As Chinese celebrate Lunar New Years Eve and coronavirus continues to spread @umich experts available to discuss health, economy, engineering…

January 24, 2020 medical

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Jan. 24, 2020

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EXPERTS ADVISORY

Coronavirus: U-M experts can discuss

Mary Gallagher, professor of political science and director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, is an expert on Chinese politics, U.S.-China relations, labor and workers in China, and employment and labor law in China. She can discuss the political and economic implications of the travel lockdown on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

"The Chinese government response to the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis is like the 2003 SARS crisis, but sped up," she said. "This shows that the government realized its mistakes more quickly this time. What took months in 2003 took days in 2019.

"But still, for a resident of Wuhan or any large Chinese city, it must be confusing and infuriating that on the weekend the government reassured citizens that the virus did not spread between humans and was under control, and then, only four days later, to initiate an unprecedented lockdown of Wuhan and other cities on Thursday.

"It remains unclear if the early inaction was due to a lack of urgency, an inability to test people properly and quickly, or a desire to maintain a sense of stability before the Lunar New Year. Crises like this undermine people's confidence in the governments credibility and compassion."

Contact: 734-615-9154, metg@umich.edu

Herek Clack, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the College of Engineering, has studied airborne disease transmission and has developed a technologya nonthermal plasma reactorthat can remove and inactivate airborne pathogens by electrically charging them.

"We've tested it in our lab at the University of Michigan on a surrogate virus, proving that it's 99.9% effective at either removing or inactivating that virus," he said.

Clack can discuss the airplane environment, and the issues that surround contagions in the cabin air.

"All commercial aircraft have particulate filters in their cabin air treatment system. The problem is that viruses are much smaller than the smallest particles that typically can be captured on those filters. So, unless the virus is in, or on, a larger particle, it is unlikely that the virus by itself would be substantially removed as a result of being filtered by the typical passenger airplane filters."

Read a news release about his technology. Watch a video about his technology being tested for use in agricultural settings.

Contact: 734-763-6830, hclack@umich.edu

Aubree Gordon, associate professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, works on infectious disease epidemiology and global health, particularly the epidemiologic features and transmission of influenza and dengue fever. She is an investigator with the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance.

"While the full extent of human-to-human transmission is still not known, Chinese authorities have verified multiple generations of transmission, meaning that transmission is clearly occurring in the community," she said. "This is worrisome as the easier it is for this virus to be transmitted, the harder it will be to control the outbreak.

"Initial reports suggest the severity of illness caused by this virus may not be as severe as SARS in 2002-03, however it is still very early in the outbreak and the true extent of severity is not yet known. We do know that it's causing severe lower respiratory disease in more than 20% of detected cases to date. What we don't know is if there are many more mild cases that occurred at the same time and were not detected."

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Contact: gordonal@umich.edu

Arnold Monto, the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an internationally known expert on the transmission, prevention, mitigation and social response to outbreaks and pandemic planning including transmission modes. He has served as an adviser for the World Health Organization, consulted with the U.S. Department of Defense on communicable diseases, and visited Beijing during the SARS coronavirus episode in 2003.

Contact: 734-764-5453, asmonto@umich.edu

Howard Markel, the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the Medical School and director of its Center for the History of Medicine, has studied epidemics over history and the effectiveness of efforts to contain their spread. He can speak on issues related to quarantine and travel.

His collaborative study with the Global Migration and Quarantine division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 1918-19 influenza pandemic has played a major role in shaping the policies of the federal government, nations around the globe and the World Health Organization as they consider how to mitigate future pandemics. He is the author of "When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 and the Fears They Have Unleashed."

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Contact: Kara Gavin, 764-2220, kegavin@umich.edu

Emily Toth Martin, assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an infectious disease epidemiologist with a focus on virus epidemiology and the use of vaccines and therapies to prevent and treat infection. Her research includes optimizing the use of diagnostics for viral diseases.

"We know this virus is a coronavirus," she said. "Other coronaviruses have caused very serious infections, like during the SARS outbreak, but some cause mild symptoms like the common cold. It's too soon to know how efficiently this virus is spreading between humans, or whether it is likely to die out on its own. There is a lot yet to learn about this virus, so public health officials are being cautious."

Video clipContact: 734-647-4723, etmartin@umich.edu

Theodore Standiford is a professor of medicine and interim chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

"Based on disease modeling, it is quite likely that the number of cases has been considerably underestimated and could be more than one thousand," he said. "In contrast to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, there has been no documented cases of individuals being infected outside of Wuhan, China, and no documented infections in health care workers caring for infected patients.

"Also, the risk for pandemic spread of the virus has been minimized by the early actions of the Chinese health authorities, WHO and CDC, including prompt closure of the site where the infection originated (fish and animal market in Wuhan City), systematic screening and quarantining of travelers departing from Wuhan and in destination cities nationally and internationally, and earlier and better adherence to contact and respiratory isolation precautions of infected subjects.

"Fortunately, the illness caused by 2019-nCoV appears to be less severe than that caused by SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, coronaviruses which were associated with mortality rates of approximately 10% and 35%, respectively."

The Wuhan Novel Coronavirus: Should You Be Worried?

Contact: Kelly Malcom, 734-764-2220, kmalcom@umich.edu

Krista Wigginton is an associate professor of environmental engineering at the College of Engineering. Her research interests include the detection and fate of viruses in water and air, and on how to better control the environmental transmission of viruses. She led a 2015 study looking at the potential presence and fate of enveloped viruses in the urban water cycle, with emphasis on coronaviruses (e.g., SARS and MERS) and avian influenza viruses.

"The transmission of enveloped viruses, like coronaviruses and influenza viruses, is not usually associated with water; however sewage did play a role in some SARS coronavirus transmission," she said. "We need to anticipate the potential role of the urban water cycle in the spread of pandemic viruses, particularly for avian influenza viruses and coronaviruses. In order to address this, virologists, environmental engineers, and public health researchers must work together."

Contact: 734-763-9661, kwigg@umich.edu

Peter Jacobson, professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health, can discuss the legal issues involving the spread of infectious diseases, including quarantine. His research focuses on the relationship between law and health care delivery, law and public health systems, and health equity. He has looked at previous cases including the 2014 Ebola outbreak, when several states imposed quarantines exceeding guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As long as the screening is conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner and is limited in duration and scope, CDC appears to be acting appropriately under the circumstances," he said.

Contact: 734-936-0928, pdj@umich.edu

Joseph Eisenberg, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, is an expert on infectious disease epidemiology and has 20 years of experience in microbial risk assessment work focused on water quality. He is part of a group of scientists from around the country who are involved with the Modeling Infectious Disease Agents Study, an NIH-funded program that focuses on infectious disease transmission modeling with a particular focus on waterborne pathogens. Their work has informed recent Ebola projections about infection rates and deaths.

Contact: 734-764-5435, jnse@umich.edu

Linda Lim, professor emerita of corporate strategy and international business at the Ross School of Business, focuses her research on the political economy of multinational and local business in Southeast Asia. That includes the changing international trade and investment environment, and the influence of domestic politics, economic policy and culture on business structure, strategy and operations.

Contact: 734-665-4803, lylim@umich.edu

Michael Imperiale, professor of microbiology and immunology at Michigan Medicine, studies virus replication, virus-host cell interactions and science policy. He serves as U-M's associate vice president of research-policy and compliance and has served on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, a presidentially commissioned advisory board, and on various policy-related committees of the National Research Council and the National Academies.

Adam Lauring is associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and infectious diseases, at Michigan Medicine. He studies RNA viruses, which include coronaviruses, evaluating their rapid mutation rate and implications for human disease. He collaborates with researchers at the School of Public Health to study how the influenza virus changes in home and clinical settings.

Contact: Kelly Malcom 734-764-2220, kmalcom@umich.edu

Sandro Cinti, professor of infectious disease at Michigan Medicine, is involved in preparation for bioterrorism and emerging infections at the national, state and local levels. In addition to treating infectious disease patients and training medical students and residents in the identification and care of infectious conditions, he helps lead biopreparedness activity at Michigan Medicine and coordinates with colleagues across the metro Detroit area and beyond.

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As Chinese celebrate Lunar New Years Eve and coronavirus continues to spread @umich experts available to discuss health, economy, engineering...

Genetics

What Causes Autism? Researchers ID 102 Genes Linked to Condition – Healthline

January 24, 2020 medical

In the largest genetics study of its kind to date, scientists have identified 102 genes associated with the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Researchers also gained further insight into which of these genes are associated with both ASD and other disorders that cause intellectual disability and developmental delay.

For the study, an international team of researchers analyzed more than 35,000 participant samples, including almost 12,000 from people with ASD.

Researchers used a genetic technique called exome sequencing, which looks at all the regions of a persons genetic information or genome that are translated into proteins. This testing can pick up rare genetic mutations that might not show up with other methods.

Dr. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Stollery Childrens Hospital Foundation Chair in Autism at the University of Alberta, called this an exciting study, both for the sophisticated methods used and the large sample size.

These enabled researchers to identify a larger number of genes than ever before, which gives insight into how those genes operate and how they might increase the risk of ASD, said Zwaigenbaum, who wasnt involved in the research.

The study results were published January 23 in the journal Cell.

ASD is a group of neurological and developmental conditions that affect communication and behavior. Theres wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms in people with ASD.

Scientists believe that both genes and environment are involved in the development of ASD, with genetics playing a big part.

We know that inherited and unique mutations in the genome are a major source of risk for developing ASD, but specific causes of ASD are not yet well understood, said Lori J. Warner, PhD, director of the Center for Human Development and Ted Lindsay Foundation HOPE Center at Beaumont Childrens Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, who wasnt involved in the study.

Although environmental factors play some role in ASD, scientific studies have found that theres no link between receiving vaccines and developing ASD.

The new study marks an important step forward in scientists understanding of the genetic basis of ASD.

Researchers identified both inherited genetic mutations and de novo mutations ones that occur spontaneously when an egg or sperm form.

They also found that the ASD genes identified in the study can affect brain development or brain function. And they showed that two major types of nerve cells can be affected in ASD.

Of the 102 genes identified in the study, 49 were associated with other developmental delays.

Some genes appear connected to the development of ASD, whereas others may increase risk for ASD plus severe neurodevelopmental disorder, said Warner. We dont yet understand fully this process, but differentiating ASD from other disorders is important for effective treatment.

Zwaigenbaum said the overlap between ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders fits with previous research.

This study reinforces that there are many genes that may have some role in autism vulnerability, but that also have a broader role in early brain development, said Zwaigenbaum.

These genes have a broader expression in terms of developmental abilities and challenges of the affected individual.

While scientists now understand ASD better as a result of this study, this kind of research also points toward better ways to help children with ASD.

The greatest benefit of studies of this type is helping researchers, families, and interventionists better understand how genetic factors actually function in the developing brain and body of the individual, said Warner, so that treatments can be developed to ameliorate or completely block the disruptive changes that lead to disorders such as ASD.

But Zwaigenbaum cautions that the results of the study will not lead to clinical benefits right away.

Theres a lot of translational work that would still need to happen in order to assess whether the findings from this study will directly inform assessment, diagnosis, or treatment, he said.

Still, he said the results provide direction for future research into potential biological treatments, as well as genetic tests that could allow earlier diagnosis of ASD.

Warner said there are medications currently approved for use in children with ASD, but they address symptoms like agitation or anxiety, rather than the core social or behavioral deficits of ASD.

Early diagnosis is another goal of ASD research, because the sooner children are identified and appropriately assessed, the sooner families can receive needed supports, said Warner.

But ASD is a complex condition, so genetic diagnosis isnt always straightforward.

Although studies like this continue to expand our appreciation for the increasing number of genes associated with ASD, the reality is that a genetic cause is seldom identified in most children with ASD even with the most sophisticated genetic testing, said Andrew Adesman, MD, chief of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Childrens Medical Center in Queens, New York, who wasnt involved in the study.

But he said theres still value in parents of a child with ASD seeking out genetic testing, especially as genetic technologies advance.

There have been steady gains in terms of the diagnostic yield of genetic testing, said Adesman. For this reason, parents of children with ASD may wish to discuss with their pediatrician whether their child should have the newer genetic tests done.

In the absence of a simple test for ASD, there are still things parents can do for their children.

The single most important things families and healthcare providers can do is to be aware of the risk factors and early signs and symptoms of autism, and get connected with needed services as soon as possible, said Warner.

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What Causes Autism? Researchers ID 102 Genes Linked to Condition - Healthline

Genetics

Genetics will aid tomato taste – Fruitnet

January 24, 2020 medical

A University of Florida (UF) tomato expert has called on researchers worldwide to use genetics to help farmers grow tastier tomatoes in many geographic locations.

Consumers crave tasty tomatoes, but the trick comes in growing flavourful fruit in different environments, said UF professor emeritus Jay Scott.

I am proposing a worldwide approach involving public and private breeding programs that one day might make dissatisfaction with tomato flavour obsolete, said Scott, who gave a presentation at the Tomato Breeders Roundtable and Tomato Disease Workshop in November in Clearwater, Florida.

In a recent follow-up interview, Scott recommended scientists use genetic markers genes that are tightly associated with various traits to efficiently breed tomatoes that are more likely to appeal to consumers taste buds. Furthermore, researchers must develop more flavourful fruit in various types of soil and weather conditions, he said.

According to Scott, weather and other conditions constitute 'different environments' specifically, various soils, irrigation, rain, fertilisation programs and temperature, among other factors.

For example, a tomato that tastes good in Florida may taste even better if grown in Mississippi because Floridas soils are not as good as those in Mississippi, he explained.

Theres a huge environmental effect on flavour in tomatoes, Scott said. You may not get the same flavour in different places. The big trick is to get an environmentally stable good flavour.

Scott has spent more than 30 years as a tomato breeder at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida, east of Tampa, during which time he has released many different tomato varieties.

We should test material around the world, he said. This approach would involve a whole bunch of people. Everybodys input would be helpful. Plus, I like the international cooperation aspect.

At UF/IFAS, assistant professor Sam Hutton is developing several flavourful tomato varieties. Other scientists around the world are developing similar types of tomatoes.

Scott has encouraged them to share seeds of those new types of tomatoes to grow and taste in their fields and labs, allowing scientists to find out if, for example, tomatoes developed in California taste good in Asia, Africa or South America.

Heres the thing: When people go to the grocery store, theyre not necessarily going there with the goal of buying the tastiest tomatoes, Scott said. They go to the store and buy tomatoes, thinking, Im making a salad tonight or Im making tacos tonight. Commercial tomatoes get a bad rap because people compare them to home garden tomatoes that dont have to be packed and shipped. We want to change that perception.

In my career, there has been a dissatisfaction among consumers with the flavour of commercial tomatoes, Scott outlined. Were trying to make it so that in the future, people think, tomatoes taste good and wonder why there used to be dissatisfaction with them.

I have long had a hypothesis that if I could develop a tomato variety with flavour that everyone liked, then all the problems in the world would be resolved," he added. "Although this might sound absurd, there is still no evidence against the hypothesis because there are always some that dont like the flavour. If the proposed research is carried out, then I would keep the hypothesis but change the I to we."

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Genetics will aid tomato taste - Fruitnet

Genetics

Quest buys Helsinki-based Blueprint Genetics to expand reach – MedTech Dive

January 24, 2020 medical

Dive Brief:

Though FDA is ramping up its scrutiny of genetic tests claiming to predict individual patient responses to drugs,payers have become more open to the idea of reimbursing for the tests. In response, major labs and pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to establish relationships with DNA sequencing players that could be lucrative down the line.

Blueprint, founded in 2012,provides genetic diagnostics of rare diseases based on an NGS method developed at Stanford, which was an early investor in the startup. The eight-year-old company has scaled relatively quickly by decreasing the price of genetic diagnostics while adding clinical insights through gene variant interpretation of the results, identifying associations between quirks in the gene and potential diseases and treatment responses.

Quest already sells more than 700 genetic tests but is looking to Blueprint to spur growth across diseases and geographies.

"Blueprint Genetics has developed a proven model for delivering highly specialized genetic insights that we believe we can scale to serve new patient populations with unmet clinical needs," Quest CEO Steve Rusckowski said in a Wednesday statement.

It's the latest acquisition from Quest as the 53-year-old lab behemoth elbows for market share with Burlington, North Carolina rival LabCorp. Quest has embarked on sustained M&A over the past three years, most recently nabbing the clinical lab services of Columbia, Missouri-based Boyce and Bynum Pathology Laboratories in November 2018.

Though the pace of acquisitions last year was slower than Wall Street expected, both Quest and LabCorp reiterated their eat-or-be-eaten strategy at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier this year, highlighting acquisitions and market share gains as key drivers of diagnostic growth.

Blueprint, which operates in more than 70 countries, "considered joining forces with several organizations" before agreeing to be acquired by Quest, according to Tommi Lehtonen, Bueprint's CEO, who will stay on as VP and general manager. The privately held DNA player has raised more than $26 million over four funding rounds, most recently a Series B round in November, and brings in an estimated $4 million in annual revenue, according to Owler.

As the biopharma business grows, Blueprint opened its first North American lab in October: a hub facility in Seattle. The company says it plans to scale further by leveraging Quest's national infrastructure (it serves half the health systems and providers in the U.S.), though Quest noted Blueprint will continue to "operate largely independently" from its headquarters in Helsinki.

Unlike the roiling direct-to-consumer space, Blueprint's genetic tests are targeted for hospitals and research groups. But there's significant overlap between players, especially as heavy hitters Ancestry and 23andMe look to carve out market share in health testing. Ancestry announced in October it was partnering with clinical labs, including Quest and rival Illumina, to sell physician-ordered tests for genes relates to heart disease and other conditions.

Quest plans to announce fourth quarter earnings Jan. 30.

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Quest buys Helsinki-based Blueprint Genetics to expand reach - MedTech Dive

Genetics

Scientists uncover genetic information of what keeps us healthy – News-Medical.net

January 24, 2020 medical

Genetics plays a role in the overall health and well-being of humans. Genes provide instructions for making proteins, which help determine the structure and function of each cell in the body. Aside from determining the characteristics inherited, genes have been linked to many diseases. Scientists have determined the genetic information of health.

A team of researchers aimed to better understand the disease process and the role of genes in disease development. To do this, they need to study the genomics of health, or how these genes influence what keeps us healthy.

For the first time, the team, who were from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, collated a genome reference of thousands of healthy Australians, who were between 64 and 95 years old. The study may help predict gene variants more accurately than methods in the past.

The findings of the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, included the first 2,570 genomes of the Medical Genome Reference Bank (MGRD), which is a combination of two studies, the ASPREE study and the Sax Institutes 45 and Up Study.

With a comprehensive analysis of healthy people, the researchers were able to provide a clear understanding of which genes are linked to disease, and which are not. The researchers believe that the MGRB will give a good and ideal baseline for genomic studies in the future.

No two persons are alike, and the same is true when it comes to their genetic makeup. Every individual has about 6 billion DNA letters encoded in their genome, which are tied to all the information vital for cellular processes in the body. In fact, between two unrelated individuals, there are millions of single-letter variations or differences.

These variations in the genome make people unique and different, but some of these differences can lead to disease. Hence, the researchers wanted to identify which genes make people sick and which do not.

By studying about 2,570 healthy adults in Australia, who were free from diseases such as neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer until the age of at least 70, the researchers have a new baseline and a more statistically powerful framework to identify disease-causing gene variants.

For example, the team studied genomes of prostate cancer patients and discovered that by using the MGRB as a control, it provided a 25-percent higher predictive power of disease-linked gene variants, than other genome databases.

The researchers used whole-genome sequencing to determine the biological age from DNA and to detect changes tied to aging, such as less mitochondrial DNA, caps at the end of chromosomes, or having shorter telomeres.

The amount of mitochondrial DNA, which codes for the energy generators of cells, has been linked to higher grip strength in men. The scientists were able to find certain genome changes that could distinguish between healthy older adults that share the same age but have varying physical function. The findings of the study hint that the DNA in a persons blood sample may provide a marker for their biological age than their chronological age.

The ability to derive a measure of biological age may better predict health outcomes for individuals. As our population ages, understanding the genetic basis for healthy aging will become more and more important," Professor David Thomas, Garvan Cancer Research Theme Leader and Director of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, said.

The MGRB will contain genomic information from more than 4,000 older adults in Australia once its completed.

Journal reference:

Pinese, M., Lacaze, P., Rath, E.M. et al. The Medical Genome Reference Bank contains whole genome and phenotype data of 2570 healthy elderly. Nat Commun 11, 435 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-14079-0, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14079-0

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Scientists uncover genetic information of what keeps us healthy - News-Medical.net

Genetics

DNA Collection at the Border Threatens the Privacy of All Americans – The New York Times

January 24, 2020 medical

What if the United States government took the DNA of vast numbers of Americans for use without their consent? The Trump administration has just brought us one step closer to that dystopia. On January 6, the federal government began collecting DNA from any person in immigration custody previously, it had required only fingerprints. With this move, the federal government took a decisive step toward collecting and tracking large numbers of its citizens genetic information too.

The federally administered CODIS, or Combined DNA Index System, has expanded dramatically in scope since its inception. Virginia established the first forensic DNA database in 1989, with the federal government following suit in 1994. Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government collect, store and share genetic information through CODIS. Initially, many states limited DNA collection to sex offenders. But today, nearly all states compel DNA from all convicted felons, while many states collect DNA from individuals convicted of mere misdemeanors. Most states also collect DNA from some individuals merely arrested on charges of, but not yet convicted of, a crime.

The Supreme Court blessed the expansion to arrests in Maryland v. King, a narrowly divided 2013 decision, over a furious dissenting opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, three years before his death. Justice Scalias opinion railed against the civil rights implications of expanding CODIS in this way. The Trump administrations recent immigration policy is the latest development in a worrying trend of escalating DNA surveillance.

Despite these significant expansions in CODIS, one constant has remained: Until now, CODISs crime-solving components have contained genetic profiles only of individuals connected with criminal activity, whether accused or convicted. Now, for the first time, CODIS will warehouse the genetic data of people who have not been accused of any crime, for crime detection purposes. Noncitizens in immigration custody are not criminals as a rule. The vast majority of immigration infractions that land an immigrant in detention are civil in nature, akin to the I.R.S. asking a citizen to pay a penalty when she fails to withhold enough money from her paycheck. And in the case of refugees seeking asylum (a large and increasing proportion of the detained noncitizen population), international and domestic law expressly allow these individuals to enter the United States to claim the right to refuge. By severing the longstanding prerequisite of prior (alleged) criminal conduct for compelled DNA collection, the government puts us all at risk.

How we treat the people that cross our borders speaks to our identity as a nation. Immigrants are Americans of the future and the criteria we use to select or bar immigrants reflect our aspirations for the society we wish to become. The new DNA collection program may yet revive darker, eugenic impulses in immigration history. Modern, quota-based immigration law was born of a desire to improve the quality of Americas racial stock by drastically limiting immigration from peoples scientifically believed to be less intelligent than other groups. Italians and other southern European immigrants, for example, were granted fewer visas based on this false science.

It is a small leap from requiring immigrants to submit their DNA to verify familial relationships, or to mitigate future criminal risk (the pretexts the government has cited to justify its recent policy change) to requiring DNA screening of immigrants for health, disability, intelligence or disease. These screens for fitness likely based on questionable science could ultimately be used to deny entry into the United States or, if discovered later, as a basis for expulsion. Regardless of reliability we would not support genetic screening for fitness. Courts have usually failed to protect immigrants from such impulses, so it is up to citizens to learn from this history and decide that building a society this way is unacceptable.

More broadly, once you break the norm requiring criminal conduct for inclusion in CODIS, it is difficult to re-establish. That is why many civil rights groups have long objected to forced mass collection even in criminal contexts. In arguing that collecting DNA from arrestees should be unconstitutional, the ACLU, Electronic Freedom Foundation and others have worried about precisely this shift from forced criminal DNA collection to forced DNA collection from law-abiding individuals. With every expansion in CODISs reach, the government has shown that these concerns about eroding privacy were well placed.

The Supreme Court justices who dissented in Maryland v. King saw this threat clearly as well. Justice Scalias dissenting opinion foresaw the construction of a genetic panopticon, a DNA watchtower that the government could use to monitor all of its people. This new immigration policy moves us toward completion of that dystopian tool: a genetic database that will ultimately encompass anyone within United States borders, including ordinary Americans neither convicted nor even suspected of criminal conduct.

History has repeatedly shown that freedom from the governments prying eyes is essential for liberty. Resistance to government overreach has relied on the governments less-than-perfect ability to identify and discipline its subjects. The Constitution takes this as a bedrock principal, with the Fourth Amendment forbidding the government from engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures.

Anonymity can be of real social value. Being able to stay unknown enables people to do important things, like protest the government. If the government has the genetic profiles of all Americans, it may be able to trace us wherever we go. That raises significant constitutional and other concerns even if accurately deployed. Among other possible misuses, such a comprehensive DNA database would empower the White House to crack down on civil protest or monitor political critics and opponents.

And what if the government gets things wrong? A comprehensive DNA database may lead law enforcement to lean even more heavily on genetic technology. But forensic genetics can point to the wrong suspect. A contaminated specimen of crime scene DNA might well result in a false match. Counterintuitively, as DNA analysis becomes more sensitive, forensic genetic analysis may be more likely to falsely implicate a person in a crime. We constantly shed our DNA, and it can travel from place to place on the objects we touch. In the future, simply sneezing somewhere that becomes a crime scene could be enough to make you a suspect. As with many other forms of data collection, the more complete the information database, the more suffocating, dehumanizing and potentially totalitarian the society.

We as Americans should take heed of how these quiet expansions in genetic surveillance may threaten our democratic way of life. The courts and Congress have been largely complicit in amplifying these threats to individual and collective liberty. It will be up to citizens themselves to make clear to those who wield power in their names that they do not wish to live under the gaze of a genetic panopticon.

Daniel I. Morales is an immigration law theorist and a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Natalie Ram is a genetic privacy scholar and an associate professor of law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Jessica L. Roberts is a bioethicist and law professor who specializes in peoples legal rights in their genetic data. She is the director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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DNA Collection at the Border Threatens the Privacy of All Americans - The New York Times

Genetics

GyanSys Selected by AgReliant Genetics as the Primary Partner for Their Implementation of SAP S/4HANA as Part of Their Digital Transformation – Yahoo…

January 24, 2020 medical

CARMEL, Ind., Jan. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --AgReliant Genetics, a leader in seed research, production and provider of seed solutions, signed a contract with GyanSys Inc. ("GyanSys"), a leading IT services provider headquartered in Indiana, to implementSAP S/4HANA on HANA Enterprise Cloud (HEC) as part of their digital transformation journey to replace their legacy ERP systems.

Steve Thompson, CIO of AgReliant Genetics "GyanSys led our team to conduct S/4HANA Best Practice workshops, gap analysis, and recommended the right SAP software bill-of-materials. AgReliant is excited to start our digital transformation journey partnering with GyanSys to build a scalable digital core for our Finance, Purchasing, Planning, Sales, Manufacturing, and Warehouse Management systems."

Rajkishore Una, President & CEO of GyanSys "GyanSys is committed to successfully deliver AgReliant Genetics' new SAP environment with our global delivery approach and our best practice-led implementation methodology. We are bringing our expertise in SAP S/4HANA digital core, alongside BPC, EWM, aATP, Manufacturing for Planning & Scheduling, and Analytics Cloud, for AgReliant to derive the most value from this strategic investment."

About AgReliant Genetics:

AgReliant Genetics offers corn, soybean, sorghum, and alfalfa seed solutions to farmers through their product brands. Contact your local AgriGold, LG Seeds, or PRIDE Seeds representative for more information.

Learn more about AgReliant Geneticsat http://www.agreliantgenetics.com.

About GyanSys Inc.:

GyanSys is a mid-tier global systems integrator specializing in SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft, and ServiceNow Platforms to improve the Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Operations, and HR business processes to support digital transformation.

Headquartered in Indiana, GyanSys was founded in 2005 and has approximately 1,000+ professionals globally serving 125+ customers across various industries, including the manufacturing, automotive, high-tech, CPG, and life sciences industries.

For more information about GyanSys, visit http://www.gyansys.com.

For press inquiries and more information, contact:Cliff SaitoDigital Marketing ManagerE-mail: cliff.saito@gyansys.com

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Research thrives at Mindfulness Center – The Brown Daily Herald

January 24, 2020 medical

As students take a step into another year and another semester, exams and busy schedules, the Mindfulness Center at Brown continues to connect University researchers from diverse areas of study.

The Mindfulness Centers mission is to develop research and provide evidence-based mindfulness programs that are inspiring and accessible to communities worldwide, said Eric Loucks, director of the Mindfulness Center and associate professor of epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences and medicine. Its principal aims are in research, mindfulness programs, training experts in the field and collaborating with other organizations to produce system-wide impacts, he added.

Mindfulness involves increasing peoples awareness of their emotions and bodily reactions so that they may alter their behavior as needed, said Jud Brewer, the director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor of behavioral and social sciences at the School of Public Health. Mindfulness training is there to help people live better lives, and that involves changing both physical behavior, (and)also mental behaviors, like judging ourselves or worrying.

Since the Center opened in the Jewelry District in 2017, it has connected investigators who incorporate mindfulness into their research, The Herald previously reported. These researchers come from various Brown-affiliated institutions, including the School of Public Health, Warren Alpert Medical School and neighboring hospitals.

A study on the effects of mindfulness on blood pressure was published in November. The results from the clinical trial were part of a larger project funded by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health in 2015, The Herald previously reported. The project team, consisting of researchers from multiple disciplines and universities, conducted systematic reviews on how mindfulness influences self-regulation and self-awareness, Loucks said. He was one of the principal investigators of the study.

If hypertension, or high blood pressure, is not properly controlled as is the case in about half of people with the condition it can cause stroke and heart disease, which are the biggest killers in the world, Loucks said. The study sought to determine whether mindfulness skills like self-awareness, emotional regulation and meditation could reduce hypertension when applied to medical regimens that affect blood pressure, such as exercise and eating, he added.

Participants of the study, who had been unable to regulate their blood pressure through physical activity, diet or medications alone, underwent nine weeks of mindfulness training. Afterwards, they were asked to incorporate the techniques into other daily behaviors of their choosing, Loucks said. Prior research on the reduction of blood pressure through mindfulness without the application to other behaviors yielded inconsistent, and less significant, findings, Loucks said. But this clinical trial resulted in a significant drop in average blood pressure among the participants, and these decreases were noticeable as early as three months following the program.

Whereas the intention of this first trial was geared towards determining the acceptability and efficacy of the mindfulness interventions, the research team is currently finishing a second, randomly controlled clinical trial for which Loucks hopes to have results by this summer. This study includes a control group that did not undergo mindfulness training a component that was absent from the first trial. If this subsequent study confirms the results of the November study, the next steps may include improving the efficacy and efficiency of the studied mindfulness techniques, and offering this kind of program to the public, he added.

Director of Integrative Cardiology and Prevention and Associate Professor Monica Aggarwal at the University of Florida, who was not involved in the study, researches the effects of nutrition and lifestyle on cardiovascular health. Seeing more studies showing an integrative approach to managing cardiovascular risk factors is excellent, Aggarwal wrote in an email to The Herald. I believe we will be seeing more and more studies showing that an integrative approach works in the coming years.

But seeing more metabolic parameters of stress and more clinical parameters would have been great, Aggarwal wrote.

Another principal investigator of this project, Willoughby Britton, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior and of behavioral and social sciences, has also researched meditation. Britton directs the Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory with Visiting Professor of Religious Studies Jared Lindahl.

After Britton came across a counterintuitive and surprising finding in a previous study that meditation reduced sleep she has further investigated potential consequences of mindfulness.

As part of the Varieties of Contemplative Experience project the largest study ever conducted on negative meditation experiences Britton studied meditation teachers and 60 meditators who were experiencing difficulties resulting from meditation, she said. Britton has also been investigating the bodily and mental effects associated with various meditation practices and how outcomes may differ among people with varying personalities or conditions, she added.

From a clinical perspective, Brandon Gaudiano, a psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior and of behavioral and social sciences, conducts research at Butler Hospital. His work involves the application of acceptance and commitment therapy an approach that alters peoples behavior using their values in those with psychotic disorders and depression, Gaudiano said.

He has partnered with Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Human Behavior David Williams on an ongoing investigation using mindfulness to help increase physical activity in those who have depression, Loucks said.

The Center has been innovative in its incorporation of technologies such as digital therapeutics and functional MRI an imaging technique that can be used to show how meditation affects brain activity, Brewer said.

In his own lab, Brewer investigates meditations impact on the brain and mindfulness apps effects on health. For example, the Unwinding Anxiety program used a mindfulness application targeting anxiety, and the results revealed significant reductions in anxiety after a couple of months, he added. The findings illustrate how mindfulness training reduces peoples susceptibility to their emotions, which alleviates anxiety, Brewer said.

Amidst the stresses of college, the free Mindfulness-Based College program at the Mindfulness Center has showed positive results in a clinical trial, Loucks said.

In its research, the Mindfulness Center has also addressed diversity.

After expanding to the west from eastern cultures, wealthy communities have become the primary beneficiary of mindfulness programming, said Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Jeffrey Proulx.

But Proulx, who joined the Mindfulness Center Sept. 2019, works to bring mindfulness research to underserved populations. Proulx came to the University because the Mindfulness Center here is one of the premier locations of people who guide the policies of mindfulness around the world, he said. Proulx, who is Native American, has focused on bringing mindfulness to Native American communities to alleviate prevailing distress and intergenerational trauma, he added. Stress can elevate heart rate, reduce brain volume and negatively impact the immune system, Proulx said.

Unlike other researchers studying mindfulness in Native American communities, Proulx is creating unique interventions for them, he said. His current projects include studies of mindfulness programs with Native American communities in Oregon and California, the Eastern Band Cherokee in North Carolina, and the Narragansett Tribe in Rhode Island. Proulx receives feedback from communities in attempt to find parallels between Native American traditions like berry picking, dancing and meditation and mindfulness practices, he said.

Proulx focuses his work on bringing mindfulness interventions in really respectful ways to Native American communities His ability to navigate through diversity and inclusion is inspiring, Loucks said.

Im just excited that Im at Brown and at the Mindfulness Center, especially because of their commitment to diversity, Proulx said. The Mindfulness Center is filled with people that have such an open focus on the future and on being inclusive.

Although the researchers affiliated with the Mindfulness Center are based in many different locations, the establishment has enabled collaboration amongst the researchers and between them and mindfulness educators, Loucks said. We have very strong mindfulness research, but then we also have very strong mindfulness teacher training programs so theres a lot of synergies between those two.

Original post:
Research thrives at Mindfulness Center - The Brown Daily Herald

Human Behavior

The Natural History of Song: Is music the same everywhere? – Medical News Today

January 24, 2020 medical

A team of multidisciplinary researchers has attempted to determine the truth of the highly speculated theory that music is a universal factor among cultures.

The team analyzed ethnographic observations carried out in 315 societies throughout the world and explored vast troves of research data and recorded music to break new ground in resolving an old conundrum.

Throughout history, fundamental questions about music have remained unanswered. Experts have assumed but not proven that music is universal, existing in all human societies. However, many scholars and musicologists disagree about whether the location of a piece of musics creation determines its sound.

The current study may now provide quantified evidence that music is universal and that its form can transcend cultural differences and geographic contexts.

Three researchers, all currently or formerly associated with Harvard University, in Cambridge, MA, developed this large-scale study: Samuel Mehr, a research associate, Prof. Luke Glowacki, and Manvir Singh, a graduate student.

However, researchers from various institutions contributed, including expert musicians, ethnomusicologists, and music theorists. The team also analyzed data from more than 29,000 volunteers.

They set about answering musics most challenging questions, such as Does music appear universally? and, What kinds of behavior are associated with song, and how do they vary among societies? They recently published their findings in the journal Science.

Previous studies into the universality of music among societies were not considered representative because of small sample sizes or limited geographic contexts.

Also, earlier studies often relied solely on the analysis of personal accounts and written histories, making the findings vulnerable to human bias. Mehr and the team were set on creating a more robust method; they write:

Hypotheses of the evolutionary function of music are [] untestable without comprehensive and representative data on its forms and behavioral contexts across societies.

To provide conclusive evidence of musics universality, the team needed to crunch a huge amount of data. Combining computational science and ethnomusicology (the study of music from a cultural perspective), the team analyzed data from private collections and ethnographic databases, such as the Human Relations Area Files online database.

They amassed nearly 5,000 ethnographic descriptions of songs from 60 societies and a staggering number of recordings. The team collectively titled these collections the Natural History of Song (NHS). They then assembled the NHS discography, which includes 118 songs from 30 geographic regions.

Ultimately, the researchers found mentions of song in all 315 societies included in their analysis. From this, they concluded that music is, indeed, universal.

Mehr and the team then used a mix of computational and human analysis to study variation in the interpretation of music around the world.

They applied technological tools that automatically define the qualities of a songs tone and pitch and recruited expert listeners to describe the theoretical features of each piece of music. They also used nonexpert listeners to establish perceptive qualities of the music, such as how a song made them feel.

The study grew larger still with the inclusion of a huge data set from 29,357 volunteers who visited the teams citizen science website and categorized songs by type.

This study expands our understanding of musics universality in a number of ways. The authors make the following conclusions:

The defining factor that underpins these findings will come as a surprise to many musicologists: When it comes to music, we have more in common than not.

Mehr considers the project to represent a rich, complex analysis of human behavior and cognitive perception. He holds that the results of the analysis have only highlighted our similarities:

Despite the staggering diversity of music influenced by countless cultures and readily available to the modern listener, our shared human nature may underlie basic musical structures that transcend cultural differences.

Samuel Mehr

In a world fraught with division, its comforting to hear that some universal practices unite us.

Excerpt from:
The Natural History of Song: Is music the same everywhere? - Medical News Today

Human Behavior

To advance robot swarms, UB engineers turn to video games – UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff – University at Buffalo Reporter

January 24, 2020 medical

The key to improving robot swarm technology may lie within video games.

Thats according to a research team from UBs Artificial Intelligence Institute, which received a $316,000 federal grant to study the decisions people make as well as biometric information such as their brain waves and eye movements while gaming.

Researchers will use this data to build artificial intelligence they believe can improve coordination among teams of autonomous air and ground robots.

The idea is to eventually scale up to 250 aerial and ground robots, working in highly complex situations. For example, there may be a sudden loss of visibility due to smoke during an emergency. The robots need to be able to effectively communicate and adapt to challenges like that, says the grants principal investigator, Souma Chowdhury, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Co-investigators include David Doermann, director of the UBs Artificial Intelligence Institute and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor of computer science and engineering; Eshan Esfahani, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Karthik Dantu, assistant professor of computer science and engineering.

Swarm robotics research is inspired by many sources; ant colonies and schooling fish are examples. But the potential to improve AI systems by learning from humans is enormous,says Chowdhury, a member of UB's Sustainable Manufacturing and Advanced Robotic Technologies (SMART) Community of Excellence.

The study, which is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will center on real-time strategy games. These are time-based (as opposed to turn-based) and involve using resources to build units and defeat opponents. Examples include StarCraft, Stellaris and Company of Heroes.

Students will play a basic real-time strategy game developed by the research team. In addition to recording the decisions the gamers make, researchers will track their eye movements with high-speed cameras and their brain activity through electroencephalograms.

The team will use the data to create artificial intelligence algorithms that guide the behavior of autonomous air and ground robots.

We dont want the AI system just to mimic human behavior; we want it to form a deeper understanding of what motivates human actions. Thats what will lead to more advanced AI, Chowdhury says.

Eventually, the team will integrate and evaluate artificial intelligence it develops into more sophisticated virtual environments developed by DARPAs partner organizations.

This project is one example of how machine intelligence systems can address complex, large-scale heterogeneous planning tasks, and how the University at Buffalo Artificial Intelligence Institute is tackling fundamental issues at the forefront of AI, says Doermann.

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To advance robot swarms, UB engineers turn to video games - UB Now: News and views for UB faculty and staff - University at Buffalo Reporter