http://www.the-scientist.com/community/forums/show/18.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net
Anthrax, plague and small pox are some of the possible pathogens terrorists could use against us; but now, researchers say jellyfish are helping prevent these kinds of attacks.

From public transportation to federal and government buildings, experts are naming likely targets of bioterrorism.

Now, this innovative biosensor developed by scientists and engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory can identify harmful bacteria or viruses in the air in less than two minutes.

"It's at least ten times faster than any other automated sensor that's available," says James Harper, a biochemist and engineer at MIT.

In the lab, Todd Rider first developed the CANARY Sensor using jellyfish DNA and a high-voltage electrical charge. "I was in the lab with the electric creator," says Rider, a biologist at MIT. "I had mouse cells and the jellyfish DNA, and I frizzed my hair, said please give me life and pressed the buttons -- and the jellyfish DNA went inside the cells, and we had glowing mouse cells."

The glowing cells reveal the presence of a targeted pathogen. Still, scientists had no way to test air samples for pathogens until Harper created the PANTHER.

Scientists say operation is as simple as loading your DVD player. Disks containing sixteen chambers are loaded into the PANTHER. The machine pulls air through the disk to collect and test any pathogen that might be in the air. "That disk contains the cells that are the key to the canary technology," Harper says. "It releases those cells into the collected particles and looks for the resulting light, and gives you a sense of what's detected."

If a dangerous pathogen is detected, the sensor goes off -- alerting anyone who could be in harm's way.

Scientists and engineers say the CANARY technology can eventually be used for medical diagnostics to test patient samples. It may even be used in food processing plants to identify contaminants like E. coli or salmonella.

The technology is now licensed commercially.

WHAT IS PANTHER? The PANTHER device uses immune cells altered to act as detectors of dangerous biological agents. The device takes in air, runs it past the cells, which are gathered into groups, each designed to react to specific agent. The cells, which are engineered to respond to a specific pathogen, release photons of light when they detect their target. Other detectors recognize the release of light to indicate the pathogen that was detected. Based on the wavelengths of light that were released, the device outputs a list of dangerous pathogens that were found, about three minutes after beginning the test.

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"A key feature of biofuels policy is the combination of mandate and subsidies that cause severe adverse effects," said Harry de Gorter, co-author of the article and Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. "The analysis of biofuel policies is shown to be unique compared to all other environmental policy analysis and has implications for biofuels policy worldwide and also for renewable electricity policy. Throughout the world, countries use complicated combinations of mandates and subsidy programs to promote biofuels and the renewable electricity sector." Because these combinations are so complicated, they can often have unintended consequences.

Authors de Gorter and David Just, Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, argue that regulations that mandate an increase in the amount of biofuels incorporated into current energy supplies are superior to all other policies, yet as soon as policies are combined, there can be negative economic interactions. For example, adding a biofuel subsidy with a consumption mandate fails to increase ethanol consumption but instead subsidizes oil consumption. A more effective policy would rely on specific taxes and subsidies targeted directly at achieving specific environmental, energy and agricultural policy goals, according to the study.
[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/875/4912.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/875/4912.page GMT
"Public sentiment is negative," Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8506047.stm]said[/url] at a news conference covered by the BBC. "It is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary, principle-based approach."

The GM food crop had been field tested since 2008 and last year was the first to receive approval from the India's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee for wide-scale cultivation. Farmers and anti-GM activists opposed the move to grow the crop, which was developed by researchers at Mahyco, an Indian seed company that is partnered with Monsanto.

Ramesh said that "independent scientific studies" will be conducted to establish "the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment," and that the GM eggplants won't be grown commercially in India until testing confirms their safety "to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals."

Has the Indian government bowed to the demands of the anti-GM community and an overly cautious public, or is it indeed a wise move to put GM eggplants in India on hold?

Bob Grant -- Associate Editor, [i]The Scientist[/i]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/854/4836.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/854/4836.page GMT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYL3voxgepA&feature=fvsr
]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/787/4489.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/787/4489.page GMT
http://www.isocard.org/Newss_and_Events/Newss_and_Events_2009/News_2009.htm
]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/785/4468.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/785/4468.page GMT
These types of developments are usually accompanied by claims that such GM food plants could feed millions of starving or malnourished people.

Read my upcoming feature article in the September issue of [i]The Scientist[/i] about the promise and reality of GM "super foods" and decide for yourself.

Can GM foods really help improve the diets of millions of people that are starving or who suffer from nutrient deficiencies?

Bob Grant -- Associate Editor, [i]The Scientist[/i]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/617/3218.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/617/3218.page GMT
[quote]A South Korean biotechnology firm will early next year open a centre capable eventually of producing up to 1,000 cloned dogs annually, a company executive said Friday.

"We need this new facility to turn dog cloning services into a full-fledged business," Cho Seong-Ryul, director of RNL Bio, told AFP.

The centre in Yongin city south of Seoul will cost some five million dollars and focus on cloning pets, working dogs and endangered species including wolves.

RNL Bio is one of the world's few companies operating dog cloning as a business. Another is San Francisco-based BioArts, which is involved in a patents dispute with the Korean firm.

RNL Bio says it successfully cloned puppies of a retriever trained to sniff out cancer cells in humans. Four puppies are currently being trained in South Korea and Japan.

Last year it arranged to re-create a pitbull terrier for a US woman in what it claimed was the world's first commercial cloning.[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/593/3119.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/593/3119.page GMT
Will the world eventually be run by robots? This is surely interesting, but in an economy begging for the creation of more jobs, is it a good thing?

--Jef Akst, Associate Editor, [i]The Scientist[/i]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/584/3007.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/584/3007.page GMT
[quote]
Human Genome Sciences Inc said on Monday that its experimental lupus drug succeeded in a late-stage clinical trial, shocking many who had written the product off, and sending the stock up more than 200 percent.

The results showed patients who took the drug, Benlysta, demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the symptoms of their disease compared with those taking a placebo.

"This is a classic binary event in biotech," said Ian Somaiya, an analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners. "You have a disease that's difficult to treat, nothing's ever worked and you have a unique scenario in that the trial was actually successful."

The outcome makes Human Genome the latest in a series of biotech companies to have caught investors flat-footed, reinforcing the volatile nature of a sector where success and failure depend largely on clinical trial data and on decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Sometimes, reading the FDA is like trying to read smoke signals. Earlier this year, the agency astounded Wall Street by approving Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc's schizophrenia drug, pulling the company back from the brink of collapse after even its most bullish supporters had thrown in the towel.

A wrong-way bet on a single trial can leave investors impaled.

As of Friday, about 10 percent of Human Genome's publicly traded shares, or 13 million, had been sold short, meaning those investors were betting the trial would fail.

On the other hand, for those who held on, the rewards were spectacular.

As of March 31, when Human Genome's shares closed at 83 cents a share, the company's four biggest shareholders -- Taube Hodson Stonex Partners, Fidelity, Barclays Global Investors and T. Rowe Price -- held about 23 percent of the company's outstanding shares, according to SEC filings.

Those who held their shares through this morning's opening, generated a return of 1,200 percent.

"It really does take a healthcare specialist and devoted biotech investor to get involved in these names," said Thomas Weisel's Somaiya.

The odds of Human Genome's drug succeeding were, according to most analysts, low. Results from an earlier trial had been disappointing and other drugs, including Biogen Idec Inc and Roche Holding AG's Rituxan, and La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co's Riquent -- both failed in late-stage lupus trials.

Yet, results of Human Genome's 52-week trial -- the first of two requested by U.S. regulators -- showed 57.6 percent of patients taking a high dose of Benlysta experienced an improvement in their symptoms, compared with 43.6 percent who took a placebo.

"Benlysta could be the first true disease-modifying therapy for lupus patients -- a blockbuster opportunity," said Joseph Schwartz, an analyst at Leerink Swann.

Of patients who took a low dose of the drug, which is administered once a month by IV infusion, 51.7 percent showed improvement in their symptoms, a figure that was also statistically significant.

Benlysta's success moved the shares of other companies trying to develop lupus drugs, such as Immunomedics Inc and ZymoGenetics Inc.

Shares of Immunomedics rose 12.5 percent to $3.43, while shares of ZymoGenetics, which is developing a drug in combination with Merck Serono, a unit of Germany's Merck KGaA, rose more than 13 percent to $4.94.

Lupus is a complex disease that causes the immune system to attack the body's own tissue and organs, including the joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, blood or skin. Symptoms include achy joints, fever, arthritis, kidney damage, chest pain and skin rash.

Data from the 867-person trial, known as BLISS-52, take the company one step closer to being the first to have a new lupus drug approved in 50 years. Multiple drugs are approved for other indications and used to treat lupus, but none has been approved specifically for the disease in decades.

The disease affects an estimated 1.5 million people in the United States and 5 million worldwide, according to the Lupus Foundation of America.

Roughly 150,000 patients in the United States stand to benefit from the drug, if it is approved, according to Thomas Watkins, the company's chief executive.

While that may represent a small portion of the total number affected by lupus, it is nonetheless an important advance, and Watkins said that from a corporate perspective, it represents a substantial revenue opportunity.

"A drug like this, with this kind of promise, has the potential to be a blockbuster drug," he said.

Drugs are typically referred to as blockbusters when they generate $1 billion or more in revenue. Profit would be split between Human Genome and its partner, GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

The second of the two late-stage trials is due to be reported in November and the company aims to file for approval of the drug by early 2010, according to David Stump, the company's head of research and development.

If the agency gives it a priority review, the drug could be on the market by the end of next year. Priority review is given to drugs that meet unmet medical needs. Without priority review, it could be on the market by early 2011.

[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/561/2871.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/561/2871.page GMT http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/428/1831.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/428/1831.page GMT http://www.futurefood.org/in-vitro-meat/index_en.php )
has had some media-hype in the last months with the establishment of a
scientific in-vitro-meat consortium (see http://www.invitromeat.org ). And
the high-publicity story of animal-rights group PETA offering 1 Mio $
reward for the first scientist to bring in-vitro-meat to the market in the
next years, was in the media all over the planet, e.g.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/us/21meat.html

If in-vitro-meat should turn out to be technically possible and
economically competitive, an immense global market would open up.
Therefore you may be interested in contacting the
in-vitro-meat-consortium for cooperation and funding.

What is your opinion? Is In-Vitro-Meat fiction or the meat of the future?
]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/426/1823.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/426/1823.page GMT http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/396/1573.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/396/1573.page GMT
November 21, Bangalore: The global slowdown can be a tempting excuse for most to put ecological concerns on the furlough. But India is moving purposefully towards sustainable development, understanding the fierce urgency for economically sound, socially equitable and environmentally responsible progress.

At a time when renewables comprise just 11.5% of energy source in the United States, India stands tall with renewables accounting for 32% of total electricity generation capacity. Even China and Japan trail behind India at 21 and 20 per cent respectively. Recent reports suggest the share of renewables in the Indian electricity basket is expected to rise to 15 per cent by 2030 from less than five per cent currently.

For developing countries like India, the global slowdown is an avenue for replacing archaic infrastructures and upgrading and building transportation, communication, energy and water systems in a sustainable manner. "The flip side of the coin is the enormous economic, social and environmental benefits likely to arise from combating climate change and re-investing in natural infrastructure - benefits ranging from new green jobs in clean tech and clean energy businesses up to ones in sustainable agriculture and conservation-based enterprises," says UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, in a bid to offer up a sustainable solution for the current global crisis.

Former U.S. Vice President and Nobel Peace Laureate Al Gore agrees. In a recent article in the New York Times, Al Gore is quoted as saying, "The bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis". And India is listening.

The massive opportunity India offers to deploy finance and technologies to create clean energy products and services, which can leapfrog those employed in Western countries, has not gone unnoticed by the investor and business community and the government, says Dilip Thomas, Steering Committee Member/Program Chair & CEO of Saltmarch Media, the organizers of Green Energy Summit ( http://www.greenenergysummit.com/ ), India’s first and biggest forum for Green Energy, Clean Technology and Renewable Energy stakeholders.

The Indian state of Karnataka, for instance, has set itself a target of generating 5,450 Mw of renewable energy resources in the state by 2012 and 11700 Mw by 2018. K Jairaj, Principal Secretary of the State's Energy Department, and a member of the Green Energy Summit organizing team, has said plans are on to unveil a new renewable energy policy in early 2009, to boost energy production and consumption in the state. Jairaj says the policy aims at creating appropriate channels to collaborate with industry, supporting innovative technology, production and services, providing decentralised energy supply to agriculture, industry and households, strengthening the grid system and creating SEZs to promote renewable energy.

The oft-repeated statement that subsidy-dependent Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) are not sustainable for the long term have lessened. Tulsi R Tanti, chairman and managing director, Suzlon Energy, recently noted that innovation and technology are rapidly reducing development costs. Two years ago Suzlon was producing power [wind] at Rs. 5 per Kwh. In 2008 the cost has come down to Rs 3.5 per Kwh and it is set to come down by another rupee if the rate of progress continues.

Barack Obama's election as the president of the United States is also expected to give a fillip to India's renewable energy plans. The 44th US President believes the US should be involved in partnerships with developing countries, such as India and China, to provide funding and access to intellectual property that they need and desire. The President-elect understands that tackling the global challenge of climate change requires US leadership, and has reconfirmed his campaign promise to invest $15 billion a year in low-carbon energy, including solar, wind, nuclear and next-generation biofuels.

India has many RE laurels to its credit, says Dr. Arcot Ramachandran, chairperson of Green Energy Summit 2009 and Former UN Under Secretary General. It has the world’s largest decentralized solar energy program, ranks second in the global renewable energy “Attractiveness Index” poll, operates the world’s 2nd largest biogas program, ranks 4th as a global 'Wind Super Power' and fifth in the world in terms of exploitable hydro electricity generation.

With the Indian market heating up while others worlwide freeze over, be seen, be heard and be noticed in India's first summit completely focused on what going green can do for you and your organisation. Green Energy Summit 2009 is a world-class forum for varied stakeholders from solar, wind, biomass, IT, transport, biofuels, construction, aviation, nanotechnology and biotechnology to make their presence felt and attract attention that matters. The summit will be held March 3-7 2009 in Bangalore, India.

GES 2009 is supported by Govt. of India (DST), MNRE, WCRE, IREDA, BEE, Govt. of Karnataka and several other governmental and bi-lateral agencies. Confirmed speakers include Jairam Ramesh (Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Power, Government of India), Dr. R K Pachauri, Dr. Hermann Scheer (President, World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) and EUROSOLAR), Dr. Jamshed J. Irani (Director, TATA Sons Limited), Pramod Deo (Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission), Dr. Dan Arvizu (Director, NREL), Michael T. Eckhart (President, ACORE), H.E. Clini Corrado (Director General, Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea, Italy and Chair, Global Bioenergy Partnership), Christopher Flavin (President, World Watch Institute), Marianne Osterkorn (REEEP - Director General), Mohamed El Ashry (Chairman REN21), Dr. Yogi Goswami (Former President, ISES) and Thomas B. Johansson (Director, IIIEE & Co-recipient, Nobel Peace Prize, 2007).

For further information on GES 2009, please visit the summit on the web http://www.greenenergysummit.com/

A Saltmarch Media Press Release
E: info@greenenergysummit.com
Ph: +91 80 4005 1000

]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/314/1157.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/314/1157.page GMT
Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat announced the plan in a National Assembly session this week, said the state-run Vietnam News Agency.

Under the government plan, Vietnam would from 2011 plant GM species of maize, cotton and soybean, said the news site Vietnamnet quoting experts attending a recent biotechnology workshop.

The Ho Chi Minh City Biotechnology Centre plans to grow a GM maize variety from the Philippines on a trial basis, the report said.

GM technology has been highly controversial, praised by some for increasing yields and improving varieties, and condemned by others for creating "frankenfoods" that pose dangers to the environment and people's health.

Environmental group Greenpeace has called for a worldwide recall of GM foods, with a spokesman saying this week that distributing them was "like playing Russian roulette with consumers and public health."

[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/292/1047.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/292/1047.page GMT
[quote]Researchers have been experimenting for some time with the idea that biology can be harnessed to perform computations. Biological systems can amplify and sample a large collection of molecules simultaneously, and they can register states that are far more subtle and complex than the binary ones handled by standard computers. Although there are no clear cases where a biological computer will outperform standard silicon, a biological computer may be useful for detecting the state of other biological systems, and it may find uses in diagnostics or environmental sensing. A potential step forward for biological computing was just reported in Science, where researchers describe logic gates built from RNA, a chemical the helps run the basic metabolism of the cell.

RNA is a close cousin to the more famous DNA, differing only by the presence of one oxygen atom in its component sugars. Although it acts much like DNA and undergoes base pairing, that oxygen atom makes it significantly more reactive. RNA molecules can twist to form elaborate structures that can catalyze chemical reactions, including those that rearrange RNA molecules (either themselves or others). In the new experiment, researchers built their logic gates using a type of catalytic RNA called a "hammerhead ribozyme."

[img]http://media.arstechnica.com/news.media/hammerhead_Ribozyme.png[/img]
Image: UCSB chemistry.

As seen here, the hammerhead RNA undergoes base pairing with itself to form a complex, three-dimensional structure. Place the hammerhead sequence within any RNA molecule and it will break up the RNA to cut itself neatly out, leaving the RNA molecule in pieces.

The ribozyme is flexible enough that extra RNA can be inserted into one or both of the two lobes of the structure shown above without destroying its function. The researchers inserted RNA sequences that also formed base paired structures. With the additional sequences in place, the entire molecule acted like a switch: if it base pairs one way, a normal, functional hammerhead ribozyme was formed. If it pairs up using different stretches of RNA, parts of the ribozyme are pulled open, destroying its function.

The authors arranged it so that they could control this switch. Several RNA sequences have been identified that bind small molecules, like the drug tetracycline. The authors inserted these into the extended lobes, such that the drug controlled the folding of the RNA. When tetracycline is present, the RNA would fold so that there was no active ribozyme. Remove the tetracycline, and the molecule would reshuffle so that the ribozyme became active.

The end result is that the drug acts as a switch, turning the ribozyme on and off. Making each of the two lobes sensitive to a different drug even created a biological AND switch; both drugs need to be present for an active ribozyme. But a ribozyme isn't necessarily easy to detect, so the authors made it obvious: they inserted their logic gates into a gene that encodes a messenger RNA that produces the Green Fluorescent protein (the protein that recently won folks a Nobel Prize). Now, when the ribozyme is active, the messenger RNA gets broken up and no GFP is made; otherwise, the cells glow green.

This setup allowed the creation of an OR logic system as well. Simply placing two ribozymes in the same message, each sensitive to a different drug, ensured that no GFP was made if either drug was present. By combining different versions of these structures in a gene encoding a single messenger RNA, all sorts of basic logical operations were possible, and their state was easy to read out based on whether the yeast cells carrying these genes glowed green or not.

Detecting tetracycline isn't especially interesting, but RNA that binds to specific small molecules is actually relatively easy to make; repeated rounds of amplification and selection for binding can evolve these RNAs in a couple of days. This means that, in a matter of days, researchers can grow yeast colonies that glow in response to a variety of chemicals, or even to combinations of chemicals.

More complicated circuits should be possible if the ribozymes are inserted into messenger RNAs that encode transcription factors, which could, in turn, regulate genes that encode yet other ribozymes. It's possible that the first biological calculations using this system are already under way in the lab responsible for this publication.

[/quote]
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The plan is to turn Brno, a 13th-century city that went the way of manufacturing under communism, into a modern biotech hub and attract firms eager to tap into a skilled work force, even as a strong currency drives up costs and wages.

"We are trying to connect industry, education and infrastructure to make it easier for companies to come here to create an environment that suits biotech companies best," Brno's mayor Roman Onderka told Reuters.

The Czech Republic now hosts around 60 biotech firms, mainly near Brno and the capital of Prague.

But the key for Brno -- the country's second biggest city -- is a partnership with the U.S. Mayo Clinic, the research centre renowned for treating rare medical cases and famous patients including former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

Announced in 2006, it will help the country play on historic strengths in medicine and research and hopefully become a regional force for more than just cheap labor, said Tomas Sedlacek, chief macroeconomic strategist at Czech bank CSOB.

Establishing the Czech Republic as a research hub could keep the economy humming when wages rise enough to convince low-cost manufacturers settled here to move jobs elsewhere, said Sedlacek, a former government adviser.

"The government was pinning its hopes on this partnership," he said. "It would be wonderful if the Czech Republic could become a clinical research centre or something like the hospital of Europe."

Over the last decade, the Czech crown has been one of the world's best performing currencies, fuelled by economic growth of around 5 percent a year and investors' expectations that returns on Czech investments will catch up with those in richer neighboring countries.

That is making it more expensive to do business in the country. But Alexandra Rudysarova, chief executive of CzechInvest, which promotes investment, argued Brno's biotech push shows the nation offers far more than just low-cost labor.

"We strive to lure investments into sectors such as biotech that provide high added-value and where investors are far less tempted to relocate to cheap countries east of our borders," she said in an e-mail.

COMPETITION

The venture in Brno, about halfway between Prague and Vienna, marks the first time the Mayo Clinic has looked abroad and is one of four potential new research centers for the city.

Virend Somers, international director and a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, said Brno offers a pool of expertise.

"The fact it is very much a university town is so important to make a venture like this successful to help drive creativity," he said. "We had also been very impressed by the technical expertise of the Brno physicians and engineers we met on earlier collaborations."

The government plans to invest some $500 million to support the four potential projects -- with some money also coming from the European Union -- as the city seeks to compete directly with long-established biotech hubs in California and burgeoning ones across Asia, all looking to tap a fast-growing industry.

Global biotech sales grew by 12.5 pct in 2007 to more than $55 billion, double the 6.4 percent pace seen in the worldwide pharmaceutical market, according to market research company IMS Health.

The plan for Brno also includes a "Medipark" life science campus at Masaryk University, a regional EU centre focusing on biotech, and an electron accelerator to aid drug development.

Tax breaks, lower wages, good transportation links connecting eastern and western Europe and a large student population that provides a skilled, English-speaking workforce have long attracted technology companies such as IBM, Honeywell and Siemens to Brno.

Ten years ago, biotechnology was virtually non-existent in eastern and central Europe, but skilled workforces and relatively low costs helped incubate the industry in countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

FROM PEAS TO PATENTS

The fledgling International Clinical Research Centre is located near the 14th-century abbey where Mendel's experiments with plants started the gene revolution that gave the world biotech drugs and genetically modified crops.

It was there that the German-speaking Augustinian monk worked out the basic laws of inheritance by painstakingly cross-breeding thousands of pea plants.

Other scientific leaders associated with the city include Ernst Mach -- whose work resulted in the Mach numbers used to gauge supersonic speed -- and Viktor Kaplan, inventor of the Kaplan water turbine.

The new International Clinical Research Centre will be one of the EU's largest biotech and medical research projects and will showcase new projects aimed at luring researchers and biotech companies, officials say.

"There aren't many centers in the world that offer the combination of basic science to preclinical research to development of drugs, devices and technologies," said Dr. Tomas Kara, the centre's chief, who is also a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

When it gets fully up and running in 2010, the facility will provide the tools and training to help scientists from around the world more quickly turn their ideas in the lab into drugs and technologies people can use, Kara said.

Current projects at the clinic, which will focus mainly on heart disease, neurosciences and oncology, include a computer program to prescribe drugs based on a person's genetic profile.

So far researchers from the Mayo clinic and Brno have published 14 papers and won three U.S. patents for medical devices, including one to better monitor the relationship between the brain and heart.

A primary goal is developing new technologies like these and conducting independent medical research -- rather than drug development -- and providing resources for scientists to conduct their studies in Brno and then return to their home country, Kara said.

"It will work on the same concept as the international space station, which means adjusting the centre based on the needs of each project," said Kara. "We want to bring the best scientists in the world to one place. We hope that one day Brno could be the Silicon Valley of medicine and biotechnology." [/quote]

[url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080904/hl_nm/czech_biotech_dc;_ylt=Ar4KKnyKwbix06mc5PzPEJIPLBIF]link[/url]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/187/596.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/187/596.page GMT
"The heights and weights of preschool children whose diets included quality protein maize (QPM) as their main starchy staple increased more than 20% faster than those of children who ate conventional maize, according to a recent study in rural Ethiopia on the nutritional benefits of QPM and its acceptance as a food."

QPM is a genetically-modified maize with over 70% more lysine and tryptophan (essential amino acids needed to make proteins) than other maize. According to the news release, QPM, released in 2002 in Ethiopia, is gaining popularity and children grew "21% faster in height and 26% faster in weight" while eating QPM and not traditional maize.

While the study cited above raises my hackles a bit, as it was conducted in partnership with the same group that introduced and continues to develop strains of QPM, it also raises my favorite GM topic. While people here in the US and in the UK are busy bickering over GM foods and destroying crops (see my previous post: http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/list/135.page), in some places, GM foods seem to be actually living up to the promises that were made for them-- raising the quality of food and being a health benefit to citizens in third-world countries.

I wish there were more studies to gauge the effectiveness of GM crops in third-world countries, so that, if positive, the public could hear more about the benefits instead of the risks of GM.

You can read more about the study here: (http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2008/jul/nutriMaize.htm)]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/141/431.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/141/431.page GMT
Newly-approved plans aim to cultivate high-yielding and pest-resistant genetically modified species, the State Council, or cabinet, said in a statement posted on its website late on Wednesday

At a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, Chinese leaders said the plans were "of strategic significance" in the country's drive to make its agricultural sector more efficient and competitive internationally, the statement said.

"Departments must fully understand the importance and urgency of this significant project, further improve the programme and waste no time to carry it out," it said.

It gave no details on which crops should be developed, but analysts said the plans were likely to focus on developing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, including corn and rice.

China has become a major producer of genetically modified cotton and vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, but it has yet to begin large-scale production of genetically modified rice, corn and soybeans.

"The approval signalled China is attaching more importance to development of GMOs and has made it a national strategy," said Huang Dejun, chief analyst with Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant firm.

China's cabinet last week approved a mid- and long-term grain security plan that aims to keep annual grain output above 500 million tonnes by 2010 and increase production to more than 540 million tonnes a year by 2020.

Wen told a cabinet meeting China faces serious challenges in ensuring it will have enough grain to feed its population in the decades to come, citing urbanisation and climate change as two major problems.

"Given the shortage in resources like arable land and water and increasing population, GMO is vital for the country's agriculture output," Huang told AFP.
[/quote]

China's approach to their growing food crisis seems to make sense, but one must wonder how much testing has been done to genetically modified food. ]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/108/294.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/108/294.page GMT
"You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy, and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realise? Ignorance is bliss."

[quote]Natural products are highly valued by consumers yet their properties have been difficult to reproduce fully in synthetic materials, placing a drain on our limited natural resources. Until now ...

Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) are working towards producing the world's first model that will predict how we perceive naturalness. The results could help make synthetic products so good that they are interpreted by our senses as being fully equivalent to the 'real thing', but with the benefits of reduced environmental impact and increased durability.

NPL began undertaking a real-time experiment at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition. The public were invited to touch and feel 20 wood and wood effect samples and vote on whether they are real or not. The exhibition will now be toured around the UK during the next year to collect a census of data from across the country. This will then be used to help build the first predictive model of how we judge naturalness.

As well as the real-time experiment the travelling exhibition will include a range of interactive exhibits that explore the perceptual process. The first of these will show how we can use body parts to measure an object, as the ancient Egyptians did with the cubit, a standard measure related to the Pharaoh's arm length. There are visual, tactile and auditory experiments designed to demonstrate the limitations of the senses as measurement devices, by exposing how perceptions can be fooled by illusions. Videos will highlight the how the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain scans is helping us understand the perceptual process, by allowing researchers to discover which areas of the brain are stimulated when people carry out specific tasks, such as using their vision and touch senses to explore natural and non natural wood samples.

The exhibit is part of a much larger EU-funded project undertaken by a unique set of multidisciplinary of researchers called the Measurement of Naturalness (MONAT). This is one of a series of EU projects trying to 'Measure the Impossible', other projects are investigating subjects as diverse as eyewitness memory, emotional response to computer games, measuring body language and understanding how music induced emotions are processed in the brain.

The MONAT team will work over three years to examine how the perceived naturalness of materials is influenced by their physical properties. It includes:

Neuroscientists who scan the brain activity of individuals as they examine different materials
Psychologists who measure the way people perceive different materials when they use their hands or eyes, or both
NPL's experts in metrology, data analysis and software modeling, who contribute expertise in making accurate physical measurements of the properties of different materials and will build the model of perceived naturalness.

The physical characteristics of a surface, such as its colour, texture and surface roughness, are being linked to what is happening in a person's brain when they see or touch the surface. Once this is understood it should be possible to accurately predict what we will perceive as natural, and manufacturers will be able to design synthetic products to meet this expectation. The results could have a great impact on materials such as wood, animal skin and furs, marble and stone, plants and even prosthetics.

Ruth Montgomery of the National Physical Laboratory, said: "Our senses combine to identify natural materials. But what are the key factors, is it colour, gloss, smoothness, temperature? This is what our research is trying to establish. The focus of the research is wood, fabric and stone, but once the data is combined the aim is to produce a predictive computer model that will work for other materials. If successful the range of applications would be huge. For instance, synthetic mahogany furniture that is indistinguishable from the natural material, but won't rot or be attacked by woodworm or artificial grass so good that they use it on Wimbledon's Centre Court."[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/97/265.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/97/265.page GMT
[quote]LONDON (AFP) - Biofuels have caused world food prices to increase by 75 percent, according to the findings of an unpublished World Bank report published in The Guardian newspaper on Friday.

The daily said the report was finished in April but was not published to avoid embarrassing the US government, which has claimed plant-derived fuels have pushed up prices by only three percent.

Biofuels, which supporters claim are a "greener" alternative to using fossil fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions, and rising food prices will be on the agenda when G8 leaders meet in Japan next week for their annual summit.

The report's author, a senior World Bank economist, assessed that contrary to claims by US President George W. Bush, increased demand from India and China has not been the cause of rising food prices.

"Rapid income growth in developing countries has not led to large increases in global grain consumption and was not a major factor responsible for the large price increases," the report said.

Droughts in Australia have also not had a significant impact, it added. Instead, European and US drives for greater use of biofuels has had the biggest effect.

The European Union has mooted using biofuels for up to 10 percent of all transport fuels by 2020 as part of an increase in use of renewable energy.

All petrol and diesel in Britain has had to include a biofuels component of at least 2.5 percent since April this year.

"Without the increase in biofuels, global wheat and maize stocks would not have declined appreciably and price increases due to other factors would have been moderate," the report said.

It added that the drive for biofuels has distorted food markets by diverting grain away from food for fuel, encouraging farmers to set aside land for its production, and sparked financial speculation on grains.

But Brazil's transformation of sugar cane into fuel has not had such a dramatic impact, the report said.

"The basket of food prices examined in the study rose by 140 percent between 2002 and this February," The Guardian said.

"The report estimates that higher energy and fertiliser prices accounted for an increase of only 15 percent, while biofuels have been responsible for a 75 percent jump over that period."

[/quote]]]> http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/94/259.page http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/preList/94/259.page GMT
Where have we have this before:
Cane Toads to solve Beetle problem in Australia -
Jurassic Park - for you pop culture fans out there.

Somehow these ideas always backfire on the scientists. Let's hope for the best, but expect the worst :-)


[quote]LONDON - In a cramped, humid laboratory in London, mosquitoes swarming in stacked, net-covered cages are being scrutinized for keys to controlling malaria. Scientists have genetically modified hundreds of them, hoping to stop them from spreading the killer disease.

Faced with a losing battle against malaria, scientists are increasingly exploring new avenues that might have seemed far-fetched just a few years ago.

"We don't have things we can rely on," said Andrea Crisanti, the malaria expert in charge of genetically modifying mosquitoes at London's Imperial College. "It's time to try something else."

Malaria kills nearly three million people worldwide every year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Millions of bed nets have been handed out, and villages across the continent have been doused with insecticide. But those measures haven't put a significant dent in malaria cases.

After a string of failed initiatives, the United Nations recently announced a campaign to provide bed nets to anyone who needs them by 2010.

Some scientists think creating mutant mosquitoes resistant to the disease might work better.

"We still have a malaria burden that is increasing," said Yeya Toure, a tropical disease expert at the World Health Organization.

"Under such circumstances, we have to investigate whether genetically modified mosquitoes could make a difference," said Toure, who is not involved in the Imperial College research.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has found the work so promising it has invested nearly $38 million into genetic strategies to stop mosquitoes from transmitting diseases like malaria and dengue fever.

"This is one of those high-tech, high risk innovations that would fundamentally change the struggle between humans and mosquitoes," said Dr. Regina Rabinovich, director of infectious diseases development at the Gates Foundation.

Mosquitoes bred to be immune to malaria could break the disease's transmission cycle. "That is the nirvana of malaria control," said Rabinovich. "It would potentially transform what the field looks like."

In 2005, Crisanti proved it was possible to create a genetically modified mosquito by inserting a gene that glowed fluorescent green in males.

Among other possibilities, he and his team are now planning to create sterile male mosquitoes to mate with wild female mosquitoes, thus stunting population growth. They are also trying to engineer a malaria-resistant mosquito.

Last year, American researchers created mosquitoes resistant to a type of malaria that infects mice. Others are altering the DNA of the mosquitoes that spread dengue.

But not everyone thinks these super mosquitoes are such a good idea. Some scientists think there are too many genetic puzzles to be solved for modified mosquitoes to work.

The malaria-causing parasite, which mosquitoes then transmit to humans, is simply too good at evading anything scientists might devise to protect the mosquito, argued to Jo Lines, a malaria expert at London's School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

"It's a series of arms races that the parasite has consistently won," Lines said. Whenever mosquitoes have developed genes resistant to the malaria-causing parasite, the parasite has always found a way around it, Lines said.

Quantity might also be a problem. "You are going to need to produce billions of these mosquitoes if this is ever going to work," Lines said.

Some environmentalists worried that genetically modified mosquitoes might wreak havoc in the ecosystem.

"Can't we just give mosquito nets to people instead of looking at these really complex technological fixes that mess with the very delicate balance of nature and evolutionary history?" asked Gillian Madill, a genetic technologies campaigner at Friends of the Earth in Washington.

Rabinovich said rigorous testing would be done before releasing any genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild.

"It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature," she said. "But if you can come up with another way of tackling (malaria), this is not something that one walks away from without fully evaluating it."

Over the next year, Crisanti hopes to finalize plans for a test release of genetically modified mosquitoes in southern Italy. There, millions of the insects will be set loose in large cages to determine things like how they might interact with wild mosquitoes and how many would be needed to knock out malaria.

Crisanti acknowledged there might be unintended consequences of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild, although he could not predict what they might be.

The scientist said it was a risk worth taking.

"I think there is a moral good to doing it," he said. "If we do this right, the mosquitoes will get rid of malaria for us."[/quote]

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[quote]BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill on Monday that will direct $1 billion of state funds toward biotechnology over 10 years, aiming to fill a federal funding shortfall caused by White House opposition to embryonic stem cell research.

Challenging California's dominance in an area of science that could lead to cures for Parkinson's disease and other ailments, Patrick said the money would support research grants and strengthen facilities used by both public and private scientists.

"There is no place in the world with as great a concentration of life sciences talent, resources and vision as Massachusetts," he said at a ceremony before flying to the Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual conference in San Diego, California, to tout his plan.

Massachusetts is the latest region to express lofty ambitions in the embryonic stem cell research field, which requires destruction of days-old embryos and is opposed by abortion foes and the White House on ethical grounds.

Britain set up the world's first stem cell bank in 2004 to store and supply the cells for research, Singapore is aggressively courting top stem cell scientists, while India, China and South Korea are investing heavily in the area.

Massachusetts has some advantages. It is already a major medical cluster with two world-leading universities, four medical schools, 20 teaching hospitals and over 500 life science companies. Unlike California, its research funding will not be restricted to stem cell research.

Patrick's plan includes $250 million in tax incentives to encourage companies to expand, $250 million in grants for research, fellowships or workforce training, and $500 million for infrastructure, including a stem cell bank at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Privately held Organogenesis Inc, a specialist in regenerative medicine that aims to restore lost bodily functions by using stem cells, said the bill was a deciding factor in expanding in Massachusetts.

Patrick has said the legislation will create 250,000 jobs within 10 years. Massachusetts currently has about 75,000 life sciences jobs, accounting for about 1 percent of its workforce.

Polls have shown a majority of the U.S. public back stem cell research, which scientists believe could one day be used to provide individually tailored tissue and organ transplants, or repair spinal cord injuries.

California has given a strong boost to the research. In 2004, state voters backed the creation of the California Institute for Regenerative Research, passing a measure giving it the power to raise up to $3 billion in debt to finance stem-cell research[/quote]
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Centocor Inc. and its partner Schering-Plough Corp. said their investigational rheumatoid arthritis drug golimumab (CNTO 148), a next-generation human antitumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha monoclonal antibody, met its primary endpoint in three separate Phase III studies.

The product is being studied as a monthly subcutaneous injection and an intravenous infusion therapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive debilitating disease that affects about 1.3 million people in the U.S. and 3 million in Europe. Golimumab also has been studied successfully in patients with psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

The firms submitted a marketing application in March to the European Medicines Agency for the drug in the three indications.

Horsham, Pa.-based Centocor, which discovered golimumab and holds the exclusive U.S. marketing rights, is on track to file a biologics license application with the FDA by the end of the month for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, said spokesman Brian Kenney.

He would not speculate about a timeline for FDA approval, but noted that the application will be filed under the standard approval process, which typically takes 10 months or longer.

Kenilworth, N.J.-based Schering-Plough has the exclusive marketing rights for golimumab outside the U.S. except in Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan, where the drug will be co-marketed by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. and Janssen Pharmaceutical Kabushiki Kaisha, and in Hong Kong, where golimumab will be marketed exclusively by Janssen-Cilag.

Xian-Janssen has the rights to market the product in China.

If approved, golimumab would compete with other injectable TNF-blocking agents, such as Enbrel (etanercept), marketed jointly by Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen Inc. and Collegeville, Pa.-based Wyeth, or Humira (adalimumab), sold by Abbott Inc., of Abbott Park, Ill.

However, golimumab has the advantage of being a once-monthly injection, whereas the recommended dosage for Enbrel is 50 mg per week and 40 mg every other week for Humira.

Centocor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, also markets Remicade (infliximab), a TNF-blocking agent that is administered by intravenous infusion every eight weeks, Kenney said by phone from Paris, where the results of the three golimumab Phase III studies had been presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress of Rheumatology.

Results from the first 461-patient Phase III study, known as GO-AFTER, showed that patients with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis previously treated with anti-TNF-alpha agents and who were given golimumab had better outcomes than those on placebo.

About 35 percent and 38 percent of patients receiving golimumab 50 mg and 100 mg, respectively, achieved the primary endpoint of at least 20 percent improvement in arthritis symptoms at week 14, compared with 18 percent of patients receiving placebo, the companies reported. The results were maintained through six months, the firms added.

Among the 58 percent of patients whose prior anti-TNF-alpha therapy had been discontinued due to lack of efficacy, 36 percent receiving golimumab 50 mg and 43 percent receiving golimumab 100 mg achieved a 20 percent improvement in symptoms compared with 18 percent of patients on placebo.

At 24 weeks, 52 percent of patients in the combined golimumab dosing group experienced a clinically relevant improvement in physical function compared with 34 percent of patients receiving placebo.

In the second 444-patient study, known as GO-FORWARD, golimumab 50 mg and 100 mg were studied in patients whose disease was active despite ongoing treatment with methotrexate.

At week 14, 55 percent of patients receiving golimumab 50 mg plus methotrexate and 56 percent receiving golimumab 100 mg and methotrexate achieved at least 20 percent improvement in the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis compared with 33 percent of patients receiving methotrexate alone.

The firms noted that improvements were seen as early as four weeks after the first golimumab injection and generally continued to improve over time.

At 24 weeks, 68 percent of patients in the golimumab 50 mg dosing group and 72 percent of patients receiving golimumab 100 mg experienced clinically relevant improvement in physical function compared with 39 percent of patients receiving methotrexate alone.

At week 14, 74 percent and 76 percent of patients in the golimumab 50 mg and 100 mg plus methotrexate groups, respectively, were classified as disease activity score responders, compared with 52 percent of patients receiving methotrexate alone.

In addition, 35 percent and 32 percent of patients in the respective golimumab groups achieved remission compared with 13 percent of patients receiving methotrexate alone.

The 637-patient GO-BEFORE Phase III study examined golimumab 50 mg or 100 mg in combination with methotrexate in methotrexate-naïve patients.

In the primary analysis of the combined group of patients receiving either golimumab 50 mg or 100 mg in combination with methotrexate, 38 percent achieved at least 50 percent improvement in the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis through week 24 compared with 29 percent of patients receiving methotrexate alone.

In addition, 62 percent of patients in the combined golimumab plus methotrexate group achieved a 20 percent improvement compared with 49 percent receiving methotrexate alone.
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By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Tue May 27, 1:10 PM ET

OSLO (Reuters) - The world is failing in efforts to control an international biotechnology trade ranging from genetically modified crops to the building blocks of biological weapons, a U.N. University study said on Tuesday.

The study said a lack of controls was "a potentially contributing factor to the spread of bioterrorism" -- the deliberate release of naturally-occurring or human-modified bacteria, viruses, toxins or other biological agents.

It said just $135 million, a fraction of the amount needed, had been spent on helping developing countries to build up skills to monitor a rising use of biotechnologies in the past 15 years.

Lack of training and knowledge is "so pervasive and broad that there is no effective international system of biosafety at the moment," according to the 238-page report by the Japan-based U.N. University Institute of Advanced Studies.

"The use and prevalence of biotechnology seems certain to increase, not least in agriculture," it said.

More than 100 developing nations lack the ability to implement the U.N.'s 2003 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, meant to help regulate trade in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) including crops such as maize, tomatoes, rice or soybeans.

Biotechnology has been held out as a way of helping poor nations, for instance with crops with higher yields or genetic traits that can withstand droughts that may become more frequent because of climate change.

BIODIVERSITY

Some countries, worried about GMOs that some environmentalists brand "Frankenfoods," have banned all biotech imports.

"A country that lacks capacity is more likely to bring in very restrictive systems in order to counterbalance its deficiencies," the report said, released during a May 19-30 U.N. meeting about biodiversity in Bonn, Germany.

The findings raised questions about "the extent to which capacity deficits are undermining the promise that advances in biotechnology would directly address the needs of the poor," said A.H. Zakri, head of the Institute of Advanced Studies.

"There may also be broader implications ... These may include an impaired ability to meet the challenges of global issues such as climate change, or to protect humans and the environment against biosecurity risks," he said in a statement.

Sam Johnston, one of four authors of the study, said many countries lacked officials to check shipments.

"It's just not working," he told Reuters of the Cartagena Protocol. "Outside Europe there is nothing effective. You end up with an ineffective, dysfunctional international regime."

He said it was almost impossible to buy GMO free soya anywhere in the world. "There is simply so much GM soy that it becomes contaminated," he said.

"Climate change will make marginal lands bigger...and you need technological answers, make crops that can resist stresses like drought and salinity," he said. "But even if you do develop those technologies, you'll find it difficult to roll them out without an effective regime."

(For Reuters latest environment blogs click on: http://blogs.reuters.com/environment )

(Editing by Richard Williams)
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