally the case that a longer process of genetic adaptation is necessary before a virus that originates in animals can be passed from human to human. Generally, humans repeatedly become infected by animals before a pathogen mutates such that it can be passed from person to person. But SARS-CoV-2 followed a different path. Researchers believe that a specific genetic sequence is responsible, one that joined the genome that produced SARS-CoV-2 predecessor completely by chance. It is that sequence that has made it so easy for the virus to spread.

Researchers have two hypotheses for the beginning of the pandemic: Either this genetic sequence was added to the virus when it was still reproducing in its animal host - whether it be bats, pangolins or raccoon dogs so that the first person who became infected was immediately able to pass it along. Or a precursor was circulating unnoticed for months, but wasn't particularly contagious before the new sequence was added.

Either way, close contact between humans and animals provide ideal conditions for viruses to jump to humans. And those conditions were present at a wildlife market in Wuhan.

On Dec. 26, the day when the fish monger Chen Qingbo checked into the Central Hospital of Wuhan, the pulmonologist Zhang Jixian, 54, had her first encounter with the virus at a different clinic in Wuhan. An elderly patient was suffering from a fever, a cough and breathing difficulties and tests for influenza and other, similar illnesses had all come back negative. Dr. Zhang ordered a CT scan of the patient's lungs and found that she was suffering from a severe and unusual form of pneumonia.

One day later, the neurological department asked Zhang for assistance with an elderly patient experiencing similar symptoms. His CT scan had also revealed severe pneumonia. The doctors soon figured out that the male patient and the female patient were married. "I felt something was wrong," Zhang would later tell the state-run news agency Xinhua.

The doctor learned that the son of the two patients had brought them to the hospital and she convinced him to submit to a CT scan of his own lungs. "He resisted initially," according to Zhang. "He had no symptoms and thought we wanted to get him to undergo an expensive procedure."

Once the scan was performed, though, it revealed the same lesions on the lungs that his parents had. For Zhang, it all pointed to a "contagious disease," and after a few more tests, she was convinced. "This was not an ordinary virus." That same day, she reported her findings to the authorities.

People suffering from the same symptoms were showing up at other hospitals in the city as well. Most had one thing in common: Like Chen Qingbo, they had been traders, suppliers or customers of the Huanan market.

Before it was closed down, the market consisted of two large halls separated by a broad road. Each hall contained dozens of stands and Chen's stand was in the eastern part of the market, where primarily fish and shellfish were on offer. In one corner of the larger, western half of the market, there were several stands that offered exotic wares like snake, fox and salamander meat along with scorpions, crocodiles, live hedgehogs (for the equivalent of 4.50 euros per kilogram), living wolf pups (3 euros) and civets (32 euros). Civets are thought to be the transmitter of the SARS coronavirus that began spreading in southern China in 2002.

In such markets, animals are crammed into cages in horrific conditions, and images taken from this part of the market in Wuhan before it was shuttered on Jan. 1 show dismal-looking stands with dire hygienic conditions. Even today, more than four months later, you can still smell the rotten stench if you approach the site, which has been completely cordoned off.

"They allegedly also sold pangolins there," says Chen Qingbo. "But I never saw them. I never went over to those stands. I find wild animals to be dirty and I'm afraid of them." The eastern part of the market, by contrast, was a completely normal Chinese market, says Qingbo. "Even the restrooms were OK. They were cleaned every day."

After he was taken to the Central Hospital, Chen's condition worsened quickly. He was hardly able to stand on his own and his temperature climbed to 39.8 degrees Celsius (103.6 degrees Fahrenheit). He grew panicky when the doctor showed him the CT scan of his lungs. "He told me he had never seen such bad pneumonia. Three quarters of my lungs were completely white in the scan." On Dec. 30, Chen lost consciousness. The doctors took a sample of the fluid in his lungs and told his family that he was in critical condition.

At this point, they had just an initial idea of what kind of virus they could be facing. Several days earlier, the Wuhan Central Hospital had sent a sample from a patient suffering from similar symptoms to Vision Medicals, a genetic laboratory in Guangzhou, and on Dec. 27, the lab had got back to them with the results. "They just called and told us that it was a new type of coronavirus," a head physician from the hospital told the magazine Caixin, adding that he was surprised they hadn't sent a written report.

Because most of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 experience mild symptoms or none at all, scientists now believe that the virus had already spread widely by this point - in Wuhan and likely beyond. Several months later, French doctors went back and tested old samples from patients who had reported flu-like symptoms and found that a man near Paris had become infected with the novel coronavirus as early as Dec. 27.

"I think that the more people look, the more such early cases will be found," says Thomas Briese, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. A group of British and French scientists did something similar, combing through an online database on the search for tiny differences in genome sequences in thousands of SARS-CoV-2 samples from around the world. In the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution, they write: "The genomic diversity of the global SARS-CoV-2 population being recapitulated in multiple countries points to extensive worldwide transmission of COVID-19, likely from extremely early on in the pandemic."

"It seems unlikely to me that a global spread could have been prevented," says Grard Krause, head of epidemiology at Germany's Helmholtz Center for Infection Research. Nevertheless, says Torsten Feldt, infectiologist and chief physician at the University Hospital of Dsseldorf, "I am quite certain that many lives would have been saved by an earlier lockdown."

On the afternoon of Dec. 30, Ai Fen, head of emergency services at the Wuhan Central Hospital, received the test results of yet another patient. The test had been performed by a laboratory in Beijing called CapitalBio and the doctor found the results deeply unsettling. The finding: "SARS-coronavirus."

SARS first appeared out of the blue in the early 2000s, an unknown infectious disease with the potential to trigger a pandemic. That illness killed just 774 people before it was then stopped, essentially a warning shot to the world. Was it now back?

"I was so scared I broke out in a cold sweat," Ai later described her reaction on reading the lab report. She informed the clinic leadership, marking the words "SARS-coronavirus" on the report with a red pen, took a photo and sent it along with a patient's CT scan to former medical school classmates and to colleagues in her ward "to remind everybody to be careful."

Ai's message also reached her colleague Li Wenliang, who worked as an ophthalmologist on the third floor of the Central Hospital. At 5:43 p.m., he used WeChat to inform university friends of a presumed SARS outbreak. An hour later, he amended his message due to the apparent preliminary nature of the results from the Beijing laboratory: "It has been confirmed that it is a coronavirus infection, but the precise subtype of the virus is still being evaluated."

As it would turn out, the new pathogen is similar to the SARS coronavirus -- it's not quite as deadly, but it's apparently even more contagious. And the doctors Ai and Li were right to issue warnings, as events would soon show.

On the morning of Dec. 31, officials in white protective suits began disinfecting the Huanan market. Meanwhile, the health agency issued its first public statement on the new illness: In Wuhan, it said, 27 cases of "pneumonia of unknown causes" had appeared. Thus far, the statement continued, there were no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission.

That last piece of information was reassuring to doctors, researchers and health policy officials around the world. And it seemed perfectly plausible: New viruses generally tend to spread slowly early on.

But despite its plausibility, the information was incorrect. SARS-CoV-2 was an exception. It could be that there were no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission in late December, but the findings by doctors leave no doubt that such transmissions had long since begun.

Fully 21 days would pass, however, before the Chinese government publicly admitted as much three weeks that contributed immensely to a local epidemic rapidly growing into a worldwide pandemic.

Dr. Ai Fen: "I was so scared, I broke out in a cold sweat."

Shi Zhengli is the most accomplished scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. She was at a conference in Shanghai when she received an urgent phone call from Wuhan telling her to drop everything she was doing. Samples had arrived, she was told, from seven patients exhibiting SARS-like symptoms.

Shi is an internationally recognized virologist who has been nicknamed "Bat Woman" by her colleagues for the virus research she has performed on the animals. She was the one who first identified the viruses that SARS derived from and she has published numerous papers in well-respected journals. In the PubMed database, she is listed with 66 papers published about coronaviruses.

Her team spent the next several days feverishly sequencing the genetic code of the new virus, but Shi herself concentrated on trying to find out whether the new virus matched one of the viral strains on which her institute had been conducting research in recent years. She was initially concerned that an accident may have occurred and a sample may have escaped her laboratory.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, where she works, is a sprawling complex surrounded by a high electric fence in the southern part of the city. Five years ago, it became the first research site in China with the highest biosafety level BSL-4.

But it wasn't the only state laboratory where Chinese researchers were working hard to sequence the virus. Lan Ke, director of the State Key Laboratory of Virology at Wuhan University, received samples on Jan. 2 containing lung secretions from two patients from Zhongnan Hospital for analysis. "Honestly, my first though was that it could be a new pathogen to be identified," he told DER SPIEGEL. "But we were not sure if it was SARS." By Jan. 3, he and his team had detected the first RNA fragment of the pathogen. They then decoded the sequence and compared it with known viruses using an online database. They found no matches. The scientists furthermore recognized that the pathogen was less similar to SARS than it was to bat-born coronaviruses.

On Jan. 11, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center became the first to publish the genome sequence of the pathogen, doing so on the research website virological.org. The sequence came from a sample taken from the fish monger Chen Qingbo.

The next day, the center was temporarily closed down by Chinese authorities. No reason was given for the move.

On Dec. 31, Chen Qingbo was transferred from the Central Hospital of Wuhan to the Jinyintan Hospital, the first of the city's large hospitals to be dedicated specifically to treating patients suffering from the novel coronavirus. The fish seller initially ended up in the intensive care ward, but he was unaware of what was happening to him. He also still didn't know - though it is likely whether he was among the 41 patients chosen by specialists in the hospital to be part of a study that would be published three weeks later in the respected medical journal The Lancet. Even today, it remains one of the most important clinical studies on the early phase of the crisis.

Once his condition began improving and he was transferred to a different ward, Chen started receiving visits from "people from health services or some provincial agency." He says they would show him their IDs and ask him questions. "I don't know anymore who they were or what they wanted," he says. "I could only see their eyes behind thick protective goggles."

Chen has precise memories, though, of the mayor of Wuhan visiting his ward on Jan. 6. "After he left, the nurses told us that the government would be paying for our treatment from then on. And shortly thereafter, all of our costs were reimbursed."

On Jan. 3, Wuhan health officials reported 44 patients with unidentified viral lung infections, including 11 serious cases such as the one experienced by Chen Qingbo. But the number did not reflect the true expanse of the crisis. Many increasingly frustrated doctors were having difficulties reporting the number of new infections to the authorities.

Patients waiting to be transfered to another hospital in Wuhan: The city also provided the blueprint for combating the pandemic.

That system for reporting infections is the key element in what are actually strict regulations in China designed to track outbreaks of contagious diseases. The system was introduced following the SARS crisis and requires clinics to report suspicious cases to the government in Beijing without delay. The system is "quite simple," a doctor told the magazine Caixin. "Prior to corona, when we discovered a case of hepatitis B or another serious infectious disease, we were able to enter our diagnoses directly. A report card would open up, which we would fill out and then click "OK" to upload it."

It was this system that provided Beijing with a timely warning in 2013 of the bird flu outbreak and, in November 2019, of two pneumonic plague cases in Inner Mongolia. But in Wuhan, it suddenly stopped working. The authorities began demanding that hospitals first clarify each new case with the local authorities before they were allowed to upload them into the national reporting system.

In early January, scientists at several genetic laboratories received calls from provincial health authorities from the province of Hubei. They were asked to stop work on the analyses they were currently performing and to destroy their samples. They were then told: "If you perform tests in the future, be sure to report to us," one of the scientists later told Caixin.

As early as Dec. 29, the Central Hospital of Wuhan had sent four reports of corona cases to the local health office for appraisal. The head of the office promised to report back soon, adding that similar case reports had been received from other clinics. Two days later, the doctors asked about the results, but were told to be patient. On Jan. 3, they asked if they should post the case reports - seven of them by then to the national reporting system. They were asked to wait.

The most important political events of the year, after all, were imminent. On Jan. 6, a session of the city parliament was set to begin, and the Peoples Congress for the Hubei province was to convene on Jan. 11. And it was now that the provincial government also issued an order that entries into the national disease tracking system be made "cautiously. Entries were to be coordinated not just with the local health authorities, but also with the city and provincial governments.

The authorities were doing all they could to keep both the public and the central government in the dark about the true extent of the epidemic likely to prevent the disruption of the two parliamentary sessions. It could, however, also have been because they simply didn't want to spread bad news especially not to Beijing.

The loudest voices, the doctors Ai Fen and Li Wenliang, had already been silenced by then. On Jan. 2, Ai was given an "unprecedented, extremely harsh reprimand, as she would later say in a magazine interview. Then, on Jan. 3, the police interrogated Li and he was forced to pledge in writing that he would cease spreading "rumors. He returned to the hospital and contracted the virus himself on Jan. 8.

But even as the authorities sought to downplay the crisis, an increasing number of people infected with the virus began turning up at Wuhan hospitals. The citys health authority reported only 59 cases on Jan. 5, and on Jan. 11, it even spoke of "41 initially diagnosed cases. It claimed that there had been "no new cases since Jan. 3. Against all evidence, the authority also stated that there was no indication that the pathogen, which was now being referred to as the "novel coronavirus, was transmissible from human to human.

But the bad news reached Beijing, anyway, despite the lies from the local authorities. Virologist Gao Fu, the head of Chinas Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has made a habit of scanning China's internet before bedtime for indications of possible disease outbreaks. On Dec. 30, Gao came across rumors about an internal memo from the Wuhan Health Commission on the outbreak of an undefined lung disease. He called an official at the authority and was exasperated by the evasive answers he was given.

The next morning, Gao sent the first of three teams of experts to Wuhan. The Beijing office of the World Health Organization was also officially informed that same day. Shortly afterward, Gao spoke by phone with Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, who was on vacation at the time. Redfield was deeply disturbed about what Gao had to report. According to a report in the New York Times, Gao even broke into tears during a later conversation with Redfield.

Meanwhile, officials in Wuhan continued to play down the situation to their colleagues in Beijing. "They said the course of the disease was mild, not much different from seasonal flu, says a member of the second Beijing delegation, which would arrive in Wuhan about a week later.

The local authorities even issued an order that the only patients that should be counted were those who had themselves been to the Huanan market or had a connection with a visitor to the market. As a result of that order, the growing number of infections simply vanished from the statistics. An increasing number of infections, after all, had no connection with the market whatsoever.

Still, even though Beijing was now aware of the situation, official reporting did not change.

The city of Wuhan on Feb. 3: The largest quarantine ever imposed in the history of humankind.

And the Wuhan health authority continued to lie: On Jan. 11, it reported that there hadn't been a single known case among medical staff. In chatrooms, though, the opposite claim was spreading, something that epidemiologist Li Lanjuan learned on Jan. 17. Alarmed, she reported to the National Health Commission and requested permission to drive to Wuhan immediately. Officials in Beijing agreed. On Jan. 18, Li left for the city together with five other epidemiologists. It was only after this visit by the third Beijing delegation that the world would find out what was happening in Wuhan.

The team visited several hospitals, the Huanan market and the Center for Disease Control located only 300 meters away. The experts no longer had any doubts about human-to-human transmission of the virus or that medical personnel had themselves become infected. In a confidential meeting, Li urged that the highest disease alert level - normally reserved for plague or cholera outbreaks be declared. She proposed sealing off the city of Wuhan. There were only a few days left until the peak of the New Year travel season, and the concern was that the disease could spread throughout the country.

The experts flew back to Beijing on Jan. 19 armed with these recommendations. At around midnight, they were received by the Chinese health minister, and the next morning, they attended a cabinet meeting in Zhongnanhai, the innermost circle of power in the Chinese leadership. They issued their warnings at the meeting.

It was then, on Monday, Jan. 20, that the Chinese and the rest of the world would learn of the shocking news from Chinese media. Three days later, in the early morning hours of Jan. 23, Beijing moved to seal Wuhan off from the outside world. In the following days, the lockdown would be extended to include the entire Hubei province. Around 60 million people were ordered to shelter in place in their homes in the largest quarantine ever imposed in the history of humankind.

On the morning of Jan. 23, Wuhan was smothered in a thick layer of smog, with particulate matter levels at six times the legal limit. But there were very few cars on the streets and the few people who did attempt to leave the city were turned back. A convoy of police buses arrived at the airport and by 10 a.m., it was no longer possible to leave the city by air either.

There were also long lines of people in front of hospitals, while emergency rooms had become places of panic and desperation. Ai Fen reported that more than 1,500 patients were now crowding into her department each day, "three times the usual maximum. More than 200 of the 4,000 employees at the Wuhan Central Hospital got infected with the virus at the peak of the epidemic.

Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was so ill by the end of January that he had to be transferred to the intensive care unit and intubated. On Jan. 27, he defied the official ban on speaking to the press and gave an interview to the state-run Beijing Youth Daily using a messaging app. He could no longer speak. On Feb. 5 and 6, his condition deteriorated further and he had to be placed on life support. The hospital reported on his treatment using the microblogging platform Weibo. Some 17 million users followed the increasingly hopeless developments late into the night.

Shortly before 3 a.m., the doctors lost the battle to save their colleagues life. It unleashed an overwhelming wave of sympathy, with 870,000 users expressing their anger and grief on the internet, leading the state to ultimately abandon its censorship efforts. Li, 33, who left behind a son and a pregnant wife, embodied the center of Chinese society, precisely that segment on which the party bases its rule: the young, hard-working and well-educated. Like many doctors, he had been a member of the Communist Party.

The death of Li Wenliang, who had seen the danger coming, had warned his friends and colleagues and was punished for his efforts, shook many young Chinese so deeply that for a few days it appeared as though the party might lose its hold on society. In some ways, it was evocative of 31 years before, when the death of Hu Yaobang, a politician also revered by many young Chinese and humiliated by the party, triggered the protests in Tiananmen Square.

This time, though, there were no protests. Mourners laid flowers and candles in front of the Central Hospital. The party hastened to announce that it had expressed its condolences to Lis family and it initiated an investigation on the day of his death into the events surrounding his interrogation. A few days later, the government declared Li and 13 other doctors who had died of COVID-19 as "martyrs.

By now, the state and the party were now moving to mobilize all available resources. In the northwest and far south of the city of Wuhan, the Peoples Liberation Army set about constructing two emergency hospitals with more than 2,500 beds, finishing the job within two weeks. Stadiums and convention centers were also converted into makeshift hospitals, and within days, block after block of apartment buildings had been cordoned off, with party members standing guard to make sure people didnt leave their homes.

Virologist Gao Fu: Exasperated by the evasive answers he was given.

The world watched in a daze as Chinas leaders submitted millions of people to its quarantine regime. DER SPIEGEL and other Western media wrote that a lockdown that strict was "unthinkable in a democratic society. At that point, few had any idea that the events in Wuhan were providing a glimpse into their own future - and that only a few weeks later, a significant segment of the global population would find itself stuck in a similar situation. Far from just being the breeding ground for the virus, Wuhan also provided a blueprint for fighting the epidemic.

Eleven weeks after the lockdown was imposed on Wuhan, Wang Xinghuan, the director of one of the largest hospitals in the city, was standing outside his clinic in a tracksuit and speaking of the lessons he had learned from the crisis. "Three things are essential," he said, "rigorous testing, the immediate isolation of suspected cases and the wearing of masks." He said that he was in regular contact with colleagues in New York and that one of them had told him that the wearing of masks was unfortunately a cultural issue. "But it isn't a cultural issue," Wang insisted. "It's stupid to not wear a mask."

In March, an international team of epidemiologists calculated that the number of infections would have been three-times, seven-times or 18-times higher respectively if China had imposed the lockdown on Wuhan one, two or three weeks later than it did. It is difficult to imagine how many cases and deaths there might be in the world today had the country waited.

But the same study estimates that the numbers would have been 66 percent, 86 percent or 95 percent lower respectively had the government closed off the city one, two or three weeks earlier than it did.

Depending on one's perspective, then, Beijing is to be commended for protecting the world from a much greater catastrophe - or is to be condemned for triggering the disaster we are currently experiencing in the first place.

In February, the regime began pushing the first of the two narratives. Chinese President Xi Jinping has even claimed that he personally issued "specifications for the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus" way back on Jan. 7 in a speech before the Politburo Standing Committee. The text of that speech has not been released to the public, but anonymous sources have said that Xi merely decreed that the measures should not detract from the "festive atmosphere" ahead of the Chinese New Year.

The question regarding when Xi learned of the new virus is crucial when it comes to assigning responsibility. There are a number of indications that Beijing was misled by the provincial government and that the central government only recognized the severity of the epidemic in mid-January. But if Xi really was aware of the problem on Jan. 7, then he would have to bear responsibility for the fact that the world was deceived for so long regarding the true nature of the disease.

Wuhan's new top Communist Party official - his predecessor was fired in February proposed in early March that the people of the city undergo "gratitude education." The party went on to publish a book called "2020: A Battle Against the Epidemic," which honors Xi's alleged accomplishments in the "people's war" against the virus. Following a wave of indignation in the Chinese internet, though, the campaign was soon suspended.

The government, however, can now point to foreign sources to prop up its version of events. WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he had been "impressed and encouraged by the president's detailed knowledge of the outbreak" following a visit he made to Beijing in late January. Quotes such as this one are quite helpful to Beijing, both for its domestic propaganda and for its international PR campaign, which seems to be growing in strength by the week.

In this battle over the coronavirus narrative, Chinese diplomats eagerly cite statements and tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump. Quotes like this tweet from Jan. 24: "China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. () I want to thank President Xi!" Or this remark from Feb. 7: "I just spoke to President Xi last night. () I think he's handled it really well."

In the meantime, of course, Trump has begun disputing the numbers that he was praising just 10 weeks ago and is now accusing China of lying and he's not the only one. He has also begun claiming that he has intelligence information whereby the virus actually escaped from a Chinese laboratory, a reference to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the southern part of the city the lab where "Bat Woman" Shi Zhengli works.

People pay respect at a memorial to Dr. Li Wenliang: "There should be more than one voice in a healthy society."

In February, Shi told the U.S. magazine Scientific American that she worked day and night at the beginning of the epidemic comparing all the samples the institute had ever used for research with the genome sequence of SARS-CoV-2 - and found no matches. "That really took a load off my mind," she told the magazine. She believes her lab bears no responsibility for the outbreak.

In mid-April, only a few cars could be seen on the other side of the electric fence in the parking lot of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Visitors are not welcome. A car drove up and a young man in street clothes introduced himself as Mr. Zhao from "Bio Security." He demanded to know what the reporter was looking for. An interview with Dr. Shi, perhaps? "Impossible," was the response. But wouldn't it be helpful to respond to the rumors that are spreading around the world? Mr. Zhao smiled. "It doesn't matter what we say. These theories will spread regardless."

Some of those theories are rather preposterous. Nobel prize laureate Luc Montagnier, who was one of the scientists to discover the virus that causes AIDS, claimed on French television that SARS-CoV-2 was produced in the lab and contains genome sequences from the HIV virus. Researchers were quick to contradict him: "Montagnier failed to find that both fragments are actually also commonly found in many other viruses, including coronaviruses from bats and pigeons," the team of Yang Zhang, professor of computational medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Michigan, told DER SPIEGEL.

The most likely scenario is that the two genome fragments ended up in SARS-CoV-2 as the result of a completely natural process. That, at least, is what the vast majority of leading virologists believe.

It is, of course, possible that an employee of the Wuhan Institute of Virology may have become infected with an unknown, natural bat virus despite wearing protective clothing, but it is "extraordinarily unlikely," says Robert Garry of the Tulane University School of Medicine.

U.S. intelligence likewise issued a statement saying that the broad consensus is that the virus is not manmade. China has thus far refused to permit an international investigation into the origins of the virus. But without such a study, rumors will continue to spread regarding the beginning and development of the disease.

A particularly absurd conspiracy, which ironically originated in the U.S., has been spreading in Wuhan itself. The fish seller Chen Qingbo says that "many of my friends believe, as do I, that the virus was brought to Wuhan during the Military World Games last fall. The U.S. athletes apparently stayed in a hotel not far from the Huanan market and some of them allegedly were suffering from a similar illness." He then asks: "Couldn't that be true?"

Following his recovery, Chen was released from the hospital on Jan. 11, well before the epidemic reached its peak. After finishing his quarantine, he received a text message from the hospital's chief physician: "Recovered patients are kindly requested to donate blood plasma for scientific purposes." Chen responded immediately and has been to the hospital five times since then. He has resumed working, but he now supplies fruit and vegetables instead of fish. And he now works out of a different market.

Ai Fen is still the head of emergency services at the Central Hospital of Wuhan. On March 10, she gave a long interview to China's state-run People magazine in which she said: "I regret that back then I didn't keep screaming out at the top of my voice. I've often thought to myself what would have happened if I could wind back time."

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A Failed Deception: The Early Days of the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan - DER SPIEGEL

Some diseases exhibit a clear sex bias, occurring more often, hitting harder or eliciting different symptoms in men or women.

For instance, the autoimmune conditions lupus and Sjgren's syndrome affect nine times more women than men, while schizophrenia affects more men and tends to cause more severe symptoms in men than in women.

Likewise, early reports suggest that despite similar rates of infection, men are dying from COVID-19 more often than women, as happened during previous outbreaks of the related diseases SARS and MERS.

For decades, scientists have tried to pinpoint why some diseases have an unexpected sex bias. Behavior can play a role, but that explains only a piece of the puzzle. Hormones are commonly invoked, but how exactly they contribute to the disparity is unclear. As for genes, few, if any, answers have been found on the X and Y sex chromosomes for most diseases.

Now, work led by researchers in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard provides a clear genetic explanation behind the sex bias observed in some of these diseases.

The team's findings, reported May 11 inNature, suggest that greater abundance of an immune-related protein in men protects against lupus and Sjgren's but heightens vulnerability to schizophrenia.

The protein, called complement component 4 (C4) and produced by the C4 gene, tags cellular debris for prompt removal by immune cells.

The team's key findings:

"Sex acts as a lens that magnifies the effects of genetic variation," said the study's first author, Nolan Kamitaki, research associate in genetics in the lab of Steven McCarroll at HMS and the Broad.

"We all know about illnesses that either women or men get a lot more, but we've had no idea why," said Steven McCarroll, the Dorothy and Milton Flier Professor of Biomedical Science and Genetics at HMS and director of genomic neurobiology at the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad. "This work is exciting because it gives us one of our first handles on the biology."

McCarroll is co-senior author of the study with Timothy Vyse of King's College London.

Although C4 variation appears to contribute powerfully to disease risk, it is only one among many genetic and environmental factors that influence disease development.

The study's results are informing the ongoing development of drugs that modulate the complement system, the authors said.

"For example, researchers will need to make sure that drugs that tone down the complement system do not unintentionally increase risk for autoimmune disease," said McCarroll. "Scientists will also need to consider the possibility that such drugs may be differentially helpful in male and female patients."

On a broader level, the work offers a more solid foundation for understanding sex variation in disease than has been available before.

"It's helpful to be able to think about sex-biased disease biology in terms of specific molecules, beyond vague references to 'hormones,'" McCarroll said. "We now realize that the complement system shapes vulnerability for a wide variety of illnesses."

Cell sweeper

In 2016, researchers led by Aswin Sekar, a former McCarroll lab member who is a co-author of the new study, made international headlines when they revealed that specific C4 gene variants underlie the largest common genetic risk factor for developing schizophrenia.

The new work suggests that C4 genes confer both an advantage and disadvantage to carriers, much as the gene variant that causes sickle cell disease also protects people against malaria.

"C4 gene variants come with this yin and yang of heightened and reduced vulnerability in different organ systems," said McCarroll.

The findings, when combined with insights from earlier work, offer insights into what may be happening at the molecular level.

When cells are injured, whether from a sunburn or infection, they leak their contents into the surrounding tissue. Cells from the adaptive immune system, which specialize in recognizing unfamiliar molecules around distressed cells, spot debris from the cell nuclei. If these immune cells mistake the flotsam for an invading pathogen, they may instigate an attack against material that isn't foreign at all--the essence of autoimmunity.

Researchers believe that complement proteins help tag these leaked molecules as trash so they're quickly removed by other cells, before the adaptive immune system pays too much attention to them. In people with lower levels of complement proteins, however, the uncollected debris lingers longer, and adaptive immune cells may become confused into acting as if the debris is itself the cause of problem.

As part of the new study, Kamitaki and colleagues measured complement protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of 589 people and blood plasma of 1,844 people. They found that samples from women aged 20 through 50 had significantly fewer complement proteins--including not only C4 but also C3, which activates C4--than samples from men of the same age.

That's the same age range in which lupus, Sjgren's and schizophrenia vulnerabilities differ by sex, Kamitaki said.

The results align with previous observations by other groups that severe early-onset lupus is sometimes associated with a complete lack of complement proteins, that lupus flare-ups can be linked to drops in complement protein levels and that a common gene variant associated with lupus affects the C3 receptor.

"There were all these medical hints," said McCarroll. "Human genetics helps put those hints together."Two flavors

The bulk of the findings arose from analyses of whole genomes from 1,265 people along with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 6,700 people with lupus and 11,500 controls.

C4 genes and proteins come in two types, C4A and C4B. The researchers found that having more copies of the C4A gene and higher levels of C4A proteins was associated with greater protection against lupus and Sjgren's, while C4B genes had a significant but more modest effect. On the other hand, C4A was linked with increased risk of schizophrenia, while C4B had no effect on that illness.

In men, common combinations of C4A and C4B produced a 14-fold range of risk for lupus and 31-fold range of risk for Sjgren's, compared to only 6-fold and 15-fold ranges in women, respectively.

The researchers didn't expect the genes' effects to be so strong.

"Large genetic effects tend to come from rare variants, while common gene variants generally have small effects," said McCarroll. "The C4 gene variants are common, yet they are very impactful in lupus and Sjgren's."

Still, complement genes don't tell the full story of lupus, Sjgren's or schizophrenia risk, none of which are caused entirely by genetics.

"The complement system contributes to the sex bias, but it's only one of probably many genetic and environmental contributors," said Kamitaki.

Answers from diversity

Complement genes and another family of immune-related genes, called human leukocyte antigen or HLA genes, are interspersed throughout the same complex stretch of the human genome. HLA variants have been shown to raise risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, celiac disease and rheumatoid arthritis, and researchers had long believed that something similar was happening with lupus and Sjgren's.

The culprit, however, remained stubbornly hard to pin down, because specific variants in HLA genes and C4 genes always seemed to appear together in the same people.

Kamitaki and colleagues overcame this hurdle by analyzing DNA from a cohort of several thousand African American research participants. The participants' DNA contained many more recombinations between complement and HLA genes, allowing the researchers to finally tease apart the genes' contributions.

"It became quite clear which gene was responsible," said McCarroll. "That was a real gift to science from African American research participants. The question had been unsolved for decades."

The discovery provides further proof that the field of genetics would benefit from diversifying the populations it studies, McCarroll said.

"It will really help for genetics to expand more strongly beyond European ancestries and learn from genetic variation and ancestries all over the world," he said.

C4 variation could contribute to sex-based vulnerabilities in other diseases not yet analyzed, the authors said. It's not yet clear whether C4 pertains to the sex bias seen in COVID-19.

"We don't know the mechanism yet for why men seem to get sicker from COVID-19," said McCarroll. "Complement molecules are potentially important in any immune or inflammatory condition, and in COVID-19, it seems the immune response can be part of a downward spiral in some patients. But we don't know the key details yet."

It also remains to be seen how the differing effects of complement genes apply to people with intersex traits, also known as disorders or differences of sex development, who don't always fit textbook genetic or biological definitions of male and female.

"That is important to understand," said McCarroll.

Reference:Kamitaki et al.Complement genes contribute sex-biased vulnerability in diverse disorders. Nature, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2277-x.

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Sex, Genes and Vulnerability - Technology Networks

American lobsters have occasionally escaped or been released into European waters after being imported for the seafood market.Experts have long feared they could threaten European lobsters by introducing disease or establishing as an invasive species.

Hybridization when a pure species is threatened at a genetic level via interbreeding with a different but related species had been less of a concern because lab studies suggested European and American lobsters were reluctant to mate.

However, when an American lobster female was found bearing eggs in a fjord in Sweden, University of Exeter researchers tested the offspring and found they were clearly distinct from both European and American lobsters.

We had just developed a genetic test for seafood traceability that could separate any American lobsters mislabelled as more expensive European equivalents once theyve been cooked and shell colouration is no longer a useful indicator of the species, said Dr Charlie Ellis, of the University of Exeter.

What we found when we tested these offspring is that they came out exactly in the middle of this separation half American and half European so these lobsters were hybrids.

This has potentially concerning implications for the lobster industry and conservation efforts, and Dr Ellis says further research is required to assess the extent of the threat.

Until recently, it was thought that American and European lobsters would avoid crossbreeding, but this introduced American female has mated with a native European male, probably because she was unable to find an American male, he said.

We now need to check whether any mature adult hybrids are fertile, because if they are then they have the ability to spread these unwanted American genes far and wide across our native lobster stocks.

Working with collaborators from the University of Gothenburg who originally found the hybrid egg clutch, the researchers say their study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlights the vital use of genetics to distinguish hybrid lobsters which might look almost identical to a pure strain.

It is particularly concerning that we seem to have found American lobster genes in one of our lobster reserves, said Linda Svanberg of the Gothenburg team.

The better news is we now have this genetic tool to test lobsters or their eggs for hybridisation, added Dr Jamie Stevens, leader of the research which was funded by an EU grant through the Agritech Cornwall scheme, so we can use it track the spread of these alien genes to assess how big a threat this presents to our native lobster species.

The team advise that, for a range of conservation reasons including potential contact with American lobsters, it is important that the general public never release a marketed lobster back into the wild, even our native species.

Dr Tom Jenkins said: Although we appreciate that all animal-lovers have concern for the fate of individual animals, in this case the rescue of one animal might endanger the health of the entire wild population, so once a lobster has entered the seafood supply chain thats where it should stay.ReferenceEllis et al. (2020). Crossing the pond: genetic assignment detects lobster hybridisation. Scientific Reports. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64692-z

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Seafood Traceability Captures Lobsters Crossing the Pond - Technology Networks

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Seattle Genetics, Inc., Inc. (Nasdaq:SGEN) today announced that the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) has granted approval for TUKYSA (tucatinib) tablets in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine, for the treatment of patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, who have previously received two or more anti-HER2 regimens in any setting, including trastuzumab, pertuzumab and trastuzumab-emtansine (TDM1).

The application for TUKYSA approval was reviewed by Swissmedic as part of Project Orbis, an initiative of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence that provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology drugs among participating international regulatory agencies in Canada, Australia and Singapore. On April 17, the FDA approved TUKYSA in the U.S. under the FDAs Real-Time Oncology Review (RTOR) pilot program, four months prior to its action date, and represented the first new drug approved under Project Orbis.

Were grateful to Swissmedic for their collaboration through FDAs Project Orbis in approving this important new medicine in Switzerland, said Jennifer Stephens, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Seattle Genetics. We're committed to bringing new targeted therapies to patients, and we are excited about this important first step toward making TUKYSA available to patients in Switzerland.

TUKYSA is an oral, small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) of HER2, a protein that contributes to cancer cell growth.i,ii

The approval is based on results from the pivotal trial HER2CLIMB, a randomized (2:1), double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that enrolled 612 patients with HER2-positive unresectable locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who had previously received, either separately or in combination, trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1). The study results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine in December 2019.

About HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer have tumors with high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells. In 2018, more than two million new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed worldwide, including 522,513 in Europe. iii Between 15 and 20 percent of breast cancer cases are HER2-positive.iv Historically, HER2-positive breast cancer tends to be more aggressive and more likely to recur than HER2-negative breast cancer.v,vi,vii Up to 50 percent of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer patients develop brain metastases over time.viii,ix,x

About TUKYSA (tucatinib)

TUKYSA is an oral medicine that is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of the HER2 protein. In vitro (in lab studies), TUKYSA inhibited phosphorylation of HER2 and HER3, resulting in inhibition of downstream MAPK and AKT signaling and cell growth (proliferation), and showed anti-tumor activity in HER2-expressing tumor cells. In vivo (in living organisms), TUKYSA inhibited the growth of HER2-expressing tumors. The combination of TUKYSA and the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab showed increased anti-tumor activity in vitro and in vivo compared to either medicine alone.xi In the U.S., TUKYSA is approved in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for adult patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases, who have received one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting.

Important U.S. Safety Information

Warnings and Precautions

If diarrhea occurs, administer antidiarrheal treatment as clinically indicated. Perform diagnostic tests as clinically indicated to exclude other causes of diarrhea. Based on the severity of the diarrhea, interrupt dose, then dose reduce or permanently discontinue TUKYSA.

Monitor ALT, AST, and bilirubin prior to starting TUKYSA, every 3 weeks during treatment, and as clinically indicated. Based on the severity of hepatoxicity, interrupt dose, then dose reduce or permanently discontinue TUKYSA.

Adverse Reactions

Serious adverse reactions occurred in 26% of patients who received TUKYSA. Serious adverse reactions in 2% of patients who received TUKYSA were diarrhea (4%), vomiting (2.5%), nausea (2%), abdominal pain (2%), and seizure (2%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 2% of patients who received TUKYSA including sudden death, sepsis, dehydration, and cardiogenic shock.

Adverse reactions led to treatment discontinuation in 6% of patients who received TUKYSA; those occurring in 1% of patients were hepatotoxicity (1.5%) and diarrhea (1%). Adverse reactions led to dose reduction in 21% of patients who received TUKYSA; those occurring in 2% of patients were hepatotoxicity (8%) and diarrhea (6%).

The most common adverse reactions in patients who received TUKYSA (20%) were diarrhea, palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia, nausea, fatigue, hepatotoxicity, vomiting, stomatitis, decreased appetite, abdominal pain, headache, anemia, and rash.

Lab Abnormalities

In HER2CLIMB, Grade 3 laboratory abnormalities reported in 5% of patients who received TUKYSA were: decreased phosphate, increased ALT, decreased potassium, and increased AST. The mean increase in serum creatinine was 32% within the first 21 days of treatment with TUKYSA. The serum creatinine increases persisted throughout treatment and were reversible upon treatment completion. Consider alternative markers of renal function if persistent elevations in serum creatinine are observed.

Drug Interactions

Use in Specific Populations

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information for TUKYSA here.

About Seattle Genetics

Seattle Genetics, Inc. is a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines to make a meaningful difference in peoples lives. ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) and PADCEVTM (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) use the companys industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology. ADCETRIS is approved in certain CD30-expressing lymphomas, and PADCEV is approved in certain metastatic urothelial cancers. TUKYSATM (tucatinib), a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is approved in certain HER2-positive metastatic breast cancers. The company is headquartered in Bothell, Washington, with locations in California, Switzerland and the European Union. For more information on our robust pipeline, visit http://www.seattlegenetics.com and follow @SeattleGenetics on Twitter.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release are forward looking, such as those, among others, relating to the therapeutic potential of TUKYSA including its efficacy, safety and therapeutic uses including the potential use of TUKYSA in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for the treatment of patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, who have previously received two or more anti-HER2 regimens in any setting, including trastuzumab, pertuzumab and trastuzumab-emtansine (TDM1) and the potential to bring TUKYSA to patients in Switzerland. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include reimbursement processes, the extent of reimbursement, the possibility that adverse events or safety signals may occur, the possibility that the ultimate utilization and adoption of TUKYSA by prescribing physicians may be limited, including due to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility of difficulties in supplying and commercializing a new therapeutic agent, and the possibility of adverse regulatory actions. More information about the risks and uncertainties faced by Seattle Genetics is contained under the caption Risk Factors included in the companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seattle Genetics disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

i TUKYSA [package insert]. Bothell, WA: Seattle Genetics, Inc.ii Anita Kulukian, Patrice Lee, Janelle Taylor, et al. Preclinical Activity of HER2-Selective Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Tucatinib as a Single Agent or in Combination with Trastuzumab or Docetaxel in Solid Tumor ModelsMol Cancer Ther 2020;19:976-987.iii Breast. Globocan 2018. World Health Organization. 2019. https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/20-Breast-fact-sheet.pdf iv Slamon D, Clark G, Wong S, et al. Human breast cancer: correlation of relapse and survival with amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene. Science. 1987; 235(4785): 177-82.v Loibli S, Gianni L. HER2-positive breast cancer. Lancet. 2017; 389(10087): 2415-29.vi Slamon D, Clark G, Wong S, et al. Human breast cancer: correlation of relapse and survival with amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene. Science. 1987; 235(4785): 177-82.vii Breast Cancer HER2 Status. American Cancer Society website. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/breast-cancer-her2-status.html. Accessed March 9, 2020.viii Freedman RA, Gelman RS, Anders CK, et al. TBCRC 022: a phase II trial of neratinib and capecitabine for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases. J Clin Oncol. 2019;37:1081-1089.ix Olson EM, Najita JS, Sohl J, et al. Clinical outcomes and treatment practice patterns of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in the post-trastuzumab era. Breast. 2013;22:525-531.x Bendell JC, Domchek SM, Burstein HJ, et al. Central nervous system metastases in women who receive trastuzumab-based therapy for metastatic breast carcinoma. Cancer. 2003;97:2972-2977.xi TUKYSA [package insert]. Bothell, WA: Seattle Genetics, Inc.

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Seattle Genetics Announces the Approval of TUKYSA (tucatinib) in Switzerland for the Treatment of Patients with Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer...

Statistics show men are more likely to die from Covid-19 and it seems that is due to fundamental physical differences between the sexes.

With twice as many men as women dying from Covid-19, the pandemic is proving that man flu is not a myth and when it comes to immunity women really are the stronger sex.

But having a hyper-vigilant and very aggressive immune system has its downsides too it puts women at greater risk of auto-immune conditions such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and coeliac disease.

Now, some experts believe these sex-based divides in health and immunity hold the key to conquering not only the coronavirus, but many other health challenges too.

When the first figures emerged from China they showed that although coronavirus infection rates were almost the same for men and women, two-thirds of those dying were men.

Initially, this was put down to the fact that around 62% of Chinese men have smoked, compared to just 3% of women there.

But this theory began to unravel as similar patterns in Covid-19 deaths emerged in Europe and America, where many more women smoke.

Professor Sarah Hawkes, director of the Centre for Gender and Global Health at University College London, says: What Covid-19 is throwing into stark relief is that there are differences, but it is important to understand the difference between sex and gender sex is biological, while gender relates to socially constructed differences.

Gender differences in lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and alcohol consumption explain some of the health disparities between men and women.

But it is biology, particularly having two X chromosomes, that ensures women really are the fittest when it comes to survival.

Dr Sharon Moalem, an award-winning genetics researcher and best-selling author who has spent decades studying this phenomenon, explains: X chromosomes contain around 1,000 different genes and many are involved in the immune system.

"But the male Y chromosome has only around 70 genes, which are mostly involved in sperm production.

As a result, women not only have two different versions of many immune system genes, these genes also work together and swap genetic information.

Dr Moalem explains: Its like having a tool-box which has two of every tool; two different size screwdrivers, two different hammers, two sizes of wrench.

On top of this, female cells work together, side by side. They have the ability to make a tool and share it with their sister cell, she adds.

Hormones play a part too. Dr Kyle Sue, clinical assistant professor in paediatrics and family medicine at the University of Alberta in Canada, says: Oestrogen tends to be protective, in that it increases the work the immune system is able to do to fight infection, whereas testosterone seems to do the opposite.

And these differences mean that men and women are dealt very different hands when it comes to health.

The XX-factor gives females an advantage before they are even born. Early miscarriage is more common when women have conceived a boy, while pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and placental problems are also more common when women are carrying a boy.

Around 55% of babies born before 32 weeks are boys and this rises to around 60% for very premature babies. Boys who are born prematurely are also more likely to suffer lasting damage such as cerebral palsy and cognitive damage.

One reason for this could be that premature girls have higher levels of catecholamine, a fight-or-flight hormone which primes the body for physical activity.

The most obvious example of female survival superiority is life expectancy. The Office of National Statistics calculates that, on average, a toddler will live to be 79.3 years old if theyre a boy, but 82.9 years if theyre a girl.

Similarly, a 65-year-old man can expect to live for another 18.6 years, but a woman the same age will have another 21 years. Only one in five men makes it to their 90th birthday, compared to one in three women.

Danish researchers who studied death records from seven famines and epidemics (including the Irish potato famine) found women are the life-expectancy champions.

The statistics revealed they lived longer in every case.

Men have a 29% higher risk of developing heart disease and are more likely to have cardiac disease before their 50s. In part this is because of lifestyle: they are more likely to be overweight, drink to excess and smoke. But hormones are a factor too.

Until menopause, women are protected by their higher levels of oestrogen, with studies confirming the hormone reduces oxidative stress, blood pressure and fibrosis, as well as improving the elasticity of blood vessels.

Conversely, testosterone appears to increase cardiac risk by suppressing levels of heart-friendly HDL cholesterol.

Yet despite this, men are more likely to survive their first heart attack.

As heart disease is still seen as a male problem, women often delay seeking help and, when they do, they are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed.

Women are also less likely to receive bypass surgery, stents and other procedures. Symptoms vary, too. Men usually report crushing chest pain, while women sometimes describe this as tightness or dismiss it as indigestion.

Women are also more likely to experience symptoms such as pain in the arms, nausea and sweating, which are not immediately associated with heart attack.

Having an aggressive immune system puts women at greater risk of auto-immune disorders.

Multiple sclerosis is three times more common in women than men; for every nine women with lupus, only one man is affected; and, under the age of 50, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis is four to five times higher in women.

But Dr Moalem says women still have an edge. Even though women are more likely to be affected by auto-immune conditions, compared to the men who get them, women do much better.

"For instance, one study found men had an average MS Severity Score of 5.11 while for women the average was just 3.02.

Studies of vaccines, including the MMR, the BCG for tuberculosis and the combined tetanus diphtheria and pertussis shot show women have a much stronger immune response, which gives them better protection.

A large American study of flu jabs found women got two or three times more protection than men from the same dose.

This super-response means women are also more likely to experience side-effects prompting some experts to argue they should have lower doses.

Women are more likely to seek help for pain problems and appear to be more susceptible to specific problems such as migraine and neuropathic pain.

There is also evidence that men and women feel pain in different ways, which could have important implications for pain relief.

Unlimited exercise outdoors is to be allowed, with the previous 'once-a-day' rule scrapped

People will be allowed to sit on parks and beaches, provided they stay two metres away from other people

Boris Johnson said in his speech on Sunday night that people will be able to drive to other destinations from Wednesday, presumably to exercise there, although more detailed plans are likely to follow

From May 13, people will be able to meet one friend or relative from a different household in a public place, provided they stay two metres apart. Gatherings of more than two people remain banned, so people cannot meet both their parents, for example

Golf courses and tennis courts will reopen from May 13, with social distancing relatively easy to achieve, although you can play only with people in your household. Team sports such as football are not likely to be encouraged, as social distancing is difficult and more people than the average household would be required

Angling and water sports are also to be allowed to resume in England from Wednesday. Again, you must be within your own household and two metres from other people

Rather than a change to the rules, the government is now encouraging people to return to work if they cannot do so from home. But they also urge people to drive, walk or cycle to work rather than use public transport, if possible

For instance, the diabetes drug metformin blocks pain from nerve damage but only in men.

Some studies suggest women have a higher pain threshold.

When they have access to self-administered opioids following surgery, men give themselves higher doses even though studies show women need higher doses of morphine to get the same relief.

Men have a higher proportion of muscle, so burn more calories.

On average men need 2,500kcal a day, while women need 2,000. Women are more efficient at storing fat and typically have six to 11% more body fat.

Its an evolutionary safeguard to ensure they could conceive and breastfeed when food was scarce.

Because women have more body fat and less water in their bodies, if a man and woman of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman has a higher blood alcohol reading.

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Deadly coronavirus has proven that women are the stronger sex - Mirror Online

Researchers of a new study have now pinpointed the specific gene responsible for Cape honey bees unique capability for virgin births.

Although this sexless reproductive trait has been known for over a hundred years, it was only through modern genetic tools that researchers were able to discover the responsible gene.

The Cape honey bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee often found along the southern coast of South Africa.

After a 30-year-long search, researchers were able to find the gene, named GB45239, on the bees 11th chromosome. The studys breakthroughs were detailed in the journal Current Biology.

Scientists have been looking for this gene for the last 30 years. Now that we know its on chromosome 11, we have solved a mystery, the studys co-author Benjamin Oldroyd, professor of behavioral genetics at the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a news release.

Researchers said the discovery of this particular gene could propel new insights into the evolution of diverse reproductive strategies among animals.

Sex is a weird way to reproduce and yet it is the most common form of reproduction for animals and plants on the planet, Oldroyd said. Its a major biological mystery why there is so much sex going on and it doesnt make evolutionary sense. Asexuality is a much more efficient way to reproduce, and every now and then we see a species revert to it.

The presence of the GB45239 gene enables Cape honey bee workers to lay eggs that produce only females. The ability to asexually birth daughters is known as thelytokous parthenogenesis.

In such a society where asexual reproduction dominates, males arent necessarily needed. However, having female workers capable of essentially producing duplicates of themselves can cause problems.

Cape workers can become genetically reincarnated as a female queen and that prospect changes everything, Oldroyd said. Instead of being a cooperative society, Cape honey bee colonies are riven with conflict because any worker can be genetically reincarnated as the next queen. When a colony loses its queen the workers fight and compete to be the mother of the next queen.

If scientists can ever find a way to turn on and off the GB45239 gene, the method could be used to combat a variety of asexually reproducing pest species.

If we could control a switch that allows animals to reproduce asexually, that would have important applications in agriculture, biotechnology and many other fields, Oldroyd said.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV.

Image: Reuters

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Researchers Discover Gene Responsible for Honey Bee Virgin Births - The National Interest

When a woman named Shanawdithit died from tuberculosis in Newfoundland nearly 200 years ago, it was widely believed that her death marked a tragic end to her peoples existence.

For centuries, the Beothuk had thrived along the rocky shores of the island, taking on a near-mythical status as descendants of the first people encountered by Norse explorers in what is now Canada. But their population was devastated by decades of starvation and diseases, and when she died in 1829, Shanawdithit was believed to be the last of her line.

New research from Memorial University, however, has found Beothuk DNA probably still exists in people alive today a discovery that would rewrite the history of the Newfoundlands early inhabitants, even as it confirms the accuracy of local First Nations oral tradition.

Weve got good evidence that we have genetic continuity from the Beothic into modern persons, said biologist Dr Steve Carr.

But while the finding would trigger a rethink for historians, the notion is not surprising to local Indigenous groups.

Mikmaq oral history has long asserted a shared ancestry with the original inhabitants of Newfoundland, and local First Nations have worked closely with Carr to help lend genetic evidence to their own traditions.

There were always connections or friendly relations going back more than 200 years ago and when you mingle that way, periodically, things would happen, said Chief Misel Joe of the Miawpukek Mikamawey Mawiomi, a Mikmaq First Nation in Newfoundland.

Historians believe the Beothuk are descended from a group that braved the ocean to cross from Labrador to Newfoundland thousands of years ago and whose distinct culture emerged around 1500 CE. At one point, as many as 2,000 Beothuk lived in communities scattered around Newfoundland.

For generations, they largely resisted and avoided relations with European settlers; the few interactions between the two were defined by violent encounters.

Early European settlements on the coast cut off Beothuk access to critical salmon and seals forcing them to move further inland where they sustained themselves on caribou before finally succumbing to starvation and disease.

But Carrs research suggests it was only a cultural extinction; their genetic legacy lives on.

In his study, Carr used DNA samples from Shanawdithits aunt and uncle Demasduit and Nonosbawsut whose skulls were sent to the University of Edinburgh in the 1850s. After a long campaign by Chief Joes community, the remains were repatriated to Newfoundland from National Museums Scotland in March.

After running samples through a genetics database, Carr was able to find his smoking gun a man in Tennessee who was genetically similar to Nonosbawsut, but had no known Indigenous ancestry.

With only a small amount of data to work with, Carr hopes more samples will further demonstrate a connection.

Its easy to obtain the DNA sequence from somebody and you can count the number of similarities. Thats a very easy thing to do. But to reconstruct the patterns of a relationship is a very challenging problem, said Carr, adding that further research into the known movement and connections between the Beothuk and Mimaq was still required.

The findings also illustrate the way in which genetic uniqueness in this case the distinct sequence of Beothuk mitochondrial genomes can persist intact for generations. While humans share an immense amount of DNA that traces back millennia, said Carr, the intent of his research lay in teasing out the subtle and distinguishing differences between known groups.

For years, academia has ignored the oral histories of Indigenous peoples, said Chief Joe.

Academics are hard people to convince. They often have this mindset that this the way it was no matter what information we give them to the contrary, he said.

He described a frustrating experience in a land claims court, where the adjudicator suggested the Mikmaq first arrived in Newfoundland in the 1700s.

But we have an oral history of British sailors meeting our people and asking for directions. We drew them a map on birch bark. If this is the first time we had ever been on the land, how could we draw a map? said Joe.

Its convenient for government, for everyone, to ignore people who had no written history

The community is excited to keep working with Carr on further testing, said Joe, to further strengthen the evidence of shared ancestry.

This is a big thing for us, he said. But it all comes from something we already knew.

This article was amended on 11 May 2020. An earlier version incorrectly said that the skulls of Demasduit and Nonosbawsut were taken to the Royal Museum in Scotland in 1828.

See the original post:
Canada: DNA discovery lends weight to First Nations ancestral story - The Guardian

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, US (Merck: known as MSD outside the US and Canada) today announced LYNPARZA (olaparib) in combination with bevacizumab has been approved in the US for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and whose cancer is associated with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) positive status defined by either a deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA mutation, and/or genomic instability. Patients will be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

The approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on a biomarker subgroup analysis from the Phase III PAOLA-1 trial which showed LYNPARZA in combination with bevacizumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 67% (equal to a hazard ratio of 0.33). The addition of LYNPARZA also improved progression-free survival (PFS) to a median of 37.2 months versus 17.7 months with bevacizumab alone in patients with HRD-positive advanced ovarian cancer.

Approximately one in two women with advanced ovarian cancer has an HRD-positive tumor. For patients with advanced ovarian cancer, the primary aim of 1st-line treatment is to delay disease progression for as long as possible with the intent to achieve long-term remission.

Isabelle Ray-Coquard, principal investigator of the PAOLA-1 trial and medical oncologist, Centre Lon Brard and President of the GINECO group, said: Ovarian cancer is a devastating disease. The magnitude of benefit in HRD-positive patients in the PAOLA-1 trial is impactful. The combination of LYNPARZA and bevacizumab now provides women with HRD-positive advanced ovarian cancer with a new standard of care and I look forward to seeing this translate into clinical practice.

Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, said: This approval represents another milestone for LYNPARZA in patients with ovarian cancer. The median progression-free survival of more than three years offers new hope for more women to delay relapse in this difficult-to-treat disease. These results further establish that HRD-positive is a distinct subset of ovarian cancer, and HRD testing is now a critical component for the diagnosis and tailoring of treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer.

Roy Baynes, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Development, Chief Medical Officer, Merck Research Laboratories, said: Advances in understanding the role of biomarkers and PARP inhibition have fundamentally changed how physicians treat this aggressive type of cancer. Todays approval based on the PAOLA-1 trial highlights the importance of HRD testing at diagnosis to identify those who may benefit from LYNPARZA in combination with bevacizumab as a 1st-line maintenance treatment.

Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1 patient due to concurrent pneumonia and aplastic anemia. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 31% of patients who received LYNPARZA/bevacizumab. Serious adverse reactions in >5% of patients included hypertension (19%) and anemia (17%).

The most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) occurring in 10% of patients treated with LYNPARZA/bevacizumab and at 5% frequency compared to placebo/bevacizumab were: nausea (53%), fatigue (including asthenia) (53%), anemia (41%), lymphopenia (24%), vomiting (22%) and leukopenia (18%). In addition, the most common adverse reactions (10%) for patients receiving LYNPARZA/bevacizumab irrespective of the frequency compared with the placebo/bevacizumab arm were: diarrhea (18%), neutropenia (18%), urinary tract infection (15%), and headache (14%).

In addition, venous thromboembolic events occurred more commonly in patients receiving LYNPARZA/bevacizumab (5%) than in those receiving placebo/bevacizumab (1.9%).

The full results from the Phase III PAOLA-1 trial can be found inThe New England Journal of Medicine.

Financial considerationsFollowing this approval for LYNPARZA in the US, AstraZeneca will receive from Merck $100m in Collaboration Revenue, anticipated to be booked by the Company during the second quarter of 2020.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

CONTRAINDICATIONS

There are no contraindications for LYNPARZA.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Myelodysplastic Syndrome/Acute Myeloid Leukemia (MDS/AML): Occurred in <1.5% of patients exposed to LYNPARZA monotherapy, and the majority of events had a fatal outcome. The duration of therapy in patients who developed secondary MDS/AML varied from <6 months to >2 years. All of these patients had previous chemotherapy with platinum agents and/or other DNA-damaging agents, including radiotherapy, and some also had a history of more than one primary malignancy or of bone marrow dysplasia.

Do not start LYNPARZA until patients have recovered from hematological toxicity caused by previous chemotherapy (Grade 1). Monitor complete blood count for cytopenia at baseline and monthly thereafter for clinically significant changes during treatment. For prolonged hematological toxicities, interrupt LYNPARZA and monitor blood count weekly until recovery.

If the levels have not recovered to Grade 1 or less after 4 weeks, refer the patient to a hematologist for further investigations, including bone marrow analysis and blood sample for cytogenetics. Discontinue LYNPARZA if MDS/AML is confirmed.

Pneumonitis: Occurred in <1% of patients exposed to LYNPARZA, and some cases were fatal. If patients present with new or worsening respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, and fever, or a radiological abnormality occurs, interrupt LYNPARZA treatment and initiate prompt investigation. Discontinue LYNPARZA if pneumonitis is confirmed and treat patient appropriately.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Based on its mechanism of action and findings in animals, LYNPARZA can cause fetal harm. A pregnancy test is recommended for females of reproductive potential prior to initiating treatment.

FemalesAdvise females of reproductive potential of the potential risk to a fetus and to use effective contraception during treatment and for 6 months following the last dose.

MalesAdvise male patients with female partners of reproductive potential or who are pregnant to use effective contraception during treatment and for 3 months following the last dose of LYNPARZA and to not donate sperm during this time.

ADVERSE REACTIONSFirst-Line Maintenance BRCAm Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 10% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the first-line maintenance setting for SOLO-1 were: nausea (77%), fatigue (67%), abdominal pain (45%), vomiting (40%), anemia (38%), diarrhea (37%), constipation (28%), upper respiratory tract infection/influenza/nasopharyngitis/bronchitis (28%), dysgeusia (26%), decreased appetite (20%), dizziness (20%), neutropenia (17%), dyspepsia (17%), dyspnea (15%), leukopenia (13%), UTI (13%), thrombocytopenia (11%), and stomatitis (11%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the first-line maintenance setting for SOLO-1 were: decrease in hemoglobin (87%), increase in mean corpuscular volume (87%), decrease in leukocytes (70%), decrease in lymphocytes (67%), decrease in absolute neutrophil count (51%), decrease in platelets (35%), and increase in serum creatinine (34%).

ADVERSE REACTIONSFirst-Line Maintenance Advanced Ovarian Cancer in Combination with Bevacizumab

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 10% of patients treated with LYNPARZA/bevacizumab compared to a 5% frequency for placebo/bevacizumab in the first-line maintenance setting for PAOLA-1 were: nausea (53%), fatigue (including asthenia) (53%), anemia (41%), lymphopenia (24%), vomiting (22%) and leukopenia (18%). In addition, the most common adverse reactions (10%) for patients receiving LYNPARZA/bevacizumab irrespective of the frequency compared with the placebo/bevacizumab arm were: diarrhea (18%), neutropenia (18%), urinary tract infection (15%) and headache (14%).

In addition, venous thromboembolic events occurred more commonly in patients receiving LYNPARZA/bevacizumab (5%) than in those receiving placebo/bevacizumab (1.9%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients for LYNPARZA in combination with bevacizumab in the first-line maintenance setting for PAOLA-1 were: decrease in hemoglobin (79%), decrease in lymphocytes (63%), increase in serum creatinine (61%), decrease in leukocytes (59%), decrease in absolute neutrophil count (35%) and decrease in platelets (35%).

ADVERSE REACTIONSMaintenance Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 20% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the maintenance setting for SOLO-2 were: nausea (76%), fatigue (including asthenia) (66%), anemia (44%), vomiting (37%), nasopharyngitis/upper respiratory tract infection (URI)/influenza (36%), diarrhea (33%), arthralgia/myalgia (30%), dysgeusia (27%), headache (26%), decreased appetite (22%), and stomatitis (20%).

Study 19: nausea (71%), fatigue (including asthenia) (63%), vomiting (35%), diarrhea (28%), anemia (23%), respiratory tract infection (22%), constipation (22%), headache (21%), decreased appetite (21%) and dyspepsia (20%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the maintenance setting (SOLO-2/Study 19) were: increase in mean corpuscular volume (89%/82%), decrease in hemoglobin (83%/82%), decrease in leukocytes (69%/58%), decrease in lymphocytes (67%/52%), decrease in absolute neutrophil count (51%/47%), increase in serum creatinine (44%/45%), and decrease in platelets (42%/36%).

ADVERSE REACTIONSAdvanced gBRCAm Ovarian Cancer

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 20% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA for advanced gBRCAm ovarian cancer after 3 or more lines of chemotherapy (pooled from 6 studies) were: fatigue/asthenia (66%), nausea (64%), vomiting (43%), anemia (34%), diarrhea (31%), nasopharyngitis/upper respiratory tract infection (URI) (26%), dyspepsia (25%), myalgia (22%), decreased appetite (22%), and arthralgia/musculoskeletal pain (21%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA for advanced gBRCAm ovarian cancer (pooled from 6 studies) were: decrease in hemoglobin (90%), mean corpuscular volume elevation (57%), decrease in lymphocytes (56%), increase in serum creatinine (30%), decrease in platelets (30%), and decrease in absolute neutrophil count (25%).

ADVERSE REACTIONSgBRCAm, HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 20% of patients in OlympiAD were: nausea (58%), anemia (40%), fatigue (including asthenia) (37%), vomiting (30%), neutropenia (27%), respiratory tract infection (27%), leukopenia (25%), diarrhea (21%), and headache (20%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients in OlympiAD were: decrease in hemoglobin (82%), decrease in lymphocytes (73%), decrease in leukocytes (71%), increase in mean corpuscular volume (71%), decrease in absolute neutrophil count (46%), and decrease in platelets (33%).

ADVERSE REACTIONSFirst-Line Maintenance gBRCAm Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Most common adverse reactions (Grades 1-4) in 10% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the first-line maintenance setting for POLO were: fatigue (60%), nausea (45%), abdominal pain (34%), diarrhea (29%), anemia (27%), decreased appetite (25%), constipation (23%), vomiting (20%), back pain (19%), arthralgia (15%), rash (15%), thrombocytopenia (14%), dyspnea (13%), neutropenia (12%), nasopharyngitis (12%), dysgeusia (11%), and stomatitis (10%).

Most common laboratory abnormalities (Grades 1-4) in 25% of patients in clinical trials of LYNPARZA in the first-line maintenance setting for POLO were: increase in serum creatinine (99%), decrease in hemoglobin (86%), increase in mean corpuscular volume (71%), decrease in lymphocytes (61%), decrease in platelets (56%), decrease in leukocytes (50%), and decrease in absolute neutrophil count (25%).

DRUG INTERACTIONS

Anticancer Agents: Clinical studies of LYNPARZA in combination with other myelosuppressive anticancer agents, including DNA-damaging agents, indicate a potentiation and prolongation of myelosuppressive toxicity.

CYP3A Inhibitors: Avoid concomitant use of strong or moderate CYP3A inhibitors. If a strong or moderate CYP3A inhibitor must be co-administered, reduce the dose of LYNPARZA. Advise patients to avoid grapefruit, grapefruit juice, Seville oranges, and Seville orange juice during LYNPARZA treatment.

CYP3A Inducers: Avoid concomitant use of strong or moderate CYP3A inducers when using LYNPARZA. If a moderate inducer cannot be avoided, there is a potential for decreased efficacy of LYNPARZA.

USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Lactation: No data are available regarding the presence of olaparib in human milk, its effects on the breastfed infant or on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in the breastfed infant, advise a lactating woman not to breastfeed during treatment with LYNPARZA and for 1 month after receiving the final dose.

Pediatric Use: The safety and efficacy of LYNPARZA have not been established in pediatric patients.

Hepatic Impairment: No adjustment to the starting dose is required in patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh classification A and B). There are no data in patients with severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh classification C).

Renal Impairment: No dosage modification is recommended in patients with mild renal impairment (CLcr 51-80 mL/min estimated by Cockcroft-Gault). In patients with moderate renal impairment (CLcr 31-50 mL/min), reduce the dose of LYNPARZA to 200 mg twice daily. There are no data in patients with severe renal impairment or end-stage renal disease (CLcr 30 mL/min).

INDICATIONS

LYNPARZA is a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor indicated:

First-Line Maintenance BRCAm Advanced Ovarian Cancer

For the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm or sBRCAm) advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

First-Line Maintenance HRD Positive Advanced Ovarian Cancer in Combination with Bevacizumab

In combination with bevacizumab for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and whose cancer is associated with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) positive status defined by either:

Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

Maintenance Recurrent Ovarian CancerFor the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

Advanced gBRCAm Ovarian CancerFor the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm) advanced ovarian cancer who have been treated with 3 or more prior lines of chemotherapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

gBRCAm, HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast CancerFor the treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCAm, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer who have been treated with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting. Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer should have been treated with a prior endocrine therapy or be considered inappropriate for endocrine therapy. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

First-Line Maintenance gBRCAm Metastatic Pancreatic CancerFor the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCAm metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma whose disease has not progressed on at least 16 weeks of a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy regimen. Select patients for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA.

Please click here for complete Prescribing Information, including Patient Information (Medication Guide).

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Ovarian CancerApproximately 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer (including ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers) each year. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. The risk of developing ovarian cancer is increased in women with specific inherited genetic abnormalities, including BRCA1/2 mutations.

Most women are diagnosed with advanced (Stage III or IV) ovarian cancer and have a five-year survival rate of approximately 30%. Approximately 50% of ovarian cancers are HRD-positive, including BRCA1/2 mutation. Some 22% of ovarian cancers have a BRCA1/2 mutation.

About PAOLA-1PAOLA-1 is a double-blind, Phase III trial testing the efficacy and safety of LYNPARZA (300 mg twice daily) in combination with bevacizumab vs. bevacizumab alone, as a 1st-line maintenance treatment for newly diagnosed advanced FIGO Stage III-IV high-grade serous or endometrioid ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer patients who had a complete or partial response to 1st-line treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and bevacizumab. AstraZeneca and Merck announced in August 2019 that the trial met its primary endpoint of PFS.

Simultaneously, the Myriad Genetics myChoice CDx test has been approved in the US as a companion diagnostic for LYNPARZA in this new indication.

About Homologous Recombination DeficiencyHRD, which defines a sub-group of ovarian cancer, encompasses a wide range of genetic abnormalities, including BRCA mutations. As with BRCA gene mutations, HRD interferes with normal cell DNA repair mechanisms and confers sensitivity to PARP inhibitors including LYNPARZA.

About LYNPARZALYNPARZA (olaparib) is a first-in-class PARP inhibitor and the first targeted treatment to potentially exploit DNA damage response (DDR) pathway deficiencies, such as BRCA mutations, to preferentially kill cancer cells. Inhibition of PARP with LYNPARZA leads to the trapping of PARP bound to DNA single-strand breaks, stalling of replication forks, their collapse and the generation of DNA double-strand breaks and cancer cell death. LYNPARZA is being tested in a range of tumor types with defects and dependencies in the DDR pathway.

LYNPARZA, which is being jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Merck, has a broad and advanced clinical trial development program, and AstraZeneca and Merck are working together to understand how it may affect multiple PARP-dependent tumors as a monotherapy and in combination across multiple cancer types. LYNPARZA is being tested in a range of DDR-deficient tumor types and is the foundation of AstraZenecas industry-leading portfolio of compounds targeting DDR mechanisms in cancer cells.

About the AstraZeneca and Merck Strategic Oncology CollaborationIn July 2017, AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, US, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced a global strategic oncology collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialize certain oncology products, including LYNPARZA, the worlds first PARP inhibitor, for multiple cancer types. Working together, the companies will develop these products in combination with other potential new medicines and as monotherapies. Independently, the companies will develop these oncology products in combination with their respective PD-L1 and PD-1 medicines.

About AstraZeneca in OncologyAstraZeneca has a deep-rooted heritage in Oncology and offers a quickly growing portfolio of new medicines that has the potential to transform patients lives and the Companys future. With at least six new medicines to be launched between 2014 and 2020, and a broad pipeline of small molecules and biologics in development, we are committed to advance Oncology as a key growth driver for AstraZeneca focused on lung, ovarian, breast and blood cancers. In addition to our core capabilities, we actively pursue innovative partnerships and investments that accelerate the delivery of our strategy, as illustrated by our investment in Acerta Pharma in hematology.

By harnessing the power of four scientific platforms Immuno-Oncology, Tumor Drivers and Resistance, DNA Damage Response and Antibody Drug Conjugates and by championing the development of personalized combinations, AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer treatment and one day eliminate cancer as a cause of death.

About AstraZenecaAstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three main therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism and Respiratory. The Company also is selectively active in the areas of autoimmunity, neuroscience and infection. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on Twitter @AstraZenecaUS.

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LYNPARZA (Olaparib) Approved in US as 1st-line Maintenance Treatment With bevacizumab For HRD-Positive Advanced Ovarian Cancer - Business Wire

Market OverviewThe global Cryogenics Equipment market size is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2020 to 2025, with a CAGR of xx% in the forecast period of 2020 to 2025 and will expected to reach USD xx million by 2025, from USD xx million in 2019.

The Cryogenics Equipment market report provides a detailed analysis of global market size, regional and country-level market size, segmentation market growth, market share, competitive Landscape, sales analysis, impact of domestic and global market players, value chain optimization, trade regulations, recent developments, opportunities analysis, strategic market growth analysis, product launches, area marketplace expanding, and technological innovations.

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Market segmentationCryogenics Equipment market is split by Type and by Application. For the period 2015-2025, the growth among segments provide accurate calculations and forecasts for sales by Type and by Application in terms of volume and value. This analysis can help you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets.

By Type, Cryogenics Equipment market has been segmented intoCryogenic TanksCryogenic ValveCryogenic VaporizerCryogenic PumpOther

By Application, Cryogenics Equipment has been segmented into:Energy & PowerChemicalsMetallurgyElectronicsShippingOther

Regions and Countries Level AnalysisRegional analysis is another highly comprehensive part of the research and analysis study of the global Cryogenics Equipment market presented in the report. This section sheds light on the sales growth of different regional and country-level Cryogenics Equipment markets. For the historical and forecast period 2015 to 2025, it provides detailed and accurate country-wise volume analysis and region-wise market size analysis of the global Cryogenics Equipment market.

The report offers in-depth assessment of the growth and other aspects of the Cryogenics Equipment market in important countries (regions), including:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Access Complete Global Cryogenics Equipment Market Report @ https://arcognizance.com/report/global-cryogenics-equipment-market-2020-by-manufacturers-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2025

Competitive Landscape and Cryogenics Equipment Market Share AnalysisCryogenics Equipment competitive landscape provides details by vendors, including company overview, company total revenue (financials), market potential, global presence, Cryogenics Equipment sales and revenue generated, market share, price, production sites and facilities, SWOT analysis, product launch. For the period 2015-2020, this study provides the Cryogenics Equipment sales, revenue and market share for each player covered in this report.

The major players covered in Cryogenics Equipment are:CryofabEleet cryogenicsBeijing TianhaiCryoquipJSC Cryogenmash

Among other players domestic and global, Cryogenics Equipment market share data is available for global, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and South America separately. Global Info Research analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:Chapter 1, to describe Cryogenics Equipment product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force and market risks.Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Cryogenics Equipment, with price, sales, revenue and global market share of Cryogenics Equipment in 2018 and 2019.Chapter 3, the Cryogenics Equipment competitive situation, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.Chapter 4, the Cryogenics Equipment breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions, from 2015 to 2020.Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue and market share for key countries in the world, from 2015 to 2020.Chapter 10 and 11, to segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2015 to 2020.Chapter 12, Cryogenics Equipment market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2020 to 2025.Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Cryogenics Equipment sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix and data source.

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Major Point of TOC:

Chapter One: Market Overview

Chapter Two: Manufacturers Profiles

Chapter Three: Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer

Chapter Four: Global Market Analysis by Regions

Chapter Five: North America by Country

Chapter Six: Europe by Country

Chapter Seven: Asia-Pacific by Regions

Chapter Eight: South America by Country

Chapter Nine: Middle East & Africa by Countries

Chapter Ten: Market Segment by Type

Chapter Eleven: Global Cryogenics Equipment Market Segment by Application 11.1 Global Cryogenics Equipment Sales Market Share by Application (2015-2020)11.2 Global Cryogenics Equipment Revenue Market Share by Application (2015-2020)11.3 Global Cryogenics Equipment Price by Application (2015-2020)

Chapter Twelve: Market Forecast 12.1 Global Cryogenics Equipment Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2021-2025)12.2 Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast by Regions (2021-2025)12.2.1 North America Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast (2021-2025)12.2.2 Europe Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast (2021-2025)12.2.3 Asia-Pacific Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast (2021-2025)12.2.4 South America Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast (2021-2025)12.2.5 Middle East & Africa Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast (2021-2025)12.3 Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast by Type (2021-2025)12.3.1 Global Cryogenics Equipment Sales Forecast by Type (2021-2025)12.3.2 Global Cryogenics Equipment Market Share Forecast by Type (2021-2025)12.4 Cryogenics Equipment Market Forecast by Application (2021-2025)12.4.1 Global Cryogenics Equipment Sales Forecast by Application (2021-2025)12.4.2 Global Cryogenics Equipment Market Share Forecast by Application (2021-2025)

Chapter Thirteen: Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers 13.1 Sales Channel13.1.1 Direct Marketing13.1.2 Indirect Marketing13.2 Distributors, Traders and Dealers

Chapter Fourteen: Research Findings and Conclusion

Chapter Fifteen: Appendix 15.1 Methodology15.2 Data Source15.3 Disclaimer15.4 About US

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Cryogenics Equipment Market Size, Share, Analysis, Emerging-Technologies, Growth-Trends, 2020 Projections, Statistics, Applications, Software,...

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Table of Contents

Global Cryogenic Tank Market Size, Status and Forecast 20241 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Cryogenic Tank Sales, Revenue, Market Share andCompetitionby Manufacturer4 Global Cryogenic Tank Market Analysis by Various Regions5 North America Cryogenic Tank by Countries6 Europe Cryogenic Tank by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Cryogenic Tank by Countries8 South America Cryogenic Tank by Countries9 Middle East and Africas Cryogenic Tank by Countries10 Global Cryogenic Tank Market Segment by Types11 Global Cryogenic Tank Market Segment by Applications12 Cryogenic Tank Market Forecast13 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers14 Research Findings and Conclusion15 Appendix

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Cryogenic Tank Market set to record exponential growth by 2024 with Key Companies like Chart Industries, Cryofab, INOX, Linde, VRV, Wessington...

Oakland, CA A young, female giraffe was brought to Oakland Zoo from Kansas City-based Lee Richardson Zoo on April 29. The move, prompted by a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan to promote genetic diversity in captive giraffe, deemed Kijijis genetics an excellent match for Oakland Zoos male resident giraffe, Mabusu.

Kijijis 30-hour journey from Kansas City was handled by seasoned animal transport company, Premier Animal Logistics, and included frequent stops to check on her during the drive. A modified 136 tall trailer was used, with an enhanced interior for a safe and comfortable transport for the giraffe.

Kijiji is nearly two years old and eleven feet tall. She is still too young to have her own offspring, female giraffe typically show interest in breeding around 4 years of age. When that time comes, Oakland Zoos animal care team hope for a love connection between Kijiji and Mabusu, resulting in her becoming a first-time mother.

For the time being, Kijiji has met Oakland Zoos five other resident giraffe and was warmly welcomed into the herd.She is still learning her way around her new surroundings, and while she has been able to access the giraffe exhibit, she only chose to venture inside it this morning (May 7).For the past several days, she chose only to curiously look into the exhibit from a holding area.

Animal keepers have been watching and observing with quiet and excited anticipation and were thrilled to see her first steps into the exhibit to join the other giraffe today.

Kijiji is doing great. She was in good spirits upon her arrival to Oakland, and she has been eating well and exploring her surroundings. We can already see that she has a curious nature, and were thrilled to have her join our giraffe family, said Ann Marie Bisagno, Zoological Manager at Oakland Zoo Conservation Society of California.

By having giraffe at the zoo, the goal and hope is to bring appreciation and awareness to the giraffe species, including the challenges they face in the wild. Oakland Zoo partners with theReticulated Giraffe Projectin Kenya, a conservation organization dedicated to working with local communities in Africa to help reduce human-wildlife conflict and habitat loss in order to preserve endangered giraffe populations in the wild.

Short URL: http://www.vannuysnewspress.com/?p=37464

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Oakland Zoo Welcomes New Giraffe, Kijiji, To The Herd - Van Nuys News Press

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has announced the election of University of Vermont Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Emerita Susan Wallace to its membership in recognition of her status as a world leader in the sciences. Wallace joins 275 new members elected on April 23, 2020.

Academy members represent innovative thinkers in every field and profession, including more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners.

Wallace, who served as chair of UVMs Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics for 30 years before her retirement in 2018, played a significant role in providing a much greater understanding of the fundamental DNA repair mechanisms involved in the development of cancer, as well as the effects of radiation damage to the genome. More recently, her research, which was supported by more than 47 years of consistent National Institutes of Health funding, explored a potential link between certain DNA repair protein variants in the human population and an increase in the risk for some types of cancer. She is the author of more than 200 biomedical journal articles and trained many successful graduate students and postdoctoral fellows during her career at UVM.

It is both an honor and a privilege for me to be chosen as a member of this distinguished group, said Wallace. I am looking forward to working together with Academy members to keep basic science research at the forefront of our Nations goals.

Named a UVM University Distinguished Professor in 2011, Wallace was one of only a few scholars who chaired a department across two colleges the Larner College of Medicine and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her many honors include election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the Harvard School of Public Healths John B. Little Award for Outstanding Contributions to Molecular Radiobiology; the Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society Award for Fundamental Studies on Repair of DNA Damage Caused by Environmental Agents and for her Exemplary Leadership; and the Failla Award from the Radiation Research Society. Her leadership roles at UVM included service as the director of the Department of Energy Vermont EPSCoR Program, director of the Vermont Cancer Center (now UVM Cancer Center) Genome Stability and Expression Program, director of the Cancer Biology Training Program, and associate director for basic and translational science in the Cancer Center.

The members of the class of 2020 have excelled in laboratories and lecture halls, they have amazed on concert stages and in surgical suites, and they have led in board rooms and courtrooms, said Academy President David W. Oxtoby in the organizations announcement. With todays election announcement, these new members are united by a place in history and by an opportunity to shape the future through the Academys work to advance the public good.

Election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences is a signal accomplishment for a scholar, said Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont. It is a fitting tribute to Dr. Wallace who, through a long and distinguished career, has made significant contributions to our understanding of how cancer develops and factors that increase its risk. We are very proud of her at UVM and offer our heartiest congratulations.

Over her long career here in Burlington, Dr. Wallace distinguished herself as an exceptional leader, mentor and scientist, noted Richard Page, dean of the Larner College of Medicine. Her fundamental discoveries have advanced our understanding of the role DNA repair plays in development of cancer and the effect of radiation on the genome. Our entire Larner community congratulates Dr. Wallace, and we celebrate this well-deserved honor with her.

This recognition is a testament to Dr. Wallace's contributions to science and leadership as a female pioneer in the field of genetics, said Jean Harvey, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.It has been a pleasure and privilege to have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Wallace over the years. On behalf of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, we join in congratulating Dr. Wallace on this significant achievement.

Other UVM faculty with membership in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences include Professor of Biology Emeritus Bernd Heinrich, Marsh Professor-at-Large Madeleine M. Kunin, and Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Emerita Susan Lowey. In addition, UVM has among its ranks two members of the National Academies, including UVM Distinguished Professor and Chair of Pharmacology Mark Nelson, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and University Distinguished Professor and Professor of Engineering George Pinder, a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

The American Academy was founded in 1780, during the American Revolution, by John Adams, John Hancock, and 60 other scholar-patriots who understood that a new republic would require institutions able to gather knowledge and advance learning in service to the public good. The Academy is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center, convening leaders from across disciplines, professions, and perspectives to address significant challenges.

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American Academy of Arts & Sciences Elects UVM's Wallace to Its Membership - UVM News

Just a few years ago, it was impossible to buy hemp flower online, and now there are dozens of different top-shelf strains begging for your attention.

With the legalization of hemp in 2018, the market is now flooded with hemp flower, and the number of different options can be overwhelming. With names like Papaya Nights, Frosted Kush and Blood Diamond, it can feel impossible to know what youre really buying.

Instead of trying to understand each strain that you come across without any context, we suggest you break things down by a few basic categories. In this guide, well help you figure out how to sort through all the different strains, moods, and other qualities of CBD hemp flower available on the market.

Hemp flower contains hundreds of different kinds of oils. Some of these oils are aromatic, meaning they have a distinct scent. In addition to smelling nice, certain aromatic cannabis oils called terpenes have their own unique effects that augment the way hemp affects you.

Lots of other plants aside from hemp create their own terpenes, which is why they might smell familiar. The terpene linalool, for instance, is what makes lavender so attractive to the nose, and pinene smells just like pine sap when isolated. Heres some basic info on three of the most common hemp terpenes:

Myrcene is the most abundant terpene in hemp, and it has spicy attributes that are somewhat reminiscent of hops.

Present in lots of other plant species as well, caryophyllene has an herbal aroma and flavor.

Also found in the peels of citrus fruits, limonene has a zesty, sour flavor and a very citrusy aroma.

Hemp doesnt get you high. The effects of smoking hemp change, however, based on the terpene profile that a particular strain contains. Most hemp flower strains are either Sativa-dominant or Indica-dominant. Some strains, called hybrids, are roughly balanced between these traits.

Sativa-dominant hemp strains provide an energetic, creative mood thats great for getting work done or going outside. Most hemp smokers choose to use sativa strains during the day, and hemp strains with sativa characteristics are usually lighter-colored and fruitier-smelling.

Indica-dominant strains, on the other hand, provide a relaxing effect thats great for sleep. Hemp strains with indica genetics are often darker-colored, and they often have sweeter and richer flavor profiles. Hybrid strains take the best of both worlds to offer hemp buds that hit the spot no matter what mood youre aiming for.

Hemp has exploded in popularity recently, pushing the green rush to even greater heights. As a result, lots of aspiring entrepreneurs have gotten into the hemp industry, and some hemp flower companies are better than others.

Unlike lots of other crops, hemp is a bio-accumulator, which means it absorbs and stores toxins from soil or other substrates. Therefore, its necessary to grow hemp very carefully in controlled environments. Its just as important to process hemp safely, but some companies dont follow generally accepted hemp production standards.

Thoroughly independent, third-party lab testing is the best tool at your disposal if you want to make sure the hemp flower youre purchasing is safe and high-quality. Here are some of the testing criteria that good hemp lab reports might contain:

Every hemp lab report should show the total percentage of cannabinoids present in the tested flower.

CBD is the dominant cannabinoid in most hemp flower strains, so the total concentration of CBD is an important value to represent in hemp lab tests.

By providing the percentage of each terpene present in a hemp flower sample, thorough hemp lab tests tell you what to expect from the strains flavor and aroma profile.

As the most prevalent contaminants in hemp, chemical pesticides are one of the most-tested toxin categories.

If applicable, lab tests may also provide information on other potential contaminants.

Have you ever been around a hemp plant in full bloom? Grown correctly, mature hemp is a sight to behold. To the trained eye, however, problems with hemp are easy to recognize from appearance alone.

There are natural variations in appearance between different strains of hemp flower, but here are some of the visual cues you should watch for that indicate your flower is high-quality:

Can you see straight through the nug in the featured picture for a strain youre considering? Chances are that it didnt receive enough care during its life cycle, reducing potency.

Female hemp plants dont have pistils, but they do have the female equivalent: stigmas. These red-orange hairs are hallmarks of healthy hemp plants.

Does your hemp flower look like it was just dusted by a blizzard? Those shimmering crystals on the surface of your non-intoxicating buds are actually tiny oil sacs called trichomes. The more trichomes your hemp has, the more potent it is.

Theres nothing that entrepreneurs wont do to make money. As a result, you cant trust the marketing that hemp companies use to attract customers. No matter how amazing a CBD company says its flower is, youll need to rely on customer reviews to get to the bottom of the matter.

Customer reviews tell you what its like to use the products youre considering. If a hemp flower product provides the results that are advertised, reviews from customers who have tried that product will back it up.

In some cases, you might learn more from customer reviews of a hemp product than you can from what its producer has to say. Little details, like the packaging, shipping time, and overall usability of a hemp flower product truly shine when customers who have actually used the product take center stage.

Using customer reviews, lab reports, product pictures, and product descriptions together provides you all the information you need to pick the perfect hemp flower for your purposes.

Do you research and make careful choices. There are new hemp flower vendors appearing every week. Some of the brands are just looking to make a quick buck, while others are taking the time to create quality products. By following our guidance above, youll be able to pick out the top-shelf hemp flower of your dreams.

Remember that hemp renaissance has truly arrived, bringing a veritable cornucopia of amazing hemp flower options with it. Have fun, and enjoy experimenting with different strains until you find the ones that suit your needs.

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Buying Hemp Flower: 5 Things To Look For In A Hemp Strain - Ministry of Hemp

The genetics researchers Anne-Marie Laberge and Wylie Burke in 2009 reported the case of a healthy 31-year-old woman, an administrative assistant with three estranged sisters, and a mother who'd died of breast cancer in her 40s. Concerned about her risk, the woman sought testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 inherited mutations, which increase the risk of female breast and ovarian cancers. When the testing came back positive and she decided to undergo a double mastectomy, her doctor asked her how she wanted to tell her siblings. But the patient insisted upon her privacy, and chose not to inform them of her test result. This meant the doctor was torn between respecting his patient's confidentiality and a duty of benevolence toward her at-risk relatives.

This case, and many others like it, exhibits a tension between autonomy and solidarity. Valuing autonomy guides one to let others make their own choices, and to respect those choices. Valuing solidarity guides one to take responsibility for the wellbeing of others, and to intervene on their behalf. Situations in which these values conflict prompt searching for balance, where possible, perhaps by restricting the scope of rights to privacy for the sake of justice, or by defining exceptions that merit disclosing information without consent. In the case of the patient with the breast cancer gene, her doctor's decision about how to balance autonomy and solidarity is difficult, and whatever decision he makes is far from straightforward.

Some cases, however, are more difficult still. Consider the one reported by the sociologist Arthur Frank in 2016 of Faith, a 28-year-old woman with cystic fibrosis whose lungs are failing and whose doctor informs her that a transplant is likely futile. A surgeon from another hospital is touting a new technique that, while very risky, might be successful. There are doubts about the surgeon's motives. Because her condition is deteriorating, Faith has only two weeks to make a decision. What does it mean to counsel Faith in this situation? She has no real autonomy, because her extreme vulnerability and uncertainty about the proffered technique preclude her giving informed consent. But valuing solidarity is inappropriate too, because the right decision on her behalf is impossible in a position of such uncertainty about the outcome.

Faith's life-limiting condition is difficult because it induces despair, dissonance, and desolation: despair as hopes for the future confront the inevitability of fate; dissonance between an imagined future and present reality; and the desolation of being alienated and isolated when others withdraw from her tragedy and retreat from her subjectivity. In such situations, the often-neglected strategy of "accompaniment" might be the best available option.

Let me explain what accompaniment means in this context. The performing arts offer a variety of examples that help to clarify this. In music, the accompaniment is the musical part that supports the melody or main themes of a musical performance, as when an organist or guitarist accompanies a choir, or a drummer and bass player accompany a lead singer. In a dramatic film, the accompaniment is the part that supports the dramatic action, as when a musical soundtrack accompanies dialogue between actors. These examples indicate that accompanying another involves lending support to the other in ways that amplify or strengthen their efforts. Like solidarity, accompaniment involves one uniting with another. But unlike solidarity, which typically aims to correct some injustice or satisfy some need, accompaniment aims to acknowledge and engage with the efforts of another not for the sake of helping the other achieve some goal that's impossible to achieve on one's own, but for the sake of enriching, and making manifest the value of, the other's efforts. This difference in emphasis is important.

The School Kids Investigating Language in Life and Society (SKILLS) program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (USCB) exemplifies the practice of accompaniment. Students in the program are second-generation immigrant Latinx from working-class homes who intend to pursue higher education. Mary Bucholtz, Dolores Ins Casillas, and Jin Sook Lee, all scholars at USCB, report that one of the main obstacles these students face is linguistic. Cultural demands to speak English isolate the students from communicating with their Spanish-speaking grandparents, and their English-language dialects tend to marginalize them in academic contexts. SKILLS teachers accompany these students by engaging them in research projects designed to help them see their linguistic skills as assets, and to reframe their linguistic capability as a virtue rather than a hindrance.

To accompany another is to give companionship against despair, dissonance, and desolation. Against desolation, one who accompanies offers consolation, being with another in their solitude by creating opportunities for testimony, listening and hearing without judgment, and reinforcing the other's dignity by acknowledging their experience and struggle. Against dissonance and despair, one who accompanies also fosters reconciliation by affirming strength and resilience, bringing one's presence to the other's difficulties, validating ways that the past pulls upon the present, and participating in efforts to imagine ways of transforming or reframing the affective significance of the other's reality.

Consider the case of Samuel, Alisha and Aaron Cobb's son, who had a severe abdominal wall defect and the chromosomal abnormality trisomy 18. Samuel died five hours after his birth. His parents had learned of his condition five months before he was born. Three months before his birth, they learned it would be fatal, and his mother spent the remainder of her pregnancy enduring the typical curious inquiries, idle comments, and congratulations. Some years later, reflecting upon his grief, Samuel's father writes, in Loving Samuel: Suffering, Dependence, and the Calling of Love:

There are days now where it is easier to carry the sorrow of our loss, but it is not because the burden is lighter. At times, it is because one of us is carrying the other, or, perhaps, we all are being carried by others.

The carryings by others of which Cobb writes are acts of accompaniment. The acts demand, of those who accompany, foregoing fears and strategies for self-protection for the sake of giving witness to an unavoidably difficult present and an irreparably uncertain future. They demand companionship, rather than distancing, directed toward helping another bear what seems to be unbearable.

When compassion opens us to the struggles of another in situations that induce despair, dissonance, and desolation, it can be difficult to discern an appropriate response. The temptation is to manage the other's condition to offer solutions or platitudes, to approach the other objectively. But despair, dissonance, and desolation are not faults to be managed, and efforts to the contrary deny our powerlessness against the other's vulnerability. Adopting the stance of accompaniment, by contrast, embraces the truth the other knows all too well and, in doing so, embraces the other. It succeeds not by resolving problems but by aligning with the other experiencing the other's suffering in common, allowing the other's struggle to matter and affect one's own experience, and responding, with speech or action or silence, in ways that don't obstruct the other's efforts to confront their situation.

This article was originally published by Aeon, a digital magazine for ideas and culture. Follow them on Twitter at @aeonmag.

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At times of suffering, the greatest gift is accompaniment - The Week Magazine

Scientists are trying to tackle the lack of diversity seen in genomics research, but even ambitious efforts, like the NIHs All of Us program, often fall short, especially when it comes to the inclusion of Indigenous communities. This is one of the reasons why the Decolonize DNA Day conference is taking place on April 24th, one day before the National DNA Day.

Traditionally, National DNA Day is an annual celebration of the discovery of DNA's double helix structure (1953) and the completion of the Human Genome Project (2003).

I was having conversations with colleagues on what would it mean to decolonize DNA, says Krystal Tsosie, an Indigenous (Din/Navajo) PhD student at Vanderbilt University. As an Indigenous academic, we always talk about what it means to Indigenize and re-Indigenize different disciplines of academia that have been historically more white-centred or white-dominated... and what it would mean to remove the colonial lens.

In collaboration with Latrice Landry and Jerome de Groot, Tsosie co-organized the Decolonize DNA Day Twitter conference to help re-frame narratives around DNA. Each speaker will have an hour to tweet out their "talk" and lead conversations on various topics, including how DNA ancestry testing fuels anti-Indigeneity and how to utilize emerging technologies to decolonize precision medicine.

There is a divide between people who are doing the science or the academic work, and the people who we want to inform, says Tsosie. Twitter is a great way to bridge that divide.

The Decolonize DNA Day conference is simply one effort to Indigenize genomics. Tsosie is also a co-founder of the Native BioData Consortium, a non-profit organization consisting of researchers and Indigenous members of tribal communities, focused on increasing the understanding of Native American genomic issues.

We dont really see a heavy amount of Indigenous engagement in genetic studies, which then means that as precision medicine advances as a whole [] those innovations are not going to be applied to Indigenous people, says Tsosie. How do we get more Indigenous people engaged?

Some of the answers can be found in a recent Nature Reviews Genetics perspective, penned by Indigenous scientists and communities, including those from the Native BioData Consortium. The piece highlights the actions that genomics researchers can take to address issues of trust, accountability, and equity. Recommended actions include the need for early consultations, developing benefit-sharing agreements, and appropriately crediting community support in any academic publications.

By switching power dynamics, were hoping to get genomic researchers to work with us, instead of against us, says Tsosie.

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On National DNA Day, scientists are trying to take the colonialism out of genetics - Massive Science