Robocop [2014] [PG-13] – 2.6.5

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A Detroit police officer (Joel Kinnaman) suffers life-threatening injuries in a car bombing but receives a second chance by becoming a cyborg in OmniCorp's Robocop Program. To his wife's (Abbie Cornish's) dismay, he becomes emotionless as the police department's number one crime fighter. Also with Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael K Williams and Jackie Earle Haley. Directed by Jose Padilha. [2:00]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - In the background of one scene a woman wearing a shirt that ends at mid-thigh and a man fight in an alley; he pushes her down and the scene ends (a possible rape is implied). A husband and his wife kiss and he removes her sweater to reveal a bra and cleavage; he lies on top of her on the bed, kisses her and they are interrupted by outside noises that cause him to leave the room. A husband kisses his wife briefly. A wife hugs her husband while he is wearing heavy body armor and he does not respond. A woman wears a low cut black suit that reveals part of her bra and cleavage. Robots scan people for weapons and can see the outline of breasts. We hear that a male criminal was convicted of rape.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - A man leaves his house at night to see why his car alarm is going off and when he opens the driver's door the car explodes to fill the screen with flames; we see the frame of the burning car, a blackened body lying on the porch steps and a hospital photo later shows the man's blotchy red and scarred body missing the left leg from mid-thigh to foot, the right arm and most of one eye; we hear that his spinal cord is severed and he suffered 4th degree burns on 80% of his body and could die. A mother, father and teen son argue about a war and about whether to kill enemies; the father leaves the house, meets comrades who gather rifles and they go into the streets to fight; the father wears wires and explosives on his shirt and the streets fill with smoke and fire as guns are discharged and hand-held cannons are fired; robots and people fall (we see no blood), drones fly overhead and the teen boy jumps from a roof onto the top of a jeep and pulls out a large knife; a robot walker targets him, shoots him several times with automatic gunfire, killing him (no blood is seen) as his mother screams. At an outdoor press conference, a cyborg jumps into the crowd to arrest a murderer and shoots the man, who falls dead (no blood is shown); we hear that a child saw the incident and was traumatized. A cyborg enters a police department accompanied by his partner and confronts two detectives; the cyborg shoots both detectives after arresting them and presenting the evidence; then he confronts the police chief and nearly shoots her, but his supervisor cuts off his power. Corporate soldiers take a cyborg to a laboratory and place him on a stand when a scientist runs in, shouting, and wakes the cyborg up; other soldiers try to break into the lab by shooting the bulletproof glass around the lab and when they break the glass the cyborg shoots them (they all fall, presumably dead) and we see some blood in patches on the cyborg's face. A cyborg shoots robots, jumps on top of a walker robot and shoots into its body, destroying it, followed by a police SWAT jeep running over it; the cyborg is shot in the back and he falls, and another man shoots the shooter in the back, presumably killing him; a man receives a leg wound and we see some blood and the cyborg loses one arm and part of his visor. A cyborg shoots a man as the man points a gun at the cyborg, his wife and little boy and the cyborg collapses (we see a large blood spatter behind the dead man's head). Three men make a drug deal in an alley when a cyborg roars up on a motorcycle and shoots one man as he climbs a wall (no blood is seen), then threatens a second man with heavy electroshock that will make him lose control of bladder and bowels; the man gives the cyborg information. A cyborg arrives at a warehouse at night where dozens of thugs inside wear night vision goggles and hold large caliber rifles and handguns; gunfire breaks out and we see many sparks, flashes of fire, red lights and we hear some men grunt as they fall, presumably dead; at the end of the fight, the cyborg turns on the lights and we see men lying on the floor, dead. Two undercover detectives meet with illegal gun dealers in a restaurant; gunfire breaks out, one man jumps through a glass door (shattering it) to the street and another one is blown through a glass window when he is shot (we see some blood). A cyborg shoots a man's exoskeleton with a shot set on "stun" and the man falls, writhing in pain as sparks travel around his body. A cyborg approaches a car and punches through the driver's side window, breaks a man's arm, pulls him out, and steps on the man's hand to obtain information; the man screams and gives the information. In the background of one scene, a woman and a man fight in an alley; he pushes her down and the scene ends (a possible rape is implied). During the upload of a police department database, a cyborg becomes agitated, having a seizure until his power is cut off (he flashes back to the car bombing that injured him several times). An injured cop wakes up and finds his body transplanted into a computerized, armored machine; he becomes angry, wails, shouts and grabs a scientist by the throat (he drops the scientist, unharmed), then runs into the street, jumping over a high wall; outside, his electrical power cuts off from a console in an office and he collapses unconscious in a rice paddy; the cop later says to tell his family that he is dead. We see an injured cop in a hospital room with an oxygen tube attached to his nose and we hear that he will recover as a machine reads his vital signs beside the bed (his face appears somewhat abraded). When a scientist manipulates part of a cyborg's brain tissue with an instrument, he causes the cyborg to say that he tastes peanut butter, which he does not like. A cyborg enters a weapons room where there are dozens of large caliber handguns along the walls, two of which are given to the cyborg and he is put through a shooting obstacle course to fight robots with guns; a lot of loud shooting, sparks and flames from gun barrels are seen and the cyborg defeats all the robots. During a second obstacle course, the cyborg has received "combat mode" software and reacts faster against a larger number of robots, decapitating one of them in a shower of sparks; his supervisor threatens him with pain and malfunction if the supervisor would shoot the cyborg with the largest caliber gun, especially in the face. A cyborg spends each night plugged into hoses equipped with sensors to read vital signs, a dialysis unit and liquid nutrition; during sleep, his blood runs through the hoses for cleaning and to receive nutrients; in one scene, he stands in front of a mirror as his robotic parts come unattached and we see the organic parts that consist of his face and brain (visible through a glass upper skull), lungs (visible and breathing under glass), throat organs and one hand; he receives new robotic parts twice in this manner and during one brain operation, we see into the top of the brain, which is moderately bloody, as a scientist removes some small metal parts. We see photos of patients that show an ex-cop without legs from mid-thigh to foot, another ex-cop paralyzed and slumped in a wheelchair and an overweight ex-cop with only stumps for arms and legs. A detective argues with two other detectives about whether they are corrupt; the police chief says she will take care of corruption through internal investigations. Men argue about black market gun sales. One man asks another man to kill a police detective and the first man says it's too dangerous. We hear that a male criminal was convicted of rape. During a senate hearing a senator asks a robotics CEO what a robot feels if it's killing a child and the CEO replies, "Nothing." A training officer calls a cyborg "it" and Tin Man, telling everyone who will listen that cyborgs are inferior to robots. A news reporter declares that America needs more cyborgs on the streets to cut crime rates to "0" and that cyborg technology can save more wounded law enforcement officers. The media calls for the use of androids on US city streets to fight crime. A little boy looks scared and breathes heavily when he meets his father who has become a cyborg. Numerous tall robots and security droids that look like Star Wars Imperial Walkers flood onto the streets in several locales and frighten people; a woman screams at one of the walkers (she is unharmed). Robots scan people for weapons and can see muscle and bones. American troops in wars of the future are replaced by drones and heavily armed robots.

PROFANITY 5 - 1 F-word and 1 not fully-enunciated F-word derivative, 10 scatological terms (1 not fully-enunciated), 3 anatomical terms, 12 mild obscenities, exclamations (shut-up), name-calling (idiot, "it," Tin Man, robophobic, monkey, clown, monster, bullying imperialists), stereotypical references to corporations, CEOs, reporters, corrupt police officers, scientists, mercenary soldiers, families, Detroit, Blacks, the Chinese, 1 religious profanity (GD), 8 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy Christ, Oh My God, Christ, For Christ's Sakes). [profanity glossary]

SUBSTANCE USE - Anesthesia is used during a brain operation (we do not see it administered), a scientist adjusts a cyborg's dopamine levels to eliminate his emotional responses, a scientist states that drugs are affecting a cyborg but we see none administered, we hear that a cyborg received antidepressants in order to have good dreams, and three men in an alley make a drug deal and pass small packets of gray powder. Glasses of wine are shown on dinner tables in a restaurant (no one is seen drinking), a man drinks a bottle of beer in his kitchen, men and women drink from bottles of beer at a garden party, a man drinks from a glass of whiskey at an outdoor bar, and a man sits before a glass of whiskey and the bottle that are on his desk (he is not shown drinking).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Corporate greed, politics, media influence, technology, crime, consequences, robots, emotions, relationships, justice, reconciliation.

MESSAGE - Bionics can be used for good with community and corporate support and adequate regulation.

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Robocop [2014] [PG-13] - 2.6.5

Emilia Clarke voted Most Desirable Woman of 2014

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Emilia Clarke Mother of Dragons and Cyborg-Killing Messiahs has been voted the most desirable woman in the world by AskMen.com, following a rigid electoral process that saw more than 1 million votes.

Clarke is joined in the list of Top 99 Most Desirable Women in the world by her Game of Thrones co-stars Oona Chaplin (Talisa Stark) and Rose Leslie (Ygritte). The Top Five also includes Emma Watson (#5) and Jennifer Lawrence (#4), the stars at the center of two of the hugest movie franchises ever, but theyre both edged out by unofficial Internet girlfriend Alison Brie (at #2) and that-girl-from-Blurred-Lines Emily Ratajkowski (at #3.)

In other news, Beyonc is not in the top 10, which strongly implies that an epidemic of blindness broke out among the voters. And Robin Wright (#95) is just two places behind her daughter Dylan Penn (#93). Pause to imagine Robin Wright and Dylan Penn having their daily phone check-in:

Robin Wright: Dylanator! Hows life? Dylan Penn: Mama Rob! Life is rad. Im dating Steve McQueens grandson! Hows biz? Robin Wright: Baby doll, biz is rockin. I got a little show dropping this Friday, you mightve heard of itHouse of Cards? Dylan Penn: Heard of it? Im like BFFles with the stone-cold hottie who won a Golden Globe for that show. Robin Wright: Haha! Dylan Penn: Haha! Robin Wright: Oh yo, hold up, B-Foster just tweeted me a link to some website. Most Desirable Women? Dylan Penn: Oh yeah, I was gonna ask about that. Did you see the list? Robin Wright: Dylan Penn: Mom? Robin Wright: Youre dead to me.

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Emilia Clarke voted Most Desirable Woman of 2014

La Grange robotics club, the Cyborg Eagles, creating tomorrow's engineers

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LA GRANGE Sure, they might build mini versions of the stuff in tech movies such as Transformers, but its not all fun and games for La Granges first robotics team. The team of four that call themselves the Cyborg Eagles pack a mighty punch.

Jonah Reardon, 14; Nate Wolcott, 14; Nate Reardon, 15; and Jack Ducham, 15 all from La Grange make up one of the smallest rookie teams under the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology program. Together, the young tinkerers have conceptualized and created a robot entirely from scratch and entirely by chance.

Ive always wanted to make a robot because I thought it would be cool, Jonah said. His brother and father, who are both involved in the team, planted that cool bug in Jonahs brain at a young age.

My older brother got into robotics ... so I wanted to join him, too, because I thought it was cool, Jonah said.

The Cyborg Eagles didnt start out as a quest to fulfill a robotics passion though. In fact, it was much more simple; a family affair spearheaded by the Reardon family.

Ive got some genetic involvement with a good portion of the team at this point, said John Reardon, the teams coach, and father of Noah and Jonah.

After about a month of making hour-long trips back and forth to the Technical Center of DuPage with his kids and their friends for fun, a counselor and now mentor to the team, suggested John start a robotics team.

We were kind of pushed into it, John said.

Soon after, the Reardon household quickly became the meeting site for all things robotics. The family interest spurred the launch of team. The Cyborg Eagles started as a FIRST Lego League team and advanced to the next level, a FIRST Tech Challenge team after only a year.

When we started building the robot, parts would go to different families to work on, John said. It became kind of like a family activity, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it.

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La Grange robotics club, the Cyborg Eagles, creating tomorrow's engineers

PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Alysha Umphress and Mara Davi Rehearse Signature Theatre's Beaches

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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Alysha Umphress and Mara Davi Rehearse Signature Theatre's Beaches

By Joseph Marzullo 11 Feb 2014

Virginia's Signature Theatre will present the world premiere of Beaches, adapted from the 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, beginning Feb. 18 at Signature's MAX Theatre. Mara Davi and Alysha Umphress will co-star in the roles originated on screen by Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler.

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Directed by Signature artistic director Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), the musical chronicling a decades-long friendship between two women will star Davi (A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone) as Bertie and Umphress (American Idiot, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) as Cee Cee Bloom.

Performances will continue through March 23.

Based on the 1985 novel by Dart (later adapted into the 1988 movie with Midler and Hershey), the musical features a book Dart and Thom Thomas, lyrics by Dart and music by David Austin.

Beaches, according to Signature, "follows two extraordinary friends through 30 years of camaraderie, laughter and sorrow. Vivacious, outlandish Cee Cee and beautiful, privileged Bertie meet as children and become fast friends. From pen-pals to roommates to romantic rivals, Cee Cee and Bertie's oil-and-water friendship perseveres through even the most tragic trials. With a touching vulnerability, Beaches exemplifies the triumph of the human spirit and the bonds of sisterhood."

"We've assembled an amazing cast along with a terrific creative team to bring this special story to life," said Schaeffer in statement. "Iris, Thom and David have created a magical world of memories and friendship in this heartfelt story for the stage in a very original way."

Joining Davi and Umphress are Clifton Samuels (Follies) as Michael Barron, Matthew Scott (Sondheim on Sondheim, Jersey Boys) as John Perry, Donna Migliaccio (Ragtime) as Leona Bloom, Helen Hedman (Signature's My Fair Lady) as Rose White, Brooklyn Shuck (Annie) as Young Bertie, Presley Ryan (NBC's "The Sound of Music") as Young Cee Cee, Maya Brettell (Studio Theatre's The Big Meal) as Teen Bertie, Gracie Jones (Olney Theatre Center's Spring Awakening) as Teen Cee Cee.

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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Alysha Umphress and Mara Davi Rehearse Signature Theatre's Beaches

Korea Aerospace to Participate in South Koreas New Fighter Jet

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Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (047810), the countrys only planemaker, said it will participate in South Koreas plan to build its own new fighter jet that will replace the older F-4s, F-5s and F-16s.

The Asian nations air force is expected to order about 100 aircraft, Chief Executive Officer Ha Sung Yong said in an interview in Singapore today. The government is looking for a foreign partner to collaborate on this project to provide some technical assistance, he said. The plane could take as short as eight years, depending on its size and specifications, he said.

Korea Aerospace and shareholder Samsung Techwin Co. have led efforts to create a domestic defense industry as South Korea seeks to pare reliance on Western countries. Asias fourth-biggest economy in December said it will extend its air-defense identification zone to cover islands and an underwater rock, adding to regional tensions escalated since China declared control over airspace claimed by neighbors.

Korea Aerospace plans to participate in a bid to become a risk-sharing partner for Boeing Co. (BA)s 777X aircraft, Ha said.

It plans to submit a bid to participate in the manufacture of the fuselage and wings of the plane, he said. The company expects a request for participation for this to be sought later this month or early March, Ha said.

Korea Aerospace wants to get contracts to manufacture components to increase its volume, Ha said. The company has participated in such an arrangement with Airbus Group NV (AIR)s A350 aircraft, he said.

Shares of Korea Aerospace fell 0.5 percent to 31,800 won as of 2:36 p.m. in Seoul trading. The stock has gained 10 percent this year, compared with a 3.7 percent decline in the benchmark Kospi Index.

Korea Aerospace expects to win orders from the Philippines soon, Ha said without providing details. It also expects to win contracts from as many as two more countries this year -- one from Africa and another from South America, he said.

The company expects to win orders for T-50 trainer jets and FA-50 light combat jets, he said.

The FA-50, a light combat fighter based on the T-50 trainer jet, was developed together with Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) The plane is being delivered to the South Korean Air Force. The company has also developed the KUH-Surion helicopter with Eurocopter and its working on South Koreas first heavy fighter.

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Korea Aerospace to Participate in South Koreas New Fighter Jet

ST Aerospace Celebrates the Success of its MBH Programmes at Singapore Airshow 2014

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Singapore, 11 February 2014 ST Aerospace, the worlds leading maintenance, repairand overhaul (MRO) company, celebrates the success of its trademarked Maintenance-By-the-Hour (MBH) programmes at Singapore Airshow 2014. Currently supporting over20 aircraft operators with fleets operating in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, STAerospaces two latest contract wins are for the support of over 100 Airbus A320 aircraftin Asia Pacific. Scope of support includes component repair management, and/or poolaccess and stock consignment. This brings the combined aircraft fleet thatST Aerospace supports under MBH to nearly 900 aircraft globally, out of which morethan 600 aircraft belong to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG narrow-body families.

For the range of support services selected, the airline pays at a predictable flight per hourrate. Customers are thus able to keep operating costs low and minimise fixed assetinventory holdings in terms of spares or maintenance equipment. With a global network ofdistribution centres and satellite stores, customers can be ensured of a constant andtimely supply of spares and maintenance support, increasing operational efficiency andreducing aircraft down time.

At ST Aerospace, we pride ourselves on being able to provide customers with innovativecustom-made solutions which can bring long term value to their operations. For ourMBHTMprogrammes, our value propositions are simple: value for money, cost efficient, immediate availability of spares and a simplified supply chain with a single point of contact. ~ CHANG Cheow Teck, President, ST Aerospace

Renowned for its flexible and dependable contracting arrangements, ST AerospacesMBH programmes have helped many airlines, especially low cost carriers, to bettermanage their cost structure and add value to their business objectives. Within its globalnetwork, ST Aerospaces facilities in Singapore and London have dedicated teams tosupport its global MBH programmes.

ST Aerospace (Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd) is the aerospace arm ofST Engineering with a turnover of $2b in FY2012. Operating a global MRO network withfacilities and affiliates in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, it is the worlds largest commercial airframe MRO provider with a global customer base that includes leadingairlines, airfreight and military operators. ST Aerospace is an integrated service providerthat offers a spectrum of maintenance and engineering services that include airframe, engine and component maintenance, repair and overhaul; engineering design andtechnical services; and aviation materials and asset management services, including TotalAviation Support. ST Aerospace has a global staff strength of around 9,000 employees worldwide. Please visit http://www.staero.aero.

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ST Aerospace Celebrates the Success of its MBH Programmes at Singapore Airshow 2014

Singapore, Australia aviation associations sign memorandum to collaborate

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SINGAPORE - The Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) (AAIS) and the Aviation / Aerospace Australia (A/AA) have signed a Memorandum of Collaboration to support the development of the air transport industry in both countries.

In a joint statement, the AAIS and A/AA said that the collaboration is aimed at encouraging economic growth and providing jobs in the aerospace industry for people in both regions.

The Memorandum of Collaboration sets out to achieve the following goals:

Expand and enhance the understanding of both aviation and aerospace industries capabilities between Singapore and Australia.

Encourage the development of strong and purposeful business partnerships between the two countries.

Encourage Australian and Singapore companies to collaborate in building capacities and leverage opportunities to improve innovation competitiveness, technical standards and accreditation.

Pursue a greater exchange of industry knowledge in aviation and aerospace matters, including aviation infrastructure developments and regulatory issues between the respective countries, by providing a source of information sharing between the AAIS and A/AA.

Enhance and improve the individual and collective membership bases of our organisations through the international linkages for our members.

This Memorandum of Collaboration will see both parties working together to lead potential trade missions to participate in major events in both Singapore and Australia and to exchange pertinent industry intelligence in order to facilitate greater trade and business opportunities.

Charles Chong, President of AAIS said: "It is our great pleasure to be working with A/AA. This collaboration will bring together two Associations from different parts of the world to share and exchange relevant industry knowledge and capabilities, allowing for better growth and development of the aviation and aerospace industries. I am confident that this partnership will benefit both countries greatly."

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Singapore, Australia aviation associations sign memorandum to collaborate

Genome Surgery

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Over the last decade, as DNA-sequencing technology has grown ever faster and cheaper, our understanding of the human genome has increased accordingly. Yet scientists have until recently remained largely ham-fisted when theyve tried to directly modify genes in a living cell. Take sickle-cell anemia, for example. A debilitating and often deadly disease, it is caused by a mutation in just one of a patients three billion DNA base pairs. Even though this genetic error is simple and well studied, researchers are helpless to correct it and halt its devastating effects.

Now there is hope in the form of new genome-engineering tools, particularly one called CRISPR. This technology could allow researchers to perform microsurgery on genes, precisely and easily changing a DNA sequence at exact locations on a chromosome. Along with a technique called TALENs, invented several years ago, and a slightly older predecessor based on molecules called zinc finger nucleases, CRISPR could make gene therapies more broadly applicable, providing remedies for simple genetic disorders like sickle-cell anemia and eventually even leading to cures for more complex diseases involving multiple genes. Most conventional gene therapies crudely place new genetic material at a random location in the cell and can only add a gene. In contrast, CRISPR and the other new tools also give scientists a precise way to delete and edit specific bits of DNAeven by changing a single base pair. This means they can rewrite the human genome at will.

It is likely to be at least several years before such efforts can be developed into human therapeutics, but a growing number of academic researchers have seen some preliminary success with experiments involving sickle-cell anemia, HIV, and cystic fibrosis (see table below). One is Gang Bao, a bioengineering researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who has already used CRISPR to correct the sickle-cell mutation in human cells grown in a dish. Bao and his team started the work in 2008 using zinc finger nucleases. When TALENs came out, his group switched quickly, says Bao, and then it began using CRISPR when that tool became available. While he has ambitions to eventually work on a variety of diseases, Bao says it makes sense to start with sickle-cell anemia. If we pick a disease to treat using genome editing, we should start with something relatively simple, he says. A disease caused by a single mutation, in a single gene, that involves only a single cell type.

In little more than a year, CRISPR has begun reinventing genetic research.

Bao has an idea of how such a treatment would work. Currently, physicians are able to cure a small percentage of sickle-cell patients by finding a human donor whose bone marrow is an immunological match; surgeons can then replace some of the patients bone marrow stem cells with donated ones. But such donors must be precisely matched with the patient, and even then, immune rejectiona potentially deadly problemis a serious risk. Baos cure would avoid all this. After harvesting blood cell precursors called hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow of a sickle-cell patient, scientists would use CRISPR to correct the defective gene. Then the gene-corrected stem cells would be returned to the patient, producing healthy red blood cells to replace the sickle cells. Even if we can replace 50 percent, a patient will feel much better, says Bao. If we replace 70 percent, the patient will be cured.

Though genome editing with CRISPR is just a little over a year old, it is already reinventing genetic research. In particular, it gives scientists the ability to quickly and simultaneously make multiple genetic changes to a cell. Many human illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, and assorted neurological conditions, are affected by numerous variants in both disease genes and normal genes. Teasing out this complexity with animal models has been a slow and tedious process. For many questions in biology, we want to know how different genes interact, and for this we need to introduce mutations into multiple genes, says Rudolf Jaenisch, a biologist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts. But, says Jaenisch, using conventional tools to create a mouse with a single mutation can take up to a year. If a scientist wants an animal with multiple mutations, the genetic changes must be made sequentially, and the timeline for one experiment can extend into years. In contrast, Jaenisch and his colleagues, including MIT researcher Feng Zhang (a 2013 member of our list of 35 innovators under 35), reported last spring that CRISPR had allowed them to create a strain of mice with multiple mutations in three weeks.

Because a CRISPR system can easily be designed to target any specific gene, the technology is allowing researchers to do experiments that probe a large number of them. In December, teams led by Zhang and MIT researcher Eric Lander created libraries of CRISPRs, each of which targets a different human gene. These vast collections, which account for nearly all the human genes, have been made available to other researchers. The libraries promise to speed genome-wide studies on the genetics of cancer and many other human diseases.

Genome GPS

The biotechnology industry was born in 1973, when Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen inserted foreign DNA that they had manipulated in the lab into bacteria. Within a few years, Boyer had cofounded Genentech, and the company had begun using E. coli modified with a human gene to manufacture insulin for diabetics. In 1974, Jaenisch, then at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, created the first transgenic mouse by using viruses to spike the animals genome with a bit of DNA from another species. In these and other early examples of genetic engineering, however, researchers were limited to techniques that inserted the foreign DNA into the cell at random. All they could do was hope for the best.

It took more than two decades before molecular biologists became adept at efficiently changing specific genes in animal genomes. Dana Carroll of the University of Utah recognized that zinc finger nucleases, engineered proteins reported by colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in 1996, could be used as a programmable gene-targeting tool. One end of the protein can be designed to recognize a particular DNA sequence; the other end cuts DNA. When a cell then naturally repairs those cuts, it can patch its genome by copying from supplied foreign DNA. While the technology finally enabled scientists to confidently make changes where they want to on a chromosome, its difficult to use. Every modification requires the researcher to engineer a new protein tailored to the targeted sequencea difficult, time-consuming task that, because the proteins are finicky, doesnt always work.

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Genome Surgery

Comets get past Tigers

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BISMARCK The game is tied 37-37 with 48 seconds left on the clock, Westville takes a timeout to set up a play for the win, with the clock winding down the Tigers get the ball to Jicee Lacey, who had 12 points six rebounds, at the free-throw line. She turns and shoots and the ball goes in and out for a miss but Adrianne Pate, who had six points and 10 rebounds, grabs the rebound, but she cant get a good shot over the Oakwood defense as regulation time ends, its overtime.

In the overtime session, Oakwood claims a 44-43 victory over Westville.

This is the way a fourth-seed and a fifth-seed should be, a close, hard-fought game that has many lead changes and an extra period to decide who moves on to play another night.

Oakwood Coach Jeff Ford said, I thought we did a much better job tonight than two weeks ago on their shooters with getting a hand up while they were shooting.

Oakwood drew first blood in overtime getting the ball to Sadie Edwards, who had seven points five in the overtime and five assists, down on the post. As she makes her move she get fouled and make the shot for an old-fashion three-point play giving the Comets a 40-37 lead.

Westville comes back with a basket to close the gap 40-39 with 1:03 left in overtime.

During the last minute of overtime, Oakwood ices the game from the free throw line going 4-for-4. Westville gets two more buckets but cannot overcome the Comets, as the buzzer sounds Oakwood has claimed a hard-fought victory over Westville.

I thought we played hard and under control tonight and that helped us pull out the victory, Ford said.

As the game started it was apparent that it would be a close hard-fought game.

It started like a heavyweight fight as both teams were feeling each other out to see if there would be any new wrinkles in the game as it was the fourth meeting of the year.

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Comets get past Tigers

Two Oncogenes Join to Drive Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Released: 2/10/2014 12:00 PM EST Source Newsroom: Mayo Clinic Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Patients with a common form of lung cancer lung squamous cell carcinoma have very few treatment options. That situation may soon change.

A team of cancer biologists at Mayo Clinic in Florida is reporting in the Feb. 10 issue of Cancer Cell the discovery of two oncogenes that work together to sustain a population of cells in lung squamous cell carcinoma, which may be responsible for the lethality of the disease. When these cells, termed cancer stem cells, are inhibited, tumors cannot develop.

MULTIMEDIA ALERT: Video and audio are available for download on the Mayo Clinic News Network.

Cancer stem cells are a small population of cells in a tumor that can self-renew and grow indefinitely. They resist most treatments and are thought to be responsible for relapse, says the studys senior author, Alan P. Fields, Ph.D., the Monica Flynn Jacoby Professor of Cancer Studies at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

If you can shut down cancer stem cells, you may be able to stop relapse after therapy, he says.

The study, which is featured on the cover of Cancer Cell, builds upon years of research by Dr. Fields and his colleagues on a cancer-causing gene protein kinase C iota (PKCiota). They were the first to discover the connection between PKCiota and initiation, promotion and spread of lung cancers, including lung squamous cell carcinoma, which accounts for 3040 percent of all lung cancer. The researchers found that the PKCiota gene is errantly repeated numerous times in lung squamous cell carcinoma cells through a genetic alteration termed gene amplification. PKCiota gene amplificationis associated with poor patient survival. Subsequently, they discovered that PKCiota is necessary to maintain cancer stem cells in these tumors, but how it did that was not clear.

The newly released study defines the process. The researchers discovered that PKCiota and a second oncogene, SOX2, found in the same region of chromosome 3 known as 3q26, are coordinately amplified and overexpressed in a majority of lung squamous cell carcinomas. The study further shows that these two oncogenes are also functionally linked in these tumors.

We now know that PKCiota activates SOX2, meaning that these two genes are not just genetically linked by amplification, but also biochemically and functionally linked in promoting lung squamous cell carcinoma, says the studys lead author, Verline Justilien, Ph.D., an instructor of cancer biology at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

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Two Oncogenes Join to Drive Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma