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By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 15:47 EDT

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A Canadian high school student has improved an ineffective experimental cancer therapy with a simple tweak ? pairing it with antibiotics ? earning accolades from a panel of eminent scientists on Tuesday.

Cancer ?photothermal therapy? ? or PTT ? involves injecting a patient with gold nanoparticles. These then accumulate in tumors and, when heated using light, attack the cancer cells.

The idea has shown promise but is not very effective because the cancer cells fight back, producing heat-shock proteins to protect themselves.

However, India-born high school student Arjun Nair, 16, showed how an antibiotic (17-AAG) may overcome the defenses cancer cell deploy and make the treatment more effective.

The discovery earned Nair the top prize in the 20th Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, after he spent two years working on his idea at the University of Calgary?s Nanoscience Labs in Alberta.

?Proof-of-concepts were developed and tested in order to demonstrate the viability of PTT,? says Nair. ?Moreover, after analyzing the literature a mathematical model was developed to evaluate a theoretical synergetic treatment.?

A total of 208 high school students collaborating on 123 projects, all mentored in professional labs over several months, took part in the annual competition.

In addition to a Can$5,000 (US$4,919) award for his discovery, Nair also won a Can$1,000 (US$984) prize for the project with the greatest commercial potential.

Prizes were also awarded for research into how genetic mutations naturally help some HIV patients escape symptoms, how to tailor stem cell treatments for Parkinson?s disease, a potential new therapy to reduce the severity of diabetes, and a possible novel tactic to fight the world?s deadliest brain cancer.

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/09/canadian-high-school-student-improves-experimental-cancer-treatment/

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Whether you?re going from college straight into graduate school, medical school or law school, or going back to obtain a master?s degree, you may need financing to help you cover the expenses. Just as you did for college, you?ll need to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine your expected contribution and discover any scholarships or grants you can apply for. After you?ve explored the alternatives to student loans, which may include tuition assistance from your employer, fellowships, graduate assistantships, or job opportunities, you may also need to consider loans to finance your education.

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Learn more about federal education loans and private student loan options below so you can be more prepared as you explore graduate borrowing opportunities.

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Federal Direct Loans: There are several federal student loans available, including Stafford Loans, Plus Loans and Perkins Loans, and they may have different terms and conditions than private student loans. This makes them a good option to explore.

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Stafford Loans:? These are some of the most popular higher education loans available. When subsidized, they are available to students demonstrating financial need, and the government pays the accrued interest. If they?re unsubsidized, anyone can apply for the loan, but they will be required to pay the interest. In either case, there?s a six-month grace period after you graduate, so you can find a job before you have to start paying back the loan.

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PLUS Loans for graduate students: If you have strong credit and have shown consistency paying off undergraduate loans, the federal PLUS Loan may be right for you. You may borrow up to the total cost of you education, but the loan amount must be certified by the school. However, if you have had difficulty making payments or defaulted on previous loans, your credit score may not be strong enough and you may want to examine alternatives to PLUS student loans.

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Perkins Loans: Another need-based education loan, Perkins Loans are awarded by your school and repaid to the school. Keep in mind other aid you are receiving may have a direct impact on your ability to receive this type of loan. You will have a nine-month grace period after graduation before you need to begin repayment.

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Private student loans: If the above loans do not cover the cost of attending school entirely, you may want to consider private student loan options. These are offered by banks and lending institutions, so ask your college for a list of preferred lenders to help you choose a reputable one. An alternative to federal student loans, private loans can still cover the total cost of your education. Because the interest rates can be higher and borrower requirements more strict, they?re generally a good supplement to federal loans rather than a replacement.

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Other things to consider as you apply for graduate education loans

As you are planning to continue your education, work to improve your credit score so you can qualify for education loans. To do so, start by paying off high-interest debts, consider cancelling store credit cards or consult a credit counselor. Talk to your employer to see if tuition assistance is provided. Then, use a student loan calculator to account for current debts you have and financial aid you?ve received to find the best way to pay for graduate school using federal education loans or private student loans.

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Source: http://www.thefreefinancialadvisor.com/understanding-financing-education-loan-options-for-graduate-school/

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Scientists say the sea lions reveal 'important things about what is going on in our oceans.' Food shortages and disease are being looked at as possible causes of the 'unusual mortality event' in California.

By Gloria Goodale,?Staff writer / April 10, 2013

Rescued California sea lion pups are seen at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California in this March 13, 2013 file photo. NOAA has declared a recent wave of sea lion beachings an 'unusual mortality event.' Officials are investigating its cause.

REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files

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California?s sea lions, usually celebrated for their entertaining, prankster ways and doglike barks, are making very different headlines right now. Young pups are washing up dehydrated and dying, from Monterey to San Diego, in record numbers.

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So far, more than 1,100 of these emaciated, underweight marine mammals have come ashore ? more than ten times the normal rate for this time of year. As startled residents cope with these sickly animals on local beaches, overwhelming marine mammal rescue facilities, scientists are scrambling to decipher the mysterious message behind these strandings.

?We do not know the cause,? says Sharon Melin, a marine biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAA has taken the extraordinary step of declaring an ?unusual mortality event,? or UME, which brings with it additional funds for research as well as national collaboration between agencies.

One recipient of that additional UME funding is the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, an hour south of Los Angeles. Development director Melissa Sciacca says they knew as early as January they were facing an unprecedented event.

?We began seeing 10 to 12 animals every day coming into the facility,? she says, noting that this began during a time when even a single young sea lion beaching is unusual. Sea lion pups don?t typically wean until April or May, and while a certain number of pups fail to thrive annually, she adds, it has never been at this rate.

?In our 42 years, we have never seen anything like this,? she says.

At this early stage, scientists are focusing on food shortages and disease as possible causes, says Dr. Melin. While some have raised the possibility of radiation effects from the Fukushima earthquake in Japan, Melin points out that this event is narrowly limited to the young sea lion population.

?There would be a more widespread effect if radiation were the cause,? she says.

Nonetheless, she points out that the federally protected sea lions, perhaps the most adaptable of sea mammals, are an important sentinel species. ?The events that impact them tell us important things about what is going on in our oceans,? she adds.

This unusual wave of sea lion beaching comes at the same time as a rash of equally remarkable marine mammal events have caused a sensation over the past few months. Back in mid-February,?a mega-pod of feeding dolphins that was estimated to number in the tens of thousands and to cover 35 square miles astonished residents near San Diego, while the largest pods of grey and killer whales ever spotted also delighted tourists at the same time as they perplexed scientists.

Researchers at NOAA are cautious in their proposals as to what is behind the growing number of incapacitated sea lion pups, points out Beth Pratt, California director of the National Wildlife Federation. But, she adds, it?s hard for the average person watching these events not to think they?re connected somehow.

?It seems pretty obvious to the average viewer that there is something going on in our oceans or environments that is driving such extraordinary changes in marine mammal behavior,? she says.

The research funding and major effort to understand the causes of the sea lions? travails are just beginning ? and may not be conclusive, points out David Helvarg, author of ?The Golden Shore ? California's Love Affair with the Sea.?

While the research could point to a collapse in food sources such as anchovies or squid, he adds via e-mail, ?it could be a mixed result like with the manatee die-off in Florida, where a naturally occurring red tide is being unnaturally fed by nutrients from farm and lawn fertilizers.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/roMcEqYB5ek/What-is-killing-California-sea-lion-pups-Why-unusual-event-is-a-concern

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NEW YORK (AP) -- A Citi analyst said Wednesday that it appears Harley-Davidson Inc. sales took a hit in March as a result of bad weather, but appear to be on the rise this month.

THE OPINION: Gregory Badishkanian said that based on his firm's checks with Harley dealers, the company's sales fell between 12 and 14 percent in March, which marked a further drop from an estimated "mid-single digit" decrease in January and February.

Badishkanian, who backed his "Buy" rating and $61 price target for the stock, said that as a result, he expects Harley's second-quarter sales to be down between 8 percent and 10 percent for the overall quarter.

The analyst said he thinks that the entire decrease is a result of tough weather comparisons. In announcing its first quarter 2012 results, Harley credited early spring weather with boosting its sales. But weather in the first quarter of 2013 has been less-than-ideal for motorcycle riding and in turn probably hurt sales, Badishkanian said.

He added that based on early information from dealers, sales appear to be trending up so far in April.

THE SHARES: Up 89 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $52.05 in midday trading. Over the past 52 weeks, Harley shares have traded between $37.84 and $55.51.

Since the beginning of this year, Harley shares have gained about 5 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citi-analyst-says-harley-1q-160259606.html

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munfordciera84 · Apr. 10, 2013

Apr. 10, 2013 ? The "holy grail" for understanding how and why koalas respond to infectious diseases has been uncovered in an Australian-led, world-first genome mapping project.

The joint undertaking between QUT and The Australian Museum has unearthed a wealth of data, including the koala interferon gamma (IFN-g) gene -- a chemical messenger that plays a key role in the iconic marsupial's defence against cancer, viruses and intracellular bacteria.

Professor Peter Timms, from QUT's Institue of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), said the IFN-g gene was the key to finding a cure for diseases such as Chlamydia and Koala Retrovirus (KoRV), currently threatening the vulnerable species.

"We know koalas are infected with various strains of Chlamydia, but we do not know why some animals go on to get severe clinical disease and some do not," Professor Timms said.

"We also know that genes such as IFN-g are very important for controlling chlamydial infections in humans and other animals. Identifying these in the koala will be a major step forward in understanding and controlling diseases in this species. "

The research team -- made up of Professor Timms, Dr Adam Polkinghorne, Dr Ana Pavasovic and Dr Peter Prentis from QUT; The Australian Museum; veterinarians from Australia Zoo and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital; and bioinformaticians from Ramaciotti Centre and UNSW -- have sequenced the complete transcriptome from several koala tissues.

Dr Polkinghorne from QUT's School of Biomedical Sciences said data sets from immune-related tissues of Birke, a koala who was euthanized following a dog attack, have revealed a wealth of information about the species' immune system including the sequences of at least 390 immune-related genes.

"Virtually nothing is known about the immune system of the koala and the absence of information has been a major hinderance to our efforts to understand how Chlamydia and KoRV infections lead to such debilitating disease in this native species," he said

Since finding the 'holy grail' the QUT team has developed a molecular test to measure IFN-g expression in the blood of healthy and diseased koalas, which has already been applied to a small group of wild koalas taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital suffering ocular and reproductive tract disease.

The results will allow researchers to pull apart the complex immune response to better understand how to successfully treat and immunise the vulnerable koala population.

The genes, which only represent about 1.8 per cent of the total set identified in the tissues, were involved in B cell and T cell activation and antigen presentation -- key components of the adaptive immune response suggesting that koalas have the capability to protect themselves against microbial pathogens, such as Chlamydia.

Professor Timms' team, who are currently trialling a Chlamydia vaccine for koalas in South East Queensland, said the koala transcriptome data also provided evidence that the KoRV virus's genes were not just circulating in the blood, but were also fused to some of the animal's own genes.

"By analysing this information we should be able to determine if KoRV is sitting harmlessly in these koalas or if it's potentially triggering cancer or resulting in mild Chlamydia infections becoming a serious clinical disease," Professor Timms said.

The finding will also help researchers understand why Queensland and New South Wales koala populations have been crippled by the spread of Chlamydia while Victorian populations are much less unaffected.

The project will also aid the conservation of other Australian wildlife, with the team of researchers revealing that the majority of koala sequences shared similarities to that of the Tasmanian Devil.

"While this finding alone is not that surprising, it does show that the immune genes of marsupials are fairly closely related," Dr Polkinghorne said.

"This promises to benefit gene discovery and the development of immunological tools that will help us to fight diseases in our other threatened and endangered wildlife species."

While the consortium already contains more than 12 scientists, veterinarians and bioinformaticians, Professor Timms said the team had only scratched the "tip of the iceberg."

"The task is much larger and will require many more people to assist with analysing the data," he said.

"Funding to date has resulted in a rich koala genetic bank, but it will fall short if we are to use this data to answer key koala survival questions.

"It is planned to expand the consortium and hold a workshop to develop the best approaches to analysing the data and hence ensure the continued survival of this iconic species."

The Australian Koala Genome Mapping Program was funded by QUT, The Australian Museum, Bioplatforms Australia and the State and Federal Governments.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/M7iAzmmSZKE/130410094339.htm

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“Instead of typing your password, in the future you may only have to think your password,” explains a UC Berkeley School of Information press release about new research that utilizes brainwaves to authenticate users instead of passwords of numbers and letters. With a $100 consumer-friendly brainwave-reading headset, the Neurosky MindSet, Professor John Chuang found that the mere task of concentrating on one’s breath was enough to uniquely identify them. Brainwave devices, or Electroencephalograms (EEG), measure electrical activity along the scalp, in the form of wavelengths known to be associated with certain moods, mental states and behaviors. For decades, cognitive scientists have used EEG devices as therapy for a range of mental-health issues, from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) to post-traumatic stress disorder. As technological advances shrunk the size and cost of EEG devices, a small cottage industry of consumer products, like the Neurosky, have brought the possibility of therapy and mind-controlled computers into the home. The image above is our own Anthony Ha?wearing?Neurosky-enhanced cat ears that rotate when the user is paying attention. The next phase of “passthought” research will reportedly focus on finding thoughts that are user-friendly. In one test, Chuang asked participants to imagine performing an action of their favorite sport, but “they found it unnatural to imagine the movement of their muscles without actually moving them.” Before security hawks cheer the arrival of theft-proof passwords, researchers have been able to?“hack” people’s minds. Another team at Berkeley found that they could extract data, such as ATM PINs, by identifying when users were thinking of familiar information. So if passthoughts ever become mainstream, it might not be wise to have your signature thought be something incriminating … just think about handing off candy to a baby.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/tUaFCZHbpMw/

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munfordciera84 · Tue, Apr 09, 2013 | 01:12 BST

Tue, Apr 09, 2013 | 01:12 BST

Gold Xbox Live subscribers in Canada, the Uk and the US will be able to download the Xbox Tournaments with Virgin Gaming app for Xbox 360 this week.

The app will be available on April 9, and encourages users of all skill levels to compete in daily, weekly and monthly leaderboard competitions for a chance to win a slice of the $100,000 cash prize pool.

Current competitions include FIFA 13, NBA 2K13, Madden NFL 13 and NHL 13, with more titles to be added in upcoming weeks.

To participate, you need a Virgin Gaming account, which you can sign up for through the app itself. The scheme will be expanded to more countries over the next few months, and Virgin also plans to add cash-play gaming and tournaments among other features.

Learn more by visiting Virgin Gaming?s Xbox hub.

Thanks, Major Nelson.

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Researchers confirm multiple genes robustly contribute to schizophrenia risk in replication study

Public release date: 9-Apr-2013
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Contact: Frances Dumenci
fdumenci@vcu.edu
804-828-7701
Virginia Commonwealth University

Findings published this week in JAMA

Multiple genes contribute to risk for schizophrenia and appear to function in pathways related to transmission of signals in the brain and immunity, according to an international study led by Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy researchers.

By better understanding the molecular and biological mechanisms involved with schizophrenia, scientists hope to use this new genetic information to one day develop and design drugs that are more efficacious and have fewer side effects.

In a study published online in the April issue of JAMA Psychiatry, the JAMA Network journal, researchers used a comprehensive and unique approach to robustly identify genes and biological processes conferring risk for schizophrenia.

The researchers first used 21,953 subjects to examine over a million genetic markers. They then systematically collected results from other kinds of biological schizophrenia studies and combined all these results using a novel data integration approach.

The most promising genetic markers were tested again in a large collection of families with schizophrenia patients, a design that avoids pitfalls that have plagued genetic studies of schizophrenia in the past. The genes they identified after this comprehensive approach were found to have involvement in brain function, nerve cell development and immune response.

"Now that we have genes that are robustly associated with schizophrenia, we can begin to design much more specific experiments to understand how disruption of these genes may affect brain development and function," said principal investigator Edwin van den Oord, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Biomarker Research and Personalized Medicine in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at the VCU School of Pharmacy.

"Also, some of these genes provide excellent targets for the development of new drugs," he said.

One specific laboratory experiment currently underway at VCU to better understand the function of one of these genes, TCF4, is being led by Joseph McClay, Ph.D., a co-author on the study and assistant professor and laboratory director in the VCU Center for Biomarker Research and Personalized Medicine. TCF4 works by switching on other genes in the brain. McClay and colleagues are conducting a National Institutes of Health-funded study to determine all genes that are under the control of TCF4. By mapping the entire network, they aim to better understand how disruptions to TCF4 increase risk for schizophrenia.

"Our results also suggest that the novel data integration approach used in this study is a promising tool that potentially can be of great value in studies of a large variety of complex genetic disorders," said lead author Karolina A. Aberg, Ph.D., research assistant professor and laboratory co-director of the Center for Biomarker Research and Personalized Medicine in the VCU School of Pharmacy.

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The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health grants R01HG004240; R01MH078069; 1R01MH097283; and R01MH080403.

Collaborating institutions included Copenhagen University Hospital in Roskilde, Denmark; Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden; School of Medicine at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom; St. James Hospital in Ireland; University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom; University of California at Los Angeles; University College of London in the United Kingdom; University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom; University of Munich in Germany; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital in Norway; University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine; VA Boston Healthcare System; and Harvard Medical School.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A copy of the editorial is available to reporters in PDF format by email request from JAMA Network Media Relations Office at mediarelations@jamanetwork.org or by phone at (312) 464-5262.

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