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Precision Medicine – Food and Drug Administration

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

FDA's Role in the Precision Medicine Initiative

Most medical treatments are designed for the "average patient" as "one-size-fits-all-approach," that is successful for some patients but not for others. Precision medicine, sometimes known as "personalized medicine" is an innovative approach to disease prevention and treatment that takes into account differences in peoples genes, environments and lifestyles.

Advances in precision medicine have already led to powerful new discoveries and several new FDA-approved treatments that are tailored to specific characteristics of individuals, such as a persons genetic makeup, or the genetic profile of an individuals tumor. Patients with a variety of cancers routinely undergo molecular testing as part of patient care, enabling physicians to select treatments that improve chances of survival and reduce exposure to adverse effects.

To advance these developments, President Obamas Precision Medicine Initiative seeks to identify genetically-based drivers ofdisease in order to develop new, more effective treatments. FDAs role is to ensure the accuracy of genetic tests, many of which are derived from next generation sequencing, a rapid and fairly inexpensive technology that collects data on a persons entire genome.Researchers are combing through segments of this data to look for genetic variants, potentially meaningful differences that might eventually result in a treatment.

However, the vast amount of information generated through next generation sequencing (NGS) poses novel regulatory issues for FDA.Recognizing these challenges, FDA is at work on a workable regulatory platform that will encourage innovation while ensuring accuracy. To get there, weve been issuing discussion papers, holding workshops and collaborating with our stakeholders.

In addition, FDA has created precisionFDA, a community research and development portal that allows for testing, piloting, and validating existing and new bioinformatics approaches to NGS processing.

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Precision Medicine - Food and Drug Administration

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Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences: University of Maryland …

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

The University of Maryland School of Medicine established the first department for diseases of the eye in the United States in 1873. Since then, the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Scienceshas played an integral part in the school's curriculum. This dedication to better sight for all has led to many research and surgical innovations, including the creation of the modern-day ophthalmoscope and the first surgery to correct strabismus.

It was a professor at the school, George Frick, who wrote "A Treatise on Diseases of the Eye" in 1824. The first book on ophthalmology by an American author, it immediately became the "bible" for those teaching in the field. Today's faculty continue to maintain high profiles as experts in the visual sciences, as evidenced by their continuous funding in this extremely competitive specialty.

Faculty from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences are involved in the education of students from their very first year of med school through residencies, fellowships and beyond. This instruction is primarily hands-on, giving student early exposure in dealing with the patient population.

As we strive to improve the services we provide to the community, we continue to place a special emphasis on communication with our patients, our colleagues and the citizens of Maryland. Please contact us with your questions regarding the latest treatments for ophthalmic disease or for information about our research endeavors, open faculty positions or training opportunities.

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Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences: University of Maryland ...

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integrative medicine – The Skeptic’s Dictionary – Skepdic.com

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Experts in the psychology of human error have long been aware that even highly trained experts are easily misled when they rely on personal experience and informal decision rules to infer the causes of complex events. --Barry Beyerstein

According to [Andrew] Weil, many of his basic insights about the causes of disease and the nature of healing come from what he calls "stoned thinking," that is, thoughts experienced while under the influence of psychedelic agents or during other states of "altered consciousness" induced by trances, ritual magic, hypnosis, meditation, and the like. --Arnold S. Relman, M.D.

They have so many healers there [Nevada City/Grass Valley] it makes you sick. -- U. Utah Phillips

If you mix cow pie with apple pie, it does not make the cow pie taste better; it makes the apple pie worse. --Mark Crislip

Integrative medicine is a synonym for "alternative" medicine that, at its worst, integrates sense with nonsense. At its best, integrative medicine supports both consensus treatments of science-based medicine and treatments that the science, while promising perhaps, does not justify. It mixes the scientific with the metaphysical ("spirit-mind-body connection" is a favorite expression) and the scientifically untested, discredited, or questionable. Defenders of integrative medicine have an exceptionally high opinion of things "natural" and "organic."

The expression is a marketing term popularized by Andrew Weil, M.D. Integrative medicine is not a medical "specialty," nor is it special or superior to plain old science-based medicine. As David Gorski, M.D., says, "integrative medicine" is a brand, not a specialty.note Weil's branding and marketing strategy has paid off. The University of Arizona has given him his own Institute of Integrative Medicine to direct.

Weil graduated from Harvard Medical School but did not complete a residency nor, as far as I can ascertain, ever take the medical boards in any state.

After a one-year internship at Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco in 1968-69, he began what was supposed to have been a two-year tour of duty at the National Institute of Mental Health. He resigned after a year. He says it was because of official opposition to his work with marijuana. He then left the world of allopathic medicine entirely, to go off to an Indian reservation in South Dakota to study with a Sioux medicine man and learn about herbal medicine and ritual healing. "On the reservation," he says, "I participated in sweat lodge ceremonies, grew a beard, and `dropped out.'" At home afterward, "I started to practice yoga, experiment with vegetarianism, and learn to meditate." (Relman 1998)

Apparently, he continued his herbal research during an extensive stay in South America.

After medical school, he decided, he would forgo the young doctor's traditional apprenticeship as a hospital intern and resident and instead devote his time to traveling through the forests and villages of South America, studying not the great engine of Western medicine but the gentle power of the curative herb. Weil spent more than three years in the field in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and elsewhere, and when he returned to the U.S. in the mid-1970s, he decided that he would make his living teaching, writing and otherwise spreading the alternative-medicine word. (Kluger 1997)

Today, Weil mixes scientific medicine with Ayurvedic and other forms of quackery and calls this practice "integrative medicine." One of his main tenets is: "It is better to use natural, inexpensive, low-tech and less invasive interventions whenever possible." However, there is no scientific evidence for the claim that natural interventions are always superior to artificial ones. Millions of people use herbs and natural products for a variety of conditions, such as calcium, echinacea, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, glucosamine, saw palmetto, shark cartilage, and St. John's wort. All of these, when tested scientifically, have failed to support the traditional wisdom regarding their healing powers. Pharmaceuticals and other treatments are much superior to most herbal remedies. If a plant has been shown to be effective as a healing agent, the active ingredient has been extracted and tested scientifically and is part of scientific medicine. Otherwise, any beneficial effect following use of the herb or plant is probably best explained as due to the placebo effect, natural regression, the body's own natural healing processes, or to some other non-herbal factor.

Why so many peopleincluding many highly educated and medically trained peoplebelieve in the efficacy of quack remedies is a complex issue. As Barry Beyerstein has pointed out in his most thorough analysis of this phenomenon, there are a "number of social, psychological, and cognitive factors that can convince honest, intelligent, and well-educated people that scientifically-discredited [or untested] treatments have merit" (Beyerstein 1999). The typical believer in untested or discredited medical treatments accepts uncritically the apparently clear messages of personal experience that such treatments are effective. To the uncritical thinker, many worthless or harmful treatments seem to "work" (the pragmatic fallacy). Such people are either unaware of or intentionally ignore the many perceptual and cognitive biases that deceive us into thinking there are causal relationships between quack treatments and feeling better or recovering from some illness or disease. They uncritically place "more faith in personal experience and intuition than on controlled, statistical studies" (Beyerstein 1999).

Furthermore, the mass media is rarely critical of "alternative" healing and often presents non-scientific medicine in a very positive light. And critics of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are often stereotyped as lackeys for the AMA or the pharmaceutical firms. For example, when a recent double-blind study of 225 men with enlarged prostates [benign prostate hyperplasia or BPH] found no statistically significant difference between those who took saw palmetto and those who took a placebo twice a day for one year, a user of saw palmetto wrote a letter to the editor of the Sacramento Bee in which he claimed that the study was

an attempt by the pharmaceutical industry to promote manufactured drugs that help the prostrate.

I have had a long experience using saw palmetto in various formulations. It works and it has prevented me from having surgery in my 50s. I am now in my mid-60s. I was desperate at the time. Saw palmetto is a blessing.

The Bee should investigate how the pharmaceutical industry manipulates public thought and perception. It's a much more interesting concept. (Letters to the editor, Sacramento Bee, Feb. 25, 2006).

Rather than accept the results of a scientific study, the letter writerlike many purveyors and proponents of quack treatmentstrusts his interpretation of his personal experience, even though it is contradicted by a double-blind scientific experiment.* He also brings up a common claim among believers in quack remedies: the pharmaceutical industry has rigged the game so they can sell more drugs. The letter writer believes that the pharmaceutical industry has somehow manipulated the seven scientists who did this study, as well as the New England Journal of Medicine, which published their research.

The letter writer is probably not the least bit interested in the fact that the National Institutes of Health, which spends millions of dollars each year trying to validate quack treatments, has funded a major new study of saw palmetto and another commonly-used herbal treatment for BPH.* The new study will involve several hundred patients at 11 centers nationwide. Such information is probably of no interest to this letter writer, since he already knows that "saw palmetto is a blessing." Of course, if the results of the new study support the claim that saw palmetto is an effective treatment for BPH, he may view the study with a more positive eye, as it will confirm his bias. In any case, the fact that someone has not had prostate problems since he started taking some herb is not very strong evidence that the herb has had anything to do with it. His prostate problemswhatever they may have beenmay have subsided had he done nothing. It is possible that he stopped drinking caffeinated beverages at the same time he started taking the herb and that the entire positive effect he feels is due to not ingesting caffeine. Perhaps he began ejaculating several times a week after his problem emerged.* A scientific study can control for various factors that might be causing an outcome and isolate the most likely significant factor. Intuition is unable to do this.

Many believers in integrative medicine are led to their uncritical evaluation of personal experience because of their deep commitment to metaphysical notions such as subtle energy or spiritual forces. They do not accept that the biological world is governed by mechanistic processes determined by laws of nature. Scientific or evidence-based medicine is rooted in a set of beliefs about reality that seem to contradict their beliefs in non-physical entities and forces that are at the core of their perception of reality. They don't necessarily reject science altogether, but they are as likely to put their faith in prayer, intuition, meditation, or visions induced by drugs, as they are in randomized, double-blind, controlled studies.

Scientific medicine is not infallible, of course. And we should not draw strong conclusions from a single study. That goes for both skeptics and believers. The results of a scientific study should usually be taken to hold tentatively, until significant replication or other strong supportive evidence leads to a consensus. Even then, the door should never be closed to further investigation, should new data arise that warrants it. The tendency of most of us, however, is to be uncritical and accepting of a study if it seems to support our beliefs. A skeptic might hail the Bent et al. study that found no significant benefit of saw palmetto, while a believer might reject the study because of a perceived fault. One need not speculate about drug company conspiracies to find a reason to reject a scientific study. No study is perfect. It is not difficult to find fault with nearly every scientific study ever done: the study did not go on long enough, the dosage was too small or too large or was given too frequently or not frequently enough, the placebo wasn't masked well enough, the sample was too small, the randomization process wasn't perfect, and so on.

Furthermore, each human being is a unique and extremely complex biological organism. The same chemicals may affect different people in significantly different ways. They may even affect the same person differently at different times. It is not uncommon for a well-designed double-blind study to contradict earlier studies (as was the case with the Bent et al. study). It should not be a shock to anyone if the next saw palmetto study finds that it significantly improves BPH, but if it does that should not be the end of such studies. Eventually, a consensus should be reached about the effectiveness of this smelly herb to heal the prostate. But even when that consensus is reached, there will still be a few contrarians who will continue to prescribe and sell saw palmetto to patients concerned about prostate problems. Some of these will base their contrary belief on their intuitions but others will say that further studies need to be done because, after all, there have been some studies that have indicated it is effective and there are still many men who swear by it. It is always possible that the next study will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it is effective. And if it doesn't? Well, there is always the next study and the one after that.

Randomized double-blind studies are not perfect, but they are much more reliable than anecdotes and personal experience because they allow us the opportunity to control our observations in such a way as to minimize the effect of the many perceptual and cognitive biases that affect us all and are great sources of error. We are prone to wishful thinking, "a willingness to endorse comforting beliefs and to accept, uncritically, information that reinforces our core attitudes and self-esteem" (Beyerstein 1999). We often see patterns that aren't really there and find significance in coincidental occurrences.

The pioneers of the scientific revolution were aware of the large potential for error when informal reasoning joins forces with our penchant for jumping to congenial conclusions. By systematizing observations, studying large groups rather than a few isolated individuals, instituting control groups, and trying to eliminate confounding variables, these innovative thinkers hoped to reduce the impact of the frailties of reasoning that lead to false beliefs about how the world works. None of these safeguards exists when we base our decisions merely on a few satisfied customers personal anecdotesunfortunately, these stories are the alternative practitioners stock in trade. Psychologists interested in judgmental biases have repeatedly demonstrated that human inference is especially vulnerable in complex situations, such as that of evaluating therapeutic outcomes, which contain a mix of interacting variables and a number of strong social pressures. Add a pecuniary interest in a particular outcome, and the scope for self-delusion is immense. (Beyerstein 1999).

The appeal of Weil's integrative medicine is that he mixes sound scientific knowledge and advice with illogical hearsay. For example, on his Men's Health Internet page, he provides scientific information regarding men with prostate problems. He offers common sense advice such as don't ingest caffeine and alcohol if you are having trouble with frequent urination, since these substances will increase the need to urinate. But he also advises men to eat more soy because: "Asian men have a lower risk of BPH and some researchers believe it is related to their intake of soy foods." As Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig note, however: "the same logic requires us to blame high rates of cancers of the esophagus, stomach, thyroid, pancreas and liver in Asian countries on consumption of soy" (Soy Alert! 2001). Weil also states that saw palmetto "may help" BPH because: "There is clinical evidence that saw palmetto can help shrink the size of the prostate, and it may help promote healthy prostate function." Now we know there is clinical evidence that saw palmetto doesn't help shrink the size of the prostrate.

On the positive side, Weil notifies the reader: "You should inform your health care practitioner you are using this product." Your physician needs to know what supplements you are taking because what he or she prescribes to you may interact adversely with the herbs you are taking.

For those who want to study alternatives to scientific medicine, the University of Arizona seems like the hot spot. It not only supports the work of Gary Schwartz and the Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science, Andrew Weil heads its integrative medicine program. Why would a major university risk its reputation by supporting such programs? Because these programs are very popular with the masses, the media, many medical schools and physicians, and politicians. Furthermore, there is significant grant money available to such programs through agencies like the NIH and the university gets a significant cut of whatever money the grantees take in. Someday we may look back at this period in our history and see the "alternative" science movement as a well-engineered social movement that created a very popular mass delusion on par with the tulip mania of 17th century Holland.

__________

Note: Although "integrative medicine is not recognized as a speciality by the American Board of Medical Specialities. The ABMS is, as one disgruntled practitioner of integrative medicine put it, "a guild." Membership requires approval by every subspecialty member and there are more than 100 subspecialties. Integrative medicine isn't one of them. Other certifiying boards are more like clubs. You meet some minimum requirement and you pays your dues and you're in. Weil has cleverly formed his own American Board of Integrative Medicine, which has been accepted as a member of the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS). The ABPS is more like a club than a guild. Physicians certified by ABPS and licensed by theMedical Board of Californiaare prohibited from using the term "board certified" unless they are also certified by theAmerican Board of Medical Specialties.* From 2000 until 2014, the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine provided the only board certification exam in integrative medicine. As of May 2014, the American Board of Integrative Medicine will replace the ABIHM for board certification in integrative medicine. So, Weil will be soon able to create board certified practitioners of integrative medicine, but they will not be allowed call themselves "board certified" in California. I don't know about other states.

See also alternative medicine, complementary medicine, energy, frontier medicine, hidden persuaders, integrative oncology, holistic medicine, NCCAM, and supplements.

* Ray Hyman provides an example of a chiropractor who agreed to a double-blind controlled test of applied kinesiology (AK). After AK had failed the test, the chiropractor said: "You see, that is why we never do double-blind testing anymore. It never works!"

further listening

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Center for Integrative Medicine – facebook.com

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Tai Chi Recharge class with Tim Russell Tuesday, September 2 through November 4 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Montgomery Room of the Center on Main $10 per class when purchasing a package

By now, most Westerners are familiar with the many benefits attributed to the practice of Tai Chi (also spelled Tai Ji) like stress reduction, improved balance, and increased bone density. This class is designed to provide the Tai Chi benefits simply, without having to learn a formal form. It will be a low impact workout that gradually builds flexibility, strength and endurance. Beginners can join at any time and veterans can complement their current studies with an extra group practice focusing on drills, repetition and relaxation. This is a great fitness opportunity in a great space at a convenient time.

About the instructor: Tim Russell is a manual therapist specializing in soft tissue therapy who has been practicing Tai Chi for over twenty years. He has studied with four main teachers during that time, mainly focusing on the Yang and Chen style family forms.

Space is limited to 12 people so early registration is recommended. Call or come by Center Medspa 643-1980 For more information call Tim Russell at 643-1965

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Center for Integrative Medicine - facebook.com

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Integrative Medicine | Department of Medicine

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Leading the transformation of health care by creating, educating, and actively supporting a community that embodies the philosophy and practice of healing-oriented medicine, addressing mind, body and spirit.

Dr. Andrew Weil, Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine presents to a group outside the Center.

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine was founded in 1994 at the University of Arizona by Dr. Andrew Weil. Since then, the Center has grown from a visionary concept to the recognized world leader in Integrative Medical education. The first Residential Fellowship class began their studies in 1997, with four fellows. Today, our Fellowship has grown to accommodate 120 fellows per year.

We built the Center on the premise that the best way to change a field is to educate the most gifted professionals and place them in settings where they can, in turn, teach others. Our approach has clearly made an impact on the field of integrative medicine, and more importantly, on medicine as a whole. In addition to educational leadership, we are committed to providing the finest clinical care in integrative medicine and engaging in cutting edge research.

The Center defines integrative medicine as healing-oriented medicine that takesaccount of the whole person (mind, body, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle.It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.

The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine is committed to developing and delivering world-class continuing education in IM for students, professionals and public. Our programs include:

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Integrative Medicine | Department of Medicine

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UC Davis Integrative Medicine – Official Blog

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Welcome to UC Davis Integrative Medicine. Our blog is jam-packed with information on everything from nutrition and plant-based diets to exercise and stress management so that you can live a healthier, happierlife

By Rosane Oliveira on March 31, 2016March 31, 2016

Its been quite a celebration around here lately with UCDIMs 5-year anniversary.

Ive spent a lot of time thinking about the past, reflecting on how far we have come.

So before we embark on the future and our next five years, (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 29, 2016March 31, 2016

We are here at the fourth and final installment of the One Health Series.

From describing the One Health movement to discussing why what we eat really mattersto talking about cows, I would now love to complete our series by telling you a story. (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 27, 2016March 28, 2016

The journey of a thousand milesstarts with a single step. ~ Lao Tzu

It all started exactly 5 years ago.

That was when we took the first step of our journey here (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 20, 2016March 17, 2016

H20.

More commonly known as water. (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 15, 2016March 25, 2016

For our third installment in this months One Health series, we are going to broach the subject of how humans (as omnivores) differ from other animals on this planet who are true herbivores. I feel it is very important to set the record straight on this topic. (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 13, 2016March 14, 2016

My new motto is 3.14159265358.

Let me explain.

That number is the number Pi. (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 10, 2016March 9, 2016

The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. ~Thomas A. Edison

The One Health initiative is a global conversation tackling (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 6, 2016March 5, 2016

Were not going to lie sticking to a plant-based diet can be tough at the beginning.

Between coming up with creative recipes and simply knowing whats healthful and whats not, it can be a challenge. (more)

By Rosane Oliveira on March 1, 2016March 2, 2016

Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing linesnor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.~ Rudolf Virchow, MD

The world is getting smaller. (more)

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UC Davis Integrative Medicine - Official Blog

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Elsevier Current Opinion – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

IMPACT FACTOR: 7.117 5-Year Impact Factor: 7.983 Issues per year: 6 issues Editorial Board

The Current Opinion journals were developed out of the recognition that it is increasingly difficult for specialists to keep up to date with the expanding volume of information published in their subject. In Current Opinion in Biotechnology, we help the reader by providing in a systematic manner: 1. The views of experts on current advances in biotechnology in a clear and readable form. 2. Evaluations of the most interesting papers, annotated by experts, from the great wealth of original publications.

Division of the subject into sections The subject of biotechnology is divided into themed sections, each of which is reviewed once a year. The amount of space devoted to each section is related to its importance.

Analytical biotechnology Plant biotechnology Food biotechnology Energy biotechnology Environmental biotechnology Systems biology Nanobiotechnology Tissue, cell and pathway engineering Chemical biotechnology Pharmaceutical biotechnology

Selection of topics to be reviewed Section Editors, who are major authorities in the field, are appointed by the Editors of the journal. They divide their section into a number of topics, ensuring that the field is comprehensively covered and that all issues of current importance are emphasised. Section Editors commission reviews from authorities on each topic that they have selected.

Reviews Authors write short review articles in which they present recent developments in their subject, emphasising the aspects that, in their opinion, are most important. In addition, they provide short annotations to the papers that they consider to be most interesting from all those published in their topic over the previous year.

Editorial Overview Section Editors write a short overview at the beginning of the section to introduce the reviews and to draw the reader's attention to any particularly interesting developments. This successful format has made Current Opinion in Biotechnology one of the most highly regarded and highly cited review journals in the field (Impact factor = 8.035).

Ethics in Publishing: General Statement

The Editor(s) and Publisher of this Journal believe that there are fundamental principles underlying scholarly or professional publishing. While this may not amount to a formal 'code of conduct', these fundamental principles with respect to the authors' paper are that the paper should: i) be the authors' own original work, which has not been previously published elsewhere, ii) reflect the authors' own research and analysis and do so in a truthful and complete manner, iii) properly credit the meaningful contributions of co-authors and co-researchers, iv) not be submitted to more than one journal for consideration, and v) be appropriately placed in the context of prior and existing research. Of equal importance are ethical guidelines dealing with research methods and research funding, including issues dealing with informed consent, research subject privacy rights, conflicts of interest, and sources of funding. While it may not be possible to draft a 'code' that applies adequately to all instances and circumstances, we believe it useful to outline our expectations of authors and procedures that the Journal will employ in the event of questions concerning author conduct. With respect to conflicts of interest, the Publisher now requires authors to declare any conflicts of interest that relate to papers accepted for publication in this Journal. A conflict of interest may exist when an author or the author's institution has a financial or other relationship with other people or organizations that may inappropriately influence the author's work. A conflict can be actual or potential and full disclosure to the Journal is the safest course. All submissions to the Journal must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest. The Journal may use such information as a basis for editorial decisions and may publish such disclosures if they are believed to be important to readers in judging the manuscript. A decision may be made by the Journal not to publish on the basis of the declared conflict.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/conflictsofinterest

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Elsevier Current Opinion - Current Opinion in Biotechnology

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History of genetic engineering – Wikipedia, the free …

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Genetic modification caused by human activity has been occurring since around 12,000 BC, when humans first began to domesticate organisms. Genetic engineering as the direct transfer of DNA from one organism to another was first accomplished by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973. The first genetically modified animal was a mouse created in 1973 by Rudolf Jaenisch. In 1983 an antibiotic resistant gene was inserted into tobacco, leading to the first genetically engineered plant. Advances followed that allowed scientists to manipulate and add genes to a variety of different organism and induce a range of different effects.

In 1976 the technology was commercialised, with the advent of genetically modified bacteria that produced somatostatin, followed by insulin in 1978. Plants were first commercialised with virus resistant tobacco released in China in 1992. The first genetically modified food was the Flavr Savr tomato marketed in 1994. By 2010, 29 countries had planted commercialized biotech crops. In 2000 a paper published in Science introduced golden rice, the first food developed with increased nutrient value.

Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using certain biotechnology techniques that have only existed since the 1970s.[2] Human directed genetic manipulation was occurring much earlier, beginning with the domestication of plants and animals through artificial selection. The dog is believed to be the first animal domesticated, possibly arising from a common ancestor of the grey wolf,[1] with archeologically evidence dating to about 12,000 BC.[3] Other carnivores domesticated in prehistoric times include the cat, which cohabited with human 9 500 years ago.[4] Archeologically evidence suggests sheep, cattle, pigs and goats were domesticated between 9 000 BC and 8 000 BC in the Fertile Crescent.[5]

The first evidence of plant domestication comes from emmer and einkorn wheat found in pre-Pottery Neolithic A villages in Southwest Asia dated about 10,500 to 10,100 BC. The Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, Egypt, and India were sites of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. Independent development of agriculture occurred in northern and southern China, Africa's Sahel, New Guinea and several regions of the Americas.[7] The eight Neolithic founder crops (emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax) had all appeared by about 7000 BC.[8]Horticulture first appears in the Levant during the Chalcolithic period about 6 800 to 6,300 BC. Due to the soft tissues, archeological evidence for early vegetables is scarce. The earliest vegetable remains have been found in Egyptian caves that date back to the 2nd millennium BC.

Selective breeding of domesticated plants was once the main way early farmers shaped organisms to suit their needs. Charles Darwin described three types of selection: methodical selection, wherein humans deliberately select for particular characteristics; unconscious selection, wherein a characteristic is selected simply because it is desirable; and natural selection, wherein a trait that helps an organism survive better is passed on.[11]:25 Early breeding relied on unconscious and natural selection. The introduction of methodical selection is unknown.[11]:25 Common characteristics that were bred into domesticated plants include grains that did not shatter to allow easier harvesting, uniform ripening, shorter lifespans that translate to faster growing, loss of toxic compounds, and productivity.[11]:2730 Some plants, like the Banana, were able to be propagated by vegetative cloning. Offspring often did not contain seeds, and therefore sterile. However, these offspring were usually juicier and larger. Propagation through cloning allows these mutant varieties to be cultivated despite their lack of seeds.[11]:31

Hybridization was another way that rapid changes in plant's makeup were introduced. It often increased vigor in plants, and combined desirable traits together. Hybridization most likely first occurred when humans first grew similar, yet slightly different plants in close proximity.[11]:32Triticum aestivum, wheat used in baking bread, is an allopolyploid. Its creation is the result of two separate hybridization events.[12]

X-rays were first used to deliberately mutate plants in 1927. Between 1927 and 2007, more than 2,540 genetically mutated plant varieties had been produced using x-rays.[13]

Various genetic discoveries have been essential in the development of genetic engineering. Genetic inheritance was first discovered by Gregor Mendel in 1865 following experiments crossing peas. Although largely ignored for 34 years he provided the first evidence of hereditary segregation and independent assortment.[14] In 1889 Hugo de Vries came up with the name "(pan)gene" after postulating that particles are responsible for inheritance of characteristics[15] and the term "genetics" was coined by William Bateson in 1905.[16] In 1928 Frederick Griffith proved the existence of a "transforming principle" involved in inheritance, which Avery, MacLeod and McCarty later (1944) identified as DNA. Edward Lawrie Tatum and George Wells Beadle developed the central dogma that genes code for proteins in 1941. The double helix structure of DNA was identified by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.

As well as discovering how DNA works, tools had to be developed that allowed it to be manipulated. In 1970 Hamilton Smiths lab discovered restriction enzymes that allowed DNA to be cut at specific places and separated out on an electrophoresis gel. This enabled scientists to isolate genes from an organism's genome.[17]DNA ligases, that join broken DNA together, had been discovered earlier in 1967[18] and by combining the two enzymes it was possible to "cut and paste" DNA sequences to create recombinant DNA. Plasmids, discovered in 1952,[19] became important tools for transferring information between cells and replicating DNA sequences. Frederick Sanger developed a method for sequencing DNA in 1977, greatly increasing the genetic information available to researchers. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), developed by Kary Mullis in 1983, allowed small sections of DNA to be amplified and aided identification and isolation of genetic material.

As well as manipulating the DNA, techniques had to be developed for its insertion (known as transformation) into an organism's genome. Griffiths experiment had already shown that some bacteria had the ability to naturally uptake and express foreign DNA. Artificial competence was induced in Escherichia coli in 1970 when Morton Mandel and Akiko Higa showed that it could take up bacteriophage after treatment with calcium chloride solution (CaCl2).[20] Two years later, Stanley Cohen showed that CaCl2 treatment was also effective for uptake of plasmid DNA.[21] Transformation using electroporation was developed in the late 1980s, increasing the efficiency and bacterial range.[22] In 1907 a bacterium that caused plant tumors, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, was discovered and in the early 1970s the tumor inducing agent was found to be a DNA plasmid called the Ti plasmid.[23] By removing the genes in the plasmid that caused the tumor and adding in novel genes researchers were able to infect plants with A. tumefaciens and let the bacteria insert their chosen DNA into the genomes of the plants.[24]

In 1972 Paul Berg utilised restriction enzymes and DNA ligases to create the first recombinant DNA molecules. He combined DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with that of the lambda virus.[25]Herbert Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen took Berg's work a step further and introduced recombinant DNA into a bacterial cell. Cohen was researching plasmids, while Boyers work involved restriction enzymes. They recognised the complementary nature of their work and teamed up in 1972. Together they found a restriction enzyme that cut the pSC101 plasmid at a single point and were able to insert and ligate a gene that conferred resistance to the kanamycin antibiotic into the gap. Cohen had previously devised a method where bacteria could be induced to take up a plasmid and using this they were able to create a bacteria that survived in the presence of the kanamycin. This represented the first genetically modified organism. They repeated experiments showing that other genes could be expressed in bacteria, including one from the toad Xenopus laevis, the first cross kingdom transformation.[26][27][28]

In 1973 Rudolf Jaenisch created a transgenic mouse by introducing foreign DNA into its embryo, making it the worlds first transgenic animal.[29] Jaenisch was studying mammalian cells infected with simian virus 40 (SV40) when he happened to read a paper from Beatrice Mintz describing the generation of chimera mice. He took his SV40 samples to Mintz's lab and injected them into early mouse embryos expecting tumours to develop. The mice appeared normal, but after using radioactive probes he discovered that the virus had integrated itself into the mice genome.[30] However the mice did not pass the transgene to their offspring. In 1981 the laboratories of Frank Ruddle, Frank Constantini and Elizabeth Lacy injected purified DNA into a single-cell mouse embryo and showed transmission of the genetic material to subsequent generations.[31][32]

The first genetically engineered plant was tobacco, reported in 1983.[33] It was developed by Michael W. Bevan, Richard B. Flavell and Mary-Dell Chilton by creating a chimeric gene that joined an antibiotic resistant gene to the T1 plasmid from Agrobacterium. The tobacco was infected with Agrobacterium transformed with this plasmid resulting in the chimeric gene being inserted into the plant. Through tissue culture techniques a single tobacco cell was selected that contained the gene and a new plant grown from it.[34]

The development of genetic engineering technology led to concerns in the scientific community about potential risks. The development of a regulatory framework concerning genetic engineering began in 1975, at Asilomar, California. The Asilomar meeting recommended a set of guidelines regarding the cautious use of recombinant technology and any products resulting from that technology.[35] The Asilomar recommendations were voluntary, but in 1976 the US National Institute of Health (NIH) formed a recombinant DNA advisory committee.[36] This was followed by other regulatory offices (the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)), effectively making all recombinant DNA research tightly regulated in the USA.[37]

In 1982 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a report into the potential hazards of releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment as the first transgenic plants were being developed.[38] As the technology improved and genetically organisms moved from model organisms to potential commercial products the USA established a committee at the Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) to develop mechanisms to regulate the developing technology.[37] In 1986 the OSTP assigned regulatory approval of genetically modified plants in the US to the USDA, FDA and EPA.[39] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, guidance on assessing the safety of genetically engineered plants and food emerged from organizations including the FAO and WHO.[40][41][42][43]

The European Union first introduced laws requiring GMO's to be labelled in 1997.[44] In 2013 Connecticut became the first state to enacted a labeling law in the USA, although it would not take effect until other states followed suit.[45]

The ability to insert, alter or remove genes in model organisms allowed scientists to study the genetic elements of human diseases.[46]Genetically modified mice were created in 1984 that carried cloned oncogenes that predisposed them to developing cancer.[47] The technology has also been used to generate mice with genes knocked out. The first recorded knockout mouse was created by Mario R. Capecchi, Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies in 1989. In 1992 oncomice with tumor suppressor genes knocked out were generated.[47] Creating Knockout rats is much harder and only became possible in 2003.[48][49]

After the discovery of microRNA in 1993,[50]RNA interference (RNAi) has been used to silence an organism's genes.[51] By modifying an organism to express mircoRNA targeted to its endogenous genes, researchers have been able to knockout or partially reduce gene function in a range of species. The ability to partially reduce gene function has allowed the study of genes that are lethal when completely knocked out. Other advantages of using RNAi include the availability of inducible and tissue specific knockout.[52] In 2007 microRNA targeted to insect and nematode genes was expressed in plants, leading to suppression when they fed on the transgenic plant, potentially creating a new way to control pests.[53] Targeting endogenous microRNA expression has allowed further fine tuning of gene expression, supplementing the more traditional gene knock out approach.[54]

Genetic engineering has been used to produce proteins derived from humans and other sources in organisms that normally cannot synthesize these proteins. Human insulin-synthesising bacteria were developed in 1979 and were first used as a treatment in 1982.[55] In 1988 the first human antibodies were produced in plants.[56] In 2000 Vitamin A-enriched golden rice, was the first food with increased nutrient value.[57]

As not all plant cells were susceptible to infection by A. tumefaciens other methods were developed, including electroporation, micro-injection[58] and particle bombardment with a gene gun (invented in 1987).[59][60] In the 1980s techniques were developed to introduce isolated chloroplasts back into a plant cell that had its cell wall removed. With the introduction of the gene gun in 1987 it became possible to integrate foreign genes into a chloroplast.[61]

Genetic transformation has become very efficient in some model organism. In 2008 genetically modified seeds were produced in Arabidopsis thaliana by simply dipping the flowers in an Agrobacterium solution.[62] The range of plants that can be transformed has increased as tissue culture techniques have been developed for different species.

The first transgenic livestock were produced in 1985,[63] by micro-injecting foreign DNA into rabbit, sheep and pig eggs.[64] The first animal to synthesise transgenic proteins in their milk were mice,[65] engineered to produce human tissue plasminogen activator.[66] This technology was applied to sheep, pigs, cows and other livestock.[65]

In 2010 scientists at the J. Craig Venter Institute announced that they had created the first synthetic bacterial genome. The researchers added the new genome to bacterial cells and selected for cells that contained the new genome. To do this the cells undergoes a process called resolution, where during bacterial cell division one new cell receives the original DNA genome of the bacteria, whilst the other receives the new synthetic genome. When this cell replicates it uses the synthetic genome as its template. The resulting bacterium the researchers developed, named Synthia, was the world's first synthetic life form.[67][68]

In 2014 a bacteria was developed that replicated a plasmid containing an unnatural base pair. This required altering the bacterium so it could import the unnatural nucleotides and then efficiently replicate them. The plasmid retained the unnatural base pairs when it doubled an estimated 99.4% of the time.[69] This is the first organism engineered to use an expanded genetic alphabet.[70]

In 2015 CRISPR and TALENs was used to modify plant genomes. Chinese labs used it to create a fungus-resistant wheat and boost rice yields, while a U.K. group used it to tweak a barley gene that could help produce drought-resistant varieties. When used to precisely remove material from DNA without adding genes from other species, the result is not subject the lengthy and expensive regulatory process associated with GMOs. While CRISPR may use foreign DNA to aid the editing process, the second generation of edited plants contain none of that DNA. Researchers celebrated the acceleration because it may allow them to "keep up" with rapidly evolving pathogens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that some examples of gene-edited corn, potatoes and soybeans are not subject to existing regulations. As of 2016 other review bodies had yet to make statements.[71]

In 1976 Genentech, the first genetic engineering company was founded by Herbert Boyer and Robert Swanson and a year later and the company produced a human protein (somatostatin) in E.coli. Genentech announced the production of genetically engineered human insulin in 1978.[72] In 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court in the Diamond v. Chakrabarty case ruled that genetically altered life could be patented.[73] The insulin produced by bacteria, branded humulin, was approved for release by the Food and Drug Administration in 1982.[74]

In 1983 a biotech company, Advanced Genetic Sciences (AGS) applied for U.S. government authorization to perform field tests with the ice-minus strain of P. syringae to protect crops from frost, but environmental groups and protestors delayed the field tests for four years with legal challenges.[75] In 1987 the ice-minus strain of P. syringae became the first genetically modified organism (GMO) to be released into the environment[76] when a strawberry field and a potato field in California were sprayed with it.[77] Both test fields were attacked by activist groups the night before the tests occurred: "The world's first trial site attracted the world's first field trasher".[76]

The first genetically modified crop plant was produced in 1982, an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant.[78] The first field trials of genetically engineered plants occurred in France and the USA in 1986, tobacco plants were engineered to be resistant to herbicides.[79] In 1987 Plant Genetic Systems, founded by Marc Van Montagu and Jeff Schell, was the first company to genetically engineer insect-resistant plants by incorporating genes that produced insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) into tobacco.[80]

Genetically modified microbial enzymes were the first application of genetically modified organisms in food production and were approved in 1988 by the US Food and Drug Administration.[81] In the early 1990s, recombinant chymosin was approved for use in several countries.[81][82] Cheese had typically been made using the enzyme complex rennet that had been extracted from cows' stomach lining. Scientists modified bacteria to produce chymosin, which was also able to clot milk, resulting in cheese curds.[83] The Peoples Republic of China was the first country to commercialize transgenic plants, introducing a virus-resistant tobacco in 1992.[84] In 1994 Calgene attained approval to commercially release the Flavr Savr tomato, a tomato engineered to have a longer shelf life.[85] Also in 1994, the European Union approved tobacco engineered to be resistant to the herbicide bromoxynil, making it the first genetically engineered crop commercialized in Europe.[86] In 1995 Bt Potato was approved safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, after having been approved by the FDA, making it the first pesticide producing crop to be approved in the USA.[87] In 1996 a total of 35 approvals had been granted to commercially grow 8 transgenic crops and one flower crop (carnation), with 8 different traits in 6 countries plus the EU.[79]

By 2010, 29 countries had planted commercialized biotech crops and a further 31 countries had granted regulatory approval for transgenic crops to be imported.[88] In 2013 Robert Fraley (Monsantos executive vice president and chief technology officer), Marc Van Montagu and Mary-Dell Chilton were awarded the World Food Prize for improving the "quality, quantity or availability" of food in the world.[89]

The first genetically modified animal to be commercialised was the GloFish, a Zebra fish with a fluorescent gene added that allows it to glow in the dark under ultraviolet light.[90] The first genetically modified animal to be approved for food use was AquAdvantage salmon in 2015.[91] The salmon were transformed with a growth hormone-regulating gene from a Pacific Chinook salmon and a promoter from an ocean pout enabling it to grow year-round instead of only during spring and summer.[92]

Opposition and support for the use of genetic engineering has existed since the technology was developed.[76] After Arpad Pusztai went public with research he was conducting in 1998 the public opposition to genetically modified food increased.[93] Opposition continued following controversial and publicly debated papers published in 1999 and 2013 that claimed negative environmental and health impacts from genetically modified crops.[94][95]

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Indianapolis, Indiana – American Diabetes Association

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

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Diabetes is a serious problem, particularly in Indiana. It would be a difficult task to find someone who does not personally know an individual with diabetes.

Hoosiers are increasingly feeling the effects of this disease. More than 750,000 children and adults in Indiana suffer from all forms of diabetes, including type 1, type 2 and gestational. Approximately 1 in 4 of those who have diabetes does not know it. And at least 1.9 million Hoosiers are living with prediabetes, putting them at risk for type 2 diabetes in the future. Today, it is estimated that 1 in 3 children born after the year 2000 in the U.S. will develop diabetes.

If you're renewing your Indiana license plate, choose the nation's first-ever Stop Diabetes license plate and support research, education and advocacy in Indiana!

Choose the Stop Diabetes license plate when you register or renew your vehicle online or in person at any Indiana license branch. Your plate can help change the future of diabetes in Indiana.

Stay connected and informed about programs and events in Indiana. To sign up for our monthly e-newletter, please contact Beth Grant at egrant@diabetes.org.

We welcome your help.

Your involvement as an American Diabetes Association volunteer whether on a local or national level will help us expand our community outreach and impact, inspire healthy living, intensify our advocacy efforts, raise critical dollars to fund our mission, and uphold our reputation as the moving force and trusted leader in the diabetes community.

Find volunteer opportunities in our area through the Volunteer Center.

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Academics || Slippery Rock University

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

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Alert: It would appear that you are running an outdated version of Internet Explorer. Please download a modern browser or turn off Compatibility View in Internet Explorer to ensure a pleasant browsing experience.

Slippery Rock University enjoys an outstanding reputation for high-quality undergraduate and graduate academic instruction, which is only achieved through the accomplishments of exceptional faculty members.

At the undergraduate level, SRU offers over 150 majors and minors, all of which are designed with your future in mind. Want a college experience built on a challenge? The Honors Program provides academically talented and exceptionally motivated students with special opportunities.

Already completed your bachelor's degree? Graduate programs at SRU are designed with you in mind. Offering more than 30 masters and two doctoral degree programs, available on campus and online, SRU's graduate programs help students get ahead and stay ahead.

Regardless of your program of choice, SRU is committed to your success. Our campus is home to state-of-the-art classrooms, hundreds of academic clubs and honorary societies, and opportunities for research and presentations. Our Career Education and Development provides students with the tools they need to succeed in a 21st century workforce.

Look no further than our SRU Success Stories for proof that monumental futures start here.

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania 1 Morrow Way, Slippery Rock, PA 16057, USA

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Diabetes News Topix

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

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Diabetes Information – Symptoms, Causes and Prevention of …

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Diabetes mellitus is a common disease in the United States. It is estimated that over 16 million Americans are already caught with diabetes, and 5.4 million diabetics are not aware of the existing disease. Diabetes prevalence has increased steadily in the last half of this century and will continue rising among U.S. population. It is believed to be one of the main criterions for deaths in United States, every year. This diabetes information hub projects on the necessary steps and precautions to control and eradicate diabetes, completely.

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder where in human body does not produce or properly uses insulin, a hormone that is required to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by constant high levels of blood glucose (sugar). Human body has to maintain the blood glucose level at a very narrow range, which is done with insulin and glucagon. The function of glucagon is causing the liver to release glucose from its cells into the blood, for the production of energy.

There are three main types of diabetes:

Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes impede a persons carefree life. When breakdown of glucose is stopped completely, body uses fat and protein for producing the energy. Due to this mechanism symptoms like polydipsia, polyuria, polyphegia, and excessive weightloss can be observed in a diabetic. Desired blood sugar of human body should be between 70 mg/dl -110 mg/dl at fasting state. If blood sugar is less than 70 mg/dl, it is termed as hypoglycemia and if more than 110 mg /dl, its hyperglycemia.

Diabetes is the primary reason for adult blindness, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), gangrene and amputations. Overweight, lack of exercise, family history and stress increase the likelihood of diabetes. When blood sugar level is constantly high it leads to kidney failure, cardiovascular problems and neuropathy. Patients with diabetes are 4 times more likely to have coronary heart disease and stroke. In addition, Gestational diabetes is more dangerous for pregnant women and their fetus.

Though, Diabetes mellitus is not completely curable but, it is controllable to a great extent. So, you need to have thorough diabetes information to manage this it successfully. The control of diabetes mostly depends on the patient and it is his/her responsibility to take care of their diet, exercise and medication. Advances in diabetes research have led to better ways of controlling diabetes and treating its complications. Hence they include:-

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What is Diabetes? Facts & Statistics About Diabetes | PAMF

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Almost 30 million people in the United States have diabetes. There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs during childhood or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease, usually occurs in people who are 45 years of age or older. However, the rate of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents is increasing.

Common Diabetes Terms (American Diabetes Association)

Diabetes can go silently undetected for a long time without symptoms. Many people first become aware that they have diabetes when they develop one of its potentially life-threatening complications, such as heart disease, blindness or nerve disease.

Fortunately, diabetes can be managed with proper care. Diabetes is a chronic (life-long) condition that can have serious consequences. However, with careful attention to your blood sugar control, lifestyle modifications and medications, you can manage your diabetes and may avoid many of the problems associated with the disease. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) can help you make the transition of managing your disease easier. Back to top

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. The cause of diabetes is a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play roles. There are three types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes is a disease that starts when the pancreas stops making insulin. Insulin lets blood sugaralso called glucoseenter the body's cells to be used for energy. Without insulin, the cells can't get the sugar they need, and too much sugar builds up in the blood. Back to top

Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that happens when the cells of the body can't use insulin the right way or when the pancreas can't make enough insulin. Insulin lets blood sugaralso called glucoseenter the bodys cells to be used for energy. When insulin is not able to do its job, the cells can't get the sugar they need, and too much sugar builds up in the blood. Over time, this extra sugar in the blood can damage your eyes, heart, blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys. Back to top

Gestational diabetes is a temporary form of insulin resistance that usually occurs halfway through a pregnancy as a result of excessive hormone production in the body, or the pancreas' inability to make the additional insulin that is needed during some pregnancies in women without a previous history of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy, but women who have had gestational diabetes are at an increased risk for later developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers have identified a small percentage of diabetes cases that result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, chemicals, drugs, malnutrition, infections, viruses and other illnesses. Back to top

People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease (more than 77,000 deaths due to heart disease annually). Heart disease death rates are also two to four times as high as adults without diabetes. People with diabetes are two to four times more likely to suffer a stroke.

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Genetic Engineering – The New York Times

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

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Pensacola, Florida – American Diabetes Association

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

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Alabamians and Floridians are increasingly feeling the effects of diabetes as thousands of people suffer from the disease, and many others may have diabetes and not know it! It is estimated that one out of every three children born after 2000 in the United States will be directly affected by diabetes.

That is why the American Diabetes Association's South Alabama/Northwest Florida office is so committed to educating the public about how to stop diabetes and support those living with the disease.

We are here to help.

We welcome your help.

Your involvement as an American Diabetes Association volunteer whether on a local or national level will help us expand our community outreach and impact, inspire healthy living, intensify our advocacy efforts, raise critical dollars to fund our mission, and uphold our reputation as the moving force and trusted leader in the diabetes community.

Find volunteer opportunities in our area through the Volunteer Center.

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Blindness (novel) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Blindness (Portuguese: Ensaio sobre a cegueira, meaning Essay on Blindness) is a novel by Portuguese author Jos Saramago. It is one of his most famous novels, along with The Gospel According to Jesus Christ and Baltasar and Blimunda.

Blindness is the story of an unexplained mass epidemic of blindness afflicting nearly everyone in an unnamed city, and the social breakdown that swiftly follows. The novel follows the misfortunes of a handful of characters who are among the first to be stricken and centers on "the doctor's wife," her husband, several of his patients, and assorted others, thrown together by chance. After lengthy and traumatic quarantine in an asylum, the group bands together in a family-like unit to survive by their wits and by the unexplained good fortune that the doctors wife has escaped the blindness. The sudden onset and unexplained origin and nature of the blindness cause widespread panic, and the social order rapidly unravels as the government attempts to contain the apparent contagion and keep order via increasingly repressive and inept measures.

The first part of the novel follows the experiences of the central characters in the filthy, overcrowded asylum where they and other blind people have been quarantined. Hygiene, living conditions, and morale degrade horrifically in a very short period, mirroring the society outside.

Anxiety over the availability of food, caused by delivery irregularities, acts to undermine solidarity; and lack of organization prevents the internees from fairly distributing food or chores. Soldiers assigned to guard the asylum and look after the well-being of the internees become increasingly antipathetic as one soldier after another becomes infected. The military refuse to allow in basic medicines, so that a simple infection becomes deadly. Fearing a break out, soldiers shoot down a crowd of internees waiting upon food delivery.

Conditions degenerate further, as an armed clique gains control over food deliveries, subjugating their fellow internees and exposing them to rape and deprivation. Faced with starvation, internees do battle and burn down the asylum, only to find that the army has abandoned the asylum, after which the protagonists join the throngs of nearly helpless blind people outside who wander the devastated city and fight one another to survive.

The story then follows the doctor's wife, her husband, and their impromptu family as they attempt to survive outside, cared for largely by the doctors wife, who can still see (though she must hide this fact at first). The breakdown of society is near total. Law and order, social services, government, schools, etc., no longer function. Families have been separated and cannot find each other. People squat in abandoned buildings and scrounge for food. Violence, disease, and despair threaten to overwhelm human coping. The doctor and his wife and their new family eventually make a permanent home in the doctor's house and are establishing a new order to their lives when the blindness lifts from the city en masse just as suddenly and inexplicably as it struck.

The doctor's wife is the only character in the entire novel who does not lose their sight. This phenomenon remains unexplained in the novel. Unable to leave her husband to be interned, she lies to the doctors and claims to be blind. At this point she is interned with the rest of the afflicted. Once inside, she attempts to help the compound organize, but she is increasingly unable to hold back the animality of the compound. When one ward begins withholding food and demanding that the women of other wards sleep with them to be fed, she kills the leader of their ward. Once they escape the compound, she helps her group survive in the city. The doctor's wife is the de facto leader of their small group, although in the end she often serves their disabled needs.[1]

The doctor is an ophthalmologist stricken blind after treating a patient with what will come to be called "the white sickness,"He is among the first to be quarantined along with his wife. Due to his medical expertise he has a certain authority among those quarantined. Several of the other main characters had been visiting the doctor's office when the epidemic begins to spread. Much of this really comes from his wife not having gone blind; she is able to see what is going on on the ward and relay this to her husband. When the group from his ward finally escapes they end up travelling to and staying in the doctor and his wife's apartment. [1]

The girl with the dark glasses is a former part-time prostitute who is struck blind while with a customer. She is unceremoniously removed from the hotel and taken to the quarantine. Once inside, she joins the small group of people who were contaminated at the doctor's office. When the car thief gropes her on the way to the lavatory, she kicks him giving him a wound from which he will eventually die. While inside, she also takes care of the boy with the squint, whose mother is nowhere to be found. At the end of the story, she and the old man with the black eye patch become lovers.[1]

The old man with the black eye patch is the last person to join the first ward. He brings with him a portable transistor radio that allows the internees to listen to the news. He is also the main architect of the failed attack on the ward of hoodlums hoarding the food rations. Once the group escapes the quarantine, the old man becomes the lover of the girl with the dark glasses.[1]

The dog of tears is a dog that joins the small group of blind when they leave the quarantine. While he mostly loyal to the doctor's wife, he helps the whole group by protecting them all from packs of dogs who are becoming more feral by the day. He is called the dog of tears because he becomes attached to the group when he licks the tears off the face of the doctor's wife.[1]

The boy with the squint was a patient of the doctor's, which is most likely how he became infected. He is brought to the quarantine without his mother and soon falls in with the group in the first ward. The girl with the dark glasses feeds him and takes care of him like a mother.[1]

After the first blind man was struck blind in traffic, a car thief brought him home and, subsequently stole his car. Soon after he went blind, the car thief and the first blind man reencounter one another in the quarantine, where they soon come to blows. They have no time to resolve their issues, though, since the car thief is the first internee killed by the guards. He is gunned down while trying to ask the guards for medication for his infected leg.[1]

The first man to go blind is struck blind in the middle of traffic, waiting at a stoplight. He is immediately taken home and then to the doctor's office, where he infects all of the other patients. He is one of the principle members of the first ward - the ward with all of the original internees. He is also the first to regain his sight, when the epidemic is finally over.[1]

The wife of the first blind man goes blind soon after helping her husband to the quarantine. They are reunited by pure chance in the quarantine. Once inside, she also joins the first ward with the doctor and the doctor's wife. When the ward of hoodlums begins to demand that the women sleep with them in order to be fed, the first blind man's wife volunteers to go, in solidarity with the others.[1]

The man with the gun is the leader of the ward of hoodlums that seizes control of the food supply in the quarantine. He and his ward take the rations by force and threaten to shoot anyone who doesn't comply. This ward extorts valuables from the other internees in exchange for food and, when the bracelets and watches run out, they begin to rape the women. He is later stabbed to death by the doctor's wife.[1]

This man is not one of those afflicted by the "white sickness"rather he has been blind since birth. He is the only one in the ward who can read and write braille and who knows how to use a walking stick. Additionally, he is the second in command to the man with the gun in the ward of hoodlums. When the doctor's wife kills the man with the gun, the blind accountant takes the gun and tries to seize control but he is unable to rally support. He dies when one of the rape victims sets fire to the ward.[1]

Like most works by Saramago, the novel contains many long, breathless sentences in which commas take the place of periods. The lack of quotation marks around dialogue means that the speakers' identities (or the fact that dialogue is occurring) may not be immediately apparent to the reader. The lack of proper character names in Blindness is typical of many of Saramago's novels (e.g. All the Names). The characters are instead referred to by descriptive appellations such as "the doctor's wife", "the car thief", or "the first blind man". Given the characters' blindness, some of these names seem ironic ("the boy with the squint" or "the girl with the dark glasses").

The city afflicted by the blindness is never named, nor the country specified. Few definite identifiers of culture are given, which contributes an element of timelessness and universality to the novel. Some signs hint that the country is Saramago's homeland of Portugal: the main character is shown eating chourio, a spicy sausage, and some dialogue in the original Portuguese employs the familiar "tu" second-person singular verb form (a distinction which used to exist in English as the now largely archaic pronoun thou). The church, with all its saintly images, is likely of the Catholic variety.

Saramago wrote a sequel to Blindness in 2004, titled Seeing (Ensaio sobre a lucidez, literal English translation Essay on lucidity), which has also been translated into English. The new novel takes place in Portugal and features several of the same characters.

An English-language film adaptation of Blindness was directed by Fernando Meirelles. Filming began in July 2007 and stars Mark Ruffalo as the doctor and Julianne Moore as the doctor's wife. The film opened the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

In 2007 the Drama Desk Award Winning Godlight Theatre Company[3] staged the New York City theatrical premiere of Blindness [4] at 59E59 Theaters. This stage version was adapted and directed by Joe Tantalo. The First Blind Man was played by Mike Roche.[4]

An outdoor performance adaptation by the Polish group Teatr KTO, was first presented in June 2010. It has since been performed at a number of venues, including the Old College Quad of Edinburgh University during the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Shortly before his death, Saramago gave German composer Anno Schreier the rights to compose an opera based on the novel. The libretto is written in German by Kerstin Maria Phler. Like the German translation of the novel, the opera's title is "Die Stadt der Blinden". It saw its first performance on November 12, 2011 at the Zurich Opera House.

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Discover – Blindness and Vision Loss Research

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) undertakes basic biomedical research, primarily in laboratory settings, to learn how the human body operates on all levels. Our discoveries are often licensed to biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms for further development toward a drug or treatment. As a nonprofit biomedical research institute we do not see patients and rarely conduct clinical trials; for the latest information on clinical trials throughout the United States, visit http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . For information on specific diseases, search for associations or organizations dedicated to the disease, for example, the National Eye Institute or the American Foundation for the Blind.

Vision loss is most accurately described in terms of a range of function, from the ability to see relatively clearly to diminishing eyesight levels and total blindness. The World Health Organization (WHO) specifies four levels of visual function: normal, moderate visual impairment, severe visual impairment, and blindness.

With moderate to severe vision impairment, a persons eyesight cannot be corrected to a normal level, even with eyeglasses, contact lenses, medicine, or surgery. As described by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, such impairment can be distinguished by a loss of visual acuity, where the eye does not see objects as clearly as usual, or a loss of visual field, where the eye cannot see as wide an area as usual without moving the eyes or turning the head. In the United States, legal blindness is defined as a visual acuity of 20/200 (normally 20/20) or worse with the best possible correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees (normally 160 to 170 degrees) or less.

The latest WHO figures state about 314 million people worldwide are visually impaired; 45 million are blind. Common causes of vision loss and blindness include:* Cataract (a clouding of the eye lens that hinders passage of light)* Uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism (abnormal curvature of the cornea), or presbyopia (a focusing problem that makes it difficult to see near objects))* Glaucoma (a slow build-up of fluids in the eye producing excessive pressure that damages the optic nerve)* Macular degeneration (a breakdown of the retina, which involves loss of the central field of vision)* Diabetic retinopathy (changes in the blood vessels of the light-sensitive retina tissue in the back of the eye)* Retinitis pigmentosa (a hereditary, progressive loss of vision, often beginning with night blindness, with narrowing visual field leading to tunnel vision and, frequently, total blindness)

Other causes of blindness include stroke, accidents or injury to the eye, blocked blood vessels, optic neuritis, tumors, complications of premature birth, vitamin A deficiency in children, and infections.

Age is a common factor in vision loss. In the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), irreversible vision loss is most prevalent among people aged 65 and older. A 2007 NIH/Blindness Prevention America report states blindness affects more than one million Americans aged 40 and older. The visually impaired, including those who are blind, total more than 3.6 million older Americans. According to the report, the prevalence of blindness and vision impairment increases rapidly in the later years, particularly after age 75.

WHO refers to studies that indicate women have a significantly higher risk of visual impairment than men, in every region of the world and at all ages.

About three-fourths of all visual impairment globally is preventable, according to WHO. Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment can help alleviate or forestall increased loss of vision. For example, timely correction can help prevent severe vision impairment in individuals with eyesight impaired by refractive errors. In addition, treatment of diabetes through diet, exercise, careful control of blood-sugar levels, and avoidance of smoking can help prevent blindness from diabetic retinopathy. Recommending regular comprehensive eye exams, the NIH advises being alert to subtle, small changes in vision, e.g., difficulty in focusing on near or distant objects, unusual sensitivity to light or glare, squinting, or inability to recognize familiar faces.

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The scientific quest to cure aging – CBS News

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

It's a pursuit that seems more like the plot of a science fiction movie than an actual goal of serious researchers around the world. But a number of scientists are fiercely working toward what was once only attainable in fables and fairy tales: they want to end aging.

The quest has even inspired a competition with a monetary prize from that hub of innovation, Silicon Valley. The Palo Alto Longevity Prize, founded by Dr. Joon Yun, a radiologist who heads Palo Alto Investors, is offering $1 million in prize money as a way to urge researchers figure out how to "hack the code" of aging.

While those in the growing field of longevity research admit the task at hand is expansive and complex, they say big advancements have already been made and expect to see more in the near future.

"The goal is similar to all medical research which is to make people healthier and keep people alive longer so we can have more productive lives and not be such a burden to society," David Sinclair, Ph.D., a professor of genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at the Harvard Medical School, told CBS News.

The Australian-born biologist, who sits on the board of the Palo Alto Longevity Prize, discovered in 2013 that Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a chemical found in every living organism, can turn on defenses against aging, though its levels decrease the older we grow.

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Sinclair envisions a time -- maybe not too far away -- when doctors will prescribe medicine utilizing these findings to curb aging.

"We are finding genes and molecules that we can take as a pill that would slow down every disease from Alzheimer's to diabetes to cancer plus give us more energy during our whole lives," he said. "Side effects would be living longer, but the ultimate goal is there will be a future -- maybe it's only a decade or two away -- where people won't have to worry about getting these diseases in their 60s or 70s but can put that off to 100 or 110."

The Palo Alto Prize is meant to inspire and reward such innovations. The competition was announced in 2014 and final registration closed this past December. Winning research teams in two different categories -- who will be awarded $500,000 each -- are expected to be announced by the end of 2019.

The roughly 30 teams that are participating in the competition are taking a broad range of approaches, from stem cell therapies to gene modification to hormonal treatments to behavioral and nutritional interventions. Because of the nature of the competition, specifics about each project have not been disclosed to the public, but videos are available on the contest's website with teams introducing their research.

Quality versus quantity

Yun is quick to point out that the aim of most of longevity research -- and the ultimate goal of the Palo Alto competition -- is not simply to extend life in terms of sheer number of years lived, but to enhance quality of life, as well. He explains this in terms of homeostatic capacity, which refers to the body's natural ability to fight off stressors in order to remain healthy.

"Homeostatic capacity is probably nature's greatest gift. It's our ability to self-tune in response to stressors," he told CBS News. "It is so pervasively effective that we don't even realize we have it until we start losing it."

Yun went on to explain that when we're young and healthy, we don't even notice it. "That is the true definition of health," he said. "When you're feeling healthy, you're feeling nothing because you're in homeostasis. That's very different from what marketers try to say, that healthy means vitality and energy."

Then, after about the age of 40, our homeostatic capacity starts to decline. "We're more vulnerable to the forces of aging. All of a sudden you're finding that your body can't get back to homeostasis on its own," Yun said. "It's hard to ride roller coasters. It's hard to recover from injuries, from a late night, from jet lag. Foods we may have once loved, we are no longer able to tolerate. All of this happens at once, and these are all things everyone can feel. But think of all the things you can't feel."

He gave the example that when people are young and healthy and their blood pressure or sugar level is high, the body brings itself back to homeostasis on its own. But as we age, the body loses this ability.

"We give these things names like diabetes and hypertension," he said. "But maybe it's all really the same process that is the decline of homeostatic capacity."

When asked why he set up the competition to find ways to solve these problems of aging, rather than invest the money directly into research, Yun said he thinks the nature of a contest yields the best results.

"What's wonderful about prizes is that you set a goal and you're essentially inviting a diversity of options to compete and see which one wins," he said. "It's very much like how nature and evolution work."

"What is it that you're living for?"

But not everyone thinks the quest to cure aging is well-founded or wise. Several prominent bioethicists have spoken out against such efforts to extend longevity.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist and Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, is among them. In 2014, Emanuel penned a controversial article for the Atlantic titled "Why I Hope to Die at 75."

"I think it's fascinating that so many people are obsessed with living long," he told CBS News. "If you ask most people about quality versus quantity of life, they will say in a second that quality is what's really important. And then you probe and you find that people are so psychologically scared of dying and not having lived out a meaningful life. But when you talk to older people, many of them are sort of tired of life. They've lost friends and loved ones or activities are restricted and maybe it's not so great after all."

For Emanuel, such frank discussions with older adults and time spent in self-reflection led him to the decision that he does not aspire to an exceptionally long life and would not take steps to extend it.

In the Atlantic article, Emanuel, who is in good health in his late 50s, made clear that he is not looking to end his life through suicide or euthanasia. Rather, at 75, he believes he will be content enough with his life to not actively try to prolong it. "I think this manic desperation to endlessly extend life is misguided and potentially destructive," he wrote.

"The real issue is what makes a meaningful life," he told CBS News. "Is it living as long as you can or is there something else going on? If you ask me, it's the something else we really ought to care about. What is it that you're living for?"

When asked about the views expressed by longevity researchers that their work focuses not just on extending years lived, but on increasing quality of life, Emanuel answered with plenty of skepticism.

"How are you going to cure all of the causes of death?" he asked. "That's kind of a way for scientists to rationalize what they're doing. I can understand that it's an interesting puzzle to solve and many people are passionate about it, but I don't think it's something we ought to be doing."

Of course, longevity researchers vehemently disagree and say such objections are misguided.

"What we're talking about is being able to prevent and treat the major diseases of society," Sinclair said. "Cancer at one point in human history was totally natural. Heart disease was unavoidable. Nobody now would say, 'Oh, cancer is natural and we shouldn't work on it.' We use our technology to lead better lives and make the world a better place and improve the human condition and that's what we're aiming to do here."

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Department of Genetic Medicine – Weill Cornell Medical College

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

Our translational research program includes many projects in the fields of genetic therapies and personalized medicine. The field of genetic therapies comprises gene and stem cell therapies and our laboratory has extensive expertise in both areas. Our group was the first to use a recombinant virus as a vehicle for in vivo gene therapy and we have carried out human trials of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, cardiac ischemia, cancer and central nervous system disorders. Among the current projects are gene transfer strategies for cancer, inherited CNS disorders, 1-antitrypsin deficiency, anti-bioterrorism applications and development of vaccines. We also operate the clinical vector production laboratory of the Belfer Gene Therapy Core Facility, which has produced adenovirus and adeno-associated virus vectors that have been used in numerous human studies. Current projects in the field of stem cell therapy include characterization of the roles of cancer stem cells in lung cancer and the role of airway epithelium stem cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Personalized medicine is the use of information and data from an individual's genotype, or level of gene expression to stratify complex diseases, select a medication or dose of a medication, provide a therapy, or initiate a preventative measure that is specifically suited to that patient. In addition to genetic information, other factors, including imaging, laboratory, and clinical information about the disease process or the patient are integrated into the process of developing personalized medicine. Our group utilizes microarray technologies for genome-wide characterization of gene expression, single nucleotide polymorphism and copy number variation profiles on clinical samples as the basis for projects aimed at indentifying candidate genes associated with complex disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The overall research program of the group includes close collaborations with other laboratories at Weill Cornell and elsewhere, including Malcolm Moore's group at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for stem cell projects. Of particular note are our collaborations on personalized medicine projects with colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar and Hamad Medical Corporation in Doha, Qatar and collaborations on Bioinformatics and Biostatistical Genetics with several laboratories at Cornell-Ithaca, including Andy Clark and Jason Mezey.

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Stem Cell Therapy | Spine & Pain Institute of New England …

August 4th, 2016 9:40 am

As regenerative medicine gains steam in the United States, so do questions about its efficacy and safety. A 2012 review of evidence, Application of Stem Cells in Orthopedics, offers a glimpse of clinical data and safety on adult mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy to repair bone, cartilage, and tendons. The review highlights the results of 20 studies, which were conducted between 1978 and 2009, and totaled more than 900 procedures. Healing benefits were found in the majority of patients, with the most successful cases linked to patients who had a higher number of progenitor cells. Those who did not benefit typically had severe conditions or a lower number of progenitor cells. Not one study reported serious complications. In fact, nearly all of the studies conclude MSC therapy is safe, reliable, easy, low risk, and/or preferable to other procedures, including surgery.

Our goal in using stem cell therapy is to take stem cells from one part of an individuals body, where they exist in higher concentrations, and inject them into an injured area to potentially help reinforce their power. The hope is that those stem cells will take cues from surrounding cells of certain, specific types (bone, cartilage, muscle, or other connective tissue) and develop into that similar type of cell, repairing the site.

A lot of success has been achieved for patients that have tried stem cell procedures. Results include return to daily activities, return to sports, and complete elimination of chronic pain.

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StemCell Therapy

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