Can amyloid plaque in Alzheimer’s disease affect remote regions of the brain?

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, July 21, 2014In Alzheimer's disease, accumulation of amyloid plaque in the brain is believed to play an important role in many characteristic disease symptoms, including memory loss and other mental state changes. But how these plaque deposits affect brain function is not well understood. Important new study results showing that plaque buildup in one area of the brain can negatively affect metabolism in a more distant brain region have been published in Brain Connectivity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Brain Connectivity website at http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/brain.2013.0212 until August 21, 2014.

As part of a special issue focused on Alzheimer's disease, Elisabeth Klupp and coauthors, Technische Universtt Mnchen (Munich and Garching, Germany) and University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, present the results of an imaging-based study demonstrating that amyloid buildup in one brain region can impair brain cell metabolism and activity another in remote brain region not affected by amyloid plaque accumulation. The regions studied were part of the same functional network but are located remotely from each other in the brain. The authors suggest this long-distance effect may be the result of diminished neuronal signals originating from the amyloid-affected brain region to the remote amyloid-unaffected brain region. The findings are discussed in the article "In Alzheimer's Disease, Hypometabolism in Low-Amyloid Brain Regions May Be a Functional Consequence of Pathologies in Connected Brain Regions."

"This research may be an important new discovery that links two important hypotheses in Alzheimer's disease research: the amyloid buildup hypothesis and the network degenerating hypothesis," says Christopher Pawela, PhD, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin.

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About the Journal

Brain Connectivity is the essential peer-reviewed journal covering groundbreaking findings in the rapidly advancing field of connectivity research at the systems and network levels. Published 10 times per year in print and online, the Journal is under the leadership of Founding and Co-Editors-in-Chief Christopher Pawela, PhD, Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Bharat Biswal, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology. It includes original peer-reviewed papers, review articles, point-counterpoint discussions on controversies in the field, and a product/technology review section. To ensure that scientific findings are rapidly disseminated, articles are published Instant Online within 72 hours of acceptance, with fully typeset, fast-track publication within 4 weeks. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Brain Connectivity website at http://www.liebertpub.com/brain.

About the Publisher

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Can amyloid plaque in Alzheimer's disease affect remote regions of the brain?

New research from Africa on pharmacomicrobiomics

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY -- The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is a global initiative to identify and characterize the microorganisms present at multiple sites in the human body. An international team of researchers reports on new ways to harness the results of the HMP and discusses how changes in the microbiome might affect human health, disease, immunity, and importantly, the safety and effectiveness of drug treatment in a Review article that is part of the special issue "OMICS in Africa: Moving 21st Century Integrative Biology from Lab to Village to Innovation Ecosystems," of OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology, the peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The issue is available on the OMICS website.

In the article "Pharmacomicrobiomics: The Impact of Human Microbiome Variations on Systems Pharmacology and Personalized Therapeutics," senior author Ramy Karam Aziz and coauthors propose a "microbiome cloud model" to understand the variation in an individual's microbiome composition within and between individuals and how that variability makes it difficult to define the human microbiome. They present detailed examples of microbiome changes related to colorectal cancer, use of antibiotics, and pharmacomicrobiomics or drug-microbiome interactions in relation to personalized healthcare.

In the Commentary "Translating Biotechnology to Knowledge-Based Innovation, Peace, and Development? Deploy a Science Peace CorpsAn Open Letter to World Leaders," Nezih Hekim, SANKO University, Turkey and coauthors in 15 countries from around the world joined forces with OMICS Editor-in-Chief Vural zdemir, MD, PhD, DABCP Gaziantep University, Faculty of Communications, School of Journalism, Gaziantep Turkey, to call for the creation of a global Science Peace Corps. This idea and initiative would entail volunteer work in life sciences translational research for no less than 6 weeks and up to 2 years in any region of the world. The topics could relate to all fields of medicine "as long as they are linked to potential or concrete endpoints in development, foreign policy and/or peace scholarship domains." The authors describe the proposed Science Peace Corps as a "new instrument in the global science governance toolbox" that would advance "the emerging concept of 'one health'encompassing human, environmental, plant, microbial, ecosystem, and planet health."

Original research articles in this special issue cover topics of relevance to Africa such as HIV transmission and epidemiology, maternal health, malaria, common complex diseases such as deafness, and policy action for sickle cell anemia that is greatly impacting the African populations.

African science and knowledge-based innovation are central to a deep understanding of pathophysiology, prevention and treatment of human diseases, discovery and development of novel diagnostics, as well as ecosystem health. OMICS Editor-in-Chief Vural zdemir summarizes the special issue as "very much in the spirit of the integration we seek to achieve in the Journal across biotechnologies, their variegated applications in life sciences, and between technology and global society, so that knowledge-based innovations can responsibly integrate at a community level."

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About the Journal

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Dont allow field trials of GM crops: farmers, activists

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The recent decision of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to allow field trials of GM rice, mustard, cotton, chickpea and brinjal has been met with strong opposition from farmers groups and environmental activists.

Seeking the intervention of Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javdekar, the Bhartiya Kisan Union has asked for annulment of the approvals.

Questioning the need for release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the fields, the BKU leaders said they were concerned over the nations seed and food sovereignty.

This is because most genes as well as transgenic processes are already patented and these Intellectual Property Rights work for the monopolistic benefit of the profiteering multinational corporations. The ease with which a transgenic technology allows corporations to claim ownership rights over seeds makes it attractive to them to hype why the world needs GMOs and seek control over entire food chains from production to marketing jeopardising the livelihood security of farmers, BKU leaders Naresh Tikait, Dharmendra Malik and Yudhveer Singh said in a letter to the Minister.

In a separate letter to Mr. Javadekar, the Coalition for GM-free India said the GEAC approvals came at a time the Supreme Court was about to pronounce its orders on the issue of field trials of GM crops, based on the recommendations of the Courts Technical Expert Committee (TEC). Realising the potential of field trials to contaminate the seed, food supply chains and environment, and owing to the lack of a proper regulatory system, the TEC has recommended a moratorium on open-air field trials.

It is ironical that the BJP manifesto promise of not allowing GM foods in the country without full scientific evaluation of their long-term effects on soil, production and biological impact on consumers is the main subject for this PIL petition in the Supreme Court. It was pending the decision of the apex court that former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had stayed GEAC meetings... The last time the GEAC approved some GMOs for open- air field testing, prominent BJP leaders had condemned the move, Rajesh Krishnan of the coalition said.

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New HIV prevention recommendations combine biomedical, behavioral approaches

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In an innovative approach to HIV prevention, an interdisciplinary group of experts has come together for the first time to lay out a framework of best practices to optimize the role of the clinician in achieving an AIDS-free generation. The guidelines, which will be published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), integrate both cutting-edge biomedical advances and evidence-based behavioral interventions for the care of people living with HIV or at high risk for HIV infection.

The recommendations, developed by an expert volunteer panel assembled by the International Antiviral (formerly AIDS) Society-USA (IAS-USA), are intended as guidelines for clinicians to implement a combined biomedical-behavioral approach to HIV care and prevention. They are based on a comprehensive review of data that was either published or presented at scientific conferences over the past 17 years.

Among the new recommendations is a call for the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which suppresses HIV replication and virtually eliminates the risk of transmitting the virus, for all HIV-infected individuals and as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-uninfected individuals at high risk of infection. The guidelines emphasize the integration of behavioral and social interventions -- such as psychosocial counseling or treatment for drug dependence -- in health care systems to help individuals living with HIV or at high risk for infection to access and remain in high quality HIV care.

"The tools to prevent HIV infection and disease progression are better than ever, but providers need encouragement and support to integrate best practices in communication and counseling with the biomedical measures that can render patients less- and ideally non-infectious," says Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at the University of Washington; medical director of the Seattle STD/HIV Prevention Training Center; a co-chair of the IAS-USA panel; and corresponding author of the paper.

According to the recommendations, the availability of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has changed the lives of millions of individuals living with HIV, transforming HIV from a fatal infection to a manageable chronic disease. But while the incidence of new HIV-1 infections worldwide has decreased by an estimated 33 percent since 2001, it still remains high -- approximately 2.3 million new infections occurred in 2012. In the United States alone, approximately 50,000 new infections occur each year -- a number that has remained largely unchanged since the 1990s.

"We are at a time where scientific advances in HIV allow us to effectively implement interventions that could stop HIV transmission," says Carlos del Rio, MD, chair of the Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, co-director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research, co-chair of the IAS-USA Panel, and a member of the IAS-USA volunteer board of directors. "But the success of both biomedical and behavioral HIV prevention measures depends on clinicians' ability and willingness to implement them."

"These guidelines provide a practical, science-based approach that any clinician can implement," says David Holtgrave, PhD, chair of the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a co-chair of the IAS-USA Panel. "They are designed to promote the integration of the best available services -- both behavioral and biomedical -- and to create a clear pathway to access these services and realize their full benefit."

The panel's recommendations include the following:

The recommendations note that while implementing them may present structural, economic, or political challenges, the benefits should be substantial in preventing disease progression, promoting the gain of healthy life years and preventing new HIV infections.

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New HIV prevention recommendations combine biomedical, behavioral approaches

Chinese firms going the extra distance as medical tourism blossoms

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Wang Chao

China Daily

Publication Date : 21-07-2014

Medical tourism, once the exclusive preserve of the rich, is growing and changing as hospitals and clinics offer farflung patients advantages hard to come by in China whether it be high-tech therapy, less-expensive care or alternative treatments.

In China, home to a growing number of travelling patients, more foreign medical tourists are seeking care either to save money or for such treatments as traditional Chinese medicine.

"In European countries such as Turkey and Cyprus, more than half of people are not covered by public insurance, so Chinese medical institutions have big opportunities," says Li Jingwen, general manager in Beijing for McBridge, a medical business consultant with offices in China and Germany.

At the same time, outbound tourists from China are starting to go for hospitals and clinics in many developed countries.

They are showing up not just with shopping bags and cameras, but also in increasing numbers with their medical records in countries like South Korea, Singapore, Europe and the United States.

They are filling hospital beds and surgical suites for treatments as diverse as plastic surgery, extensive checkups and cancer treatment.

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Chinese firms going the extra distance as medical tourism blossoms

GEAC clears import of GM soyabean oil

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India's biotech regulator Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has given green signal for the import of Genetically Modified (GM) soybean oil.

"Three applications for import of GM Soybean oil were permitted as highly processed food like oil do not contain detectable DNA or Proteins. The same was confirmed by Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) Mysore after testing of the oil samples," GEAC said, adding that more than 70 countries are importing GM soybean and canola oil.

The statutory body, which held its 121st meeting on Friday, also permitted confined field trials of 13 GM crops, including rice, brinjal, chickpea, mustard and cotton, out of the 15 cases it considered.

GEAC Chairman Hem Pande said "field trials for certain varieties of GM crops including rice, brinjal, chickpea, mustard and cotton had been cleared".

However, the field trials, or small scale experiments, on these crops were subject to No Objection Certificate (NOC) from state governments.

During the GEAC meeting, three cases of pharmaceuticals were also considered of which two were deferred and one case pertaining to revalidation of the GEAC nod was permitted.

Officials said GEAC had "virtually" not met for almost two years from April 2012 to March 2014 due to which which decision on 79 applications for field trials remained pending.

These 79 cases, recommended by Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) under the Department of Biotechnology, included 37 cases of revalidation and 42 new cases involving confined (regulated) field trials related to cotton, rice, castor, maize, wheat, groundnut, sugarcane, chickpea, mustard, sorghum and brinjal.

The GEAC on Friday also decided to constitute a sub-committee to review the toxicology data generated by the applicants of GM brinjal developed by BejoSheetal P Limited and GM mustard developed by Delhi University South Campus in view of concerns raised by some of the members.

An official said all GM crops field trials are subject to stringent norms which are as per the international standards.

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GEAC clears import of GM soyabean oil

Can betting against yourself online help you save money?

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KARLA MURTHY:Like many Americans, Barbara Nordin, a freelance editor and writer in Charlottesville, Virginia often procrastinates.

BARBARA NORDIN:I knew that professionally I needed a website. And I, had the domain name, I, you know, made lists of what I put on it for eons

KARLA MURTHY:But in 2012, she learned about an online program that would push her to get the project done or else she would lose $50 dollars. Its an example of behavioral economics at work, according to Dean Karlan, a Yale University economist.

DEAN KARLAN:Its about realizing that youre going to respond to incentives. If you dont like the way youre going to respond, you can change those incentives. You can change the price of things by being a bit self-aware and thinking ahead.

KARLA MURTHY:Understanding how people respond to incentives is central to behavioral economics, a field which looks at the psychology behind economic decisions. This new science is being used to help people nudge them on everything from making better healthcare decisions to maximizing energy efficiency.

But one of its biggest uses is in improving peoples financial choices. An area in which many Americans dont excel. The personal savings rate is less than half of what it was a generation ago. And an estimated 56 million Americans have virtually no retirement savings.

JOSH WRIGHT:Financial education has actually had not great results in terms of getting people to change behavior.

KARLA MURTHY:Josh Wright is the executive director of Ideas42, a nonprofit that works with companies, foundations, and governments to apply lessons from behavioral economics. He points to a study that showed how committing to save more, not even today, but in the future, dramatically increased retirement savings.

JOSH WRIGHT:One of the interesting things about peoples financial lives is, they usually know what they wanna do or they have an intention to save more or spend less get greater control over their finances. And a lot of it has to do with following through on those desires and intentions. And theres a lot that behavioral science can do along with technology to help us help people help themselves, really, to do what they wanna do.

KARLA MURTHY:And new businesses have taken some of these insights to heart. Washington D.C.-based HelloWallet provides financial computer software, including budgeting and retirement tools for employees of big companies across the country.

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Can betting against yourself online help you save money?

Can you be nudged into saving money? Some companies are banking on it

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Evidence from behavioral economists, researchers who study the psychology behind economic decision making, has been applied before to everything from getting people to become organ donors to helping them reduce water use.

But now, its helping people make better financial decisions and save more money. And increasingly major financial companies are using it to help consumers get a better fiscal foothold.

Josh Wright, executive director of Ideas42, a nonprofit consulting firm that works with companies to apply research from behavioral science, says that hes seen a shift in the finance industry with firms putting more emphasis on encouraging smarter financial decisions.

A lot of these concepts are now being used by financial institutions to start to think about designing products that are better for people, Wright said. And this is particularly true for people on the lower end of the income spectrum.

Wright cites American Express as one such company. In 2012, the company partnered with Walmart to launch Bluebird, a prepaid card aimed at consumers who dont use traditional banks. With Bluebird, users can pay bills, load cash at Walmart and even receive paychecks using direct deposit.

Notably, though, Bluebird lets users set up a savings account within the card just one example of a small tweak companies are making to help generate more responsible behavior, Wright said.

And in the next several months, Ideas42, which has been working with American Express, will be helping conduct studies with the companys Serve prepaid card to see how it can influence consumer behavior.

Well actually be able to see if it helps people, Wright said.

JP Morgan Chase is also hoping to use behavioral economics to help improve peoples financial behavior.

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GEAC clears field trials for GM crops

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The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on Friday gave the green signal for field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice, mustard, cotton, chickpea and brinjal at its meeting in Delhi.

Hem Kumar Pande, chairperson of the GEAC told The Hindu that meetings were not held for a year since March 2013 and there was a backlog of 70 applications pending since 2011-12 of which 60 have been cleared so far.

Fridays agenda dealt with 15 items and cleared field trials of rabi crops. In the three meetings since March 2014, the GEAC took up revalidation of data and approved kharif crops, Mr. Pande pointed out.

While the GEAC has approved the commercial release of Bt brinjal it has been stayed by the Ministry of Environment and Mr. Pande said the government would have to take a decision on this. The only genetically modified crop approved for release in India is cotton.

So far about 20 GM crops are under trial at various stages, he said and the new approvals were for the first stage of trials on one-acre plots. He said unless research in Indian conditions is allowed, the viability of these crops would not be known.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava, founder and former director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and Supreme Court appointee to the GEAC told The Hindu that he was particularly concerned about the approval granted to import GM soyabean oil.

According to my technical information, no oil made from a GM product is free of foreign DNA. Even in small amounts, DNA is genetic material and can cause damage. There is incontrovertible evidence that oils made from GM material do contain foreign DNA, he said.

Three companies - Bayer Bio Sciences, Monsanto and BASF have been allowed to import the oil. The last time there was objection to the import of soyabean oil; samples were sent for testing to the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), which gave it a clean chit.

Dr. Bhargava questioned the sensitivity of the tests that were carried out. The next meeting of the GEAC will be held in August. However, the country is already using cotton seed oil after the advent of transgenic cotton.

Members who attended the meeting said that while companies provided data to support their proposals there was no system of verifying the validity of the data. They also objected to some dissenting voices, which were not recorded in the minutes of the meeting the last time and the Committee said it would be recorded now on.

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Genetic Engineering to the Rescue Against Invasive Species?

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Genes for swatting tiger mosquitoes, defanging brown tree snakes, and deporting Asian carp, all nasty invasive species, sound like a swell idea. But the latest idea in eradicationgenetic engineeringposes its own risks, warn biotechnology experts.

Invasive species wreak havoc worldwide, disrupting native ecosystems and inflicting more than $120 billion in damages annually in the U.S. alone. Many economicallyand environmentallydamaging species, such as those mosquitoes, snakes, and carp, defy removal with existing technology.

But there is good news. "Gene drives"which could trigger a precipitous decline in invasive species by tinkering with their genetic machineryhave arrived as a fast-maturing technology, an international team of scientists announced on Thursday.

"Once an invasive species arrives in a new habitat and is driving native species extinct, we don't necessarily have a lot of solutions to that. Gene drive technology could potentially cause local extinction [of the invasive species] and restore the original ecosystem," says Kevin Esvelt, a genetic engineer at Harvard University and an author of tandem papers published this week in Science and eLife.

But he and his colleagues warn that we should tread cautiously; otherwise, the new technology may blow up in our face. "We want to make sure this technology is used responsibly to solve problems facing humanity and the natural world," Esvelt says. (See "Why the 67 Giant Snails Seized in L.A. Are Harmful.")

How It Works

The technology starts by identifying a genetic alteration that could reduce pesticide resistance, hinder a population's ability to reproduce, or have some other desirable impact on the target species.

Scientists could then insert that alteration into the genome of an invasive species, but there is no guarantee that it will propagate.

This is where the gene drives come in. Essentially, they act as chauffeurs that can "drive" a genetic alteration through a population, says Esvelt.

In most animals, there are two versions of a gene and each one has a 50-50 chance of being passed on to the next generation.

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Genetic Engineering to the Rescue Against Invasive Species?

Scientists unlock the genetic secrets of bread wheat

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Researcher Frdric Choulet explains why mapping the bread genome is so important and discusses sequencing wheat chromosome 3B. (INRA)

Scientists announced Thursday that they are approaching a milestone in humanitys ability to improve bread wheat.

One of the most common and most versatile crops on the planet the main food staple for a third of the world population wheat is remarkably good at adapting to change. But efforts to grow higher-yielding, more nutritious and more resilient wheat in response to population growth and climate change have been slow for one simple reason. Its genes are a big, complicated mess.

Many scientists thought that it would be impossible to map the genome of wheat to figure out how its genes are ordered so that specific traits can be more quickly identified. But a group made up of scientists, breeders and growers say that theyre more than halfway there and that an entire sequence is on the horizon.

Genome sequencing has revolutionized the process of breeding corn and rice, experts said, and is especially important given the stress that climate change will put on the food supply as the worlds population booms.

Human civilization rests on a small handful of crops, all of which were developed with much more stable weather conditions than we see now, said Patrick Schnable, an Iowa State University professor who worked on the genome sequencing of corn. In a world with climate change, we need to help those crops adapt quickly. And to do that, he said, one needs the genome sequence.

I was told by a breeder that it was the single most valuable thing the government has ever done for them, Schnable said. The genetic information has been used to increase crop yields and make crops more resilient to stresses such as pests and weather change.

The same has been true for rice. Its accelerated the discovery of the genes involved in many traits, including those for higher yield and disease resistance, said Jan E. Leach, a Colorado State University professor who is not involved in the study. Its always boggled my mind how ridiculous it is to not have [a complete genome] for wheat, she said, so this is great news.

Thursdays announcement reported that about half of bread wheats genome has been sequenced, which might not sound impressive. But until recently, scientists had something like 5 percent of the information, said Kellye Eversole, executive director of the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), which organized the research.

She compared the sequencing thus far to a partially completed map. After starting with an empty map and a list of roads, she said, the researchers now have about half the highways in place. Its not very well ordered, she said. You might know theres a Route 1, and that its in Virginia, but you dont know exactly where it is. But its a guide, and its accelerating us towards that complete map.

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Scientists unlock the genetic secrets of bread wheat

Splice-switching oligonucleotide therapeutics is new method for editing gene transcript

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

17-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

Splice-Switching Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Is Promising New Method for Editing Gene Transcripts

New Rochelle, NY, July 17, 2014In splice-switching, an innovative therapeutic approach, targeted oligonucleotide drugs alter the editing of a gene transcript to produce the desired form of a protein. Developments in this rapidly advancing field have already led to promising treatments for such diseases as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, as described in an article in Human Gene Therapy, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Human Gene Therapy website.

In "Development of Therapeutic Splice-Switching Oligonucleotides," Petra Disterer and coauthors from University College London, University of London, and Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, present an overview of the many possible therapeutic applications for splice-switching oligonucleotides. The authors discuss the design and chemical modification of these novel compounds to increase their stability and effectiveness, and emphasize the need to develop efficient solutions on a case by case basis.

"This is an emerging therapeutic area with promising clinical results," says James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Human Gene Therapy, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia.

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About the Journal

Human Gene Therapy, the official journal of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy, French Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, German Society of Gene Therapy, and five other gene therapy societies, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online. Human Gene Therapy presents reports on the transfer and expression of genes in mammals, including humans. Related topics include improvements in vector development, delivery systems, and animal models, particularly in the areas of cancer, heart disease, viral disease, genetic disease, and neurological disease, as well as ethical, legal, and regulatory issues related to the gene transfer in humans. Its sister journals, Human Gene Therapy Methods, published bimonthly, focuses on the application of gene therapy to product testing and development, and Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, published quarterly, features data relevant to the regulatory review and commercial development of cell and gene therapy products. Tables of content for all three publications and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Human Gene Therapy website.

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Splice-switching oligonucleotide therapeutics is new method for editing gene transcript

Why Microsoft isn’t spooked by the Apple-IBM alliance

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Nadella's plan to put services, software on all platforms means the Apple-IBM deal will have little impact on the enterprise-centric Microsoft

The Apple-IBM partnership announced yesterday will have little or no impact on Microsoft's dominance in the enterprise, or drastically change its already mutating mobile strategy for business, according to analysts.

"Short term, there will likely be very little impact to Microsoft," said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research. "Microsoft is a very broad corporate computing entity, but IBM tends to focus on more specific implementations for vertical markets. Most of the IBM work, even though they have long-term engagements with certain customers, the engagements are more project focused.

"Of course, Microsoft wants its share of that business - it does do some consulting and of course wants to lock in those wins on its own platforms - but so much of its business is in general productivity," Rubin added. "So I think it's unlikely that the Apple-IBM alliance will have much of an impact."

On Tuesday, Apple and IBM jointly announced a new partnership that will meld IBM's big data and analytics capabilities with Apple's iPhone and iPad. IBM will sell the Apple devices; craft more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions that include native apps; optimize its cloud services for iOS; package device supply, activation and management services; offer financing and leasing plans; and provide on-site support to customers. Apple will also offer new AppleCare support options designed for enterprises.

Experts yesterday called the deal "brilliant" and said Apple got the better part of the alliance as it now has a front door into the enterprise rather than having to sneak in through the back as workers bring their personal iPhones and iPads into the office.

Microsoft, of course, is the premier supplier of productivity software - including operating systems - to the enterprise, and has been hammering on mobile for ages. Since the appearance of the iPhone, then Android and finally the iPad, it has made little headway: Microsoft's smartphone shipment share remains in the low single digits worldwide and its tablets, among them its own Surface Pro 3 -- Microsoft trumpets it as a notebook replacement, not a tablet -- have made little or no meaningful headway anywhere, including in business.

Originally, Microsoft's enterprise mobile strategy, particularly with the 2012 launch of Windows 8 on PCs, tablets and phones, was one stressing homogeneity to customers. Microsoft bet that its business customers would choose Windows-powered smartphones and tablets because they could be managed with the familiar tools already used to handle desktops and notebooks.

When that didn't take, Microsoft switched up the strategy. New CEO Satya Nadella has banged the "mobile-first, Cloud-first" mantra and increasingly talked about app agnosticism and the importance of cross-platform-capable software and services.

"We are going to have our experiences on all platforms," Nadella again promised when he spoke today at his company's Worldwide Partners Conference. "That means every home screen out there. Our aspiration is to have one or many Microsoft icons, Microsoft digital experiences. They're all entry points for us as an ecosystem."

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NIH turns to crowdsourcing to repurpose drugs

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

16-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, July 16, 2014Experimental drugs proven safe but perhaps not sufficiently effective in initial testing or against a first disease target may sit gathering dust on the shelves of pharmaceutical companies. An NIH-sponsored effort based on a crowdsourcing strategy to establish collaborations between industrial and academic partners to test and develop these therapeutic compounds was met with an overwhelming response and has led to clinical testing of a broad range of pilot projects and a newly announced round of funding opportunities. These findings are described in a Review article in the preview issue of the new journal Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning website.

Christine M. Colvis, PhD and Christopher P. Austin, MD, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, explain that the Center does not focus on a particular disease or organ system, allowing it to support a broad scope of projects that link indications with unmet medical needs to the mechanisms of action of new drug compounds that are ready to move into patient testing. In the article "The NIH-Industry New Therapeutic Uses Pilot Program: Demonstrating the Power of Crowdsourcing") the authors state that among the new funding opportunity announcements released by the Center in May were 12 therapeutic agents for pediatric indication consideration.

"This article describes not only how targeted crowdsourcing can link up the assets, the know-how, and the creativity that drug repurposing needs, but also how such a program can be organized to serve the best interests of all concerned parties," says journal Editor Hermann Mucke, PhD, H.M. Pharma Consultancy, Vienna, Austria. "Pharmaceutical companies and academia must collaborate to leverage their huge potential synergies in compound re-development, and by arranging and mentoring this pilot program NCATS has firmly established its role as a mediator in drug repurposing."

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About the Journal

Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a dynamic new peer-reviewed journal, presents techniques and tools for finding new uses for approved drugs particularly for disorders where no animal model, physiologic abnormality, biochemical pathway, or molecular target has been identified. Led by Editor-in-Chief Aris Persidis, Biovista, Inc., and Editor Hermann Mucke, H.M. Pharma Consultancy e.U, the Journal provides a new interdisciplinary platform for scientific contributions to the field of drug repurposing including original research papers, reviews, case studies, application-oriented technology assessments, and reports in methodology and technology application. The Journal is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print. A sample issue may be viewed on the Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning website

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NIH turns to crowdsourcing to repurpose drugs

Autism Service Provider Behavioral Foundations LLC Offers Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy and Consultations

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Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) July 16, 2014

Individuals on the Autism spectrum face unique challenges in areas like language, socialization, sensory integration and some levels of cognition. No two individuals on the Autism spectrum will face the same combination of challenges. Therefore, it is important for the treatment of these challenges be individualized to fit the specific needs and goals of the person in need.

The scientific community has noted that one of the most effective treatments for individuals on the Autism spectrum is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Applied Behavior Analysis is a discipline that seeks to understand and improve the behavior of individuals by developing custom treatment programs that fit the skill deficits of the person in need. "ABA works by systematically changing behavior based on principles of learning derived from behavioral psychology, that encourage positive behaviors and discourage negative behaviors" - Autism Science Foundation. It is through this practice that new skills are acquired and maladaptive behaviors are reduced, both working together to foster the success and independence of the individual.

Behavioral Foundations, LLC (behavioralfoundations.com) is a new private service provider for East Tennessee offering ABA services to individuals of all ages and abilities. Driven by data oriented programs based on ABA principles, Behavioral Foundations seeks to improve the lives of those in need of behavioral or education support in the Knoxville area. Further, all programs are developed and monitored by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Dr. Melissa Switzer.

Dr. Switzer obtained her graduate degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. Having held the assistant licensure of Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst for eight years while completing her Doctoral coursework, she has over thirteen years of education and experience in the field of ABA based Autism treatment. After completing her PhD in Psychology, Dr. Switzer went on to broaden her experience base serving in residential, center-based and home-based ABA programs in the Dallas area for the last five years. Dr. Switzer and her family have recently relocated to the Knoxville area, upon which she opened Behavioral Foundations, LLC. It is Dr. Switzer's mission to offer Autism and ABA services to local families and individuals in need of behavioral or educational support here in East Tennessee.

Behavioral Foundations, LLC offers consultation, therapy, and support services that are based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that are developed and monitored by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).

If you would like more information about the ABA services offered by Behavioral Foundations, LLC, contact Melissa Switzer at 865-288-7871, or visit the website http://behavioralfoundations.com/aba-bcba/.

Melissa Switzer Ph.D., BCBA Owner and Founder, Behavioral Foundations, LLC.

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Autism Service Provider Behavioral Foundations LLC Offers Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy and Consultations

Agnosticism 101: What is Agnosticism? Index of Documents …

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Agnosticism 101

Index of Documents and Articles

If there is anything as misunderstood and misrepresented as atheism, it must be agnosticism. There are many misconceptions about agnosticism, agnostics, and the reasons why anyone would adopt a position of agnosticism in the first place. This is unfortunate, because whether agnosticism is conceived of as a philosophy or simply an isolated position on the existence of gods, it is eminently reasonable and defensible.

The definition of agnosticism is one of the more contentious issues - even many agnostics continue to hold to the idea that agnosticism represents some sort of "third way" between atheism and theism. Not only evidence from standard dictionaries but also a careful comparison between agnosticism and other ideas like theism and atheism reveal that calling oneself an agnostic by no mean excludes being either an atheist or a theist.

Limiting oneself to discussing agnosticism as an isolated position fails to do it justice. It was originally conceived by Thomas Henry Huxley as a methodology for approaching religious questions, particularly the existence of God. Even before he coined the term, however, basic agnostic principles had existed for a long time and they have always posed serious challenges to basic premises in theology and religious philosophy. Agnosticism is a skeptical challenge to the notion that any religious conclusion can really be "known" in the first place.

Defining Agnosticism To understand why agnosticism is both reasonable and plays an important role in the philosophy of religion, the first step is to get a better grasp of just how the concept is defined. There are quite a few different definitions of agnosticism, but the definitions presented here are the most basic, the broadest, and I think the most reasonable of the lot. Defining agnosticism isn't all that difficult because the broad understanding of it is well supported by most standard dictionaries.

Highlights: What is Agnosticism? Strong Agnosticism vs. Weak Agnosticism Standard Dictionary Definitions of Agnosticism

Agnosticism Compared & Contrasted One way to learn more about agnosticism is to take a closer look at how it compares with other ideas. Contrasting agnosticism with atheism and theism can reveal that agnosticism is not really a 'third way' between the two. Seeing how and why agnosticism is often conceived as a lack of commitment can also explain the differences between some popular perceptions of agnosticism and the way it is properly defined.

Highlights: Agnosticism vs. Atheism Agnosticism vs. Theism Agnosticism and Commitment

Philosophy of Agnosticism Agnosticism plays an important role in the philosophy of religion because it poses a serious challenge to those theologians and philosophers who argue that knowledge about gods is possible. If agnosticism can be successfully defended as being at least rational, then the efforts of many religious apologists (especially those who try to prove the existence of God) can be called into serious question, if not rejected entirely as a castle built upon sand.

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Agnosticism 101: What is Agnosticism? Index of Documents ...

Genetic testing for alcohol dependence risk in African Americans

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Jul-2014

Contact: Kathryn Ruehle kruehle@liebertpub.com 914-740-2100 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

New Rochelle, NY, July 15, 2014Alcohol dependence (AD) has a genetic component and testing can determine a person's genetic risk for susceptibility to AD. A new study shows that while more than 85% of the African American adults expressed an interest in genetic testing for AD susceptibility, many had ethical, privacy, and procedural concerns, as reported in Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website.

Denise Scott and coauthors from Howard University (Washington, DC) and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, MD) offered hypothetical genetic testing for AD susceptibility to more than 300 African American adults to determine their interest level. The researchers documented the factors that contributed to an interest in being tested and those that might keep people from undergoing genetic risk assessment due to concerns over the testing methods and how the results would be used in the article "Genetic Testing for the Susceptibility to Alcohol Dependence: Interest and Concerns in an African American Population."

"The article documents the interest the African American community has about a possible genetic basis for alcoholism tempered by a real concern about privacy," says Kenneth I. Berns, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers, and Director of the University of Florida's Genetics Institute, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.

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About the Journal

Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 12 times per year in print and online that reports on all aspects of genetic testing, including molecular and biochemical based tests and varied clinical situations; ethical, legal, social, and economic aspects of genetic testing; and issues concerning effective genetic counseling. Tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed on the Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers website

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Genetic testing for alcohol dependence risk in African Americans