Pembrolizumab shows promise in treatment of mesothelioma Science Daily Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that represents about 90 percent of all malignant mesothelioma cases. It's primarily caused by the inhalation of asbestos, a fiber commonly found in some forms of insulation, vinyl floor ... |
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Pembrolizumab shows promise in treatment of mesothelioma - Science Daily
Jillian Duff covers pressing news for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. Bio
March 24, 2017
Libby, Montana - While many people are concerned about the new health care bill supported by Republicans, one provision stands out as a continued benefit for mesothelioma patients and other victims of asbestos exposure. Specifically, a special provision in the proposed piece of legislation, known as the American Health Care Act (ACHA), will provide support to those who live in Libby and were exposed to asbestos from the former W.R. Grace & Co. mine.
It is well known that W.R. Grace Company illegally dumped industrial waste containing large amounts of asbestos at several of their facilities in Libby. The vermiculite it contained is a naturally occurring mineral used in the production of insulating materials. The vermiculite ore also contained tremolite asbestos, which is extremely toxic.
During the mines 70 years of operation, the ore was shipped to more than 50 processing plants throughout North America. Much of the Libby vermiculite was used to produce Zonolite attic insulation, but was also used in surfacing materials, window glazing compounds, waterproofing compounds, cements, adhesives, and plaster.
Senator Steve Daines (R-Montana) was a major factor in the inclusion of this provision in the ACHA. The Affordabla Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare, included similar medical-care benefits for these patients effective in 2011. The new bill likewise includes ongoing screening and Medicare coverage for those diagnosed with asbestos disease as a result of living or working in Libby.
In 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched an investigation of the Libby mines and surrounding communities. Those afflicted with asbestos disease not only included miners and mill workers, but also their families and neighbors who were exposed to ore dust which contained tremolite asbestos. This deadly mineral invaded every aspect of life in Libbyair, water, clothing, and food.
Mesothelioma cancer is one of the asbestos diseases that resulted. Treating this type of cancer is very expensive and the survival rate is poor.
Thousands of people have benefited from the Libby provisions. This includes 4,500 new people being screened for asbestos disease at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) clinic with over 2,000 individuals being diagnosed. As many as 1,846 victims under 65 years old have Medicare support as part of these provisions, and around 1,300 people are in the pilot program.
Even with these provisions, however, the ACHA could still be detrimental to mesothelioma patients and their families, especially for those patients who could lose their health care coverage under the new legislation. Outside of Libby, thousands of people each year are diagnosed with mesothelioma and are faced with the need to pay for critical cancer treatment. It is unclear at this point whether the Republicans have enough support to pass the ACHA in the House of Representatives.
Earlier this year, the EPA gave its final call for residents to request asbestos inspections in Libby. Financial assistance was offered in instances where an inspection uncovered the need to clean up asbestos from a property. If not cleaned up, it poses a health risk to even more Libby residents.
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A biomarker called soluble mesothelin related peptide (SMRP) may be a more reliable way to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma from lung fluid than the protein fibulin-3.
That is the finding of Italian researchers who tested the diagnostic performance of the two markers in 120 patients, including 33 mesothelioma patients, in an effort to resolve what they call conflicting data on the two methods.
SMRPs are produced by the breakdown of proteins in the membranes surrounding the lungs, heart, and abdomen. The amount of SMRP in the blood is thought to be related to the extent of malignant mesothelioma in the body.
Fibulin-3 (FBLN) is an extracellular matrix protein expressed in the membranes of blood vessels. A 2012 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that measuring the amount of FBLN3 in the plasma of people with pleural mesothelioma could help distinguish them from people with pleural effusions not due to mesothelioma.
Subsequent studies, however, have found FBLN3 potentially more useful for predicting how well a patient is likely to respond to mesothelioma treatment, than as a diagnostic tool.
In their new study, cancer researchers with Italys regional health service in La Spezia compared the diagnostic accuracy of FBLN3 and SMRP in patients with excess lung fluid called pleural effusions. The buildup of fluid around the lungs can be caused by a malignancy like pleural mesothelioma or by a non-malignant condition.
To assess how the biomarkers performed in both types of conditions, the research team included 33 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, 64 patients with benign tumors on their pleural membranes and 23 patients with other types of cancer that had metastasized to the pleura.
Levels of FBLN3 were similar inpleural effusions from malignant pleural mesothelioma and pleural effusions from other pathologies, writes clinical pathology researcher Enrico Battolla. [This is] in contrast to SMRP levels, which were significantly higher in pleural effusions from malignant pleural mesothelioma.
The team concluded that FBLN3 was not useful as a diagnostic biomarker in the pleural effusions of people with malignant pleural mesothelioma since it was unable to discriminate mesothelioma from other causes of pleural effusions.
SMRP, on the other hand, was determined to be useful, a finding consistent with previous studies. Even with biomarkers for guidance, diagnosing mesothelioma remains a complex process, involving imaging studies, a thorough physical exam, and a careful history of potential asbestos exposure.
FBLN3 is still considered to be a useful mesothelioma prognostic marker. Other biological markers for prognosis include the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes in the blood (a measure of how well the immune system is functioning), c-MET expression (associated with blood vessel formation for the tumor), and ki-67 ratios (associated with cancer cell proliferation).
Sources:
Battolla, E, et al, Comparison of the Diagnostic Performance of Fibulin-3 and Mesothelin in Patients with Pleural Effusions from Malignant Mesothelioma, March 2017, Anticancer Research, pp. 1387-131.
Creaney, J, et al, Comparison of mesothelin and fibulin-3 in pleural fluid and serum as markers in malignant mesothelioma, Mary 26, 2015, Current Opinions in Pulmonary Medicine, Epub ahead of print
Summary
Article Name
Diagnosing Pleural Mesothelioma with Lung Fluid: The Battle of the Biomarkers
Description
A biomarker called soluble mesothelin related peptide (SMRP) may be a more reliable way to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma from lung fluid than the protein fibulin-3.
Author
Alex Strauss
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Aflatoxin is a well-known global health threat. This poison, produced by the Aspergillus fungus, is common in corn, wheat, rice and many other crops. Hot climates and inadequate storage practices augment the spread of the fungus and its accompanying toxin. It has also proved extremely difficult to eliminate or even reduce. A new gene-based approach could change that.
[U]p to a quarter of all liver cancer cases worldwide could be due to aflatoxin exposure.
This approach has a lot of potential, says [Nancy] Keller [who studies fungal pathogens at the University of Wisconsin-Madison]. But she questions whether it will gain widespread acceptance due to the skepticism surrounding genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. The government bureaucracy and public opinion are significant hurdles for the experimental corn to overcome. Keller wonders if the severity of the health hazards could be enough to overcome the reluctance. Can people accept something like this because its genetically engineered? asks Keller. Maybe its better to have this new strainand not get cancer.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:A genetically modified corn could stop a deadly fungal poison if we let it
For more background on the Genetic Literacy Project, read GLP on Wikipedia
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Will toxin-blocking biotech corn help win over skeptics of genetic ... - Genetic Literacy Project
The National Institute of Justice says two-thirds of released inmates will be rearrested within three years. A new University of Virginia program is aiming to change that.
Two UVA professors, in partnership with Edovo, a Chicago-based education technology firm, are launching a program that will develop, implement and evaluate a tablet-based re-entry module to strengthen inmates transitions back into society after they complete their sentences.
Ben Castleman, an assistant professor of education and public policy in the Curry School of Education, and Jennifer Doleac, an assistant professor of public policy and economics in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, are working on the project.
This high recidivism rate signals our collective failure to help formerly incarcerated individuals build stable lives after prison, Doleac said. By leveraging interactive technologies and behavioral insights, we can provide prisoners with more personalized information and supports during this often-challenging transition, and reduce the probability of recidivism.
Before release, the module will help inmates create a personalized transition plan. Post-release, it will provide ongoing information to inmates to keep them on track.
Castleman and Doleac will pilot the intervention in two county jails, and in subsequent years plan to expand the intervention to additional facilities across the country. The individuals participating in the study will create a personalized transition plan that is customized and adapts to their areas of concern, and after release will be provided with ongoing information to maintain stability and help fulfill their personalized plan.
We have seen this approach work in other contexts, particularly in postsecondary education, where weve leveraged personalized text messaging to help students receive and maintain financial aid, Castleman said.
Currently, there is little rigorous evidence on how to improve re-entry outcomes for incarcerated individuals.
The program is supported by nearly $600,000 in funding from the Charles Koch Foundation and J-PAL North America, a lab based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that aims to reduce poverty through various policy initiatives.
Criminal justice recidivism is one of four initiatives coming out of a new lab at UVA. The Nudge4 Solutions Labs other priorities are to remedy educational inequality and chronic unemployment and to improve veterans education on a national scale.
With partners ranging from school districts and higher education systems to criminal justice facilities, state workforce commissions and the United States Army, we are able to combine the expertise and insights our partners have in the field with the design and analytic experience our team brings, lab director Castleman said. Enhancing these robust partnerships with an understanding of how people navigate complex decisions, the latest interactive technologies, creative design and robust analytic approaches, we believe we can move the needle on some of todays most significant challenges.
In 2016, Castleman joined forces with then-First Lady Michelle Obamas office to utilize a text message-based intervention to provide young Americans with information and reminders about applying to colleges, navigating the financial aid process and dealing with loan repayment. Combined with parallel projects led by The Common Application and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Castleman and colleagues reached more than 1 million students with timely information about college and financial aid decisions and resources.
Within five years, we were able to test and show the success of a relatively inexpensive solution that significantly impacted students success in college, and then scale this strategy to reach more than a million students across the country, Castleman said.
This week, a new study from his lab, Nudging at a National Scale, revealed that providing students with concrete planning prompts to complete the Free Application for Student Aid can increase college enrollment at a national scale by as much as two percentage points.Researchers at UVA, Harvard University, University of Pittsburgh, and West Point assessed the impact of a national financial aid nudge campaign that reached 450,000 high school seniors through the Common Application.
Even with various efforts to increase FAFSA completion rates over the last several years, hundreds of thousands of students nationwide who would be eligible for financial aid do not apply for it, Castleman said. Our study shows that nudges on how and when to complete FAFSA can generate positive increases in enrollment at a national scale.
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UVA Professors Use Behavioral Science and Technology to Improve Prisoner Re-Entry Outcomes - University of Virginia
Scientists just might revive the woolly mammothby splicing genes from ancient mammoths into Asian elephant DNABut heres a sad irony to ponder: What if that dream came at the expense of todays Asian and African elephants, whose numbers are quickly dwindling because of habitat loss and poaching?
Recently, Joseph Bennett, an assistant professor and conservation researcher at Carleton University, confronted a new question: If molecular biologists can potentially reconstruct extinct species, such as the woolly mammoth, should society devote its limited resources to reversing past wrongs, or on preventing future extinctions?
If you have the millions of dollars it would take to resurrect a species and choose to do that, you are making an ethical decision to bring one species back and let several others go extinct, Dr. Bennett said. It would be one step forward, and three to eight steps back.
[Ben Novak, the lead researcher for the nonprofit Revive & Restore argues that] funding for de-extinction and conservation is a zero-sum game, noting that all of the funding for Revive & Rescues biotechnologies comes from private donors or institutional grants outside the realm of conservation efforts.
[The study can be found here.]
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:We Might Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. Is It Worth the Cost?
For more background on the Genetic Literacy Project, read GLP on Wikipedia.
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We may soon resurrect extinct species with genetic engineeringbut is it ethical? - Genetic Literacy Project
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - March 20, 2017) - Leading non-profit behavioral design firm ideas42 today unveiled a unique approach to highlighting and resolving key behavioral problems in cybersecurity with the launch of an original, serialized novella.
The new "true-crime"-style short story Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story dramatizes the human factors in cybersecurity and is followed by a robust index of key insights from behavioral science that can be used to improve security protocols. The narrative, to be released in multiple installments, highlights the human actions and decisions that often compromise digital information and computer security. These range from password issues to more complex concerns such as coding practices and organizations' resource investment choices.
Despite public and private sector investments in sophisticated security systems, the level of risk is immense. In the search for answers, efforts have been heavily skewed toward finding technological solutions. However, up to 80% of the cost attributed to cyber-attacks is actually a result of human error.
With Internet access rapidly expanding across the globe and the proliferation of greater connectedness across business, finance, and individuals, ensuring privacy and security is more important than ever, as underscored by recent high-profile breaches such as the hacking of American political party systems during the 2016 election cycle.
"It is because of the urgency around strengthening cybersecurity that we chose to present our insights as an engaging novella instead of using the more traditional white paper approach," said ideas42 Executive Director Josh Wright. "With the release of a unique piece like Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story and our supporting analysis, we hope to reach more leaders and decision-makers who can take needed steps to increase the strength of their organizations' digital networks."
The first installment of ideas42's novella debuted today at New America's Cybersecurity for a New America conference and can be read at ideas42.org/cyber.
"Simply clicking on a bad link can be devastating to network security, and the strongest security network in the world is only as good as the human with the password," continued Wright, "Furthermore, human error in security is not limited to end-users. The challenges around understanding and addressing human behavioral factors in cybersecurity present a rich vein of opportunity for making the system as a whole more robust."
ideas42's work in cybersecurity is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative in partnership with New America's Cybersecurity Initiative. The goal is to focus on behavioral insights and solutions that can be adopted quickly and brought to scale. For a full copy of the novella and behavioral insight appendix contact us at cyber@ideas42.org. For a video introducing the novella, click here.
About ideas42
ideas42 has a clear mission: to use our unique experience at the forefront of behavioral science to change millions of lives. We create innovative solutions to tough problems in economic mobility, health, education, consumer finance, energy efficiency and international development. Our approach is based on a deep understanding of human behavior and why people make the decisions they do. Working closely with our partners from government, foundations, NGOs and companies, we have more than 80 active projects in the United States and around the world.
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ideas42 Channels Unique Behavioral Science Approach to ... - Yahoo Finance
Posted on March 23, 2017, 6 a.m. in Depression Alternative Medicine Exercise
Study finds that yoga classes accompanied by home practice lead to a significant reduction in symptoms of depression.
Depression is a mental health condition that affects the brain and often begins in early adulthood. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association, more than 15 million Americans were identified as suffering from depression in 2016. Although anyone at any age may suffer from depression, its more common in women.
Depression is recognized as a distinct condition and treatments range from drugs to psychotherapy, to lifestyle choices. Most antidepressant drugs work to change the chemical reactions occurring in the brain. While the drugs each work in a slightly different way, they are each intended to balance neurotransmitters. Many people are successfully treated with these drugs.
Unfortunately, however, not all drugs work. Some individuals experience side effects, while others simply dont want to take drugs, and some dont find any relief from their symptoms. Doctors and researchers have worked for years to find alternative ways to treat depression. Diet, exercise, counseling, and supplements are some of the alternatives being explored. Another alternative is yoga.
In a recent study reported in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, individuals who participated in yoga classes at least twice a week and practiced additionally at home, experienced a decrease in their symptoms. Specifically, this study used lyengar yoga which is a practice that works to improve strength, mobility and balance. Particular attention is given to breath control known as pranayama. The poses or asanas used during practice all work to accomplish the lyengar goals.
Participants in the study were broken into two groups. One group participated in 90-minute yoga classes three times a week, while the other group practiced 90 minutes twice a week. Both groups were advised to additionally practice at home. Each group contained clients who were taking prescription antidepressants as well as those who did not. At the end of the study, both groups reported an overall decrease in symptoms. This held true for those who were on antidepressants as well as those who were not.
While drug therapy may be a viable option for some, a yoga alternative seems to offer substantial relief to individuals suffering from depression without to risk of side effects or harmful drug interactions. The good news for people suffering from depression is that yoga offers them an additional choice about treatment.
Chris C. Streeter, Patricia L. Gerbarg, Theodore H. Whitfield, Liz Owen, Jennifer Johnston, Marisa M. Silveri, Marysia Gensler, Carol L. Faulkner, Cathy Mann, Mary Wixted, Anne Marie Hernon, Maren B. Nyer, E. Richard P. Brown, John E. Jensen. Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder with Iyengar Yoga and Coherent Breathing: A Randomized Controlled Dosing Study. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2017; DOI: 10.1089/acm.2016.0140
Continued here:
Yoga for the Blues - Anti Aging News
Fill your plate with the following kinds of foods and you might hike your risk of heart disease, cancer, and a variety of other serious illnesses. Avoid or limit:
Charred meat: Studies have found that grilled or well-done meat creates compounds that have been linked to an increased risk of colon, pancreatic, stomach, and possibly other cancers.
Processed meats: Though red meat in general has been associated with an increased risk of colon cancer, salami, pepperoni, ham, and other cured meats may predispose you to esophageal, kidney, stomach, and prostate cancer.
Refined carbohydrates: Diets that are high in added sugars (candy, some cereals, pastries, sodas) and carbohydrates that have been stripped of many of their important nutrients (these are carbs such as white flour and white rice) may shorten telomeres and hike the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and stroke, especially in those who are overweight.
Prepackaged meals: These food products may be convenient but they're often extremely high in sodium. That has been linked to a higher risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and kidney disease.
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6 Anti-Aging Foods You Should Try - ConsumerReports.org
Officials in Houston, Texas, are contemplating the use of genetically-modified mosquitoes to fight Zika and other viruses transmitted by the insect.
Jim Gathany, Scientific Photographer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Officials are considering releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Houston as part of the fight against the insects known to carry diseases such as the Zika virus.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Harris County, Texas, officials are negotiating with a British biotech company, Oxitec, to release mosquitoes that have been genetically engineered to produce offspring that die.
Oxitec has yet to try out its technology in the U.S. A proposed trial in a Florida Keys suburb never got off the ground last year amid residents concerns about genetic engineering.
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Millions of genetically-modified mosquitoes are being released in the Brazilian town of Piracicaba with the hope that they'll take out Zika-infec...
There have been no documented cases of Zika being locally transmitted in the Houston region. The only homegrown Zika cases in Texas have been in Cameron County, on the border with Mexico.
Mustapha Debboun, director of the Harris County Mosquito Control Division, said working with Oxitec could provide another tool in the fight against Zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which carry the Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, among other deadly illnesses, are common in the Houston region.
Deric Nimmo, principal scientist at Oxitec, called the release of mosquitoes to control mosquitoes an important change in the approach.
Oxitec has conducted field trials in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands and says it has reduced the Aedes mosquito populations by up to 90 percent in each location.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration gave approval to a proposed field trial in Key Haven, a Florida Keys suburb, finding that it would have no significant impacts on human health, animal health or the environment. Residents in Monroe County, Florida, voted in a nonbinding resolution in favor of working with Oxitec. But Key Haven residents voted nearly 2-to-1 in November against the trial.
According to the FDA, if Oxitec wanted to conduct a field trial in Texas Harris County, the company would have to submit an environmental assessment to the agency.
2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Genetically modified mosquito use under consideration in Houston - CBS News
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - March 20, 2017) - Leading non-profit behavioral design firm ideas42 today unveiled a unique approach to highlighting and resolving key behavioral problems in cybersecurity with the launch of an original, serialized novella.
The new "true-crime"-style short story Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story dramatizes the human factors in cybersecurity and is followed by a robust index of key insights from behavioral science that can be used to improve security protocols. The narrative, to be released in multiple installments, highlights the human actions and decisions that often compromise digital information and computer security. These range from password issues to more complex concerns such as coding practices and organizations' resource investment choices.
Despite public and private sector investments in sophisticated security systems, the level of risk is immense. In the search for answers, efforts have been heavily skewed toward finding technological solutions. However, up to 80% of the cost attributed to cyber-attacks is actually a result of human error.
With Internet access rapidly expanding across the globe and the proliferation of greater connectedness across business, finance, and individuals, ensuring privacy and security is more important than ever, as underscored by recent high-profile breaches such as the hacking of American political party systems during the 2016 election cycle.
"It is because of the urgency around strengthening cybersecurity that we chose to present our insights as an engaging novella instead of using the more traditional white paper approach," said ideas42 Executive Director Josh Wright. "With the release of a unique piece like Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story and our supporting analysis, we hope to reach more leaders and decision-makers who can take needed steps to increase the strength of their organizations' digital networks."
The first installment of ideas42's novella debuted today at New America's Cybersecurity for a New America conference and can be read at ideas42.org/cyber.
"Simply clicking on a bad link can be devastating to network security, and the strongest security network in the world is only as good as the human with the password," continued Wright, "Furthermore, human error in security is not limited to end-users. The challenges around understanding and addressing human behavioral factors in cybersecurity present a rich vein of opportunity for making the system as a whole more robust."
ideas42's work in cybersecurity is supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative in partnership with New America's Cybersecurity Initiative. The goal is to focus on behavioral insights and solutions that can be adopted quickly and brought to scale. For a full copy of the novella and behavioral insight appendix contact us at cyber@ideas42.org. For a video introducing the novella, click here.
About ideas42
ideas42 has a clear mission: to use our unique experience at the forefront of behavioral science to change millions of lives. We create innovative solutions to tough problems in economic mobility, health, education, consumer finance, energy efficiency and international development. Our approach is based on a deep understanding of human behavior and why people make the decisions they do. Working closely with our partners from government, foundations, NGOs and companies, we have more than 80 active projects in the United States and around the world.
Embedded Video Available: https://youtu.be/GkU5UIpw9IE
Ana Veciana-Suarez, Miami Herald (TNS) 11:08 p.m. ET March 18, 2017
Spinning might look about the same as outdoor cycling or riding a stationary bike, but in many ways, it's a far more intense workoutand one of the easiest to overdo. Time
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A recent Danish study has just given us more reason to pause before reaching for the pain killers. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story. Buzz60
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Bad news: experts say using toilet seat covers won't stop germs, and using toilet paper as a seat cover is actually worse! Find out why. USA TODAY
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Jet lag got you feeling down? Youre not alone. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story. Buzz60
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Did you know not properly taking care of your teeth can affect other parts of your body too? Maria Mercedes Galuppo (@mariamgaluppo) has more. Buzz60
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Kevin Breen suffered from a rare case of strep throat. Veuer's Emily Drooby (@emilydrooby) has the story. Buzz60
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Optimize your health by eating during these times. Buzz60's Emily Drooby (@emilydrooby) has the story. Buzz60
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For the second year in a row, Naples, Fla. and its surrounding area take the top spot as healthiest and happiest in America as part of the Gallup-Healthways 2016 Community Well-Being Rankings. Buzz60
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A new study links bacon and other foods we love to many U.S. deaths. Researchers also found the same link for not eating enough healthy foods. Sean Dowling (@seandowlingtv) has more. Buzz60
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Americans love their cheese. Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story. Buzz60
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Why you should rethink your spinning obsession
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A study out of Sweden says parenting can extend your life.(Photo: David Sacks/Getty Images)
Want to live longer? Have children.
If you don't die early from child-rearing stress, parenthood will boost your longevity chances, according to a new study out of Sweden.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute used national registry data to track 1.5 million Swedes born between 1911 and 1925 as they lived through their last years.
While the risk of death naturally increased with age for all adults, the team found that those with children had greater longevity.
"Support from adult children to aging parents may be of importance for parental health and longevity," researchers write. "At old age, the stress of parenthood is likely to be lower and instead, parents can benefit from social support from their children. In addition, parents have on average more healthful behaviors than childless individuals."
The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, also revealed that having children is actually more beneficial as you age, and it is particularly greater for men than women.
Men who were not married but had children were also living longer than those with a spouse. For example, 60-year-old men who had children had about two years more of life than those without, with a life expectancy of 20.2 and 18.4 years respectively.
Bag of toys in a bathtub(Photo: Creatas Images via Getty Images)
For women at 60, those with children had life expectancies of 24.6 years while those without children had 23.1.
The life expectancy difference continued as the study group grew older. By 80, parents had a life expectancy of 7.7 years for men and 9.5 years for women. In comparison, the 80-year-olds without children had a life expectancy of 7 years for men without children and 8.9 years for women without children.
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The sex of the child had no influence on their parent's longevity, according to researchers, but it should be noted that this finding was based only on families with one child.
"Perhaps being the only child is related to a greater responsibility of parents, reducing the difference in the amount of help given by sons and daughters," they study authors write.
Of course parenthood isn't the only thing boosting longevity.
"In terms of all other causes that would affect your death risk in these old ages, having a child is not among the greatest ones," study co-author Karin Modig told The Guardian. "But it is still a 1.5 percent difference [for 90-year-old men] which is still substantial."
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Study: Parenthood can boost your longevity - Detroit Free Press - Detroit Free Press
This story was originally published on STAT.
BANA, Burkina Faso This small village of mud-brick homes in West Africa might seem the least likely place for an experiment at the frontier of biology.
Yet scientists here are engaged in what could be the most promising, and perhaps one of the most frightening, biological experiments of our time. They are preparing for the possible release of swarms of mosquitoes that, until now, have been locked away in a research lab behind doublemetal doors and guarded 24/7.
The goal: to nearly eradicate the population of one species of mosquito, and with it, the heavy burdenof malaria across Africa.
These scientists are planning to release mosquitoes equipped with gene drives, a technology that overrides natures genetic rules to give every baby mosquito a certain trait that normally only half would acquire. Once such an insect gets out into the wild, it will move indiscriminately and spread its modified trait without respect for political borders.
No living thing no mammal, insect, or plant with a gene drive has ever been set free. But if all goes as planned, it mighthappen here, in a remote village of about a thousand people, where the residents dont even have a word for gene.
Despite such barriers, this is in some ways the most logical place to carry out the experiment. Nowhere does malaria exact a higher toll than here in sub-Saharan Africa, where hundreds of thousands die from the disease every year. And Burkina Faso already houses one of Africashighest-profile malaria research laboratories.
It may be six years before the gene drive mosquitoes are actually released in Burkina Faso, but scientists are already working around the clock to prepare the community for their release. Researchers in Mali and Uganda are also working toward the same goal under the banner of the Target Malaria project, propelled by $70 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and support from research laboratories in England and Italy.
Speaking through interpreters, residents across Burkina Faso told STAT that they are grateful for the scientists work, and are eagerly looking forward to eliminating the dreaded disease.
But scientists still face achallenge: making sure that people understand and accept thenewfangled genetic technology behind it all. That means building trust and doing basic education explaining not only the impact of genetically engineered insects arriving in their homes, but also what genetics is in the first place.
*****
Driving west from Bobo-Dioulasso, the sleepy regional capital that is Burkina Fasos second-largest city, the pavement fades away into an undulating dirt path. Traffic dissolves into a trickle of motorbikes whose drivers wear surgical-style masks to protect them from the dust. Donkey carts plod along under the weight of flattened grass, outpacing camels weighed down by saddlebags.
At the height of the dry season in late December, eight scientists and social scientists pulled off the dirt road,carrying a box of a hundred adult mosquitoes and a 1-liter bottle filled with wriggling larvae.
For the past few years, the scientists from the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sante (IRSS) in Bobo-Dioulasso, where the countrys Target Malaria team is based,have been teaching Bana residents basic mosquito facts, including that the bugs transmit malaria. Many in Burkina Faso believe that malaria can be spread by eating too many greasy or sweet foods, said Lea Pare, the anthropologist who is leading a national effort to engage local citizens in Target Malaria.
Beyond live mosquitoes, the team also uses pictures to help explain the complicated scientific information: a set of thirteen cards, laminated like giant placemats, which detail the different phases of the project. In Bana, they talk through the first four of these cards, which show gigantic female mosquitoes biting humans, with small red squiggles flowing through the proboscis and into the persons body. On the fourth card, a scientist wearing a white coat is looking at those mosquitoes under a microscope.
White coats are very familiar to residents of Bana. For the last three years, a team of researchers has lived part-time in the village, sleeping in an old cement house retrofitted into a scientific base camp. These technicians, with the help of local volunteers, count the number of mosquitoes in the homes, observe the mating swarms at dusk, and dust mosquitoes with colored powder to track where they travel around the village.
They are gathering data on the mosquito population to feed into intricate computer models that will help them determine how the gene drive mosquitoes should be released.
When the technicians stepped into one home on a recent day, they laid thick sheets across the floor of a bedroom and filled it with acrid-smelling insecticide spray. After 10 minutes, they hauled the sheets out, opened them up, and crouched over a small pile of dirt specks: only one male mosquito.
For low mosquito season, it wasnt surprising. During the rainy season, however, which starts in June, there might be a few hundred mosquitoes in each room, said technician Ibrahim Diabate.
Men living in the treated homes were excited, even jubilant, that the researchers were working in the village. They understood that the scientists had a longer-term plan to battle the mosquitoes, but they were also happy for the insecticide spray in the present moment.
Since you started this work, praise God, malaria has been reduced, because mosquitoes dont bite us anymore, said Ali Ouattara, one elder in the community.
In the next phase of the project, scientists will have to explain to Ouattara why theyre actually releasing more mosquitoes.
Going straight from zero to gene drives would be too extreme, so scientists are planning to release regular genetically engineered mosquitoes first either here in Bana or in one of two other villages nearby.
Those mosquitoes, which could be released next year, are sterile males: Most of them are male, and they cannot have offspring. A field release is not intended to reduce the prevalence of malaria; rather, it is to prepare the scientists and the locals for the eventual arrival of the gene drive mosquitoes, said Delphine Thizy, who directs the work of engaging local, national, and international leaders for the project.
The outreach teams have started talking about DNA with their flash cards. But they arent saying anything yet to the locals about the much more powerful, and complicated, idea of a gene drive.
Partly thats because researchers didnt want the residents of Burkina Faso to expect that a miracle solution to the malaria epidemic isjust around the corner, Thizy said. Scientists in London havent yet created the gene drive mosquitoes that would be used, and field trials of such mosquitoes are years away.
Also, she said, gene drives are hard to understand.
To be fair, even in Europe and in North America, its complex to understand gene drives in one shot.
If gene drive mosquitoes arrive in Burkina Faso, it will be thanks to the vision of Abdoulaye Diabate, a soft-spoken medical entomologist with a singular mission: to stop malaria.
The disease is ever-present in thiscountry mosquito nets hang for sale by the roadside, and hotel proprietors lay out smoldering coils in the courtyards to ward off mosquitoes as dusk falls.
Diabate, who is deeply involved in malaria eradication efforts worldwide, became dismayed when, in the 1990s, he realized that mosquitoes were building up resistance against the insecticide used on bed nets here.
If this is the only tool we have in hand, then forget about malaria elimination, Diabate said.
But,in 2012, he received an invitation to a meeting about the Target Malaria project, which was focused on solutions involving genetic engineering. He jumped at the chance.
Today he is leading the Burkina Faso team, trying to get the whole world from remote villages to international diplomats on board with his ambitious research.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the United Kingdom, geneticists at Imperial College London are working on designing the gene drive mosquitoes. Specifically, theyre studying two different ways to disrupt the reproductive system of one particular species, Anopheles gambiae: reduce the number of female babies (only females bite and spread the disease) or stop the mosquitoes from having offspring in general.
To make the population predominantly male, Austin Burt, Target Malarias primary investigator, and collaborators are studying an X shredder a gene that destroys the X chromosome in sperm, making all offspring males. Alongside that, theyre looking at reducing the number of mosquitoes of both sexes by creating genes that make them sterile.
Either approach might lead to massive population collapse within two to eight years, according to Charles Godfray, a University of Oxford professor and biologist who works on modeling for the Target Malaria project.
But the insects wouldnt go extinct, scientists say. The gene drive mosquitoes currently under consideration would only reduce the population of Anopheles gambiae enough to stop the transmission of malaria.
The foundation is not interested in eliminating Anopheles mosquitoes, said Dr. Scott Miller, who leads malaria research and development for the Gates Foundation. Were interested in eliminating malaria.
It will take years to reach the point that scientists will be ready to test the gene drive mosquitoes in the wild. In the meantime, they are facing the challenge of winning over local residents who might be wary of these new creatures.
Mariam Pare was initially frightened. A commanding woman who teaches in a Koranic school, Pare livesacross the street from the IRSS in Bobo-Dioulasso. Shesaid that when she first heard about mosquito research going on at the lab, she feared that the scientists were breeding mosquitoes to let loose on the locals. But after meetings and discussions with project staff, she came to understand that theyare instead trying to fight against the mosquito.
She even took a tour of the insectary that currently holds the gene-edited sterile male mosquitoes, and could eventually hold the gene drive ones. She saw fans that would suck away mosquitoes if they happened to escape from their cages, and a hot water bath where unnecessary mosquitoes go to die.
Because I saw what was going on in there, I believe and trust the people that work in there, she said.
Earning Pares trust was particularly important for the team because she lives so close to the insectary, her consent was required to import the sterile male mosquitoes. That requirement isnt a legal one, but one that the Target Malaria project has put in place. The Gates Foundation has also said that gene drive mosquitoes will only be released if the host country agrees.
Lassina Diarra, a tailor whose turquoise-walled shop is down the road from the research lab, also had to give his consent. Sitting on the corner of a table among scraps of fabric and hand-tailored suits, he said that he was impressed by the scientists transparency and reliability. Two outreach workers recruited him to serve on a group of 12 local leaders who communicateinformation about the project to the citys residents, dubbed the relay group, along with a different committee to address community grievances. Every few weeks, he knocks on doors up and down the streets, updating his neighbors on the scientists progress.
In June, Diarra and Pare both signed off on the arrival of the sterile males. So did Kadidia Ouattara, one of the relay group members and the president of multiple neighborhood associations. She recalled a joyous gathering filled with dance and song.
Ni fonyon douma ni bora mi? they sang in Dioula. Ni fonyon douma ni bora mi?
The song translates to, Where did this good air come from? and, more colloquially, means, This is too good to be true!
Ouattara said that it is a traditional song commemorating good news a wedding, the birth of a baby, the success of a student in her exams. And on that day, it was celebrating the impending arrival of genetically modified mosquitoes.
Burkina Faso has experience with genetically modified organisms. One of the first associations some residents make with genetic engineering is Monsanto, which has been selling genetically modified cotton seeds to Burkinabe farmers since the 2000s. But the countrys growers association stopped buying the seeds in 2016 in the wake of concerns about the cottons quality and country-wide protests against the company.
One resident of Bobo-Dioulasso complained that genetically modified food rots quickly, and said that he hopes the mosquitoes suffer the same fate: an early death.
The fight against malaria is a big concern, but the solutions are sometimes scary, said Sylvestre Tiemtore, the director of an organization that represents over half of the nongovernmental organizations in Burkina Faso. The group met with Target Malaria in July, a discussion which was very heated, he said.
In movies he cited Jurassic Park weve seen some research that went out of control, he said.
The mouthparts of a female Anopheles gambiae mosquito. (Jim Gathany/CDC)
Scientists familiar withthe effort here say defining the idea of genetically modified to residents here might be of limited use, because it wont help people understand what the mosquitoes are or what they will really do, said Javier Lezaun, deputy director of the Institute for Science, Innovation, and Society at the University of Oxford, who is not involved in the Target Malaria project. In fact, the phrase might just serve to distract and scare he spoke of another community in Tanzania who thought that a swarm of mosquitoes that invaded a hospital were genetically modified (they werent), and of others in Brazil who thought that Zika arrived as a result of genetically modified mosquitoes (it didnt).
As long as you explain something about the specific capabilities of the mosquitoes, or the limitations of these particular mosquitoes and how theyre supposed to behave in the wild or in the facilities, I think that serves the purpose of explaining genetic modification, Lezaun said.
And thats what many people are curious about. At the July meeting with NGOs, hosted by the Secrtariat Permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales (SPONG for short), attendees wanted to know: What would happen to the local ecosystem? And might these engineered mosquitoes be able to transmit other diseases?
Some of these questions dont yethave answers, but others do. A risk assessment commissionedby the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, a US nonprofit that supports the federal agency, found that the risk of the sterile mosquitoes currently in Bobo-Dioulasso transmitting other diseases was incredibly low; the modified mosquitoes probably wont spread more malaria than their wild cousins; and the genetic modification probably wont spread from the mosquito to other animals.
Outside scientists, convened by the FNIH in May, had previously concluded that Anopheles gambiae is not a keystone species, meaning that if its population shrank dramatically, the ecosystem would not be substantially impacted.
But the meetings continue. Tiemtore, SPONGs director, said that he would like to have a meeting with representatives of different health-related NGOs that are based in Burkina Fasos 13 different regions, to educate them about the project. But that requires money to bring them to the capital, and to cover the costs of the meeting itself.
They might need to rent a room, Tiemtore said. They might need to offer some coffee breaks. That costs money. Who pays for that? If you dont do all of those things, your mosquitoes are going to come out, but they wont be released in the regions, because the people will not agree with it, because they didnt have enough information on it, and they will have the right to be afraid.
The development of powerful new genetic engineering technologies, often outstripping regulators ability to keep up, is forcing scientists to reckon with the ethics of their work in a new way.
Of course, humans have been making potentially irreversible changes to our environment for a long time: clearing forests for farming, building power plants that change the composition of the atmosphere, and producing untold tons of synthetic materials like plastic that will stay in the environment for hundreds of years.
But gene drives lend these questions a different sort of urgency. The genetic technology can quickly change the properties of an entire population of a species, undoing millennia of evolution in a handful of years. And once you let them out of the cage, theres no going back other world-altering technologies have not been self-perpetuating like gene drive animals would be.
So scientists are treading carefully and doing what they can to keep the rest of the world involved. This has led to difficult questions: Who needs to give them permission to do certain things? What does it mean for residents to be fully informed? In answering them, there arent a lot of models to follow. There are only a fewgene drive projects underway in the world, and none has yet resulted in the release of the animalsinto the wild.
Academic research on how to effectively include non-scientists in global healthdecisions is also lacking, said Jim Lavery, an Emory University professor of global health and ethics who has worked with the Target Malaria project in the past.
Right now, Lavery said, scientists can count the number of phone calls they make and the number of people who show up at community meetings, but we dont even have an understanding at a proxy level of what those things are supposed to represent in terms of effectiveness of engagement.
While researchers like Lavery are trying to determine how to measure success, research is plowing ahead. Some scientists are thinking about releasing gene drive mice halfway across the world, in New Zealand, to eliminate invasive species. AndKevin Esvelt, a gene drive guru based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is flying to Argentina in September to talk about using gene drives to get rid of flesh-eating flies.
He has said that gene drives are more important as a societal tool to change the way that science is done it should be open to and inclusive of the people it will impact. To that extent, he praised Target Malarias community work. I honestly dont see how you could do it any other way, he said, citing the language and cultural barriers that the project is working to overcome.
How the project is going to introduce gene drive mosquitoes, though, is an open question. National regulators and international organizations like the World Health Organization are still working on developing guidelines for introducinggenedrive animals.
And in Burkina Faso, Thizy said she hasnt even yet put a lot of thought into what it will mean for local leaders to understand a release of gene drive mosquitoes. She said it will probably include knowing that the modified mosquitoes will stay in the environment and grow in number, until some point at which the population of Anopheles gambiae will be reduced.
But, said Thizy, exactly how the gene drive works may matter less to the people than the impact it will have on them and their lives.
She pointed, by way of analogy, to her previous work as a consultant for a mining company in the Ivory Coast: It wasnt how big is the hole, how many holes, and how does the machine work that the area residents were worried about, she said, but rather how they would be compensated and what jobs would be created.
On a dusty Wednesday morning earlier this year, Kadidia Ouattara arrived at an outdoor market, eager to chat with the vendors about genetically engineered mosquitoes.
As a woman spooned tomato sauce from a gigantic aluminum can onto plastic sheets for individual sale, Ouattara told her about the insect lab just a few minutes walk down the street.
The researchers who work there are trying to reduce the population of mosquitoes, she said. Dont be afraid I saw the inside of the lab and all of the research. There are public meetings where they explain what they are doing, and if there is another one, I will let everybody know.
The woman was delighted. May God help the project be a success, she said.
Farther along, she came upon a butcher who she knew to be particularly recalcitrant. He thinks were getting money from the white people, Ouattara said. But thats not true shes a volunteer.
Ouattara walked up to the man, who was hacking at a piece of meat with a foot-long knife, bits of gristle flying everywhere and flies swarming. Rivulets of blood ran along the dusty ground.
If there is a meeting about the project, I am begging you to come, she said.
Scarcely taking his eyes off of the meat, the butcher mumbled some kind of assent.
Ouattaras enthusiasm was undimmed; she strode off to a woman selling onions. And shed be back soon with more news to share.
Eric Boodman and Kate Sheridan contributed reporting.
Special thanks to Housmane Sereme and Steve Sanou for translation services.
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A revolutionary genetic experiment is coming to rural Burkina Faso - PRI
Beauty is attainable Malaya ... a member of the Philippine Medical Association, Fellow of the Philippine Association of Primary Skin Health Physicians, Dermatology Diplomate of Philippine Association of Medical Specialist, Member of Philippine Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine ... |
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Beauty is attainable - Malaya
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Manipulating Genetics With or Without CRISPR
From tackling cancer to eradicating single-gene mutations, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool is often portrayed as the eighth wonder of the world by many. We look to CRISPR regarding how it affects us as a species, but the implications of the CRISPR Cas-9 system extend far beyond just humanity. The gene editing tools precision and efficacy can be implemented in manipulating the genetics of our agriculture as well as animals. It would be wrong, however, to think that this is humanitys first attempt at the genetic manipulation of crops and pets aliketo be fair, we have been doing it since the inception of human civilization itself.
Thirty thousand years ago, our ancestors were the first individuals to manufacture genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before it was cool. Through selective breeding or artificial selection, wild wolves in East Asia were selected for docility. With more obedient animals at their side, humans from 32,000 BCE could optimize their hunter/gatherer lifestyles. After several millennia, the artificially-selected wolves began to resemble the dogs we see today. Crops werent spared from our genetic coercion either. In fact, humans had domesticated several forms of wheat since 7800 BCE. However, our greatest success in genetic modification through artificial selection comes from corn. Corns is derived from a wild grass known as teosinte, which only occurred when humans at the time selectively planted corn kernels that displayed desirable traits. Over time, this behavior reconciled the five-gene difference between corn and teosinte and led to the desirable crop that we use to this day.
Its clear that humanitys days of artificial selection arent behind us, as most major crops today are genetically engineered for our benefit. Rather than waiting around a few thousand years for evolution to do its work, we are now able to immediately manipulate the genetic information of organisms; an idea first executed in 1973 by Stanley Cohen, Herbert Boyer, Annie Chang, and Robert Helling to provide anti-bacterial resistance to a certain strain of bacteria. Since then, gene editing has exploded in all directions. Thanks to genetic engineering, we now dehorn cattle, produce disease-resistant pigs, and herd goats that grow longer hair, all in the name of productivity.
CRISPR and Animal Regulation: Do We Need It?
So how does CRISPR work? Unlike other gene editing tools in the past, CRISPR works to propagate sequences through generations at a 97% effectiveness rate. The system is naturally found in viruses, but researchers were able to manipulate the tool to essentially work as a copy and paste function for any desirable genetic information. The advent of CRISPR is revolutionizing business, with corporations taking advantage of the easy-to-use genetic engineering to even edit pets to sell. However, while CRISPR does essentially accelerate mankinds ability to artificially select traits for organisms that we find beneficial, people like David Ishee, a Mississippi kennel operator, believe that we can reverse the negative side effects of artificial selectionparticularly hyperuricemia (an abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood) in Dalmatians. While David feels that its a relatively simple request to utilize gene editing in the hopes of ameliorating a human-caused condition in the breed of dogs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) feels differently.
Ishee, and many others like him who wish to genetically modify animals, face the FDAs newly drafted regulations from January 2017. While Ishees plan to modify the malfunctioning genes of Dalmatians and re-insert them into healthy sperm before fertilization isnt outlawed by the FDA, its distribution is.
If Ishee manages to produce healthy Dalmatians without the disease, he would not be able to sell or distribute them for breeding purposes, according to the FDA. With that said, Ishees hope of spreading his movement far and wide might just be curtailed by government regulation.
The new measures by the FDA might just be a response to the emerging fear that CRISPR and other gene editing techniques can be utilized as weapons of mass destruction. While there are those who dont intend on adhering to the regulations, hoping the new administration would absolve them entirely, there are others like Ishee who are stonewalled against even starting their projects. However, the benefits of being able to use CRISPR on animals DNA could be huge; just looking at dogs and cats alone, selective breeding has introduced some unfortunate side effects. We could help our pets live longer, more comfortable lives in the future. Dalmatians shouldnt have to suffer because humans wanted a dog that had spots, and perhaps we can undo some of the damage weve done in the name of purebred dogs and cats. Scientists and others who want to use this technology also argue that doing this is completely different than splicing two animals DNA together, for example.
-Futurism
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Genetic Engineering Can Help Us Save Animals' Lives - malaysiandigest.com
The International Association of HealthCare Professionals is pleased to welcome Garry Fredric Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H), Anti Aging Specialist to their prestigious organization with his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Garry Fredric Gordon is a highly trained and qualified physician with an extensive expertise in all facets of his work, especially naturopathic medicine. Dr. Gordon has been in practice for more than five decades and is currently working within his own private practice, the Gordon Research Institute in Payson, Arizona.
Dr. Garry Fredric Gordon graduated with his Medical Degree in 1958 from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Illinois. He later gained an additional Medical Degree from the University of California at Irvine, and completed a residency at the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion.
Dr. Gordon is a world renowned expert on detoxification and on chelation therapy. He serves as an advisor to the American Board of Chelation Therapy, and is President of the Arizona Homeopathic and Integrative Medical Association. To keep up to date with the latest advances in his field, Dr. Gordon maintains a professional membership with the American College for Advancement in Medicine. He attributes his success to his love for the field, and when he is not working, Dr. Gordon enjoys bike riding.
Learn more about Dr. Gordon here: http://gordonresearch.com/ and be sure to read his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World.
About FindaTopDoc.com
FindaTopDoc.com is a hub for all things medicine, featuring detailed descriptions of medical professionals across all areas of expertise, and information on thousands of healthcare topics. Each month, millions of patients use FindaTopDoc to find a doctor nearby and instantly book an appointment online or create a review. FindaTopDoc.com features each doctors full professional biography highlighting their achievements, experience, patient reviews and areas of expertise. A leading provider of valuable health information that helps empower patient and doctor alike, FindaTopDoc enables readers to live a happier and healthier life. For more information about FindaTopDoc, visit http://www.findatopdoc.com
Deutsche Bank loses longevity risk expert Financial News (subscription) Reid joined Deutsche Bank in 2010 and has worked in its debt capital markets and corporate coverage business. He was previously head of the European longevity business at Credit Suisse and, before that, at the investment consultant Willis Towers Watson. |
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Deutsche Bank loses longevity risk expert - Financial News (subscription)
Science Daily | From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification Science Daily A discovery, several years in the making, by a University at Buffalo research team has demonstrated that adult skin cells can be converted into neural crest cells (a type of stem cell) without any genetic modification, and that these stem cells can ... |
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From skin to brain: Stem cells without genetic modification - Science Daily
MENAFN Press - 17/03/2017 (MENAFN Editorial) The International Association of HealthCare Professionals is pleased to welcome Garry Fredric Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H), Anti Aging Specialist to their prestigious organization with his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World. Dr. Garry Fredric Gordon is a highly trained and qualified physician with an extensive expertise in all facets of his work, especially naturopathic medicine. Dr. Gordon has been in practice for more than five decades and is currently working within his own private practice, the Gordon Research Institute in Payson, Arizona.
Dr. Garry Fredric Gordon graduated with his Medical Degree in 1958 from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Illinois. He later gained an additional Medical Degree from the University of California at Irvine, and completed a residency at the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion.
Dr. Gordon is a world renowned expert on detoxification and on chelation therapy. He serves as an advisor to the American Board of Chelation Therapy, and is President of the Arizona Homeopathic and Integrative Medical Association. To keep up to date with the latest advances in his field, Dr. Gordon maintains a professional membership with the American College for Advancement in Medicine. He attributes his success to his love for the field, and when he is not working, Dr. Gordon enjoys bike riding.
Learn more about Dr. Gordon here: http://gordonresearch.com/ and be sure to read his upcoming publication in The Leading Physicians of the World.
About FindaTopDoc.com
FindaTopDoc.com is a hub for all things medicine, featuring detailed descriptions of medical professionals across all areas of expertise, and information on thousands of healthcare topics. Each month, millions of patients use FindaTopDoc to find a doctor nearby and instantly book an appointment online or create a review. FindaTopDoc.com features each doctor's full professional biography highlighting their achievements, experience, patient reviews and areas of expertise. A leading provider of valuable health information that helps empower patient and doctor alike, FindaTopDoc enables readers to live a happier and healthier life. For more information about FindaTopDoc, visit http://www.findatopdoc.com
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Arshia Firouzi, left, and Gurkern Sufi, right. (COURTESY)
Biology meets engineering to increase production of transgenic organisms
Of the thousands of students that attend UC Davis, Arshia Firouzi and Gurkern Sufi met one another in Tercero Hall in 2011. Bright-eyed freshmen at the time, they had yet to embark on the exhilarating journey that would lead to their founding of Ravata Solutions a company dedicated to making transgenics, the field of biology that results in genetically engineered organisms, easier for genetic engineering.
Sufi has a degree in biotechnology and Firouzi in electrical engineering and the intersect between these two sciences is what intrigued them the most. Under the guidance of UC Davis professor Marc Facciotti, they gained a VentureWell grant in 2015 to begin tinkering with their project and conducting basic research in Translating Engineering Advances to Medicines (TEAM) Molecular Prototyping and Bioinnovation Laboratory.
We had put together a lab space and equipment where people can come and explore the various types of technology that are associated with engineering biology, Facciotti said. Connected to that is an award from a foundation called VentureWell, and VentureWell gave some money to help facilitate this general idea, and Ive been using it to seed projects that students are coming up with.
The initial idea revolved around micro-electrical components and biology together, but the application that came out of it was not the original plan.
We had been working on single-cell electroporation, [using an electric field to increase absorption of foreign materials into cells], for a while with exploring potential applications in a variety of cells, Sufi said. We asked, What are some high-value, high priority cells that researchers cant risk losing large quantities of when they want to do a transformation? Naturally, we fell upon embryos.
And thus, Ravata Solutions was born. Ravata is dedicated to creating a device that will transform transgenics. This automated device would take the place of microinjection, the classic technique used to manually insert DNA into an embryo. While microinjection does ultimately result in the production of transgenic animals, it has critical flaws. A real limitation of microinjection is the time it takes to make a successfully transgenic organism, Sufi said. It is also an outdated field [that] you cant find many skilled professionals in anymore.
Ravatas device increases the efficiency and viability of producing transgenic animals with the incorporation of electroporation and single-cell sensing. This new technology results in up to 1,000 embryo transformations per hour with over 80 percent viability and over 80 percent efficiency. This is important because it allows researchers to rapidly conduct embryo transformations and know if they are on the right path.
The rate-limiting step in creating transgenic animals is embryo transformation, Firouzi said. What Ravata is doing is enabling production of embryo engineering by allowing input of the process of embryo transformation to increase 100-fold.
Ravata was accepted into the IndieBio accelerator program in San Francisco in October of 2016, and partnered with the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, VIB Life Sciences and the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program. They are currently testing pilot programs and plan to launch the product in 2018.
We are excited to launch and also start exploring the many other applications of our technology in plants, Firouzi said. At the end of the day, our device doesnt transform just embryos, it can transform any cell type with a high efficiency and high viability. Written by: Harnoor Gill science@theaggie.org
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UC Davis alumni revolutionize genetic engineering - The Aggie