Monthly Archives: March 2012

Too much fat in men's diet could lower chances of fertility: Study

Posted on by

Fatty diets may be associated with reduced semen quality, according to a study published Wednesday in the European reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction.

In a study of 99 U.S. men, researchers found an association between high total fat intake and lower total sperm count and concentration. It also found that men who ate more omega-3 fats (often found in fish and plant oils) had better formed sperm than men who ate less of these types of fats.

"At a global level, adopting these lifestyle modifications may improve general health, as high-saturated fat diets are known to be a risk factor for a range of cardiovascular diseases; but, in addition, our research suggests that it could be beneficial for reproductive health worldwide," said Dr. Jill Attaman, an Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology instructor at Harvard Medical School at the time of the research, in a statement.

"Little is known of how diet may influence male reproductive potential," researchers said in the study.

Men, with an average age of 37 years, who attended a fertility clinic were investigated between December 2006 and August 2010.

Researchers questioned them about their diet and analyzed samples of their semen. Also, 23 of the 99 men participating in the study were measured for levels of fatty acids in their sperm and seminal plasma.

Participants were divided into three groups according to the amount of unsaturated fats they consumed. Men with the third-highest fat intake had a 43 per cent lower sperm count and 38 per cent lower sperm concentration than men in the group with the lowest fat intake.

Men who consumed the most omega-3 fatty acids had slightly more sperm (1.9 per cent) that were "correctly formed" than men in the third that had the lowest intake of omega-3.

Meanwhile, researchers noted some limitations: the study size is small and needs to be replicated by further research to confirm the role of fatty diets on men's fertility, they said. Also, the use of a food frequency questionnaire might not accurately reflect men's actual diets. And only one semen sample per man was collected.

Researchers cautioned that the study can only show an association between dietary fats and semen quality and cannot show causation.

Read the original post:
Too much fat in men's diet could lower chances of fertility: Study

Fatty diets may be associated with reduced semen quality

Posted on by

Public release date: 13-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Emma Mason wordmason@mac.com European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Men's diets, in particular the amount and type of different fats they eat, could be associated with their semen quality according to the results of a study published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1] today (Wednesday).

The study of 99 men in the USA found an association between a high total fat intake and lower total sperm count and concentration. It also found that men who ate more omega-3 polyunsaturated fats (the type of fat often found in fish and plant oils) had better formed sperm than men who ate less.

However, the researchers warn that this is a small study, and its findings need to be replicated by further research in order to be sure about the role played by fats on men's fertility. Professor Jill Attaman, who was a Clinical and Research Fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School at the time of the research [2], said: "In the meantime, if men make changes to their diets so as to reduce the amount of saturated fat they eat and increase their omega-3 intake, then this may not only improve their general health, but could improve their reproductive health too. At a global level, adopting these lifestyle modifications may improve general health, as high saturated fat diets are known to be a risk factor for a range of cardiovascular diseases; but, in addition, our research suggests that it could be beneficial for reproductive health worldwide."

A number of previous studies have investigated the link between body mass index (BMI) and semen quality, with mixed results. However, little is known about the potential role of dietary fats and semen quality, and so Prof Attaman and her colleagues set out to investigate it in men attending a fertility clinic.

Between December 2006 and August 2010 they questioned the men about their diet and analysed samples of their semen; they also measured levels of fatty acids in sperm and seminal plasma in 23 of the 99 men taking part.

The men were divided into three groups according to the amount of fats they consumed. Those in the third with the highest fat intake had a 43% lower total sperm count and 38% lower sperm concentration than men in the third with the lowest fat intake. "Total sperm count" is defined as the total number of sperm in the ejaculate, while "sperm concentration" is defined as the concentration of sperm (number per unit volume). The World Health Organisation provides a definition of "normal" total sperm count and concentration as follows: the total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate should be at least 39 million; the concentration of spermatozoa should be at least 15 million per ml.

The study found that the relationship between dietary fats and semen quality was largely driven by the consumption of saturated fats. Men consuming the most saturated fats had a 35% lower total sperm count than men eating the least, and a 38% lower sperm concentration. "The magnitude of the association is quite dramatic and provides further support for the health efforts to limit consumption of saturated fat given their relation with other health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease," said Prof Attaman.

Men consuming the most omega-3 fats had slightly more sperm (1.9%) that were correctly formed than men in the third that had the lowest omega-3 intake.

See the article here:
Fatty diets may be associated with reduced semen quality

Does Your Sperm Need a Diet? Fatty Foods Linked to Poor Sperm Quality

Posted on by

Doug Struthers / Getty Images

Gentlemen, you may want to hold the bacon. A new study suggests that eating a high-fat diet may be associated with lower sperm quality.

The study, published online in the European journal Human Reproduction, found that men who ate diets higher in saturated fat had lower sperm counts and concentration than men who consumed less fat. But men who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids healthy fats found in fish and plant oils had better formed sperm.

Researchers looked at 99 American men in their mid-30s who were participating in an ongoing study on fertility and environment, at the Massachusetts General HospitalFertility Center. From December 2006 to August 2010, the researchers questioned the men about their diet and analyzed their semen samples.

The men were divided into three groups based on their total fat intake. The men in highest third of fat consumption (at least 37% of their total calories) had a 43% lower sperm count and 38% lower sperm concentration than the men with the lowest fat intake.

Saturated fats appear to be the star culprit behind poor sperm quality in this study. Men who consumed the most saturated fat (at least 13% of their daily calories) had a 35% lower total sperm count and a 38% lower sperm concentration than the men consuming the lowest levels.

Men who ate the most omega-3 fatty acids, however, had more correctly formed sperm.

MORE: Could a Healthy Diet Boost Sperm?

According to Dr. Richard Sharpeof the Medical Research Councils Human Reproductive Sciences Unit at the University of Edinburgh, for normal functionality, sperm depend on their plasma membrane, which is mainly composed of fats. It is therefore not unreasonable to imagine that the type of fats in the diet may affect sperm membrane fat composition which, in turn, may affect sperm function. To an extent, we are what we eat, he said in an email statement. Dr. Sharpe is the deputy editor ofHuman Reproduction and is unaffiliated with the study.

Diets containing higher amounts of omega-3 fat and lower amounts of saturated fat are associated with favorable semen quality parameters and may be beneficial to male reproductive health,says study author Dr. Jill Attaman, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. Although these findings need to be reproduced, adapting these nutritional modifications may not only be beneficial for reproductive health but for global general health as well. Given the impact infertility has worldwide, many men as well as couples may benefit from such lifestyle changes.

Link:
Does Your Sperm Need a Diet? Fatty Foods Linked to Poor Sperm Quality

LUCIEN NOCELLI talks Jazz Fusion Album EVOLUCIEN with SPLAT MOD MUSIC TV (2012 OFFICIAL) – Video

Posted on by

16-01-2012 07:28 http://WWW.LUCIENNOCELLI.COM AVAILABLE ON ITUNES itunes.apple.com FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com SPLAT MOD MUSIC TV sits down with recording artist Lucien Nocelli to discuss his latest jazz fusion release EvoLucien - a Jazz Fusion concept album containing artwork, and a 24 page booklet describing the song inspirations which tell an interesting take on the human creation story, human evolution, genetics, genetic engineering, our human genome and many more interesting takes on our origins. TRACK LISTING: 1 - Life Beyond the Trees 2 - Stone Tools 3 - Lake Turkana 4 - Out of Africa (First Migration, Second Migration) 5 - Tones of Stones and Bones 6 - Intervention 7 - FOXP2 8 - Lulu Upgrade 9 - Eden (Mitochondrial Eve, Y Chromosomal Adam) 10 - March of the Ancestral Modern Humans / Discovering New Lands 11 - Evolution (Mutation, Natural Selection, Genetic Drift) Includes topics covering: adam and eve, sumarians, dna, ergaster, cradle of mankind, ancients, ancient civilizations, africa, homo erectus, hominids, neaderthal, origins, genome, intervention, genetic engineering,

Follow this link:
LUCIEN NOCELLI talks Jazz Fusion Album EVOLUCIEN with SPLAT MOD MUSIC TV (2012 OFFICIAL) - Video

Save the planet by genetically engineering humans to be smaller, suggests NYU philosopher

Posted on by

NYU professor suggests we genetically engineer babies to be smaller and more 'energy-efficient' Other suggestions to save the planet include making humans intolerant to meat through pills or patches 'The Kyoto Protocol, has not produced demonstrable reductions in global emissions' Authors of study stress they are not advocating the ideas, just opening the debate up for radical cures

By Eddie Wrenn

PUBLISHED: 10:56 EST, 13 March 2012 | UPDATED: 02:43 EST, 14 March 2012

Mankind should consider extreme options - such as taking pills to wean humanity away from eating meat or genetically engineering ourselves to be smaller - in order to reduce our ecological footprint, says a leading philosopher.

From reducing our reliance on fossil fuels to finding more energy-efficient ways to travel, the push is on for humans to combat the threat of global climate change.

But the ways in which we change our behaviour - either culturally or through technology - are still up for debate.

Engineering of the future: Could we re-wire humans to be intolerant of meat and less of a drain on our planet's resources?

Professor Matthew Liao of New York University has outlined some of the dramatic ways we can alter our future.

Professor Matthew Liao suggests we debate new methods to reduce our damage to the environment

He and his co-authors make suggestions ranging from providing pills that give people an aversion to eating meat to genetic engineering or hormone therapy so that parents give birth to smaller, less resource-intensive children.

See more here:
Save the planet by genetically engineering humans to be smaller, suggests NYU philosopher

CNIO researchers discover that a gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumor growth

Posted on by

Public release date: 13-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Juan J. Gmez juanj.gomez@cnio.es 34-917-328-000-4060 Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO)

Can a gene simultaneously protect against cancer and favor its growth? Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have discovered a gene with this double-edged property and suspect there may be many more that share it. In the words of Oscar Fernandez Capetillo, head of the group responsible for the study, this gene "can be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in that it can either protect us against the appearance of tumors or promote tumor growth".

The study, appears this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, with Andres J. Lopez-Contreras and Paula Gutierrez Martinez as first authors, focuses on the activity of Chk1, a gene known for its tumour suppressing effect. It is what Fernandez-Capetillo calls "a genome guardian, a gene that keeps our genome free of mutations and, therefore, protects against the development of tumours".

The team wished to ascertain whether the tumour-protective effect of Chk1 was magnified in organisms with a larger quantity of the protein it codes for, so they created a mouse with three copies of the gene instead of the normal two. They then extracted and cultured the animal's cells and turned them cancerous with the aid of other genes. What they observed confounded all expectations: the cells became malignant more easily when carrying an extra copy of Chk1.

The reason for this paradox is that Chk1 has a beneficial effect on healthy cells, but also benefits tumour cells once they have established themselves in the body.

The dual role of Chk1

"Initially, Chk1 prevents the appearance of tumours, by limiting the spontaneous mutations that take place in our cells", remarks Fernandez Capetillo. "This is the Dr. Jekyll side. However, advanced tumours exhibit extensive damage to their DNA and it is here that Chk1 comes to the tumour's aid by reducing the damage built up in its genome", he continues.

Chk1 works by protecting against replicative stress, a kind of damage that occurs in cells' genetic material as they divide. Some tumours indeed suffer continuous lesions in their genome due to their high division rates.

"The presence of 'genome guardians' like Chk1 may favour the growth of this kind of tumour by lessening its lesion load", explains Lopez-Contreras.

Read this article:
CNIO researchers discover that a gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumor growth

Gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumour growth

Posted on by

Washington, March 14 (ANI): A gene that can simultaneously protect against cancer and favour its growth has been identified.

Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre who made the discovery suspect there may be many more genes that share this double-edged property.

In the words of Oscar Fernandez Capetillo, head of the group responsible for the study, this gene "can be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in that it can either protect us against the appearance of tumours or promote tumour growth".

The study co-authored by Andre's J. Lopez-Contreras and Paula Gutierrez Martinez, focuses on the activity of Chk1, a gene known for its tumour suppressing effect.

It is what Fernandez-Capetillo calls "a genome guardian, a gene that keeps our genome free of mutations and, therefore, protects against the development of tumours".

The team wished to ascertain whether the tumour-protective effect of Chk1 was magnified in organisms with a larger quantity of the protein it codes for, so they created a mouse with three copies of the gene instead of the normal two.

They then extracted and cultured the animal's cells and turned them cancerous with the aid of other genes. What they observed confounded all expectations: the cells became malignant more easily when carrying an extra copy of Chk1.

The reason for this paradox is that Chk1 has a beneficial effect on healthy cells, but also benefits tumour cells once they have established themselves in the body.

"Initially, Chk1 prevents the appearance of tumours, by limiting the spontaneous mutations that take place in our cells," explained Fernandez Capetillo.

"This is the Dr. Jekyll side. However, advanced tumours exhibit extensive damage to their DNA and it is here that Chk1 comes to the tumour's aid by reducing the damage built up in its genome," he said.

Read this article:
Gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumour growth

Gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumor growth

Posted on by

ScienceDaily (Mar. 13, 2012) Can a gene simultaneously protect against cancer and favor its growth? Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have discovered a gene with this double-edged property and suspect there may be many more that share it. In the words of Oscar Fernandez Capetillo, head of the group responsible for the study, this gene "can be both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in that it can either protect us against the appearance of tumors or promote tumor growth."

The study, appears this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, with Andres J. Lopez-Contreras and Paula Gutierrez Martinez as first authors, focuses on the activity of Chk1, a gene known for its tumour suppressing effect. It is what Fernandez-Capetillo calls "a genome guardian, a gene that keeps our genome free of mutations and, therefore, protects against the development of tumours."

The team wished to ascertain whether the tumour-protective effect of Chk1 was magnified in organisms with a larger quantity of the protein it codes for, so they created a mouse with three copies of the gene instead of the normal two. They then extracted and cultured the animal's cells and turned them cancerous with the aid of other genes. What they observed confounded all expectations: the cells became malignant more easily when carrying an extra copy of Chk1.

The reason for this paradox is that Chk1 has a beneficial effect on healthy cells, but also benefits tumour cells once they have established themselves in the body.

The dual role of Chk1

"Initially, Chk1 prevents the appearance of tumours, by limiting the spontaneous mutations that take place in our cells," remarks Fernandez Capetillo. "This is the Dr. Jekyll side. However, advanced tumours exhibit extensive damage to their DNA and it is here that Chk1 comes to the tumour's aid by reducing the damage built up in its genome," he continues.

Chk1 works by protecting against replicative stress, a kind of damage that occurs in cells' genetic material as they divide. Some tumours indeed suffer continuous lesions in their genome due to their high division rates.

"The presence of 'genome guardians' like Chk1 may favour the growth of this kind of tumour by lessening its lesion load," explains Lopez-Contreras.

"This study sheds light on why Chk1 is overexpressed in many tumours, when we would intuitively suppose that what favours the development of cancer is the loss of protective genes," the scientist concludes.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Link:
Gene known to protect against cancer can also promote tumor growth

Genome Sequencing Initiative Links Altered Gene to Age-Related Neuroblastoma Risk

Posted on by

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Researchers have identified the first gene mutation associated with a chronic and often fatal form of neuroblastoma that typically strikes adolescents and young adults. The finding provides the first clue about the genetic basis of the long-recognized but poorly understood link between treatment outcome and age at diagnosis.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/52992-st-jude-pediatric-cancer-genome-project-neuroblastoma-research

The study involved 104 infants, children and young adults with advanced neuroblastoma, a cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. Investigators discovered the ATRX gene was mutated only in patients age 5 and older. The alterations occurred most often in patients age 12 and older. These older patients were also more likely than their younger counterparts to have a chronic form of neuroblastoma and die years after their disease is diagnosed.

The findings suggest that ATRX mutations might represent a new subtype of neuroblastoma that is more common in older children and young adults. The work is from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP). The study appears in the March 14 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

If validated, the results may change the way doctors think about this cancer, said co-author Richard Wilson, Ph.D., director of The Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This suggests we may need to think about different treatment strategies for patients depending on whether or not they have the ATRX mutation," he said.

Neuroblastoma accounts for 7 to 10 percent of all childhood cancers and about 15 percent of pediatric cancer deaths. In about 50 percent of patients, the disease has already spread when the cancer is discovered.

For patients whose disease has spread, age has long been a powerful but perplexing predictor of treatment outcome. Currently 88 percent of patients age 18 months and younger become long-term survivors, compared to 49 percent of those ages 18 months through 11 years and only 10 percent of patients age 12 and older.

"Until now there was no understanding of the basis of this age-related risk, and no treatment has had an impact on the outcome," said Michael Dyer, Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist. He is the study's corresponding author. "The mutation we found is associated with patients in the older age group, but it also identifies for the first time a subset of younger patients who turned out to have an indolent form of neuroblastoma."

Researchers must now determine whether tumors with ATRX mutations behave the same way in both children and young adults, following a similarly indolent but often deadly course, said Nai-Kong Cheung, M.D., Ph.D., first author and head of the Neuroblastoma Program at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

St. Jude investigators have begun screening the hospital's library of federally approved drugs looking for evidence of activity against neuroblastoma cells with the ATRX mutation. Availability of more targeted therapies would likely spur efforts for early identification of patients with the ATRX mutation who have a chronic form of neuroblastoma and are unlikely to benefit from current therapies.

The rest is here:
Genome Sequencing Initiative Links Altered Gene to Age-Related Neuroblastoma Risk

Sirona Biochem Announces Addition of Dr. Brett Premack as Scientific Consultant

Posted on by

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 14, 2012) - Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SBM.V - News)(PINKSHEETS:SRBCF.PK - News)(FRANKFURT:ZSB.F - News), a biotechnology company specializing in carbohydrate chemistry technology, announced today the appointment of Dr. Brett Premack as Scientific Consultant. Dr. Premack will consult and advise on preclinical development activities, particularly pertaining to alliances between public and private research organizations.

"Dr. Brett Premack's expertise in drug discovery and preclinical development will bring tremendous value in the evaluation and development of our therapeutic portfolio," said Dr. Howard Verrico, President & CEO of Sirona Biochem. "Our chemistry platform technology gives us several program options and our ability to attract high-calibre talent like Dr. Premack enables us to efficiently advance these programs," Dr. Verrico added.

About Dr. Brett Premack

Dr. Brett Premack is a Pharmaceutical Consultant and Technology Analyst based in San Francisco, California. He has held a number of key leadership positions in biotechnology and academia and has more than 15 years experience providing independent, strategic and technical analysis to drug discovery and pre-clinical programs in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. He is currently a technology and strategic development consultant with Qu Biologics, a clinical-stage cancer biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, Canada. Previously, Dr. Premack was with ChemoCentryx, Inc. as the company's first Scientific Director after serving four years on the company's Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Premack was instrumental in bringing four new immunomodulatory chemokine receptor antagonist programs to the clinic (Phase I, II, III trials) for underserved inflammatory diseases. He was co-designer and developer of EnabaLink(TM), a collection of proprietary cell- and molecular-based functional genomics assays for evaluating immune system drug targets. As Manager, Funded Programs, he directed high-level public and private partnerships between industry, NIH, NIAID and DARPA focused on small molecule drug discovery and vaccine adjuvant programs, leading to ongoing clinical trials and testing of several radical vaccine approaches in primates. Before joining ChemoCentryx, Dr. Premack was an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Molecular Biology Institute and Investigator at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr, Premack has also held previous roles at Stanford University Medical Center, Syntex Research, Roche Bioscience, Neurex Inc. (now Elan Pharmaceuticals) and Photon Technologies Inc. Dr. Premack is a former recipient of the California AIDS New Investigator Award and the Breast Cancer Novel IDEA Award. Dr. Premack regularly speaks at major scientific conferences and is author or inventor of more than 25 published scientific papers and issued patents.

About Sirona Biochem Corp.

Sirona Biochem is a biotechnology company developing diabetes therapeutics, cancer vaccine antigens, skin depigmenting and anti-aging agents for cosmetic use, and biological ingredients. The company utilizes a proprietary chemistry technique to improve pharmaceutical properties of carbohydrate-based molecules. For more information visit http://www.sironabiochem.com.

Sirona Biochem cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon current expectations and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of release of the relevant information, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, Sirona Biochem's forward-looking statements due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Sirona Biochem's business including, without limitation, statements about: the progress and timing of its clinical trials; difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, producing and marketing its products; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of its products that could delay or prevent product development or commercialization; the scope and validity of patent protection for its products; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and its ability to obtain additional financing to support its operations. Sirona Biochem does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Read the original post:
Sirona Biochem Announces Addition of Dr. Brett Premack as Scientific Consultant

Baseball team chemistry strong

Posted on by

Posted: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 4:28 pm | Updated: 12:44 pm, Fri Feb 24, 2012.

Time to spit sunflower seeds again.

Baseball season has begun with new talent aboard for Simpson as the 2012 season unfolds.

The Storm is fairly young this year, which makes it exciting for head coach Ben Blake. With a lot to look forward to, Simpson has been out on the baseball field, football field, Cowles Fieldhouse and The Yard working on batting, fielding and pitching to get ready for the season.

"It is the start of spring and better weather," Blake said. "We have a great group of guys, and we get a chance to play baseball, it's hard not to be excited."

Seniors Colton Calvert and Chris Dorff are also very excited for the season to begin. Both have agreed that team chemistry is at an all-time high since they began playing for Simpson.

"I think we have a great group of guys," Calvert said. "We all get along very well. Having a good group of guys is the first step in having a good team. I feel like our chemistry is really good which will help a lot when only having a small amount of seniors."

The seniors on the 2012 roster are: Dorff, Calvert, Grant Thomas, Kyle Ruehle and Brian Birks.

"The seniors have done a good job so far, and we will need them to lead the way on the field for us to be successful," Blake said.

Dorff is optimistic about this season and is also happy to see the chemistry boost up.

Go here to read the rest:
Baseball team chemistry strong

Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. Director Dr. Ming Hu Study Demonstrates Significance of Bioavailability

Posted on by

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire -03/14/12)- Planda Biotechnology, Inc. (OTC.BB: PLPL.OB - News) director, Dr. Ming Hu, recently addressed his published study on the bioavailability of flavonoids and polyphenols and its importance on human health and nutrition.

Dietary polyphenols are derived from plants and are consumed in the forms of fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs. Collectively they are a main source of antioxidants for humans and are responsible for a variety of biological activities, ranging from anti-aging and anticancer to lowering of blood cholesterol levels and improving bone strength. Millions of women also take a subclass of polyphenols called phytoestrogens to relieve symptoms associated with menopause.

Bioavailability is the body's ability to absorb various nutrients consumed. For most dietary antioxidants, less than five percent of the nutrients are actually absorbed, resulting in the need to consume massive dosages to achieve a clinical effect. Additionally, certain additives, including sugars and dairy, can neutralize the anti-oxidant properties. In the case of green tea, which has become hugely popular as a dietary supplement, you need to consume 8-10 cups a day; but if your green tea is sweetened, it may be useless. According to Dr. Hu's study, historically very little attention has been paid to increasing bioavailability. He asks the question, are these flavonoids and polyphenols as effective as people believe?

Typical polyphenols have oral bioavailability (mostly in animals) of 10% or less, and a range of 2-20% is quite common. For polyphenols to become bioavailable, the following barriers must be overcome: solubility, permeability, metabolism, excretion, target tissue uptake, and disposition.

Planda's proprietary CRS processing system is specifically designed to alter the stereochemical structure of the polyphenols into a ratio more readily absorbable by human tissue. For practical purposes, the converted phytonutrients should be five to eight times more bioavailable than traditional extracts, resulting in a clinical dose being more readily available and affordable as an additive to a variety of beverages, supplements and nutriceuticals.

Chief Executive Officer, Roger Duffield, commented, "We are at the forefront of developing enhanced bioavailable products which, we believe, can revolutionize the nutritional supplement and health drink marketplace. As more research is conducted, such as that done by Dr. Hu, people will be forced to examine what they consume and start to demand products that are based on science rather that slick marketing."

About Planda Biotechnology, Inc.

Planda Biotechnology, Inc., through its recent acquisition of Global Energy Solutions, Ltd. and its subsidiaries, focuses on the farming of whole fruits, vegetables and live plant material and the production of proprietary functional foods and botanical extracts for the health and wellness industry. Its principal holdings consist of land, farms and infrastructure in South Africa.

Safe Harbor Statement

The information provided may contain forward-looking statements and involve risks and uncertainties. Results, events and performances could vary from those contemplated. These statements involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results, expressed or implied, to differ from predicted outcomes. Risks and uncertainties include product demand, market competition, and Planda's ability to meet current or future plans. Investors should study and understand all risks before making an investment decision. Readers are recommended not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Planda is not obliged to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statement, to reflect events or circumstances afterward, or to disclose unanticipated occurrences, except as required under applicable laws.

Go here to see the original:
Plandai Biotechnology, Inc. Director Dr. Ming Hu Study Demonstrates Significance of Bioavailability

Graduate school programs at UC San Diego, two other major San Diego universities, fared well in U.S. News & World …

Posted on by

City News Service

UC San Diegos biomedical/bioengineering program ranked fourth nationally behind Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech and Duke. The engineering school overall was 14th.

Other high rankings for the La Jolla university included behavioral neuroscience and cognitive psychology, third; plasma physics, fifth; neuroscience/neurobiology, seventh; political science, seventh; AIDS research, eighth; and drug and alcohol abuse, eighth.

Its an honor to have the stellar academic quality of our graduate programs recognized each year by U.S. News, said Kim Barrett, dean of graduate studies at UC San Diego. Our world-class faculty continue to generate cutting-edge research and innovative programs that help create todays scholars and tomorrows leaders.

The magazine annually ranks professional school programs based on expert opinions about program excellence and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a schools faculty, research and students.

The data come from surveys of administrators at more than 1,200 programs and nearly 15,000 academics and professionals, conducted last fall and early this year.

Other scores for UCSD programs included fine arts, 13th; computer sciences, 14th; economics, 14th; and earth sciences, 17th.

San Diego State University ranked ninth in rehabilitation counseling, 25th in speech-language pathology, 26th in clinical psychology, 27th in audiology, and 30th in public health.

The University of San Diegos part-time law school ranked 13th nationally. Its nursing program was 50th.

Related posts:

Go here to read the rest:
Graduate school programs at UC San Diego, two other major San Diego universities, fared well in U.S. News & World ...

Bioengineering Professor’s Treatment for Shock Under Study

Posted on by

A 200-patient phase 2 clinical pilot study will be initiated this month to test the efficacy and safety of a new use, and method of administering, an enzyme inhibitor for critically ill patients developed by UC San Diego bioengineering Professor Geert Schmid-Schnbein.

The study involves a San Diego startup.

This new use of the FDA-approved drug is based on decades of research by Schmid-Schnbein on the microvascular and cellular reactions that lead to multi-organ failure after a patient has gone into shock, which is the second-leading cause of in-hospital deaths in the United States.

Schmid-Schnbein and his colleagues at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering discovered that under conditions of shock, the epithelial cell barrier that lines the small intestine becomes permeable causing potent digestive enzymes to be carried into the bloodstream and lymphatic system where they digest and destroy healthy tissue, a process he named autodigestion. The treatment involves blockading the enzymes with an enzyme inhibitor.

In 2005, the teams protocol was licensed to San Diego startup InflammaGen Therapeutics under an agreement developed by UC San Diegos technology transfer office. InflammaGen Therapeutics, a development-stage, critical care company, developed the InflammaGen Shok-Pak, a drug/delivery platform that delivers the enzyme inhibitor through a nasogastric tube directly into the stomach and lumen of the intestine, preventing shock and multi-organ failure. Schmid-Schnbein serves as a scientific advisor to InflammaGen but is not an employee of the company. Instead, he has chosen to focus on continuing to conduct fundamental research on autodigestion at UC San Diego.

We are testing for the first time whether it is possible to help severely ill patients by blocking autodigestion, a condition in which digestive enzymes not only break down food inside the intestine but also the intestine itself, Schmid-Schnbein said. We have pre-clinical results that this treatment can save lives.

To date, InflammaGen Shok-Pak has been used successfully outside the United States as a rescue therapy in 15 patients, most of whom were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. In addition, preclinical studies of the technology in two animal species have demonstrated significant increases in long-term survival.

Originally posted here:
Bioengineering Professor’s Treatment for Shock Under Study

Cool 2011 summer helped Lake Whatcom water quality a bit

Posted on by

BELLINGHAM - Scientific measurements of the biochemistry of Lake Whatcom showed some improvement in 2011, but that is probably the result of a cool summer, not human efforts to control polluting runoff.

So says Robin Matthews, the lead scientist on the annual lake water monitoring effort commissioned by the city. Matthews is director of the Institute for Watershed Studies at Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University.

"I think we got a break last summer," Matthews said.

Cold and cloudy conditions kept water temperatures lower, and that delayed and diminished the annual explosion of algae populations that have affected lake quality in previous summers.

In the hotter summer of 2009, the algae concentrations got so high that they caused a serious cut in the capacity of the city's water treatment plant, resulting in mandatory water use restrictions. But even in a cool year like 2011, the algae growth was still enough to reduce the system's capacity, Matthews said.

While the scientific measurements taken in 2011 did show a reduction in levels of phosphorus and algae, Matthews said she believes the reductions were minor, and the summer's lower temperatures probably account for those reductions.

"It (pollution measurement) is down a little but it's not down much," Matthews said. "It doesn't show an improvement from watershed changes."

Matthews refuses to draw conclusions from any single year's worth of lake water measurements. Instead, she points to the whole series of measurements going back to 1994. Those measurements show year-to-year fluctuations, but a general rising trend in both phosphorus concentrations and algae growth.

As Matthews explained it, the lake's problems stem from phosphorus-laden runoff that is made worse by human activities in the watershed. The phosphorus nourishes algae growth, and the dead algae become food for bacteria. The bacteria, in turn, deplete dissolved oxygen and make the lake less hospitable to fish.

And it becomes a vicious circle, because the lower oxygen levels result in chemical changes that release additional phosphorus from compounds and make it usable for algae food.

More here:
Cool 2011 summer helped Lake Whatcom water quality a bit

Research and Markets: Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism

Posted on by

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b561c1/biochemistry_for_s) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism" to their offering.

How do our muscles produce energy for exercise and what are the underlying biochemical principles involved? These are questions that students need to be able to answer when studying for a number of sport related degrees. This can prove to be a difficult task for those with a relatively limited scientific background. Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism addresses this problem by placing the primary emphasis on sport, and describing the relevant biochemistry within this context.

The book opens with some basic information on the subject, including an overview of energy metabolism, some key aspects of skeletal muscle structure and function, and some simple biochemical concepts. It continues by looking at the three macromolecules which provide energy and structure to skeletal muscle - carbohydrates, lipids, and protein. The last section moves beyond biochemistry to examine key aspects of metabolism - the regulation of energy production and storage. Beginning with a chapter on basic principles of regulation of metabolism it continues by exploring how metabolism is influenced during high-intensity, prolonged, and intermittent exercise by intensity, duration, and nutrition.

Key Features:

Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism will prove invaluable to students across a range of sport-related courses, who need to get to grips with how exercise mode, intensity, duration, training status and nutritional status can all affect the regulation of energy producing pathways and, more important, apply this understanding to develop training and nutrition programmes to maximise athletic performance.

Key Topics Covered:

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b561c1/biochemistry_for_s

Read the original post:
Research and Markets: Biochemistry for Sport and Exercise Metabolism

‘Grey’s Anatomy’s’ Chandra Wilson to Direct her 6th Episode

Posted on by

*Greys Anatomy star Chandra Wilson will get behind the camera again for one of the remaining episodes of the current season 8.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilson and co-star Kevin McKidd will each take their turn in the directors chair. Wilson, who plays Dr. Miranda Bailey, will mark her sixth time at the helm when she directs Episode 22 of Greys 24-episode season.

McKidd who plays Dr. Owen Hunt, and has already directed Episode 6 of the Shonda Rhimes drama this year, is set to take the lead again on Episode 21.

An airdate has not yet been determined for the episodes.

Greys Anatomy returns from its winter hiatus on Thursday at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Did you find this interesting? You can easily share it with friends & colleagues thanks to a wide variety of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, LinkIn, Delicious, StumbleUpon, or Tumblr... just to name a few. You can also send this via e-mail or bookmark it!

Original post:
‘Grey’s Anatomy’s’ Chandra Wilson to Direct her 6th Episode

Anatomy of a Sunset

Posted on by

Story published: 03-14-2012 Print Article E-mail Story to a Friend

Anatomy of a Sunset

By Lacy Hilliard

Freelance writer/photographer

The silhouette cast by the setting sun paints everything it touches in abstract perfection. To gaze upon the sky at sunset is to feel the presence of something larger than ourselves. From fiery red to gentle purple, the discovery of the history behind the setting sun is fascinating.

Native Americans regarded sunset as the most sacred of hours. Many ceremonies were set to be performed at this blessed hour. Taoism teaches that sunset is the time when one is most likely to achieve Zen or absolute enlightenment. The Aztecs believed that sunset brought a blessing of fertility.

The colors of the sunset are determined be the wavelength of light provided by the sun and the disbursement of molecules in the atmosphere. Red and orange are the most common colors experienced at sunset because they have the longest wavelengths of any visible light. The intensity of these colors is determined by the amount of molecular activity taking place in the atmosphere; more molecular activity works to scatter the weakest wavelengths (blue and violet) away from our eyes and intensify the orange and red hues, less activity makes for a clearer violet tinted sunset.

An appreciation for the sunset is something human beings have shared from the beginning of time. In a world where it often seems difficult to agree on anything, the setting of the sun proves that beauty is universal.

Read the original:
Anatomy of a Sunset