Cancer gene therapy biotech MultiVir files for a $70 million IPO

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MultiVir, a biotech developing gene therapies for cancer, filed on Monday with the SEC to raise up to $70 million in an initial public offering.

The Houston, TX-based company, which was founded in 2009, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol MVIR. MultiVir initially filed confidentially on December 22, 2014. RBC Capital Markets is the sole bookrunner on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.

Investment Disclosure: The information and opinions expressed herein were prepared by Renaissance Capital's research analysts and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security. Renaissance Capital, the Renaissance IPO ETF (symbol: IPO) or the Global IPO Fund (symbol: IPOSX) , may have investments in securities of companies mentioned.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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Cancer gene therapy biotech MultiVir files for a $70 million IPO

The future of journalism, and mobile: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard Interview at MojoCon Dublin – Video

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The future of journalism, and mobile: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard Interview at MojoCon Dublin
This is a short interview recorded at the Mobile Journalism Conference MoJoCon in Dublin March 27 2015, see http://mojocon.rte.ie/ The slides used in my keynote (and soon, the video of it)...

By: Gerd Leonhard

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The future of journalism, and mobile: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard Interview at MojoCon Dublin - Video

The future of learning, training and education: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard at LT15 London – Video

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The future of learning, training and education: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard at LT15 London
This is the complete video from my keynote on learning technology and the future at LT15 in London (Feb 3 2015), discussing the kend trends that will impact learning, training and education...

By: Gerd Leonhard

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The future of learning, training and education: Futurist Speaker Gerd Leonhard at LT15 London - Video

Research Confirms That Carbon Dioxide Led To Higher Temperatures In The Past

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Over the past 400,000 years, the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earths atmosphere has periodically fluctuated, and along with it, so have global temperatures. When the concentration of CO2 has increased, global temperatures have also seen an increase and vice versa.

The basic atmospheric chemistry, which as been well-studied since the 19th century, suggests that the increased concentration of CO2 is driving the increase in temperatures. All else being equal, if you introduce more CO2 into a gaseous mixture containing mostly nitrogen and oxygen, like our atmosphere, youll see more heat trapped something you can demonstrate easily in the laboratory. However, untangling cause and effect in historical events can be tricky, especially in this case, where the evidence is drawn primarily by examining evidence from Antarctic ice cores.

Some earlier studies had suggested that the increased temperatures seen over the past 400,000 years actually preceded the increase of carbon dioxide concentration. While more recent research has cast significant doubt on those findings, a debate among some climate researchers over the causal relationships has remained.

CO2 concentration over the past 400,000 years. (Credit: NASA)

That may change now thanks to a new mathematical analysis from an international team led by Egbert van Nes of Wageningen University. To develop their conclusions, the team utilized a method to detect causality in complex systems developed by George Sugihara. These methods have been successfully used to determine issues of cause and effect in ecological systems where some variables may be dependent on one another, such as the relationship between sardine and anchovy populations with ocean temperatures in the Pacific Northwest. (For details on those original methods, see this paper.)

Use of this statistical method, the authors write, allows us to circumvent the classical challenges of unravelling causation from multivariate time series.We build on this insight to demonstrate directly from ice-core data that, over glacialinterglacial timescales, climate dynamics are largely driven by internal Earth system mechanisms, including a marked positive feedback effect from temperature variability on greenhouse-gas concentrations.

In other words, this new model allows climate researchers to confirm that the known chemistry of greenhouse gasses helped drive positive feedback loops that led to increases in global temperatures. Even in a case over the past 400,000 years where the temperatures may have started to rise first, the subsequent increase in carbon dioxide helped to drive those trends upward when they might have otherwise leveled off or declined.

Our new results confirm the prediction of positive feedback from the climate models, research team member Tim Lenton said in a statement. The big difference is that now we have independent data based evidence.

Average global temperatures by decade. (Credit: World Meteorological Organization)

This new paper is significant as it provides further validation for current climate models and provides yet another resource to demonstrate the consequences of rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the Earths atmosphere. From the perspective of the last 400,000 years, were currently entering uncharted territory. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now exceeds any concentration seen during that period of time. And the results are predictable the past few decades have seen increased average temperatures. Last year, 2014, was the hottest year on record since 1880.

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Research Confirms That Carbon Dioxide Led To Higher Temperatures In The Past

Apple CEO blasts Indiana’s "dangerous" religious freedom law – Video

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Apple CEO blasts Indiana #39;s "dangerous" religious freedom law
Protests and boycotts are growing over an Indiana law that some say discriminates against gay people. Gov. Mike Pence says he stands by the controversial religious freedom legislation. Supporters...

By: CBS This Morning

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Apple CEO blasts Indiana's "dangerous" religious freedom law - Video

Boycott Indiana Hashtag Trends After Controversial ‘Religious Freedom’ Law – Video

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Boycott Indiana Hashtag Trends After Controversial #39;Religious Freedom #39; Law
Indiana passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act that may allow businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people. As Mara Montalbano (@maramontalbano) tells us, the Internet is responding....

By: Buzz60

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Boycott Indiana Hashtag Trends After Controversial 'Religious Freedom' Law - Video

Who's pushing the 'religious freedom' legislation in states?

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Norfolk, Va. A recentopinion pieceby Apples CEO, Tim Cook, lamented Indianas new 'Religious Freedom Restoration Act' as what he characterized as a wave of legislation" which some claim is the result of the emerging power and reach of conservative "bill mills."

Theres something very dangerous happening in states across the country. A wave of legislation, introduced in more than two dozen states, would allow people to discriminate against their neighbors, Mr. Cook wrote in The Washington Post. Some, such as the bill enacted in Indiana last week that drew a national outcry and one passed in Arkansas, say individuals can cite their personal religious beliefs to refuse service to a customer or resist a state nondiscrimination law. Others are more transparent in their effort to discriminate.

Cook was referring to Indiana Gov. Mike Pence andhis state's new "religious freedom" law, which gives business owners the right todecline serving customers based on religious grounds in effect turning away LGBT customers

Some Democrats and political analysts say that the "wave" Cook refers to is not originating with voters, but rather conservative "bill mills" that finance state legislators to attend educational conferences that may provide both unified ideas and prefabricated bills to take home. Specifically, they seeThe American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) as the primary driver of conservative state laws.

But when asked whetherALEC was involved in supporting theReligious Freedom Restoration Act, ALEC spokesperson Bill Meierlingresponds: We do not work on firearms, marriage equality, immigration, any of those things people frequently say are ours.

Still, North Carolina state Rep.Graig R. Meyerof (D) Durham says that ALECis having a profound effect on how state legislators in his state are picking their targets.

While ALEC may not be directly distributing the template legislation were seeing pop up all over the country, they are primarily the network for legislative exchange that is operating as a provider of educational seminars and conferences, Mr. Meyer says in a phone interview.

One such ALEC conferencewas held in North Carolina.While nobody can say for sure where the next religious freedom law bill will pop up, its probably a safe bet to look at where their most recent national conferences were held and where the next one will be, says Meyer.

The last ALEC national conference was held in December in Washington, D.C. The next one coming up will be in San Diego, Calif., according to ALEC's Meierling.He describes the organization as "an exchange of legislators and entrepreneurs who come together to discuss policy.

A Source Watch report on the legislative authors of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) shows many are also on theALEC Indiana membershiplist. Three of the bill's co-authors are also ALEC Task Force committee chairs, including Indiana stateSen. Carlin J. Yoder(R) of District 12, Sen. Jean Leising (R) of District 42, andSen. Jim Buck (R) of District 21,according to Source Watch.

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Who's pushing the 'religious freedom' legislation in states?

Indiana law: Does freedom of religion mean freedom to discriminate? (+video)

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New York For many conservative religious Americans, the nations long-standing Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, including the one just passed in Indiana last week, could possibly carve out a public space that permits individuals and their businesses to uphold their religious opposition to same-sex marriage.

But as more same-sex couples across the country legally celebrate their nuptials with traditional public pomp and ceremony, the cherished right of freedom of religion has run headlong into the principle of nondiscrimination in the public sphere.

As a result, a vexing national debate has begun to rage over the extent and legal limits of each sides visions for the nations common life together or how uncommon lives should interact within the public sphere.

What were coming up against is: How far does secular law have to go to accommodate a persons religion? says Mark Goldfeder, senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta. And the truth is, this is happening across the country, even in places where there are no RFRAs, or religious freedom restoration acts.

The poster businesses for the debate have been flower shops, photographers, and bakers who offer services to couples planning their weddings but object to providing these services to gay and lesbian couples, who can now legally marry in 37 states. The Supreme Court is expected to decide the issue by the end of the current term in June.

The issue also includes the religious conscience of public clerks who issue marriage licenses, doctors or anesthesiologists who may tangentially participate in abortion procedures, or any other professionals who might object to participating in events that offend their deeply held religious beliefs.

But since Indiana became the 20th state to pass its version of a religious freedom restoration act last week, a widespread chorus of critics has objected to the new state law or at least the perceived intentions behind it.

Believing it may indeed permit discrimination against lesbian and gay Americans, CEOs such asApples Tim Cook, the governor of Connecticut, the mayor of Seattle, and organizations such as the NCAA and Gen Con have begun to rethink, or even curtail, their business relationships with the state.

These bills rationalize injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear, Mr. Cook, who is gay, wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Sunday. They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality.

Its a far cry from the overwhelming bipartisan consensus that first accompanied the original Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993. More than two decades ago, the federal version passed unanimously by voice vote in the House yes, thats right, unanimously and with only three nays in the Senate before President Bill Clinton signed it into law.

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Indiana law: Does freedom of religion mean freedom to discriminate? (+video)

How Indianas religious freedom law escalated to such national prominence

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All eyes are on Indiana after Governor Mike Pence (R) signed a controversial religious freedom bill into law. The Posts Sarah Pulliam Bailey explains what exactly is in the law and why both sides are so vocal. (Pamela Kirkland/The Washington Post)

Indiana, a largely conservative state that votes pretty reliably Republican in presidential races, has become symbolic ina clash between politics and culture, religious rights and LGBT rights.

Last week, Indiana Gov. MikePence (R) signed into law a controversial religious freedom bill: Opponentsare concerned that it could allow discrimination against gay people.The law in question is called theReligious Freedom Restoration Act, more commonlyknown as RFRA.

The new law allows corporations to make an RFRA claim, expanding the number and type of groups that could make those claims in court. The law also makes it clear that RFRA can be used in lawsuits between individuals, when those claims usually apply only to conflicts between the government and individuals. However, its still unclear how exactly it could be used in court.

[Opinion: Tim Cook: Pro-discrimination religious freedom laws are dangerous]

Lawmakers are attempting to address the firestorm over the law that has prompted some convention organizers and businesses to threaten to cancel plansin the state over concerns of discrimination. The law has drawn attention from across the nation, as Seattle and San Francisco mayorshave urgeda boycott of Indiana.

A new Indiana law designed to keep the government from forcing business owners to act against their religious beliefs draws fierce criticism. (Reuters)

University of Virginia law professorDouglas Laycock, one of the nations foremost law-and-religion scholars, says the conversation has escalated over misunderstandings over previous cases.RFRA has become a national controversy in the past year since Kansas and Arizona considered and abandonedreligious freedom legislation. And last summer,RFRA was raised during last yearsHobby Lobby decision by the Supreme Court.

Theres bad behavior on both sides. Gay rights groups, as they become stronger and stronger and get more support for same-sex marriagekeep demanding more and more. Now they dont want any religious exceptions for anybody, Laycocksaid. Republican legislators are pandering to the base and saying we need to protect against gay marriage. These statements from the right fuel the outrage on the left.

[Opinion: What will the Indiana religious freedom law really do?]

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How Indianas religious freedom law escalated to such national prominence

Backlash to Indiana 'Religious Freedom' Law a Hurdle for GOP

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By Perry Bacon Jr.

The debate over Indiana's new religious freedom law illustrates an increasingly tough challenge for Republican Party politicians who are caught between growing national support for gay rights among most Americans and the large bloc of deeply religious GOP voters who are wary of policy changes like same-sex marriage.

Many Republicans have conceded that national acceptance of gay marriage is inevitable, with court rulings across the country striking down same-sex marriage bans. But social conservatives say that the next front in their fight should be to protect religious freedom, arguing that people of faith who oppose same-sex unions should not be required to take actions that in effect condone gay marriage.

Indiana social conservatives have been pushing for the adoption of a specific provision to defend religious freedom, and Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, signed one into law last week. But the resulting national backlash - including from big business organizations - showed that the religious freedom argument may no longer be an easy way for Republicans to balance the views of gay rights backers and Christian conservatives.

Entertainers and actors have blasted the state, arguing the law in effect allows discrimination against gay people. So have a number of liberal politicians, mostly notably Hillary Clinton.

But perhaps most significantly to both Pence and the Republican Party, which seeks to cast itself as very-pro-business, a number of major companies have attacked the law, including an impassioned critique from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"We have never seen reactions like this, we never expected that," said David Long, a Republican leader in the Indiana State Senate, which overwhelmingly approved the provision.

The issue has now become split along partisan lines. In a message on Twitter, Clinton wrote, "Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today."

But when asked about it on Monday, three Republican presidential candidates, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, all endorsed the provision.

"When you're asking someone who provides professional services to do something, or be punished by law, that violates their faith, you're violating that religious liberty that they have," said Rubio in an interview on Fox News.

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Backlash to Indiana 'Religious Freedom' Law a Hurdle for GOP

How to prevent another anti-gay 'religious freedom' law

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To the editor: The passage of bills in Indiana, Mississippi and Arkansas that sanction discrimination based on religious freedom demonstrate the dearth of federal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) individuals. ("In conservative Indiana, bemusement amid boycott threats over religious freedom law," March 28)

Boycotting Indiana will not solve this problem. Rather, Congress must make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes. This would shield the LGBT community from the whims of state governments and ensure that LGBT inhabitants of all states enjoy the same rights.

But the current Congress seems unlikely to vote on anything resembling such legislation. Last year, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) did not even allow for a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill so moderate that some LGBT rights groups opposed it.

This is unfortunate, because no matter what the U.S Supreme Court decides on same-sex marriage, without action by Congress, many states will continue to treat LGBT people as second-class citizens.

Harriet Steele, Studio City

..

To the editor: Some in Indiana are baffled by the outpouring of opposition to their state's new so-called religious freedom law.

What's the mystery? After all, there has been an enormous change in the way most Americans view gay rights and same-sex marriage, especially with marriage laws in so many states being revoked in recent years.

At the same time, we have seen businesses refusing to bake a cake or provide a floral arrangement for a same-sex wedding. What other services could they deny and get away with?

So, to a lot of people, Indiana's new law looks like blatant discrimination, plain and simple.

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How to prevent another anti-gay 'religious freedom' law