The Travel & Tourism industry in the UK is nearly five times the size of automotive manufacturing and supports almost as many jobs as the financial sector.(PRWEB UK) 1 June 2012 This is according to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) sponsored by American Express.The research, undertaken by Oxford Economics, shows that the sector’s direct contribution to the UK GDP is ...
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Tourism in the UK contributes more to GDP than automotive manufacturing
By Michelle Maltais
Los Angeles Times
Published: June 1, 2012
LOS ANGELES It reads like a riveting sci-fi novel, but its stunningly real: A super-sophisticated malicious computer virus burrowed its way into Irans nuclear facilities and took down several parts of the operation. Oh, and it apparently came from us.
In 2010, it was the United States who launched Stuxnet, a seek-and-destroy cyber missile so sophisticated that some briefly thought it might have an other-than-earthly origin, against Irans nuclear infrastructure, according to a New York Times report. The virus was, in fact, created jointly by the United States and Israel.
In his first months in office, President Obama covertly ordered sophisticated attacks on the computers that ran Irans nuclear facilities, upping U.S. use of cyber weaponry in a sustained attack, the newspaper said.
Early on, a programming error allowed the worm to escape Irans Natanz plant and whoosh around the world on the Internet.
Should we shut this thing down? Obama asked members of his national security team who were in the room told the paper.
Ultimately, the super worm was left to wreak its havoc, and it took out 1,000 of 5,000 centrifuges Iran was using to enhance uranium, according to the report. It was as effective as a bomb or agents infiltrating countrys nuclear facilities to plant explosives, the report said.
German cyber-security expert Ralph Langner found the worm in 2010. As his team dug deeper into the code, each new discovery left them more impressed and wondering what was coming next, he told NPR. The sophistication of the worm seemed almost alien. But it was, indeed, decidedly terrestrial in nature.
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It reads like a riveting sci-fi novel, but it's stunningly real: A super-sophisticated malicious computer virus burrowed its way intoIran'snuclear facilities and took down several parts of the operation. Oh, and it apparently came from us.
In 2010, it was the U.S. who launched Stuxnet, a seek-and-destroy cyber missile so sophisticated that some briefly thought it might have an other-than-earthly origin, against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, according to a New York Times report. The virus was, in fact, created jointly by the U.S. and Israel.
In his first months in office, President Obama covertly ordered sophisticated attacks on the computers that ran Iran's nuclear facilities, upping U.S. use of cyber weaponry in a sustained attack, the newspaper said.
Early on, a programming error allowed the worm to escape Iran's Natanz plant and whoosh around the world on the Internet.
"Should we shut this thing down?" Obama asked, members of his national security team who were in the room told the paper.
Ultimately, the super worm was left to wreak its havoc, and it took out 1,000 of 5,000 centrifuges Iran was using to enhance uranium, according to the report. It was as effective as a bomb or agents infiltrating a country's nuclear facilities to plant explosives, the report said.
German cyber-security expert Ralph Langner found the worm in 2010. As his team dug deeper into the code, "each new discovery left them more impressed and wondering what was coming next," he told NPR. The sophistication of the worm "seemed almost alien." But it was, indeed, decidedly terrestrial in nature.
Only recently has the government acknowledged developing cyber-weapons, though it has never admitted deploying them.
Now efforts are underway to decipher the origins of another malicious program experts believe is part of government-sponsoredcyber warfare and intelligence gathering. Again, Iran is the target.
As the Los Angeles Times' Sergei L. Loiko wrote earlier this week, computer virus experts atRussia'sKasperskyLab came across this malware while searching for a villain dubbed the Wiper.
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31-05-2012 10:25 The crew of the ISS de-mated and hoisted the Dragon capsule away from the station with the Canadarm2 robotic arm and released it jn preparation for its re-entry on May 31, 2012.
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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will soon get a special screening of "The Avengers," the blockbuster movie about superheroes defending Earth from aliens.
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A full-scale replica of a NASA space shuttle will come into dock Friday (June 1), but rather than pull into a space station, it will arrive at port in a Texas lake near the space agency's Houston space center.
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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will have a unique vantage point for next week's transit of Venus, a stunning and rare event when Venus will appear as a tiny black dot on the sun as it crosses in front of our nearest star.
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GREENBELT, Md., June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SGT, Inc., a leading provider of Engineering, Science, Project Management, and Information Technology services, today announced that it had been selected for the Omnibus Multidiscipline Engineering Services (OMES) contract in support of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate (AETD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The OMES Contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering value of $400 million. The effective ordering period is from June 1, 2012, through May 31, 2017.
SGT will provide services for development and validation of new technologies for future earth and space science missions. This will include study, design, systems engineering, development, fabrication, integration, testing, verification and operations of space flight, airborne and ground system hardware and software.
NASA Goddard AETD is responsible for providing multidiscipline engineering expertise for both in-house and out-of-house instrument and spacecraft programs, including the Joint Polar Satellite System Program and the Space Servicing Capabilities Project.
SGT, Inc. is privately held and headquartered in Greenbelt, MD, USA. SGT, Inc. provides aerospace engineering, earth and planetary science modeling and analysis, information systems, project management, operational support and technical services to NASA, DOT, NOAA, USGS, DOD, and various other government and commercial organizations.
Contact: Shelley Johnson Phone: 301.489.1108 Email: sjohnson@sgt-inc.com http://www.sgt-inc.com
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The private Dream Chaser space plane took to the skies Tuesday, kicking off a flight-test program that will vet the vehicle's ability to carry astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.
The Dream Chaser, which is built by aerospace firm Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC), did not fly under its own power during the test. Instead it was held aloft the entire time by an Erickson Air-Crane heavy-lift helicopter, which hauled the space plane through the skies near Denver to verify its aerodynamic flight performance.
Still, the so-called captive-carry test marks an important step forward in the Dream Chaser's progress, company officials said.
"The successful captive-carry flight test of the Dream Chaser full-scale flight vehicle marks the beginning of SNC's flight test program, a program that could culminate in crewed missions to the International Space Station for NASA," said former astronaut Steve Lindsey, head of the space plane's flight operations at Sierra Nevada, in a statement. [ Photos: Dream Chaser, a Private Space Plane ]
More science news from msnbc.com
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Researchers show how DNA can be tweaked to create shapes as complex as alphabets and smiley faces more cheaply and quickly than previously thought.
Developing private astronaut taxis Sierra Nevada is one of four spaceship-building companies to receive funding from NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, which is encouraging private American vehicles to fill the astronaut-carrying void left by the retirement of the space shuttle fleet last year.
Sierra Nevada got more than $100 million in two rounds of CCDev funding over the past two years, which it's using to develop the Dream Chaser. Tuesday's captive-carry test allows the company to check off another milestone stipulated in the second round, known as CCDev-2.
"This is a very positive success for the Dream Chaser team and their innovative approach," said Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. "I applaud and encourage the designers and engineers to continue their efforts in meeting the objectives of the rest of their CCDev-2 milestones."
Data from the captive-carry test will be used to evaluate and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations in preparation for approach and landing tests, during which the Dream Chaser will be carried into the skies and then dropped. The first of those test flights is planned for later this year, officials said.
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The Boston Red Sox head into the month of June with the worst record in the American League East. Many teams would find satisfaction in the 26-25 mark that the Red Sox sport through the end of May, but that won't cut it in the East.
It's not what you would call an easy schedule for the Red Sox in June, but the team plays nine divisional games that could allow them to climb the standings. There are also 15 games against National League opponents before the team heads to Seattle for a four-game series.
The Red Sox have to make a move before one of the other teams starts pulling away and with a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles coming up, the opportunity is there.
June 2012 Boston Red Sox Schedule
Friday, June 1
Boston at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET (NESN, RSN)
Saturday, June 2
Boston at Toronto, 1:07 p.m. ET (NESN, RSN)
Sunday, June 3
Boston at Toronto, 1:07 p.m. ET (NESN, RSN)
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31-05-2012 12:25 After its successful stay at the ISS, the world's first commercial spacecraft to journey to the orbiting complex returns to Earth with a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
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HAMPTON, Va. - This coming Tuesday, June 6, at NASA's Langley Research Center here, former NASA aerospace engineer Joe Chambers will present, "Cave of the Winds: The Remarkable History of the NASA-Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel," at 2 p.m. in the Reid Conference Center.
The tunnel with its huge 30- by 60-foot test section operated for over 78 years as NASA's oldest wind tunnel and was recently demolished in 2011.
Chambers will be available to answer questions from the media during a news briefing at 1:15 p.m. that day. Media who wish to do so should contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786, or by e-mail at chris.rink@nasa.gov, by noon on the day of the talk for credentials and entry to the Center.
That same evening at 7:30, Chambers will host a similar presentation for the general public at the Virginia Air & Space Center in downtown Hampton. This Sigma Series event is free and no reservations are required.
Beginning operation in 1931, media dubbed the gigantic Full-Scale Tunnel, then the world's largest wind tunnel and the only tunnel capable of testing full-scale powered airplanes, "The Cave of the Winds." Test subjects included biplanes in the 1930s, historic Army and Navy aircraft during World War II, helicopters, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, general aviation airplanes, space capsules, Para wings, current fighters including the F/A-18 and F-22, and revolutionary designs of the future.
In addition, tunnel tests were conducted on submarines, inflatable airplanes, dirigibles, NASCAR automobiles and a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer. There will be a decade-by-decade overview of some of the more interesting and critical tests with extensive photographs and film segments of actual tests.
Chambers retired from the NASA Langley in 1998 after a 36-year career as a researcher and manager of research activities on military and civil aircraft. He began his career in 1962 as a member of the research staff of the Langley Full-Scale Tunnel where he specialized in flight dynamics research and was named head of the Full-Scale in 1974.
Chambers received several of NASA's highest awards including the Outstanding Leadership Medal, the Exceptional Service Medal and the Public Service Medal. In addition to historical research on the Langley Research Center, he has written seven NASA books on topics including Langley's contributions to U.S. military aircraft of the 1990s and contributions by NASA to aviation. Chambers has a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Tech and a Master of Science degree from Virginia Tech.
His presentation, "Cave of the Winds: The Remarkable History of the NASA-Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel," is a new NASA book of the same title by Chambers. NASA is currently preparing the book for printing later this year.
For more information about NASA Langley's Colloquium and Sigma Series Lectures, visit: http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/
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Beginning this summer and over the next several years, NASA will be sending unmanned aircraft dubbed "severe storm sentinels" above stormy skies to help researchers and forecasters uncover information about hurricane formation and intensity changes.
Several NASA centers are joining federal and university partners in the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) airborne mission targeted to investigate the processes that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change in the Atlantic Ocean basin.
NASA's unmanned sentinels are autonomously flown. The NASA Global Hawk is well-suited for hurricane investigations because it can over-fly hurricanes at altitudes greater than 60,000 feet with flight durations of up to 28 hours - something piloted aircraft would find nearly impossible to do. Global Hawks were used in the agency's 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) hurricane mission and the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) environmental science mission.
"Hurricane intensity can be very hard to predict because of an insufficient understanding of how clouds and wind patterns within a storm interact with the storms environment. HS3 seeks to improve our understanding of these processes by taking advantage of the surveillance capabilities of the Global Hawk along with measurements from a suite of advanced instruments," said Scott Braun, HS3 mission principal investigator and research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
HS3 will use two Global Hawk aircraft and six different instruments this summer, flying from a base of operations at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
"One aircraft will sample the environment of storms while the other will measure eyewall and rainband winds and precipitation," Braun said. HS3 will examine the large-scale environment that tropical storms form in and move through and how that environment affects the inner workings of the storms.
HS3 will address the controversial role of the hot, dry, and dusty Saharan Air Layer in tropical storm formation and intensification. Past studies have suggested that the Saharan Air Layer can both favor or suppress intensification. In addition, HS3 will examine the extent to which deep convection in the inner-core region of storms is a key driver of intensity change or just a response to storms finding favorable sources of energy.
The HS3 mission will operate during portions of the Atlantic hurricane seasons, which run from June 1 to November 30. The 2012 mission will run from late August through early October.
The instruments to be mounted in the Global Hawk aircraft that will examine the environment of the storms include the scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS), the Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) also known as dropsondes, and the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL). The Tropospheric Wind Lidar Technology Experiment (TWiLiTE) Doppler wind lidar will likely fly in the 2013 mission.
Another set of instruments will fly on the Global Hawk focusing on the inner region of the storms. Those instruments include the High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) conically scanning Doppler radar, the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) multi-frequency interferometric radiometer, and the High-Altitude Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) microwave sounder. Most of these instruments represent advanced technology developed by NASA, that in some cases are precursors to future satellite sensors.
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NASA Mission Sending Unmanned Aircraft Over Hurricanes This Year
[Credit: NASA JPL]On May 30th at 10am Pacific (thats 1pm for you East Coast folks), NASA held a news conference to talk about NuSTAR, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array that is being deployed in June to hunt for black holes. As amazing as the NuSTAR itself is, NASAs decision to livestream the event via Ustream with moderated chat--as well as field questions from Twitter (hashtag #AskNASA)--made this an important event to pay attention to.
If you missed the livestream, you can check it out on Ustream, as well as looking at other JPL events and media. NASA also published a photostream of the event for your perusal.
NuSTAR itself is a joint effort thats created a much more sensitive and far-seeing telescope than anyones ever put into space. Its mission is pretty ambitious: To study black holes like never before, measure high-energy X-rays, and take a peek at ultra-dense neutron stars. All three of these areas of research are the cutting edge of planetary science and space exploration. The focus of the NuSTAR will be how exactly galaxies and black holes coexist and develop together over a span of time.
NASAs use of social media to educate and engage people isnt exactly new; in April of this year, NASAs Social Media Team received the Space Foundations Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, which is given for significant contributions to public awareness and understanding of space programs. NASA also maintains a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Ustream, YouTube, Flickr, and a host of other social media sites.
Whats important, though, is public awareness of what exactly NASA is doing and how its doing it. NASA recently went through a rash of funding cuts for research and exploration of space, giving rise to companies like SpaceX, which successfully docked its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.
A public forum to discuss a mission and its goals is an impressive way to utilize the Internet as a resource tool for education. As NASA transforms from a government agency to a social media-savvy space exploration company working globally to achieve the next generations exploration of the galaxy, well all be able to follow along and contribute to the research.
The futures never been more exciting. Where were you on May 30th? Did you catch the stream, or follow #AskNASA on Twitter? You can see many of the questions fielded by checking out the hashtag on Twitter.
[jpl.nasa.gov]
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June 1, 2012
Rewarding UC Daviss work at the forefront of humanities research and teaching, faculty and graduate students have received a round of more than $150,000 in grants for 2012-13 from the University of California. The grants will enrich studies and outreach in areas ranging from human rights to digital tools for education.
This recognition of the work of UC faculty and graduate students shows the range and vitality of the humanities at UC Davis, said Jessie Ann Owens, professor of musicology and dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies at UC Davis.
The UC Presidents Faculty Research Fellowship in the Humanities, which comes with a $40,000 grant, went to Colin Milburn, an associate professor of English, for Mondo Nano: Fun and Games in the World of Digital Matter. Milburns research focuses on the cultural relations between literature, science, and technology.
Another grant, for $34,000, went to Keith Watenpaugh, an associate professor and director of the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative, for the creation of a UC multi-campus research group on human rights and the humanities. The grant was awarded by the UC Humanities Network. The new research group will be led by Watenpaugh and Alison Brysk, a professor of Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara. The project, titled Re-envisioning the Human: Human Rights and Humanitarianism across the Humanities and Social Sciences: The UC Human Rights Collaboration, will coordinate research on human rights among various UC campuses to enrich human rights research and study across disciplines, Watenpaugh said.
Christina Cogdell, associate professor of design at UC Davis, received renewed funding of $10,000 from the UC Humanities Network for a multicampus research group, the Consortium on California Architecture and Design. The research group is studying the influence of design on culture and the role of California as a site for innovative design. More information on the project is available at: http://www.californiadesign.ucdavis.edu
Social Media, Insecure Work and New Conceptions of Labor Solidarity will be the focus of another new UC Davis-led working group, funded by $25,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the UC Humanities Network on Humanities and [the Changing Conceptions of Work. This grant was awarded to two associate professors at UC Davis: Chris Benner, from the Department of Community & Human Development and Jesse Drew, from the technocultural studies program. Among other efforts, their working group will host a public forum and blog on the changing nature of work.More information on this grant is available at http://www.humanitiesandwork.org
The following UC Davis projects also received awards from the UC Humanities Research Institute:
These projects, led by UC Davis faculty and graduate students, received awards through the UC California Studies Consortium, which aims to bring together scholars to look at comprehensive critical mappings and re-mappings of California and its cultures. (www.californiastudies.org)
For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has more than 32,000 students, more than 2,500 faculty and more than 21,000 staff, an annual research budget that exceeds $684 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.
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UC Davis work in humanities receives $150,000 in UC-wide grants
Coming up, Hong Kong welcomes yogi masters and thousands of devotees to its annual four-day yogathon to bend the body and mind.
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An electric and elastic mechanism has an opportunity to revolutionize the world of cancer research.
Ankit Jain, a graduate student, and Muhammad Alam, an electrical and computer engineering professor, have discovered a way to detect cancer in its early stages and personalize medicine for each individual. This possibility comes from a more sensitive biosensor called Flexure-FET.
It has two parts, Jain said. The first word, Flexure, comes from the flexibility it has, like a diving board. The second, (FET), comes from the electrical part of it.
The new sensor is combined with two, less sensitive sensor techniques to make the super sensitive sensor. An idea to mix the two came from each sensors lack of cost efficiency.
The idea for it is, Can you do something that is highly sensitive, and at the same time will be inexpensive? Alam said. (We want to make it) like the glucose monitors sold at Walmart.
According to Jains research article, electrical biosensors identify particles based on their electrical charge. Nano cantilevers locate the diseased molecules under the skins surface by measuring the mass, stiffness and/or surface stress. With the Flexure-FET including both of these abilities, Alam said early cancer detection and personalized medicine will be available in the future.
The personalized medicine looks at the main composition of protein networks that you have and the DNA sequence, Alam said. (From knowing a persons body composition) one would be able to design medicine specifically tailored for one person.
Alam used a diving board metaphor to describe the flexibility of an early cancer detection technique in regards to each persons diseased molecules.
When people jump into a swimming pool, think about that as one class of sensors, he said. If a heavy person stands on the edge of a spring board, then it will bend more, if a lighter person stands on the edge, it will bend less. We can detect molecules like that.
Alam was surprised at how the two techniques came together better than he expected.
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Public release date: 1-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Christine Somosi christine.somosi@case.edu 216-368-6287 Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland -- A team of researchers led by Dr. Goutham Narla at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in collaboration with scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer that can be turned back on by a novel combination of two previously approved FDA drugs. The drug combination targets a pathway to treat advanced/late stage lung cancer. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.
"Because of the financial constraints and length of time it takes to bring new drugs through clinical trials, scientists are moving toward using existing drugs in new ways so that the process of translating the discoveries of today into the treatments of tomorrow can be accelerated," said Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Institute of Transformative Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Narla is also a medical geneticist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
"This 'movement' in science toward using existing FDA approved drugs for new purposes in the treatment of cancer has expanded our understanding of the pathways that cause the disease and significantly accelerates our ability to treat a greater number of patients. In many instances, every month makes a difference for a patient when dealing with terminal cancer," said Dr. Narla.
Dr. Narla's laboratory focuses on the identification and characterization of the genes and pathways involved in cancer metastasis. By studying the functional role of the KLF6 tumor suppressor gene, Dr. Narla and his team have identified new signaling pathways regulated by this gene family thus providing new insight into cancer diagnosis and treatment. The team's research found that KLF6 and FOXO1, both tumor suppressor genes, are turned off as cancer spreads through the body. By using a combination of two existing FDA drugs - Erlotinib, a targeted cancer drug, and Trifluoperazine, a medication used to treat schizophrenia - the team developed an understanding of the properties that turn these critical genes back on, initiating tumor cells to die.
Since first discovering the KLF6 gene 13 years ago as a medical student at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Scott Friedman, Dr. Narla has been involved in the identification and characterization of the KLF6 gene and its role in cancer development and the progression of cancer.
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This study appears online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Additional support for Dr. Narla's research comes from the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Narla is also supported by an early physician scientist career award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
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Researchers discover new combination of 2 previously approved FDA drugs to treat lung cancer
Newswise Cleveland -- A team of researchers led by Dr. Goutham Narla at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in collaboration with scientists at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer that can be turned back on by a novel combination of two previously approved FDA drugs. The drug combination targets a pathway to treat advanced/late stage lung cancer. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.
Because of the financial constraints and length of time it takes to bring new drugs through clinical trials, scientists are moving toward using existing drugs in new ways so that the process of translating the discoveries of today into the treatments of tomorrow can be accelerated, said Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Institute of Transformative Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Dr. Narla is also a medical geneticist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
This movement in science toward using existing FDA approved drugs for new purposes in the treatment of cancer has expanded our understanding of the pathways that cause the disease and significantly accelerates our ability to treat a greater number of patients. In many instances, every month makes a difference for a patient when dealing with terminal cancer, said Dr. Narla.
Dr. Narlas laboratory focuses on the identification and characterization of the genes and pathways involved in cancer metastasis. By studying the functional role of the KLF6 tumor suppressor gene, Dr. Narla and his team have identified new signaling pathways regulated by this gene family thus providing new insight into cancer diagnosis and treatment. The teams research found that KLF6 and FOXO1, both tumor suppressor genes, are turned off as cancer spreads through the body. By using a combination of two existing FDA drugs - Erlotinib, a targeted cancer drug, and Trifluoperazine, a medication used to treat schizophrenia - the team developed an understanding of the properties that turn these critical genes back on, initiating tumor cells to die.
Since first discovering the KLF6 gene 13 years ago as a medical student at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Scott Friedman, Dr. Narla has been involved in the identification and characterization of the KLF6 gene and its role in cancer development and the progression of cancer.
This study appears online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Additional support for Dr. Narlas research comes from the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University Institute for Transformative Molecular Medicine, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Narla is also
supported by an early physician scientist career award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
Recently, Dr. Narla has also been named the first Harrington Distinguished Scholar. This inaugural award provides physician-scientists who have potential breakthroughs with the ability to tap into grant funding, as well as a peer network of innovators and mentors within the University Hospitals Harrington Discovery Institutes infrastructure to support their discovery efforts
Dr. Narla is the principal investigator leading a multidisciplinary team with investigators at both the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine that includes Jaya Sangodkar, Neil S. Dhawan, Heather Melville, Varan J. Singh, Eric Yuan, Huma Rana, Sudeh Izadmehr, Caroline Farrington, Sahar Mahzar, Suzanna Katz, Tara Albano, Pearlann Arnovitz, Rachael Okrent, Michael Ohlmeyer, David Burstein, David Zhang, Katerina Politi and Analisa DiFeo.
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Researchers Discover New Combination of Two Previously Approved FDA Drugs to Treat Lung Cancer