Monthly Archives: May 2012

Medical legend present to see his grandson graduate med school

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HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Among the graduation ceremonies this weekend was a special one. Two-hundred and sixteen students received their degrees in medicine from UT Health Medical School. And one famous Houstonian was there to see his grandson follow in his footsteps and become a doctor -- legendary heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley.

They are the grandsons of Dr. Cooley, one of the most famous heart surgeons in history, and Peter Kaldis and Charlie Fraser are medical students at UT Health Medical School.

"He's brilliant, he's very witty and he's very fun to be around," said Fraser.

Kaldis remembered how his grandfather's name would often come up in class.

"The surgeon would ask for the 'my scissors' and they'd go in and do a story about these scissors. These are called 'my scissors' because Dr. Cooley would ask for 'my scissors' and he designed these not knowing that I was his grandson," said Kaldis.

And when other med students would find out who they were.

"Most of them say it's pretty cool," said Fraser.

"I remember being little and looking in the Guinness Book of World Records and seeing there's my grandfather's name!" said granddaughter Laura Fraser.

Of the five Cooley children and 16 grandchildren, nine are in the medical field. His daughter, Dr. Weezie Davis, is an ophthalmologist and Peter's mother.

"I'd love to watch him operate, although I would get a little faint and I'd have to sit down from time to time. But he encouraged me, if he hadn't encouraged me to go to medical school I probably wouldn't had enough courage to do it," said Dr. Davis.

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Medical legend present to see his grandson graduate med school

The New Era of Contraception, Thanks to Gene Discovery?

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University of Edinburgh researchers say they've identified a gene crucial to sperm development that could be a target for a new form of male birth control.

Oliver Cleve / Getty Images

Condoms or a vasectomy are basically the only contraceptive options currently available for men. But a new gene discovery by infertility researchers at theCentre for Reproductive Healthat the University of Edinburghsuggests that the development of a male contraceptive pill could someday be possible.

While studying infertility in mice, the researchers identified a gene called Katnal1 that appears to be critical during the late stages of sperm production. In the testes,Katnal1 regulates a protein needed by cells that support sperm maturation; without it, sperm do not develop properly and the body disposes of them.

In lab studies, the research team found that mice with genetic mutations that interrupted Katnal1 became infertile.

(MORE:Male Contraception May Be a Reality Sooner than We Think)

Although the research is still in the preliminary stages, the authors say that if a drug could be developed to hinder Katnal1, it could potentially serve as a reversible contraceptive.

If we can find a way to target this gene in the testes, we could potentially develop a non-hormonal contraceptive, researcherDr. Lee Smith of the University of Edinburgh said in a news release.The important thing is that the effects of such a drug would be reversible because Katnal1 only affects sperm cells in the later stages of development, so it would not hinder the early stages of sperm production and the overall ability to produce sperm.

As Dr. Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield,told BBC News:

The key in developing a non-hormonal contraceptive for men is that the molecular target needs to be very specific for either sperm or other cells in the testicle which are involved in sperm production.

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Madison masterpieces: John Steuart Curry murals, UW Biochemistry Building

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On a stroll through the UW campus, there's plenty of art to see, from the newly expanded Chazen Museum of Art to galleries within Memorial Union and Union South.

But not all of the university's artistic treasures are in places you might expect. Take the stairwell of the recently renovated Biochemistry Building. There you'll find murals by the renowned American painter John Steuart Curry that are not only fascinating in their own right, but also a testament to a forward-thinking collaboration between the sciences and arts.

Curry, part of a trio of famed regionalists along with Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, was invited to the UW in 1936 as artist-in-residence. While such arrangements are now common at schools across the country, Curry's position was the first of its kind in the nation and it was through the College of Agriculture, not the art department.

The 1940s mural The Social Benefits of Biochemical Research dramatically depicts the gains brought by vitamin discoveries and applications by leading UW researchers such as Harry Steenbock.

Sickly children and animals contrast with vibrant, healthy kids and livestock striding forward. Spread over three walls in the octagonal stairwell, the main panel exudes a sincere conviction in human progress and the ability of science to make life better. Additional panels in the stairwell show lush cornstalks waving in the wind and an idyllic farm where roosters, sows, calves and other critters thrive.

A nearby conference room contains more Curry murals, and works by Curry are also in the permanent collections of the Chazen and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

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Madison masterpieces: John Steuart Curry murals, UW Biochemistry Building

Anatomy of a turnaround; Vector starts new era with pool groundbreaking

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As the walls of the old Easter Seals pool came down last Wednesday, Bill Ruff thought back to the questions that surrounded Vector Rehabilitation's decision to buy a leaky pool 19 months ago.

Are you crazy?' That's what some people asked me. I looked them straight in the eye and said, Right. I'm nuts. What's your point?

Today, the chief executive officer of the renamed Vector Physical Therapy and Aquatic Center and the board of directors he works with are looking more like visionaries. The state-of-the art heated therapy pool is the centerpiece of an estimated $2.6 million overhaul of 3289 Edgewood Road in Eureka. The former owner, Easter Seals of Northern California, cited a flow of red ink and, despite community uproar, shuttered the pool and adult daycare facility in April 2010.

Heated to 92 degrees Fahrenheit, the new 52-foot by 18-foot pool will open to the public late fall. Ruff expects to add four to eight full-time equivalent jobs -- half of them with benefits. His payroll will jump 30 to 40 percent, and his Medicare reimbursement will jump 10 percent by adding anywhere from 400 to 800 new clients a year. And that's just for starters.

The Humboldt Del Norte Medical Society wrote a letter in support of the project and Humboldt State kinesiology professor Justus Ortega is eager to start research projects to compare pool and land therapy benefits for walking and fall prevention.

Heated pool therapy is non-weight-bearing,

This is going to put us at a level I don't think any of us comprehended when we started, Ruff said. We'll have community education classes, top of the line physical therapy, a partnership with HSU to train students and produce research, and a place special needs students from local schools can use.

They are so community-oriented, Ortega said, When you say, 'Hey, can we do this? Their first answer is yes. They say they'll find a way to make it happen. They're solution-oriented.

About 100 former student and community users have been looking for a solution since the pool closed.

When are you going to get that pool open is all I hear from doctors I visit and people who call, Ruff said. People are still asking if I'm crazy, but now that we've broken ground and are gearing up for active programs, it's becoming reality for 90 percent of the people.

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Anatomy of a turnaround; Vector starts new era with pool groundbreaking

Skyrim: Make Dance Not War – Video

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24-05-2012 13:53 Click here to watch Where the hell is Dovahkiin? 2012 (Skyrim Machinima) Skyrim: Make Dance Not War Dovahkiin is always on an adventure but he never leaves home without his dance moves. Voice Actor Hypermunk99 Music: Skyrim Theme (Swanson Remix) Swanson Sounds DIRECTOR'S CHANNEL: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This video will show you: How to view a skyrim mod How to make Machinima How to dance like a Dovahkiin How to watch with a free cam How to play The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: FOR MORE ANIMATIONS & SHORTS, GO TO: FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: Tags: yt:quality=high "Elder Scrolls V" Skyrim "5" five Bethesda Game Studios Softworks role-playing game RPG Microsoft Windows "PlayStation 3" PS3 Sony Xbox 360 Xbox360 Alduin Creation Engine open world Sandbox Dovahkiin Dragonborn Perks dual wield Radiant AI Draconic dragon shouts Dovahzaan Blades Nord Esbern Max machinima "how to" "arrow in the knee" "arrow to the knee" dancing dance where hell world travel ro4ch rooster dragonsreach dancing mod mods nexus steam workshop steamworkshop epic battle

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Klinsmann Trims Travel Roster

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U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named a final 23-man travel roster that will compete in the upcoming five matches that include three friendlies and the start of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Initially calling 27 players into a camp at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., the team now heads to Jacksonville in advance of the match against Scotland on May 26 at 8 p.m. at EverBank Field (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Galavision).

More than 36,000 tickets have been sold in Jacksonville, which sets a record for a U.S. Men's National Team friendly in the state of Florida. Tickets starting at $22 are still on sale at ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster centers throughout the Jacksonville area. Following Scotland, the U.S. hosts five-time World Cup champions Brazil on Wednesday, May 30, in Landover, Md.

The U.S. MNT has announced public training sessions for May 25 at EverBank Field and May 28 at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md .

"We have said from the beginning that these games are all about results, and we have chosen the 23 players who are in the best form right now and ready to get the job done," said Klinsmann. "These guys have put in a tremendous amount of hard work in the last 10 days, and they are hungry to get started with the matches. We want to thank the players who have gone back to their clubs for all of their effort here. They are knocking on the door and will be ready to go if needed."

The nearly month-long series of training and games has been designed to mimic the circumstances the team will face in a tournament format, with meticulous planning dedicated to technical aspects, travel, nutrition, logistics and the rhythm of team movement to create a performance driven environment.

U.S. TRAVEL ROSTER BY POSITION GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland) MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca) FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

ADDITIONAL ROSTER NOTES

The team has lined up a series of friendlies for this summer in preparation for the start of World Cup qualifying. Following the match against Scotland, the U.S. continues its competition against the world's top teams when it hosts five-time World Cup champions Brazil on Wednesday, May 30, in Landover, Md. Kickoff for the USA's first-ever match at FedExField is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3 and TeleFutura. Fans can also follow the match live online via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer.

For the last game before the start of World Cup qualifying, the United States will make a rare visit to Canada when it renews the rivalry June 3 at BMO Field in Toronto. Kickoff for the USA's first match on Canadian soil since 1997 is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and Univision Deportes Network.

The United States will kick off the effort to qualify for its seventh-consecutive FIFA World Cup when it hosts Antigua & Barbuda on June 8 at Raymond James Stadium. The semifinal round opener begins at 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN, ESPN3 and Galavision. Four days later, the U.S. plays its first road match in group play this cycle when it visits Guatemala.

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Scandinavian Airlines Systems Selects OpenJaw t-Retail Platform to Provide Its Online Retailing Future

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DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

OpenJaw Technologies, a leading online technology partner of the worlds biggest travel brands, and Scandinavias largest airline, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), today announced that SAS is to upgrade to the OpenJaw t-Retail Platform. This is OpenJaws first existing client to announce its migration to the new platform. Previously OpenJaw provided SAS with technology to power the dynamic packaging and component selling of ancillary products on http://www.sas.se, http://www.sas.no and http://www.sas.dk. By upgrading to the t-Retail Platform SAS will further benefit from a range of new retailing strategies across its Swedish, Norwegian and Danish websites. SAS will be taking the t-Retail Platform as a managed service, a payment by service model, which demands a closer partnership relationship between the airline and OpenJaw to ensure conversions and revenues are maximised.

The t-Retail Platform will ensure that SAS will hold onto its customers throughout the retail experience, purchasing a range of travel products in a one-stop-shop environment. As there is no hand off to a white label provider, this ensures that SAS owns the customer from start to finish in terms of user experience, revenue generation and Super PNR information for data mining.

SAS will access the t-Retail Platform technology via a Managed Service delivery model which means that OpenJaw will oversee the hosting, deployment, management and maintenance of the production platforms, and that the airline benefits from on-going platform upgrades. The OpenJaw Managed Service division will also continuously monitor service performance via Business Intelligence tools, in order to optimise the user experience and maximise conversions.

Commenting on the announcement, Magnus Eivhammar, Director Ancillary Revenue, SAS Airlines System said:

As the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden SAS has always led the way in terms of innovation and customer engagement. By upgrading to the OpenJaw t-Retailing Platform we are taking innovation to the next level by providing a winning user experience that inspires our customer demand.

Kieron Branagan, CEO, OpenJaw added:

OpenJaw is at an exciting juncture in its relationship with SAS as we move from a provider of technology to joint partners in success. We are delighted that SAS trusts the OpenJaw team to provide its online future and that the airline believes that the future is travel retailing.

--ENDS

About OpenJaw Technologies

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Scandinavian Airlines Systems Selects OpenJaw t-Retail Platform to Provide Its Online Retailing Future

Travel Around the World with Vault Magazine

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Nutrition center playtime features cowboy, cowgirls

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Published 11:00pm Friday, May 25, 2012

Each year, the month of May is proclaimed Older Americans Month throughout the nation. And, each year, the Administration on Aging develops a theme for the month. This year, the theme is Never Too Old to Play.

So, the seniors at the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center in Troy, laughingly, said they saddled up their Charlie horses and hit the happy trails for a play day.

Hassie Green, Center director, said the participants all grew up playing cowboys and Indians so they were encouraged to dress in western attire for play day at the Center on Thursday.

The men chose Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy as their favorite cowboys with Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, coming in a close third.

Two-Gun Charlie Terry said Hopalong Cassidy was his all-time favorite. His choice had nothing to do with Hoppys gray hair, only with his ability to catch the bad guys.

However, Two-Gun had difficulty getting his guns out of the holster. So, the other cowboys kidded Two-Gun that he might want to change his name to Barney Fife

As for the cowgirls, Dale Evans was a hands-down favorite followed by Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane.

I admired the quality relationship Dale Evans had with her husband, Roy Rogers, Dorothy Belcher said. They always did the right thing and thats why I liked her so much. She and Roy Rogers were good people.

Essie Merriweather said Annie Oakley was her favorite cowgirl because she could ride like the wind and shoot a gnat in flight.

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Nutrition center playtime features cowboy, cowgirls

Cell therapy may ease chronic pain

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Washington, May 25 : A new study has described how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them.

UCSF scientists, working with mice, focused on treating chronic pain that arises from nerve injury -- so-called neuropathic pain.

In their study, the scientists transplanted immature embryonic nerve cells that arise in the brain during development and used them to make up for a loss of function of specific neurons in the spinal cord that normally dampen pain signals.

A small fraction of the transplanted cells survived and matured into functioning neurons. The cells integrated into the nerve circuitry of the spinal cord, forming synapses and signaling pathways with neighbouring neurons.

As a result, pain hypersensitivity associated with nerve injury was almost completely eliminated, the researchers found, without evidence of movement disturbances that are common side effects of the currently favoured drug treatment.

'Now we are working toward the possibility of potential treatments that might eliminate the source of neuropathic pain, and that may be much more effective than drugs that aim only to treat symptomatically the pain that results from chronic, painful conditions,' said the senior author of the study, Allan Basbaum, PhD, chair of the Department of Anatomy at UCSF.

Those who suffer from chronic pain often get little relief, even from powerful narcotic painkillers, according to Basbaum. Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant first used to treat epilepsy, now is regarded as the most effective treatment for neuropathic pain. However, it is effective for only roughly 30 percent of patients, and even in those people it only provides about 30 percent relief of the pain, he said.

The explanation for neuropathic pain, research showed, is that following injury neurons may be lost, or central nervous system circuitry may change, in ways that are maladaptive, compromising signals that normally help dampen pain. These changes contribute to a state of hyper-excitability, enhancing the transmission of pain messages to the brain and causing normally innocuous stimuli to become painful.

The inhibitory neurons that are damaged in the spinal cord to cause pain hypersensitivity release a molecule that normally transmits inhibitory signals ' the neurotransmitter GABA. A loss of GABA inhibition also is implicated in epilepsy and may play a role in Parkinson's disease. Gabapentin does not mimic GABA, but it helps to compensate for the loss of inhibition that GABA normally would provide.

Basbaum's UCSF colleagues, including study co-authors Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, and Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, along with Scott Baraban, PhD, had already been experimenting with transplanting immature neurons that make GABA, using the transplanted neurons to bolster inhibitory signals in mouse models to prevent epileptic seizures and to combat a Parkinson's-like disease.

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City of Hope Receives $5 Million Grant to Develop T Cell Treatment Targeting Brain Tumor Stem Cells

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DUARTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

City of Hope was granted a $5,217,004 early translational research award by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support the development of a T cell-based immunotherapy that re-directs a patients own immune response against glioma stem cells. City of Hope has been awarded more than $49.7 million in grant support from CIRM since awards were first announced in 2006.

City of Hope is a pioneer in T cell immunotherapy research, helping to develop genetically modified T cells as a treatment for cancer. This strategy, termed adoptive T cell therapy, focuses on redirecting a patients immune system to specifically target tumor cells, and has the potential to become a promising new approach for treatment of cancer.

In this research, we are genetically engineering a central memory T cell that targets proteins expressed by glioma stem cells, said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and director of the T Cell Immunotherapy Research Laboratory. Central memory T cells have the potential to establish a persistent, lifelong immunity to help prevent brain tumors from recurring.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 22,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with a brain tumor this year, and 13,700 will die from the disease. Glioma is a type of brain tumor that is often difficult to treat and is prone to recurrence. Currently, less than 20 percent of patients with malignant gliomas are living five years after their diagnosis. This poor prognosis is largely due to the persistence of tumor-initiating cancer stem cells, a population of malignant cells similar to normal stem cells in that they are able to reproduce themselves indefinitely. These glioma stem cells are highly resistant to chemotherapy and radiation treatments, making them capable of re-establishing new tumors.

Researchers at City of Hope previously have identified several proteins as potential prime targets for the development of cancer immunotherapies, such as interleukin 13 receptor alpha 2, a receptor found on the surface of glioma cells, and CD19, a protein that is active in lymphoma and leukemia cells. Both investigational therapies are currently in phase I clinical trials. Forman is the principal investigator for the newly granted study which will develop a T cell that targets different proteins expressed by glioma stem cells. Christine Brown, Ph.D., associate research professor, serves as co-principal investigator, and Michael Barish, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurosciences, and Behnam Badie, M.D., director of the Brain Tumor Program, serve as co-investigators on the project.

Because cancer stem cells are heterogeneous, our proposed therapy will target multiple antigens to cast as wide a net as possible over this malignant stem cell population, said Brown.

While in this effort, we are targeting a neurological cancer, our approach will lead to future studies targeting other cancers, including those that metastasize to the brain, added Barish.

The CIRM grant will help us to build a targeted T cell therapy against glioma that can offer lasting protection, determine the best way to deliver the treatment, establish an efficient process to manufacture these T cells for treatment, and get approval for a human clinical trial, said Badie.

City of Hope is also a collaborative partner providing process development, stem cell-derived cell products and regulatory affairs support in two other CIRM-funded projects that received early translational research grants. Larry Couture, Ph.D., senior vice president of City of Hopes Sylvia R. & Isador A. Deutch Center for Applied Technology Development and director of the Center for Biomedicine & Genetics, is working with Stanford University and Childrens Hospital of Orange County Research Institute on their respective projects.

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City of Hope Receives $5 Million Grant to Develop T Cell Treatment Targeting Brain Tumor Stem Cells

Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals’ geographic origin

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ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) Understanding the genetic diversity within and between populations has important implications for studies of human disease and evolution. This includes identifying associations between genetic variants and disease, detecting genomic regions that have undergone positive selection and highlighting interesting aspects of human population history.

Now, a team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Israel's Tel Aviv University has developed an innovative approach to the study of genetic diversity called spatial ancestry analysis (SPA), which allows for the modeling of genetic variation in two- or three-dimensional space.

Their study is published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics.

With SPA, researchers can model the spatial distribution of each genetic variant by assigning a genetic variant's frequency as a continuous function in geographic space. By doing this, they show that the explicit modeling of the genetic variant frequency -- the proportion of individuals who carry a specific variant -- allows individuals to be localized on a world map on the basis of their genetic information alone.

"If we know from where each individual in our study originated, what we observe is that some variation is more common in one part of the world and less common in another part of the world," said Eleazar Eskin, an associate professor of computer science at UCLA Engineering. "How common these variants are in a specific location changes gradually as the location changes.

"In this study, we think of the frequency of variation as being defined by a specific location. This gives us a different way to think about populations, which are usually thought of as being discrete. Instead, we think about the variant frequencies changing in different locations. If you think about a person's ancestry, it is no longer about being from a specific population -- but instead, each person's ancestry is defined by the location they're from. Now ancestry is a continuum."

The team reports the development of a simple probabilistic model for the spatial structure of genetic variation, with which they model how the frequency of each genetic variant changes as a function of the location of the individual in geographic space (where the gene frequency is actually a function of the x and y coordinates of an individual on a map).

"If the location of an individual is unknown, our model can actually infer geographic origins for each individual using only their genetic data with surprising accuracy," said Wen-Yun Yang, a UCLA computer science graduate student.

"The model makes it possible to infer the geographic ancestry of an individual's parents, even if those parents differ in ancestry. Existing approaches falter when it comes to this task," said UCLA's John Novembre, an assistant professor in the department of ecology and evolution.

SPA is also able to model genetic variation on a globe.

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Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals' geographic origin

Faith calendar

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EVENTS

Carmelite Institute of Spirituality: A Day of Recollection is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Carmelite Institute of Spirituality in Stanwood. The Rev. Stephen Watson will speak about "Marion Spirituality in Carmel." The Catholic institute presents monthly Days of Recollection and hosts spiritual retreats. Suggested donation is $15-$20. Bring sack lunch; coffee, tea provided. The institute is at 27008 78th Ave. NW, Stanwood. 360-629-4032.

Torah reading in Edmonds: Chabad of Snohomish Country will have a Torah reading of the Ten Commandments at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by a dairy buffet at 11:15 a.m. at the Edmonds Conference Center, 201 Fourth Ave. N. Edmonds. Families welcome.

Pastor installation: Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Arlington will hold the installation service for the Rev. Scott Summers, the new pastor at the church, at 4 p.m. June 3. Summers, who came from a church in Woodburn, Ore., is a married father of two, and a graduate of Washington State University and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif. The church is at 615 E. Highland Drive, Arlington.

Spring concert: Cantabile, a Skagit Valley choir, will perform classical music at 7:30 p.m. June 2 at Advent Lutheran Church, 4306 132nd St. SE, Mill Creek, and at 4 p.m. June 3 at Salem Lutheran Church, 2549 La Venture, Mount Vernon. Donations accepted. 360-579-2279 or http://www.cantabileof skagitvalley.org.

Spiritual leader in Bellevue: Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as "Amma," will begin a North American tour at 10 a.m. Thursday and 7:30 p.m. June 3 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue. Free and open to the public. Programs include spiritual talks, devotional singing and the opportunity to receive a spiritual blessing in the form of a physical motherly embrace. Registration is required for a retreat with the leader Friday to June 3. Call Clare Simons at 503-705-7350, or email claresimons1@gmail.com.

Bible speakers in Snohomish: Zion Lutheran Church will host missionaries David and Valerie Federitz 12:30-1:30 p.m. June 7 at 331 Union Ave., Snohomish. They have been missionaries with Lutheran Bible Translators for more than 11 years and have spent time in Ghana, Africa. Open to the public. Lunch served at noon.

Hymn sing: Imanuel Lutheran Church in Everett will host an informal event to sing hymns 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 16 at the church social hall. Refreshments served. Church is at 2521 Lombard Ave. 425-252-7038 or http://www.immanueleverett.org.

Father's Day Car and Bike Show: Northshore Christian Church will host its 10th annual Father's Day Car and Bike Show 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 17. There will be dozens of classic cars and motorcycles on display to the public. The church is at 5700 23rd Drive. W, Everett. For more information, go to http://tinyurl.com/ NorthshoreCarShow.

Riverside Ecclesia Festival: "Unity for His Community," a family event featuring a picnic, face painting and other activities, is scheduled for 12:30-5:30 p.m. June 30 at Jetty Island. Admission free, parking fee $3. Donation and volunteers welcome. 425-923-7975.

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Faith calendar

Crafting a spirituality of family creativity

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May. 26, 2012

(Dreamstime)

A veritable rainbow of paint drips decorates the top of our dining room table. On the floor beneath it are hundreds of tiny scraps of paper and the blunt-nosed scissors that snipped them. A nearby bin collects other tools of the toddler art trade: crayons and markers, glue sticks, pipe cleaners and empty toilet paper rolls.

Taped to the window are our childrens masterpieces: paper snowflakes, a construction paper owl, and an igloo made of mini-marshmallows, though someone seems to have removed, and most likely consumed, most of the marshmallows.

While I would prefer my home to be mistaken for a Pottery Barn catalog shoot, I accept this colorful mess because it fosters creativity, an important developmental skill for children -- and a spiritual practice for adults.

Granted, I have a crafty thumb. When we go camping with friends, Im the one who brings the balls of yarn to make Gods eyes. At Christmas, I organize gingerbread-house-making parties. While Daddy loves to play outside with our 3- and 4-year-old, Im more apt to haul out the Play-Doh, paints or cookie recipe.

It runs in our family. My own creativity was nurtured by a mother, aunts and grandmothers who painted their own ceramics, tatted the edges of their own pillowcases and canned their own handpicked blueberries. I was taught to knit, embroider and sew at a young age. And my mother retaught me in adulthood when I wanted to pick up those hobbies again.

So when my own children get restless, we paint rocks gathered at the beach or iron crayon shavings between wax paper to make stained glass windows. I abhor packaged craft projects that come with pre-cut pieces that only need to be assembled. Wheres the imagination in that?

The whole point of crafting is to make something entirely new that no one else has ever made or could have made. To do that, we have to let our minds empty so we can see what ideas percolate when faced with a blank sheet of paper.

Sometimes the creative process can help with the mind-emptying. At the university where I teach, meditative coloring is offered as a stress reliever during finals week. Similarly, the repetition of knitting or hand-sewing can result in what some call flow and Christians call joy.

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Crafting a spirituality of family creativity

Expert: DNA on evidence is a match to Clemens'

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Roger Clemens is on accused of lying to Congress over his alleged steroid use.

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens' DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the government's case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens' lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were "hundreds of thousands" of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that it's "conceivable" the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA expert's testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesn't expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The government's key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was "unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet" - Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens' DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

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Expert: DNA on evidence is a match to Clemens'

Posted in DNA

Testimony links needle to Clemens DNA

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A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the governments case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were hundreds of thousands of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that its conceivable the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA experts testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesnt expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The governments key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

The match: one in 449 for Clemens.

That means that Mr. Clemens is the likely source of that biology, Keel said.

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Testimony links needle to Clemens DNA

Posted in DNA

Expert says DNA on evidence matches Clemens'

Posted on by

Roger Clemens is on accused of lying to Congress over his alleged steroid use.

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens' DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the government's case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens' lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were "hundreds of thousands" of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that it's "conceivable" the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA expert's testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesn't expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The government's key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was "unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet" - Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens' DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

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Expert says DNA on evidence matches Clemens'

Posted in DNA