Hoofstock Genetics Laparoscopic AI Deer

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S1E43 - The OGenome Project - Genetics - The Adam Dunn Show
Adam Mitch test the first legal US hemp crop for THC and CBD live on air with the CBScientific personal analytics (http://cbscientific.com), and talk about their new OGenome project with...

By: The Adam Dunn Show

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Newswise BETHESDA, MD The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce the election of four new members to its Board of Directors. The new members include a vice-president, who will serve as president of the Society in 2016, and three directors:

The newly elected board members begin their tenure on January 1, 2015, and will remain on the GSA Board through December 31, 2017.

"We are thrilled to welcome these accomplished individuals into GSA's leadership," said Adam P. Fagen, PhD, GSA's Executive Director. "Just as we are grateful for the volunteered insights and efforts from those completing their tenure this year, we are confident that these new additions will help our Board continue to improve the way our Society serves genetics researchers and educators."

"Genetics has entered a phenomenal period when new information and technology is revolutionizing our understanding of biology and disease," added GSA Vice President-Elect Dr. Fields. "I look forward to working with GSA members and our partners over the next few years during this exciting time."

New Members of the GSA Board of Directors

Vice President (and President-Elect): Stanley Fields, PhD

Department of Genome Sciences and Department of Medicine, University of Washington

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

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Genetics Society of America Announces Results of Election for New Board Members

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Homeopathic gene therapy + #39;d to my water supply
The people who manage and run Welsh Water have allowed an unknown person to add homeopathic gene therapy targeted at my telomeres on my DNA strands increasin...

By: Saul Allaway

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Homeopathic gene therapy +'d to my water supply - Video

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P02-Gene Therapy

By: seung-jae Kim

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One of the inventors of gene editing says scientists should proceed cautiously before testing it in people.

Feng Zhang

Citing the risk of deadly mistakes, a leading researcher speaking at MIT Technology ReviewsEmTech conferenceon Tuesday said the risks of gene editing need to be better understood before the technology can be used in medical studies.

Feng Zhang, a researcher at MIT, helped invent a powerful new way to alter DNA that he compared in his talk to a search-and-replace function for the genome.

Several startups have already sprung up to turn the technology into new kinds of gene-therapy drugs, including CRISPR Therapeutics and Editas Medicine, a biotechnology company that Zhang cofounded last year with venture capitalists who invested $43 million.

These companies hope to correct diseases, like cystic fibrosis, caused by faulty DNA. In other cases, Zhang said, changing a persons DNA could provide a protective effectfor instance, conferring immunity to HIV.

The concept is very powerful, but to make any correction in the body is very challenging, he said.

Looming over researchers is the 1999 death of Jesse Gelsinger, a volunteer in an early gene therapy study in Pennsylvania. That failure dealt a huge setback to genetic drugs. Later it was shown that such treatments, even when they work, could sometimes cause cancer by making unwanted changes to a persons genome.

One of the early lessons from gene therapy is to go slowly, said Zhang. The lesson is that we need to understand a system carefully before putting it into a person.

Gradually, however, gene therapy has staged a comeback. In 2012, a treatment called Glybera was the first to be approved in Europe. Its not yet for sale in the U.S., but numerous gene treatments are being tested in patients.

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EmTech: Risks of Gene-Editing Drugs Need Study, Pioneer Says

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Stem Cell Treatment For Psoriasis
http://bit.ly/1tPneYK Click here to find out how to treat psoriasis for good in less than one week. It #39;s simple and effective and really is effective! Stem c...

By: Kasie Isbell

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Stem Cell Treatment For Psoriasis - Video

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DALLAS, September 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report "Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Marketby Product (Reagent, Media, Bead, centrifuge), Cell Type (human, stem cell, animal), Technique (Filtration, Surface Marker),by Application (Research, IVD) &by End user (Hospital, Biotechnology) - Forecast to 2019", published by MarketsandMarkets, provides a detailed overview of the major drivers, restraints, challenges, opportunities, current market trends, and strategies impacting the Cell Isolation Market along with the estimates and forecasts of the revenue and share analysis.

Browse 194 market data tables and 53 figures spread through 211 pages and in-depth TOC on"Cell Isolation/Cell Separation"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cell-isolation-market- ... Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The global Cell Isolation Market is expected to reach $5.1 Billion by 2019 from $2.5 Billion in 2014, growing at a CAGR of 15.8% from 2014 to 2019.

The report segments this market on the basis of product, cell type, technique, application, and end user. Among various techniques, the centrifugation-based cell isolation technique is expected to account for the largest share in 2014, while surface marker-based cell isolation technique is expected to account for the fastest-growing segment in the cell isolation market, owing to technological advancement due to which new products are being launched in the market. Furthermore, rising usage of surface market-based cell isolation techniques in stem cell and cancer research is another major reason for the growth of this market.

Based on geography, the global Cell Isolation Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW). North America is expected to account for the largest share of the market by the end of 2014. The large share of this region can be attributed to various factors including increasing government support for cancer and stem cell research and expanding biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in this region.

Further Inquiry:http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=103931479

Prominent players in the Cell Isolation Market are BD Biosciences (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Merck Millipore (U.S.), Miltenyi Biotec (Germany), pluriSelect (U.S.), STEMCELL Technologies (Canada), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (U.S.), Terumo BCT (U.S.), and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.).

Browse related reports

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Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Market Worth $5.1 Billion by 2019

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Buffalo Springfield- For What Its Worth
Uploading a song a day for 30 days in September, raising money for the 2nd annual online fundraising event "Sing for Spinal Cord Injury". View all videos: http://www.facebook.com/singforspinalinj...

By: Haydon Entertainment

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Buffalo Springfield- For What Its Worth - Video

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Learning to walk after spinal cord injury
Trying to move my legs again after SCI, T8ASIAC.

By: T8ASIAC

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Learning to walk after spinal cord injury - Video

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Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Rachel Bonner, Hope for Crohn #39;s
She doesn #39;t want your sympathy. She doesn #39;t want your admiration. She just wants your understanding. Rachel Bonner, a sixteen-year-old high school student and founder of the Hope for Crohn #39;s...

By: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

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Xia Jie.

Medical entrepreneur Xia Jie, whose company Health 100 owns the largest chain of health clinics in China, plans to open overseas facilities to cater for wealthy clients.

That could result in an investment of about $20 million in a regenerative treatment centre in the resort, making it a Mecca for health tourism and athlete injury rehabilitation.

''We're now negotiating with the local medical teams,'' Mr Xia said yesterday through an interpreter while on a four-day fact-finding mission to Queenstown.

''Health 100 really wants to find beautiful cities around the world to take Chinese patients to and Queenstown is one of them.

''The vision is to bring the very high-end customers to have special treatment which is not carried out elsewhere in the world,'' he said.

Health 100 would invest with existing firms Queenstown Regenerative Medicine (QRM), run by Marcelle Noble, and the Queenstown Skin Institute.

Both have small premises at Remarkables Park in Frankton.

Queenstown Skin Institute director Dr Hans Raetz said Mr Xia had indicated plans for a much larger centre, with sites in Remarkables Park, Jacks Point or the Five Mile development off Frankton Ladies Mile already earmarked.

''The size depends on Mr Xia, but we've been talking between $10 million and $20 million.

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Stem cell centre proposed for resort

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When a child became ill, Jim Pattison was one of many who stepped up as a potential bone marrow donor.

Herald photo by Jodi Schellenberg

Jim Pattison was given two paperweights for his stem cell donation. He decided to become a donor in 1996, but was not a match until after 2010.

In 1996, Pattison was one of many who went on the bone marrow transplant list to help a one and a half year old child who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The organizers of the donor drive expected maybe 50 people to show up and were shocked by the close to 400 who attended.

Sadly, the family didnt find a match and the girl died, but Pattison decided to stay on the registry.

They asked if I wanted to stay on and my answer was that if I would do it for Abigail I would do it for anybody, he said.

Throughout the years, Pattison was asked to test for more markers to see if he would be a match for someone else. He did his last test in 2010 and heard back a short time later with the news he was a match.

Pattison was chosen for a peripheral stem cell donation, which is different from a bone marrow transplant because it is less invasive.

I first went to where the stem cells are collected and had a physical, he explained. They sent me back with some drugs that I had to have injected here, that stimulate the stem cells to grow. I had four injections before I went.

They were looking to make sure I had a high enough level of stem cells to make the donation, he added.

Link:
Local man shares his story of stem cell donation

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Company plans for the future of stem cell use

by Samantha Schmieder

Staff Writer

Next Healthcare Inc. of Germantown recently launched a partnership with Arizona Cardinals wide reciever Larry Fitzgerald to promote its newest venture, CelBank Pro to other professional athletes.

Next Healthcares CelBank is the collection of cell samples and storage of their blood, skin or stem cells to be used in the future. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that are able to renew themselves through cell division and can be scientifically manipulated to become another type of cell with a more specialized function. They offer hope to provide new ways to fight disease or injuries, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Essentially we are in the business of banking cells for people, Vin Singh, the founder and CEO of Next Healthcare, said.

While CelBank is geared toward anyone interested in using their own cells later in their life, CelBank Pro is geared toward sports players who are very likely to get injured or just worn down during their career.

Skin cells and stem cells are stored at a healthy time at someones life for later use in regenerative medicine, Singh said.

In 2006 and 2007, Singh, who lives in Boyds, heard about a method in Japan that was able to turn adult skin cells into stem cells. Singh decided to build Next Healthcare around these induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.

For me that was the real spark. I heard about that and thought, Wow, this is an amazing, revolutionary breakthrough, Singh said. Thats where the idea came from, what can we do with that technology. There has to be something that I can do for consumers to give them an advantage.

Continue reading here:
Germantown

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Company plans for the future of stem cell use

by Samantha Schmieder

Staff Writer

Next Healthcare Inc. of Germantown recently launched a partnership with Arizona Cardinals wide reciever Larry Fitzgerald to promote its newest venture, CelBank Pro to other professional athletes.

Next Healthcares CelBank is the collection of cell samples and storage of their blood, skin or stem cells to be used in the future. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that are able to renew themselves through cell division and can be scientifically manipulated to become another type of cell with a more specialized function. They offer hope to provide new ways to fight disease or injuries, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Essentially we are in the business of banking cells for people, Vin Singh, the founder and CEO of Next Healthcare, said.

While CelBank is geared toward anyone interested in using their own cells later in their life, CelBank Pro is geared toward sports players who are very likely to get injured or just worn down during their career.

Skin cells and stem cells are stored at a healthy time at someones life for later use in regenerative medicine, Singh said.

In 2006 and 2007, Singh, who lives in Boyds, heard about a method in Japan that was able to turn adult skin cells into stem cells. Singh decided to build Next Healthcare around these induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells.

For me that was the real spark. I heard about that and thought, Wow, this is an amazing, revolutionary breakthrough, Singh said. Thats where the idea came from, what can we do with that technology. There has to be something that I can do for consumers to give them an advantage.

Read more:
Germantown's Next Healthcare pairs with NFL player

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Sep-2014

Contact: Katie Marquedant kmarquedant@partners.org 617-726-0337 Massachusetts General Hospital @MassGeneralNews

Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer identified distinct patterns of gene expression in several groups of CTCs, including significant differences from the primary tumor that may contribute to the ability to generate metastases. In their study reported in the Sept. 25 issue of Cell Reports, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center identified several different classes of pancreatic CTCs and found unexpected factors that may prove to be targets for improved treatment of the deadly tumor.

"Our ability to combine a novel microfluidic CTC isolation device, developed here at MGH, with single-cell RNA sequencing has given us new biological insights into these cells and revealed novel avenues to try and block the spread of cancer," says lead author David T. Ting, MD, MGH Cancer Center.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly of tumors because it spreads rapidly via CTCs carried in the bloodstream. The earliest technologies for isolating CTCs from blood samples relied on interactions with known tumor-specific marker proteins, potentially missing cells that did not express those particular markers. The device used in the current study, called the CTC-iChip, enables the isolation of all CTCs in a blood sample, regardless of the proteins they express on their surface, by removing all other components. Since the CTCs collected are in solution, unlike with previous CTC capture devices, they are suitable for advanced RNA sequencing techniques to reveal the gene expression patterns of each individual cell.

Using a well-known mouse model of pancreatic cancer, the researchers first isolated 168 single CTCs from the bloodstreams of five individual mice. Analysis of the RNA transcripts of each CTC revealed several different subsets of CTCs, based on gene expression patterns that were different from each other and from the primary tumor. The largest subset, which the authors call 'classic CTCs,' was found to have elevated expression of a stem cell gene called Aldh1 a2, along with genes characteristic of two basic cell types epithelial and mesenchymal transition between which has been associated with tumor metastasis. Another gene expressed by almost all classic CTCs, Igfbp5, is only expressed in primary tumor at locations where epithelial cancer cells interface with the supporting stromal cells that provide a nurturing microenvironment, an observation that suggests that those regions may be the source of CTCs.

The research team was most surprised to observe that extracellular matrix (ECM) genes in general usually expressed primarily in stromal cells were highly expressed in all classic CTCs. Previous studies have suggested that the establishment of metastases depends on the appropriate cellular microenvironment 'soil' in which CTCs can plant themselves as 'seeds' and that the expression of ECM genes is an important aspect of that environment. Expression of ECM genes by CTCs themselves suggests that the blood-borne cells may provide or help prepare their own 'soil.'

Analysis of CTCs from blood samples of human patients with pancreatic, breast or prostate cancer also found elevated expression of several ECM genes. One particular gene, SPARC, was highly expressed in all pancreatic CTCs as well as in 31 percent of breast CTCs. Further experiments revealed that suppressing SPARC expression in human pancreatic cancer cells reduced their ability to migrate and invade tissue, and significantly fewer metastases were generated when SPARC-suppressed pancreatic tumors were implanted into a mouse model, supporting the protein's role in a tumor's metastatic potential.

"Given our limited therapeutic options for pancreatic cancer, understanding the role of the ECM in this tumor seems to be of great importance," says Ting, who is an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Much effort has been focused on targeting the microenvironment to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy, and data indicating that environmental stromal cells can enhance a tumor's metastatic ability indicate that ECM proteins are important whether they are produced in stroma or within the tumor cells themselves. Now we need to investigate whether therapeutically targeting ECM can destroy both the tumor microenvironment and CTCs before they have a chance to metastasize."

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Massachusetts General study reveals gene expression patterns in pancreatic CTCs

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer identified distinct patterns of gene expression in several groups of CTCs, including significant differences from the primary tumor that may contribute to the ability to generate metastases. In their study reported in the Sept. 25 issue of Cell Reports, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center identified several different classes of pancreatic CTCs and found unexpected factors that may prove to be targets for improved treatment of the deadly tumor.

"Our ability to combine a novel microfluidic CTC isolation device, developed here at MGH, with single-cell RNA sequencing has given us new biological insights into these cells and revealed novel avenues to try and block the spread of cancer," says lead author David T. Ting, MD, MGH Cancer Center.

Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly of tumors because it spreads rapidly via CTCs carried in the bloodstream. The earliest technologies for isolating CTCs from blood samples relied on interactions with known tumor-specific marker proteins, potentially missing cells that did not express those particular markers. The device used in the current study, called the CTC-iChip, enables the isolation of all CTCs in a blood sample, regardless of the proteins they express on their surface, by removing all other components. Since the CTCs collected are in solution, unlike with previous CTC capture devices, they are suitable for advanced RNA sequencing techniques to reveal the gene expression patterns of each individual cell.

Using a well-known mouse model of pancreatic cancer, the researchers first isolated 168 single CTCs from the bloodstreams of five individual mice. Analysis of the RNA transcripts of each CTC revealed several different subsets of CTCs, based on gene expression patterns that were different from each other and from the primary tumor. The largest subset, which the authors call 'classic CTCs,' was found to have elevated expression of a stem cell gene called Aldh1 a2, along with genes characteristic of two basic cell types -- epithelial and mesenchymal -- transition between which has been associated with tumor metastasis. Another gene expressed by almost all classic CTCs, Igfbp5, is only expressed in primary tumor at locations where epithelial cancer cells interface with the supporting stromal cells that provide a nurturing microenvironment, an observation that suggests that those regions may be the source of CTCs.

The research team was most surprised to observe that extracellular matrix (ECM) genes in general -- usually expressed primarily in stromal cells -- were highly expressed in all classic CTCs. Previous studies have suggested that the establishment of metastases depends on the appropriate cellular microenvironment -- 'soil' in which CTCs can plant themselves as 'seeds'- and that the expression of ECM genes is an important aspect of that environment. Expression of ECM genes by CTCs themselves suggests that the blood-borne cells may provide or help prepare their own 'soil.'

Analysis of CTCs from blood samples of human patients with pancreatic, breast or prostate cancer also found elevated expression of several ECM genes. One particular gene, SPARC, was highly expressed in all pancreatic CTCs as well as in 31 percent of breast CTCs. Further experiments revealed that suppressing SPARC expression in human pancreatic cancer cells reduced their ability to migrate and invade tissue, and significantly fewer metastases were generated when SPARC-suppressed pancreatic tumors were implanted into a mouse model, supporting the protein's role in a tumor's metastatic potential.

"Given our limited therapeutic options for pancreatic cancer, understanding the role of the ECM in this tumor seems to be of great importance," says Ting, who is an assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Much effort has been focused on targeting the microenvironment to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy, and data indicating that environmental stromal cells can enhance a tumor's metastatic ability indicate that ECM proteins are important whether they are produced in stroma or within the tumor cells themselves. Now we need to investigate whether therapeutically targeting ECM can destroy both the tumor microenvironment and CTCs before they have a chance to metastasize."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Massachusetts General Hospital. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Gene expression patterns in pancreatic circulating tumor cells revealed

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Rachel Philipson

Ph.D. student and study co-author Sachi Horibata and Scott Coonrod, associate professor at the Baker Institute for Animal Health, work on research that linked an enzyme to cancer development.

New research on an enzyme linked to cancer development shows that 37 percent of mice that produce excessive quantities of the enzyme developed skin tumors within four to 12 months of birth, and many of these growths progressed to highly invasive squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

This finding, published online Sept. 11 in the journal Cancer Research, provides the first genetic link between the activity of the enzyme, called PAD2, and cancer progression, and provides important supporting evidence for further studies aimed at using PAD2 inhibitors to block carcinoma progression in humans.

Lead author Scott Coonrod, the Judy Wilpon Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Baker Institute for Animal Health in Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine, has studied links between PAD2 and other PAD (peptidylarginine deiminase) enzymes and cancer for some time. Those prior studies suggested that PAD2 plays an important role in regulating genes during cancer progression; however, a direct link between PADs and tumor progression had not yet been proven. Other work from the lab suggested that PAD2 is found at high concentrations in several tumor types, but it was not known whether these elevated levels of the enzyme were causing cancer or merely a consequence of tumor progression.

To directly test for links between PAD2 and cancer, the researchers engineered mice to overexpress PAD2 and then looked to see whether these mice developed cancer.

Coonrod thinks that the reason PAD2 overproduction in the skin may cause cancer is likely due to its ability to promote inflammation.

Inflammation has long been known to play an important role in the development of many types of cancer, he says. Recent studies provide strong evidence that inflammation represents one of the 10 hallmarks of cancer.Its becoming clear that the activity of PAD enzymes seems to be low in most normal tissues, but becomes elevated in a whole range of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and lupus. PAD activity is very high in the affected tissues and seems to be driving a lot of the inflammatory conditions that cause these diseases.

To test whether PAD2 might be promoting inflammation, Coonrod and his colleagues looked for classical markers of inflammation in the growths and found that a number of these markers were significantly elevated in the mouse tumors. To further test their hypothesis, they overexpressed PAD2 in human cell lines to better understand how the enzyme might behave in human tissue. They found that, similar to the mouse studies, PAD2 overproduction made these human cells more invasive and also enhanced inflammatory marker expression.

Together, these studies suggest that increased PAD activity in human skin, and potentially other tissues, promotes an inflammatory environment that is favorable for cancer development, says Coonrod. His longtime collaborator, Paul Thompson at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, has developed a range of new PAD inhibitors, and the team is now testing whether these compounds might suppress carcinoma progression in mouse models of both skin and mammary glands.

Continued here:
Gene linked to development of skin cancer in mice

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Sep-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ryan kryan@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News @LiebertOnline

IMAGE: Industrial Biotechnology, led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MoT, CEO and President, Taxon Biosciences, Tiburon, CA, is an authoritative journal focused on biobased industrial and environmental...

New Rochelle, NY, September 22, 2014Cassava, also known as tapioca, has large starch-filled roots and can grow at high yields in areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America where corn and sugarcane are not commonly grown. With the availability of novel enzymes and processes designed to break down tapioca starch into sugars that can then be used to produce sweeteners such as glucose, fructose, or maltose syrup, tapioca may be an ideal alternative to corn, as described in a Review article in Industrial Biotechnology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available for free on the Industrial Biotechnology website.

In the article "Cassava, the Next Corn for Starch Sweeteners", Jay Shetty, DuPont Industrial Biosciences (Palo Alto, CA), Bruce Strohm, Grain Enzyme Technology (Beloit, WI), and Sung Ho Lee and David Bates, and Gang Duan, from DuPont Industrial Biosciences in Cedar Rapids, IA and Wuxi, China, respectively, describe the current geographic distribution of cassava cultivation, and the composition and utility of the starch that comprises 24-30% of the cassava tuber. The authors discuss the variety of enzymes and processing steps available to convert tapioca starch to glucose via liquefaction and saccharification.

"Novel enzyme discovery and development continues to be core to expanding industrial biotechnology opportunities," says Co-Editor-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, Professor, Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

###

About the Journal

Industrial Biotechnology, led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Larry Walker, PhD, and Glenn Nedwin, PhD, MoT, CEO and President, Taxon Biosciences, Tiburon, CA, is an authoritative journal focused on biobased industrial and environmental products and processes, published bimonthly in print and online. The Journal reports on the science, business, and policy developments of the emerging global bioeconomy, including biobased production of energy and fuels, chemicals, materials, and consumer goods. The articles published include critically reviewed original research in all related sciences (biology, biochemistry, chemical and process engineering, agriculture), in addition to expert commentary on current policy, funding, markets, business, legal issues, and science trends. Industrial Biotechnology offers the premier forum bridging basic research and R&D with later-stage commercialization for sustainable biobased industrial and environmental applications.

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Can tapioca replace corn as the main source for starch sweeteners?

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Black Gold Genetics - 353
Black Gold Rita 353.

By: Adam Moss

See the original post here:
Black Gold Genetics - 353 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Researchers have found that environment has a much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe, often painful food allergy that renders children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

Eosinophils are normal cellular components of the blood, but when the body produces too many eosinophils they can cause a variety of eosinophilic disorders. These are disorders involving chronic inflammation and resulting tissue damage, often in the gastrointestinal system.

In an international collaboration involving multiple institutions, researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center quantified the risk associated with genes and environment on familial clustering of EoE.

The researchers constructed and examined patient family pedigrees of patients with EoE and their first-degree relatives (nuclear family analysis) and of patients with EoE and their identical or fraternal twin/triplets (twin analysis). Using these two distinct analyses, they determined that 2.4% of siblings and 1.8% of first-degree relatives of patients with EoE also had EoE.

The researchers also found that brothers, fathers, and males were more likely to have EoE than sisters, mothers, or females. Twins had 20-40% risk of EoE depending upon whether they were identical or fraternal.

"The power of this study is the twin analysis," says Eileen Alexander, PhD, MS, BSN, RN, Woodside Fellow at Cincinnati Children's and first author of the study. "Both the twin and family analyses support that genetics contribute to EoE risk, but the twin analysis revealed that the contribution of genetics was previously overestimated, masking the stronger contribution of common household environment. Further studies of environmental factors may identify modifiable environmental risk factors that could be targeted for EoE prevention."

This study, published online September 22 in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first EoE heritability study to analyze twins. This is a necessary step in separating the contribution of genetics from environment. It also identified a few environmental risk factors, including food allergies, high twin birth-weight difference, and self-reported penicillin allergy.

Allergic diseases have been on the rise over the past 20 years, with approximately one of every 13 children having food allergies and over 2.5 million children suffering from allergic asthma. Only recently recognized as a distinct condition, the incidence of EoE has also been increasing. Dr. Marc E. Rothenberg M.D., Director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology and Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, and his laboratory team pioneered research showing EoE's reported incidence is estimated to be approximately 1 out of 1,000 people. Its hallmark is swelling and inflammation in the esophagus, accompanied by high levels of immune cells called eosinophils.

EoE can affect people of any age, but is more common among young men who have a history of other allergic diseases, such as asthma and eczema. EoE is often first discovered in children with feeding difficulties and failure to thrive, but it is often misunderstood and not well known, delaying proper diagnosis and treatment.

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Environment plays bigger role than genetics in food allergic disease

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise CINCINNATI - Researchers have found that environment has a much stronger role than genetics in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a severe, often painful food allergy that renders children unable to eat a wide variety of foods.

Eosinophils are normal cellular components of the blood, but when the body produces too many eosinophils they can cause a variety of eosinophilic disorders. These are disorders involving chronic inflammation and resulting tissue damage, often in the gastrointestinal system.

In an international collaboration involving multiple institutions, researchers at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center quantified the risk associated with genes and environment on familial clustering of EoE.

The researchers constructed and examined patient family pedigrees of patients with EoE and their first-degree relatives (nuclear family analysis) and of patients with EoE and their identical or fraternal twin/triplets (twin analysis). Using these two distinct analyses, they determined that 2.4% of siblings and 1.8% of first-degree relatives of patients with EoE also had EoE.

The researchers also found that brothers, fathers, and males were more likely to have EoE than sisters, mothers, or females. Twins had 20-40% risk of EoE depending upon whether they were identical or fraternal.

The power of this study is the twin analysis, says Eileen Alexander, PhD, MS, BSN, RN, Woodside Fellow at Cincinnati Childrens and first author of the study. Both the twin and family analyses support that genetics contribute to EoE risk, but the twin analysis revealed that the contribution of genetics was previously overestimated, masking the stronger contribution of common household environment. Further studies of environmental factors may identify modifiable environmental risk factors that could be targeted for EoE prevention.

This study, published online September 22 in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first EoE heritability study to analyze twins. This is a necessary step in separating the contribution of genetics from environment. It also identified a few environmental risk factors, including food allergies, high twin birth-weight difference, and self-reported penicillin allergy.

Allergic diseases have been on the rise over the past 20 years, with approximately one of every 13 children having food allergies and over 2.5 million children suffering from allergic asthma. Only recently recognized as a distinct condition, the incidence of EoE has also been increasing. Dr. Marc E. Rothenberg M.D., Director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology and Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders, and his laboratory team pioneered research showing EoEs reported incidence is estimated to be approximately 1 out of 1,000 people. Its hallmark is swelling and inflammation in the esophagus, accompanied by high levels of immune cells called eosinophils.

Excerpt from:
Environment Plays Bigger Role Than Genetics in the Food Allergic Disease Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

(PRWEB UK) 22 September 2014

BioKidz is a simple concept which aims to engage children in the importance of stem cell medicine. Aimed at an audience of 4-9 year olds, the company now aims to use it in the 21 countries in which it operates.

BioEden has been invited to speak with parents and teachers later this month, as the BioKidz site aims to be a good source of scientific information for primary school teachers.

The BioEden proposition is very simple one: harvest the stem cells from a naturally shed baby tooth, store the viable cells for future therapeutic use, and guarantee that the cells will be available when needed.

As stem cell medicine is now becoming commonplace, it is important that there is a stem cell match when needed. The easiest way to do this is by harvesting and storing one's own cells, and there is no easier way than from naturally shed teeth.

The company admits that they could be putting the ordinary tooth fairy out of business, but they hasten to add that BioKidz have their own hero in the form of a Super Tooth Fairy who works within their own stem cell laboratories.

Children can meet BioEden the Super Tooth Fairy by visiting http://www.bioeden.com.

Visit link:
BioKidz: the Children of the Stem Cell Revolution to go Global

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

A teenager who gave stem cells to save the life of a stranger is backing a national campaign to find more donors.

In June, Celyn Evans, 17, became one of the youngest people in the UK to donate stem cells.

The Colchester Royal Grammar School sixth-form student is supporting Anthony Nolans Save a Life at 16 campaign.

The charity wants HMRC to include details about stem cell donation when it writes to teens with their National Insurance numbers ahead of their 16th birthday.

Celyn, of West Mersea, said: You often hear that young people are self absorbed and not interested in helping others, but I think thats wrong.

People just need to be made aware of how they can help. That is why I am supporting this campaign.

Celyn joined the bone marrow donor register last September when his brothers friend developed leukaemia.

He was not able to help the family friend, but in February, Anthony Nolan contacted him to say he was a possible match for another patient in need of a potentially life-saving transplant.

Celyn agreed to donate and, after a series of check-ups, made the donation in London in June.

Like 90 per cent of donors, he gave his stem cells through a simple, outpatient process similar to giving blood.

Original post:
Colchester teen becomes one of the UK's youngest stem cell donors

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Celyn Evans, 17, from Colchester, has donated stem cells to save the life of a complete stranger. Pictured with the stem cells.

Monday, September 22, 2014 10:49 AM

A selfless teenager from Colchester who donated stem cells to a stranger is backing a campaign to help find more young heroes.

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In June Celyn Evans, 17, became one of the youngest such donors in the UK.

He was contacted by the Anthony Nolan Trust as a possible match after joining the bone marrow register last September when his brothers friend developed leukaemia.

Now he is supporting Anthony Nolans Save A Life At 16 campaign, calling on HMRC to include details about stem cell donation when it writes to people with their National Insurance number ahead of their 16th birthday.

Celyn said: You often hear that young people are self absorbed and not interested in helping others, but I think thats wrong. People just need to be made aware of how they can help.

Its a very simple process, and I am surprised more people dont do it. But I think its just down to people knowing about it, which is where Anthony Nolans idea comes in.

For more information or to join the register visit the Anthony Nolan Trust website.

Follow this link:
Colchester: Selfless teen stem cell donor Celyn Evans backs campaign to find more young heroes

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith