Government of Canada Advances Knowledge and Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury
The dream of an accessible and inclusive society and a cure for paralysis after spinal cord injury is still going strong, thanks to an investment by the Federal Government in the Rick Hansen...

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Spinal cord injury wheelchair racing 200m fing
Arnar Helgi Lrusson sci 2002 T2/3 complete This video is since 2013 visit my website http://www.wix.com/amcorp/sci.

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The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 3)
In Part 3, Dr. Caplan discusses the science behind mesenchymal stem cells: sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the fact that all MSCs are pericytes so ...

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The Science of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine - Arnold Caplan PhD (Part 4)
In part 4, Prof. Caplan talks about isolating mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow using specialized; calf serum choosing different assays to prove multip...

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NEW YORK, June 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing. To receive these updates by email, send a note to profnet@profnet.com with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition.

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Supreme Court Decision on Human Gene Patents Lori Andrews Professor IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law "The Supreme Court has liberated human genes. This decision is great news for patients, doctors, and scientific researchers. Half of geneticists were impeded in their research by gene patents. Now they can begin the search for cures." In Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that human genes were not patentable since they are products of nature and not inventions. Andrews filed amicus briefs in the trial court, appellate court and the U.S. Supreme Court representing medical organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Society of Human Genetics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She argued that a patent on genes was not only legally inappropriate, but also a threat to public health. For the past 10 years, Andrews has studied the impact of gene patents on health care and scientific research, receiving grants from the federal Department of Energy Human Genome Project and from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Expert Contact: landrews@kentlaw.iit.edu Media Contact: Gwendolyn Osborne, gosborne@kentlaw.iit.edu

SCOTUS Gene Patent Case Barbara Evans Co-director, Health Law & Policy Institute University of Houston Law Center "The decision makes sense, but it is a major change that has the potential to upset business expectations of biotech firms that have structured their businesses on the assumption that genes are patentable. One hears dire forecasts that invalidating gene patents will put a halt to biotechnology investment and innovation. Frankly, those fears seem overblown." Evans is available to explain the issues involved in the case, as well as what it means for research companies and the average citizen after the U.S. Supreme ruled that companies cannot patent human genes. Media Contact: Carrie Criado, cacriado@central.uh.edu

Unanimous Supreme Court Decision on Patent Case Sapna Kumar Assistant Professor of Law University of Houston Law Center "We expected there to be a divided opinion from the Supreme Court on this issue. At oral argument, there wasn't a consensus regarding how to promote innovation while prohibiting something from nature to be patented. Instead, the Supreme Court issued a decisive opinion, where it unanimously held that isolated DNA is not to be patentable under the Patent Act. I think that several of us were expecting the court to use a fuzzy balancing test instead." Kumar is available to speak about the Supreme Court's decision in the gene patent case. Media Contact: John T. Kling, jtkling@central.uh.edu

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ProfNet Experts Available on Gene Patent Case, Lactation Discrimination

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Public release date: 14-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Oihane Lakar Iraizoz o.lakar@elhuyar.com 34-943-363-040 Elhuyar Fundazioa

In a piece of work carried out by the Carbohydrate Metabolism Research Team of the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (a centre jointly owned by the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre, the Spanish National Scientific Research Council-CSIC, and the Government of Navarre), the discovery has been made of the way in which the glgS gene (now renamed as the "surface composition regulator", scoR) acts in bacteria and how the mechanisms involved in bacterial infection can be altered by manipulating this gene, which indirectly affects glycogen production. The finding has been protected through the application for a patent and the exploiting of it is now pending a response from institutions or companies prepared to develop it. Thanks to this discovery, the researchers received the top prize in the 9th International Medical Congress in the category of "Genetics and Molecular Biology" held in Warsaw recently.

As Javier Pozueta, director of the Carbohydrate Metabolism Research Team that carried out the work, explained, "We can say that we may have found an additional way of combating bacterial infections and contamination by encouraging the formation of glycogen in bacteria. Now we know that by altering the glycogen producing machinery, we can in turn alter the capacity of the bacteria to move, stick to a cell or to the surfaces of tubes, catheters, etc."

The 9th International Medical Congress held in Warsaw from 9 to 12 May drew 1,400 researchers from all over the world and 700 pieces of work were presented. The researcher Mehdi Rahimpour attended on behalf of the research team of the Institute of Agrobiotechnology (IdAB). Together with Dr Manuel Montero, he was the main architect of the winning piece of research. The research has recently been published in the Biochemical Journal and is based on the PhD thesis that Rahimpour read last February at the NUP/UPNA-Public University of Navarre and for which he was awarded the maximum grade. This researcher, who is of Iranian origin, has studied the mechanism of the action of the glgS gene in Escherichia coli bacteria and in various Salmonella species, which in certain cases can cause diseases and acute symptoms in humans.

Glycogen is a reserve material that bacteria can avail themselves of. The team's researchers led by Prof Pozueta had previously identified and characterised the genes directly involved in glycogen production in E. coli. Contrary to what was believed, they were able to prove that the glgS gene did not play a part in this process. So what was it for? This was the subject of Mehdi Rahimpour's PhD thesis.

To immobilise bacteria

To understand the way in which the glgS gene acts, you have to bear in mind the structure of bacteria. As the researcher points out, bacteria have something akin to oars or arms (flagella) that are used for moving; they also have some appendices called fimbriae which enable them to stick or adhere to the cells which host them; and a protective capsule or shield made up of polysaccharides. To create all these elements and to enable the bacteria to move, they need energy (provided by the ATP molecule) and sugar. "GlgS acts as a brake," points out Rahimpour. We realised that by altering the expression of the glgS, the creation of these structures is altered and, indirectly, the production of glycogen because it also needs sugar and energy. In circumstances in which the creation of flagella and components of the capsule is boosted, the bacteria consume large quantities of energy to move as well as sugars, so they will not have sufficient raw material available to produce glycogen. And vice versa: in circumstances in which the creation of flagella, fimbriae and components of the capsule is repressed, the bacteria will lose their capacity to move and become adhered to surfaces, and the surplus of energy and sugar will be devoted to producing glycogen.

In short, the research team has discovered that there is an inverse correlation between glycogen production and the production of structures involved in bacterial pathogenicity. "In our case we found that the alteration in the expression of glgS, which is only present in the group of enterobacteria (E. coli, species of the Salmonella genus, Yersinia pestis, etc.), has an effect on the production of structures involved in bacterial pathogenicity which, indirectly, affects the capacity to produce glycol gen. "The finding may provide clues to future strategies for combating bacterial infections by modulating glycogen production, a substance that many bacteria of all kinds can accumulate.

Resistance to antibiotics

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Discovery of how a gene that regulates factors involved in bacteria pathogenicity acts

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A new study has pinpointed a single gene that appears to both strengthen the heart without exercise and halt the spread of breast cancer.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that the gene HEXIM1, discovered in 2012, not only suppressed the spread of breast cancer in mouse models, but also made the mices hearts healthier. with respect to enhanced strength and size.

Normally, exercise helps to strengthen the heart and increase its size. However, researchers found that when the HEXIM1 gene was re-expressed in adult mouse hearts, their hearts grew in weight and size - without exercise. Researchers say this discovery has the potential to help treat people with cardiovascular disease.

"Our Cleveland-based collaborative research teams revealed that increasing HEXIM1 levels brought normal functioning hearts up to an athletic level, which could perhaps stand up to the physical insults of various cardiovascular diseases," said Michiko Watanabe, professor of pediatrics, genetics, and anatomy at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Research at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

Common cardiovascular diseases like hypertension and heart failure create a shortage of both oxygen and necessary nutrients in the heart muscles, preventing blood from circulating at a satisfactory rate. This ultimately results in a distended heart, which can continually grow weaker and has the potential to stop at any given moment.

However, researchers showed that the artificial enhancement of HEXIM1 led to increased blood vessel growth and enhanced overall functionality of the heart. In essence, HEXIM1 could potentially serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of heart disease.

Researchers also found that HEXIM1 increased the number and density of blood vessels in the heart, decreased the animals resting heart rates and allowed the transgenic heart to circulate more blood per heartbeat. The study also demonstrated that untrained genetically altered mice with the HEXIM1 gene were capable of running twice as long compared to unaltered mice.

Lead researcher Monica Montano, associate professor of pharmacology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center member, and creator of the mice for the heart and breast cancer research, was very proud of the researchs findings.

"Our promising discovery reveals the potential for HEXIM1 to kill two birds with one stone potentially circumventing heart disease as well as cancer, the country's leading causes of death," Montano stated.

The studys results add to previous findings from the teams research, which revealed last year that increasing levels of HEXIM1 expression led to the inhibition of breast cancer metastasis. Given the discovery of the genes two therapeutic benefits, the researchers are currently developing a more potent version of the drug hexamethylene-bisacetamide, which is meant to enhance HEXIM1 expression.

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Newly discovered gene strengthens heart, fights breast tumors

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By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have found a gene they say can help identify patients facing aggressive liver cancer, and may prove key to their future treatment.

This is good news in a field "that has not had big advances before this and has not been the beneficiary of genomic medicine," said Dr. Richard Goldberg, a professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The new laboratory study focused on hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of cancer that originates in the liver, particularly in people who have sustained liver damage from diseases such as hepatitis or cirrhosis, said Goldberg, who was not involved in the research. The findings open the possibility of targeted drugs that would outperform the standard drug treatment in use now, he said.

Some patients with hepatocellular carcinoma -- the most common form of liver cancer -- appear to have overactivity of a gene that is most often linked to embryonic stem cells and early human development, according to the study, published June 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Those patients had a worse prognosis than other patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, wrote the lead authors from the National University of Singapore.

Further, blocking the gene -- called SALL4 -- appeared to help stop the cancer's spread, the researchers said.

Dr. Snorri Thorgeirsson, chief of the Laboratory of Experimental Carcinogenesis with the Center for Cancer Research at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, considers the new findings significant. "They found that if they inhibited SALL4, they were able to slow the growth of the cancer quite drastically," said Thorgeirsson. "They did this in lab cultures and in animal testing. It's pretty impressive they were able to show this."

Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. More than 700,000 people are diagnosed with liver cancer each year throughout the world, and it accounts for more than 600,000 deaths annually, according to the American Cancer Society. Overall, the five-year survival rate from liver cancer is about 15 percent.

SALL4 has previously been linked to leukemia and other types of cancer, according to the study authors.

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Scientists ID Gene Linked to Aggressive Liver Cancer

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June 14, 2013

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Many students are not diagnosed with dyslexia and other learning disabilities until high school, making treatments less effective. A new study of the genetic origins of these conditions by the Yale School of Medicine could allow for earlier diagnoses and more successful interventions.

The research team, led by Jeffrey R. Gruen, MD, professor of pediatrics, genetics and investigative medicine at Yale, analyzed data from more than 10,000 children born in 1991-1992. The children were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) conducted by investigators at the University of Bristol in the UK.

The ALSPAC data was used to unravel the genetic components of reading and verbal language. During this process, the team identified genetic variants that can predispose children to dyslexia and language impairment. Understanding this predisposition increases the likelihood of earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments.

The development of reading and verbal language skills is difficult with dyslexia and language impairment, which are both common learning disabilities. Both of these disabilities are known to have significant genetic components, but until now determining the root cause had been difficult.

Prior research by Gruen and his team revealed that dopamine-related genes ANKK1 and DRD2 are involved in language processing. Further studies showed prenatal exposure to nicotine has a strong negative effect on both reading and language processing, as well as identifying a gene called DCDC2 that is linked to dyslexia.

The current study looked deeper within the DCDC2 gene, attempting to pinpoint the specific parts of the gene responsible for dyslexia and language impairment. Within the DCDC2 gene, the team found that some variants of a gene regulator called READ1 (regulatory element associated with dyslexia1) are associated with problems in reading performance while other variants are strongly associated with problems in verbal language performance.

According to Gruen, these variants interact with a second dyslexia risk gene called KIAA0319. When you have risk variants in both READ1 and KIAA0319, it can have a multiplier effect on measures of reading, language, and IQ, he said. People who have these variants have a substantially increased likelihood of developing dyslexia or language impairment.

These findings are helping us to identify the pathways for fluent reading, the components of those pathways; and how they interact, said Gruen. We now hope to be able to offer a pre-symptomatic diagnostic panel, so we can identify children at risk before they get into trouble at school. Almost three-quarters of these children will be reading at grade level if they get early intervention, and we know that intervention can have a positive lasting effect.

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Unraveling The Mystery Of Dyslexia Through Genetic Research

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Washington, June 14 (ANI): Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered genetic variants that can predispose children to dyslexia and language impairment, increasing the likelihood of earlier diagnosis and more effective interventions.

Many students now are not diagnosed until high school, at which point treatments are less effective.

Senior author Jeffrey R. Gruen, M.D., professor of pediatrics, genetics, and investigative medicine at Yale, and colleagues analyzed data from more than 10,000 children born in 1991-1992 who were part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) conducted by investigators at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

Dyslexia and language impairment are common learning disabilities that make reading and verbal language skills difficult. Both disorders have a substantial genetic component, but despite years of study, determining the root cause had been difficult.

In previous studies, Gruen and his team found that dopamine-related genes ANKK1 and DRD2 are involved in language processing. In further non-genetic studies, they found that prenatal exposure to nicotine has a strong negative affect on both reading and language processing. They had also previously found that a gene called DCDC2 was linked to dyslexia.

In this new study, Gruen and colleagues looked deeper within the DCDC2 gene to pinpoint the specific parts of the gene that are responsible for dyslexia and language impairment. They found that some variants of a gene regulator called READ1 (regulatory element associated with dyslexia1) within the DCDC2 gene are associated with problems in reading performance while other variants are strongly associated with problems in verbal language performance.

Gruen said these variants interact with a second dyslexia risk gene called KIAA0319.

"When you have risk variants in both READ1 and KIAA0319, it can have a multiplier effect on measures of reading, language, and IQ. People who have these variants have a substantially increased likelihood of developing dyslexia or language impairment," he said.

Gruen hopes that the finding will allow them to offer a pre-symptomatic diagnostic panel, so they can identify children at risk before they get into trouble at school.

The study is published online and in the July print issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics. (ANI)

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Genetic origins of dyslexia and language impairment unraveled

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OMICS Group Incorporation Acquires Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine from LibPubMedia

OMICS Group Incorporation announces acquisition of Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine (JMGM) from the Library Publishing Media.

The deal was signed between Dr. Srinu Babu Gedela, CEO, OMICS Group Inc., and Dr. Muhammad Sohail, CEO, Library Publishing Media. Both organizations are working together to strengthen bonds for long-term future relationship.

Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine (JMGM) offers its scholarly publishing to PubMed and PubMed Central. The journal stands as one of its own kind by publishing high quality articles and exploring the vast discipline of Genetics and Molecular Biology. Started in 2005, it fosters communication between academic research and interdisciplinary commerce of medicine. Burgeoning the Open Access publishing, JMGM enumerates OMICSs vision of dissemination of scientific and healthcare knowledge.

Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine (JMGM) will particularly focus on biomedical issues of the developing world, centralizing research on malaria, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and microbial diseases. OMICS Group like its other publishings will continue using peculiar Peer-review methodologies and using Editorial Manager System for the same.

JMGM is available online and freely accessible over the internet under the running Open Access Policy of OMICS Group. Dr. Muhammad Sohail continues to be the Editor in Chief of the respective journal and offer his timely presence and attention for amplifying this collaboration.

I am extremely happy and delighted to have JMGM join OMICS family wherein the journal will add value to our readers and I am confident that it is not very far that I can abolish the knowledge barriers, says Dr. Srinu Babu Gedela.

More about OMICS Group Incorporation: OMICS Group Inc. was founded in 2007, by Dr. Srinu Babu Gedela. With a vision of making healthcare and scientific information Open Access, OMICS hosts more than 300 journals under its vast umbrella. To support the scientific information and vice versa, OMICS organizes around 100 conferences worldwide each year. With more than 22,000 editorial board members being a structural backbone of the organization, OMICS is running on a path of continuous evolution since then. OMICS has started new initiatives: SciTechnol, E-Books, Scholars Central, Clinical and Expert Database, Biosafety Protocols, and E-BABE.

More about Library Publishing Media: Library Publishing Media was started in 2005 by Dr. Muhammad Sohail. Being an Open Access Publisher LibPubMedia Ltd hosts two Open Access and Peer-reviewed journals excluding JMGM: Journal of Venom research and Journal of RNAi and Gene Silencing. To support various scientific information published under their syndicate, they organize conferences in Oxford University with the idea and objective of strengthening communication between the eminent scientists, academic researchers and business conglomerates.

Contact To learn more about this merger, please contact- Name: John Benson Email: contact.omics@omicsonline.org

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OMICS Group Incorporation Acquires Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine from LibPubMedia

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GENESIS/ FOXTROT interpretado por Genetics (ex Rael).
Genetics plays Foxtrot (Genesis), show completo en ND Ateneo, 22 de noviembre 2012. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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GENESIS/ FOXTROT interpretado por Genetics (ex Rael). - Video

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Savage Genetics Silent Hill Dubstep Remix) MEP (REDDRAGONSTUDIOZ) - My part (REUPLOAD)
REUPLOAD OF MY OLD AMV ON MY NEW CHANNEL. This is my part of REDDRAGONSTUDIOZ Silent Hill (Dubstep Remix) MEP Band: Savage Genetics Song: Silent Hill (Dubstep Remix) Anime: Sword of...

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Savage Genetics Silent Hill Dubstep Remix) MEP (REDDRAGONSTUDIOZ) - My part (REUPLOAD) - Video

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Joel Garreau on Genetics and Robotics
Joel Garreau, Journalist of The Washington Post and Author of Radical Evolution, talks about the genetics and robotics of the GRIN Technologies.

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Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE, and NYSEAmex when available. See also delay times for other exchanges. Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.

Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data and daily updates provided by Morningstar, Inc.

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Myriad Genetics upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at JMP Securities

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The Smithsonian's 'Genome: Unlocking Life's Code' exhibit.

When the National Institutes of Health approached the Smithsonian Institute about doing a human genome exhibit at the Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. in 2011, the NIH thought it had good timing: 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the sequencing of the human genome, and the 60th anniversary of James Watson and Francis Crick's discovery of DNA's structure.

Little did the people behind the exhibit know that when they decided to open the it, genomics would be a topic of national conversation and DNA-based ancestry projects. Visitors in Washington will get a chance to see the 29,000-square-foot exhibit starting today.

In the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has ruled on two landmark cases involving human genetics: On June 3, the court ruled that law enforcement could take DNA swabs of anyone who has been arrested, a decision that could open the door for the creation of a national DNA criminal database. On Thursday, the court ruled that naturally occurring human DNA is inherently not patentable.

[READ: Supreme Court: Human Genes Can't Be Patented]

"Genomics raises a lot of really interesting social questions in people's minds," says Kirk Johnson, director of the museum. "It's a regular drumbeat in the news. We're trying to arm people with the basic understanding of this so they can understand the challenges and make their own decisions."

Some of those challenges include the moral implications of human cloning, genetic engineering, prenatal genetic testing and the creation of genetically modified organisms.

But creating an engaging museum exhibit about genetics isn't exactly easy: Even when magnified to hundreds of times its microscopic size, DNA is, at its heart, a series of bonded chemicals. The best visual representation of it is a bunch of A's, C's, T's and G's (for adenine, cytosine, thymine and guanine, respectively, the four "nucleic acids" that make up every single living thing on Earth).

"It's not quite looking at a dinosaur," says Eric Green, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the NIH, which headed the Human Genome Project. "We had to bring it to life; we had to make it engaging for the middle school visitor."

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Smithsonian Opens Genetics Exhibit

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida) has launched its new and innovative website and invites visitors to explore and learn more about how the Institute is Translating Research Into Health.

The new website, at http://www.vgtifl.org, features vibrant graphics, informative and heartwarming videos, in-depth information on VGTI Florida researchers and their laboratories, and features news and events occurring at the Institute.

We are so excited to be able to have our website visitors virtually meet our principal investigators and learn of their individual research focus, showcase our scientific capabilities in genomics and bioinformatics, and share our community outreach activities with the public, said Catherine E. Vorwald, Executive Director of Marketing and Business Development at VGTI Florida. Our philanthropic donation section streamlines giving and makes it more convenient to participate in the improvement of global health through supporting VGTI Florida research."

Each page highlights the Institute with short videos that offer insight into important research at the Institute by the world-class principal investigators working towards cures for infectious diseases including influenza and HIV/AIDS, the effect of advancing age on the human immune system, and cancer immunotherapies.

The debut of this new website is an important step in the growth of VGTI Florida because it tells our story in a meaningful way, said Mel Rothberg, COO at VGTI Florida. We are really thrilled to have this new conduit of information showcasing the work being done at the Institute.

VGTI Floridas new website will be routinely updated, offering fresh new information for repeat visitors. The site will host a myriad of ways to get involved with the Institute - from community outreach and educational programs, such as the VGTI Florida student programs, Speaker Seminar Series, Symposia, and large community events like BioBall.

Pioneering the design and functionality of the new website was FCEdge, located in Port St. Lucie, FL. The West Palm Beach-based company Ko-Mar Productions filmed the video content mainly on-site at VGTI Florida.

About VGTI Florida:

VGTI Florida is an independent immunological research institute that is on an urgent mission to transform scientific discoveries into novel treatments and cures for existing and emerging infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and influenza, cancer, and the aging immune system. VGTI Florida is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, Florida. For more information, please visit http://www.VGTIFL.org. VGTI Florida, Translating Research Into Health, and BioBall are Registered Trademarks of the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida.

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VGTI Florida Announces the Launch of Its New Website

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The Alliance for the Advancement of Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Research
Billy Orr is a quadriplegic who spent the last quarter century in a wheelchair. You are watching Billy Orr stand and walk for the first time after having adu...

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The Alliance for the Advancement of Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Research - Video

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Findings may contribute towards improving treatment for other types of cancers such as leukemia, ovarian, endometrial, gastric, breast and lung cancers

Newswise Singapore, 13 June 2013 Latest research findings by scientists at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) could enable early screening of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a major form of liver cancer, for more aggressive treatment to improve survival rate. The researchers have also proposed a way to inactivate SALL4 - a stem cell gene - to kill HCC cells and block tumour formation.

The NUS research group was led by Professor Daniel Tenen, Director of CSI Singapore, and the study was conducted in collaboration with the Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, the National University Health System (NUHS), Queen Mary Hospital Hong Kong, Queens University Belfast and Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Two patent applications have been filed for this work and the group's findings were reported in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine on 13 June 2013.

The findings may lead to the development of personalised treatments and targeted therapeutics for HCC. As SALL4 is also with associated other types of cancers such as leukaemia and other solid tumors including ovarian, endometrial, gastric, breast and lung cancers, the findings could contribute towards improving the treatment of such diseases.

High Mortality Rate of Liver Cancer

Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. In Singapore, it is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer. As most liver cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage, treatment remains abysmal, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.

Current treatment of liver cancer is based solely on its clinical features. Recognising the need to understand the molecular pathogenesis of the fatal disease, Prof Tenen and his team investigated the molecular characteristics of tumours.

Commenting on the significance of their work, Prof Tenen said, Surgical resection is the most viable treatment option for liver cancer. However, only early stage liver tumors are resectable, and most HCCs present at late stage and are not resectable. Combination chemotherapy has been used for the treatment of liver cancer for many years, yet the overall survival rate has not seen much improvement. What urgently needs to be addressed is the development of more effective targeted therapies, and this is where our research comes in.

SALL4 - Genetic Marker for Prognosis of HCC

SALL4 is a stem cell gene that is expressed abundantly in the livers of human fetuses, but is inactive in non-cancerous adult livers. In particular, the expression of SALL4 is associated with a more aggressive subgroup of HCC.

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New Discoveries Pave the Way for Early Screening of Liver Cancer Patients for Targeted Therapy

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The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that companies can't own natural DNA, but Thursday's ambiguous yet far-reaching ruling also said manipulated genes could be patented.

The case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (MYGN), challenged Myriad's patenting of genes it isolated and turned into its BRACAnalysis test, which estimates susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.

The case was closely watched by companies eager to protect products based on genetic research. Some doctors and scientists have argued gene patents would restrict competition and drive up costs for patients.

The court ruled that the original genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, are "products of nature" and can't be owned. But to turn the genes into usable products, Myriad synthesized them in a form called complementary DNA. The court ruled cDNA patents are valid due to the degree of manipulation involved.

Analyst Jose Haresco of JMP Securities told IBD that cDNA patent protection was likely why investors initially sent Myriad shares to a four-year high.

"That's the stuff that actually matters," he said. "It's the bridge between the naturally occurring gene and the actual product.

Rival Tests Loom

Haresco said the decision removed uncertainty over the stock since the suit was filed in 2009. Many JMP clients liked Myriad's business model and growth its EPS Rank is a strong 90 but couldn't "pull the trigger" due to the patent issue.

But competition immediately surfaced. Bio-Reference Laboratories (BRLI) said Thursday that in August it will offer "a suite of comprehensive genetic tests for inherited cancers including BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

The tests involve next-generation gene sequencing, which Morningstar analyst Charlie Miller has flagged as a threat to Myriad's more old-school tests.

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Gene Patent Ruling Leaves Key Questions For Industry

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LEIPZIG, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Jun 13, 2013) - AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that the Gene Center of the University of Munich (Ludwig Maximilians University, or LMU) has accelerated its research capabilities using AMD's SeaMicro servers to gain a computational edge for its groundbreaking discoveries. AMD's SeaMicro servers aided researchers in creating the world's first 3-D image of the human ribosome by combining more than 800,000 images. The findings advance the understanding of how bacteria ribosomes can be broken down without harming human ribosomes, similar to the operation of some antibiotics. This could lead to the discovery of new drugs that are more effective and personalized to a person's genetic profile.

The Gene Center -- a leading life sciences research center in Munich, Germany -- conducts research that requires intensive computational capability which up until now has traditionally been limited to custom-built, highly expensive high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. AMD's SeaMicro server with Freedom Fabric, provides 1.28 terabits-per-second of bandwidth to scale computing performance without the need for expensive, external InfiniBand interconnections or 10 GbE networking.

"High-performance computing is critical to the cutting-edge research and groundbreaking discoveries of the LMU Gene Center," said Ronald Beckmann, professor at the Gene Center at LMU. "AMD's SeaMicro servers provide a computational edge by delivering supercomputer-like performance in the industry's smallest form factor. The server really is a mini-supercomputer in a box, and it is accelerating our research and allowing us to do analysis and break new ground in the field of structural biochemistry."

AMD's SeaMicro servers are simple and easy to deploy due to their dense form factor and simple management interface. They fit into standard server rooms, like those used in the Gene Center, compared to HPC clusters or supercomputers that require custom build-outs for facilities and cooling. The compact 10 rack unit chassis (17.5 inches, 44.5 centimeters) creates a solution that is essentially a mini-supercomputer in a box.

The Gene Center selected SeaMicro servers for their power efficiency, integration and supercomputer-like performance at a fraction of the cost of alternative solutions. A single person deployed the system, which contains 128 servers and 512 computing cores, in just two days. The deployment, featured in an AMD case study, has run flawlessly and improved the Gene Center's other bioinformatics services such as protein homology searches, which help to understand unknown proteins.

"For fields such as genetic research, computing is often a constraint due to the cost of the systems traditionally used. We are breaking that mold to make high-performance computing more widely available," said Dhiraj Mallick, corporate vice president and general manager, Data Center Server Solutions, AMD. "The potential benefits of the research at the Gene Center are tremendous since they are essentially unlocking the secrets of how life works at the molecular level."

The groundbreaking work at the Gene Center has the potential to make medications safer and more effective. Some newer drugs that break down the bacterial ribosome are only allowed for adults because they may not be safe for children. The Gene Center's research could help bring these medications to a wider population. The 3-D images provide insights into how a protein is built, which could ultimately lead to the development of new, more effective medications.

AMD's SeaMicro SM15000 system is the highest density, most energy-efficient server in the market. In 10 rack units, it links 512 compute cores, 160 gigabits of I/O networking and more than five petabytes of storage with the 1.28 terabit Freedom Fabric. The SM15000 server eliminates top-of-rack switches, terminal servers, hundreds of cables and thousands of unnecessary components for a more efficient and simple operational environment.

AMD's SeaMicro server product family currently supports the next generation AMD Opteron ("Piledriver") processor as well as Intel's Xeon E3-1260L ("Sandy Bridge"), E3-1265Lv2 ("Ivy Bridge") and Intel Atom N570 processors. The SeaMicro SM15000 also supports the Freedom Fabric Storage products, enabling a single system to connect with more than five petabytes of storage capacity in two racks. This approach delivers the benefits of expensive and complex solutions, such as network-attached storage (NAS) and storage-area networking (SAN), with the simplicity and low cost of direct attached storage.

Representatives from AMD will be at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC '13) in Leipzig, Germany at the Megware booth #644 June 17-19 to provide more details on its SeaMicro system.

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AMD's SeaMicro Servers Accelerate Leading-Edge Biomolecular Research to Provide High-Performance Computing (HPC) at ...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The Supreme Court's ruling that human genes cannot be patented has been met with excitement from doctors over the implications for patient health. Other experts, however, questioned whether there will be a widespread impact.

The high court's ruling threw out some patents previously held by Myriad Genetics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company that had patented a genetic test for the BRCA gene that's associated with increased risks for breast and ovarian cancers.

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"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," said Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the court's unanimous decision.

The court, however, also ruled that synthetic DNA -- called cDNA -- could be patented by a company.

The full decision of Association for Molecular Pathology et al. v. Myriad Genetics,Inc., et. al can be found on the Supreme Court's website.

The lawsuit against the genetics company included plaintiffs from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and other medical professional associations, on behalf of researchers, patients and women's health groups.

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It stemmed from Myriad's specific patents for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Mutations of these genes raise risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Not every woman who has a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene will develop cancer, however they are at much greater risk.

About 12 percent of women will develop breast cancer in their lives, according to the National Cancer Institute, but about 60 percent of women with a harmful BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation will develop the disease. For ovarian cancer, lifetime risk for most women is 1.4 percent, but for women who inherited the faulty BRCA genes, the risk estimate climbs to 15 to 40 percent.

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Supreme Court's gene patent ruling could boost patient care

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Newswise Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found that a single gene poses a double threat to disease: Not only does it inhibit the growth and spread of breast tumors, but it also makes hearts healthier.

In 2012, medical school researchers discovered the suppressive effects of the gene HEXIM1 on breast cancer in mouse models. Now they have demonstrated that it also enhances the number and density of blood vessels in the heart a sure sign of cardiac fitness.

Scientists re-expressed the HEXIM1 gene in the adult mouse heart and found that the hearts grew heavier and larger without exercise. In addition, the animals resting heart rates decreased. The lowered heart rate indicates improved efficiency, and is supported by their finding that transgenic hearts are pumping more blood per beat. The team also discovered that untrained transgenic mice ran twice as long as those without any genetic modification.

Our promising discovery reveals the potential for HEXIM1 to kill two birds with one stone potentially circumventing heart disease as well as cancer, the countrys leading causes of death, said Monica Montano, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, who created the mice for the heart and breast cancer research and one of the lead researchers.

Hypertension and subsequent heart failure are characterized by a mismatch between the heart muscles need for oxygen and nutrients and blood vessels inability to deliver either at the rate required. This deficit leads to an enlarged heart that, in turn, often ultimately weakens and stops. The researchers showed that increasing blood vessel growth through the artificial enhancement of HEXIM1 levels improved overall function HEXIM1 may be a possible therapeutic target for heart disease.

The study, published online in the peer-reviewed journal Cardiovascular Research, is the sixth from the team of Dr. Montano and Michiko Watanabe, PhD, professor of pediatrics, genetics, and anatomy at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Research at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital. Their collaboration began in 2004 with an investigation of why mice expressing mutant HEXIM1 suffered heart failure in the fetal stages of life. The research team found then that the gene is important for cardiovascular development and that it is abundant in the earliest months of life. This discovery led the team to explore whether increasing HEXIM1 levels could help reverse cardiovascular disease by encouraging vessel growth.

Our Cleveland-based collaborative research teams revealed that increasing HEXIM1 levels brought normal functioning hearts up to an athletic level, which could perhaps stand up to the physical insults of various cardiovascular diseases, Watanabe said.

The results build on the teams findings last year that showed increased levels of HEXIM1 suppressed the growth of breast cancer tumors. Using a well-known mouse model of breast cancer metastasis, researchers induced the genes expression by locally delivering a drug, hexamethylene-bisacetamide using an FDA-approved polymer. The strategy increased local HEXIM1 levels and inhibited the spread of breast cancer. The team is currently making a more potent version of the drug and intends to move to clinical trials within a few years.

Many cancer drugs have detrimental effects on the heart, said Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, professor of medicine, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair and director of Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. It would be beneficial to have a cancer therapeutic with no adverse effects on the heart and perhaps even enhance its function.

The Case Western Reserve-led research team is now investigating HEXIM1s ability to improve the health of mice with cardiovascular disease. They are investigating the drugs ability to reduce the damage from heart attacks.

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Gene Offers an Athlete's Heart Without the Exercise

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A technician loads patient samples into a machine for testing at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City in 2002. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Myriad cannot patent the BRCA genes, which are tested to check a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

A technician loads patient samples into a machine for testing at Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City in 2002. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Myriad cannot patent the BRCA genes, which are tested to check a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that human genes cannot be patented, upending 30 years of patent awards granted by the U.S. Patent Office. The court's unanimous decision has enormous implications for the future of personalized medicine and in many ways is likely to shape the future of science and technology.

Myriad Genetics, one of the nation's biotech leaders, isolated two genes with mutations that can indicate a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. The company patented the genes, known as BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, and developed a test so that women with family or previous cancer histories could see if they had the mutations.

But the patent meant that other researchers could not use the isolated genes to develop potentially more reliable and cheaper tests. A group of doctors, patients and researchers went to court to challenge Myriad's patent, and on Thursday they won a prtial victory.

The Supreme Court, while acknowledging the importance of Myriad's discovery, said that Myriad did not create anything by isolating the two BRCA genes and that the genes are a product of nature.

"The location and order of the nucleotides existed in nature before Myriad found them. Nor did Myriad create or alter the genetic structure of DNA," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. "To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act or invention."

Those who are critical of Myriad note that the patent meant that there were no second opinion available.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., experienced that limitation firsthand. At age 41, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of her family history, she took the BRCA test and found she had the mutation. Doctors told her there was no second test, so with no other choice she had both breasts and both ovaries removed. With the Supreme Court ruling, she says, women in her position should have more tests available to them.

"This decision allows women to get an independent test repeated so that they can make a decision with a lot more information than the results of one test," she tells NPR.

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Supreme Court Gene Ruling Splits Hairs Over What's 'Natural'

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Megan McGrath - Everyone has BRCA genes in their cells. If you are a woman and one of your BRCA gene copies has a mutation, your risk of developing breast cancer is very high - up to 87 percent in some cases.

A biotechnology company called Myriad Genetics Inc. was the first to discover the healthy, normal code of BRCA. Because a mutation is an error in that code, the normal sequence can be used to test for the breast cancer-causing BRCA mutation. Myriad developed the test, and won patent protection for it and the original BRCA gene.

Thursday, in a case against Myriad by the ACLU, the Supreme Court decreed that genes can no longer be patented, invalidating Myriads intellectual claim to the BRCA code. Yet both sides came away claiming victory.

So what happened, and what does this decision mean for cancer patients, medical researchers and biotechnology?

A patent is issued to give an inventor or developer intellectual and property rights to whatever has been made. The patent on the BRCA gene initially was granted for isolated DNA: the gene removed from the human body so that it may be worked with in the lab.

But the federal Patent Act states that an inventor may not claim intellectual property rights for laws of nature or natural phenomena.

The question was whether the isolated BRCA gene constituted a new invention, having been removed from the body. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that isolated DNA, though isolated, is still natural, and not a human invention.

According to Dr. Marisa Weiss, founder and president of Breastcancer.org, this could mean new research, cures and testing for women with BRCA mutations, and for cancer patients. Until now, researchers have had to pay for the isolated BRCA genetic code, which they need to have to understand how BRCA functions both on its own and in concert with other genes.

BRCA repairs errors in the DNA of breast tissue cells, and prevents unrestrained growth. So, if BRCA is damaged, breast tissue growth can go haywire, leading to cancer.

Five to 10 percent of all breast cancers are caused by BRCA mutation, and it also leads to a greatly increased risk of ovarian cancer. Freeing the isolated BRCA gene from its patent could allow researchers to develop more, cheaper tests for BRCA mutation, which could give more women at increased risk of developing cancer a chance to know their status earlier.

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Supreme Court Gene Ruling Benefits Biotech, Breast Cancer Research

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith