An uncommon, but resurgent and highly virulent strain of the cold virus, called adenovirus type 14 or Ad14, is spreading in the US and is causing severe and sometimes fatal respiratory illness, even in healthy adults. The virus has killed 10 people since May last year, when a 12 day old baby girl died from it in New York City. Between March and June 2007, there have been 140 confirmed cases of Ad14 in Oregon, Texas and Washington, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 53 of the patients (38 per cent) had to be hospitalized, 24 of whom were admitted to intensive care, of whom 9 patients died. The CDC said that the strain of Ad14 in all four states were genetically identical, but different to the one that spread in 1955, suggesting this is a new strain of an old virus. They have not found any link between the New York case and the outbreaks in the other four states. Also, an investigation by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has not found any other cases of Ad14 illnesses in the area. Investigations have been […]
DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for an anti-abortion group to collect signatures for a ballot measure that would define a fertilized egg as a person. The court approved the language of the proposal, rejecting a challenge from abortion-rights supporters who argued it was misleading and dealt with more than one subject in violation of the state constitution. If approved by voters, the measure would give fertilized eggs the state constitutional protections of inalienable rights, justice and due process. ‘Proponents of this initiative have publicly stated that the goal is to make all abortion illegal - but nothing in the language of the initiative or its title even mentions abortion,’ Kathryn Wittneben of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado said in a statement. ‘If that’s not misleading, I don’t know what is.’ Wittneben and others said the measure would have would hamper in-vitro fertilization and stem cell research and would effectively ban birth control. Proponents of the measure disagree. ‘It doesn’t outlaw abortion, it doesn’t regulate birth control,’ said Kristi Burton, 20, of Colorado for Equal Rights. ‘It’s just a constitutional principle. We’re laying a foundation that every life deserves protection. Burton […]
VALENCIA — Humanity is rapidly turning the seas acid through the same pollution that causes global warming, the world’s governments and top scientists agreed yesterday. The process – thought to be the most profound change in the chemistry of the oceans for 20 million years – is expected both to disrupt the entire web of life of the oceans and to make climate change worse. The warning is just one of a whole series of alarming conclusions in a new report published by the official Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which last month shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore. Drawn up by more than 2,500 of the world’s top scientists and their governments, and agreed last week by representatives of all its national governments, the report also predicts that nearly a third of the world’s species could be driven to extinction as the world warms up, and that harvests will be cut dramatically across the world. United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, who attended the launch of the report in this ancient Spanish city, told The Independent on Sunday that he found the ‘quickening pace’ of global warming ‘very frightening’. […]
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Bolstering disintegrating neural connections may help boost brainpower in Alzheimer’s disease patients, MIT researchers and colleagues will report in the Nov. 8 issue of Neuron. The researchers zeroed in on the enzymes that manipulate a key scaffolding protein for synapses, the connections through which brain cells communicate. Synapses are weakened and lost in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. ‘We identified a major underlying mechanism through which synapses are strengthened and maintained,’ said Morgan H. Sheng, Menicon Professor of Neuroscience at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. ‘The enzymes involved could be good targets for potential drug treatments.’ A protein called postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) is a key building block of synapses. Like the steel girders in a building, it acts as a scaffold around which other components are assembled. ‘The more PSD-95 molecules, the bigger and stronger the synapse,’ said co-author Myung Jong Kim, a Picower research scientist. Previous research had shown that mice genetically altered to have less PSD-95 experienced learning and memory problems. In the current study, the researchers identified for the first time the enzymes that work behind the scenes on PSD-95, adding a phosphate group […]
The exploration of the human genome has long been relegated to elite scientists in research laboratories. But that is about to change. An infant industry is capitalizing on the plunging cost of genetic testing technology to offer any individual unprecedented - and unmediated - entree to their own DNA. For as little as $1,000 and a saliva sample, customers will be able to learn what is known so far about how the billions of bits in their biological code shape who they are. Three companies have already announced plans to market such services, one yesterday. Offered the chance to be among the early testers, I agreed, but not without reservations. What if I learned I was likely to die young? Or that I might have passed on a rogue gene to my daughter? And more pragmatically, what if an insurance company or an employer used such information against me in the future? But three weeks later, I was already somewhat addicted to the daily communion with my genes. (Recurring note to self: was this addiction genetic?) For example, my hands hurt the other day. So naturally, I checked my DNA. Was this the first sign […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
