All posts by medical

Interleukin Shutting Down Genetic Testing Program, Lays Off Staff – GenomeWeb

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) Interleukin Genetics on Monday announced that it would suspend its genetic testing program for severe gum disease and elevated systemic inflammation over the next 60 days after it was unable to defer a debt payment.

The Waltham, Massachusetts-based firm said it would also lay off five employees, or 63 percent of its current workforce. The decisions come as the company pursues strategic alternatives, Interleukin CEO Mark Carbeau said in a statement.

Registering provides access to this and other free content.

Already have an account? .

Read more here:
Interleukin Shutting Down Genetic Testing Program, Lays Off Staff - GenomeWeb

Can Breathing Like Wim Hof Make Us Superhuman? – Discover Magazine (blog)

(Credit: Innerfire BV)

Take a deep breath. Feel the wave of nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide press against the bounds of your ribcage and swell your lungs. Exhale. Repeat.

Before consciously inhaling, you probably werent thinking about breathing at all. The respiratory system is somewhat unique to our bodies in that we are both its passenger and driver. We can leave it up to our autonomic nervous system, responsible for unconscious actions like our heartbeat and digestion, or we can seamlessly take over the rhythm of our breath.

To some, this duality offers a tantalizing path into our subconscious minds and physiology. Control breathing, the thinking goes, and perhaps we can nudge other systems within our bodies. This is part of the logic behind Lamaze techniques, the pranayamic breathing practiced in yoga and even everyday wisdom just take a deep breath.

These breathing practices promise a kind of visceral self-knowledge, a more perfect melding of mind and body that expands our self-control to subconscious activities. These may be dubious claims to some.

For Wim Hof, a Danish daredevil nicknamed The Iceman, it is the basis of his success.

Now approaching his 60s, Hof has run marathons barefoot and shirtless above the Arctic Circle, dove under the ice at the North Pole and languished in ice baths for north of 90 minutes all feats that he attributes to a special kind of breathing practice.

You can easily try it for yourself. While sitting in a comfortable place, take 30 quick, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Then, take a deep breath and exhale; hold until you need to breathe in. Inhale again, as deep as you can, and hold it for 10 seconds. Repeat as many times as you like.

Combined with repeated exposure to the cold, Hof says that his method will lead to tangible health benefits: more energy, lowered stress levels and an improved immune system. For him, it enables seemingly superhuman feats of endurance, brought on, he says, by the physiological changes that his breathing techniques impart.

(Credit: Innerfire BV)

Breathe properly, Hof claims, and oxygen levels in the tissues increase and adrenaline floods the body, granting strength that we didnt know we had.

If you oxygenize the body the way we do it, the oxygen gets into the tissue. [Regular] breathingdoesnt do that, he says. What happens in the brain stem, the brain says, There is no oxygen anymore. Then it triggers adrenaline to shoot out throughout the body. Adrenaline is for survival, but this time it is completely controlled the adrenaline shoots out throughout the body and resets it to the best functionality.

Hof speaks convincingly of the heightened mind-body connection his technique engenders, begging comparisons toa long tradition of semi-mystic practices such as pranayamic yoga, tummo breathing and breathwork.

Over the phone, Hof is loquacious and utterly convincing, perhaps fitting for a man who ran up Mt. Everest shoeless and shirtless, trusting only his breath. He touts the multiple scientific studies hes been involved with, while tossing mentions of mitochondrial activity, blood alkalinity and adrenaline in a flurry of scientific buzzwords.

Above all, he speaks of a more profound connection between mind and body that allows us to quell the primal desire to run from pain and fear or from the cold.

I found by deeper breathing, going into the cold, thinking about it, dealing with it; getting the conviction that my ability to breathe deeper is making connections with my body, he says. If you go into the ice cold you have to go deep. There is no other way. It is just bloody cold.

This mindset aligns with the core tenets of yoga and other practices that aim to grant us more control of our physiology. Breath control is at the center of many of these techniques, and the concept has worked its way into modern medicine as well.

Robert Fried is a clinical respiratory psychophysiologist who retired from the Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience Program at the City University of New York in 2010. Hes also written several books on how breathing is related to stress levels and our physiology. In his practice, Fried worked with individuals whose medical conditions made it difficult to breathe, such as COPD patients, as well as people whose lives or professions left them chronically stressed, and his methods essentially involve

The purpose of deep breathing is to induce a hypometabolic state, where autonomic and mental arousal are minimal.It is a resting, restorative state, a counter anxiety, counter stress response of the body induced by using the breathing that goes with relaxation to trigger a similar muscle response in the body, Fried wrote in an email to Discover.

Its slowing us down, in other words, to counteract the damaging effects that prolonged stress can have on our bodies effects that are well known and generally accepted. Fried and therapists like himhave used conscious breathing techniques, similar to those found in yoga, for years, and have achieved reliable success. Fried mentions that many of his patients felt rejuvenated after just a few minutes of conscious breathing with him, which sounds similar to what Hof promises.

(Credit: Innerfire BV)

We can achieve noticeable physical effects with other breathing exercises as well, although they are almost all short-term. The valsalva maneuver, which involves exhaling while closing the throat, quickly lowers blood pressure and raises the pulse, and is used to help stabilize patients suffering from heart arrhythmias. The Lamaze breathing used by many pregnant women has been shown to increase pain tolerance and aid relaxation, while there have been many reports of hallucinations and feelings of euphoria following hyperventilation.

Despite the daredevil publicity stunts and enthusiastic salesmanship, perhaps Hof isnt so far outside of the norm after all. Perhaps we should simplyview his techniques as radicalized version of yoga, albeit one thats practiced in the middle of a Scandinavian winter.

Still, sitting in an ice bath for an hour and a half is nothing to scoff at. But can we really attribute extreme feats of endurance to the kind of simple exercises we can do while sitting at the office?

The crux of the issue may come down to the question of how well we truly understand the inner workings of the human body. And, though he may edge into hyperbole while discussing myriad benefits of his techniques, Hof has also proven willing to offer himself up as a scientific test subject.

The first true scientific evaluation of Hof came in 2014, when a team led by Danish researcher Mathijs Kox tested the immune systems of people who had followed Hofs training regimen for 10 days. Kox injected participants with an inflammatory agent while they performed the techniques. Compared to a control group, they experienced lower levels of inflammation, and were less affected by the fever and nausea that usually accompanies the injection.

While the researchers still have no solid theory as to why breathing and cold exposure seem to dampen immune activity, they suggest that the release of adrenaline breathing sparks could play a role. The spike in adrenaline was linked to increased levels of an anti-inflammatory protein, and decreased levels of proteins, called cytokines, responsible for signaling the immune system.

Hof being tested. (Credit: Innerfire BV)

There are a few caveats to the study, however. For starters, Koxs team hasnt yet tested the different components of the Hof technique separately, so its hard to say if hyperventilation, breath holding, cold exposure or some combination of all three is at play. In addition, Daniel Beard, a professor of physiology at the University of Michigan points out that their study fails to determine whether the effects are short- or long-term.

None of these people have control over their blood pH or their breathing, except when theyre actually consciously doing this thing. Their heart rates are the same as the other subjects, their pressures are the same, he says.In other words, the life-altering physiological changes that Hof claims exist could only materialize for the short time during which participants are actively doing the exercises.

A true test of the Hof method would determine whether its effects persist, even when people arent consciously altering their breathing. Beard does agree with their fundamental conclusions though, and acknowledges that something is indeed going on in people following Hofs method.

Clearly these people have altered their physiological state this training has changed them, and its changed them in a way that has to do with the autonomic nervous system, he says.

The study lends scientific credibility to Hofs claims and adds credence to the idea that conscious breathing can allow us to influence deeper processes in our bodies. As is perhaps to be expected, Hof goes one step further, positing that the surge in blood alkalinity that accompanies hyperventilationallows us to consciously train our cells, and, theoretically, optimize their machinery. Neurotransmitters in our blood vessels communicate with our brains and cells to regulate blood pH levels something that normally occurs without any intervention on our part. Hof believes that by taking control of our breath we can force open a doorway into these normally unconscious processes and hijack them to optimize how our bodies perform.

This is a more controversial proposition, given that trying to alter blood pH is essentially pitting us against ourselves. When our blood becomes alkaline it violates homeostasis, the perfect balance of internal conditions that our bodies strive to achieve. Hof says this is a good thing. Modernity has made us soft, he asserts, and instead of becoming healthier weve instead achieved a kind of degeneracy. Dunking ourselves in icy waters and breathing like were being chased by a starving tigerbrings about a body more in union, he says, and claims this translates to real health benefits.

(Credit: Innerfire BV)

This is where Hof begins to step beyond the edges of modern science into the cold, as it were. There is really no evidence to suggest making blood alkaline, even temporarily, is a good thing, andresearchers like Fried were skeptical about the possible benefits. The veracityof other physiological mechanisms Hof claims, such as oxygenating the blood and stimulating the immune system with cold are also unproven.

How then should we reconcile Hofs feats with the apparent flaws in his logic? A cynical read says that hesan unnaturally gifted individualexaggerating the limits of normal human physiology to profit from hopeful individuals. But, science wouldnt get very far if it was dominated solely by cynics. Is it possible that Hof has stumbled across a quirk of human physiology, one with with the potential to illuminate previously unseen pathways within our bodies?

Count Andrew Huberman in as one of the optimists.An associate professor of neurobiology and opthamology at Stanford University, Huberman is currently conducting a study that exposes practitioners of Hofs method to fearful encounters via virtual reality to see if their minds and bodies respond any differently.

His research focuses on how our bodies react to stressful situations, and after stumbling across the Wim Hof method a few years ago, Huberman set out to attempt a scientific exploration of the technique. Hes taken courses from Hof himself, and he says the experience convinced him that the breathing techniques were worth a closer look.

Huberman makes it clear that he has no financial ties to Hof, although he has lectured with him. He is, however, an enthusiastic practitioner of the breathing techniques he does them every morning, he says and has developed a theory to explain the calming and mildly euphoric sensations that result. The essence of the techniques, Huberman says, is inoculating our bodies against the stress response. And, as before, adrenaline is the key.

Normally, when adrenaline goes up cortisol goes up too and the hypothesis that were testing is that when you do this method, what ends up happening is you get an increase in adrenaline, but that cortisol, because youre in conscious control of your state, youre remaining calm, cortisol stays relatively low, he says.

From his own experiences, Huberman thinks that the use of hyperventilation and controlled breath-holding maximizes the beneficial effects of our innate stress response, while suppressing the negative long-term effects of stress.

This is a highly unusual situation. Youre kind of uncoupling the normal parallel response of these two hormone neurotransmitters, he says.

Instead of eliminating stress entirely, Huberman thinks that we can learn to twist it to our advantage and condition our bodies to respond in a positive way.

Hes in the early stages of research at the moment, and his project includes a wide-ranging collaboration with other researchers to test a full spectrum of physiological responses. His goal is to perform the kind of testing that will stand up to the intense scrutiny that Hofss claims inevitably provoke.

Key for Huberman will be separating myth from fact. Some breathing techniques common to yoga and lamaze may not confer any benefits for our bodies, and could in fact harm them, according to Fried. Breathing often comes as part and parcel of a larger set of practices, and separating it into its constituent parts can be difficult.

The ultimate goal, says Huberman, is to come up with even better breathing protocols than already exist by examining a range of established practices. Breaking various methods apart to see what works and what doesnt is simply good science.

Indeed, the initial results of the Kox study may indicate that Hubermans adrenaline-cortisol theory may not be totally correct. They found that Hofs cortisol levels actually spiked during their tests, as opposed to dropping as Huberman predicted they should. They didnt confirm similar results in their other test subject though, so the correlation remains ambiguous. In fact, all we can really sayat this point is that this kind of breathing helps release adrenaline into our bodies.

The perplexing power that breathing holds remains a mystery for the time being, even as the quantitative might of the scientific method is brought to bear upon it. Promising research is ahead, however, and Hof and others already hint at the possible rewards.

These studies might end up confirming once and for all what practitioners of yoga and other physical and mental practices have known intuitively for years. It may be that the duality of breath at once automatic and controllable runs even deeper. Its not just our lungs that we can consciously grasp hold of, its our physiology as a whole.

All we have to do is find the handle.

[Disclaimer: Neither Discover Magazine nor any of the researchers interviewed here endorse the Wim Hof method. If you choose to follow the breathing protocols, you do so at your own risk]

See the original post:
Can Breathing Like Wim Hof Make Us Superhuman? - Discover Magazine (blog)

The World’s Most Powerful Women: July 7 – Fortune

When companies like Facebook and Apple said in 2014 that they would start covering the cost of egg freezing for women, the backlash was swift.

As Fortune 's Leigh Gallagher reported at the time , critics derided the new benefit as "a self-serving move to encourage women to take their eye off the biological clock so that they could double down and work harder throughout their 30s. It was paternalistic, sexist, and a trick to keep women childless and living at the office, all wrapped in the cloak of concern over womens fertility issues."

But a new study of 150 women who had undertaken elective egg freezing in the United States and Israel found that more than 90% said they were not intentionally postponing their fertility because of education or careers. Rather, they were preserving their fertility because they were single without partners to marry. Women lamented the missing men in their lives, viewing egg freezing as a way to buy time while they continued to search for a committed partner.

"[T]here's been this narrative that career women are putting off having children for the sake of their careers," Marcia Inhorn, the study's lead author and a professor of anthropology and international affairs at Yale University, told me . That's incorrect, she says. "They want to be married or at least partnered [before having a child] and they haven't been able to find anyone." Inhorn's unpublished study was presented at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Geneva this week.

Women in the study were highly educated, with more than 80% having earned at least a graduate degree. Their failure to find a partner, Inhorn surmises, points to the "lopsided college graduation rate," in which more women are graduating from college and advanced degree programs than men.

One way to resolve this mismatch is to "get boys off to a better start" so more of them obtain higher education, Inhorn says. But a more comprehensive solution may be to update gender roles and what's expected of each sex across the board.

An antidote to the 'axis'

All eyes will be on German Chancellor Angela Merkel starting today as she hosts three of the world's most polarizing heads of state at the G-20 meeting: the U.S.'s Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Wall Street Journal quotes a German lawmaker calling the triothe 'Axis of Testosterone.' All three have becomein different waysantagonists of Germany.

Wall Street Journal

A man-free festival

After Sweden's largest music festival, the four-dayBrvalla, was cancelled for next year following reports of sexual assaults at this year's event, Swedish comedian and radio host Emma Knyckare tweeted: What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome? It would last until all men have learned how to behave. What seems to have started as a joke quickly turned into a real possibility.

Washington Post

All's fair in love and leadership

South African President Jacob Zuma has given the surest sign yet that he'll endorse his ex-wifeNkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as his successor as leader of the country's ruling African National Congress party ahead of a December election. Dlamini-Zuma, a veteran of the former liberation movement and former minister, is a frontrunner in the race, yet Zuma's critics suspect he's backing the mother of four of his children because hebelieves she won't pursue 783 counts of fraud, corruption, and racketeering that he faces.

Financial Times

Highly charged

A female engineer who filed claims of harassment against Tesla says she was fired in retaliation. They just want to absolutely crush anyone who speaks up, says A.J. Vandermeyden. I spoke up, and I was made a sacrificial lamb for it. Its a scary precedent. (Tesla says she falsely attacked the company in the press.) She also says that other women at the carmaker have voiced similar concerns.

Guardian

Beginner's luck?

The New York Times examines how a series of high-profile interruptions catapulted Sen. Kamala Harris (DCalif.), elected in November, into the position of Democrats' "the Great Freshman Hope, a telegenic object of daydreaming projectionjustified or notfor a party adrift and removed from executive power."

New York Times

Taking stock

Campbell Soup yesterday agreed to buy Pacific Foodsmaker of organic broth, soup, and plate-based beverages like almond milkfor $700 million as consumer tastes continue to shift. Campbell's CEO Denise Morrison told Fortune that the acquisition allows the company " to expand into faster-growing spaces."

Fortune

Courage to come forward

Tech entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh, a native of Malaysia, tells the BBC why she came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure, who'd by then resigned his post. "People don't want to be judged and if their names that are going to be linked to a sexual harassment case online, very few people are willing to let that tarnish their name," she said."I'm in a different position, I've done previous work before, I've had publicity online for other good things I've done, so I know my record goes far beyond this and I certainly don't need the publicity for this for myself."

BBC

Not even Plan B

The Metropolitan Assembly election in Tokyo on Sunday that dealt a heavy blow to PM Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party also left a mark on Renho, the leader of the Democratic Party, which won just 5 of the 127 seats up for grabs. Rather than voting for her party as an alternative to the Shinzo regime, city residents turned toTokyoites First, the party headed by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

Japan Times

Grace Coddington, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Steve McQueen are new 'BritishVogue' new contributors

The Cut

How Christene Barberich, editor-in-chief and co-founder of Refinery29, gets it all done

New York Magazine

To escape sexual violence at home, female migrants must risk sexual violence on the way to Europe

Washington Post

Trump went to Poland and was met by women dressed as handmaids

Huffington Post

Sheila Michaels, who brought Ms. to prominence, dies at 78

New York Times

Read this article:
The World's Most Powerful Women: July 7 - Fortune

Every Pro-Lifer Should Know This One Scientific Chart – The Weekly Standard

Everyone who studied middle-school chemistry recognizes the prominent chart that hangs in classrooms and laboratories around the world: The Periodic Table of Elements contains the ingredients that make up the material universe and addresses the scientific question of what we are made of.

The fact that there is a popular chart that displays what the material universe is made of is powerful and illuminating. Even people who don't consider themselves science types remember some of the more popular compounds, such as H2O.

The Periodic Table reminds us that even some of the most profound questionssuch as what is the universe made ofhave simple, well-established answers.

There is another internationally established scientific chart that accurately addresses an equally essential matter: the question of when the life of a human being begins.

When the physical material dimension of a human beingan individual member of the human speciesnormally begins via sexual reproduction is a fundamental, relevant, and important scientific fact that everyone should know. While the details that human embryologists study are complex, the upshot is remarkably simple and has been documented for decades in the Carnegie Stages of Early Human Embryonic Development and the Carnegie Chart.

Carnegie Stage 1a marks the beginning of a human life.

While understanding the Periodic Table may have few practical applications for the average person, knowing about the Carnegie Chart is relevant to everyone. This empowering information is the very starting point for making informed decisions about human reproduction, about a human embryo and a human fetus, on an individual leveland more broadly speaking in terms of public policies and laws.

Yet, unlike the Periodic Table of Elements, the Carnegie Stages are not being taught in secondary schools and the Carnegie Chart is not hanging on the wall in science classrooms throughout America. And so, unless you are fortunate enough to be a scientist, you have probably never even heard of the Carnegie Chart.

For more than 70 years the field of human embryology (the branch of biology that specializes in the beginning of life and early development) has documented when a human life begins in the Carnegie Chart. Human embryologists view the Carnegie Stages and Chart as physicists view the Periodic Table, its their gold standard.

The Carnegie Chart contains the 23 Stages of development of the early human being during the embryonic period, beginning at fertilization and through slightly more than 8 full weeks post-fertilization. The Chart is based on the Carnegie Stages of Early Human Embryonic Developmentthe accurate, objective, and empirical scientific facts of human embryology that were instituted in 1942 by the National Museum of Health and Medicines Human Developmental Anatomy Center (a secular government organization that is a part of the National Institutes of Health). The Carnegie Stages are verified annually by a global committee of experts (called FIPAT) and are required to be included in every genuine human embryology textbook worldwide.

Human embryologists know that in normal human sexual reproduction a new, whole, individual, living human being begins to exist at the beginning of the process of fertilization (first contact between the plasma membrane of the sperm and the plasma membrane of the oocyte/"egg"), in a womans fallopian tube, and that the new human organism/human being is called a human embryo. This simple scientific fact is documented as Carnegie Stage 1a in the Carnegie Chart. (*The zygote is Stage 1c, by the way and is not when a human life starts).

When a human life begins is a fact that the scientific experts have known and documented for a very long time, and all of us should and can know too, because the Carnegie Stages and Chart are available to everyone, not just to human embryologists.

Brooke Stanton is the CEO of Contend Projects, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization dedicated to spreading accurate scientific information about the start of a human life.

Read this article:
Every Pro-Lifer Should Know This One Scientific Chart - The Weekly Standard

Novel technique analyzes sperm morphology and motility in embryo formation process – News-Medical.net

July 7, 2017

The research, presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) annual conference, which ends today in Geneva, Switzerland, describes for the first time the use of an experimental technique that has made it possible to analyze the functioning of human sperm in contact with the cytoplasmic content of the eggs in vitro. By doing so, it was possible to verify in the laboratory, and before fertilization occurred, whether in this medium the sperm cell fulfilled its functions before being inseminated into an egg.

The research, led by Dr. Isabelle Vernos, ICREA research professor at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, and Eugin Group, has been jointly carried out by a group of researchers in the laboratory at the Barcelona Science Park (BSP) and at the CRG. "The aim of the research was to develop a technique prior to the use of male gametes in an assisted reproduction cycle in order to verify whether their functions were developing correctly," explains Dr. Montserrat Barragan, co-author of the study and head of the Eugin's research laboratory at the BSP.

"The results are preliminary and we have to see more cases, but it seems that there is a relationship between the characteristics of the selected sperm cells and their ability to correctly generate an embryo," Barragan adds. "The first results open the way for further research in this direction," she says.

After a study with 20 semen samples, the researchers, by means of this novel technique, were able to observe the relationship between the visible characteristics of sperm cells detected in the usual seminograms - such as morphology, concentration and motility - and their functional capacity in the first processes of cell division, namely, the first stages of embryo development.

Pioneering Methodology

"The methodology of the study has been novel," says Farners Amargant, the first author of the research and pre-doctoral researcher at CRG and Eugin. "Twenty samples of human sperm - with different morphological characteristics and levels of concentration and motility - were analyzed and incubated ex vivo (outside a living organism) in the eggs of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), a model organism widely used in biomedical research". The sample of human sperm is brought into contact with the cytoplasm of the frog oocyte and from here we analyze its ability to construct the bipolar mitotic spindle and other functions involved in cell division.

30% of fertilized eggs in assisted reproduction processes stop developing in the early stages of cell division. This leads scientists to think that functional defects in the sperm cell, such as a defect in pronuclear fusion, or in the construction of the so-called bipolar mitotic spindle - phases subsequent to DNA duplication - could be responsible for these failures. "The technique developed will allow us to observe more closely the incidence of this type of defect in order to understand if they influence the proper development of the embryo," Farners concludes.

Successful case: from basic science to clinical practice

This research project began in 2014 following an internal initiative of the CRG to promote multidisciplinary research aimed at both patients and society. It constitutes a successful case that has given rise to a fruitful scientific partnership between the Eugin group and Isabelle Vernos's laboratory at the CRG. The first author of the paper, the pre-doctoral researcher Farners Amargant, is taking part in an industrial doctorate, which is an initiative by the Generalitat de Catalunya aimed at capturing talent, training scientists and contributing to the competitiveness and internationalization of the business fabric.

More:
Novel technique analyzes sperm morphology and motility in embryo formation process - News-Medical.net

Checkup Medical column for July 7 – SBS

A weekly round-up of news affecting your health.

CANCER AND PREGNANCY

Girls and women who survive cancer are more than a third less likely to fall pregnant, British researchers have found.

A study of girls and women aged under 39 and who were diagnosed with cancer in Scotland between 1981 and 2012 were found to be 38 per cent less likely to conceive than women in the general population.

"The major impact on pregnancy after some common cancers highlights the need for enhanced strategies to preserve fertility in girls and young women," Professor Richard Anderson from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh said.

The study looked at 23,201 female cancer survivors and found 6627 pregnancies among them.

The researchers said nearly 11,000 pregnancies would have been expected in a comparable matched control group from the general population.

Cancer treatments are known to affect fertility for several reasons, with some chemotherapy causing damage to the ovary, while radiotherapy can affect the ovary, uterus and potentially parts of the brain controlling reproduction.

Prof Anderson presented the results of the study, which have not been published, at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Geneva this week.

HIVES MYSTERY

The long-running medical mystery about why some people develop recurring itchy hives for no apparent reason could soon be solved.

Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and the Royal Melbourne Hospital have discovered how the condition, known as chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), develops and begun working on a treatment.

Using samples from CSU patients they found in most developed itchy hives when a certain type of white blood cells known as T cells reacted to a specific protein found in skin cells.

The researchers have begun work on new studies to investigate whether the T cells that trigger CSU can be "switched off" using new targeted treatments.

"People with CSU develop recurring hives for periods of at least six weeks - and often for many years - but with no apparent trigger," said Dr Priscilla Auyeung, a clinical immunologist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

"Our patients often think that they're allergic to their washing powder, soap or shampoo, and sometimes even wonder if it is all in their mind."

UNUSED MEDICINES

A new campaign has been launched to encourage parents to get rid of millions of out-of-date medicines sitting in their homes because of the risk they pose to children.

The federal government-funded Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) project tells parents how they can safely dispose of expired and unwanted medicines in order to prevent their children getting poisoned.

More than 5000 children end up in hospital due to medicine poisonings each year.

"Last year alone, over 700 tonnes of medicines were collected and safely disposed of by the RUM project, preventing it from ending up in waterways or landfill," RUM project manager Toni Riley said.

"If that's only medicines collected from around 20 per cent of the population, imagine how many more are hiding in bathroom cabinets and kitchen drawers across the country."

Parents wanting more information can go to returnmed.com.au or ask their local pharmacist.

SLEEPY TIME

Employers are being urged to swap older fluorescent lights for more efficient LED bulbs to help their workers become more alert.

The Sleep Health Foundation and Cooperative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity say Australia has a worrying rate of sleep disorders and improving lighting in workplaces could help.

Alertness CRC sleep specialist Professor Steven Lockley said using blue-enriched white light bulbs can help increase alertness and performance in the workplace.

"Many companies are considering changing their lights to save energy and we would like businesses to understand that if they choose the right light, they can add additional benefits to their bottom line with improved productivity and safety," he said.

More:
Checkup Medical column for July 7 - SBS

Biochemistry major mixes science with outreach – Purdue Agricultural Communications

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Mikaela Wieland

Most days, Austin Dixon can be found in the dimly lit basement of the Biochemistry Building, surrounded by expensive, high-tech equipment studying proteins for his undergraduate research project.

On other days, he can be found in a bright classroom, demonstrating how to make a rudimentary lava lamp out of Alka-Seltzer tablets to a group of loud elementary school students. In both environments, Dixon thrives because he shares his love of science with the world.

Science gives me the tools and understanding to answer questions about the world we live in, said Dixon, a senior in biochemistry from Greenwood, Indiana. It provides a platform of discovery to move the world forward.

Photo by Mikaela Wieland Austin Dixon works in the laboratory on an uncharacterized class of proteins. His love for science influences everything from his undergraduate research to his volunteer work with middle schoolers.

It isnt enough that he pursues his research goals on his own. Dixon said the next generation must be inspired to discover great things as well. He teaches in classrooms and judges science fairs. Both volunteer efforts are aimed to engage kids and spark their interest in science.

Often, science is something most kids see as dull or uninteresting, Dixon said. Doing this has allowed me to positively influence younger kids and change their perspective on science.

One of the experiments aimed to pique the middle schoolers interest is the Alka-Seltzer lava lamp.

Its a great way to teach them how something they already know about really works, he said.

The kids mix vegetable oil and water with food coloring and an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The experiment demonstrates simple concepts like density and polarity. The tablets produce carbon dioxide bubbles that are less dense than oil and rise to the top of the lamp.

The kids think its really cool to learn from college kids, Dixon said. And, they love hands-on stuff.

The Purdue Biochemistry Club isnt Dixons only outreach. He judges K-12 science projects at the Indiana Regional Science Fair Competition in West Lafayette and volunteers at the annual Celebrate Science Indiana in Indianapolis. At these events, he interacts with and teaches science to more than 1,000 kids.

Im able to interact with hundreds of young, budding scientists and discuss their projects with them, Dixon said.

Dixons outreach mission is to cultivate the next generation of scientists.

These programs are necessary to get children interested in science beyond the textbook, and open their mind to the possibility of pursuing the field in the future, he said.

Dixon knows that the kids arent the only ones benefitting from the experience.

Its rewarding to me personally because Im able to make an impact in my community and within the lives of these children, which they will remember forever, he said.

Positive memories and experiences associated with science are important, Dixon said, because he wants people to understand the benefit of scientific research and the scientific process. He also wants to erase the stigma associated with science. Dixon said that requires a dialogue with the public that needs to be more transparent and more people need to know how long and detailed of a process science is.

Part of that starts with the way he speaks about his own research. He said that he tries to make sure to explain that his work has a practical use.

You have to talk about the why, he said. People care about what the impact of the science is.

More:
Biochemistry major mixes science with outreach - Purdue Agricultural Communications

Biochemistry serves strong options for tennis player – Purdue Agricultural Communications

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Mikaela Wieland

Early every morning, before the sun ever comes up, Andjela Djokovics alarm clock blares.

How did that happen so fast? she often wonders. It seems like I just went to bed.

And while the senior biochemistry major from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, shakes off sleep, she knows that the long workout and even longer school day to come are worth it. Djokovic is a student-athlete who competes for the Purdue womens tennis team on a scholarship.

Photo provided by Charles Jischke Andjela Djokovic is a tennis player and biochemistry major. She says that she plays for a great tennis team while getting amazing academic training.

The only way I have enough time to do everything is to work out at 6 a.m., Djokovic said. Its really difficult, Im always tired, and theres no rhythm in my life.

Djokovic approaches her dedication to tennis in much of the same way that she approaches her homework, classes, and labs.

The challenge is fun, she said. While tennis brought her to Purdue, Djokovic said the academics kept her here.

When choosing a college, I wanted a school where I could play on a good tennis team but also get amazing academic training, Djokovic said.

Purdue checked all the boxes and even gave her a full-ride scholarship to play tennis. Djokovic said she is grateful for all the places the tennis team has taken her and excited that shes been able to combine her love for travel with her love for tennis. Shes traveled all over the United States to play in different tennis tournaments, which is one advantage Djokovic sees in being both an international student and an athlete. But while shes had the opportunity to visit places in the United States, it isnt always as a tourist.

Ive gotten to see a lot of the USA, but mostly tennis courts and hotels. Djokovic joked.

Even so, Djokovic said she enjoyed visiting iconic places like Las Vegas and Florida while getting to play the sport that she loves. But the tennis and traveling is just the beginning of Djokovics crazy, daily schedule and unique Purdue journey.

Djokovics normal day includes tennis practice, gym time, class, biochemistry labs, with days so full that she doesnt usually get home from campus to start homework or study until after 7:30 p.m.

For most people, this would be too much stress and too full of a schedule, but Djokovic said the craziness is worth it.

Theres nothing I would change, she said.

She credits the biochemistry faculty for helping her succeed as a student-athlete.

The faculty in biochemistry are amazing, Djokovic said. Most of the professors know me and ask me how my tennis is going.

Djokovic knows that her time at Purdue and her journey with the tennis team will not last forever and is deciding her next step. Djokovic chose biochemistry because of the variety of careers she can pursue. After Purdue, she plans to head back to Australia or New Zealand to continue her studies.

I really, really like biochemistry, she said. Its like knowing a secret code. When doctors give out pills, they know what is literally going to happen as it breaks down in the body. . . . Its the behind-the-scenes of everything thats going on in real life.

See more here:
Biochemistry serves strong options for tennis player - Purdue Agricultural Communications

UHS considers theses, synopses – The News International

LAHORE: The 127th meeting of Advanced Studies and Research Board of the University of Health Sciences (UHS) was held here on Thursday with Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Junaid Sarfraz Khan in the chair.

According to a press release issued here, the board considered the thesis reports of Dr Muhammad Afzal MPhil (Biochemistry), Dr Hira Sohail MPhil (Biochemistry), Dr Muhammad Sohail Nazir MPhil (Chemical Pathology), Adil Bashir, a student of MPhil (Medical Laboratory Sciences - Immunology), Hafiz Talha Qayyum MPhil (Medical Laboratory Sciences Molecular Pathology & Cytogenetics), Dr Saima Noreen MPhil (Pharmacology), Dr Gulfreen Waheed MHPE, Dr Mumtaz Ali MS (General Surgery), Dr Ishfaque Ahmad MS (Neurosurgery), Dr Mian Maqbool Hussain MS (Orthopaedics), Dr Ahmad Raza Khan MPhil (Forensic Medicine), Dr Raza Younas MHPE, Dr Shazia Tufail MHPE, Dr Deepen Maharjan MD (Internal Medicine) and Dr Adnan Sadiq Butt MS (General Surgery).

The following synopses were also considered for registration of students in various postgraduate courses: Protective effect of aqueous extract of lawsonia inermis (Henna) leaves on acetylsalicylic acid induced gastric mucosal toxicity in adult albino rats by Dr Asma Fayyaz MPhil (Anatomy), The expression of beta human chorionic gonadotrophin ( -hCG) in different grades of human urothelial carcinoma by Dr Ammara Anwar MPhil (Morbid Anatomy & Histopathology), Mean platelet volume, immature platelet fraction and beta thromboglobulin in patients of acute coronary syndrome and normal subjects by Dr Sadia Ijaz MPhil (Haematology), Flow cytometric analysis of IIb 3 integrin protein and its activating mutations in exon 10 and 11 of ITGB3 gene in Glanzmanns thrombasthenia patients by Dr Saira Gul MPhil (Haematology), Antimicrobial activity of various fractions from Aleo vera against extended spectrum beta lactamases producing gram negative rods by Dr Zoobia Nazar Dar MPhil (Microbiology), Identification of candida species and gene expression of (CgCDR1) gene in fluconazole resistant Candida glabrata as compared to sensitive strains by Muhammad Roman MPhil (MLS - Microbiology), Phenotypic identification of Candida species and relative expression of (CDR1) gene in fluconazole resistant and sensitive Candida albicans by Muneeza Anwar MPhil (MLS - Microbiology), Identification of Candida species and relative gene expression of ergosterol (ERG11)gene in fluconazole resistant and sensitive Candida tropicalis by Sahar Imtiaz MPhil (MLS - Microbiology), Serum leptin, estrogen, progesterone and mammographic density in post-menopausal women with and without carcinoma breast by Dr Nighat Parveen MPhil (Physiology), Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase and short-term mortality in ischemic stroke by Dr Farhat Rafi MPhil (Chemical Pathology), Measurement of abrasivity of newly-developed bioactive dentifrices: An invitro study by Dr Daud Anthony MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Evaluation of monomer leaching and biocompatibility of a novel bioactive fiber reinforced dental composite by Dr Mehvish Saleem MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Synthesis and characterisation of novel miswak fibers based dental composites by Dr Muhammad Zeeshan MPhil (Science of Dental Materials, Synthesis and characterisation of smart biodegradable polymer based fluoride containing novel injectable bioactive glass material by Dr Nadia Irshad MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Synthesis, degradative and fluoride release behaviour of a novel fluoride containing bioactive glass by Dr Noureen Jahanzeb MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Effect of reactive calcium phosphate and poly lysine on chemical, mechanical, adhesive and biochemistry properties of novel dental composites by Dr Saadia Bano Lone MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Evaluation of dentine regeneration with injectable bioactive glass by Dr Sundus Iftikhar MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Synthesis and characterisation of a novel bioactive fiber based dental resin composite by Dr Usama Siddiqui MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Effect of reactive calcium phosphate fillers and chlorhexidine on chemical, mechanical and antibacterial properties of dental composite by Dr Zahra Shafqat MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Assessment of chemical, mechanical and microscopic properties of novel self-adhesive dental composite by Dr Zainab Sultan MPhil (Science of Dental Materials), Exploration of the underlying causes of stress among undergraduate medical students and their coping strategies by Dr Izza Umbrin MHPE, Obstructive hydrocephalus with posterior fossa tumours: outcome comparison between ventriculoperitoneal shunt versus endoscopic third ventriculostomy by Dr Pramanand Shah MS (Neurosurgery), A comparison of trans vaginal repair of vesicovaginal fistula with and without Martius flap by Dr Habib Akbar MS (Urology) and Role of alpha-blockers, anticholinergic or combination therapy in treatment of symptoms related to double J stent by Dr Wesh Ansari MS (Urology).

The rest is here:
UHS considers theses, synopses - The News International

Muslim group calls for Starbucks boycott over LGBT stand – The Jerusalem Post

Customers sit outside of a Starbucks cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia July 1, 2017.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

KUALA LUMPUR - A prominent Muslim group in Malaysia has joined calls by Islamic conservatives in Indonesia for a boycott of Starbucks to protest against the international coffee chain's support of gay rights.

Activists say intolerance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has spiked in recent years in Indonesia and Malaysia, both majority Muslim, multi-ethnic Southeast Asian countries.

Perkasa, a group with about 700,000 members that campaigns for the rights of ethnic Malay Muslims, said it agreed with calls this week by Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim group, for a boycott of Starbucks over its pro-LGBT stand.

Perkasa also agreed with the Indonesian group's call for Starbucks' operating license to be revoked, it said.

Amini Amir Abdullah, who heads Perkasa's Islamic affairs bureau, said Starbucks' position challenged Malaysia's constitution, which recognized Islam as the country's official religion.

"Our objection is because they are promoting something that is against the human instinct, against human behavior and against religion. That's why we are against it," Amini told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Muhammadiyah's call for a boycott has gained support from the Indonesian Ulema Council, its top clerical body.

The religious groups' opposition to Starbucks came after a video from 2013 circulated online of pro-LGBT comments made by the company's chairman and former chief executive, Howard Schultz.

In the video, Schultz said Starbucks embraced diversity and "not every decision is an economic decision," in response to a shareholder who complained that the company had lost customers because of its support for gay marriage.

Starbucks Malaysia could not be reached for comment.

PT Sari Coffee Indonesia, which holds the license to run the Starbucks chain in Indonesia, said in a statement it was not affiliated with any political or ideological groups.

"We are grateful and proud to have been a part of local communities in Indonesia for 15 years, always maintaining the deepest respect for, and adherence to, Indonesia's local laws, culture and beliefs," said Fetty Kwartati, a director at PT MAP Boga Adiperkasa, the parent company of PT Sari Coffee Indonesia.

Some Muslims in Indonesia, however, said the boycott call would not stop them from buying Starbucks coffee.

"I love their products, not their CEO," said Jakarta resident Kornelius Kamajaya.

The boycott call got a similar response from some in Malaysia.

"Don't make it such an issue that we have to boycott a company because of one small statement," said Muhammad Azril Maridzuan, an assistant bank manager in Kuala Lumpur.

Muslim groups should not "be so extremist" even though gay rights was against their religious beliefs, he said.

Share on facebook

View post:
Muslim group calls for Starbucks boycott over LGBT stand - The Jerusalem Post