“Anne Traftonh” - Systems biologists predict complicated behavior of cells in living animals

Anne Traftonh

March 23, 2011

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-biologists-complicated-behavior-cells-animals.html

To understand this great complexity, a growing number of biologists and bioengineers are turning to computational models. This approach, known as systems biology, has been used successfully to model the behavior of cells grown in laboratory dishes. However, until now, no one has used it to model the behavior of cells inside a living animal.

In the March 22 online edition of the journal Science Signaling, researchers from MIT and Massachusetts General Hospital report that they have created a new computational model that describes how intestinal cells in mice respond to a natural chemical called tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

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“Business Week” - Genome Map of Multiple Myeloma Offers Clues to Its Cause

Scientist says effort may lead to new ways to treat the blood cancer

Business Week

March 23, 2011

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/651077.html

(HealthDay News) -- The genome of the highly aggressive blood cancer multiple myeloma has been mapped by a team of North American scientists, who say their achievement will improve understanding of what causes the disease and may lead to new treatments.

"For the first time, we are able to see on a molecular basis what might be causing this malignancy," Dr. David S. Siegel, chief of the multiple myeloma division at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, said in a news release from the center.

"We already know what causes many types of cancer, but until now, we had few clues to the causes of myeloma," he added.

He and colleagues from 20 major research institutions examined genomes of both tumor and normal blood cells in 38 people with multiple myeloma.

"We have developed the most comprehensive molecular picture of myeloma to date, which will provide a public resource of genomic information for this disease," Siegel said. "This is a large step forward in personalized medicine for the treatment of multiple myeloma. My hope is that this will allow us to develop more targeted, effective therapies."



“Nina Totenberg” - Supreme Court Rebuffs Big Pharma In Zicam Suit

Nina Totenberg

March 22, 2011

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/22/134771092/Supreme-Court-Rules-Against-Drug-Company

In a unanimous ruling with particular significance for the pharmaceutical industry, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed investors to sue the maker of Zicam cold remedies.

The decision firmly rebuffs an effort by corporations seeking to make it more difficult to bring investor lawsuits.

Usually, lawsuits against a drug manufacturer are brought by consumers who allege they were harmed by the product. But Tuesday's case involved a class action brought by investors against Matrixx Initiatives Inc., the maker of Zicam products.

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“Reuters” - U.S. bank regulator plans separate foreclosure settlement

Reuters

March 24, 2011

http://westlawnews.thomson.com/National_Litigation/News/2011/03_-_March/U_S__bank_regulator_plans_separate_foreclosure_settlement/

CHARLOTTE, N.C./SAN DIEGO, March 24 (Reuters) - The main regulator for the largest U.S. banks is preparing to break from state authorities and settle with lenders over their foreclosure practices, according to a source familiar with the process, dashing hopes for a comprehensive settlement.

About a dozen federal authorities and 50 state attorneys general have worked for months to reach a coordinated settlement that would let banks contain their litigation risk, help homeowners mistreated during foreclosures, and remove a cloud of uncertainty hobbling the housing market's recovery.

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“News, Formulation” - Carotenoids and Anti-Aging

News, Formulation

March 24, 2011

http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2011/03/carotenoids-and-anti-aging.aspx

BERLIN, Germany—Carotenoids have a reputation for protecting the skin against signs of aging. They serve as antioxidants and as marker substances for the complete antioxidative network of human skin. More recently, it’s become possible to measure the carotenoids non-invasively and online using resonance Raman spectroscopy. This method has been used in various studies to investigate the interaction of carotenoid antioxidants and free radicals in human skin.

A recent German review published in Experimental Biology (March 1, 2011) detailed the results of selected studies. The researchers said: “It could be demonstrated that the carotenoid concentration of the skin reflects the lifestyle of individuals. A high level of carotenoids can be achieved with a healthy diet rich, for instance, in fruit and vegetables. Stress factors such as illness, UV and IR radiation of the sun, and smoking and alcohol consumption reduce the concentration of the carotenoids in the skin. It could be demonstrated that premature skin aging was less in people with a high level of antioxidants in their tissue. Consequently, the furrows and wrinkles were not so deep and dense as in the skin of individuals with a low antioxidant level. The measurements are highly suited for the development of anti-aging strategies and can be efficiently used in the medical diagnostics and therapy control."

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“Pamela MacLean and Karen Gullo” - Glaxo Attorney Says Abbott Tried to Stifle Competition With AIDS Medicine

Pamela MacLean and Karen Gullo

March 24, 2011

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-24/glaxo-accuses-abbott-of-stifling-competition-in-aids-drug-price-increase.html

A GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) lawyer told a federal court jury that Abbott Laboratories sought to stifle competition and maintain an illegal monopoly over HIV drugs when it quadrupled the price of its AIDS medicine Norvir in 2003.

Glaxo has argued at a trial in Oakland, California, that the price increase meant that other drugmakers couldn’t compete with Abbott’s Kaletra AIDS medicine, which includes Norvir, a boosting agent for other HIV drugs.

The London-based drugmaker claims it lost an estimated $570 million in profit on sales of its drug Lexiva, which uses Norvir, because it sold at half the rate the company expected. Glaxo is seeking damages of about three times its lost profits on Lexiva.

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India says Monsanto covertly, illegally conducted GM corn trials without approval

Recent reports out of India say that multinational biotechnology giant Monsanto has once against skirted the law by clandestinely planting its genetically-modified (GM) corn without receiving approval to do so. Nitish Kumar, chief minister of the Indian state of Bihar, recently wrote a letter to India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh explaining the situation. Just days earlier, Ramesh had denied Monsanto permission to plant the crops at all.

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Geologists warn another earthquake could tear Tokyo in two after weakening of fault line below capital

Geologists have warned that another powerful earthquake could inflict terrible damage on Tokyo because the Size 9 monster which struck on March 11 has altered the earth's surface.

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Earthquake science advances - does nuclear safety keep up?

The 104 nuclear reactors providing 20 percent of America's electric power were designed and built in the 1960s and '70s, an era when seismologists knew much less about earthquakes than they do today. Now that Japan's 9.0 magnitude earthquake has focused world attention on desperate efforts to halt the release of deadly radiation and on warnings to parents not to give their young children radiation-tainted tap water in Tokyo, U.S. regulators and nuclear industry advocates are scrambling to convince the public that America's reactors are safe.

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Peak Water Has Already Come and Gone

Canadian Kevin Freedman is celebrating World Water Day Tuesday by living on 25 litres of water a day, instead of the North American average of 330 litres per day. And he has enlisted 31 others in his "Water Conservation Challenge" to go water - lean, using just 25 litres per day for cooking, drinking, cleaning, and sanitation for the entire month of March.

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