PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Feb-2014

Contact: Lisa Newbern lisa.newbern@emory.edu 404-727-7709 Emory Health Sciences

Following another's gaze or looking in the direction someone is pointing, two examples of receptive joint attention, is significantly heritable according to new study results from researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University. Determining such communicative cues are significantly heritable means variation in this ability has a genetic basis, which led the researchers to the vasopressin receptor gene, known for its role in social bonding.

The study results, which are published in Scientific Reports, give researchers insight into the biology of disorders in which receptive joint attention is compromised, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and may ultimately lead to new diagnosis and treatment strategies.

According to Yerkes researchers Larry Young, PhD, and Bill Hopkins, PhD, co-authors of the study, receptive joint attention is important for developing complex cognitive processes, including language and theory of mind, and poor joint attention abilities may be a core feature in children with or at risk of developing ASD.

Young is division chief of Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatric Disorders at Yerkes, director of the Center for Translational Social Neuroscience (CTSN) at Emory and William P. Timmie Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Yerkes researcher Hopkins is also a core faculty member in the Neuroscience Institute of Georgia State University and newly named science director of the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary.

Young and Hopkins led a collaborative team of researchers from Yerkes, the CTSN, the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. They studied chimpanzees to determine the extent to which the animals follow gaze or pointing by a human.

"We used chimpanzees in this behavioral study because their receptive joint attention abilities are well documented and their closeness to humans makes the study results the most likely to be generalizable to humans," says Hopkins.

Young's previous research in which he showed the vasopressin receptor gene was necessary for remembering individuals (or social memories) and for social bonding in male rodents was key to designing the current study. According to Young, variation in the length of a stretch of repetitive DNA, known as junk DNA, in the control region of the vasopressin receptor gene predicted if a male prairie vole was likely to form monogamous bonds with a mate. Human-based studies suggest that a similar repetitive element, referred to as RS3, in the control region of the human vasopressin receptor gene predicts romantic relationship quality and generosity.

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The Domaine de Vassal vine collection near Montpellier holds 2,300 different grape varieties.

Uncertainty hangs over one of the worlds largest and most important grapevine collections. The Domaine de Vassal vineyard, on Frances Mediterranean coast, houses a vast sweep of grape biodiversity that is essential to research and winegrowers in France and around the world.

The 138-year-old collection, managed by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), has been threatened with eviction, prompting a decision to relocate it.

That is raising concerns among scientists and winegrowers, because money to pay for the prospective move costing an estimated 4 million (US$5.4 million) has yet to be found. Even then, the sheer logistical complexity is such that relocation is likely to take years to complete, says INRA, and means that much of its research may be put on hold.

Dubbed the Louvre of grapevines by the local press, the vineyard near Marseillan, southwest of Montpellier, contains thousands of unique grape varieties. As well as having a conservation role in preserving genetic diversity, the collection is used for research and for breeding qualities such as flavour, colour, adaptation to specific regions and pathogen resistance. Several hundred samples from the Domaine de Vassal are used annually, mainly by other French labs, but also internationally.

The collection is of utmost value to the international grapevine genetics community, says Carole Meredith, an emeritus geneticist at the University of California, Davis. Although many countries have established collections of their own heritage grape varieties, the Vassal collection is among the oldest and best curated.

Meredith notes that much of her own research would have been impossible without this living library. Her labs previous studies of the vineyards specimens revealed Chardonnays somewhat undistinguished heritage one of its parent varieties is a noble Pinot, but the other is a Gouais, a grape long shunned as mediocre (J. Bowers etal. Science 285, 15621565; 1999).

The collection was started in 1876 by French researchers in response to a pest outbreak that saw the near-destruction of Europes vineyards. The outbreak was caused by accidental introduction of phylloxera an aphid that infests roots and kills the vine.

The vineyard was initially located near Montpellier, but moved to the Domaine de Vassal in 1949, where it expanded greatly. It now houses some 7,500 accessions from 47countries, representing 2,300 different grape varieties, including wild species, rootstocks, hybrids and mutants.

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STANFORD, CA Water is in increasingly short supply in many parts of the United States. Here in California, where most of the state is experiencing extreme drought, 2013 was the driest year on record, and we have had no relief during what should be the height of the rainy season. Moreover, theres no end in sight: The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Serviceforecaststhat the drought will persist or intensify at least through April.

Reservoir levels are dropping, the snow pack is almost nonexistent, and many communities have already imposed restrictions on water usage. In the city of Santa Cruz, for example, restaurants can no longer serve drinking water unless diners specifically request it; Marin County residents have been asked not to clean their cars or to do so only at eco-friendly car washes; and there are limitations on watering lawns in towns in Mendocino County.

But it is the states premier industry farming that will feel the pinch most. In an average year, farmers use 80 percent of the water used by people and businesses, according to the Department of Water Resources.

During a January 19 press conference at which he declared a water emergency, Governor Jerry Brown said of the drought, This is not a partisan adversary. This is Mother Nature. We have to get on natures side and not abuse the resources that we have.

Drought may not be partisan, but it does raise critical issues of governance, public policyand how best to use the states natural resources. It also offers an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences: Ironically, Santa Cruz, Mendocino and Marin counties all of which boast politically correct, far-left politics are among the local jurisdictions that have banned a key technology that could conserve huge amounts of water.

The technology is genetic engineering performed with modern molecular techniques, sometimes referred to as genetic modification (GM) or gene-splicing, which enables plant breeders to make old crop plants do spectacular new things, including conserve water. In the United States and about 30 other countries, farmers are using genetically engineered crop varieties to produce higher yields, with lower inputs and reduced impact on the environment.

Even with R&D being hampered by resistance from activists and discouraged by governmental over-regulation, genetically engineered crop varieties are slowly but surely trickling out of the development pipeline in many parts of the world. Cumulatively, over 3.7 billion acres of them have been cultivated by more than 17 million farmers in 30 countries during the past 15 years without disrupting a single ecosystem or causing so much as a tummy ache in a consumer.

Most of these new varieties are designed to be resistant to herbicides, so that farmers can adopt more environment-friendly no-till farming practices and more benign herbicides; or to be resistant to pests and diseases that ravage crops. Others possess improved nutritional quality. But the greatest boon of all both to food security and to the environment in the long term will likely be the ability of new crop varieties to tolerate periods of drought and other water-related stresses. Where water is unavailable for irrigation, the development of crop varieties able to grow under conditions of low moisture or temporary drought could both boost yields and lengthen the time that farmland is productive.

Even where irrigation is feasible, plants that use water more efficiently are needed. Because irrigation for agriculture accounts for roughly 70 percent of the worlds fresh water consumption, the introduction of plants that grow with less water would allow much of it to be freed up for other uses. Especially during drought conditions, even a small percentage reduction in the use of water for irrigation could result in huge benefits.

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Can Genetic Engineering Mitigate California's Drought?

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Feb-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, February 5, 2014Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers has announced the publication of six articles from Violence and Gender, a new peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the understanding, prediction, and prevention of violence and spearheaded by Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). The Journal is the international forum for the critical examination of biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence, and explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and violence prevention. The articles are available free on the Violence and Gender website at http://www.liebertpub.com/vio.

Among the published articles is "Why Do Young Males Attack Schools? Seven Discipline Leaders Share Their Perspectives," which offers an unprecedented look into the reasons for the high incidence of school shootings in the U.S., and addresses the reasons we see mostly young males (15-29) committing these types of crimes. The article delves into what motivates these perpetrators, including the potential role of the copycat phenomenon in behavior. Sharing their perspectives are world-renowned experts Jorge Folino, MD, PhD, National University of La Plata (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina); James Garbarino, PhD, Loyola University Chicago (IL); Steven Gorelick, PhD, Hunter College, City University of New York (New York, NY); Helin Hkknen-Nyholm, PhD, PsyJuridica Ltd. (Espoo, Finland); J. Reid Meloy, PhD, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA); Stanton Samenow, PhD, Alexandria, VA; and Yuki S. Nishimura, MD, PhD, Keio University (Yokohama City, Japan).

"Violence is complicated, and too often misunderstood, myth-based, and stereotyped; we are shocked when we see the 'nice guy' next door arrested for serial murder, or the quiet loner go on a shooting rampage," says Dr. O'Toole. "Many of us even default to using terms like 'monster' and 'evil' to explain such behavior and the people responsible. These archaic terms don't educate us or explain the violence but rather catapult us back in time. It's time for change in how we view violence."

Other published articles include an insightful roundtable discussion with Christopher Kilmartin, PhD, University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA), and Col. Jeffery M. Peterson, USMC (ret.) and Center for Naval Analyses (Alexandria, VA), entitled "Sexual Assault in the Military: A Discussion of the Current Status and Future Prevention;" the Review article "The Mission-Oriented Shooter: A New Type of Mass Killer," by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD; and a Perspective entitled "Understanding Brain Health Can Prevent Another Sandy Hook Shooting," by Jeremy Richman, PhD, Founder and CEO of The Avielle Foundation (Sandy Hook, CT).

"The imperative for this journal is urgent," said publisher Mary Ann Liebert, "we must stem the tide, and the papers in Violence and Gender have a most important mandate."

###

The full inaugural issue of Violence and Gender will be published in Spring 2014.

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Articles from groundbreaking new Violence and Gender journal published

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Feb-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, February 5, 2014Human behaviors such as violence depend on interactions in the brain between genetic and environmental factors. An individual may be more vulnerable to developing violent behaviors if they have predisposing factors and are then exposed to stress, abuse, or other triggers, especially early in life. The latest research on how differences between the male and female brain contribute to sex differences in violence is explored in Violence and Gender, a new peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website at http://www.liebertpub.com/vio.

The article "Not Hardwired: The Complex Neurobiology of Sex Differences in Violence" describes the complex and flexible biological mechanisms in the brain that lead to the development of behaviors. These include interconnected neural networks, multiple genes, and chemical signals such as hormones and neurotransmitters, which can be modified by environmental factors. Brain structure, function, and connectivity can all differ between men and women, affecting how they may change on exposure to stressful or abusive triggers.

"Neurobiologist Dr. Debra Niehoff explains the amazing interaction of how our brains, genetics, and environmental influences can interact and serve as the genesis for violent behavior," says Editor-in-Chief of Violence and Gender Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant, and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigator Analyst (ret.). "This holistic view of the origin of violence means that reducing violence will not be a simple fix because it does not have a single origin or cause. The temptation to delineate a male and female brain must be resisted because there is overlap between the two. With more research will come greater insight and knowledge about the biological and environmental causes of violence. With more knowledge will come answers; answers will lead to solutions, and with solutions will come prevention."

###

About the Journal

Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation.

About the Publisher

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JANUS Varispan

By: Center for Genetic Medicine

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JANUS Varispan - Video

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A team of researchers, led by physicians and scientists at Intermountain Healthcare's Intermountain Medical Center and ARUP Laboratories, has made a medical breakthrough by discovering genetic mutations that cause a rare and deadly lung disease.

The disease, pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis or PCH, is a rare cause of pulmonary hypertension, which occurs predominantly in young adults. PCH affects less than one in a million people, and has been extremely difficult and expensive to diagnose, as well as challenging to treat.

This genetic discovery offers new hope.

"This is a significant finding. This discovery should advance our understanding of this rare pulmonary vascular disorder and other related disorders," said Greg Elliott, MD, MACP, senior investigator of the study and medical director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, and professor of medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Results of the study will be published in the February issue of the journal Chest, the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Dr. Elliott and his team at Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah School of Medicine collaborated with researchers from Columbia University, Vanderbilt University and Mayo Clinic-Scottsdale.

To find the genetic mutation, the research team used a relatively new technology whole exome sequencing performed at ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City to test DNA samples. They discovered the genetic mutations in Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 2 Alpha Kinase 4. EIF2AK4 is a protein responsible for down-regulating protein synthesis when cells are exposed to stress.

Researchers found that in patients with the genetic mutations, their bodies don't properly regulate blood vessels in the lung. As a result, the capillaries in the lungs proliferate and the patient develops pulmonary hypertension.

D. Hunter Best, PhD, and Kelli L. Sumner, BS, two scientists on the research team, conducted the exome sequencing and analyzed the data in collaboration with colleagues at Columbia University and Vanderbilt University.

"Whole exome sequencing is breakthrough technology that allows us to test accurately and cost effectively for rare genetic disorders," said Dr. Elliott. "Without Dr. Best's expertise and the work done by Kelly Sumner in the laboratory, this discovery would not have occurred."

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Regents push for change in genetic medicine

BY KEVIN SVEC | FEBRUARY 06, 2014 5:00 AM

What was once confined only to science-fiction movies is now the subject of boardroom meetings. The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, the home to the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics, plans to start a revolution in modern medicine. Today, most of the medication prescribed is based on the weight and body surface area of the patient. The institutes goal is to promote an alternative, which will be known as personal genomic medicine.

Such medicine would cater to each patients specific needs. The medication prescribed would be based on the genetic makeup of a patient rather than her or his body index.

Using a genetic test, scientists would be able to evaluate each patients needs, allowing health-care providers to personalize each drug treatment.

The medicine will work with each individual patient based on her or his personal health risks. By personalizing the medicine, the doctors could increase the likelihood that the drug would have the best possible effect on each patient.

Richard Smith, the director of the Institute of Human Genetics, noted several advantages of genomic medicine.

Newborns would be able to have screenings done to determine what medication would work best from the beginning, said Smith.

According to the Jackson Laboratory website, any prescription drug now on the market only works for half of the people who take it. Antidepressants are effective for only 63 percent of those who take it. The percentage rate of effectiveness jumps to 75 percent among cancer patients. Genetic testing can change that.

Part of the process has started already. For those willing to pay, they can have their genes tested. The cost for the test is $296 through the UI Hospitals and Clinics, $256 through the institute. However, Medicare is willing to pay for $295 of the costs.

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Feb-2014

Contact: Katie Delach katie.delach@uphs.upenn.edu 215-349-5964 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHA - New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average in white women with certain genetic variations.

Though previous studies have shown that smoking hastens menopause by approximately one to two years regardless of race or genetic background, this study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that genetic background is significantly associated with a further increased risk of menopause in some white women who smoke. No statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation and earlier menopause were observed in African American women.

While symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, anxiety and insomnia can result in discomfort, embarrassment, and irritability, the onset of menopause is also associated with risks of coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and death from all causes. On average, women enter menopause at around 50 years of age. However, the research team now reports that menopause may begin at an earlier age in white female smokers who are carriers of two different gene variants. While the genes themselves do not result in early onset menopause, variations of the genes CYP3A4*1B and CYP1B1*3 were found to increase the risk of entering menopause at an earlier age in white smokers. The genetic variants were present in seven and 62 percent of white women in the study population, respectively.

"This study could shed new light on how we think about the reproductive risks of smoking in women. We already know that smoking causes early menopause in women of all races, but these new results show that if you are a white smoker with these specific genetic variants, your risk of entering menopause at any given time increases dramatically," said the study's lead author Samantha F. Butts, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Results of the study, which enrolled over 400 women aged 35 to 47 from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study, found that in carriers of the CYP3A4*1B variation, the average time-to-menopause after entering the study in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 5.09 years, 11.36 years, and 13.91 years, respectively. This means that for heavily smoking white females with this genetic background, the average time-to-menopause was approximately nine years earlier than in nonsmoking carriers.

In white carriers of the CYP1B1*3 variation, the average time-to-menopause in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 10.41 years, 10.42 years, and 11.08 years, respectively -- a statistically significant difference although not as stark as the findings for the CYP3A4*1B variant.

The Penn study did not examine why no statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation, and earlier menopause were observed in African Americans.

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Newswise Salt Lake City, UT A national poll from the University of Utahs Huntsman Cancer Institute shows 34 percent of respondents would not seek genetic testing to predict their likelihood of developing a hereditary cancer even if the cost of the testing was not an issue. Concerns about employment and insurability were cited as the primary reason, even though current laws prohibit such discrimination.

The poll also shows only 35 percent of respondents would be extremely or very likely to seek aggressive prophylactic or preventive treatment, such as a mastectomy, if they had a family history of cancer and genetic testing indicated a genetic pre-disposition to cancer.

I see patients every week who could have taken steps to reduce their risk if theyd known theyd had a predisposition for a certain type of cancer. The best treatment for cancer is prevention, of which genetic testing plays an integral role, said Saundra Buys, M.D., co-director of the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic and medical director of the High Risk Cancer Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), and professor of medicine at the University of Utah. In addition to educating the public about the important role genetic testing plays in both prevention and treatment of cancer, we must also work to eliminate perceived false barriers to testing, such as concerns about insurability and employment.

Nearly 40 percent of those who said they wouldnt seek testing reported being somewhat or extremely concerned that the results would impact opportunities for employment, while 69 percent of that same group reported being somewhat or extremely concerned that the results would have an adverse impact on their ability to get insurance.

Inherited mutations play a major role in the development of approximately 5 percent of all cancers. Genetic mutations associated with more than 50 hereditary cancer syndromes including those discovered at the University of Utah for melanoma, colon and breast cancer have been identified.

Buys says the survey demonstrates that even with increased media attention to genetic testing in recent months more work is needed to educate the public about the type of information genetic testing provides and who should seek it. She says family and personal health history are the most important factors in determining whether a person should consider genetic testing.

She warns, however, that genetic testing is only as good as the genetic counseling that accompanies it. There are many genetic tests being ordered in physician offices around the country without the benefit of genetic counseling. The results of these tests are complex, and without appropriate counseling, can cause confusion and unneeded anxiety for patients, said Buys.

Other findings from the poll:

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National Poll Shows Public Divided on Genetic Testing to Predict Cancer Risk

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Newswise PHILADELPHA - New research is lighting up yet another reason for women to quit smoking. In a study published online in the journal Menopause, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report the first evidence showing that smoking causes earlier signs of menopause in the case of heavy smokers, up to nine years earlier than average in white women with certain genetic variations.

Though previous studies have shown that smoking hastens menopause by approximately one to two years regardless of race or genetic background, this study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that genetic background is significantly associated with a further increased risk of menopause in some white women who smoke. No statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation and earlier menopause were observed in African American women.

While symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, anxiety and insomnia can result in discomfort, embarrassment, and irritability, the onset of menopause is also associated with risks of coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, and death from all causes. On average, women enter menopause at around 50 years of age. However, the research team now reports that menopause may begin at an earlier age in white female smokers who are carriers of two different gene variants. While the genes themselves do not result in early onset menopause, variations of the genes CYP3A4*1B and CYP1B1*3 were found to increase the risk of entering menopause at an earlier age in white smokers. The genetic variants were present in seven and 62 percent of white women in the study population, respectively.

This study could shed new light on how we think about the reproductive risks of smoking in women. We already know that smoking causes early menopause in women of all races, but these new results show that if you are a white smoker with these specific genetic variants, your risk of entering menopause at any given time increases dramatically, said the studys lead author Samantha F. Butts, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn Medicine.

Results of the study, which enrolled over 400 women aged 35 to 47 from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study, found that in carriers of the CYP3A4*1B variation, the average time-to-menopause after entering the study in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 5.09 years, 11.36 years, and 13.91 years, respectively. This means that for heavily smoking white females with this genetic background, the average time-to-menopause was approximately nine years earlier than in nonsmoking carriers.

In white carriers of the CYP1B1*3 variation, the average time-to-menopause in heavy smokers, light smokers, and nonsmokers was 10.41 years, 10.42 years, and 11.08 years, respectively -- a statistically significant difference although not as stark as the findings for the CYP3A4*1B variant.

The Penn study did not examine why no statistically significant relationships between smoking, the gene variants under investigation, and earlier menopause were observed in African Americans.

It is possible that uniform relationships among white and African American women were not found due to other factors associated with race that modify the interaction between smoking and genes, said Butts. It is well known that race affects multiple features of menopause, and this could be another. Further investigation is needed to clarify this question.

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TV Gessulli - Choice Genetics
Yves Naveau, diretor-geral da Choice Genetics, fala sobre os resultados da empresa em 2013 comentando a nova identidade assumida no ano passado.

By: TvGessulli

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Bio 8.6 Non Mendelian Genetics - Multiple Alleles Polygenic Traits

By: Heather Newman

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Genetics 2-1-14 opening for
Stir Fried w/ Michael Kang Quixotes Denver CO.

By: katerhake

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Genetics - The Whale Song
Opening for Stir Fried wsg Michael Kang of the String Cheese Incident. 02-01-14 Quixotes Denver CO.

By: katerhake

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Trinomial expansion applied to Genetics
How to Expand (a+b+c)^2 ? (a + b + c)^2 = (a + b + c)(a + b + c) = a(a + b + c) + b(a + b + c) + c(a + b + c) = a^2 + ab + ac + ba + b^2 + bc + ca + cb + c^2...

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Quantitative Genetics with Mice
Go here for the full lesson on TED Ed:http://ed.ted.com/on/r5q7oxwk Real footage of a cross between an albino and agouti mouse. Stay tuned for a video on the...

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Myriad Genetics, seen here in this June 2013 file photo, is acquiring global diagnostics company, Crescendo Biosciences in a $270 million cash deal.

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

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SALT LAKE CITY A local genetics testing giant is acquiring a global diagnostics company that is leading out in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases common to the American public and throughout the world.

Officials at Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics hope that by expanding its base and incorporating novel protein-based diagnostics for monitoring disease activity, it can impact more lives.

In a Tuesday announcement, Myriad officials said it is planning to pay $270 million for California-based Crescendo Biosciences, a molecular diagnostics company dedicated to developing and commercializing quantitative blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

"Crescendo Bioscience fits well into our diagnostic portfolio that is focused on saving lives and improving the quality of life of patients across major diseases," said Peter Meldrum, Myriad president and CEO. He said the products from both companies pair well and promise a great future for the company.

Meldrum said Crescendo's core product, a quantitative protein-based test called Vectra DA, "represents a $3 billion global market opportunity for Myriad," which already markets its genetics testing products in the United States and abroad.

The tests help find gene mutations, of which Myriad can classify as harmful or benign. The company promises a less than two-week turnaround time for its tests, which is "essential where the technical results may guide surgical decisions," Meldrum said.

"Gene mutation classification is a numbers game and since we test hundreds of thousands of patients every year, we believe we will dramatically expand our mutation classification advantage and further widen the gap between Myriad and its competition," he said.

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(Reuters) - A small Dutch company behind the Western world's first approved gene therapy priced its shares above the expected range in a U.S. stock offering on Wednesday, showing the current investor appetite for biotechnology.

Amsterdam-based uniQure said it would sell 5.4 million shares at an initial public offering price of $17.00 each, netting it $81.9 million after expenses. It had previously indicated a price range of $13.00 to $15.00.

The stock was trading just below the issue price at $16.80 by 1600 GMT.

UniQure won approval in November 2012 to sell its drug Glybera in Europe and intends to start selling it as a treatment for the ultra-rare disease lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) with partner Chiesi in the first half of 2014.

The drug is likely to break new ground as the world's most expensive medicine, with a potential price tag of more than $1 million. A high price is needed because a single dose could last a lifetime, giving uniQure just one shot at recouping its investment.

Chief Executive Jorn Aldag said in 2012 that Glybera could sell for around 250,000 euros a year for five years, implying a total price of 1.25 million euros ($1.6 million).

The company has since said that no decision has been taken on price and its IPO prospectus also said it now believed that a one-time price, rather than an annuity-based system, was the most likely pricing model.

Glybera is a modified virus that delivers the correct version of a gene into people afflicted with LPLD, a hereditary disorder that raises the risk of potentially lethal inflammation of the pancreas.

Rare or so-called orphan diseases are winning increased attention from drug developers and several products from companies including Sanofi, Shire and Alexion already cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

UniQure is not the first gene therapy firm to float on Nasdaq. Bluebird Bio made its debut last June but the Cambridge, Mass.-based company has yet to win a regulatory green light for its products.

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Gene therapy pioneer uniQure raises $82 million in U.S. IPO

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ASH 2013: The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine: Tissue Collection
Joining Vital Options CEO, Selma Schimmel -- The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine : Keith Stewart, MD, Mayo Clinic; Anne Quinn Young, MPH, Multiple...

By: Vital Options International / The Group Room

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ASH 2013: The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine: The Role Of Chemotherapy in Blood Cancers
Joining Vital Options CEO, Selma Schimmel -- The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine : Keith Stewart, MD, Mayo Clinic; Anne Quinn Young, MPH, Multiple...

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ASH 2013: The Future of Genomics & Personalized Medicine: The Role Of Chemotherapy in Blood Cancers - Video

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ASH 2013: The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine: The Advocate Researcher Relationship
Joining Vital Options CEO, Selma Schimmel -- The Future of Genomics Personalized Medicine : Keith Stewart, MD, Mayo Clinic; Anne Quinn Young, MPH, Multiple...

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ASH 2013: The Future of Genomics & Personalized Medicine: The Advocate & Researcher Relationship - Video

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Jermichael Finley Talks Injury Rehab at Super Bowl 48
The Packers #39; tight end discusses the spinal cord injury that put his career on the line at Super Bowl 48. Check out more great stories and videos on http://w...

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Jermichael Finley Talks Injury Rehab at Super Bowl 48 - Video

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Patient Testimonial - Jen, Standing Transfer Program, Spinal Cord Injury

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Patient Testimonial - Jen, Standing & Transfer Program, Spinal Cord Injury - Video

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Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) February 05, 2014

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. and affiliate Stem Cell Training, Inc. were represented by Josepth Purita, M.D. at the 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine in Las Vegas, Dec. 15, 2013. Purita, a lead trainer for Stem Cell Training, Inc. and a pioneer in the use of stem cell therapies in orthopedics, addressed more than 5,000 conference attendees with his presentation titled, Cutting Edge Concepts for the Regenerative Medicine Physician in the Use of Stem Cell & PRP Injections.

The record number of attendees gathered from around the world at the Venetian/Palazzo Resort in Las Vegas for three days to attend the prestigious conference hosted by the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine. The conference featured physicians and medical personnel who practice and manage stem cell technology, certification, and pellet therapy to discuss brain health and offer case studies. Workshops on personalized lifestyle medicine and aesthetic medicine were also held.

Purita was joined by an illustrious group of speakers including: Author Judith Reichman, M.D., womens health care expert and specialist in gynecology, infertility and menopause; Travis Stork, M.D., ER physician and host of the Emmy Award-winning talk show, The Doctors; and Actress and Author Suzanne Somers, a dedicated health advocate and proponent of alternative and integrative medicine.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger accepted the 2013 A4M Infinity Award at Saturday afternoons general session for his progressive leadership role in early funding and support of stem cell research and healthcare reform. Somers presentation Our Time Has Come, discussing the medical needs of the rapidly aging baby-boom population. Stork, host of the Emmy-Award-winning medical talk show The Doctors, discussed long-term health in a speech called Your Best Life. Reichmans presentation titled Slow Your Clock Down: On- Label, Off- Label, Gray- Label, discussed the importance on maintain balance and living a healthy lifestyle.

For more information on the World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Aesthetic Medicine, plus upcoming conferences and training programs around the world, visit the A4M website, email, bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com or call 849.943.2988.

About the Global Stem Cell Group:

Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. is the parent company of six wholly owned operating companies dedicated entirely to stem cell research, training, products and solutions. Founded in 2012, the company combines dedicated researchers, physician and patient educators and solution providers with the shared goal of meeting the growing worldwide need for leading edge stem cell treatments and solutions. With a singular focus on this exciting new area of medical research, Global Stem Cells Group and its subsidiaries are uniquely positioned to become global leaders in cellular medicine.

Global Stem Cells Groups corporate mission is to make the promise of stem cell medicine a reality for patients around the world. With each of GSCGs six operating companies focused on a separate research-based mission, the result is a global network of state-of-the-art stem cell treatments.

The Global Stem Cell Foundation was formed as a nonprofit charitable organization that aims to fund research on the expanding need for stem cell solutions for patients, and identify best practices between physicians engaged in stem cell treatments in the U.S. and around the world.

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Joseph Purita, M.D. of Global Stem Cells Group, Inc. Featured Speaker at 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging ...

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