Author Archives: ev1

Veteran rider Spitz wins silver in mountain bike

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HADLEIGH, England (AP) -- Sabine Spitz's longevity at the top of her sport was remarkable even before she won that silver medal in mountain bike in the bucolic English countryside.

The 40-year-old German rider failed to defend her mountain bike Olympic title Saturday, but her second-place finish was enough to make the veteran proud.

Spitz, who competed in her first world championships more than 15 years ago, won a third consecutive Olympic medal on the challenging Hadleigh Farm course, gaining praise from her younger rivals.

"Now I have my Olympic collection of three different medals, so it's perfect," said Spitz, a bronze medalist in Athens. "I always had a medal on my mind."

Spitz's aging legs did not betray her. But after a good start to the race, she crashed over a technical section of the course called "the rock garden," which also slowed up bronze medalist Georgia Gould of the United States and left eventual winner Julie Bresset of France alone at the front.

"In the fourth lap, when I went over the handlebar, I hurt my knee a bit," Spitz said. "That broke my rhythm for a short time. Thank God nothing was wrong with the bike, so I could keep on going. But Julie was too strong today."

Competing in her fourth Olympics, Spitz was the oldest competitor of the field.

"She was really amazing today," British rider Annie Last said after crossing the line nearly two minutes behind Spitz. Last, who ended eighth after being tipped a contender for a medal, was a 5-year-old girl when Spitz took part in her first world championships in 1995.

"She is very experienced and today she knew exactly what to do at the right time," she said.

Spitz, a versatile athlete who also holds a cyclo-cross world title, went all out in the final lap and crossed the line six seconds ahead of Gould.

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Juice from potato cures heartburn and ulcers

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Juice from potato cures heartburn and ulcers

(IANS) / 10 August 2012

Juice from the humble potato could treat gastric ulcers, thanks to its unique anti-bacterial properties, says a new research.

A Manchester University microbiology team now hopes the compound, dubbed 'potato juice' could go into production as a daily diet supplement. Inspiration came as one of the department's scientists tucked into a spud for Sunday lunch.

It led to the discovery of a key molecule which could both cure and prevent the bacteria that lives in the stomach and causes stomach ulcers and heartburn.

Uniquely, unlike with anti-biotics, the gut bug cannot develop resistance to the 'potato juice' which also does not cause any side-effects. Scientists even carried out the test on different types of potatoes -- discovering that Maris Piper and King Edward varieties worked the best.

The process to extract the as yet unnamed molecule has now been patented, with hopes it could one day be sold as a supplement similar to pro-biotic yoghurt drinks, the Daily Mail reported.

Ian Roberts, professor of microbiology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, who worked on the discovery, said: "When I first heard about the idea of using potatoes to treat stomach ulcers I have to admit I was a bit sceptical. But on another level I wasn't surprised - a lot of botanical products have very interesting compounds and we just have to find them."

"We see this 'potato juice' as a preventative measure to stop stomach ulcers developing that people would take as part of a healthy lifestyle. It could be a huge market if we can get it developed," added Roberts.

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Juice from potato cures heartburn and ulcers

Longevity Protein Has Diabetes-Prevention Qualities

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Editor's Choice Main Category: Diabetes Also Included In: Seniors / Aging Article Date: 10 Aug 2012 - 10:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Longevity Protein Has Diabetes-Prevention Qualities

More than ten years ago, Leonard Guarente, a biology professor at MIT, discovered that the protein SIRT1 had properties that boosted longevity. Since then Guarente has investigated how the protein works in several different body tissues.

In this study, Professor Guarente set out to determine what happens when the protein is missing from adipose cells, which made up body fat.

Guarente fed mice a high-fat diet and discovered that mice lacking SIRT1 started to develop metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, significantly faster than normal mice consuming a high-fat diet.

Guarente, the Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT, explained:

Results from the study indicate that medications designed to enhance SIRT1 activity may help protect against diseases associated to obesity.

The effects of SIRT1 and other sirtuin proteins were discovered by Guarente while he was studying yeast in the 1990s. According to the researchers, these proteins have been shown to help keep cells alive and healthy, coordinate a variety of hormonal networks, regulatory proteins and other genes.

In order to examine the effects of the gene more precisely, the researchers deleted the gene from organs such as the brain and liver. In earlier studies, the team found that SIRT1 protects against neurodegeneration in the brain observed in diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

SIRT1 removes acetyl groups from other proteins by modifying their activity. According to Guarente "the possible targets of this deacetylation are numerous, which is likely what gives SIRT1 its broad range of protective powers."

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Longevity Protein Has Diabetes-Prevention Qualities

'Selfish' DNA in animal mitochondria offers possible tool to study aging

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ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2012) Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered, for the first time in any animal species, a type of "selfish" mitochondrial DNA that is actually hurting the organism and lessening its chance to survive -- and bears a strong similarity to some damage done to human cells as they age.

The findings, just published in the journal PLoS One, are a biological oddity previously unknown in animals. But they may also provide an important new tool to study human aging, scientists said.

Such selfish mitochondrial DNA has been found before in plants, but not animals. In this case, the discovery was made almost by accident during some genetic research being done on a nematode, Caenorhabditis briggsae -- a type of small roundworm.

"We weren't even looking for this when we found it, at first we thought it must be a laboratory error," said Dee Denver, an OSU associate professor of zoology. "Selfish DNA is not supposed to be found in animals. But it could turn out to be fairly important as a new genetic model to study the type of mitochondrial decay that is associated with human aging."

DNA is the material that holds the basic genetic code for living organisms, and through complex biological processes guides beneficial cellular functions. Some of it is also found in the mitochondria, or energy-producing "powerhouse" of cells, which at one point in evolution was separate from the other DNA.

The mitochondria generally act for the benefit of the cell, even though it is somewhat separate. But the "selfish" DNA found in some plant mitochondria -- and now in animals -- has major differences. It tends to copy itself faster than other DNA, has no function useful to the cell, and in some cases actually harms the cell. In plants, for instance, it can affect flowering and sometimes cause sterility.

"We had seen this DNA before in this nematode and knew it was harmful, but didn't realize it was selfish," said Katie Clark, an OSU postdoctoral fellow. "Worms with it had less offspring than those without, they had less muscle activity. It might suggest that natural selection doesn't work very well in this species."

That's part of the general quandary of selfish DNA in general, the scientists said. If it doesn't help the organism survive and reproduce, why hasn't it disappeared as a result of evolutionary pressure? Its persistence, they say, is an example of how natural selection doesn't always work, either at the organism or cellular level. Biological progress is not perfect.

In this case, the population sizes of the nematode may be too small to eliminate the selfish DNA, researchers said.

What's also interesting, they say, is that the defects this selfish DNA cause in this roundworm are surprisingly similar to the decayed mitochondrial DNA that accumulates as one aspect of human aging. More of the selfish DNA is also found in the worms as they age.

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'Selfish' DNA in animal mitochondria offers possible tool to study aging

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DNA of cancer-stricken hibakusha preserved

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Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012

NAGASAKI Nagasaki University has been preserving DNA from cells extracted from cancer-stricken A-bomb survivors since 2008 in an effort to identify tumors caused by radiation exposure.

"It may become possible to find distinctive features in DNA mutated by radiation through a detailed investigation of cancer cells from hibakusha," said Masahiro Nakashima, professor of pathology at the university's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

With patients' consent, both cancerous and healthy cells are extracted from the affected region. DNA and RNA are then taken from the cells, frozen at minus 80 degrees and stored in a DNA bank at the university. The work is being conducted at Nagasaki University Hospital and the Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Genbaku Hospital.

So far, the university has collected 365 samples not enough to reveal any distinctive features of cancers related to radiation. The situation is further complicated by the city's aging atomic bomb survivors, whose average age now stands at 77 years.

Nakashima said it is necessary to "devote all energy" to the research, despite a lack of manpower.

According to a survey conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation on 94,000 hibakusha in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, a high possibility exists that radiation exposure was connected to cancer in 61 percent of patients exposed to 2 or more sieverts of radiation from the A-bombings.

It has not yet proved possible, however, to identify the causes of individual cases of cancer.

On the risk of developing cancer from small amounts of radiation emitted during the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Nakashima said "the investigation may open a door to research the effects of low-level exposure."

JIJI

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Nutrition shines as profits and sales slide at recession-hit DSM

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Royal DSM paid tribute to its nutrition division which held steady as its sales and profits dipped for the second quarter and first half of the financial year, as recessed global economies took their toll on bottom lines.

Despite the, challenging macro-economic environment spoken of by Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chairman of the DSM Managing Board, the companys nutrition portfolio (which includes animal feed) managed a 21m growth in operating profits year-on-year from 366m in H1 2011, to 387m this year.

For the quarter, operating profits inched up from 193m in Q2 2011, to 195m, but net sales jumped almost 10% from 1637m to 1799m

But across the company the figures were less rosy, with net sales down 2% from 4644m to 4558 for the half and EBITDA profits down 14% (from 693m to 596m).

Polymer intermediates performed particularly poorly with operating profits almost halving from 192m to 99m for the half compared to the previous year. Performance materials dropped from 173m to 156m EBITDA while pharma improved from 12m to 22m.

The company noted the economic slowdown was not restricted to the developed world, with China not immune to the broader economic situation, and increased price competition there.

Profit improvement programme

Responding to the figures, DSM said it was implementing measures that would see 125m in cost savings by 2014, including facility rationalisation, shaving a 1000 staff from its 22,000+ global workforce and better synergies from recent acquisitions including omega-3 players, Ocean Nutrition Canada and Martek BioSciences.

The cross-selling of Martek products through the DSM global sales network resulted in double digit growth of Nutritional Lipids in infant nutrition outside USA, the company said.

It also hoped to pull back a further 25-30m in profit and margin improvements.

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Nutrition shines as profits and sales slide at recession-hit DSM

Monterey police rely more on 'touch DNA' to find suspects

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Armed with a Supreme Court ruling and a DNA profile in 2010, Monterey police obtained the county's first "John Doe" arrest warrant, identifying a commercial burglary suspect whose name and face were unknown.

The effort is about to pay off. Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonne said the department will soon make an arrest it believes will clear 14 other commercial burglaries from Palo Alto to Beverly Hills where police collected the same DNA profile.

Monterey police Sgt. Bill Clark said the case exemplifies how advances in DNA testing and the availability of warrants based solely on a suspect's genetic profile are changing the way detectives process property crime scenes that used to get only a dusting for fingerprints.

DNA analysis has come a long way since the days when criminalists needed a large blood stain to get a profile. Since 2005, scientists have been able to isolate DNA swabbed from surfaces like windowsills and cellphones that were merely touched by suspects, hence the common reference "touch DNA."

"When we started years and years ago, we needed a blood stain the size of penny to get any results," said Meghan Kinney, a criminalist with the Department of Justice's lab in Watsonville. "Now we don't even need to be able to see it to get a DNA type from it."

And if police can convince a judge that DNA from a crime scene was likely left by the perpetrator, they can get a John Doe warrant for that genetic profile. The significance: The warrant stops the

Objections

No-name warrants have been used in sexual assault cases, where semen often provides an easy DNA profile, since the 1990s. But it was not until January 2010 that the state Supreme Court upheld the practice.

Now, the possibility of "tolling" the legal filing deadline with the simple swipe of a surface has investigators arming themselves with cotton swabs like never before.

The legal tool is not without controversy. The Supreme Court's ruling was split 5-2. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Carlos Moreno said the warrants do not authorize the arrest of any individual and are being used as a mere placeholder to circumvent the statute of limitations until the named perpetrator can be identified and found.

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About 4.5 Million Funding for Group Leaders at the MPIB

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10.08.2012 - (idw) Max-Planck-Institut fr Biochemie

The European Research Council (ERC) encourages excellent basic research in Europe in order to promote visionary projects and open up new interdisciplinary science areas. Three young group leaders of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich succeeded in obtaining one of the coveted ERC Starting Grants. Spread over a period of five years, Esben Lorentzen, Andreas Pichlmair and Frank Schnorrer will receive 1.5 million each for their research projects. Due to their scientific achievements until now they were the winners against several thousand competitors. Delivery Service for Cilia Tiny hair-like structures (cilia) are found on the surface of most cells in the body, where they serve to move the cell, process external signals and coordinate the correct arrangement of the inner organs during development of the organism. To do this, cilia have to be supplied with the right building blocks. This is taken over by a complex transport system which is called intraflagellar transport (IFT). Defects in the IFT can lead to severe physical and mental disorders. Together with his research group Structural Biology of Cilia, Esben Lorentzen investigates how the system works. Using X-ray crystallography, the scientists could already decipher the structure of a subunit of the IFT complex, and others shall follow. These results could help avoid mistakes in the composition of the cilia and thus prevent the development of diseases.

Targeting Viruses When viruses enter our body across our mucosa, the immune system reacts promptly. Immune cells recognize the pathogens via signal molecules on the cells surface and initiate the appropriate maneuver. These molecular sensors for viruses are the research focus of Andreas Pichlmair and his research group Innate Immunity. If the viruses are successful and enter the cell, the pathogens take command and make the cellular metabolism work for them. It is still not known in detail how viruses alter the genetic activity and the protein production of the infected cells. To identify modified proteins and elucidate their importance for viral replication, Andreas Pichlmair and his colleagues utilize mass spectrometry among other methods.

Flying Power Packs The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster possesses different kinds of muscles and therefore can perform various behaviors such as crawling, running and, of course, flying. With the help of targeted gene modifications, the scientists in Frank Schnorrers research group Muscle Dynamics investigate how muscles of the fruit fly develop at the right place in the body and how the contractile machinery within the muscles is assembled properly. By performing more than 25,000 flight tests, the scientists identified the essential switch gene Spalt, which enables Drosophila to fly. It initiates the development of the special flight muscles, which can contract 200 times per second. Spalt and its related genes are not only important for the development of the flight muscles in insects, but probably also for the proper functioning of human heart muscles. In the future, Frank Schnorrer wants to understand how flight muscles achieve their special properties through the influence of Spalt.

Contact Dr. Esben Lorentzen Structural Biology of Cilia Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Am Klopferspitz 18 82152 Martinsried E-Mail: lorentze@biochem.mpg.de http://www.biochem.mpg.de/lorentzen

Dr. Andreas Pichlmair Innate Immunity Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Am Klopferspitz 18 82152 Martinsried E-Mail: apichl@biochem.mpg.de http://www.biochem.mpg.de/pichlmair

Dr. Frank Schnorrer Muscle Dynamics Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Am Klopferspitz 18 82152 Martinsried E-Mail: schnorrer@biochem.mpg.de http://www.biochem.mpg.de/schnorrer

Anja Konschak Public Relations Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Am Klopferspitz 18 82152 Martinsried Tel. +49 89 8578-2824 E-Mail: konschak@biochem.mpg.de http://www.biochem.mpg.de function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;} html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://www.eugenesis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/29c1d78260e_icon.gif.gif?6:26981) no-repeat top left; } Share on Facebook Weitere Informationen: http://www.biochem.mpg.de/en/news - New Press Releases of the MPI of Biochemistry http://erc.europa.eu/ - Website of the European Research Council (ERC) Anhang Press Release (PDF)

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About 4.5 Million Funding for Group Leaders at the MPIB

What Is Physiology?

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Editor's Choice Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 09 Aug 2012 - 14:00 PDT

Current ratings for: What Is Physiology?

The word "physiology" comes from the Ancient Greek physis, which means "nature, origin", and logia, which means "study of".

Physiologists are forever attempting to find the answers to key questions in single cell functions, how human populations interact, our environment on earth; in other words, an extremely wide range of subjects.

Physiologists say that physiology is a fundamental science for understanding about "life", how to go about treating diseases and coping with the stresses our bodies are exposed to in different environments. Pathophysiology seeks to understand the abnormalities that occur in human and animal diseases. Physiologists work closely with other scientists and health care professionals in seeking out new methods for treating those diseases (translational research).

Physiology and anatomy are very closely related disciplines; they are intrinsically linked. Medical students tend to study the two disciplines in tandem.

According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, Physiology is:

Some say that Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC), who focused on the relationship between structure and function, was the real pioneer of physiology.

Galen (Claudius Galenus, circa 129-200/216), a prominent Greek physician in Ancient Rome, dissected animals and became by contemporary standards an expert anatomist and physiologist. He said that monkeys that walked on two legs, like we do, would most probably provide researchers with knowledge that could be applied to humans. Galen is known as the "founder of experimental physiology".

Claude Bernard (1813-1878), a French physiologist, made further discoveries which eventually led to his concept of milieu intrieur (the environment within), in which he refers to the extra-cellular fluid environment which protects tissues and organs of multicellular living organisms. The concept was later investigated further by Walter Cannon (1871-1945), an American physiologist, who named it "homeostasis".

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What Is Physiology?

Nutrition expert calls for IOC to drop junk food

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AUT media release Friday 10 August 2012

Nutrition expert calls for IOC to drop junk food

Corporate, commercial sponsorship agreements with International and National Olympic Committees are undermining the future for our children, says a leading nutrition expert.

AUT professor of nutrition Elaine Rush says the NZOC should put pressure on their colleagues at the IOC to remove the public exposure to McDonalds and Coca Cola as major sponsors of the Olympics.

The IOC five rings along with McDonalds and Coca Cola are among the most recognisable brands in the word.

Collectively these three brands have immense power, and they will leave a legacy not of corporate social responsibility but of marketing junk food to children.

One ad, which has been screening during the games, features a small child eating McDonalds chips while watching the Olympics," says Elaine Rush.

We know that children look up to the athletes at the Olympics and rightly so. They are amazing athletes who have dedicated their lives to representing their country by achieving at the highest level.

Millions of children receive the message linking fast food and drink with sporting achievement. This will not only be detrimental for their long-term health but adversely affects all of society. Products from both Coca Cola and McDonalds are energy rich but nutrient-poor. So not only is this adding to the obesity epidemic it is leading to our children having a lack of essential vitamins and minerals.

Maybe McDonalds and Coca Cola are moving in the right direction by introducing healthier options but these foods and drink options still represent a fraction of their total sales.

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Nutrition expert calls for IOC to drop junk food

Nutrition expert urges IOC to drop junk food

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Corporate, commercial sponsorship agreements with International and National Olympic Committees are undermining the future for our children, says a leading nutrition expert.

AUT professor of nutrition Elaine Rush says the NZOC should put pressure on their colleagues at the IOC to remove the public exposure to McDonalds and Coca Cola as major sponsors of the Olympics.

The IOC five rings along with McDonalds and Coca Cola are among the most recognisable brands in the word.

Collectively these three brands have immense power, and they will leave a legacy not of corporate social responsibility but of marketing junk food to children.

"One ad, which has been screening during the games, features a small child eating McDonalds chips while watching the Olympics," says Elaine Rush.

"We know that children look up to the athletes at the Olympics and rightly so. They are amazing athletes who have dedicated their lives to representing their country by achieving at the highest level.

"Millions of children receive the message linking fast food and drink with sporting achievement. This will not only be detrimental for their long-term health but adversely affects all of society. Products from both Coca Cola and McDonalds are energy rich but nutrient-poor. So not only is this adding to the obesity epidemic it is leading to our children having a lack of essential vitamins and minerals.

"Maybe McDonalds and Coca Cola are moving in the right direction by introducing healthier options but these foods and drink options still represent a fraction of their total sales."

Professor Elaine Rush is convenor of the public lecture which is part of the ANZOS 2012 conference on obesity in October called: "For Our Children's Children."

The Ministry of Health estimates that one in 12 children (2 to 14) in New Zealand are obese as are more than a quarter of all adults over 15 years of age. The figures are worse for Maori and Pasifika adults where approximately half are obese.

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Nutrition expert urges IOC to drop junk food

Longevity Global Inc. Offers Innovative And High Quality CNC Machines For All Cutting And Welding Jobs

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(PRWEB) August 09, 2012

Longevity Global Inc. has introduced efficient and much improved CNC machines with all essential features which are required for a successful welding and cutting job. With increasing welding and other functions on the floor, the CNC machine has become very essential part of industrial projects. And like always, Longevity has offered this to live up to client's expectations and industrial needs. Longevity Global Inc. is #1 supplier and manufacturer of welding equipment, cutting machines, power generators and accessories.

Simon Katz, president and founder of Longevity Global Inc. stated, We are glad to offer highly efficient and technologically sound CNC machines in this season's launches for all kinds of cutting and welding jobs. You can improve production efficiency with our CNC machines. It is a good idea to make use of such computerized machine technologies over others available in market. Improve the cutting efficiency with our Computer Numerical Control technology and feel the difference in industry. Most of the products are competitively priced and hence affordable to buy and use.

CNC machine is a fantastic way to create several exact replicas of the same product. With this one can create a template or design that is then loaded into the computer that works machine so that it can exactly repeat steps over and over again to produce high quality products like castings, lathed products and many more. CNC machines are best available options for all those who want to make their machining business grow. This technology helps in multi-tasking and efficiently completing work before time. The parts essential in the machine includes The Vice, The Guard, The Chuck, The Motor, The Lathe Bed, and The Cutting Tool. Longevity offers these products with 5 years warranty on parts and labor.

Longevity Global Inc. is providing its dedicated service since 2001. It is growing at a phenomenal pace with high customer satisfaction, innovative products and efficient industrial production. It works in different parts of world with distributors in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom, and multiple other countries. Longevity Welding serve globally with manufacturing facilities with its logistic companies to effectively distribute products in a punctual and effective manner. To know more visit http://www.longevity-inc.com.

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Longevity Global Inc. Offers Innovative And High Quality CNC Machines For All Cutting And Welding Jobs

DNA slip up for UK military

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Defence officials in the UK have admitted the body parts of 30 soldiers killed in Afghanistan have been kept by the Ministry of Defence without the permission of their families,

The remains were discovered last month when a new manager was appointed at the Military Police's Special Investigations Branch

The MoD said it will write a formal apology to the families once it has confirmed the identies of the body parts and tissue

It would confirm the identities of those involved on Thursday and write to families offering a formal apology and details of the material held.

Major General James Everard, Assistant Chief of the General Staff said the samples relate to 30 service personnel dating back to 2002 and confirmed that two families have so far been informed.

"We owe a huge apology to the families involved and those who will now be feeling stressful even if it doesn't affect them," he said.

An Army spokesman said: "There are occasions when it is necessary for the RMP Special Investigations Branch to retain slides of forensic material from individuals killed on operations as part of their investigation - this is standard practice.

"However, the RMP identified there were a small number of cases where this had been done without the correct processes being followed to inform families."

An urgent investigation has been launched and a helpline for concerned relatives has been posted on the MoD website.

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DNA slip up for UK military

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DNA fingerprinting comes of age

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N.D. Tiwari, the maverick politician, managed to keep at bay the controversial issue of paternity for decades, using political clout, influence and delaying tactics in courts.

But, a few weeks ago, his lie was finally nailed by technology. DNA fingerprinting technology conclusively proved that the 87-year-old Tiwari, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and more recently Governor of Andhra Pradesh, was indeed the biological father of 32-year-old Rohit Shekhar.

Rohit Shekhar filed a case five years ago. Tiwari tried his best to get it dismissed in court, going right up to the Supreme Court. He made valiant attempts to avoid the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test, claiming invasion of his privacy.

But, the dogged pursuit by Rohit and the Courts directive to get the blood sample for the test has finally brought out the truth. The acceptance of DNA fingerprinting as evidence by the courts should be seen as yet another milestone in the evolution of this technology in the country.

The first time that a court accepted DNA fingerprinting result to settle a paternity case was in 1991. It was the result of pioneering work by Lalji Singh and team at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, who had developed DNA fingerprinting technology in India.

The technique has been successfully deployed in solving some sensational crimes like the killing and roasting of the body of Naina Sahni in a tandoor in a New Delhi restaurant in 1995 as well as in the high profile assassinations of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh. It has been used in identifying criminals, and sorting out immigration problems.

However, unlike in the US and the UK where it is available to the common man, in India its potential has not been exploited adequately, says Singh. In the last two decades, the applications of this technique have been widely demonstrated. It is possible to distinguish between the ivory of an Indian elephant and an African one, clear doubts on contamination of meat, establish the veracity of plant varieties and trace the source of snake venom.

Given the societal and business opportunities it has opened up, DNA fingerprinting should have been available as a simple, affordable test across the country. Efforts in building databanks of populations, screening for diseases, and general use of DNA technology for genetic counselling should have proliferated under a regulatory environment. But growth remains below expectations, say experts.

At present, the CCMB, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), and a few forensic laboratories have the DNA sequencers, diagnostic kits, laboratory facilities and trained manpower to undertake the testing. There are hardly any hospitals or diagnostic centres which have ventured into the area.

As a technology, DNA fingerprinting has emerged as a versatile scientific tool. During the early days, one required a few milligrams of the DNA sample for analysis, which took a couple of weeks. The availability of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology, automation and growing expertise has now made it possible to do a test in 24 hours. We require a small (nanogram) sample of DNA, even degraded material is enough. The test is less expensive and accuracy beyond doubt, Singh says. The significance lies in the accuracy of the analysis and ensuring quality and regulatory check on the use of the technique, he explains.

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DNA fingerprinting comes of age

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Applied DNA Sciences to Host Conference Call Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwire -08/09/12)- Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN), a provider of DNA-based security and anti-counterfeiting technology and product authentication solutions, will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 to discuss its most recent quarterly earnings.

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. management will host a thirty-minute conference call beginning at 9:00 a.m. eastern daylight time on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 to discuss the company's performance and outline key ongoing and future business initiatives. A presentation by CEO and President James Hayward will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

All participants must pre-register using the link below. It is suggested that you log into the conference call approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to ensure that all participants are on-line at the start of the call. While callers cannot be heard during the call, questions may be emailed beforehand or sent online using SMS messaging during the session (see below for details).

For those of you unable to participate, a transcript of the call will be posted by end of business on August 15, and available under the "Investors" tab of the company's web site.

To Participate:Reserve your spot now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/623850862

To Send Questions Prior to or During the Call:Please email questions prior to the call to investor@adnas.com. During the conference call, questions can be sent online using SMS messaging once you are registered as a participant.

Due to the large number of expected participants, not all questions may be answered on the call.

Company Background Materials:You may be interested in the company's Investor Information section on the company's web site, including publications, recent press releases, blogs, and other materials.

About APDNAPDN is a provider of botanical-DNA based security and authentication solutions that can help protect products, brands and intellectual property of companies, governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and diversion. SigNature DNA and smartDNA, our principal anti-counterfeiting and product authentication solutions that essentially cannot be copied, provide a forensic chain of evidence and can be used to prosecute perpetrators.

The statements made by APDN may be forward-looking in nature. Forward-looking statements describe APDN's future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of APDN. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to our short operating history, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, market competition and various other factors detailed from time to time in APDN's SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on December 8, 2011 and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. APDN undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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Applied DNA Sciences to Host Conference Call Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Posted in DNA

DNA Dynamics Releases Operational Update

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LEAMINGTON SPA,England, Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --DNA Dynamics, Inc. (OTC Pink: DNAD), a global developer and publisher of mobile video games and applications, today announced that the CEO, Ed Blincoe, had written an open letter to the market outlining the Company's 'Operational Update'.

The Letter can be viewed online or downloaded from the Company's website at by going to the 'Investor Relations' dropdown menu of the Corporate Website at http://www.dnadynamics.net or via direct download from http://www.dnadpk.com/dna-dynamics/2012letter

In the letter, Ed Blincoe outlines some of the new hires that he has made as well as explaining the download numbers for the games from the previous quarter. He also sets out the Company's strategy to increase the monetization of the 100,000 players in the popular 'Warheads: Medieval Tales' title that the company released last quarter.

He also gives an update on how the company is progressing in its efforts to become 'Fully Reporting' with the SEC. Finally, he gives his reflections over the past twelve months and why the Company is set to boom throughout late 2012 and early 2013.

About DNA Dynamics, Inc.

Headquartered in Leamington Spa in the United Kingdom, DNA Dynamics is a worldwide developer and publisher of graphically rich, interactive entertainment currently delivered on iOS, Android, Apple Mac and PC. Through its operating subsidiaries, the Company has created, acquired or licensed a portfolio of highly recognizable or emerging brands that broadly appeal to its consumer demographics, ranging from children to adults and casual gamers to serious enthusiasts.For more information, please go to http://www.dnadynamics.net.You can also follow the Company on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information please email info@dnadynamics.net

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management's view of DNA Dynamics, Inc.'s future expectations, plans and prospects. In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the results of DNA Dynamics, its subsidiaries and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. Unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on DNA Dynamics' future results. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. DNA Dynamics cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, DNA Dynamics undertakes no obligation to update these statements after the date of this release, except as required by law, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by DNA Dynamics.

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DNA Dynamics Releases Operational Update

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Treating drug resistant cancer through targeted inhibition of sphingosine kinase

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Public release date: 9-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dr. James Antoon jantoon@tulane.edu Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Scientists at Tulane University School of Medicine, led by Dr. James Antoon and Dr. Barbara Beckman, have characterized two drugs targeting sphingosine kinase (SK), an enzyme involved in cancer growth and metastasis. New treatments specifically attacking cancer cells, but not normal ones, are critical in the fight against cancer. The results, which appear in the July 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, demonstrate the role of SK in drug resistance and therapeutic potential of SK inhibitors.

"Sphingosine kinase is a relatively new molecular target," says Dr. Beckman "In this study, we show that overexpression of SK promotes resistance to first-line breast cancer therapies, such as tamoxifen. We further found that treatment with the sphingosine kinase inhibitors SKI-II and ABC294640 induced cell death and blocked drug-resistant tumor growth without similar effects in a model system representing relatively normal breast cells."

Molecular therapies, such as those targeting SK, have the potential to improve treatment response rates while simultaneously decreasing side effects. However, Dr. Antoon cautions that "while these results are promising, further study is needed to fully understand the benefits and risks associated with treating drug resistant cancer with these SK inhibitors."

Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said "Dr. Antoon, Dr. Beckman and colleagues present exciting results indicating the need for further study of inhibitors of sphingosine kinase as promising new cancer treatments".

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Experimental Biology and Medicine is a journal dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. The journal was first established in 1903.

Experimental Biology and Medicine is the journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine. To learn about the benefits of society membership visit http://www.sebm.org. If you are interested in publishing in the journal please visit http://ebm.rsmjournals.com.

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Treating drug resistant cancer through targeted inhibition of sphingosine kinase

Engineering Life to Survive on Mars and Aid Human Colonization

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With NASAsCuriosity Rover safely on Mars and ready to search for signs of life, back on Earth attempts are underway to engineer bacteria that could thrive on the Red Planet.

A team of undergraduates from Stanford and Brown Universities are busy applying synthetic biology to space exploration, outfitting microbes to survive extreme Martian conditions and produce resources needed to sustain a human colony.

Though Mars is potentially a place where life may have survived at some point, it is not an especially friendly environment, and thriving there will not be easy for humans or microbes. The average surface temperature of Mars is minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the almost-nonexistent atmosphere is 95 percent carbon dioxide. Although water exists in Mars ice caps and theres some evidence that giant oceans once coveredthe planet, today its essentially a deep-frozen desert. Colonizing Mars would be challenging and pricey.

Obviously, bringing up heavy machinery or building materials is going to be really expensive,said Brown student and team captain Ben Geilich. The benefit of having bacteria that can do this for you is theyre really small and very light. Once there, they could grow food, produce medicine, extract minerals, and build building material.

The project is part of the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) challenge, an annual synthetic biology competition that pits students around the world against each other in attempts to ingeniously hack living cells to perform new tasks. In a regional iGEM meet in October, Geilichs team will present what they call aHell Cell, asuite of genetically engineered parts that could enable a bacterium to withstand severe cold, dryness and radiation. Geilich calls it a genetic box of crayons for extremophile conditions.

In the Stanford-Brown iGEM lab, students work on designing bacteria that could survive on Mars. (Lynn Rothschild)

The Hell Cell includes genetic modules, or BioBricks, based on DNA from a variety of ultra-tough organisms, including a cold-resistant species of Siberian beetle that makes antifreeze proteins, aradiation-resistant bacterium that sequesters large amounts of the element manganese, andE. coli, which produces a nutrient that confers cold and drought resistance. The team is also investigating heat- and acid-tolerance mechanisms that could be useful in other planetary environments.

While theyre currently experimenting with E. coli, BioBricks can be mixed and matched in other species, tailoring new strains to particular conditions. You go into nature and find genes, and then you can recombine them into circuits that you cannot find in nature, explained Andre Burnier, one of the teams mentorsand a lab technician at NASAs Ames Research Center.

To be really successful, the bacteria must do more than just survive on Mars. They need to perform functions usefulfor establishing a human colony one day. In addition to the Hell Cell suite, the team is developing bacteria that could extract minerals from Martian sediment or recycle rare metals from spacecraft electronics.

The teams main focus is on the latter,which requires engineering bacteria to separate metals from the silica that coats most electronics.

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Engineering Life to Survive on Mars and Aid Human Colonization

After the Descent: Mars Rover Preps for Thrilling Expedition

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NASA-JPl / Reuters

This artist's concept depicts the moment that NASA's Curiosity rover touches down onto the Martian surface

Barreling in from space at 13,000 mph before stopping a mere 25 feet above the ground would make anyone want to catch their breath, and NASAs Curiosity rover is no exception. Now that the Seven Minutes of Terror is over, the compact-car-sized biochemistry lab is spending its first two weeks doing the same thing you might do after stepping off a hair-raising roller coaster: making sure its parts are where theyre supposed to be and functioning correctly.

That means daily surprises, as technicians at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., raise antennas, activate cameras, and gradually bring systems on line. Among the early treats: 297 black-and-white thumbnail pictures, which NASA processed into a low-quality video showing the final two-and-a-half minutes of Curiositys stomach-churning plunge through the Martian atmosphere. The thumbnails, though grainy, show the protective heat shield dropping away, the bumps from the rovers parachute descent, and dust kicking up as cables lowered the rover to the Martian surface. Scientists expect to have a full-resolution video from Curiositys descent imager in a few days.

(PHOTOS: An Inside Look at the Mars Curiosity Rover)

The rover also sent a new postcard: the first full-color landscape image of Curiositys Gale Crater home, taken as part of a focus test to check one of the cameras mounted on the rovers mast. Until this week the camera, called the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI),hadnt moved its focal components since July 2011four months before Curiosity launched. Even now, with the mast still tucked horizontally atop the rovers front left shoulder, the cameras initial focus test offers a tempting glimpse of the north wall of the rim at Gale Crater.

But thats just a small taste of what this particular camera, one of 17 aboard Curiosity, will provide once the mast is lifted and extended, especially once the cameras clear dust covers lift away. Its so awesome because we can put this camera anywhere, says Ken Edgett of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, which operates the camera. Up, down, within an inch of the soil, underneath the rover, anywhere. Itll extend up above the mast to give us the giraffes-eye view, or give us the oblique, dogs-eye view across the Martian surface. This camera can look wherever we want.

Many of this weeks most captivating images havent come from Curiosity but a high-resolution camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another player on NASAs robotic exploration team. One day after capturing a stunning shot of Curiosity parachuting towards Martian surface, the Orbiter executed an unusual 41-degree roll to deliver a fascinating crime scene image taken by a high-resolution camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter some 186 miles above the surface. The view offers a look at the pimple-sized rover in relation to the locations where Curiositys heat shield, parachute, back shell, and ballyhooed sky crane crash-landed after dropping away from the rover during its descent.

(Cover Story: Live From Mars)

Simply put, theyre all in the same Gale Crater neighborhood. The heat shield is farthest from Curiosity, about three-quarters of a mile away. Both the back shell and sky crane wound up about four-tenths of a mile from the rover. Of particular visual interest is a jagged pattern in the Martian soil to one side of the downed sky crane. Those dark areas downrange are the disturbed dust, says Sarah Milkovich, a JPL scientist. Its the same pattern we see when we have meteorites forming impact craters on the surface of a planetary body. Since the impacts from the spacecrafts components kicked up plenty of dust as well, Milkovich says future images should have even greater resolution. The Orbiter will again aim its cameras at Gale Crater in a few days, possibly for color photos.

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After the Descent: Mars Rover Preps for Thrilling Expedition

The Hormone Surges That Keep Winners Winning

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Biochemistry and the self-reinforcing upward spiral of success.

The past century of science has demonstrated the pivotal role of biochemistry in such human phenomena as love, attraction, and lust. But to consider that individual neurobiology might impact things as rational and complex as, say, stock markets seems rather radical. Yet that's precisely what trader-turned-neuroscientist John Coates explores in The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: Risk Taking, Gut Feelings and the Biology of Boom and Bust (public library) -- an ambitious look at how body chemistry affects high-stakes financial trading, in which Coates sets out to construct -- and deconstruct -- a "universal biology of risk-taking."

One particularly fascinating aspect of risk-taking has to do with what is known as "the winner effect," a self-reinforcing osmosis of the two key hormones driving the biochemistry of success and failure -- testosterone, which Coates calls "the hormone of economic bubbles," and cortisol, "the hormone of economic busts." In traders -- as in athletes, and in the rest of us mere mortals when faced with analogous circumstances -- testosterone rises sharply and durably during financial booms, inducing a state of risk-seeking euphoria and providing a positive feedback loop in which success itself provides a competitive advantage. By contrast, the stress hormone cortisol spikes during financial downturns; traders with sustained high levels of cortisol become more risk-averse and timid, ultimately being less competitive.

Coates explains:

The euphoria, overconfidence and heightened appetite for risk that grip traders during a bull market may result from a phenomenon known in biology as the 'winner effect.'

[...]

Biologists studying animals in the field had noticed that an animal winning a fight or a competition for turf was more likely to win its next fight. This phenomenon had been observed in a large number of species. Such a finding raised the possibility that the mere act of winning contributes to further wins. But before biologists could draw such a conclusion they had to consider a number of alternative explanations. For example, maybe an animal keeps winning simply because it is physically larger than its rivals. To rule out possibilities such as this, biologists constructed controlled experiments in which they pitted animals that were equally matched in size, or rather that were equally matched in what is called 'resource holding potential,' in other words the total physical resources -- muscular, metabolic, cardiovascular -- an animal can draw on in an all-out fight. They also controlled for motivations, because a small, hungry animal eating a carcass can successfully chase off a larger, well-fed animal. Yet even when animals were evenly matched for size (or resources) and motivation, a pure winner effect nonetheless emerged.

An intriguing correlation, certainly, but what is the causal mechanism at work? Scientists have suggested that there are several elements at play: First, testosterone levels rise when animals face off, producing anabolic effects on muscle mass and hemoglobin, quickening reactions, improving visual acuity, and increasing the animal's persistence and fearlessness. Then, once the fight is over, the winning animal emerges with even higher levels of testosterone, and the loser with lower ones. Coates sums it up thusly:

Life for the winner is more glorious. It enters the next round of competition with already elevated testosterone levels, and this androgenic priming gives it an edge that increases its chances of winning yet again. Though this process an animal can be drawn into a positive-feedback lop, in which victory leads to raised testosterone levels which in turn leads to further victory.

So does this winner effect also occur in humans? Coates thinks so. He cites a study, in which researchers rigorously examined a database of 630,000 professional tennis matches and found that the winner of the first set had a 60% chance of winning the second one and, since the win in these matches comes down to the best of three sets, winning the match itself. (Anecdotally, a quick glance at Michael Phelps's Olympic scorecard would suggest a similar conclusion.)

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The Hormone Surges That Keep Winners Winning