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Anatomy of an American shove: Breaking down the moment Trump pushed past Montenegro’s leader – National Post

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Was it a shove? Or more of a brush or jostle. Or perhaps just a friendly slap on the arm, a casual guy-greeting.

In fact, shove was probably the most common word used to describe the fleeting, at best awkward interaction between Trump, the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth, and Dusko Markovic, the leader of Montenegro, a small Balkan nation of 600,000 attending its first summit as a NATO member after a nine-year accession process.

It occurred as NATO leaders strolled toward a group photo in Brussels.

According to the Merriam-Webster definition, shove is on target: to push along or to push or put in a rough, careless, or hasty manner.

Lets break it down.

A slow-motion viewing of the video indicates no words spoken by Trump as he approaches the group from behind. No Excuse me or Pardon me.

Trump reaches out his right arm, grabs Markovics right shoulder and pushes him aside. Markovic looks surprised. Trump doesnt acknowledge his existence as he moves past him. Its as if Markovic isnt there.

Markovic abruptly looks back at Trump but gets no eye contact from Trump in return.

Then he pats Trump on the back, or perhaps the arm, displaying a slight grin as Trump, at the front of the group, stands tall and adjusts his suit coat. Trump begins conversing with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite as Markovic looks on from behind.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer later told reporters that spots for the family photo for which the leaders were preparing were predetermined, as is usually the case implying that Trump was not trying to get a better position, The Washington Post reported, but rather that he was heading for the position reserved for him.

But of course, where Trump was headed was not the issue. It was the way he got there.

Markovic, afterward, responded to questions by shrugging it off.

This was an inoffensive situation, Markovic said. I do not see it in any other way.

He said he had the opportunity Thursday to thank Trump personally for his support of Montenegros entry into NATO and of course the further development of our bilateral relations.

But, when journalists are differently commenting this scene, the prime minister said. I want to tell you that it is natural for the president of the United States to be in the first row.

Montenegrin news websites were brimming with articles describing how this minor exchange captured the attention of many major U.S. and European news outlets.

Some Montenegrin news outlets included headlines quoting author J.K. Rowling, who tweeted the video, saying You tiny, tiny, tiny little man along with a retweeted video depicting Trump as a small man.

Montenegrin radio station Antena M included a photo of Trump above the story with the words Days without being a national embarrassment: 0. (Thats the numeral zero.)

It seems Donald Trump did not want anyone overshadowing his presence at the summit, said the Montenegro newspaper Vijesti

Other Balkan websites ran headlines such as America First and Where do you think you are going?

As expected, the Trump shove captured the late-night shows.

The President Show on Comedy Central depicted an exaggerated scene, replacing the Montenegro prime minister with the secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

Excuse me, excuse me, get out of my way, the shows Trump says to the secretary general, pushing him aside as they walk into a press briefing. America first. America first.

Seth Meyers, host of Late Night With Seth Meyers, also riffed on the exchange, saying Look at this guy. Wow.

Youre a world leader at a meeting of dignitaries and you act like they just called your number at KFC, Meyers said.

Me, thats mine, the 12 piece, Meyers said, mimicking someone pushing and shoving others out of the way.

I want to tell you that it is natural for the president of the United States to be in the first row

Others on social media also viewed the shove as an attempt by Trump to revel in the spotlight and assert his America first mentality.

It did not go unmentioned that Trump brushed aside the leader of a country that last month defied Russia and pro-Russian opposition by ratifying its membership in NATO a historic turn toward the West.

The Balkan country is joining the alliance as its 29th member; Thursday was its first summit. Only 18 years ago, NATO aircraft were bombing targets in Montenegro then part of Serbia in a campaign that forced troops out of Kosovo, as the Guardians Alec Luhn reported. The bombing remains a painful memory for many Montenegrins, and polls have shown the population evenly divided on NATO membership.

Many hope NATO membership will end the tumultuous east-west struggle in Montenegrin politics, Luhn wrote.

With that tense history in mind, some on social media did not take Trumps gesture as the kindest welcome to the alliances new member.

Trump shoved Prime Minister of Montenegro at NATO meeting to please Putin, once again, said one Twitter user.

Others presumed Trump was simply moving to his assigned spot, and that the uproar over the shove or push was just another media dig at Trump.

As Dan Calabrese wrote in the Canada Free Press: Look, I understand theres a frenzy out there now to alert on anything and everything Trump does and to characterize it as insane, out-of-control, evil and whatever else. But if you see this and think you see a shove, I dont know what to tell you.

On the other hand, whatever it was, President Trumps treatment of Montenegros prime minister was a sharp contrast to say, the little curtsy he performed for King Salman bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia.

With files from Travis Andrews

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Anatomy of an American shove: Breaking down the moment Trump pushed past Montenegro's leader - National Post

Scientists sock it to bacteria – The Sydney Morning Herald

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Technological advances often lead to better science, but every now and then opting for the lowest tech levels possible can achieve the best outcome.

This was demonstrated spectacularly this month when a team of British microbiologists found that the best tool for determining the size of nasty bug population wasn't a laser or a chromatograph or a sophisticated scanner, but a sock.

The scientists, led by Natalia Jones from the University of East Anglia, wanted to assess the population density of a gastrointestinal bacteria species called Campylobacter in a couple of rural areas.

After much thought, they realised that the best way to do this was to enlist a cohort of volunteers and ask them to walk along country lanes while wearing a sock over one boot. Participants were asked to repeat the process over a 16 month period.

At the end of each walk, the volunteers were instructed to mail the sock to the university, an act that doubtless raised a few eyebrows at the local post office.

Once received, Jones and colleagues grew some of the gungy bits in Petri dishes, and subjected others to a process known as polymerase chain reaction in order to reveal the microbial population picked up along the way.

The results showed that the bacteria were most common in areas associated with livestock farming, and reached peak density in winter.

The team hopes the data will help to explain the ways in which Campylobacter infects people. It's a common cause of food poisoning, but that alone doesn't account for all the cases.

The scientists' report was published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. It is unknown whether laboratory equipment stores will now start stocking footwear.

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Scientists sock it to bacteria - The Sydney Morning Herald

How Laws of Physics Govern Growth in Business and in Cities – New York Times

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How Laws of Physics Govern Growth in Business and in Cities
New York Times
Mr. West's core argument is that the basic mathematical laws of physics governing growth in the physical world apply equally to biological, political and corporate organisms. On its face, his book's objective is to contribute to an overarching ...

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How Laws of Physics Govern Growth in Business and in Cities - New York Times

Lodi senior earns 9 associate degrees, picks UC Davis over 11 others – Sacramento Bee

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Sacramento Bee
Lodi senior earns 9 associate degrees, picks UC Davis over 11 others
Sacramento Bee
... has earned associate degrees in the areas of arts and humanities, Spanish, teacher education preparation, business, retail management and merchandising, mathematics and science. He is adding degrees in social and behavioral science and business.

and more »

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Lodi senior earns 9 associate degrees, picks UC Davis over 11 others - Sacramento Bee

Genetic test for anal cancer could identify those at high risk – Medical Xpress

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May 25, 2017

A new test, based on a patient's epigenetics, could be an accurate and inexpensive way to find and treat those at highest risk of anal cancer - a disease with growing incidence in women, men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV.

The early research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), which was funded by Cancer Research UK, finds that the test could lead to a reduction in painful procedures and minimise the over-treatment of people at low risk.

Anal cancer is mostly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) - the same virus that causes cervical cancer. In 2014, the UK had around 1,300 new cases of anal cancer and 360 deaths. In addition to rising levels in women and MSM, anal cancer is more common in HIV-positive MSM with around 100 cases per 100,000, compared to 25 in HIV-negative MSM, and only 1.5 in men in general.

Diagnosis presents many challenges. Full biopsies are painful, and taking a small sample of cells ('cytology') is problematic because lesions can be hidden and clinicians give varying interpretations of results. High-resolution anoscopy, where the anal canal is examined with a high resolution magnifying instrument, is often used as the primary screening tool for high-risk populations but is uncomfortable for the patient, expensive, complex and generates subjective results.

Lead researcher Professor Attila Lorincz from QMUL said: "The widespread over-treatment of anal precancerous lesions is necessary today because we don't know which ones will progress to cancer. But this creates a large burden on anoscopy clinics in the UK and the procedures can be detrimental to people's quality of life. Many people are undergoing these procedures unnecessarily, so what we really need is precision medicine to identify those who do need treatment."

The research, published in the journal Oncotarget, involved studying anal biopsy specimens from 148 patients in London, including 116 men (mostly MSM). The specimens were analysed to look for genetic markers that may be associated with the presence of anal cancer.

The team specifically looked at the patients' epigenetics and found that all of the anal cancers showed the presence of specific epigenetic methylation markers on the patients' EPB41L3 gene (a tumour suppressor gene) and also on certain regions of their viral HPV genome.

The results suggests that epigenetic testing may be an accurate and thorough method to indicate whether a patient's lesions are destined to progress to anal cancer. This could reduce the costs, pain and anxiety from other methods of diagnosis, and minimise over-treatment of low risk people.

Professor Lorincz added: "We thought this would require a complicated genomic signature involving hundreds of genes, so we were surprised that we could get such an accurate prediction from just two biomarker genes. That's important because the expected cost of the test will be fairly low.

"Now that we can identify those at risk, and conversely, those not at risk, we hope to see a big improvement, by making sure that anoscopies and laser or chemical surgery are only given to those who need it."

Once developed, the test would involve taking a small sample of cells from the anal canal via a swab and then sending the sample off to a laboratory for epigenetic analysis.

While a test could be developed within five years, the researchers caution that the results first need to be confirmed in a much larger study across the UK, and repeated using swab samples rather than the biopsies which were used in the current study.

Dr Rachel Orritt, Cancer Research UK's health information officer, said: "This study builds on what we already know about the link between changes to cell DNA and cervical cancer, and shows that similar changes to the DNA in anal cells could suggest anal cancer.

"If other studies confirm and build upon these findings, this promising research could be used to develop a less invasive method to help doctors identify people who are at a higher risk of anal cancer and avoid unnecessary procedures for those who are at a lower risk."

The researchers say that these types of biomarker - epigenetic methylation biomarkers - are important in a large number of other diseases, and could lead to a completely new approach to diagnostics and drug therapy.

Professor Lorincz explained: "These could be the early stages of a discovery of a universal set of biomarkers for any cancer. And there may be implications on therapies, as there are new techniques where the epigenetic pathway can be targeted by drugs. This is going to be the hot new area going forward in the next 15 years, so people need to be paying attention to this space."

Explore further: Most anal lesions don't cause cancer in men, research shows

More information: 'Methylation of HPV and a tumor suppressor gene reveals anal cancer and precursor lesions'. Attila T Lorincz, Mayura Nathan, Caroline Reuter, Rhian Warman, Mohamed A Thaha, Michael Sheaff, Natasa Vasiljevic, Amar Ahmad, Jack Cuzick, Peter Sasieni. Oncotarget, 2017.

(HealthDay) -- Anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and precancerous lesions are common among gay and bisexual men, but most of these cases will not progress to anal cancer, a new analysis of earlier research shows.

(HealthDay) -- Women with HIV are at increased risk for anal cancer, a new study finds.

Researchers at Women & Infants Hospital, a Care New England hospital, recently published the results of a study demonstrating a connection between anal cancer and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

The increase in anal cancer incidence in the U.S. between 1980 and 2005 was greatly influenced by HIV infections in males, but not females, according to a study published October 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

(HealthDay)Anal cancer rates are on the rise in many countries. But vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV)a virus linked to the development of anal cancermay help curb rates of the disease, a new study suggests.

A vaccine routinely used to shield against cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus also reduces women's risk of anal cancer, a study published by the journal The Lancet Oncology on Tuesday says.

Cancer is an extremely complex disease, but its definition is quite simple: the abnormal and uncontrollable growth of cells. Researchers from the University of Rochester's Center for RNA Biology have identified a new way ...

All cancer tumors have one thing in common - they must feed themselves to grow and spread, a difficult feat since they are usually in a tumor microenvironment with limited nutrients and oxygen. A study at The University of ...

A first-of-a-kind neural stem cell therapy that works with a common cold virus to seek out and attack a lethal and aggressive brain cancer is being tested at Northwestern Medicine in a Phase I clinical trial for patients ...

Scientists say they've developed a new blood test for identifying pancreatic cancera step that might eventually allow earlier diagnosis.

While target therapies directed toward genetic mutations that drive a tumor's growth have significantly improved the outlook for many patients, they have not been as successful in controlling brain metastases in several types ...

Cancers can be viewed as complex dynamic systems because they have many interacting parts that can change over time and space. Perhaps the most well-known complex dynamic system is the weather and, similar to weather forecasting, ...

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‘Chemistry’ Is an Anti-Coming-of-Age Story – New York Times

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'Chemistry' Is an Anti-Coming-of-Age Story
New York Times
She is also deeply ambivalent about marriage and committing to a career in synthetic organic chemistry. Chemistry is a sort of anti-coming-of-age story: Instead of figuring out how to be an adult, the narrator learns to live with uncertainty and ...

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'Chemistry' Is an Anti-Coming-of-Age Story - New York Times

Lakeland Community College biotechnology sciences students getting boost from grant – News-Herald.com

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Thanks to a $40,320 grant from the Ohio Department of Higher Education, some hard-working Lakeland Community College biotechnology students will be eligible for scholarships to cover their tuition and fees.

The program is called Choose Ohio First and is aimed at helping students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine or STEMM, its associated web page shows.

In Lakelands case, the grant applies to biotechnology science students who meet certain criteria, a media release from the school confirms.

Students who receive this scholarship will have their tuition fully covered at Lakeland, said Joe Deak, chairman of the schools biotechnology science program.

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He added that two Lakeland Community College students are now using this funding.

The scholarship covers up to $4,000 in tuition and fees for biotechnology students who dont receive PELL grants, according to Lakelands release.

It goes on to explain that high school graduates who passed chemistry with a C or better are encouraged to apply if they fit the following criteria:

Have an interest in a career in the laboratory biological sciences or data/analysis management as it pertains to biological data

Have a 3.0 overall GPA

Place into college algebra

Reside in Ohio.

Lakelands recent investments in its science and health technology programs and facilities have been making headlines in recent years, especially with the 2015 passage of its capital improvement bond issue, which is being used to fund a $40 million renovation and expansion of the colleges 20-year-old Health Technologies Building, bring the science hallway renovation to completion and help with other infrastructure improvements.

This is the stuff of the future, confirmed Arts & Sciences Division Dean Steven Oluic, who was on hand at a Sept. 1 open house for the renovated, third-floor science wing, when students, teachers, staff and anyone interested could see it, tour the classrooms and labs and learn about all the new, cutting-edge technology there.

I will submit to you that our biology, chemistry and physical science labs are among the best in the area, Oluic said. Really, youd be hard-pressed to find better labs.

College President Morris W. Beverage agreed.

When I went to Lakeland in 1972 and 1973, in the original labs up there, they were new, he said. This is the sort of thing you do every 40 or 50 years and you do it right. And, to do it right, you make sure the equipment and technology the students will be using are the standard of what theyll be using when they leave here. We want our students to experience what theyre going to experience in the world when they move on from here.

For Deak, theres no question thats exactly what Lakelands students are getting.

Deak said that, in his 20 years with the schools program, hes always been able to find grant money to keep it at the cutting edge and, thanks to this latest round of funding, the department is able to offer an unprecedented level of training to students who will likely go on to hit the ground running in roles which may not even exist yet.

Our folks wind up in research and development, quality control and medical lab technology, he said, just naming a few, and he added that the lab in which he answered these questions would pretty much be the envy of anyone at Case Western Reserve or Cleveland State University.

There are numbers to prove it, too.

According to Lakelands statement about the Choose Ohio First grant, Lakelands biotechnology science program has more than a 95 percent placement rate into jobs or transfer to a four-year school.

Institutions where graduates matriculate include Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Indiana Wesleyan University, John Carroll University, Lake Erie College and Youngstown State University, the statement reads. Lakeland also has a 2+2 articulation with Ursuline College, which allows students to transfer all of their credits and graduate with a bachelors degree in two additional years or less.

Deak said some students are even fortunate enough to land jobs with employers who actually pay their tuition for them.

After graduating from Lakeland, many students are then able to receive tuition waivers or reimbursements from their employers to reduce, or eliminate, the cost of the bachelors degree, he said.

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The curse of IT longevity – ComputerWeekly.com

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Lots has been written about the WannaCry ransomware by experts and non-experts alike. And with good reason. With so many organisations affected across the world, including high profile victims such as the NHS, its no wonder people have concentrated so much attention on the threat posed by WannaCry and other forms of ransomware.

Digital transformation is a phrase that means many things to many people but for it to have any real relevance to the channel then it needs to mean a chance to make money. This guide will share some of the recent developments in the channel and the latest thoughts about the issue.

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Amid all the outcry over WannaCry, one of the most persistent messages has been the condemnation of affected organisations for continuing to use an operating system (Windows XP) which, in IT terms, is damn near medieval. Its nearly 16 years old!

In an industry that takes great pride in the speed with which it evolves and innovates, thats a seriously long time. Many technologies have come and gone since Microsoft released XP to manufacturing in August 2001. And theres no doubt that Microsoft has been trying its hardest to wean customers away from the OS for several years now.

But XP users (and people looking in from the outside) might be forgiven for suspecting that the IT world views longevity as a curse rather than a sign of durability. And you can see why IT vendors might feel that way. Having to patch and maintain older products after they have moved onto the next big thing in our rapidly evolving industry is a burden that many IT vendors just dont want to have to shoulder if they can help it.

But while its understandable, it also serves to highlight the disadvantages of the industrys strategy of making a virtue of how fast moving it is. On one level, it shows that despite all the boasts, there are still plenty of bits of IT infrastructure that are vulnerable to attacks because they have been left behind as the industry has relentlessly pursued one next big thing after the other. XP is many next big things behind.

In addition, if vendors seek to implement rapid changes in technologies, there is less chance for any technology to enjoy the benefits of maturity where vendors and customers can finally enjoy a period of stability before the next disruptive phase begins.

Theres also a feeling that, despite all this talk of the fast pace of change, vendors have frequently indulged in change for changes sake to coerce customers into upgrading their IT equipment more often than they have to. This process of incessant change means the IT infrastructure of many organisations is threaded through with remnants of older technologies. Those technologies create vulnerabilities, although it could be argued they might be unsafe not because of their age but because of vendor indifference to their maintenance and preservation.

In other words, the rapid pace of evolution in IT creates an environment where vulnerabilities can flourish because vendors are able to move onto the next innovation before anyone can force them to shoulder full responsibility for their earlier technologies.

The industry has a habit of urging customers to upgrade for fear of falling behind but you could just as easily argue that theyre doing it for their own benefit. If customers dont upgrade quickly enough, vendors might have to spend more time supporting their existing product instead of replacing it with another one. Ironically, it is precisely because of this policy of permanent revolution that organisations are often left vulnerable to attack via their continued use of technologies that have never been properly maintained by the vendors.

After all, if youre constantly moving forwards, you never have to look back.

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The curse of IT longevity - ComputerWeekly.com

Duke Hosts Precision Medicine World Conference – Duke Today (blog)

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Hundreds of people representing a broad spectrum of healthcare, research and technology converged on Duke University on May 24 and 25 for the Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC). The gathering spotlighted the rapid growth of biomedical technologies spurring initiatives that enable the translation of precision medicine into direct improvements in healthcare.

The conference, co-hosted by Duke Health and Duke University, marked the first time the PMWC was held on the East Coast. This years theme was Translating the Power of Precision Technologies into Better Health Care. More than 30 sessions were held over the two days, featuring a total of more than 100 speakers from the healthcare and biotechnology sectors.

These types of conferences are critical for us to share information and harness the power of precision medicine to change health, said Mary Klotman, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and vice chancellor for health affairs and dean-designate of the School of Medicine. This is an exciting revolution. Yet it also can be frustrating, because we know where were going eventually but its going take a lot of work and understanding of the science to get there.

Geoffrey Ginsburg, MD, PhD, director of Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine and conference co-chair along with Chancellor Emeritus Ralph Snyderman, MD, said the meeting reflects a powerful convergence of important disciplines ranging from genome sciences and data sciences to information technology, tissue and genetic engineering, behavioral science, and immune and cancer biology.

That convergence is resulting in an unprecedented agenda that is driving precision medicine and research in ways that can impact both individual and population health, Ginsburg said.

Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), outlined NIHs All of Us precision medicine initiative to study the impact of genes and environment. The study hopes to enroll 32,000 volunteers by the end of 2017 and 1 million by 2022. The data it collects will be accessible to researchers.

This is a pretty exciting time to contemplate where we are in precision medicine and where we are going, said Collins. Collins later received a PMWC Luminary Award, which recognizes recent contributions of leaders who have accelerated personalized medicine into the clinical marketplace.

The conference was co-hostedby Ginsburg and Ralph Snyderman, MD, Chancellor Emeritus of Duke University and the James B. Duke Professor of Medicine.

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Duke Hosts Precision Medicine World Conference - Duke Today (blog)

American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences

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The American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences (AABSS) holds an annual conference that brings together scholars from around the U.S. and abroad in order to presentscholarship related to a wide variety of contexts, including theory, practice, empirical research, and conceptual advancement.It is a juried conference, meaning that presentation proposals undergo peer-review prior to potential acceptance for presentation. We are in the 21stannual year and expect a robust conference with ample opportunities to exchangetheoretical ideas, share research results, help advance practice,make collaborative connections, and learn from one anothers scholarship.

21st Annual American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences Conference

February 2627, 2018

Call for Papers

We invite submissions for potential presentation at this years AABSS conference from a broad range of topics related to the social and behavioral sciences. Strands may include empirical or theoretical scholarship as well as research methodology evaluation, meta-analyses, critical literature reviews, and topics related to applied practice that are grounded in scholarship. Where possible, topics will be grouped together for presentation within similar tracks.

Submit a proposal that includes a title, an abstract of not more than 150 words, and a summary that does not exceed more than 600 words. If the proposal is accepted for presentation, then the title and abstract will be included in the conference program.

Proposal Submission Deadline is November 19, 2017.

All presented papers are eligible for submission to theJournal of Behavioral and Social Sciences(JBSS),and all submitted papers will be peer-reviewed forpotential publication.

Location

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American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences

The president's budget proposal threatens science – The Hill (blog)

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For decades, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have championed federal funding for research and development funding that provides incredible value for our nations health, economy, and security. Yet, the current White House is proposing a budget that would ignore R&Ds value, starve science, and hinder growth.

U.S. investments in scientific and engineering R&D have created millions of jobs in both the public and private sectors, improved state economies, and generated commercial growth. According to a Congressional Research Service report, scientists and engineers only account for about five percent of the nations workforce, but they still help create jobs across the rest of the workforce. Scientists discoveries and products extend far beyond the research laboratory, affecting people across the business sector from designers to builders to consumers.

We can be thankful that Congress understands the need to invest in biomedical research. Despite a proposal from the White House to cut the NIH budget by $1.23 billion for the remainder of 2017, Congress recently decided to invest an additional $2 billion in NIH programs.

When considering the 2018 budget proposal, Congress must continue to uphold and protect its bipartisan support for investment in basic and applied scientific research across all disciplines so that the U.S. can maintain its leadership.

Other countries recognize the enormous value of R&D and the foundation it lays for enhancing 21st century economic growth and global competitiveness. For example, from 2000-2013, Chinas investments in R&D grew 17 percent, South Koreas 8.3 percent, and Russias 8.2 percent, while the U.S. stagnated. There is a clear trend among global leaders that investing in R&D is a critical factor in determining a nations ability to grow its economy and help solve challenging problems.

For generations, U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported continued investment in basic and applied research because they witnessed and celebrated the profound and positive impacts that these investments have on our health, economy, and global leadership. Across every business industry and sector, investment in R&D provides clear opportunities for Americans and advances economic prosperity.

Because of federal funding for weather and environmental research, for example, business owners and farmers can make informed decisions that improve food security and benefit our agriculture sector. Funding for material and engineering sciences has improved energy sources, space exploration, and bridge and infrastructure, and enabled countless technologies and products now essential to modern lives. Social and behavioral science research has been critical to helping us respond effectively to disasters, enhance intelligence, and improve international relations.

Even our defense industry one of the few sectors to see increased investment under the White Houses budget proposal benefits tremendously from investments in science. Because of defense R&D, contractors can better supply our armed forces with technology and equipment that helps them deter emerging threats and protect our homeland. As an example, computer science R&D enables massive companies to solidify their cybersecurity infrastructures so that their business can flourish in an Internet economy.

Our country can explore and better understand the most efficient and effective ways to fight disease, expand agriculture, and foster economic prosperity, but we must continue to invest in science R&D to do so. We urge Congress not to sacrifice the nations future innovation, and to not cut R&D investments as the Presidents budget proposes. When government, science, and business sectors work together, millions of Americans and people around the world live healthier and more prosperous lives.

Rush Holt (D-N.J.) is the chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), executive publisher of the Science family of journals, and a former Congressman from New Jersey.

Elias Zerhouni is president of global research and development at the Sanofi pharmaceutical company and former director of the National Institutes of Health.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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How Biotech Will Make Us Live Longer – Let's Talk Anti-Aging – Labiotech.eu (blog)

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Last week, at our first Labiotech Hangout,Philip had a chat with James Peyer, a partner at Apollo Ventures, to ask a few questions about how biotech istackling the anti-aging space.

For a long time, the anti-aging field has not seen much innovation,both due to a lack of scientific know-how as well as a lack of confidence on the part of pharma and regulatory agencies. Yet, in the past years, the field has started to turn into one of the most hyped areas in biotech, marked by the launch of companieslike Unity Biotechnology, which recently raked in $116Mfrom big names like Jeff BezosorCalico, which was co-founded by Google in 2013.

James Peyer from Apollo Ventures, a VC that focuses on biotechs in the age-related disease space, talked to Philip abouthow biotech is trying to solve the challenges of anti-aging, where the field is moving and how the first anti-aging therapies could enter the clinic within the next two years.

Referring to a review article on the hallmarks of aging, Peyer explains thatWithin the last 5 years, our understanding has gone from theory and hypothesis-driven to really coalescinga strong data-driven knowledge base.While there is no drug out there yet that is approved as an anti-aging treatment, James comments that The geroscience space has at least 80 mutations or chemicals that have been shown with some level of conviction to extend the healthylife span of a mouse.

However, the challenge will be to bring these compounds into the clinic. Anti-aging therapies are preventative medicines, meaning that the treatment is given before the actual occurrence of age-related disease so how do you run a clinical trial for such medicines?

Peyer mentions a group of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicinein New York that have been piloting such a preventative medicine study with a 7-year trial, totest whether the generic drug metformin can delay the onset of age-related conditions.This model of a 7-year clinical trial though, thats not really something that can be easily translated to a commercial model with a patented drug,he explains.

But whats gonna come out of those trials in the next 5-10 years are biomarkers that will give us a hint on whether or not adrug is working to reduce the risk of age-related diseases, and then that biomarker could be used in future trials,Peyer argues.

Apollo is following a slightly different path, though, as Peyer explains.The VC aims to go after geriatric syndromes, such as osteoarthritis, that are actually treatable medical conditions. Youll be really focussed on one indication thats a real clinical opportunity and move that towards the clinic just as you would with a traditional oncology drug or osteoarthritis drug.

Thats the opportunity that Apollo is really excited about and then, of course, there is the vision in the longer term that those two paths () will come together and create a world where we can actually do preventive clinical trials,Peyer adds.

Reflecting on who is buying in on that vision, Peyer says that the big players that are now coming into the area are technology players like Jeff Bezos or Google (). The internet space has attracted so much investment but the return profiles in this space actually look much worse compared to biopharma both in the US and the EU.

The biopharma space is actually just kicking ass right now! So when you see numbers like that and youre a tech investor it makes sense to make some moves.

Check out the video to hear more about which companies are leading the fieldandwhere Apollo is heading.

Shutterstock.com / BrunoWeltmann and Rustle

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How Biotech Will Make Us Live Longer - Let's Talk Anti-Aging - Labiotech.eu (blog)

BBP: A Diversified Biotech ETF – Seeking Alpha

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While 2017 has been a pretty good year overall for biotechs - the two largest ETFs in the space, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA:XBI), are up 10% and 17%, respectively - it's tough to forget that both of these funds are still about 25% off of their 2015 highs. IBB, which is heavily influenced by the largest biotech names, has been impacted by 50% drops in Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) and Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB). XBI has a much more diversified all-cap mix but has experienced similar results.

But not all news coming out of the sector is bad. In fact, one biotech ETF has been downright ripping it since its launch at the end of 2014. The BioShares Biotechnology Products ETF (NASDAQ:BBP), which invests in companies that have at least one primary product that's received FDA approval, is up roughly 42% since its inception at the end of 2014 compared to a loss of 4% for IBB during the same time frame.

IBB Total Return Price data by YCharts

As fund advisor Virtus says on its website, companies that the fund invests in are "typically more established companies with much clinical trial failure risk behind them. They have already successfully completed multiple human clinical trials and have received FDA approval to sell and market a drug." That sounds a lot like IBB so what's the big differentiator between the two funds? It's BBP's focus on small- and micro-cap biotechs. Nearly 60% of fund assets are dedicated to this space whereas IBB has nearly 40% of the portfolio alone invested in the big five of Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN), Biogen , Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Gilead .

So what did BBP have going for it that IBB didn't over the past year or so? I think it's a combination of portfolio construction and M&A.

BBP has a portfolio that has performed almost as well as can be expected, especially in 2017. Take a look at this chart with the year-to-date performance of the fund's biggest components.

That's exactly what you want to see out of your ETFs - the largest holdings performing the best. Part of that is due to the fact that the fund is equal-weighted and rebalanced semiannually (the last rebalance was done on December 15th). Still, that's a lot of companies whose stocks have risen by 20% or more.

Among the top 10 holdings, all have posted double-digit gains with seven components delivering 25%+ gains.

The other advantage the fund has is that a number of its holdings are in the sweet spot of being developed enough to generate meaningful revenue from their approved product line yet being small enough that they can be potential takeover targets. We've seen that within the fund multiple times recently. Relypsa (RYLP) has a top holding when it got bought out by Galenica (OTC:GNHAY). Not an M&A deal, but the fund's stake in Progenics (NASDAQ:PGNX) spiked when its partnership with Valeant (NYSE:VRX) was announced. Current holdings such as Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) and Acadia (NASDAQ:ACAD) have been rumored as potential takeover targets for a while so further action could be in store for the fund in the near future as well.

Conclusion

Equal weighting the mature biotech players has been a strategy that's paid off for investors in the last year. The relatively limited exposure to the likes of Celgene and Gilead, which are still nearly 50% off of recent highs, has made the fund more attractive than its more well-known counterpart.

This fund will underperform when the mega-cap biotech names begin to rally again, but over the long-term this ETF should hold up well to IBB given its more diversified portfolio.

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Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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BBP: A Diversified Biotech ETF - Seeking Alpha

Research | UW Bioengineering

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Research Laura Elizabeth Wright 2017-02-28T13:38:36+00:00

With a strong base of external funding, UW Bioengineering faculty and students conduct a mix of basic and applied research and engage in interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge traditional boundaries between engineering, physical sciences and medicine.

Developing new engineering approaches for the repair and replacement of human tissues damaged by injury, illness and aging.

Exploring how molecular-level interactions drive cellular behavior, and designing new molecular systems for medical applications.

Creating cost-effective medical technologies for use in developed and developing countries.

Developing tools for basic science and medicine, mainly in areas of medical imaging.

Analyzing the interacting networks that give rise to an organisms function, and using that knowledge to create new organisms to treat disease.

UW Bioengineerings interdisciplinary research centers create unique communities for exploring a range of research frontiers.

Learn more about UW Bioengineerings research centers.

We are proud of all our faculty, staff and students, and the many awards they earn for their work in teaching, mentoring and improving lives through bioengineering research and innovation.

Learn more about UW Bioengineerings awards and recognition.

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Research | UW Bioengineering

American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (AOBI) Upgraded to Hold at ValuEngine – The Cerbat Gem

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American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (AOBI) Upgraded to Hold at ValuEngine
The Cerbat Gem
American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (OTCMKTS:AOBI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at ValuEngine from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. Shares of American Oriental Bioengineering ...

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American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (AOBI) Upgraded to Hold at ValuEngine - The Cerbat Gem

Anti-Aging Medicine & Hormone Replacement CME

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Anti-Aging Medicine: Advances in Hormone Replacement is a two-day course. Course Schedule: Agenda Faculty: Louis Cady, MD

2017 Course Discounts Early Bird Discount in San Antonio: Register by May 3rd and enter code EBJUN to save $100

Course Credits Earn up to 16 AMA PRA Category 1 credits and AAFP Prescribed Credits

2017 Course Location Information June 2-3 - San Antonio - SOLD OUT - email to be added to the

Rates as low as $219 per night (resort fee waived) through May 5, 2017, or until sold out. Mention you are with TAFP (Texas Academy of Family Physicians) to receive the group rate. Group Code: TAE17A

Anti-Aging Medicine: Advances in Hormone Replacement Course Description

This anti-aging procedural training course utilizes a case study approach designed to help physicians and practitioners successfully and knowledgeably treat their age management patients. This intense 2 day mini-residency teaches everything you should know about hormones, the various types of hormones, both good and bad, problematic, and life-saving, synthetic (non-human) vs. pharmaceutical bioidentical (human identical) vs. compounded (human identical but not FDA tested or approved). Youll get the real nuts and bolts needed to prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which ones to use and which ones to avoid, how much, when, and why. Youll learn about monitoring and adjusting HRT through literature presentations, case studies, and open discussions. Emphasis is placed on understanding the difference between normal and optimal levels of hormones based on our medical studies.

Day two involves extensive review of 100 cases that involve laboratory evaluation, prescribing, adjusting, troubleshooting, and discussing various hormone therapies for different scenarios for both men and women. Your practice of hormone replacement therapy will be based on peer-reviewed medical research and a wealth of clinical experience. This is the most comprehensive course taught on anti-aging medicine training, designed to give you practical information and skills that you can use on a daily basis. The curriculum is an evidence-based program on preventive medicine designed to enhance your diagnostic and prescribing skills when optimizing hormones for both men and women.

Although most clinicians are fully aware of the need to replace hormones in cases of sub-normal hormone levels, most have not been trained to optimize hormone levels if the baseline hormone level is normal. Many participants frequently inquire why a patient is treated with various hormones when the baseline lab test indicates normal. Just as confusing is the realization that the medical literature supports that normal is simply not optimal. A multitude of studies support optimization of all hormones regardless of the baseline levels, both for maintenance of quality of life and for future health benefits. In addition, the medical literature demonstrates that optimization of hormones results in relief of symptoms, improvement in well-being, and a decrease in morbidity and mortality by attaining levels in the upper range of normal. It is imperative that practitioners understand both the need and benefit for optimization, what levels are considered to be optimal, as well as have command of the literature that supports it. One important aspect of this course is the extensive review of the medical literature that provides the credence and support as to why we optimize with certain hormones as well as avoid the use of non-isomolecular hormones. Remember that normal is definitely not optimal when it comes to hormone replacement and this applies to both men and women.

This Live activity, Anti-Aging Medicine: Advances in Hormone Replacement, from 01/01/2017 - 12/31/2017, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 16.00 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Learn more about our Accreditation

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Anti-Aging Medicine & Hormone Replacement CME