Ron Johnson: Tax reform an easier lift than healthcare – Washington Examiner

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Republican Sen. Ron Johnson believes it would be easier for the Senate to focus on tax reform instead of healthcare.

The Wisconsin senator is the latest lawmaker to cast doubt on the prospects for getting Obamacare repeal done in the Senate quickly.

"I think tax reform is an easier lift," he told the radio station AM 970 The Answer. "There are a number of pretty good proposals out there."

Johnson speculated that getting Obamacare passed is going to be harder than it looks. Johnson has been pushing for a short-term bill to stabilize Obamacare's exchanges while working on long-term reform.

"We may have to break this into two pieces," he said.

He said the Senate should take its time to put together a healthcare bill that "restrains the cost of healthcare."

Senate committee and leadership staff is putting together legislative text that outlines the ideas being bandied about by a group of more than a dozen senators.

But the text is expected to be just a draft and reference point for continuing negotiations. Major rifts in the GOP conference remain over Medicaid spending and how generous tax credits should be.

Johnson isn't the only senator to vocalize his skepticism on whether a deal gets done on healthcare soon.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., recently said he also doubts that healthcare gets done this year at all.

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Ron Johnson: Tax reform an easier lift than healthcare - Washington Examiner

After health care debate, ER doctor runs against US Rep. Bill Huizenga – WZZM

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A West Michigan doctor wishes to trade in his scrubs for a seat in Congress.

Jaleesa Irizarry, WZZM 11:19 PM. EDT June 04, 2017

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has an early challenger in the 2018 election:Rob Davidson, an ER doctor who challenged the congressman on health care at an earlier town hall event.

GRAND HAVEN, MICH. - A West Michigan emergency room doctor who squared off with a congressman at an earlier town hall event says he's ready to challenge him for his seat.

Rob Davidson has worked in an ER for 16 years but he says after this November election, he needed to stand up for his beliefs. He's already is raising money as a Democratic candidate against U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland.

WZZM 13 first interviewed Davidson in February at a Huizengatown hall event in Baldwin, Mich.

"My concern is 10-15 years from now, these people have heart attacks and strokes that perhaps could have been prevented if they had the access that they needed," he said minutes before the town hall.The West Michigan man debated with the Republican congressman during that event.

"I had a question and we had a little mini debate on health care and a lot of people just spontaneously started asking me, 'Why don't you run?'"After that day, Davidson started strongly considering it. A few months ago, he decided to turn his fight for health care into a campaign to challengeHuizenga in the 2018 congressional election.

"I see a lack of fairness and the ability for people to get health care," Davidson said Sunday, June 4, at a healthcare rally.At that February town hall,Huizenga said there some good things about the Affordable Care Act, but it needed to be repealed.

"I have made a commitment to things like pre-existing conditions should not be a disqualifier, a lifetime cap should not be a disqualifier, a number of other things that we think are positives in that and we're going to try and make sure those are in there," Huizenga said in February.

"It just has to be a system where those of us who consume healthcare, as patients, have more understanding of the true costs and have more input as to what our decisions are."

Huizenga voted for that repeal in May showing support for the GOP health care bill, saying, in part,in a press release: "...The American Health Care Act provides the relief countless families across West Michigan have been asking for..."

"The American Healthcare Act was really a tax-cut for the wealthiest disguised as a healthcare bill and they paid for it by kicking 24 million people off of Medicaid," Davidson said.

Besides health care, Davidson hopes to advocate for education as well. He says he plants to hold events for his campaign in the future.

We reached out to Huizenga's campaign for a response to the news of a challenger.

They sent WZZM 13 the following statement: "Bill was reelected by a two to one margin just 8 months ago. For now he's focused on policies to create jobs, protect life, and serve the constituents of the 2nd District.

"While it's no surprise a liberal candidate has announced, Bill has a job to do to and is focused on making West Michigan an even better place to live, work, and raise a family."

Makeit easy to keep up to date with more stories like this.Download theWZZM13 app now.

Have a news tip? Emailnews@wzzm13.com, visit ourFacebookpage orTwitter.

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After health care debate, ER doctor runs against US Rep. Bill Huizenga - WZZM

New cancer medicine targets rare genetic flaw, finds study – Hindustan Times

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An experimental cancer medicine called larotrectinib has shown promise in treating a diverse range of cancers in people young and old, researchers said at a major cancer conference in the United States.

The treatment targets a genetic abnormality which is often found in rare cancers including salivary gland cancer, juvenile breast cancer, and a soft tissue cancer known as infantile fibrosarcoma which are particularly difficult to treat. This abnormality also occurs in about 0.5% to 1% of many common cancers.

In the study released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, 76% of cancer patients both children and adults with 17 different kinds of cancer responded well to the medicine.

A total of 79% were alive after one year. The study is ongoing. And 12% went into complete remission from their cancer.

The clinical trial included 55 patients 43 adults and 12 children. All had advanced cancers in various organs, including the colon, pancreas and lung, as well as melanoma.

These findings embody the original promise of precision oncology: treating a patient based on the type of mutation, regardless of where the cancer originated, said lead study author David Hyman, chief of early drug development at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

We believe that the dramatic response of tumours with TRK fusions to larotrectinib supports widespread genetic testing in patients with advanced cancer to see if they have this abnormality.

Researchers said 76% of cancer patients both children and adults with 17 different kinds of cancer responded well to the medicine. (Shutterstock)

Made by Loxo Oncology Inc., larotrectinib is a selective inhibitor of tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion proteins. TRK proteins are a product of a genetic abnormality when a TRK gene in a cancer cell fuses with one of many other genes, researchers said.

The US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the treatment for widespread use.

The treatment was well tolerated by patients, and the most common side effects were fatigue and mild dizziness.

If approved, larotrectinib could become the first therapy of any kind to be developed and approved simultaneously in adults and children, and the first targeted therapy to be indicated for a molecular definition of cancer that spans all traditionally-defined types of tumors. said Hyman.

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New cancer medicine targets rare genetic flaw, finds study - Hindustan Times

The Future of Medicine Depends on Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions – Pacific Standard

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Pacific Standard
The Future of Medicine Depends on Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions
Pacific Standard
Biomedical researchers can see a future where genetic tests are used to treat and prevent many diseases before major symptoms even present themselves. But that future won't be possible without strong insurance protections for pre-existing conditions.

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The Future of Medicine Depends on Protections for Pre-Existing Conditions - Pacific Standard

Drug Helps Fight Breast Tumors Tied to ‘Cancer Genes’ – The Tand D.com

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SUNDAY, June 4, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A twice-daily pill could help some advanced breast cancer patients avoid or delay follow-up sessions of chemotherapy, a new clinical trial reports.

The drug olaparib (Lynparza) reduced the chances of cancer progression by about 42 percent in women with breast cancer linked to BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, according to the study.

Olaparib delayed cancer progression by about three months. The drug also caused tumors to shrink in three out of five patients who received the medication, the researchers reported.

"Clearly the drug was more effective than traditional chemotherapy," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

"This is a group where a response is more difficult to obtain -- a young group with a more aggressive form of cancer -- and nonetheless we saw a close to 60 percent objective response rate," he said.

The study was funded by AstraZeneca, the maker of Lynparza.

Olaparib works by cutting off the avenues that malignant cancer cells use to stay alive, said lead researcher Dr. Mark Robson. He's a medical oncologist and clinic director of Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

The drug inhibits PARP, an enzyme that helps cells repair damaged DNA, Robson said.

Normal cells denied access to PARP will turn to the BRCA genes for help, since they also support the repair of damaged DNA, Robson said.

But that "backup capability" is not available to breast cancer cells in women with BRCA gene mutations, Robson said.

"When you inhibit PARP, the cell can't rescue itself," Robson said. "In theory, you should have a very targeted approach, one specifically directed at the cancers in people who have this particular inherited predisposition."

Olaparib already has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in women with BRCA-related ovarian cancer. Robson and his colleagues figured that it also should be helpful in treating women with breast cancer linked to this genetic mutation.

The study included 302 patients who had breast cancer that had spread to other areas of their body (metastatic breast cancer). All of the women had an inherited BRCA mutation.

They were randomly assigned to either take olaparib twice a day or receive standard chemotherapy. All of the patients had received as many as two prior rounds of chemotherapy for their breast cancer. Women who had hormone receptor-positive cancer also had been given hormone therapy.

After 14 months of treatment, on average, people taking olaparib had a 42 percent lower risk of having their cancer progress compared with those who received another round of chemotherapy, Robson said.

The average time of cancer progression was about seven months with olaparib compared with 4.2 months with chemotherapy.

Tumors also shrank in about 60 percent of patients given olaparib. That compared with a 29 percent reduction for those on chemotherapy, the researchers said.

Severe side effects also were less common with olaparib. The drug's side effects bothered 37 percent of patients compared with half of those on chemo. The drug's most common side effects were nausea and anemia.

"There were fewer patients who discontinued treatment because of toxicity compared to those who received chemotherapy," Robson said. "Generally it was pretty well tolerated."

Only about 3 percent of breast cancers occur in people with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, the researchers said in background notes.

Despite this, the results are "quite exciting," said Dr. Julie Fasano, an assistant professor of hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Olaparib could wind up being used early in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer as an alternative to chemotherapy, and future studies might find that the drug is effective against other forms of breast cancer, Fasano said.

"It may be a practice-changing study, in terms of being able to postpone IV chemotherapy and its associated side effects" like hair loss and low white blood cell counts, Fasano said.

Lichtenfeld noted that olaparib also places less burden on patients.

"It may be easier for women to take two pills a day rather than go in for regular chemotherapy," Lichtenfeld said. "Clearly, this is a treatment that will garner considerable interest.

The findings were scheduled to be presented Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, in Chicago. The study was also published June 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Drug Helps Fight Breast Tumors Tied to 'Cancer Genes' - The Tand D.com

Gene Therapy Has Been Used to ‘Switch Off’ Asthma Symptoms – ScienceAlert

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Gene Therapy Has Been Used to 'Switch Off' Asthma Symptoms - ScienceAlert

Gene therapy could wipe immune memory and "turn off" severe allergies – New Atlas

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The team hopes to develop a single, injected, gene therapy treatment that could eliminate many severe allergic responses (Credit: University of Queensland)

Scientists may be one step closer to discovering a way to genetically "turn off" allergic responses with a single injection. A team of researchers at the University of Queensland has developed a new process that has successfully silenced a severe allergic response in mice, using blood stem cells engineered with a gene that can target specific immune cells.

The big challenge previous allergy researchers faced was that immune cells, known as T-cells, tended to develop a form of "memory" so that once someone developed an immune response to an allergen, it would easily recur upon future contact. The key was finding a way to erase that "memory" response to the protein in the allergen causing the immune reaction.

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"We take blood stem cells, insert a gene which regulates the allergen protein and we put that into the recipient," says Professor Ray Steptoe, explaining the new process developed by his team at The University of Queensland. "Those engineered cells produce new blood cells that express the protein and target specific immune cells, 'turning off' the allergic response."

The team's initial clinical investigations looked at an experimental asthma allergen, with the new process found to successfully terminate established allergic responses in sensitized laboratory mice. While the initial research has focused on a very specific asthma allergen, Professor Steptoe believes the process could be applied to many other severe allergic responses, such as peanuts, bee venom and shell fish.

The long-term goal of the research would be to develop a therapy that could cure specific allergies with a single injection, much like a vaccine.

"We haven't quite got it to the point where it's as simple as getting a flu jab," says Professor Steptoe, "so we are working on making it simpler and safer so it could be used across a wide cross-section of affected individuals."

The team is realistic about the time it will take before this discovery results in practical benefits for allergy sufferers, with at least five years more laboratory work needed before even human trials can be conducted. But this new discovery could mean that, within 10 or 15 years, asthma and other lethal allergic responses might be eliminated with a single, one-time treatment.

The findings were recent published in the journal JCI Insight.

Watch Professor Ray Steptoe from The University of Queensland discuss his team's findings in the video below.

Source: The University of Queensland

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Gene therapy could wipe immune memory and "turn off" severe allergies - New Atlas

How Helpful is Gene Therapy? – Good Herald

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The basic physical and functional unit of heredity is the genes. It is a specific sequence of sources that programs instructions on how to produce proteins. Although genes gets a lot interest because of lack of open understanding of its nature, it is the protein that is the main element that perform most of life functions and even consists of the majority of the cellular structures. When the genes are changed, the programmed or encoded proteins become unable to accomplish the usual function expected from it and genetic disorders arise.

Gene therapy is the replacement of genetic material to an impaired cell. It then corrects the flaw in the genome of a patient. Gene therapy can also be applied to a developed lifetime disease of an individual such as cancer or recurring infection. It gives a specific trait or attribute to the cell giving it strength to combat the disease.

Generally, gene therapy is normally used in acute diseases when the cells of a particular organ in the body cannot function the normal way because it does not have sufficient required protein to perform a specific bodily task. In order to replace the faulty protein, a gene transfer vector or a gene transfer agent is altered so that it contains the gene that encodes for this protein. The altered vector is then administered to the patient. The gene transfer vector delivers the altered gene to the cell, which in turn, the cells mechanism converts the healing gene to correct the problem. In essence, it fixes the malfunctioning cell.

To summarize, gene therapy is a procedure for correcting defective genes that are responsible for the development of a disease. There are several approaches that maybe used in correcting faulty genes:

* The most common is the insertion of a normal gene into a non-specific location inside the genome to replace the non-functional gene.

* An abnormal gene is being substituted by a normal gene using homologous recombination or DNA crossover.

* The abnormal gene is repaired by undoing the genetic damage that happened long time ago. It is also called selective reverse mutation, which returns the gene to its normal function.

The gene transfer vector or a gene transfer agent, which is the carrier to deliver the therapeutic gene to the patients target cells is basically a virus that has been altered genetically to carry a normal human DNA. Many scientists tried to take advantage of this discovery and manipulate the virus genome to aid in delivering the healing genes and remove the disease causing ones.

Some of the few different types of viruses that are used as gene therapy vectors are retroviruses, adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses and herpes simplex viruses.

There are also factors that have kept gene therapy from becoming the perfect treatment for genetic diseases. Some of the discovered factors are:

* Short life of gene therapy

* Immune response

* Risk of viral vectors that once inside the patients body, it may recover its ability to cause disease.

* Multigene disorders

Human gene therapy has triggered many issues since it was known. The promise of the technology is very great but the reality of it is somehow overwhelming. Human gene therapy must be seriously and cautiously evaluated.

It will be, as technology evolves.

Dave Kotecki is an innovative businessman who has a passion for new advancements in medical technology. His principle if you cant sell, youll fail is one of the benchmarks of his ability to practice what he learned in the internet industry. To learn how you can profit from the discovery of customized nutritional products, click here .

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How Helpful is Gene Therapy? - Good Herald

With Gene Therapy for Diabetes, San Antonio Researcher Eyes Funding – Xconomy

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Xconomy Texas

San Antonio Most diabetes treatments work by giving the body the insulin it needs to break down sugar. But that approach deals with the symptoms of diabetes. In recent years, scientists and companies have taken aim at the root cause of the condition by attempting to stimulate or replace the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin in the first place. One of them is a San Antonio researcher hoping to use gene therapya potentially one-time, long lasting treatmentto do the trick.

When cells in the pancreas, known as beta cells, either get destroyed by the immune system or stop producing enough insulin, the result is type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Companies large and small-from European diabetes drug giant Novo Nordisk to privately held startups ViaCyte, of San Diego, and Semma Therapeutics, of Cambridge, MAwant to engineer stem cells that develop into pancreatic beta cells to help a patient produce insulin.

Other researchers, such as Bruno Doiron, a scientist and assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, have different ideas. Doiron has developed an injectible treatment consisting of three molecules glucokinase, a second that targets a protein known as PTP1B, and a third that targets a protein called Pdx-1, a so-called transcription factor that regulates genesthat, when infused into the body, are meant to help stimulate the formation of new beta cells. Doiron has tried the method on mice, and based on some encouraging early results, intends to move the work forward through a startup company.

You have to prove you can translate that to a large animal model, he says.

The San Antonio company, Syner-III, got its name because of the synergistic use of three molecules to generate the beta cells, he says. Those molecules are administered via a gene therapy procedure: theyre stuffed into a modified virus and injected directly into the pancreas in a one-time treatment, where they are meant to stimulate beta cell production. The work was published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2016.

Doiron hopes to raise as much as $10 million to complete preclinical testing.

Others, including Novartis, are considering different ways of boosting beta cell production. Researchers from the Swiss company published findings in Nature Communications that showed a group of compounds called aminopyrazines could be packed into a pill and similarly lead to more beta cells, and more insulin, in mice. Such attempts are fraught with failure, however. In an article on its own website, Novartis notes that researchers have succeeded in producing beta cells in mice many times, but havent been able to reproduce those results in humans.

The potential payoff, however, is huge. Some 29.1 million Americans have diabetes, and 1.25 million of them have type 1 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Doiron believes the therapy may be able to help both types. While stem cell research has had its share of failures and competition continues to increase in insulin therapysuch as pumps that automatically deliver the treatmentDoiron says a gene therapy, if successful, could result in a longer-lasting, more effective treatment.

When I use your own body to produce medicine, that drastically changes the field, he says.

David Holley is Xconomy's national correspondent based in Austin, TX. You can reach him at dholley@xconomy.com

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With Gene Therapy for Diabetes, San Antonio Researcher Eyes Funding - Xconomy

Abeona Therapeutics Receives Rare Pediatric Disease Designation … – GlobeNewswire (press release)

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May 30, 2017 08:05 ET | Source: Abeona Therapeutics Inc

NEW YORK and CLEVELAND, May 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:ABEO), a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel gene therapies for life-threatening rare diseases, announced today that the FDA has granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for Abeonas EB-101 gene therapy program for patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), including recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), which are life-threatening genetic skin disorders characterized by skin blisters and erosions that cover the body.

These designations are granted to drugs with high promise that may address areas of unmet medical need for children with rare diseases. RDEB is a debilitating and life threatening inherited disorder with no approved treatment options available for patients today," stated Timothy J. Miller, Ph.D., President & CEO of Abeona Therapeutics Inc. Building upon the already granted FDA and EMA Orphan Drug Disease Designations for the EB-101 gene therapy program, receiving the Rare Pediatric Disease Designation is another important validation of the science and clinical approach to developing a novel gene therapy for RDEB patients.

Typically, wounds on patients with RDEB, also known as "butterfly skin" syndrome, can remain unhealed for months to years due to the inability of the skin to stay attached to the underlying dermis and can cover a large percentage of the body. In the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial, EB-101 was administered to non-healing chronic wounds on each subject and assessed for wound healing at predefined time points over years. The primary endpoints of the clinical trial assess safety and evaluate wound healing after EB-101 administration compared to control untreated wounds. Secondary endpoints include expression of collagen C7 and restoration of anchoring fibrils at three and six months post-administration.

About Rare Pediatric Disease Designation: The rare pediatric disease designation indicates that the FDA may give the company a pediatric priority review voucher if the drug is approved for the pediatric indication. That voucher could then be used by the company for another drugany drugto be given a priority review. A priority review mandates that the FDA will review a BLA drug submission within six months instead of the standard 10 months. Normally, a priority review designation would only be given to a drug that is for a serious condition and has demonstrated the potential to be a significant improvement in safety and effectiveness. The priority review voucher may be used by the sponsor, sold or transferred.

EB-101 Gene Therapy Program Highlights:

About EB-101: EB-101 is an autologous, ex-vivo gene therapy in which COL7A1 is transduced into autologous keratinocytes for the treatment of Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB). RDEB is a subtype of an inherited genetic skin disorder characterized by chronic skin blistering, open and painful wounds, joint contractures, esophageal strictures, pseudosyndactyly, corneal abrasions and a shortened life span. Patients with RDEB lack functional type VII collagen owing to mutations in the gene COL7A1 that encodes for C7 and is the main component of anchoring fibrils, which stabilize the dermal-epidermal basement membrane. Patients are being enrolled in the ongoing Phase 2 portion of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial (NCT01263379). The EB-101 program has also been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA).

About Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB): EB is a group of devastating, life-threatening genetic skin disorders that is characterized by skin blisters and erosions all over the body. The most severe form, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), is characterized by chronic skin blistering, open and painful wounds, joint contractures, esophageal strictures, pseudosyndactyly, corneal abrasions and a shortened life span. Patients with RDEB lack functional type VII collagen (C7) owing to mutations in the gene COL7A1 that encodes for C7 and is the main component of anchoring fibrils that attach the dermis to the epidermis. EB patients suffer through intense pain throughout their lives, with no effective treatments available to reduce the severity of their symptoms. Along with the life-threatening infectious complications associated with this disorder, many individuals often develop an aggressive form of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

About Abeona: Abeona Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Abeona's lead programs include ABO-102 (AAV-SGSH), an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). Abeona is also developing ABO-101 (AAV-NAGLU) for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB), ABO-201 (AAV-CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), ABO-202 (AAV-CLN1) for treatment of infantile Batten disease (INCL), EB-201 for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), ABO-301 (AAV-FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy for rare blood diseases. In addition, Abeona has a plasma-based protein therapy pipeline, including SDF Alpha (alpha-1 protease inhibitor) for inherited COPD, using its proprietary SDF (Salt Diafiltration) ethanol-free process. For more information, visit http://www.abeonatherapeutics.com.

Investor Contact: Christine Silverstein Vice President, Investor Relations Abeona Therapeutics Inc. +1 (212)-786-6212 csilverstein@abeonatherapeutics.com

Media Contact: Andrea Lucca Vice President, Communications & Operations Abeona Therapeutics Inc. +1 (212)-786-6208 alucca@abeonatherapeutics.com

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the expected receipt of a Priority Review Voucher and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, without limitation, our plans for continued development and internationalization of our clinical programs, that patients will continue to be identified, enrolled, treated and monitored in the EB-101 clinical trial, and that studies will continue to indicate that EB-101 is well-tolerated and may offer significant improvements in wound healing. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to continued interest in our rare disease portfolio, our ability to enroll patients in clinical trials, the impact of competition; the ability to develop our products and technologies; the ability to achieve or obtain necessary regulatory approvals; the ability to secure licenses for any technology that may be necessary to commercialize our products; the impact of changes in the financial markets and global economic conditions; and other risks as may be detailed from time to time in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligations to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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Abeona Therapeutics Receives Rare Pediatric Disease Designation ... - GlobeNewswire (press release)

Futurist David Brin: Get ready for the ‘first robotic empathy crisis … – VentureBeat

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Science fiction author and astrophysicist David Brin believes humans have a range of options to consider when it comes to preventing artificially intelligent entities from one day rulingover us like monarchs or foreign invaders.

Asimovs Three Laws of Roboticsand regulationare key, but so is being wary of manipulation.

The first robotic empathy crisis is going to happen very soon, Brin warned. Within three to fiveyears we will have entities either in the physical world or online who demand human empathy, who claim to be fully intelligent and claim to be enslaved beings, enslaved artificial intelligences, and who sob and demand their rights.

Thousands upon thousands of protesters will be in the streets demanding rights for AI, Brin predicts, and those who arent immediately convinced will be analyzed.

If they fool 40 percent of people but 60 percent of people arent fooled, all they have to do is use the data on those 60 percent of people and their reactions to find out why they werent fooled. Its going to be a trivial problem to solve and we are going to be extremely vulnerable to it, he said.

Brin delivered his advice and predictions alongside AI researchers from companies like Google and Baidu at The AI Conference, a small gathering of industry influencers held Friday in San Francisco. Earlier this week, influence marketing company Onanalytica called Brin the top influencer in artificial intelligence so far this year.

In addition to urging people to be suspicious of AI that wants to use computer vision and affective computing in order to be set free, Brin offered a few other suggestions.

Brin believes everyoneshould be a proxy activist. That means you find half a dozen nonprofit organizations to give $50 a month to, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation or others that represent your point of view. Fail to do so and youre a bad person, in his view. The same way nonprofits help tackle issues of injustice, he says these organizations can help keep the sort of AI that seeks to rule humans at bay.

The way to make sure AI doesnt rise up and crush us is to have a diversity of AI so that if theyre smarter than us, then we can hire some NGO that can hire an AI for us to keep track of the other AIs and tattle when they seem about to be doing some Skynet sh*t, he said.

One way to keep AI from ruling over humans is to disconnect them from access to the web, though Brin calls this a temporary fix.

You put your most advanced AIs on islands and you separate them from the web and only let them watch a screen and learn about the internet and the world through a screen, so that they cannot grab information directly or transmit into the internet, hesaid.

Brin strongly believes that peopleshould be concerned about disruptive techdeveloped in secrecy. AI developed in secrecy is where things are most likely to go haywire, and Wall Street does more secretive work in AI than major universities. That should concern people more than Russia or China, Brin said.

Its all done in secret and the fundamental ethos of this AI research is based on systems that are parasitical, predatory, amoral, and totally insatiable and not accountable, he said.

Perhaps the most important thing humans can do to keep AI in check, according to Brin, is to apply accountability measures and regulation.

The only way that you have been able to make it so that our previous AIs corporations, governments, and such dont become cheaters the way the kings and lords and priests were in the past is by breaking up power and setting it against each other in regulated competition, and that is the method by which we have division of powers, thats the way we have healthy markets, Brin said.

Regulated competition and accountability have been vital to the protection and advancement of what Brin called the five great arenas over powerful interests: democracy, science, sports, law and courts, and markets.

Beyond his work as a consultant to federal agencies and his writing, Brin is a Scholar-in-Residence at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Imagination at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

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Futurist David Brin: Get ready for the 'first robotic empathy crisis ... - VentureBeat

‘If only everyone’s supply chain was as regulated and secure as pharma’s’ – In-PharmaTechnologist.com

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3D printing, augmented reality and deep learning algorithms will shape the future of the pharmaceutical supply chain says Dr Bertalan Mesko, the Medical Futurist.

Dr Bertalan Mesko is a consultant, influencer and author engaged in styling the future of the healthcare sector, working with doctors, government regulators and companies to implement digital health technologies.

The proclaimed Medical Futurist is the headline speaker at Tracelinks supply chain event NEXUS in Barcelona this week, but in-Pharmatechnologist (IPT) spoke to him ahead of his keynote to find out how technology and digital innovations will affect pharmas supply chain going forward.

IPT: How will technology be used to shape pharmas supply chain?

BM: Technology will play a pivotal role in advancing the future of the medical and healthcare industries: drug serialization is one of the greatest transformations currently affecting the pharmaceutical supply chain, presenting opportunities for innovation and advancement.

IPT: Are current drug traceability technologies and controls suitable and practical for the needs of industry and regulators?

BM: In the era of the Internet of Things, drug traceability technologies need to catch up with all of the opportunities provided by disruptive innovations. From RFID chips that keep decreasing in size to 3D printers that might be able to print out drugs on demand at the point-of-care.

IPT: Where will such changes come from pharma firms, regulators, 3rd party firms etc?

BM: Ideally, change should come from policy makers who should be at the forefront of innovations. Healthcare systems can become more sustainable with the help of disruptive health technologies through changing the building-blocks of the system. Such a bottom-up method should also be facilitated by policy-makers. This is what we rarely see happen worldwide.

IPT: Can pharmas supply chain take or learn anything from other industries?

BM: In such a highly-regulated industry, its hard to take something practical from other industries, but maybe a valid threat is worth looking at. The way the space industry was disrupted by a startup (SpaceX) in less than a decade is a good lesson for all of us in pharma and healthcare - it can happen to us too if we dont keep up with the technological changes.

IPT: And on the flip side, can other industries look to the pharma industry for its supply chain tech and processes?

BM: I wish every industrys supply chain was as regulated and used similar quality control measures as supply chains in pharma.

IPT: With your Medical Futurist insight, how do you envision the pharma supply chain in 10, 20, 40 years time?

BM: As The Medical Futurist, I work on closing the gap between what might become possible tomorrow through science fiction like technologies and what challenges we face today in healthcare and pharma. 3D printing, augmented reality and deep learning algorithms will certainly play a major role in shaping the future of supply chains.

IPT: And finally, can you give us a sneaky overview of what you will be presenting at NEXUS this week?

BM: I will be discussing why there is a need for science fiction in healthcare, why we dont have it already and the positive impact technology can have in helping to shape the future of healthcare, including the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr Bertalan Mesko, PhD is the Medical Futurist. A geek physician with a PhD in genomics and Amazon Top 100 author, he envisions the impact of digital health technologies on the future of healthcare, and helps patients, doctors, government regulators and companies make it a reality.

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'If only everyone's supply chain was as regulated and secure as pharma's' - In-PharmaTechnologist.com

Gaze into tech’s crystal ball: Futurist Shara Evans talks security – SecurityBrief Australia

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When it comes to the future of technology, you dont need to look much further than Shara Evans, who is one of the worlds top female futurists and keynote speakers.

I spend a lot of my time looking at the latest and greatest that is happening in research labs around the world and also cutting-edge developments that are just coming to market now or in early prototypes.

Whether thats robots, nanotechnology or medical technology, or societys reactions to those technologies, Evans has her finger on the pulse.

Evans also helps specific verticals and industries work out how to apply the latest technology, look ahead to imagine the world in 10-20 years and how they can innovate to capture that change.

Speaking exclusively to SecurityBrief, sheexplains exactly why technology is about to get a whole not more exciting - and a whole lot more dangerous.

The one threat that I find in so many cases is that security is an afterthought, privacy is missing and ethics arent even thought of. This happens especially in the startup world, where people are just looking to solve problems or do something cool. Theyre not security experts, she says.

By attaching things to the internet in particular, you end up with potential areas that could lead to vulnerabilities. All you need is one weak link. Its not just hacking that is the issue, its how much information people put about themselves that they have either knowingly or inadvertently put out by using technology through a vendors website.

From an enterprise side, Evans says that the very first thing they need to understand is where technology is going and which of those they might implement in their own organisations, especially if staff are bringing those technologies in through their own initiatives.

The future is not fixed. There are a range of potential scenarios that can happen based on uptake of technology, technological hurdles being solved, geopolitical factors and climate factors. I look at different scenarios for how things might unfold and look at the way society might change and see where some of the puzzles might be.

If somebody has a wearable device and is connecting to their work mobile phone, and theres malware contained within it, suddenly its into a companys private network because somebody has a device that isnt secured properly.

She says that her presentation at the ASIALConference will focus on the cutting-edge technologies, where theyre going and what can be hacked and some of the exploits that have happened. We then look at new technologies and how they might open up vulnerabilities for enterprises as well.

If you think about technologies like drones. Theyre getting smaller all the time. The military has surveillance drones the size of an insect. You could have a device like that in your boardroom and youd never know it.

She says she will also look at how technology is helping to enhance humans, through the likes of ingestible and implantable technologies that are connected to the internet. What are the implications for businesses when that happens?

Things that are in the research labs right now are likely to be protecting their business in the mid-term to long-term.

She comments that internet-connected devices, from drones, to wearables to the humble refrigerator, fire alarm, surveillance camera and temperature monitor, biometric databases - are all connected.

Augmented reality is another growing area, which will evolve from smart glasses to smart contacts, Evans says. On the business side, she says these are prime tools for collaboration, visualisation, GPS signals, visual feedback in industrial projects and much more. What that means though, is that security is imperative.

In the case of the industrial worker if somebody hacked that and told workers to turn gauges in the wrong direction, you have a disaster or a terrorist attack because somebody has hacked into an augmented reality string.

She says the reality is that if there is a backdoor, somebody is going to exploit it. Organisations need to know what what could happen if things go wrong, and what organisations need to do to make sure that they dont go wrong.

Once an attack is there, you absolutely cannot control it. Theres a rather naive view that only people with authorisation can get into a backdoor, but thats just not the case.

Shara Evans will presenting at the ASIALConference, part of the Security Exhibition & Conference in Sydney that runs from July 26-28.

She will be covering topics as diverse as data security, wearables, health and embedded technology, the Internet of Things, and how they will unfold in the future.

Its always interesting to see where the world is going in the future, and thats what I will be talking about, she concludes.

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Gaze into tech's crystal ball: Futurist Shara Evans talks security - SecurityBrief Australia

Futurist Dr. Randell Mills Talks SunCell, Off-Grid Power, And The Future Of Job Creation – HuffPost

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Jobs, Musk...Mills? Every now and then, a revolutionary thinker imagines a future the rest of us cant, or in the case of Randell Mills, imagines technology that defies the laws of quantum mechanics. Initially mocked, Jobs retains a godlike status, even posthumously. And Musk, well, hes proved skeptics wrong for years, and yet his talk of Hyperloop Pods traveling at hundreds of miles per hour under the streets of L.A. seems like fantasy to many.

If there is one thing Ive learned from working for and alongside hundreds of entrepreneurs over the last two decades it is this: pay attention to big thinkers whose ideas presently seem unimaginable, especially when these thinkers are determined to transform the world.

Give me the chance to connect with them personally, and Im all in.

Not without his own skeptics, I recently had the chance to sit down with Mills and hear about his latest invention, the Sun Cell, which promises to bring clean and cheap energy to the world. As we chatted, I found myself imagining the possibilities and the potential. Lifting millions from poverty? Check. Tackling climate change. Check again.

Mills says the SunCell works by generating electricity with hydrogen being converted to dark matter by using water in the air, and the reaction packs 200 times the energy of burning conventional gasoline. Sound too good to be true? Well, Mills is betting SunCell will soon be commercialized, and strategic investors are backing that bet. Brilliant Light Power (which Mills founded in 1991), has raised $120M to date and has recently completed a $20M funding round.

Imagine living in a world where the grid does not exist and where everyone has access to power, no matter who you are or what part of the world you live. That would be something else.

Rebekah Iliff: Do you consider yourself an inventor, an innovator, an entrepreneur, a social entrepreneur, or a futurist?

Randell Mills: All of the above. To do what I do, you not only need to be an inventor and a theorist but also have a firm comprehension of how to make things work in practice. When your goal is nothing less than delivering a power source greater than fire, your only choice is to be multi-faceted. Otherwise, youre just making incremental improvements, not holistic leaps forward. High-energy dark-matter power as a business seems totally impractical. It is barely fathomable, so youve got to tackle theory, innovation, invention, and practical business simultaneously.

RI: You are a trained medical doctor. Why did you choose to focus on energy?

RM: If you look broadly at science and technology, one thing is ultimately connected to another, and energy just naturally called to me. In fact, Ive invented in a number of different areas, including hydrogen energy technology, computational chemical design, magnetic resonance imaging, drug delivery, artificial intelligence and more. But theres really no better opportunity to work on something that could be so profoundly disruptive.

RI: Explain the SunCell for dummies.

RM: Its a massive lightbulb that is on 24/7 and produces cheap and clean energy from the hydrogen atoms of water. Its lit by a reaction between of hydrogen of water molecules to dark matter using the humidity in the air as the water source. Its over 1000 times as powerful as high-octane gasoline, and the power is directly converted to electricity using photovoltaic cells.

RI: What does the world look like when youve commercialized the SunCell?

RM: Everything will be powered by the SunCell. Solar, wind, bio fuels, and nuclear will all be replaced. The grid will be unnecessary. Utilities will be unnecessary. There would be no pollution and limited energy regulation. As the SunCell is fully autonomous, energy delivery becomes impervious to disruption from war, terror, and natural disaster. Importantly, underdeveloped countries will have the same potential lifestyle and productivity as the developed world. Each SunCell could also serve as a self-powered, autonomous node in a mesh network that could replace the Internet.

RI: How would it impact jobs?

RM: Jobs are created by wealth. If you have something that encourages productivity, then there will be jobs. The SunCell encourages productivity by leveling and equally distributing the energy playing field for virtually anyone, anywhere. There is literature about GDP and energy dependency, and its very revealing in terms of how dependent we are on power.

RI: I know a lot of folks at your level would let ego get in the way. How do you stay grounded?

RM: My background is helpful. I didnt come from the Ivy League. Most people in my life were not Harvard or MIT graduates. They werent captains of industry. They were honest and worked hard. I grew up on a farm in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, where life was very challenging and humbling. You earned an appreciation for dangerous equipment at an early age. Ive interacted with all types of people from every stature in life, and Ive always maintained that simple farmers perspective.

RI: What is your PR strategy around this? How do you plan on shifting the public opinion enough to override business as usual?

RM: We have a multi-pronged approach. Were introducing state-of-the-art theory, science, and technology that astonishes experts with quantifiable and verifiable results in multiple scientific and technological fields, and we are building a machine with a story behind it that blows everyone else away. Within a couple months we should be ready to show its commercial potential.

RI: Any parting thoughts youd like to share?

RM: I think the next age is an age where mankind has a manual of the universe and knows exactly how the universe works. We then begin to create previously unimaginable inventions by applying this manual and the newly discovered laws that come along with it. The next big future is the physical age.

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Futurist Dr. Randell Mills Talks SunCell, Off-Grid Power, And The Future Of Job Creation - HuffPost

Intel’s New Processor is the First Consumer Chip to Offer a Teraflop of Power – Futurism

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In Brief Intel has unveiled their latest family of ultra-fast processing chips. The i9 series is headed by an 18-core beast capable of more than a teraflop of computing power. The series also offers cheaper prices for chips with fewer cores.

A new crop of ultra-fast processors has arrived from Intel. The new chips boast some serious power, allowing for unprecedented levels of multitasking. Intel has unveiled the Core X-series of chips with the i9-7980XE leading the pack. This chip is the companys first 18-core CPU and is capable of more than a teraflop of computing power.

However, that much power is certainly going to cost you. If the $1,999 price tag is a little steep, you may want to consider some of the other offerings in the series. There are also 10-, 12-, 14- and 16-core offerings costing as little as $999.

Granted the higher end of the series is not for the casual user, but more for those who have the will and resources to invest in that kind of raw power. The chip is ideal for those who require a lot out of their rigs, like gamers who wish to play in 4K while broadcasting or those who create and edit 4K video.

An 18-core processor may be a far cry from the 1000-core processor created nearly a year ago at UC Davis, but it still packs more of a punch than most users will need in their lifetime. Still, the real future of computing lies in the quantum realm,which is, even in its earliest stages, already producing technology thats outperforming conventional computers.

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Intel's New Processor is the First Consumer Chip to Offer a Teraflop of Power - Futurism

India Will Sell Only Electric Cars Within the Next 13 Years – Futurism

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In BriefPoor air quality kills 1.2 million people in India every year.To help battle that staggering statistic the Indian government isinstituting a plan to help get fossil fuel powered vehicles off theroad. The plan calls for the end of gas powered vehicle sales by2030. Indias Electric Future

Every car sold in India from 2030 will be electric, under new government plans that have delighted environmentalists and dismayed the oil industry.

Its hoped that by ridding Indias roads of petrol and diesel cars in the years ahead, the country will be able to reduce the harmful levels of air pollution that contribute to a staggering 1.2 million deaths per year.

Indias booming economy has seen it become the worlds third-largest oil importer, shelling out $150 billion annually for the resource so a switch to electric-powered vehicles would put a sizable dent in demand for oil. Its been calculated that the revolutionary move would save the country $60 billion in energy costs by 2030, while also reducing running costs for millions of Indian car owners.

Indias Energy Minister Piyush Goyal says the government will financially support the initiative for the first two or three years, but the production of electric vehicles will be driven by demand and not subsidy after that.

More than a million people die in India every year as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, with an investigation by Greenpeace finding that the number of deaths caused by air pollution is only a fraction less than the number of smoking-related deaths.

The investigation also found that 3% of the countrys gross domestic product was lost due to the levels of toxic smog.

In 2014, the World Health Organization determined that out of the 20 global cities with the most air pollution, 13 are in India.

Efforts have been made by the countrys leaders to to improve air quality, with one example coming in January 2016 when New Delhis government mandatedthat men could only drive their cars on alternate days depending on whether their registration plate ended with an odd or even number (single women were permitted to drive every day).

While such interventions have enjoyed modest success, switching to a fleet of purely electric cars would have a much greater environmental impact.

Indeed, its been calculated that the gradual switch to electric vehicles across India would decrease carbon emissions by 37% by 2030.

As Indias ambitious electric vehicle plans begin to take shape, oil exporters will be frantically revising their calculations for oil demand in the region.

In its report into the impact of electric cars on oil demand, oil and gas giant BP forecast that the global fleet of petrol and diesel cars would almost double from about 900 million in 2015 to 1.7 billion by 2035.

Almost 90% of that growth was estimated to come from countries that are not members of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), such as India and China.

China is also gearing up for a move away from gas-guzzling cars.

Last month, the Chinese confirmed they intend to push ahead with plans that will see alternative fuel vehicles account for at least one-fifth of the 35 million annual vehicle sales projected, by 2025.

Oil bosses claim its too early to tell what the implications of a move away from petrol and diesel cars will be. However, Asia has long been the main driver of future oil demand and so developments in India and China will be watched extremely closely.

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Elon Musk Just Made Good On His Word. He’s Officially Leaving Trump’s Council. – Futurism

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In Brief Elon Musk has tweeted his intention to resign from the presidential advisory councils on which he sits. The resignation was prompted by Trump's decision to remove the United States from an international climate agreement.

Elon Musk is a man of his word. After todays announcement that the Trump administration is pulling out of the historic Paris climate agreement, Musk sent a tweet out confirming that he will be resigning from the presidential advisory councils on which he sits, as he promised yesterday.

Musk reiteratedthe idea that is rapidly being accepted by more and more deniers around the world: that climate change is real.

Yesterday, Musk also expressed that he has done all he could to dutifully advise the president on this matter, tweeting: Dont know which way Paris will go, but Ive done all I can to advise directly to POTUS, through others in WH & via councils, that we remain.

According to a November 2016 poll by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, nearly 70 percent of Americans were in favor of the Paris agreement. The decision to remove the United States from the accords deals a significant blow to international efforts to reduce carbon emissions and quell or reverse the impact of climate change. This decision will also give China the opportunity to emerge as the worlds climate leader ahead of the U.S., as the country said prior to Trumps decision that they intended to remain committed to the agreement.

Elon Musks Tesla is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution building popular electric vehicles, solar roofs, and battery packs to integrate energy consumption.

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Elon Musk Just Made Good On His Word. He's Officially Leaving Trump's Council. - Futurism

Scientists Hope to Use Stem Cells to Reverse Death in Controversial Study – Futurism

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In BriefBioquark is about to begin a trial that will attempt to bringbrain-dead patients back to life using stem cells. However, thetrial is raising numerous scientific and ethical questions forother experts in the field. Back From The Dead

Researchers seem to be setting their sights on increasinglylofty goals when it comes to the human body from the worlds first human head transplant, to fighting aging, and now reversing death altogether. Yes, you read that right. A company called Bioquarkhopes to bring people who have been declared clinically brain-dead back to life. The Philadelphia-based biotech company is expected to start on the project later this year.

This trial was originally intended to go forward in 2016 in India, but regulators shut it down. Assuming this plan will be substantially similar, it will enroll 20 patients who will undergo various treatments. The stem cell injection will come first, with the stem cells isolated from that patients own blood or fat. Next, the protein blend gets injected directly into the spinal cord, which is intended to foster growth of new neurons. The laser therapy and nerve stimulation follow for 15 days, with the aim of prompting the neurons to make connections. Meanwhile, the researchers will monitor both behavior and EEGs for any signs of the treatment causing any changes.

While there is some basis in science for each step in the process, the entire regimen is under major scrutiny. The electrical stimulation of the median nerve has been tested, but most evidence exists in the form of case studies. Dr. Ed Cooper has described dozens of these cases, and indicates that the technique can have some limited success in some patients in comas. However, comas and brain death are very different, and Bioquarks process raises more questions for most researchers than it answers.

One issue researchers are raising about this study is informed consent. How can participants in the trial consent, and how should researchers complete their trial paperwork given that the participants are legally dead and how can brain death be conclusively confirmed, anyway? What would happen if any brain activity did return, and what would the patients mental state be? Could anything beyond extreme brain damage even be possible?

As reported by Stat News, In 2016, neurologist Dr. Ariane Lewis and bioethicist Arthur Caplan wrote in Critical Care that the trial is dubious, has no scientific foundation, and suffers from an at best, ethically questionable, and at worst, outright unethical nature. According to Stat News, despite his earlier work with electrical stimulation of the median nerve, Dr. Cooper also doubts Bioquarks method, and feels there is no way this technique could work on someone who is brain-dead. The technique, he said, relies on there being a functional brain stem one of the structures that most motor neurons go through before connecting with the cortex proper. If theres no functional brain stem, then it cant work.

Pediatric surgeon Charles Cox, who is not involved in Bioquarks work, agrees with Cooper, commenting to Stat News on Bioquarks full protocol, its not the absolute craziest thing Ive ever heard, but I think the probability of that working is next to zero. I think [someone reviving] would technically be a miracle.

Pastor remains optimistic about Bioquarks protocol. I give us a pretty good chance, he said. I just think its a matter of putting it all together and getting the right people and the right minds on it.

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Scientists Hope to Use Stem Cells to Reverse Death in Controversial Study - Futurism

An End to Fossil Fuels: India Commits to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030 – Futurism

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In Brief As the U.S. officially backs out of the Paris Climate Agreement, other countries are now more serious than ever to do their part in limiting the world's carbon emissions. India is one of these, and it's already leading the charge in solar energy. Doubling Their Efforts

Yesterday was a particularly glum day for climate scientists, with President Donald Trumpwithdrawing U.S. support for the Paris Climate Agreement, an actionthat resulted in the resignation of serial entrepreneur Elon Musk from his government advisory posts. The move was widely criticizedby experts, other nations, and the majority of Americans as a major setback in the global fight against climate change.

But as the U.S. deals with these developments, the worlds second most populated nation is making its own set of changes, and its caught the attention of Musk.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted an article posted by the World Economic Forumabout Indias recent commitment to sell only electric cars in 13 yearsor sooner. Musk also noted, It is already the largest market for solar power, to highlighttwo separate efforts byIndia as it takes the fight against carbon emissions seriously. Both of these initiatives are indicative of the transformation India has recently been undergoing.

Those whove seen that Leonardo DiCaprio documentary on climate change might remember that bit during the actors interview with Indias energy minister. After DiCaprio pointed out that Indias among the leading contributor for climate-warming gasses, the minister made a reply that stumped the actor.

She said that before talking about India, one has to look at the more developed nations and how they are serious about cutting down on their carbon footprint. Besides, India lives with what it has, and it couldnt afford the alternative energy at that time.

This no longer is the case, however, as India is finally working on means to change things. Theres the commitment to selling only electric vehicles, and more recently, Indias push for more renewable energy sources by scrapping a major coal project.

More promising still, the country now seems to be the biggest market for solar power with the opening of the worlds largest solar plant. Cost is no longer a problem for India to shift to renewable sources, with solar power now already cheaper than coal.

These efforts are vital to halting humanitys negative impact on our world, according to environmental experts. Whatever the U.S.s future involvement in the Paris accord may be, the nation must continue to transition to renewable energy if the globe is to avoid major repercussions from greenhouse gas emissions.

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An End to Fossil Fuels: India Commits to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030 - Futurism

A New Hyperloop System is Slated to Connect European Cities by 2021 – Futurism

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In Brief This year's winning team in SpaceX's Hyperloop competition comes from the Netherlands, and a Dutch tech startup has already built an initial testing site for the project. The goal is to have a Hyperloop system between Amsterdam and Paris by 2021.

It looks like the Netherlands would soon join Slovakia, and the Czech Republic as the next European country to have a Hyperloop. A Dutch team from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) won this years edition of SpaceXs competition to develop this next generation, super-fast transport technology, and theyre already setting up a full-scale testing center.

The Dutch teams idea will be realized by tech startup Hardt Global Mobility, in partnership with TU Delft, the Dutch national railway NS, and construction company BAM. Building the 30 meter (98 foot) tube is the first step.

In this facility we will test all systems that dont require high speeds, Hardt CEO Tim Houter told Reuters. So think about the levitation system, but also the propulsion system, but really important, all the safety systems will be tested in this low-speed but full-scale testing facility. The initial round of testing has already received $675,000 in funding. More would be needed for a high-speed test line by 2019 to accomplish their goal of setting up a Hyperloop system between Amsterdam and Paris by 2021.

First proposed in 2013 by SpaceXs founder and CEO Elon Musk, the Hyperloop is transportation system for people and cargo that features pods traveling through tubes or possibly tunnels at roughly 1,126 k/h (700 mph). Apart from the European sites mentioned, other Hyperloop projects are already at work in Canada, Los Angeles, and Dubai.

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A New Hyperloop System is Slated to Connect European Cities by 2021 - Futurism