PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

19-May-2014

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

New Rochelle, NY, May 19, 2014Two studies of the anti-depressive drug duloxetine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), compared its effectiveness and safety to either fluoxetine or placebo in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The results of these first controlled trials of duloxetine in pediatric patients with MDD are published in Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The articles are available free on the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology

Graham Emslie, MD and coauthors evaluated the efficacy and safety of a fixed dose of duloxetineeither 60 mg or 30 mg once a dayversus 20 mg daily of fluoxetine or placebo in children ages 7-11 years and adolescents ages 12-17 years. In the article "A Double-Blind Efficacy and Safety Study of Duloxetine Fixed Doses in Children and Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder" they compare the treatments based on worsening of suicidal ideation, emergence of suicidal behavior, and adverse effects including abnormal findings on an electrocardiogram and laboratory tests.

Sarah Atkinson, MD and colleagues compared a flexible dosing regimen of duloxetine (60-120 mg daily) to fluoxetine (20-40 mg daily) or placebo and reported measures from a depression rating scale and a suicide severity rating scale, as well as treatment-related adverse events, in the article "A Double-Blind Efficacy and Safety Study of Duloxetine Flexible Dosing in Children and Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder".

Neither study found a significant difference in response between the two drugs and placebo. The authors suggest that this may be due to the complexity of these novel studies and offer observations that may direct the design of future investigations.

"Drs. Emslie and Atkinson and their colleagues took a fascinating approach towards testing the efficacy of a novel SNRI in the pediatric population," said Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, and President, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY. "Researchers are of course excited by positive results, but in this case the curious lack of response tells us volumes about how to better design complex studiesstudies that may soon give us uncommon insight into our pharmacologic interventions."

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Is Duloxetine more or less effective than Fluoxetine in children and teens with MDD?

On The Offensive Against GMOs with Jeffrey Smith
Genetic engineering of foods is one of the most controversial subjects of the last two decades. Since humans first domesticated crops and animals, people have bred different breeds and species...

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B3 Selective Breeding and Genetic Engineering
Revision video for OCR unit B3.

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Genetic Engineering Research Project
Genetic Engineering Project (Cloning, DNA extractionn; Artificial selection/ Selective breeding) and squid cause hes a squid.

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Genetic Engineering Research Project - Video

1. Introduction - Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood
A feminist student #39;s take on the gender roles and representation of genders across realms of thought. Rukshana Mahamood is an undergraduate student of Genetic Engineering in Chennai. Aspiring...

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1. Introduction - Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video

Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam - FULL) By Rukshana Mahamood
A feminist student #39;s take on the gender roles and representation of genders across realms of thought. Rukshana Mahamood is an undergraduate student of Genetic Engineering in Chennai. Aspiring...

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Gender Equations In FreeThought (Malayalam - FULL) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video

2. Dissecting Genders- by Religion, Society and Science (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood
A feminist student #39;s take on the gender roles and representation of genders across realms of thought. Rukshana Mahamood is an undergraduate student of Genetic Engineering in Chennai. Aspiring...

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2. Dissecting Genders- by Religion, Society and Science (Malayalam) By Rukshana Mahamood - Video

17 hours ago Credit: eugenesergeev / Fotolia.com

Only two mechanisms can move molecules in a fluid. They can follow a temperature gradient or an electrical potential. LMU physicists have modeled how migration of DNA molecules is affected by their charge, the salt species, and salt concentration present in the solution.

Thermophoresis is the migration of molecules in a temperature gradient, migration in an electrical field is termed electrophoresis. Each molecular species reacts to these forces in accordance with its physical characteristics, which determine the velocity and direction of its movement. Some congregate where it is warmer, others prefer the cold; some are drawn to the positive, others move toward the negative pole of a field gradient.

The research group led by Dieter Braun, Professor of Systems Biophysics at LMU and a member of the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM), specializes in the investigation of the thermophoresis of biomolecules. Indeed, their work has given rise to a commercial spin-off, which has developed a rapid and economical analytical method for use in the pharmaceutical industry.

In their latest project, Braun and his colleagues have taken a closer look at how DNA molecules behave in temperature gradients set up within aqueous salt solutions, and constructed a theoretical model that allows them to account for this behavior from first principles. "We have combined several theories that have been proposed to describe why and how molecules move along a temperature gradient," explains Maren Reichl, who is first author on the new study. "Their electrical charge, the composition and concentrations of the salts in the solution, and the ambient temperature all play a role in how they move. We have measured the effects of these factors experimentally and compared them with our theoretical predictions."

Interplay of local and global fields

The experiments were carried out in a narrow glass capillary with a diameter of 50 micrometers, filled with a buffered salt solution containing specially designed DNA molecules. A temperature gradient is set up in the solution by heating it locally with a laser. Maren Reichl explains how the behavior of the DNA molecules is detected: "The DNA is labeled with a fluorescent dye, and we use a fluorescence microscope to follow how the DNA migrates away from the heated spot usually toward cooler regions. The level of fluorescence remaining in the heated spot tells us what fraction of the molecules migrates when we raise the temperature of the irradiated volume by 4 degrees, say. And we record the experiment on video, so we can also measure how fast the molecules move out."

The team found that two factors are primarily responsible for the movement of the molecules. The intrinsic negative charge on each DNA molecule is shielded locally by the positive ions (produced upon dissolution of the added salts) in its immediate vicinity. As a result, an electrical field is generated in the minuscule space between the charged DNA and the counterions surrounding it, which thus acts as a tiny capacitor. The second relevant factor is the global electric field that scales with the temperature gradient. This arises from the so-called Seebeck effect the tendency of ions in the solution to become concentrated in cooler or warmer regions of the liquid, with positive and negative ions moving in opposite directions. This charge separation generates a potential difference, which also influences the movement of the molecules by inducing electrophoresis.

Based on the interplay of local and global electric fields, one can precisely predict their overall effect on a given molecular species. For instance, DNA molecules tend migrate at slower rates in concentrated salt solutions, because the many free ions in the solution more effectively screen the charge on the DNA strands. DNA also moves more slowly in a sodium fluoride solution than in sodium chloride because the electric field associated with the former species more strongly retards the movement of the DNA molecules.

Professor Dieter Braun summarizes the wider significance of the work as follows: "We have, for the first time, convincingly demonstrated that the non-equilibrium phenomenon of thermophoresis can be predicted on the basis of local thermodynamic equilibria. In the next step, we plan to study how molecules compete for the coveted slots in the cold zone. And, of course, we will address the question of why uncharged molecules migrate at all."

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Researchers model how migration of DNA molecules is affected by charge, salt species, and salt concentration

Health Ranger calls for increased science education in America to combat scientific illiteracy
Scientific illiteracy has run rampant across America, with many scientists, doctors and journalists unable to carry on intelligent conversations about toxic heavy metals or the difference between...

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From the Gate News ~ Genetic Engineering... Turning Stem Cells into Sperms Cells
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gocchurch Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

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Genetic Engineering By Anna from Germany
Genetic Engineering By Anna from Germany.

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A specially formed material that can provide custom broadband absorption in the infrared can be identified and manufactured using "genetic algorithms," according to Penn State engineers, who say these metamaterials can shield objects from view by infrared sensors, protect instruments and be manufactured to cover a variety of wavelengths. "The metamaterial has a high absorption over broad bandwidth," said Jeremy A. Bossard, postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering.

"Other screens have been developed for a narrow bandwidth, but this is the first that can cover a super-octave bandwidth in the infrared spectrum."

Having a broader bandwidth means that one material can protect against electromagnetic radiation over a wide range of wavelengths, making the material more useful. The researchers looked at silver, gold and palladium, but found that palladium provided better bandwidth coverage.

This new metamaterial is actually made of layers on a silicon substrate or base. The first layer is palladium, followed by a polyimide layer. On top of this plastic layer is a palladium screen layer. The screen has elaborate, complicated cutouts -- sub wavelength geometry -- that serve to block the various wavelengths. A polyimide layer caps the whole absorber.

"As long as the properly designed pattern in the screen is much smaller than the wavelength, the material can work effectively as an absorber," said Lan Lin, graduate student in electrical engineering. "It can also absorb 90 percent of the infrared radiation that comes in at up to a 55 degree angle to the screen."

To design the necessary screen for this metamaterial, the researchers used a genetic algorithm. They described the screen pattern by a series of zeros and ones -- a chromosome -- and let the algorithm randomly select patterns to create an initial population of candidate designs. The algorithm then tested the patterns and eliminated all but the best. The best patterns were then randomly tweaked for the second generation.

Again the algorithm discarded the worst and kept the best. After a number of generations the good patterns met and even exceeded the design goals. Along the way the best pattern from each generation was retained. They report their results in a recent issue of ACS Nano.

"We wouldn't be able to get an octave bandwidth coverage without the genetic algorithm," said Bossard. "In the past, researchers have tried to cover the bandwidth using multiple layers, but multiple layers were difficult to manufacture and register properly."

This evolved metamaterial can be easily manufactured because it is simply layers of metal or plastic that do not need complex alignment. The clear cap of polyimide serves to protect the screen, but also helps reduce any impedance mismatch that might occur when the wave moves from the air into the device.

"Genetic algorithms are used in electromagnetics, but we are at the forefront of using this method to design metamaterials," said Bossard.

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Genetic approach helps design broadband metamaterial

Genetic Engineering with Nadia Ayoub
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Genetic Engineering Simplified
Our team made a brief explanation about Genetic Engineering. Don #39;t forget to visit http://www.chemistriology.webs.com for more videos.

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Nature News Blog

09 May 2014 | 19:32 BST | Posted by Heidi Ledford | Category: Biology & Biotechnology, Politics

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed a law mandating the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Picture credit: Community College of Vermont via Flickr

Vermont is the first US state to mandate labels on foods produced using genetic engineering.

Under a law signed by Vermont governor Peter Shumlin on 8 May, labels must be in place on food sold in Vermont by July 2016.

We have a right to know whats in the food we buy, said Shumlin during the signing, as attendees noshed on free Ben & Jerrys ice cream. I am proud that were leading the way in the United States to require labeling of genetically engineered food.

A host of other states are contemplating similar legislation. But even as consumer activists celebrated Vermonts label law, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a food-industry group based in Washington DC, pledged to file a lawsuit in federal court with the intention of overturning the law. And last month, Congressman Mike Pompeo (Republican, Kansas) introduced the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2014in the US House of Representatives, a bill that allows requirements for labeling of genetically engineered food only when that food differs substantially in make-up from non-engineered counterparts. The use of bioengineering does not, in itself, constitute a material difference, the bill states.

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9 hours ago Figure 1: Quantitative base-induced DNA cleavage (QBIC) is a technique that allows DNA to be cleaved at any thymine site. Credit: lvcandy/iStock/Thinkstock

Genetic engineering of plants, animals and microorganisms such as bacteria typically involves the use of restriction enzymes to 'cut and paste' DNA fragments into certain genetic sequence locations. This process allows scientists to introduce new genes into an organism, but is constrained to specific recognition sequences, limiting the design of recombinant DNA molecules.

A research team led by Hiroki Ueda and colleagues from the Laboratory for Synthetic Biology at the RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center has now developed a chemical-based, non-enzymatic recombination technique that instead uses a DNA base analogue called 5-ethynyluracil to cleave DNA at any site containing the nucleotide thymine.

The technique developed by Ueda and his co-workers, which is called quantitative base-induced DNA cleavage (QBIC), starts with the generation of DNA fragments containing 5-ethynyluracil in place of thyminetwo molecules with similar structures. These products are then immersed in an aqueous solution containing methylamine, a derivative of ammonia. In this chemical bath, all the nucleotides containing 5-ethynyluracil become cleaved, introducing gaps near the cleaved ends. The gaps in the resulting DNA fragments create protruding ends that can be inserted into circular DNA molecules known as plasmids. The plasmids can then be inserted into the target organism, such as a bacterial cell, to complete the genetic engineering process.

"Compared with restriction enzymes, the QBIC reaction has the advantage that we can freely design the sequences at the protruding termini generated by the DNA cleavage," says Katsuhiko Matsumoto from the research team. "The experimental procedure for DNA concatenation using the QBIC reaction is also simple," he adds. "DNA can be concatenated by the addition and removal of methylamine, hybridized by heating and cooling, and incorporated into an organismin this case the bacterium Escherichia coli."

Another potential boon of the QBIC method is that it is less sensitive to laboratory conditions than enzyme-based techniques and can be run at room temperature. Being a chemical method, it is also generally cheaper to perform than enzyme-based methods. One limitation of the QBIC method in its present form is that long stretches of DNA can lose their structure after treatment with the methylamine solution, which prevents the two-stranded, helical shape from being restored. Ueda's team is now refining the protocol to extend its ability to handle longer DNA fragments. "If we find a solution to this problem," Matsumoto notes, "the QBIC method would become very attractive for the concatenation of long DNA fragments."

Explore further: New method for mass-producing high-quality DNA molecules

More information: Ikeda, S., Tainaka, K., Matsumoto, K., Shinohara, Y., Ode, K. L., Susaki, E. A. & Ueda, H. R. "Non-enzymatic DNA cleavage reaction induced by 5-ethynyluracil in methylamine aqueous solution and application to DNA concatenation." PLoS ONE 9, e92369 (2014). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092369

Journal reference: PLoS ONE

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SAY NO TO GENETIC ENGINEERING ! SWINE FLU 2009

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Genetic Engineering Intro
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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-May-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2156 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, May 8, 2014The powerful anti-inflammatory compound interleukin-10 (IL-10) plays a crucial role in regenerative, scarless healing of fetal skin. Studies of IL-10 in postnatal skin wounds have demonstrated its promise as an anti-scarring therapeutic agent, as described in a Critical Review article published in Advances in Wound Care, a monthly peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers and an Official Journal of the Wound Healing Society. The article is available free on the Advances in Wound Care website.

In "Regenerative Wound Healing: The Role of Interleukin-10," Sundeep Keswani and co-authors, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (OH), and Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, review the complex processes, cell types, growth factors, and other agents needed for successful wound healing. The authors explore the ability of fetal skin to heal without scars and describe the results of ongoing studies to develop IL-10 as an anti-scarring agent.

"Regenerative healing in adults is approachable through lessons learnt from fetal wounds," says Editor-in-Chief Chandan K. Sen, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Comprehensive Wound Center and the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH.

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Advances in Wound Care is a monthly peer-reviewed journal published online and in print that reports the latest scientific discoveries, translational research, and clinical developments in acute and chronic wound care. Each issue provides a digest of the latest research findings, innovative wound care strategies, industry product pipeline, and developments in biomaterials and skin and tissue regeneration to optimize patient outcomes. The broad scope of applications covered includes limb salvage, chronic ulcers, burns, trauma, blast injuries, surgical repair, skin bioengineering, dressings, anti-scar strategies, diabetic ulcers, ostomy, bedsores, biofilms, and military wound care. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Advances in Wound Care website.

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Promising role for interleukin-10 in scarless wound healing

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

8-May-2014

Contact: Vicki Cohn vcohn@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, May 8, 2014When Massachusetts enacted its own statewide health insurance reform in 2006, low-income women transitioned from receiving free, federally subsidized screening for breast and cervical cancer and cardiovascular disease risk to an insurance-based payment system. The effects on screening rates in this vulnerable population are explored in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jwh.2013.4612.

A group of authors from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and several women's health centers and community hospitals in Boston, MA gathered data to evaluate whether the prevalence of screening mammography, Pap smear, and blood pressure measurement improved, stayed the same, or declined pre- and post-health insurance reform. In the article "Preventive Care for Low-Income Women in Massachusetts Post-Health Reform," the authors reviewed screening information for women treated at five community health centers between 2004 and 2010, spanning the period before and after the introduction of health reform.

"There are lessons learned from the Massachusetts experience of health care reform that can help inform health care changes nationally," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.

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About the Journal

Journal of Women's Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women's healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh. Journal of Women's Health is the official journal of the Academy of Women's Health and the Society for Women's Health Research.

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Health screening for low-income women under health care reform: Better or worse?