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Unscrambling autism laws

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Tony Burke was an energetic 2-year-old who loved drawing purple pictures of Barney and jumping on trampolines. But then his parents began to notice how he would grunt instead of talk, and couldnt look anyone in the eye. Before his third birthday, in 2005, he was diagnosed with autism. It felt like my heart had been ripped out, said his mother, Suzanne Burke of Philadelphia. Seeking the best care, his parents found applied behavior analysis (ABA), a one-on-one therapy considered the most effective treatment to date for autism. While doing ABA, Tonys grunts became words like cookie and juice, which later evolved into sentences, such as Can I have some juice? The intensive therapy was working. But then the familys insurance started denying claims. Even though laws in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey require insurers to pay for ABA, Tonys therapy wasnt covered in school, where he most needed help. And it was impossible for the Burkes to pay the nearly $80,000 a year this therapy costs. Without ABA, Tonys language skills plummeted. His behavior spiraled out of control. You feel helpless, said Tonys father, John Burke. While autism laws were enacted before 2010 in both states, … Continue reading →

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Robin Williams Had Parkinson's Disease, Wife Says

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Aug. 14, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Robin Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease before he committed suicide this week, and he was sober at the time of his death, his wife announced Thursday afternoon. In a prepared statement, Susan Schneider said her husband continued his decades-long battle with depression and anxiety, and he was in the early stages of Parkinson's when he was found dead at his suburban San Francisco home on Monday. Schneider said her husband, the celebrated Oscar-winning actor and comedian, wasn't prepared to publicly share his Parkinson's diagnosis. "Robin's sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression [and] anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson's disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly," Schneider said, according to published reports. "It is our hope in the wake of Robin's tragic passing that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid," she said. Besides depression and anxiety, Williams had struggled on and off with substance abuse over the years. According to the U.S. National … Continue reading →

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One Codex in open beta for genomic data search

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

52 minutes ago by Nancy Owano Data, data everywhere and now as ever researchers need the best tools to make the data useful. In medicine, searching through genomic data can take some time. A startup called One Codex hopes to make difference with their genetic search platform that can process data sets quickly. A report on their work on Friday in TechCrunch noted the advantage of One Codex speed. "Currently," wrote Julian Chokkattu, "the most commonly used tool for genome searching is by using an algorithm called BLAST, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, which compares primary biological sequence information." For Nick Greenfield, cofounder of One Codex, uploading a file to BLAST took two minutes and 30 seconds to process, compared with the One Codex system where the number was less than 1/20th of a second. The company defines One Codex as a search engine for genomic data. The TechCrunch piece describes what they offer as a service platform for genomics. Apart from using search technology," said Chokkattu, the platform also acts as an indexed, curated reference. The company said that it can search the world's largest index of bacterial, viral, and fungal genomes. A key advantage is speed. The product … Continue reading →

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dna impact: Cidco starts clean-up, deemed conveyance process simplified

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

Rattled by the series of reports in dna on red tape and graft in the City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco), the body's managing director, Sanjay Bhatia, has launched a crackdown on corruption in the estate department that handles cases pertaining to deemed conveyance. Bhatia, an IAS officer, has suspended two unscrupulous staffers from the estate department and initiated criminal proceedings against them. He has also issued a stern warning, asking others to fall in line, failing which they will also meet a similar fate. "We have taken note of the series of reports in dna of Navi Mumbai about the estate department and have taken corrective measures," said Bhatia. In his bid to weed out malpractice in the department, Bhatia has ordered opening of a Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) from August 19, where applicants can pay the requisite fee and collect their documents at the given time. The CFC will leave no scope for any direct interaction between the public and Cidco officials. "Now, the residents won't have to go from table to table to get their work done. They just have to submit their file at the CFC counter," said Mohan Ninawe, public relations officer of the government … Continue reading →

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This Smartphone-Connected Device Will One Day Quickly Detect Your STDs

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

The doctor suspects you have Lyme disease, but the time it would take to get blood-test results back from the lab might be time better spent taking antibiotics. A suspicious powder shows up on the doorstep of a government office, and it needs to be identified immediately. A team of investigators is having a tough time determining a victim's time of death at a crime scene. These are all possible future applications for Biomeme's smartphone-connected mobile DNA lab. Biomeme, a company that launched two years ago, has a 10-person team working out of Philadelphia on giving the capabilities of full molecular diagnostics central lab to anyone, according to co-founder Max Perelman. The company has created a mobile version of a real-time qPCR thermocycler, a fancy lab gadget that amplifies small amounts of DNA so they become more detectable ("Like a targeted photocopy machine for DNA," says Perelman). Putting those chunks of DNA through a PCR machine can detect specific things based on their DNA signature. Biomeme's first internally developed test, for example, looks for the DNA signatures of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. "We can make a diagnosis in real-time on the phone," says Perelman. The key to Biomeme's technology is … Continue reading →

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#FreedomFrom: Terms and Conditions

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

1. To participate in the dna Freedom From twitter contest, the participant should follow @dna and tweet issues that India needs Freedom From. The participant needs to send their entry #Freedomfrom on 14th August between 12PM to6PM. 2. Entries received before or after the mentioned time frame shall be rejected. No correspondence shall be entertained in this regard. 3. Select tweets will be published in dna on 15th August 2014. Two participants will also stand a chance to win an iPod Shuffle. 4. Participants can send multiple entries on twitter. Entries from Indians residing in India will be considered for winning in the contest. 5. By participating in dna Freedom From contest, all participants agree to abide by the terms and conditions of the contest. 6. Winners will be decided at sole discretion of dna. 7. The names of the winners of the two iPod Shuffle will be announced on dna Newspaper on 15th August 2014 and winners will be communicated by direct message &/or email by dna 8. Prizes should be collected from the dna office (address will be communicated by direct message on twitter &/or email) 9. Prizes will be given within 45 working days from the winners … Continue reading →

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Symposia expands global reach during Aikens tenure

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

Jim Aiken, 71, was hired in 2003 as CEO and president of the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology. Since he started, the Symposia has increased the number of annual conferences it holds by about 50 percent to almost 60 per year. Its also grown its footprint. It used to just hold meetings in North Americas resort towns. It has since expanded them to locations across the globe in an effort to improve science and medicine in developing nations and regions. With an annual budget of $15 million, its one of the largest, if not the largest, nonprofit organization in Summit County. Aiken grew up in Vermont. He received a bachelors degree in biology from Dartmouth. He earned a doctorate in pharmacology from University of Vermont and completed his post-doc education at Royal College of Surgeons of England. Hes followed in his fathers footsteps in the fields of public health and art, making him a type of modern Renaissance man. After spending more than three decades as a researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, he found himself drawn to the nonprofit sector. He recently retired from the Symposia, and hes planning to move with his wife to Seattle. But I … Continue reading →

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Focus on bioinformatics tools in diabetic research

Posted: Published on August 17th, 2014

Every disease has a genesis, and bioinformatics tools can be used to understand the origin and possible cause and the findings can be used for better treatment and designing new medicines, said former Vice-Chancellor of JNTU-Kakinada and Chairman of Institute of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (IBCB), Prof. Allam Apparao. Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of the two-day workshop on Bioinformatics Tools in Diabetic Research here on Saturday, he said the origin of diabetes can be traced to four million years ago and it was present in marine species. The root cause and mapping of the disease is important, as diabetes has been declared a pandemic and India is the global capital of the health disorder, he said. The professor further stated that Andhra Pradesh heads the count in India and it was estimated that about 20 per cent of the population in AP was affected by the disorder. About two decades ago, the average impact age group was between 40 and 45 years, but in the present context it has come down to 25-30 years, thanks to the changing food habit and lifestyle, he noted. Talking about bioinformatics, he said that it was an emerging field of … Continue reading →

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San Diegan joins state stem cell agency

Posted: Published on August 16th, 2014

David Higgins of San Diego, a biotech veteran and an advocate for people with Parkinson's disease, has joined the governing board of California's stem cell agency. Higgins, who has Parkinson's himself, replaces Joan Samuelson on the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee that governs the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The institute is distributing a total of $3 billion in state bond money in a years-long bid to turn stem cell research into therapies. Higgins' appointment was announced this week. He was chosen by state Controller John Chiang to take the patient advocate position for Parkinson's disease. Higgins is president of the board for the Parkinson's Association of San Diego. David Higgins / Parkinson's Association of San Diego He holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics from the University of Rochester, and has worked at the biotech companies Invitrogen, Chiron and Idun Pharmaceuticals. Higgins now serves as an adviser to iDiverse, a gene technology company in Del Mar. In addition, he's a board member for the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology. And he serves as the San Diego representative for the Parkinson's Action Network, which lobbies elected officials on policies regarding Parkinson's research and treatment. Higgins is a good … Continue reading →

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Nanoparticles tackle cancer with heat and ‘suicide genes’

Posted: Published on August 16th, 2014

Gene therapy can offer an effective treatment for drug-resistant radio-insensitive cancer. However, progress has been hampered by the difficulties in developing an appropriate delivery mechanism. Now researchers have demonstrated for the first time that magnetic nanoparticles provide safe, effective and targeted "suicide-gene" delivery to cells of a particularly prevalent and highly resilient type of liver cancer. Because the nanoparticles are magnetic they can also be used for hyperthermia treatments, where magnetic energy is converted into heat to elevate the temperature of the surrounding cancerous tissue, increasing the overall therapeutic effect of the gene therapy. "Our in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that the gene therapy combined with the heating treatment was very effective," explains Chenyan Yuan, a researcher from Southeast University in China. "In mice, we saw that the tumour growth rate, volume and mass were significantly less in the combined treatment group compared to gene therapy and hyperthermia therapy alone." Yuan and colleagues from the Affiliated Zhong Da Hospital of Southeast University and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices in China equipped the magnetic nanoparticles with a tumour-specific promoter gene to specifically tackle hepatocellular carcinoma, which is the most common form of liver cancer and causes more … Continue reading →

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