StemCell Therapy

Some men who have exhausted all other treatment options for advanced prostate cancer could survive for at least two more years on immunotherapy, new research suggests.

Researchers found this small proportion of men, described as super responders, were alive and well even after the major clinical trial ended, despite having a poor prognosis before treatment.

One in 20 men with end-stage prostate cancer responded to the immunotherapy pembrolizumab.

However, the scientists say that while this number was small, these patients sometimes gained years of extra life.

Our study has shown that a small proportion of men with very advanced prostate cancer are super responders to immunotherapy

According to the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the most dramatic responses were seen in patients whose tumours had mutations in genes involved in repairing DNA.

Researchers are now looking at whether this group might especially benefit from immunotherapy.

Johann de Bono, Regius Professor of cancer research at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: Our study has shown that a small proportion of men with very advanced prostate cancer are super responders to immunotherapy and could live for at least two years and possibly considerably longer.

We dont see much activity from the immune system in prostate tumours, so many oncologists thought immunotherapy wouldnt work for this cancer type.

But our study shows that a small proportion of men with end-stage cancer do respond, and crucially that some of these men do very well indeed.

The study involved 258 men with advanced prostate cancer who had previously been treated and became resistant to androgen deprivation therapy and docetaxel chemotherapy.

Some 5% of the men treated with the immunotherapy saw their tumours shrink or disappear, while 19% showed some evidence of tumour response.

Among a group of 166 patients with particularly advanced disease and high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the average length of survival was 8.1 months with pembrolizumab.

Nine of these patients saw their disease disappear or partly disappear on scans.

Of these, four were super-responders who remained on treatment at the end of the study follow-up, with responses lasting for at least 22 months, scientists say.

A second group of patients whose PSA levels were lower, but whose disease had spread to the bone, lived for an average of 14.1 months.

Pembrolizumab was well tolerated, with 60% of patients reporting any side effects and only 15% of patients experiencing grade three to five side-effects.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: Immunotherapy has had tremendous benefits for some cancer patients and its fantastic news that even in prostate cancer, where we dont see much immune activity, a proportion of men are responding well to treatment.

A limitation with immunotherapy is that theres no good test to pick out those who are most likely to respond.

Its encouraging to see testing for DNA repair mutations may identify some patients who are more likely to respond, and Im keen to see how the new, larger trial in this group of patients plays out.

Immunotherapy uses the immune system to fight cancer, and works by helping the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells.

The phase II clinical trial was led by a team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden Foundation Trust, and funded by the drugs manufacturer Merck, Sharpe & Dohme.

More:
Prostate cancer super responders gain years of life on immunotherapy study - BreakingNews.ie

ImmunologistAli Ellebedywas working on a studyanalyzing the immune response to flu infection in humans. During his research, he spotted a new type ofpowerful antibody in a blood sample from a patientinfected with human influenza virus.

Ellebedy then sent samples of the antibody to Florian Krammer a microbiologistwho proved the effectiveness of theantibodies by testing them againstextensive samples of virus proteins dating back to the 1970s. These proteins, called neuraminidase, enable the virus to spread through the human body.

The study, whichwas jointly conducted byScripps Research, Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis and theIcahn School of Medicinein New York, was published in the Octoberissue of Science.

Future vaccine could survive antiviral resistance

Krammer told DW that the beauty of this new antibody, called 10G1, is that it binds to the parts of the virus that never change. This means that even if new strains of influenza viruses are detected, a potential vaccine containing new antibodies would still be effective.

Moreover, the antibody has a powerful potential to attack both A and B subtypes of influenza viruses, making it an even better candidate for a universal vaccine that would combat human, swine, and bird strains, as well as other rarerstrains of lethal flu viruses.

Read more:Is medicine for the flu coming?

There arethree types of influenza viruses that affect humans. These are A, B, and C. Type A causes epidemics of seasonal flu. Among these are swine H1N1, bird H5N1, and human influenza flu H3N2. Type A viruses circulate between humans and other species, whereas type B and C are only known to exist in humans, causing mild infectionsand usuallywithout symptoms.

DW analyzed data about virus activity throughout the US and Europe, sourced by the World Health Organisation's Global Surveillance and Response System(GISRS). The results, presented in the heatmap below, show that there has been a steady rise in influenza virus activity forboth A and B virus subtypes,especially in the US, the UK, Portugal, Germany and Croatia.

Moreover, the results point to a high activity in the first and last weeks of the year.

Not only to prevent, but also to cure

Even though commonly mistaken for a cold due tosimilar symptoms like coughing, a runny nose, sneezing, and experiencing a high fever seasonal flu can be very dangerous. Untreated influenza can have fatal outcomes, as it can lead to severe respiratory infections. This is particularly the case forsensitive groups like infants, pregnant women, the elderlyand people with chronic diseases.

One of the biggest problems with current vaccines is that they usually last one seasonbefore the virus mutates. However, researchers working on this study also tried to create resistant viruses in the labto test whether the new antibody would still work. The results proved that the antibodies still bound to the virus and neutralized it.

The antibodies proved to be effective even against strains of the virus resistant to Tamiflu, a powerful cure used to treat severe cases of influenza viruses like swine and bird flu.

"Infected mice [in the study]reacted very well to these antibodies even three days after they wereinfected, and the window for Tamiflu was closed. This means that the discovered antibodies would have a potential for the development of both vaccine and a cure,"Krammer told DW.

Read more:Do I have the flu or the common cold?

Rise in global deaths from flu

There is a steady rise in global annual deaths from influenza viruses.Now, there are an estimated 290,000 to600,000 mortality cases per year, but it is still hard to determine real numbers.

"There is pretty good data for North America and Europe, so it really depends on how good the surveillance systems are.Unfortunately there are a lot of countries that don't have good surveillance systems for influenza."

Furtherdata analysis by DW shows that the year 2018 saw particularly high influenza virus activity comparedto the past several years.

The most common flu infections were caused by the virus A, which was not subtyped. Krammer told DW that unsubtyped A viruses mean that it is hard to identify if the virus belongs to theH1N1swine flu, or H3N2, which is human influenza virus.

A newreportfrom the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention also suggests thatinfluenza season in the United States started earlier this year, and that widespread virus type A activity has been recorded in Puerto Rico, and seven other states including Texas, Alabama, and Nevada.

On the other hand, Krammerexplained that flu seasons vary in the northern and southern hemispheres. In the north, flu seasons are common in winter, but in countries like China and Singapore, influenza is spread throughout the yearbecause there is no real winter. That makes iteven more difficult to determine the real burden ofinfluenza.

"It's still not quite clear to what extent influenza seasons are influenced by the changing weather and to what extent they are influenced bythe changing behavior of humans during these weather changes,"said Krammer.

Read more:Top 10 most dangerous viruses in the world

High risk of pandemic

Krammer pointed out that the chances for a global pandemic are increasing. It's hard to predict when the next big pandemic willhappen, he said, but heis certain it will happen again.

He also explained that the most deadly influenza virus type, which dominated flu seasons overthe past few years, is the human influenza virus H3N2. But it's impossible to say which virus will cause the next big outbreakand cause the most deaths.

"We have approximately three to fourpandemics per century. We had the one in 1918, 1957, 1968and one in 2009, so it's not very predictable," he said.

"The chances for a pandemic are, however, increasing because there is a lot more global interaction. Pandemic viruses come from avian species, like wild birds, chickens, ducks, where all these influenza viruses circulate. If we look at the number of chickens we raise for food, they are increasing, because the global population is increasingand we need to feed people."

Globally between 290,000 and 600,000 people die from influenza per year

Read more:Next flu pandemic 'a matter of when, not if,' says WHO

Prevention best way to avoid lethal flu infections

Even though newly discoveredantibodies have enormouspotential for the development of a truly universal vaccine and cure for influenza, it will take years of costly clinical trialsbefore it hits the market, Krammer said.

The first step is to examine if it's possible for all humans to develop the 10G1antibodies.

Until auniversal vaccine is developed, one of the best ways to stay safe is to take precautionary measures, Krammer suggested.

"First, get vaccinated. The vaccines we have now are not perfect, but they really work. The second step is to keep ourselves healthy. If we are healthy, infections have less impact. The new generation of a vaccine we have now is against four viruses which circulate in humans which are H1N1, H3N2 and two types of influenza B viruses."

Read more:Flu season wreaks havoc on German workforce

The immune system needs many different types of fuel. Fruit and vegetables provide them. Your diet should be healthy and colorful: Oranges, red peppers, green leafy vegetables and red cabbage provide a potpourri of vitamins, and are especially rich in natural vitamin C.

In order to ensure your immune system is top-top, make sure you have all the necessary immunizations. Adults often forget to refresh vaccinations they had when they were young. Check if you need booster shots for tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis, pneumococcus, meningitis, measles, mumps, rubella, the flu and others. Be sure to talk to your doctor!

Scientific studies suggest that regular muscle training (jogging, nordic or pole walking, taking a stroll), three times a week for 20 minutes can boost your defenses. But be careful: overdoing it can also drain your immune system.

Sufficient sleep doesn't just allow your body to recuperate. During the slow-wave sleep phase, neurotransmitters are released and the immune system springs into action.

Studies show that good spirits and a zest for life promote a strong immune system. Laughing and playing don't just provide for a better quality of life, they also boost the body's defenses.

Negative stress activates the release of adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones can paralyze the immune system. Sensible stress and time management allows the body to rest and replenish new energy. Selective relaxation exercises like meditation, autogenic training and yoga can significantly boost the immune system.

Taking walks in the fresh air gives you a change of temperature and exercise - both stimulate the body's defense systems. Mucous membranes also benefit from improved circulation and the increased humidity makes it easier to fight off attacks.

Studies have shown that burning up short chain sugars like fructose and glucose uses up many vitamins that are no longer available to the body.

Alternating hot and cold showers help regulate body heat and improve blood flow. An invigorating massage with a massage sponge or brush stimulates the immune system even more.

Follow this link:
New discovery could spell end to seasonal flu - DW (English)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, November 27, 2019 Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA, OTC: BVNRY) today held an Extraordinary General Meeting with the results as follows:

The Board of Directors was authorized, until June 30, 2020, to increase the share capital of the Company with pre-emptive rights for the existing shareholders through one issue of up to a total of nominally DKK 415,000,000, corresponding to approximately 128% of the Company's registered share capital. This authorization entails the adoption of a new Article 5e of the Articles of Association as follows:

"Article 5eFor the period ending on 30 June 2020, the Board of Directors shall be authorised to increase the Company's share capital through one issue of up to a total of nominally DKK 415,000,000 (41,500,000 shares of DKK 10 each) by the subscription of new shares. The existing shareholders shall have pre-emption rights to subscribe for the amount by which the share capital is increased, proportional to their shareholdings. The share capital shall be increased by cash payment at a subscription price which may be lower than the value of the shares.

The terms and conditions of the subscription for shares shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

The new shares shall be negotiable instruments, shall be registered in the names of the holders and shall be entered in the Company's register of shareholders. No restrictions shall apply to the transferability of the new shares, and no shareholder shall be obliged to have his shares redeemed - in whole or in part. The shares shall carry the right to dividend as from the date fixed by the Board of Directors, but not later than the first financial year following the capital increase.

About Bavarian NordicBavarian Nordic is a fully integrated biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapies against infectious diseases and cancer. Using our live virus vaccine platform technology, MVA-BN, we have created a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered product candidates intended to unlock the power of the immune system to improve public health with a focus on high unmet medical needs. In addition to our long-standing collaboration with the U.S. government on the development and supply of medical countermeasures, including the only FDA-approved, non-replicating smallpox vaccine, our infectious disease pipeline comprises a proprietary RSV program as well as vaccine candidates for Ebola, HPV, HBV and HIV, which are developed through a strategic partnership with Janssen. Additionally, we have developed a portfolio of active cancer immunotherapies, designed to alter the disease course by eliciting a robust and broad anti-cancer immune response while maintaining a favorable benefit-risk profile. For more information visit http://www.bavarian-nordic.com or follow us on Twitter @bavariannordic.

ContactsRolf Sass SrensenVice President Investor RelationsTel: +45 61 77 47 43

Company Announcement no. 25 / 2019

Read more:
Bavarian Nordic A/S Report on the Results of the Extraordinary General Meeting, held November 27, 2019 - GlobeNewswire

An engineered version of this Escherichia coli bacterium gets all the carbon it needs to grow from carbon dioxide, just like plants.

By Robert F. ServiceNov. 27, 2019 , 11:00 AM

Synthetic biologists have performed a biochemical switcheroo. Theyve re-engineered a bacterium that normally eats a diet of simple sugars into one that builds its cells by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), much like plants. The work could lead to engineered microbes that suck CO2 out of the air and turn it into medicines and other high-value compounds.

The implications of this are profound, says Dave Savage, a biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved with the work. Such advances, he says, could ultimately make us change the way we teach biochemistry.

Biologists typically break the world up into two types of organisms: autotrophs like plants and some bacteria that mostly use photosynthesis to convert CO2 into sugars and other organic compounds they need to build their cells. Meanwhile, the heterotrophs (thats us and pretty much everything else) get those building blocks from the organisms they consume.

Synthetic biologists have long tried to engineer plants and autotrophic bacteria to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from water and CO2, because it has the potential to be cheaper than other routes. But so far theyve been far more successful at getting the heterotrophic bacterium Escherichia coliknown to most people as the microbe that lives in our guts and sometimes triggers food poisoningto produce ethanol and other desired chemicals more cheaply than other approaches. Its not always cheap, however; these engineered E. coli strains must eat a steady diet of sugars, increasing the costs of the effort.

So, Ron Milo, a synthetic biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and his colleagues decided to see whether they could transform E. coli into an autotroph. To do so, they re-engineered two essential parts of the bacteriums metabolism: how it gets energy and what source of carbon it uses to grow.

On the energy side, the researchers couldnt give the bacterium the ability to carry out photosynthesis, because the process is too complex. Instead, they inserted the gene for an enzyme that enabled the microbe to eat formate, one of the simplest carbon-containing compounds, and one other strains of E. coli cant eat. The microbes could then transform the formate into ATP, an energy-rich molecule that cells can use. That diet gave the microbe the energy it needed to use the second batch of three new enzymes it receivedall of which enabled it to convert CO2 into sugars and other organic molecules. The researchers also deleted several enzymes the bacterium normally uses for metabolism, forcing it to depend on the new diet to grow.

The changes didnt initially produce bacteria capable of living on formate and CO2, however. The researchers suspected the nutrients were still being directed toward its natural metabolism. So, they placed batches of the engineered E. coli in vessels that allowed them to carefully control the microbes diet. The team started with basically a starvation diet of xylose, a sugar, along with formate and CO2. This allowed the microbes to at least survive and reproduce.

It also set the stage for evolution: If any bacterial offspring acquired genetic mutations that allowed them to thrive on that diet, they would produce more offspring than those that didnt evolve. The researchers steadily decreased the amount of xylose available to the microbes as well. After 300 days and hundreds of generations of mutating E. coli, the xylose was gone. Only those bacteria that had evolved into autotrophs survived.

In all, the evolved bacteria picked up 11 new genetic mutations that allowed them to survive without eating other organisms, the team reports today in Cell. It really shows how amazing evolution can be, in that it can change something so fundamental as cellular metabolism, Milo says.

I bow to them for making it succeed, says Pam Silver, a systems biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who devoted years to a similar project.

Scientists have previously developed dozens of tools to manipulate E. colis genes so that it produces different compounds, such as pharmaceuticals and fuels. That means researchers should be able to insert these changes autotrophic E. coli that eat formate, which is readily made by zapping CO2 in water with electricity. As a result, formate produced from wind and solar power could help engineered bacteria make ethanol and other fuels, or pharmaceuticals, such as the malaria-fighting drug artemisinin. Not bad for a makeover.

See the original post:
This microbe no longer needs to eat food to grow, thanks to a bit of genetic engineering - Science Magazine

Protecting frogs against the invisible killer called chytrid was never going to be easy. The fungus has already wiped out more species than any other known disease. But a recent study of the worldwide spread of the fungus shows that the task will be even harder than scientists expected.

The study is the first to use skin swabs from amphibians to identify the major strains of the fungus. Researchers found regions where strains could combine into deadly hybrids. They also found a previously unknown variant in Southeast Asia, which has not yet spread globally.

The findings, published Sept. 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that ecologists will need to track these distinct fungal variants to protect frogs more fully. Mutations in the fungus make it a moving target in much the same way as the ever-shifting influenza virus.

There [are] amazing, last vestiges of really diverse amphibian communities, said environmental scientist Erica Bree Rosenblum of the University of California, Berkeley, senior author of the study. If we can protect them from having a really deadly chytrid strain, that would be great.

Chytrid infects the thin, moist skin frogs use to absorb water and balance their levels of sodium, chloride and potassium. An infected frog, unable to maintain a steady heartbeat, will die of a heart attack. The fungus then releases spores into the water to infect the next frog. This deadly cycle is responsible for the decline of more than 500 amphibian species. About 90 species have gone extinct in the past 50 years, ecologists believe, including Australias Mount Glorious torrent frog (Taudactylus diurnus), last seen in 1979.

Some chytrid variants are deadlier than others. However, most genetic tests only reveal whether any fungus is present. The current way to identify the lineage of a fungus is to sequence its entire genome, a time-consuming step.

Rosenblums team, including first author Allison Byrne at UC Berkeley, devised a less laborious approach: a genetic test that works on small amounts of low-quality DNA. They tested 222 frog skin swabs from six continents and 24 countries. The massive international collaboration mobilized 30 co-authors.

The tests uncovered a new variant in China, Indonesia and the Philippines, which fits scientists understanding that the disease probably started in Asia. Researchers also found variants in unexpected places. For example, a lineage previously reported in Europe and Africa also turned up on frogs in Latin America.

This paper has been a long time coming, said evolutionary biologist Timothy James of the University of Michigan, who was not involved in the study. It validates some hypotheses and shows the way forward.

Many regions hosted multiple strains of the fungus. In some cases, frogs with different variants lived within meters of each other. That proximity worries Rosenblum. Strains could form deadlier hybrids in places like Brazil, where American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are farmed as pets and food. The new skin swab genetic test could allow officials to screen shipments of frogs before they go overseas, Rosenblum has proposed.

The teams approach could also help scientists learn how chytrid became so deadly to begin with. Museum samples have shown that the fungus existed on frogs collected in the early 1900s. However, mass die-offs didnt begin until the 1970s. Museum archives, examined with the new test, could identify what changed: from tweaks in the genetics of the fungus to the rise of international amphibian trade and global travel.

The effects of globalization for disease transmission around the world are so palpable, Rosenblum said. If were worried about moving diseases around the world for our own species, then we should also be worried about moving diseases around the world for other species.

Citation

Byrne, A. Q., et al. (2019). Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,116(41), 20382-20387. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908289116

Jonathan Wosen (@JonathanWosen) is a graduate student in the Science Communication Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Other Mongabay stories produced by UCSC students can be found at https://news.mongabay.com/list/ucsc/

Visit link:
Rapid genetic test traces spread of fungus that kills frogs, reveals new strain in Southeast Asia - Mongabay.com

Testingpatients for certain pathogenic variants associated with increased cancer riskchanged the management of those patients, with patients almost always followingprovider recommendations for cancer screening, according to a recent study.

The studylooked at de-identified personal and family history data from 654 individualswith pathogenic variants in PALB2, ATM, CHEK2, NBN, BRIP1, RAD51C, and/orRAD51D. Data were analyzed to quantify pretest and posttest candidacyfor guideline-recommended management of cancer risk.

Amongpatients with CHEK2, ATM, PALB2, or NBN variants, only 24% wereappropriate for consideration of annual breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)prior to genetic testing. The remaining 76% were only deemed appropriatecandidates for MRI after testing.

Similarly,no patients with BRIP1, RAD51C, or RAD51D variants would havebeen considered candidates for risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) priorto undergoing genetic testing.

No consensus management recommendations exist for individuals at average risk or increased risk for ovarian cancer based on family history; therefore, no individuals were deemed appropriate candidates for consideration of RRSO based on family history, the researchers wrote. After testing, 100% of these individuals were appropriate candidates for RRSO.

Finally, onthe basis of personal or family history, only 17% of 309 individuals with CHEK2variants were considered appropriate for earlier and more frequent colonoscopyprior to genetic testing the remaining 83% were only considered appropriatecandidates after receiving genetic testing.

Read more here:
Testing for Genetic Variants Informed the Use of Cancer Risk Assessments - Cancer Therapy Advisor

Hello,

Welcome to a very special mid-week edition of Dispensed, in which the smell of pies baking is already starting to fill the air and we're looking forward to a long weekend filled with Thanksgiving treats.

Are you new to the newsletter? You cansign uphere.

Allow us to fuel some conversations for your weekends with family and friends.

At HLTH, I spoke with 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki and Ancestry CEO Margo Georgiadis, and one of the big questions I had was about the "softness" hitting the direct-to-consumer genetics market.

The market for consumer genetics while making its way into pop culture, thanks, Lizzo hasn't grown at the clip companies expected it to.

Here's a look at their respective strategies as well as a check-in with what's going on at Helix, which initially set out to be the "app store" of genetics for consumers.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

I've also personally shipped my spit off to a number of these players. In time for the inevitable holiday rush, here's my most recent thoughts about what you should keep in mind when sending in a spit sample (beyond, of course, the privacy considerations).

You can find more detailed reviews of what I learned from 23andMe and Ancestryhere.

It's Clarrie Feinstein's final day with us as her fellowship wraps up! We're going to miss having her in the office.

For her final post, she profiled a company looking to change the way radiologists practice.

Elsewhere, Joseph Zeballos-Roig took a look at an important element of the Medicare for All debate: how much doctors and hospitals will get paid. He spoke to folks who ran through the caveats that will need to be kept in mind during what would likely be a bumpy transition.

Allana Akhtar, Business Insider's jobs reporter, spoke with nurses who told her which questions patients shouldn't hesitate to ask their doctors.

Zach Tracer and I will be at the Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York next Thursday. Be sure to say hi if you see us milling about! As always, you can reach me at lramsey@businessinsider.com and the entire healthcare team at healthcare@businessinsider.com.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. This year, I'm grateful for you, dear readers. See you in December!

- Lydia

The rest is here:
Dispensed Business Insider weekly healthcare newsletter November 26 - Business Insider

Simply put, the so-called central dogma of biology asserts that genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins, and once that information is passed to a protein, it cannot be returned as DNA or RNA again. It's dubbed the central dogma because it seems to be universal amongst all living organisms. There are some exceptions to the linear flow described in the popular version of the central dogma information can be passed back and forth between RNA and DNA or between DNA and DNA or RNA and RNA, but the central players remain the same: DNA, RNA, and proteins.

But what if this didn't have to be the case? Could genetic information be stored in media other than the two nucleic acids of DNA and RNA? New research published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling suggests that there might not be just a handful of alternative molecules for storing genetic information, but millions.

The central dogma of biology asserts that the genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA, which then translates that information into useful products like proteins. This new research, however, suggests that DNA and RNA are just two options out of millions of others.

Shutterstock

Analogues to nucleic acids exist, many of which serve as the foundation for important drugs for treating viruses like HIV and hepatitis as well as for treating cancers, but until recently, no one was sure of how many unknown nucleic acid analogues could be out there.

"There are two kinds of nucleic acids in biology," said co-author Jim Cleaves, "and maybe 20 or 30 effective nucleic acid-binding nucleic acid analogues. We wanted to know if there is one more to be found or even a million more. The answer is, there seem to be many more than was expected."

Cleaves and colleagues decided to conduct a chemical space analysis in essence, a sophisticated computer technique that generates all possible molecules that adhere to a set of defined criteria. In this case, the criteria were to find compounds that could serve as nucleic acid analogues and as a means of storing genetic information.

"We were surprised by the outcome of this computation," said co-author Markus Meringer. "It would be very difficult to estimate a priori that there are more than a million nucleic acidlike scaffolds. Now we know, and we can start looking into testing some of these in the lab."

Though no specific analogues were targeted in this paper, it does present a long list of candidates to be explored for use as drugs for serious diseases like HIV or cancer. A more intriguing possibility suggested by the research is that life itself may have taken its very first steps using one of these alternative compounds.

Many scientists believe that before DNA became the dominant means of storing genetic information, life used RNA to code genetic data and pass it down to offspring. In part, this is because RNA can directly produce proteins, which DNA can't do on its own, and because it's a simpler structure than DNA. Over time, life likely started to opt for using DNA for storage due to its greater stability and to rely on RNA as a kind of middleman for producing proteins. But RNA on its own is still a very complicated compound and is fairly unstable; in all likelihood, something simpler came before RNA, possibly using some of the nucleic acid analogues identified in this study.

Not only does this shed light on how life may have started on Earth, but it also has implications for alien life as well. Co-author Jay Goodwin said, "It is truly exciting to consider the potential for alternate genetic systems based on these analogous nucleosides that these might possibly have emerged and evolved in different environments, perhaps even on other planets or moons within our solar system. These alternate genetic systems might expand our conception of biology's 'central dogma' into new evolutionary directions, in response and robust to increasingly challenging environments here on Earth."

When we search for extraterrestrial life, often we're looking for signs of RNA and DNA, but this may be an excessively narrow scope. After all, if millions of alternatives exist, there would need to be something very special indeed for life to universally favor using just DNA and RNA.

Related Articles Around the Web

More here:
'One among millions': DNA is not the only genetic molecule - Big Think

A DNA test can reveal surprising facts about us certain genes make us more inclined to have dry earwax, for example, and others make us more likely to sneeze when we see a bright light. Some genes even result in people being more attractive targets for mosquitoes, so if youve ever felt personally singled out by the insect during the summer months, its not a cruel conspiracy its your DNA.

Innocuous facts like these were what DNA kits were used for finding out when they first became commercially available. However, as the tests have become more sophisticated, the companies behind them have shifted their marketing focus. Users of at-home DNA tests have been known to uncover deep-rooted facts about themselves, from discovering long-lost relatives to learning of their ancestors origins and their susceptibility to genetic diseases.

Finding out that you have a pre-existing health condition might not seem like the best idea for a Christmas present, but that hasnt stopped the test kits from enjoying a surge in popularity. MIT Technology Review estimates that by the start of 2019, more than 26 million people had taken an at-home ancestry test. The market is expected to be worth $45bn by 2024.

Nevertheless, despite the emerging industrys rampant growth, there have been mounting concerns that its practices could infringe on consumers rights. Whenever people fork out $100 to $200 for a DNA test, the hidden cost of that transaction is their personal data which, from then on, is held in the databases of a private company. Once these companies obtain genetic information, its very difficult for users to get it back.

By taking DNA tests at home, many have unwittingly stumbled upon long-kept family secrets. Some have seen their parents go through a bitter divorce after their test revealed they were actually conceived through an affair

Ignorance is blissLong before people were able to take DNA tests from the comfort of their own home, psychologists worried about their possible impact on peoples mental health. Ever since the Human Genome Project was started in 1990, many scholars have maintained that DNA tests should be used with caution, on the grounds that understanding ones own health risks could lead to anxiety or depression.

Conversely, a study by the Hastings Centre found that discovering an increased risk of developing Alzheimers disease did not make people more depressed or anxious. And in the event that people discover a particularly urgent health risk like a mutation of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which puts individuals at a high risk of developing cancer at a young age any adverse psychological effects are presumably worth it to obtain this life-saving information.

However, at-home DNA tests could still pose a risk to mental health, in part because they remove medical professionals from the equation. Adrian Mark Thorogood, Academic Associate at the Centre of Genomics and Policy, warned that this is far from best practice for receiving a DNA test result. Results should be communicated through a medical professional who can interpret the result in the individuals specific context, and offer a clear description of the tests limits, he told The New Economy.

Without a professionals assistance, users could be left alone to battle with a troubling revelation about their health. There is also a danger that without guidance, some people could misinterpret their test result, placing undue stress on their mental health.

There is another unpleasant discovery that people can make through a DNA test one they may be even less prepared for. By taking DNA tests at home, many have unwittingly stumbled upon long-kept family secrets. Some have seen their parents go through a bitter divorce after their test revealed they were actually conceived through an affair. Others have discovered they were conceived by rape and that their mother decided to never tell them. What began as a seemingly harmless urge to find out more about their heritage ends in psychological trauma and family breakdown.

Brianne Kirkpatrick, a genetics counsellor, is part of a growing sector of therapy specifically tailored towards helping people come to terms with receiving unexpected DNA results. One cant help but wonder whether her patients end up wishing theyd never taken the test at all.

I dont recall anyone saying they wish they could go back and not learn the truth, Kirkpatrick said. But I have had a number of people say to me they wish they had found out their shocking information from a person, rather than a computer.

While we might think wed prefer to suffer a DNA leak than a leak of our credit card details, genetic data has its own unique set of complications

The fact that virtually anyone can now find out their real parentage through a simple DNA test has wide-reaching repercussions for the accountability of paternity. Historically, men have always had a much greater ability to conceal their status as a parent, as they dont have to bear the child. The world of direct-to-consumer DNA testing blows this capacity for anonymity out of the water.

This is particularly problematic when it comes to sperm donation. Anonymity is a key selling point for many potential donors, but now all their future biological offspring has to do is swab the inside of their cheek to completely compromise that anonymity. Research suggests that we could see a drop in donor rates as a result. A 2016 study in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences found that 29 percent of potential donors would actually refuse to donate if their name was put on a registry.

The wave of parental discoveries made through direct-to-consumer DNA tests raises questions about where the responsibility of the seller sits in all this. Most health professionals recommend that individuals seek out genetics counselling once they receive DNA results. Some, like Invitae, offer counselling services but arent direct-to-consumer companies. Many of those that are including 23andMe do not offer such a service. It could be argued that this shows a certain disregard for the consequences of using their product. Unfortunately, irresponsible decisions like this have tended to characterise the industrys path to success.

Genetic Wild WestIn September 2019, 17 former employees from the Boston-based genetic testing company Orig3n accused the firm of giving consumers inaccurate results. Allegedly, if a customer took the same test twice, their results could be extremely different each time. A former lab technician produced a leaked report to Bloomberg Businessweek that revealed 407 errors like this hadoccurred over a period of three months.

Part of Orig3ns USP was that it offered advice supposedly calculated based on a consumers genetic profile. Former employees have cast doubt over the companys modus operandi by claiming that the advice they gave was in fact routinely lifted from the internet. The advice given ranged from the technically correct but uninspired to the broadly unhelpful such as telling people to eat more kale and the utterly bogus, like advising clients to eat more sugar to eliminate stretch marks.

Although Orig3n is a relatively small player in the sector, news of this scam nonetheless illustrates how little protection consumers have in this nascent market. Analysts say we are currently witnessing a Wild West period in the consumer genetics space thanks to a lack of regulation, raising concerns over whether we can trust these companies with our genetic data. While we might think wed prefer to suffer a DNA leak than a leak of our credit card details, genetic data has its own unique set of complications.

In the United States, if my social security number is stolen, that is difficult, but not impossible, to get frozen, changed, etc, said Natalie Ram, an associate professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a specialist in bioethics and criminal justice. But theres literally no way to change your genetic code.

Genetics platforms like 23andMe, AncestryDNA and FamilyTreeDNA are now sitting on a goldmine of very personal data. In 2013, a 23andMe board member told Fast Company that it wanted to become the Google of personalised healthcare. If this statement makes anything clear, its that the company wasnt planning on making its millions simply by selling DNA test kits: its mission was always to amass significant amounts of data on its users, which it could then monetise.

There is a wide range of reasons why companies might want to buy genetic data. Perhaps the most benign is medical research, which genetics platforms allow users to opt in or out of. But other companies might use your genetic data to better sell you products or, conversely, deny them to you for instance, one sector that would see a clear monetary value in obtaining genetic data is insurance. In the US, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prevents employers and health insurers from using a persons genetic information when making decisions about hiring, firing or raising rates. However, this does not include life insurance or short or long-term disability insurance.

At first glance, it seems as if theres a simple solution: if users are concerned about these risks, they should just choose for their data to be kept anonymous. However, choosing this option is not as foolproof as it once was. As long ago as 2009, researchers demonstrated that they could correctly identify between 40 and 60 percent of all participants in supposedly anonymous DNA databases by comparing large sets of that data with public datasets from censuses or voter lists. Since that experiment, DNA databases have grown massively.

With access to four to five million DNA profiles, upwards of 90 percent of Americans of European descent will be identifiable, said Ram. Its verging on a comprehensive DNA database that no US state or jurisdiction has suggested would be appropriate.

Shaping the lawWith comforting statements like your privacy is very important to us (ancestry.co.uk) and we wont share your DNA (familytreedna.com) emblazoned on their websites, some genetics platforms seem to be making privacy their number one priority. In the US, 23andMe and Ancestry are part of the Coalition for Genetic Data Protection, which lobbies for privacy protection in the DNA space. However, while the coalition advocates genetic data privacy in a specific context, it argues for a one-size-fits-all policy concerning all data. By comparison, the EUs General Data Protection Regulation regards genetic information as personal data, which makes DNA unique from other kinds of data.

There is a fundamental legal problem with boxing genetic data in with all other varieties, including the data that social media websites collect about us. In most cases, what a person does on the internet implicates them alone genetic data is different. We share our DNA with members of our family, which means that sharing it without their consent can be problematic.

Even if I can consent to using my DNA to identify me, that should not extend to my ability to consent to using my DNA to identify my relatives, said Ram. The reason I think thats a really critical distinction is because genetic relatedness is almost always involuntarily foisted upon us. So we dont choose our parents, we dont choose how many siblings we have. Its a product of biology, not a product of choice.

The legal issues surrounding genetic relatedness were put to the test in 2018 when police discovered the true identity of the Golden State Killer, who terrorised California in the 1970s and 1980s in a homicidal spree. Law enforcement officials were able to convict him only because they had succeeded in connecting the DNA of the suspect with that of a family relative on GEDmatch, a genetic database in the public domain. Across the US and around the world, people celebrated the arrest of a notorious criminal. The only problem was that the means of capturing him was not necessarily legal.

Prior to the case, GEDmatchs site policy made no explicit reference to the potential use of consumers data by law enforcement. However, the company defended itself by saying that users should have assumed it could be put to that use.

While the database was created for genealogical research, it is important that GEDmatch participants understand the possible uses of their DNA, including identification of relatives that have committed crimes or were victims of crimes, said GEDmatch operator Curtis Rogers in a statement.

Some genes even result in people being more attractive targets for mosquitoes, so if youve ever felt personally singled out by the insect during the summer months, its not a cruel conspiracy its your DNA

However, privacy advocates like Ram argue that users consent for law enforcement to look at their data should not have been assumed. At least from a constitutional perspective in the United States, individuals ought to be recognised to have whats called an expectation of privacy in their genetic data, even if they use one of these services, she told The New Economy.

After the case, genetics platforms updated their policies to clarify their position on law enforcements use of peoples data. Interestingly, they took very different stances. While 23andMe and Ancestry said they would not allow law enforcement to search through their genetic genealogy databases, FamilyTreeDNA updated its policy to say it would give up data to officials, but only in the investigation of violent crimes. Users didnt know it at the time, but FamilyTreeDNAs policy update was already too little too late: in January 2019, it was revealed that the company had been secretly working with the FBI for nearly a year to solve serious crimes, without informing its users.

The Golden State Killer case exposed how little protection consumers really had in the direct-to-consumer genetics market. It showed that genetics platforms were capable of suddenly changing or contradicting their own policies and even, in the case of FamilyTreeDNA, betraying the trust of consumers.

Some might argue that this infringement on genetic privacy is simply the price we must pay to catch dangerous criminals. Of course, without the use of a genealogy database, the Golden State Killer may never have been caught. But the fact that genetic data can be harnessed to solve very serious crimes should not justify law enforcements unbridled access to such databases. Abuses of power do happen and, in the context of direct-to-consumer DNA tests, they already have: in 2018, for example, Canadian immigration officials compelled a man to take a DNA test and upload his results to FamilyTreeDNAs website. They then used the website to find and contact some of his relatives in the UK to gather more evidence in order to deport him.

Todays consumers are continually adjusting to shrinking levels of privacy. From the introduction of video surveillance and the mapping of residential areas on Google Earth to the revelation that Facebook harvests vast amounts of user data, we have seen the public react in the same way again and again: there is an initial public outcry, and then consumers simply adjust to the new level of diminished privacy. Our response to the rise of genetics platforms risks the issue being consigned to the same fate.

It is up to regulators to protect individuals right to privacy. While our genetic data may be something of a genie out of the bottle, that should not give the companies that collect it free rein over who sees it and what they choose to do with it.

Read this article:
Collection of genetic data leads to privacy concerns - The New Economy

If youre going through IVF, you may be offered a test to look at your embryos chromosomes.

Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (chromosome abnormalities), known as PGT-A, is an add on used to help choose embryos with the right number of chromosomes. Its promoted by IVF clinics as a way to increase the chance of success, especially for women over 35.

But the evidence shows that in most cases, PGT-A doesnt improve the chance of a baby.

Read more: The business of IVF: how human eggs went from simple cells to a valuable commodity

Human cells usually contain 46 chromosomes. Aneuploidy is a term that describes a chromosome number that is different from 46 either too many or too few chromosomes.

In human embryos, most aneuploidies are lethal, resulting in miscarriage, or do not result in pregnancy at all.

The chance of aneuploidy increases with the age of the woman; by the time a woman reaches age 40, approximately 80% of her embryos are aneuploid.

All couples produce some aneuploid embryos, whether they conceive naturally or with IVF. The idea behind PGT-A is that if the aneuploid embryos can be identified they can be discarded, so that only embryos capable of producing a healthy pregnancy are used.

PGT-A involves the woman having fertility drugs to produce several eggs. When they are mature, they are retrieved and mixed with sperm to create embryos.

Embryos are grown in the laboratory for five to six days. At this time, two types of cells are distinguishable: the cells that will develop into the placenta and the cells that will become the baby.

Read more: Considering using IVF to have a baby? Here's what you need to know

A few cells are removed from the future placenta for testing and the embryos are frozen until test results are available.

If the test shows there are normal embryos, one is thawed and transferred to the womans uterus. Any remaining normal embryos will be kept frozen for transfer later if the first transfer is unsuccessful.

Importantly, PGT-A doesnt correct chromosomally abnormal embryos, it simply allows couples to avoid transferring them.

Many clinics recommend PGT-A for women over 35 (more than half of women who have IVF) and those who have had repeated miscarriages or failed IVF treatments. This is because women over 35 and women with previous losses are more likely to produce aneuploid embryos.

While the theory behind PFT-A makes sense, randomised controlled trials (the gold standard evidence to tell us if an intervention makes a difference) have not demonstrated a clear benefit.

Of the two most recent trials of PGT-A, one reported fewer embryo transfers and fewer miscarriages in the PGT-A group but neither showed benefits in terms of improving the live-birth rate.

PGT-A actually has the potential to reduce the chance of a baby. It can do this in two ways.

First, PGT-A is not 100% accurate. This means that inevitably, some embryos that have the capacity to form a healthy baby will be discarded.

The most common reason for these false positive results is that a proportion of embryos are mosaic they have a mix of normal and abnormal cells. Surprisingly, mosaic chromosome abnormalities are quite common in early human embryos, and do not seem to prevent the embryo developing into a healthy baby.

However, if abnormal cells are removed and tested, the embryo will be misclassified as abnormal and discarded a lost opportunity for a healthy pregnancy.

Read more: Fertility miracle or fake news? Understanding which IVF 'add-ons' really work

Many healthy babies have been born to people who have elected to have mosaic embryos transferred because they were the only embryos they had.

In a recent study of 98 women who had mosaic embryos, 32 (33%) elected to have at least one transferred. Of these, 11 (34%) had a successful pregnancy with apparently healthy babies born.

Second, while the risk is small, embryos can be damaged in the biopsy procedure and some embryos dont survive the freezing and thawing process.

PGT-A costs around A$700 per embryo which adds up to A$2,800 if there are four embryos to test.

While doctors likely offer their patients detailed and individualised information about different treatment options, information about the possible benefits of PGT-A on clinic websites can be difficult to interpret.

Thats why independent information about the pros and cons of PGT-A is needed to help people make informed decisions. The Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA) has developed a downloadable resource about the current state of knowledge about PGT-A.

Some clinics are now offering a less invasive technique where, rather than removing cells from the embryo, they test the fluid that the embryo is grown in to determine if the embryo has the right number of chromosomes. Time will tell of this will improve the chance of having a baby with IVF.

In the meantime, it may help to ask the five questions recommended by Choosing Wisely:

And in the case of IVF: how will this improve my chance of a live birth?

Read more: Your questions answered on donor conception and IVF

See the article here:
Genetic testing IVF embryos doesn't improve the chance of a baby - The Conversation AU

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to glaucoma, a debilitating eye condition that can cause blindness.

These were the findings of a major study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science and undertaken by scientists at University College London which is the latest research to reveal how exposure to air pollution is affecting almost every part of the human body.

In England, about 480,000 people have chronic open-angle glaucoma. It most commonly results from a build-up of pressure from fluid in the eye, causing damage to the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain. Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease.

The findings were based on 111,370 participants of the UK Biobank study cohort, who underwent eye tests from 2006 to 2010 at sites across Britain.

The participants were asked whether they had glaucoma, and they underwent eye examinations, which was then measured against where they live.

The results revealed that in neighbourhoods with higher amounts of fine particulate matter pollution were at least 6% more likely to report having glaucoma than those in the least-polluted areas.

The research team found that people in the most-polluted 25% of areas were 18% more likely to report having glaucoma than those in the least-polluted quartile, and they were also significantly more likely to have a thinner retina, one of the changes typical of glaucoma progression.

Eye pressure was not associated with air pollution, which the researchers say suggests that air pollution may affect glaucoma risk through a different mechanism.

Professor Paul Foster (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital) said: We have found yet another reason why air pollution should be addressed as a public health priority, and that avoiding sources of air pollution could be worthwhile for eye health alongside other health concerns.

While we cannot confirm yet that the association is causal, we hope to continue our research to determine whether air pollution does indeed cause glaucoma, and to find out if there are any avoidance strategies that could help people reduce their exposure to air pollution to mitigate the health risks.

Photo Credit Pixabay

Read more from the original source:
27.11.2019 Air pollution linked to debilitating eye condition and blindness - AirQualityNews

Editor's Note: The Case Challenge series includes difficult-to-diagnose conditions, some of which are not frequently encountered by most clinicians but are nonetheless important to accurately recognize. Test your diagnostic and treatment skills using the following patient scenario and corresponding questions. If you have a case that you would like to suggest for a future Case Challenge, please contact us.

A 23-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department by her concerned mother after experiencing an apparent fall. The patient's mother reported that she found the patient early that morning. The patient was lying on the floor of the bathroom staring blankly at the ceiling.

The patient recounted that she had had fallen asleep several hours earlier while studying for her exams and woke up needing to urinate. She stated that she could not remember what happened after this time. She was unable to get up without assistance from her mother. The patient downplayed her fall and had to be convinced by her mother to come to the emergency department. The patient mentioned that she might have bumped her head on the bathroom sink during the fall, but she reported no pain and did not lose consciousness. She also nonchalantly reported that she could not see out of her left eye and described lower-extremity weakness, also on her left side.

When questioned about her medical history, the patient only reported that she has occasional migraines for which she takes sumatriptan. Her mother contributes that her daughter also takes alosetron for irritable bowel syndrome and fluoxetine for depression.

The patient appeared to be noticeably unworried about her condition. Her mother mentioned that her daughter has experienced numerous significant life stressors recently, including her father's recent diagnosis of terminal glioblastoma multiforme and increasing pressure from her rigorous nurse practitioner program. When questioned about this, the patient minimized her current situation, simply stating, "I have my ups and downs." The patient denied suicidal ideation, plans, gestures, or intention.

Medscape2019WebMD, LLC

Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Jeffrey S. Forrest,Alexander B. Shortridge.A 23-Year-Old With Blindness After a Fall She Can't Remember-Medscape-Nov27,2019.

See more here:
A 23-Year-Old With Blindness After a Fall She Can't Remember - Medscape

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (PRWEB) November 27, 2019

Sixty percent of young people in China are nearsighted and 300 million Chinese people suffer from dry eye disease, says Dr. Yuan Fang, M.A., Ph.D. of the Bio Chemistry Research Center in China.

Joining Sharon Kleyne, founder and research director of Bio Logic Aqua Research Water Life Science in Grants Pass, Oregon and the host of the internationally syndicated radio program, The Sharon Kleyne Hour Water Life Science/Natures Pharma, The Power of Water & Your Health sponsored by Natures Tears EyeMist on VoiceAmerica and produced by Rose Hong, founder and director of Global Dragon TV in Washington, D.C., genome researcher Fang strongly supports the use in China of Kleynes signature invention to provide long-lasting relief from dry eye, Natures Tears EyeMist.

Dr. Fang is internationally respected for his genome research and efforts to provide relief from dry eye and eye fatigue. After earning a Ph.D. in physiology in China, Fang came to the United States for post-doctoral training in neurology. Fang also studied dry eye at the OHSU Casey Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon where, says Fang, he began to notify and agitate people about the danger of dry eye and other ocular disorders. Fang and colleagues agree that over-evaporation of the tear film can infect and damage the cornea, causing symptoms that include headaches, irritability, exhaustion, red eyes, blurred vision, distracted behavior, poor vision, poor schoolwork, loss of productivity on the job and damage to relationships in families and communities. In severe cases, dry eye can also led to blindness.

Kleyne and Fang call for better education in China and around the world about dry eye, its causes, symptoms and treatments. Fang and Kleyne also want to see more new water technology and research and more proactive, individual care than they see now. People must take responsibility for their personal health, says Kleyne, inventor of the Health Olympics, a new lifestyle that encourages people everywhere to be responsible about their health care.

Fang and Kleyne encourage everyone to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day to replace the body water vapor that is lost continually through the natural process of evaporation. People also must learn to sleep with the earth, getting the rest that they (and their eyes) need every night. Breathing properly is important, too. Yoga, Tai Chi and Qigong teach proper breathing techniques And moderate exercise promotes improved health and well being. Diet should be designed to meet an individuals specific needs because Everyone is unique, says Kleyne.

Fang and Kleyne are also promoting and teaching the use in China of Natures Tears EyeMist, the worlds only Dry Eye Solution that is more than Just a Mist or a chemical eye drop. Natures Tears EyeMist consists of pH-balanced, 100 percent Trade Secret tissue culture grade water and applied to the eye with a personal, patented micron-size mist, technology that is designed for ultimate absorption by the eyes tear film, which is naturally 99 percent water. Natures Tears EyeMist new technology is painless and does not blur vision. Natures Tears EyeMist contains no additives or chemicals and is regularly tested in multiple laboratories, and is pure water that is lighter in weight than eye drops. That increased weight speeds up evaporation of the water in the eye.

Date aired: November 25th, 2019Guest: Dr. Yuan Fang, M.A., Ph.D., China

You may listen to the program featuring Dr. Yuan Fang and Sharon Kleyne discussing dry eye disease, relief of dry eye with Natures Tears EyeMist, education, water evaporation, new water research technology and other ocular issues in China by following this link: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/118967/encore-the-dry-eye-population-in-china-and-treatment-options

If you wish to see a brief educational film that demonstrates the application of the new Dry Eye Solution technology Natures Tears EyeMist, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0gOr8TB45U

Share article on social media or email:

Excerpt from:
Dry Eye Relief Discovered By Sharon Kleyne & Dr. Yuan Fang Of China Combats Global Blindness - PR Web

The World Health Organization has set a goal to eliminate river blindness, a neglected tropical disease found mostly in African villages near fast-flowing rivers and streams, by 2030. Spread by bites from black flies that deposit a parasitic worm under the skin, the disease can cause itching and skin infections in addition to blindness.

Current approaches to reduce transmission of river blindness include treating those rivers and streams with pesticides, as well as providing drug therapy, but neither method has come close to ending transmission of the disease.

In a new study, a University of Notre Dame research team used mathematical modeling, which showed combining mass drug distribution with removing vegetation may be the quickest way to curb transmission.

Modeling is a powerful tool to synthesize myriad information about parasite transmission, said lead authorEdwin Michael, professor in theDepartment of Biological Sciencesat Notre Dame. Once we obtain a working model, we have the capability to do forecasting into the future, and we can also use the available short-term, limited data to present decision makers with new information that is not otherwise available.

Removing vegetation trailing in fast-flowing water bodies and throwing it onto riverbanks kills the black fly larvae, according to the studys findings. This form of vector control, called slash and clear, was tried briefly during the 1960s and found effective, but wasnt continued.Thestudy, published in Natures Scientific Reports, includes modeling after a one-year field trial where researcherslived in villages in Uganda and worked with residents to test the process and earn their buy-in.

All you need are machetes, and the activity is well-accepted by the community, said Michael, who is affiliated with theEck Institute for Global Health. And theres no cost involved.

The groups modeling work synthesized the information from the trial data and forecast the outcomes of the intervention into the future in different locations. The approach allowed researchers to understand how slash-and-clear impacts extinction of both black flies and worm infection in humans, and showed that the method worked well even when performed just once per year during the first month of the rainy season.

The slash-and-burn approach, because it is community-based and is free, can be more sustainable than using pesticides because the latter relies on governments to complete dosing rivers in a timely fashion, and costs money. It is also a feasible addition to administering drugs that kill the worm. The drugs can take many years to interrupt transmission, because adult worms can live for up to 15 years in the body.

The next step in the research is to develop further testing in the field, but Michael stressed that mathematical modeling can save some of the time and effort that would normally be used for conducting such empirical studies.

When new data come in, you use it to further refine the model to reduce prediction uncertainty, he said.

In addition to Michael, other collaborators include Morgan E. Smith and Shakir Bilal of the University of Notre Dame; Peace Habomugisha and Edson Byamukama of the Carter Center, Kampala, Uganda; Thomson L. Lakwo and Edridah Tukahebwa of the Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda; Moses N. Katabarwa and Frank O. Richards of Emory University and the Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia; Eddie W. Cupp of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama; and Thomas R. Unnasch of the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida.

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and by fellowship funding through Notre Dames Eck Institute for Global Health.

Contact:Jessica Sieff, assistant director of media relations, 574-631-3933,jsieff@nd.edu

More:
Transmission of river blindness may be reduced when vegetation is... - ScienceBlog.com

The grieving grandfatherwhose granddaughterfell to her death out a cruise ship window recalled for the first time the moment he saw the toddlerslipfrom his grasp.

I saw her fall," Salvatore "Sam" Anello, 51, told CBS News. "I saw her fall all the way down.I saw her fall and I was just in disbelief it was like, 'oh my God!

Anello was holding18-month-old Chloe Weigand up against what he said he thought was a bank of a closed windows onThe Freedom of the Seas cruise ship while it was docked in Puerto Rico in July. Chloe slipped from her granddad's grasp "in seconds," Anello said.

Though the windows on Deck 11 where the incident occurred are tinted, Anello toldCBS This Morninglead national correspondent David Begnaud that he is color blind.

I'm color blind. I just never saw it, he said of the window's tinting. I've been told that's a reason it might have happened.

Anello has pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide and faces up to three years inprisonif convicted. But the prospect of prison is nothing compared to the pain of losinghis granddaughter, Anello said.

If they find me guilty of whatever or not, it's inconsequential because of what has already happened is so horrible, he said.

RELATED STORIES

Grandfather Who Held Toddler Before She Fell From Cruise Window Is Charged in Her Death

Mom of Toddler Who Fell From Cruise Never Wants Anyone Else to 'Scream' as She Did

Grandfather Who Held Toddler Before She Fell From Cruise Ship Says Her Death Is Worse Than Being Charged

See more here:
Did Color Blindness Cause a Grandfather to Accidentally Drop His Granddaughter From a Cruise Ship - Inside Edition

Known as Pro-EYS, the study will help researchers design clinical trials for potential therapies

Columbia, MD, Nov. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness has launched a natural history study (NCT04127006) for people with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) caused by mutations in the gene EYS called the Rate of Progression in EYS Related Retinal Degeneration (Pro-EYS). The goals of the international, four-year study include estimating the rate of disease progression and evaluating the usefulness of various outcome measures for future clinical trials for emerging therapies.

This is an important study because it is characterizing one of the most common genetic causes of retinitis pigmentosa. Natural history studies, such as this, are critical for understanding the impact any therapy may have on the natural progression of disease. These efforts will help accelerate the development of treatments, says Mark Pennesi, MD, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University, and study chair for Pro-EYS.

The findings from this natural history study will be published and widely disseminated so that we can share what we learn with therapy developers from around the world, says Todd Durham, PhD, vice president of clinical development and outcomes research at the Foundation. Our goal is to boost and accelerate EYS therapy development for all commercial and academic researchers. One way we do this is to make de-identified data from the study accessible to researchers who can use it to design clinical trials. This study is a significant undertaking and we are grateful to the investigators, reading centers, laboratories, genetics experts, and study participants who make this possible.

Pro-EYS has three participant cohorts:

After an initial baseline visit, participants will make four annual visits for exams and vision testing. Investigators will be evaluating several aspects of vision and retinal health including: visual fields, visual acuity, retinal sensitivity, and the size of the patients ellipsoid zone, the area of healthiest photoreceptors.

The following collaborators will be supporting this multi-year study:

The research sites are in the final steps of the approval process. For an up to date list of participating sites, individuals with retinal dystrophy associated with the EYS gene who are interested in participating in the Pro-EYS study should contact the Jaeb Center for Health Research by e-mail at ffb@jaeb.org or call 813-975-8690.

About the Foundation Fighting Blindness

Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the worlds leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised more than $760 million toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

###

Chris AdamsFoundation Fighting Blindness Inc4104230585cadams@fightingblindness.org

See original here:
Foundation Fighting Blindness Launches Natural History Study for People with Retinitis Pigmentosa Caused by EYS Gene Mutations - Yahoo Finance

Share this story

Published November 24th, 2019 at 6:00 AM

Jim LaManno can barely remember the first two years after a neo-Nazi murdered his wife Terri at the Village Shalom retirement community in Johnson County.

If you ask me anything about 2014 or 2015, I dont know, he said over lunch recently.

Oh, he recalls having family support and lots of care from members of St. Peters Catholic Church, where he and Terri worshiped.

I got meals from women of the parish almost every night, he said. Another woman came to my house twice a month and cleaned it top to bottom. She did that for like six months. The people of the parish were incredible.

Beyond that, hes not sure how he survived.

Teresa Rose LaManno was the third person murdered on April 13, 2014, by a fanatic determined to kill Jews. Earlier that day, he shot Mindy Corporons son, Reat Underwood, and her father, William Corporon, at the Jewish Community Center.

Mindy and her family and Jim and his family have had to reimagine their lives because of that violence. Mindy has spearheaded the Faith Always Wins Foundation and the related annual Give Seven Days events.

Jim has cheered her on but hasnt been as much in the public eye as Mindy.

I think what Mindy does is tremendous, he said. I cant do what she does. I dont know how she does it. Its amazing what she does. I just try to help out the best I can.

For Jim, life has meant continuing to work in his dentists office on the Country Club Plaza and accommodating himself to the reality that hes alone now.

You have to get over the things you thought your life was going to be, he said, which, for me, took time and involved regular counseling.

For over a year, maybe two (after Terri died), I kept thinking that our planned trip to Italy was still on. I never did make it to Italy. And then you figure out that a lot of these things you did before were with friends who were married. When you dont have a spouse, it just isnt the same. So you have to find a new group of people to do things with. Thats the transition I had to make. When work is over, I know that my house is empty.

An empty house, a broken heart. Thats what demented extremism can and does lead to. It also forces its victims to re-examine what they believe about eternal matters.

In the beginning, Jim said, I probably went to church as often as we always went to church. But since then there have been times when I just didnt feel like going to church, but I still believe in God. I just feel church can be anywhere that I decide to be.

I dont think Terri would want me to walk away from God. Thats why I dont.

Then he pauses, sighs and adds this: But it changed me as a person. Im not the same person I was five and a half years ago.

One of the things he and his family (he has three grown children, two daughters and a son) have done since Terris death is establish the Teresa R. LaManno Scholarship for clients of the Childrens Center for the Visually Impaired, where Terri worked.

Im grateful for what everyone gave me, Jim said, so I want to make sure I give back.

But much of Jims life since that day in 2014 when Overland Park police came to his Brookside home with devastating news has been spent figuring out how to put one foot in front of the other.

You do come to a point in your life where youd just like to find somebody to do things with, he said. Just the little things I used to do that I havent done in a while, like taking someone to the movie or to an art gallery, just someone to walk around with. Thats what I really miss.

Heres what he would want Kansas Citians to learn from his experience: I would tell people, especially if youre married, to enjoy that person. Terri and I never went to bed at night mad at one another. So I would say treasure the relationships you have. People argue and disagree about things, you know, things. I would give up a lot of things almost every thing for what I had before. What I had before was much more valuable to me than any thing that I have. Any thing. A person is the most important. We were happy. We were happy with what we had. We were happy with where we lived.

But thats gone now. And although Jim is open to the possibility of a new love relationship, he says: It may not happen. It may happen. I dont know. If I find someone, I find someone. If I dont, I dont.

The antisemite who caused all this agony no doubt never gave a thought to what Jim LaMannos life would be like in 2019. All he cared about was hating Jews enough to kill them. Which, of course, he failed to do. Each victim was a Christian.

That, too, reveals hatreds blindness.

Bill Tammeus, a Presbyterian elder and former award-winning Faith columnist forThe Kansas City Star, writes the daily Faith Matters blog forThe Starswebsite and columns forThe Presbyterian Outlook and formerly for The National Catholic Reporter. His latest book isThe Value of Doubt: Why Unanswered Questions, Not Unquestioned Answers, Build Faith. Email him atwtammeus@gmail.com.

Discover more unheard stories about Kansas City, every Thursday.

Check your inbox, you should see something from us.

Read the original here:
The Innocent Victims of Hatred's Blindness A Surviving Spouse Looks Back on Neo-Nazi Shooting in - Flatland

A Wayne State University School of Medicine student and two recent graduates working on a collaborative project in the laboratories of Associate Professors of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Ashok Kumar, Ph.D., and Ryan Thummel, Ph.D., have discovered that zebrafish dont contract endophthalmitis.

The eye infection can cause blindness within hours if not diagnosed and treated quickly.

Matthew Rolain, Frank Mei, M.D. 19 and Xiao Yi Zhou, M.D. 17, contributed to the study, Zebrafish are Resistant to Staphylococcus aureus Endophthalmitis, published in Pathogens, a peer-reviewed journal in the field of microbiology and immunology.

The study showed that while humans require only 10 to 100 bugs to cause endophthalmitis, and mice require 5,000 before infection, in the freshwater fish even 250,000 bacteria wont cause the eye infection. The finding indicates that zebrafish eyes are incredibly resistant to such eye infections and possess strong host defense mechanisms.

Dr. Thummel and others in the field have shown that humans and fish share similarities in eye structure and immune responses. Studying why fish, but not human eyes, are resistant, may help identify protective pathways and molecules that could be translated to humans.

Traditionally, we have used a mouse model to study the pathobiology of these infections. In recent years, zebrafish have emerged as an important model organism in biomedical research, providing insight into the pathogenic mechanisms of infectious diseases. We sought to determine their susceptibility with the ocular bacterial infection, Dr. Kumar said. I contacted my colleague Dr. Thummel and discussed the idea, and the project took off with participation of three medical students who completed the task collectively.

Dr. Kumars laboratory focuses on understanding the pathobiology of ocular infections, especially those affecting the retina, such as endophthalmitis. The infection most often occurs due to surgical complications or eye trauma.

Apart from conducting research, I truly enjoyed mentoring these medical students, Dr. Kumar said. I hope they continue develop scientific acumen as they transition to their respective residency programs.

Matthew Rolain will graduate from the School of Medicine in 2020.

Working with Dr. Kumar and Dr. Thummel was an awesome experience, he said. They gave me great guidance and were always very supportive, regardless of the outcome of our experiments. It was nice being able to learn about the research process while working on such an interesting and potentially impactful project. Hopefully the scientific community will be able to build on our results to better help future patients.

Dr. Mei is now a resident in his transitional year in Chicago before starting a two-year Ophthalmology program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Individually, Drs. Kumar and Thummel were well respected in their separate expertise. However, the unification of their talents into a singular project created a collaborative environment where the strengths of both labs meshed, launching and dramatically expeditingthis project to completionin a very short timeframe. Bridging the gap between Scott Hall and the KresgeEye Institute, Drs. Kumar and Thummel created a warm atmosphere to foster my growth as a researcher. This experience was invaluableand an encouragement for me to seek further collaborations in my career in academic ophthalmology, Dr. Mei said.Lastly,I would like to thank the Medical Summer Research Project through Wayne State and the Kresge Summer Internship for supporting me through this project.

Their colleague, Dr. Zhou is a resident in her transitional year at NorthShore University Health System in Illinois. She completed a one-year fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami after graduation.

Moving forward, they plan to test zebrafish susceptibility to other bacterial and fungal pathogens.

The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01EY027381 and R01EY026964 to Dr. Kumar, and R01EY026551 to Dr. Thummel. Histology and imaging core resources were supported by a vision core grant (P30EY04068) and an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to the Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences.

Excerpt from:
Medical student and alumni discover zebrafish are resistant to eye infection - The South End

FAKE vodka laced with a potentially lethal antifreeze ingredient has been seized in Fife.

Bottles of the counterfeit Smirnoff are believed to contain isopropanol, which is used in anti-freeze and some fuels.

1

It can lead to blindness and even death.

The fake vodka bottles were found in a shop and a pub in the Levenmouth area as part of an investigation by Fife Councils food safety and trading standards teams.

The shop and pub have not yet been named but both premises will have their licences reviewed and may face prosecutions.

Officers visited 30 licensed premises earlier this month, following tip-offs from the community.

Douglas Hardaker, from Fife Councils environmental health, said: One of the vodkas was found to be dangerous and had things in it which could be seriously harmful.

These are things where you are not getting what you paid for, you are getting a little bit extra and its not good for you.

He said customers should follow the recommendations of the DrinkAware campaign, which advises buying alcohol from a reputable supermarket, off licence or shop, avoiding products sold at very cheap prices and looking out for poor quality labelling or unfamiliar brands.

Its thought the fake vodka may have contained isopropanol, which is used in anti-freeze and some fuels. The substance has been detected in counterfeit alcohol seized by police elsewhere in the UK.

It can mimic the effects of regular alcohol, but also causes side effects including abdominal pain, sickness and dizziness.

Investigations are under way to determine whether it was made locally or shipped in from elsewhere.

'HE'S WITH US' 'Ghost' of tragic Scots teen spotted in clouds at lantern vigil for his 18th

Latest

PLANE DRAMA BA flight bound for Edinburgh declares emergency over Scotland

Latest

AIRPORT DRAMA Emergency services race to Glasgow Airport incident as Dubai flight delayed

Exclusive

IN A BLINK Ex-Glasgow hood 'Blink' MacDonald blasts cops for smashing door in drugs mix up

BARKING MAD Blink 182's Travis Barker causes Old Firm stir as he models FTP clothing

Exclusive

AMS-GER-DAM Army of 10,000 Rangers fans plan to take over Dam Square for Feyenoord clash

Mr Hardaker urged people to be vigilant at Christmas and new year celebrations.

Paul Madill, NHS Fife consultant in public health, said consumers needed to be able to trust shopkeepers and licensees.

People need to have confidence they are getting what they thought they were getting, he said.

Licensing forum member Paul Smith, the managing director of Castle Leisure Group who represents the licensed trade, said it was disappointing to see people flouting the law.

We would all like to see those people who peddle that type of illicit alcohol, while the rest of us comply with the rules and regulations, taken to task, he said.

We pay for your stories and videos! Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5300

Link:
Deadly fake vodka which can also cause blindness due to antifreeze ingredient seized from shop and pub in Fife - The Scottish Sun

Drinkers have been warned to stay safe this festive season after potentially lethal fake vodka was discovered on sale in Fife.

Bottles of counterfeit Smirnoff vodka were found in a shop and a pub in the Levenmouth area as part of an investigation by Fife Councils food safety and trading standards teams.

Analysis of one of the bottles confirmed it contained chemicals which can lead to blindness and even death.

The details emerged in a report to the Fife Licensing Forum. The shop and pub have not yet been named but both premises will have their licences reviewed and may face prosecutions.

Officers visited 30 licensed premises earlier this month, following tip-offs from the community.

Douglas Hardaker, from Fife Councils environmental health, said: One of the vodkas was found to be dangerous and had things in it which could be seriously harmful.

These are things where you are not getting what you paid for, you are getting a little bit extra and its not good for you.

He said customers should follow the recommendations of the DrinkAware campaign, which advises buying alcohol from a reputable supermarket, off licence or shop, avoiding products sold at very cheap prices and looking out for poor quality labelling or unfamiliar brands.

Its thought the fake vodka may have contained isopropanol, which is used in anti-freeze and some fuels. The substance has been detected in counterfeit alcohol seized by police elsewhere in the UK.

It can mimic the effects of regular alcohol, but also causes side effects including abdominal pain, sickness and dizziness.

Investigations are under way to determine whether it was made locally or shipped in from elsewhere.

Mr Hardaker urged people to be vigilant at Christmas and new year celebrations.

Paul Madill, NHS Fife consultant in public health, said consumers needed to be able to trust shopkeepers and licensees.

People need to have confidence they are getting what they thought they were getting, he said.

Licensing forum member Paul Smith, the managing director of Castle Leisure Group who represents the licensed trade, said it was disappointing to see people flouting the law.

We would all like to see those people who peddle that type of illicit alcohol, while the rest of us comply with the rules and regulations, taken to task, he said.

Continued here:
Fake vodka that can cause blindness and death found in Fife shop and pub - The Courier