PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY -- The potential for clinical use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology for transplant-based therapeutic strategies has previously been hindered by the risk of dysregulated cell growth, specifically the development of tumors. The ability to use etoposide treatment to halt teratoma formation in iPSCs for the treatment of heart disease, specifically acute myocardial infarction, is demonstrated in an article in Stem Cells and Development, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Stem Cells and Development website.

In the article 'Inhibition of DNA topoisomerase II selectively reduces the threat of tumorigenicity following induced pluripotent stem cell-based myocardial therapy' Saranya Wyles, Andre Terzic, Timothy Nelson, and coauthors, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), discovered a strategy that alone or in conjunction with other methods could significantly reduce the risk of a tumorigenic event occurring. Their work demonstrates how pretreatment with genotoxic etoposide significantly lowered the threat of abnormal growths by removing the contaminated pluripotent cells and establishing an adjunctive therapy to further harness the clinical value of iPSC-derived cardiac regeneration.

"For anyone seeking to exploit iPSC technology in a clinical setting, the Mayo Clinic has described a strategy that significantly mitigates the risk of tumor development. Furthermore, the paper provides benchmark strategies for assessing the localization and persistence of cell-based treatments in a preclinical model," says Editor-in-Chief Graham C. Parker, PhD, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

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About the Journal

Stem Cells and Development is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online. The Journal is dedicated to communication and objective analysis of developments in the biology, characteristics, and therapeutic utility of stem cells, especially those of the hematopoietic system. Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Stem Cells and Development website.

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New method for reducing tumorigenicity in induced pluripotent stem-cell based therapies

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY -- New guidelines on cholesterol treatment and cardiovascular risk assessment state that men have at least double the risk of dying from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or of having a heart attack or stroke as do women with a similar risk profile (based on age, smoking history, and cholesterol and blood pressure levels). The implications of this finding for when and how aggressively to treat high cholesterol are examined in an Editorial 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.2014.1500 until August 22, 2014.

Stephen L. Kopecky, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Ajay Nehra, MD, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, discuss the risk factors on which the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association based their new guidelines. They describe the value in developing 10-year risk and lifetime risk estimates and their use in educating patients and encouraging lifestyle changes. The authors note the omission of erectile dysfunction as a risk marker, and they explain the new cholesterol treatment recommendations in the Editorial entitled "Cardiovascular Risk and Cholesterol Management in Men: Implications of the New Guidelines."

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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 of Men's Health 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 of Men's Health 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/jomh.

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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Should men at risk for cardiovascular disease receive earlier cholesterol treatment?

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A tour of the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, Vt., includes a stop at the "Flavor Graveyard," where ice cream combinations that didn't make the cut are put to rest under the shade of big trees.

One recently deceased flavor has yet to be memorialized there: Coffee Heath Bar Crunch, one of the company's best-sellers. Ben & Jerry's CEO Jostein Solheim says the company had to remove the key ingredient, Heath bars made by Hershey, and rework the flavor. Its replacement is called Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch. (Some fans have blasted the company in online forums, claiming it doesn't taste as good.)

The reason for the change? Hershey makes Heath bars with genetically engineered ingredients, and Ben & Jerry's has made a pledge to remove all GMO ingredients from its ice cream.

The company has taken a vocal stand in recent years in support of states looking at legislation that would require manufacturers to disclose food that is made with genetic engineering. And Vermont recently passed a law that will require labeling starting in 2015. Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield recently launched a campaign to help fill the coffers of Vermont's crowd-sourced defense fund set up to combat lawsuits over its labeling law.

The news that Ben & Jerry's is taking a stand on a controversial issue is no surprise; it's part of the company's calling card. But some other mainstream companies are carefully and much more quietly calibrating their non-GMO strategies.

General Mills' original plain Cheerios are now GMO-free, but the only announcement was in a company blog post in January. And you won't see any label on the box highlighting the change. Grape Nuts, another cereal aisle staple, made by Post, is also non-GMO. And Target has about 80 of its own brand items certified GMO-free.

Megan Westgate runs the Non-GMO Project, which acts as an independent third-party verifier of GMO-free products, including Target's. She says her organization knows about "a lot of exciting cool things that are happening that for whatever strategic reasons get kept pretty quiet."

The Non-GMO Project has certified more than 20,000 products since it launched in 2007, and Westgate says this is one of the fastest growing sectors of the natural food industry, representing $6 billion in annual sales. But just because they're testing the water doesn't mean most mainstream companies are ready to start publicizing their changes.

Nathan Hendricks, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, says big food producers are trying to gauge what direction consumers are headed in. "Ultimately," he says, "these big companies aren't just friends with Monsanto or something. They want to make a profit, and they want to be able to do what's going to make them money." So they'd better have a product line in the works if consumer sentiment starts to shift more heavily toward GMO-free food.

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Some food companies are quietly dumping GMO ingredients

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY -- Stem cells offer much promise for treating damaged organs and tissues, but with current transplantation approaches stem cell survival is poor, limiting their effectiveness. New methods are being developed and tested to improve the survival and optimize their therapeutic function after transplantation, as described in a Review article in BioResearch Open Access, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the BioResearch Open Access website.

In the article 'Preconditioning Stem Cells for In Vivo Delivery,' Sbastien Sart, Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France) and Teng Ma and Yan Li, Florida State University (Tallahassee) examine the leading strategies for preconditioning stem cells prior to transplantation to prepare them for the environment often found in damaged tissue. Preconditioning methods might include exposing stem cells to microenvironments characterized by reduced oxygen levels, heat shock, and oxidative stress, creating three-dimensional stem cell aggregates or microtissues, and using hydrogels in which to embed or encapsulate the cells.

"This article provides an extensive review of the current methods of stem cell preconditioning for transplantation," says BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "It also highlights the cutting edge technologies employed to do this."

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About the Journal

BioResearch Open Access is a bimonthly peer-reviewed open access journal led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Lanza, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. and Editor Jane Taylor, PhD. The Journal provides a new rapid-publication forum for a broad range of scientific topics including molecular and cellular biology, tissue engineering and biomaterials, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, systems biology, genetics, biochemistry, virology, microbiology, and neuroscience. All articles are published within 4 weeks of acceptance and are fully open access and posted on PubMedCentral. All journal content is available on the BioResearch Open Access website.

About the Publisher

See the article here:
Novel methods may help stem cells survive transplantation into damaged tissues

5 facts about genetic engineering
how its done , what #39;s going on and more all in this video. I hope you enjoyed this video. This is the first of many science videos I #39;m now planning on making.Please subscribe to feel the buzz.

By: lightning burnzzz

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5 facts about genetic engineering - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, July 21, 2014In Alzheimer's disease, accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain is believed to play an important role in many characteristic disease symptoms, including memory loss and other mental state changes. But how these plaque deposits affect brain function is not well understood. Important new study results showing that plaque buildup in one area of the brain can negatively affect metabolism in a more distant brain region have been published in Brain Connectivity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Brain Connectivity website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/brain.2013.0212 until August 21, 2014.

As part of a special issue focused on Alzheimer's disease, Elisabeth Klupp and coauthors, Technische Universtt Mnchen (Munich and Garching, Germany) and University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, present the results of an imaging-based study demonstrating that amyloid buildup in one brain region can impair brain cell metabolism and activity another in remote brain region not affected by amyloid plaque accumulation. The regions studied were part of the same functional network but are located remotely from each other in the brain. The authors suggest this long-distance effect may be the result of diminished neuronal signals originating from the amyloid-affected brain region to the remote amyloid-unaffected brain region. The findings are discussed in the article "In Alzheimer's Disease, Hypometabolism in Low-Amyloid Brain Regions May Be a Functional Consequence of Pathologies in Connected Brain Regions."

"This research may be an important new discovery that links two important hypotheses in Alzheimer's disease research: the amyloid buildup hypothesis and the network degenerating hypothesis," says Christopher Pawela, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin.

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About the Journal

Brain Connectivity is the essential peer-reviewed journal covering groundbreaking findings in the rapidly advancing field of connectivity research at the systems and network levels. Published 10 times per year in print and online, the Journal is under the leadership of Founding and Co-Editors-in-Chief Christopher Pawela, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Bharat Biswal, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology. It includes original peer-reviewed papers, review articles, point-counterpoint discussions on controversies in the field, and a product/technology review section. To ensure that scientific findings are rapidly disseminated, articles are published Instant Online within 72 hours of acceptance, with fully typeset, fast-track publication within 4 weeks. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Brain Connectivity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/brain.

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Can amyloid plaque in Alzheimer's disease affect remote regions of the brain?

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY -- The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is a global initiative to identify and characterize the microorganisms present at multiple sites in the human body. An international team of researchers reports on new ways to harness the results of the HMP and discusses how changes in the microbiome might affect human health, disease, immunity, and importantly, the safety and effectiveness of drug treatment in a Review article that is part of the special issue "OMICS in Africa: Moving 21st Century Integrative Biology from Lab to Village to Innovation Ecosystems," of OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, the peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The issue is available on the OMICS website.

In the article "Pharmacomicrobiomics: The Impact of Human Microbiome Variations on Systems Pharmacology and Personalized Therapeutics," senior author Ramy Karam Aziz and coauthors propose a "microbiome cloud model" to understand the variation in an individual's microbiome composition within and between individuals and how that variability makes it difficult to define the human microbiome. They present detailed examples of microbiome changes related to colorectal cancer, use of antibiotics, and pharmacomicrobiomics or drug-microbiome interactions in relation to personalized healthcare.

In the Commentary "Translating Biotechnology to Knowledge-Based Innovation, Peace, and Development? Deploy a Science Peace CorpsAn Open Letter to World Leaders," Nezih Hekim, SANKO University, Turkey and coauthors in 15 countries from around the world joined forces with OMICS Editor-in-Chief Vural zdemir, MD, PhD, DABCP Gaziantep University, Faculty of Communications, School of Journalism, Gaziantep Turkey, to call for the creation of a global Science Peace Corps. This idea and initiative would entail volunteer work in life sciences translational research for no less than 6 weeks and up to 2 years in any region of the world. The topics could relate to all fields of medicine "as long as they are linked to potential or concrete endpoints in development, foreign policy and/or peace scholarship domains." The authors describe the proposed Science Peace Corps as a "new instrument in the global science governance toolbox" that would advance "the emerging concept of 'one health'encompassing human, environmental, plant, microbial, ecosystem, and planet health."

Original research articles in this special issue cover topics of relevance to Africa such as HIV transmission and epidemiology, maternal health, malaria, common complex diseases such as deafness, and policy action for sickle cell anemia that is greatly impacting the African populations.

African science and knowledge-based innovation are central to a deep understanding of pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of human diseases, discovery and development of novel diagnostics, as well as ecosystem health. OMICS Editor-in-Chief Vural zdemir summarizes the special issue as "very much in the spirit of the integration we seek to achieve in the Journal across biotechnologies, their variegated applications in life sciences, and between technology and global society, so that knowledge-based innovations can responsibly integrate at a community level."

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New research from Africa on pharmacomicrobiomics

The recent decision of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to allow field trials of GM rice, mustard, cotton, chickpea and brinjal has been met with strong opposition from farmers groups and environmental activists.

Seeking the intervention of Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javdekar, the Bhartiya Kisan Union has asked for annulment of the approvals.

Questioning the need for release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the fields, the BKU leaders said they were concerned over the nations seed and food sovereignty.

This is because most genes as well as transgenic processes are already patented and these Intellectual Property Rights work for the monopolistic benefit of the profiteering multinational corporations. The ease with which a transgenic technology allows corporations to claim ownership rights over seeds makes it attractive to them to hype why the world needs GMOs and seek control over entire food chains from production to marketing jeopardising the livelihood security of farmers, BKU leaders Naresh Tikait, Dharmendra Malik and Yudhveer Singh said in a letter to the Minister.

In a separate letter to Mr. Javadekar, the Coalition for GM-free India said the GEAC approvals came at a time the Supreme Court was about to pronounce its orders on the issue of field trials of GM crops, based on the recommendations of the Courts Technical Expert Committee (TEC). Realising the potential of field trials to contaminate the seed, food supply chains and environment, and owing to the lack of a proper regulatory system, the TEC has recommended a moratorium on open-air field trials.

It is ironical that the BJP manifesto promise of not allowing GM foods in the country without full scientific evaluation of their long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers is the main subject for this PIL petition in the Supreme Court. It was pending the decision of the apex court that former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had stayed GEAC meetings... The last time the GEAC approved some GMOs for open- air field testing, prominent BJP leaders had condemned the move, Rajesh Krishnan of the coalition said.

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Dont allow field trials of GM crops: farmers, activists

India's biotech regulator Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has given green signal for the import of Genetically Modified (GM) soybean oil.

"Three applications for import of GM Soybean oil were permitted as highly processed food like oil do not contain detectable DNA or Proteins. The same was confirmed by Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore after testing of the oil samples," GEAC said, adding that more than 70 countries are importing GM soybean and canola oil.

The statutory body, which held its 121st meeting on Friday, also permitted confined field trials of 13 GM crops, including rice, brinjal, chickpea, mustard and cotton, out of the 15 cases it considered.

GEAC Chairman Hem Pande said "field trials for certain varieties of GM crops including rice, brinjal, chickpea, mustard and cotton had been cleared".

However, the field trials, or small scale experiments, on these crops were subject to No Objection Certificate (NOC) from state governments.

During the GEAC meeting, three cases of pharmaceuticals were also considered of which two were deferred and one case pertaining to revalidation of the GEAC nod was permitted.

Officials said GEAC had "virtually" not met for almost two years from April 2012 to March 2014 due to which which decision on 79 applications for field trials remained pending.

These 79 cases, recommended by Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) under the Department of Biotechnology, included 37 cases of revalidation and 42 new cases involving confined (regulated) field trials related to cotton, rice, castor, maize, wheat, groundnut, sugarcane, chickpea, mustard, sorghum and brinjal.

The GEAC on Friday also decided to constitute a sub-committee to review the toxicology data generated by the applicants of GM brinjal developed by BejoSheetal P Limited and GM mustard developed by Delhi University South Campus in view of concerns raised by some of the members.

An official said all GM crops field trials are subject to stringent norms which are as per the international standards.

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GEAC clears import of GM soyabean oil

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on Friday gave the green signal for field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice, mustard, cotton, chickpea and brinjal at its meeting in Delhi.

Hem Kumar Pande, chairperson of the GEAC told The Hindu that meetings were not held for a year since March 2013 and there was a backlog of 70 applications pending since 2011-12 of which 60 have been cleared so far.

Fridays agenda dealt with 15 items and cleared field trials of rabi crops. In the three meetings since March 2014, the GEAC took up revalidation of data and approved kharif crops, Mr. Pande pointed out.

While the GEAC has approved the commercial release of Bt brinjal it has been stayed by the Ministry of Environment and Mr. Pande said the government would have to take a decision on this. The only genetically modified crop approved for release in India is cotton.

So far about 20 GM crops are under trial at various stages, he said and the new approvals were for the first stage of trials on one-acre plots. He said unless research in Indian conditions is allowed, the viability of these crops would not be known.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava, founder and former director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and Supreme Court appointee to the GEAC told The Hindu that he was particularly concerned about the approval granted to import GM soyabean oil.

According to my technical information, no oil made from a GM product is free of foreign DNA. Even in small amounts, DNA is genetic material and can cause damage. There is incontrovertible evidence that oils made from GM material do contain foreign DNA, he said.

Three companies - Bayer Bio Sciences, Monsanto and BASF have been allowed to import the oil. The last time there was objection to the import of soyabean oil; samples were sent for testing to the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), which gave it a clean chit.

Dr. Bhargava questioned the sensitivity of the tests that were carried out. The next meeting of the GEAC will be held in August. However, the country is already using cotton seed oil after the advent of transgenic cotton.

Members who attended the meeting said that while companies provided data to support their proposals there was no system of verifying the validity of the data. They also objected to some dissenting voices, which were not recorded in the minutes of the meeting the last time and the Committee said it would be recorded now on.

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GEAC clears field trials for GM crops

Genes for swatting tiger mosquitoes, defanging brown tree snakes, and deporting Asian carp, all nasty invasive species, sound like a swell idea. But the latest idea in eradicationgenetic engineeringposes its own risks, warn biotechnology experts.

Invasive species wreak havoc worldwide, disrupting native ecosystems and inflicting more than $120 billion in damages annually in the U.S. alone. Many economicallyand environmentallydamaging species, such as those mosquitoes, snakes, and carp, defy removal with existing technology.

But there is good news. "Gene drives"which could trigger a precipitous decline in invasive species by tinkering with their genetic machineryhave arrived as a fast-maturing technology, an international team of scientists announced on Thursday.

"Once an invasive species arrives in a new habitat and is driving native species extinct, we don't necessarily have a lot of solutions to that. Gene drive technology could potentially cause local extinction [of the invasive species] and restore the original ecosystem," says Kevin Esvelt, a genetic engineer at Harvard University and an author of tandem papers published this week in Science and eLife.

But he and his colleagues warn that we should tread cautiously; otherwise, the new technology may blow up in our face. "We want to make sure this technology is used responsibly to solve problems facing humanity and the natural world," Esvelt says. (See "Why the 67 Giant Snails Seized in L.A. Are Harmful.")

How It Works

The technology starts by identifying a genetic alteration that could reduce pesticide resistance, hinder a population's ability to reproduce, or have some other desirable impact on the target species.

Scientists could then insert that alteration into the genome of an invasive species, but there is no guarantee that it will propagate.

This is where the gene drives come in. Essentially, they act as chauffeurs that can "drive" a genetic alteration through a population, says Esvelt.

In most animals, there are two versions of a gene and each one has a 50-50 chance of being passed on to the next generation.

Link:
Genetic Engineering to the Rescue Against Invasive Species?

Researcher Frdric Choulet explains why mapping the bread genome is so important and discusses sequencing wheat chromosome 3B. (INRA)

Scientists announced Thursday that they are approaching a milestone in humanitys ability to improve bread wheat.

One of the most common and most versatile crops on the planet the main food staple for a third of the world population wheat is remarkably good at adapting to change. But efforts to grow higher-yielding, more nutritious and more resilient wheat in response to population growth and climate change have been slow for one simple reason. Its genes are a big, complicated mess.

Many scientists thought that it would be impossible to map the genome of wheat to figure out how its genes are ordered so that specific traits can be more quickly identified. But a group made up of scientists, breeders and growers say that theyre more than halfway there and that an entire sequence is on the horizon.

Genome sequencing has revolutionized the process of breeding corn and rice, experts said, and is especially important given the stress that climate change will put on the food supply as the worlds population booms.

Human civilization rests on a small handful of crops, all of which were developed with much more stable weather conditions than we see now, said Patrick Schnable, an Iowa State University professor who worked on the genome sequencing of corn. In a world with climate change, we need to help those crops adapt quickly. And to do that, he said, one needs the genome sequence.

I was told by a breeder that it was the single most valuable thing the government has ever done for them, Schnable said. The genetic information has been used to increase crop yields and make crops more resilient to stresses such as pests and weather change.

The same has been true for rice. Its accelerated the discovery of the genes involved in many traits, including those for higher yield and disease resistance, said Jan E. Leach, a Colorado State University professor who is not involved in the study. Its always boggled my mind how ridiculous it is to not have [a complete genome] for wheat, she said, so this is great news.

Thursdays announcement reported that about half of bread wheats genome has been sequenced, which might not sound impressive. But until recently, scientists had something like 5 percent of the information, said Kellye Eversole, executive director of the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), which organized the research.

She compared the sequencing thus far to a partially completed map. After starting with an empty map and a list of roads, she said, the researchers now have about half the highways in place. Its not very well ordered, she said. You might know theres a Route 1, and that its in Virginia, but you dont know exactly where it is. But its a guide, and its accelerating us towards that complete map.

Link:
Scientists unlock the genetic secrets of bread wheat

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jul-2014

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

Splice-Switching Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Is Promising New Method for Editing Gene Transcripts

New Rochelle, NY, July 17, 2014In splice-switching, an innovative therapeutic approach, targeted oligonucleotide drugs alter the editing of a gene transcript to produce the desired form of a protein. Developments in this rapidly advancing field have already led to promising treatments for such diseases as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, as described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Human Gene Therapy website.

In "Development of Therapeutic Splice-Switching Oligonucleotides," Petra Disterer and coauthors from University College London, University of London, and Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, present an overview of the many possible therapeutic applications for splice-switching oligonucleotides. The authors discuss the design and chemical modification of these novel compounds to increase their stability and effectiveness, and emphasize the need to develop efficient solutions on a case by case basis.

"This is an emerging therapeutic area with promising clinical results," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.

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Splice-switching oligonucleotide therapeutics is new method for editing gene transcript

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, July 16, 2014Experimental drugs proven safe but perhaps not sufficiently effective in initial testing or against a first disease target may sit gathering dust on the shelves of pharmaceutical companies. An NIH-sponsored effort based on a crowdsourcing strategy to establish collaborations between industrial and academic partners to test and develop these therapeutic compounds was met with an overwhelming response and has led to clinical testing of a broad range of pilot projects and a newly announced round of funding opportunities. These findings are described in a Review article in the preview issue of the new journal Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning website.

Christine M. Colvis, PhD and Christopher P. Austin, MD, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, explain that the Center does not focus on a particular disease or organ system, allowing it to support a broad scope of projects that link indications with unmet medical needs to the mechanisms of action of new drug compounds that are ready to move into patient testing. In the article "The NIH-Industry New Therapeutic Uses Pilot Program: Demonstrating the Power of Crowdsourcing") the authors state that among the new funding opportunity announcements released by the Center in May were 12 therapeutic agents for pediatric indication consideration.

"This article describes not only how targeted crowdsourcing can link up the assets, the know-how, and the creativity that drug repurposing needs, but also how such a program can be organized to serve the best interests of all concerned parties," says journal Editor Hermann Mucke, PhD, H.M. Pharma Consultancy, Vienna, Austria. "Pharmaceutical companies and academia must collaborate to leverage their huge potential synergies in compound re-development, and by arranging and mentoring this pilot program NCATS has firmly established its role as a mediator in drug repurposing."

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About the Journal

Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a dynamic new peer-reviewed journal, presents techniques and tools for finding new uses for approved drugs particularly for disorders where no animal model, physiologic abnormality, biochemical pathway, or molecular target has been identified. Led by Editor-in-Chief Aris Persidis, Biovista, Inc., and Editor Hermann Mucke, H.M. Pharma Consultancy e.U, the Journal provides a new interdisciplinary platform for scientific contributions to the field of drug repurposing including original research papers, reviews, case studies, application-oriented technology assessments, and reports in methodology and technology application. The Journal is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print. A sample issue may be viewed on the Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning website

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NIH turns to crowdsourcing to repurpose drugs

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, July 15, 2014Alcohol dependence (AD) has a genetic component and testing can determine a person's genetic risk for susceptibility to AD. A new study shows that while more than 85% of the African American adults expressed an interest in genetic testing for AD susceptibility, many had ethical, privacy, and procedural concerns, as reported in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.

Denise Scott and coauthors from Howard University (Washington, DC) and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, MD) offered hypothetical genetic testing for AD susceptibility to more than 300 African American adults to determine their interest level. The researchers documented the factors that contributed to an interest in being tested and those that might keep people from undergoing genetic risk assessment due to concerns over the testing methods and how the results would be used in the article "Genetic Testing for the Susceptibility to Alcohol Dependence: Interest and Concerns in an African American Population."

"The article documents the interest the African American community has about a possible genetic basis for alcoholism tempered by a real concern about privacy," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.

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About the Journal

Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 12 times per year in print and online that reports on all aspects of genetic testing, including molecular and biochemical based tests and varied clinical situations; ethical, legal, social, and economic aspects of genetic testing; and issues concerning effective genetic counseling. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website

About the Publisher

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Genetic testing for alcohol dependence risk in African Americans

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Jul-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, July 15, 2014A new, validated software-based method for identifying patients with newly diagnosed HIV using electronic medical records (EMRs) is described in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/aid.2013.0287 until August 15, 2014.

Providing medical care early on to people with newly diagnosed HIV infection is important for improving clinical outcomes. Study authors Matthew Bidwell Goetz and Tuyen Hoang, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA; Virginia Kan, Washington DC VA Medical Center and George Washington University School of Medicine; David Rimland, Atlanta VA Medical Center and Emory University School of Medicine; and Maria Rodriguez-Barradas, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Baylor University School of Medicine, Houston, TX, developed an algorithm designed to search EMRs to identify patients with new diagnoses of HIV infection based on the sequence of HIV diagnostic testing, diagnostic code entries into the EMR, and measurements of HIV genetic material in blood samples. They tested and validated their software tool using EMRs from patients undergoing HIV testing from 2006-2012 at four large Veterans Health Administration facilities.

The authors report the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the algorithm in the article "Development and Validation of an Algorithm to Identify Patients Newly Diagnosed with HIV Infection from Electronic Health Records."

"This paper describes new and valuable methodologies that will enhance the ability of public health officials to monitor increases in newly infected HIV populations," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. "This will help to determine where healthcare resources for HIV-positive patients and testing for highest risk patients could be utilized more effectively. This will surely aid in facilitating the fight against HIV/AIDS."

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About the Journal

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses is published monthly in print and online. The Journal presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. The content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information and reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website at http://www.liebertpub.com/aid.

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Identifying newly diagnosed HIV-infected people using electronic medical records

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Scientists in Missouri have revealed they have induced gender in cells They performed the trick by modifying a gene in multicellular algae This gene was responsible for giving the algae one of two mating types But they altered it so that it could switch between 'male' and female' Could explain origin of the sexes in plant and animal organisms

By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Published: 12:11 EST, 10 July 2014 | Updated: 12:11 EST, 10 July 2014

Throughout evolution, living things have repeatedly developed physically distinct sexes, but how does this actually happen?

Thats the question scientists were hoping to answer when they performed a genetic engineering trick on multicellular algae.

And they were surprised to find the process through which one gender produces eggs and the other sperm was more simple than expected - and the scientists could switch the gender roles of the algae.

Scientists in Missouri have revealed they could induce gender (stock image shown) in cells. They performed the trick by identifying and modifying a gene in multicellular algae. This gene was responsible for giving the algae one of two mating types, but they also made it switch gender

The study, led by Dr James Umen at the Danforth Plant Science Center in Missouri and published in Plos Biology, looked at the multicellular green algae Volvox carteri.

A neuroscientist has claimed the expression 'Men are from Mars and women are from Venus' has no scientific grounding, and that instead our brains are changed by the roles society forces us to play.

According to Gina Rippon, a professor at Aston University in Birmingham, stereotypes - such as women's supposed inability to read maps, or the idea men are bad at multitasking - have no links to science.

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Man, I feel like a woman: Surprisingly simple genetic quirk in transgender algae reveals how separate sexes evolved

Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 18:17 PM.

Genetic engineering is such a polarizing topic that it is hard to have an even-handed debate of the issue.

Some opponents of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, spread false claims about safety while ignoring the vast amount of research to the contrary.

That frustrates University of Florida researchers who have made advances in genetic engineering that might provide benefits in fighting crop diseases and reducing the need for pesticides if they could get beyond public misconceptions.

University of Florida researchers have taken a gene found in bell peppers and transferred it to tomatoes. The process has made tomatoes that are resistant to a particularly troublesome crop disease and have a higher yield.

Contrary to scare stories about so-called Frankenfoods, these methods represent a more technologically advanced way of doing the kind of crop breeding that has been happening for millennia.

But tomato growers worry they wouldnt be able to sell a GMO product, hampering the ability of researchers to attract investors.

People are afraid, they dont understand why, they are just told they should be, said Sam Hutton, a UF plant scientist involved in the research. The anti-GMO crowd screams really loud, and there is a lot of fearmongering. It sounds bad to people who dont understand the science.

Other GMOs being developed at the University of Florida include a strawberry that can be grown without fungicides. A researcher involved in that effort observed that the crop likely wont go beyond the lab without a change in public attitudes.

You have solutions that can help the environment, help farmers and help people in the developing world, and you cant use it, said Ken Folta, professor and chairman of the universitys Horticultural Sciences Department.

Read more:
Editorial: Fanning the fears on genetics issues

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Since the end of 2013, US exports of corn to China have dropped 85 percent after Beijing blocked shipments containing a specific strain of modified gene. So far the Chinese government has approved only 15 genetically modified corn strains for import.

However, a recent episode reveals perhaps the ban is nothing but a form of protectionism.

Mo Yun, wife of Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group's chairman, was arrested in the United States for stealing corn seeds from fields owned by Monsanto and DuPont. She was charged with stealing trade secrets.

The stolen seeds, currently available only in the United States, are genetically pure and uniform. These pure breeds are used by the seed companies to create high- yield hybrid seeds to be sold to farmers.

The hybrids sold in the market, despite favorable traits - such as resistance to drought and diseases, and super high yield - often come with a technology called terminator genes making the second-generation seeds sterile.

Sterile super seeds are good, but farmers must rely on a handful of companies for their supply. Governments and NGOs representing the developing nations often fear that the one-sided relationship threatens their food security.

The Chinese government welcomes super seeds, but prefers them to be homegrown. Weak intellectual property rights protection, however, has discouraged private investment in R&D in the area. Funding to public institutions has also crowded out private initiatives.

The vested interests in the public sector have perversely created a regime to limit research partnership, hence stifling innovation.

In fact a subsidiary of DuPont partnered with a Chinese company to develop seeds for the mainland market. However the government limited its marketing out of fear that it threatens the nation's food independence. At the end of the day it is not only science, but also politics and economics that determine what and how well we eat. Simon Lee is a business consultant

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GM food scare stories tough to swallow