Health Meaning

Duke University has suspended three clinical cancer trials in response to allegations that a key researcher on embellished his resume studies.

The tumult
started last week when Letter cancer , Washington, DC, newsletter, reported that Anil Potti had apparently lied about being a Rhodes scholar and made other claims on unverifiable biographies included in its grant applications. Duke suspended Potti, and the American Cancer Society stopped payments on a grant. = "# sci-comment">

Today The New York Times reports that the Duke Sunday decided to stop enrollment in three clinical trials which Potti and Joseph Nevins Duke used gene expression signatures for predicting the response of a patient to chemotherapy. The university said it responded to the allegations concerning the powers and plans to review the research Potti.

In addition, the Times reports, more than two dozen researchers and cancer biostatistician expressed concerns about trials in a letter Monday to director Harold the National Cancer Institute Varmus. (The letter was also sent to the head of the Cancer Center at Duke, H. Kim Lyerly.) The letter reads in part: "Recently published and peer reviewed by the new analysis of the work of Potti and Nevins revealed serious errors which question the validity of predictive models on which these ongoing clinical trials are based. "

One day after the Department of Justice said it plans to appeal the injunction that suspended federal funding for research embryonic stem cells, more details have emerged about the scientists who won this round. James Sherley, a researcher on stem cells in the Boston Biomedical Research Institute in Watertown, Massachusetts, made a hunger strike in 07 when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was denied tenure. Sherley said the decision was based on racism. When Sherley was ultimately rejected, a colleague at MIT, Frank Douglas, resigned in protest against the way the university handled the case.

Theresa Deisher is the founder of AVM Biotechnology in Seattle, Washington. She worked for several biotech companies before founding AVM in 07, receiving applause from some activists to work on stem cell ethics. According to Los Angeles Times , she told police in Seattle in 08 she was harassed by former colleagues who accused him of disclosing information that the company was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The AVM web site includes a number of interviews and opinion pieces in which she criticized the research using embryos or fetal tissue, including for example, fetal cells based vaccines.

See our full coverage of this issue.

A federal appeals court this morning, stayed, or suspended, preliminary injunction issued two weeks ago that funding federal for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research stopped. The Court of the United States calling for D.C. Circuit took less than a day to respond to an appeal made yesterday by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The states of an order of the Court of Appeal partly page:

ORDERED than August 23, 2010 order of the District Court be suspended until further court order. The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient time to examine the merits of the emergency motion for stay and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of the motion. ... It is

FURTHER ORDERED that the respondents filed a response to the urgent request of 14 September 2010, 16:00 Callers may file a reply by 16:00 on 20 September 2010.

clearly, the court of appeal suspended the injunction so that he could examine the request of the Department of Justice that the order be suspended. The plaintiffs (respondents) who filed suit to block the hESC research, two stem cell researchers adults now have until September 14 to respond to the request of the Ministry of Justice. DOJ (the appellant) while another 6 days to respond.

The residence is the first good news for biomedical researchers since the preliminary injunction on August 23 by Judge Royce Lamberth chief of the US District Court in Washington, DC, forced the National Institutes of Health to suspend the proceedings of hESC grant proposals to freeze payments on current grants and shutter hESC research on the NIH campus. NIH-yet commented a spokesman referred the press office of reporter of the Ministry of Justice. But 11 days (at least) breathing space should allow NIH to resume grant notification and hESC research intramural during a "critical period" towards the year end September 30, Anthony suggests Mazzaschi of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC science Insider continue to monitor the implications of stay.

See our full coverage of this issue.

One of the largest clinical trials ever managed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) ended today with news but hope the budget in jeopardy. NCI Director Harold Varmus announced at a press conference that the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was interrupted by a monitoring group, as there is strong evidence that lives can be saved by using high technology to X-ray imaging to screen for lung cancer. Preliminary data from the study, which involved 53,000 heavy smokers aged 55 to 74, show that deaths among people screened in computed tomography low dose (CT) were 20% lower than in people who achieved a standard radiography. The study, which began in 02, did not investigate why the CT-screened people have done better. Varmus said they are likely to have an early and effective treatment.

This is good news because no other lung cancer screening method has never reduced deaths from disease. Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death in the US, and is expected to kill about 157,000 people this year. Worldwide, lung cancer deaths are about 1.3 million per year. If NLST study is correct, it points to a way to achieve "the largest single reduction of cancer mortality in the history of the war against cancer," said James Mulshine, a cancer researcher associated with the group pro-screening advocacy, lung Cancer Alliance and vice president for research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.

But the test results are worrying, too, Varmus said. They are likely to place significant new demands on health care. the main concern, said deputy director of NCI's basic science Douglas Lowy, is the enormous cost. It's not just the price of each scan which is estimated at about $ 300. What concerns Lowy is the high rate of false positives may result from mass screening. approximately 25% of the analyzes in the NLST trial identified anomalies, but the vast majority of those n were not dangerous cancers. Lowy and other experts fear that thousands of people will receive false alarms and therefore unnecessarily undergo x-rays and biopsies. Investigate each false alarm will be expensive and potentially very risky.

US health agencies will not make recommendations for individuals based on the NLST data immediately, Varmus said: The first step will be to publish a final report, peer review on study. Varmus expected in either the 2 or 3 months. Then review committees decide who should consider getting a scanner, when, and how often.

Weeks after deciding to cut one of its 27 institutes and centers, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is now seeking to create a new center focused on translational medicine. An advisory board will vote on the proposal next week.

According to the slides of November 1 Teleconference Advisory Board 10, the new center would benefit the increasing number of potential "targets" drug emerge basic research laboratories at the same time that pharmaceutical companies reduce research and development. The center's goal is to "develop and increase the effort of the organization in the development of new therapies."

It would house several existing programs at NIH, including a small-molecule screening program, a effort to develop drugs for rare and neglected diseases, and clinical and translational NIH Awards, which are large grants to support clinical research in academic medical centers. the center would also fold in the network acceleration Cures, a development program medicines created by the proposed health care reform law. It would have intramural close ties clinical center of the NIH, one, 240 underused facilities beds that advisers say NIH should open to external scientists.

the proposal for the translation Centre is a working group of the Council of scientific management review of the NIH (SMRB), which is seeking ways to streamline the structure of NIH. The NIH Director Francis Collins grew with a recent SMRB recommendation to combine research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in a new addiction institute . This will balance 27 NIH Institutes to 26.

Added more institutes did not consider what some would SMRB. But the law creating SMRB also capped the total number of NIH institutes to 27, leaving open the possibility of creating a new one each time the number decreases.

The SMRB working group chair, Arthur Rubenstein, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, did not respond to an email seeking comment before a meeting on December 7 in which full SMRB review the project center. But the debate can be expected. In the past, industry scientists have questioned the value of some of NIH's drug discovery efforts.

A Health Canada scientist continued his boss, Ottawa Citizen reports, saying his effort to change the label of the drug testosterone leads call it mentally unstable and give poor performance evaluations. Thaddeus Yarney, a reproductive endocrinologist, claiming $ 0,000 (CAD) in a lawsuit filed in Ottawa. The complaint Yarney begins in 05 when he began working under a new supervisor, Barbara Rotter.

There is a striking contrast in media coverage of the FDA advisory committee meeting yesterday on a test for a signature feature of Alzheimer's disease. A The New York Times , cutting Gina Kolata enthusiasm is at least half full:

F.D.A. Sees Promise in Alzheimer's imaging drug

An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended Thursday that the agency approve the first test - a brain scan which can show the characteristics of plates Alzheimer's disease in the brain of a living person. The approval was contingent on radiologists agreeing that the analyzes say and trained doctors how to read the scans.

The article quoted experts Alzheimer enthusing about "a monumental step forward," and "a historic day for our field."

Several other outlets, including CNN Health took more than a glass half empty approach:

FDA on the new Alzheimer's test: No, or at least not yet

a new test to detect or rule out Alzheimer's disease are not quite ready for prime time, an advisory committee of the FDA said Thursday afternoon. The test, a type of PET scan developed by Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, is designed to detect the telltale amyloid accumulations of plaque in the brain which means Alzheimer's disease.

In fact, as reported in Alzforum a detailed analysis of the decision, the committee first voted 13-3 to reject new drug application from Avid, then voted unanimously that they recommend approval if the company can strengthen its argument that the analyzes are read regularly by different doctors. Doing this may require improvements in reading scans protocols and training and education programs for neuroradiologists.

Article Alzforum also noted a point that receives almost no mention elsewhere: the demand for Avid is not seeking permission to use the test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Rather, it seeks approval for the use rule the presence of amyloid plaques. If the FDA finally granted approval, presumably some doctors use to "off-label" purposes, such as testing people already suspect they have Alzheimer's disease or people screening with mild memory problems.

The AVID compound is based on a radioactive fluorine isotope (F-18), which is injected before the PET to allow doctors to detect amyloid deposits in the brain. It is one of several F-18 compounds in development for this purpose. The first amyloid imaging method developed there nearly a decade, was based on an isotope of carbon short term, C-11, which limits its use to hospitals with their own cyclotron that could make it on square. The new F-18 compounds could be much more widely used.

An important confirmation that the compound Avid accurately detects the plates comes from a study in this week's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association which shows good agreement between PET findings and autopsy findings in 35 patients.

But do patients really want to know they have the incipient Alzheimer's disease? It is true that knowledge of a loved one has Alzheimer's disease can help families plan for the bumpy road ahead, and the decision to get out of the disease can help neurologists zero on the right diagnosis. But the lack of disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease may deter some people from getting tested.

For now, the F-18 PET compounds may be more useful for researchers and clinicians. They are already used in clinical trials and in most government and Neuroimaging Initiative Alzheimer industry-sponsored (profiled in Science ). Many researchers believe that the use of amyloid imaging and other biomarkers may help improve clinical trials by helping to exclude patients with other conditions, for example, and the identification of patients with the disease at an early stage. When treatments eventually become available, they are likely to be most effective when administered early - and demand for Alzheimer's tests should really take off.

Bioethics Committee President Barack Obama today its final report on the risks and benefits of young field of synthetic biology. His conclusion: no new regulations are needed, but federal officials must be vigilant in case of greater risks arise in the future.

Obama called for the study in May after a team led by biologist J. Craig Venter said he had inserted a synthetic genome into a self-replicating cell. After three meetings, central conclusion of the Commission of 13 members is as promising synthetic biology for the production of biofuels and new drugs, but do not pose serious risks to the environment or health. "The benefits of this technology on the rise and our commitment as a country to intellectual freedom suggest no moratorium. ... No new institutions or laws are needed, "said the commission co-chairman Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania.

Instead, the 18 recommendations of the group are focused on dialogue and keeping an eye on the ground. Within 18 months, a White House-level coordination committee should publish journals watching financing, licensing policies, gaps in the risk assessment, the ethics education, and rules monitoring for researchers. In addition, a private organization should establish a fact-checking website that would correct exaggerations in the media on synthetic biology - such as claims that Venter created life. Venter's feat was "extraordinary in many ways, but" does not amount to the creation of life be it a scientific question or morality, "the report concludes.

Some experts are worried not as about the academic and synthetic biology company, but about DIY enthusiasts in their garages. George Church of Harvard University told the bioethics panel that these "do-it-yourself" should be authorized and monitored. But the panel concluded that fans are nowhere near the synthesis of a self-replicating organism. "We are not there yet, and we will never get there," said Gutmann.

But if synthetic biology removed, new rules may be needed if the ongoing review of risk by federal officials . " identify the safety or security of unmanaged major concerns, the government should consider enforcing certain mandatory reporting or monitoring for all researchers ... whatever the sources of financing, "the report said. The government can also need to revise US rules limiting the information and documents sent to other countries. But any change in these so-called export controls "must not unduly restrict" trade between international scientists says report.

The recommendations are essentially the same in a draft report that the committee discussed last month. Since then, the group has refined a label, said the 18-month timetable for the examinations, and called to share the results with the public, says Gutmann.

The Commission now plans to raise two new projects. From its next meeting in February, the committee will examine the ethics of genetic and neurological tests.

At the request of Obama, the panel is monitoring the recent revelation that in the mid-1940s, a US federal researcher deliberately infected patients in Guatemala with syphilis. The commission form an investigation team to investigate the unethical experiments and will ask an international task force to examine whether the US rules for clinical trials in other countries are properly protecting human subjects aujourd ay, says Gutmann.

UPDATE 1:10 p.m.:

Some activists have criticized the report, saying stricter controls on synthetic biology are required. In a letter sent to the Commission today, 58 environmental, religious, and others say that the report is flawed because it did not properly evaluate the environmental risks of the release of synthetic organisms, relies too on "suicide genes" for preventing the synthetic forms of life to replicate if they escape, and depends on the industry to regulate themselves. The groups, which include Friends of the Earth, ETC Group and the International Centre for call evaluation technology for a moratorium on the commercial use and release of synthetic organisms until the risks are better understood.

Most malaria researchers believe that most dangerous mosquito, AIA malaria parasites carrying the world's species called Anopheles gambiae , AIIS a homebody who prefers to bite people inside. But a new study challenges this view. The researchers found a large sub-population of the insect that prefers to live outdoors. These insects can play an important role, but so far hidden in malaria transmission.

"This is incredibly interesting," said Willem Takken, a medical entomologist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The "dogma" that malaria is transmitted mainly inside can not be correct, he said. If so, methods, Äîsuch internal control as nets and spray insecticides, Äîmay must be complemented by external strategies based.

One reason the newly discovered mosquito may have flown under the radar is that collecting mosquitoes is the hard outside and therefore rarely done, said Kenneth Vernick of the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Inside, you put a white sheet on the floor, spray insecticide on the walls and ceilings, and mosquitoes literally fall at your feet. Traps that use light to attract mosquitoes also work much better inside, said Takken.

But A. gambiae mosquito larvae begin life living in standing water. Vernick felt that some of these mosquitoes could stay outside when they become adults. His team collected A. gambiae larvae at sites along a line of 400 km in Burkina Faso, then check for a series of genetic markers currently used for typing A. gambiae . The team also trapped adult mosquitoes inside to neighboring villages.

They found that the puddles contained two different subpopulations. About 43% of larvae were genetically identical to the adult mosquitoes trapped inside houses. The remaining 57%, however, were genetically very distinct and are not found inside homes, suggesting they spend their adult lives outside. The team appointed them Goundry after a local village. The width of the genetic fracture suggests that there is little or no crossover between the groups, the team reports in the February 4 issue of Science .

Goundry mosquitoes are much more susceptible to infection with malaria: When fed blood spiked with malaria parasites, 58% were infected, against only 35% of the inhabitants of the house. This suggests that Goundry can contribute significantly to the transmission of malaria to humans, Vernick says, Äîand intense fight against malaria in the interior can actually give them an evolutionary leg up.

The researchers are not caught Goundry adult, however, and they do not know yet if they bite humans. In theory, they could feed on cattle, goats, sheep, and donkeys than people, says Vernick, in which case they would not be important for the transmission of human malaria.

"We need to know what this group is doing in terms of bite, but also in other aspects of its ecology," says Jacob Koella, an epidemiologist at Imperial evolution College London. The fact that the indoor control based methods work well in many places suggests that the outdoor mosquitoes are not major contributors to malaria, he said. Nevertheless, "this is clearly a major study"

The group Takken, meanwhile, has developed a tool that could help shed more light on the discovery. A trap that uses human scents or animal bait and which is more efficient than current methods. (An article on these traps is currently under investigation, said Takken.) with new traps, Vernick team took a lot of adult mosquitoes in the same areas Burkina Faso. He hoped that the strategy will reveal much about where exactly Goundry mosquitoes spend their adult lives, the species they feed on, and how much they contribute to deadly cycle of malaria.

concerns a group of senators has registered on the National Institutes of plane (NIH) of Health to abolish the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR ) to make way for a new center for translational science. In a letter dated February 14 to NIH Director Francis Collins, 16 senators, including three Republicans, say they are concerned about "the timing of the reorganization process and impact" Price Institutional Development Program (IDeA) of NCRR on, which supports research in states with less funding from the NIH.

the letter highlights the speed of the reorganization moves from an advisory board suggested that the new institute in early December. the "rhythm "in which decisions are taken" is worrying, "the senators wrote. They are also worried that putting several pieces of NCRR in an "interim unity" in the office of the NIH "could have negative consequences for most programs."

The signatories include two legislators who co-wrote a similar letter to NIH ago 2 weeks; it is Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), chairman of the Senate committee that approves the budget of the NIH. NIH is moving forward with the reorganization plan in the application of the 2012 budget released by the president earlier this week. But look for a showdown with opponents next Wednesday at another meeting of the Advisory Board.

UPDATED February 18: In a reply sent on February 16 senators, the director Francis Collins NIH says the IDEA program $ 229 million increase to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). "There is a lot of similarity in the objectives of the idea and mission of NIGMS," wrote Collins.

NIGMS Director Jeremy Berg and the Institute's board expressed concern management issues of the addition of large infrastructure programs NCRR to basic research institute of $ 2 billion.

A would-be mom worried Down syndrome faces an unpleasant choice: undergo an invasive test that can kill the fetus, or forego a definitive answer until after birth. But a new method that involves tracing the differences between DNA and the mother of his baby could provide physicians with a safe and inexpensive way to diagnose the disease, a practice enough to become part of routine prenatal care.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic disease worldwide, affecting about one in 700 live births. Babies with the disease carry an extra copy of chromosome 21, which causes cognitive disorders, heart defects and other problems. Although certain markers in the blood of a mother can tip off doctors that the fetus is at risk for Down syndrome, only invasive and costly procedures such as amniocentesis, which requires poking a needle into the uterus to obtain a sample fluid may give an 99% accurate answer. But these invasive tests are risky: they can cause miscarriage in 1% to 2% of cases.

In an attempt to find a safer alternative, researchers have turned to the blood of the mother. In a recent study, scientists ferreted the fetal DNA fragments leaking into the bloodstream of the mother, and then sequenced genomes to check both additional copies of chromosome 21. These attempts were successful, but they were long and necessary DNA specialized and expensive equipment that would -sequencing the process out of reach for most people.

Philippos Patsalis wanted something more accessible. A geneticist at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics in Nicosia Patsalis provided prenatal diagnostic tests for 20 years and has long lamented that women who want accurate testing face a higher risk and expense .

The first step was to find a simpler way of isolating fetal DNA from the blood stream of the mother. Instead of sequencing entire genomes, like the previous researchers did, Patsalis and colleagues focused on a process called DNA methylation. Here, called methyl groups attach chemicals to DNA regions and, as a volume knob on a stereo, turn up the activity of a gene or down. Fetus have methylation patterns that are different from their mothers, which allowed the group Patsalis easily distinguish the DNA of both in the blood of the mother.

Once the researchers had isolated fetal DNA, they began to look down syndrome signs. They have multiple copies of the DNA, then sought additional versions of chromosome 21. Again, methylation patterns simplified the process. Chromosome 21 has its own pattern of DNA methylation, which helped the team to find Patsalis additional copies easily.

The approach worked. Among 80 women who were pregnant 11-14 weeks the method was 100% accurate, using only standard equipment available in Basic Diagnosis Laboratory, Patsalis said. The findings, published online today in Nature Medicine "could blow the prenatal screening method in progress," says Joris Vermeesch geneticist from the University of Leuven in Belgium, which has not participated in the study. "This is the holy grail of prenatal diagnosis."

Patsalis's team has plans for large-scale clinical trials in the coming months. the simplicity, low cost and the potential of their method to identify other genetic conditions that makes them confident, Patsalis said the method "could be introduced in a clinical setting within 2 years."

The last known tourist defamation case under controversial laws in the UK, cardiologist Peter Wilmshurst has was hit with another defamation suit. The same US company that had originally been filed against him in 07 served his lawyers yesterday with his latest complaint regarding when Wilmshurst explained his defamation case on BBC Radio in 09. The required notification came months after the company filed its complaint with the United Kingdom courts and less than 36 hours before the case had been dropped.

Wilmshurst, a U.K. citizen, is one of a group of scientists and science journalists whose legal problems have served to point-libel reform rallying supporters. His troubles began with a 07 presentation he gave in the United States, during which he claimed that a cardiac device on which he had been the principal investigator was dangerous and that its manufacturer, Boston-based NMT Medical cover two studies that were unfavorable to the device. When a Canadian newspaper quoted him in a story, NMT has issued three separate applications defamation against Wilmshurst; This case is still pending.

In November 2010, NMT Medical has filed a fourth complaint against Wilmshurst with high U.K. court, this time on a 09 interview Wilmshurst a BBC Radio. In response to the question of an investigator about the lawsuit, Wilmshurst explained the origins of the case. In its application, NMT Medical said, repeating the details of the issue on national radio, he had defamed a wide audience. The court gave the U.K. company up to 16 hours March 25, 2011 to formally serve Wilmshurst.

In December, the court ruled that NMT now facing bankruptcy, must pay £ 0,000 in safety or the case would be dropped. Presumably, NMT released and his lawyer has served the complaint on March 24 at 10:21 p.m. (NMT's lawyer, Robert Barry, has not yet responded to a message of Science Insider-see update below -Dessous).

In a statement, lawyer Wilmshurst, Mark Lewis, said:

This is a clear abuse of a system to try to bully Dr Wilmshurst rather than trying to protect a reputation. If they were really concerned about their reputation, they have issued proceedings against Dr Wilmshurst immediately after the radio interview. ...

It is this kind of abuse of defamation proceedings which gives the right of the English libel a bad name. Dr. Wilmshurst is faced with having to waste more time to repel such an attempt shamelessly trying to scare him ... Rather than issue a new procedure maybe they could try to get their initial applications.

Many in the scientific community claim that U.K. fear of being prosecuted under permissive laws of the country discourages scientists from the struggle against the controversial issues. Last week, the U.K. lawmakers have proposed a "Defamation Bill" to strengthen the country's laws, putting the burden on the applicant to prove that statement significantly harmed his reputation.

* This article has been updated March 28:

In an email, Robert Barry, counsel for the prosecution, said science Insider that the delay between the year 09 and the interview filing "was the result of a long series of unexplained delays by the accused, aggravated by mistakes in fixing the dates and losing documents. "

the initial case is still pending, and Barry said Wilmshurst" refused to reply in detail "to" convincing evidence ... that NMT has not attempted to conceal data that Dr. Wilmshurst knew when he made his accusations. "

Barry said the choice to try the case in the UK was because the clinical trial in question "was conducted entirely in the UK by British doctors (including Peter Wilmshurst is) on patients in the UK, in hospitals in the UK and supervised by the medical regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom. ... NMT can be an American company, but it has a subsidiary in the United Kingdom, customers in the UK, has a reputation in the UK and major sponsors of clinical research in the UK. " The website that originally published the remarks Wilmshurst, despite being based in Canada, is "international in its scope and readership and the United Kingdom as one of its target markets," writes Barry.

MELBOURNE, Australia- After a week of national events, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on April 19 sought to reassure scientists that his government was rethinking a rumor of $ 423 million ($ 400 million AUD) cut medical research over 3 years, starting in the 2011-12 budget. "For those who have responded and even came out and demonstrated because of their concerns, I would say that the time of judgment is on budget night," she told ABC news. "There has never been more money invested in medical research in the history of this nation than there is today, right now, under this government."

the issue has become a political issue, with Peter Dutton, the health minister of the opposition, telling a rally in Brisbane on Tuesday that the budget for medical research should not be cut but raised by $ 212 million ( AUD $ 0 million). the government has allocated $ 746 million (AUD $ 710 million) in 2010-11. "My call today for Julia Gillard is to match our commitment to spending on medical research," said Dutton the crowd.

Earlier this week, medical researchers met with senior government officials. Doug Hilton, director Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of medical Research in Melbourne, "the government has heard the voice of the industry and the community, it is very clear to talk to those who are committed to medical research. "the moment of truth will come on 10 May, when the 2011-12 budget is released.

MELBOURNE, Australia- After a week of national events, the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on April 19 sought to reassure scientists that his government was rethinking a rumor of $ 423 million ($ 400 million AUD) cut medical research over 3 years, starting in the 2011-12 budget. "For those who have responded and even came out and demonstrated because of their concerns, I would say that the time of judgment is on budget night," she told ABC news. "There has never been more money invested in medical research in the history of this nation than there is today, right now, under this government."

the issue has become a political issue, with Peter Dutton, the health minister of the opposition, telling a rally in Brisbane on Tuesday that the budget for medical research should not be cut but raised by $ 212 million ( AUD $ 0 million). the government has allocated $ 746 million (AUD $ 710 million) in 2010-11. "My call today for Julia Gillard is to match our commitment to spending on medical research," said Dutton the crowd.

Earlier this week, medical researchers met with senior government officials. Doug Hilton, director Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of medical Research in Melbourne, "the government has heard the voice of the industry and the community, it is very clear to talk to those who are committed to medical research. "the moment of truth will come on 10 May, when the 2011-12 budget is released.

BERLIN- take pictures of your restaurant meal can be a strange habit but if it helps to save lives? Today, the German authorities announced that they are now certain that organic germs * are the source of the outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in their country and guests who took their cameras before digging in proved to be a big help.

Early epidemiological studies have shown that EHEC infected women were much more likely to have eaten raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce before their disease than women who remained healthy, and May 25 the federal Institute risk assessment (BfR) issued a recommendation to avoid these products. But more recent studies of infected groups showed that many patients had eaten in restaurants and cafeterias that had a connection to an organic germination battery in Bienenbüttel, a village in Lower Saxony. The farm has been closed as a precaution and BfR has expanded its choux recommendation.

Today, researchers at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German center for the prevention and control of diseases, confirmed the suspicion in what they call a "study cohort restaurant based on the recipe. "" the problem is that many people do not remember exactly what was in the food they had for lunch or dinner there are days, "says Gérard Krause, director of epidemiology infectious to RKI. To remedy this problem, the researchers identified five tour groups who ate in a restaurant in northern Germany. There were victims EHEC in five groups; in total, 19 of the 112 guests had become infected. (The restaurant's name was kept secret.)

Tuesday and Wednesday, the research teams swarmed to interview members of the groups. Using the control lists, invoices and photos, they were able to determine for most customers that items on the menu they had chosen. At the same time, three researchers went to the kitchen to find out exactly how the food was prepared and what ingredients went into each dish. "Only by addressing memory lapses guests with detailed knowledge of capitals could know exactly what each client had consumed," said RKI President Reinhard Burger. "These photos really helped us."

The researchers returned to Berlin on Wednesday evening and began to enter the data into their computers. Statistical analysis, ready at 6:00 Thursday morning, found that people who ate sprouts were 8.6 times more likely to have been infected with EHEC than with meals without germs. All 19 guests fell ill had eaten sprouts.

Based on this evidence and because a total of 26 clusters of EHEC has been traced to the farm of germination in Bienenbüttel-BfR officially exonerated the other vegetables at a press conference today. Households and restaurants were asked to destroy germs that they had in stock, and any foods that might have come into contact with them.

hours after the press conference, the Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia announced that EHEC bacteria with the specific serotype causing the outbreak, called O104, has was first found on sprouts from the organic farm in Bienenbüttel well. The sample came from an opened package in the garbage of a family in North Rhine-Westphalia, so it can not be completely ruled out that the seeds were infected only after they were thrown, but there is a another important piece of evidence. Two people in the household had become infected with EHEC.

Also today, EHEC researcher Helge Karch of the University of Münster confirmed suspicions that the current epidemic strain probably comes from humans. EHEC bacteria have a natural reservoir in ruminants such as cows and sheep, which carry the pathogen in their intestines and spread them with their droppings. But the analysis of the genome of the German strain suggests that it is actually a member of a different class, less aggressive microbes called enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (ECAA), which turned dangerous when he acquired toxin called Shiga usually found in the EHEC bacteria.

"The pathogen that is now spreading was found in humans so far," Karch was quoted as saying in a press release. This makes it more likely that this epidemic also originated in a person who may have brought the microbe without symptoms-that in a farm animal, Karch believes.

While the number of new infections is now in decline, heated political debate born in Germany if federal institutions involved in disease control and prevention should have more powers the responsibility for food safety and health now rests with 16 Bundeslaender the country or state;. by RKI law and BfR can not offer help when asked. many scientists consider the installation as ineffective. in the current outbreak, for example, communication with the public was sometimes chaotic, with simultaneous press conferences announcing different recommendations.

"Viruses and bacteria do not care [states'] borders," said Georg Peters, a microbiologist at the University of Münster. "It would make little sense to create an institution that is in charge of this type situation "at the federal level. disease experts called for such an institution for years, but until now, states have resisted giving up their power. "We've had SARS, bird flu, swine flu, now EHEC," Peters said. "Something has to happen at last."

* This article and its title was changed to reflect the fact that soybeans are not specifically involved. Sprouts were in general.

An expert group has asked the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to scrap 11 years, $ 368 million foray great in biology. Only two of the five original "glue grant" from the NIH institute were clear success, concludes an external review released Wednesday, and at least one grant had "significant flaws."

Glue Grants began with much fanfare in 00 as a way to solve the problems too big for a single laboratory. But some projects generally involved dozens of scientists in many institutions were more effective than others, according to a panel chaired by Norma Allewell molecular biologist at the University of Maryland, College Park. The report, which drew on a community survey, an analysis of the literature, and use of the website does not match the notes with individual projects. But NIGMS biophysics grants administrator Peter Preusch confirmed Science guesses Insider.

A "substantial success" was the Consortium for Functional Glycomics, who developed tables, mouse models and other resources for researchers studying the sugar molecules that cells use to communicate. The other winner was a project exploring the biology of why patients respond differently to inflammation of a severe burn or trauma. It led to new protocols that save lives, the report said.

Projects on lipid metabolism and cell migration were a "mixed success", the panel found. And the one with "significant flaws" was the Alliance for Cell Signaling, which aimed to map cell signaling pathways in heart muscle cells and immune cells. It was also the only one of the five who NIGMS eliminated early, after seven hours instead of 10 years.

So what went wrong? The report highlights the inadequate monitoring by NIGMS, the goals of the groups that were "inflexible" or "too wide or too narrow," "Missing expertise" and poor awareness of the rest of the scientific community. A common weakness was the databases. Often, investigators have generated data, for example, the functions of molecules, which are not easily converted into a computer readable form for use by the wider scientific community, said Preusch. "They was discover as they went along, "said Preusch.

The few (127) responses to the online community survey reflect these criticisms. Many who are not directly involved in the projects deemed a waste of money. And even participating in the lipid grant glue called a "mess."

NIGM devoted 1.8% of its budget of $ 2 billion per year in the program, and as the budget of NIH flattened, the gel became increasingly controversial. The panel shared this concern:

ultimately, the Panel found that "the scope and impact" of glue grant program was "not related to the investment." Thirteen of the 16 panelists voted to end glue grants following the most recent run in 2015.

the panel felt full NIGMS expected to support large-scale research through "smaller but more numerous awards." the report suggests that any new program should include more rigorous exams and a "relentless focus on important issues."

"The panel did not say that we should walk away from science quite large," said Preusch. But "clearly, it should be done differently."

Complaints Aboriginal leaders and local officials have blocked a plan by geneticists with the National Geographic Society to collect DNA from Q'eros remote tribe in Peru as part of the Genographic project, which seeks molecular clues to migrations of humanity worldwide. Population geneticist Spencer Wells, Genographic Project Director and other members of the expedition, planned to collect DNA in Q'eros communities tomorrow, May 7, in the current draft using DNA collected hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Now the expedition seems to go against the activists of local biodiversity. In a whirlwind of letters published this week, indigenous leaders say the scientists working with the National Geographic Genographic Project planned to collect DNA samples without follow local regulations and obtaining the appropriate consents. The officials met Wednesday in Cusco, Peru, to discuss the project and to grill a local guide and anthropologist hired by National Geographic.

In an e-mail to Science Insider, Wells said his team had verbal permission from leaders of both communities Q'eros to visit, and that complaints apparently came from a third community. "We canceled our visit to Q'eros until we found exactly what happened," he said.

Officials with the regional government of Cusco say that shipment violating a local ordinance on biological diversity that requires scientists to provide notarized proof of "free prior and informed consent" among other documents, before collecting the DNA. "There are several requirements that must meet National Geographic, and they have not done, "said Ninoska Rozas Palma, regional director for natural resources in Cusco in a telephone interview.

a copy of a letter to National Geographic President of the Regional Government, Spanish, was published by the Asociación para el Desarrollo Sostenible y Naturaleza (Asociación ANDES), a nonprofit Cusco who campaigned against "biopiracy" in the region. spokesman for the National Geographic Lucie McNeil said the organization has not received the letter and that it does not collect DNA without appropriate consent. The project follows a comprehensive ethical framework that includes policies against the patenting of DNA information or use it for medical research and the creation of a fund to help Aboriginal peoples.

Asociación ANDES also released a letter it says is from National Geographic guide for community members alerting them to the pending visit by the research team. The letter explains the purpose to understand the ethnic roots of the study, and promises a "fun" slide show "a projector and pretty pictures!" Although the letter does not explicitly state that the aim is to collect DNA, he said that the study is based on "written history combined with DNA (a chemical that we all have in our body which scientifically shown us our origins and family connections of centuries ago). "

" our concern is that this is how they called informed consent, because it goes to the against all basic principles of collecting DNA, "Alejandro Argumedo fees, research director Asociación ANDES. His group detailed their concerns here.

In an e-mail, Wells said the complaints were a surprise and it was not directly contacted by officials. Wells said the project has collected DNA in Peru since 07 and that "our reception was almost uniformly positive." He said his practice is to first get the permission of local leaders to introduce the project and after the presentation, follow up with explanations and individual consent before taking DNA samples orally. "It is only after all these steps are taken which plays swabbing would take place," he said.

Maria Luisa Guevara, a biologist at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of San Martin de Porres whose lab is working with Wells, said militants were "spread lies" about the research project. "There was a reaction from the local population, because we went for DNA, but the militants have turned into something totally evil, as we have planned to take liters of blood. It is just a buccal swab. "

Guevara said the expedition was considered important. "What we know from literature and oral tradition is that this group is very isolated, genetically more homogeneous. But if they do not want to have samples collected, they will not, period."

Argumedo said the Q'eros believe they are descendants of the first Inca: "This kind of research, scientifically well intentioned this may be, could have profound psychological consequences for the Inca identity Q'eros. If the results of genealogical study said that they are really in the northern Amazon, they are not who they think they are, the consequences could be very deep. "

the problem seems to have started with a complaint about the National Geographic study, detailed in a separate letter, the president of the community Q'eros Hatun Q'eros, Benito Apaza Machacca. the letter added that "the Nation Q'ero knows its history, its past, present and future is our culture and we Inca requires no genetic study said about who we are. We are Incas, we have always been and always will be! "

Time is the enemy for people who have been bitten by a poisonous snake, but a new study may give them a little more from him. The researchers identified an ointment that slows the spread of certain types of snake venom through the body, which could give snakebite victims longer to reach a hospital or clinic.

While venomous snakes kill only a handful of people in the US each year, the World Health Organization puts the overall balance to about 100,000 people. When some snakes strike, the large proteins in their venom seeping blood immediately but meander through the lymphatic system to the heart. In Australia, a country with slithering snakes harmful, first aid recommended for a bite includes tightly wrap the bitten limb to close the vessels-a method called lymphatic compression bandage with immobilization (PBI). The idea is to hinder the spread of venom until the victim can receive antivenom medicine, mainly on antibodies that block and neutralize the poison. But PBI is not practical if the bite is on the chest or face, and one study found that even people trained to perform the technique are good only about half the time. As a result, some people do not receive antivenin in time.

So physiologist Dirk van Helden of the University of Newcastle in Australia and his colleagues went in search of a chemical method to retain the poison. They settled on an ointment containing nitroglycerin, best known compound such as nitroglycerin that doctors used to treat everything from tennis elbow to angina. The ointment prescribed for a painful condition called anal fissures, releases nitric oxide, which causes the lymph vessels to clench. Researchers first injected volunteers in the foot with a harmless radioactive mixture which, as some snake toxins, moves through the lymphatic vessels. In control subjects who did not receive the ointment, the mixture took 13 minutes to climb to the top of the leg. But it took 54 minutes if the researchers immediately smeared the ointment around the injection site, reports the online team today Nature Medicine .

To determine whether the ointment improvement of survival, the researchers injected the feet of anesthetized rats with venom of eastern brown snake, a cobra on is one of the deadliest Australia, and measured how time elapsed before the rodents stopped breathing. Rats lived about 50% longer if the researchers slathered hind rodents with cream.

Although the team can not specify the number of minutes or hours the treatment might buy, the results suggest that "it gives you the time and a half to get help," said van Helden. "I'd rather just time." He said that hikers and people who work in rural areas might consider carrying the cream if they are bitten when they are far from medical facilities.

the method is "very exciting," says Steven Seifert, medical director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center in Albuquerque. "It makes sense to try to slow the passage of venom into the circulation." toxicologist medical Eric Lavonas, associate director of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver, Colorado, is also impressed. "This is very promising," he said. The authors "have good studies to evaluate this approach."

Yet Seifert and Lavonas whether such treatment would do much good in the US. Australian snakes largely inject neurotoxic venom that spreads through the body and attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis. The authors of most US snakebites are rattlesnakes, copper and cottonmouths, which inject a different type of venom that destroys the tissue mainly near the bite. But the researchers note that the ointment could be useful in many other countries inhabited by dangerous snakes, such as cobras, mambas and kraits, that produce neurotoxic venom. "If this treatment pans out, it can revolutionize first aid for snakebite in parts of the world where the venom causes paralysis," says Lavonas.

MELBOURNE, Australia- Rejecting arguments that stem cell regulations in Australia are too permissive, an independent group the July 7 advised the government not to change the rules. "The Australian current legislation strikes the right balance by allowing valuable research to occur while providing clear safeguards to address concerns held by the wider community," said Megan Munsie, a spokesman of the Stem Cell Center Australia.

in 02, Australia passed a law legalizing the use of surplus embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics to obtain embryonic stem cells. the law prohibits human cloning, but after a review in 05, the law was changed the following year to allow therapeutic cloning, or somatic cell nuclear transfer. Australian researchers have so far generated more than 50 embryonic stem cell lines derived from surplus embryos and three research groups were allowed to attempt nuclear transfer of somatic cells.

opponents argued that the law should be canceled since embryonic stem cells can now be generated from induced pluripotent stem cells , a technique which does not contain human embryos. After a review of six months, a five-member committee headed by former judge of the Federal Court Peter Heerey advised Parliament not to tinker with the regulations.

"We are pleased that human embryos can continue to be generated by nuclear transfer somatic cell for the production of human embryonic stem cells," says Justin St. John, director of the Center for Reproductive and Developmental at Monash medical research Institute of Victoria. "It remains to determine whether the generation of stem cells by unfounded approaches eggs will be an effective approach."

The patient was dying of leukemia. One hundred and seventy of 0 cells in his bone marrow had a mutation causing cancer, and her lymph nodes were swollen, a sign that the cancer was deteriorating. He had already been on several courses of chemotherapy, but the disease has shown some signs of improvement. Then, in July 2010, he is enrolled in a clinical trial for an experimental treatment designed to transform its own immune cells against the cancer. A few months later, all signs of leukemia were gone, his doctors report today.

"The surprise was how it worked to clear both tumor so quickly," said immunologist Bruce Levine of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the scientists who created the new treatment.

cancer treatment, described today in two papers in Science Translational Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine , is based on the idea that the human body has already begun to fight against the abnormal cells, dangerous. T cells, the first line of defense of the immune system recognize cells that are not part of the body, such as bacteria and triggered a cascade of events to kill them. scientists studying cancer have long been struggling with how to do these T cells kill tumor cells. But they never found the perfect combination of factors to transform the T cells of cancer killers .

Levine and his colleagues designed a new gene that can be inserted into the T cells to induce them to attack cancerous B cells, the cause of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The new gene encodes a receptor that, at one end, can bind to a molecule which is unique to cancer cells B. The other end of the receptor triggers a chain reaction when such B cell is bound, eventually leading to the T-cell to destroy cancer cells. "Essentially, we convert T cells which normally recognize other types of cells to be tumor-specific," said Levin.

In the initial clinical trial, the researchers tested their method in three patients with CLL. They took a T cell sample of each patient and the novel gene added to the cells, using the same operating method and the novel gene in each case, while retaining the T-cells from each individual patient. Once the T cells contain new specific receptors of the tumor, scientists have infused T cells back into the blood of each patient.

The three patients are now in remission. On average, T cells modified killed about one kilogram of tumor cells in each patient. Each cell modified T infused into the patient's blood, the cells at least 1000 tumor were killed, which led researchers to copy the T cells "serial killers." In addition, after 12 months, blood tests revealed patients still had copies of the modified T cells circulating in their blood capable of killing cancer cells. And although the data only covers one year, Levine said that the effects are probably even longer.

"the power of these T cells," Levine said, "is that you should not continue to give them as you do with chemotherapy drugs. They are a dynamic, living, dividing the drug, and can be administered once and they survive and multiply, continuing to protect against cancer. "

The new therapy is not only a potential boon for CLL patients, says oncologist Walter Urba of the Providence Cancer Center in Portland, Oregon. The success of the clinical trial could lead to other types of cancer. "Now you can try to change this receiver to recognize a different target," said Urba, who specializes in cancer immunotherapy. "Let's make a specific receptor breast cancer, and prostate cancer-specific receptor, and a receiver specific to colon cancer. The potential is enormous for application to different tumor types. "

And Urba warns that the current findings are based on a small sample size. More work is needed to verify that the treatment is largely successful in all CLL patients and that stray cancer cells will eventually mutate not they avoid the display of the target molecule by T cells

"This is really exciting," he said. "The results are very promising. But it is also important to remember that this is just a couple of patients and they were followed only for a short time. We need to see more studies now."

retries HIV prevention Upbeat findings presented last week at an international AIDS conference held in Rome complicated by the World health Organization (WHO) write much awaited guidelines for heterosexual couples where one partner is infected. WHO had planned to release some guidelines "discordant" in the works for several months, at the Rome meeting, but pulled the plug at the eleventh hour. "We were a little optimistic really get everything ready in terms of thinking about the operational implications," says Gottfried Hirnschall, director of HIV / AIDS Department of WHO.

Hirnschall said his group decided not to issue the guidelines because of urgings of "key partners", including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . In particular, the partners had concerns about the language in both the document and its lack of integration surprising news that appeared shortly before the Rome meeting.

Hirnschall says that a group of outside experts began a review of the evidence, the last year before making five recommendations for discordant couples. In mid-May, the group received its first surprise when a discordant couple during trial went public with early results because of the remarkable power of intervention: Known as HPTN 052 study showed that, if infected partner took antiretrovirals (ARVs), it reduces the risk of transmission by 96%. Hirnschall said the results did the group think long and hard about how to define a "couple" -be it cohabitation, marriage, or just a long-term relationship and logistical issues of how to oblige partners to submit to the tests and how to calculate the number of people worldwide would be eligible for this approach, called treatment as prevention.

News from a second study in serodiscordant couples, suddenly announced the week before the start of the meeting in Rome, said the project potentially more confusing instructions. The trial concluded that the treatment of uninfected partner with ARV-called pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) -Reduced risk of transmission by 73%. The Partners PrEP study, as HPTN 052, published the results early because the intervention worked better than initially expected. "That's when we sat together and talked to our key partners and said," What should we do with the guidelines? "Explains Hirnschall" Is this really the best time to release the guidelines, or. we should take a deep breath and refine the definition and review the conclusions of the PrEP partners and probably release the guidelines a few months later? "

some participants in the Rome conference are concerned that WHO can refusing the document due to excessive pressure from partners on how much to emphasize PrEP against the treatment of the infected partner, who, in turn, raises questions about how best to invest limited resources . Hirnschall but insists that this is not the case. "Our decision was our decision but was informed feedback from a range of partners"

Meanwhile, in agreement with the rush of good news from the Rome meeting, the Foundation for AIDS research held a briefing in Washington tomorrow with the bold headline "Making History AIDS: ending the epidemic." participants will include Anthony Fauci (director of the National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases), Margaret Hamburg (head of the Food and Drug Administration), and Michel Kazatchkine (Executive Director of the global Fund to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria). the meeting plans to review the Partners PrEP and HPTN 052 data and also have an optimistic roadmap to bring the epidemic to a halt over the next few years.

Scientists have genetically modified cats by infecting their eggs with a virus containing a foreign gene first time this method has worked in a carnivore. Experts say the advance could make the cat a valuable new genetic model and potentially protect against an HIV-like

There are two AIDS epidemics in the world :. One in humans, other cats. While we can be infected with HIV (HIV), cats are victims of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which causes almost identical symptoms. The virus, known as lentiviruses, are sufficiently different that cats can not get HIV and people can not get FIV, but most of their basic biochemistry is the same.

Previous studies have suggested that a protein called TRIMCyp is what keeps humans and monkeys from being infected with FIV. The protein, which lack cats, is thought to recognize outer shell of the virus and the target to deteriorate.

Eric Poeschla, a molecular virologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, wanted to know if the cats of TRIMCyp gene would be immune to FIV. But the only proven way to get a new gene into a cat, transfer of somatic cell nuclei, is tricky. The technique, which produced the famous sheep Dolly, involves replacing the nucleus of an egg cell with a nucleus of an adult cell that contains new genes and implantation of the egg in a female. The strategy works in only a fraction of cases. In cats, it has been used to create glowing kittens without other traits, just proof that it can be made to work.

Poeschla and colleagues turned to another method using a virus to carry genes into an egg cell that had worked in animals, including mice and cows, but never succeeded in a carnivore . Because the cells are easily infected by lentiviruses, researchers made a lentivirus containing TRIMCyp gene and a gene encoding a fluorescent protein. This allowed them to easily visualize the cells contained the new genetic material-chats with the green glow of the gene (see photo). After allowing the virus to infect eggs, the team fertilized with normal sperm cat and inject them into the fallopian tubes of 22 female cats. Each cat received 30-50 eggs.

Five cats became pregnant, with 11 embryos them, the team announced today online Nature Methods . Ten embryos contained the new genes, and five resulted in kittens, three of whom are still alive. (A kitten was stillborn and another died during childbirth.) The 23% success rate is much higher than the typical 3% seen with nuclear transfer of somatic cells, Poeschla said. In addition to a large number of animals by pregnancy, the number of transgenic animals by embryo is also high. "A big advantage is efficiency. Almost all of the offspring are transgenic [carry the new gene], so you're not screening hundreds of animals to find those transgenic. "

The effectiveness of the method is that half of the story, however. When the researchers tried to infect blood cells from genetically modified kittens with FIV, the virus does not replicate well. Poeschla and his colleagues next plan to test whether cats are resistant IVF, or, otherwise, if they are less likely to develop feline AIDS after infection.

researchers can use the same method to check whether other antiviral proteins of humans and apes affect transmission of FIV, says veterinarian Susan Vandewoude of Colorado State University in Fort Collins. the advance also makes it easier to use the cats as model organisms for other biological questions, she said. for example, visual cortex of the brain of a cat is a better model for humans than the visual cortex of the mouse. With an easier way to change the genes related to vision, researchers might be able to acquire an even greater understanding of how this part of the brain.

"I think the cats are easier to use as a model organism Now you can manipulate the genome," said Vandewoude. "They will not replace the mouse, but it gives another tool for scientists."

For years, researchers who study aging have pursued a dream: a way to mimic the effects of extending the life of calorie restriction without drastic diet. It was ten years ago, a group claimed that artificially stimulate the activity of a gene offered a way to do it. Now a new paper throws cold water on this claim, adding to doubts that the influence of genes celebrated the life of all.

Scientists who study aging have long been a reliable way to increase lifespan in many animals: starve yourself. Animals that eat about 30% to 50% less calories than normal live 30% longer, or even more. But how calorie restriction extend life? There are about ten years, a research team suggested that in worms, the response was a gene called SIR2 . The idea was that cutting calories boosted production of its protein gene and that this extended life in turn. Indeed, this group increased the expression of SIR2 by artificial means (without stopping to eat) and extended their lifespan. It was not a great leap to start wondering if scientists could develop a pill to support production of the SIR2 protein, allowing people to live much longer and in better health than we do now without hunger. And in fact, companies are already testing drugs that stimulate the production of one of the parents of SIR2 family of proteins called sirtuins are-in people to treat diseases associated with age such as type 2 diabetes

But in the past year, a handful of studies have questioned whether SIR2 and genes encoding other sirtuins really help explain why caloric restriction slows aging.

The new study, published online today in Nature , amplifies doubts, suggesting that SIR2 does not do much at all to extend the life in verse and flies. David Gems, a biogerontologist at University College London and lead author of the study, said he began to reconsider SIR2 when he was working with genetically modified to produce extra for SIR2 protein. But then someone in the laboratory Gems coupled worms several times with a normal strain, "and longevity is gone," Gems said, although the offspring was still SIR2 modified gene.

it is difficult to produce large groups of genetically identical worms and flies, so it may be difficult for scientists to tell whether a genetically modified strain act differently than to control or flies because of his DNA damage or because the two groups of animals other genetic variations. Normally, researchers move it by their mating strain genetically modified several times with a stress control a strategy called "outcrossing . "Outcrossing irons out differences between the genetically modified strain and the control group by the more genetically uniform pair.

following the initial observation of his laboratory that SIR2 lifetime effect could disappear in the worms by crossing Gems teamed with Matt Kaeberlein at the University of Washington, Seattle, and Linda Partridge of University College London, who both previously questioned the role of sirtuins in aging. With other colleagues, they took both worms and flies genetically altered to make additional SIR2. The worms were crossing by up to six times more than the other groups had generally done in the past. The offspring lived spans yourself from normal life if they were still producing additional SIR2 protein. In parallel, the group Partridge found that overexpression of SIR2 in flies did not increase their lifespan, either.

"In terms of aging and dietary restriction," said Gems SIR2 and related genes are probably "completely irrelevant. ... We tried so hard to see effects at all in many different settings and we have not seen. "

not so fast, say SIR2 donors. Leonard Guarente of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who a decade ago found a SIR2-lifetime connection, does admit that the original worm paper was an error: In the same issue of Nature that the study of gems, he published a short article noting that unwittingly worms get a second genetic mutation, in a gene called Dyf . This mutation, it appeared, also helped to live longer. When they had only additional SIR2 , they lived between 10% and 15% longer than normal, Guarente found, not the 30% originally reported. "We had a bad thing in our study," he said. "We tried to set the record straight, and we have."

But this does not mean that SIR2 not about the life, he argues, especially in light of important work in the field who has repeatedly linked SIR2 for a lifetime and calorie restriction. " say at this late date that sirtuins do not regulate aging, with thousands of published sirtuins, is like saying the Earth is flat, "says Guarente from the study of precious stones, he notes." You can always get an experience not to work. "

One reason for different results is that aging is difficult to study in worms and flies, says Scott Pletcher, a geneticist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "If we measure 10%, 20% of the differences in lifespan, which may depend on the fact that the temperature is warmer, there is enough food. We really control all these things. It is a challenge. " For now, Pletcher is on the fence about what exactly do sirtuins. "Some voices were given [by the Gems paper] to what was floating in the community for some time," Pletcher said, which is "that there is some uncertainty around these initial results."

Regarding the prosthetic hands, you can not beat the Luke Skywalker receives in The empire against attack . Not only will this robotic arm allow him to wield a lightsaber with great dexterity, each finger twitched when their robot thicket. Although real life prostheses controlled by the brain that allow a person to, say, pick up a pencil to continue to improve for amputees, members can actually feel tactile sensations remained a challenge. Now, by implanting electrodes in the motor and sensory areas of the brain, the researchers created a virtual prosthetic hand that monkeys control using only their minds, and enables them to feel virtual textures.

neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis University Duke in Durham, North Carolina, whose group developed the so-called brain-machine interfaces, said that one of the traps in these systems is that "no one has been able to close the loop "between the control and feel of a member physical contact. So he and a group of researchers decided to create a "brain-machine-brain" interface using a virtual system. The researchers implanted two sets of tiny electrodes into the brain of a monkey: a set in the motor control center, and the other in the part of the somatosensory cortex that processes the sensation of physical touch of the left hand. Using the first set, the monkey could control a virtual monkey arm on a computer screen and sweep hand on virtual disks with different "textures". Meanwhile, the second set of electrodes supplied a series of electrical pulses in the touch center of the brain. A low pulse rate indicates a rough texture, while high frequency indicated a fine texture (see video), and monkeys quickly learned to tell the difference.

By giving the monkey rewards when he identified the right texture, the researchers found that it took as little as four training sessions for the animal to systematically distinguish the textures of each other, even when the researchers switched the order of visually identical discs on the screen. The researchers then implanted electrodes in the sensory area which receives the tactile sensations of the foot in a different monkey; this monkey, too, acted as if the virtual appendage (in this case, the foot) was his own, moving it to identify the textures correctly, reports the online team today Nature .

Although the monkeys are all adults, motor and sensory regions of the brain are remarkably plastic, Nicolelis said, the combination of seeing an appendix they control and feel a physical touch turns thinking the virtual appendix their own "in minutes." And throughout this experience, literally General touch the monkey does not seem to be affected. "The brain," Nicolelis said, "is the creation of a sixth sense."

"It is certainly an important step in brain-computer interfaces," said neuroscientist Sliman Bensmaia of the University of Chicago, which develops tactile feedback human prostheses systems. Too robotic arms under development, even very advanced, he said, ignoring the importance of touch. "Sensory feedback is critical to anything," he said. Even mundane tasks like picking up a cup require a lot of concentration so that the wearer does not drop or crush.

The new work is still an early stage, however, he said. A biological arm receives innumerable not only texture entries, but also on the temperature and position in space.

Nicolelis said his group is working to refine the sensory evaluations and to explore ways to link the brain and the wireless computer. After many years working on brain-computer interfaces, he said, "we get very close to the place where they can be clinically useful" for paralyzed patients, not only in the laboratory, and also for physicians. touch feedback can enable surgeons, for example, to perform microscopic surgery or countless other applications. "the brain," Nicolelis said, "has evolved capabilities that go far beyond the body."

One of the most prestigious private biomedical research centers in Italy the Vatican Bank may have gained a new lease on life. On Friday, October 28, an Italian bankruptcy court gave the green light to an offer made by the Institute for Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, and Italian entrepreneur Victor Malacalza to save deep in debt San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation, which manages clinical research hospital, a scientific institute internationally respected base, and a research park in Milan. Officials hope the approval of the bankruptcy court of the plan, in which the Vatican and Malacalza take over € 500 million of debt and invest another € 250 million, will persuade funding agencies to take over the now frozen and payments stem a potential exodus of scientists. The creditors of the foundation will then examine the details of the rescue plan and a hearing is scheduled for January to confirm that enough of them are willing to accept the terms.

The Institute San Raffaele hospital and research centers are to a large park of biomedical science orchestrated by Luigi Verzé priest, still officially president of the Foundation San Raffaele del Monte Tabor. Originally a private hospital founded in 1971, quickly became a medical center peak, the plant now has more than 1,000 hospital beds, employs hundreds of researchers, and a well-known research efforts in therapy gene and molecular medicine. But apparently because of poor investment decisions and too ambitious expansion, the foundation of Verzé has accumulated a debt of nearly € 1.5 billion. The details behind the huge debt are still obscure and criminal investigations into corruption allegations began; Italian media has widely covered the growing scandal, with the intensification frenzy after closing colleague Verze, San Raffaele Hospital Vice President Mario Cal, shot himself in July, apparently troubled by the financial difficulties of the foundation.

Adding more intrigue to the complex saga, an American charity yet undisclosed said he would be willing to donate $ 1 billion to strengthen teaching and research University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, which is located in the science park. The university is administratively independent of the foundation San Raffaele, but some of that money could end up helping the foundation. "After the news of the debt," says Massimo Clementi, the dean of the medical faculty at the university, "the charity decided that 20% of [donated] budget can be channeled to the Newco. "(Newco is the temporary name for the San Raffaele del Monte Tabor Foundation reformed that would be created if the approval of the bankruptcy moves forward.)

The researchers San Raffaele, the scientific activity on the Milan campus remained steady until September, when the debt of the foundation was revealed, shocking all laboratory benches. most research granting agencies then put the funding in standby, and some suppliers would not deliver goods. A computer manufacturer even showed up to remove the rented equipment Nature reported last month. "it has nothing to do with the hole in the silver and San Raffaele always a center of excellence, "says Maria Grazia Roncarolo, immunologist and scientific director of the institute. "San Raffaele is at the top in the nation for translational medicine, with 566 ongoing clinical trials and 10,000 patients enrolled."

Challenging recent media reports, and other scientists Roncarolo San Raffaele deny that they are considering leaving because of debt problems. Three scientists who recently won the European Research Council (ERC) grant Giulio demand Cossu, Fulvio Mavilio and Michele De Palma-are about to move to foreign institutions, but the ERC grants allow researchers to work they chose for most. "Their career moves started well before the economic catastrophe reaches the surface," says Roberto Sitia, a senior scientist San Raffaele. "They will be a great loss to our institution at this time, and a setback for the country." Yet Sitia acknowledges the financial problems have a temporary effect. "Now, we are not able to hire the future Cossu. Recruitment is on standby and I would not be surprised if our young lions have also been looking around. "

In addition, several scientists with the ERC Grant who recently moved to the US join the Institute San Raffaele, as immunologists Guidotti Luca and Matteo Iannacone, still trying to resolve them if research funding is in danger. "the CRF shall protect the financial interests of taxpayers E.Ü." said one ERC grant officer. For this reason, and given that there are currently ongoing legal proceedings involving the Institute San Raffaele, the ERC can not make new agreements to finance researchers San Rafaelle but will continue to pay existing grants, said the officer.

While it is a Catholic priest, Verzé has not imposed religious restrictions on research conducted on the campus of San Rafaelle and hired based solely on merit, according to scientists there. "Religion has never interfered with our science. During my 8 years as director, I have never had any type of intrusion, "said Jacopo Meldolesi neuroscientist and director of the original basic science at the Institute.

The Vatican and Malacalza made no public statements about why they are interested in saving the biomedical research center, nor have they commented on any new guidance provided once they are in charge. With the favorable consideration of the bankruptcy court, Roncarolo San Rafaele hope that new funds to the ERC, and other funding agencies, will soon sink in Milan. "I would have expected more support, then there is a total closure by E.Ü. This is surprising, because what we are going through will affect the whole European scientific community, "she complained. "We are ready to go to Brussels and explain to the ERC officials that the green light by the bankruptcy court means to our science."

How to get to zero: Faster. Smarter. Better. This is the title of a new report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) to update the status of the epidemic in the preparation of the World Day AIDS on 1 December. "We are about to make a significant breakthrough in the AIDS response," wrote the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, in the preface, urging the world to "step on the accelerator" to reach prevention and treatment goals that together can make the epidemic a halt.

According to the latest analysis of UNAIDS, the world now has an estimated population of 34 million people infected with HIV-700,000 more than in 2010. On the upside, 6.6 million people infected in low- and middle-income now receive antiretroviral (ARV), an increase of 1.3 million over the past year. "I think it is remarkable that, despite massive pressure from national and international budgets, we have seen a huge scale and at the end of 2010, about half of all people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment access, "said Bernhard Schwartländer, director of the UNAIDS evidence, strategy and results.

Schwartländer, who reviewed the report on a press conference today, noted that there were about 2.7 million new infections last year, the lowest since the epidemic peaked in 01. as part of a baseline study this year showed how treatment reduces the load virus in infected people and made them less likely to transmit the virus, he said he is "new evidence" that the scale of ARVs has had an impact on new infections in Botswana. This small country, relatively prosperous Southern Africa now has 0% of eligible HIV on treatment, and the report states that there are "early signs" that this fact, new HIV infections are 30% to 50% lower than that they would have been in the absence of drugs.

updates UNAIDS are usually a mix of good and bad news, and it has its fair share of alarming results. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which is discussed as a region because most countries were once part of the Soviet Union, underwent a 250% increase in the number of people living with HIV in the last decade. "There is little indication that the epidemic has stabilized in the region," the report said. The most affected country in the region, Russia and Ukraine, have epidemics driven by injecting drug use, but the report notes that both countries fail to invest enough money in programs that can help most at risk populations.

Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, said Science Insider that given the global financial crisis, it is particularly concerned donor countries reduce their treatment and prevention investments HIV / AIDS in hard-hit countries do not take over their own weight. "We are concerned about this and we recognize the fragility of all these systems," said De Lay. "If we do not see investments follow, we will see all of this improvement disintegrate."

How to get to zero: Faster. Smarter. Better. This is the title of a new report released today by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS) to update the status of the epidemic in the preparation of the World Day AIDS on 1 December. "We are about to make a significant breakthrough in the AIDS response," wrote the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, in the preface, urging the world to "step on the accelerator" to reach prevention and treatment goals that together can make the epidemic a halt.

According to the latest analysis of UNAIDS, the world now has an estimated population of 34 million people infected with HIV-700,000 more than in 2010. On the upside, 6.6 million people infected in low- and middle-income now receive antiretroviral (ARV), an increase of 1.3 million over the past year. "I think it is remarkable that, despite massive pressure from national and international budgets, we have seen a huge scale and at the end of 2010, about half of all people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment access, "said Bernhard Schwartländer, director of the UNAIDS evidence, strategy and results.

Schwartländer, who reviewed the report on a press conference today, noted that there were about 2.7 million new infections last year, the lowest since the epidemic peaked in 01. as part of a baseline study this year showed how treatment reduces the load virus in infected people and made them less likely to transmit the virus, he said he is "new evidence" that the scale of ARVs has had an impact on new infections in Botswana. This small country, relatively prosperous Southern Africa now has 0% of eligible HIV on treatment, and the report states that there are "early signs" that this fact, new HIV infections are 30% to 50% lower than that they would have been in the absence of drugs.

updates UNAIDS are usually a mix of good and bad news, and it has its fair share of alarming results. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which is discussed as a region because most countries were once part of the Soviet Union, underwent a 250% increase in the number of people living with HIV in the last decade. "There is little indication that the epidemic has stabilized in the region," the report said. The most affected country in the region, Russia and Ukraine, have epidemics driven by injecting drug use, but the report notes that both countries fail to invest enough money in programs that can help most at risk populations.

Paul De Lay, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, said Science Insider that given the global financial crisis, it is particularly concerned donor countries reduce their treatment and prevention investments HIV / AIDS in hard-hit countries do not take over their own weight. "We are concerned about this and we recognize the fragility of all these systems," said De Lay. "If we do not see investments follow, we will see all of this improvement disintegrate."