http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KfPtHec4s
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Gene therapy may be the answer for HIV
Clinical Trials Of Breakthrough Gene Therapy To Treat HIV Expected In 2012
Scientists at Calimmune, a stem cell company founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, plan to start Phase I/II clinical trials of a revolutionary new gene therapy to treat HIV infections.
Narayanan Suresh 07/25/2011
Scientists at San Francisco-based Calimmune, founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, have sought the permission of US regulator FDA (food and drugs administration) to start phase I/II clinical trials of their proprietary gene therapy that aims to remove the protein that is used by the HIV virus to infect a person.
Calimmune scientists presented the results of their studies so far and made the announcement about the clinical trials during the BIO International Convention in Washington DC on June 28,2011.
The therapy works like this. HIV infects a person using a protein CCR5 which acts as the co-receptor for the virus to invade the T cells. Most people inherit two copies of the gene, one from each parent, that codes for the CCR5 protein. However, it was discovered that about one percent of adult Europeans have a mutation in both the copies of the gene and hence do not produce the CCR5 protein. This makes them resistant to HIV infection because the virus cannot infect a person in the absence of this protein.
Nobel laureate Dr. Baltimore had suggested a decade ago that this knowledge could be used to develop gene therapies that block the protein aiding the HIV infection. Calimmune was founded in 2007 by a group of distinguished scientists and entrepreneurs which included Dr. Baltimore.
Calimmune scientists have since then pioneered a blood stem cell therapy that uses several mechanisms such as RNAi interference to block the expression of the protein CCR5.
Currently HIV infections leads to the prevalence of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) over a period of time and proves fatal in most of the patients. These patients are given lifelong treatment of antiretroviral drugs. The annual treatment for each patient costs about $25,000 (Rs. 11.4 lakh) or about $750,000 (Rs. 3.4 crore) on average for a patient’s life time. More than 30 million are known to have HIV infection globally now.
If the gene therapy is successful, a patient needs to be given a one-time treatment that too without any hospitalization. The patient should develop the immunity to handle the HIV infection. “This is the culmination of more than a decade of research and development, and we look forward to being able to treat patients with this powerful approach,” said Dr. Geoff Symonds, chief scientific officer of Calimmune, in a press statement released during the BIO convention. Dr. Symonds had led the world’s largest cell-derived HIV gene therapy trial during his stint with Johnson and Johnson prior to joining Calimmune.
Added Dr. Baltimore: “The scientists who started Calimmune are devoted to trying to blunt the impact of HIV infection on the world’s population. We came out of our laboratories to form a company that could have an effect on this disease. We are committed to devoting the time and energy necessary to be successful. For all of us, such an outcome would be the most gratifying event of our lives.”
Dr. Baltimore shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Howard Temi and Renalto Dulbecco for the discovery of reverse transcriptase which is essential for the reproduction of retroviruses such as HIV. He is currently the chairman of the board of Calimmune and President Emeritus of California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Genetic modification, if successful, should pave the way for a permanent cure to this dreaded disease. The currently used retroviral treatments only help to delay the infection from turning into AIDS and enhance the patient’s life by a few years. It does not provide a permanent cure.
Novel Bacterial Detectors
Bacteria blues: Bacteria collected in the bottom of the tube on the right have been labeled with a blue imaging agent.
Credit: Niren Murthy
Credit: Niren Murthy
Biomedicine
A Light Switch for Bacterial Infections
A new contrast agent could detect bacteria on medical implants, and help doctors decide how to treat infection.
- Monday, July 25, 2011
- By Katherine Bourzac
It's usually clear when a patient has a bacterial infection and needs to be treated with antibiotics, says Jason Bowling, director of epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, who was not involved with developing the imaging agent. But sometimes an infection is more difficult to diagnose. For example, it can be difficult to tell when a patient who has pain at the site of a hip or knee replacement has an infection. This sometimes leads doctors to prescribe antibiotics when they aren't necessary.
An imaging scan capable of detecting bacteria would quickly answer the question, sparing uninfected patients from unnecessary antibiotics or even from surgery to remove the implant. Where there is an infection and the implant is removed, imaging could help ensure that no new hardware is implanted until the infection has been completely cleared.
It's challenging to image infections because many of the molecules used to target bacteria can accumulate in tissue that is merely inflamed rather than infected, says Niren Murthy, professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, who was involved with developing the new agent. The new imaging agent is taken up by bacteria in large quantities, but it won't stick around in other tissue. "We had to find something very specific to bacteria," he says.
Murthy's group stole a trick from a group of viruses that gets its genome inside bacteria by attaching it to a bacterial food source, a carbohydrate called maltohexaose. Bacteria have proteins on their cell walls whose job is to bring maltohexaose inside the cell, and this happens even if that maltohexaose is attached to an imaging agent. Animal cells don't have these proteins, so they don't take up the contrast agen
Innovation Raga
“Asia’s Nobel Prize” For India’s Solar Lighting Pioneer
Harish Hande, the IITian(IIT-Kharagpur) and University of Massachusetts doctorate and founder of Selco gets the coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award 2011 for his pioneering efforts to provide solar-based lighting solutions in rural India.
Narayanan Suresh 07/28/2011
How? She basks in the glory of a solar lantern, rented from a local NGO, at a nominal daily cost of Rs. 10 (22 US cents) which has helped to increase the business hours by 180 minutes. The extra volume of business generates more than compensates for the nominal rent.
The lantern for the program comes from Dr. H. Harish Hande’s Solar Electric Light Company (Selco) India, a social enterprise founded by him in 1995 to electrify rural India using innovative solar power technologies. Dr. Hande was a member of the jury for Technology Review India’s Grand Challenges 2010 program to pick innovative technology solutions relevant to India.
In the last few years, the program has caught on with the involvement of civil society groups and philanthropic organizations, and micro finance institutions in the states of Karnataka, Gujarat and Kerala. Selco, founded as a social enterprise, works with these groups to provide innovative lighting solutions in rural areas. More than 125,000 households in these states have benefited from the Selco program so far.
It is not just increased business that matters, said Dr. Hande in a recent meeting. Most of the vegetable and other vendors in rural areas are women from poor families and the only bread winner in their families. The additional income generated enhances the overall quality of life of their families and gives them an extra edge in the subtle power plays at home, besides boosting their self esteem.
After completing his engineering education at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, he enrolled for doctorate at the University of Massachusetts. His topic was on rural electrification and traveled extensively in Latin American countries. He was impressed by some of the innovative solutions used there and decided to start something on his own.
Back in India, Dr. Hande chose solar power to fulfill his mission to light up the lives of rural poor. (Read his Notebook Think Beyond Subsidies on Government of India's model of capital subsidy for solar systems.)
Dr. Hande and Selco have embarked on another ambitious initiative, the Light for Education program. Under this program just last week, students at the Viveka Tribal School in a rural hamlet, which is part of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, got 80 solar lanterns.
The lanterns, made by Selco were bought and supplied by the Rotary Club of Bangalore (RCB) in association with Arjun Menda Foundation.
The program works like this: NGOs like RCB and the Menda Foundation use their funds and buy the solar lantern each costing about Rs. 1,500 ($34) and donate it to schools of their choice. Selco sets up the solar lantern charging stations at the selected schools. RCB members have decided to supply hundreds of solar lamps in other needy schools.
Students from homes without electricity are given a fully-charges lantern each for use at home. With assured lighting available, students get to study in the evenings which was not possible earlier. Students have to take it back to the school for recharging and hence there is additional incentive for attending school regularly. Absenteeism by students mainly to do farm work is a major problem in rural schools. Free supply of midday meals in many of these schools have somewhat improved the attendance records.
The power of Dr. Hande’s simple idea has caught on. Arjun Menda is an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur. The IIT-Kharagpur Alumni Association in Bangalore is a supporter of the Light for Education program. The Association has targeted a supply of 1,000 solar lamps in 2011. Corporates like Tyco Electronics, Tulip, Sungard, Empyrean, Total Environemnt have all enrolled as sponsors.
So Selco provides the basic raw material. But the success comes from the wide network of supporters who take this good idea forward in their own way.
And the Magsaysay Award citation has captured the essence of Dr. Hande’s work in the citation which reads: “… for his pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor through his social enterprise Selco India.” The Award was instituted in 1957 in memory of late Philippines President Ramon Del Fierro Magsaysay to recognize outstanding contributions in the public and community service. Each winner gets a citation and $50,000 cash prize. So far 290 Asians have got the award. The 2011 awards have been given to six people/organizations including Dr. Hande and the presentation ceremony is scheduled for August 31, 2011 in Manila
Act Selfish .Help Somebody today
IT’s a story that is over 100 years old, but the lessons are still relevant today. The year was 1892. The place: Stanford University. A young, 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski – who was quite a superstar those days. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck. And the boys began to work to make the concert a success. The big day arrived. Paderewski performed at Stanford. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went up to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque soonest possible. “No way!” said Paderewski. “This is just not acceptable!” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left!” The boys were surprised, and quite overjoyed. They thanked him profusely. It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Someone special. He would have been within his rights to demand his “guaranteed money”. And why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. Times when other people need our help. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” We only think of ourselves, the loss we might incur, the trouble we might have to go through and the sacrifice we need to make. The great guys don’t think of themselves. They think of the difference it could make to other people. And that’s what drives their actions. They help not because someone else is watching, or because it will look good when the world comes to know about it. They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do. It may not surprise you to know that Paderewski went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were over 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover – who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved! He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college in the US. I was one of them.” Make it a habit to help others. It is rightly said that you can achieve everything you want in life if only you help other people achieve what they want in their lives. Do something selfish today. Help someone! Just do it. And don’t expect anything in return. The world is a wonderful place. What goes around usually comes around. Let the magic begin! Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark, and executive coach. Post your queries and comments below this column, and Prakash will respond! Published on: December 02, 2010 print |
Inspirational Story
ARJUN Verma is an unhappy young man. He was an outstanding student in engineering college. He landed a plum job with an MNC oil firm. He is admired for his technical acumen. And respected by his colleagues. So why is he unhappy? Arjun desperately wants to do an MBA ! He is convinced that without it his career won’t go anywhere.
For two years now, he has been attending classes and slogging for the CAT exams. But while he’s got interview calls, he hasn’t been able to make the cut. His employers were initially delighted to have hired an outstanding engineer – but are now wondering what’s gone wrong and why he seems distracted and stressed.
For two years now, he has been attending classes and slogging for the CAT exams. But while he’s got interview calls, he hasn’t been able to make the cut. His employers were initially delighted to have hired an outstanding engineer – but are now wondering what’s gone wrong and why he seems distracted and stressed.
Do you sometimes feel like that too? Do you wish you had a degree, or a skill or a trait that’s missing? Do you sometimes worry that you are not successful because you grew up in a small town, or didn’t go to an English medium school or didn’t have rich parents?
Maybe you - and Arjun - should hear the story of the three goats.
It all started on a lazy Sunday afternoon in a little town near Toronto in Canada. Two young school-going friends had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighbourhood and painted the numbers 1, 2 and 4 on their sides. They then let loose the goats inside their school building at night.
The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong. They soon saw goat pings on the stairs and near the entrance and knew that some goats had entered the building. A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found. But the authorities were worried. Where was goat number 3? They then spent the rest of the day looking for goat number 3. There was panic and frustration. The school declared a holiday for the students. Teachers and helpers and the staff and the canteen boy were all busy looking for the goat number 3, which, of course, did not exist.
If you think about it, we are all like those folks in the school. We may have our own goats, but we are forever looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat no. 3. And that becomes an obsession. So instead of making the most of what we have and focusing on our strengths – like all successful people do – we get obsessed with the missing piece and worry about our shortcomings. In the build up to the recent World Cup, you might recall there were a lot of people who felt that while the Indian team had a strong batting line-up and an effective bowling attack, it was a weak fielding side. They reckoned that would prove to be a stumbling block. So what did Dhoni and the think-tank do? They didn’t let that worry them too much. Dhoni acknowledged that we could not suddenly become a great fielding side. That’s all. No big deal. They stayed focused on their strengths, scored a lot of runs, and bowled well. And the rest as they say is history.
Not just success. Happiness too is a function of this mindset. Notice how some people are forever unhappy and stressed, and constantly looking for a bigger salary, or a more fancy title, or a bigger car. No time to have fun with the goats they have! Do the best you can – with what you have – and be grateful for what you get. Success and happiness will come your way.
And yes, stop worrying about goat no. 3 !
Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark, and executive coach.SITES THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
WWW.SCIENCEDAILY.COM
WWW.STUDENTEVETS.COM
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WWW.TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.IN
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WWW.STUDENTEVETS.COM
WWW.STUDENTCOMPETITIONS.COM
WWW.TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.IN
WWW.LETMEKNOW.IN
WWW.ONLINEUNIVERSITIES.COM
WWW.SCIDEV.NET
WWW.TWENTY19.COM
WWW.TED.COM
WWW.KHANACADEMY.ORG
WWW.WOLFRAMALPHA.COM
WWW.SCHOLARSHIPSININDIA.COM
WWW.STUDYABROAD.COM
WWW.LIVESCIENCE.COM
WWW.LIBRARY.NU
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