StemCell Therapy

More than 60 years ago, Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the double-helical structure of deoxyribonucleic acidbetter known as DNA. Today, for the cost of a Netflix subscription, you can have your DNA sequenced to learn about your ancestry and proclivities. Yet, while it is an irrefutable fact that the transmission of DNA from parents to offspring is the biological basis for heredity, we still know relatively little about the specific genes that make us who we are.

That is changing rapidly through genome-wide association studiesGWAS, for short. These studies search for differences in peoples genetic makeuptheir genotypesthat correlate with differences in their observable traitstheir phenotypes. In a GWAS recently published in Nature Genetics, a team of scientists from around the world analyzed the DNA sequences of 78,308 people for correlations with general intelligence, as measured by IQ tests.

The major goal of the study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphismsor SNPsthat correlate significantly with intelligence test scores. Found in most cells throughout the body, DNA is made up of four molecules called nucleotides, referred to by their organic bases: cytosine (C), thymine (T), adenine (A), and guanine (G). Within a cell, DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. Humans normally have 23 pairs of chromosomes, with one in each pair inherited from each parent.

A SNP (or snip) is a nucleotide at a particular chromosomal region that can differ across people. For example, one person might have the nucleotide triplet TAC whereas another person might have TCC, and this variation may contribute to differences between the people in a trait such as intelligence. Genes consist of much longer nucleotide sequences and act as instructions for making proteinsbasic building blocks of life.

Of the over 12 million SNPs analyzed, 336 correlated significantly with intelligence, implicating 22 different genes. One of the genes is involved in regulating the growth of neurons; another is associated with intellectual disability and cerebral malformation. Together, the SNPs accounted for about 5% of the differences across people in intelligencea nearly two-fold increase over the last GWAS on intelligence. Examining larger patterns of SNPs, the researchers discovered an additional 30 genes related to intelligence.

As a check on the replicability of their results, the scientists then tested for correlations between the 336 SNPs and level of educationa variable known to be strongly correlated with intelligencein an independent sample of nearly 200,000 people who had previously undergone DNA testing. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the SNPs correlated in the same direction with education as they did with intelligence. This finding helps allay concerns that the SNPs associated with intelligence were false positivesin other words, due to chance. More substantively, the finding adds to the case that some of the same processes underlie intelligence and learning. The authors concluded that the results provide starting points for understanding the molecular neurobiological mechanisms underlying intelligence, one of the most investigated traits in humans.

As the cognitive neuroscientist Richard Haier discusses in his excellent new book The Neuroscience of Intelligence, other intelligence research is combining molecular genetic analyses and neuroimaging. In one study, using a sample of 1,583 adolescents, researchers discovered a SNP implicated in synaptic plasticity that was significantly related to both intelligence test scores and to cortical thickness, as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. In animal research, other researchers are using chemogenetic techniques to turn on and off neurons that may be important for intelligence.

Of course, intelligence is not solely the product of DNAand no scientist studying intelligence thinks otherwise. The environment has a major impact on the development of intelligence, or any other psychological trait. All the same, knowledge gained from molecular genetic research may one day be used to identify children at risk for developing serious intellectual deficits, and for whom certain types of interventions early in life may reduce that risk. This research is also providing a scientific foundation for thinking about how brain functioning might be manipulated to enhance intelligence.

The big picture to emerge from research on the neurobiological underpinnings of intelligence and other psychological traits is that the nature vs. nurture debate is, once and for all, over. We are a product of both our genetic makeup and our environments, and the complex interplay between the two. Research aimed at better understanding this interplay will give scientists a richer understanding of both the similarities and differences in our psychological makeup.

Go here to see the original:
Intelligence and the DNA Revolution - Scientific American

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 22, 2017 /CNW/ -- Sunquest Information Systems, Inc. announced today the general availability of Sunquest Mitogen, a laboratory information management system (LIMS) and genetic analysis software suite for molecular diagnostics and precision medicine. The comprehensive, integrated molecular and genetics laboratory solution streamlines data and processes across the wet lab and the dry lab from sample accessioning and tracking; to lab workflows, inventory and reagent management; to data generation, genetic analysis, and clinical report creation and delivery.

"Sunquest is committed to advancing technology to allow our laboratory partners to respond to market demand. As medical treatments become more precise, clinicians are looking to laboratories to support precision medicine. This requires taking on complex lab processes and delivering easy-to-understand, clinically actionable reports with short turnaround times and at lower cost," said Matt Hawkins, president/CEO of Sunquest. "The innovation embodied in Sunquest Mitogen makes this much easier."

"We wanted a platform that was paperless, cutting-edge, alive and responsive. But with many LIMS platforms we looked at, attempting to adapt them to molecular testing was like fitting a square peg into a round hole. Sunquest Mitogen is different it is designed for molecular testing," said Dr. Jason Walker, chief scientific officer at MedComp Sciences, a clinical laboratory services company and Sunquest client. "The end result is something we are truly proud of at MedComp. It is an investment we have made in laboratory quality and in our future."

"Sunquest delivers laboratory solutions that support world-class labs," Hawkins added. "Sunquest Mitogen is an innovative, comprehensive and flexible solution for laboratories to simplify and streamline extremely complicated molecular diagnostics and genetic testing processes and analysis. Sunquest Mitogen flexibly fits into existing laboratory workflows and new workflows are quick to build, which is essential in a molecular lab."

Nabil Hafez, senior director of product management for Sunquest's precision medicine solution added, "By taming the extreme complexity of molecular diagnostic laboratory processes and genetic variant analysis, we're creating the right conditions for laboratories to offer these important diagnostic tests."

Sunquest Mitogen laboratory software addresses the high complexity of sample lineage, laboratory processes, and genetic analysis for molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, which requires a laboratory platform designed from its foundation for this kind of laboratory work. In addition, Sunquest Mitogen interfaces with other clinical software, instruments, and services at the lab, and the electronic medical records used by healthcare providers.

The new solution combines the power of two key complimentary acquisitions, GeneInsight and UNIConnect, and optimizes the combined value with a set of pre-defined, out-of-the-box workflows for the LIMS and genetic analysis components.

About Sunquest Information Systems

Sunquest Information Systems Inc. provides diagnostic informatics solutions to more than 1,700 laboratories. Since 1979, Sunquest has helped laboratories and healthcare organizations across the world enhance efficiency, improve patient care, and optimize financial results. Sunquest's solutions enable world-class lab capabilities, including multisite, multi-disciplinary support for complex anatomic, molecular and genetic testing, and engagement with physicians and patients outside the hospitals at the point-of-care.

Headquartered in Tucson, AZ with offices in Boston, London, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Bangalore, India, Sunquest is a global leader in healthcare information Technology. For more information, visit http://www.sunquestinfo.com/mitogen

Contact info:Trish MoxamVice President, Corporate Marketingrel="nofollow">trish.moxam@sunquestinfo.com520-237-4024

SOURCE Sunquest Information Systems, Inc.

Visit link:
Sunquest Information Systems Announces the General Availability of Sunquest Mitogen: Molecular LIMS and ... - Markets Insider

That statin youve been taking to lower your risk of heart attack or stroke may one day pull double duty, providing protection against a whole host of infectious diseases, including typhoid fever, chlamydia, and malaria.

Scientists recently discovered that a gene variant that affects cholesterol levels could increase risk of contracting typhoid fever. They also learned that a common cholesterol-lowering drug (ezetimibe or Zetia) protects zebrafish against Salmonella typhi, the culprit behind the nasty infection.

The findings clarify the mechanisms that govern human susceptibility to infectious diseaseand also point to possible avenues to protect those most vulnerable to pathogens like the Salmonella bacteria that hijack cholesterol to infect host cells.

This is just the first step, says Dennis C. Ko, assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine and senior author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

We need to try this approach in different model organisms, such as mice, and likely with different pathogens, before we can consider taking this into the clinic. Whats so exciting is that our study provides a blueprint for combining different techniques for understanding why some people are more susceptible to disease than others, and what can be done about it.

At the turn of the last century, the Irish immigrant Mary Mallon earned the name Typhoid Mary after she sickened more than 50 people in New York City. Mallon was apparently immune to the bacteria she carried, and many people who came into contact with the infamous cook never contracted the disease. What made them different?

That question has long intrigued Ko. However, trying to explain the differences between people when it comes to susceptibility to infectious disease can be tricky: you cant always know whether someone remains healthy because of their genetic constitution or lack of exposure, and even when everyone has been exposed, there are myriad other environmental factors that come into play.

So rather than let the real world run the experiment, researchers used hundreds of cell lines from healthy human volunteers and exposed them to the exact same dose of Salmonella Typhi, which had been tagged with a green fluorescent marker. They then looked for genetic differences that distinguished cells that had higher rates of bacterial invasion from those that didnt.

The findings show that a single nucleotide of DNA in a gene called VAC14 is associated with the level of bacterial invasion in cells. When they knocked out the gene, the cells were invaded more readily and more of the cells glowed brightly with green bacteria. They also unexpectedly found that those more susceptible cells had higher levels of cholesterol, an essential component of cell membranes that Salmonella binds to invade host cells.

Ko wanted to see whether this genetic difference was relevant to humans. By looking through the scientific literature, he decided to reach out to a researcher working in Vietnam, Sarah Dunstan, who had been studying typhoid fever in that country. When Dunstan tested DNA from subjects in a group of 1,000 Vietnamese people, half of whom had typhoid fever and half of whom did not, she found that the VAC14 gene variant was associated with a moderately elevated risk of typhoid fever. The next step was investigating if there was a way to correct that susceptibility.

Discovering the mechanism was important because plenty of people are on cholesterol-lowering drugs, especially statins for high cholesterol, Ko says. We wondered if similar drugs could be given to reduce the risk of Salmonella infection.

Monica Alvarez, a graduate student in Kos lab and lead author of the study, had some experience working with zebrafish, so they decided to start there. She added a cholesterol-lowering drug (ezetimibe or Zetia) to their water and then injected the fish with Salmonella typhi. The treated animals were more likely to clear the bacteria out of their system and survive.

Next, the researchers plan to perform similar experiments in mice and possibly try retrospective studies in humans already taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. They want to explore whether the approach can protect against other infectious diseases, and have already screened other pathogens known to rely on cholesterol at some point during infection.

Our cell-based human genetic approach is a way for us to connect cell biology to human disease, Ko says. By figuring out the mechanism, you can uncover possible therapeutic strategies that you wouldnt think about when just looking at the gene.

The Duke University Whitehead Scholarship, Butler Pioneer Award, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Australian National Health, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust funded the work.

Source: Duke University

View original post here:
Can statins shield us from malaria and typhoid? - Futurity: Research News

Whether you are a social butterfly or more of a shy homebody may at least in part be attributable to your genes.

A new study by researchers at the National University of Singapore reports that two specific genes play a role in young adults social skills and the number of close friends they have.

The study, published in Psychoneuroendocrinology focused on the CD38 gene and the CD157 gene sequence both of which regulate oxytocin, the human social hormone.

Oxytocin is involved with behaviors such as pair-bonding, mating and child-rearing. It is also linked with more complex emotions and traits like empathy, trust and generosity.

The NUS study included 1,300 Chinese participants living in Singapore. The researchers examined how the expression of CD38 and the sequence changes of CD517 related to the participants social skills.

Their social behaviors were evaluated through questionnaires that asked about participants ability to engage in social relationships, the quality of friendships they have and the value they place on those friendships.

The team found that a higher expression of the CD38 gene and the presence of differences in the CD157 gene sequence correlated with a participant having more close friends and better social skills.

According to study leader Richard Ebstein, professor with NUS Psychology, this study was unique because many other gene studies focus on just structural changes in gene sequences, and how that affects a particular characteristic or disease. But by studying gene expression, Ebstein and fellow researchers were able capture more information than simple structural studies.

The higher expression and changes in the genes accounted for 14 percent of the variance in social skills in the general population. Typically, less than two percent of findings in behavioral genetic association studies rely on genetic variations alone.

The researchers also noted that the results were even more profound in the male participants.

Male participants with the higher gene expressions displayed greater sociality such as preferring activities involving other people over being alone, better communication and empathy-related skills compared to the other participants. Meanwhile, participants with lower CD38 expression reported less social skills such as difficulty in reading between the lines or engaging less in social chitchat, and tend to have fewer friends, said Anne Chong, PhD graduate who conducted the research with Ebstein.

Moreover, while expressed genes can influence behaviors, our own experiences can influence the expression of genes in return. So, whether the genes are expressed to impact our behaviors or not, depend a lot on our social environments. For most people, being in healthy social environments such as having loving and supportive families, friends and colleagues would most likely lessen the effects from disadvantageous genes, added Chong.

Another interesting find the team reported was that a variation in the CD157 gene sequence, which was found to be more common in autism cases in a previous Japanese study, was also associated with the participants innate interest in socializing and building relationships.

Ebstein and Chong believe these results could be useful in developing future intervention therapies or targeted treatments that would help achieve desired results for individuals with special needs. For example, they note that treatments based on new drugs that mimic of enhance the functions of the CD38 and CD157 genes could be one potential approach.

The researchers are now conducting several behavioral economics and molecular genetics studies to investigate the impact of oxytocin on human traits like creativity and openness to exposure.

Here is the original post:
Two Genes May Dictate How Social, Friendly You Are - Laboratory Equipment

Duke researchers have found a way to speed up the production of flu vaccines and make them more effective against seasonal flu virus strains.

Many vaccine companies grow the influenza virus inside of a chicken egg, where a protein called hemagglutinin, orHA, often mutates and causes the vaccine to lose some of its effectiveness. Researchers developed a new way to prompt the virus to express two copies of the HA protein, one specialized to function in the egg and the other in humans. This would prevent the human HA from adapting to the chicken egg and enhance the effectiveness of the vaccine.

We found that this process is very effective. We can grow the virus with two copies of the HA gene in the chicken egg without it acquiring mutations, said Nicholas Heaton, assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology in the School of Medicine.

Heaton explained the two primary reasons behind the flu vaccine's "traditionally low efficacy." First, the World Health Organization must predict which flu strains will be prevalent in humans during flu season. This means that an incorrect selection of strain could lead the vaccine to be ineffective even if properly manufactured.

Second, the practice of taking a human flu virus and growing it in a chicken egg can also generate problems, Heaton said. The virus may undergo mutations within the egg and come out with a mutated HA protein, limiting the vaccine's ability to activate the human immune system.

The idea that taking the human virus and inserting it into a chicken eggan obviously different environmentfor growth is what our research studies, Heaton noted. When the vaccine is administered, people create a strong immune response to what theyve been exposed to, which is a weird egg-adapted version of the human virus."

Heaton and his team's solution to the second part of the problem was to develop the technology that allowed the small genome of thehuman influenza virus to accommodate and express more than one HA gene.

Its very hard to manipulate human influenza viruses. To insert another hemagglutinin protein grows the genomes size by about 20 percent," Heaton said. "The methodology of doing so wasnt well known in the field."

There is a lot to be done moving forward before the technology can be implemented into seasonal influenza vaccines.

The goal is to now show that on a year-to-year basis, our methodology is doing something. Nobody has had a mechanism to do a side-to-side comparison, Heaton noted. We know that the flu shot produces antibodies within a person that recognize only the chicken egg-grown virus. No one has formally shown how much better the protection would be if all your antibodies were given the correct human virus because there was no way to do so before this technology.

The next step is to generate the mixture of four viruses that are currently in the flu shot. After generating the viruses, Heaton saidthe new technology needs to be implemented.

We will have to quantify how much better the virus grows using our technology, how much better the immune response is and how much more protective it proves to be, he said.

Link:
Duke researchers discover way to increase flu shot effectiveness - Duke Chronicle

Betty Burton is the coordinator of the Adult Lecture Series at the VHPL.

Marthas Vineyard is proud of how it preserves tradition: We cherish life in the slow lane. But this is 2017 and we are part of the modern world, and the latest scientific advancements affect us as much as they do anyone.To explore how science touches all of us in our everyday lives, the Vineyard Haven Public Library, funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation, is in the middle of an ambitious summer program on the themes of science and society, science, and everyday life. The grant, administered by a program called Rural Gateways, with the theme of Pushing the Limits, also funds similar programs in 110 other rural libraries. It allows us to participate in a nationwide reading, viewing, and discussion series. Since the beginning of time, humans have imagined and achieved ways to push the boundaries of the physical world.We want to be stronger, smarter, more aware; with great new advances in science and technology, we are finding ways in which all of us are able to push the limits every day. The Pushing the Limits program will explore these ideas in discussions that will include recommended popular books and feature film-quality videos with authors, scientists, and everyday people who thrive on exploring the natural world.Rural Gateways, Pushing the Limits, is funded not only by NSF but also was created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, the Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation. The speaker series sponsored by this grant will feature programs both this summer and next winter. A science reading group is also meeting on Mondays at 3 pm every three weeks until Sept. 11.Some of the programs so far:Jonathan White presented our very first program, Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean. Mr. White a lifelong mariner traveled the globe for 20 years to examine one of the most primal forces on the planet. The result is a gorgeous exploration of the science, mystery, and history of earths oceanic tides.

In July, Dr. Daniel Goleman presented Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. Dr. Goleman is an author, psychologist, and science journalist. For 12 years, he wrote for the New York Times, reporting on the brain and behavioral sciences. He is probably best known for his books on emotional intelligence. He has recently written a book with the Dalai Lama, A Force for Good.

On August 10, award-winning science journalist Peter Brannen, presented his new book, The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and our Quest to Understand Earths Past Mass Extinctions. As new, groundbreaking research suggests that climate change played a major role in the most extreme catastrophes in the planets history, Peter took us on a wild ride through the planets five mass extinctions and, in the process, offered us a glimpse of our increasingly dangerous future.

On August 17, Donald Berwick, MD, MPP FRCP, president emeritus and senior fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, spoke about Health Care as it Should Be. A pediatrician, Dr. Berwick has served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and on the staff of Bostons Childrens Hospital Medical Center.

On Thursday, August 24, at 7 pm, Dr. Henry Kriegsteins subject will be Digging for Dinosaurs in the Badlands. Dr. Kriegstein will describe his passion for paleontology, organizing private digs in the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Montana, and collecting dinosaur fossils. One fossil, which Dr. Kriegstein bought from a collector in Tucson, turned out to be a completely new, previously undiscovered mini T.rex, now named Raptorex kriegsteini. Every summer, Dr. Kriegstein returns to the Badlands and continues his search for fossils. He considers it a philosophical perspective on the mystery of life and the beauty of the mineral-laced fossils.

On Wednesday, August 30, at 7 pm at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, the library will host a panel CRISPR and Genetic Editing: Uncharted Waters. Leading scientists and bioethicists from Harvard, MIT, Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will discuss the astounding new techniques that make editing DNA nearly as easy as editing an email (well, that is if you have a degree in molecular genetics). Along with vast potential for curing disease, feeding the world, and eliminating pollution come vexing issues of fairness, safety and morality.

Included on this panel will be Dr. Sheila Jasanoff from Harvards Kennedy School. She is one of the worlds leading bioethicists. Simply put, her job is to think and talk about the ethics of the work being done with gene editing. Professor Kevin Esvelt from the MIT Media Lab is director of the Sculpting Evolution group, which invents new ways to study and influence the evolution of ecosystems. His current project is developing mice that are immune to Lyme disease and releasing them on Nantucket. Professor Neel Aluru, of the Biological Labs at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is in the field of environmental epigenetics, which involves studying how environmental factors interact with DNA, turning genes on or off. WHOI is one of the premiere institutions in the world for this kind of research. Professor Jeantine Lunshof, is an assistant professor at the Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands, and currently a visiting professor at Harvard. She is a philosopher and bioethicist, based in the synthetic biology laboratory of Dr. George Church. As an embedded ethicist, Dr. Lunshof works with scientists at all stages of their research to help identify potential areas of concern. MV Times science columnist, Professor Emeritus Paul Levine from Stanford, will open with introductory remarks about the short history of genetic engineering from the 70s. John Sundman will moderate the panel. His background includes writing and speaking at various institutions about CRISPR. This presentation is funded in part by a grant from National Science Foundation and Califa Library Groups.

As part of this grant, we have started a Science Book Club. So far we have read When the Killings Done by T. C. Boyle and Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. For each meeting we have viewed interviews by the authors, who discuss their take on the science in their stories. On Monday, August 28, at 3 pm we will discuss Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler. The topic of this section is Survival and how it fits into our worlds of science. On Monday, Sept. 11, at 3 pm we will discuss Land of the Painted Caves by Jean Auel and our subject will be Knowledge.

The series will continue into 2018 with more books and speakers to come.

Im happy to say that getting this grant has prompted me to re-establish our connection to the Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, both world-class research institutions that you can almost see with the naked eye from Vineyard Haven.

This series has special importance to me. Long before moving to the Vineyard I was a research scientist in molecular biology labs in Indiana, North Carolina, and Boston. A lot of the work I did was pure research on viral DNA, with no immediate real-world impact. But in North Carolina I was part of a research team that worked on a vaccine for Haemophilus influenza Type B. Before the vaccine, it was the leading cause of meningitis and other invasive bacterial diseases among children younger than 5. But my biggest thrill came when I was a graduate student. I was invited to present my research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1978. That was the mecca for all DNA researchers then. I was in the middle of giving my talk when I looked up and saw Francis Crick at the back of the room, standing next to James Watson [geneticists who won the Nobel Prize for solving the structure of DNA], both of them looking right at me. I nearly fainted.

For more information and schedules in one place, visit vhlibrary.org.

Here is the original post:
Science and Society on the Vineyard - Martha's Vineyard Times

A depiction of the double helical structure of DNA. Its four coding units (A, T, C, G) are color-coded in pink, orange, purple and yellow. Credit: NHGRI

A group of researchers from the National University of Singapore has found that CD38 and CD157 genes that regulate oxytocin, the supreme human social hormone, are associated with the sociality of young individuals. They found that young adults who have higher expression of the CD38 gene as well as differences in CD157 gene sequence are friendlier and more socially adept than others. They have more close friends and show greater social skills

Researchers found that CD38 and CD157 genes that regulate oxytocin, the supreme human social hormone, are associated with the sociality of young individuals

Why some individuals seek social engagement and friendship while others shy away may well be dependent on the expression and sequence of two genes in their bodies.

This novel study of gene expression (i.e. how much of a particular gene is produced in the body) supports the increasing importance of the oxytocin network and its impact on shaping social and communication skills that are important for building friendships. The findings were published in the scientific journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

The study was conducted by Professor Richard Ebstein and recent NUS PhD graduate, Dr Anne Chong, from the Department of Psychology at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, along with Professor Chew Soo Hong from the Faculty's Department of Economics and Professor Lai Poh San from the Department of Paediatrics at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

The team studied over 1,300 healthy young Chinese adults in Singapore in a non-clinical setting. They investigated the correlation between the expression of the CD38 gene and CD157 gene sequence, both of which have been implicated in autism studies, and an individual's social skills as captured by three different questionnaires. These questionnaires evaluated the participants' overall ability to engage in social relationships; their value on the importance of and interest in friendships as well as the number of close friends/confidants they have.

Link between CD38 and CD157 genes, oxytocin and social skills

"We believe that studying the expression of genes captures more information than simple structural studies of DNA sequence since it is the expression of genes that ultimately determine how a gene impacts our traits. Oxytocin plays an important role in these behaviours so it made good sense to our team to study the oxytocin network in relation to social skills important for friendships," said Prof Ebstein.

The results from the study showed that participants with higher expression of CD38 have more close friends, and this association was observed more prevalently among the male participants.

"Male participants with the higher gene expressions displayed greater sociality such as preferring activities involving other people over being alone, better communication and empathy-related skills compared to the other participants. Meanwhile, participants with lower CD38 expression reported less social skills such as difficulty in "reading between the lines" or engaging less in social chitchat, and tend to have fewer friends," said Dr Chong who is the first author of the study and worked under the supervision of Prof Ebstein.

Interestingly, the researchers found that a variation in the CD157 gene sequence that was more common in autism cases in a Japanese study, was also associated with the participants' innate interest in socialising and building relationships.

The evidence suggests that oxytocin, and the CD38 and CD157 genes that govern its release, contribute to individual differences in social skills from one extreme of intense social involvement (i.e. many good friendships and good relationships with peers) to the other extreme of avoiding social contacts with other people that is one of the characteristics of autism. There is no cause for worry however, as the researchers note that majority of people are in between the two extremes.

The researchers found that higher expression of the CD38 gene and differences in the CD157 gene sequence account for 14 per cent of the variance in social skills in the general population a remarkable finding, especially since typically less than two per cent of findings in behavioural genetic association studies rely on genetic variations alone.

"Moreover, while expressed genes can influence behaviours, our own experiences can influence the expression of genes in return. So, whether the genes are expressed to impact our behaviours or not, depend a lot on our social environments. For most people, being in healthy social environments such as having loving and supportive families, friends and colleagues would most likely lessen the effects from disadvantageous genes," said Dr Chong.

The findings from the study help deepen the understanding of the relationship between human sociability and oxytocin. By releasing the social hormone, the CD38 and CD157 genes not only regulate social life at a cellular level but also contribute to the development of human social skills important in establishing social bonds and friendship.

"In our study, we see that an individual's genetic makeup could only go so far as predicting one's social predisposition but does not necessarily trigger the trait since, in the end, it is the expression of gene that determines so. This knowledge would be helpful in coming up with future intervention therapies or targeted treatments to achieve desirable outcomes for individuals with special needs," said Prof Ebstein.

For instance, while there is already considerable research interest in using oxytocin therapy to improve the social skills of individuals with autism, the results so far have been mixed. The findings in this study point to an alternative research direction towards treatments based on new drugs that may mimic or enhance the functions of the CD38 and CD157 genes. The researchers noted however that this line of research has yet to be explored. If proven viable, future therapies may help those clinically determined to have extreme difficulty maintaining social and working relationships with others so that they too could live a better quality of life.

Next steps in research

Co-led by Prof Ebstein and Prof Chew, the Behavioural and Biological Economics and the Social Sciences (B2ESS) Group at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been investigating the role of genes and hormones on human behaviours, decision making, and a variety of human attitudes including empathy, impulsivity, political attitudes, religiosity and risk attitudes.

The group is currently embarking on several behavioural economics and molecular genetics studies to investigate the impact of oxytocin on the human traits of creativity and openness to exposure, among others.

Explore further: Combination approach may boost social interactions in autism

More information: Anne Chong et al. ADP ribosyl-cyclases ( CD38 / CD157 ), social skills and friendship, Psychoneuroendocrinology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.01.011

See more here:
Study finds that you may be as friendly as your genes - Medical Xpress

Collecting leachate from a capped landfill site. Credit: Bangor University

Far from being a load of rubbish, landfill sites should be considered one of the great untapped resources in the search for new enzymes for biotechnology, and could fuel more efficient biofuel production.

A new research paper in mSphere by biologists at Bangor and Liverpool universities has for the first time identified the enzymes which degrade natural materials such as paper and clothing in landfill sites.

James McDonald, from Bangor University's School of Biological Sciences, who led the research said:

"There is a current impetus to search for new enzymes to improve biomass conversion processes. Our hypothesis is that, due to the volume of waste materials they hold, landfill sites represent a repository of unexplored biomass-degrading diversity. There is significant potential to identify new enzymes of ecological and biological significance."

Cellulose and lignin occur naturally in plant-based materials and take longer to decompose than other waste products. As a result of this, the majority of landfill waste consists of lignin and cellulose. In their plant form, they can be used as the basis for biofuel production, and identifying more effective enzymes for this process would improve the yield from this source.

Scientists have been searching for a number of years for the most effective enzymes which break down the cellulose and lignin within the residual natural fibres. The obvious place to search has been in the rumen of sheep and cows, who eat grasses, and the guts of also other plant eaters such as elephants and termites.

Surprisingly perhaps, landfill sites share many of the same characteristics as the digestive systems of these animals: they are dark, anoxic or un-oxygenated spaces, with a high content of cellulose. It was therefore to landfill sites, which are artificially created 'systems', that this group of scientists turned to find new plant-degrading enzymes.

Within in the paper, the authors describe how they used the liquid or 'leachate' within landfill sites as a source of microbes to decompose cotton, and analysed not only the families or taxa of bacteria, but also identified which bacteria produce groups of enzymes to degrade cellulose.

Emma Ransom-Jones, a postdoctoral researcher at Bangor University, and lead author of the study said:

"Understanding exactly how the cellulose and lignin decompose, and the sources of the active enzymes in the process will enable us to determine ways to improve the degradation of waste in landfill sites, and potentially use this as a source for biofuel production."

Explore further: Enzyme shows promise for efficiently converting plant biomass to biofuels

More information: Emma Ransom-Jones et al. Lignocellulose-Degrading Microbial Communities in Landfill Sites Represent a Repository of Unexplored Biomass-Degrading Diversity, mSphere (2017). DOI: 10.1128/mSphere.00300-17

See the rest here:
Biotechnology researchers turn to landfill sites - Phys.Org

Photo: Contributed Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media

Sonics Executive Vice President Lauren Soloff, left, stands with CEC Co-Chairs Joe McGee and William Tong at the Sonics headquarters in Newtown, Conn., in August 2017.

Sonics Executive Vice President Lauren Soloff, left, stands with CEC Co-Chairs Joe McGee and William Tong at the Sonics headquarters in Newtown, Conn., in August 2017.

Connecticut a major player in growing biotechnology sector

The growing biotechnology corridor in the region and improved collaboration between government and manufacturing companies are among the major focuses of the state Commission on Economic Competitiveness, said the co-chairmen of the commission during a recent visit to a Newtown manufacturer.

Life sciences is an area that can really become a major part of Connecticuts growing economy, said Joe McGee, co-chairman of the commission and also the vice president of public policy and programs at Stamford-based Business Council of Fairfield County. Precision medicine and its potential is an economic driver in the state.

McGee, along with co-chairman and state Rep. William Tong, D-147, last week toured Sonics & Materials, a Newtown-based manufacturer of ultrasonic liquid processors, plastic assembly equipment and metal welding systems. Formed in 1969, Sonics has developed a line of advanced ultrasonic liquid processors for applications in DNA sequencing and nanoparticle dispersion.

Its just unbelievable that a company, sitting in Newtown, Connecticut, has a machine that is critical for the sequencing of DNA, McGee said. It just shows you the viability of the Connecticut manufacturing sector.

McGee and Tong said Connecticut is a major player in a burgeoning biotechnology corridor that stretches from New York City into the Nutmeg State. Companies such as Sonics, which employs 75 people, and larger players such as Mount Sinai in Stamford, Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield and Jackson Laboratory in Farmington make Connecticut a force in the life sciences industry, they said.

Tong said the New York City Department of Economic Development recently met with the Connecticut Health Data Collaborative and announced it is investing money to have biotechnology firms migrate into Connecticut.

They need Connecticut and we need them, Tong said. Its a big component of Connecticuts economic future.

Tong said the growing field will help the state reach its lofty expectations associated with the CT 500 program, the goal of which is to create 500,000 private-sector jobs in the state in the next 25 years.

McGee said the biotechnology corridor has a broad reach and it has only recently been targeted as a major economic driver for the state. The Commission on Economic Competitiveness, or CEC, is performing an asset analysis of the industry.

Its one of those things thats been hiding in plain sight, McGee said. There are a lot of places here of significance.

The CEC was created by the state Legislature in 2015 and is made up of lawmakers and private sector leaders with the goal of strengthening and improving the states economic competitiveness.

Lauren Soloff, executive vice president at Sonics, said McGee and Tong talked at length with employees and had a lunch outside after the tour. Soloff, a Westport resident, said the co-chairmen discussed how companies such as Sonics can partner with community colleges and vocational schools to strengthen the curriculum for advanced manufacturing programs.

Its nice to shine a bright light on some of the positive things happening in Connecticut, she said. It was an extremely positive meeting. They are both realists, but optimistic. It was one of the more upbeat visits weve ever had.

cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338

See the rest here:
Connecticut a major player in growing biotechnology sector - Danbury News Times

Evotec's immunology spin-out Topas Therapeutics has inked a multi-year R&D collaboration with pharma major Eli Lilly. The initial focus of research, which will be financed by Eli Lilly, is on identification of antigens that specifically induce a T regulatory cell response in inflammatory and auto-immune disorders.

Using the company's nanoparticle platform, the collaboration will initially focuson identification of inflammatory or autoimmunity-inducing antigens that trigger immune tolerance through activation of regulatory T cells responses in liver stem cells. Specifically, Topas targets peptide-loaded nanoparticles towards liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), which are one of the body's premier sites to induce tolerance against bloodborne antigens by generating peptide-specific regulatory T cells.

Under the terms of the agreement, Topas will be responsible for conducting pre-clinical proof-of-principle studies in collaboration with Lilly to generate drug candidates. According to the contract, Lilly may licence and advance development of all candidates originating from the collaboration. Topas will receive R&D funding and participate in the future success of any compounds in-licensed by Lilly. Financial details of the collaboration have not been disclosed.

Topas Therapeutics was spun out in March from Evotec's subsidiary Bionamics GmbH. The company, which uses a groundbreaking nanoparticle technology to target autoimmune and inflammatory diseases via the induction of antigen-specific immune tolerance in the liver, has14m of venture capital fromEpidarex Capital, EMBL Ventures and Gimv in its pockets. Evotec is its largest shareholder.

Topas has several candidate peptides under preclinical development, the most advanced expected to come to the clinic in 2018 is intended to treat multiple sclerosis.

Read the original here:
Topas Therapeutics lands option deal with Eli Lilly - European Biotechnology

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE), a biotechnology company focused on delivering transformational therapies for patients with serious, genetically-defined diseases, today announced the publication of a new paper in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology. The paper describes a breakthrough method to produce antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics with high stereochemical purity as well as rational drug design to control pharmacologic properties in nucleic acid therapeutics drug development more broadly. This publicationof Waves stereopure chemistry platform represents a significant scientific advancement for the oligonucleotide field.

The paper, entitled "Control of phosphorothioate stereochemistry substantially increases the efficacy of antisense oligonucleotides," details a proprietary synthesis process developed by Wave. By applying this method, Wave was able to overcome previous barriers to the scalable synthesis of stereochemically pure oligonucleotides.

These findings represent a breakthrough in the nucleic acid field, said Chandra Vargeese, Ph.D., head of Drug Discovery at Wave Life Sciences. This paper outlines early foundational principles discovered by Wave to engage RNase H1 that can be applied to any ASO sequence. We have demonstrated that stereochemistry plays a central role in oligonucleotide drug design, with the potential to improve stability, duration of activity and specificity. With continued advancements in our proprietary synthesis process, we have developed a highly efficient manufacturing system that may allow for these key findings to translate into next generation nucleic acid therapeutics. We continue to leverage these initial findings to further build our knowledge base and expand our platform capabilities beyond antisense, including our ongoing work in exon skipping, single stranded RNAi and other modalities.

Wave's researchers synthesized rationally designed stereopure isomers of mipomersen, an FDA approved drug comprised of 524,288 stereoisomers. These researchers demonstrated that phosphorothioate stereochemistry substantially impacts the pharmacologic properties of ASOs. Furthermore, their work identified a stereochemical code that can be rationally designed in the stereopure ASOs that promotes targeted RNA cleavage by RNase H1, and that provides a more durable response in mice than is achieved by stereorandom ASOs. Waves research also demonstrated that this stereochemical code improved pharmacologic properties both with mipomersen and with a second sequence (conjugated with GalNAc) that targets APOC3. This stereochemical platform provides a foundation for Wave's current pre-clinical and clinical programs, including two recently initiated trials in Huntington's disease (PRECISION-HD1 and PRECISION-HD2).

"These findings provide a powerful demonstration of Wave's stereopure oligonucleotide platform and its potential to rationally design therapies targeting currently untreatable genetic conditions," said Greg Verdine, founder, board member of Wave Life Sciences. "The ability for the first time to exert precise, synthetically programmable control over the chemistry and stereochemistry of ASOs, and the pharmacologic benefits observed for stereochemical optimization as demonstrated in this paper, offer a compelling basis for Wave's novel approach toward advancing safer and more effective nucleic acid therapies."

About Wave Life Sciences

Wave Life Sciences is a biotechnology company focused on delivering transformational therapies for patients with serious, genetically-defined diseases. Our chemistry platform enables the creation of highly specific, well characterized oligonucleotides designed to deliver superior efficacy and safety across multiple therapeutic modalities. Our pipeline is initially focused on neurological disorders and extends across several other therapeutic areas.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the significance of the paper; the importance of the papers findings in the field of nucleic acid therapeutics; the distinguishing features of Waves drug development platform and the potential benefits thereof. These statements may be identified by words such as believe, expect, may, plan, potential, will and similar expressions, and are based on current beliefs and expectations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements, including risks and uncertainties associated with Waves stereopure chemistry platform, the drug development and regulatory approval process; and the commercialization, development and acceptance of therapies with new technologies, as well as other risks and uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section of Waves most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the parties assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Originally posted here:
Wave Life Sciences Announces Publication of Paper in Nature ... - Business Wire (press release)

UNITY Biotechnology, a privately held biotechnology company creating therapeutics that prevent, halt, or reverse numerous diseases of aging, announced the closing of an additional$35 millionin Series B financing. This second close of the Series B, in addition to the initial close infall of 2016, brings the total amount of this financing to$151 million.

The UNITY Series B financing ranks among the largest private financings in biotech history. New Series B investors include INVUS Opportunities, Three Lakes Partners, Cycad Group, COM Investments, and Pivotal Alpha Limited.These new investors join the Series B led by longtime life science investors ARCH Venture Partners, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management and Research Company, Partner Fund Management, and Venrock. Other investors include Bezos Expeditions, Vulcan Capital, Founders Fund, WuXi PharmaTech, and Mayo Clinic Ventures. Proceeds from this financing will be used to expand ongoing research programs in cellular senescence and advance the first preclinical programs into human trials.

UNITYalsoannounced thatGraham Cooperhas joined UNITY's board of directors. Mr. Cooper was previously the chief financial officer ofReceptos,which was acquired by Celgene in 2015 for$7.8 billion.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have attracted someone of Graham's experience and judgment to help us shape our mission of attacking diseases of aging and fundamentally reshaping human healthspan," saidKeith Leonard, UNITY chairman and CEO. "The incredible investor support matched with the progress in preclinical development has us on track to initiate clinical trials in 2018 with our first senolytic drug."

"UNITY pairs a huge market opportunity with highly compelling biology and a proven and experienced management team. We continue to attract both a highly skilled team and deep financial backing to match the potential," saidRobert Nelsen, UNITY board member and co-founder and managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, UNITY's founding investor.

Go here to read the rest:
UNITY Biotechnology Announces Series B Financing Extension ... - Drug Discovery & Development

Shares ofProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) have seen the needle move3.41% or 1.75 in the most recent session. TheNASDAQ listed companysaw a recent bid of $53.03 on83915 volume.

Strictly technical traders typically dont pay a whole lot of attention to fundamental factors such as value, competition, or company management. Technical analysts want to figure out trends based on indicators, charts, and prior price data. These types of traders are usually highly active and hold positions for short periods of time in order to capitalize on short-term price fluctuations. Active traders may be quick to unload a position if it does not pan out as expected. Technicians often pay a great deal of attention to support and resistance levels. These are levels where traders believe a specific stock will either see a bounce or a pullback.

Digging deeping into the ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) s technical indicators, we note that the Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R currently sits at -54.70. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would point to an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would signal an oversold situation. The Williams %R was developed by Larry Williams. This is a momentum indicator that is the inverse of the Fast Stochastic Oscillator.

ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -31.41. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) is sitting at 20.96. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued. After a recent check, the 14-day RSI for ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnologyis currently at 47.24, the 7-day stands at 50.69, and the 3-day is sitting at 71.69.

See the original post here:
Shares Seesawing on Volume: ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Biotechnology (BIB) - Morgan Research

Park Ophthalmology is a full service eye care center dedicated to serving the needs of your entire family. We have locations in the Research Triangle Park area and North Raleigh for your convenience. We are currently accepting new patients.

Our board certified physicians provide a wide variety of medical and surgical treatments of eye diseases, including glaucoma, cataracts, corneal disease, dry eye syndrome, and diabetic eye disease. We perform general vision exams, specialty dry eye evaluations, contact lens evaluation and fitting, eye safety information, and sports medicine protective eyewear and counseling. Surgical procedures include small incision cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, laser surgery, and emergency eye treatments.

Our philosophy of health care is geared toward the prevention and treatment of eye diseases, with education, counseling, and personalized service. Early detection is the best defense against permanent vision loss. We are dedicated to providing sophisticated, advanced eye care in a warm and caring environment.

Many questions and interactions with our practice are best handled via the secure Patient Portal Click on the logo below to login to the Patient Portal.

Read the original post:
Park Ophthalmology | Durham & Raleigh NC | Beth Friedland, MD

Andrew McClellan (Courtesy of: Texas Retina Associates)

Dallas-based Texas Retina Associates has added Dr. Andrew McClellan to its Dallas-Fort Worth practice. He starts on September 1.

TRA has 14 offices throughout Texas and is the states largest opthalmology practice, employing 210 physicians and medical staffers. The company focuses on the diagnosis and medical and surgical management of retina and vitreous diseases.

McClellan is an ophthalmologist specializing in the treatment of macular degeneration, retinal tears and detachment, diabetic retinopathy, and macular holes. He will work with patients in the Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, and Grapevine TRA offices.

He most previously served as an ophthalmologist at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Fla..

TRA Jeff Brockette said in a statement: McClellan comes to us with stellar training and experience from one of the top-rated eye hospitals in the country, and we are honored to have him join our practice. He shares our commitment to providing patients with convenient access to the latest sight-saving treatment options and doing so in a compassionate, personalized manner.

McClellan earned his bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He earned his M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and completed his internship at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, Fla.

More here:
Texas Retina Associates Adds Specialist - D Healthcare Daily

A Portland man who watched a solar eclipse in 1963 says the experience left him partially blind in one eye, and now he wants everyone to know the warnings about eye damage during the upcoming eclipse are no joke.

PORTLAND, Oregon A Portland man who watched a solar eclipse in 1963 says the experience left him partially blind in one eye, and now he wants everyone to know the warnings about eye damage during the upcoming eclipse are no joke.

Back then, it was a total solar eclipse in Alaska and Canada, but the path of totality did not come through Oregon.

Still, Louis Tomososki remembers being 16 years old and watching it unfold from the baseball field at Marshall High School.

Nobody was talking about safety glasses back then, so he watched it with the naked eye, closing his left eye and leaving his right eye open.

Oh 20 seconds probably, thats all it took, Tomososki told FOX 12. Im glad I didnt go 40 seconds, it would have been even worse.

He doesnt remember exactly when he realized there was a problem, but those few seconds burned a hole in his retina leaving him with a sizable blind spot hes had ever since.

He describes it as looking at someone and being able see their face but not their nose.

Tomososki remembers it was discovered during an eye exam when he went into the Air Force right after high school.

In the 54 years since that eclipse, he said the blind spot hasnt gotten any worse or any better.

Every time we go to an eye doctor now for an exam, they dilate your eyes and look in there, the first thing they say is, you looked at a solar eclipse sometime in your life, he said.

Dr. Brandon Lujan, an assistant professor of Opthalmology at OHSUs Casey Eye Institute, said the same damage can be done on any other day if you stare at the sun. But with the eclipse, even when the visible light is reduced by the moon, UV and infrared rays can still do damage to the retina.

Some damage occurs pretty quickly, but a lot of damage can take hours to days to really come to bear, Lujan said. Unfortunately theres not a treatment for it, so once that damage is done you have to wait and hopefully things improve and your body can heal some, but a lot of the damage can be permanent.

Its a lesson Tomososki wishes he knew back in 1963.

With Mondays total solar eclipse on the horizon, he wants you to remember that even a quick look at the sun with the naked eye just isnt worth it.

A quick look like we did back in 1963, and Im 71, almost 71 now, that quick look cost us, Tomososki said. And it could have cost us a lot more.

Source:KPTV

Originally posted here:
Man who was left partially blind by 1963 eclipse offers warning: 20 seconds is 'all it took' - myfox8.com

Sun worship is not new, in fact, the 14th century B.C. Egyptians worshiped the sun god in a religion known as Atonism. In modern times we acknowledge the crucial importance of the sun as our provider of life sustaining energy, but we generally do not worship it. This Monday, however, with the first total solar eclipse to cross the entire country coast-to-coast since 1918, the obsessive fascination with viewing it is bordering on religious fervor.

Is it safe to directly view the eclipse? Certainly not without special protective eyewear that comply with international safety standards for direct observation of the sun (ISO 12312-2). NASA has emphasized that the filter must be from an approved manufacturer. The American Astronomical Society has also provided tips for safe viewing as well a list of reputable manufacturers of eyewear. If you can see any objects including your hand in front of your face then the eyewear is definitely faulty. Across our land, eclipse glasses are selling out of pharmacies and photo stores much faster than they can be restocked, and libraries are holding onto them for special eclipse viewing sessions. Scalpers are asking prices usually reserved for sports playoff games.

Unfortunately, there is no proven treatment and though there is often improvement over time, some of the eye damage may be permanent, so the best idea is to avoid the exposure in the first place.

According to NASA, if you happen to be in the direct path of the total eclipse across the south/central U.S. you could theoretically choose the exact moment when the moon is directly positioned across the Sun and only the corona is visible to view the eclipse without eye protection. But to try to gauge that exact moment correctly could be risky too.

Dr. Joel Schuman, Chairman of Opthalmology at NYU Langone Health, told me that eyewear that meets the ISO 12312-2 standard should be safe, provided of course that it is in good condition and you wear it the entire time you are viewing the eclipse and not add on a magnifying telescope, binoculars, or camera. Dr. Martin Leib, professor of pphthalmology at Columbia University, said that he thinks that the safest way to view the eclipse is with your back to the sun, cutting a tiny hole in a paper plate and allowing the image of the eclipse to pass through and project onto another paper plate for your safe viewing.

If you try to look directly at the sun on a normal day, your eyes will water and begin to burn if you stare for more than a minute or two. This discomfort will get you to turn away. With the eclipse, you can end up staring for longer and not even realizing you are damaging and scarring your retina (solar retinopathy) until later, when you begin to experience symptoms. A central part of the retina can be damaged (macula) and your vision may become less sharp, you may develop blind spots, see wavy instead of straight lines, and a central yellow spot may appear which develops into a red spot over several days or weeks. Unfortunately, there is no proven treatment and though there is often improvement over time, some of the damage may be permanent, so the best idea is to avoid the exposure in the first place.

Fascination with solar eclipses has damaged retinas (the essential camera of the eye) through history. There is a story that Isaac Newton himself viewed an eclipse through a mirror and ended up with temporary blindness.

Perhaps Newton was prescient in his fascination with eclipses, since the total solar eclipse of 1919 was used by British scientist Arthur Eddington to show that Newtons absolutes of space and time were incorrect and that Einsteins newer theory of relativity (that gravity affected light, space, and time) was more accurate.

Mondays total solar eclipse is not likely to have the same long term impact on scientific theory, though it is definitely exciting for all and a moment for our country to safely unite behind a celebration of natures wonder.

Marc Siegel, M.D. is a professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Medical Center. He has been a medical analyst and reporter for Fox News since 2008.

More:
Dr. Marc Siegel: Solar eclipse - science, safety, and wonder - Fox News

Yet despite it being the countrys leading source of pain and disability it remains a largely invisible and overlooked condition that is often dismissed as an old persons disease, even though the truth is that it can attack people of all ages.

This is why Arthritis Research UK is launching a campaign to highlight the condition and its awful debilitating effects. Apart from the physical toll, it costs the economy 2.58billion a year.

There are always medical conditions that attract the publics attention and their sympathy. Arthritis is not one of these: it is almost a Cinderella illness. And most who suffer from it tend to do so in silence. Often they do not wish to be a nuisance to their families, let alone the medical profession.

Yet nobody would wish chronic pain on anybody. It can make life unbearable and many with arthritis are in pain all the time.

Many people with agonising conditions of all types will be stoical and put up and shut up. But with a disease such as arthritis and related illnesses such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, the very fact that it is so widespread makes it essential that the campaign not only raises awareness but also leads to more research and eventually a cure.

Brexit makes us safer

Our new chief trade negotiator Crawford Falconer will this week begin working alongside Liam Fox in the Department for International trade. In the run-up toBrexithis role will be crucial and it is to be welcomed that here is a senior figure who is wholeheartedly committed to getting the best out of quitting the EU.

Mr Falconer also believes that new alliances and trade deals made by Britain will make the world a safer place. He says: Many countries still recognise that open-trade policies directed at engaging with others are at the core of any strategy to improve the global prospects for political openness and stability.

For too long we have heard nothing but doom-laden despair at the complexity of extricating ourselves from Brussels with some even saying it is a job that simply cant be done. How refreshing to hear such a positive and optimistic attitude to Brexit.

Bake Off - we missed you

The new Bake Off, it must be admitted, looks very much like the old Bake Off though with some different people. The appeal of the show was always its gentle and quintessentially British charm, which thankfully seems intact.

Read more:
Arthritis: Invisible illness causing untold pain to sufferers - EXPRESS COMMENT - Express.co.uk

Arthritis sufferers forced to take time off work will cost the economy 3.43 billion a year by 2030, according to new research.

The two most common forms of the condition, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, currently cost the UK economy 2.58 billion annually through 25 million lost working days.

But this will jump further by 900,000 more lost working days for the condition which costs the NHS and the wider healthcare system 10.2 billion every year.

Over the course of the next decade, an estimated 118.6 billion will be spent on the condition.

The figures were published by Arthritis Research UK, which is launching a campaign to raise the profile of the condition.

The research detailed in the report titled the Nations Joint Problem report, reveals the current and future impact of the condition on the economy, the NHS as well as families and individuals across the UK.

One-in-six people currently have OA and RA, and this is predicted to rise to one-in-five by 2050.

Experts predict that by then the figures will increase to 27.2 million working days and, an annual cost of 4.74 billion.

Arthritis is an umbrella term used to describe painful conditions that affect the bones, muscles and joints in all parts of the body.

Even though nine-in-ten people with arthritis (88%) describe it as a debilitating and life-restricting condition, the report reveals the condition is largely invisible from the public and even an acceptable, part of getting older.

The research suggests sufferers find there is also a stigma attached to the condition, which is often dismissed as an old persons disease, even though arthritis impacted on people of all ages.

Anne Kearl, 55, who has osteoarthritis, said: Pain is normal to me. Its always there. I may paint a smile on my face, but I will be hurting all over.

"Its had a big impact on my mental health; pain and depression feed off each other and in my experience, its hard to separate them out a lot of the time.

"I never know when I wake up if Im going to have a good day or a just got to get through it day. Thats the reality for me of living with arthritis.

"Because arthritis is invisible people other than my family dont see the reality. When friends and colleagues cant physically see anything wrong with you, they assume youre OK and often I let people think that rather than be honest about my arthritis."

Liam OToole, Chief Executive of Arthritis Research UK, said: "There is a complete mismatch between the enormous impact arthritis has on individuals, their families and society and the attention, priority and resources society currently gives to it.

"As a result, people with arthritis do not get the help or support that they need. We are all losing out.

"Whether its an employer who loses out on the skills of an employee, a child who misses out on playing with their parents or grandparents, the strain on the NHSs resources, or someone with arthritis who is trying to get through every day in pain, the impact of arthritis is being felt across the whole of society."

More here:
'Invisible' arthritis to cost UK economy 3.43 billion a year through sufferers taking time off work - Mirror.co.uk

Infographic courtesy of Gout and Uric Acid Education Society.

The community is invited to attend and support the 2017 Walk to Cure Arthritis on Saturday, Aug. 26, to help raise awareness and funding in the effort to find a cure for arthritis. The fundraising event will be held at Liliuokalani Park at 189 Lihiwai Street in Hilo and registration can be completed online.

Arthritis is a growing condition in Hawaii with roughly 19 percent of residents affected by some form of the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Health experts say its important to speak with a rheumatologist to discuss treatment options in suspected cases.

In light of the upcoming Walk for Arthritis fundraiser, 70-year-old Hawaii Island resident Dennis Leatherman is sharing his story of suffering with chronic gout, an inflammatory arthritic condition that can lead to severe pain and joint damage.

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the bloodstream, and can lead to sudden episodes of pain, stiffness and swelling. For many people the pain is overwhelming. It usually begins in the big toe and when left untreated, can spread to the ankles, heels, knees, wrists and fingers.

As a local art teacher and artist, Leatherman said the severity of his pain made him doubt whether he could continue painting. After multiple doctor visits and years of pain, Leatherman was finally diagnosed with chronic gout. He now leads an art class as a therapeutic activity for local residents struggling with various health conditions.

Only 10 percent of people with gout receive proper treatment, according to the Gout and Uric Acid Education Society.Leatherman hopes that sharing his own story will raise awareness about gout so others can get proper treatment if they notice symptoms.

Visit link:
2017 Walk to Cure Arthritis Comes to Hilo Aug. 26 - Big Island Now