Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the German capital, Berlin, on Saturday, calling on the government to change course with its farming policies and protesting against an increasing industrialization of agriculture.

Organizers said some 50,000 people attended the rally, which took place during the International Green Week, an agricultural trade fair held annually in Berlin. Police were more sober with their estimate of 25,000 participants, saying that the protest remained peaceful.

Under the motto "We are sick of agribusiness," protesters called for a worldwide right to food, legal restrictions to protect food and agriculture from genetic manipulation and a stop to the building of mega-factory farms.

TTIP under fire

Protesters, who marched from Potsdam Square to the Federal Chancellery, also demanded the rejection of the planned TTIP free-trade agreement between the European Union and the USA.

The spokesman for the alliance of more than 120 environmental, consumer and development organizations behind the protest, Jochen Fritz, said TTIP would ruin the livelihood of many farmers.

"The EU-USA trade agreement TTIP only serves global concerns, and will take away the means of existence from many farms here and across the world," he said, adding that the agreement would also jeopardize consumer standards.

The EU and US have been holding negotiations on the TTIP since July 2013. Its advocates say a free-trade zone would give an enormous boost to economies on both sides of the Atlantic, but critics in Europe fear a drop in consumer protection and food safety standards.

'Protests having effect'

Fritz also criticized agricultural policies in Germany, saying that they had forced more than three quarters of German pig farmers to give up their businesses since 2000, with large meat companies increasingly taking over livestock farming. He called for agriculture on the basis of regional markets.

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Thousands protest in Berlin against industrialized farming

Genetic Engineering Process
Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/join -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool that allows you to develop cool...

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Genetic Engineering Process - Video

IMAGE:Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 15, 2015-Zehaf-Bibeau, the Islamist convert who recently killed a Canadian military reservist on duty in Ottawa, Canada, represents a type of attacker rarely discussed--a person so obsessed with an overvalued idea that it defines their identity and leads them to commit violence without regard for the consequences. Although it appears that the assailants in Paris had more ties with terrorist organizations, the individuals still fit the description of people acting on overvalued ideas. This emerging, and likely growing phenomenon is explored in the article, published in the Perspectives section of the journal, "Lone Wolf Killers: A Perspective on Overvalued Ideas," published in the peer-reviewed journal Violence and Gender, from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

The article is available free on the Violence and Gender website.

Author Matthew H. Logan, PhD, a 28-year veteran officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as an RCMP Criminal Investigative Psychologist (ret.), Ontario, Canada, explains that these killers do not always work alone, stating that "in the future I believe we will see more 'packs' of these wolves as they unite on common beliefs and themes."

"The violence we witnessed in Paris just days ago shook the world," says Violence and Gender Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.). "It was coldblooded, purposeful, and seemingly without remorse, driven by a unique self-righteous ideation of the killers. Dr. Matt Logan explains the 'motivating mindset' of young male offenders, sometimes loners and sometimes part of a group, whose 'overvalued ideas' combined with their own psychopathology is what motivates them to engage in this type of terror. 'Overvalued ideas do not constitute mental illness,' according to Dr. Logan, which makes this senseless, savage violence seem even more chilling and despicable."

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About the Journal

Violence and Gender is the only peer-reviewed journal focusing on the understanding, prediction, and prevention of acts of violence. Through research papers, roundtable discussions, case studies, and other original content, the Journal critically examines biological, genetic, behavioral, psychological, racial, ethnic, and cultural factors as they relate to the gender of perpetrators of violence. Led by Editor-in-Chief Mary Ellen O'Toole, PhD, Forensic Behavioral Consultant and Senior FBI Profiler/Criminal Investigative Analyst (ret.), Violence and Gender explores the difficult issues that are vital to threat assessment and prevention of the epidemic of violence. Violence and Gender is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print, and is the official journal of The Avielle Foundation. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Violence and Gender website.

About the Publisher

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What drives killers like the Ottawa or Paris attackers?

Scientists have gained new insight into fragile X syndrome -- the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability -- by studying the case of a person without the disorder, but with two of its classic symptoms.

In patients with fragile X, a key gene is completely disabled, eliminating a protein that regulates electrical signals in the brain and causing a host of behavioral, neurological and physical symptoms. This patient, in contrast, had only a single error in this gene and exhibited only two classic traits of fragile X -- intellectual disability and seizures -- allowing the researchers to parse out a previously unknown role for the gene.

"This individual case has allowed us to separate two independent functions of the fragile X protein in the brain," said co-senior author Vitaly A. Klyachko, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "By finding the mutation, even in just one patient, and linking it to a partial set of traits, we have identified a distinct function that this gene is responsible for and that is likely impaired in all people with fragile X."

The research, appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition in December and in the print issue Jan. 5, is by investigators at Washington University and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

In studying fragile X, researchers' focus long has been on the problems that occur when brain cells receive signals. Like radio transmitters and receivers, brain cells send and receive transmissions in fine tuned ways that separate the signals from the noise. Until recently, most fragile X research has focused on problems with overly sensitive receivers, those that allow in too much information. The new study suggests that fragile X likely also causes overactive transmitters that send out too much information.

"The mechanisms that researchers have long thought were the entirety of the problem with fragile X are obviously still very much in play," Klyachko said. "But this unique case has allowed us to see that something else is going on."

The finding also raises the possibility that drugs recently tested as treatments for fragile X may be ineffective, at least in part, because they only dialed down the brain's receivers, presumably leaving transmitters on overdrive.

Fragile X syndrome results from an inherited genetic error in a gene called FMR1. The error prevents the manufacture of a protein called FMRP. Loss of FMRP is known to affect how cells in the brain receive signals, dialing up the amount of information allowed in. The gene is on the X chromosome, so the syndrome affects males more often and more severely than females, who may be able to compensate for the genetic error if their second copy of FMR1 is normal.

Patients with fragile X have a range of symptoms. One of the mysteries of the syndrome is how loss of a single gene can lead to such a variety of effects in different patients. Some patients are profoundly intellectually disabled, unable to talk or communicate. Others are only mildly affected. Patients often experience seizures, anxiety and impulsive behavior. Typical physical symptoms include enlarged heads, flat feet and distinctive facial features. Almost one-third of patients with fragile X also show symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.

To gain insight into what else FMRP might do, the researchers plumbed genetic sequencing data from more than 900 males with intellectual disabilities but without classic fragile X syndrome. They looked for mutations in the FMR1 gene that might impair the protein but not eliminate it entirely. Even in this relatively large sample size, they only found one patient with abnormal FMRP, resulting from a change in a single letter of the gene's DNA code.

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New genetic clues found in fragile X syndrome

IMAGE:New Space facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, engineers, analysts, investors, business leaders, and policymakers to capitalize on the opportunities of commercial space ventures. Spanning a broad array of... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 14, 2015--The commercial aviation industry has medical care standards, as does NASA for traditional space missions, and the emerging commercial space transportation industry will need to define medical care practices as well. The unique risks posed by commercial spaceflight warrant the establishment of Medical Levels of Care to account for the different phases of suborbital and orbital missions, as described in an article published in New Space, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the New Space website until February 14, 2015.

In the article "Considerations toward Defining Medical 'Levels of Care' for Commercial Spaceflight" ," Stefan Neis and David Klaus, University of Colorado, Boulder, review current medical care practices in the civilian aviation industry and traditional space exploration sector and offer suggestions for defining appropriate onboard levels of medical care for the commercial space transportation industry, related to different types and phases of flight. Suborbital tourist flights, for example, might require motion sickness and pain medications, oxygen masks, and possibly pressure suits onboard; whereas longer-term orbital flights would necessitate a higher level of care, including emergency medical equipment and training and perhaps spacesuits.

"Medical constraints are the most important discriminators in determining who in the general population can be a spaceflight participant. This original article adds critical new knowledge to an emerging discipline," says Editor-in-Chief of New Space Prof. Scott Hubbard, Stanford University.

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About the Journal

New Space facilitates and supports the efforts of researchers, engineers, analysts, investors, business leaders, and policymakers to capitalize on the opportunities of commercial space ventures. Spanning a broad array of topics including technological advancements, global policies, and innovative applications, the journal brings the new space community together to address the challenges and discover new breakthroughs and trends in this epoch of private and public/private space discovery. The Journal is published quarterly online with Open Access options and in print. Complete tables of content are available on the New Space website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science, technology, engineering, medical, and biomedical research, including Big Data, Soft Robotics, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, and Astrobiology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's more than 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers website.

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Experts explore the medical safety needs of civilian space travel

Germanys Environment Ministry is hoping for a complete ban on green genetic engineering,but a Green party assessment warns that upcoming free trade agreements like TTIP and CETA could still bring genetically modified plants to the European market. EurActiv Germany reports.

After the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 January passed a new Directive on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in Europe, the German Environment Ministry is insisting on a complete ban on green genetic engineering in Germany.

It is very important that a political agreement be reached to generally apply the exclusion clause to Germany, emphasised State Secretary on Environment Jochen Flasbarth on Tuesday (13 January) in Berlin.

Under the new directive, EU member states will now be able to choose to opt-out, restricting or completely banning GMO cultivation within their borders. One of the leading proponents of such a legal ban in Germany is its Ministry of Agriculture, which is led by the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU). The Ministry also supports a national ban on cultivation.

In a position paper from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Minister Barbara Hendricks outlines that she does not want to leave any backdoors open for genetic engineering. The GMO law must be changed, so that controversial green genetic engineering cannot be used under any pretextin Germany, she states in the document, according to a report in the Sddeutsche newspaper.

Green genetic engineering has turned out to be the wrong track, Hendricks said. It is risky for nature and the environment and is not desired by consumers. For this reason I would like us to use the EU rules in the future, that can guarantee freedom from genetic engineering in Germany, she explained.

Meanwhile, an assessment from the Bundestags Green Party faction sees the GMO ban as being threatened by free trade agreements the EU is planning with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP).

Titled Free trade - gateway for agricultural genetic engineering, the study is an analysis, conducted by Christoph Then, of the possible consequences of TTIP based on the CETA text. Then concludes that with TTIP, EU standards for the protection of GMO-free agriculture, such as measures against contamination and maintaining clean seed, will be lowered in the medium-term. The author also predicts changes in the approval procedure.

The studys main conclusions are:

State Secretary Flachsbarth decidedly dismissed concerns over consumer protection. No lowering of standards, such as a softening of GMO regulation, will be accepted through TTIP.

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German Environment Ministry seeks unconditional GMO ban

Designer Baby
Designer Baby. . . . .Children to Order: The Ethics of #39;Designer Babies #39; http://www.livescience.com/44087-designer-babies-ethics.html Mar 13, 2014 - Creating designer babies who are free from disease...

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IMAGE:The Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 13, 2015--Emerging data on the role of inflammation and the immune system in the development, growth, and spread of breast tumors have focused increased attention on the role cytokines such as interleukin and transforming growth factor- play in breast cancer initiation, protection, and metastasis. A comprehensive overview of this new knowledge and its potential to lead to novel therapeutic approaches is presented in a Review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The article is available free on the JICR website until February 13, 2015.

"The Role of Cytokines in Breast Cancer Development and Progression", coauthored by Marcella Esquivel-Velzquez and colleagues from Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico (Mxico City) and Instituto Nacional de Salud Pblica (Morelos, Mexico), reviews the latest evidence to support a regulatory role for cytokines (proteins that mediate communication between cells of the immune system) in breast cancer and other cancer-related disorders. The article explores the link between cytokines, inflammation, and obesity, which is a significant risk factor for breast cancer. Other topics include the association between cytokines and blood vessel formation, breast cancer metastasis, immunosuppression and the ability of breast cancer cells to evade the immune system, and the potential role of cytokines as prognostic factors.

"This article provides a thorough discussion of the impact of inflammation and cytokine biology on many aspects of breast cancer and can serve as a helpful resource to find specific details regarding mechanisms and therapeutic potential," says Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research Co-Editor-in-Chief Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

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About the Journal

Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) , led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JICR website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.

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Do cytokines have a role in the initiation and progression of breast cancer?

IMAGE:AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV... view more

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, January 13, 2014--A cure for HIV/AIDS is the ultimate goal of rapidly advancing research involving diverse and innovative approaches. A comprehensive collection of articles describing the broad scope and current status of this global effort is published in a special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers . The Special Issue on HIV Cure Research is available free on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.

In the Commentary "How to Cure AIDS: Feeling the Elephant", Guest Editor David Margolis, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, states, "The breadth and diversity of reports found in the issue reflect the many domains of investigation that must be brought to bear to solve challenges of persistent HIV infection, and provide one of the critical missing tools needed to end the worldwide AIDS pandemic."

HIV latency, in which reservoirs of virus persist despite effective antiretroviral therapy and are able to hide from existing anti-HIV drugs and the body's immune defenses, is one of the greatest remaining challenges to achieving a cure. Guochun Jiang and Satya Dandekar, University of California, Davis, discuss the potential of one emerging "shock-and-kill" strategy to eradicate latent viral reservoirs in the Review article "Targeting NF-B Signaling with Protein Kinase C Agonists As an Emerging Strategy for Combating HIV Latency".

Zelda Euler and Galit Alter, Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), present another latency reversal approach that uses "killer" monoclonal antibody-based drugs that can seek out and eliminate replication-competent HIV in combination with agents able to flush the virus out of its hiding places. The authors describe this novel strategy in the Review article "Exploring the Potential of Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics for HIV-1 Eradication".

"The HIV research community is turning its attention to a goal that seemed unimaginable not so long ago, the development of a cure for HIV/AIDS," says Thomas Hope, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. "To support that effort, we are focusing the first issue of 2015 on HIV cure related research and making the work available free to researchers and the public alike."

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About the Journal

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses , published monthly in print and online, presents papers, reviews, and case studies documenting the latest developments and research advances in the molecular biology of HIV and SIV and innovative approaches to HIV vaccine and therapeutic drug research, including the development of antiretroviral agents and immune-restorative therapies. The content also explores the molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis and HIV/HTLV epidemiology. The Journal features rapid publication of emerging sequence information and reports on clinical trials of emerging HIV therapies. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses website.

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Progress toward an HIV cure highlighted in special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses

The Specimen-Teaser
Official Teaser trailer for The Specimen. Current planned platforms: Wii U eShop PC (steam) -Hyper Galaxy Studios Abducted from your home planet by a highly intelligent race obsessed with...

By: Hyper Galaxy Studios

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The Specimen-Teaser - Video