Monthly Archives: April 2012

Berries May Contain Potent Weapon vs. Parkinson's

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Blueberries and Strawberries May Protect Against Parkinson's Disease

By Denise Mann WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

April 5, 2012 -- Can two or more servings of blueberries or strawberries a week help lower risk of Parkinson's disease?

Maybe, according to a new study published in Neurology.

Men and women who ate berries two or more times a week were nearly 25% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease than their counterparts who had less than one serving per month.

Exactly how these fruits may help lower risk is not known, but berries are rich in powerful antioxidants -- known as flavonoids -- which may protect brain cells from damage. Flavonoids are found in fruits and vegetables.

When the researchers looked at the data for men and women separately, the real benefit seemed to go to the men, not the women.

Overall, men who had the most flavonoids in their diet -- including sources such as berries, tea, apples, and red wine -- were 40% less likely to develop Parkinson's than those who ate the least.

Women who ate a high amount of flavonoids were no less likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who ate the least amount, the study showed.

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Berries May Contain Potent Weapon vs. Parkinson's

Astronaut with Parkinson's Calls on Patients to Take Charge of Their Future

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Newswise ST. PAUL, Minn. (April 5, 2012) Former NASA astronaut Michael Rich Clifford is calling on fellow patients with Parkinsons disease not to let the disease drive what they do. Cliffords inspiring story and advice for patients is featured as the cover story in the latest issue of Neurology Now, the American Academy of Neurologys award-winning magazine for patients and caregivers.

Clifford was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 1994 during the early stages of the disease, but he didnt allow it to keep him from climbing aboard the shuttle Atlantis and rocketing off into space for the third time. My NASA medical community knew about my Parkinsons and assumed I wouldnt want to fly again, said Clifford. But I said no, no, no.

Until recently, no one other than NASA medical staff and senior management knew how extraordinary his third flight to space had been because Clifford had kept his newly diagnosed medical condition private.

I didnt want to be identified as the man with Parkinsons flying in space. Plus, I felt the focus should be on the mission, not someone on the mission, said Clifford.

Clifford says he feels the same optimism today as he did when he was first diagnosed with the disease 18 years ago and hopes other Parkinsons patients do too. Dont let Parkinsons drive what you want to do. Remember that youre in charge of your future.

Learn more about Cliffords story, including the Public Leadership in Neurology Award he is receiving this year from the American Academy of Neurology Foundation, in the latest issue of Neurology Now in print, online at http://www.neurologynow.com, and new for the iPad. Plus, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Neurology Now is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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About the American Academy of Neurology The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimers disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinsons disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher of trusted content delivered in innovative ways to practitioners, professionals and students to learn new skills, stay current on their practice, and make important decisions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes.

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Astronaut with Parkinson's Calls on Patients to Take Charge of Their Future

Chico Chiropractor Finds Nutritional Lab Testing & Detox Vital to Successful Weight Loss

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CHICO, CA--(Marketwire -04/05/12)- Masula Chiropractic Neurology and Family Wellness announced that the practice has had significant success helping patients lose weight through a combination of nutritional testing and detoxification diets. The center's detox diet is designed to remove chemicals and environmental toxins that can build up in the body over time. The practice also supports weight management and long-term weight loss through its nutritional lab testing program. In addition to weight loss support, the Chico chiropractor provides spinal decompression therapy, neuropathology and physiotherapy for natural back pain management and injury recovery.

Chico chiropractor Dr. Larry Masula stated that at his practice, Masula Chiropractic Neurology and Family Wellness, they provide nutritional detox and testing services because they aid in weight loss plans.

According to the wellness doctor, these services help remove toxins from the body while identifying missing nutrients. Together with chiropractic care, Dr. Masula says the wellness care can help bring balance back to the body.

"Every day, from the air we breathe to the food we eat, our bodies are bombarded with environmental toxins," said Dr. Masula. "It's no surprise then that many patients are struggling with weight management, fatigue, stress and illness. The liver and kidneys naturally flush out toxins, but when our bodies become overloaded, these organs begin to suffer. Toxins then build up in our bloodstreams, affecting other organs and our metabolism."

Dr. Masula identifies food packed with preservatives and artificial ingredients, as well as indoor and outdoor air pollutants, as primary causes for toxin build up. According to Dr. Masula, symptoms of toxin overload include fatigue, joint pain, mood swings, insomnia and low-grade illness.

"Many of our patients complain of exhaustion and pain, saying that they just don't feel like themselves anymore," said Dr. Masula. "When the body is overloaded, the internal organs can no longer function properly. Detoxification diets are a safe and effective process for removing toxins from the body. This also helps the body's metabolism 'reset' itself."

In conjunction with a detox program, Dr. Masula says that nutritional lab testing can help identify vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are missing from a patient's diet.

"How can we eat right when we don't know what our body needs?" said Dr. Masula. "This is why nutritional testing is so important. Every individual has unique needs, and nutritional testing helps to identify these needs. We will then use this information to recommend specific dietary adjustments. For patients struggling with weight gain, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes or heart disease, these recommendations can make a tremendous difference for overall health."

Dr. Masula stressed that detox diets and nutritional testing are part of an overall approach to whole body wellness. Neither method is designed as a 'quick-fix' or 'fad-diet,' but instead promote long-term well being.

"Our patients consistently tell us that our wellness program makes a tremendous difference in their lives," said Dr. Masula. "Patients have more energy, feel healthier, sleep better and experience less chronic pain."

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Chico Chiropractor Finds Nutritional Lab Testing & Detox Vital to Successful Weight Loss

MU medical school eyes Springfield expansion

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By Jodie Jackson Jr.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Expanding the University of Missouri School of Medicine to include a clinical campus in southwest Missouri would require an estimated $30 million building project in Columbia.

A proposed new medical school teaching facility would provide education for an additional 32 medical students, increasing by one-third the number admitted each year to the MU School of Medicine. The first two years of the program would be spent in Columbia; the third and fourth would be spent training with physicians in the Springfield area. Officials outlined the plan yesterday at a Springfield news conference.

An economic impact study suggested construction alone would add 475 jobs and $56.5 million to the state's economy, with significantly higher impact once trained doctors are in place.

MU School of Medicine officials and representatives of Springfield hospitals Sisters of Mercy Health and CoxHealth began discussing the plan more than two years ago. The Springfield hospitals initiated the talks with an eye on aging baby boomers, demand for rural doctors and the steady flow of retiring family physicians.

"There's just not enough physicians to take care of the current population, let alone the increasing population over the next 20 years," said Weldon Webb, associate dean for rural health at the MU School of Medicine.

David Barbe, regional division president of Mercy Clinic, said building a new free-standing medical school in Springfield would cost $500 million to $800 million, so this plan could increase the number of medical school students "at the least possible cost."

"Any other model would cost more," he said, adding that new buildings, labs and faculty would be needed in Columbia to accommodate a larger crop of students.

"Right now in Columbia, they're on top of each other," Barbe said. "We couldn't shoehorn another in if we had to."

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Booming medical school brings life to downtown Pomona

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The economic downturn was tough on the urban core of many U.S. cities. But Pomona got a booster shot from an unlikely source: Western University of Health Sciences.

The institution constructed a new clinic and a classroom building as part of a $110-million expansion. The school had previously rehabilitated existing retail space in Pomona's once-blighted center. Its Health Professions Center, for example, is a renovated former Buffum's department store. Nearby, a building that once held a JCPenney houses the University Research Center.

The changes have helped entice developers to construct residential lofts downtown. New businesses are sprouting. There's even a bi-monthly art walk.

"It's humming down there," said Frank Garcia, executive director of the Pomona Chamber of Commerce. "Things are starting to come alive. Restaurants are coming back."

Western University is also well-positioned to take advantage of changing U.S. demographics. As the American population ages, primary care doctors are expected to be in short supply.

Its osteopathic medical school, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, is one of only two in the state and has been churning out general practitioners for more than three decades. With nearly 1,000 students, enrollment is up more than 40% since 2000.

Many of the students were attracted by the institution's philosophy of patient-focused, holistic healing. Most of them probably will become primary care doctors, reflecting a core tenet of the institution: to provide care for patients in underserved areas.

"We try to pay attention to our community and needs of state, and we were rewarded by prospering in that way to grow," said Clinton Adams, dean of Western University's osteopathic medical school.

Started in 1977, private, nonprofit Western University began as a tiny osteopathic school in a strip mall with a few dozen students. Today it encompasses nine colleges that train nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other healthcare professionals.

With total enrollment of 3,300 students and 900 full-time staff members, Western University is among Pomona's largest employers and an anchor of the city's downtown.

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Fox In Socks! Dartmouth Names Its Medical School After Dr. Seuss

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Adam Cole/NPR

An imagined new facade for Dartmouth's school of medicine (with apologies to Dr. Seuss).

At the college of Dartmouth, in the year '24 There lived a young humorist named Theodor. Though boozing was banned as a crime and a sin, Theo hosted a party with plenty of gin. But then in through the door without even a knock Burst the grinch who stole gin-mas: Dean Craven Laycock.

The dean started shouting. His face turned bright red. "Put down your tumbler and listen up, Ted! I'm kicking you out of those clubs that you're in. Your work won't be published at Dartmouth again!"

But Theodor just wouldn't take such abuse He published again with the nom de plume Seuss! Well, that name stuck. It's the one he would use For Green Eggs and Oobleck and Horton and Whos. Folks bought his books for their sons and their daughters And Seuss sent the cash back to his alma mater.

Spring turned to summer and summer to autumn (That whole gin episode was completely forgotten) 90 years passed. And then: a great honor For Dartmouth's most famous, least medical doctor They've renamed their medical school after him And his wife! "It's a tribute," says President Kim*.

But I have a question (and maybe it's strange): With this new name will the school itself change? Will students write poems and skip their exams Or learn to prescribe green eggs and green ham? If your dear father's heart has come to a stop Will your Dartmouth-trained doctor advise, "Hop on pop"?

Millions of Dr. Seuss fans are grateful for his cute pictures and great rhymes, but Dartmouth College is also grateful for his donations.

Dr. Seuss whose real name was Theodor Geisel (Dartmouth Class of 1925) liked to share his wealth with his alma mater, where he edited the humor magazine, the Jack-O-Lantern, until he was caught drinking gin.

In return, this week the New Hampshire college officially renamed its medical school "The Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine" in honor of the author and his second wife, a nurse, who is the 90-year-old curator of her late husband's works. (Dr. Seuss died in 1991.)

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Fox In Socks! Dartmouth Names Its Medical School After Dr. Seuss

MU medical school seeks Springfield campus

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) Faced with a national shortage of rural physicians, heavy but unmet demand from would-be doctors and limited classroom space, the University of Missouri wants to expand its medical school with a second campus in Springfield.

The Columbia-based School of Medicine joined health care providers CoxHealth and Sisters of Mercy Health to support a clinical campus in southwest Missouri. The program would provide third- and fourth-year medical students who started their training in Columbia with hands-on experience treating patients at two Springfield hospitals, under the supervision of doctors at CoxHealth and St. Johns Hospital, which is owned by the Mercy Health system. The plan was outlined Friday afternoon at a news conference at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

You literally require more patients to build up a medical school, said Steve Edwards, president and chief executive officer for CoxHealth. And Springfield is one of the largest cities in the country without a medical school.

Most of the medical schools physical expansion would occur in Columbia, which now admits just 96 new students each year from 1,500 applicants.

That makes the medical school at the states largest university roughly half the size of peer institutions at St. Louis University, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and even the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine at A.T. Still University, in terms of student enrollment. Under the proposed expansion, Missouri would boost its first-year class by 32 students, a one-third increase.

And doctors trained in Columbia nearly 45 percent are more likely to remain in the state after they graduate, said Weldon Webb, associate dean for rural health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Were the No. 1 provider of practicing physicians in the state, even though we are one of the smaller programs in Missouri, he said.

Edwards and other boosters of the Springfield program note the region is growing faster than the rest of the state, particularly in the resort town of Branson and communities near Table Rock Lake. A recent Missouri Hospital

Association report shows the states rural areas have fewer primary care physicians per person than urban ones, with a disproportionate share of rural doctors approaching retirement age.

We forecast future needs that will outstrip our ability to serve the region, Edwards said.

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MU medical school seeks Springfield campus

MU medical school seeks to establish Springfield campus

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Mizzou wants to expand its medical school by partnering with both Mercy and Cox in Springfield.

This is in the planning phase but the hope is this partnership will help bring more doctors to rural areas of southwest Missouri.

A recent study says 90% of Missouri counties lack adequate access to physicians with Webster County being among most needy.

In a nutshell, Mizzou medical students will come to Springfield and do their residency with either Mercy or Cox. In 10-years, 51-medical students and 27-physicians will be in place in southwest Missouri.

MU says the Springfield "campus" would offer significant economic benefits to the state, create thousands of new jobs and expand medical care in rural counties.

The MU medical school now admits just 96 new students each year out of 1,500 applicants. That makes its enrollment about half those of such institutions such as the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and the medical school at Saint Louis University. ----

Edited news release from MU School of Medicine:

Medical Education Expansion Would Enhance Economy, Create Jobs Clinical Campus Supporters Announce Economic Impact and Investment Figures

A plan to improve health by expanding medical education in southwest Missouri would add more than $390 million annually to the states economy and create 3,500 new jobs. The economic growth figures were unveiled Friday at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce by supporters of establishing the citys first medical school clinical campus.

CoxHealth and Mercy Health Systems in Springfield and the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia are designing the campus to expand MUs medical student class size and meet the need for more physicians. More than 90 percent of Missouri counties lack adequate access to health care professionals. Missouri also ranks among the top 20 states in terms of the number of people 65 and older who will require more medical care as they age. While the number of elderly is expected to double by 2030, the number of physicians who care for aging patients with chronic illnesses is expected to decline.

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Numbers speak volumes in assessing US health care

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On April 2, the Olean Times Herald published a column by Jay Ambrose, in which he writes, in reference to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, "The enactment of this law was based on misconceptions about inferior health care and terribly low longevity that turns out to be the highest in the world when one subtracts deaths due to homicide and accidents.

How's that? Our problems with homicide and accidents somehow explain away our embarrassing health care statistics, and thereby obviate the need for health care reform?

Mr. Ambrose offers no source or reference for his claims, nor does he address why death by homicide or accident is less concerning than death from inadequate health care. He is an illusionist using misdirection to distract us from unpleasant realities.

Sources as varied as the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the CIA (yes, the Central Intelligence Agency) list statistics that very much support the assertion that we have inferior health care and that we do indeed die earlier than people in many other countries.

Let us start with the CIA, an agency that describes itself as being responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior U.S. policymakers. This quote and the data that follow are taken from their World Fact Book, accessed online at the CIA web site. Their tables rank some metrics best to worst and others as worst to best. I have converted those below to best to worst, i.e. where we rank compared to the best in the world.

The CIA ranks the U.S. 51st best in maternal mortality (121st of 172 countries listed worst to best). Maternal mortality reports deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth, and excludes accidents and homicide. Per 100,000 births, for every one woman who dies as a result of pregnancy and childbirth in countries like Italy or Greece, five to 10 women die in the U.S.

How about infant mortality? This measures deaths in the first year of life, from all causes, of babies who were born alive. This does include homicide and accidents. The CIA ranks us 48th best (174 out of 222 listed worst to best). Nearly six out of 1,000 live born babies die here in their first year. In Japan it is 2.21 babies out of 1,000. In Cuba it is 4.83. Cuba?

The CIA says that a baby has a better chance of surviving its first year if born in Cuba instead of the United States? Well, better dead than red. ...

And, as for life expectancy at birth, the CIA ranks us 50th (yes, number 50) out of 221.

You can find similar data in other sources. They are quite uniform, and show us to be uniformly inferior across all measures but one: cost. We win, by a large margin, on money spent per person. In U.S. health care we are paying for prime steak and getting a hot dog. Ah, says Mr. Ambrose, that is a tube steak, the best in the world.

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Good health adds life to years

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Saturday marks World Health Day celebrating 64 years of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO is part of the United Nations and is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters as human health concerns really dont have "borders."

The theme this year is on the health of an aging population. Baby boomers are getting older, as is the general lifespan of humans.

Eighty percent of the population live past the age of 60, and 50 percent live more than 80 years of age, according to Dr. Enrique Vega Garcia, regional advisor, Health Aging, Pan American Health Organization/WHO.

There are many reasons for this increase, but despite our longevity, the number of chronic diseases one may live with during the golden years is also on the rise.

Disability Rates Increase With Age The WHO Report for 2012 states that older people experience higher rates of disability that reflects an accumulation of health risks throughout their life course. Ten out of 15 causes of death in adults aged 60 years or older are ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, stomach cancers, colon/rectal cancers, nephritis and renal disease, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, and breast cancer. Arguably, all are influenced by dietary intake, smoking and physical activity.

WHO Suggests a Life-Course Approach The WHO knows there is no magic bullet or quick-fix solution. Instead they recommend four sound pillars for all nations to work towards:

* Promoting good health and healthy behaviors at all ages to prevent or delay the development of chronic disease. It may sound like a broken record eat better, dont smoke, limit alcohol, increase physical activity and refrain from risky behavior. This is not limited to the US but across the globe.

* Minimizing the consequences of chronic disease through early detection and quality care (primary, long-term and palliative care). Early detection saves lives, but the effects of cardiovascular disease has repercussions throughout the body. It is not enough to wait for a diagnosis to make change, but recognizing the cumulative impact of lifestyle habits and behaviors is important. Its never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.

* Creating physical and social environments that foster the health and participation of older people. Seniors need to live in safe communities where they can go out and be social with people of all ages and be able to remain physically active and engaged. Access to public transportation and intergenerational links can prevent isolation.

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Baseball managers need more guts, less numbers: Bill Livingston

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CLEVELAND, Ohio When you always manage by the book, the book might as well manage.

The numbers that once defined baseball immortality -- such as 500 career home runs or 60 homers in a season -- were cheapened by steroid cheats. In their place came "sabermetrics," new statistics devised by specialized analysis. Some of the concepts could probably be understood only by Bill James, the godfather of baseball figure filberts, and maybe Stephen Hawking.

All this fomented the information revolution in baseball that was popularized in the book and movie "Moneyball."

But when numbers rule the actual playing of the game, it becomes a kingdom of conformists. The stats enforce a safe orthodoxy. Woe betide the man who thinks for himself or the manager who plays a hunch. He'd better be right, because there is safety in numbers.

It is rare that someone goes with a gut feeling, or risks the second-guessing that comes with independent thought.

Take Indians manager Manny Acta's allegiance to pitch counts. The Indians were in the forefront of the numbers-crunching revolutions, but one must ask whether they have let guidelines harden into boundaries.

"Compulsory figures" used to be a term in figure skating, when numbers actually had to be carved into the ice. Perhaps the "compulsory figures" in baseball today are pitch counts.

In the season opener Thursday, Acta used closer Chris Perez in the ninth inning, and Perez ignited the fireball that consumed a 4-1 lead. The manager basically said Perez is the closer, so why deviate from the normal practice?

All sorts of objections could have been made, including Perez's rehab time in spring training after hurting himself by overthrowing, and the skimpy three appearances he made against big-league hitters after recovering.

But Acta also argued that starter Justin Masterson already had thrown 99 pitches.

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Climbing Mount Immortality: Death, Cognition and the Making of Civilization

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Image: Illustration by Mark Jarman

Imagine yourself dead. What picture comes to mind? Your funeral with a casket surrounded by family and friends? Complete darkness and void? In either case, you are still conscious and observing the scene. In reality, you can no more envision what it is like to be dead than you can visualize yourself before you were born. Death is cognitively nonexistent, and yet we know it is real because every one of the 100 billion people who lived before us is gone. As Christopher Hitchens told an audience I was in shortly before his death, Im dying, but so are all of you. Reality check.

In his book Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization (Crown, 2012), British philosopher and Financial Times essayist Stephen Cave calls this the Mortality Paradox. Death therefore presents itself as both inevitable and impossible, Cave suggests. We see it all around us, and yet it involves the end of consciousness, and we cannot consciously simulate what it is like to not be conscious.

The attempt to resolve the paradox has led to four immortality narratives: Staying alive: Like all living systems, we strive to avoid death. The dream of doing so foreverphysically, in this worldis the most basic of immortality narratives. Resurrection: The belief that, although we must physically die, nonetheless we can physically rise again with the bodies we knew in life. Soul: The dream of surviving as some kind of spiritual entity. Legacy: More indirect ways of extending ourselves into the future such as glory, reputation, historical impact or children.

All four fail to deliver everlasting life. Science is nowhere near reengineering the body to stay alive beyond 120 years. Both religious and scientific forms of resurrecting your body succumb to the Transformation Problem (how could you be reassembled just as you were and yet this time be invulnerable to disease and death?) and the Duplication Problem (how would duplicates be different from twins?). Even if DigiGod made a perfect copy of you at the end of time, Case conjectures, it would be exactly that: a copy, an entirely new person who just happened to have the same memories and beliefs as you. The soul hypothesis has been slain by neuroscience showing that the mind (consciousness, memory and personality patterns representing you) cannot exist without the brain. When the brain dies of injury, stroke, dementia or Alzheimers, the mind dies with it. No brain, no mind; no body, no soul.

That leaves us with the legacy narrative, of which Woody Allen quipped: "I dont want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it by not dying." Nevertheless, Cave argues that legacy is the driving force behind works of art, music, literature, science, culture, architecture and other artifacts of civilization. How? Because of something called Terror Management Theory. Awareness of ones mortality focuses the mind to create and produce to avoid the terror that comes from confronting the mortality paradox that would otherwise, in the words of the theorys proponentspsychologists Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynskireduce people to twitching blobs of biological protoplasm completely perfused with anxiety and unable to effectively respond to the demands of their immediate surroundings.

Maybe, but human behavior is multivariate in causality, and fear of death is only one of many drivers of creativity and productivity. A baser evolutionary driver is sexual selection, in which organisms from bowerbirds to brainy bohemians engage in the creative production of magnificent works with the express purpose of attracting matesfrom big blue bowerbird nests to big-brained orchestral music, epic poems, stirring literature and even scientific discoveries. As well argued by evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller in The Mating Mind (Anchor, 2001), those that do so most effectively leave behind more offspring and thus pass on their creative genes to future generations. As Hitchens once told me, mastering the pen and the podium means never having to dine or sleep alone.

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Scientists rewrite rules of human reproduction

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The first human egg cells that have been grown entirely in the laboratory from stem cells could be fertilised later this year in a development that will revolutionise fertility treatment and might even lead to a reversal of the menopause in older women.

Scientists are about to request a licence from the UK fertility watchdog to fertilise the eggs as part of a series of tests to generate an unlimited supply of human eggs, a breakthrough that could help infertile women to have babies as well as making women as fertile in later life as men.

Producing human eggs from stem cells would also open up the possibility of replenishing the ovaries of older women so that they do not suffer the age-related health problems associated with the menopause, from osteoporosis to heart disease.

Some scientists are even suggesting the possibility of producing an elixir of youth for women, where the menopause is eradicated and older women will retain the health they enjoyed when younger.

Researchers at Edinburgh University are working with a team from Harvard Medical School in Boston to be the first in the world to produce mature human eggs from stem cells isolated from human ovarian tissue.

Until now, it has only been possible to isolate a relatively small number of mature human egg cells directly from the ovaries of women who have been stimulated with hormones. This technical limitation has led to an acute shortage of human eggs, or oocycts, for IVF treatment as well as scientific research.

The scientists want to fertilise the laboratory-grown egg cells with human sperm to prove that they are viable. Any resulting embryos will be studied for up to 14 days - the legal limit - to see if they are normal.

These early embryos will not be transplanted into a woman's womb because they will be deemed experimental material, but will either be frozen or allowed to perish.

Evelyn Telfer, a reproductive biologist at Edinburgh University, has already informally approached the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) with a view to submitting a formal licence application within the next few weeks.

We hope to apply for a research license to do the fertilisation of the in vitro grown oocytes within the IVF unit at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Dr Telfer said.

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'Surviving Progress': Taking Overdevelopment To Task

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First Run Features

The documentary Surviving Progress illustrates its arguments on the sustainability of human behavior in the context of environmental degradation with striking images of life in cities like Sao Paulo.

Surviving Progress

Not rated

Not every human advance is a snare, according to Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress. But some new techniques can lead to something the Canadian author calls a "progress trap" a development that's ultimately more harmful than helpful.

Wright's book, based on a 2004 lecture series, is the foundation for Surviving Progress, a provocative if scattershot documentary from directors Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks, who wander off topic more than once as they introduce myriad other voices. These include chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall, astrophysicist and author Stephen Hawking and DNA mapper J. Craig Venter. Sometimes, these people don't seem to be part of the conversation Wright began.

Also on hand is Margaret Atwood, who participated in the same lecture program four years later. Her talks led to Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, another book that inspired a documentary. (It's due later this month.) Among the other Canadian commentators are environment professor Vaclav Smil and ecologist and science journalist David Suzuki.

The movie begins with chimpanzees and their problem-solving abilities. A chimp struggles to balance an L-shaped block that looks just like another one, but is weighted differently. Chimps, we're informed, don't ask, "Why?"

Humans do, Wright says, or at least can, yet human technology has outstripped mankind's "hunter-gatherer mentality." The quandary is illustrated, if not always illuminated, by fast-mo footage of cities, traffic and construction.

Environmental degradation is the film's primary concern. The directors undertake field trips to the Congo, where colonialism and war led to plunder; Brazil, where sawmill workers clash with deforestation activists; and China, where a new bourgeoisie, ominously, wants the same toys Europeans and North Americans already enjoy.

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'Surviving Progress': Taking Overdevelopment To Task

Human engineering in Brave New eco-World

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"A SQUAT grey building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State's motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY."

Its the opening passage to Aldous Huxleys classic sci-fi novel Brave New World, but are human hatcheries and genetic tampering about to become a reality?

Not quite.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, philosophers in Oxford and New York are suggesting that the problems of climate change could be tackled with human engineering.

Matthew Liao of New York University and Anders Sandberg and Rebecca Roache of Oxford University have written a paper in which they recommend that human beings could be made smaller, modified to enjoy eating meat less and given cat-like eyes to reduce the need for lighting.

Environmentalist Bill McKibben tweeted in response that the paper had the worst climate-change solutions of all time.

According to the SMH, the papers authors are unfazed. They argue that if people are willing to consider really dangerous solutions such as space-mirrors, then human engineering should also be considered as an option.

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With latest road victory, the change in Rockets is clear: Better basketball through chemistry

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April: Rockets

Scenes from the Rockets' games in April. Click SHOW CAPTION for more information.

Rockets guard Goran Dragic heads to the basket past Lakers guard Ramon Sessions (7). (Harry How / Getty Images)

Lakers forward Josh McRoberts throws down a dunk. (Harry How / Getty Images)

Los Angeles' Metta World Peace (15) scores on a layup in front of Courtney Lee. (Harry How / Getty Images)

Rockets forward Luis Scola (4), of Argentina, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16) fight for a loose ball in the first half. (Gus Ruelas / Associated Press)

Kobe Bryant reacts as he is fouled in front of Goran Dragic. (Harry How / Getty Images)

Paul Gasol scores on a dunk in front of Courtney Lee. (Harry How / Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant scores in front of Courtney Lee (5) and Goran Dragic (3). (Harry How / Getty Images)

Andrew Bynum reacts to a foul call. (Harry How / Getty Images)

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With latest road victory, the change in Rockets is clear: Better basketball through chemistry

Form and function in enzyme activity

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Enzymatic reactions are cleaner, produce fewer byproducts and use less energy, she explained. But attempts to replicate natural enzymes for industrial applications are limited by our incomplete knowledge of these proteins.

Ondrechen and Penny J. Beuning, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, have received a three-year, $565,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a better understanding of enzyme activity.

If you want to design proteins to catalyze a particular reaction, its good to understand how they work, said Ondrechen.

Enzymes, she explained, are made up of a string of amino acids coded by the gene sequence. Each amino acid has a different role in the protein: Some are structurally important while others are required for the enzymes catalytic properties.

There are cavities on the surface of a protein where a molecule can come in and sit down, Ondrechen said. The enzyme does a reaction on it and the product goes away.

The current body of research on enzyme activity mostly focuses on the amino acids in that cavity, which come into direct contact with the reactive molecule. But over the years, some research has suggested that amino acids far away from the active site also play a role in catalysis.

Ondrechens team, using a method she developed 10 years ago, will be able to predict which remote amino acids will impact reactivity. Beunings team will test these predictions experimentally.

My lab is really interested in specificity of enzymes, Beuning said. We look enzymes and figure out how they recognize their substrates.

To do this, her team takes a protein engineering approach in which they manipulate the enzymes composition and observe how it affects its function.

Beunings experimental data can be used to train the computational method to make even better predictions about which amino acids are important to catalysis.

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Form and function in enzyme activity

BIO Lauds Signing of JOBS Act into Law

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Biotechnology Industry Organization expressed strong support for the signing of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law today.

I was honored to witness the signing of the JOBS Act into law. This legislation will make the pathway to capital formation more attainable for small biotechnology companies, encouraging American innovation by removing bureaucratic hurdles, stated BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.

The JOBS Act creates an on-ramp to the public market for emerging growth companies, allowing them five years to focus on conducting critical research that can lead to new therapies and cures before having to divert funds to address bureaucratic hurdles that cause unnecessary delays.

Through the JOBS Act, emerging companies will be exempt for their first five years on the public market from the compliance burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Section 404(b), which studies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) estimate cost companies up to $2 million per year. The Act will also ease private fundraising through an expansion of the eligibility requirements for SEC Regulation A offerings and broaden the investor base by reforming the SEC private shareholder limit and SEC Regulation D.

This law will incentivize and encourage capital formation for small, emerging biotechnology companies that do not yet have products on the market, Greenwood stated. By allowing companies to focus their limited funds on research rather than on compliance, it will speed the development of new cures and treatments for patients living with debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinsons, and HIV/AIDS.

The American biotechnology industry thanks the Congress and President Obama for the enactment of the JOBS Act, concluded Greenwood.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the worlds largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world. BIO produces BIOtech Now, an online portal and monthly newsletter chronicling innovations transforming our world. Subscribe to BIOtech Now.

Upcoming BIO Events

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BIO Lauds Signing of JOBS Act into Law

Georgia Bio Selects Student Finalists in Biotechnology Research Competition

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ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Georgia Bio has named two finalists and two runners up in the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge. Ten U.S. National finalists will be selected to join students from Canada and Australia to compete in the International BioGENEius Challenge. The U.S. National and International BioGENEius Challenges are competitions for high school students who demonstrate an exemplary understanding of biotechnology through science research projects.

Finalists in the Georgia statewide competition include Aprotim Bhowmik, a sophomore at Parkview High School, Lilburn, Georgia, and Julia Abelsky, a junior at North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Receiving Honorable Mention were Raja Selvakumar, a junior at Milton High School, Alpharetta, Georgia, and Tushar Mittal, a sophomore at Dutchtown High School, Stockbridge, Georgia.

The Georgia competition was organized by Georgia Bio, the states life science industry association in partnership with the Biotechnology Institute, and sponsored by UCB, Inc. It was held on March 30, 2012 at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair in Athens, Georgia, and included 19 students from all over the state. UCB, of Smyrna, Georgia, is sponsoring the Georgia finalists participation in the U.S. National and International BioGENEius Challenges in Boston.

It is critical for the growth of the life sciences industry in Georgia that we ensure a pool of talented, skilled graduates who are enthusiastic about biotechnology and the sciences, said Greg Duncan, UCBs President of North American Operations, and a Georgia Bio board member and National BIO board member. At UCB, we are very pleased to be able to support this program that aims to encourage that scientific excellence. We wish our finalists well in the competition and look forward to seeing further development of their projects.

Judges were Ralph L. Cordell, Ph.D., Scientific Education and Professional Development Program Office, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Michael Ensslin, Ph.D., Senior Engineer, Aderans Research Institute, Inc.; and Melinda Welch, Ph.D., Medical Science Liaison II, UCB, Inc.

Mr. Bhowmiks project was entitled Arterial Hemodynamics in Atherosclerosis Patients - A Mathematical Model. In this research, a mathematical model was developed to simulate the dynamics of blood flow in coronary arteries affected by stenosis. Results of model simulation indicate that the effectiveness of stent implantation can be improved by redesigning the commonly used stent configuration. The researcher developed a novel stent design that has the potential to reduce the number of cases of post-stenting myocardial infarction.

Ms. Abelskys project, Analysis of Cylindrically Confined Diblock Copolymers and Gold Nanocomposites for Metamaterials, delved into the world of J.K. Rowling. Although her fantasy novels may not have touched on plasmonics, todays emerging technology allows for a periodic array of parallel gold nanorods to be arranged to create a negative refractive index in the optical frequency range. Using Polystyrene-B-Poly (2-vinylpyridine) under cylindrical confinement and varying the length and spacing of the nanorods, the electromagnetic response can be manipulated.

Mr. Bhowmik and Ms. Abelsky will now advance to the U.S. National BioGENEius Challenge and have a chance to compete at the International BioGENEius Challenge competition, which will be held June 17 and 18 respectively in conjuction with the 2012 BIO International Convention in Boston, MA. The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry attracting between 14,000 and 20,000 attendees each year. The convention attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry. Winners of the International BioGENEius Challenge will be announced at the June 19 keynote luncheon.

The International BioGENEius Challenge is organized by the Biotechnology Institute, the national organization dedicated to biotechnology education, and sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, a leading global pharmaceutical company, and Janssen, pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson.

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Georgia Bio Selects Student Finalists in Biotechnology Research Competition

The Biotechnology Industry Organization Announces e-Newsletter Redesign

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Following on the redesign of BIO.org, the primary website for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), and the relaunch of BIOtechNOW, a multiblog platform that compiles all of the organizations blogs, BIO announced the redesign of the primary e-newsletter, Biotech NOW, which will now be called BIO Communiqu.

Through a survey of our subscribers, we found that people from all sectors of the biotechnology industry subscribe to our e-newsletter, BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood explained. With that in mind, we knew the demand and desire for an expanded array of BIO content existed which we hope to satisfy with this new endeavor.

The Communiqu compiles all of the organizations latest online content in to an electronic publication to be distributed every two weeks for the biotechnology industry.

In addition, the new brand and design encompasses the look and feel of all BIOs online properties while providing more critical information about the biotechnology industry, updating subscribers on BIO activities and events, and providing industry insights and opinions from BIO staff and industry experts.

The Communiqu is sent to over 100,000 biotechnology professionals, academics, and scientists. The previous e-newsletter, BIOtechNOW, was a monthly publication that promoted content from the organizations multiblog platform of the same name.

To subscribe or learn more about the Communiqu, please visit http://www.bio.org/enewsletter. For advertising opportunities please contact Evan Hart at ehart@bio.org or 202-962-9200.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO IP Counsels Committee Conference April 16 18, 2012 Austin, TX

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing April 29 - May 2, 2012 Orlando, FL

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The Biotechnology Industry Organization Announces e-Newsletter Redesign