Molecular Genetics Genomic Medicine - Benjamin D. Solomon
Video Highlight: Author, Benjamin D. Solomon on his recently published Molecular Genetics and Genomic Medicine paper entitled "Obstacles and opportunities for the future of genomic medicine"....

By: WileyVideoAbstracts

See the article here:
Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine - Benjamin D. Solomon - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

2014 AG INNOVATION NATIONAL GENETICS SALE : Lot 90 TARANGOWER 12002
For more information, please visit: http://abri.une.edu.au/online/cgi-bin/i4.dll?1=3538202F 2=2934 3=56 5=2B3C2B3C3A 6=5F58255D265A21 9=5F5E5F5C 11=52505B5D 12=43425850.

By: NZBullWalk

Read the original here:
2014 AG INNOVATION NATIONAL GENETICS SALE : Lot 90 TARANGOWER 12002 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Let #39;s Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge - Episode 39
My Sims 3 Page: http://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/Llandros2012 My Blog: http://Llandros09.blogspot.com My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Llandros09?

By: Llandros09

See the original post here:
Let's Play The Sims 3 - Perfect Genetics Challenge - Episode 39 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

gene therapy~3

By: Clara Chong

Read more:
gene therapy~3 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Two new gifts from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation to UCLA totaling $4 million will fund research in stem cell science and digestive diseases and support the recruitment of key faculty at two renowned research centers.

The gifts bring to $30 million The Broad Foundation's total support of faculty recruitment and basic and translational research at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and at the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases at UCLA's Division of Digestive Diseases.

A $2 million gift to the Broad Stem Cell Research Center adds to The Broad Foundation's original 2007 gift of $20 million, which has supported faculty and research and launched the Innovation Award program, which furthers cutting-edge research at the center by giving UCLA stem cell scientists "seed funding" for their research projects. The new gift will enable the continuation of the award program, which has yielded a 10-to-1 return on investment with grantees securing additional funding from other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and more than $200 million in total grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state's stem cell agency.

"The Broads' generous support has been essential to the development of new therapies that are currently in, or very near, clinical trials for treating blindness, sickle cell disease and cancer," said Dr. Owen Witte, director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. "The Broad Stem Cell Research Center's work, supported by critical philanthropic and other resources, is quickly being translated from basic scientific discoveries into new cellular therapies that will change the practice of medicine and offer future treatment options for diseases thought to be incurable, such as muscular dystrophy, autism and AIDS."

The $2 million gift to the Division of Digestive Diseases builds on nearly $6 million in previous commitments from The Broad Foundation since 2003.

The gifts have enabled the division to develop a comprehensive research and clinical enterprise focused on inflammatory bowel disease, one of only a few such centers in the world. Earning a multifold return for The Broad Foundation's initial investments, these grants have enabled investigators to secure $11 million in funding from pharmaceutical companies, the National Institutes of Health and nonprofit foundations.

In addition, The Broad Foundation's Broad Medical Research Program has provided more than $600,000 in grants to UCLA researchers over the past decade for the study of inflammatory bowel disease.

The new gift will support the Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and research led by Dr. Charalabos "Harry" Pothoulakis, the center's director. Pothoulakis' team conducts research aimed at identifying the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of this group of chronic debilitating diseases, for which there is no cure.

Read the rest here:
$4 Million from Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Will Support UCLA Research

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Pronounce Medical Words Personalized Medicine
This video shows you how to say Personalized Medicine. How would you pronounce Personalized Medicine?

By: Medical 101

See the rest here:
Pronounce Medical Words Personalized Medicine - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Perspectives on Pain: A Spinal Cord Injury Panel Discussion
A large percentage of people with SCI have frequent pain that can interfere with daily activities. Finding ways to minimize the pain and, when necessary, to ...

By: UWSpinalCordInjury

See original here:
Perspectives on Pain: A Spinal Cord Injury Panel Discussion - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Innovative technology offers new hope for paraplegics
Originally published on April 9, 2014 Check out our official website: http://us.tomonews.net/ Check out our Android app: http://goo.gl/PtT6VD Check out our iOS app: https://itunes.apple.com/app/t...

By: TomoNews US

Read this article:
Innovative technology offers new hope for paraplegics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

"SMART PILLS" on Fox 5 News - Medidata #39;s Glen de Vries
Fox 5 New York stopped by Medidata #39;s NYC headquarters to talk to Medidata president Glen de Vries about "smart pills" and the future of personalized medicine, highlighting how smartphones and...

By: MedidataSolutions

Read the original:
"SMART PILLS" on Fox 5 News - Medidata's Glen de Vries - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Scotiabank Half - Spinal Cord Injury BC
Featured Charity of the 2014 Scotiabank Charity Challenge Spinal Cord Injury BC helps people with spinal cord injury (or related physical disability) and the...

By: CanadaRunningSeries

Follow this link:
Scotiabank Half - Spinal Cord Injury BC - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Life After A Spinal Cord Injury And Acquired Brain Injury
I suffered a spinal cord injury and acquired a traumatic brain injury when I was 17. This is to tell the story of my life now and some of the day to day difficulties I have with certain things....

By: Chloe Rose

See original here:
Life After A Spinal Cord Injury And Acquired Brain Injury - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Cleveland, Ohio (PRWEB) May 08, 2014

ChanTest announces a new Heart-in-a-Dish in vitro cardiac safety assessment tool to support this critical component of the drug development process for biopharmaceutical companies.

ChanTest has developed this breakthrough in safety assessment by taking advantage of the pairing of two recent technologies stem cell-derived human cardiomyocytes, and Multi-Electrode Array (MEA) recording -- to open a new avenue toward simplifying the cardiac risk assessment process.

Adult human cells can be reprogrammed to simulate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). These iPSCs can be differentiated into heart cells (myocytes) and can be grown in culture dishes to form a spontaneously beating layer of myocytes that display the electrical properties similar to an intact human heart.

With the application of multiple electrodes, this Heart-in-a-Dish will generate a signal that closely resembles an EKG which has been recorded in the doctors office. Now imagine a miniature version of this system. By miniaturizing the recording system in the form of multi-well MEA assay plates, this enables simultaneous, parallel measurements from this Heart-in-a-Dish in order to detect potentially dangerous arrhythmias before human clinical trials.

This powerful system rapidly tests the safety of multiple compounds, at multiple concentrations and time points, explained Chris Mathes, Ph.D., Chief Commercial Officer at ChanTest. And the new offering keeps ChanTest on the cutting edge of providing services tuned to the current regulatory environment for drug discovery.

ChanTest has developed this Heart-in-a-Dish multi-well MEA assay that enables the recording of EKG-like signals to identify side effects from drugs. This new tool can allow biopharmaceutical companies and other drug discovery teams to screen compounds in an informative and robust manner, prior to implementing in vivo animal or human studies.

About ChanTest The Ion Channel Expert ChanTests mission is to serve the drug discovery and development needs of customers worldwide. Since its start in 1998, the Contract Research Organization has tested compounds for more than 300 global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. ChanTest also partners with these companies to accelerate the drug development process for the release of better, safer drugs. ChanTest offers integrated ion channel and GPCR services (GLP and non-GLP) and reagents. The companys library of validated ion channel cell lines, and nonclinical cardiac risk assessment service portfolio, is the most comprehensive commercial library available today.

Because of ChanTests influential role in the cardiac safety field, along with the companys uncompromising commitment to quality, an independent survey has named ChanTest the most trusted and most used fee-for-service provider since 2006. ChanTest is based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Visit http://www.chantest.com to learn more about ChanTest.

See the original post:
ChanTest Launches new Heart-in-a-Dish Cardiac Safety Assessment Tool

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Bone marrow stem cells are special cells within the bone marrow that can form into any type of blood cell when triggered. This allows the bone marrow to supply blood cells to the body as they are needed. The bone marrow acts as a sort of factory or manufacturing station for blood cells, using these undifferentiated stem cells as raw material for white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.

Doctors and scientists have known that bone marrow stem cells can grow into any type of blood cell. Research has shown, however, that these cells also can develop into other types of cells such as cardiac cells, skin cells, and even muscle cells. This research indicates that bone marrow stem cells might be able to be used to treat a number of diseases that are not necessarily related to blood.

Bone marrow stem cells are used to treat several blood-based diseases. Perhaps the best known of these treatments is the bone marrow transplant, commonly used to treat leukemia and lymphoma. In these forms of cancer, intense radiation therapy or chemotherapy destroys the bone marrow cells, which in this case have begun to malfunction. The malfunctioning bone marrow is then replaced with cells from a bone marrow donor. In some cases, a patient may donate blood cells but the cells must be cancer-free for the treatment to be effective; this process is referred to as autologous bone marrow.

For a bone marrow donation to be effective, the blood type of the donor and other factors typically must be evaluated and matched to that of the patient. The more similar characteristics that exist between patient and donor, the more likely the transplant is to be successful. Because of this, close relatives of the patient are more likely to be able to provide a compatible donation. Donations also can come from non-related people, as well.

It is possible to be tested for these important factors ahead of time and be placed on a list of possible donors. In cases where bone marrow stem cells are needed for a transplant, individuals on the list will be evaluated to look for a match with the patient. Like blood banks, bone marrow donations lists are a vital tool to help those afflicted with certain types of devastating diseases. As scientific research continues, more uses for bone marrow stem cells are likely to surface, some of which could revolutionize modern medicine.

Read the original post:
What Are Bone Marrow Stem Cells? (with pictures)

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-May-2014

Contact: Nick Miller nicholas.miller@cchmc.org 513-803-6035 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

CINCINNATI A new study in Nature challenges research data that form the scientific basis of clinical trials in which heart attack patients are injected with stem cells to try and regenerate damaged heart tissue.

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), report May 7 that cardiac stem cells used in ongoing clinical trials which express a protein marker called c-kit do not regenerate contractile heart muscle cells at high enough rates to justify their use for treatment.

Including collaboration from researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute, the study uncovers new evidence in what has become a contentious debate in the field of cardiac regeneration, according to Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, study principal investigator and a cardiovascular molecular biologist and HHMI investigator at the Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute.

"Our data suggest any potential benefit from injecting c-kit-positive cells into the hearts of patients is not because they generate new contractile cells called cardiomyocytes," Molkentin said. "Caution is warranted in further clinical testing of this method until the mechanisms in play here are better defined or we are able to dramatically enhance the potential of these cells to generate cardiomyocytes."

Numerous heart attack patients have already been treated with c-kit-positive stem cells that are removed from healthy regions of a damaged heart then processed in a laboratory, Molkentin explained. After processing, the cells are then injected into these patients' hearts. The experimental treatment is based largely on preclinical studies in rats and mice suggesting that c-kit-positive stem cells completely regenerate myocardial cells and heart muscle. Thousands of patients have also previously undergone a similar procedure for their hearts but with bone marrow stem cells.

Molkentin and his colleagues report those previous preclinical studies in rodents do not reflect what really occurs within the heart after injury, where internal regenerative capacity is almost non-existent. Molkentin also said that combined data from multiple clinical trials testing this type of treatment show most patients experienced a roughly 3-5 percent improvement in heart ejection fraction a measurement of how forcefully the heart pumps blood. Data in the current Nature study suggest this small benefit may come from the ability of c-kit-positive stem cells in heart to cause the growth of capillaries, which improves circulation within the organ, but not by generating new cardiomyocytes.

"What we show in our study is that c-kit-positive stem cells from the heart like to make endothelial cells that form capillaries. But in their natural environment in the heart, these c-kit positive cells do not like to make cardiomyocytes," Molkentin said. "They will produce cardiomyocytes, but at rates so low roughly one in every 3,000 cells it becomes meaningless."

More:
Study urges caution in stem cell clinical trials for heart attack patients

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Knee arthritis 9 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson
Carol describes her outcome from stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson for her arthritic knee http://www.docereclinics.com.

By: Harry Adelson, N.D.

Link:
Knee arthritis 9 months after stem cell therapy by Dr Harry Adelson - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

A service dog that has come from the brink of death and back was in Terry on Wednesday to receive cutting-edge stem cell therapy.

Davis Hawn said his dog, Booster, saved his life and now he's working to return the favor.

"With Booster by my side, I greet each day knowing we can change the world for the better," Hawn said.

Together, Hawn and Booster helped foster international relations by appearing on TV in Cuba. They reassured Thai orphans infected with the HIV virus that life will be OK and they are loved. The list of accomplishments continued to grow until Booster developed hip dysplasia.

"When Booster couldn't get off the floor, I couldn't get out of bed," said Hawn, who suffers from depression. "Just as assuredly as God put Booster into my life, He again answered the call when I read about the modern day marvel of stem-cell implantation."

Medivet America, a global leader in veterinary science with more than 1,000 clinics in 28 countries, learned of Booster's plight and jumped in to help.

"They arranged to perform a procedure in which they injected Booster's own stem cells into his hips and got him back up and running again," Hawn said. "When I went to pay the bill, they refused to accept payment. I like to say that God paid the bill."

In January 2013, Booster again faced a health battle. He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and given three weeks to live. An aggressive tumor had eaten through Booster's skull cap and left him writhing in pain. In an effort to save Booster's life, Hawn moved to Florida where the University of Florida operated on Booster and a referral clinic performed radiation therapy.

The University of Minnesota took a piece of the tumor that was removed from Booster and used it to developed the first vaccine for squamous cell carcinoma in dogs.

Booster is now a cancer survivor.

Read more:
Service dog receives cutting-edge stem cell therapy

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Horizon Discoverys breathless pursuit of world leadership in personalised medicines research from its Cambridge UK headquarters has seen the business acquire more gene editing technology.

And CEO, Dr Darrin Disley said Horizon would continue to review the gene editing field for further product expansion and IP licensing opportunities.

His pledge follows a non-exclusive licence agreement with ERS Genomics Ltd a Dublin-based company to access IP relating to the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system.

Horizon has rights to use the technology, based on the work of globally renowned Dr Emmanuelle Charpentier - and her colleagues for a broad raft of uses.

The deal covers research applications including development and sale of research tools, kits and reagents; performance of research services; creation of genetically modified disease model cell lines; development and production of reference standard material for molecular diagnostics; internal target identification and validation research efforts.

Dr Disley believes this is a vital piece of business as Horizon expands its product suite.

The acquisition of the important CRISPR IP is in line with the companys aims outlined at the time of its IPO and further strengthens Horizons long-term position in the market for this cutting edge gene editing technology.

Access to a broader CRISPR IP portfolio will allow the technology to be deployed extensively across Horizons products, services and leveraged R & D and further enhance the attractiveness of the Horizon GENESIS offering to customers.

Dr Disley said: Horizon Discoverys ambition is to be the market leader in CRISPR technology and by expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights in this area we aim to ensure that our customers, both now and in the future, will have unencumbered access to this innovative new gene editing technology

We believe that the ERS Genomics IP, based on the work of Dr Charpentier and her colleagues, is particularly important and so we are very pleased to be able to add it to our expanding portfolio of patent rights in this area on behalf of our customers.

View post:
Horizon buys more gene editing jewels

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Orlando, Fla. Scientists have developed a non-invasive technique to determine if individuals carry a gene for an inherited eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa. The research is being presented at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) this week in Orlando, Fla.

The technique involves collecting a patients urine and measuring the ratio between specific compounds. The non-invasive process makes subsequent testing clinic-friendly, especially for children being screened.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited conditions where patients progressively lose the ability to see. Development of the disease can include night blindness and tunnel vision, eventually leading to the loss of sight.

Abstract Title: Aberrant Dolichol Chain Length Distribution as Biomarkers for Retinitis Pigmentosa Associated with DHDDS Genotypes Presentation Start/End Time: Wednesday, May 7, 4pm 4:15pm Location: S 230A-D Session Number: 463

# # #

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include some 12,000 eye and vision researchers from over 70 countries. ARVO encourages and assists research, training, publication and knowledge-sharing in vision and ophthalmology.

All abstracts accepted for presentation at the ARVO Annual Meeting represent previously unpublished data and conclusions. This research may be proprietary or may have been submitted for journal publication. Embargo policy: Journalists must seek approval from the presenter(s) before reporting data from paper or poster presentations. Press releases or stories on information presented at the ARVO Annual Meeting may not be released or published until the conclusion of the presentation.

The rest is here:
Non-Invasive Technique Can Identify Genetic Carriers of Eye Disease

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

hide captionCustomers shop for produce at the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, Vt., in 2013.

Customers shop for produce at the Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, Vt., in 2013.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin will sign a landmark bill into law on Thursday, making the state the first to require food producers to label products made with genetic engineering.

The law won't go into effect for two years, but it's already become a hot topic at the first outdoor farmers market of the season in the capital city of Montpelier.

"Finally we have a vote," says Laini Fondilier, who runs the Lazy Lady Farm stand. "We haven't been able to vote on this by our purchases."

Wayne Fawbush, a customer, says he goes out of his way to avoid buying GMO-based foods, and Fondilier chimes in, "But sometimes you don't know it's in there."

The majority of the corn, soybeans and canola grown in the United States are genetically engineered, mostly to resist certain pests or herbicides. That means most packaged food sold in this country contains products that were grown with genetic engineering.

As we reported last month, Connecticut and Maine have already passed labeling acts, but their laws only go into effect once a certain number of other states pass similar legislation.

Vermont is prepared to go first and go it alone.

The state's attorney general, Bill Sorrell, says he doesn't yet know what the label will look like, but he is sure of one thing: "I'll be very surprised if we are not sued," he says, by companies like Monsanto, the world's largest producer of genetically engineered seeds.

More:
Vermont's GMO Bill Expected To Face Major Legal Challenges

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Scientists have created the first organism with synthetic DNA that can replicate in a cell, an achievement that promises to add new letters to the genetic code underlying life on earth.

In the natural world, just two chemical base pairs, known simply as A-T and C-G, constitute the building blocks of DNA in all life forms. Research published yesterday in the journal Nature describes the creation of a cell that contains a man-made base pair, dubbed d5SICS-dNAM.

By expanding the natural boundaries of what constitutes life, scientists hope they can one day create new proteins that can handle a variety of chores in the body, potentially leading to unique ways to attack disease. The approach is safe, the researchers said, because it includes a chemical additive that the cell needs to survive.

We created an organism that lives and stably harbors genetic information in its DNA, said Floyd Romesberg, a chemist at La Jolla, California-based Scripps Research Institute, whose laboratory created the new organism. Instead of two base pairs, it has a third.

All life on earth is based on the combination of four chemicals. Adenine bonds naturally with thymine to create the A-T section of the formula, while guanine and cytosine make up the C-G part. The joining of these base pairs in different combinations creates amino acids and proteins that power life.

Romesbergs work differs from other research in the field of genetic engineering in that it involves creation of components that are purely synthetic and integrated into the machinery of life in a cell, he said in a telephone interview.

Other scientists in the field, notably J. Craig Venter, work by constructing genetic material from natural building blocks, or natural components of DNA and proteins.

Starting in 2009, Romesberg and his laboratory created about 300 nucleotides with the newly constituted DNA before landing on ones they believed might be able to replicate in a cell. They then used a special chemical transporter to get the synthetic base pair into an E.coli cell, where it replicated without affecting cell growth. That suggests it wasnt recognized as atypical by the bodys natural DNA repair machinery, according to the paper.

Synthorx Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology company, has exclusive rights to the synthetic biology from Scripps. The company plans to focus on developing the technology for use in vaccines, medicines and diagnostics, the company said yesterday in a statement.

The research, though promising for fields of medicine and drug development, will probably raise ethical and safety concerns, said Arthur Caplan, head of the division of bioethics at NYU Langone Medical School. He called the research promising.

Here is the original post:
Scientists Add New Letters to Lifes Genetic Alphabet

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

For possibly billions of years, the DNA blueprints for life on Earth have been written with just four genetic "letters" -- A, T, G and C. On Wednesday, scientists announced that that they added two more.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, bio-engineers at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla said they had successfully inserted two synthetic molecules into the genome of an Escherichia coli bacterium, which survived and passed on the new genetic material.

In addition to the naturally occurring nucleotides adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine, which form the rungs of DNA's double-helix structure, the bacterium carried two more base-pair partners, which study authors have dubbed d5SICS and dNaM.

For more than a decade, scientists have been experimenting with so-called unnatural base pairs, or UBPs, saying they may hold the key to new antibiotics, future cancer drugs, improved vaccines, nanomaterials and other innovations.

Until now, however, those experiments have all been conducted in test tubes.

"These unnatural base pairs have worked beautifully in vitro, but the big challenge has been to get them working in the much more complex environment of a living cell," lead study author Denis Malyshev, a molecular and chemical biologist at Scripps, said in a prepared statement.

The new genetic material did not appear to be toxic to the bacteria, and it only remains in the organism's genome under specific lab conditions. In a natural environment, the molecules -- nucleoside triphosphates -- degrade and disappear in a day or two. Once they disappear, the bacterium reverts back to its natural base pair arrangement.

Still, experts said insertion of the synthetic materials into E. coli's genome was a milestone.

"This definitely is a significant achievement," said Ross Thyer, a synthetic biologist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the research. "What I'm most excited about is how this will help us answer some bigger evolutionary questions: Why has life settled on a specific set of bases."

Malyshev and colleagues went about creating the semi-synthetic bacterium by genetically engineering a stretch of ring-like DNA known as a plasmid.

See the article here:
Scientists add new letters to bacteria's genetic 'alphabet'

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Vermont Governor Pat Shumlin intends to sign legislation requiring the labeling of foods that contain ingredients that are genetically modified (GMOs) or produced with genetic engineering. The governors office announced via Twitter that the signing will take place Thursday, May 8. Once the bill is signed, Vermont will become the first state to require mandatory GMO labeling.

The Vermont House approved the bill as amended by the Senate by a vote of 114-30 on April 24. The proposed effective date is July 1, 2016.

It is estimated that 80% of all food sold in the United States is at least partially produced from genetic engineering. The bill would require labeling on all such food sold at retail in Vermont, regardless of whether the food was manufactured in the state. Vermont lawmakers included a $1.5 million legal defense fund in the bill because they expect the law to face legal challenges after the signing.

While the bill exempts processing aids and milk from cows that have been fed GMO feed, many dairy products and other foods that incorporate milk would be affected unless they were made with organic ingredients.

New York GMO bill advances

The New York General Assemblys Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection advanced a bill on Tuesday that would require the labeling of GMOs. The committee voted 9-6 to approve AB 3525 and now will send the bill to the Committee on Codes. The bill is similar to Vermonts legislation as it would take effect without needing the surrounding states to pass labeling bills.

The New York legislation contains the same exemptions for processing aids and milk from cows that have been fed GMO feed or treated with GMO material. The bill must be approved by both the Assembly and the state Senate before the June 19 recess date and signed by the governor before it can become law.

The Food and Drug Administration, American Medical Association, World Health Organization, USDA and the National Academy of Sciences all have said that GMO ingredients are safe and there are no negative health effects associated with their use.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and many other trade organizations oppose individual state legislation on GMO labeling and fully supportThe Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014introduced last month by Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC). This bill would preempt states from requiring mandatory labeling and establish a federal standard for voluntary labeling of food and beverage products made with GMOs.

IDFA is working with the Safe and Affordable Food Coalition, headed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, on issues related to GMO labeling.

The rest is here:
Vermont governor to sign GMO labeling bill

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

The first report of a bacterium whose genome contains man-made DNA building blocks opens the door for tailor-made organisms that could be used to produce new drugs and other products.

All living creatures have a DNA "alphabet" of just four letters, which encode instructions for the proteins that perform most of the key jobs inside cells. But expanding that alphabet to include artificial letters could give organisms the ability to produce new proteins never seen before in nature.

The man-made DNA could be used for everything from the manufacture of new drugs and vaccines to forensics,researchers say.

"What we have done is successfully store increased information in the DNA of a living cell," study leader Floyd Romesberg, a chemical biologist at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told Live Science. Yet many steps remain before Romesberg and his colleagues can get cells to produce artificial proteins. [Biomimicry: 7 Clever Technologies Inspired by Nature]

DNA alphabet

The field of synthetic biology involves tinkering with DNA to create organisms capable of novel functions in medicine, energy and other areas.

The DNA alphabet consists of four letters, or bases: adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine (A, T, G and C). Adenine pairs with thymine, and guanine pairs with cytosine. RNA is a genetic material similar to DNA, except it has a different chemical backbone and replaces the base thymine with uracil (U).

Living things translate DNA into proteins through a series of steps. First, enzymes "transcribe" the DNA into RNA. Then, structures called ribosomes translate the DNA into proteins, which are made up of strands of molecules called amino acids.

Ultimately, the researchers aim to create organisms that can produce artificial proteins. But first, they need to show that the DNA containing the man-made letters can be transcribed into RNA, and that this RNA can be translated into proteins.

In the study, Romesberg and his team created an new pair of DNA letters not found in nature and inserted the pair into cells of Escherichia coli bacteria. Getting the DNA into the cells is not easy, but the researchers were able to do it by way of a transporter, a protein that moves materials across cell membranes.

See the original post:
Weird Engineered Organism Has 6-Letter DNA

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

In an undated handout photo, Floyd Romesberg, a chemistry professor at the Scripps Research Institute and leader of a team that has created an organism with a partially artificial genetic code. The research, published on May 7, 2014, is likely to raise safety concerns and ethical questions, but scientists also say it could lead to medicines and industrial products that could not be made otherwise. (Scripps Research Institute via The New York Times)

The accomplishment might eventually lead to organisms that can make medicines or industrial products that cells with only the natural genetic code cannot. The scientists behind the work at the Scripps Research Institute have already formed a company to try to use the technique to develop new antibiotics, vaccines and other products, though a lot more work needs to be done before this is practical.

The work also gives some support to the concept that life can exist elsewhere in the universe using genetics different from those on Earth.

"This is the first time that you have had a living cell manage an alien genetic alphabet," said Steven A. Benner, a researcher in the field at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., who was not involved in the new work.

But the research, published online by the journal Nature, is bound to raise safety concerns and questions about whether humans are playing God. The new paper could intensify calls for greater regulation of the budding field known as synthetic biology, which involves the creation of biological systems intended for specific purposes.

"The arrival of this unprecedented 'alien' life form could in time have far-reaching ethical, legal and regulatory implications," Jim Thomas of the ETC Group, a Canadian advocacy organization, said in an email. "While synthetic biologists invent new ways to monkey with the fundamentals of life, governments haven't even been able to cobble together the basics of oversight, assessment or regulation for this surging field."

Despite the great diversity of life on Earth, all species, from simple bacteria to human beings, use the same genetic code. It consists of four chemical units in DNA, sometimes called nucleotides or bases, that are usually represented by the letters A, C, G and T. The sequence of these chemical units determines what proteins the cell makes. Those proteins in turn do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function and regulation of the body's tissues and organs.

The Scripps researchers chemically created two new nucleotides, which they called X and Y. They inserted an X-Y pair into the common bacterium E. coli. The bacteria were able to reproduce normally, though a bit more slowly than usual, replicating the X and Y along with the natural nucleotides.

In effect, the bacteria have a genetic code of six letters rather than four, perhaps allowing them to make novel proteins that could function in a completely different way from those created naturally.

"If you have a language that has a certain number of letters, you want to add letters so you can write more words and tell more stories," said Floyd E. Romesberg, a chemist at Scripps who led the work.

See the original post here:
Scientists Add Letters to DNA's Alphabet, Raising Hope and Fear

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

FOJC RADIO - DAVID CARRICO - GENETICS OF SALVATION MARK OF THE BEAST - FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST
THE GENETICS OF SALVATION THE MARK OF THE BEAST FOJC RADIO DAVID CARRICO FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST RADIO FOJC RADIO - DAVID CARRICO WEBSITE - http://www.fo...

By: BlueRavenUSA

See the original post:
FOJC RADIO - DAVID CARRICO - GENETICS OF SALVATION & MARK OF THE BEAST - FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith