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| "...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like the fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."
- Jack Kerouac |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
10:54 am EST, Feb 26, 2008 |
to me! |
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Scientists plot first moves for Project Checkmate |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
5:47 pm EST, Feb 25, 2008 |
A collaboration between the Scripps Research Institute and IBM to find new antidotes to flu before new mutations surface is making some initial progress. Dubbed Project Checkmate, scientists are using phage displays to identify antibodies that can be used to fight influenza. The project hopes to employ supercomputers to anticipate the way that the flu mutates and moves. Researchers could develop new drugs for new versions of the flu that had yet to surface in the public. Scientists are waiting to hear back on their grant application to the NIH. This is a very interesting project - if anyone hears anything more about this, please post. Scientists plot first moves for Project Checkmate |
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New hope for allergy/asthma sufferers |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
5:41 pm EST, Feb 25, 2008 |
The research team, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, targeted the p110delta molecule and found that it was possible to interfere in the allergic reaction before symptoms occur, but without shutting down the immune system in mice. It means scientists are a step closer to developing a new class of allergy and asthma drugs. At present treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms. Lead author Dr Khaled Ali said: "p110delta was first identified in 1997 and, although we had our suspicions, at that time we had no idea how important it would turn out to be. This work shows that we have the potential to take control of the body's reaction to an allergen and prevent symptoms from occurring." New hope for allergy/asthma sufferers |
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CDC: Flu vaccine matches 40 percent of season's viruses - CNN.com |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
9:40 pm EST, Feb 15, 2008 |
The flu season is getting worse, and U.S. health officials say it's partly because the flu vaccine doesn't protect against most of the spreading flu bugs.
bummer...stuck for nothing... CDC: Flu vaccine matches 40 percent of season's viruses - CNN.com |
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RE: Md. Scientists Create Full Chromosome of Synthetic DNA - washingtonpost.com |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
5:22 pm EST, Jan 28, 2008 |
bucy wrote: Scientists in Maryland today said they had built from scratch an entire microbial chromosome, a loop of synthetic DNA carrying all the instructions that a simple cell needs to live and reproduce. The feat marks the first time that anyone has made such a large strand of hereditary material from off-the-shelf chemical ingredients. Previous efforts had yielded DNA strands less than one-twentieth the size, and those pieces lacked many of the key biological programs that tell a cell how to stay alive. On the basis of earlier experiments, the researchers believe the new, full-length loop would spontaneously "boot up" inside a cell, just as a downloaded operating system can awaken a computer -- a potentially historic event that would amount to the creation of the first truly artificial life form.
Sounds interesting - definitely has potential for both good and bad (as everything in my field these days seems to highlight). What was most interesting to me, however, was the fact that Venter failed to give a figure on how much this project cost - my guess is, it cost a lot! I am very interested to see the results of his competitors, who are coming at this question from a "tweaking" aspect rather than a "synthesis" aspect. It seems like that would be a lot cheaper/easier... RE: Md. Scientists Create Full Chromosome of Synthetic DNA - washingtonpost.com |
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Genentech Finds Lupus-Linked Genes - WSJ.com |
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| Topic: Miscellaneous |
10:55 am EST, Jan 22, 2008 |
Genentech Inc.'s discovery of two new genes linked to lupus raised hopes of earlier diagnosis and better targeted treatment of the autoimmune disease, which affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans.
Genentech Finds Lupus-Linked Genes - WSJ.com |
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