In a first for the sector, industry bodies Subsea UK and the Umbilical Manufacturers Federation (UMF) have joined forces to deliver a conference focussing on the new developments and opportunities which exist in the subsea umbilicals industry.

The global subsea umbilicals, risers and flowline market is forecast to be worth more than 5 billion by 2021 and the half-day conference, which will take place on Thursday, 21 November at the Chester Hotel in Aberdeen, will focus on the opportunities which exist in the growing sector. Ahead of the conference, a networking reception will take place at the hotel the Wednesday night before.A number of experts, including representatives from oil and gas super-majors and service companies will explore a range of topics relating to subsea umbilicals including project achievements to date, life extension and safety. Shell, Equinor, Subsea 7, Aker Solutions, Oceaneering, JDR Cable Systems, Fibron, Nexans, MAATS Tech and Trelleborg will all deliver presentations at the event.Neil Gordon, chief executive at Subsea UK, said: The subsea umbilical market has seen a massive growth in recent years, and it is predicted to expand and be part of a multi-billion-pound market. We have developed this conference in direct response to the number of opportunities which exist in subsea umbilicals and created a programme which showcases the latest technical advances and knowledge which exists in the sector.

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Conference to focus on the subsea umbilical industry - Engineer Live

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1. Sinclair Cares: Genetic testing can help you check your risk of getting breast cancer  News3LV
2. Sinclair Cares: Breast cancer genetic testing  NBC 15 WPMI
3. Expert Discusses the Selection of Individuals for Germline Testing Based on Breast Cancer...  Targeted Oncology
4. Testing for Honesty  Curetoday.com
5. Using genetic testing to possibly prevent breast cancer  KATC Lafayette News
6. View full coverage on Google News

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Sinclair Cares: Genetic testing can help you check your risk of getting breast cancer - News3LV

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Ambry Genetics(Ambry), a leading clinical genetics company, announced today the publication in JAMA Network Open of a study on retrospective RNA genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk. The study reveals that adding RNA testing could provide more accurate results for one out of every 43 patients undergoing DNA testing and could improve medical care. Now, through +RNAinsight,Ambry is the first and only lab to offer a commercially available clinical test to conduct RNA and DNA genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk at the same time.

DNA testing is a powerful tool used to tailor medical care based on an individual's cancer risk. However, standard DNA testing can produce inconclusive results, find a change in our DNA to be a variant of unknown significance (VUS), and fail to determine whether it increases cancer risk. When this happens, healthcare providers might not have the information needed to recommend appropriate preventive and early detection steps, or certain therapeutic treatments, and relatives may not be referred for genetic testing for their own care. Adding RNA to DNA testing can overcome this limitation, providing more evidence that can determine whether a variant increases cancer risk.

In this study, investigators fromAmbry and collaborating institutions (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, and University of Kansas Cancer Center) evaluated the ability of RNA genetic testing to help determine whether certain VUSs actually increased cancer risks and whether patient care changed after those determinations.

For a substantial percentage of the VUS tested, the study found that adding RNA to DNA testing determined whether they actually increased cancer risk. Specifically, RNA genetic testing clarified 88 percent of 56 selected VUS, determining that 47 percent were actually disease-causing and 41 percent were benign. In addition, all of the patients whom Ambry previously tested and who had these same VUS, received updated reports. As a result, an additional 88 patients had their inconclusive results clarified as positive (i.e., increased risk for cancer) and 322 had their inconclusive results clarified as negative.

"Adding RNA genetic testing to standard DNA testing for hereditary cancer risk needs to be the standard of care," said Rachid Karam, MD, PhD, Director of the Translational Genomics Lab at Ambry Genetics. "Our data shows +RNAinsight will let thousands of more patients know if they have genetic variations that increase their risks for cancer and take action."

The study also found that determining whether a VUS in fact increases a patient's cancer risk can substantially impact that patient's care. Of the clinicians who received clarified results and responded to a study survey, 44 percent changed their care for patients and 78 percent changed their care for patient relatives. For example, for those patients whose results for the BRCA1 gene were changed from VUS to disease-causing, new recommendations included risk-reducing surgeries and increased cancer surveillance.

When assessing the types of variants identified in a cohort of 307,812 patients who had undergone standard DNA testing at Ambry Genetics for hereditary cancer risk, the study determined that 7,265 or one in 43 patients could benefit from the addition of RNA genetic testing. Given that 700,000 people in the United States are expected to receive genetic testing for hereditary cancer risk in 2019, more than 16,000 individual results could change and be clarified with RNA genetic testing annually.

The study further showed that only 10 percent of patients invited to receive RNA genetic testing after having undergone DNA testing actually sent in samples. Given the substantial loss-to-follow-up from retrospective RNA testing and the proportion of patients estimated to benefit, Ambry has decided to make RNA genetic testing available to all patients at the same time as DNA testing through +RNAinsight, which is now available through doctors and genetic counselors around the country. For more information, please go to RNAinsight.com.

About Ambry Genetics

Ambry Genetics, as part of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine, excels at translating scientific research into clinicallyactionabletest results based upon a deep understanding of the human genome and the biology behind genetic disease. Our unparalleled track record of discoveries over 20 years, and growing database that continues to expand in collaboration with academic, corporate and pharmaceutical partners, means we are first to market with innovative products and comprehensive analysis that enable clinicians to confidently inform patient health decisions. We care about what happens to real people, their families, and the people they love, and remain dedicated to providing them and their clinicians with deeper knowledge and fresh insights, so together they can make informed, potentially life-altering healthcare decisions.For more information, please visit ambrygen.com.

For more information on risk factors for hereditary cancer, please visit cancer.gov's fact sheet on hereditary cancer and genetic testing.

Press Contact:Liz Squirepress@ambrygen.com202-617-4662

SOURCE Ambry Genetics

http://www.ambrygen.com

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As more people dig into their family roots, seemingly, many are equally inclined to satiate their curiosity about their hereditary risks for conditions such as cancers, heart disease and diabetes.

This consumer interest in ones healthcare is aligning with health systems desire to lower costs through better population health management. New Orleans based Ochsner Health System announced last week that it is launching a digital population health screening program where people can learn about their family history of disease by identifying increased risk for diseases like those. Ochsner has selected Burlingame, California-based Color to perform the gene testing and analyze results.

The program, formulated byOchsners innovation lab, innovationOchsner (iO) will identify patients particularly vulnerable tohereditary cancers and heart disease and recommend them for testing in this pilot program. Specifically, the program will test:

A testing kit will be sent to the homes of selected patients, who will, in turn, send a DNA sample. Once the results are in,Colors services and tools allow for a deep dive into health discussions and help ease family sharing, explained Richard Milani, chief clinical transformation officer, Ochsner Health System and Medical Director, iO, in a phone interview.

Ochsner clinical teams can talk further about care plans with patients and help them deal with the proceeding steps within the healthcare system, Milani continued. The results will be integrated into Ochsners EHR system.

This isnt so much a research study as it is actionable; something that can go into the clinical record appropriately, securely and safely, so that our primary care physicians and specialists are involved and we can take appropriate actions for patients at high risk for (those conditions), he noted.

Almost two million individuals in the U.S. are at heightened risk for less than ideal health outcomes traced to the fact that they have genetic mutations with one of the three conditions. Milani noted that, potentially, with a higher degree of surveillance or earlier intervention, these health issues could have been circumvented.

Ochsner is not the only health system interested in genomics. Geisinger, the health system in Pennsylvania, announced in 2018 a wide-scaleDNA-sequencing programfree for patients.

There are several gene testing players in the market including 23andMe and Helix. Milani noted that Ochsner selected Color because the company met all the lab criteria, including certification by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). Whats more, Milani remarked, unlike some of its competitors, Color conducts secondary confirmation of abnormal results and offers genetic counselors who review results with and spend time with patients.

They were very thorough in their methodology and confirmation, very robust in genetic counseling, he noted.

Color uses clinical-grade genetic testing technology while also providing support to individuals and providers with genetic counseling services, which direct to consumer genetic testing doesnt, said Caroline Savello, Colors vice president of Commercial and lead on the partnership, in a phone interview

Color, for its part, wants to make genetic testing aseasy as possible for patients to access.

(The way its been, a patient) has to come in, see multiple people, get a referral for genomics clinic, wait four to six weeks tor appointment, said Caroline Savello, Colors vice president of Commercial and lead on the partnership, in a phone interview. Today, however, samples can be collected at home, and people can educate themselves on what theyll be able to learn from a test, pose questions to trained specialists by phone and learn those results in a way that really reduces the exceptionalism of the technology of genomics.

Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health awarded Color a $4.6 million grant to serve as the nationwide genetic counseling service for their All of Us Research Program.

She added that once genetic testing becomes more accessible, you see much higher compliance rates, greater engagement and much higher completion rates of even simple things like health history.

There is some work that providers need to do to make genetic information understood and actionable.

I dont think that, in general, health industries are well prepared to consume this information and manage it appropriately. We need to be able to educate our workforce to house data appropriately and use it to change for health maintenance.

Photo: iLexx, Getty Images

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Inside Ochsner Health System's partnership with Color to offer certain patients gene testing - MedCity News

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Asia Pacific Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market to 2027 Regional Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Disease Indication, Technology, and End User. The Asia Pacific prenatal and newborn genetic testing market is expected to reach US$ 2,570.

New York, Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Asia Pacific Prenatal and Newborn Genetic Testing Market to 2027 - Regional Analysis and Forecasts by Type, Disease Indication, Technology, End User and Country" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05815381/?utm_source=GNW 37 Mn in 2027 from US$ 878.28 in 2018. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 12.8% from 2019-2027.The key factors responsible for the growth of the market in Asia Pacific are rising burden of genetic diseases among infants, increasing fertility rates and developing healthcare scenario with rising awareness among populace regarding the benefits of prenatal testing.On the other hand, use of digital microfluidics in newborn testing is likely to be a prevalent trend in the future years.

Soaring birth rates among developing economies are responsible for fueling global baby boom.However, the rising birth rate also contributes to rising birth defects and infants suffering from several genetic diseases.

According to a report published by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2018, there are almost 250 babies born every minute around the globe. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fertility rates for Hispanic women was highest in 2017 among Hispanic women with 67.1 births per 1,000 women.Asian countries such as India and China also have high fertility rates due to factors such as effects of religion, inadequate supply of family welfare services, poverty, and others. According to the World Bank in 2016, the fertility rates in India were reported to be 2.23 births per women as compared to 1.80 in the United States and 1.62 in China. Moreover, neighboring countries in India, such as Pakistan also has alarming rates of fertility. In 2016, the birth rate in Pakistan was reported to be 3.48 births per woman as per the World Bank data. However, the birthrate in India have successfully reduced its high fertility rate, but still is high as compared to other developed nations. According to the United Nations (UN) report published on June 2019, the fertility rate has reduced to 2.1. Therefore, by 2050 additional 273 million people will be added to Indias population. The increasing number of parturient women across the world are thus likely to create increasing demand for prenatal and newborn genetic tests across the globe leading to the growth of the market.The Asia Pacific prenatal and newborn genetic testing market, based on the disease indication was segmented into cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, downs syndrome, phenylketonuria, recurrent pregnancy loss, and Antiphospholipid syndrome, and other diseases.In 2018, Down syndrome segment held the largest share of the market, by disease indication.

The highest share of Down syndrome attributes to the high prevalence of this genetic abnormality among fetuses and availability of multiple tests for its screening and diagnostics. However, the cystic fibrosis segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the coming year.Some of the major primary and secondary sources for prenatal and newborn genetic testing included in the report are Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), International Trade Administration (ITA), Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (cSIR), Pakistan Down Syndrome Association (PDSA) and others.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05815381/?utm_source=GNW

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The Asia Pacific prenatal and newborn genetic testing market is expected to reach US$ 2,570.37 Mn in 2027 from US$ 878.28 in 2018. The market is...

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

In April 2018, California authorities revealed that theyd used a novel investigative technique to arrest a man they called the Golden State Killer, a serial murderer whod escaped capture for decades.

For the first time, police had submitted DNA from a crime scene into a consumer DNA database, where information about distant relatives helped them identify a suspect.

The announcement kindled a revolution in forensics that has since helped solve more than 50 rapes and homicides in 29 states.

But earlier this year, that online database changed its privacy policy to restrict law enforcement searches, and since then, these cold cases have become much harder to crack. The change is allowing some criminals who could be identified and caught to remain undetected and unpunished, authorities say.

There are cases that wont get solved or will take longer to solve, Lori Napolitano, the chief of forensic services at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said.

The switch was imposed by GEDmatch, a free website where people share their DNA profiles in hopes of finding relatives. The company had faced criticism for allowing police to search profiles without users permission, and decided that it would rather make sure members understood explicitly how investigators were using the site. So, it altered its terms of service to automatically exclude all members from law enforcement searches and left it to them to opt in.

Overnight, the number of profiles available to law enforcement dropped from more than 1 million to zero. While the pool has grown slowly since then, as more people click a police-shield icon on GEDmatch allowing authorities to see their profile, cases remain more difficult to solve, investigators say.

CeCe Moore, a leading specialist in using DNA evidence and family trees to identify criminal suspects a method known as investigative genetic genealogy depends on GEDmatch for her work. After entering a suspects DNA profile into the site, she reviews the results and assesses the likelihood of law enforcement being able to determine the suspects identity. She then scores each case from 1 to 5, 1 being a sure thing and 5 a long shot.

Im giving a lot more fives than I used to, said Moore, who helped solve several cases using GEDmatch before the site changed its terms of service, including the 1987 killing of a young Canadian couple, the 1988 murder of an 8-year-old Indiana girl and the 1992 rape and strangulation of a Pennsylvania schoolteacher.

This sharp drop in the usefulness of a promising technology has sparked an effort by law enforcement authorities and researchers like Moore to convince the public to take action. These groups hope to persuade more Americans to obtain their DNA profiles from direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies most of which have large databases but dont allow law enforcement searches and share them publicly, including with law enforcement, on databases like GEDmatch. One direct-to-consumer company, FamilyTreeDNA, allows law enforcement to search its database, but charges for it and limits results.

Some people are reluctant, worried that their DNA profiles will be hacked or used against their wishes, whether in the pursuit of a criminal or in the sale of data to health care companies. There are also concerns that DNA sharing will lead to the end of anonymity.

But law enforcement authorities and genetic sleuths who work with them argue that there is greater public good in helping to keep killers and rapists off the streets.

In the interest of public safety, dont you want to make it easy for people to be caught? said Colleen Fitzpatrick, a genetic genealogist who co-founded the DNA Doe Project, which identifies unknown bodies, and runs IdentiFinders, which helps find suspects in old crimes. Police really want to do their job. Theyre not after you. They just want to make you safe.

To illustrate those points, investigators tell the story of Angie Dodge.

Dodge, 18, was raped and murdered in 1996 in her Idaho Falls, Idaho, apartment. A year later, a man confessed to the crime, and although he later recanted and his DNA didnt match that of semen left on Dodges body, he was convicted of participating in the killing and sentenced to life in prison.

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Dodges mother grew convinced that the prisoner, Christopher Tapp, was not her daughters killer. She pressed authorities to reopen the case. In 2017, Tapp was freed in a deal with prosecutors in which his conviction of aiding and abetting the murder remained.

So did the question of who left their DNA at the crime scene.

Almost a year later, California authorities said theyd used genetic genealogy to catch the Golden State Killer.

The announcement generated a surge of interest in the technique, as genetic genealogists teamed up with private companies to sell their services to law enforcement. (Public crime labs are not equipped to do the kind of DNA analysis required, and police generally arent fluent in methods used to build family trees.) Parabon NanoLabs was the first, hiring Moore to run its genetic genealogy services. Idaho Falls police asked the company to try it.

Parabon submitted the Dodge suspects DNA profile into GEDmatch in May 2018, but the DNA was so degraded that, even with more than 1 million profiles to compare against, the connections were sparse. Moore decided that genetic genealogy wouldnt work and declined to take up the case.

But Dodges mother, Carol, begged Moore to keep trying. Moore relented and examined the connections more closely. With help from her team of genetic genealogists, she explored a series of leads that didnt pan out. They kept at it for months, eventually discovering a new branch of the suspects family tree and a potential suspect.

Police followed that man, collecting a cigarette butt he discarded and using it to obtain his DNA. It matched the crime scene profile, and in May 2019 Brian Leigh Dripps confessed, police said. A few weeks later, Tapp was exonerated. Dripps is awaiting trial.

Moore chronicled that search at a recent gathering of genetic researchers, investigators, prosecutors and lab technicians in Palm Springs, California. If she had been working on the Dodge case after GEDmatch limited access to its database, she told attendees of the International Symposium on Human Identification, this case would not have been able to be solved by genetic genealogy.

She said she understood why GEDmatchs owners made the decision, but the result was allowing some violent criminals to remain free for longer than they would have been with the full power of genetic genealogy. She pleaded with her audience to take DNA tests and upload their profiles into GEDmatch.

We dont want this very valuable tool to slip out of our hands, Moore said.

Curtis Rogers didnt ask for this.

Rogers, 81, works in Florida as a court-appointed guardian for the elderly. He founded GEDmatch as a free public service in 2010 after being inspired by his own experience connecting with people who shared his last name. He partnered with a computer programmer who wrote software that made it easy for people to find relatives through certain shared pieces of genetic material. The site became popular among professional and amateur genealogists, and as direct-to-consumer genetic testing services grew, GEDmatch enabled people to compare their DNA profiles in a single place.

Rogers knew little of law enforcements interest in his website until the Golden State Killer announcement. The news upset Rogers and some members. But he eventually accepted the sites role in solving violent crimes where other forensic techniques including searches for matches in criminal DNA databases had failed.

I am not totally comfortable with GEDmatch being used to catch violent criminals but I doubt it would be possible to prevent it, Rogers told NBC News last year. I feel it is important to make sure all our users are educated to the possible uses of GEDmatch so they can make up their own minds.

As law enforcement searches of his site surged, Rogers imposed a few restrictions. He allowed investigators to pursue leads on homicides and rapes, but not less serious crimes like assaults.

Then, late last year, police in Utah asked Rogers to use the site to investigate an attack on an elderly church organist, who was seriously hurt but survived. Rogers agreed, and police used GEDmatch to identify a 17-year-old suspect, who was arrested in April.

But that bending of Rogers own rules on how police could use GEDmatch triggered a backlash that led him to change the sites terms of service. On May 18, all GEDmatch members were removed from law enforcement searches and offered a chance to opt in if they wanted to be included.

Ethicists said the decision ensured that users would be properly informed about how their profiles would be used.

People using genetic genealogy databases for their own purposes never anticipated this kind of access to their genetic information or that information being used to identify people theyre related to, said Amy McGuire, director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine.

There is a genuine tension between wanting to protect consumers and be respectful of their wishes and recognizing that working with law enforcement provides a social benefit, she said.

A Baylor College of Medicine survey last year found 91 percent of respondents favored law enforcement using consumer DNA databases to solve violent crimes, and 46 percent for nonviolent crimes.

But with fewer links from GEDmatch to examine, investigators now have to spend more time seeking connections that could lead them to a killer. That means chasing down more leads, or asking innocent distant relatives to submit their DNA for genetic testing in hopes that their profile will help fill out the family tree. That kind of target testing raises its own set of privacy concerns.

You only need to look at the pace of press releases since the time of the Golden State Killer and see that there was virtually one every week, if not more, and the pace of those cases being solved has reduced itself, said Anne Marie Schubert, the district attorney in Sacramento County, California, where she oversaw the Golden State Killer investigation.

The limited GEDmatch access ultimately means higher costs for law enforcement who turn for help to Parabon, which dominates the private market for such work, or FamilyTreeDNA, one of the earliest direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies.

It also means that more cases might remain unsolved.

If I had a larger team, we would certainly try more cases, Moore said. But because agencies are paying Parabon, we dont want them to waste valuable resources or give false hopes.

Rogers says he has done the right thing for his members, and for the field he loves.

We are here for genealogists, not for law enforcement, he said. On the other hand, law enforcement is here to stay. I feel a big obligation to make sure its used properly. I dont want some half-cocked law enforcement person to do something that creates a story and ruins everything for everyone.

Rogers has sent emails to members urging them to allow law enforcement to search their profiles, linking to a video message from a relative of one of the Golden State Killers victims.

Many of these families have suffered for decades. They need your support, he wrote in an email to members. We hope you will encourage others who have been genealogically DNA tested to also add their information. We believe it is the caring thing to do.

So far, Rogers said, 181,000 members have opted in. Thats far from the critical mass of 1 million that some researchers say is needed to solve cold cases with regularity. It could be many months, and perhaps years, before GEDmatchs law enforcement-accessible database reaches that size.

Im sorry we had to do this. However, I feel very strongly that when we bit the bullet and did what we did, we set the whole future on a much stronger base, Rogers said of genealogy. Two or three years from now, this whole thing will be forgotten.

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Police were cracking cold cases with a DNA website. Then the fine print changed. - NBC News

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Clinical exome sequencing has revolutionized genetic testing for children with inherited disorders, and Baylor College of Medicine researchers have led efforts to apply these DNA methods in the clinic. Nevertheless, in more than two-thirds of cases, the underlying genetic changes in children who undergo sequencing are unknown. Researchers everywhere are looking to new methods to analyze exome sequencing data to look for new associations between specific genes and those rare genetic diseases called Mendelian disorders. Investigators at theHuman Genome Sequencing Centerhave developed new approaches for large-scale analysis of Mendelian disorders, published today in theAmerican Journal of Human Genetics.

The investigators used an Apache Hadoop data lake, a data management platform, to aggregate the exome sequencing data from approximately 19,000 individuals from different sources. Using information from previously solved disease cases, they established methods to rapidly select candidates for Mendelian disease. They found 154 candidate disease-associating genes, which previously had no known association between mutation and rare genetic disease, according toAdam Hansen, lead author of the study and graduate student inmolecular and human geneticsat Baylor.

We found at least five people for each of these 154 genes that have very rare genetic mutations that we suspect might be causing disease, Hansen said. This shows the power of big data approaches toward accelerating the rate of discovery of associations between genes and rare diseases.

These computational methods solve the dual problems of large-scale data management and careful management of data access permission. saidDr. Richard Gibbs, study author and professor of molecular and human genetics and director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor. They are perfect for outward display of data from the Baylor College of Medicine programs.

Exome sequencing currently only diagnoses 30 to 40% of patients, Hansen said. He hopes that diagnosis rate will increase with the discovery of new associations between mutations in certain genes and rare diseases.

The genetics community can now focus on genetic mutations in these genes when they see undiagnosed patients, Hansen said. Since our initial analysis, 19 of these genes have already been confirmed as disease-associating by independent researchers. The collective effort of the genetics community will advance our understanding of these genes and provide further evidence for their potential role in disease.

Other researchers at the Human Genome Sequencing Center who were involved in the study included Mullai Muragan, Donna Muzny, Fritz Sedlazeck, Aniko Sabo, Shalini Jhangiani, Kim Andrews, Michael Khayat, and Liwen Wang.

This work was supported in part by grants UM1 HG008898 from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHBLI) to the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Common Disease Genetics; UM1 HG006542 from the NHGRI/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the Baylor Hopkins Center for Mendelian Genomics; R01 NS058529 and R35 NS105078 (J.R.L.) from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); and P50 DK096415 (N.K.) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

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Connecting gene mutations, rare genetic diseases - Baylor College of Medicine News

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PENCOED, Wales, Oct. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --ReNeuron Group plc (AIM: RENE), a UK-based global leader in the development of cell-based therapeutics, is pleased to announce that new data relating to its CTX stem cell platform will be presented today at the 27th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy(ESGCT), a leading scientific conference taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Steve Pells, Principal Investigator at ReNeuron, will present new data showing the phenotypic stability and scalability of a mesenchymal stem cell line derived from the Company's proprietary, conditionally immortalized, human neural stem cell line (CTX) following re-programming to a pluripotent state.

The Company has previously presented data demonstrating that its CTX stem cell line, currently undergoing clinical evaluation for the treatment of stroke disability, can be successfully and rapidly re-programmed to an embryonic stem cell-like state enabling differentiation into any cell type. In essence, this means that the Company is able to take its neural stem cells back to being stem cells that can be made to develop into any other type of stem cell including bone, nerve, muscle and skin.

The new data being presented today show for the first time that these CTX-iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells) can indeed be differentiated along different cell lineages to generate, for example, mesenchymal stem cell lines. Further, the mesenchymal stem cell lines generated can be grown at scale by virtue of the Company's conditional immortalization technology, enabling the efficient production of clinical-grade cell therapy candidates.

These results are particularly encouraging as they demonstrate that CTX, a well-characterized, clinical-grade neural stem cell line, could be used to produce new conditionally immortalized allogeneic (i.e. non-donor-specific) cell lines from any of the three primary germ cell layers which form during embryonic development. ReNeuron is currently exploring the potential to develop further new allogeneic cell lines as potential therapeutic agents in diseases of unmet medical need for subsequent licensing to third parties.

Further information about the conference may be found at:

https://www.esgct.eu/congress/barcelona-2019.aspx

"The data we are presenting at the ESGCT Annual Congress represent a significant advance in the use of cell re-programming to generate new allogeneic cell lines as potential therapeutic candidates," commented Dr. Randolph Corteling, Head of Research at ReNeuron. "Importantly, the maintenance of the immortalization technology within these new cell lines may allow for the scaled production of 'off the shelf' allogeneic stem cells, such as haematopoietic stem cells as a potential alternative approach to those cancer immunotherapies currently in development that rely on the use of the patient's own T-cells."

About ReNeuronReNeuron is a global leader in cell-based therapeutics, harnessing its unique stem cell technologies to develop 'off the shelf' stem cell treatments, without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. The Company's lead clinical-stage candidates are in development for the blindness-causing disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and for disability as a result of stroke. ReNeuron is also advancing its proprietary exosome technology platform as a potential delivery system for drugs that would otherwise be unable to reach their site of action. ReNeuron's shares are traded on the London AIM market under the symbol RENE.L. For further information visit http://www.reneuron.com.

ENQUIRIES:

ReNeuron

+44 (0)20 3819 8400

Olav Helleb, Chief Executive Officer

Michael Hunt, Chief Financial Officer

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+44 (0) 20 7466 5000

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Argot Partners (US)

Stephanie Marks, Claudia Styslinger

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited

+1 212 600 1902

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Jonathan Senior, Stewart Wallace, Ben Maddison (NOMAD and Joint Broker)

N+1 Singer

+44 (0) 20 7496 3000

Aubrey Powell, James Moat, Mia Gardner

(Joint Broker)

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ReNeuron Presents Positive Data at the 27th Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy on Lead Cell Line - PRNewswire

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Stem Cell Therapy Market: Snapshot

Of late, there has been an increasing awareness regarding the therapeutic potential of stem cells for management of diseases which is boosting the growth of the stem cell therapy market. The development of advanced genome based cell analysis techniques, identification of new stem cell lines, increasing investments in research and development as well as infrastructure development for the processing and banking of stem cell are encouraging the growth of the global stem cell therapy market.

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One of the key factors boosting the growth of this market is the limitations of traditional organ transplantation such as the risk of infection, rejection, and immunosuppression risk. Another drawback of conventional organ transplantation is that doctors have to depend on organ donors completely. All these issues can be eliminated, by the application of stem cell therapy. Another factor which is helping the growth in this market is the growing pipeline and development of drugs for emerging applications. Increased research studies aiming to widen the scope of stem cell will also fuel the growth of the market. Scientists are constantly engaged in trying to find out novel methods for creating human stem cells in response to the growing demand for stem cell production to be used for disease management.

It is estimated that the dermatology application will contribute significantly the growth of the global stem cell therapy market. This is because stem cell therapy can help decrease the after effects of general treatments for burns such as infections, scars, and adhesion. The increasing number of patients suffering from diabetes and growing cases of trauma surgery will fuel the adoption of stem cell therapy in the dermatology segment.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Overview

Also called regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy encourages the reparative response of damaged, diseased, or dysfunctional tissue via the use of stem cells and their derivatives. Replacing the practice of organ transplantations, stem cell therapies have eliminated the dependence on availability of donors. Bone marrow transplant is perhaps the most commonly employed stem cell therapy.

Osteoarthritis, cerebral palsy, heart failure, multiple sclerosis and even hearing loss could be treated using stem cell therapies. Doctors have successfully performed stem cell transplants that significantly aid patients fight cancers such as leukemia and other blood-related diseases.

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Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Key Trends

The key factors influencing the growth of the global stem cell therapy market are increasing funds in the development of new stem lines, the advent of advanced genomic procedures used in stem cell analysis, and greater emphasis on human embryonic stem cells. As the traditional organ transplantations are associated with limitations such as infection, rejection, and immunosuppression along with high reliance on organ donors, the demand for stem cell therapy is likely to soar. The growing deployment of stem cells in the treatment of wounds and damaged skin, scarring, and grafts is another prominent catalyst of the market.

On the contrary, inadequate infrastructural facilities coupled with ethical issues related to embryonic stem cells might impede the growth of the market. However, the ongoing research for the manipulation of stem cells from cord blood cells, bone marrow, and skin for the treatment of ailments including cardiovascular and diabetes will open up new doors for the advancement of the market.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Market Potential

A number of new studies, research projects, and development of novel therapies have come forth in the global market for stem cell therapy. Several of these treatments are in the pipeline, while many others have received approvals by regulatory bodies.

In March 2017, Belgian biotech company TiGenix announced that its cardiac stem cell therapy, AlloCSC-01 has successfully reached its phase I/II with positive results. Subsequently, it has been approved by the U.S. FDA. If this therapy is well- received by the market, nearly 1.9 million AMI patients could be treated through this stem cell therapy.

Another significant development is the granting of a patent to Israel-based Kadimastem Ltd. for its novel stem-cell based technology to be used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other similar conditions of the nervous system. The companys technology used for producing supporting cells in the central nervous system, taken from human stem cells such as myelin-producing cells is also covered in the patent.

Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Regional Outlook

The global market for stem cell therapy can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America emerged as the leading regional market, triggered by the rising incidence of chronic health conditions and government support. Europe also displays significant growth potential, as the benefits of this therapy are increasingly acknowledged.

Asia Pacific is slated for maximum growth, thanks to the massive patient pool, bulk of investments in stem cell therapy projects, and the increasing recognition of growth opportunities in countries such as China, Japan, and India by the leading market players.

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Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Competitive Analysis

Several firms are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships, apart from product development with a view to attain a strong foothold in the global market for stem cell therapy.

Some of the major companies operating in the global market for stem cell therapy are RTI Surgical, Inc., MEDIPOST Co., Ltd., Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., NuVasive, Inc., Pharmicell Co., Ltd., Anterogen Co., Ltd., JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., and Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l.

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Stem Cell Therapy Market Latest Report with Forecast to 2025 - Health News Office

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Most U.S. Dairy Cows Are Descended from Just 2 Bulls. Thats Not Good, reads an NPR article. As I perused the article, it only took me a moment to make a connection to the young earth creationist teachings I was raised on.

A few years ago, Dechow and some of his colleagues at Penn State made a discovery that shocked a lot of people. All the Holstein bulls that farmers were using could trace their lineage back to one of just two male ancestors. Everything goes back to two bulls born in the 1950s and 1960s, he says. Their names were Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation and Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief.

Or, to put it another way:

When researchers at the Pennsylvania State University looked closely at the male lines a few years ago,they discoveredmore than 99 percent of them can be traced back to one of two bulls, both born in the 1960s. That means among all the male Holsteins in the country, there are just two Y chromosomes.

There are just two Y chromosomes found among all Holstein dairy cows. Ponder that for a moment. And then consider this:According to young earth creationist doctrine, all humans after the flood could trace their lineage back to just one male ancestorNoah.

Think back to what you learned about genetics in high school. Most humans have either two X chromosomes or one X and one Y chromosome. Noah would have had one Y chromosome. His three sons would each have had the same Y chromosome. His grandchildren born after the Flood would also have had the same Y chromosome.Of course, there would have been only one Y chromosome to begin with anyway, hundreds of years before thisAdams.

Young earth creationists play fast and loose with genetics. Genetics does not work this way, and that its why researchers are worried about the U.S. dairy population.

What weve done is really narrowed down the genetic pool, saysChad Dechow, one of the researchers.

The females havent fared much better. In fact, Dechowan associate professor of dairy cattle geneticsand others say there is so much genetic similarity among them, the effective population size is less than 50. If Holsteins were wild animals, that would put them in the category of critically endangered species.

After the Flood, in young earth creationists telling, there was a human population size of 8. At creation, the human population size was 2. The level of inbreeding that would have to take place to end up with a population of millions (and, today, billions) starting with population sizes of 2 or 8 is mind numbing.

Theres a reason there are high rates of certain genetic defects among the Amish population.

Currently, more than 50,000 Lancaster County Amish can trace their lineage to just 80 ancestors

Fewer ancestors mean more sharing of genetic material and any genetic defects the same linked to potentially fatal hereditary diseases like SCID contained therein.

Meanwhile, genetic defects not found in the settler population remain locally non-existent.

This isthe founder effect, and evidence of it has been found in Amish and Mennonite populations from Pennsylvania and Ohio to Ontario, Canada.

The founder effect, population bottlenecksthese are real things that affect real, actual genetics. Again, you probably learned about these things in high school.

The thing about the founder effect and population bottlenecks is thatthey result in the loss of genetic information.That is simply how it works.

Any elementary science student knows that genetic homogeneity isnt good in the long term. It increases the risk of inherited disorders while also reducing the ability of a population to evolve in the face of a changing environment. Dairy farmers struggling to pay bills today arent necessarily focusing on the evolutionary prospects of their animals, but Dechow and his colleagues were concerned enough that they wanted to look more closely at what traits had been lost.

Young earth creationists typically respond to concerns about population bottlenecks in one of two ways. The either argue that the original couples genes contained far more genetic diversity than our genes today, effectively canceling the bottleneck entirely, or they argue that the genetic diversity we see today is the result of random mutations in DNA over time.

Lets take the first argument first. Genes simply do not work like that. A population can have more genetic diversity, but an individual person cant. A population of fifty adults living in Bozeman, Montana, for example, is going to have less genetic diversity than a group of fifty adults chosen at random from every country in the western hemisphere. But an individual adult in Bozeman is not going to have more genetic diversity than an individual adult in Brazil, Honduras, or Haiti. Genetics does not work like that.

Now, the second argumentthat the genetic diversity we see today is the result of mutations. Most scientists believe that all Y chromosomes that exist today can be traced back to one Y chromosome that existed around 150,000 years ago. In other words, all men living today have a common ancestor, sometimes termed Y-chromosomal Adam. Young earth creationists argue the same thing, but they put this ancestor only 4,000 years ago. And that matters!

Imagine the rate of mutation required to get all the Y chromosomes we have today, in only 4,000 years!Ive said it before and Im sure Ill say it again: young earth creationists are far stronger believers in evolution than any evolutionary scientist Ive ever met.

Ill leave you with one last thing, from an Answers in Genesis article titled The genetic effects of the population bottleneck associated with the Genesis Flood:

There is one other consideration to make before we conclude the discussion of created diversity, however: the introduction of mutations to the population prior to Babel. Mutational load in children increases with the age of the father (due to the fact that older men pass on gametes that have gone through many more generations/genome copying events than younger men). Thus, any child born to an ancient person could theoretically carry many genetic differences from other people. Extrapolating from the data of Crow, a man 500 years of age would donate approximately 10,000 mutations to a child (the current average is two orders of magnitude less than that). Konget al.concluded that every extra year of paternity adds an average of about 2 additional mutations. This would mean Noah would only contribute slightly more than 1,000 mutations (40 baseline mutations + 500 years x 2) after age 500. But they also discuss models with an exponential mutational increase over time and only studied men under age 50. Either way, it could be said that Noah, by far the oldest to have fathered children recorded in biblical history, was genetic poison to the future world population, as he would be expected to have contributed many new mutations to each of his three sons (and possibly his daughters-in-law, if they were daughters).

Yes. Yes, they really went there.Its ok that all humans are descended from one coupleNoah and his wifebecause Noah fathered his three sons when he was 500 years old, so they would have had lots and lots of mutations. Yep.

What was that I said about young earth creationists being stronger believers in evolution than any evolutionary scientist out there?

I guess that gives us a solution for the Holstein dairy cows, anywayresearchers should just breed them when theyre super old and their genetic diversity will come back. Because Im sure thats exactly what will happen. (It does not work like that.)

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Read more here:
What Do Dairy Cows' Y Chromosomes Have to Do with Young Earth Creationism? Plenty. - Patheos

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Studies have shown that there is a link between cardiovascular health and brain health, but it is unclear whether genetic or environmental factors are most important in determining them both. A new study in twins suggests that nurture, rather than nature, may be decisive.

Evidence from different studies has suggested that there is a strong link between cardiovascular health and brain health.

Researchers have explained that poor cardiovascular health can, with age, contribute to dementia mechanisms, affecting cognitive function.

But what predisposes a person to poorer or better cardiovascular and brain health? So far, scientists have been unable to answer this question with any degree of certainty.

Generally speaking, there are two types of factors that could influence aspects of heart and brain health in the long term. These are genetic (nonmodifiable) factors and environmental (modifiable) factors, a conjuncture that people sometimes refer to as the "nature vs. nurture" conundrum.

To try to determine whether genes or environmental factors play a more important role in long term health outcomes for the heart and brain, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, decided to study a cohort able to provide more solid answers: pairs of twins.

Identical (monozygotic) twins have the same genetic profile, while fraternal (dizygotic) twins share about 50% of their genes. As a result, pairs of twins can allow researchers to compare the effects of nature with those of nurture more effectively than other populations.

In the current study the findings of which appear in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease the researchers analyzed the data of 272 male pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, which they were able to access via the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. All of the participants were free of both cardiovascular disease and dementia at baseline.

More specifically, the investigators looked at the relationship between cardiovascular health which they determined by scoring blood sugar and cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diet, and cigarette smoking and cognitive performance.

"Our study across the entire sample of twins confirmed that better [cardiovascular health] is associated with better cognitive health in several domains," notes senior author Dr. Viola Vaccarino, Ph.D.

"The analyses further suggested that familial factors shared by the twins explain a large part of the association and thus could be important for both cardiovascular and brain health," she adds.

According to the findings of the study, the association between heart and brain health was similar among all pairs of twins, regardless of whether they were identical or fraternal.

The researchers believe that some of the modifiable factors that contribute to a predisposition toward certain heart and brain health outcomes include factors relating to early family life, as well as socioeconomic status and education.

"Improving population-level [cardiovascular health] scores, which are extremely low in the United States, has the potential to reduce the burden of dementia along with heart disease," notes co-author Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.

"Because [cardiovascular health] factors are modifiable, prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and promotion of a healthy lifestyle beginning early in life should achieve the best results for promoting not only cardiovascular health but also cognitive health."

Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha, Ph.D.

The findings, the investigators add, are relevant in the context of the American Heart Association's 2020 Strategic Impact Goal. This goal is a 20% improvement in cardiovascular health and a 20% reduction in deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the U.S., both by next year.

Read this article:
Heart and brain health are connected, but what influences both? - Medical News Today

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Dr. Peter Schlegel, M.D., urologist-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Jan. 6, 2019

Barbara Collura, president of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, Jan. 10, 2019

Dr. Gloria Bachmann, M.D., director of the Women's Health Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, May 22, 2019

Dr. Marc Goldstein, M.D., director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Microsurgery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Jan. 4, 2019

Alice Domar, Ph.D., an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and director of Integrative Care at Boston I.V.F., Jan. 11, 2019

Paul Flynn, 46, a social worker in Sacramento, Calif., Jan. 17, 2019

Denny Ceizyk, 52, author of Almost a Father: A Memoir of Male Infertility, Jan. 19, 2019

Diagnostic Evaluation of the Infertile Male: A Committee Opinion, Fertility & Sterility, March 2015

Treatment of Male Infertility (Beyond the Basics), UpToDate, September 2019

Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis, Human Reproduction Update, November 2017

Maternal, infant and childhood risks associated with advanced paternal age: The need for comprehensive counseling for men, Maturitas, July 2019

The Negative Impact of Higher Body Mass Index on Sperm Quality and Erectile Function: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Chinese Males of Infertile Couples, The American Journal of Mens Health, Jan. Feb. 2019

Tobacco smoking and semen quality in infertile males: a systematic review and meta-analysis, BMC Public Health, January 2019

Habitual alcohol consumption associated with reduced semen quality and changes in reproductive hormones; a cross-sectional study among 1221 young Danish men, BMJ Open, September 2014

Type of underwear worn and markers of testicular function among men attending a fertility center, Human Reproduction, September 2018

Diet and men's fertility: does diet affect sperm quality? Fertility & Sterility, September 2018

Report on varicocele and infertility: a committee opinion, Fertility & Sterility, December 2014

Mens Experience of Infertility: Findings from a Qualitative Questionnaire Study, Fertility Network U.K., November 2017

Originally posted here:
Male Infertility: What to Know and How to Cope - NYT Parenting

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

While Gunnison Sage-grouse population numbers have declined over the last four years, federal agents are penciling out what recovery looks like for the species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) soon will release its draft Recovery Plan for the bird, whose greatest population lies in the Gunnison Basin.

After the bird was determined to be threatened in 2015, local conservation efforts have been underway in an attempt to preserve the species and avoid a potential endangered listing, which carries much more stringent restrictions. The draft Recovery Plan is the next step in fulfilling requirements under the threatened listing and sets both population and habitat goals which must be achieved for the bird to be delisted.

Things can change over time its not set in stone forever, said FWS Regional Director Noreen Walsh.

FWS representatives met with stakeholders in Gunnison last week to explain the three-step process for Recovery Planning and Implementation under the ESA. While the draft Recovery Plan has yet to be released, FWS officials outlined its contents during the meeting.

The first step in the planning process a Species Status Assessment (SSA) was completed last April. It includes details about each of the eight populations of grouse, said FWS biologist Allison Vendramel.

The SSA informs the second step the Recovery Plan which outlines criteria, actions, time and cost involved in achieving target population and habitat goals. Once released, the public will have 60 days to offer input on the Recovery Plan.

Finally, a Recovery Implementation Strategy will be created to fulfill delisting criteria. Vendramel noted that each step can be revised and expanded as more information is learned in the process.

The road to recovery

The current draft Recovery Plan, Vendramel said, calls for resiliency, redundancy and representation for the species, and that objective and measurable thresholds would signify when recovery likely has been met.

Resiliency, she said, is dependent upon population numbers and the birds ability to adapt to annual climate fluctuations, while redundancy is reliant upon the number of grouse and their distribution. Finally, representation is indicated by the birds ability to adapt to change, its genetic make-up, behavior and ecological conditions. All three qualities must be demonstrated for the bird to be delisted.

The plan sets population and habitat goals as well. Five of the eight grouse populations will be subject to high-male count targets and habitation requirements. For the high-male count target, a running three-year average was determined over the course of at least seven consecutive years.

During the time period used for the calculation, the birds population numbers were highest. From the high-male count, population estimates are generated.

Populations which must achieve high-male count and habitat targets are located in the Gunnison and San Miguel basins, Pion Mesa, Crawford and Monticello. The Gunnison Basin, Vendramel said, demonstrates the greatest resiliency.

Two of the Gunnison Sagegrouse populations Dove Creek and the Cerro Summit-Cimarron-Sims Mesa (CSCSM) will only be required to have the amount of habitat which could potentially support a high-male count target, without actually requiring the number of males.

High-male count for Dove Creek is set at 30 while the same target for CSCSM is only seven.

Efforts to improve some populations

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Grouse Conservation Coordinator Kathy Griffin estimates the Gunnison Basins population at 2,862 and the birds population throughout its entire range at 3,299. Those numbers have declined from high estimates in 2016 of 4,440 and 5,141, respectively.

She speculated that the decline was due to two years of drought followed by a harsh winter with late and heavy snows.

Griffin said grouse numbers for both the Gunnison and greater sage-grouse are down across their range in virtually every state, indicating it may be due to normal population fluctuations.

In Gunnison County, efforts have focused on improving habitat and minimizing future impacts to the grouse. In 2006, the county adopted regulations that seek to minimize development conflicts through its landuse review process.

By way of comparison, San Miguel County has taken a different approach than Gunnison County to preserve habitat and protect the bird by focusing on conservation easements. However, like other satellite populations, county leaders have only seen a declining trend in the annual counts, said San Miguel County Commissioner Hilary Cooper.

The San Miguel Basin population, she said, continues to be threatened by oil and gas activity, powerlines, habitat fragmentation and weather changes, and her county is learning from Gunnison Countys example.

Much of our Gunison Sagegrouse habitat is on BLM land and we are actively engaged in protests and litigation against Bureau of Land Management actions that directly impact occupied habitat and threaten the bird, specifically with oil and gas activity, Cooper told the Times. The county is currently developing a GIS analysis in order to guide the most effective actions based on the latest science and lessons learned from the more successful efforts in the Gunnison Basin population.

Steps toward delisting

Recovery actions offered in the draft Recovery Plan include site-specific interventions. Areas prioritized to minimize stressors such as noise and development would be within the four-mile radius of an active lek, according to the plan.

The draft recommends improving public awareness, offering incentives and resources to conserve and improve habitat quality and quantity and better data collection. Recovery actions include relocating Gunnison Basin birds to other populations which have enough habitat to sustain them, and conserving existing habitats by improving management plans.

Finally, delisting the bird was defined during last weeks meeting. Once a species is delisted, Vendramel said a community must decide if it wants to maintain measures which have resulted in recovery.

Delisting is the Fish and Wildlife using a biological rationale to say, This species does not need the protection of the ESA, said Vendramel, noting that when targets are achieved the federal agency exits the picture.

Still, she questioned whether communities would have the will to keep a species such as the grouse from being relisted.

Weve reached a threshold, she said of the situation that exists when targets are met. Does a community want to stay above that threshold?

Recovery Implementation Strategy workshops are scheduled throughout the birds population area in January. The final draft of the Recovery Plan is slated for approval in October 2020.

(Chris Rourke can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or at chris.rourke@gunnisontimes.com .)

See the original post here:
Steps outlined for grouse recovery - Gunnison Country Times

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Cheetah Conservation Station keepers at the Smithsonians National Zoo are celebrating the arrival of a male lesser kudu calf, who was born Oct. 14 to 5-year-old mother Rogue and 9-year-old father Garrett. During their routine animal health assessments, keepers found that Rogue had given birth and observed the calf nursing, moving well and exploring his environment. A neonatal veterinary exam the following day, Oct. 15, found the calf to be healthy and strong. He is steadily gaining weight, growing from about 13 pounds at the time of his exam to about 19 pounds at 9 days old.

Animal care staff are allowing the calf to bond with mom in a quiet enclosure behind the scenes. His 10-month-old brother, Kushukuru, was present for the birth and continues to spend evenings with the calf and their mother. The younger kudu will make his public debut later this fall, weather permitting.

Keepers describe the calf as bold and alert, and they are looking forward to watching the young brothers explore the habitat, chase one another and spar with each other and their father. The Zoo will provide details about the calfs debut on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts as the date approaches. Meantime, visitors can view Garrett and Kushukuru at the Cheetah Conservation Station, along with two Abyssinian ground hornbills named Karl and Karoline that share their habitat.

Rogue arrived at the Zoo in October 2016 from the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri, per a recommendation to breed with Garrett. Most of the Zoos animals participate in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan (SSP). The SSP scientists determine which animals to breed by considering their genetic makeup, nutritional and social needs, temperament and overall health. This is the second calf for both Rogue and Garrett.

Native to arid and semi-arid areas of northeastern Africa, including parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, lesser kudu are listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Lesser kudu number about 100,000 in the wild, but the population is decreasing due to habitat loss from human and livestock expansion, hunting and disease.

# # #

Caption: Lesser kudu female Rogue with her newborn male calf behind the scenes at the Zoos Cheetah Conservation Station.

Continued here:
Lesser Kudu Born at Smithsonian's National Zoo - Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

In a recent article for Current Affairs, Nathan Robinson describes Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker as the most annoying man in the world because Pinker is the type of person who constantly insists hes Just Being Reasonable while he is actually being extremely goddamn unreasonable. Although Robinsons article was a bit harsh in tone, it gestures at something very real: were in the midst of an epidemic of intellectuals, almost entirely white men, who claim to embody Reason and Rationality while flagrantly and habitually succumbing to the same tribalistic tendencies that they identify as the Ultimate Enemy.

My own experience with Pinker and his ilk exemplifies the problem. Last January, I published an article here at Salon that summarized some extremely detailed criticisms that I wrote of Pinker's book "Enlightenment Now!" More specifically, I examined a few pages in the books Existential Threats chapter, one line or passage at a time, since my own research focuses on existential threats (that is, threats to civilization and humanity) and thus I have some knowledge of the topic.

Although Pinker is widely known, or at least was at one point, as a clear-headed, objective intellectual of the highest caliber, his chapter on existential threats was overflowing with quotes taken out of context, misrepresented ideas, false dichotomies, blatantly inaccurate claims, poor reasoning, dubious citations, condescending straw-man attacks and cockamamie ad hominems. If the chapter had been a first-year undergraduate term paper, and if the professor were an exceptionally easy grader who habitually dished out As for poorly researched papers, Pinkers chapter might have received a C.

(The popularity of poor scholarship seems to be on the rise, incidentally. Just consider the egregious mistakes made by Jared Diamond in his most recent book, "Upheaval.")

What was most telling, though, was the response to my article. For example, the founding editor of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer, tweeted this in response to my critique:

Where @RichardDawkins had his fleas (The Dawkins Delusion etc.), @sapinker has his cockroaches (the oleaginous Phil Torres desperate for attention), artfully squashed here:

Shermer then linked to a blog post by Jerry Coyne, which contained a response from Pinker. Before getting to that, though, Shermers tweet is notable for a couple of reasons. First, not only does it contain a personal attack, but the personal attack is overtly uncivil. Thats a bit humorous given that Shermer, as well as Pinker, are famous for accusing progressives, especially those who care about women and people of color, of incivility. For example, in May of this year, Pinker tweeted:

Are you concerned about the growing illiberalism, incivility, intellectual conformity, and repression of debate in today's universities? Join us at the meeting of the society set up to encourage viewpoint diversity and constructive debate on campuses. Ill be giving the keynote.

But Pinker did nothing to call out Shermer for his patently crude, puerile behavior, which has also included calling people he disagrees with (seriously) namby-pamby bedwetters and (seriously) losers. This is perhaps unsurprising when one realizes the Pinker has unwaveringly supported Shermer despite multiple women accusing Shermer of sexual harassment, assault and even rape. To my knowledge, Pinker has made no effort to contact any of Shermers purported victims. And why would he? What does truth have to do with standing by your comrades? Instead, Pinker has repeatedly de-emphasized the issue of rape in society and college campuses by tendentiously pointing to opinions that support his preferred views rather than by honestly examining the totality of evidence, which gives a quite different perspective. All of this is very worrisome, tribalistic behavior. But it gets worse.

Back to the blog that Shermer references. The particular post was published by Jerry Coyne, a biologist at the University of Chicago who has become something of Pinkers bulldog, defending him against any and all criticisms no matter what, with (almost) no questions asked. One of the most recent examples is Coyne coming to Pinkers defense after a picture emerged of Pinker with Jeffrey Epstein, the child sex-trafficker who recently killed himself in a New York jail cell.

Coyne quickly dismissed criticisms of Pinker hanging out with Epstein as mere slander and character assassination, writing that suggestions that Pinker should have known better disturbed me so much since Pinker is a friend whose character I respect. The problem is that Pinker appears in the photo with Epstein and he tweeted out an affidavit defending Epstein after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes, which happened in 2008. That is inexcusable and gross but not to Coyne, whose allegiance is rooted not in evidence but loyalty.

So it should be no surprise that Coyne tore into my critique of the existential threats chapter, inaccurately calling it a hit piece. Indeed, by any reasonable account, the article was a substantive critique of shoddy scholarship. In fact, I was in touch with four scholars or writers whose work Pinker misrepresents within just a few pages of the chapter. All of them were unhappy with the quality of Pinkers work, so its not like this was just me being a grump.

For example, the political economist Eric Zency, whom Pinker incorrectly describes as an engineer, was livid that Pinker had used a line from one of his papers to mean the exact opposite of what Zency had intended. In an email to me about Pinkers misuse of his quote, Zency remarked, How this guy managed to become a public intellectual in fields so far removed from his expertise is something to wonder at. I agree.

Pinker also wrote a response to my critique, but it only further justifies the view that Pinker is or has become, sadly an ideologue who cant acknowledge when hes wrong. Just consider that the second sentence of his response makes an ad hominem claim that Im trying to make a career out of warning people about the existential threat that AI [i.e., artificial intelligence] poses to humanity. Since ['Enlightenment Now'] evaluates and dismisses that threat, it poses an existential threat to Phil Torress career.

This is obvious nonsense. First of all, the same thing could be said about Pinker: Since his career these days is based on claiming that things have been going quite well for humanity, convincing people that AI poses an existential threat itself could be seen as an existential threat to Pinkers reputation. How Pinker and Coyne both missed this obvious flaw suggests that they werent wearing their critical-thinking hats. The aim of Pinkers comment was to discredit a critique without having to engage with its substance.

Once again, I contacted four scholars or writers who affirmed errors in a small handful of pages in Pinkers chapter. I have no doubt that if someone were to find the same problems in a chapter written by, say, Reza Aslan or Linda Sarsour, both of whom are loathed by the Pinker-Coyne crew, theyd be hailing the critique as proof that Aslan and Sarsour are intellectual frauds.

Pinker then defended one of his most flagrant mistakes: classifying a computer scientist at UC Berkeley, Stuart Russell, as someone who isnt worried about AI. The exact opposite is true! Pinker then doubled down, insisting that his description of Russell was accurate, even though Russell himself told me in an email, which I quote in my article, that hed seen this [mention in Pinker's book] and I agree its an incorrect characterization. So, you have Pinker on one side refusing to acknowledge that he incorrectly characterized a person who says he has been incorrectly characterized. This led Julia Galef, a notable effective altruist who hosts the Rationally Speaking podcast and has knowledge of the relevant issues, to tweet:

Im frustrated Steven Pinker wont admit an error in Enlightenment Now.Summary:- Pinker names Stuart Russell as an expert whos skeptical of AI risk- Someone points out that's exactly backwards; Russell is one of the main experts warning about AI risk- Pinker doubles down

She concludes that the point is its bad that Pinker got this fact wrong and wont admit it. This encapsulates the central problem: Pinker and his ilk dont acknowledge errors when they make them; they are ideologues rather than truth-seekers, willing to bend the facts, launch personal attacks and censor critics to win debates. At exactly the moment in history when we need true intellectual leadership, people who exemplify intellectual honesty and integrity, the most, we get stubborn tribespeople.

But the problem is hardly confined to those mentioned above: Shermer, Coyne and Pinker. Consider another Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) luminary, Sam Harris, one of the most famous atheists in the world because of his book "The End of Faith." Previously, I never had any reason to believe that Harris was racist but I do now. He has spent a massive amount of time and energy defending Charles Murray, author of "The Bell Curve," which argues that black people are inherently inferior to white people.

Over and over again, ad nauseam, Harris has used his large platform to suggest that Murray isnt a junk scientist peddling cowardly racist memes, but someone whos been victimized by those anti-truth progressives. Even more, Harris apparently believes Murrays claim that blacks are genetically dumber than whites. In a podcast with Josh Zepps, Harris opines the following with a wholly unjustified degree of epistemic confidence:

As bad luck would have it, but as youd absolutely predict on the basis of just sheer biology, different populations of people, different racial groups, different ethnicities, different groups of people who have been historically isolated from one another geographically, test differently in terms of their average on this measure of cognitive function. So if youre gonna give the Japanese and the Ashkenazi Jews, and African Americans, and Hawaiians youre gonna take populations who differ genetically and we know they differed genetically, thats not debatable and you give them IQ tests, it would be a miracle if every single population had the same mean IQ. And African Americans come out about a standard deviation lower than white Americans. A standard deviation for IQ is about 15 points. So, if its normed to the general population, predominantly white population for an average of 100, the average in the African American community has been around 85.

In other words: black people are dumber than white people. Why? Because of genetic evolution, meaning that IQ is in the genes and the genes of white people are, well, just plain better. What a bold stance, especially amid the ongoing rise of white nationalism in the U.S. and Europe!

In all seriousness, the irresponsibility of being a public intellectual with a large following and spouting unsupported claims with the sort of certainty you might expect from someone reciting the second law of thermodynamics is shocking. If Pinker is annoying, as Robinson claims, then Harris is intolerably obnoxious, constantly demeaning people for not being Rational and Reasonable while simultaneously making anintellectual fool of himself with claims like those above.

Other examples could be adduced, but I dont have an extra 20,000 words to spare. The point is that the entire IDW movement is annoying. Its really, really annoying its champions misrepresent positions without their (mostly white male) audience knowing, and then proceed to embarrass the opposition. They embrace unsupported claims when it suits their narrative. They facilely dismiss good critiques as hit jobs and level ad hominem attacks to undercut criticism. And they refuse they will always refuse, its what overconfident white men do to admit making mistakes when theyre obviously wrong. I am annoyed, like Robinson, mostly because I expected so much better from the most popular intellectuals of our time.

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Steven Pinker, Sam Harris and the epidemic of annoying white male intellectuals - Salon

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Women wait with their malaria-struck babies for treatment in Angola. Will opponents of gene ... [+] engineering deny prevention to families like these?

Mosquitoes are not just obnoxious summer pests they are a serious health threat to most of the world. In fact, the WHO calls mosquitoes one of the deadliest animals in the world.

Why? Mosquitoes carry and spread diseases to humans that cause millions of deaths every year. The biggest threat is malaria: a half a million lives are lost annually, and Africa alone loses $12 billion in health care, productivity, investment, and tourism to the disease. Then theres Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever each carried by mosquitoes, and each extracting their toll in human lives and livelihood.

But now, there is hope that biotechnology can help solve this crisis. The solution lies in genetically modifying a small population of mosquitoes and releasing them into malaria-prone areas. These mosquitoes carry a lethal gene that kills larvae before they reach adulthood and carry malaria to others, just stunting human illness.

Oxitec is a British biotechnology company doing just this. Over the last fifteen years or so the company has introduced Friendly Technology. Oxitecs latest results back up historic successes in Brazil, which saw dengue cases in one area reduced by 91% in a small trial. Their latest study showed a 96% reduction in mosquito numbers, this time using a more effective strategy of targeting the biting, egg-laying females - albeit leaving non-biting males to survive and reproduce. A great success, on the face of it.

The anti-GM backlash

However, Oxitec and others are taking a lot of flak from the anti-GM lobby, which according to the Genetic Literacy Project spent $850 million in the last five years alone opposing everything from the way we label genetically engineered food to fabric thats fermented from sugar.

The backlash was triggered by a paper that, ironically, seems likely to be retracted (or at least highly modified) due to exaggerated predictions of more robust mosquitoes, among others. Though reports of genetic mixing between surviving introduced mosquitoes and local mosquitoes were valid, the lethal gene was not actually present - which was the most likely outcome considering the lethality of the gene in question. A lethal gene will naturally diminish in frequency among a population.

But another consideration is to ask: does it even matter, all things considered, when eradication of disease should be the goal?

The risk of inaction

Mosquitoes are utterly deadly, and even when theyre not they provide among the largest disease burden on the planet. Tuberculosis may kill more people (around 1.3 million per year, compared with around 450,000 for malaria). But malaria infects 20 times that number of people.

Those 219 million annual malaria cases cost low income countries a significant chunk of their GDP up to 1.3% in the worst affected while just a 10% reduction in malaria was associated with a 0.3% growth in a much cited study on the economic burden of malaria. For Uganda, the economic gain from eradicating malaria would total around $50 million USD.

This doesnt take into account emerging diseases such as dengue and Zika virus, among others. In Brazil, the focus of Oxitecs recent trials aiming to reduce numbers of Aedes aegypti, 1.2 million people were infected with dengue in the first six months of 2019 six times more than in 2018 with an associated 388 deaths. Zika virus, carried by the same mosquito, exploded onto the scene in 2015 and has been associated with a range of effects on babies born to infected mothers in 10% of cases.

Yes, there are likely some knock-on ecosystem effects of releasing Oxitec mosquitoes. There might well be reduced prey for fish that eat the larvae, or less food for some of the birds that eat the flying insects. However, mosquitoes are not irreplaceable as far as the wider ecosystem is concerned, especially pests such as Aedes aegypti. There are another 3000 species of mosquito other than the three which primarily cause disease in people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) brands Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as being exquisitely adapted to city life, and that they prefer to breed in artificial containers. Given this information, it makes it even less important that lethal genes might persist among the wider population of these costly pests, less so that they might be eradicated - an opinion seemingly shared by researchers who have looked into the potential environmental costs associated with getting rid of the worst species of disease-bearing mosquitoes.

It all boils down to a cost/benefit analysis. Is the risk of some genetically modified mosquitoes passing on transgenes to wild populations worse than the risk of millions of people being infected with haemorrhagic fever and malaria, or babies being born with abnormally small heads (microcephaly)?

In any case, we will always have to take measures to reduce the burden of disease. What about the alternative forms of pest control and their relatively indiscriminate, off-target effects?

What is natural?

Oxitec, the company responsible for releasing genetically modified mosquitoes, have always known and stated - explicitly so - that some mosquitoes would survive to breed and pass on their genes. They have also taken measures to ensure that populations containing the lethal gene eventually go their predestined way.

In fact, their latest mosquitoes are meant to pass on genes to wild populations, this time to reverse the naturally occurring genetic mechanisms that render mosquitoes resistant to pesticides such as DEET. (Incidentally, multi drug resistance in the malaria parasite itself is also increasing).

To put our collective minds at ease, its worth pointing out that nature is weirder than what Oxitec is doing. mosquitoes perform their own version of enforced sterilisation, whereby male tiger mosquitoes (of the species Aedes albopictus) can mate with, and sterilize, female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

The fact that diseases such as Zika and dengue are present in Brazil in the first place is evidence that we are about as far removed from whatever natural used to mean as we can possibly be. Zika was introduced by a traveller from French Polynesia. The only way it got to Brazil was by aeroplane.

Its not just Zika traversing the globe in such a manner. There are emergent diseases popping up left, right and center, and it is not an easy task to keep them in check. The WHO warned us over ten years ago that infectious diseases are emerging at a rate not seen before. (One example is West Nile Virus, a mosquito-borne disease first described in 1937 in Uganda but discovered in New York in the summer of 1999. It is becoming more prevalent in California and will soon reach Silicon Valley and the San Francisco biotech region.)

It is no wonder. We live in a globally connected world with a rapidly expanding population that is a hotbed for disease-causing agents to emerge, mix, and spread (from viruses and bacteria to malaria parasites), which means that we need highly innovative, modern solutions to control them. Its an evolutionary arms race, and we need all the tools we can muster. If one of them happens to include lethal genes that successfully wipe out local populations of disease-causing mosquitoes, so be it.

Mosquito-borne diseases already threaten half of the global population.And as the climate warms and favors the mosquito, these diseases could spread to a billion more people.

Clearly, our current methods of control havent quite been enough to stop 219 million people becoming afflicted with malaria each year, or an increasing number suffering and dying from dengue and other diseases. Its not genes escaping that is the problem, but the sheer difficulty in eradicating mosquitoes and their diseases at all.

We must proceed carefully with new genetic engineering technologies, but we must also weigh the risks of inaction: each year hundreds of millions of people mostly children needlessly die, get sick, or suffer genetic defects. GMO mosquitoes are something we can do about it.

So what would you rather have: GMO mosquitoes or dying babies?

Acknowledgement: Thank you to Peter Bickerton for additional research and reporting in this post.

Please note: I am the founder ofSynBioBeta, and some of the companies that I write about are sponsors of theSynBioBeta conference(click herefor a full list of sponsors).

The rest is here:
British Biotech Company Sees Hope In Reducing Mosquito-Borne Diseases And Deaths With GMOs - Forbes

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

COLUMBUS, Ohio The first overmatched victim ofOhio State defensive end Chase Youngflashes on a projector screen in the Buckeyes football facility. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley hits pause to single out an offensive tackle from Florida Atlantic, frozen in game-film infamy amid an autopsy of Youngs sacks.

Hafley see-saws the film until it stops in the precise place that shows Young vaulting a half-step toward the quarterback an instant after the snap. Theres a tone of pity in Hafleys voice, as the Florida Atlantic linemen are still lined up perfectly still like a row of folding chairs.

A half-step advantage for a defensive lineman is like a 10-yard cushion for a wide receiver, and Young appears poised to bull-rush past the line with the ease of fans flowing through a turnstile.

Not one of the offensive linemen is moving, Hafley said, shaking his head. Its. Over. Doesnt it look like hes running out of the blocks in a track meet?

When the film resumes, Young proceeds to barrel around the edge virtually unimpeded for one of his 9.5 sacks, a total thats tied for No. 1 in college football. The frozen moments of singular dominance have come in flourishes through seven games, as the image of Youngs blond dreadlocks splayed out behind him as he mauls helpless quarterbacks has seemingly played on a loop this season.

Young is a 6-foot-6, 270-pound freak who appears to be darting toward greatness like, well, a sprinter coming out of the blocks. Former BuckeyeNick Bosacompares Youngs skill set to elite NFL rush endsKhalil MackandVon Miller, two generational pass-rush talents. That type of get-off, Bosa told Yahoo Sports recently. He has that speed first, power second.

Youngs potential invokes the hyperbole of an athlete that can change the paradigm of the position. Along with consistently mangling quarterbacks, he can also fluidly drop back into coverage, block kicks and has an imposing physique that one NFL scout likens toLeBron James.

The natural comparison for Young in Columbus remains the Bosa brothers, former Buckeyes who went No. 2 in the 2019 draft (Nick) and No. 3 overall in 2016 (Joey). Both Bosas have performed at a level that justify those lofty picks, but former OSU coach Urban Meyer says that Young may be the most talented of the three.

The guy looks like the Predator, said FAU coach Lane Kiffin,mimicking Youngs popular nickname. Theres only 10 guys like him in the world.

NFL scouts see him the same way, as hes widely considered the most talented prospect in all college football. His draft position will be reflective of the quarterback desperation among the NFLs most despondent franchises. Hes what you want from a guy who is going to be the No. 1 pick, said a veteran NFL scout. Hes a super athlete, hes massive and hes been productive.

Youngs emergence is a combination of fortunate genetics, conscientious parenting and a flurry of bold-faced mentors. They begin with Carla and Greg Young, his exacting mother and father who shepherded his journey through do-your-own-laundry discipline and strict regiments of pushups and tough love. Young also learned along the way from No. 1 NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz and No. 2 NFL pick Nick Bosa, and lapped up all the lessons of Larry Johnson, the Buckeyes defensive line Yoda.

As Ohio State (7-0) pursues its first College Football Playoff bid since 2016, Young is simultaneously sprinting toward meeting Fultz, his old DeMatha Catholic High School hoops teammate, in the rarest of airs. I used to tell him when I was younger that I was going to be the No. 1 pick in basketball, Fultz said. And he was going to try and meet me up top and be the No. 1 pick in football.

How didChase Younggrow into the most feared player in all of college football? It all starts with how he grew up.

The stories of Chase Youngs accelerated trajectory begin at age 3, at his familys home in Cheltenham, Maryland. When Young first jumped off the diving board at the familys housing development, he debuted with a front flip. From there, Young kept somersaulting ahead of his peers.

The evolution of Chase Young into a generational prospect starts with his parents, who provided both outsized genetics and a diverse plan for success. Greg Young is 6-foot-10, a lunar eclipse of a human who played college basketball at Bowie State and still holds the burly build of a 1980s NBA power forward. Carla Young is 6-foot, and while she didnt play sports, she helped set the tone of work ethic and competitiveness in the family.

Greg is retired from Arlington County Sheriffs Office after years of working the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Carla has worked the last 32 years for the Department of Transportation and 34 overall years for the federal government. Greg Young worked 15 days a month, a schedule that allowed him to train his kids. (Chases sister, Weslie, played college basketball at North Carolina Wesleyan). The Youngs believed in both physical and mental development, with specialization frowned upon and weights and trainers not necessary.

The training began soon after their kids could walk. Greg and Carla insisted their kids play outside, with skateboards, sandboxes and trampolines luring their kids out of the house. They didnt do video games, Carla said, proudly.

Ohio State star Chase Young has been building up to this moment his whole life. (Yahoo Sports illustration/Photos courtesy of Young family)

Chase Young played soccer until eighth grade, played basketball until his junior year of high school and ran track into high school, developing the footwork, speed and dexterity inherent to those sports. Chase even played the piano, saxophone and violin. In high school, he sang in the choir at St. Vincent Pallotti (Maryland) before transferring to DeMatha Catholic.

Chase may be the most physically blessed player in college football, but he didnt begin seriously lifting weights until late in high school. He built a strong core with 100 pushups and 200 sit-ups a day, as Greg believed in Herschel Walkers philosophy that physique could be built on the weight of the body.

Greg insisted on toughness, including enrolling Chase to play football with older kids. Chase played quarterback for the Patuxent Rhinos, a team of 9-year-olds, easily memorizing and executing the full assortment of plays. There was just one issue. Every time he got hit, he would get up crying, Greg said. They were like, Why's he always crying? I said, He's 6!

Chase didnt get a cell phone until high school, never had a television in his bedroom and wasnt allowed to grow out his dreadlocks until 10th grade. Attendance at Sunday church was mandatory, as was family dinner with Carla cooking up meatloaf, mac-and-cheese and greens, piled high for growing kids. Privileges came with accomplishment, as Chase was allowed to get tattoos only after he got to Ohio State. Carla relented after a memorable text: Are you still gonna love me if I get a tattoo? Chase asked. Carla lets out her hearty trademark laugh. Of course!

Chase began washing and ironing his own clothes at age 7, with the unappealing alternative of having to wear dirty clothes. He began mowing the lawn at age 10 and he and his sister both were in charge of packing their own lunch.

A lot of parents can learn from them, said Randy Ransom, one of Chases youth coaches and a family friend. I wouldnt say they sheltered him, but they told him the rules and he abided by them.

As Chase navigates the final stretch of college until his vast potential will collide with professional riches, he looks back with appreciation. What my parents did, he says, it's the reason why I am who I am today.

Nick Bosa laughed on the other end of the phone. He knew the question was coming and chuckled upon its arrival. Hed grown up in the five-star shadow of his brother, Joey, so hes had years of refining his dodging technique. Chase can be as good as he wants, Nick Bosa said. I dont want to compare.

The making of Chase Young into a prospect that can inhabit the same rare conversational sphere as the Bosas continued upon his arrival at Ohio State in 2017. At that time, Joey Bosa was a burgeoning star on a defensive line where every starter Jalyn Holmes, Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard and Nick Bosa ended up getting drafted.

Nick Bosa most appreciated how Youngs desire to learn and grow into a star matched his physical promise, as he jokes Young showed up at 270 pounds with a six pack. After a lifetime as Joeys little brother, Nick enjoyed the role reversal in mentoring Young.

He saw me as a role model, I guess, which was cool, Nick Bosa said. I was always looking up to people. To have someone younger than me looking up to me was cool.

The education of Chase Young came at the feet of Bosa, the loaded defensive line room and its wise leader, Johnson, the 68-year old position coach who has tutored a daunting eight first-round defensive linemen. The best evidence of Johnsons wizardry could be seen on a recent Monday in the Ohio State football facility, as his players sat outside his office, eager to seek his counsel and grandfatherly advice.

Johnson saw a unique inquisitiveness in Young during his recruitment, as Young would constantly text him during recruiting to ask question normal recruits wouldnt ask. What was it like recruiting this guy? Where do you see my weight? Where do you see me playing?

Hes probably the most intriguing guy Ive ever recruited, Johnson said.

Chase Young (2) chases down the ball carrier during the Ohio State Buckeyes' win over the Florida Atlantic Owls. (Getty)

It has become a perfect marriage of teacher and student, as Hafley calls Johnson one of the best pass-rush coaches hes ever been around. Young has evolved from a raw athlete to a nuanced pass rusher, mastering techniques like Johnsons trademark side-scissoring the offensive linemans hands away to be able to turn his hips and flip to the quarterback. Thats why some guys make $30 million and some guys dont, said Meyer, now a Fox analyst, of Youngs hips. Chase has the speed, size and flexibility.

Strength coach Mickey Marotti saw the final stages of Youngs evolution come this winter. He began paying forward the advice Nick Bosa passed onto him, motivating and teaching young linemen like former five-star Zach Harrison and redshirt freshman Javontae Jean-Baptiste. In the circle of life in the Buckeye defensive line room that Johnson calls moving the yardstick, Bosa still sends clips of good rushes to Young on Snapchat. Young passes on the message to the next generation.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day noticed Youngs off-field development a few days into summer camp, when the Buckeyes came out with low energy during pre-practice stretching. Without any prodding from coaches, Young got in front of the team and barked at them to follow his juice and energy.

Hes prompted other guys to take the lead, and you see guys coming out of their shells, Day said. In this day and age, with this generation, thats not easy to do.

When asked about Youngs physical dominance, Marotti keeps steering the conversation back to his personal attributes. Marotti teases Young that he needs a hair net for his blond locks. Young shoots back by poking fun at Marottis size-12 feet, abnormally large for a man of modest height. Marotti jokingly calls Young a newscaster politician, as their conversations veer to topics like the secrets of Marottis marriage. Its really fun, Marotti says. Hes very inquisitive, its like hes a grown-up.

Young isnt nave to the NFL riches that potentially await him in the upcoming months. He went on YouTube before the season to learn to meditate to help with focus. What hes doing right now, hes leaving a legacy, Day said. In a day and age when people get caught up in whats next, he really wants to leave a legacy here. That makes him special.

Greg Young beams when relaying the genesis of one of his sons best pass-rushing attributes, a first-step toward that Marotti calls ginormous. Greg declares: The first step came from basketball.

Young transferred to DeMatha, the erudite school outside Washington D.C., midway through his sophomore year in 2014. The move came primarily because of his football potential, but he also played one season of JV hoops and one on varsity. That coincided with Fultzs senior season of 2015-16, around the time hed emerged as a favorite to become the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

Youngs time playing basketball for veteran coach Mike Jones wont invoke memories of DeMatha legends like Danny Ferry, Victor Oladipo or Adrian Dantley. But Young says he entered high school at 5-foot-6 and still was growing into his body. I definitely had to struggle, Young said. I wasnt always this big, this fast in high school.

Young backed up Josh Carlton, a 6-foot-11 forward who has gone on to become a starter at UConn. Jones insists that Young earned more playing time than he was given, but Jones said he wanted to showcase the players who specialized in basketball to help their futures. Even then, Chases football future was clear.

Chase was a luxury, Jones said. I dont say that negatively at all. If we needed someone to go into the game and knock the snot out of someone, wed put him in. But he was a much better player than that. His role for us was definitely not consistent with what his ability was.

Markelle Fultz and Chase Young look on before a DeMatha Catholic High School basketball game. (Photo credit: Mike Jones)

That role meshed philosophically with how Greg taught Chase to play, as he wanted his son to test opponents by fouling them as hard as possible early in the game. Theyre either going to want to fight you, Greg reasoned, or theyre going to cry.

Jones recalls Young accepting his role, admiring how both he and his family never complained about playing time. Jones remembers Young just as fondly in the classroom, as Jones teaches public speaking at DeMatha. He complimented Youngs engagement in the class Young would be the first to offer concise feedback or say, Yo pay attention, before a classmates presentation. When he said it, Jones said with a laugh, everyone straightened up and fixed their ties.

Fultz and Young, who were friends prior to DeMatha, still stay in close touch. They trade texts, including mutual support, as they share a unique bond. I always tell him, Young said, its a matter of time before he gets healthy and its a wrap for the whole NBA.

Fultz has gone through what Young is facing, and hes told him to keep his circle tight.

[I want to make sure he] doesnt let all the hype and stuff get to him, which I dont think will happen, Fultz said. Hes a humble young man who works extremely hard. I tell him to be himself and watch the people around you.

That giant first step for Chase Young is leading to his scintillating final steps, as collegiate glory and professional riches all loom within reach. As he aims to meet his old teammate atop a different draft, Chase Young is secure in acknowledging who guided him there one pushup and laundry load at a time.

More from Yahoo Sports:

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Why freaky OSU DE Chase Young is the best player in college football: Theres only 10 guys like him in the world - Yahoo Sports

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report provides Growth history, Sales channel, Manufacturers profiled in Testosterone Replacement Therapy industry, Market share of product and scope of a region in detail. The Market report also consists of key drivers and limiting factors affect the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Growth, Change in industry Trends or challenges faced by Testosterone Replacement Therapy Manufacturers in forecast years.Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market report will help you take well-versed decisions, understand opportunities, plan effective business strategies, plan new projects, analyze drivers and give you a vision on the industry forecast.

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Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Research Study by Porters Five Forces Analysis with CAGR of -2.46% & Forecast to 2023 - Joliet Observer

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People with a genetic risk for being overweight or obese are more likely to have an incisional hernia or hernia thats a complication of a surgery and, if obese, a post-surgical infection as well, a study suggests.

Association of Genetic Risk of Obesity with Postoperative Complications Using Mendelian Randomization was published in theWorld Journal of Surgery.

Obesity is thought to be a risk factor for complications after surgery, but most previous studies have been limited in the scope of surgeries assessed, and little attention has been paid to the role of genetics.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) addressed these gaps by analyzing two large datasets. The first, from VUMCs patient health records, covered 736,726 individuals, 68,266 of whom who had undergone an abdominal surgery.

The second dataset, from 12 institutions within the eMERGE Network, covered 65,174 people, with 15,355 having undergone abdominal surgery and a known genetic profile. This enabled the team to determine a genetic risk score associated with body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height, and its correlation with surgical complications.

Both groups were predominantly female and white, and about two-thirds of people in each were classified as overweight (BMI of 25 to 29 kg/m2) or obese (BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater). Median age was 49 in the first group and 67 in the second.

Incisional hernias develop due to a weakening of muscles caused by an incision made in a surgery, and are most commonly a complication of abdominal surgery.

Results from the first group showed that being obese or overweight was associated with a significantly higher likelihood of developing hernia or infection after surgery. This association was strongest in people with the highest BMI (40 kg/m2or more), who had an over five times greater risk of a hernia and were twice as likely to have a post-surgery infection than people with a normal BMI.

In the second group, a genetic score predicting a higher likelihood for obesity was also significantly associated with a greater risk for both of these complications. A subsequent analysis revealed that this increased risk in people genetically predicted to be obese was driven mostly by the change in BMI itself.

In both groups, the link between obesity and post-operative complications was maintained when limiting the analysis to people who had undergone general, urologic, or gynecologic abdominal surgery.

Findings also revealed that overweight or obese individuals in the first group had a lower risk of intestinal obstruction but greater risk of mortality within 90 days after surgery, in comparison with patients with a normal BMI.

This study found that obesity as measured by both BMI and genetic risk is associated with postoperative infections and incisional hernias, the researchers wrote.

Marisa holds an MS in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied novel genetic drivers of ovarian cancer. She specializes in cancer biology, immunology, and genetics. Marisa began working with BioNews in 2018, and has written about science and health for SelfHacked and the Genetics Society of America. She also writes/composes musicals and coaches the University of Pittsburgh fencing club.

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Genetic Risk and Obesity Linked to Likelihood of Post-Surgical Hernia and Infection, Study Finds - Genetic Obesity News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

When Kathryn Hahn first moved to LA to become an actor, she started auditioning but quickly became disillusioned.

"When I started to see the roles that were available to me, what I was being seen for, I definitely thought ... 'This is just such a small part of me that's being seen. I wish somebody could see more of what I can offer,'" Hahn says.

It wasn't until Hahn was in her late 30s and 40s that she finally began landing the roles she craved, playing complex women in TV series like Transparent and Parks and Recreation, and movies like Bad Moms and Private Life. Hahn notes that most of these roles have been with female directors and producers.

"The most complicated and messy roles I've been able to get have been offered through women," she says. "I'm just so buoyed and galvanized that the juiciest part of [my career] has been post-kids. ... I never anticipated that. So that's terribly exciting."

Hahn is currently starring in the HBO series Mrs. Fletcher. The show, which is based Tom Perrotta's bestselling novel, centers on a divorced woman who has a confusing sexual reawakening after her son leaves home for college.

"We were surrounded by an incredible group of women directors and writers and we had this amazing intimacy coordinator," Hahn says of her work on Mrs. Fletcher. "That was what made it attractive to me. It was finding a woman in her complete privacy of finding pleasure for just herself."

On working with an intimacy coordinator ahead of the sex scenes in Mrs. Fletcher

I'd never worked with [an intimacy coordinator] before, and I was a little hesitant at first, to be frank, because I thought it was going to be [another] voice in the way, in between the director and the actor ... and it was not that at all. Our intimacy coordinator, Claire Warden, what she did was she would take all of us anyone that was performing in the scene and the director she would have conversations with us ... would make sure that we were aware of what was on the page.

This is above and beyond the nudity riders or whatever that would have already been signed, but she would take us all and make sure that we were aware of what was on the page to be filmed, make sure that we were all OK with that, walk us through the steps, make sure that our boundaries our personal boundaries were in place for what we were comfortable with ... so that when we walked in together, we all knew that each other's needs and requests and concerns were heard. And then you could just get to the business of the scene so much quicker.

On wanting to be an actor from an early age

I loved the ensemble. I loved the feeling after. I loved the feeling right before as awful as it was. ... I loved the feeling of being on stage ... in communion with the audience, I just loved that feeling. ... Even at very young age, I loved the feeling of something, like, heightened and holy that's what it felt like.

On bad auditions earlier in her career

In my last semester at Yale, I would take the train in to 30 Rock. There was a Banana Republic at the base of 30 Rock. I would go into the Banana Republic. I would buy a suit, go up, audition for a pilot, go down, return the suit at Banana Republic ... and promptly get on the train and never get the gigs. ...

I had a really bad Woody Allen audition that was just awful, horrible for a play ... and I remember someone telling me that he wasn't going to look up and laugh. ... [It] was a long time ago, but I remember auditioning and it was true: He did not laugh at all. And not only did he not laugh, but he looked up when I just botched a joke so badly. It was awful. ...

The Coen Brothers. That was a heartbreaker. ... It was for A Serious Man ... and I was way gung-ho. ... I brought in a bag of props. It was too much. It was just way too much for the space and they were very polite and very kind. And I did not get the part.

On having kids in her mid 30s and being nervous about how it would affect her career

I'll never forget when I found out I got pregnant, I was on my way to work and I was, of course, thrilled, but I went to a Starbucks and I got a latte and I said, "Oh, I guess you better make a decaf," and I burst [out] in hysterical tears. ... I was on my way to a night shoot for a television show. ... I felt so young and old at the same time. You're never ready. I was so grateful, but ... as an actor, you're like, is this really gonna change [my career]? It was all so much. ...

We had had so much time solo. We'd lived in New York forever in our little studio. There was so much history behind us. ... Neither of us were anywhere near where we wanted to be creatively. ... I wish I could have looked back and told that 35-year-old crying in Starbucks, "You have no idea how exciting it's going to be on the other side!"

On the roles that she hopes to land when she's in her 50s

I hope that we keep exploring whatever these chapters are. I just hope that we keep lifting whatever invisibility shield is on all these chapters of just being a woman, like lifting the shame ... and just keep exploring it, because clearly there's so many, so many, so many more stories to be told and looked at with hopefully this degree of nuance, and clarity, and humanity, and complication and all of it. There are so many more stories to be told.

Ann Marie Baldonado and Mooj Zadie produced and edited the audio of this interview. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Patrick Jarenwattananon adapted it for the Web.

TERRY GROSS, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Kathryn Hahn, stars in the new HBO series "Mrs. Fletcher," which is adapted from the bestselling novel by Tom Perrotta, who created the series. Hahn is known for her roles in the TV series "Transparent" as Rabbi Raquel and in "Parks And Recreation" as Jennifer Barkley, an aggressive political operative. Hahn starred in the films "Bad Moms" and "Private Life."

In "Mrs. Fletcher," Hahn plays Eve Fletcher, a divorced mother of a teenage son. In the first episode, she drives him to college and becomes an empty nester. Just before the trip, after gassing up the car, she goes to his bedroom where he's been sleeping off a hangover - and a shock to hear from behind the closed door that he's having sex with a girl, and he's giving her crude, derogatory sexual commands and calling her the B-word and a slut. On the drive to college, she tries to talk with him about how not to treat women.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MRS. FLETCHER")

KATHRYN HAHN: (As Eve Fletcher) I guess what I'm trying to say is I think - there are things that you might say to a girl that could scare her without you even realizing it. I mean, look. I know you're not a virgin, right? You know, and I know there's porn in movies and, you know, all these songs about hos and b******. And, you know, that's - you know, that's what it is. So I guess that what I'm trying to say is I think one of the most important things for you to always remember, especially now, you know, in this day and age and in life, really, is that - you have to be nice to women. Do you understand what I'm saying?

JACKSON WHITE: (As Brendan Fletcher) Yeah.

HAHN: (As Eve Fletcher) All right.

GROSS: After dropping off her son, Eve returns alone to a big empty house. Kind of by accident, she finds porn on the Internet, including lesbian porn, and is surprised by how arousing it is. The series alternates between her story and her son's story. He's unprepared for social life in college, where women students he's meeting demand respect and are serious about consent and no meaning no.

Kathryn Hahn, welcome to FRESH AIR. Did you spend a lot of time thinking about how a woman like Eve would raise - could end up having a teenage son who's such a bro, beer-drinking, ogling girls kind of guy, treating them as sex objects. You know, just try to think, like, how does that happen when she's - when the mother is like nothing like that?

HAHN: Yes. I mean, I think it's despite her best, deepest intentions. I mean, I - you know, there's - not to put it all on this divorce that she went through - but he didn't have the greatest examples - male examples. And I think that in a time in which he could have had a lot more attention in terms of, like, his sexual development, he went right to the Internet. And I think she kind of lost him or lost that connection along the way, despite her best intention. I think the harder she went towards him, the more it pushed him away. And that was heartbreaking to me.

I think a lot of people can find that, unfortunately, really relatable. I mean, she really - that's like her worst nightmare. Of course, she doesn't think he's a horrible person. But she can also kind of see it. It's just, like, layers of denial.

GROSS: So Eve Fletcher, your character, is having a very exciting solo sex life (laughter) - her and the Internet.

HAHN: Finally.

GROSS: And she isn't really sure if and how she should extend that solo sexual life with Internet porn into the real world, and if she does - because she's finding this porn, and especially this lesbian porn, very arousing.

HAHN: Mmm hmm.

GROSS: And how did you prepare for that part of the role? Did you feel like, well, it was your responsibility to watch a lot of porn...

HAHN: (Laughter) Terry...

GROSS: ...To get into character?

HAHN: I didn't feel like I had to watch a lot of porn. The porn, for her, was almost kind of like this Gandalf (laughter) for her kind of discovery. It's the most private, taboo thing - the most reckless kind of leap that she could possibly take and also, the most deeply, deeply private. And the avenues that she was - what she was able to see in that, you know, the glow of that computer screen.

So it wasn't about anything salacious or to show anything for anyone else's pleasure. It was for her own. And so that was a beautiful thing and a challenge to try to find is this woman in her completely private bubble. And we were surrounded by an incredible group of women directors and writers. And we had this amazing intimacy coordinator. That was what made it attractive to me. It was finding a woman in her complete privacy.

GROSS: What does an intimacy coordinator do on set?

HAHN: Well, that's interesting, Terry, because I'd never worked with one before. And I was a little hesitant at first, to be frank, because I thought it was going to be a voice in the way, in between the director and the actor, like another voice. And it was not that at all.

Our intimacy coordinator Claire Warden - what she did was she would take all of us - anyone that was performing in the scene and the director - she would have conversations with us on the eve of - no pun intended - but on the eve of whatever the scene was - and would make sure that we were aware of the - what was on the page. This is above and beyond, like, the nudity writers or whatever that we - that would have already been signed.

But she would take us all and make sure that we were aware of what was on the page to be filmed, make sure that we were all OK with that, walk us through the steps, make sure that our boundaries - our personal boundaries were in place for what we were comfortable with. And then she would be able to - so that when we walked in together, that we all knew that each other's needs and requests and concerns were heard. And then you could just get to the business of the scene so much quicker.

GROSS: Is the crew in on this discussion too or just the actors?

HAHN: What she - they're not in on those discussions, but what she will do is she will just make sure that the monitors are closed, that it's the fewest amount of people in the. Or she will ask us what - who we want in the room and make sure that it's just that amount of people, depending on what the scene is.

GROSS: So I don't know, it seems to me - and I don't know if you'd agree with this - that you're kind of part of the first generation of women who came of age with women screenwriters and directors - and, I mean, more than one or two, that you had a cohort. And you've worked with some of them. I mean, you've worked with Nicole Holofcener, Tamara Jenkins, to name a few. And I'm wondering if you agree with that, that you're part of the generation - one of the first...

HAHN: God...

GROSS: ...Or maybe the first that had a cohort of women writers and directors.

HAHN: Oh, God. I mean, that sounds terribly thrilling. I think I do feel like the most - that the most satisfying work I've done has been with women for sure, that the most complicated and messy roles I've been able to get have been offered through women. And it's not lost on me that it's, like, the most fertile chapter of my life has been with these women.

And it also is terribly exciting to me that it's older women - you know what I mean? - that it's not just women that are - you know, when I was a young actor, I thought that having kids would be - I was terrified to have kids. And it's...

GROSS: You thought it would end your career?

HAHN: Or - yeah, yes. Or change it, or I'd be stopped being seen or whatever. That - I'm just so buoyed and galvanized that the juiciest part of it has been post-kids. And not that that is even a choice for everybody. No one even has to have children. But it's just - it's - I think it's more of an age thing, that it can - it's the most satisfying. It's like, post-40 is just - I never anticipated that. So that's terribly exciting.

GROSS: So you're 46 now.

HAHN: Yeah.

GROSS: And some of the roles you've been getting in your 40s are about women dealing with fertility issues.

HAHN: Yes.

GROSS: So I want to play an example of one of those films. And this is "Private Life," which was written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. And you play - you and Paul Giamatti play a married couple who've been trying for years to conceive. And you've tried, like, every kind of fertility treatment. And finally, your doctor says to you you should try an egg donor because none of these fertility treatments are really working for you.

And so in this scene, you've just left the office after getting that message from the doctor. And that is about the last thing that you want to hear. You do not want to use an egg donor. And you and your husband, played by Paul Giamatti, are having a quarrel about that. You speak first.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PRIVATE LIFE")

HAHN: (As Rachel) We talked about this. We swore we would never do it.

PAUL GIAMATTI: (As Richard) No. You swore that you would never do it. I - (laughter) I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to pressure you into something that you were going to have to live with for the rest of your life.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Wait. So all this time that I'm assuming that we feel the same way about this, you've been having secret fantasies about egg donation?

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) It's not a secret fantasy.

HAHN: (As Rachel) It is to me. I didn't know about it. I thought that we had decided together as a couple that we would definitely draw the line at science fiction.

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) It's not science fiction, Rach (ph). It's pretty primitive, actually. They do it with farm animals all the time.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Well, I'm not a goat, OK?

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) Bad example. I'm sorry.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Oh, my God. You're, like, so gung-ho right now. It's like - it's freaking me out.

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) I am not gung-ho. I'm just pragmatic. Look, if we do another IVF with your eggs, we've got - what? - a 4% chance of getting pregnant? With a donor egg, we'd be going from four to, like, 65%. So I'm - the gambler in me just wants to put my money on the better odds.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Oh, my God. You're Guy Woodhouse.

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) What?

HAHN: (As Rachel) The husband in "Rosemary's Baby," John Cassavetes. That's you.

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) Yeah, right. That - that's me, standing by while you're raped by a satanic demon. I am just suggesting that we listen to our doctor and look into all the options. We're already signed up for adoption. What is the big deal?

HAHN: (As Rachel) Well, for one, I'm not putting someone else's body parts into my uterus. Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Excuse me. Sorry.

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) I know it's more complicated for you.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Is it more complicated for you too?

GIAMATTI: (As Richard) Yes, of course it is. Yes. Yes. But you heard him. There's a lot of positives. You would get to carry the baby.

HAHN: (As Rachel) Oh, whoop-de-do. What does that make me, the bellhop?

GROSS: That's Kathryn Hahn...

HAHN: (Laughter).

GROSS: ...And Paul Giamatti in a scene from "Private Life." So when you were in your 20s and wanting to act, did you think that when you were in your 40s, there would be roles like this of - you know, of women in their 30s or early 40s dealing with fertility issues in a way that so many women could relate to?

HAHN: No.

GROSS: Because so many actresses have thought, like, once you reach your 30s, or certainly by 40, your good roles are behind you.

HAHN: Exactly. No, I did not. I had no - you know, Terry, like, I - it's funny because I never thought of myself doing anything else with my life. I had no idea of what it would look like or how it would unfold, of course. Like, I never had any kind of grandiose, like, dreams of success or - yeah, I just knew - there was, like, never a question that I wasn't going to be an actor.

When I got to LA, when I started to see the roles that were available to me on what I was being seen for, I definitely thought - I knew that there was something, which I'm sure it - all actors have, is, like, you think, oh, I wish - this is just such a small part of me that's being seen. I wish somebody could see more of what I can offer. Like, no one is giving me this opportunity. Like, I just - it's, like, genetics or whatever. Like, no one is seeing the all of me.

And so I really didn't - I thought that it would have to take me to get back to the theater. I just wanted to get back to New York. Like, I just didn't feel at home out here, like - or in LA. Like, I just never thought that those roles would start to happen. So again, it has been a real crazy turn of events for me that this has even been able to happen.

GROSS: How old were you when you had your first child? And I'm wondering if, in your mind, there was an age that you thought would be, like, the right age, the best age, to have a child.

HAHN: I was, I think, 35, 30 - almost I think, like, 30 - maybe 35 when I got pregnant, I think, maybe 36 when I had him. And it took a second for us to get pregnant. It was definitely not as easy as we thought. And we - I was called a geriatric mother. I'll never forget that.

GROSS: By your doctor.

HAHN: Yes (laughter).

GROSS: Because you were considered at risk.

HAHN: Yeah, yeah, because I was over 35 and because I was a - yeah, over 35. And I'll never forget, when I found out I got pregnant, though, I was on my way to work. And I was, of course, thrilled. And I - but I was - I went to a Starbucks, and I got a latte. And I said, oh, I guess you better make it decaf. And I burst in hysterical tears.

GROSS: Why were you crying?

HAHN: (Laughter) Because it was just - I was on my way to, like, a night shoot for a show, a television show I was on. Like, it's all - my whole world, like - also, you just never - it was all just - I was - I felt so young and old at the same time. It - I - you know, you're never ready. I - it was like I was so grateful, but I was also, like, you know, an actor. And you're like, is this really going to change? Like, what's - it was all so much.

I'm so glad that we did it when we did. We have now two kids, and they're 10 and 13. And I just want to sob thinking about how fast it's going, Terry. I can't handle it. It's just too much. I mean, I cried when his umbilical cord fell off. I don't know what I'm going to do when he goes away to college.

But we were definitely ready when we - we had been together a really long time. And we were ready when we had him. But still, we were the youngest of our friends. Like, we were the first ones of any of our group, which is interesting, and we were, like, 35.

GROSS: Was part of your ambivalence when you finally got pregnant based on the fact that your body is part of your equipment when you're acting?

See more here:
Actor Kathryn Hahn Says The Best Part Of Her Career Came Post-Kids - WJCT NEWS

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Twitter account blew up in July in the wake of an extraordinary tweet: A new study of DNA recovered from an ancient Philistine site in the Israeli city of Ashkelon confirms what we know from the Bible that the origin of the Philistines is in southern Europe. ... The Palestinians connection to the Land of Israel is nothing compared to the 4,000 year connection that the Jewish people have with the land.

Netanyahu, like the hundreds of people who replied to the tweet, interpreted the study as overwhelming proof of Jewish ownership of the Land of Israel and proof that the Philistines who share an etymological history with the Palestinians were new immigrants, having arrived here just 3,000 years ago. Officials from the Palestinian Authority were quick to say that Palestinians are the descendants not of the Philistines but rather of the Canaanite Jebusites, who were ostensibly the original inhabitants of the land.

Netanyahus tweet came a few days after the publication in the magazine Science advances of a study by researchers from Germanys Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Leon Levy Expedition. The researchers sampled DNA from 10 skeletons found in Ashkelon and concluded that their gene pool came from southern Europe. The finding supports the accepted theory that the Philistines migrated from the area of Greece and settled along what is today Israels southern Mediterranean coast.

The studys authors, however, were infuriated by the prime ministers tweets. They considered responding but decided it might give the tweets more exposure. Netanyahus political spin on the research upset many scholars, who saw it as an example of the danger inherent in bringing genetics into the study of human history. Critics fear that used incautiously, genetic research not only has the potential to distort history but also can become a tool for racist propaganda in the hands of extremist politicians and groups.

The ability to extract and sequence DNA from samples that are thousands and even hundreds of thousands of years old has led to significant breakthroughs in the study of evolution. By sequencing Neanderthal genomes, scientists have learned about the health, physical appearance and settlement patterns of Neanderthals. Even more important, DNA research led to the discovery of formerly unknown hominids. The most famous being the Denisovans, which was discovered only thanks to a single finger bone found in a cave in Siberia, from which its owners genome was sequenced. The researchers were also able to determine that most modern human beings carry genes from Neanderthals, Denisovans and additional, as-yet unidentified hominids.

Broad brush

These successes led researches to apply genetic tools to later periods, and according to some critics that is where the danger lies. A study published last week in Science Magazine of 4,000-year-old graves in southern Germany determined, using DNA and as well as the objects with which their occupants were buried that the wealthiest men were locals. Poor men, servants and most of the women came from elsewhere, and most of the high-status women were apparently sent to other communities. One can only manage the political conclusions that could be drawn from the study.

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The problem isnt with the research itself, says Raphael Greenberg, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University. Say I want to know about the connection between the Levant and the Greek region. I have various ways to examine it: pottery, inscriptions, symbols, language, and now something new has been added to my arsenal. Thats great, no one will deny that its useful. The problem is that DNA research has an element of magic to it. Only a few laboratories carry out these tests, at very high cost, and no one can argue with them, Greenberg says. He adds that their operators dont make do with presenting their findings; they go on to interpret the results. He believes that DNA researchers should leave conjectures about population migrations to the relevant experts.

The disagreement surrounding Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past, by Harvard geneticist David Reich, illustrates Greenbergs argument. Reich is considered the most important researcher in the area of ancient DNA, but his critics attack him for reducing complex historical process into simplified sound bites. He has lost some of the soul of what archaeology and sociology are, wrote Anna Linderholm of Texas A&M University in a review published in Current Anthropology. With his investigations he is painting with large brushstrokes a picture of our past, and in doing so, he might be missing some of the finer points. Who we are is much more than the genetics.

Critics argue that genetics alone cannot tell the complex story of the exchange of genetic material between two population groups, which involves not only migrations but also trade, war and the taking of male and female prisoners.

Gene sequencing, says Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa, is a completely new tool whose potential we dont yet understand.... The danger is in making the connection between genetics and cultural. Its absolutely forbidden and borders on racism.

My granny was a Philistine

The dispute over the archaeological use of DNA is part of a broader discussion. Last year Reich published an opinion piece in The New York Times in which he argued that scientists should stop denying the existence of genetic differences between human population groups, rather than viewing race as entirely a social construct with no biological basis.

It is important to face whatever science will reveal without prejudging the outcome and with the confidence that we can be mature enough to handle any findings. Arguing that no substantial differences among human populations are possible will only invite the racist misuse of genetics that we wish to avoid, Reich wrote.

In an open letter produced by a group of 67 scientists and researchers and published on BuzzFeed, they attacked Reichs approach and warned against returning to a racial-genetic understanding of humanity.

Human beings are 99.5% genetically identical.... [Y]ou could genotype all Red Sox fans and all Yankees fans and find that one group has a statistically significant higher frequency of a number of particular genetic variants than the other group.... This does not mean that Red Sox fans and Yankees fans are genetically distinct races, they wrote.

Michal Feldman, an Israeli geneticist who works at the Max Planck Institute, was the lead author on the article on the skeletons from Ashkelon. Were trying to be cautious in our research and also in our press releases, and to explain exactly what we found, she says. We said we saw a genetic component that came from southern Europe, but that it disappeared after 200 years despite the fact that culturally they were still Philistines. Feldman agrees that the genetics must be separated from culture. Theres no such thing as a pure population or separate groups. Only a tiny part of the genome, 0.01 percent, attests to the origin, and most of the genes within that part are of no importance.

Nimrod Marom, an archaeo-zoologist at the University of Haifa, says the danger is of reducing the discussion to the question, Where did your mother come from?. He says that DNA research is more interested in the origin of the Philistines grandmother than in the way he lived here. In the end it doesnt say much about me and doesnt say much about anyone, he says. We get annoyed today when thats done to us, when we are categorized according to where we came from, so theres no reason not to be annoyed when its done to people from other periods.

Greenberg also believes that the danger of reductionism in genetic studies is much greater than getting an inaccurate picture of the past. We object to these classifications in our daily lives, we dont want to be defined by something that we dont see and have no control over. We want to say who we are by what we think and what we identify with. This method expropriates our identify from us. It says your identity isnt your religion and it isnt the food that you like, its what we tell you it is. Theres not really any such thing as the original inhabitants of this land.

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DNA research holds the keys to human history but it's being weaponized by politicians - Haaretz

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This will be a challenging budget. It willnot be easy, said Kenney, adding the exact reduction figure is 2.8 per cent.

These are necessary decisions. In fact, I would argue that they are long overdue. We must embrace transformative change to get a smarter government. Thats not going to happen overnight.

The budget is the first one by Kenneys United Conservative government since it defeated the NDP in the spring election.

Kenneyhas promisedthe budget will be alandmark spending document that will balance the books in four years andreorient Albertas economy long after that.

He has pledged to get it done bygetting more value for public money while reducing overall spendingand endinga recent run of multibillion-dollar deficits he says threaten to cripple future generations with unsustainable debt.

Also this

A judge in southwestern Nova Scotia is expected to deliver a decision today in the case against aformer police chief accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

John Collyer was the chief of police in Bridgewater, N.S.

He was placed on administrative leave from the Bridgewater Police Service in August 2016 after the provinces Serious Incident Response Team confirmed it was investigating the alleged assault.

The 26-year veteran of the force was suspended in May 2017 after the independent police watchdog charged him with one count of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation.

Thecomplainanttestified thatCollyer asked her an inappropriate question while the two were driving in May 2016before puttinghis hand between her legs and assaulting her.

Collyer has denied the accusations.

ICYMI (In case you missed it)

Scientists have written the family tree for the tree of life.

Years of analysis, released in the journal Nature, has allowed researchersto pinpoint a billion years of evolutionary relationships between plants as different as cannabisand cucumbers, orchids and oaks.

Everything isinterrelated,says the University of Albertas Gane Wong, one of the papers dozens of co-authors.

Science has known for a long time that species with significant differences can be related through a common evolutionary ancestor. In plants, those relationships have been studied mostly through how they look or behave. Do they have trunks? Flowers? How do their seeds form?

Wong and his colleagues nearly 200 of them have been looking at how the links are expressed through genetics.

The team couldnt resolve everything. They couldnt find branches in the tree for about five per cent of species, either because there wasnt enough data or because it dated from so long ago it couldnt be read accurately.

But the work is already yielding concrete benefits. Proteins taken from an obscure algae species studied by the researchers were found to turn certain brain neurons on and off. Those proteins are now being used in clinical trials to treat blindness.

What we are watching in the U.S.

Albertas oilsands are at the centre of acourt battle in New York this week that legal experts say could affect future climate lawsuits in Canada.

The evidence thats coming out through this case is absolutely relevant to other lawsuits, said Martin Olszynski, a University of Calgary professor who teaches environmental law.

New Yorksattorney general is accusingExxon Mobil of misrepresenting the risks oilsands operations face as governments move to fight climate change.

Inthe case filed a year ago, the state claims Exxon told investors that it was evaluating projects based on a carbon price that was much higher than the oneused in calculations. That led investors to believe they faced a lower risk and alsoinflated evaluations of Exxons oil reserves.

Exxonhas tried twice to block the case. The companys lawyer, calling the accusations bizarre and twisted,arguedTuesday that Exxon did nothing wrong.

Although the lawsuit deals with a wide array of the multinationals operations, the oilsands feature prominently as Exxon is a major player through its subsidiary Imperial Oil.

In these parts of its business, Exxon often applied a much lower price per ton to a small percentage of its (greenhouse gas) emissions and held those lower costs flat far into the future, court documents say.

What we are watching in the rest of the world

Authorities found 39 people dead in a truck in an industrial park in England and arrested the driver on suspicion of murder in one of Britains worst human-smuggling tragedies.

Police were reconstructing the final journey of the victims as they tried to piece together where they were from and how they came to be in England.

To put 39 people into a locked metal container shows a contempt for human life that is evil, said Jackie Doyle-Price, a member of Parliament who represents the area where the truck was found. The best thing we can do in memory of those victims is to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The truck and the trailer with the people inside apparently took separate circuitous journeys before ending up on the grounds of the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, 25 miles (40 kilometres) east of London on the River Thames.

British police said they believe the container went from the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet, England, where it arrived early Wednesday. Police believe the tractor travelled from Northern Ireland to Dublin, where it took a ferry to Holyhead in Wales before picking up the trailer at the dockside in England.

The trucks driver a 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested on suspicion of murder. He has not been charged and his name has not been released.

On this day in1990

The RCMP announced it would allowIndigenousofficers to wear their hair in braids while in uniform.

Weird and wild

ST. JOHNS, N.L. Animallovers in Newfoundland and Labrador are seeking help for dozens of feral cats facing an uncertain futureas the humansinthe small town where they prowl prepare to relocate.

Residents of Little Bay Islands have voted to resettle the community, andthey have until the end of the year to move before services are withdrawn.

Little Bay Islands, off Newfoundlands northern coast,is one of manyruralcommunities in the province faced with a dwindling population. The 2016 census recorded just 71 people living in the town.

Asresidents grapple with theprospect ofleaving their homes behind, the question of what will happen to theferal felines remains.

Resident Carol Hull estimates there are between 35 and 40 semi-feral catsliving in the community.

Animal welfare groups in other parts of Newfoundland have become involved in the campaign to domesticate and find homes for some of the animals.

Hullis hoping for abump in funding for animal welfare groups willing to take them in.

Your health

TORONTOAnew report from Young Adult Cancer Canada sheds light on such uniqueissues faced by the 22 young adult Canadians, ages 15-39, who are diagnosed with cancer each day.

The study surveyed 622 diagnosed young adults across Canada to explore the physical, social, financial, and emotional challenges they face as compared to their peers without cancer.

It found cancer in young adulthood can disrupt an important period of development and identity formation, which tends to have a cascading impact on all areas of life.

Yet there arefew support programs geared tohelping these patients throughdiagnosis and recovery, the report says.

It also found one of the main issues facing young adults with cancer is financial strain. Treatment and recovery affect their ability to work, and not all treatment costs are covered by public health care in Canada.

The games we play

When softball player and Olympic 2022 hopeful Natalie Wideman was handed a$6,000cheque and told the money came from women she did not know, she was speechless.

I instantly broke down crying, says the 27-year-oldcatcherfrom Mississauga, Ont. In our generation, theres so much stuff being put on women, comparing each other to each other and judging each others choices.

Women helping women is just really, really, special to me.

The money came from Canadian Athletes Now, or Canfund, via a campaign of professional women supporting female athletes.

The 150 Women campaign named for the minimum donation of $150 has cut $6,000 chequesto 109 female athletes in two years. Eight of them have won Olympic gold.

Donors range in age from 18 to 82 with $50,000 the highest single donation so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2019.

The Canadian Press

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The family tree for the tree of life and feral cats; In-The-News for Oct. 24 - CFJC Today Kamloops

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Aplastic anemia is a medical condition that damages stem cells in a person's bone marrow. These cells are responsible for making red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which are vital to human health.

Doctors believe various conditions can cause aplastic anemia, while the disease itself ranges in severity from mild to life threatening.

Medical advancements mean that aplastic anemia is more treatable than ever. In this article, learn more about this rare medical disorder.

When a person has aplastic anemia, their bone marrow does not create the blood cells it needs. This causes them to feel ill and increases their risk of getting infections.

Doctors also call aplastic anemia bone marrow failure.

Doctors do not know exactly how many people in the United States have aplastic anemia.

According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), doctors diagnose approximately 500 to 1,000 cases every year. It is most common in older children, teenagers, and young adults.

Researchers believe that most cases of aplastic anemia are due to the immune system attacking healthy bone marrow cells, according to NORD.

Doctors have also identified some of the possible causes of this immune system response, including:

However, doctors usually cannot pinpoint the underlying cause in most aplastic anemia cases.

When the cause is unknown, doctors refer to the condition as idiopathic aplastic anemia.

Symptoms of aplastic anemia include:

These symptoms may be severe. Some people may have heart-related symptoms, such as chest pain.

A doctor will start by asking about a person's symptoms and their medical history.

They will usually use a blood test known as a complete blood count (CBC) to evaluate a person's red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. If all three of these components are low, a person has pancytopenia.

A doctor may also recommend taking a sample of bone marrow, which comes from a person's pelvis or hip.

A laboratory technician will examine the bone marrow. If a person has aplastic anemia, the bone marrow will not have typical stem cells.

Aplastic anemia can also have similar symptoms as other medical conditions, such as myelodysplastic syndrome and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. A doctor will want to rule out these conditions.

Sometimes, a person with other medical conditions can develop aplastic anemia. These conditions include:

If a person has these conditions, a doctor will recognize that they are more likely to get aplastic anemia.

Doctors usually have two goals when treating aplastic anemia. The first is to reduce the person's symptoms, and the second is to stimulate the bone marrow to create new blood cells.

People with aplastic anemia can receive blood and platelet transfusions to correct low blood counts.

A doctor may also prescribe antibiotics as a person needs white blood cells to fight infections. Ideally, these drugs will prevent infections until a person can build more new white blood cells.

Doctors usually recommend a bone marrow transplant to stimulate new cell growth in the long term.

For this, a doctor may first prescribe chemotherapy medications to kill off abnormal bone marrow cells that are affecting a person's overall bone marrow function.

Next, a doctor performs a bone marrow transplant by injecting the bone marrow into a patient's body.

Ideally, the individual will receive bone marrow from a close family member. However, even a sibling donor is only a match in 2030% of cases.

People can also receive bone marrow from someone who is not related to them if doctors can find a compatible donor.

Some people cannot tolerate bone marrow transplants, especially older adults, and those having difficulty recovering from chemotherapy. Others may not be able to find a donor that matches their bone marrow. In these instances, a doctor can prescribe immunosuppressive therapy.

Immunosuppressive medicines suppress the immune system, which ideally stops it from attacking healthy bone marrow cells. Examples of these medications include antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporine.

According to NORD, an estimated one-third of people with aplastic anemia do not respond to immunosuppressive drugs.

If this is the case, doctors may consider other treatments, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and a medication called eltrombopag (Promacta).

Those with aplastic anemia may face complications due to their disease as well as their treatment.

Sometimes, a person's body rejects a bone marrow transplant. Doctors call this graft-versus-host disease or GVHD.

GVHD can make a person feel extremely ill and can cause symptoms that include:

According to 2015 research, about 15% of aplastic anemia patients who receive immunosuppressive therapy will develop myelodysplastic syndromes or acute myeloid leukemia.

These conditions can develop years after a person's initial diagnosis.

Some people do not respond to aplastic anemia treatments. When this is the case, they are more vulnerable to infections that can be life threatening.

The outlook for a person with aplastic anemia depends on many factors, including:

A doctor will discuss a person's treatment outlook when considering the various therapies.

Aplastic anemia damages stem cells in a person's bone marrow. The bone marrow makes red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which are all essential for the body.

A person with aplastic anemia may experience severe anemia symptoms. Treatment may include chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, and immunotherapy.

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What is aplastic anemia? Symptoms, causes, and treatment - Medical News Today

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JenniferDelgado grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Webster University, whereshe received her Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications. She then went to MississippiState University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences witha concentration in Broadcast Meteorology.

In 2006,Jennifer Delgado worked as a morning and noon meteorologist for WTVR-TV inRichmond, Virginia. Then in 2008, she began working at CNN International inAtlanta, Georgia, as their primary meteorologist, as well as a fill-inmeteorologist on all CNN networks. In 2010, she won a Peabody Award for CNNscoverage on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2013,Delgado was hired as a co-host of AMHQ (Americas Morning Headquarters) at TheWeather Channel. She anchored continuous coverage of breaking news and weatherevents, including live interviews with state and local officials, experts andresidents. She was also their fill-in co-host of Wake-Up with Al.

JenniferDelgado began freelancing as a meteorologist/anchor for WXIA-TV in 2017. Shepresented weathercasts every six minutes during a two-hour morning newscast andproduced weathercasts for radio, web, and the 24-hour weather channel.

Two yearsago, Jennifer Delgado was diagnosed with blood cancer. She underwent treatmentand received a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. Since the transplant, she hasbeen receiving treatment at the Emory Winship Cancer Institute and advocatingfor cancer awareness and more bone marrow donors.

No one is ever prepared tohear the words, you have cancer. It literally blew up my world. I had to stopworking because beating cancer became my full-time job. I knew something waswrong for months based on my symptoms. I was tiredall the time, my bones were aching, had migraines, vertigo andconfusion. Dealing with any illness is stressful, especially if you arent ableto work. Some people say cancer changed their life for the better; however, Idont want to credit cancer for anything positive. It was a wake-up call. Lifeis short, and you have to enjoy every moment.

I immediately went into adeep depression. I hid and only shared the news with my close friends andfamily. I was trying to hide the awful chemo port in my chest and made excuses for my appearanceand fatigue. It was very stressful. I think anyone dealing with a seriousmedical condition should reach out to people going through the same battle. I got some amazing tips from fellow blood cancersurvivors on Instagram and Facebook support groups. I have formed many closebonds and when I am feeling down they completely understand. Cancer patients caneasily go through their savings in a short amount of time. I was lucky to haveamazing health insurance but not everyone is that fortunate. There is a lot of grant money out there forpeople struggling financially. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is anamazing organization and helps patients with everything from financial help,information on clinical trials etc.

If you are strong enough, Isay its important to be your own health advocate. You know your body best. Ialso suggest if you have one, reaching out to a friend or family member whoworks in medicine (nurse, PA, doctor) to be your medical advocate. The advocatecan come to your appointments or even join a conference call during yourappointments when you need help understanding your treatment options. I waslucky to have both my mom and one of my best friends to help me interpreteverything. Never be afraid to ask your doctor questions, and dont forgetabout the physicians assistant, who often has more availability.

I was going back and forthto the doctor for nearly a year, and they keep dismissing my symptoms. At onepoint, one doctor told me to take probiotics. I finally decided it was time toget a second opinion when I was having trouble walking. Luckily, I found Dr.Drew Freilich, whom I credit with saving my life. He recognized that mysymptoms were severe and insisted that I needed an MRI. Thats how theydiscovered I had a blood cancer that was attacking my bones. I could havebecome disabled if I had waited longer to get help. If you know something iswrong, you have to be persistent about getting answers.

I know it sounds clich, butmy friends, family, and neighbors. They all took excellent care of me. Theydrove me to the hospital for chemotherapy or bone marrow biopsies. My friends were great and woulddrop by to bring me food or help clean up myhouse.

I know it may sound sillybut my dogs really helped keep my spirits up. Quite often, it was just me and the dogs and duringisolation. I truly believe that pets are healing, and studies show that havingone improves your mental health. There were several weeks when I had to be awayfrom my dogs because my immune system was too weak. I was lucky enough to havegreat friends watch my fur babies. I even tried to convince my friends to driveby Emory Hospital so that I could see them.

I would say you have to bepositive. It seems like its a long way away, and you wonder at times whetheror not everything you did is going to pay off when you finally get toremission. So, I think you have to be positive because you get very paranoid. Ibelieve positive thinking can be healing and improve your health. Keeping inmind that everyones journey is different, I think its also important to see apsychologist or therapist. Sometimes its easier to share your real concernswith a stranger. We always try and put on a brave face for family and friends.

Aftereverything, I felt like I had to give back to the cancer community and EmoryWinship Cancer Center. I got my dogs certified to be Happy Tails therapydogs, and now we visit patients battling cancer while they are getting chemo.Its amazing and emotional all at the same time. Many times, patients will say,your puppy made my day.

Iam also trying to raise awareness for the need of more bone marrow donors.Right now, the majority of donors come from Europe. It would be awesome if morepeople would register to be a bone marrow donor. Its a simple swab test. Ithink its a small price to pay, considering more than 170,000 people arediagnosed with blood cancer every year. Check out Be The Match or The Leukemia& Lymphoma Society.

I am not going to sugarcoatit, staying motivated is extremely challenging and a daily battle. I thinkevery cancer survivor questions, why did this happen to me? Is it gone? How longwill I stay in remission? It can be quite depressing, but you have to live forthe day and stick to a routine. I try to remind myself that there is a reasonwhy I am still alive, and I want to give back to others who are struggling.

Everything. I had months ofchemo to get my cancer level down enough to collect my stem cells for thetransplant. I wondered constantly, will I be in remission? And then once Iwas in remission, how long will I stay in remission before I relapse? Whenyoure dealing with blood cancers, most have no cure. So, theres always thatchance of relapse, and youre always worrying about it.

I did six rounds of chemobefore I was even ready to get a transplant. The stem cell transplant wassomething I was dreading because of the high dose of chemotherapy and losing myhair. That can be a very difficult experience, especially for women. After thosesix rounds, they collected my stem cells, which is not a fun process. Then theyprepped me, and I had the transplant.

After, I was in isolation atthe hospital for three weeks. Then I went home, and I was still under isolationfor another 100+ days. I felt like I was ready to lose my mind. During thistime, your white blood cells are regenerating, which means you dont have animmune system, and you suffer from extreme fatigue and pain. Walking up a shortflight of stairs would wipe me out. I couldnt eat salads, fruits, basicallyanything raw. When I left the house, Id have to wear a mask to protect myimmune system. I really hated that because everyone would stare and pretty muchknew I had cancer.

However, to put a positivespin on it, because of my time in isolation at home, I really felt my creativejuices start to flow. I began brainstorming and thinking of a lot of differentthings because life is short, and the cancer was my wake-up call.

So, my best advice duringthat period is to make a reading list and binge-watch shows on Netflix. I readthe Game of Thrones series. Iliterally had a calendar counting down to 100 days. Thats also the time whenyour hair finally starts to grow back!

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A Discussion With Jennifer Delgado on Life After Cancer and Weathering the Storm - Thrive Global

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Doting dad Stephen Armstrong knows all too well what its like to be waiting for a transplant donor.

His son Jacob was diagnosed at two years old with a rare blood disorder and called on the public to donate stem cells to find him a match.

He then set out to raise as much money as he could for the blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan in a bid to save lives.

And now, after raising over 20,000, his efforts have been recognised by the charity as they honour him at an awards ceremony held at the Tower of London in November.

Stephen, 33, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, has been shortlisted for the Individual Fundraiser of the Year Award at the Anthony Nolan Supporter Awards 2019.

The prestigious awards are back for their seventh year and will recognise the outstanding achievements of the volunteers, fundraisers and campaigners who help the pioneering blood cancer charity save lives.

Stephens nomination is in recognition of his incredible fundraising efforts, leading a group of 19 friends and family in a series of physical challenges, all while his son was undergoing treatment.

After Jacob was diagnosed in 2017, Stephen set out to find a matching stem cell donor, as well as raise awareness of the need for more people on the register.

From here Jacobs Journey was born, and through a series of challenges including the Great North Run, the Great North Bike Ride and climbing Ben Nevis, Stephen has helped raise over 20,000 for the charity.

Jacob, who turns four in November, and his family have been told he does not need a transplant, but Stephen and his family want to continue raising awareness for others who arent so lucky.

When Jacob was diagnosed, we were stunned by how few people were on the stem cell donor register. I couldnt believe how a stranger in the street could potentially save our little boys life, said Stephen, an assistant manager for Dixons Carphone.

Anthony Nolan helped us massively while Jacob was ill and provided a great support network. I feel very proud to be nominated for an award, and I hope it can help build even more awareness for the cause.

Stephen and mum Kirsty, 28, received the news in December 2017 that Jacob was suffering from bone marrow failure, which affects between 30 and 40 children each year.

They first became concerned about his health when they went abroad to get married and noticed he was getting bruised easily. The marks would take weeks to disappear, so when the couple returned to the UK they decided to take Jacob to the doctor for a check up.

After tests he was then diagnosed and was treated at the Great North Childrens Hospital in Newcastle, where he received two blood transfusions.

Stephen added: When we were told Jacob did not need the transplant it was the best news in the world, a total relief. He still needs check ups every three months and his consultants is keeping an eye on him. There are so few people on the stem cell donor register so I just wanted to create a ripple effect with awareness and get more people on it.

Stephen, who has raised a further 8,000 for other smaller charities, has also been nominated for our Chronicle Champions Award in the Champion Fundraiser category.

Henny Braund, Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan, said: It is remarkable to see how many people support our work to find a match for those in need of a stem cell transplant. Without them, none of our lifesaving work would be possible.

Stephen has shown tremendous commitment to Anthony Nolan by continually going above and beyond in his fundraising efforts.

Henny added: We want to extend a huge congratulations to Stephen and look forward to celebrating with him at the awards.

The awards take place on Thursday 28 November at the Tower of London, and all winners will be revealed on the night.

Anthony Nolan is the charity that finds matching stem cell donors for people with blood cancer and blood disorders and gives them a second chance at life. It also carries out ground-breaking research to save more lives and provide information and support to patients after a stem cell transplant, through its clinical nurse specialists and psychologists, who help guide patients through their recovery.

To see the full shortlist, and find out more about the charity visit http://www.anthonynolan.org/awards

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Dad who called on the public for stem cells for his son is up for an award - Chronicle Live

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