martin morrow From Friday's Globe and Mail Published Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 1:00PM EST Last updated Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 1:04PM EST

For years, Eric Peterson played a lovably cranky old coot on the Saskatchewan-set sitcom Corner Gas. Now the veteran actor is back in the Land of Living Skies and mad as hell again, only this time it’s not funny.

In Annabel Soutar’s play Seeds, Peterson stars as Percy Schmeiser, the hard-nosed Saskatchewan farmer who took on the agrichemical giant Monsanto in the 1990s after they accused him of illegally growing their genetically modified canola. During his long court battle, Schmeiser became an international spokesman for farmers’ rights and a little-guy hero to opponents of genetic engineering. But this work of documentary theatre, co-produced by Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre and Montreal’s Porte Parole, is no simple David and Goliath story.

Soutar – who first presented this play in 2005 with her Porte Parole company – has the tenacious instincts of an investigative journalist who is more interested in the truth than in advocacy. As a result, Seeds is dense with facts and arguments, rigorous in its presentation of every angle – and ultimately an overlong and unwieldy piece of theatre. Clocking in at close to three hours (with an intermission), it finally exhausts both the audience and, seemingly, director Chris Abraham, whose busy multimedia staging flags in imagination before the end.

Still, you have to applaud Soutar for not taking the easy documentary route paved by filmmaker Michael Moore – fudging facts and pulling heartstrings to get a desired response. You also have to put your mitts together for Peterson and his six multi-role-playing co-stars, whose performances are not just tireless but invigorating. They never fail to give vivid human faces and voices to the mass of interviews and court transcripts which make up Soutar’s text.

Soutar herself appears, portrayed by Liisa Repo-Martell, as a pregnant young Montreal playwright who guides us through Schmeiser’s saga. We follow her west, as she interviews the man and his cheery wife Louise (Tanja Jacobs) on their farm near Bruno, Sask. To hear the other side, she also speaks with Trish Jordan (Cary Lawrence), Monsanto’s brittle spokeswoman. Jordan vehemently maintains the company line that Schmeiser illegally obtained its herbicide-resistant canola seeds. Schmeiser argues that the seeds blew onto his field, but his real fight is with the notion that Monsanto can own the patent to a gene. Repo-Martell’s playwright-cum-reporter, her trusty tape recorder in hand, gathers opposing viewpoints from scientists, lawyers, academics and advocacy groups.

The first act centres on the Monsanto versus Schmeiser case. Despite Soutar’s attempt at even-handedness, Monsanto comes off as the baddie. Its slick lawyer, Roger Hughes (Jacobs), hammers at Peterson’s slightly befuddled Schmeiser in court, while a picture emerges of a corrupt corporation that has not just Canadian farmers, but the federal government, in its pocket. Everyone on the biotech side seems snide and superior, while Schmeiser and his disabled lawyer Terry Zakreski (Alex Ivanovici) are the sympathetic underdogs.

Act 2, however, brings a twist when the playwright belatedly interviews Schmeiser’s neighbours and suddenly the man is cast in a less flattering light. There’s even a mystery subplot, as she gets a lead on a farmer who allegedly sold Schmeiser those disputed Monsanto seeds. At the same time, her quest to find hard evidence that GM food is harmful leads her into the murky uncertainties behind the workings of DNA. The play spins out into larger questions about scientific theory, the role of the corporate Goliath in society and even what constitutes life.

Abraham navigates this ocean of material with a combination of theatrical and documentary-film techniques. The stage of the Young Centre’s Michael Young Theatre has been opened up to accommodate a screen wide enough for a prairie vista. There are two onstage cameras for live video as well as images and titles designed by Elysha Poirier. On Julie Fox’s cell-like set, the Schmeiser farmhouse is a cozy nucleus circled by sterile laboratories. The actors mime some scenes and use comic props in others. At times, the visual diversions are a bit annoying, distracting us from taking in the all-important words.

More subtle is the gender-blind casting, which doesn’t call undue attention to itself. Mariah Inger is particularly effective as various gruff rural males. Peterson, meanwhile, is note-perfect as the folksy but keenly intelligent Schmeiser, His climactic Sierra Club speech on behalf of farmers is a thing of homespun eloquence, made the more stirring by Richard Feren’s rousing score.

By then, however, Soutar has done such a good job sowing the seeds of doubt that you wonder if this is nothing more than passionate rhetoric. Her play gives us plenty to think about, but leaves us to make up our own minds.

Seeds runs until March 10.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Seeds

Written by Annabel Soutar

Directed by Chris Abraham

Starring Eric Peterson, Bruce Dinsmore, Mariah Inger, Alex Ivanovici, Tanja Jacobs, Cary Lawrence and Liisa Repo-Martell

At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto

3 stars

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From these Seeds, a great polemic grows

Kochi, Feb 25 (IANS) In the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioning the role of foreign-aided NGOs in opposing use of genetic engineering, union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Saturday stressed that the decision to ban commercial use of Bt. Brinjal was not influenced by any NGO.

Answering queries from media persons on his visit here, Ramesh said his decision on Bt Brinjal was based on wide consultations with stakeholders, adding that the use of bio-technology for the crop to be consumed by humans needed to be carefully evaluated.

'No NGO influenced my decision,' said Ramesh, who had decided to put on hold the commercial release of the Bt. Brinjal in February 2010 when he was union environment minister.

Ramesh's remarks assume significance in the wake of prime minister's interview to a science journal saying that India must make use of genetic engineering technology to increase agricultural productivity, and NGOs funded by the US and Scandinavian countries were not fully appreciative of the country's development challenges.

Ramesh said that the decision to put a moratorium on the commercial release of Bt. Brinjal was taken after seven months of consultations with the public, various stakeholders including the states, farmers and NGOs. He said he had written on the issue to the chief ministers of all states.

Bio-technology in agriculture was not merely a scientific issue but 'political issue' as it affects human safety, he said.

Referring to his decision on Bt Brinjal, Ramesh said Greenpeace had accused him of propagating the line of genetic engineering firm Monsanto during a public hearing in Bangalore.

'So on Bt Brinjal, since I was directly involved, I can confidently say no NGOs influenced my views,' he said.

The minister said that there was no scientific consensus on Bt. Brinjal, the full protocol on the test has not been completed and there was no independent professional mechanism to instil confidence in the public.

'I did not ban Bt Brinjal. I decided lets put moratorium (on it),' Ramesh said and added he could not have ignored opinion of chief ministers who opposed it.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who supports Bt Cotton, did not support the move on Bt Brinjal, he noted.

'I cannot ignore states. Ultimately in agriculture, we have to take states along with us,' he said.

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Bt.Brinjal decision not influenced by NGOs, asserts Jairam

MANILA, Philippines - Different countries have different policies/rules on the use of genetic engineering techniques in agriculture and food production. Genetic engineering simply means that the genes of one organism are injected (cut-out and pasted) into the genome of another organism using the so-called gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology in a laboratory resulting in the creations of combinations of plants, animals, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

The products created through the technique of genetic engineering are the so-called GMO (genetically modified organisms) products or transgenic products.

The first genetically modified plants were introduced in the 1980s. Twenty years later (year 2000), genetically modified crops spread to about 44 million hectares of land from less than three (3) hectares in 1996. Common transgenic products include rice, corn, wheat, tomatoes, and soybeans.

To date, countries are not in total agreement as to the extent of regulations/rules the government should promulgate on GMOs. Some countries impose total ban on the production of GMO products because of the damage to human's health due to the presence of allergens, preservatives, and fertilizers used on GMO plants.

On the other hand, there are countries that impose no restrictions and allow the use of GMO products. Also, the reasons advanced using gene-splicing techniques are: it will result to bigger farm yield; higher profitability for the farmers; and cheaper prices of food.

Not many know that there at least thirty-two (32) countries that are imposing mandatory labeling for any product that has been genetically modified. For example, the European parliament passed on April 14, 2004, a rule that all products containing more than nine (0.9) percent of GMO must be labeled... including the labeling of animal feed containing GMOs. Once labeled, the GMOs are being allowed to be sold.

Yes, products containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) should be labeled as such. Also foods derived from GMO. This is the growing clamor of consumers here and abroad. And rightfully so. This is also adherence to the ''full disclosure'' relationship between sellers and buyers. And to use a more popular term for buyers - the consumers.

The consumers should be given the final option whether to patronize GMO products - especially food. Anyway, proponents of GMO products as well as those against such products both have the opportunity to sell their ideas as well as their products to the public. This is what democracy is all about.

By the way, there are countries that consider the use of labels to inform consumers in one country as a form of trade protectionism. Simply because the use of labels may limit the ability of GMO products to gain market access in one country. Different countries may also have different definitions of what is harmful to humans, animals, or environment.

The labeling of GMO products can either be initiated by the producers in the private sector or by the government. In the first case, the labeling is voluntary. In the second case, it is mandatory to protect the consumers. In mandatory GMO-labeling, private firms are held accountable for misrepresentation.

In the US, there is no federal regulation requiring the mandatory labeling of GMO. What is heartening to note though is that there are legislators in individual states in US that are crafting their own labeling registration. For example, Senator Maralyn Chase of Washington State has sponsored a bill that would require both raw GMOs and processed foods containing GMOs to be properly labeled beginning July 2014.

Also, ''Ireland recently banned the growth of any genetically modified foods, and the country has also made available a GMO-free label that can be placed on animal products like meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, fish, and crustaceans, that are raised with feed free of GMOs.''

Prince Charles also once called GMOs the ''biggest environmental disaster of all time,'' while agriculture industrialists like Monsanto swear they're safe for human consumption and a boon for the environment.

While biotechnology is concededly a boom to mankind not only in the area of food production and agriculture but also in other areas like environment and health - there are groups clamoring for the imposition of health and safety measures as there may be disastrous consequences in ''messing with nature.''

Why the so-called ''messing with nature''? Simply because one of the major branches of biotechnology is genetic engineering. The subject of genetic engineering involves the manipulation of genes in humans, animals, and plants. Admittedly, there are advantages as well as disadvantages of genetic engineering. These advantages and disadvantages have to be clearly articulated to our consumers otherwise the anti-GMO sentiment will spread throughout the country - especially when it comes to GMO food products. Food safety is understandably a major concern of cautious consumers nowadays - with the prevalence of different kinds of cancer and other diseases.

Finally, this question as to whether or not our government should impose mandatory labeling of GMO products - especially GMO food products should be resolved soonest by our legislators.

Have a joyful day!

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GMO Labeling

23-01-2012 12:14 READ the VATICAN DOCUMENT HERE: http://www.endworldprophecy.com ADVANCED BIBLE STUDIES AND BREAKING END-TIME NEWS HERE: http://www.endworldprophecy.com Welcome to this edition of the End World Prophecy RAPTURE ALERT report. Rapture alerts are not issued on a regular basis, but only if current events overwhelmingly coincide with a prophetic themes in the bible. The word of God is very clear about how in past times the mixing of species was (and still is) a sin. It even records the rise of a genetically modified race of giants know as the Nephilim. This a common and well known aspect of history among well-studied Jews but is still some-what uncommon among American Christians. Unfortunately, because of the lack of knowledge the church supports the development of "industrialized genetic therapy". The Vatican both organizes and participates in a conference called "Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture." The Pontifical Council for Culture, aims to "support research and increase public awareness of medical treatment using adult stem cells", that means the study and manipulation of human DNA, and to get any viable result that changes the human condition experiments have to be conducted on animals first. This kind of testing has led to the combination of human/animal genes, something that God calls a sin and an abomination. Here's a picture of the result of one stem cell experiment in 1991. This kind of animal/human genetic mixing has accelerated to alarming rates. Learn ...

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RAPTURE ALERT! Nov 11, 2011 - AntiChrist

London, Feb 23 (ANI): In a new study, scientists have found that an enzyme found in humans appears to lengthen the life of mice.

Mammals have seven types of enzyme called sirtuin.

Haim Cohen and Yariv Kanfi at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, looked to sirtuin 6 for their study, New Scientist reported.

They compared mice genetically engineered to have increased levels of SIRT6 with normal mice, engineering the mice in two different ways to control for genetic influences.

Male mice from both strains lived 15 per cent longer than normal mice or females.

But SIRT6 didn't affect females' life span.

Older modified male mice metabolised sugar faster than normal mice and females, suggesting that SIRT6 might extend life by protecting against metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

The researchers could not explain why SIRT6 didn't affect females, but suggest it may be related to differences in genes that regulate ageing in males and females. (ANI)

Read more here:
Human enzyme lengthens mouse life

By Lynne Friedmann

Lynne Friedmann

Reviving a theory first proposed in the late 1800s, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have studied organ development in mice to unravel how breast cancers develop in humans. What they found were striking similarities between genetic signatures found in certain types of human breast cancer and those of stem cells in breast tissue in mouse embryos. These findings suggest that cancer cells subvert key genetic programs that guide immature cells to build organs during normal growth.

Stem cells in a healthy developing embryo have a “GPS system” to alert them about their position in an organ. The Salk finding points to a GPS system that is broken during cancer development. This may explain why stem-like cells are detected in breast cancers. Next step is to characterize the stem-like cells in certain forms of breast cancer to arrest their growth.

The findings appear in the journal Cell Stem Cell. http://bit.ly/AygIjG

Engineers build “no-waste” laser
Researchers from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering announce two noteworthy achievements in laser technology: the smallest room-temperature nanolaser to date and a highly efficient, “thresholdless” laser that funnels all its photons into “lasing” (the operation phase when laser light is produced) without any waste.

The two new lasers require very low power to operate, an important technological feat since lasers usually require greater and greater “pump power” to begin lasing as they shrink to nano sizes. Furthermore, the nanolaser designs appear to be scalable, meaning that they could be shrunk to even smaller sizes – an important feature that makes it possible to harvest laser light from even smaller nanoscale structures. The small size and extremely low power of these nanolasers could make them useful components for future optical circuits packed on tiny computer chips.

The work is reported in the journal Nature. News release at http://bit.ly/w5NdTf

Heart hormone helps shape fat metabolism
In addition to exercise, a study at Sanford-Burnham suggests that the heart plays a role in breaking down body fat. According to the research, hormones released by the heart stimulate fat-cell metabolism by turning on a molecular mechanism similar to what’s activated when the body is exposed to cold and burns fat to generate heat.

The metabolic effects caused by these heart hormones (so-called cardiac natriuretic peptides) depend largely on the ratio of two different kinds of receptors — message-receiving proteins — on the surface of fat cells.

In addition to providing a better understanding of the breakdown of fats, more information about how this system works could also give hope to patients suffering from cardiac cachexia, a severe body wasting that can occur in chronic heart failure. High levels of natriuretic peptides are characteristic of heart failure and are used as diagnostic markers of the severity of the disease.

The findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://bit.ly/A7cjMQ.

— Lynne Friedmann is a science writer.

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Research Report: Old theory pinpoints new targets to breast cancer

ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2012) — Understanding how RNA binding proteins control the genetic splicing code is fundamental to human biology and disease -- much like editing film can change a movie scene. Abnormal variations in splicing are often implicated in cancer and genetic neurodegenerative disorders.

In a step toward deciphering the "splicing code" of the human genome, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have comprehensively analyzed six of the more highly expressed RNA binding proteins collectively known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoparticle (hnRNP) proteins.

This study, published online Feb 16 in Cell Press' new open-access journal Cell Reports, describes how multiple RNA binding proteins cooperatively control the diversity of proteins in human cells by regulating the alternative splicing of thousands of genes.

In the splicing process, fragments that do not typically code for protein, called introns, are removed from gene transcripts, and the remaining sequences, called exons, are reconnected. The proteins that bind to RNA are important for the control of the splicing process, and the location where they bind dictates which pieces of the RNA are included or excluded in the final gene transcript -- in much the same fashion that removing and inserting scenes, or splicing, can alter the plot of a movie.

"By integrating vast amounts of information about these key binding proteins, and making this data widely available, we hope to provide a foundation for building predictive models for splicing and future studies in other cell types such as embryonic stem cells," said principal investigator Gene Yeo, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego, and a visiting professor at the Molecular Engineering Laboratory in Singapore. "If we can understand how these proteins work together and affect one another to regulate alternative splicing, it may offer important clues for rational drug design."

The data sets highlighted in this study -- derived from genome-wide methods including custom-designed splicing-sensitive microarrays, RNA sequencing and high-throughput sequencing to identify genome-wide binding sites (CLIP-seq) -- map the functional binding sites for six of the major hnRNP proteins in human cells.

"We identified thousands of binding sites and altered splicing events for these hnRNP proteins and discovered that, surprisingly these proteins bind and regulate each other and a whole network of other RNA binding proteins, suggesting that these proteins are important for the homeostasis of the cell," said first author, NSF fellow Stephanie C. Huelga.

According to the UCSD researchers, the genes specifically targeted by the RNA binding proteins in this study are also often implicated in cancer. Yeo added that of the thousands of genomic mutations that appear in cancer, a vast majority occur in the introns that are removed during splicing; however, intronic regions are where regulatory hnRNP proteins often bind.

"Our findings show an unprecedented degree of complexity and compensatory relationships among hnRNP proteins and their splicing targets that likely confer robustness to cells. The orchestration of RNA binding proteins is not only important for the homeostasis of the cell, but -- by mapping the location of binding sites and all the regulatory places in a gene -- this study could reveal how disruption of the process leads to disease and, perhaps, a way to intervene."

Additional contributors to the study include Anthony Q. Vu, Justin D. Arnold, Tiffany Y. Liang, Patrick P. Liu and Bernice Y. Yan, UCSD Cellular and Molecular Medicine; John Paul Donohue, Lily Shiue and Manuel Ares, Jr., UC Santa Cruz; Shawn Hoon and Sydney Brenner, A*STAR, Singapore.

The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research Program.

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Stephanie C. Huelga, Anthony Q. Vu, Justin D. Arnold, Tiffany Y. Liang, Patrick P. Liu, Bernice Y. Yan, John Paul Donohue, Lily Shiue, Shawn Hoon, Sydney Brenner, Manuel Ares, Gene W. Yeo. Integrative Genome-wide Analysis Reveals Cooperative Regulation of Alternative Splicing by hnRNP Proteins. Cell Reports, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2012.02.001

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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The splice of life: Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing

SAN DIEGO — Understanding how RNA binding proteins control the genetic splicing code is fundamental to human biology and disease — much like editing film can change a movie scene. Abnormal variations in splicing are often implicated in cancer and genetic neurodegenerative disorders.

In a step toward deciphering the "splicing code" of the human genome, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have comprehensively analyzed six of the more highly expressed RNA binding proteins collectively known as heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoparticle (hnRNP) proteins.

This study, published online today (Feb. 16) in Cell Press' new open-access journal Cell Reports, describes how multiple RNA binding proteins cooperatively control the diversity of proteins in human cells by regulating the alternative splicing of thousands of genes.

In the splicing process, fragments that do not typically code for protein, called introns, are removed from gene transcripts, and the remaining sequences, called exons, are reconnected. The proteins that bind to RNA are important for the control of the splicing process, and the location where they bind dictates which pieces of the RNA are included or excluded in the final gene transcript — in much the same fashion that removing and inserting scenes, or splicing, can alter the plot of a movie.

"By integrating vast amounts of information about these key binding proteins, and making this data widely available, we hope to provide a foundation for building predictive models for splicing and future studies in other cell types such as embryonic stem cells," said principal investigator Gene Yeo, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego, and a visiting professor at the Molecular Engineering Laboratory in Singapore. "If we can understand how these proteins work together and affect one another to regulate alternative splicing, it may offer important clues for rational drug design."

The data sets highlighted in this study — derived from genome-wide methods including custom-designed splicing-sensitive microarrays, RNA sequencing and high-throughput sequencing to identify genome-wide binding sites (CLIP-seq) — map the functional binding sites for six of the major hnRNP proteins in human cells.

"We identified thousands of binding sites and altered splicing events for these hnRNP proteins and discovered that, surprisingly these proteins bind and regulate each other and a whole network of other RNA binding proteins, suggesting that these proteins are important for the homeostasis of the cell," said first author, NSF fellow Stephanie C. Huelga.

According to the UC San Diego researchers, the genes specifically targeted by the RNA binding proteins in this study are also often implicated in cancer. Yeo added that of the thousands of genomic mutations that appear in cancer, a vast majority occur in the introns that are removed during splicing; however, intronic regions are where regulatory hnRNP proteins often bind.

"Our findings show an unprecedented degree of complexity and compensatory relationships among hnRNP proteins and their splicing targets that likely confer robustness to cells. The orchestration of RNA binding proteins is not only important for the homeostasis of the cell, but — by mapping the location of binding sites and all the regulatory places in a gene — this study could reveal how disruption of the process leads to disease and, perhaps, a way to intervene."

Additional contributors to the study include Anthony Q. Vu, Justin D. Arnold, Tiffany Y. Liang, Patrick P. Liu and Bernice Y. Yan, UC San Diego Cellular and Molecular Medicine; John Paul Donohue, Lily Shiue and Manuel Ares, Jr., UC Santa Cruz; Shawn Hoon and Sydney Brenner, A*STAR, Singapore.

The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the UC San Diego Stem Cell Research Program.

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Proteins cooperate to regulate gene splicing

Should scientists be allowed to create extremely aggressive and highly infectious influenza viruses? Dutch virologists have done it and, in the process, triggered a fierce debate over the risks of bioterrorism and the potential release of deadly viruses.

The 17th floor of the Erasmus Medical Center in the Dutch city of Rotterdam certainly doesn't look like the kind of place that could pose a threat to global security. A disco ball hangs from the ceiling in the hallway in front of the elevators, and a bar with a golden beer tap stands in the corner of the conference room.

Everything in this 1960s high-rise building evokes the charm of student life, including the door to Room 17.73, which is covered with colorful stickers. But some view the scientist who sits behind that door as a threat to mankind.

Ron Fouchier, a giant of a man at more than two meters tall (6'6"), has dark circles under his eyes. His life has been stressful lately. "They want to paint me as a homicidal idiot," he says heatedly. He is referring, most of all, to a powerful institution from the United States, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB).

In his work Fouchier, a virologist, uses the methods of a branch of research that is as booming as it is controversial. Synthetic biology employs targeted manipulation through genetic engineering to construct new organisms. The 45-year-old's research has even set off alarm bells at the World Health Organization (WHO). This week, Fouchier will appear before an international panel of experts at the WHO to explain his experiments.

Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Fouchier is attracting so much attention because he has created a new organism. And although it is tiny, if it escaped from his laboratory it would claim far more human lives than an exploding nuclear power plant.

The pathogen is a new mutation of the feared bird flu virus, H5N1. In nature, this virus, which kills one of every two people infected, has not yet been transmitted from humans to humans. So far, a relatively small number of people have caught the virus from poultry, and 336 people have died.

Scientific Wake-Up Call

For years, experts feared that the adaptable virus could soon mutate from being primarily a bird killer to a highly infectious threat to humans. But as the years passed and this did not happen, many hoped that it might not even be possible, and some of the fears subsided.

But now Fouchier's experiments have given the research community a wake-up call. The scientist performed only a few targeted manipulations on the genetic material of the ordinary H5N1 virus and, to make the virus even more dangerous, he repeatedly transmitted it from one laboratory animal to the next.

"In the end, the virus became airborne," the Dutch scientist explains. From then on Fouchier's ferrets, animals that most closely resemble humans when it comes to influenza, transmitted the virus to each other without direct contact, through tiny droplets of saliva and mucus.

Many scientists are particularly impressed by the fact that, at almost the same time, another research team also managed to produce a bird flu virus that could be transmitted via airborne respiratory droplets. To achieve this, virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin combined the avian flu virus with the swine flu virus. The newly created superbug is highly infectious, however not particularly dangerous to the ferrets Kawaoka used in his experiments.

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Killer Virus Creation Spurs Debate

ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan’s first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s registry, making the cells available for federally funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction through in-vitro fertilization but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

“This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009,” says Gary Smith, who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute. “It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step.”

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters’ November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

“We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases,” says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

UM is among just a handful of United States universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

“We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments,” said Sue O’Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

UM also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

“This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan,” Feldman said. “This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients.”

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute’s Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M’s Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of UM’s Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

“I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle – the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable,” Taubman said. “This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health.”

For more information about the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School, visit http://www.taubmaninstitute.org

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UM Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry

The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has drawn up a list of the top 10 emerging technologies for 2012 (Image: Shutterstock)

Our goal here at Gizmag is to cover innovation and emerging technologies in all fields of human endeavor, and while almost all of the ideas that grace our pages have the potential to enhance some of our lives in one way or another, at the core are those technologies that will have profound implications for everyone on the planet. For those looking to shape political, business, and academic agendas, predicting how and when these types of technologies will effect us all is critical. Recognizing this, the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has compiled a list of the top 10 emerging technologies it believes will have the greatest impact on the state of the world in 2012.

Betting on the right technologies can allow schools to produce graduates better qualified to deal with a rapidly changing world, governments to more efficiently meet the needs of the populace, business to generate profits, and scientists to better allocate resources.

The list draws on some of the brainpower residing within the entire GAC Network, covering the top ten technological trends that the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies believes will have the biggest social, economic and environmental impacts this year.

Here's the list as presented on the World Economic Forum Blog in order from lowest to highest in terms of the potential to provide solutions to global challenges.

1. Informatics for adding value to information The quantity of information now available to individuals and organizations is unprecedented in human history, and the rate of information generation continues to grow exponentially. Yet, the sheer volume of information is in danger of creating more noise than value, and as a result limiting its effective use. Innovations in how information is organized, mined and processed hold the key to filtering out the noise and using the growing wealth of global information to address emerging challenges. 2. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering The natural world is a testament to the vast potential inherent in the genetic code at the core of all living organisms. Rapid advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering are allowing biologists and engineers to tap into this potential in unprecedented ways, enabling the development of new biological processes and organisms that are designed to serve specific purposes - whether converting biomass to chemicals, fuels and materials, producing new therapeutic drugs or protecting the body against harm. 3. Green Revolution 2.0 - technologies for increased food and biomass Artificial fertilizers are one of the main achievements of modern chemistry, enabling unprecedented increases in crop production yield. Yet, the growing global demand for healthy and nutritious food is threatening to outstrip energy, water and land resources. By integrating advances across the biological and physical sciences, the new green revolution holds the promise of further increasing crop production yields, minimizing environmental impact, reducing energy and water dependence, and decreasing the carbon footprint. 4. Nanoscale design of materials The increasing demand on natural resources requires unprecedented gains in efficiency. Nanostructured materials with tailored properties, designed and engineered at the molecular scale, are already showing novel and unique features that will usher in the next clean energy revolution, reduce our dependence on depleting natural resources, and increase atom-efficiency manufacturing and processing. 5. Systems biology and computational modelling/simulation of chemical and biological systems For improved healthcare and bio-based manufacturing, it is essential to understand how biology and chemistry work together. Systems biology and computational modeling and simulation are playing increasingly important roles in designing therapeutics, materials and processes that are highly efficient in achieving their design goals, while minimally impacting on human health and the environment. 6. Utilization of carbon dioxide as a resource Carbon is at the heart of all life on earth. Yet, managing carbon dioxide releases is one of the greatest social, political and economic challenges of our time. An emerging innovative approach to carbon dioxide management involves transforming it from a liability to a resource. Novel catalysts, based on nanostructured materials, can potentially transform carbon dioxide to high value hydrocarbons and other carbon-containing molecules, which could be used as new building blocks for the chemical industry as cleaner and more sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals. 7. Wireless power Society is deeply reliant on electrically powered devices. Yet, a significant limitation in their continued development and utility is the need to be attached to the electricity grid by wire - either permanently or through frequent battery recharging. Emerging approaches to wireless power transmission will free electrical devices from having to be physically plugged in, and are poised to have as significant an impact on personal electronics as Wi-Fi had on Internet use. 8. High energy density power systems Better batteries are essential if the next generation of clean energy technologies are to be realized. A number of emerging technologies are coming together to lay the foundation for advanced electrical energy storage and use, including the development of nanostructured electrodes, solid electrolysis and rapid-power delivery from novel supercapacitors based on carbon-based nanomaterials. These technologies will provide the energy density and power needed to supercharge the next generation of clean energy technologies. 9. Personalized medicine, nutrition and disease prevention As the global population exceeds 7 billion people - all hoping for a long and healthy life - conventional approaches to ensuring good health are becoming less and less tenable, spurred on by growing demands, dwindling resources and increasing costs. Advances in areas such as genomics, proteomics and metabolomics are now opening up the possibility of tailoring medicine, nutrition and disease prevention to the individual. Together with emerging technologies like synthetic biology and nanotechnology, they are laying the foundation for a revolution in healthcare and well-being that will be less resource intensive and more targeted to individual needs. 10. Enhanced education technology New approaches are needed to meet the challenge of educating a growing young population and providing the skills that are essential to the knowledge economy. This is especially the case in today's rapidly evolving and hyperconnected globalized society. Personalized IT-based approaches to education are
emerging that allow learner-centerd education, critical thinking development and creativity. Rapid developments in social media, open courseware and ubiquitous access to the Internet are facilitating outside classroom and continuous education.

We know there's nothing like a list of predictions to provoke some healthy debate, so let us know what you think of the GAC on Emerging Technologies' effort in the comments. Is there anything you think they've overlooked, or maybe something they've included that shouldn't be there?

Source: World Economic Forum Blog

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World Economic Forum lists top 10 emerging technologies for 2012

MONTREAL, Feb. 16, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Researchers at Polytechnique Montréal have succeeded in changing the genetic material of cancer cells using a brand-new transfection method. This major breakthrough in nanosurgery opens the door to new medical applications, among others for the treatment of cancers.

A light scalpel to treat cancerous cells

The unique method developed by Professor Michel Meunier and his team uses a femtosecond laser (a laser with ultra-short pulses) along with gold nanoparticles. Deposited on the cells, these nanoparticles concentrate the laser's energy and make it possible to perform nanometric-scale surgery in an extremely precise and non-invasive fashion. The technique allows to change the expression of genes in the cancer cells and could be used to slow their migration and prevent the formation of metastases.

The technique perfected by Professor Meunier and his colleagues is a promising alternative to conventional cellular transfection methods, such as lipofection. The experiment, carried out in Montréal laboratories on malignant human melanoma cells, demonstrated 70% optoporation effectiveness, as well as a transfection performance three times higher than lipofection treatment. In addition, unlike conventional treatment, which destroys the physical integrity of the cells, the new method assures cellular viability, with a toxicity of less than 1%. The study's results were published in the prestigious journal Biomaterials.

This major scientific breakthrough could lead to the development of promising applications, including new therapeutic approaches in oncology, neurology and cardiology.

Professor Meunier's team works in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Medicine at the McGill University Health Centre. Their research work receives financial support from the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Canada Research Chairs program (CRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

About Polytechnique Montreal

Founded in 1873, Polytechnique Montréal is one of Canada's leading engineering teaching and research institutions. It is the largest engineering university in Québec for the size of its student body and the scope of its research activities. With over 38,500 graduates, Polytechnique Montréal has graduated 25% of the current members of the l'Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. Polytechnique provides training in 16 engineering specialties, has 242 professors and more than 7,100 students. It has an annual operating budget of over $200 million, including a $72-million research budget.

REFERENCE: Baumgart  J. et al., Off-resonance plasmonic enhanced femtosecond laser optoporation and transfection of cancer cells, Biomaterials (2012), doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.11.062

Annie Touchette
Senior Communications Advisor
Communications and Recruitment Office
Polytechnique Montréal
Tel.: 514 340-4711
ext. 4415
Cell: + 1 514 231-8133
annie.touchette@polymtl.ca

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Nanosurgery and the fight against cancer: major breakthrough at Polytechnique Montréal

To: EDUCATION, MEDICAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS

Line is first from U-M accepted to the U.S. National Institutes of Health registry, now available for federally-funded research

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

"This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step."

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters' November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

"We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases," says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

U-M is among just a handful of U.S. universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

"We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments," says Sue O'Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

U-M also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan. This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients," says Feldman.

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute's Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M's Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of U-M's Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

"I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle - the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable," says Taubman.

"This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health."

For more information about the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School, visit http://www.taubmaninstitute.org

For more information about stem cell research at U-M, visit http://www.umich.edu/stemcell

SOURCE University of Michigan Health System

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U-M Human Embryonic Stem Cell Line Placed On National Registry for Researchers

Public release date: 14-Feb-2012
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Contact: Mary F. Masson
mfmasson@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System

ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? The University of Michigan's first human embryonic stem cell line will be placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the first of the stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan to be placed on the registry.

The line, known as UM4-6, is a genetically normal line, derived in October 2010 from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproduction but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be discarded.

"This is significant, because acceptance of these cells on the registry demonstrates our attention to details of proper oversight, consenting, and following of NIH guidelines established in 2009," says Gary Smith, Ph.D., who derived the line and also is co-director of the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies, part of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"It now makes the line available to researchers who can apply for federal funding to use it in their work; this is an important step."

The line is the culmination of years of planning and preparation and was made possible by Michigan voters' November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics or embryos with genetic abnormalities and not suitable for implantation.

"We expect these cells will be used by investigators worldwide to enhance our understanding of stem cell biology, and together with disease-specific lines, discover treatments and cures for genetic diseases," says Smith, who is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

U-M is among just a handful of U.S. universities creating human embryonic stem cell lines. There are only 147 stem cell lines available on the registry.

"We envision in the future that investigators will be able to use the genetically normal embryonic stem cell lines like UM4-6, together with disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines, as a model system to investigate what causes these diseases and come up with treatments," says Sue O'Shea, professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.

U-M also has two other human embryonic stem cells lines submitted to the national registry. Both are disease specific, the first carrying the genetic defect that causes hemophilia B, and the other carries the gene responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder.

Smith expects to soon submit eight additional human embryonic stem lines for consideration on the national registry: three genetically normal and five new disease specific lines.

This is a historic achievement that will lead to treatments and cures for serious, life-altering diseases and is more evidence that our University of Michigan researchers are leading the world in cutting-edge science that will impact health around the globe, says Eva Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.

"This is another major step forward for medical science in Michigan. This opens us another avenue for researchers to really begin exploring the causes and progression of those diseases, with the ultimate goal of finding new therapies for patients," says Feldman.

Contributors to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute's Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies include the Taubman Institute; the Office of the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs; the Office of the Medical School Dean; the Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; the Office of the Vice President for Research; the School of Dentistry; the Department of Pathology; the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; the College of Engineering; the Life Sciences Institute; the Department of Neurology; and U-M's Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research.

A. Alfred Taubman, founder and chair of U-M's Taubman Institute, called the registry placement a tremendous step for stem cell research.

"I consider stem cells to be a modern medical miracle ? the most exciting advance in medicine since antibiotics. The progress we have made throughout the state in stem cell research has been nothing short of remarkable," says Taubman.

"This milestone means much to the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, but also to the world. It offers another route for researchers to move ahead in studying these horrible diseases. We hope it is the first of many lines that the University of Michigan can contribute to the global efforts to improve human health."

###

For more information about the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School, visit http://www.taubmaninstitute.org

For more information about stem cell research at U-M, visit http://www.umich.edu/stemcell

[ | E-mail | Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Continued here:
U-M human embryonic stem cell line placed on national registry

SAN FRANCISCO – Siemens, Europe’s largest engineering company, is wading into the multibillion-dollar field of personalized medicine by announcing deals to develop companion tests with two drugmakers.

The Munich-based company will work with HIV drugmaker ViiV Healthcare and Tocagen, developer of an experimental brain tumor treatment, to create tests that determine which patients will benefit from the therapies, said Trevor Hawkins, head of Siemens’ next-generation diagnostics division.

“This is a major step forward for us, moving into this multibillion market, which we haven’t been in up until today,” Hawkins said in an interview last week.

Personalized medicine involves determining whether a patient is genetically susceptible to a particular disease or would be especially responsive to certain treatments. These new therapies often require special genetic tests, which are being created by separate companies, in some cases.

The market for molecular diagnostics, which includes personalized medicine tests, will more than double in the U.S. to $5.5 billion in 2016 from $2.5 billion in 2010, according to TriMarkPublications.com.

ViiV, a venture between London-based GlaxoSmithKline and New York-based Pfizer , the world’s biggest drugmaker, has an HIV drug called Selzentry that works with patients who have a specific form of the virus. Siemens will develop a test to help doctors determine which patients would benefit from the therapy.

Tocagen, based in San Diego, is working on a treatment for glioma, or brain cancer, called Toca 511 that’s in early human trials. Working with Siemens will give the company more credibility in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, said Harry Gruber, chief executive officer of closely held Tocagen.

Siemens, Roche and Abbott Laboratories are seeking to form partnerships with drugmakers to develop these companion tests, said David Parker, vice president of the consulting firm Boston Healthcare.

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Siemens partners with drugmakers

The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recently published a new report with seemingly simple recommendations to improve the state of science education in the US, reports ScienceInsider's Jeffrey Mervis. But educators say the recommendations are deceptively simple, and will actually be challenging to implement. PCAST's report says improving undergraduate education in STEM fields is a matter of making introductory courses more interesting and more active, and helping students find jobs in science and engineering, among other suggestions, Mervis says. However, the implementation of these recommendations will require changes in academic culture, according to experts.

"Education reformers say one of their biggest hurdles is an academic culture that prizes research over teaching and that traditionally has been geared more toward weeding out rather than attracting students into majoring in STEM fields," Mervis says. "In addition, the current system of US higher education, including community colleges and 4-year institutions as well as those offering graduate degrees in STEM fields, is so vast that it is inherently resistant to change."

The authors of the report say that their recommendations, if implemented, could result in a million additional students graduating with STEM degrees. In accordance with this report, the Obama administration has proposed spending $60 million on research into the best approaches to improve science and math education in the US, Mervis adds.

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Not as Easy as it Sounds

by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio

February 9, 2012

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St. Paul, Minn. — Scientists gather in St. Paul today to discuss a category of pollution called emerging contaminants — new substances they don't know enough about to label harmful to the environment and human health.

Researchers are particularly troubled by a contaminant that may flourish in wastewater treatment plants: antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotics are now so widely used — in medicine, in agriculture and cleaning products — that some bacteria are quickly evolving to defy treatment for deadly diseases.

Designed to protect the environment, wastewater treatment plants have dramatically cleaned up many rivers that were once open drains for human waste. They typically employ beneficial bacteria to consume wastes. But researchers say the bacteria used in the plants may be mixing with harmful bacteria.

"The idea is the bad bacteria generally die off," said Amy Pruden, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. "But the good bacteria are flourishing, and might be able pick up that genetic material, and then propagate it, and then it becomes a reservoir, and increases just the whole background pool of resistance that can go out in the environment and be a potential source of exposure."

Pruden said researchers are concerned about new strains of bacteria because people are showing up in emergency rooms with resistant infections for which doctors cannot identify a source.

She said her research shows the mix of good and bad bacteria in wastewater treatment plants probably creates bacteria that cannot be controlled with antibiotics.

Among the places scientists are studying is Duluth's treatment plant on the St. Louis River, located between Lake Superior, with its vast stretch of clean water, and an area upstream of the plant where the river bank is mostly undeveloped.

Timothy LaPara, an environmental engineer at the University of Minnesota, took water samples in several places to pinpoint where antibiotic-resistant bacteria were present at elevated levels.

"What we saw was resistance was very low upstream of the city," LePara said. "In the harbor it was higher, in the wastewater outfall it was much higher, and then out in Lake Superior it was very low again, which allowed us to — with a great deal of certainty — conclude that the wastewater treatment outfall was the primary source of antibiotic-resistant genes in the harbor."

One gene linked to antibiotic resistance was 20-times as common in the outflow of the treatment plant as in other samples.

LaPara said the bacteria-resistant genes can be captured by filtering the water thoroughly.

The Duluth plant uses a filter of anthracite coal, silica sand, fine garnet and gravel to trap harmful wastes.

La Para said that if resistant genes survive the multi-stage filter, other wastewater treatment plants probably are also creating pools of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Most treatment plants in the United States don't have that level of treatment, he said.

If so, people could be exposed to such bad bugs by swimming in rivers and lakes where treatment plants discharge water, or even by drinking tap water.

Duluth gets its drinking water from Lake Superior. It is treated thoroughly, but La Para said tiny amounts of antibiotic-resistant material have been detected in drinking water in other studies.

La Para said the research is just beginning. He said scientists must assess how much of a threat the substances might pose to human health.

"Our technologies have gotten so good to detect a lot of these compounds," La Para said. "It's now a question of when does the risk become so significant that we want to further remove them? Is it a part per billion? A part per trillion?"

More research is needed to determine that risk, La Para and Pruden said. In the meantime, they say wastewater treatment plants could consider adding another layer of treatment such as membrane filters or chemicals to kill all the organisms.

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Scientists concerned about antibiotic resistance in wastewater

11-07-2011 10:39 Cornell Professor Doug Antczak delivers the Reunion lecture celebrating Cornell University Library's exhibition "Animal Legends." Dr. Antczak explores the relationship between humans and animals in the context of selective breeding and genetic engineering, explaining how these processes have put evolution on 'fast forward' for several domesticated species, and how they are thus bringing Myth closer to Reality, and vice versa.

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Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 09 Feb 2012 - 0:00 PST

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By reverse engineering human skin cells to become induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and then coaxing them to become neural dopamine cells, scientists in the US have developed a way to study a genetic cause of Parkinson's disease in lab-made neurons. Their findings, which they write about in the 7 February issue of Nature Communications, reveal some potential new drug targets for Parkinson's and a new platform to screen treatments that might mimic the protective functions of parkin, the gene they investigated.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that results from the death of dopamine-secreting neurons in a region of the brain that controls movement. In the US there are 500,000 people with Parkinson's disease, and 50,000 new cases every year. There is no cure.

Most cases have no specific cause, but around 1 in 10 can be attributed to known genetic factors. One of these is mutations in the parkin gene.

To study the effect of the parkin gene in brain cells, you have to study live human neurons. But they are hard to study because they live in complex networks in the brain, ruling out the possibility of extracting them.

And you can't use animals, because when they lack the parkin gene, they don't develop Parkinson's disease: human neurons are thought to have "unique vulnerabilities" in this respect.

(The suggestion is that the larger human brain uses more dopamine to support the neural computation that is needed to enable us to walk on two legs, compared to the four-legged movement of almost all other animals.)

But in 2007, scientists in Japan described how they made human stem cells (iPSCs) without using embryos, and since then, lead author of the Nature Communications study, Dr Jian Feng from the University at Buffalo (UB) in New York, and colleagues, have been looking for a way to use the technology to study neurons with mutations in the parkin gene.

Feng, a professor of physiology and biophysics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, said in a press statement that the advent of iPSCs was a "game-changer" for their field of work:

"Before this, we didn't even think about being able to study the disease in human neurons."

"The brain is so fully integrated. It's impossible to obtain live human neurons to study," he added.

For their study, Feng and colleagues reverse engineered human skin cells to make iPSCs. The skin cells came from four people: two with a rare type of Parkinson's disease where parkin causes the disease, and two healthy people who served as controls.

"Once parkin is mutated, it can no longer precisely control the action of dopamine, which supports the neural computation required for our movement," said Feng.

Feng and colleagues also found that mutations in parkin stop it being able to tightly control the production of monoamine oxidase (MAO), which catalyzes dopamine oxidation.

"Normally, parkin makes sure that MAO, which can be toxic, is expressed at a very low level so that dopamine oxidation is under control," said Feng.

But they found that when it is mutated, parkin loses the ability to regulate MAO, so the level goes up.

"The nerve cells from our Parkinson's patients had much higher levels of MAO expression than those from our controls. We suggest in our study that it might be possible to design a new class of drugs that would dial down the expression level of MAO," explained Feng, who noted that one of the drugs currently used to treat Parkinson's disease slows the activity of MAO and in trials has been shown to slow disease progression.

Fend said they discovered that a key reason for the death of dopamine neurons was oxidative stress due to there being too much MAO around. But before the neurons die, the precise action of dopamine in helping the neural computations that support movement, is disrupted by mutations in parkin.

"This paper provides the first clues about what the parkin gene is doing in healthy controls and what it fails to achieve in Parkinson's patients," said Feng.

When the researchers delivered normal parkin into the neurons with the mutations, the defects were reversed. This is what makes them think such neurons could be used as a platform for screening new drug candidates that could mimic the protective effect of normal parkin.

The University of Buffalo has applied for patent protection on the screening platform.

Although parkin mutations are responsible for a small proportion of Parkinson's cases, the researchers believe that understanding how the gene works could be relevant to all cases of the disease.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Visit our parkinson's disease section for the latest news on this subject. "Parkin controls dopamine utilization in human midbrain dopaminergic neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells"; Houbo Jiang, Yong Ren, Eunice Y. Yuen, Ping Zhong, Mahboobe Ghaedi, Zhixing Hu, Gissou Azabdaftari, Kazuhiro Nakaso, Zhen Yan & Jian Feng; Nature Communications 3:668; Published online 07 Feb 2012; DOI:10.1038/ncomms1669; Link to Abstract.
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Lab-Made Neurons Allow Scientists To Study A Genetic Cause Of Parkinson's

This paper was issued to PLoS ONE at 14:00 (PST) on February 9 2012.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated by epigenetic reprogramming of personal somatic cells have limited therapeutic capacity for patients suffering from genetic disorders. Here we demonstrate restoration of a genomic mutation heterozygous for Pkd1 (polycystic kidney disease 1) deletion (Pkd1(+/-) to Pkd1(+/R+)) by spontaneous mitotic recombination.

Notably, recombination between homologous chromosomes occurred at a frequency of 1-2 per 10,000 iPSCs. Southern blot hybridization and genomic PCR analyses demonstrated that the genotype of the mutation-restored iPSCs was indistinguishable from that of the wild-type cells.

Importantly, the frequency of cyst generation in kidneys of adult chimeric mice containing Pkd1(+/R+) iPSCs was significantly lower than that of adult chimeric mice with parental Pkd1(+/-) iPSCs, and indistinguishable from that of wild-type mice.

This repair step could be directly incorporated into iPSC development programmes prior to cell transplantation, offering an invaluable step forward for patients carrying a wide range of genetic disorders.

More information: Cure of ADPKD by selection for spontaneous genetic repair events in Pkd1-mutated iPS cells, Li-Tao Cheng, et al. Stem Cell Engineering, Institute for Frontier Medical Scinences, Kyoto University, JAPAN, Urology, Teikyo University, JAPAN, Cardiovascular and Neuronal Remodelling, LIGHT, Leeds University, UK, PLoS ONE 7(2): e32018. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032018

Provided by Kyoto University

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Cure of ADPKD by selection for spontaneous genetic repair events in Pkd1-mutated iPS cells