SINGAPORE: In the next few years, emcee and radio personality Joe Augustins 16-year-old son Jordan may require ventilator support to help him breathe. Jordan was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) just before he started Primary One. Affecting one in 3,000 boys, DMD is a progressive, genetic muscle disease that causes the muscles to weaken over time. We were initially devastated by the diagnosis because everything we read on the Internet about the condition was so damning, said Jordans mother, Mrs Adele Augustin, 43. Dr Wendy Liew, consultant at Neurology Service, Department of Paediatrics at KK Womens and Childrens Hospital (KKH), said patients will have a shortened lifespan and delayed motor milestones as a result of muscle weakness. There is currently no cure for the disease. By 12 years of age, many of them would require a wheelchair to help them move around. While steroid treatment can help to maintain muscle strength and delay the need for a wheelchair by one to three years, many patients would still require ventilator support to help them breathe in their late teenage years, said Associate Professor Stacey Tay, head of the Division of Paediatric Neurology at National University Hospital. Later, death usually occurs … Continue reading →

The treatment is known as "three-parent" in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor. LONDON: Britain will become the first nation to legalise a three-parent IVF technique which doctors say can prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics fear will effectively lead to designer babies. After more than three hours of debate, lawmakers in parliaments upper house voted on Tuesday for a change in the law to allow the treatments, echoing a positive vote in the lower house earlier this month. The treatment, called mitochondrial transfer, is known as three-parent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the babies, born from genetically modified embryos, would have DNA from a mother, a father and from a female donor. Although the techniques are still at the research stage in laboratories in Britain and the United States, experts say that now legal hurdles have been overcome, Britains first 3-parent baby could be born as early as 2016. Mitochondrial transfer involves intervening in the fertilisation process to remove faulty mitochondrial DNA, which can cause inherited conditions such as heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders, blindness and muscular dystrophy. … Continue reading →

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation - Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness John Elbon, Vice President & General Manager, Boeing Space Exploration Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Udall, and members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide Boeings perspective on U.S. Human Space Exploration Goals and Commercial Space Competitiveness. I am John Elbon, vice president & general manager, Boeing Space Exploration Mr. Chairman, Americas economic growth and competitiveness depend on our capacity to innovate, to reach beyond todays possibilities and stretch farther, faster than our competitors around the world. Our future depends on developing the next generation technologies but more important are the next generation minds. We need to inspire scientists, engineers, researchers and technologists everywhere by offering the opportunity to be part of something that transcends known boundaries. America needs to reinvigorate that Apollo era passion that changed the world, launching new industries and opening new doors into the universe. From everyday conveniences like scratch-resistant lenses to world-changing satellite-enabled communications, our lives are better today because of cutting edge NASA research innovations borne of our drive to explore. Just as seafaring ships explored and returned to home shores, bringing unforeseen discoveries so, too, will `spacefaring … Continue reading →