Category Archives: Transhuman News

Is it just me or does it seem like every new Android smartphone looks almostexactlylike the last new Android smartphone? It sure felt like deja vu all over again when I opened the box that Verizon Wireless sent me a few days ago. Inside was the HTC DROID DNA, their latest and greatest high-end Android smartphone. Is it the same as all the others, or are there a few goodies that make it stand out from the crowd? Lets see

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

DROID DNA by HTC Phone Wall/USB Charger SIM Tray Removal Tool Quick Start Guide Global Support Brochure Product Safety & Warranty Guide

Processor:1.5GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor & 2GB of DDR2 RAM Operating System:Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Network:CDMA1x/EV-DO Rev A, LTE/DO Rx diversity,Global Network: GSM (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz), UMTS (850MHz, 900MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz) Memory:16GB internal (actual formatted capacity is less) Display:5 1080P Super LCD3 Corning Gorilla Glass 2 Camera: 8MP Auto Focus RearFacing camera with SingleLED Flash + HTC ImageChip f/2.0 aperture lens on both front and rear cameras, backside sensor illumination for low light performance, and the exclusive HTC ImageChip which allows continuous shooting for up to 99 images 2.1MP 88ultra-wide-angle front-facing with improved low light performance RearFacing camcorder HD capture up to 1080p FrontFacing camcorder HD capture up to 1080p Wi-FI: 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz) capable Bluetooth 4.0 NFC Tap and Share with other NFC-enabled devices Headset: 3.5mm Audio Jack Battery:2020mAh Standard LiIon; nonremovable, usage time up to 12.8hrs, standby time up to 14.7 days Dimensions:5.55 (H) x 2.78 (W) x 0.38 (D) inches Weight: 5.0 oz

If your eyes glaze over reading hardware specs, mine do too. But I always include them anyway just because its nice to be able to refer back to them when you need to compare devices. If you didnt read them this time and skipped right down to this sentence, thats perfectly fine. Ill let you know how this phone is different than the other high-end Android phones currently being offered by Verizon. But first lets take a quick tour around the device.

The DNA continues with HTCs typical shiny black top with a matte black back and red accents. There are no physical buttons on the face of the phone. Just 3 touch buttons which are mapped to Back, Home and Recent Apps. Above the gorgeous 5 display, which goes almost to the edges of phone, is a front facing camera and a speaker (for calls). On the back side youll find a soft touch shell with the camera lens, LED flash and a speaker at the bottom. The back of the phone doesnt come off to reveal the battery compartment or a microSD slot. Unfortunately, the battery is not user accessible and there is no memory expansion on this phone. The lack of a microSD slot is a bit of a shocker given that the phone has only 16GB of built in memory. That seems like a low amount given the high-end status.

The left side has what looks like a speaker grill, but its just a style accent.

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HTC DROID DNA Android smartphone review

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --New research appearing online today in Clinical Chemistry, the journal of AACC, shows that the analysis of DNA mutations in patients with cancer can be done without surgery. This paper by Chan et al. shows that the plasma of cancer patients also carries tumor-derived DNA. Because the DNA sequencing of plasma is non-invasive, this could lead to cheap and highly informative clinical tools for early cancer diagnosis and personalized therapy selection, granting better health outcomes to all cancer patients.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121206/PH25333LOGO )

Because all cancers occur due to abnormalities in DNA, scientists are able to use DNA sequencing to analyze the mutations in each patient's DNA. Once this sequencing is complete, doctors can match each patient to the best available drug for his or her particular cancer, thus personalizing the treatment for each patient and improving health outcomes. In the past, DNA sequencing has required tumor tissue, which could only be obtained by biopsying the tissue an invasive procedure not ideal for the patient. In this study, Chan et al. explored the use of shotgun massively parallel sequencing of plasma DNA from cancer patients to scan a cancer genome without surgery.

The researchers extracted DNA from the tumor tissues of 4 liver patients and 1 breast and ovarian cancer patient, and then analyzed the preoperative and postoperative plasma samples of these patients. Through the use of multiregional sequencing of tumor tissues and shotgun sequencing of plasma DNA, the researchers have shown that plasma DNA sequencing is a powerful tool for cancer detection, monitoring, and research.

"This ground-breaking study uses brand new technology--the multiregional sequencing research tool will lead to routine practice leading to lower cost," said Eleftherios P. Diamandis, MD, PhD, FRCP(C), FRSC, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at Mount Sinai Hospital and Editor of this special issue of Clinical Chemistry. "This is the first time analysis has been done non-invasively instead of performing a biopsy on human tissue. The proof of principle is demonstrated and will be more readily available and cost effective in the future."

About AACC

The American Association for Clinical Chemistry, AACC, is a leading international medical society dedicated to improving healthcare through laboratory medicine. With more than 9,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and other members involved in developing tests and directing laboratory operations, AACC brings the laboratory community together with programs that advance knowledge, expertise, and innovation.

Clinical Chemistry is the leading international journal of clinical laboratory science, providing 2,000 pages per year of peer-reviewed papers that advance the science of the field. With an impact factor of 7.9, Clinical Chemistry covers everything from molecular diagnostics to laboratory management.

Molly Polen AACC Director of Communications & PR (p) 202.420.7612 (c) 703.598.0472 mpolen@aacc.org

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Breakthrough Research in DNA Mutation Analysis Could Lead to Earlier Diagnosis and More Tools for Personalized ...

Improved technology and an expanding DNA database have helped solve thousands of crimes in Texas since the national system was created more than 15 years ago, experts say.

At least 643 homicides are among the Texas cases solved with assistance from the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, the San Antonio Express-Newsreported Wednesday.

Many of these crimes might never have been solved if not for this database, said Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Registered sex offenders, convicted felons and youths in the Texas juvenile justice system must provide samples. The number of samples of offenders DNA stored in the Texas database has mushroomed to more than 660,000.

The more samples in the pool, the greater opportunity for a match, said Skylor Hearn, who oversees the crime lab that manages the states database. There is a degree of recidivism in the criminal world, and were catching up to them.

Texas averaged about 200 matches annually during the first five years after the national database was created in 1996. That number rose to an average 1,000 hits annually for the next 10 years, records show.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston uses computer automation to help process large batches of samples.

We used to process just a dozen samples a month, but now were averaging 400. Few other labs in the country can beat that, said the labs director, Dr. Roger Kahn, explaining how automation has replaced the repetitive tasks once done manually.

Harris County also has a special team that it can dispatch to collect potential DNA from sensitive homicide scenes. As a result of these advancements, Kahn said his lab was responsible for nearly 25 percent of the estimated more than 10,000 crimes solved.

Excerpt from:
DNA database helps solve thousands of Texas crimes

Public release date: 3-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Beth Parada bparada@botany.org American Journal of Botany

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a common technique used to amplify, or copy, pieces of DNA. Amplified DNA is then used in genetic analyses for everything from medicine to forensics. In plant research, PCR is a vital step in detecting and sequencing genes, and its applications are endless. However, compounds found in plants often inhibit PCR. Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi discovered that the use of an additive allows PCR to successfully amplify DNA from once problematic plants.

PCR is widely used in plant sciences but is not 100 percent reliable. Many plant researchers encounter roadblocks when implementing PCR. For example, many plant species contain phenolic compounds that deter herbivores. These compounds are often extracted along with plant DNA and can stop PCR from working.

Graduate student Tharangamala Samarakoon and colleagues have found a technique to overcome many of these inhibitory plant compounds. They added a reagent to the PCR mixture that contains three ingredients: trehalose, bovine serum albumin, and polysorbate-20 (all three abbreviated TBT-PAR). "Unlike several other studies, TBT-PAR works at the PCR stage instead of at the DNA extraction stage, so it has promise for pigeon-holed and half-forgotten extractions that previously failed to be amplified using PCR," says Samarakoon. The authors published their research in the January issue of Applications in Plant Sciences.

Samarakoon tested the TBT-PAR reagent on DNA extracted from tropical and temperate species across four plant families, including Achariaceae, Asteraceae, Lacistemataceae, and Samydaceae. PCR with TBT-PAR successfully amplified DNA for all species, whereas standard DNA extraction and PCR techniques consistently failed.

TBT-PAR enhanced PCR for DNA extracted from fresh, silica-dried, and herbarium plant material. "Since we study tropical plants, many of which are geographically restricted or rare," explains Samarakoon, "herbarium material is sometimes all that we have available for DNA extraction, and curators are gracious to allow even a small destructive sampling for a single extraction attempt. We want that one attempt, of course, to be successful." Samarakoon predicts that inhibitory plant compounds could be the underlying cause of many PCR failures in herbarium specimens and hopes TBT-PAR will have widespread benefits in herbarium specimen DNA amplification.

TBT-PAR was first used in the PCR detection of a shrimp virus by co-author Shiao Wang and his colleagues. "The additive has also been helpful in a colleague's lab where they had trouble amplifying DNA from gopher tortoise ticks, so its utility extends beyond plants," comments Samarakoon. TBT-PAR has the potential for broad use in PCR techniques across DNA samples, species, and taxa.

The article will be published in the first issue of Applications in Plant Sciences (APPS), a new journal released by the Botanical Society of America. Theresa Culley, Editor-in-Chief of APPS, describes the new journal as a venue to "expedite the dissemination of innovative information encompassing all areas of the plant sciences, including but not limited to genetics, structure, development, evolution, systematics, and ecology." APPS publishes new methods in plant sciencesan important niche to fill in an age of rapid technological advances.

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Improving DNA amplification from problematic plants