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Rockford companies to chase aerospace biz in Orlando

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

The U.S. Air Force F-22A Raptor Demo Team arrived Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, at Chicago Rockford International Airport at Kaney Aerospace. Rockford Area Economic Development Council will discuss the area's aerospace cluster and its implications for the region at a news conference Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010.

Representatives from several Rockford companies are headed to Orlando Oct. 29-Nov. 1 for the National Business Aviation Association, nation's biggest tradeshow for business aerospace and aviation.

The companies will share space in a Rockford booth include Ardekin Precision, Chem Processing, Inc., Energy Dynamics, Inc., Ingenium Technologies, Kaney Aerospace and Midwest Aero Support, Inc.

They are members of the Rockford Area Aerospace Network, a committee of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council formed in 2010 to help develop high paying jobs and increase business for a cluster of aerospace companies here.

Exhibiting at the NBAA will help raise awareness of our regions aerospace strengths, said Dan Bowman, vice president, sales and marketing at Woodward, which will have its own booth at the tradeshow.

Aerospace industry clusters are emerging and growing globally, so the Rockford region is pursuing the correct strategy, he added.

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Rockford companies to chase aerospace biz in Orlando

WSI Industries Wins New Five Year Program with Aerospace Customer, Pursues AS9100 Quality Certification

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

WSI Industries, Inc. (WSCI) today reported that it had been awarded a new five year program with an existing customer. The Company also reported that an existing program with the same customer was also extended to the same term which runs through 2017 and will provide additional revenue over the five year period.

Benjamin Rashleger, president and chief executive officer, commented: We are pleased to report a new multi-year program with one of our existing aerospace customers. In awarding the new program as well as lengthening our existing agreement with them, our customer has shown its confidence in WSI to provide high tolerance machined parts to the aerospace industry. While the aerospace industry represents a smaller percentage of our overall business, we hope to grow this segment in the coming years. Rashleger continued: We believe the aerospace industry will be a strong segment over the next decade, and in order to increase our ability to further penetrate this market, we have commenced on a plan to obtain an AS 9100 quality certification. The aerospace industry as a whole is driven to the more stringent AS 9100 quality standards, and we have made it our goal to obtain this certification by the middle of calendar year 2013. Obtaining this certification will complement our existing quality system, and further expand our ability to pursue more aerospace opportunities and will continue our strategy of diversifying our business in both the customers and industries we serve.

The Company also announced today that it has renewed its ISO 9001 Certification, affirming that the companys quality management system meets the strict qualifications for the globally accepted ISO standard.

WSI Industries, Inc. is a leading contract manufacturer that specializes in the machining of complex, high-precision parts for a wide range of industries, including avionics and aerospace, energy, recreational vehicles, small engines, marine, bioscience and the defense markets.

The statements included herein which are not historical or current facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. There are certain important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made herein, including the Companys ability to retain current programs and obtain additional manufacturing programs, and other factors detailed in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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WSI Industries Wins New Five Year Program with Aerospace Customer, Pursues AS9100 Quality Certification

GKN Aerospace's Extended Engine Structures Support Business Features at MRO Europe, 2012

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

GKN Aerospaces extended aero-engine aftermarket operation is a focus for the company on booth 11250 at MRO Europe, 9 11 October in Amsterdam, alongside its established MRO activities across transparencies, composites and ice protection.

GKN Aerospace completed the acquisition of Volvo Aero on 1st October, 2012, and created GKN Aerospace Engine Systems - an operation that takes its place among the leading three aero engine component suppliers globally and includes an established OEM authorised facility that services some 200 engines each year and has a team of skilled field service personnel. All levels of engine maintenance are undertaken, up to and including full overhaul and test of commercial and military aero engines. The MRO (Europe) display will also feature GKN Aerospaces established engine fan blade repair activity, currently supplied to over 180 airlines and overhaul shops worldwide.

The companys transparencies support business will be represented with a display of replacement windows currently supplied for both Airbus and Boeing aircraft including the full suite of Airbus A320 transparencies and the innovative, larger scale window developed for the Boeing 787.

Effective and cost effective composite repair continues to be a focus for the industry and the GKN Aerospace stand will include an A380 panel illustrating current composite repair techniques alongside a display illustrating progress with the companys laser composite repair development programme. This is on-going development activity with SLCR of Germany with the aim of bringing to market an effective laser-based process for the removal of damaged composite fibre.

The company will also display its ultra-controllable, lightweight electro-thermal ice protection technology, used for the wing ice protection system for the B-787 and will be discussing progress with new intelligent coatings. One medium term goal in this area is to offer customers a coating that, when applied to composite structure, will provide an ultra-violet visual indication should there be impact damage.

Mike McCann, Senior VP Business Development and Strategy at GKN Aerospace comments: Our new aero-engines support operation, housed within GKN Aerospace Engine Systems, joins a stable of established and respected MRO activities supporting all of our businesses. We believe this will bring opportunities to offer our expertise to new markets, customers and programmes across the globe.

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GKN Aerospace's Extended Engine Structures Support Business Features at MRO Europe, 2012

Nobel Prize season opens with medicine award

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

(CNN) -

The 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for work that revolutionized the understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

The Nobel Assembly's announcement at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, is the first for what will be a series of prizes announced this week. The Norwegian Nobel committee will announce the most anticipated of the annual honors -- the Nobel Peace Prize -- on Friday in Oslo, Norway.

Gurdon, 79, of Dippenhall, England, and Yamanaka, 50, of Osaka, Japan, share the prize jointly for their discovery that "mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body," according to the Nobel Assembly, which consists of 50 professors at the Karolinska Institute.

Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the cells are reversible in an experiment with an egg cell of a frog. Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later how mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells "that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body," the assembly said in a statement.

"These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation. We now understand that the mature cell does not have to be confined forever to its specialised state," the Nobel Assembly said.

"Textbooks have been rewritten and new research fields have been established. By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy.

Separated by more than 40 years, the work of Gurdon and Yamanaka led to a practical medical use for stem cell research that sidesteps the main argument by anti-abortion opponents.

Now embryonic-like stem cells can be created in the laboratory from adult cells of the same organism, rather than using aborted fetuses or embryos, explained Visar Belegu, a stem cell researcher at the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute, part of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.

Gurdon pioneered cloning through cell reproduction in a tadpole in 1962. In 2006, Yamanaka figured out how to reprogram mature cells so that they revert to their primitive state as "induced pluripotent stem cells," or iPS cells, capable of developing into any part of the body, Belegu said.

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Nobel Prize season opens with medicine award

Nobel Prize season begins

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

(CNN) -

The 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for work that revolutionized the understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

Separated by more than 40 years, the work of Gurdon and Yamanaka led to a practical medical use for stem cell research that sidesteps the main argument by anti-abortion opponents.

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Nobel Prize season begins

Capitol Alert: Nutrition group says Prop. 37 foes are mischaracterizing its position

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

A national group of nutritionists says its position on the safety of genetically-engineered foods has been misrepresented by opponents of Proposition 37 in the California voter guide.

"We are concerned that California's voters are being misled to believe the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals is against Proposition 37, when in fact, the Academy does not have a position on the issue," said a statement from Ethan A. Bergman, president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The organization is mentioned in the "Arguments Against Proposition 37" section of the voter guide published by the Secretary of State, which says, "Respected scientific and medical organizations have concluded that biotech foods are safe, including... (the) Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics."

Opponents of Proposition 37 said they based the statement on a 2006 report by the organization, which was previously known as the American Dietetic Association, and didn't double check to see if it was still valid.

"ADA's official position was in strong support of GE technology and safety and, unfortunately, the version we saw was not clear that position expired in 2010, though that's obviously the case," Kathy Fairbanks, spokeswoman for the No on Proposition 37 campaign, said in a statement. "We apologize for the error."

Supporters of the measure had weeks to verify claims being made by the other side before the voter handbook was printed, but apparently didn't make an effort to do so.

"We were nave to think they would tell the truth about an endorsement they had so we didn't think to check it out," said Stacy Malkan, a spokeswoman for the Yes on Proposition 37 campaign.

Proposition 37 requires new labels on foods containing genetically-engineered ingredients, also known as genetically-modified organisms or GMOs. It is being supported by organic food producers and alternative health web site Mercola.com. Opponents include companies that make genetically-modified seeds and major snack and soda manufacturers that use such crops in their recipes. About 90 percent of corn and soy grown in the US is genetically engineered. It makes its way into many packaged foods in the form of corn syrup, corn meal, soy sauce and soy lecithin.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics does not have a position on labeling genetically-engineered foods, and plans to release a new position paper on the safety of such food next year.

Eating Out: Conference offers nutrition experts a full plate of new ideas

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

Nobodys perfect, and thats especially true when it comes to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

All these years and we still know that balance, variety and moderation are the keys to good nutrition, and that includes enjoying occasional splurges, said dietitian Jill Melton, editor of Relish Magazine.

Melton and more than 8,000 other nutrition experts gathered at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2012 Food & Nutrition Conference in Philadelphia to learn the latest research and sample the best new healthy food products.

Heres a taste of what they learned:

Whats on your plate?

The U.S. Department of Agricultures nutrition icon, MyPlate, which has replaced the food pyramid, is receiving rave reviews from dietitians.

Its an easy visual. People easily see that half their plate should be fruits and vegetables whether theyre eating at home or at a restaurant, said dietitian Roberta Duyff, the author of The Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.

Dr. Robert Post, deputy director of the USDAs Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, said MyPlates meal planning tool called SuperTracker will soon allow users to include their favorite foods to calculations.

If you have your own version of a turkey avocado sandwich, Post said, you can create it with SuperTracker and save it in your profile.

Write it if you bite it.

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Eating Out: Conference offers nutrition experts a full plate of new ideas

Rayney investigators seek 'third person' DNA

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

Update: A forensic expert in the Corryn Rayney murder investigation was asked to check whether a specific third person had left behind hair in Mrs Rayney's car or at the alleged crime scene, statements have revealed.

Statements from forensic scientist Rosalyn Treliving were among those released to the media today.

In her statements, the scientist says she had been given hairs found in Mrs Rayney's car and outside her Como home - the alleged crime scene - to see whether they matched her husband Lloyd Rayney or a third person whose name is blacked out of the statements for legal reasons.

Mr Rayney has pleaded not guilty to wilful murder and denies any involvement in the death of his wife who was last seen alive at a dance class that evening.

In her statements, Ms Treliving said that not all the hairs contained roots and of those that did no DNA was recoverable apart from partial profiles corresponded with Mrs Rayney's profile and therefore could have come from her.

She concluded the findings could not assist in determining whether Mr Rayney or the third person were involved in Mrs Rayney's death.

She also examined a handkerchief found in Mrs Rayney's grave, locating possible saliva but not blood. The handkerchief did not yield DNA.

Ms Treliving stated that tests were also conducted on DNA extracts from hair on Mrs Rayney's clothes, DNA from a tree branch at her gravesite and DNA from a hair in her body bag.

She said DNA samples from the gravesite branch and from on hair on her clothes could not be reliably said to have come from Mrs Rayney, her husband or the other suspect. but they did contain components that could not have come from the trio.

A single DNA component from hair on Mrs Rayney's clothes that corresponded with both Mrs Rayney and her husband's profiles bore little significance while a single DNA component from the body bag hair and which matched the un-named suspect was also of little significance becasue it was in one of every five people.

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DNA testing leads to charges in elderly woman's rape in 2003

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- DNA testing has led to a man being charged in the 2003 rape of an elderly woman.

According to court documents, the victim, who was 77 at the time of the alleged incident, told police she was raped on August 8, 2003 in the dining room of her apartment on N. Braeswood. The woman says a man grabbed her from behind and dragged her to her bedroom as she screamed for help. Then she says the man punched her and threw her to the floor.

Court documents state the suspect stole her coin jar and piggy bank, then tied her hands together and sexually assaulted her. The woman says he took her purse too.

The woman said she did not see the suspect's face because the room was dark and she suffers from degenerative eye disease. She got a rape kit on the same day.

Then on September 21 of this year, DPS crime lab identified a DNA profile match with Wesley Bernard Gordon.

Gordon, 40, is charged with aggravated sexual assault of elderly person. He is not in custody.

Court records show Gordon has prior convictions for theft in 1990 and burglary of a motor vehicle in 1991.

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DNA testing leads to charges in elderly woman's rape in 2003

Ancient DNA and Sumerians | Gene Expression

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

A few months ago someone asked me (via email) which populations I would love to get typed (genetically that is). There is one population which did not come to mind at the time: the Sumerians. Why? Because these are arguably the first historic nation. The first self-conscious ethnic group which operated by the rules which we define as the fundamentals of literate civilization. Strangely, they are an ethno-linguistic isolate. My own assumption until lately has been that this is not too surprising, in that prior to the rise of expansive civilizations (Sargon of Akkad) there was much more linguistic and ethnic diversity than we currently see around us. Or, was evident even in the early Iron Age. In other words, the ancient Fertile Crescent may have resembled the highlands of Papua, with Hurrians, Akkadians, Gutians, Elamites, Sumerians, etc., all speaking mutually unintelligible dialects which diverged very far back in the mists of antiquity.

I am no longer quite so sure about this model. That is largely due to the possibility that there was a great deal of demographic change between the Mesolithic and the Bronze Age, with successive waves of layering and replacement. My rough model is that a few groups of farmers may have expanded to swallow up thousands of hunter-gatherer groups. These homogeneous farmer societies eventually would diversify, because they were not united by the institutional forces which cemented later imperial regimes, in particular, literate elites which had a sense of consciousness which extended deep into the past because of written records.Therefore, the diversification would presumably have been similar to what we see with Romance languages, or Indo-Aryan, branching out from an common root language which replaced many competitors rapidly. Without writing and large scale polities the divergence would be more rapid, and there would be many more tips on the phylogenetic tree.

The Sumerians, and their neighbors the Elamites, as well as groups like the Hatti and Hurrians & Urartian, pose problems for this thesis. None of these groups seem to be Indo-European or Semitic, the two dominant language families of Near East by ~1,000 B.C. You have in the ancient Near East then a situation where the light of history reveals before us not the diversification of Indo-European and Semitic speaking farmers, but rather a host of unique and disparate peoples, all simultaneously lurching toward literate civilization, one after another.

Something just does not add up in my models. Genetics will not solve the puzzle, but it may help in elucidating relationships. The origins of the Sumerians are murky, but many scholars have suggested that they may have arrived from the south (the oldest city, Eridu, is in the south). Others have suggested that the Sumerians descended from the mountains of the northeast. Though I presume that the people Arabia have changed a great deal since antiquity, it would be interesting if it was found that the Sumerians resembled the Qatari (at least the Eurasian component) more than they did the modern Assyrians.

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DNA to guard Dubbo stores

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

Oct. 9, 2012, 4:30 a.m.

IN A first for regional NSW, criminals will no longer feel safe as new DNA technology helps authorities put them behind bars.

The innovative technology known as the DNA Guardian is set to revolutionise crime prevention in Dubbo, after it was installed at Club Dubbo and convenience store Lucky 7 yesterday.

It is the first time this kind of technology has been implemented in regional NSW.

DNA Security Solutions, based in Adelaide, specialises in criminal marking systems. When a DNA Guardian unit is installed within a premises, it can immediately pick up on when a crime occurs.

Business development worker Jeffre Murray explained how sterile water could help identify a criminal with one simple spray.

When a DNA Guardian unit is installed in a pub or shop, crime can easily be picked up. The unit is triggered when a theft occurs, and sprays the criminal with sterile water, marking them as they leave the premises, Mr Murray said.

DNA workers and business owners, he said, would immediately receive a text message informing them of the crime. Once it is brought to their attention, they can then view CCTV footage, get a clearer idea of what the criminal looks like, and help police track them down.

Once police are notified, they only have to shine a forensic blue light on criminals to match their DNA with what was found at the scene of the crime, and formally identify them as the responsible party, Mr Murray said.

He said he had notified members of Dubbo Police before his arrival to Dubbo, who were quite impressed with the DNA equipment.

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DNA to guard Dubbo stores

Student Cameron Kim, Working to Reprogram Cells

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

By Nonie Arora

Meet Cameron Kim a Pratt Engineering student working on synthetic biology who also officiates for the Duke Quidditch team. Originally from Brandon, Florida, Cameron became interested in molecular biology and engineering in high school.

Kim Observing His DNA Gel Credit: Cameron Kim

I see most people identify biomedical engineering as biomechanics, neural engineering, and electrophysiology, he says, but theres really this other side growing quicker and quicker, which is using the tools of molecular biology to control how we as humans function and interact with the environment.

InDr. Charles Gersbachs lab, he has been working to create artificial transcription factors. Being able to control gene expression through transcriptional factors is vital to modulate cell behavior and human functions, Kim says.

Kim drew an analogy between a transcription factor and a light switch dimmer, saying that transcription factors allow for a range when turning on and off specific genes. He says that artificial transcription factors would allow him to influence a cells own genome without having to add extra copies of a gene. The goal is to develop a tool to reprogram cells that his lab can use to study muscle development and to hopefully repair muscles. His lab is looking at different ways to develop therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Kim thinks that engineering design principles that he has learned through his Pratt coursework are really important to his project. When I explain my research to a lot of people, they think Im just doing molecular biology, he says, but by knowing the parts and understanding my materials, I can design biological molecules and tools do what I want them to do. While we may traditionally associate engineers observing factors like the terrain or landscape to build a bridge, he looks at factors like energy barriers and cell functions to apply design principles to molecular biology.

Kim Presenting at the Howard Hughes Research Symposium Credit: Cameron Kim

Research is full of challenges, and Kims projects have been no exception. He says it has been challenging to develop his tool. While it looks great in one test, it does not work with another one. He is still investigating whether he should be looking for other factors to control or whether the challenges are due to biological limits.

When asked what advice he would give to other undergrads excited about delving into research, Kim said to recognize that youre not going to know everything and even brightest minds in the field dont know everything, and to also find out more about whatever youre interested and take advantage of wide base of knowledge around you.

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Student Cameron Kim, Working to Reprogram Cells

Donald Paul Lombardi, M.D. Joins The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation welcomes Dr. Donald Paul Lombardi.

Downey, California (PRWEB) October 08, 2012

He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Hospitals, where he won the House Officer Research Award. He did his Medical Oncology Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, and did postgraduate fellowships in Molecular Genetics and Molecular Biology at the National Institutes of Health.

He was on the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine (then ranked #2 by the US News & World Report), where he specialized in breast and genitourinary cancers at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (then ranked #6 among US hospitals).

Because of his commitment to the cancer research, he enrolled into a Masters Degree Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation at the Kellogg School of Science at Technology at The Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, CA. Utilizing start-of-the-art genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, Dr. Lombardi focused his laboratory work on high fat diets and how they contribute to tumor aggressiveness. He will be coming from Scripps Cancer Center and Scripps Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Lombardi has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career, including a Physician-Scientist Training Award from the Department of Defense for U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's Breast Cancer Research Program; a Developmental Project/Career Development Award at the University of Texas SPORE in Lung Cancer; a Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and, most recently, a KL2 Clinical Scholarship from the NIH.

Dr. Lombardi has a very personal connection with cancer treatment. His mother, sister, and grandmother had breast cancer and his father had testicular cancer.

When I see a patient, I see the individual as a person with cancer first, and then as an oncologist treating that patient second. I think that I bring a passion to cancer care that comes from my own emotional response to having close family members go through cancer treatment.

Dr. Lombardi will be joining eleven other physicians on staff at The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation starting October 15th, 2012.

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Donald Paul Lombardi, M.D. Joins The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation

Four MU professors awarded Curators’ Professorships

Posted on October 9, 2012 by ev1

Four MU professors were appointed as Curators Professors, the highest educational honor given by the UM System.

Statistics professor Nancy Flournoy, biochemistry professor Gerald Hazelbauer, fisheries and wildlife professor John Jones and geological sciences professor Mian Liu received the award after the UM Board of Curators approved the nominations at its September meeting.

The Curators Professorship is prestigious, and only outstanding scholars with established reputations are considered for appointment, according to the Office of the Provost's website.

The recipients were notified via mail by letters from Chancellor Brady Deaton, Provost Brian Foster and President Tim Wolfe about their nominations. In addition to the award, the recipients receive a raise and a stipend for scholarly activity.

Nancy Flournoy, statistics professor

Flournoy is the former statistics department chairwoman. She currently teaches one undergraduate class and one graduate class. Flournoy was the only woman of the four recognized.

It was really cool, Flournoy said. I was very pleased. Its a great honor.

Her work with statistical theory has been motivated by problems encountered while working with the Seattle bone marrow transplant team, according to her website. Flournoy received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles before receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Flournoy has spent 10 years at MU.

The students are a joy, Flournoy said.

Gerald Hazelbauer, biochemistry department chairman

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 awarded for discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become …

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2012) The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.

The Nobel Prize recognizes two scientists who discovered that mature, specialised cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

John B. Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the specialisation of cells is reversible. In a classic experiment, he replaced the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. This modified egg cell developed into a normal tadpole. The DNA of the mature cell still had all the information needed to develop all cells in the frog.

Shinya Yamanaka discovered more than 40 years later, in 2006, how intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells. Surprisingly, by introducing only a few genes, he could reprogram mature cells to become pluripotent stem cells, i.e. immature cells that are able to develop into all types of cells in the body.

These groundbreaking discoveries have completely changed our view of the development and cellular specialisation. We now understand that the mature cell does not have to be confined forever to its specialised state. Textbooks have been rewritten and new research fields have been established. By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy.

Life -- a journey towards increasing specialisation

All of us developed from fertilized egg cells. During the first days after conception, the embryo consists of immature cells, each of which is capable of developing into all the cell types that form the adult organism. Such cells are called pluripotent stem cells. With further development of the embryo, these cells give rise to nerve cells, muscle cells, liver cells and all other cell types -- each of them specialised to carry out a specific task in the adult body. This journey from immature to specialised cell was previously considered to be unidirectional. It was thought that the cell changes in such a way during maturation that it would no longer be possible for it to return to an immature, pluripotent stage.

Frogs jump backwards in development

John B. Gurdon challenged the dogma that the specialised cell is irreversibly committed to its fate. He hypothesised that its genome might still contain all the information needed to drive its development into all the different cell types of an organism. In 1962, he tested this hypothesis by replacing the cell nucleus of a frog's egg cell with a nucleus from a mature, specialised cell derived from the intestine of a tadpole. The egg developed into a fully functional, cloned tadpole and subsequent repeats of the experiment yielded adult frogs. The nucleus of the mature cell had not lost its capacity to drive development to a fully functional organism.

Gurdon's landmark discovery was initially met with scepticism but became accepted when it had been confirmed by other scientists. It initiated intense research and the technique was further developed, leading eventually to the cloning of mammals. Gurdon's research taught us that the nucleus of a mature, specialized cell can be returned to an immature, pluripotent state. But his experiment involved the removal of cell nuclei with pipettes followed by their introduction into other cells. Would it ever be possible to turn an intact cell back into a pluripotent stem cell?

UCSF Nobel Prize Winners

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

Shinya Yamanaka

Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, is the fifth UCSF scientist to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Yamanaka is a busy man. He is a senior investigator and the L.K. Whittier Foundation Investigator in Stem Cell Biology at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, a professor of anatomy at UCSF, director of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) and a principal investigator at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), both at Kyoto University, Japan.

Other UCSF Nobel Prize winners include:

Elizabeth Blackburn

Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She shared the award with Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Jack W. Szostak of Harvard Medical School. The scientists discovered an enzyme that plays a key role in normal cell function, as well as in cell aging and most cancers. The enzyme is called telomerase and it produces tiny units of DNA that seal off the ends of chromosomes, which contain the bodys genes. These DNA units named telomeres protect the integrity of the genes and maintain chromosomal stability and accurate cell division. They also determine the number of times a cell divides and thus determine the lifespan of cells.

The scientists research sparked a whole field of inquiry into the possibility that telomerase could be reactivated to treat such age-related diseases as blindness, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases, and deactivated to treat cancer, in which it generally is overactive. Read more.

Stanley Prusiner

Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of a novel disease-causing agent a protein he named prion (PREE-on). The prion causes rare neurodegenerative diseases, such as Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in humans, and mad cow disease in cattle. The discovery has informed research into the role of misprocessed proteins in more common brain diseases, including Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease.

J. Michael Bishop

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UCSF Nobel Prize Winners

Prize for medicine first to be announced

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

(CNN) -

The 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for work that revolutionized the understanding of how cells and organisms develop.

The Nobel Assembly's announcement at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm is the first for what will be a series of prizes announced this week. The Norwegian Nobel committee will announce the most anticipated of the annual honors -- the Nobel Peace Prize -- on Friday in Oslo.

Gurdon, 79, of Dippenhall, England, and Yamanaka, 50, of Osaka, Japan, share the prize jointly "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent" -- the ability of a cell to differentiate into another cell type, according to the Nobel committee.

Gurdon discovered in 1962 that the cells are reversible in an experiment with an egg cell of a frog. Yamanaka discovered 40 years later that mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed as immature cells, the committee said.

The prizes created in 1895 by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel honor work in physics, chemistry, literature and peace. Economics was added as a category in 1968, and the first prize awarded for economic sciences was in 1969.

The monetary award that accompanies the Nobel Prize was lowered by the foundation this year by 20% from 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million) to 8 million kronor ($1.2 million) because of turbulence that hit the financial markets.

On Tuesday, the committee will announce its award for achievement in physics. The next day, the winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry will be announced.

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Prize for medicine first to be announced

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

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The Press Release from the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 goes jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent

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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Research and Markets: Digital Pathology Market – Slide Scanners, Analytics, Delivery Modes and Whole Slide Image …

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4d2gld/digital_pathology) has announced the addition of the "Digital Pathology Market - Slide Scanners (Whole Slide Imaging), Analytics (Image Analysis Software), Delivery Modes (Web Based/ Cloud Based) and Whole Slide Image Storage - Global Trends & Forecast till 2017" report to their offering.

The life science industry is now witnessing the second decade of Biologic Revolution. The adoption and up gradation of technology is increasing rapidly. Conventional practices are being replaced by advanced technologies. The perception of pathological laboratories needs to be improved as the consumer expectations and government regulations towards improved patient safety, accurate diagnosis, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) as well as personalized medicines are growing. Pathology plays a significant role in patient care. Digital pathology serves this purpose by providing a facility for digital transformation of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Digital pathology is currently gaining momentum as pathologists are seeking to achieve workflow efficiency and cost cutting in the pathological process. It provides ready access to premium quality slide images, enabling better and fast diagnosis, as well as preservation of these digital slides for future reference. The digital pathology market is driven by the factors such as reduction in laboratory expenses, improvement in operational efficiency, and treatment decisions and patient care. The rising prevalence of cancer, increasing trends in drug development, companion diagnostics, and ease of consultation are the major drivers that are slated to propel this market. However, a few pivotal factors restraining the growth of this market are FDA regulations in some regions, high cost of Digital Pathology Systems (DPS), technological problems, and conservative outlook of pathologists. There are a few well-established firms and several small ones operating in this industry. The major players in the market are Aperio Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Ventana Medical Systems (U.S.), Leica Microsystems GmbH (Germany), Digipath (U.S.), and Hamamatsu Photonics (Japan).

The global digital pathology market is broadly segmented into two categories based on its products and application. The product category includes scanners, analytics (visualization software, information management systems and image analysis platforms), storage and communication (sharing services, software), while the application category comprises human pathology and animal pathology. Both these markets are dominated by North America in 2012, followed by Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW). The global digital pathology market is estimated to be $191.00 million in 2012, and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 12% to reach $336.61 million by 2017.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Executive Summary

3 Market Overview

4 Digital Pathology: Rationale For Adoption

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Research and Markets: Digital Pathology Market - Slide Scanners, Analytics, Delivery Modes and Whole Slide Image ...

DNA Sequencing Market Growth Driven by Top 10 Companies and Technologies

Posted on October 8, 2012 by ev1

ReportsnReports.com adds new market research report Top Ten Companies in DNA Sequencing to its store. Global sequencing products market is forecast to reach $6.6 billion by 2016.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) October 08, 2012

The goal of this report is to provide a more in-depth look at the top tier DNA sequencing companies as well as some of the second tier companies to look for in the near future, and to note the technological changes within the DNA sequencing industry that are sure to play a role in the years to come.

More specifically, the objectives include identifying companies that are considered the leaders in their field and the technological means these companies are using to exploit their markets and dominate their field.

Key technology points explored include:

Other major factors used to determine top companies in the field include:

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This study will be of particular interest to life-science research tools suppliers, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, nanotechnology, bioinformatics, semiconductor, and biotechnology companies. It will also be valuable to companies involved in genome sequencing projects, sequencing centers, manufacturers of microarrays, suppliers of molecular diagnostics assays, bioinformatics companies, and cancer researchers and clinicians. As this report is a profiling of top companies in the DNA sequencing field, the main audience should also include executive management personnel and marketing and financial analysts.

SCOPE

The scope of this report is focused on a select 10 companies in DNA sequencing, and the key areas in the field that are driving industry growth allowing these companies to succeed. These areas include Sanger, next-generation, and emerging sequencing technologies; the markets for sample preparation products, sequencing instruments and consumables; and bioinformatics and sequencing services. A key area BCC also explores is industry structure, noting strategic alliances and acquisitions along with pertinent patent information.

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DNA Sequencing Market Growth Driven by Top 10 Companies and Technologies

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