(via ScienceDaily: Latest Science News)
The psychological and emotional traumas experienced over a lifetime -- such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disaster, house fire or car accident, physical or mental abuse -- may contribute to adult irritable bowel syndrome, according to the results of a new study.(via Lifehacker)
(via Lifehacker)
(via io9)
Results from independent cross-checks of last month's FTL neutrino findings wont start rolling in for at least a few more months. In the meantime, however, physicists at the OPERA lab who made the initial observations will be running their experiment yet again — only this time they'll be measuring things a little differently.
In the original experiments, physicists fired off protons from CERN in extended streams that lasted on the order of 10 millionths of a second. That might not seem like a long time, but it's long enough to release so many subatomic particles that it becomes impossible to look at the flight time of any discrete group of particles, let alone a single neutrino.
So in the researchers' revised experimental design, protons will be fired in a series of abbreviated bursts that are thousands of times shorter in duration that those of the original experiments. This new method should, in theory, give the OPERA researchers a more detailed look at what's going on with these particles on their 732-kilometer trip from Switzerland to Italy.
"It's like sending a series of loud and isolated clicks instead of a long blast on a horn," explains Rutgers University physicist Matt Strassler, one of the scientists who has taken issue with the OPERA team's original methods. "In the latter case you have to figure out exactly when the horn starts and stops, but in the former you just hear each click and then it's already over."
The results of the revised experiment should be in by December. OPERA researchers hope to include their new measurements in the manuscript that they'll be submitting for peer review and publication in the coming months.
[Via BBC]
(via io9)
Results from independent cross-checks of last month's FTL neutrino findings wont start rolling in for at least a few more months. In the meantime, however, physicists at the OPERA lab who made the initial observations will be running their experiment yet again — only this time they'll be measuring things a little differently.
In the original experiments, physicists fired off protons from CERN in extended streams that lasted on the order of 10 millionths of a second. That might not seem like a long time, but it's long enough to release so many subatomic particles that it becomes impossible to look at the flight time of any discrete group of particles, let alone a single neutrino.
So in the researchers' revised experimental design, protons will be fired in a series of abbreviated bursts that are thousands of times shorter in duration that those of the original experiments. This new method should, in theory, give the OPERA researchers a more detailed look at what's going on with these particles on their 732-kilometer trip from Switzerland to Italy.
"It's like sending a series of loud and isolated clicks instead of a long blast on a horn," explains Rutgers University physicist Matt Strassler, one of the scientists who has taken issue with the OPERA team's original methods. "In the latter case you have to figure out exactly when the horn starts and stops, but in the former you just hear each click and then it's already over."
The results of the revised experiment should be in by December. OPERA researchers hope to include their new measurements in the manuscript that they'll be submitting for peer review and publication in the coming months.
[Via BBC]
(via Slashdot)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
(via Slashdot)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
(via io9)
The world's first vaccine designed to prevent cancer was not developed by a pharmaceutical company. Instead, its development was funded by public institutions on two continents, including three universities, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The vaccine prevents human papillomavirus (HPV), an ailment that can lead to deadly cervical cancer. HPV is spread through sexual contact, and 80% of males and females become infected during their lifetimes. But, thanks the to HPV vaccine, it doesn't have to be that way anymore.
How the HPV vaccine works
The HPV vaccine relies on virus-like particles (VLPs). The VLPs in the HPV vaccine share the same outer protein coat (L1) as human papillomavirus, however, the VLPs do lack the genetic material in HPV necessary to infect a human. The outer protein coat is the key to how the vaccine works. Thanks to the protein coat, the VLPs can assemble in the same way as HPV, and this structural similarity allows the components of the vaccine to produce an immune response without subjecting the patient to the virus in any way. It's not a neutered or dead form of the virus as in the influenza vaccine - it's no virus at all.
3 schools, 4 research groups, & (at least) 4 patents
The creation of the HPV vaccine was an effort two decades in the making. Researchers at Georgetown University are credited with the dominant patent for the the HPV vaccine due to their initial background research, however, the Georgetown team never worked with the virus-like particles. The Georgetown University group showed that the native conformation (the normal form) of L1 protein coat was needed to allow virus-like particles to form.
The U.S. Patent Office also recognizes patent claims from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the University of Queensland, and the University of Rochester. Researchers at the University of Queensland published data with two different types of protein coats, L1 and L2, and noted that these coats allowed the assembly of virus like particles, but these virus like particles were small and not correctly assembled. This finding pre-dated the Georgetown University publication, and has spurred some controversy concerning the dominant patent.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, a branch of the NIH separate and apart from universities, were the first to produce an active virus-like particle that produced an immune response in animals. The NCI researchers also determined that other researchers had been using a mutant of the major HPV L1 capsid, causing slight changes in the manner in which the VLPs formed, thus refining the process.
The University of Rochester team was responsible for the first studies showing an immune response in humans. The University of Queensland research was pioneered by Dr. Ian Frazer in Australia, and sold partial patents to Merck and an Australian company CSL Limited to finance their research and clinical trials. The teams at Georgetown University and the University of Rochester were funded through grants from the National Cancer Institute.
These four groups may not have worked jointly, however, their work (and possible academic rivalry) combined with public funding allowed for quick and efficient discovery and optimization of the VLPs, as most of the major research findings paving the way for the HPV vaccine occurred between 1991 and 1993.
Two versions of the vaccine
Gardisil, the first HPV vaccine on the market, is manufactured by Merck and protects against four different strains of HPV. This protection covers HPV-16 and HPV-18, with these causing 70% of cervical cancer cases, cases which kill as many as 300,000 women annually. HPV-16 has also been linked to oropharyngeal cancer. Gardisil also protects against HPV-6 and HPV-11, guarding against 90% of genital warts. Protection against general warts and a recent FDA statement showing Gardisil to prevent anal and oropharyngeal cancer has increased demand amongst both males and females.
Cervarix, produced by GlaxosmithKline and approved for use in the United States in 2009 after several years of use in other areas of the world, protects only against HPV-16 and HPV-18, and thus lacks protection against genital warts. Despite this lack of protection against the physical attributes of sexually transmitted disease, one recent National Cancer Institute study showed that two of the mandated three shots of Cervarix may be sufficient for protection. This is quite the finding, as the third dose is taken six months after the initial injection, and likely to be skipped by the patient. Additionally, Cevarix has been shown to be effective over 7 years after administration.
Arguing against the HPV Vaccine
The suggestion that boys and young men receive the HPV vaccine has been met with controversy. Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recently stated his support for administering the vaccine to boys and young men, emphasizing how far basic research has come:
This is cancer, for Pete's sake […] A vaccine against cancer was the dream of our youth.
You might not like shots, but it's hard to argue against getting the HPV vaccine. There is no dead or neutered virus involved - there is no genetic material in the vaccine at all. The HPV vaccine a great example of public funding and several universities putting the parts together quickly and saving many lives in the process.
Images courtesy of the World Health Organization, Medscape, and GlaxoSmithKline. Sources linked within article.
(via io9)
The world's first vaccine designed to prevent cancer was not developed by a pharmaceutical company. Instead, its development was funded by public institutions on two continents, including three universities, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The vaccine prevents human papillomavirus (HPV), an ailment that can lead to deadly cervical cancer. HPV is spread through sexual contact, and 80% of males and females become infected during their lifetimes. But, thanks the to HPV vaccine, it doesn't have to be that way anymore.
How the HPV vaccine works
The HPV vaccine relies on virus-like particles (VLPs). The VLPs in the HPV vaccine share the same outer protein coat (L1) as human papillomavirus, however, the VLPs do lack the genetic material in HPV necessary to infect a human. The outer protein coat is the key to how the vaccine works. Thanks to the protein coat, the VLPs can assemble in the same way as HPV, and this structural similarity allows the components of the vaccine to produce an immune response without subjecting the patient to the virus in any way. It's not a neutered or dead form of the virus as in the influenza vaccine - it's no virus at all.
3 schools, 4 research groups, & (at least) 4 patents
The creation of the HPV vaccine was an effort two decades in the making. Researchers at Georgetown University are credited with the dominant patent for the the HPV vaccine due to their initial background research, however, the Georgetown team never worked with the virus-like particles. The Georgetown University group showed that the native conformation (the normal form) of L1 protein coat was needed to allow virus-like particles to form.
The U.S. Patent Office also recognizes patent claims from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, the University of Queensland, and the University of Rochester. Researchers at the University of Queensland published data with two different types of protein coats, L1 and L2, and noted that these coats allowed the assembly of virus like particles, but these virus like particles were small and not correctly assembled. This finding pre-dated the Georgetown University publication, and has spurred some controversy concerning the dominant patent.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, a branch of the NIH separate and apart from universities, were the first to produce an active virus-like particle that produced an immune response in animals. The NCI researchers also determined that other researchers had been using a mutant of the major HPV L1 capsid, causing slight changes in the manner in which the VLPs formed, thus refining the process.
The University of Rochester team was responsible for the first studies showing an immune response in humans. The University of Queensland research was pioneered by Dr. Ian Frazer in Australia, and sold partial patents to Merck and an Australian company CSL Limited to finance their research and clinical trials. The teams at Georgetown University and the University of Rochester were funded through grants from the National Cancer Institute.
These four groups may not have worked jointly, however, their work (and possible academic rivalry) combined with public funding allowed for quick and efficient discovery and optimization of the VLPs, as most of the major research findings paving the way for the HPV vaccine occurred between 1991 and 1993.
Two versions of the vaccine
Gardisil, the first HPV vaccine on the market, is manufactured by Merck and protects against four different strains of HPV. This protection covers HPV-16 and HPV-18, with these causing 70% of cervical cancer cases, cases which kill as many as 300,000 women annually. HPV-16 has also been linked to oropharyngeal cancer. Gardisil also protects against HPV-6 and HPV-11, guarding against 90% of genital warts. Protection against general warts and a recent FDA statement showing Gardisil to prevent anal and oropharyngeal cancer has increased demand amongst both males and females.
Cervarix, produced by GlaxosmithKline and approved for use in the United States in 2009 after several years of use in other areas of the world, protects only against HPV-16 and HPV-18, and thus lacks protection against genital warts. Despite this lack of protection against the physical attributes of sexually transmitted disease, one recent National Cancer Institute study showed that two of the mandated three shots of Cervarix may be sufficient for protection. This is quite the finding, as the third dose is taken six months after the initial injection, and likely to be skipped by the patient. Additionally, Cevarix has been shown to be effective over 7 years after administration.
Arguing against the HPV Vaccine
The suggestion that boys and young men receive the HPV vaccine has been met with controversy. Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, recently stated his support for administering the vaccine to boys and young men, emphasizing how far basic research has come:
This is cancer, for Pete's sake […] A vaccine against cancer was the dream of our youth.
You might not like shots, but it's hard to argue against getting the HPV vaccine. There is no dead or neutered virus involved - there is no genetic material in the vaccine at all. The HPV vaccine a great example of public funding and several universities putting the parts together quickly and saving many lives in the process.
Images courtesy of the World Health Organization, Medscape, and GlaxoSmithKline. Sources linked within article.
(via Slashdot)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
(via Slashdot)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
(via io9)
After 1978, two strangely related things happened: a new set of regulations for processed meat limited the amount of nitrite used in hot dogs, forcing manufacturers to add ascorbate or erythorbate instead. And the following that year, there was a major dropoff in colon cancer deaths. Now, researchers are questioning the link between the two.
Nitrite preserved processed meats are loaded with nonvolatile N-nitroso compounds, but the addition of ascorbate and erythorbate replaced them, with only 1/90th of the amount remaining afterwards. There has been a significant amount of work on the link to processed meat with colorectal cancer, especially with the presence of nitrates and nitrites. The thing is that if this correlation was iron clad, then the there would have been a huge drop in the incidence of the cancer with the government regulation. Instead, there's been a major drop in the deaths from the disease — which is something very different. So while fewer people are dying of colon cancer, the drop in nitrites doesn't seem to have meant fewer people getting it.
"The drop in N-nitroso compound content caused by the mandated changes in processed meat should have been accompanied by a drop in the incidence of colon cancer," said Professor Sidney S. Mirvish, and the reduction in deaths "may have been due mostly to earlier detection and better treatment of this disease."
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article significantly misinterpreted part of the study — which was my mistake. It has been updated and corrected. Apologies.
Photo by Kenneth Sponsler via Shutterstock
(via io9)
After 1978, two strangely related things happened: a new set of regulations for processed meat limited the amount of nitrite used in hot dogs, forcing manufacturers to add ascorbate or erythorbate instead. And the following that year, there was a major dropoff in colon cancer deaths. Now, researchers are questioning the link between the two.
Nitrite preserved processed meats are loaded with nonvolatile N-nitroso compounds, but the addition of ascorbate and erythorbate replaced them, with only 1/90th of the amount remaining afterwards. There has been a significant amount of work on the link to processed meat with colorectal cancer, especially with the presence of nitrates and nitrites. The thing is that if this correlation was iron clad, then the there would have been a huge drop in the incidence of the cancer with the government regulation. Instead, there's been a major drop in the deaths from the disease — which is something very different. So while fewer people are dying of colon cancer, the drop in nitrites doesn't seem to have meant fewer people getting it.
"The drop in N-nitroso compound content caused by the mandated changes in processed meat should have been accompanied by a drop in the incidence of colon cancer," said Professor Sidney S. Mirvish, and the reduction in deaths "may have been due mostly to earlier detection and better treatment of this disease."
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article significantly misinterpreted part of the study — which was my mistake. It has been updated and corrected. Apologies.
Photo by Kenneth Sponsler via Shutterstock
(via TechCrunch)
China is serious about Jobs-mania. All 250,000 copies of the book are sold out in the country and folks lined up before bookstores opened just to get copy. Considering publishers already faked the bio, it’s clear that their love of Steve is still strong.
MICGadget has a full photo gallery of the launch including a number of delightful sculptures made entirely of copies of the bio.
How hardcore are these folks? Some choice quotes:
Wang Xiaochuan, CTO of Sohu, a major web portal in China, said:
“I purchased 500 copies of the book for my colleagues, I hope they can learn from it.”
Douma Zouzou, who wrote in response to a passage from the book in which Mr. Jobs rejects the idea that companies should give consumers what they want, instead of what they need, said:
“Reading this, I’m incredibly moved. It’s people who think like this who are the real elites pushing society forward.”
Heady stuff, to be sure. I’ll try to grab some shots of the scrum when I land in Beijing tonight.
(via TechCrunch)
China is serious about Jobs-mania. All 250,000 copies of the book are sold out in the country and folks lined up before bookstores opened just to get copy. Considering publishers already faked the bio, it’s clear that their love of Steve is still strong.
MICGadget has a full photo gallery of the launch including a number of delightful sculptures made entirely of copies of the bio.
How hardcore are these folks? Some choice quotes:
Wang Xiaochuan, CTO of Sohu, a major web portal in China, said:
“I purchased 500 copies of the book for my colleagues, I hope they can learn from it.”
Douma Zouzou, who wrote in response to a passage from the book in which Mr. Jobs rejects the idea that companies should give consumers what they want, instead of what they need, said:
“Reading this, I’m incredibly moved. It’s people who think like this who are the real elites pushing society forward.”
Heady stuff, to be sure. I’ll try to grab some shots of the scrum when I land in Beijing tonight.
(via Wired Top Stories)
Online backup service Backblaze offers unlimited cloud storage at $5 per month, and the company's overall cost per petabyte is some 25 times lower than Amazon's S3 storage service. Wired looks at how Backblaze can offer storage so cheaply.(via Wired Top Stories)
Online backup service Backblaze offers unlimited cloud storage at $5 per month, and the company's overall cost per petabyte is some 25 times lower than Amazon's S3 storage service. Wired looks at how Backblaze can offer storage so cheaply.(via io9)
The National Institutes of Health estimate that one out of every five persons in the US suffers from dyslexia, a brain-based learning disability that can make it frustratingly difficult to read. One way people have tried combatting the symptoms of dyslexia is with fonts like Dyslexie (pictured here), which are specially designed to decrease the number of errors made by dyslexics while reading.
Dyslexie was created by Christian Boer, a dyslexic graphic designer from the Netherlands. The font incorporates a number of typographical features that make it harder for the brains of dyslexics to rotate, swap, mirror, and otherwise confuse letters while they're reading.
Take the letters "p," "b" and "d," for example, depicted up top in Boer's Dyslexie typeface. In many fonts, these letters look very much the same, such that by rotating and mirroring them they can be used more or less interchangeably.
In Boer's font, however, the boldness of each letter's base is increased, granting each character a "weight" that hints at its proper orientation. Notice also that the space enclosed by each letter (what is referred to in typography as a character's "bowl" or "loop") is shaped just a little differently than that of the other two. These subtle typographical cues may not seem like much, but they go a long way in helping your brain recognize which letters belong where when they appear in words and sentences.
Learn more about the design of Dyslexie (including a slide show comparing different Dyslexie characters to those of other fonts) in this article by Scientific American's Jennifer Nalewicki. You can also try Dyslexie out for yourself by reading this version of Nalewicki's article.
[Via Scientific American]
Dyslexie characters by Christian Boer via SA
(via io9)
The National Institutes of Health estimate that one out of every five persons in the US suffers from dyslexia, a brain-based learning disability that can make it frustratingly difficult to read. One way people have tried combatting the symptoms of dyslexia is with fonts like Dyslexie (pictured here), which are specially designed to decrease the number of errors made by dyslexics while reading.
Dyslexie was created by Christian Boer, a dyslexic graphic designer from the Netherlands. The font incorporates a number of typographical features that make it harder for the brains of dyslexics to rotate, swap, mirror, and otherwise confuse letters while they're reading.
Take the letters "p," "b" and "d," for example, depicted up top in Boer's Dyslexie typeface. In many fonts, these letters look very much the same, such that by rotating and mirroring them they can be used more or less interchangeably.
In Boer's font, however, the boldness of each letter's base is increased, granting each character a "weight" that hints at its proper orientation. Notice also that the space enclosed by each letter (what is referred to in typography as a character's "bowl" or "loop") is shaped just a little differently than that of the other two. These subtle typographical cues may not seem like much, but they go a long way in helping your brain recognize which letters belong where when they appear in words and sentences.
Learn more about the design of Dyslexie (including a slide show comparing different Dyslexie characters to those of other fonts) in this article by Scientific American's Jennifer Nalewicki. You can also try Dyslexie out for yourself by reading this version of Nalewicki's article.
[Via Scientific American]
Dyslexie characters by Christian Boer via SA
(via Slashdot)
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
