Cancer researchers discover pre-leukemic stem cell at root of AML, relapse

Cancer researchers led by stem cell scientist Dr. John Dick have discovered a pre-leukemic stem cell that may be the first step in initiating disease and also the culprit that evades therapy and triggers relapse in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

The research, published online today in Nature is a significant leap in understanding the steps that a normal cell has to go through as it turns into AML, says Dr. Dick, and sets the stage to advance personalized cancer medicine by potentially identifying individuals who might benefit from targeting the pre-leukemic stem cell. AML is an aggressive blood cancer that the new research shows starts in stem cells in the bone marrow. Dr. Dick, a Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), and Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, pioneered the cancer stem cell field by first identifying leukemia stem cells (1994) and colon cancer stem cells (2007).

"Our discovery lays the groundwork to detect and target the pre-leukemic stem cell and thereby potentially stop the disease at a very early stage when it may be more amenable to treatment," says Dr. Dick, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology and is also Director of the Cancer Stem Cell Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).

"Now we have a potential tool for earlier diagnosis that may allow early intervention before the development of full AML. We can also monitor remission and initiate therapy to target the pre-leukemic stem cell to prevent relapse," he says.

The findings show that in about 25% of AML patients, a mutation in the gene DNMT3a causes pre-leukemic stem cells to develop that function like normal blood stem cells but grow abnormally. These cells survive chemotherapy and can be found in the bone marrow at remission, forming a reservoir of cells that may eventually acquire additional mutations, leading to relapse.

The discovery of pre-leukemic stem cells came out of a large Leukemia Disease Team that Dr. Dick assembled and included oncologists who collected samples for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Biobank and genome scientists at the OICR who developed sophisticated targeted sequencing methodology. With this team, it was possible to carry out genomic analysis of more than 100 leukemia genes on many patient samples. The findings also capitalized on data from more than six years of experiments in Dr. Dick's lab involving growing human AML in special mice that do not reject human cells.

"By peering into the black box of how cancer develops during the months and years prior to when it is first diagnosed, we have demonstrated a unique finding. People tend to think relapse after remission means chemotherapy didn't kill all the cancer cells. Our study suggests that in some cases the chemotherapy does, in fact, eradicate AML; what it does not touch are the pre-leukemic stem cells that can trigger another round of AML development and ultimately disease relapse," says Dr. Dick, who anticipates the findings will spawn accelerated drug development to specifically target DNMT3a.

These findings should also provide impetus for researchers to look for pre-cancerous cells in AML patients with other mutations and even in non-blood cancers.

Dr. Dick is also renowned for isolating a human blood stem cell in its purest form (2011) -- as a single stem cell capable of regenerating the entire blood system. He is a Senior Scientist at UHN's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and co-leader of a Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC)-funded research project HALT (Highly Active Anti-Leukemia Stem Cell Therapy), which is a partnership between CSCC and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Dick's research has focused on understanding the cellular processes that maintain tumour growth by investigating the complexities and interplay among genetic and non-genetic determinants of cancer. His research follows on the original 1961 discovery of the blood stem cell by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (formerly Ontario Cancer Institute) scientists Dr. James Till and the late Dr. Ernest McCulloch, which formed the basis of all current stem cell research.

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Cancer researchers discover pre-leukemic stem cell at root of AML, relapse

Scientists discover pre-leukemic stem cell at root of cancer

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Dr. John Dick, a senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, is shown in a handout photo.

TORONTO Canadian researchers have discovered a pre-leukemic stem cell that may be at the root of acute myeloid leukemia and also be the bad actor that evades chemotherapy and triggers a relapse in patients who have gone into remission.

Acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, is a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects myeloid cells, which normally develop into mature red and white blood cells and platelets.

Leukemia develops when blood stem cells in the bone marrow make abnormal blood cells, which over time crowd out normal blood cells, affecting their ability to function as they should.

READ MORE:Could this new therapy kill cancer? Canadian doc thinks so

In a paper published online Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers led by John Dick of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto report on the discovery of a pre-leukemic stem cell the forerunner to leukemia stem cells that give rise to the disease.

A leukemia stem cell can lie dormant and theyre the ones that will sustain the growth of the leukemia, Dick said in an interview. The pre-leukemic guys are basically the ancestors that are on their way to becoming leukemia and becoming leukemic stem cells.

Dicks lab was the first to identify the existence of leukemia stem cells, in 1994, followed by the discovery of colon cancer stem cells in 2007.

Teasing out pre-leukemic stem cells from the blood of AML patients based on samples taken at diagnosis, after chemotherapy-induced remission, and then following recurrence advances the understanding of the genetic changes a normal cell has to go through before it turns into AML.

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Scientists discover pre-leukemic stem cell at root of cancer

Draw strength from spirituality, cardinal tells Indian bishops

Palai, India

The new president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India said the church should draw strength from spirituality to engage in works of charity.

"Energy for charitable works should come from our spiritual strength," Cardinal Baselios Thottunkal of Trivandrum told a news conference Wednesday at the end of the weeklong bishops' assembly.

Quoting an incident in the life of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, the 54-year old major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara church said when a reporter asked Blessed Teresa "what is the source of your energy," she took the reporter to the chapel and pointed to the tabernacle.

"There is need for deep spiritual renewal in the church," reiterated Thottunkal, who made the remarks in response to questions from reporters on growing spiritual conventions and other activities in the church and recommendations from the conference to address the issue.

A statement from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India urged the bishops to be "spirit-filled men of God, giving priority to prayer and the word of God, helping our clergy and lay faithful to become aware of God's presence and activity in their lives."

"Following the example of Pope Francis, we will live a genuinely simple, humble and welcoming and outgoing life, reaching out to the all people," the conference statement said.

"We will so orient the formation of future priests and religious that they enter the ministry with an attitude of humility, ready to serve the poor and marginalized sections," it said.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, outgoing conference president, said the challenge for the church is to be "the church of the poor."

Amid corruption plaguing every sphere of the society, the bishops' assembly also urged the church institutions to be "examples of transparency."

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Draw strength from spirituality, cardinal tells Indian bishops

Meet Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha for Soul Healing Miracle Days for Physical, Mental, Emotional & Spiritual …

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) February 12, 2014

New York Times bestselling author and founder of Soul Mind Body Medicine, Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha, is leading a soul healing movement around the world helping individuals to find a path to harmony with the universe, achieve balance in their lives, cleanse their karma, be of service to others, and live a life that fulfills their souls purpose. Being a direct channel from the Source, Dr. Sha focuses on Soul Power, and delivers soul wisdom and enlightenment by lifting the soul to a higher spiritual level in heaven. In a rare opportunity, Dr. and Master Sha invites individuals to register for the Soul Healing Miracle Days, Tuesday Thursday, February 11-13 from 11:00am to 2:00pm PAC (honor fee $95 CAD), located at The Empire Landmark Hotel, 1400 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 1B9 or via global webcast. Each registrant can bring 3 guests for free to Soul Healing Miracle Days live or in-person. In addition, meet Master Sha in-person for lectures and personal consultations at The Wellness Show, Friday Sunday, February 14-16 from noon to 7pm, located at Booths 901 & 903 in the Vancouver Convention Centre. Plus, Master Sha will be available by appointment for personal consultations. To attend in Vancouver or via global webcast, visit: http://www.DrSha.com.

Millions of people are searching for wisdom to transform their health, find true love, advance their spiritual journey, and find financial balance -- all while seeking lifes purpose. Dr. and Master Sha says, Everything has a soul. If you heal the soul first, then healing of the mind and body will follow. Registrants to Soul Healing Miracle Days are gifted free admission for 3 extra people who will receive the same gifts and blessings during these three rejuvenating Soul Healing Miracle Days. During these powerful Soul Healing Miracle Days, Master Sha along with Worldwide Representatives Master Peter Hudoba and Master Thai-Siew Liang bestow participants with generous and invaluable soul healing opportunities, plus they will teach:

Registered participants at these interactive, life-transforming days will also receive:

Modern medicine focuses on matter inside the cells. Traditional Chinese medicine and many other healing modalities focus on the energy between cells. Soul Healing focuses on the soul. Everything has a soul. Every person, pet, organ, cell has a soul. Soul blockages are the root cause of most challenges in life. Soul blockages are karma. Karma is the record of a persons service in past lives. Karma is divided into good karma and negative karma. When one is kind, loving, compassionate, selfless and generous in thoughts, words, actions and deeds, one accumulates good karma or virtue. When one makes mistakes, such as killing, cheating, and harming others, one accumulates negative karma. Mind blockages are negative mindsets, attitudes and beliefs. Body blockages are energy and matter blockages. If a person is sick, the soul is sick. A soul is a golden light being. Soul is spirit. Soul is message. Soul is the essence of life.

To Register for the Soul Healing Miracle Days in-person or via webcast with Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha, or to locate one of Master Shas Worldwide Representatives in 22 cities, please go to http://www.DrSha.com or call Master Shas Soul Power Centre in Vancouver: 604.336.4833.

Dr. & Master Zhi Gang Sha is the soul leader, a world-renowned master healer, and a divine servant. He is the founder of Soul Mind Body Medicine. He was trained as a conventional medical doctor and a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. The founder of the Institute of Soul Healing and Enlightenment and the Love Peace Harmony Movement, Master Sha is a grandmaster of many ancient disciplines, including tai chi, qigong, feng shui, and the I Ching. Master Sha is also an expert in the most advanced cellular healing science now occurring in China. In the West, he is involved in breakthrough research on the effects of spirit on the human system. Dr. Sha was named Qigong Master of the Year at the Fifth World Congress on Qigong. In 2006, he was honored with the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Award for his humanitarian efforts.

Dr. and Master Zhi Gang Sha has more than 100,000 followers on Facebook and an additional 250,000 devotees worldwide. The Soul Healing Miracles Chanting Channel fosters a soul healing community to learn and use chanting and soul songs for personal, spiritual, mental and soul development. Dr. and Master Shas Soul Healing Miracles Daily Live TV airs everyday on Livestream, 9am PT, 12pm ET. Master Shas national television show, The Divine Soul Song Series airs several times each week across the US, as well as worldwide on on TelosTv.coms worldwide digital network and http://www.DrSha.com.

Master Sha is author of more than 10 books published by Simon & Schuster (Atria Imprint) and his newest book series and book, Soul Healing Miracles (BenBella) released on November 12, was a national bestseller. Dr. Shas most recent New York Times bestselling book, Divine Healing Hands (September, 2012) topped national bestseller lists within 24 hours of publication and his 2011 book, Tao Song & Tao Dance was also a New York Times bestseller. Visit Dr. Sha on his website http://www.DrSha.com and http://www.facebook.com/DrandMasterSha to receive free daily Soul Healing blessings via webcasts, teleconferences and in-person at events held throughout the world.

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On the Road to Enlightenment With Andrew Ross Sorkin, David Lynch, and Dr. Oz

Andrew Ross Sorkin looks vaguely confused. Awhile back,he interviewed eccentric hedge-fund squillionaire Ray Dalio, who sent him to a meditation class, and now all of a sudden, the New York Times scribe and CNBC host is here, onstage at the Axa building on a Tuesday night, hosting an event titled Meditation: Creativity, Performance, and Stress. It is sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation, which, the program tells us, was founded by the Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks auteur to teach disadvantaged teenagers and war veterans transcendental meditation, or TM, as it is has come to be known. Like any David Lynch production, the cast is star-studded the list of panelists includes Dalio, Mario Batali, Dr. Oz, and Arianna Huffington the point is inscrutable, and the mood is surreal.

Onstage, Sorkin fiddles with multiple rubber bracelets, one of which may or may not be in support of the small minority he belongs to, of Journalists Who Have Crossed Over Into the Realm of the People They Cover and Arent Always Comfortable With It. He tells the audience he is a natural skeptic.When Im sitting on the floor, reciting my mantra, my wife is like, Ugh, he says. She thinks Im a quack.

The woman next to me makes a harrumphing sound that suggests, were she Sorkins wife, she would never discourage his spiritual growth. But could she agent his $2 million book deals? Maybe, actually. Tickets to tonights event cost $200, and the topics of conversation seem geared towards high-intensity individuals: world-beaters who are interested in adding the spirituality stick to their arsenal of weapons. You are one of the busiest people I know, Sorkin says to Dr. Oz, because apparently Sorkin knows Dr. Oz. When do you find time to meditate?

The Great and Powerful says he finds the TM routine mediating for 20 minutes two times a day to be a time-saver, in that having a clear mind allows him to accomplish tasks more quickly. For this reason, he has introduced it to the people in his office. A brief video is shown of Ozs employees talking about how it has made them all more calm. And I mean, I work with some high-strung people, one producer says to the camera. After that, Oz and a panel of medical experts talk about the science behind TM. Meditating subjects, they say, have been found to have increased waves of activity across the prefrontal cortex or, the CEO of the brain, as Dr. Pamela Peeke, who describes herself as quintuple-A personality, refers to it. Another doctor with a Freudian accent affirms that TM can positively impact blood pressure, prevent heart attacks even death. The audience murmurs appreciatively. If there is one certainty wealthy baby boomers are more committed to beating than taxes, it is death.

Not to mention, TM can give you those investment ideas that can make you squillions. Its a tool, says Ray Dalio, who is on second panel, the theme of which seems to be Entrepreneurs Who Have Combined Hippie Values and Capitalistic Drive to Achieve Great Success. New ideas keep coming up out of your subconscious, he says. It makes me feel like a ninja in a fight. In addition to promoting radical honesty at his Connecticut-based hedge fund, Dalio says he encourages employees to take meditation lessons by paying for half the cost. A video of Bridgewater Capital headquarters plays on the screen above: water rushing over rocks, a Japanese garden, a row of trading screens. Meditation is the greatest gift I can give someone, said the hedge-fund manager, whose net worth is approximately $12.9 billion. He says he got into it when the Beatles made everyone aware of transcendentalism in the 60s. It is difficult to picture him bowing at the feet of the Maharishi. Less so Mario Batali, who is sitting next to him in his trademark non-threatening ponytail and Crocs. But Batali says he was introduced to TM by a friend he admired. Its like downloading music, he says. When someone really successful says, this is a really good tool I use, and you can have it for free, you do it.

The next panel begins with Arianna Huffington, who settles comfortably into a chair onstage. My mother was a very strong Greek voman, she begins, and immediately I go into what I assume is a meditative trance. I think of something a friend told me over the weekend. Im reading a lot of corporate self-help books," she said. "Because it really helps to know how assholes think. Earlier, one of the panelists had mentioned how General Motors and others in the corporate world were promoting TM among their employees. Perhaps transcendental meditation is or will soon become the new hobby of assholes? It would, after all, be a natural progression from the teachings of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli. When I come to, Huffington is hosting what looks like an extended live tryout for The View along with Dr. Peeke, the editor of More magazine, and Mary Schmidt Campbell,the former dean of NYU. What I vant is for this to be about vimmin, she was saying. Ve are all vimmin. And one great man, she adds, in acknowledgement of Sorkin, whose chair looks like it has actually been pushed off to the side. Anyway, thank you, he says finally, and after hustling the vimmin offstage, queues up a video featuring some of the at-risk people the David Lynch Foundation teaches meditation to with contributions from world-beating hippies. We were attacked, at this place called Buda, one war veteran says, choking back tears. The first night, I killed 14 people. OH. So thats what this is about.

It was the David Lynchiestof David Lynch productions: weird, confusing, haunting and indelible. When it ends, the lights come up. Sorkin looks vaguely shell-shocked. Music from Twin Peaks starts playing, and everyone files out in a meditative state.

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On the Road to Enlightenment With Andrew Ross Sorkin, David Lynch, and Dr. Oz

Call of Duty: Ghosts Gameplay – Gun Game on Strikezone – NEW GAME TYPE – W/Commentary – Video


Call of Duty: Ghosts Gameplay - Gun Game on Strikezone - NEW GAME TYPE - W/Commentary
See The Full Call of Duty Ghosts Series Here: http://goo.gl/hJVF5k Next CoD Ghosts Episode Here: http://youtu.be/8goou4Q0Idg Call of Duty Ghosts: Gun Game on...

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Call of Duty: Ghosts Gameplay - Gun Game on Strikezone - NEW GAME TYPE - W/Commentary - Video