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ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) ? Huge progress has been made over the last few years in scientific research into progeria, a disease that leads to premature aging in children. In 2003, a team directed by Nicolas L?vy discovered the gene, and, in 2008, 12 children were able to begin clinical trials in which two molecules were combined to slow down the characteristic effects of the disease: premature aging. Researchers are continuing their efforts in an attempt to counter the consequences of the genetic defect that causes progeria.
Until now, no model had been able to accurately imitate the effects of the disease in humans. For several years, research has been conducted in close collaboration from teams led by Nicolas L?vy and Annachiara De Sandre-Giovannoli at Inserm/Universit? de la M?diterran?e and from a team led by Carlos L?pez-Ot?n (University of Oviedo) and has succeeded in making such a model possible. The lifespan of mice treated through gene therapy is significantly extended and several other parameters related to them are improved. The research, published Oct. 26, 2011 in Science Translational Medicine, received backing from the AFM thanks to donations from a Telethon.
Progeria is a rare genetic disease. Children suffering from it seem to experience accelerated aging (chronic hair loss, joint pains, thin and hairless skin, cardiovascular problems). In 2003, Nicolas L?vy and his team identified the cause of the disease when they discovered the involvement of the LMNA (nuclear protein-coding) gene, lamin A/C. The mutation causes the production of a truncated protein, progerin, which accumulates in the nuclei of cells and its toxic effects cause their deformation and various other malfunctions. It has since been proven that progerin progressively accumulates in normal cells, thus establishing a link between the disease and physiological aging.
In 2008, European clinical trials began on twelve children suffering from progeria. The treatment is based on a combination of two existing molecules: statins (prescribed in the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risks) and aminobisphosphonates (prescribed in to treat osteoporosis and to prevent complications in some forms of cancer). The use of both these molecules aims to chemically alter progerin to reduce its toxicity. However, although this treatment aimed to slow down the development of the disease, it did not reduce the quantities of progerin. To study this aspect, researchers needed to obtain a relevant animal model.
An "authentic" progeria model?
To generate a model of this kind, Spanish and French researchers decided to introduce a gene mutation (G609G), equivalent to that identified in humans (G608G), in mice to reproduce the exact pathological mechanism found in the children, with a view to then blocking it. The mice models were created under the supervision of Bernard Malissen using the IBISA platform located at the Marseille-Luminy Centre of Immunology. This approach made it possible to obtain young mice that produced progerin, characteristic of the disease in humans. After three weeks alive, the mutated mice displayed growth defects, weight loss caused by bone deformation and cardiovascular and metabolic anomalies mirroring the human phenotype and considerably reducing their lifespan (an average of 103 days compared with two years for wild mice). The progerin thus produced accumulates in mouse cells via genetic mechanisms (abnormal splicing) identical to those observed in humans, i.e. the source of anomalies characteristic of the disease.
? for a targeted gene therapy
Using this unique progeria animal model, the researchers focussed their efforts on implementing a mutation-targeted treatment, with a view to reducing, and, if possible, preventing the production of progerin. To this end, they used "vivo-morpholino" antisense oligonucleotide technology. "This technology, explains Nicolas L?vy, is based on introducing a synthetic antisense aglionecleotide into mice. As is the case with progeria, this sequence is applied to block (or facilitate) the production of a functional protein using a gene. In this case, the production of progerin, as well as lamin A from the gene, were reduced."
There was a highly significant increase in life expectancy of mice treated using this new technology, from an average of 155 days to a maximum of 190 days.
Nicolas Levy's team, with continued collaboration with Carlos L?pez-Ot?n, now intend to translate this preclinical research into a new therapeutic trial for children, possibly combined with other pharmacological molecules. Other research is being conducted in parallel to find alternative administration channels for antisense oligonucleotides.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by INSERM (Institut national de la sant? et de la recherche m?dicale).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Fernando G. Osorio, Claire L. Navarro, Juan Cadi?anos, Isabel C. L?pez-Mej?a, Pedro M. Quir?s, Catherine Bartoli, Jos? Rivera, Jamal Tazi, Gabriela Guzm?n, Ignacio Varela, Danielle Depetris, F?lix De Carlos, Juan Cobo, Vicente Andr?s, Annachiara De Sandre-Giovannoli, Jos? M. P. Freije, Nicolas L?vy, Carlos L?pez-Ot?n. Splicing-Directed Therapy in a New Mouse Model of Human Accelerated Aging. Science Translational Medicine, 2011; 3 (106): 106ra107 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3002847
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
OAKLAND, Calif. ? An uncle of an Iraq War veteran injured when anti-Wall Street protesters clashed with police in Oakland, Calif., said he was appalled by officers' action.
A hospital spokesman says the 24-year-old veteran and Wisconsin native, Scott Olsen, was upgraded to fair condition and moved into an intensive care unit on Thursday.
His uncle, George Nygaard, tells The Associated Press from Wisconsin that Olsen's parents were heading to California on Thursday morning.
Olsen apparently suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in a march with other protesters toward Oakland City Hall. The demonstrators were trying to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters' camp when they were met by officers.
It's not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen or who might have thrown it.
___
Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
Walking assistants of the future come in all shapes and sizes -- from exoskeletons to high-tech walkers -- and you can now also this electric walking aid from Murata Manufacturing to the list of possibilities. It's inspired by some of the standalone robots that the company has built and, much like the Segway, it's able to maintain its balance and stand upright on its own (with an extra set of wheels for some added security). Unlike traditional walkers, however, it requires virtually no effort to push, with built-in sensors able to detect how much the person's body is tilted, and how fast or slow it should move to keep up with them -- it's also apparently powerful to carry a person's luggage or groceries. As you might have suspected, however, it's still just a prototype, and the company isn't ready to say when it might become an actual product. Head on past the break for the company's recent demonstration at CEATEC.
Louisiana Tech University engineering students, grads see bright future in solar powerPublic release date: 26-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dave Guerin dguerin@latech.edu 318-257-4854 Louisiana Tech University
RUSTON, La. -- Students and graduates from Louisiana Tech University's College of Engineering and Science have teamed up with a Louisiana-based solar energy company to develop innovative ways of producing clean energy in homes and businesses across the country.
Louisiana Tech alumni Matthew Macaluso and Connor Beech as well as current senior engineering students are collaborating with Solar Energy Supply of West Monroe (La.) to develop a new line of solar "smart panels," which will optimize the amount of sunlight received to each panel, effectively increasing efficiency by up to 20 percent, while reducing the effects of shading and undesirable roof angles.
"I decided to stay in north Louisiana for the green technologies," said Macaluso. "The focus of my senior design project was green energy technologies. The project was successful and the opportunity presented itself to pursue a career in solar energy. Energy demand will only increase and solar presents a sensible, economical and sustainable source of energy."
Louisiana Tech and Solar Energy Supply began collaborating in the fall of 2010 when the company presented Tech with a "dilemma" of not having ample manpower to expand upon its green ideas. Senior engineering design students at Tech assisted Solar Energy Supply in making their green ideas a reality, designing and building of a solar panel from scratch. The Louisiana Tech students were also able to develop a testing method to determine power output without a flash tester, which is extremely costly.
Upon the completion of the project, Solar Energy Supply and the Louisiana Tech students had created an expertly designed solar panel ready to enter the marketplace. The "smart panel" technology they developed is a product of Nu-Cell Technologies, a sister company to Solar Energy Supply.
"It is refreshing for a university to be interested in starting a working relationship with a local business in the community that is expanding into 'green' energy manufacturing, with ample willingness," said Jennifer Eppinette, director of public relations and marketing for Solar Energy Supply.
A $1.1 million "i6 Green Challenge" grant, which was recently awarded to Louisiana Tech to establish the LA_i6 Proof of Concept Center on the Louisiana Tech campus, received written support from Solar Energy Supply. LA_i6 will be able to assist companies such as Solar Energy Supply to create new innovations and high-value service and manufacturing jobs in the green sector.
"I have been impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit that has led to the growth of SES," said Dr. Les Guice, vice president for research and development at Louisiana Tech. "We are so pleased that they have looked to Louisiana Tech to capitalize upon the talents of our students and innovations of our faculty. This is the kind of partnership that really benefits our entire region."
Jason Garsee, CEO of Nu-Cell Technologies, says developing new methods of producing solar energy is important to our region. "If we can make and produce our own energy, we become more energy independent. By expanding upon these new methods, we are able to not only advance a proven technology but also bring manufacturing back to Louisiana."
These methods will continue to provide green jobs to our area and allow these technologies to be utilized to their utmost potential. With the increasing costs of energy sources, solar is the future with its decreasing costs, high efficiencies and expanding technology."
"From my experience, Louisiana Tech assists small businesses with services they may not be able to do for themselves whether it's engineering or research development, media networking, or education on programs designed to help small business," Macaluso said. "There have been numerous start up businesses founded by Tech students and alumni alike. Combined with the relationships developed with local companies, the value of Louisiana Tech within the community is evident."
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Louisiana Tech University engineering students, grads see bright future in solar powerPublic release date: 26-Oct-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dave Guerin dguerin@latech.edu 318-257-4854 Louisiana Tech University
RUSTON, La. -- Students and graduates from Louisiana Tech University's College of Engineering and Science have teamed up with a Louisiana-based solar energy company to develop innovative ways of producing clean energy in homes and businesses across the country.
Louisiana Tech alumni Matthew Macaluso and Connor Beech as well as current senior engineering students are collaborating with Solar Energy Supply of West Monroe (La.) to develop a new line of solar "smart panels," which will optimize the amount of sunlight received to each panel, effectively increasing efficiency by up to 20 percent, while reducing the effects of shading and undesirable roof angles.
"I decided to stay in north Louisiana for the green technologies," said Macaluso. "The focus of my senior design project was green energy technologies. The project was successful and the opportunity presented itself to pursue a career in solar energy. Energy demand will only increase and solar presents a sensible, economical and sustainable source of energy."
Louisiana Tech and Solar Energy Supply began collaborating in the fall of 2010 when the company presented Tech with a "dilemma" of not having ample manpower to expand upon its green ideas. Senior engineering design students at Tech assisted Solar Energy Supply in making their green ideas a reality, designing and building of a solar panel from scratch. The Louisiana Tech students were also able to develop a testing method to determine power output without a flash tester, which is extremely costly.
Upon the completion of the project, Solar Energy Supply and the Louisiana Tech students had created an expertly designed solar panel ready to enter the marketplace. The "smart panel" technology they developed is a product of Nu-Cell Technologies, a sister company to Solar Energy Supply.
"It is refreshing for a university to be interested in starting a working relationship with a local business in the community that is expanding into 'green' energy manufacturing, with ample willingness," said Jennifer Eppinette, director of public relations and marketing for Solar Energy Supply.
A $1.1 million "i6 Green Challenge" grant, which was recently awarded to Louisiana Tech to establish the LA_i6 Proof of Concept Center on the Louisiana Tech campus, received written support from Solar Energy Supply. LA_i6 will be able to assist companies such as Solar Energy Supply to create new innovations and high-value service and manufacturing jobs in the green sector.
"I have been impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit that has led to the growth of SES," said Dr. Les Guice, vice president for research and development at Louisiana Tech. "We are so pleased that they have looked to Louisiana Tech to capitalize upon the talents of our students and innovations of our faculty. This is the kind of partnership that really benefits our entire region."
Jason Garsee, CEO of Nu-Cell Technologies, says developing new methods of producing solar energy is important to our region. "If we can make and produce our own energy, we become more energy independent. By expanding upon these new methods, we are able to not only advance a proven technology but also bring manufacturing back to Louisiana."
These methods will continue to provide green jobs to our area and allow these technologies to be utilized to their utmost potential. With the increasing costs of energy sources, solar is the future with its decreasing costs, high efficiencies and expanding technology."
"From my experience, Louisiana Tech assists small businesses with services they may not be able to do for themselves whether it's engineering or research development, media networking, or education on programs designed to help small business," Macaluso said. "There have been numerous start up businesses founded by Tech students and alumni alike. Combined with the relationships developed with local companies, the value of Louisiana Tech within the community is evident."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
If you think the cell phone explosion of recent years has somehow been kept at bay by prison walls, you would be greatly mistaken. Technology, like water, permeates every crack. Today on Lockdown, we're talking phones in jail. More »
Before assigning blame, we need to figure out each of our own roles in the economic mess that inspired "Occupy Wall Street."
So what is this Occupy Fill-in-the-Blank movement all about? I?ve been hearing the words ?openness,? ?honesty,? ?engagement,? ?dialogue,? ?listening,? ?attention,? and ?responsibility? a lot. Funny that these are words one often hears in relationship counseling or personal therapy sessions. And that?s no coincidence. Like the situations when we are having troubles in our relationships?our interactions with others?often we learn that the first place we have to look is within ourselves. What?s our own role in this mess of a relationship? We may want to pull our hair out over the bad behavior of others and blame them for our troubles, but usually at least part of the blame lies within ourselves, in our own part of the interaction and how we did or did not react to what the ?other? did or did not do.
Skip to next paragraph Diane Lim Rogers
'EconomistMom' (Diane Lim Rogers) is Chief Economist of the Concord Coalition, a non-partisan, non-profit organization which advocates for fiscal responsibility, and the mom of four (amazing) kids to whom she dedicates her work. She?s been blogging since Mother?s Day 2008.
Recent posts
And that?s why I started thinking that the Occupy Fill-in-the-Blank movement should start with ?Occupy Ourselves.? I wrote about it this way in my latest column in the Christian Science Monitor (the online version now available here)
What started as the ?Occupy Wall Street? demonstration has turned into an ?Occupy fill-in-the-blank? movement ? with the blank being anything we blame for our own economic troubles.
The main target seems to be the vaguely defined ?1 percent? ? that tiny minority of the wealthiest individuals and biggest corporations, the only ones those with economic and political power seem to serve. So the Occupy movement targets the big banks ? the culprits that got us into the financial crisis. Or the millionaires, because income inequality is at an all-time high. Or Congress, the lobbyists, and others in power who have failed to do good. All of them ? it?s their fault.
It?s not that the outrage isn?t justified. Policymakers catering to the oil and gas industry, to Wall Street, and to the rich and powerful deserve part of the blame. So do banks, ratings agencies, regulators, and others who set the stage for the financial crisis that triggered the recent ballooning of America?s debt. And as the wealthy have gotten wealthier, policymakers have chosen to only reduce their tax burdens.
Meanwhile, policymakers seem to care much less about the poor. The share of Americans living in poverty has steadily increased over the past decade to more than 15 percent ? the highest percentage since 1993 and approaching where it was when LBJ launched the nation?s ?war on poverty.? How is that fair?
But we also have to recognize that our economic problems began long before the financial crisis and that the boundary between the wealthy 1 percent and the 99 percent that the protesters claim to represent isn?t so crisp. Those big subsidies to the oil and banking industries also benefit the rest of Americans through lower gasoline prices and cheaper credit. And the majority of American voters went along with politicians who proposed very expensive deficit-financed tax cuts and deficit-financed prescription drug coverage, even though our young people ? the very core of the Occupy movement ? are the ones who will be stuck with the bill.
We all had a role in this, not just that 1 percent.
If there is a ?change we believe in,? we can?t just complain about the status quo. We have to spell out the better life we want and the trade-offs we?re willing to make to get there.
These are difficult trade-offs we each need to contemplate. Doing better for the other 99 percent of us requires real money, and that money has to come from somewhere. Are we willing to steer more federal funds to the most effective forms of spending in terms of both short-term stimulus and longer-term economic growth ? policies that would also benefit Americans more broadly ? and away from the less effective, less beneficial forms?
Would we be willing to receive less generous benefits from Social Security or Medicare or have our tax deductions reduced? Would we be willing to let go of our portion of the Bush tax cuts rather than insist that only millionaires and billionaires need to sacrifice theirs? And most important, if we want our ?occupying? to catalyze real change, would we be willing to speak up loud and clear about our willingness to make these specific trade-offs to our policymakers?
In the end, it?s easy to occupy Wall Street and protest what?s wrong. Far harder is to occupy ourselves with the tough choices that could move America away from its crisis path and toward surer footing as the world?s leading economy.
That?s the protest message we need to hear.
Some of the same idea comes through in this interview I gave to Talking Points Memo?s Kyle Leighton, in a column titled ?Bipolar Inequality? (a phrase I accidentally coined while sitting in the Milwaukee airport on the phone with Kyle; apparently sleep deprivation sometimes inspires my creativity):
Diane Lim Rogers, Chief Economist at the fiscally hawkish Concord Coalition, made similar points about the more reckless economic policies of the past decade: Much of the distaste with both Washington and Wall Street comes back to fact that DC is simply unwilling to change course.
?The difference is that during the Clinton years the rising tide was lifting all boats,? Lim Rogers said in an interview with TPM. ?Low-income households were still doing better. Even then, the rich did really well, despite their taxes being raised.?
But what?s different now is that income inequality isn?t a political tenet of the left: it?s truly hurting people. Lim Rogers said the poverty rate is actually of more concern than the rich doing better given the circumstances.
?The outrage is not that the rich are richer,? she said. ?It?s that the poor have gotten poorer ? the inequality has become bipolar.?
Which could help explain why when OWS [Occupy Wall Street] provided the spark, many Americans didn?t discount the movement as disaffected liberals who have no real point: it?s a real issue borne out by the numbers?
While Gallup showed that only 22 percent of Americans considered themselves supporters of OWS, other polls have shown larger amounts of support. Because, as Lim Rogers points out, the movement has centered on a more inclusionary focus.
?As the definition of the rich keeps shrinking, the movement feels like it gets more spirited,? she said. ?OWS is getting the support of most americans, because how can you disagree with the fact the top 1 percent has done well, but that poverty is increasing. I?m not surprised that OWS is doing well, and I think it?s justified. What Americans may not have a grasp of is that we are all part of the problem, because we continue to support politicians that support these policies.?
My point is that even those of us who are not in the top 1 percent of the income distribution may actually benefit from and at least implicitly support the policies that are perceived as ?those policies that cater to the top 1 percent.? And the policies that we think are letting down just the bottom 99 percent are actually letting down all 100 percent of us. It?s not ever going to be as easy as neatly sorting out the blame vs. the burden into the 1 vs. 99 percent. We?ll have to sort it out within each of ourselves first.
(Like those ?protesters? in the photo appear to be doing, actually. Just Say ?Om.?)
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on economistmom.com.
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Public release date: 26-Oct-2011
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