PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Aug-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, August 5, 2014 -- Women who visit Internet pornography sites are at risk of developing cybersex addiction. A comparison of the tendency toward cybersex addiction among heterosexual women who do or do not use Internet pornography and factors predictive of developing cybersex addiction are described in a study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

In "Cybersex Addiction in Heterosexual Female Users of Internet Pornography Can Be Explained by Gratification Hypothesis," authors Christian Laier, Jaro Pekal, and Matthias Brand, University of Duisburg-Essen (Duisburg, Germany), and Erwin L. Hahn, Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Essen, Germany), explore the role of anticipating and receiving sexual gratification in the development of cybersex addiction.

"The authors found that cybersex addiction in the study population of heterosexual female users is similar to that of heterosexual males," says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium and Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California. "Although the study population was only limited to individuals under 30, this helps to advance our understanding of cybersex addiction in females."

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About the Journal

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies, plus cybertherapy and rehabilitation. Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

About the Publisher

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What drives cybersex addiction among female internet pornography users?

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Translating genetic advances into day to day clinical practice
By Prof Subra Kugathasan.

By: Joint Sessions of the Alumni of Faculty of Medicine, Jaffna

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Translating genetic advances into day to day clinical practice - Video

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The research team, directed by Dr. Karol Estrada, analyzed genetic sequencing of 8000 Mexicans and found a mutated gene related to diabetes in 30% of mestizos and in half the indigenous population.

The largest genetic study of type II diabetes made between Mexican population has identified a gene present in mestizos (mixed race) and indigenous people of the country that rises five times the likelihood of developing the disease, compared to other populations of the world. The study integrates researchers from the Broad Institute (Harvard University and Massachusettes Institute of Technology), the National Institute of Nutrition and the Institute of Biomedical Research of the UNAM.

The research results were reported in June 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which notes that the mutated gene called SLC16A11 occurs in 30 percent of the mestizo population and up to 50 percent of the Mexican indigenous.

In this study, the scientist Karol Estrada, who works for the Broad Institute in Boston, directed the genetic sequencing analysis using computational elements.

To locate the gene, the first part of the research of DNA samples of more than eight thousand Mexicans, half of whom live in Mexico City and one in Los Angeles, California were taken; in the second stage just over four thousand attended nationals, with a ratio of 75 percent in the capital and the remaining in the Californian city.

"The collection of samples took a long time, and then, from the genetic information and clinical data began the search of the variant among millions of data generated. Many see it as finding a needle in a haystack, but identifying the gene has been a professional success that satisfies me personally."

"My job is to make the analytical part, and to make sense of what the computer sequencing generated; if Mexican researchers hadn't collected this information I wouldn't have come to this, "says Karol Estrada.

Karol Estrada founded in 2005 the Department of Computational Genomics at the National Institute of Genomic Medicine. In 2012 arrived at the Broad Institute to conduct research in osteoporosis, but what was done in diabetes research caught his eye and decided to integrate a scientific team looking for the gene among the Mexican population; this major study is sponsored by the Consortium SIGMA (Slim Initiative for Genomic Medicine Version).

"Once we had all the data on sequenced DNA it took us a year to process the information and infer the needle in the haystack. We found the gene can develop diabetes MODY (Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young), which usually occurs in young people, and in the Mexican population may occur around age 50; then the patient comes to the clinic and is treated for type II diabetes.

"A genetic DNA test could determine the type of diabetes in minutes and from this the treatment to follow, with all the correct dose of treatment to improve the patient's condition. In the second part of the international study a genetic diagnostic tool that costs less than 100 pesos is being developed. It enables us to do the work knowing that it is a single gene variant for the Mexican population and not having to test for many other genes, "says Dr. Karol Estrada.

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Diabetes-related mutation found in Mexican population

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By U-T San Diego Editorial Board3:36 p.m.Aug. 4, 2014

The worlds of science, technology, medicine and philanthropy all came together Monday in a remarkable way that will benefit children in San Diego for decades. Businessman Ernest Rady and his wife Evelyn are donating $120 million to the medical center that already bears their family name, Rady Childrens Hospital.

The new donation, one of the most generous acts of philanthropy ever in San Diego, will be used to create an institute intended to ultimately be capable of sequencing and analyzing the genetic makeup of every young patient who comes through the hospitals doors. With that data, doctors hope to dramatically increase their ability to diagnose and treat genetic disorders.

The impact of the donation will be felt in many ways. San Diego already is a leader in many fields of science, technology and medicine. This gift will further cement that status for the city. It will also boost the growing and hugely promising field of genetic medicine.

And, most important, the work made possible by this money will mean a longer life and a higher quality of life for thousands of children, many of whom today may not have such hopes.

The $120 million from the Radys raises the total they have given the hospital since 2006 to $180 million. On behalf of a grateful community, thank you.

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A remarkable act of philanthropy again

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Bubba Fresh Norstar Genetics is here Come say hello
California Proposition 215 Legal Medical cannabis collective.

By: XcHaze

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Good Genetics Hair Peruvian Loose Wave! 2 week Update
This video is my 2 week update on the Peruvian loose wave hair I received from Good Genetics Hair! Product Used On The Hair: Creme of Nature Chamomile Conditioner Link To Initial Review: https://w...

By: Mocha Hontas

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Good Genetics Hair Peruvian Loose Wave! 2 week Update - Video

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Lets Play The Sims 3 Perfect Genetics-100 Baby Challenge Live Stream Part 12
Kasey #39;s life gets a little easier but we still are struggling for money! -- http://www.twitch.tv/gbabychallenger/c/4812071 utm_campaign=archive_export utm_source=gbabychallenger utm_medium=youtube.

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Lets Play The Sims 3 Perfect Genetics-100 Baby Challenge Live Stream Part 12 - Video

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Lets Play The Sims 3 Perfect Genetics-100 Baby Challenge Live Stream Part 11
Life continues to unravel and be hectic for Kasey and the kids! -- http://www.twitch.tv/gbabychallenger/c/4812041 utm_campaign=archive_export utm_source=gbabychallenger utm_medium=youtube.

By: GBabyChallenger

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Lets Play The Sims 3 Perfect Genetics-100 Baby Challenge Live Stream Part 11 - Video

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RainDance Technologies - Complex Genetics Made Simple
RainDance Technologies is leading a transformation in disease research by making innovative tools that simplify complex genetic analysis. We are focused on delivering innovative Digital Droplet-bas...

By: RainDance Technologies

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RainDance Technologies - Complex Genetics Made Simple - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Aug-2014

Contact: Peggy Calicchia calicchi@cshl.edu 516-422-4012 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

August 5, 2014 A major hurdle in gene therapy is the efficient integration of a corrected gene into a patient's genome without mutating off-target sites. In a paper published today in Genome Research, scientists have used CRISPR/Cas genome editing technology to seamlessly and efficiently correct disease-causing mutations in cells from patients with -thalassemia.

-thalassemia results from inherited DNA mutations in the hemoglobin beta (HBB) gene, resulting in reduced HBB expression in red blood cells and, in the most severe forms, anemia. The only established curative treatment is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; however, this treatment requires a matched donor. Gene therapy, which delivers a corrected copy of a gene into patient cells, could bypass the need for a donor. Previous attempts using a virus to randomly insert a normal gene into the genome has been successful in one -thalassemia patient, but the long-term effect of viral insertion is not yet known.

To correct HBB mutations directly in a patient's genome, researchers first generated induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, from skin cells of patients. The real breakthrough came when they applied CRISPR/Cas9 to precisely engineer a double strand DNA break at the HBB locus in these cells, allowing a donor plasmid with the corrected sites to be efficiently integrated, thus replacing the mutated sites. The donor plasmid also contained selectable markers to identify cells with corrected copies of the gene. These selectable markers were subsequently removed with transposase and a second round of selection, generating a seamless, corrected version of HBB in the patient's genome.

Importantly, the researchers could differentiate the corrected iPSCs into mature blood cells, and these blood cells showed restored expression of hemoglobin. However, much work is needed before these cells could be transplanted back into a patient for treating -thalassemia. "Although we and others are able to differentiate iPSCs into blood cell progenitors as well as mature blood cells, the transplantation of the progenitors into mouse models to test them has so far proven very difficult," said senior author Yuet Wai Kan from the University of California, San Francisco. "I believe it will take quite a few more years before we can apply it in a clinical setting."

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Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco and the Blood Systems Research Institute contributed to this study.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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Seamless gene correction of beta-thalassemia mutations in patient-specific cells

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Time Posted: August 5, 2014 9:43 am

Yanick Mulumba

Kabungo Yanick Mulumba, a resident of Maamba, Zambia, a graduate of St. Canisius High School, and now a senior at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, is one of forty undergraduate students accepted into the 2014 Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Internship Program, which provides participants with a challenging summer research experience in a cutting-edge stem cell science laboratory.

Mulumba is spending ten weeks, from June 9 to August 15, in the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology laboratory of HSCI Principal Faculty member Chad Cowan, PhD, known for his research on genetic disease modeling. Mulumbas project this summer is to engineer transplantable white blood cells that dont attack the bodys own cells when used for adoptive immunotherapya treatment that uses biological substances to boost a patients immune system.

The internship has enhanced my critical thinking through troubleshooting and planning of experiments, Mulumba said. Ive also been exposed to leaders in academia and industry who have helped me learn how to combine my interests in medicine, research, and healthcare management.

Over the course of the program, interns participate in a stem cell seminar series, a career pathways presentation, and a weekly stem cell companion course. They present their summer research findings, both orally and in poster format, at an end-of-program symposium.

This program represents an exciting opportunity for undergraduates to gain hands-on experience in stem cell research while working in an HSCI laboratory under the supervision of an experienced researcher, said HSCI Internship Program co-director M. William Lensch, PhD.

The Harvard Stem Cell Institute gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following sponsors for the 2014 HSCI Internship Program: Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine, Loughborough University (UK), Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

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Maamba resident awarded Harvard Stem cell institute internship

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Knee arthritis 28 months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D.
Cory describes his outcome from a single bone marrow/adipose stem cell treatment for his arthritic knees by Harry Adelson, N.D. http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

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Knee arthritis 28 months after stem cell therapy by Harry Adelson, N.D. - Video

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Could stem cell injections help rejuvenate your face or body? Probably not, plastic surgery experts say, but ads for these types of bogus procedures abound on the Internet.

"Stem cells offer tremendous potential, but the marketplace is saturated with unsubstantiated and sometimes fraudulent claims that may place patients at risk," a team led by Dr. Michael Longaker, of Stanford University Medical Center, wrote in a review published in the August issue ofPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The experts say consumers need to be wary of advertisements promoting the benefits of "minimally invasive, stem cell-based rejuvenation procedures." Claims for stem cell procedures for facelifts, breast augmentation and vaginal rejuvenation are not only unsubstantiated, but also risky, Longaker's team said.

They note that, to date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only one cosmetic stem cell procedure designed to treat fine facial wrinkles. And since that single procedure was approved, the product involved has been monitored extensively.

Overall, cosmetic stem cell procedures have not undergone significant scientific scrutiny, the Stanford team said. The risks associated with stem cell and tissue processing have not been closely examined. The effects of aging on stem cells are also not well established, the researchers explained.

14 Photos

Tummy tucks and facelifts pale in comparison to these surprising surgeries patients request

To investigate concerning claims being made about cosmetic stem cell procedures, the researchers performed a basic Internet search. They found the most common result was "stem cell facelifts." Most of the procedures used stem cells isolated from fat but did not provide details on the quality of the stem cells.

More than 100 clinical trials are currently evaluating stem cells derived from fat, but few are focusing on cosmetic treatments. The researchers cautioned that the products used in these cosmetic procedures likely involves additional types of cells unless they utilized sophisticated cell-sorting techniques.

Many blood plasma-enriched "platelet protein treatments" are also incorrectly advertised as stem cell therapy, the study's authors noted.

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Stem cell beauty treatments? Be wary, experts say

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Gary Valenciano. File Photo.

MANILA Veteran singer and concert performer Gary Valenciano is set to undergo a stem cell therapy so he could continue dancing.

In an interview with entertainment site Push, Valenciano said the treatment is primarily for his knees.

Kasi medyo masakit na talaga siya. I have hardly any cartilage left. Yung meniscus ko has multiple tears and it has been like this for years so Im going through a procedure na sana mag-regenerate yung cartilage ko, he said.

Because of this, Valenciano said he will take a short break from his showbiz commitments.

"Ill give myself a little time na mawala yung pain and then hataw ulit. Kasi hindi ko talaga mapigilan yung sarili ko eh. Even if sinasabi ko na sa sarili ko na Tama na, tama na hindi eh," he said.

Valenciano, who just staged the repeat of his concert "Arise" at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last weekend, also explained why he no longer holds concerts as often as before.

"I slowed down na kasi if you watched my past concerts yun yung talagang pure energy ang thrust ko eh. Yun ang ginawa ko ngayon, he said. Ayaw ko kasi yung manood yung mga tao at sabihin nila Ay hindi na niya kaya, dapat huminto na siya no? Ayaw ko ng ganon, mas mabuti pa yung kaya pa niya and then stop. [Tapos sasabihin ng tao] Oh bakit? Sabagay matagal na rin siyang sumasayaw.

Valenciano, who is turning 50 on Wednesday, said he also wants the other performers to enjoy the spotlight.

Siguro magiging awaited moment na ng mga tao na makita akong sumayaw kasi marami na talagang magagaling din ngayon who deserve also the limelight, he said, citing Sam Concepcion, Billy Crawford, Rayver Cruz, Vhong Navarro and even his son Gabriel.

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Gary V to undergo stem cell therapy

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Training In BJJ With A Spinal Cord Injury: Maximiliano Ulloa
If you would like to donate, please visit http://www.rollingthewalk.com or email Max at RollingTheWalk@gmail.com. Tournament footage courtesy of Maximiliano Ulloa.

By: JitsMagazine

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Training In BJJ With A Spinal Cord Injury: Maximiliano Ulloa - Video

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Facelift | PRP Facelift | Stem Cell Facelift | Eterna MD | Video #1
Learn more about how you can get a facelift without the scalpel with the revolutionary stem cell facelift available at Eterna MD in Orlando, Florida. Visit our website for more insight: http://ete...

By: Eterna MD Regenerative Medicine

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Facelift | PRP Facelift | Stem Cell Facelift | Eterna MD | Video #1 - Video

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The decision to donate her baby's cord blood was "a no-brainer," said Michael's mother, Megan Kuttler of West Conshohocken. "If it could help somebody else, of course I wanted to."

Most expectant parents in the Philadelphia region do not have that opportunity.

"Women want to donate, but we can't afford to collect it," said Dennis Todd, CEO at Community Blood Services in Montvale, N.J. The agency - one of only 21 public cord-blood banks in the nation that provide units for transplants - receives an average of five calls or e-mails a week from expectant parents asking how they can contribute their baby's cord blood for the greater good.

The answer is almost always, "Sorry, but you can't."

"It's tough to do a good deed," said Frances Verter, director of the nonprofit Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.

Unless a woman delivers at one of the relatively few hospitals affiliated with a public cord-blood bank, her options are limited.

The Carolinas Cord Blood Bank, part of Duke University, is one of the few public banks that will send collection kits to qualified donors.

Only the most motivated women donate this way.

To do it, the mother has to fill out forms, request a kit, and ask the person who delivers her baby to take an online certification course and collect six vials of maternal blood as well as the baby's cord blood. Then the mother has to ship the package within 48 hours to the lab.

What is surprising is that so many are willing to do it. Duke can't fill all the requests it receives.

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Umbilical-cord stem cells valuable, but usually wasted

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Following the death of their colleague Marlon Layne, members of the marketing firm Ogilvy and Mather started a campaign to get the word out about the prevalence of blood cancers and the need for more diversity within the donor pool. Over the past three years they've raised nearly $42,000 for the cause and signed up around 160 new donors to the Be the Match Registry.

"I cant change the past but I can ensure that in the future nobody else like Marlon has to be waiting for a marrow registrant from somebody whos of their same race," said Ogilvy & Mather Marketing Analytics Associate Director Omari Jinaki.

But Jinaki says he has noticed a level of hesitancy to participate within the Black community.

"That is rooted, clearly, in hundreds of years of history of being misguided and misrepresented and underrepresented by the systems that are supposed to protect us," said Jinaki.

There's also a lack of awareness of the need within the Latino and Asian communities and lingering misconceptions the donation process- many believing it's painful with significant recovery time.

"The process has changed in the way one donates bone marrow. 75 percent of the time it's just like a blood donation," said Icla Da Silva Foundation President Airam Da Silva.

Depending on the recipient's need- most can now donate via a peripheral blood stem cell or PBSC.

For five days before donation, the donor is injected with filgrastim, which moves more blood-forming cells out of the marrow into the blood stream. The drug can cause head or joint aches and fatigue.

"On the fifth day the donor goes to the blood bank or to the hospital, they donate blood from one arm, the blood goes through a apheresis machine where it separates the bone marrow cells and the rest of the blood goes back on the other arm," said Da Silva.

You can also donate through a surgical procedure- with general or regional anesthesia. Doctors use hollow needles to draw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. Donors are usually sent home the same or the following day and feel some soreness for around a week after the procedure.

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Group Raising Awarness about Need for Bone Marrow Donors

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04.08.2014 - (idw) Universitt Luxemburg - Universit du Luxembourg

Scientists at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg have grafted neurons reprogrammed from skin cells into the brains of mice for the first time with long-term stability. Six months after implantation, the neurons had become fully functionally integrated into the brain. This successful, because lastingly stable, implantation of neurons raises hope for future therapies that will replace sick neurons with healthy ones in the brains of Parkinsons disease patients, for example. The Luxembourg researchers published their results in the current issue of Stem Cell Reports. The LCSB research group around Prof. Dr. Jens Schwamborn and Kathrin Hemmer is working continuously to bring cell replacement therapy to maturity as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases. Sick and dead neurons in the brain can be replaced with new cells. This could one day cure disorders such as Parkinsons disease. The path towards successful therapy in humans, however, is long. Successes in human therapy are still a long way off, but I am sure successful cell replacement therapies will exist in future. Our research results have taken us a step further in this direction, declares stem cell researcher Prof. Schwamborn, who heads a group of 15 scientists at LCSB.

In their latest tests, the research group and colleagues from the Max Planck Institute and the University Hospital Mnster and the University of Bielefeld succeeded in creating stable nerve tissue in the brain from neurons that had been reprogrammed from skin cells.

The tests demonstrate that the scientists are continually gaining a better understanding of how to treat such cells in order to successfully replace damaged or dead tissue. Building upon the current insights, we will now be looking specifically at the type of neurons that die off in the brain of Parkinsons patients namely the dopamine-producing neurons, Schwamborn reports. In future, implanted neurons could produce the lacking dopamine directly in the patients brain and transport it to the appropriate sites. This could result in an actual cure, as has so far been impossible. The first trials in mice are in progress at the LCSB laboratories on the university campus Belval. Weitere Informationen:http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/abstract/S2213-6711%2814%2900203-3 - Link to the scientific paperhttp://www.uni.lu/lcsb - link to the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine

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Implanted Neurons become Part of the Brain

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LEGALIZING STEM CELL THERAPY in the U.S.A. By: Dr. Arturo Pacheco Reyes, MD U.S. Senator
I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator (http://www.youtube.com/upload)

By: Arturo Reyes

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LEGALIZING STEM CELL THERAPY in the U.S.A. By: Dr. Arturo Pacheco Reyes, MD U.S. Senator - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Aug-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, August 4, 2014 -- Many of the more than 2.5 million men in the U.S. who have received treatment for prostate cancer deal with the often disabling side effects of surgery and radiation and hormonal therapies. To aid in the transition of these patients from specialty to primary care for long-term management of problems such as urinary incontinence and sexual and bowel dysfunction, updated guidelines for prostate cancer survivorship care are published in Journal of Men's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jomh.2014.0026 until September 4, 2014.

Ted Skolarus, MD, MPH led a team of authors from University of Michigan, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (Ann Arbor), and Michigan State University (East Lansing) in preparing the article "Recommendations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care: An Update to the 2009 Michigan Cancer Consortium Guidelines for the Primary Care Management of Prostate Cancer Post-Treatment Sequelae." Based on information gathered from an expert panel and focus groups, additions to the updated guidelines include patient-reported symptoms assessment, self-management strategies for treatment-related side effects, recommendations for involving partners in survivorship care, and new care coordination strategies.

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About the Journal

Journal of Men's Health is the premier peer-reviewed journal published quarterly in print and online that covers all aspects of men's health across the lifespan. The Journal publishes cutting-edge advances in a wide range of diseases and conditions, including diagnostic procedures, therapeutic management strategies, and innovative clinical research in gender-based biology to ensure optimal patient care. The Journal addresses disparities in health and life expectancy between men and women; increased risk factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and obesity; higher prevalence of diseases such as heart disease and cancer; and health care in underserved and minority populations. Journal of Men's Health meets the critical imperative for improving the health of men around the globe and ensuring better patient outcomes. Tables of content and a sample issue can be viewed on the Journal of Men's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jmh.

About the Societies

Journal of Men's Health is the official journal of the International Society of Men's Health (ISMH), American Society for Men's Health, Men's Health Society of India, and Foundation for Men's Health. The ISMH is an international, multidisciplinary, worldwide organization, dedicated to the rapidly growing field of gender-specific men's health.

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New recommendations for post-treatment care of prostate cancer survivors

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Business News of Thursday, 31 July 2014

Source: Graphic Online

Two Ghanaian research scientists made a case for Ghana to adopt genetic engineering (GE) or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) instead of sticking to the conventional method of breeding.

While agreeing that conventional plant breeding had been going on for hundreds of years and had dramatically increased the productivity and quality of plants for food, feed and fibre, they maintained that it could no longer be sustained.

At the opening of a three-day symposium, organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) on GMOs last Monday, Dr Ibrahim Dzido Kwasi Atokple, a researcher at the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Tamale, said Conventional breeding is the basis, but with that alone we cannot make progress.

According to Dr Atokple, practising conventional breeding could no longer be done exclusively, in view of the population explosion and developments that are taking up the arable lands. So we need to combine all biotechnological tools to increase the productivity of the few lands that are left.

He said although the USA depended on hybrids for maize till the 1990s, the trend changed for more improved yields by adopting GMOs (inserting genes to improve yields and make maize more tolerant to insects).

In any case, we started eating GM maize from 1996 till today, he said, adding that although there had been a few success stories in Ghana, the country could do better. Almost all the improved varieties grown in Ghana are from conventional breeding but we cannot continue to do this.

We need to adopt the modern plant breeding strategies and multi-disciplinary and co-ordinated process where a large number of tools and elements of conventional breeding techniques, bioinformatics, molecular genetics, molecular biology and genetic engineering are utilised and integrated to overcome the vagaries of the environment, with respect to climate change, soil degradation and increasing biotic factors, he stated.

Dr Atokple, who is credited with introducing varieties of Maruka-resistant cowpea (beans) and rice, said it even became more imperative to employ GMO breeding because it was a faster, less laborious and more efficient way to improve crop yields.

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Scientists push for GMO adoption in Ghana

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Aug-2014

Contact: Sophie Mohin smohin@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, August 1, 2014Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who want to conceive a child may face the same problems as some of their heterosexual and cisgendered peers, such as reduced fertility, but in addition they often face additional physiological and legal challenges to become parents. A comprehensive review of the most recent advances in assisted reproduction options is presented in the article "LGBT Assisted Reproduction: Current Practice and Future Possibilities," published in LGBT Health, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Cutting-edge research and options likely to be available in the future are also discussed. The article is available free on the LGBT Health website.

A. Evan Eyler, MD, MPH, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington; Samuel C. Pang, MD, Reproductive Science Center of New England, Lexington, MA; and Anderson Clark, PhD, a Reproductive Biologist from Boston, MA, discuss the many medical options available to the LGBT community. The authors provide expert commentary on topics such as gestational surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, donor egg banks, and techniques to preserve future reproductive capability for transgender individuals whose transition plan entails procedures that will, or are likely to, compromise their fertility. The article also explores important economic and legal implications of assisted reproduction.

"In the past, many people in the LGBT communities did not regard reproduction as a realistic option; however, social and scientific progress have changed that," says Editor-in-Chief William Byne, MD, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. "Clinicians who work with LGBT-identified people, particularly transgender youths and their families, should familiarize themselves with the material covered in this interview. Future options may become available even for transgender youths who undergo pubertal suppression prior to the production of viable gametes."

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About the Journal

Spanning a broad array of disciplines LGBT Health, published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, brings together the LGBT research, health care, and advocacy communities to address current challenges and improve the health, well-being, and clinical outcomes of LGBT persons. The Journal publishes original research, review articles, clinical reports, case studies, legal and policy perspectives, and much more. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the LGBT Health website.

About the Publisher

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Advances in assisted reproduction create more options and new legal issues for LGBT couples

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By Chelsea Keenan, The Gazette

About 30 college students gathered last week at the University of Iowa to ask questions about genomic medicine and learn more about the growing field of genetic counseling.

I really just wanted to learn what a genetic counselor does and see if its something to consider, said Katie Knudtson, who will be a freshman at Iowa State University this fall.

Genetic counselors educate patients about how their genes affect their health. The counselors specialize in certain areas, such as pediatric, cancer, prenatal or psychiatric.

Its a good marriage between education and research, said Erin Davidson, an intern at the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics at the UI.

Davidson, who studied biology at Colorado State University, is in the process of applying to graduate school.

The research and technology is exploding, she said. I want to help people understand their options and what their tests mean.

The Iowa Institute of Human Genetics promotes education, clinical care and research. The organization, which was created two years ago, develops new tests, such as how the body and its genetic makeup metabolize drugs, and works on integrating them into a clinical setting, said Colleen Campbell, a certified genetic counselor and assistant director of the institute.

That way we can predict what category you fall into and prescribe the right drug the first time, she said.

As more areas of medicine begin to integrate genetics, more genetic counselors will be needed, Campbell said. The state has only 12 practicing genetic counselors, or one for every 250,000 residents.

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As genetic counseling grows, so do Iowas needs

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Prime Minister David Cameron hopes Britain will become a world leader in genetic research after unveiling a "landmark" 300 million project which will map 100,000 complete DNA code sequences.

The study, which will be completed in 2017, aims to lead the way in research on cancer and rare diseases and could be pivotal to the development of future personalised treatments, which has the potential to revolutionise medicine.

The government-backed genome project could help find a cure for a deadly eye disease which is the leading cause of blindness in children.

Professor Graeme Black, strategic director at the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, said it was a "very, very exciting development" in the search for a possible treatment for the condition known as retinitis pigmentosa or RP.

At the moment around 200 genes relating to the illness have been identified which if mutated can cause sight loss, but there are thought to be more than 500.

RP Fighting Blindness chief executive David Head said: "For people faced with blindness as a result of inherited retinal dystrophies, this is really important."

The 100,000 Genomes Project announced today aims to map 100,000 complete DNA code sequences - the scale of which has never been attempted before.

The genetics revolution "is changing medicine," life sciences minister George Freeman has said.

"Genetics is allowing us to really understand which patients are getting which diseases and why," he continued.

"It means we can diagnose earlier, develop preventative medicines, we can develop new treatments."

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PM hopes to make Britain 'world leader in genetics'

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith