Personalized medicine would be nothing without genomic testing tools.Heres an overview of how the field has rapidly evolved in the past years.

BRCA (BReast CAncer) is one of the most famous gene variants for breast cancer testing. But aside from being a game-changer from a scientific perspective, it also changed the laws of genomic testing.

The legal case Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics challenged the validity of gene patents in the United States, specifically patents owned by Myriad Genetics that covered human DNA sequences, including BRCA.Since then, the U.S. Patent Office no longer accepts patents on isolated DNA sequences. Myriads patents have also been challenged in Europe by a coalition led by the Institut Curie.

In 2013, BRCA was again at the center of attention whenAngelina Jolieannounced that she had undergone a double mastectomy because of family history of breast cancer and the presence of the BRCA 1 mutation. Following this decision, thousands of women worldwide requested similar surgery to their practitioner.

In Europe, such approach is less common but may be proposed to patients with aspecific profile. As BRCA is a somatic mutation, if a patient tests positive the chances are high that a member of its family does too. In France, if a patient tests positive for this mutation, he has the legal obligation to inform their family that they should test themselves.

More surprisingly,The Washington Postreported this March that employers in the US could impose hefty penalties on employees who decline to participate in genetic testing as part of workplace wellness programs if a proposed bill is passed.

Though it is quite easy to interpret a single mutation such as BRCA, there are far more variables to account for in theoncology field. A study of more than 1,000 colorectal cancer patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has revealed that about 10% in total show mutations in genes thought to increase the susceptibility to cancers.

Thanks to new improvements, we are now able to consider dozens of genes at the same time. But this comes with a challenge. Results of genetic testing are increasingly complex and difficult for those without genetics expertise to interpret correctly, Dr. Allison Kurian from Stanford University toldReuters Health.

Companies are trying to overcome these difficulties by developing automated analysis, such as the famous IBM Watson for Genomics that analyzes genetic variants based on the whole scientific literature available, though so far such an approach has not reached a sufficient clinical level of evidence to be used in routine practice.Sophia Genetics is also building on the promise of data-driven medicine that began with DNA sequencing by helping clinicians adopt the most advanced genomic data analysis to better diagnose and treat patients.

Multigene diagnostics are now reaching the stage of industrial scale-up, making these tests more reliable, sensitive, sensible and highly reproducible. Thanks to multi-gene testing, physicians can now predict the risk of recurrence or adapt treatments for a higher response rate and lower toxicity. For example, thegold standard treatment for patients with HER2+ breast cancer is Roches blockbuster Herceptin (trastuzumab), the third of thebest-seller drugs of 2016.

Another example is Genomic Health, in the US, whoseOncotypeDXanalyzes the activity of a group of genes that can affect how a cancer is likely to behave and respond to treatment. Having been on the market since 2004, it has amassed a hefty evidence base with over 700,000 users.

In Europe, this and other tests likeNanostrings ProsignaorMyriads Endopredictare performed either by private or public institutions and cost around 2,000, withdifferent quotations in each country based on their individual health insurance systems.

Startups, such as the BelgianOncoDNA,which combines an innovative test and data analysis, could offer solutions to reduce the price. The team at US-basedColor Genomicswants, in the words of the CEO, Elad Gil, to democratize access to genetic testing. The company plans to charge 230 ($249) for an analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2, plus 17 other cancer risk genes. That is one tenth the price of many tests now on the market. The recent expansion of high-throughput technology platforms including low-cost sequencing of circulating and tumor-derived DNA and RNA and rapid quantification of microRNA offers further opportunities to build extended pattern across multiplatform data.

The recent expansion of high-throughput technology platforms, including low-cost sequencing of tumor-derived DNA and RNA in the blood and rapid quantification of microRNA offers further opportunities to build extended pattern across multiplatform data.

On the other hand, while more genetic changes can be identified with whole exome and whole genome sequencing than with select gene sequencing, the significance of much of this information is still unknown. Because not all genetic changes affect health, it is difficult to know whether identified variants are involved in the condition of interest. I dont doubt genetic testing in oncology has a promising future trying to solve these challenges.

Images via BlueRingMedia, ktsdesign / Shutterstock;Myriad Genetics

Read more here:
Genomic Testing in Oncology: From Single Genes to Whole Genomes - Labiotech.eu (blog)

Recommendation and review posted by sam

The International Association of HealthCare Professionals is pleased to welcome Zain Khalpey, MD, PhD, FETCS, FACS, a prominent Cardiothoracic Surgeon to their prestigious organization with his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Khalpey is a highly trained and qualified surgeon with a vast expertise in all facets of his work and an international reputation for his work with Artificial Hearts remodeling scars in hearts with laser therapy, stem cells and liquid matrices to build a program for heart recovery and regenerative medicine, using precision medicine, but more specifically metabolomics with new artificial intelligence platforms in cardiac surgery to change outcomes for the better. Dr. Khalpey is currently serving as an Associate Professor of surgery, medical imaging, physiological sciences, biomedical engineering, cell & molecular medicine, regenerative & translational medicine, and pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. He also serves as Co-Director of the Heart Transplant and Perfusion Science Programs, Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support and Artificial Heart Programs, and Director of Robotic Mitral Valve Program in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Banner University Medical Center. Furthermore, Dr. Khalpey is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Dr. Khalpey was educated at the University of London, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with his Medical Degree in 1998. He then gained his PhD in cardiothoracic surgery, bioenergetics, and cardiac transplantation from Imperial College London. Dr. Khalpey completed extensive postgraduate training in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In the United Kingdom, Dr. Khalpey was awarded a very prestigious Winston Churchill Medal for his research as well as a highly prestigious lifetime Hunterian Professorship from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, where he remains a member. His research training to end his PhD was completed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard in Boston. He then went on to finish his clinical general surgery residency and cardiothoracic heart surgery fellowship at the Brigham and Womens Hospital, also at Harvard in Boston. He went on to New York where he completed a Super-Fellowship in Heart Transplants and Mechanical Circulatory Support Therapies for Advanced Heart Failure, at New York Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University. He is certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and has earned the coveted title of Fellow of the European Board of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Khalpey is a distinguished member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Academy of Regenerative Medicine and the Board of Regenerative Medicine. For his extensive expertise and important work, he has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Medical Sciences in Europe Award. Awards in the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program in Europe are viewed as among the most prestigious accolades in the Fulbright Scholar Program. Dr Khalpey holds the coveted Endowed Tony S. Marnell Sr. Chair in Cardiovascular Research at the University of Arizona for his metabolic and stem cell research within the surgical tissue and stem cell biobank he created. Furthermore, Dr. Khalpey is the surgical director of the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator Program, which is the only mobile ECMO service in the state of Arizona. Alongside his exceptional operative team of perfusionists and clinical fellows, Dr. Khalpey helped save NHL hockey player, Tucson Roadrunners Captain, Craig Cunninghams life after sudden cardiac arrest. Dr. Khalpey is the only person on the west coast who is routinely placing left ventricular assist devices (LVADS) through minimally invasive incisions, without the use of a bypass machine, and also strives to revolutionize organ transplantation. Dr. Khalpeys passion for what he does is unparalleled. He is renowned for his innovative and groundbreaking work, and has dedicated his life to providing the best solutions for his patients and community.

View Dr. Zain Khalpeys Profile Here:

https://www.findatopdoc.com/doctor/8137416-Zain-Khalpey-Cardiac-Surgeon-85755

Learn more about Dr. Khalpey here:

https://profiles.arizona.edu/person/zkhalpey and be sure to read his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World.

About FindaTopDoc.com

FindaTopDoc.com is a hub for all things medicine, featuring detailed descriptions of medical professionals across all areas of expertise, and information on thousands of healthcare topics. Each month, millions of patients use FindaTopDoc to find a doctor nearby and instantly book an appointment online or create a review. FindaTopDoc.com features each doctors full professional biography highlighting their achievements, experience, patient reviews and areas of expertise. A leading provider of valuable health information that helps empower patient and doctor alike, FindaTopDoc enables readers to live a happier and healthier life. For more information about FindaTopDoc, visit: http://www.findatopdoc.com

See the original post:
Renowned Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Zain Khalpey, MD, PhD, FETCS, FACS will be Honorably Mentioned in The ... - PR NewsChannel (press release)

Recommendation and review posted by sam

At 11am on a Sunday morning, I slip into a row of seats in front of a podium with flower bouquets on each side. I'm here to listen to an aging white man talk about the afterlife. A woman in a fancy hat arranges a potluck lunch on a back table. Other attendees, mostly gray-haired, pass around a wicker basket and toss in $20 bills and personal checks.

We aren't in church. This is godless Silicon Valley.

The Humanist Society has welcomed Ralph Merkle, a Livermore native, to explain cryonicsthe process of freezing a recently dead body in "liquid goo," like Austin Powersto the weekly Sunday Forum. We all want to know about being re-awoken, or reborn, in the future.

Merkle, who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford and invented what's called "public key cryptology" in the '70s, makes his pitch to the audience: hand over $80,000, plus yearly dues, to Alcor, and the Scottsdale, Arizonabased company will freeze your brain, encased in its skull, so that you and your memories can wait out the years until medical nanotechnology is advanced enough to both bring you back from a frozen state as well as fix the ills that brought on your death in the first place.

"You get to make a decision if you want to join the experimental group or the control group," Merkle says. "The outcome for the control group is known."

Alcor gained infamy in 2002, when the body of baseball legend Ted Williams was flown to the company's Arizona headquarters, where his head was then severed, frozen and, according to some reports, mistreated.

The Humanist Society is an ideal audience for Merkle's presentation, as its congregants aren't held back by the tricky business of believing in a soul. Debbie Allen, the perfectly coiffed executive director and secretary of the national board of the American Humanist Association, considers cryonics a practical tool. "Religion has directed the conversation for thousands of years," she says. Allen prefers to focus on ethics, and whether cryonics "advances the well-being of the individual or the community."

"Science-fiction," someone whispers behind me, as Merkle talks about nanorobots of the future. He also notes how respirocytes and microbivores can be "programmed to run around inside a cell and do medically useful things like make you healthy."

As one might expect in a room full of humanists, skepticism runs high during the Q&A portion of the meeting. People are wondering exactly what kind of animals the scientists have used to test the cryonics process (answer: nematodes); when Alcor freezes bodies (after one's heart stops, if a DNR, or do not resuscitate, order is requested); whether a frozen brain is any good if the rest of the body deteriorates ("Toss it," Merkle says. "Replacement of everything will be feasible."); and what happens if Alcor goes bankrupt.

"We take that very seriously," the doctor says.

Lunch is served.

"Why would he want to preserve somebody like Adolf Trump?" asks Bob Wallace, 93, who ate salad and cubed cheese with his partner, Marge Ottenberg, 91, whom he met at a Humanist Society event.

"Obviously, the worst possible people are most likely to want to live forever," says Arthur Jackson, 86, a retired junior high school teacher.

Ottenberg seems more open to the idea of coming back from the dead than her golden-year counterparts. "Whatever works," she says.

Silicon Valley is the sort of place where people dream about nanorobots fixing our medical disorders. It's the sort of place where hundreds of millions of dollars are spent chasing that dream.

The last five years have seen an investment boom in what's called "life extension" research. Some of it is straight-up science, such as the Stanford lab researching blood transfusions in mice to cure Alzheimer's. Scientists are in a race against time to help as many people as possible, as fast as possible. They're battling a disease that saw an 89 percent increase in diagnoses between 2000 and 2014; and Alzheimer's or other dementia is currently the sixth leading cause of death. There are also nontraditional sources of cash flowing into biotech, which was once considered a risky investment.

But death itself is the biggest social ill Silicon Valley is trying to solve.

We can build apps to keep track of diabetics' blood glucose levels, to measure how soundly we're sleeping and to access medical records in an instant, but none of this stops the body from wearing out. Alongside the scientists laying the medical foundation to get us to the nanorobots envisioned by Merkle, techie utopians are looking at other ways to cheat death. A cluster of tech companies are attracting far more funding from Silicon Valley than academia, shifting the research landscape with infusions of cash.

Bryan Johnson, an entrepreneur who sold his online payment company to PayPal for $800 million, was the first investor in Craig Venter's Human Longevity Inc., which aims to create a database of a million human genome sequences, including people who are over 100 years old, by 2020. Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who once said "Death makes me very angry" and is one of the oldest of the life-extension investors at 72, has also invested in Human Longevity. Johnson infused even more cash into the biotech field, investing another $100 million of his own money into the OS Fund in 2014, to "support inventors and scientists who aim to benefit humanity by rewriting the operating systems of life."

Such projects are examples of Silicon Valley's extreme confidence in its own ability to improve the world. In an email, Johnson describes his work in grandly optimistic terms.

"Humanity's greatest masterpieces have happened when anchored in hope and aspiration, not drowning in fear," he says.

It takes some serious chutzpah to say you'll extend the human lifespan, and for Johnson, he and his colleagues are venturing where no one has gone before.

"Building good technology is an act of exploration, and that it is very difficult for us to imagine the good that might come from any new technology," Johnson says. "We proceed, as explorers, nonetheless."

Johnson's lofty goals are similar in scale to other giant anti-aging investments in Silicon Valley. In 2013, Google created an anti-aging lab called Calico (for "California Life Company"), hiring top scientist Cynthia Kenyon, known for altering DNA in worms to make them live twice as long as they usually do. Calico is not your local university research lab; it has $1.5 billion in the bank and has remained close-lipped about its progress, like a Manhattan Project for life extension.

For Google co-founder Sergey Brin, 43, Calico may be another way to attack a more personal health concern: Brin carries a gene that increases his likelihood of contracting Parkinson's disease and has already invested $50 million in genetic Parkinson's research, conducted by his ex-wife's company, 23andMe. Brin said in 2009 that he hoped medicine could "catch up" to cure Parkinson's before he's old enough to develop it.

That hope is a common thread among health-obsessed tech investors like PayPal founder Peter Thiel, 49. A libertarian and Trump adviser, Thiel is trying to avoid both death and taxes. His foundation hired a medical director, Jason Camm, whose professional goals include increasing his clients' "prospects for Optimal Health and significant Lifespan Extension." Like Brin, who swims and drinks green tea to prevent Parkinson's, Thiel has changed his daily habits to live longer. He's aiming for 120, so he avoids refined sugar, follows the Paleo diet, drinks red wine and takes human growth hormone, which he believes will keep bones strong and prevent arthritis.

Thiel has also expressed personal interest in a company called Ambrosia in Monterey, where Dr. Jesse Karmazin is conducting medical trials for a procedure called parabiosis, which gives older people blood plasma transfusions from people between 16 and 25. Karmazin has enrolled more than 70 participants so far, each of whom pays $8,000 for the treatment. Much has been made of Thiel harvesting and receiving injections of young people's blood, though Karmazin recently denied that Thiel was a client of his.

Karmazin doesn't call himself a utopian, but he does note that his work requires some faith. "There's always uncertainty about whether it's going to stand the test of time, whether it'll work at all," he says. "That's especially true in technology, and you have to believe in it."

At the same time, the dystopians of Silicon Valley are preparing for the apocalypse. Reid Hoffman, CEO of LinkedIn, told the New Yorker that he guesses up to 50 percent of tech executives have property in New Zealand, the hot new hub for the end of the world. Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, bought multiple motorcycles so he can weave through highway traffic if there's a natural disaster and he needs to escape. He also got laser eye surgery so he wouldn't have to rely on glasses or contacts in a survival scenario.

Among the dystopians is Elon Musk, whose brand-new Neuralink company is investigating what Musk calls "neural lace," a digital layer on top of the brain's cortex that connects us to computers. Such inventions could eventually lead us to what Google director of engineering Ray Kurzweil calls "technological singularity," or the time when ever more powerful artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence, around 2045.

Go here to see the original:
Eternity 2.0 - North Bay Bohemian

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Breathing in a New Gene Therapy to treat Pulmonary Hypertension

Newswise (New York, NY July 12, 2017) Mount Sinai has partnered with Theragene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to advance a novel airway-delivered gene therapy for treating pulmonary hypertension (PH), a form of high blood pressure in blood vessels in the lungs that is linked to heart failure. If the therapy succeeds in human clinical trials, it will provide patients for the first time with a way to reverse the damage caused by PH.

This gene therapy technique comes from the research of Roger J. Hajjar, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and has been proven effective in rodent and pig animal models. PH is a deadly disease that disproportionately affects young adults and women; 58 percent of cases are found in young adults and 72 percent are women. There is currently no effective cure for PH, and about 50 percent of people who are diagnosed will die from the disease within five years.

PH is a rare (15-50 cases per million people), rapidly progressing disease that occurs when blood pressure is too high in vessels leading from the heart to the lungs. The high pressure is caused by abnormal remodeling of the lung blood vessels, characterized by a proliferation of smooth muscle cells and a thickening and narrowing of these vessels, and can lead to failure of the right ventricle of the heart and premature death. Abnormalities in calcium cycling within the vascular cells play a key role in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension, along with deficiencies in the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase pump (SERCA2a) protein which regulates intracellular calcium within these vascular cells and prevents them from proliferating within the vessel wall. Downregulation of SERCA2a leads to the proliferative remodeling of the vasculature. This gene therapy, delivered via an inhaled aerosolized spray, aims to increase the expression of SERCA2a protein, and has been shown in rodents and pigs to improve heart and lung function, as well as reduce and even reverse cellular changes caused by PH.

This is a devastating disease, and our work in collaboration with many laboratories across the country has allowed us to identify a specific molecular target and use gene therapy to improve cardiovascular and lung parameters in experimental models of PH. We look forward to starting first-in-human studies using this approach in affected patients, said Dr. Hajjar, the senior author of the studies, highlighting that clinical trials will be underway in the next two years.It may take several years before a product is commercially available for PH patients.

We are excited about the potential for SERCA2a gene therapy as a new modality in treating this serious disease, said Jon Berglin, Chief Executive Officer of Theragene Pharmaceuticals, Inc. We look forward to develop and advance this promising product into the clinic.

This represents another critical advancement in a potentially transformative therapeutic breakthrough by Mount Sinai scientists, demonstrating our commitment to improving health outcomes. We are thrilled to be working with Theragene Pharmaceuticals, and continue to strengthen our expertise in partnering health care innovations with industry, said Erik Lium, PhD, Senior Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, the commercialization arm of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP)MSIP is responsible for driving the real-world application and commercialization of Mount Sinai discoveries and the development of research partnerships with industry. The aim is to translate these innovations into healthcare products and services that benefit patients and society. MSIP is responsible for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to bring the Icahn School of Medicine and the Mount Sinai Health Systems inventions to life. These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing and licensing new technologies, engaging commercial and non-profit relationships for sponsored research, material transfer and confidentiality, as well as fostering an ecosystem of entrepreneurship within our research and health system communities. For more information, visit http://www.ip.mountsinai.org.

About Theragene Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Theragene is a biopharmaceutical company developing cutting-edge science for the treatment of debilitating diseases. The Companys diverse portfolio consists of preclinical and clinical oncology and cardiology platforms utilizing next generation gene therapy and immunotherapy methods.

Continued here:
Breathing in a New Gene Therapy to Treat Pulmonary Hypertension - Newswise (press release)

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

An FDA advisory panel will make the call July 12 to recommend for or against agency approval of the first gene therapy. A favorable decision could see the regulator sanction the treatment by early this fall. Drug manufacturer Novartis and the University of Pennsylvania doctors and scientists who tested it are holding out hope for CAR T-cell therapy, which uses patients' own genetically modified immune cells to fight blood cancers. In a multinational trial of pediatric patients, it achieved remission in 83% of participants67% of whom remained in remission 1 year later. While CAR T-cell therapy initially would be offered to children and young adults not responding to standard leukemia treatment, research has shown it to be effective in adults as well. Substantial concerns about safety and cost, however, could sway the FDA committee away from approval. Analysts' projections put the price for a one-time infusion at $300,000$600,000, and there also is the risk of serious adverse effectsincluding neurotoxicity and cytokine release syndrome. Novartis is addressing the safety issue by planning a contained launch of the product, rather than simply unleashing it on the entire market. Under its plan, only 3035 medical centers would be authorized to administer CAR T-cell therapy, most having participated in the clinical trial and all having received extensive training.

Read the original post:
First gene therapy on the cusp of FDA approval - Pharmacy Today, American Pharmacists Association, pharmacist.com

Recommendation and review posted by sam

A new method efficiently transfers genes into cells, then activates them with light. This could lead to gene therapies for cancers

Mineko Kengaku, Tatsuya Murakami, and their colleagues from Kyoto Universitys Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) have developed a new method that modifies the surface of nanorods, making them more efficient in transporting cancer-killing genes into cells.

The method involves coating gold nanorods, which produce heat when exposed to a near-infrared laser, with the lipids oleate and DOTAP. The lipids enhance the nanorods' ability to interact with and penetrate cells.

The team also developed a gene carrier, known as a plasmid vector, which includes a heat shock protein that is activated in response to heat.

First, the vector was bound to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene, and then transferred into mammalian cells by the lipid-coated gold nanorods. Exposing cells to near-infrared laser for ten seconds heated up the gold nanorods, turning on the EGFP gene. Surrounding, non-targeted cells showed little to no EGFP expression.

A protein called TRAIL was then added to the plasmid vector. TRAIL induces cell death in cancer cell lines. Infrared illumination of cells transfected by TRAIL-carrying nanorods led to a high cell death rate in surrounding cancer cells.

The lipid-coated gold nanorods could potentially help with molecular cancer therapies.

This new system provides a unique opportunity for site-directed, light-inducible transgene expression in mammalian cells by a near-infrared laser, with minimal phototoxicity, conclude the researchers in their study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by Kyoto University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Reference

Nakatsuji, H., Kawabata, G. K., Kurisu, J., Imahori, H., Murakami, T., & Kengaku, M. (2017). Surface chemistry for cytosolic gene delivery and photothermal transgene expression by gold nanorods. Scientific reports, 7(1), 4694.

Read the original here:
Breakthrough Nanorod Tech Could Deliver Gene Therapy Directly to ... - Technology Networks

Recommendation and review posted by sam

The report presents an in-depth analysis of the global male hypogonadism market with current trends and future estimates to explain the imminent investment pockets. The quantitative analysis of the market for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 will enable stakeholders to capitalize on the prevailing growth opportunities.

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/11/2017 -- Global Male Hypogonadism Market: Snapshot

Hypogonadism in males refers to a condition in the male body where the testes show a significantly reduced level of functioning than normal. The overall result of male hypogonadism is a reduction in the rate of biosynthesis of male sex hormones. This state is more commonly known as interrupted stage 1 puberty. Hypoandrogenism, or the low androgen or testosterone level in a male can vary in severity from person to person. It is often the cause of partial or complete infertility. There are multiple forms of male hypogonadism and even more ways to classify them. Most endocrinologists commonly classify male hypogonadism on the basis of the level of defectiveness of the male reproductive system.

In many cases, doctors also measure the level of gonadotropins to classify a patient between primary and secondary male hypogonadism. Primary male hypogonadism refers to the cause of the condition being due to defective gonads. There are different types of primary male hypogonadism, including Turner syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome. Secondary male hypogonadism is caused by defects in pituitary or hypothalamic glands. They include Kallmann syndrome and hypopituitarism.

Request Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1127

Global Male Hypogonadism Market: Overview

Male Hypogonadism refers to a clinical condition, wherein the testes fail to produce enough testosterone leading to delayed puberty or incomplete development. The condition is related to impaired development of muscle mass, development of breast tissues, impaired body hair growth, and lack of deepening of the voice.

The male Hypogonadism market can be segmented by therapy, type, drug delivery, and geography.

The report presents an in-depth analysis of the global male hypogonadism market with current trends and future estimates to explain the imminent investment pockets. The quantitative analysis of the market for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 will enable stakeholders to capitalize on the prevailing growth opportunities.

Request TOC of the Report @ https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1127

Global Male Hypogonadism Market: Trends and Opportunities

The top driver of the male hypogonadism market includes rising prevalence of testosterone deficiency among men, increasing infertility rates, and increasing awareness among individuals about hypogonadism treatment due to awareness drives organized by several governments across the world. Moreover, high risk of hypogonadism among the geriatric population with obesity and diabetes, and increasing prevalence of chronic disorders among the geriatrics are further expected to boost the market's growth.

However, factors such as high side effects of testosterone products are challenging the growth of testosterone replacement therapy market. Top players in the market are focused on research and development to introduce newer products with fewer or negligible side effects and improved results. For example, LPCN 1111, a product which is under development from Lipocine Inc., is a newer testosterone prodrug that utilizes Lip'ral technology for enhanced systemic absorption and for enhanced solubility of testosterone. Nevertheless, technological advancements are anticipated to extend new opportunities to the market's growth.

Global Male Hypogonadism Market: Regional Overview

The global male Hypogonadism market can be analyzed with respect to the regional segments of North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America held the majority share of the global market in the recent past and is expected to retain its dominant position in the near future. This is mainly due to the rise in the number of individuals suffering from primary and secondary conditions of hypogonadism, and rising awareness among individuals about treatment options for the condition. Moreover, the presence of ultra-modern healthcare infrastructure and increasing popularity of technologically advanced products are expected to offer new opportunities for top players in this market. The region is closely followed by Europe.

Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@ https://www.tmrresearch.com/male-hypogonadism-market

Asia Pacific is expected to offer lucrative opportunities to this market due to the modernization of the healthcare infrastructure in the emerging economies of India and China and the increasing awareness about the treatment for the condition. In Asia Pacific, the increasing prevalence of hypogonadism and infertility rates along with the rising geriatric population base with diabetes and obesity are propelling the growth of this market. China, Taiwan, and Malaysia are some of the countries that display the highest rate of male hypogonadism.

Major Companies Mentioned in Report

Some of the key players in the male Hypogonadism market include AbbVie Inc., Astrazeneca plc, Eli Lilly and Company Ltd., Merck & Co. Inc., SA, Finox Biotech, Laboratories Genevrier, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allergan plc, Bayer AG, Endo International plc, IBSA Institut Biochimque, and Ferring.

Key players are focused on product approval for growth considerations and to cater to the changing demand of the industry. The introduction of innovative and technologically advanced products is also the focus of key players to increase their market share and for serving patients in a better manner.

About TMR Research TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in today's supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients' conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.

Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/male-hypogonadism-market/release-831100.htm

See the article here:
Male Hypogonadism Market Deep Research Study with Forecast by 2025 - Digital Journal

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

HOT TOPICS FOR 2017

The CRISPR/Cas9 community will come together and debate all of aspects including how to measure accuracy and specificity off target affects to improve current and future applications of CRISPR, such as preclinical disease models, screening, bioinformatics to see how these tools have helped predict the outcome of the CRISPR/Cas9 system, developing CRISPR libraries for cell to cell interactions and CRISPR-based therapeutic development , to different techniques of delivering CAS9 to revealing how to control repair pathway.

Our world class speakers will provide you with cutting edge case studies, clinical trials and keynotes to address the latest and future trends and research. With unrivalled networking opportunities in an interactive and immersive environment designed for both scientific and business discussions.

TAKE ACTION NOW Dont miss the opportunity join us to discuss the future of CRISPR, due to this event being highly anticipated, its strictly a first come first come base limited places available. Register here now

Continue reading here:

CRISPR Europe - CRISPR Europe Congress 2017 - Home

Recommendation and review posted by sam

In BriefA study published earlier this year warned scientists ofpotential complications with CRISPR/Cas9, but after review byresearchers at another institution, the findings of that study arebeing brought into question. It remains to be seen whether theoriginal study will be corrected or retracted, but this developmenthighlights the importance of peer review in science. Wrongfully Accused?

A study published earlier this year warned scientists of potential complications in their work with CRISPR/Cas9, but after review by researchers at another institution, the findings of that study are being brought into question. The original paper was publishedby a team at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) in May of this year in the journal Nature Methods.

In the studys original press release, co-author Stephen Tsang said: We feel its critical that the scientific community consider the potential hazards of all off-target mutations caused by CRISPR, including single nucleotide mutations and mutations in non-coding regions of the genome. The researchers had sequenced the genomes of mice whose genes had previously been editing using CRISPR in an attempt to cure their blindness. The genomes revealed there were 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations and over 100 larger deletions,= and/or insertions in two of the mice which had been modified using the gene-editing technique.

In their study, the researchers attributed these genetic anomalies to the use of CRISPR but a team of researchers from Harvard University and MIT have reviewed the paper and are challenging that attribution. In a paper published in bioRxiv a pre-print server for biology research which is not a peer reviewed journal the researchers pointed out the CUMC study had several serious problems. The most glaring of which, the Harvard and MIT researchers argue, is that the mutations found in the mice that were attributed to CRISPR were more likely than not already present in those mice before they were exposed to the gene-editing technique.

The third mouse whose genome had been edited with CRISPR did not demonstrate the mutations, and was also not as genetically similar as the two mice who did. The Harvard and MIT research team argue that this supports the theory that the mutations in the pair of mice were not caused by CRISPR. It should be noted that this criticism comes from a small study that was not peer reviewed.

The teams goal in refuting the research is to make sure the rest of the scientific community is reminded of the lasting impact claims that are not well supported by data can have. Given these substantial issues, we urge the authors to revise or re-state the original conclusions of their published work so as to avoid leaving misleading and unsupported statements to persist in the literature, the team explained in their paper.

The peer review process is essential to scientific disciplines other than biology and genetics, of course. Whether researchers are making claims about climate change, artificial intelligence, or medical treatments, rigorous review of their methods, data, and analysis by other scientists who are doing similar work is essential. This process ensures that the research and the way it is presented is accurate, of high quality, and will be useful not only to the scientific community, but to the general public.

For teams who have spent months if not years heavily focused on a single study, trial, or data set, it can be very easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Peer review offers research teams the chance to address inconsistencies, data that doesnt add up, and conclusions that make assumptions or inferences that arent supported by the data.

While there have certainly been instances where teams have intentionally fabricated data in order to mislead their peers and the public, most members of the scientific community do not mislead intentionally. But thats why the peer review process is so important. It remains to be seen if the team at CUMC plans to revisit, or possible retract, their paper in light of the response.

More here:

Researchers Refute Study That Claims CRISPR Causes Unexpected Mutations - Futurism

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

What happened

Shares ofCRISPR Therapeutics(NASDAQ: CRSP), a leaderin the field ofgenetic engineering, rose more than 11% in June, according to data fromS&P Global Market Intelligence.

Investors can largely thank two news items for the jump. First, CRISPR and MaSTherCell SA announced that they have signed a development and manufacturing agreement related to allogeneic CAR-T therapies. The deal calls forMaSTherCell to handle the development and manufacturing of CRISPR's compound CTX101 in clinical studies aimed at treating a number of diseases.

Image Source: Getty Images.

Second, the company announced that ithas been awarded a patent for its CRISPR/Cas9 technology in China. The company believes that this patent covers the company's technology in very broad terms, which should help to protect it from competition down the road.

Given the upbeat news flow, it isn't hard to figure out why the share price was lifted last month.

It's great to see that the company continues to partner with others in an effort to move its pipeline forward. CRISPR has already succeeded at landing industry giants like Vertex Pharmaceuticalsand Bayeraspartners, so addingMaSTherCell to the list is certainly a positive. The collaboration deal with Vertex is especiallyexciting since it included a hefty upfront payment, and also required Vertex to make an investment in the company.

On the other hand, CRISPR'sproducts are still highly experimental, so shareholders will have a lot of waiting to do before they learn how these products perform in the clinic. For that reason, potential investors must approach this stock with an ultra long-term mindset if they're interested in getting in.

10 stocks we like better than CRISPR Therapeutics

When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and CRISPR Therapeutics wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017

View post:

Why CRISPR Therapeutics AG Jumped 11.7% in June - Madison.com

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, emotional and traumatic for patients. Usually, there's so much information given to them at one time that it's hard to remember all the details about their treatment.

Some doctors want to make sure patients are armed and ready for their cancer journey, and they're doing it through a new type of therapy dubbed 'prehab.' It's a way for patients to learn about lifestyle changes, exercises and signs of a more serious side effect before they start their treatment.

It was just a few months ago when Deanna Miller got the news that there was something suspicious on her mammogram.

"I thought it was just a cyst. I'm sure the biopsies will come back negative," she recalled.

But it wasn't.

"When I got the result, that's when it hit me. It's cancer!" said Miller.

Doctors diagnosed Miller with stage 3A Breast Cancer and ordered BRCA testing.

"It wasn't until I had the BRCA testing that it really kicked in because now I have a genetic problem on top of having cancer," explained Miller.

Knowing that she carried the gene, Miller used this knowledge as a way to help the future health of her family and to fight.

"I never had the opportunity to cry again," she said.

Miller's doctor is Dr. Frankie Holmes, an oncologist affiliated withMemorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center. Dr. Holmes recommended Miller visit occupational therapist Emilia Dewi at TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient Rehabilitation at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical City.

"Prehab is basically part of a continuing care that starts at diagnosis to the treatment of the disease, whether it be surgery, chemotherapy, radiation," explained Dewi.

Dewi works primarily with breast cancer patients who often suffer from lymphedema. She measures range of motion and volume in the arms as a baseline.

"I give my patients specific activities and restrictions and exercises post-surgery," Dewi said. "Patients don't know what to do post-surgery, and they don't know what to look for."

Dewi also explained the warning signs.

"For lymphedema, I tell patients to look for skin wrinkling. We watch for signs of heaviness. Also, if they can't see their vein anymore," explained Dewi.

Miller knew how to respond to her symptoms thanks to Dewi.

"The prehab made me aware of the symptoms. They are subtle and they can be confused with the surgery and swelling," said Miller.

Memorial Hermann also offers prehab for head, neck and throat cancer patients where they can learn swallowing exercises to help them post-surgery. Other patients may receive fitness training to combat the weakness and fatigue of cancer treatment.

As for Miller, she's still on her journey and doing well. She has a couple more chemo treatments and radiation, and we wish her the best.

Nicole Cross - Evening News Anchor/Health Correspondent

Read more:
'Prehab' therapy helps cancer patients prepare for treatment - KTBS

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Cataracts are the single leading cause of blindness worldwide, afflicting roughly 42 percent of the global population, including more than 22 million Americans. The disease, which causes cloudy patches to form on the eye's normally clear lens, can require surgery if left untreated. That's why Google's DeepMind AI division has teamed with the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and Moorfields Eye Hospital to train a neural network that will help doctors diagnose early stage cataracts.

The neural network is being trained on a million anonymized optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans (think of a sonogram, but using light instead of sound waves) in the hopes it will eventually be able to supplement human doctors' analyses, increasing both the efficiency and accuracy of individual diagnoses.

"OCT has totally revolutionized the field of ophthalmology. It's an imaging system for translucent structures that utilizes coherent light," Dr. Julie Schallhorn, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at UC San Francisco, said. "It was first described in 1998 and it gives near-cell resolution of the cornea, retina and optic nerve.

"The optic nerve is only about 200 microns thick, but you can see every cell in it. It's given us a much-improved understanding of the pathogenesis of diseases and also their response to treatments." The new iteration of OCT also measures the phase-shift of refracted light, allowing doctors to resolve images down to the capillary level and observe the internal structures in unprecedented detail.

"We're great at correcting refractive errors in the eyes so we can give you good vision far away pretty reliably, or up close pretty reliably," Schallhorn continued. "But the act of shifting focus from distance to near requires different optical powers inside the eye. The way the eye handles this when you're young is through a process called 'accommodation.'" There's a muscle that contracts and changes the shape of the lens to help you focus on close objects. When you get older, even before you typically develop cataracts, the lens will stiffen and reduce the eye's ability to change its shape.

"The lenses that we have been putting in during cataract surgery are not able to mimic that [shapeshifting] ability, so people have to wind up wearing reading glasses," Schallhorn said. There's a lot of work in the field to find solutions for this issue and help restore the eye's accommodation.

There are two front-runners for that: Accommodating lenses, which use the same ciliary muscle to shift focus, and multifocal lenses, which work just like your parents' multifocal reading glasses except that they sit directly on the eye itself. The multifocals have been on the market for about a decade, though their design and construction has been refined over that time.

To ensure the lenses that doctors are implanting are just as accurate as the diseased ones they're removing, surgeons are beginning to use optiwave refractive analysis. Traditionally, doctors relied on measurements taken before the surgery to know how to shape the replacement lenses and combined those with nomograms to estimate how powerful the new lens should be.

The key word there is "estimate." "They especially have problems in patients who have already had refractive surgery like LASIK," Schallhorn explained. The ORA system, however, performs a wavefront measurement of the cornea after the cataract has been removed to help surgeons more accurately pick the right replacement lens for the job.

Corneal inlays are also being used. These devices resemble miniature contact lenses but sit in a pocket on the cornea that's been etched out with a LASIK laser to mimic the process of accommodation and provide a greater depth of focus. They essentially serve the same function as camera apertures. The Kamra lens from AcuFocus and the Raindrop Near Vision Inlay from Revision Optics are the only inlays approved by the FDA for use in the US.

Glaucoma afflicts more than 70 million people annually. This disease causes fluid pressure within the eye to gradually increase, eventually damaging the optic nerve that carries electrical signals from the eye to the brain. Normally, detecting the early stages of glaucoma requires a comprehensive eye exam by a trained medical professional -- folks who are often in short supply in rural and underserved communities. However, the Cambridge Consultants' Viewi headset allows anyone to diagnose the disease -- so long as they have a smartphone and 10 minutes to spare.

The Viewi works much like the Daydream View, wherein the phone provides the processing power for a VR headset shell -- except, of course, that instead of watching 360 degree YouTube videos, the screen displays the flashing light patterns used to test for glaucoma. The results are reportedly good enough to share with you eye doctor and take only about five minutes per eye. Best of all, the procedure costs only about $25, which makes it ideal for use in developing nations.

And while there is no known cure for glaucoma, a team of researchers from Stanford University may soon have one. Last July, the team managed to partially restore the vision of mice suffering from a glaucoma-like condition.

Normally, when light hits your eye, specialized cells in the retina convert that light into electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted via retinal ganglion cells, whose long appendages run along the optic nerve and spread out to various parts of the brain's visual-processing bits. But if the optic nerve or the ganglion cells have been damaged through injury or illness, they stay damaged. They won't just grow back like your olfactory sensory nerve.

However, the Stanford team found that subjecting mice to a few weeks of high-contrast visual stimulation after giving them drugs to reactivate the mTOR pathway, which has been shown to instigate new growth in ganglion cells, resulted in "substantial numbers" of new axons. The results are promising, though the team will need to further boost the rate and scope of axon growth before the technique can be applied to humans.

Researchers from Japan have recently taken this idea of cajoling the retina into healing itself and applied it to age-related macular degeneration cases. AMD primarily affects people aged 60 and over (hence the name). It slowly kills cells in the macula, the part of the eye that processes sharp detail, and causes the central focal point of their field of vision to deteriorate, leaving only the peripheral.

The research team from Kyoto University and the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology first took a skin sample from a human donor, then converted it into induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells. These IPS cells are effectively blank slates and can be coerced into redeveloping into any kind of cell you need. By injecting these cells into the back of the patient's eye, they should regrow into retinal cells.

In March of this year, the team implanted a batch of these cells into a Japanese sexagenarian who suffers from AMD in the hope that the stem cells would take hold and halt, if not begin to reverse, the damage to his macula. The team has not yet been able to measure the efficacy of this treatment but, should it work out, the researchers will look into creating a stem-cell bank where patients could immediately obtain IPS cells for their treatment rather than wait months for donor samples to be converted.

And while there isn't a reliable treatment for dry-AMD, wherein fatty protein deposits damage the Bruchs membrane, a potent solution for wet-AMD, which involves blood leaking into the eyeball, has been discovered in a most unlikely place: cancer medication. "Genentech started developing a new drug when an ophthalmologist in Florida just decided to inject the commercially available drug into patients eyes," Schallhorn explained.

"Generally this is not a great idea because sometimes things will go terribly wrong," she continued, "but this worked super-well. It basically stops and reverses the growth of these blood vessels." The only problem is that the drugs don't last, requiring patients to receive injections into their eyeballs every four to eight weeks. Genentech and other pharma companies are working to reformulate the drug -- or at least develop a mechanical "reservoir" -- so it has to be injected only once or twice a year.

Stem-cell treatments like those used in the Kyoto University trial have already proved potentially effective against a wide range of genomic diseases, so why shouldn't it work on the rare genetic condition known as choroideremia? This disease is caused by a single faulty gene and primarily affects young men. Similar to AMD, choroideremia causes light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye to slowly wither and die, resulting in partial to complete blindness.

In April of 2016, a team of researchers from Oxford University performed an experimental surgery on a 24-year-old man suffering from the disease. They first injected a small amount of liquid into the back of the eye to lift a section of the retina away from the interior cellular wall. The team then injected functional copies of the gene into that same cavity, replacing the faulty copies and not only halting the process of cellular death but actually restoring a bit of the patient's vision.

Gene therapy may be "surely the most efficient way of treating a disease," lead author of the study, Oxford professor Robert MacLaren, told BBC News, but its widespread use is still a number of years away. Until then, good old-fashioned gadgetry will have to suffice. Take the Argus II, for example.

The Argus II bionic eye from Second Sight has been in circulation since 2013, when the FDA approved its use in treating retinitis pigmentosa. It has since gotten the go-ahead for use with AMD in 2015. The system leverages a wireless implant which sits on the retina and receives image data from an external camera that's mounted on a pair of glasses. The implant converts that data into an electrical signal which stimulates the remaining retinal cells to generate a visual image.

The Argus isn't the only implantable eyepiece. French startup Pixium Vision developed a similar system, the IRIS II, back in 2015 and implanted it in a person last November after receiving clearance from the European Union. The company is already in talks with the FDA to bring its IRIS II successor, a miniaturized wireless subretinal photovoltaic implant called PRIMA, to US clinical trials by the end of this year.

Ultimately, the goal is to be able to replace a damaged or diseased eye entirely, if necessary, using a robotic prosthetic. However, there are still a number of technological hurdles that must be overcome before that happens, as Schallhorn explained.

"The big thing that's holding us back from a fully functional artificial eye is that we need to find a way to interface with the optic nerve and the brain in a way that we transmit signals," she said. "That's the same problem we're facing with prosthetic limbs right now. But there are a lot of smart people in the field working on that, and I'm sure they'll come up with something soon."

Read more:
High-tech solutions top the list in the fight against eye disease - Engadget

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

MOST of Australias significant beef breeds are expanding, with increased seedstock registrations despite Australias overall beef herd sitting at a 20-year low at just under 26 million head.

Figures released during last weeks Australian Registered Cattle Breeders Association annual general meeting indicated a nine percent lift in registration numbers in 2016 compared with the previous 12 months in primary registers. There was a 6pc lift when primary* and secondary registers* are combined.

In total, 2016 total registrations at 211,781 were second only in number to 1995, when a little over 213,000 primary and secondary registrations were made. (see graph below).

Primary registrations in purple, secondary registrations in red. Click on image to enlarge

Judging by seedstock registrations last year, the growth of the Angus breed continues unabated.

As the graph of the ten largest breeds by registrations published below shows, Angus again topped the list, recording 50,096 registrations back in 2007 and 70,076 in 2016, an increase of 19,980 or 40pc over the past decade. Year-on-year, Angus registrations rose 7pc in 2016.

Angus Australias Andrew Byrne said the breed now had a registered female inventory of more than 100,000 to produce this years figure of 70,000 registrations. A back-of-the-envelope calculation delivers a $2 million return to Angus Australia based on an average female inventory fee of $20 per breeding female per year. Mr Byrne indicated that 30 staff now populate the recently expanded Angus Australia office in Armidale NSW where they have developed many income streams to fund operations.

There was a time 40 years ago when the Murray Grey society had more staff, more members, more registrations and more money than the Angus society. However Murray Greys have increased registrations from 2015 to 2016 and now sit in 11th spot in the breed hierarchy based on registration numbers of 5122 in 2016.

Click on table image for a larger view

As stated previously on Beef Central however, seedstock registrations or numbers of bulls sold at auctions are in fact poor indicators of overall breed popularity across Australia. Its is frequently estimated that up to two-thirds of all Brahman bulls used in Australia, for example, are not registered animals at all, but unregistered herd bulls bought out of the paddock, or bulls in fact bred on the property on which they are used, drawn from internal purebred nucleus herds.

In percentage terms, Wagyu continue to perform strongly in registration numbers, lifting another 21pc over the past 12 months to register 10,261 head. Over the past ten years, the growth in registrations has been meteoric, lifting 178pc more than twice the rate of the next fastest growing breed.

With registered Wagyu seedstock now bringing exceptional prices as the demand for bulls increases, a Wagyu content test has been developed allowing conforming cattle to achieve purebred status (but never fullblood) and enter the primary register.

A grading-up register is also planned for percentage Wagyu. AWAs Carel Teseling indicates hundreds of new cattle being readied for entry in these registers while industry sources suggest these numbers could be in the thousands.

Sitting in second spot behind Angus for registrations this year is Hereford with 25,257 new registrations in 2016. This is an increase of 8pc on the previous year, but down 19pc on 10 years ago when perhaps there were some dual registered (horned and poll) skewing the numbers.

After a time of internal bickering, Herefords Australia has a new president, Bill Kee, some new board members, a new general manager Andrew Donoghue and a leading animal scientist Alex Ball all poised to take the breed forward. Commanding second spot on Australias registration ladder, the breed has a good launching pad. An industry source also claims the large financial losses Herefords Australia was reported carrying are nowhere near as high as earlier indicated.

In the third, fourth and fifth positions for registrations in 2016 are the three major tropical breeds Brahman, Santa Gertrudis and Droughtmaster, all with numbers to continue their significant contributions to the sustainability of the northern industry.

Brahman numbers have not changed much in the past 10 years (down 3pc to 24,449 this year), Santa Gertrudis had a big jump (up 22pc to 17,423), while Droughtmaster declined (down 27pc to 11,386). Worth noting, however, is the difference in approaches in different breeds to registration (more on this below). The Droughtmaster breed, for example, has no secondary register, and has only this year commenced introduction of calf-recording for females. Both have a big impact on registration numbers.

The Brangus breed is the smokey in the 2016 report. With 6675 registrations for the 2016 year, it lifts the breed to eighth place following a 56pc jump in registrations in the past 10 years and 45pc since 2015.

According to the Brangus Associations president Mark Beckman, the breed now has more members registering more cattle with many using the foundation register to bring in top Angus and Brahman genetics while keeping within the 25pc to 75pc range for either parent breed content.

However, most registrations are cattle derived from parents that are registered Brangus. The breed will be on show at the 12th Brangus bull sale at Roma Qld when 164 will step into the sale ring on September 1 (see full list of upcoming spring bull sales for all major breeds here).

The breed continues to attract new members who are registering more cattle and the commercial attributes of the breed are drawing cattle producers towards it, Mr Beckman said.

The Ultrablack, an Angus-heavy Brangus-type, does not appear in the breed lists but some are registered in the Brangus foundation register and some in the Angus Multi-Breed (MBR) register.

For several decades ARCBA has provided registration statistics to assist industry to plan and develop strategies for growth and breed improvement. These reports are made more difficult with several different systems in use in the Australian industry.

Some breeds use the annual female herd inventory system where members peruse their lists annually, deleting females that have died or no longer worthy of retaining in the stud herd, and pay an annual fee averaging around $20 per retained female. Their progeny can be registered in the various herd books.

Other breeds retain the traditional method of registering and paying a fee for a calf once it is born with penalties to register these calves later in their lives.

Some breeds, such as Santa Gertrudis, have a system with physical inspection by an independent breed association employed classifier necessary before herd book registration can be completed.

Since 1998 the ARCBA report has included two levels of registrations, primary and secondary. In general terms, primary registers are the highest level of pedigree authenticity, many are closed herd books while some cover cattle that have been graded up to fourth generation of greater than 95pc breed content.

Secondary registers are for cattle where registrations have lapsed and are being brought back into the system and for cattle involved in the grading-up process from other breeds.

ARCBA describes secondary registers as those which include animals that are bred for seedstock production and recorded by a beef breed society but excluding animals entered in the societys herd book. The Association describes seedstock production as The production of bulls for use in the registered and commercial cattle sectors.

For example the Angus primary register is the Angus Herd Book Register (HBR) and is a closed herd book i.e. both parents must be in the HBR. The Angus secondary register is the Angus Performance Register (APR) which allows members to record pedigree and performance information on non-HBR straight bred Angus cattle.

The inventory fees for HBR and APR females are the same (around $20/female average). Last year 45,117 Angus entered the HBR and 24,959 the APR. There are no accurate figures, but industry sources suggest that commercial bull buyers do not show a preference for HBR over APR animals.

Figures quoted in this article combine primary and secondary registrations.

Over the years breed organisations have threatened to withhold their registration statistics from ARCBA if breed comparisons were made.

Genetics Central believes it is in the interests of the industry to have access to this information to facilitate planning and monitor industry-wide trends.

Maybe a potential new seedstock producer may decide there are too many Angus calves being registered (70,076 in 2016) creating an over-supply perhaps encouraging them to go with a promising smaller breed such as Speckle Park, where only 1053 calves were registered in 2016 but demand is hot.

Follow this link:
Weekly genetics review: Registrations on the up for most beef breeds - Beef Central

Recommendation and review posted by sam

A burgeoning industry promises to help the wealthy defeat the ultimate equaliser: Death.

In the year 42 I.E. (Inequality Era, post-Piketty), mankind built its first hibernation machine. This allowed some to jump to the future. A brighter future, a better future. More precisely, hibernation machines became an actualisation of a powerful idea that tomorrow is better than today. A tomorrow that has a cure for cancer and diabetes, where strokes, respiratory diseases and heart attacks are a hazy remembrance (much as we think of typhoid and tuberculosis today), where longevity spans centuries, and Ray Kurzweil's Singularity, in which humans merge with A.I. to transcend biological limitations, is within reach. The end of Death and a future everlasting beckon.

But only a select few can afford hibernation machines and jump to the future: The rich and the powerful, the rentiers and the capitalists, the titans of industry and the masters of finance. Those who can afford it skip to a future paradise, while those who cannot remain in what they now perceive as a dark and depressing present, whilst building the paradise for the few.

This is a short chapter in Death's End, the culmination of Liu Cixin's stunning trilogy, Remembrance of Earth's Past. Former U.S. President Barack Obama recommended it, in a bygone era when leaders used to read, reflect, and write, rather than rant in 140 characters. It is fascinating to think systematically about . Are we willing to tolerate inequality in income and wealth as long as our basic needs in Maslow's hierarchy are satisfied? Or will we have a revolution in our hands when inequality is literally a matter of life and death?1 Hollywood which gave us Elysium which certainly sees revolution as the most probable outcome.

This is not some abstract sci-fi scenario. Today, there are four major companies that provide cryogenic or cryonic services Alcor in Arizona, Cryonics Institute in Michigan, American Cryonics Society in California and KrioRus in Russia. Alcor seems the most developed and well-funded. Morbid as it sounds, this could be you in the future, vitrified and then stored in a thermos. Their pricing policy has a weird two-part tariff structure an annual membership fee of US$525 and then an additional US$200,000 for Whole Body Cryopreservation. There is a discount if you only cryogenically freeze your brain; and a US$10,000 premium if you live outside the United States and Canada which rises to US$50,000 if you live in China. A topic for another day is whether this is price discrimination or whether the price differences reflect cost differences.

Interestingly, only 5 percent of the U.S. population has an annual income exceeding the US$200,000 charged by Alcor. But since the amount can be paid out of retirement savings, slightly more than 10 percent of U.S. households theoretically could afford to freeze at least one person (see below). Ironically, most would be bankrupted in the process, meaning they would thaw out to penury. Theyd have to hope that the utopian future awaiting them would be free of the sort of inequality that enabled them to cheat death in the first place.

Meanwhile in Silicon Valley...

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the co-founders of Google, are reading Homo Deus, by Yuval Harari. On page 28, the book predicts that they are going to die. Death, after all, is the ultimate equaliser. Steve Jobs was unable to beat pancreatic cancer. Harari is sceptical whether Googles Calico, short for the California Life Company and founded in 2013 with a billion dollars in funding, will solve death in time to make Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin immortal. This is immensely frustrating to the likes of Brin, Page, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel, all billionaires eager to stretch lives, or, at least their own, to forever in Thiel's words.

Many believe that aging is encoded in our DNA and if anything is encoded it can be cracked. If something can be cracked, then it can be hacked. Cue applause! And cue billions of dollars for aging research with Bill Maris, the founder and CEO of Google Ventures, leading the way. In the fall of 2016, the life extension start-up Unity Biotechnology raised an enormous round of funding from Silicon Valley billionaires interested in the prospect of humans living much longer lives.

Others are bringing big data and machine learning tools to bear. BioAge Labs, whose tagline is faster drug discovery for aging, has been using machine learning and crunching genomics data to search for biomarkers that predict mortality.

Venture Vampire Capital

In 1615, a German doctor suggested that the hot and spirituous blood of a young man will pour into the old one as if it were from a fountain of youth. In 1924, the physician and Bolshevik Alexander Bogdanov performed young-blood transfusions on himself. He claimed that his eyesight improved, that he stopped balding and a fellow-revolutionary wrote that he seems to have become seven, no, ten years younger. Ironically, Bogdanov injected himself with blood from a student who had both malaria and tuberculosis, and subsequently died. Today, this procedure goes by the innocuous-sounding name parabiosis a surgical union of two organisms sharing the circulation of blood. And the search for the fountain of youth continues.

Of mice and men

Researchers at Stanford University showed in a 2014 study that infusions of blood from young mice reversed cognitive and neurological impairments seen in older mice. These reinvigorated mice performed like ones half their age in memory based tests. Immediately, emails flooded the inbox of the lead researcher, Tony Wyss-Coray. Numerous billionaires, some of whom were experiencing onset of Alzheimers, wanted infusions of young blood. Some had even arranged for what the HBO show Silicon Valley termed blood boys.

There is currently a clinical trial called Young Donor Plasma Transfusion and Age-Related Biomarkers looking for participants. The trial, run by a start-up called Ambrosia, injects young people's blood into older people. Healthy participants aged 35 and older, pay US$8000 for a transfusion of blood plasma from donors under 25, and researchers monitor their blood over the next two years for indicators (biomarkers) of health and aging. Thiel (yes, him again) is looking seriously into parabiosis.

Today, most reporting on these advances takes one of two perspectives: weary scepticism or unadulterated wonder. In either case, my grim forecast is that a world where such miracles of longevity are confined to billionaires will see socio-political upheaval, the likes of which will make the current hand-wringing and brow-furrowing on the rise of inequality seem quaint in comparison. In the meantime, expect a lot of books and articles and blog posts, targeted at the thought-leader industrial complex, that will at the least, make for stimulating conversation.

Pushan Dutt is the Shell Fellow of Economic Transformation and a Professor of Economics and Political Science at INSEAD. Professor Dutt directs the Asian International Executive Programme.

Follow INSEAD Knowledge on Twitter and Facebook

1Of course, with unequal access to health care in many countries, with direct consequences for differential mortality rates among the rich and the poor, we already live in such a world.

More here:
From Inequality to Immortality - INSEAD Knowledge (blog)

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Dive Brief:

While the loss of the deal has made a hole on the company's value, Capricor is looking on the bright side.

"Over the last few years, and during the term of the Janssen option period, we believe that significant value for our CAP-1002 asset has been created through the demonstration of clinical proof-of-concept to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and also from the progress that has been made towards the development of a commercial-scale manufacturing process for the cells," said Linda Marbn, Capricor's president and CEO.

The company also suggested that a potential upside of the loss of the agreements is that it "resolves uncertainty concerning the scope of the license for CAP-1002 and provides Capricor the freedom to enter into new licensing and/or business development opportunities."

Although, as most investors know, it's generally a bad sign when your big pharma partner bails and, typically, hurts prospects for gaining another commercialization partner.

Capricor has faced some challenges in 2017. In February, it pulled out of an agreement with the Mayo Clinic, which included scrapping development of a Phase 2 heart failure drug, cenderitide, in order to focus on cell and exosome-based therapeutics. And then in May, it faced problems with CAP-1002 in the ALLSTAR Phase 1/2 trial. These topline results showed that CAP-1002 had only a small chance of meeting the primary endpoint of significantly reducing cardiac scarring in adults who had had a major heart attack. This resulted in a reduction in the scope of the company's options, including its workforce size.

The focus for this product, which is manufactured from donated heart tissue, is now in young men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy, and the HOPE Phase 1/2 trial is ongoing. Six-month results were presented late last month at the 2017 Patient Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) Annual Connect Conference, showing improved cardiac systolic wall thickening, and improved performance of upper limb in treated patients.

"We discussed potential product registration strategies for this indication at our recent meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We expect to commence a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of repeat administrations of intravenous CAP-1002 in boys and young men with DMD in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approval," said Marbn.

Read the original here:
J&J drops stem cell partner Capricor - BioPharma Dive

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Male Hypogonadism - Pipeline Review, H1 2017" report to their offering.

The latest Pharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Male Hypogonadism - Pipeline Review, H1 2017, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Male Hypogonadism (Male Health), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.

The Male Hypogonadism (Male Health) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Male Hypogonadism and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, IND/CTA Filed and Preclinical stages are 3, 1, 4, 7, 2, 1 and 5 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Phase II stages comprises 1 molecules, respectively.

Male Hypogonadism (Male Health) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.

Key Topics Covered:

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/gxm3xp/male_hypogonadism

The rest is here:
Male Hypogonadism Pipeline Report, H1 2017 - Therapeutics Review of 15 Companies & Drug Profiles - Research ... - Business Wire (press release)

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PHILADELPHIA When doctors saw the report on Bill Ludwigs bone-marrow biopsy, they thought it was a mistake and ordered the test repeated. But the results came back the same: His lethal leukemia had been wiped out by an experimental treatment never used in humans.

We were hoping for a little improvement, remembers the 72-year-old retired New Jersey corrections officer, who had battled the disease for a decade. He and his oncologist both broke down when she delivered the good news in 2010. Nobody was hoping for zero cancer.

The pioneering therapy with Ludwig and a few other adults at the University of Pennsylvania hospital paved the way for clinical trials with children. Six-year-old Emily Whitehead, who was near death, became the first pediatric recipient in 2012. Like Ludwig, she remains cancer-free.

Such results are why the treatment is on track to become the first gene therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration. An FDA advisory committee will decide Wednesday whether to recommend approval of the approach, which uses patients own genetically altered immune cells to fight blood cancers.

If the panel gives the nod, the agency probably will follow suit by the end of September. That would open the latest chapter in immunotherapy a true living drug, says Penn scientist Carl June, who led its development.

The CAR T-cell treatment, manufactured by the drug company Novartis, initially would be available only for the small number of children and young adults whose leukemia doesnt respond to standard care. Those patients typically have a grim prognosis, but in the pivotal trial testing the therapy in almost a dozen countries, 83 percent of patients went into remission. A year later, two-thirds remained so.

And childhood leukemia is just the start for a field that has attracted intense interest in academia and industry. Kite Pharma of Santa Monica, Calif., has applied for FDA approval for aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and a similar Novartis application is close behind. Researchers also are exploring CAR T-cell therapys use for multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the disease that afflicted Ludwig. Theyre also tackling a far more difficult challenge using the therapy for solid tumors in the lungs or brain, for example.

The excitement among doctors and researchers is palpable. Were saving patients who three or four years ago we were at our wits end trying to keep alive, said Stephen Schuster, the Penn oncologist who is leading a Novartis lymphoma study. Both the study and a Kite trial have shown that the treatment can put about one-third of adults with advanced disease those who have exhausted all options into remission.

Yet along with the enthusiasm come pressing questions about safety, cost and the complexity of the procedure.

It involves extracting white blood cells called T cells the foot soldiers of the immune system from a patients blood, freezing and sending them to Novartiss sprawling manufacturing plant in Morris Plains, N.J. There, a crippled HIV fragment is used to genetically modify the T cells so they can find and attack the cancer. The cells then are refrozen and sent back to be infused into the patient.

Once inside the persons body, the T-cell army multiplies astronomically.

Novartis hasnt disclosed the price for its therapy, but analysts are predicting $300,000 to $600,000 for a one-time infusion. Brad Loncar, whose index fund focuses on cancer immunotherapy treatment, hopes the cost doesnt prompt a backlash. CAR-T is not the EpiPen, he said. This is truly pushing the envelope and at the cutting edge of science.

The biggest concerns, however, center on safety. The revved-up immune system becomes a potent cancer-fighting agent but also a dangerous threat to the patient. Serious side effects abound, raising concerns about broad use.

Treating patients safely is the heart of the rollout, said Stephan Grupp of the Childrens Hospital of Philadephia, who as director of its Cancer Immunotherapy Program led early pediatric studies as well as Novartiss global trial. The efficacy takes care of itself, but safety takes a lot of attention.

One of the most common side effects is called cytokine release syndrome, which causes high fever and flulike symptoms that in some cases can be so dangerous that the patient ends up in intensive care. The other major worry is neurotoxicity, which can result in temporary confusion or potentially fatal brain swelling. Juno Therapeutics, a biotech firm in Seattle, had to shut down one of its CAR T-cell programs because five patients died of brain swelling. Novartis has not seen brain swelling in its trials, company officials said.

To try to ensure patient safety, Novartis isnt planning a typical product rollout, with a drug pushed as widely and aggressively as possible. The company instead will designate 30to 35 medical centers to administer the treatment. Many of them took part in the clinical trial, and all have gotten extensive training by Grupp and others.

Grupp said he and his staff learned about the side effects of CAR T-cell therapy and what to do about them through terrifying experience that began five years ago with Emily Whitehead.

The young girl, who had relapsed twice on conventional treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was in grave condition. Grupp suggested to her parents that she become the first child to get the experimental therapy.

I said, Surely, this has been tried on kids somewhere else in the world, recalled her father, Thomas Whitehead of Philipsburg, Pa. But Steve said, Nope, some adults got it, but that was a different kind of leukemia.

After getting the therapy, Emilys fever soared, her blood pressure plummeted, and she ended up in a coma and on a ventilator for two weeks in the hospitals intensive care unit. Convinced his patient would not survive another day, a frantic Grupp got rushed lab results that suggested a surge of interleukin 6 was causing her immune system to relentlessly hammer her body. Doctors decided to give Emily an immunosuppressant drug called tocilizumab.

She was dramatically better within hours. She woke up the next day, her 7th birthday. Tests showed her cancer was gone.

The approval of CAR T-cell therapy would represent the second big immunotherapy advance in less than a decade. In 2011, the FDA cleared the first agent in a new class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors. It has approved four more since then.

There are big differences between the two approaches. The checkpoint inhibitors are targeted at solid tumors, such as advanced melanoma, lung and bladder cancer, while CAR-T cell therapy has been aimed at blood disorders. And although checkpoint inhibitors are off the shelf, with every patient getting the same drug, the other is customized to an individual. Many immunotherapy experts think the greatest progress against cancer will occur when researchers figure out how to combine the approaches.

For the Penn team, the CAR T-cell story goes back decades, starting at the then-National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where June and a postdoc fellow named Bruce Levine worked on new HIV treatments. In the process, they figured out a way to turbocharge T cells to make them more powerful and plentiful.

The pair moved to Philadelphia in 1999 and dove into cancer research. Two years later, Junes wife died of ovarian cancer, something he has credited as spurring him to work even harder in the field. In the years that followed, researchers across the country, including at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle racked up an array of tantalizing discoveries involving T cells.

Fast-forward to 2010, when Ludwig, who lives in Bridgeton, N.J. became Penns first patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy. Two other men got the treatment not long after. One is still in remission; the other relapsed and died.

But after those three patients, the Penn researchers ran out of money for more treatments. To try to raise interest and funding, they decided to publish the results of their work. The article that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2011 created a firestorm, June said one that brought them new resources. David Porter, a Penn oncologist working with June, was on vacation in western Maryland and had to stop at a Kohls to buy a dress shirt for the immediate TV interviews.

The pediatric trial opened the following spring with Whitehead. Six months later, Penn licensed its technology to Novartis in exchange for financial support, which included a new cell-manufacturing facility on campus.

With FDA approval seeming imminent, the researchers who were so instrumental in the therapys development and testing are almost giddy. Grupp is especially pleased that the advance will be available first to children. Usually everything is developed first for adults, he noted recently, and children are an afterthought.

Read more:

This is not the end: Using immunotherapy and a genetic glitch to give cancer patients hope

This 8-year-old is free of cancer for now after a breakthrough treatment

For a 6-year-old with cancer, a future staked on medicines hottest field

View original post here:
First gene therapy 'a true living drug' on the cusp of FDA approval - Washington Post

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Its been a good week for Neon: After posting positive cancer vaccine data a few days ago, the Fierce 15 winner has signed a new R&D pact with gene-editing biotech CRISPR Therapeutics.

In a brief update, the pair said that the research collaboration [will] explore the combination of each companys proprietary technologies to develop novel T cell therapies.

CRISPR, which went public last year, is currently working on early-stage CRISPR/Cas9 technology that could change the way many diseases, from cancer to sickle cell disease are treated, while Neon is working on neoantigen vaccines a new form of personalized immunotherapy in which antigens that are found in diseased tissues but not normally in healthy patients are used to develop targeted vaccines.

Neon's peptide-based vaccine (NEO-PV-01) is made from up to 20 antigens harvested from patients' own tumor cells, and last week it posted data from a small study of six patients with melanoma who were given the vaccine at around the same time as they underwent surgery to remove the tumor in a bid to prevent recurrence.

More than 70% of the peptides successfully generated measurable immune responses, and after over two years of followup, four of the six patients were recurrence-free.

Cancer vaccines have largely failed to deliver on their early promise in the clinic, but these data, coupled with positive results also coming from an RNA-based vaccine developed by BioNTech last week, has boosted confidence in this research area.

RELATED: Fierce 15 winner Neon Therapeutics

Neon Therapeutics is committed to employ leading technologies, including CRISPR/Cas9, to improve the quality of our cell therapy approaches, said Richard Gaynor, M.D., president of research and development at Neon.

This collaboration will explore gene-based technologies from CRISPR Therapeutics with our expertise in neoantigen science and T cell biology.

Back in January, the company also said it raised a chunky $70 million in its series B round, and has also combined its candidate with Bristol-Myers Squibb's checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab); data from that early test should be out before the years end.

Samarth Kulkarni, president and chief business officer of CRISPR Therapeutics, added: We look forward to applying our proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 technologies in a variety of ways to generate potent T cell therapies directed against neoantigens. This collaboration with Neon Therapeutics supplements our internal efforts in immuno-oncology and broadens the spectrum of approaches we are able to explore.

Read the original here:

Neon partners up with CRISPR Therapeutics for IO work - FierceBiotech

Recommendation and review posted by sam

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard said today they have joined discussions to create a nonexclusive CRISPR/Cas9 joint licensing pool being coordinated by MPEG LA, which operates patent pool licensing programs across institutions and countries.

The patent pool would facilitate the licensing of patents covering CRISPRwhich stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeatsby creating a one-stop shop for commercial users without forcing licensees to pursue agreements with several entities, the Broad said.

The Broad disclosed today that it responded June 28, two days before the deadline set in April by MPEG LA, a provider of one-stop licenses for standards and other technology platforms. MPEG LA requested submissions by CRISPR/Cas9 patent holders to join in creating a global joint licensing platform related to the technology.

The Broad submitted for evaluation 22 patents13 U.S. patents and 10 European patentscontained within 10 patent families. That submission, the Broad said, was also being made on behalf of joint patent owners Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Rockefeller University.

We strongly support making CRISPR technology broadly available, Issi Rozen, CBO of the Broad Institute, said in a statement. We look forward to working with others to ensure the widest possible access to all key CRISPR intellectual property.

The Broad says it joins with MIT, Harvard, and Rockefeller to make CRISPR tools freely available to the academic and nonprofit communities and issue nonexclusive licenses for most types of commercial research, including agriculture. The exception is human therapeutics, where the Broad limits exclusivity through its Inclusive Innovation model, which offers one licensee exclusive use for a defined two-year period, followed by an open call for applications by other groups. The two-year exclusive period has already ended for CRISPR applications.

According to the Institute, the patents it submitted for discussion include not only those related to CRISPR/Cas9, but more broadly relevant CRISPR patents and application related to the technology.

See the rest here:

Broad Institute Joins CRISPR Patent Pool Talks | GEN - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (blog)

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Researchers have revealed the structure and action of a new type of 'molecular scissors' known as Cpf1, which may improve CRISPR genome editing.

Using X-ray crystallography, the team were able to view the three-dimensional structure of Cpf1, a bacterial protein from the CRISPR-Cas family of molecules. Like CRISPR/Cas9, the CRISPR-Cpf1 tool has potentially widespread applications in biotechnology.

They were also able to visualise exactly how Cpf1 unzips and cuts double-stranded DNA, saying that Cpf1 'acts like a GPS' across the genome to recognise and cleave DNA (genetic) sequences with high precision.

The new CRISPR-Cpf1 technique has therapeutic potential fortreating cancers and genetic diseases, and could also 'be used to modify microorganisms, with the aim of synthesising the metabolites required in the production of drugs and biofuels', according to lead researcher, Professor Guillermo Montoya, from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (NNF-CPR) at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The researchers, who published their study in Nature, first created Cpf1 gene constructs and inserted these into Escherichia coli bacteria to trigger Cpf1 gene expression which they observed. 'We radiated the crystals of the Cpf1 protein using X-rays to be able to observe its structure at atomic resolution, enabling us to see all its components. X-ray diffraction is one of the main biophysical techniques used to elucidate biomolecular structures,' said Professor Montoya.

While cutting DNA using Cas9 results in blunt ended strands, the study showed that Cpf1 cleaves DNA in a staggered fashion leaving 'sticky ends', which makes insertion of a DNA sequence easier. Furthermore, in comparison to Cas9, thestructural component for DNA recognition and binding for CRISPR-Cpf1 (called the Protospacer Adjacent Motif or PAM) is located far from the DNA cleavage site. The resulting physical separation may prevent damage of PAM site and offer new possibilities for DNA cleavage.

Professor Montoya said: 'The high precision of this protein recognising the DNA sequence on which it is going to act functions like a GPS, directing the Cpf1 system within the intricate map of the genome to identify its destination. In comparison with other proteins used for this purpose, it is also very versatile and easy to be reprogrammed.'

More:

How new 'molecular scissors' may give crisper CRISPR - BioNews

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Representation of the Cpf1 protein in complex with its target RNA and target DNA. The determination of its structure at high resolution has allowed to reveal the modus operandi of this genetic engineering tool. / University of Copenhagen

A scientific team from in the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (NNF-CPR), at the University of Copenhagen, has succeeded in visualizing and describing how a new system for genome editing, known as Cpf1, works. This protein belongs to the Cas family and enables the cleavage of double stranded DNA, thus allowing the initiation of the genome modification process. The results of the study have been published in the journal Nature.

Guillermo Montoya, a researcher in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology who led the study, explains to SINC that the new molecular scissors will enable us to more safely modify and edit the instructions written in the genome, due to the utmost precision of the target DNA sequence recognition.

The CRISPR Cas9 system for cutting and paste genome sequences is already being used to modify animal and plant genomes. Also to treat illnesses, such as cancer and retinal diseases, in humans and its applications are growing very fast.

X-Ray Crystallography Technique

Researchers across the world are trying to perfect this genome editing technique with the aim of making it yet more precise and efficient. To achieve this, they have also focused on other proteins that specifically cut DNA, such as Cpf1, whose manipulation can direct them to specific locations in the genome. Montoyas team has achieved this using an X-ray Crystallography to decipher the molecular mechanisms controlling this process.

We radiated the crystals of the Cpf1 protein using X-rays to be able to observe its structure at atomic resolution, enabling us to see all its components, points out the co-author of this study. X-ray diffraction is one of the main biophysical techniques used to elucidate biomolecular structures, he continues.

In his opinion, the main advantage of Cpf1 lies in its high specificity and the cleaving mode of the DNA, since it is possible to create staggered ends with the new molecular scissors, instead of blunt-ended breaks as is the case with Cas9, which facilitates the insertion of a DNA sequence.

The high precision of this protein recognising the DNA sequence on which it is going to act functions like a GPS, directing the Cpf1 system within the intricate map of the genome to identify its destination. In comparison with other proteins used for this purpose, it is also very versatile and easy to be reprogrammed, Montoya adds.

Genetic diseases and tumours

These properties make this system particularly suitable for its use in the treatment of genetic diseases and tumours, he affirms.

The team has previously worked with the French biotechnology company Celletics on the use of meganucleases other proteins that can be redesigned to cut the genome in a specific location to treat certain types of leukemia.

The new technology can also be used to modify microorganisms, with the aim of synthesising the metabolites required in the production of drugs and biofuels, adds Montoya.

This researcher, from Getxo (Biscay, Spain), says that there are many companies interested in this new technology. They are mostly from the biotechnology sector in the field of microorganism manipulation, but cannot be named due to confidentiality agreements.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by SINC. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Reference

Stella, S., Alcn, P., & Montoya, G. (2017). Structure of the Cpf1 endonuclease R-loop complex after target DNA cleavage. Nature.

Go here to read the rest:

Improving Genome Editing: CRISPR Cpf1 mechanism visualized - Technology Networks

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Red Bull

CRISPR: 5 ways it will save your life - Red Bull Red Bull How bioengineering is becoming a game of Ctrl-X, C and V, and saving countless lives along the way. Microsoft-founder Bill Gates told Wired magazine in 2010 ... and more »

See the rest here:

CRISPR: 5 ways it will save your life - Red Bull - Red Bull

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Submitted information

OHIO CITY The Ohio City Park Association and the Lambert Days Committee has finalized plans for the 2017 festival.

Lambert Days is always the third full weekend in July. This years dates are July 21-23. This is also the 50th anniversary of Ohio Citys celebration of the life of John W. Lambert and his invention of Americas first automobile.

This years edition of Lambert Days will feature a communitywide garage sale. For more information, contact Laura Morgan at 419.965.2515. There will also be food all weekend in the newly renovated Community Building on Ohio 118.

Friday, July 21

Festivities start off with a steak dinner (carryout is available), starting at 4 p.m. Friday. Ohio Citys American LegionHarvey Lewis Post 346 will have aflag-raising ceremony at 5 Friday evening, while kids games and inflatables will also open at 5. At 6 p.m., the Lambert Days Wiffleball Homerun Derby will take place. For more information, contactLorenzo Frye 419.771.7037.

There will also be entertainment at 6 p.m. featuring Cass Blue. At 7, there will be a adult Wiffleball tournament. For more information, contact Brian Bassett419.203.8203. A Texas Hold em Tournament will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, along with Monte Carlo Night, which begins at 8 p.m. For more information, contact Jeff Agler at 419.513.0580.

Entertainment for Friday night starts at 8 and will be the band Colt & Crew. There will also be a fireworks display at 10:15 p.m. Friday (Saturday night is the rain date).

Saturday, July 22

Saturday morning begins with a softball tournament at 8. For more information, contact Brian Bassettat 419.203.8203. There will also be a coed volleyball tournament that starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. For more information, contact Tim Matthews at 419.203.2976. The Lambert Days Kids Wiffleball Tournament starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. For more information, contact Lorenzo Frye at 419.771.7037.

Kids games and Inflatables continue at 11 Saturday morning. Cornhole tournament registration and 3-on-3 basketball tournament registration start at noon, while both tournaments begin at 1 p.m. For more information on cornhole, contact Josh Agler at 567.259.9941 and for 3-on-3 basketball, contact Scott Bigham at 419.953.9511.

The Hog Roast Dinner starts at 4 p.m. Saturday and carryout is available. There will also be music under the tent by Jeff Unterbrink at 4. Bingo will start at 5 p.m., and the night ends with entertainment by Megan White and Cadillac Ranch.

(more)

Read more:
Ventolin proair - Rsv breathing treatments albuterol - Van Wert independent

Recommendation and review posted by sam

In the spring, 23andMe, a DNA testing firm, was the first company to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell directly to consumers, without a prescription, a genetic test that screens for several diseases, including late-onset Alzheimers, Parkinsons and some rare blood disorders.

Heres how it works: You pay $199 online for a Health and Ancestry kit. When it arrives, you spit into a tube and mail it back. Two months later, you can view your results in your online account.

Tests like this arent new, but in the past you could typically get one only if your doctor ordered it. And often it was to screen you for a specific condition, such as the BRCA genes, which put you at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

The results were then shared with a doctor, who interpreted them for you. By contrast, the 23andMe test puts the results in the hands of the consumer.

Should you get one? Before you do, consider your motive. What kind of information are you looking for and what are you going to do with it? After all, some of the diseases for which 23andMe has been authorized to provide genetic reports Alzheimers, for instance have no cure.

Also keep in mind that having the gene for a certain disease doesnt mean youll get the disease. In the case of Parkinsons, for example, direct-to-consumer genetic testing can help to identify who is at risk for developing Parkinsons but cannot predict who will be diagnosed, says John Lehr, CEO of the Parkinsons Foundation.

The same is true of Alzheimers. Thats one reason the Alzheimers Association discourages genetic testing, says Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach. Its not going to answer the question most people have: Will I get Alzheimers or not?

Nevertheless, some people are information seekers, says genetic counselor Susan Hahn. And information can be powerful. It could push some people to adopt healthier habits, a major factor in staying well.

If you choose to get a genetic test for health risks, seek counseling from a genetic specialist or a doctor, who can help you understand your test results. Genetic counseling is not included in 23andMes Health and Ancestry kit. But the firms website provides resources that help connect customers with counselors.

Nellie S. Huang is a senior associate editor at Kiplingers Personal Finance magazine.

See original here:
Checking the cost of a genetic test - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Todd and Jen Winton have a clear vision of why Ahwatukee is the perfect place for their practice.

The husband-wife doctors he a naturopath and she a chiropractor consider it a community of people who are as committed to healthy living as they are to helping people achieve it.

Ahwatukee has a very friendly community, said Jen. People are genuinely interested in their health and are continuously looking for natural alternatives to drugs and surgery. They find many answers in our clinic to get healthy and stay active.

Jen Winton opened the practice, Active Lifestyle Clinic, at 16515 S. 40th St., Ahwatukee, not long before they married about six years ago, having met on the online dating site eharmony.com.

Now theyve added a partner, Dr. Keith Smith, who is returning to Ahwatukee eight years after he sold his 10-year-old Ahwatukee Life Center.

The Wintons take healthy living seriously even when theyre not at work.

Theyve marched in demonstrations against genetically modified food, and load their website, activelivingcenter.com, with tips and products aimed at helping people live a healthier life.

Smith shares that philosophy, even though he had never met the couple until he began working with them, motivated by a desire to get back into chiropracty.

He had sold his business to open a wellness practice that concentrated on nutrition and weight loss.

Many people are hungry for information on vitamins, nutrition and eating healthy but dont know where to start, he said. I am passionate about sharing this information and helping people get back to basics with food.

The Wintons, parents of two boys ages 3 and 5, have both been practicing for more than 15 years.

She graduated from Palmer West College of Chiropractic Smiths alma mater as well in 2003 and also holds a bachelors degree in psychology from the University of Washington.

Her husband attended Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, graduating in 1999.

Jen Winton practices chiropractic with a focus on family care.

Her husband focuses on the most conservative treatments, specializing in male and female hormone balance using bio-identical hormones, natural pain relief using prolotherapy and ozone injections and weight loss.

The naturopathic aspect is very intriguing to most folks since male and female hormone imbalance is so rampant, she said, adding that her husbands natural pain injections and his other treatments are very effective at healing joints and preventing surgery."

Before she had met her husband, Jen Winton had bought a small practice from Dr. Janelle Perkins in Ahwatukee at Ray Road and Ranch Circle, and soon found it grew exponentially to where she needed more space.

She relocated to the 40th Street location off Frye Road and by that time picked up her new partner in life as her partner in the practice.

Over time, they have found that one of their biggest challenges has involved the insurance industry.

We used to rely on insurance sending us patients through their network listings, she explained. Insurance in Arizona has changed so much in the world of chiropractic that most do not cover it anymore.

So theyve developed a program offering low rates such as $25 for an adjustment and $65 for naturopathic care to counter the effects of those changes.

Jen Winton and Smith also have teamed up with local restaurants, such as Pita Jungle, Hillside Spot and Pomegranate Caf, to offer health-related lunch workshops to businesses in Ahwatukee and the surrounding area.

Smith said hes glad hes hitched up with the Wintons because they share his commitment to helping people live healthier lives and because of their location.

We all have a very similar philosophy, care for patients and make care affordable, he said. Plus, I have practiced in Ahwaukee for years and really enjoy the community.

Information: 480-704-1050, ActiveLifestyleClinic.com

See original here:
Couple and a new partner share love of Ahwatukee, better health - Ahwatukee Foothills News

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith