29-11-2011 10:08 Free learning from The Open University http://www.open.edu --- This video explores the ways in which humans are learning to exploit microbes to produce medicines, fuel and food. (Part 6 of 7) Playlist link - http://www.youtube.com --- Study 'Biology' at the Open University: www3.open.ac.uk
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Genetic Engineering - Seven Wonders of the Microbe World (6/7) - Video
17-09-2011 19:42
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What is the future of genetic modification? - Video
(Reuters) - Scientists, stymied for decades by the complexity of the human immunodeficiency virus, are making progress on several fronts in the search for a cure for HIV infections, a leading medical research conference was told this week in Seattle.
Promising tactics range from flushing hidden HIV from cells to changing out a person's own immune system cells, making them resistant to HIV and then putting them back into the patient's body.
A major stumbling block is the fact that HIV lies low in pools or reservoirs of latent infection that even powerful drugs cannot reach, scientists told the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, one of the world's largest scientific meetings on HIV/AIDS.
"We need to get the virus to come out of the latent state, then rely on the immune system or some other treatment to kill the virus," said Dr. Kevin De Cock, director of the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HIV, which surfaced more than 30 years ago, infects more than 33 million people worldwide. Thanks to prevention measures, tests that detect HIV early and new antiretroviral drugs that can control the virus for decades, infection with the virus that causes AIDS is no longer a death sentence.
Still, questions of cost, side effects, drug resistance and ultimate lifespan, make lifelong use of antiviral drugs a less-than-ideal solution.
The International AIDS Society last year formally added the aim of finding a cure to its HIV strategy of prevention, treatment and care.
Early human trials of vaccines designed to prevent or treat infection with the difficult to target virus have proved disappointing. HIV is a "provirus" that is integrated into the DNA of a host cell, where it can remain latent or eventually reactivate.
"It has proven to be an incredibly formidable challenge to develop a vaccine," said John Coffin, professor of molecular biology at Tufts University in Boston. "In recent years the pendulum is swinging back."
Scientific advances in molecular engineering are allowing researchers to delve more deeply into the mechanism of HIV.
Originally posted here:
Progress, no big breakthrough, in hunt for HIV cure
15-02-2012 04:32 The following footage has been leaked from a UK lab showing a human test subject undergoing genetic modification
Continue reading here:
Eugenics conspiracy: Secret human genetic experimentation footage leaked - Video
Public release date: 7-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society
With the "Refrigerator Mother" notion about the cause of autism a distant and discredited memory, scientists are making remarkable progress in untangling the genetic roots of the condition, which affects millions of children and adults, according to an article in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
In the story, C&EN Associate Editor Lauren K. Wolf points out that most people in the 1960s believed autism resulted from a lack of maternal warmth and emotional attachment. It was a hypothesis popularized by Austrian-born American child psychologist and writer Bruno Bettelheim. Now scientists around the globe are focusing on genes that have been implicated in autism and related conditions, collectively termed "autism spectrum disorders." That research may solve mysteries about autism, which affects 1 in 110 children in the U.S. Among them: what causes autism, why does it affect more boys than girls and what can be done to prevent and treat it?
C&EN explains that scientists now have solidly implicated certain genes as being involved in autism. Most of those genes play a role in the transmission of signals through the junctions or "synapses" between nerve cells. Synapses are the territory where one nerve releases a chemical signal that hands off messages to an adjoining nerve. The human brain has an estimated 1,000 trillion synapses, and they are hot spots for miscommunications that underpin neurological disorders like autism. Scientists now are gleaning information on what those genes do, what brain circuits they affect and how the proteins they produce function. In doing so, they are paving the way for future medications for autism spectrum disorders.
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The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The rest is here:
From 'Refrigerator Mothers' to untangling the genetic roots of autism
18-02-2012 11:56 (episode 3 of 5 - Human Genome Project) DNA - The Secret Of Life (episode 1 of 5 - Discovery of DNA Structure) http://www.youtube.com DNA - Playing God (episode 2 of 5 - Genetic Engineering) http://www.youtube.com DNA - Curing Cancer (episode 4 of 5 - In search of cancer treatment) http://www.youtube.com DNA - Pandora's Box (episode 5 of 5 - Enormous possibilities and moral limits) http://www.youtube.com
Originally posted here:
DNA - The Human Race - Video
28-01-2012 11:57 Pre-Order/Vorbestellen Amazon: amzn.to Genetic engineering is a popular subject of fiction, especially science fiction. During the early twentieth century, science fiction writers began to consider the possible alteration of human beings and other species, either through the natural alteration of genes or by the use of deliberate genetic engineering. Stories of mutated humans first became common in the 1930s pulp magazines and in the British scientific romances of the time, mutation often providing the justification for stories of supermen. Such narratives provide scientifically rationalized accounts of the transformation of human beings and nature, a theme of timeless fascination, as shown by the many examples in ancient mythology and earlier forms of fiction. While narratives that depict unexpected and uncontrolled mutation (eg as a result of radioactivity from nuclear tests) are usually often pessimistic in their attitudes to science and technology, more optimistic (or at least ambiguous) attitudes are sometimes found in narratives that deal with the deliberate alteration of human or other beings. In many comic book series, genetic engineering is sometimes used as a 'plausible' explanation for superhuman powers or abilities.
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Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City - Story and gameplay Trailer - Video
Cuba's top biotech teams have successfully tested a new AIDS vaccine on mice, and are ready to soon begin human testing, a leading researcher told a biotechnology conference in Havana on Monday.
"The new AIDS trial vaccine already was tested successfully (on mice) and now we are preparing a very small, tightly controlled phase one clinical trial" with HIV-positive patients who are not in the advanced stages of disease, researcher Enrique Iglesias said.
Iglesias, who heads up the vaccine development team at the Biotech and Genetic Engineering Center (CIGB) here, was speaking at the International Biotech Conference-Havana 2012, which started Monday in Cuba's capital.
He told the crowd at the convention center that the vaccine TERAVAC-HIV-1 was made from recombinant proteins aiming "to cause a cellular response against the (HIV) virus."
While upbeat, the Cuban expert was quick to downplay high hopes for a long-awaited successful AIDS vaccine.
"So far, there have been more than 100 clinical tests (on humans) with HIV" in Cuba and other countries, "and all of them have failed," he stressed.
Cuba, the Americas' only one-party Communist-ruled state, spends more than $200 million a year on its AIDS prevention and care programs, including free care with antiretrovirals, some of them Cuban-made.
The CIGB, which groups about 20 research units on Havana's leafy western end, is the engine behind a major Cuban export: biotech products including vaccines and other drugs.
The Caribbean country exports $400 million a year in these products, making them its official number-two export after nickel.
Some 600 scientists from about 38 countries are taking part in the event including Nobel-winning US chemist Peter Agre, also a medical doctor and molecular biologist.
Read the original post:
Cuba to test new AIDS vaccine on humans
Cuba will start clinical human trials of a vaccine against HIV this year.
The announcement was confirmed by the director of clinical research of Cuba's genetic engineering and biotechnology centre, Dr Verena Muizo, at the International Biotech Conference-Havana 2012.
"In terms of the vaccine against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it should start soon," he said.
"We hope in the second quarter of this year, or in the third. It is a clinical study of individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, but it is a phase one study, for safety, and to start to try this possible vaccine.
Dr Muizo said the vaccine, known as TERAVAC-VIH-1, would start as a small study in just a few patients.
"The clinical study that we are going to do is going to be done with a small number of patients, 30.
"These are individuals that have not reached the Aids stage but are instead in the seropositive stage without reaching the clinical Aids stage."
A seropositive patient tests positive for HIV antibodies, but still has an immune system strong enough to fight off opportunistic infections that can cause complications with patients with full-blown Aids.
The researchers working on the HIV vaccine, though hopeful, were quick to point out that the investigation is still in the early phases and they will not know for many years whether the vaccine is effective or not.
"The vaccine is starting its clinical evaluation and we hope it works.
Read more:
Cuba To Test HIV Vaccine On Humans This Year
13-02-2012 00:36 ICS 691 Computers in Medicine Lecture 2 Part 4 of 4. Questions or comments? Contact: Dr. Julia Patriarche, PhD E-mail: julia4@hawaii.edu / julia@chalkdust.net Office: 808-294-5335 Website: www2.hawaii.edu
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Evolution and Genetic Engineering - Video
Public release date: 29-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Cathia Falvey cfalvey@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 x2165 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News
New Rochelle, NY, February 29, 2012Although industrial parks are often considered major economic engines for the communities in which they reside, they can also consume environmental resources and produce significant pollution that can negatively affect human health and quality of life. A case study published in Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees), a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com), describes a systems-based approach to assess and reduce the negative societal and economic impact of industrial parks. The article on sustainability management for industrial parks (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0109 ) is available on the Environmental Engineering Science website.
"The extent of sustainable economic development is critical to the quality of life that defines various communities," says Domenico Grasso, Ph.D, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, University of Vermont (Burlington). "Industrial parks have long been a cornerstone of regional economic activity and prosperity. This paper by Ching-Ho Chen and colleagues does a wonderful job of helping policy and decision makers evaluate the environmental dimensions and consequences of these important developments."
A team of researchers from Taiwan studied the operation and management of a local industrial park. They measured air and water pollution, solid waste production, land use, and water and energy consumption and proposed a management model based on more sustainable practices. Ching-Ho Chen, National Taipei University of Education, Wei-Lin Liu, Ing-Jia Chiou, Nanya Institute of Technology, and Shu-Liang Liaw, National Central University, describe their work in the article, "Methodology and System of Total Quantity and Sustainability Management for Industrial Parks." (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0109)
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Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees) is an authoritative monthly online peer-reviewed journal.. This interdisciplinary journal publishes state-of-the-art studies of innovative solutions to problems in air, water, and land contamination and waste disposal. It features applications of environmental engineering and scientific discoveries, policy issues, environmental economics, and sustainable development. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Environmental Engineering Science (http://www.liebertpub.com/ees) website.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Sustainability: The Journal of Record, Environmental Justice, and Industrial Biotechnology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available online at Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com)
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com Phone: 914-740-2100 800) M-LIEBERT Fax: 914-740-2101
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Can industrial parks be more environmentally friendly?
March 1, 2012
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have figured out how the human body keeps essential genes switched on and silences the vast stretches of genetic repeats and junk DNA.
Frdric Chdin, associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, describes the research in a paper published today (March 1) in the journal Molecular Cell. The work could lead to treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases, by reversing the gene-silencing process known as cytosine methylation.
R-loops are the key, say graduate student Paul Ginno, Chdin and colleagues. The loops emerge in the RNA transcription process in DNA sections that are rich in cytosine and guanine, the C and G in the four-letter DNA code. These C and G stretches serve as on switches, or promoters, for about 60 percent of human genes.
Scientists have known since the 1980s that these so-called CG island promoters are not subject to methylation. But, Chdin said, the mechanism has been a long-standing mystery.
The UC Davis researchers built a catalog of almost 8,000 CG islands in the human genome, studied their DNA sequences and found the CG sequences to be skewed toward having one strand of the double helix rich in guanine, and the complementary strand rich in cytosine.
Then, in RNA transcription, the G-rich RNA remains stably bound to a C-rich DNA strand, forcing the G-rich DNA strand into a loop which then prevents methylation.
DNA methylation is considered part of the new field of epigenetics, which studies inheritable genetic changes that are not directly coded in the DNA sequence. However, the new work shows that, at least at CG islands, the epigenetic state is determined by the DNA sequence.
Scientists know that reduced methylation of DNA plays a key role in triggering autoimmunity in lupus, Chdin said. However, the molecular events behind this DNA under-methylation have been unclear.
Our work establishes that excessive R-loop formation may drive under-methylation and autoimmunity, Chdin said.
The rest is here:
R-loops break walls of gene silencing
Lafayette College theater director Michael O'Neill has never seen the classic Czech play "R.U.R," but after teaching it in his theater classes for years, he became intrigued by the relevance of its premise.
So after reading many translations of the play about robots and a mechanized world where people show no emotions, O'Neill decided to write his own translation and produce it at the college. The play opened Wednesday and continues through Saturday at the Williams arts center.
"I made a lot of cuts," O'Neill says. "In those days, they tended to be awfully talky."
"R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots" was written in 1920 by Karel Capek. It was a response to the death and destruction he had witnessed during World War I and the emotional dislocation and upheavals of the 1917 Communist revolution in Russia.
The play was written as an expressionistic journey into genetic engineering on a mass scale, O'Neill says. It predicted a mechanized world where people have no emotional connections and where workers have lost their human rights. The play takes place in a factory that makes Robots that can think for themselves and can be mistaken for humans.
"I thought that the play had a lot to say about today and our interest in human cloning and our dependence on technology," O'Neill says. "I was concerned about our growing dependence on our cell phones and our computers and the increasing mechanization of everyday life. I also thought that that this play was particularly relevant to Lafayette, which has such a big engineering program."
The play was the first to introduce the word robot to the English language.
"Actually the word robot means 'worker' in Czech, and the Robots in our production look less like Hollywood robots than Soviet workers from the 1920s," O'Neill says. Costume designer Locklyn Brooks has created gray and monochrome outfits that make the Robots look less like machines and more like people, he says.
O'Neill says the play is not so much science fiction as a social satire with a utopian vision.
"This is actually a very traditional play, and despite the presence of the Robots, its main theme is that the human race needs love to be able to survive," he says.
See original here:
Lafayette's 'R.U.R' deals with robots, role of technology
After my post on the race question I thought it would be useful to point to Jerry Coynes Are there human races?. The utility is that Coynes book Speciation strongly shaped my own perceptions. I knew the empirical reality of clustering before I read that book, but the analogy with species concept debates was only striking after becoming more familiar with that literature. Coynes post was triggered by a review of Race?: Debunking a Scientific Myth and Race and the Genetic Revolution: Science, Myth, and Culture. He terms the review tendentious, and I generally agree.
In the early 20th century Western intellectuals of all political stripes understood what biology told us about human taxonomy. In short, human races were different, and the white European race was superior on the metrics which mattered (this was even true of Left-Socialist intellectuals such as H. G. Wells and Jack London). In the early 21st century Western intellectuals of all political stripes understand what biology teaches us about human taxonomy. Human races are basically the same, and for all practical purposes identical, and equal on measures which matter (again, to Western intellectuals). As Coyne alludes to in his post these are both ideologically driven positions. One of the main reasons that I shy away from modern liberalism is a strong commitment to interchangeability and identity across all individuals and populations as a matter of fact, rather than equality as a matter of legal commitment. In a minimal government scenario the details of human variation are not of particular relevance, but if you accept the feasibility of social engineering (a term I am not using in an insulting sense, but in a descriptive one) you have to start out with a model of human nature. So this is not just an abstract issue. For whatever reason many moderns, both liberals and economic conservatives, start out with one of near identity (e.g., H. economicus in economics).
I want to highlight a few sections of Coynes post:
What are races?
In my own field of evolutionary biology, races of animals (also called subspecies or ecotypes) are morphologically distinguishable populations that live in allopatry (i.e. are geographically separated). There is no firm criterion on how much morphological difference it takes to delimit a race. Races of mice, for example, are described solely on the basis of difference in coat color, which could involve only one or two genes.
Under that criterion, are there human races?
Yes. As we all know, there are morphologically different groups of people who live in different areas, though those differences are blurring due to recent innovations in transportation that have led to more admixture between human groups.
Why do these differences exist?
The short answer is, of course, evolution. The groups exist because human populations have an evolutionary history, and, like different species themselves, that ancestry leads to clustering and branching, though humans have a lot of genetic interchange between the branches!
More here:
Jerry Coyne on race: a reflection of evolution | Gene Expression
By a GenomeWeb staff reporter
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis plan to use DNA sequencing and genetic analysis to study all of the viruses in the human body in an effort to identify the viruses that make children with weakened immune systems sick, WUSTL said Monday.
The researchers will use a $3.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund the study, which will take a look at the entire human virome in order to discover novel viruses that may be involved in acute, persistent, or latent infections.
The team will use blood, nasal, and stool samples from 400 children with weakened immunity, including children born with immune disorders, who are having organ or stem cell transplants, and those who are being treated with immune suppression drugs for diseases such as cancer or HIV/AIDS. The samples will be taken both when the children are well and when they have fevers.
Those samples will then be analyzed using tests that amplify DNA to target particular genes or genomic areas and by DNA sequencing to identify the genetic signatures of all of the viruses that are present in each sample. Those viruses found via sequencing will then be compared against a database of all known viruses.
Comparing what we find in these children with children whose immune systems arent suppressed will show us how the immune system usually keeps viruses under control, Gregory Storch, a professor of pediatrics at WUSTL and principal investigator of the project, said in a statement. By putting it all together, we want to draw some conclusions about which viruses cause illness.
Storch previously used funding from the National Institutes of Health for the Human Microbiome Project to look for viruses in young children with high fevers that could not be explained, and found one or more viruses in more than half of the children tested. Because many viral identification tests take as long as 10 days to complete, many of those children were treated with antibiotics that do not address viral infections.
Ultimately, wed like to find ways to better recognize which children have viral infections so we can avoid treating them with unnecessary antibiotics. Unnecessary use of these drugs promotes the growth or resistance to important antibiotics, Storch saids.
The rest is here:
Washington University Receives $3.3M from NIH to Study Virome of Kids
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands and GHENT, Belgium, February 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Human Antibody Product Collaboration in Rare Diseases
arGEN-X, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies from its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform, announces today that it has entered into an alliance with Shire to create novel therapeutic antibody products against multiple targets submitted by Shire.
Using its cutting edge SIMPLE Antibody discovery technology, arGEN-X will isolate and characterize human antibodies against the targets that Shire has identified and that are known to contribute to the pathophysiology of severe, rare genetic diseases. arGEN-X will also bring its state-of-the-art antibody capabilities to the collaboration for the preclinical characterization of therapeutic leads. Shire has the option to license the most promising leads for further preclinical and clinical development and commercialization worldwide.
Under the terms of the agreement, arGEN-X will receive an upfront technology access fee, research funding and preclinical success payments. In return for its option to develop and commercialize products on an exclusive basis, Shire will pay fees, milestones and royalties on product sales. Specific details of the financial terms were not disclosed.
Tim Van Hauwermeiren, CEO of arGEN-X, said, "We are delighted to pioneer human antibodies as novel, first-in-class therapies for rare diseases with a partner of Shire's calibre. Shire's depth of experience in protein-based therapies is the perfect complement to our own discovery capabilities. We are confident that our SIMPLE Antibody platform, which consistently delivers antibodies of therapeutic quality against complex targets often intractable with other technologies, will bring significant value to this alliance. We believe this alliance represents an industry first and we are looking forward to an exciting and productive collaboration with Shire."
"As a leader in innovative therapies for rare diseases, Shire is continuing to apply new technologies to address the needs of patients," said Philip J. Vickers, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Shire Human Genetic Therapies (HGT). "Monoclonal antibody therapy is an underutilized approach to the treatment of rare diseases, and this novel platform has the potential to bring multiple drug candidates into our early-stage pipeline. Partnerships such as this one with arGEN-X are an important part of our strategy to bring new therapies to those suffering from rare diseases worldwide."
About arGEN-X-http://www.arGEN-X.com
arGEN-X is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is rapidly leveraging the power of its broadly applicable, proprietary SIMPLE Antibody platform to generate fully human antibodies with differentiated qualities and outstanding therapeutic potential. The platform excels in delivering large panels of ultra-potent, functionally diverse antibodies against complex disease targets, especially cell surface receptors and highly conserved proteins. The superior choice that arGEN-X brings to antibody discovery enables it to prioritise leads with best-in-class therapeutic properties, thereby increasing the probability of development success. Antibody leads generated from the SIMPLE Antibody platform have outstanding physicochemical properties and consistent manufacturability, enabling a seamless transition from discovery into development. arGEN-X has validated its technology on multiple diverse classes of target to date and has successfully delivered in its collaboration with Eli Lilly & Co..
arGEN-X' SIMPLE Antibody platform is based on the active immunization of Camelids with target antigens to deliver antibody variable regions that are essentially identical to those of human antibodies. arGEN-X is able to generate full size, human therapeutic antibodies by combining these variable regions with human constant domains.
See the original post:
arGEN-X Enters Into a Therapeutic Antibody Alliance With Shire
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -02/27/12)- Canada's top researchers in the natural sciences and engineering will be honoured today at an awards ceremony hosted by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada. The achievements being recognized include groundbreaking discoveries about Earth system science, unlocking the codes that control human genetics, and using the characteristics of carbohydrates found inside cells to help combat disease. The 19 individuals and teams are winners of seven prestigious prizes awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
"Investing in science and technology has a direct impact on our quality of life," said the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). "The accomplishments of these winners demonstrate how these investments benefit Canadians and our economy."
Among the prizes is NSERC's highest honour-the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering-awarded to W. Richard Peltier, a renowned physicist from the University of Toronto. Dr. Peltier helped pioneer Earth system science-a discipline that studies interactions between the land, atmosphere, water and the biosphere as an integrated system. He has developed powerful analytical tools to understand how climate has evolved over millions of years, and to test the quality of models used to project future changes.
The NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal recognizes the sustained excellence and influence of the winner's research. It guarantees Dr. Peltier $1 million in discovery research funding over the next five years.
"Canada's researchers are second to none when it comes to the quality and creativity of their work," said NSERC President Suzanne Fortier. "From students just embarking on their careers to seasoned researchers with well-earned international reputations, we can be extremely proud of the talent we help nurture."
A new prize introduced today-the NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research-will honour an outstanding doctoral student whose work exemplifies interdisciplinary research. The award was established by Gilles Brassard, winner of the 2009 NSERC Herzberg Gold Medal.
Also being announced today are prizes for top graduate students, outstanding university-industry partnerships, groundbreaking discoveries and excellence in multidisciplinary research. Other researchers to be recognized at today's celebration include the following:
-- Brendan John Frey and Benjamin J. Blencowe from the University of
Toronto, winners of the NSERC John C. Polanyi Award;
-- The team of David R. Bundle, John S. Klassen and Todd L. Lowary of the
University of Alberta; and Glen Douglas Armstrong and Kenneth K.S. Ng of
the University of Calgary; winners of the Brockhouse Canada Prize for
Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering;
-- Four winners of Synergy Awards for Innovation:
-- Rung Tien Bui of the Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi, in
partnership with Rio Tinto Alcan;
-- Roussos Dimitrakopoulos of McGill University, in partnership with
BHP Billiton Canada Inc., AngloGold Ashanti Limited, Barrick Gold
Corporation, De Beers Canada Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation and
Vale Exploration Canada Inc.;
-- Eugene Fiume of the University of Toronto, in partnership with
Autodesk, Inc.; and
-- Yun Zhang of the University of New Brunswick, in partnership with
PCI Geomatics;
-- Six winners of E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships:
-- Alisdair B. Boraston, University of Victoria;
-- Sheelagh Carpendale, University of Calgary;
-- Mark MacLachlan, University of British Columbia ;
-- Randall V. Martin, Dalhousie University;
-- Robert Schober, University of British Columbia ; and
-- Robert Seiringer, McGill University;
-- Alex Hayat, winner of the NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize; and
-- Five winners of NSERC Andre Hamer Postgraduate Prizes:
-- Christopher Willie (doctoral);
-- Matthew Florczynski (master's);
-- Sebastien Loranger (master's);
-- Jimmy Ly (master's); and
-- Talena Rambarran (master's).
A full description of the NSERC prizes and winners can be found in the backgrounder.
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports some 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging about 2,000 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
Backgrounder
NSERC Awards Ceremony
Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
The Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, NSERC's highest honour, recognizes research contributions characterized by both excellence and influence-two qualities that defined Dr. Herzberg's illustrious career, which included the 1971 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The Herzberg Gold Medal and its predecessor-the Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering-have been awarded each year, since 1991, to an individual who has demonstrated sustained excellence and influence in research for a body of work conducted in Canada that has substantially advanced the fields of the natural sciences or engineering. The award celebrates Canada's most outstanding scientists and engineers, raising public awareness about the major contributions that Canada's top researchers make to international science and technology, and to improving the lives of Canadians.
Value: The winner receives up to $1 million in research funding over five years.
2011 winner:
W. Richard Peltier
Physics
University of Toronto
W. Richard Peltier's research has helped pioneer Earth system science-a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to explaining how the Earth functions. His seminal contributions to geophysics, atmospheric physics, and climate change research have spawned a new sub-discipline in the solid Earth and climate dynamical sciences. Using sophisticated mathematical concepts, his models depict how climate evolved over the past 750 million years, and project how it will evolve in the future. His research on ice-age climate variability is considered the gold standard for scholarship on past climate change. He is the founding Director of the University of Toronto's Centre for Global Change Science.
NSERC John C. Polanyi Award
Created in 2006, the NSERC John C. Polanyi Award is named in honour of Canada's 1986 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The award is given to an individual or team whose research, conducted in Canada, has led to a recent outstanding advance in any NSERC-supported field of the natural sciences or engineering. The research leading to the advance must have been funded at least partially by an NSERC grant.
Value: The winner receives a research grant of up to $250,000.
2011 winner:
Brendan John Frey and Benjamin J. Blencowe
Engineering and Medicine
University of Toronto
Drs. Frey and Blencowe have taken a major step forward in unravelling the riddle of how the human genome can do so much with what seems like a relatively small number of genes. Their discovery of a sophisticated DNA code that cells use to rearrange parts of genetic messages in a process called "splicing" sheds new light on how our bodies function and how DNA mutations can result in disease. This breakthrough will further guide the design of a new generation of
diagnostic tests and biomolecular therapies.
Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering
In tribute to the pursuit of research excellence the late Canadian scientist Bertram N. Brockhouse exemplified and inspired, NSERC offers an interdisciplinary research prize in his name. Dr. Brockhouse won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Since 2004, the Brockhouse Canada Prize has recognized outstanding Canadian teams of researchers from different disciplines who have combined their expertise to produce achievements of outstanding international significance in the natural sciences and engineering in the last six years.
Value: The winners receive a team research grant of up to $250,000.
2011 winner:
The Alberta Carbohydrate Science Group:
David R. Bundle, John S. Klassen and Todd L. Lowary
University of Alberta
and
Glen Douglas Armstrong and Kenneth K.S. Ng
University of Calgary
The Alberta Carbohydrate Science Group is a highly interactive team representing diverse disciplines focussed on solving problems that span the spectrum of chemistry, structural biology and microbiology. This broad range of expertise has propelled the group to make discoveries that are recognized at the forefront of glycobiology-one of the top fields that will impact the future of biomedicine. The team's research is leading to new ways of developing vaccines and better tools to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
Synergy Awards for Innovation
The Synergy Awards for Innovation were launched in 1995 by NSERC to recognize partnerships in natural sciences and engineering research and development between universities and industry. Since their inception, the awards have honoured the most outstanding achievements of university-industry collaboration in the natural sciences and engineering.
Value: Each of the four winners receives a $200,000 research grant.
2011 winners:
Partnership with a Small or Medium-Sized Company
Yun Zhang, University of New Brunswick
PCI Geomatics
Research satellites provide the ultimate "big picture" and make it possible to see what's happening in hard-to-reach places. However, it can be slow, expensive and difficult to process the vast amounts of data captured by satellite imagery. This team is working to solve this problem by creating complex algorithms that can fuse images from satellites with a processing speed and image quality that is the best in the world. It's also developing technology that makes remote sensing imagery look more like traditional aerial photography.
Partnership with a Small or Medium-Sized Company
Eugene Fiume, University of Toronto
Autodesk, Inc.
This partnership has made Canada a leader in the expanding field of visual modelling, which is used in film making, animation, architecture, medicine and a variety of other fields. In addition to patented, award-winning technology, the collaboration has trained dozens of top computer scientists. The research is being used by industry to conceptualize green buildings, improve environmental performance, design safer vehicles and diagnose disease.
Partnership with a Large Company
Rung Tien Bui, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi
Rio Tinto Alcan
Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, lightweight and can be adapted to a wide variety of uses, putting it in high demand for everything from packaging consumer products to making more fuel-efficient vehicles. This partnership is ensuring Canada's continued leadership in aluminum smelting-a major contributor of jobs and economic growth. Ongoing research into better processes and technology is leading to more economical and sustainable production.
Leo Derikx Award (pre-competitive partnership with multiple companies)
Roussos Dimitrakopoulos, McGill University
BHP Billiton Canada Inc., AngloGold Ashanti Limited, Barrick Gold
Corporation, De Beers Canada Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Vale
Exploration Canada Inc.
Mines operate in a complex, uncertain and high-risk global environment. Stochastic mine modelling helps mining companies produce more metal from the same resource and achieve a higher return on investment, while reducing environmental impacts. Dr. Dimitrakopoulos is among the world's foremost experts in this field. His laboratory generates new ideas and methods, and an original technical-scientific paradigm for addressing the sustainable development of mineral resources. His work is ensuring the effective supply of raw materials, metals and energy that ultimately support jobs and economic growth.
E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships
NSERC's E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships honour the memory of Edgar William Richard Steacie, an outstanding chemist and research leader who made major contributions to the development of science in Canada during, and immediately following, World War II. Steacie Fellowships are awarded to enhance the career development of outstanding and highly promising university faculty who are earning a strong international reputation for original research. They have been awarded since 1965.
Value: Each of the six winners receives a research grant of up to $250,000 over two years. The host university receives up to $90,000 per year to fund a replacement for the Fellow's teaching and administrative duties during the course of the fellowship, allowing the Fellow to concentrate solely on research for two years. Each Fellow may also apply to the Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program for equipment funding related to their Steacie research.
2012 winners:
Alisdair B. Boraston
Biochemistry and Microbiology
University of Victoria
Alisdair B. Boraston is one of the world's top experts on the structures and functions of carbohydrate-binding proteins, research that he uses to inspire innovative and ground-breaking solutions to important social and economic problems. By understanding how some proteins break down carbohydrates, his research will lead to new methods of encouraging the process for activities such as the production of biofuels, and of discouraging it in situations such as antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
Sheelagh Carpendale
Computer Science
University of Calgary
An internationally renowned leader in information visualization and interactive tabletop displays, Sheelagh Carpendale undertakes research to enable the design of innovative, people-centred information technologies. She studies how people interact with information, images, technology and each other. She then applies her observations to the design of interfaces and visual representations of data used in information technologies to make them more natural, accessible and understandable for the people who use them.
Mark MacLachlan
Chemistry
University of British Columbia
Mark MacLachlan has made significant contributions to the field of supramolecular chemistry, which focusses on molecules whose shape and properties allow them to self-assemble into new materials. Among his discoveries is a new iridescent glass film that can be tuned to filter or reflect various types of light. Its potential applications include coatings for glasses or windows that block ultraviolet light, or reduce heating and air conditioning requirements. He has also generated materials that show promise for storing electricity or hydrogen.
Randall V. Martin
Physics, Atmospheric Science and Chemistry
Dalhousie University
Randall V. Martin is painting a more comprehensive and accurate picture of pollu
tion in the atmosphere by drawing on data from satellite sensors and computer modelling, in addition to the traditional stationary monitors located primarily in urban areas. Dr. Martin uses a combination of satellite remote sensing and global modelling of atmospheric composition to assess the quality of the air we breathe, no matter where we live. His work will improve estimates of air quality, track emissions, and expand monitoring of the atmosphere.
Robert Schober
Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of British Columbia
Robert Schober has made world-leading contributions to helping ensure that wireless network capacity keeps up with the demand for services. His current focus on designing co-operative wireless networks could extend capacity by making it possible for all the mobile phones in a network to function as transmission relays. Dr. Schober's many theoretical and applied discoveries have helped set new standards for the wireless industry.
Robert Seiringer
Mathematics and Statistics
McGill University
Considered one of the leading mathematical physicists in the world under the age of 40, Robert Seiringer explores some of the mathematical problems surrounding the collective behaviour of particles at the atomic and molecular scale. He is developing new mathematical tools that will enable scientists to understand and predict the behaviour of bulk matter made up of a large number of microscopic constituents. His work will help shed light on how the microscopic laws of nature relate to the various characteristics found in matter at a larger scale.
NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize
The NSERC Howard Alper Postdoctoral Prize is awarded to the most outstanding candidate in the NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships competition. The prize recognizes academic excellence, existing and potential research contributions, interpersonal and communication skills, and leadership abilities. The prize was established by Howard Alper, winner of the 2000 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering.
Value: The winner receives a $20,000 prize, in addition to their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.
2011 winner:
Alex Hayat
Physics and Electrical Engineering
University of Toronto
Quantum technologies that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics for information storage and processing could power the next generation of smaller and faster information devices. But the technologies fall short because key components are still too bulky. Alex Hayat's research aims to develop compact, highly-efficient quantum devices by combining quantum optics with novel states of matter, such as superconductors, that could once again revolutionize information and communication technology.
NSERC Andre Hamer Postgraduate Prizes (master's and doctoral levels)
The NSERC Andre Hamer Postgraduate Prizes are awarded to the four most outstanding candidates in NSERC's postgraduate scholarships competition at the master's level, and to the most outstanding candidate in the NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships competition at the doctoral level. The prizes were established by Arthur McDonald, winner of the 2003 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, in memory of Andre Hamer, a very promising young scientist who passed away in 2003.
Value: Each of the five winners receives a $10,000 supplement in addition to their scholarship.
2011 winners:
Master's level
Matthew Florczynski
Neuroscience and Mental Health
University of Toronto
Matthew Florczynski helps unravel the mystery of how human brains store and retrieve memories. Using mice as subjects, he is testing how certain proteins affect the ability to remember and learn from an experience. The findings hold the promise of new treatments for neurological diseases and injuries.
Sebastien Loranger
Engineering Physics
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
Sebastien Loranger's intriguing research focusses on using laser light with new materials to induce cooling. Such technology could eliminate the need for bulky coolers and fans driven by electricity, and lead to the further miniaturization of next-generation electronic devices and lasers.
Jimmy Ly
Civil Engineering
University of Ottawa
Jimmy Ly is developing a three-dimensional numerical model that will help explain the complex factors at play in scouring-the process of water eroding the sediment that supports bridge piers. Pier scour plays a role in up to 60 percent of bridge failures, a proportion that could drop thanks to Ly's research.
Talena Rambarran
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
McMaster University
Talena Rambarran hopes to develop more effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to silicone elastomers currently used in many medical devices and biomedical products. Using a class of reactions known as "click chemistry," her work could lead to a new generation of biomaterials that improve patient health and reduce risks to the environment.
Doctoral level
Christopher Willie
Human Kinetics
University of British Columbia
Christopher Willie will study healthy humans living at high altitude to answer basic physiological questions about a breathing disorder that mostly affects older, ill people, but often strikes healthy young people during sleep at high altitudes. His research may help prevent and treat age- and disease-related cerebrovascular and breathing conditions.
NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research
NSERC will introduce a new prize for doctoral students starting with the 2012 scholarships competition. The NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research will be awarded to an outstanding recipient of an NSERC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship who best exemplifies interdisciplinary research. Preference will be given to a recipient who plans to pursue doctoral studies at a different university from the one that granted their most recent degree. The award was established by Gilles Brassard, winner of the 2009 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. The first winner of the NSERC Gilles Brassard Doctoral Prize for Interdisciplinary Research will be announced in 2013.
Value: The winner will receive a $10,000 prize in addition to their Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Read more:
Governor General of Canada Honours Top Science and Engineering Achievements
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Kochi, Feb 25: In the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioning the role of foreign-aided NGOs in opposing use of genetic engineering, union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Saturday stressed that the decision to stay commercial use of Bt. Brinjal was not influenced by any NGO.
Answering queries from media persons on his visit here, Ramesh said his decision on Bt Brinjal was based on wide consultations with stakeholders, adding that the use of bio-technology for the crop to be consumed by humans needed to be carefully evaluated.
"No NGO influenced my decision," said Ramesh, who had decided to put on hold the commercial release of the Bt. Brinjal in February 2010 when he was union environment minister.
Ramesh's remarks assume significance in the wake of prime minister's interview to a science journal saying that India must make use of genetic engineering technology to increase agricultural productivity, and NGOs funded by the US and Scandinavian countries were not fully appreciative of the country's development challenges.
Ramesh said that the decision to put a moratorium on the commercial release of Bt. Brinjal was taken after seven months of consultations with the public, various stakeholders including the states, farmers and NGOs. He said he had written on the issue to the chief ministers of all states.
Bio-technology in agriculture was not merely a scientific issue but "political issue" as it affects human safety, he said.
Referring to his decision on Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said Greenpeace had accused him of propagating the line of genetic engineering firm Monsanto during a public hearing in Bangalore.
"So on Bt Brinjal, since I was directly involved, I can confidently say no NGOs influenced my views," he said.
The minister said that there was no scientific consensus on Bt. Brinjal, the full protocol on the test has not been completed and there was no independent professional mechanism to instil confidence in the public.
"I did not ban Bt Brinjal. I decided lets put moratorium (on it)," Ramesh said and added he could not have ignored opinion of chief ministers who opposed it.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who supports Bt Cotton, did not support the move on Bt Brinjal, he noted.
"I cannot ignore states. Ultimately in agriculture, we have to take states along with us," he said. (IANS)
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Decision on Bt. Brinjal not influenced by NGOs: Jairam
16-08-2011 20:18 Telemovie premiere that was to serve as the pilot of the series if picked up. Set in the 21st century, it follows the exploits of a group of genetically engineered humans who survive in a world gone wild when the gene-modifications they used backfire and cause mutations in a large percentage of humans turning them into savage neanderthal like "recessives". The inhabitants of Island City are all or mostly perfectly healthy specimens who if modified have increased longevity and health. An interesting scifi concept that could have gone somewhere but never did.
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WNUV Tv54 Island City Premiere Advert 1994 - Video
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The MinION is a USB-sized version of the new Nanopore DNA sequencing system, which is portable, disposable and will cost less than $900."
Sequencing the first human genome took teams of international researchers a decade to complete. By 2013, a UK-based company thinks it will be able to do it in just 15 minutes.
Last Friday, Oxford Nanopore Technologies unveiled a system that can sequence whole strands of DNA (or its sister molecule RNA) by passing the genetic molecules through small pores in a membrane, called nanopores. The speed and accuracy of the new system rival current sequencing technology.
The company previewed two products to be released later this year: a full-sized unit which can be linked with others for greater computing power, and a miniaturized version that's the size of a USB memory stick. The latter is disposable and will cost less than $900, according to a spokesperson for the company, who said the cheapest current DNA sequencers cost more than $1,000. Such technology could transform diagnostic medicine.
"We could scan patients and see what viruses or bacteria they have," said David Deamer, a professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, who developed the original idea for the technique more than two decades ago.
DNA, the chemical blueprint inside all our cells, is made up of strings of molecules called nucleotide bases. The sequence of these bases - which come in four types labeled 'A,' 'T,' 'G' and 'C' - encode instructions for making the proteins that perform vital tasks in our cells. In the Nanopore system, an enzyme pulls strands of DNA bases through pores in a synthetic membrane, and an electronic chip senses changes in electrical current as each base blocks a pore.
"It's like sucking a piece of spaghetti through a small hole with a vacuum," said Deamer.
Except the "spaghetti" is being threaded through a hole so narrow you could fit 100,000 of them in the width of one human hair.
Deamer says he first envisioned using nanopore sequencing almost 23 years ago, when he was on the faculty at UC Davis. Geneticist George Church, of Harvard, had come up with the idea in parallel, so Deamer and Church filed a joint patent application, along with Deamer's colleague Daniel Branton, a professor of biology at Harvard.
Meanwhile, physical scientist John Kasianowicz of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and his colleague Hagan Bayley, a chemical biologist, were studying a kind of pore in cell membranes called alpha-hemolysin. Deamer and Branton thought they could use the pore for nanopore sequencing, so a collaboration blossomed. In 2005, Bayley joined biotechnologist Gordon Sanghera to found the company that would become Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
Once the scientists demonstrated DNA could be pulled through nanopores, the next problem was slowing it down enough to read the sequence. That's where Mark Akeson, chairman of the biomolecular engineering department at UCSC, came in. Akeson tried out several different enzymes to find one that dragged the DNA strands through nanopores a thousand times more slowly. Jens Gundlach, a physicist at the University of Washington, provided the next breakthrough, with another kind of pore that would allow only one base through at a time. Oxford Nanopore Technologies refined and commercialized the process.
"We have designed the [nanopore] systems to offer a range of new properties," wrote Sanghera, now CEO of Oxford Nanopore, in an email.
Deamer predicts that in 5 years to 10 years, anyone will be able to have their genome sequenced on a USB stick for a few hundred dollars and bring it to their physician, who will compare it to other genomes and make a diagnosis.
For Oxford Nanopore to fulfill its goal of sequencing an entire human genome in 15 minutes by 2013, 20 Nanopore systems equipped with 8,000 nanopores each would be required, a spokesperson said.
"I think it'll be possible from what I've seen," said Deamer, who is on the company advisory board. "They wouldn't give these promises unless they were pretty confident."
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UK-based company unfurls new technology to sequence whole strands of DNA