JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? A South African foundation says retired archbishop Desmond Tutu has checked into a Cape Town hospital for treatment of a persistent infection.
The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate will undergo tests to discover the cause of the infection.
The foundation says 81-year-old Tutu spent Wednesday morning in his office before going to the hospital and was in good spirits. It says the non-surgical treatment is expected to take five days.
Tutu was a vigorous campaigner against the system of white racist rule known as apartheid, which ended when democratic elections were held in 1994.
A new poll released this week by Nik Nanos, a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, revealed that the majority of Americans and Canadians feel that the energy security that could be provided by the Keystone XL pipeline is more important than concerns over climate change.
* According to the poll, 63 percent of Americans think that having North America free from importing oil from outside the continent is more important than reducing greenhouse gases. Thirty percent of respondents felt that reducing greenhouse gases was the priority of the two issues.
* In Canada, 55 percent selected freeing North America for imported oil as more important, while 38 percent chose addressing greenhouse gases.
* Seventy percent of Americans and 60 percent of Canadians are favorable to the idea of the Keystone pipeline, Nanos' poll revealed, with 74 and 68 percent respectively stating that they support or somewhat support proceeding with the project.
* Seventy-six percent of Americans and 66 percent of Canadians feel that a continental energy strategy should be pursued, and most of those polled from each country felt that there should be common environmental standards.
* When asked about the importance of reducing greenhouse gases separately from the issue of the Keystone XL pipeline, a majority of both Americans and Canadians felt that the issue was important.
* Eighty-eight percent of Americans feel that ensuring a stable energy supply is important, but that number drops to 60 percent in Canada.
* Eleven percent of Americans and 14 percent of Canadians expressed that reducing greenhouse gases is unimportant.
* The survey, which was conducted randomly on 1,007 Americans and 1,013 Canadians in late March and early April, is in sharp contrast to reports of thousands of Americans vowing a pledge of resistance against the Keystone pipeline.
* According to the Houston Chronicle, 60,000 people have stated that they will risk arrest to fight the pipeline.
* Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the U.S. State Department, urging the department to do a more thorough analysis of the risks of oil spills and alternative pipeline routes, in addition to a study of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the pipeline.
* A State Department draft report of the $7 billion pipeline project in March indicated that it will not create environmental impacts, the Associated Press reported.
The UK's Alex Dobie and the USA's Phil Nickinson take on two of the year's hottest phones
With the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the Android smartphone battle lines are drawn. Samsung’s new flagship will go up against the HTC One, and it’s sure to be a fierce fight. Samsung needs to maintain the lead it established in 2012; for HTC, the future of the company depends on the success of the HTC One.
So which one should you buy? As always, it’s never as simple as recommending one device over the other. That’s why we’re launching into a little discussion with Alex and Phil, where we’ll try to spell out exactly where each device is strongest.
Join us after the break as we go back and forth on the HTC One versus Galaxy S4. There’s also a good old-fashioned video comparison, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Food and Environmental Virology adds society affiliationPublic release date: 23-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Joan Robinson joan.robinson@springer.com 49-622-148-78130 Springer
Journal to team up with the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology
Springer's journal Food and Environmental Virology is now the official publication of the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology. The new affiliation takes effect immediately. The journal, founded in 2009 by Springer, was accepted in January 2013 by Medline, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database.
Food and Environmental Virology publishes original articles, notes and reviews on research relating to the transmission of human, animal, and plant pathogenic viruses through the environment (water, air, soil, etc.) and foods. Topics include epidemiological studies, identification of novel and emerging pathogens, methods of analysis or characterization, studies on survival and elimination, and the development of procedural controls for industrial processes.
Nigel Cook, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Environmental Virology and Councilor of the society, said, "The society is delighted to work in partnership with Springer, which shares our vision of international cooperation and communication. This official journal will significantly further our aim of knowledge dissemination to address the ongoing challenges of pathogenic viruses in food and the environment."
Susan Safren, Senior Editor, Food Science at Springer, said, "We are grateful to Nigel Cook and commend him and the editorial board for building a successful journal in such a short period of time. I'm confident that our partnership with the newly formed society will not only strengthen the journal, but also enhance the society's mission in addressing critical issues in this field."
The International Society for Food and Environmental Virology aims to encourage research and knowledge exchange to improve the understanding of, and prevent diseases associated with, viruses transmitted via the environment and food. The society links researchers from academia with professionals from industry and policy decision makers, to promote research in the field and to cooperatively meet the ongoing challenges of food and environmental virology.
###
Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific, technological and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe especially in Germany and the Netherlands primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 7,500 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2012, Springer Science+Business Media S.A. generated sales of approximately EUR 981 million. The group employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.
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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.
Food and Environmental Virology adds society affiliationPublic release date: 23-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Joan Robinson joan.robinson@springer.com 49-622-148-78130 Springer
Journal to team up with the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology
Springer's journal Food and Environmental Virology is now the official publication of the International Society for Food and Environmental Virology. The new affiliation takes effect immediately. The journal, founded in 2009 by Springer, was accepted in January 2013 by Medline, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database.
Food and Environmental Virology publishes original articles, notes and reviews on research relating to the transmission of human, animal, and plant pathogenic viruses through the environment (water, air, soil, etc.) and foods. Topics include epidemiological studies, identification of novel and emerging pathogens, methods of analysis or characterization, studies on survival and elimination, and the development of procedural controls for industrial processes.
Nigel Cook, Editor-in-Chief of Food and Environmental Virology and Councilor of the society, said, "The society is delighted to work in partnership with Springer, which shares our vision of international cooperation and communication. This official journal will significantly further our aim of knowledge dissemination to address the ongoing challenges of pathogenic viruses in food and the environment."
Susan Safren, Senior Editor, Food Science at Springer, said, "We are grateful to Nigel Cook and commend him and the editorial board for building a successful journal in such a short period of time. I'm confident that our partnership with the newly formed society will not only strengthen the journal, but also enhance the society's mission in addressing critical issues in this field."
The International Society for Food and Environmental Virology aims to encourage research and knowledge exchange to improve the understanding of, and prevent diseases associated with, viruses transmitted via the environment and food. The society links researchers from academia with professionals from industry and policy decision makers, to promote research in the field and to cooperatively meet the ongoing challenges of food and environmental virology.
###
Springer Science+Business Media is a leading global scientific, technological and medical publisher, providing researchers in academia, scientific institutions and corporate R&D departments with quality content via innovative information products and services. Springer is also a trusted local-language publisher in Europe especially in Germany and the Netherlands primarily for physicians and professionals working in healthcare and road safety education. Springer published roughly 2,200 English-language journals and more than 7,500 new books in 2012, and the group is home to the world's largest STM eBook collection, as well as the most comprehensive portfolio of open access journals. In 2012, Springer Science+Business Media S.A. generated sales of approximately EUR 981 million. The group employs more than 7,000 individuals across the globe.
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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.
Submitted by Allyson Lorick on Mon, 04/22/2013 - 5:54pm.READ MORE:
WILMINGTON, NC (Twitter) -- As thousands gathered to take a stand for the state's film incentives Saturday, some famous actors filming in the Port City rallied support, too.
Dean Norris, known as Hank Schrader in AMC's series, "Breaking Bad," tweeted pictures and blurbs in support of the cause.
Norris, who's in town filming the upcoming TV series "Under the Dome," tweeted "NC film incentive rally! Downtown Wilmington," followed by a tweet that read, "Film = jobs," including a picture of himself at the event.
Area leaders and supporters at the rally say the film industry provides Wilmington with jobs and revenue, and they will continue to fight for the industry.
Click here to visit Norris' Twitter account.
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of WWAY NewsChannel 3, its management or employees. You can view our comment policy here.
Method makes it easier to separate useful stem cells from 'problem' ones for therapiesPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Shaun Mason smason@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles
UCLA study IDs small molecule that destroys potentially dangerous cells
Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells.
Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types bone cells among blood, for instance or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cellbased therapeutics safe.
Now, UCLA scientists have discovered a new agent that may be useful in strategies to remove these cells. Their research was published online April 15 in the journal Developmental Cell and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.
The study was led by Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, and Dr. Michael Teitell, a UCLA professor of pathology and pediatrics. Both are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In work using the single-celled microorganism known as baker's yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model system, Koehler, Teitell and their colleagues had discovered a molecule called MitoBloCK-6, which inhibits the assembly of cells' mitochondria the energy-producing "power plants" that drive most cell functions. The research team then tested the molecule in a more complex model organism, the zebrafish, and demonstrated that MitoBloCK-6 blocked cardiac development.
However, when the scientists introduced MitoBloCK-6 to differentiated cell lines, which are typically cultured in the lab, they found that the molecule had no effect at all. UCLA postdoctoral fellow Deepa Dabir tested the compound on many differentiated lines, but the results were always the same: The cells remained healthy.
"I was puzzled by this result, because we thought this pathway was essential for all cells, regardless of differentiation state," Koehler said.
The team then decided to test MitoBloCK-6 on human pluripotent stem cells. Postdoctoral fellow Kiyoko Setoguchi showed that MitoBloCK-6 caused the pluripotent stem cells to die by triggering apoptosis, a process of programmed cell suicide.
Because the tissue-specific daughter cells became resistant to death shortly after their differentiation, the destruction of the pluripotent stem cells left a population of only the differentiated cells. Why this happens is still unclear, but the researchers said that this ability to separate the two cell populations could potentially reduce the risk of teratomas and other problems in regenerative medicine treatment strategies.
"We discovered that pluripotent stem cell mitochondria undergo a change during differentiation into tissue-specific daughter cells, which could be the key to the survival of the differentiated cells when the samples are exposed to MitoBloCK-6," Teitell said. "We are still investigating this process in mitochondria, but we now know that mitochondria have an important role in controlling pluripotent stem cell survival."
MitoBloCK-6 is what is known as a "small molecule," which can easily cross cell membranes to reach mitochondria. This quality makes MitoBloCK-6 or a derivative compound with similar properties ideal for potential use as a drug, because it can function in many cell types and species and can alter the function of mitochondria in the body for therapeutic effects.
"It is exciting that our research in the one-cell model baker's yeast yielded an agent for investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in human pluripotent stem cells," Koehler said. "This illustrates that mitochondrial function is highly conserved across organisms and confirms that focused studies in model systems provide insight into human stem-cell biology. When we started these experiments, we did not predict that we would be investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in pluripotent stem cells."
###
The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project of the Royal Thai Government.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research: UCLA's stem cell center was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. A $20 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2007 resulted in the renaming of the center. With more than 200 members, the Broad Stem Cell Research Center is committed to a multidisciplinary, integrated collaboration among scientific, academic and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The center supports innovation, excellence and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed toward future clinical applications to treat disease. The center is a collaboration of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UCLA College of Letters and Science.
UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. In July 2012, the Jonsson Cancer Center was once again named among the nation's top 10 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 12 of the past 13 years.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
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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.
Method makes it easier to separate useful stem cells from 'problem' ones for therapiesPublic release date: 22-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Shaun Mason smason@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles
UCLA study IDs small molecule that destroys potentially dangerous cells
Pluripotent stem cells can turn, or differentiate, into any cell type in the body, such as nerve, muscle or bone, but inevitably some of these stem cells fail to differentiate and end up mixed in with their newly differentiated daughter cells.
Because these remaining pluripotent stem cells can subsequently develop into unintended cell types bone cells among blood, for instance or form tumors known as teratomas, identifying and separating them from their differentiated progeny is of utmost importance in keeping stem cellbased therapeutics safe.
Now, UCLA scientists have discovered a new agent that may be useful in strategies to remove these cells. Their research was published online April 15 in the journal Developmental Cell and will appear in an upcoming print edition of the journal.
The study was led by Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, and Dr. Michael Teitell, a UCLA professor of pathology and pediatrics. Both are members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In work using the single-celled microorganism known as baker's yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model system, Koehler, Teitell and their colleagues had discovered a molecule called MitoBloCK-6, which inhibits the assembly of cells' mitochondria the energy-producing "power plants" that drive most cell functions. The research team then tested the molecule in a more complex model organism, the zebrafish, and demonstrated that MitoBloCK-6 blocked cardiac development.
However, when the scientists introduced MitoBloCK-6 to differentiated cell lines, which are typically cultured in the lab, they found that the molecule had no effect at all. UCLA postdoctoral fellow Deepa Dabir tested the compound on many differentiated lines, but the results were always the same: The cells remained healthy.
"I was puzzled by this result, because we thought this pathway was essential for all cells, regardless of differentiation state," Koehler said.
The team then decided to test MitoBloCK-6 on human pluripotent stem cells. Postdoctoral fellow Kiyoko Setoguchi showed that MitoBloCK-6 caused the pluripotent stem cells to die by triggering apoptosis, a process of programmed cell suicide.
Because the tissue-specific daughter cells became resistant to death shortly after their differentiation, the destruction of the pluripotent stem cells left a population of only the differentiated cells. Why this happens is still unclear, but the researchers said that this ability to separate the two cell populations could potentially reduce the risk of teratomas and other problems in regenerative medicine treatment strategies.
"We discovered that pluripotent stem cell mitochondria undergo a change during differentiation into tissue-specific daughter cells, which could be the key to the survival of the differentiated cells when the samples are exposed to MitoBloCK-6," Teitell said. "We are still investigating this process in mitochondria, but we now know that mitochondria have an important role in controlling pluripotent stem cell survival."
MitoBloCK-6 is what is known as a "small molecule," which can easily cross cell membranes to reach mitochondria. This quality makes MitoBloCK-6 or a derivative compound with similar properties ideal for potential use as a drug, because it can function in many cell types and species and can alter the function of mitochondria in the body for therapeutic effects.
"It is exciting that our research in the one-cell model baker's yeast yielded an agent for investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in human pluripotent stem cells," Koehler said. "This illustrates that mitochondrial function is highly conserved across organisms and confirms that focused studies in model systems provide insight into human stem-cell biology. When we started these experiments, we did not predict that we would be investigating and controlling mitochondrial function in pluripotent stem cells."
###
The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, and the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project of the Royal Thai Government.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research: UCLA's stem cell center was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years. A $20 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation in 2007 resulted in the renaming of the center. With more than 200 members, the Broad Stem Cell Research Center is committed to a multidisciplinary, integrated collaboration among scientific, academic and medical disciplines for the purpose of understanding adult and human embryonic stem cells. The center supports innovation, excellence and the highest ethical standards focused on stem cell research with the intent of facilitating basic scientific inquiry directed toward future clinical applications to treat disease. The center is a collaboration of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the UCLA College of Letters and Science.
UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. In July 2012, the Jonsson Cancer Center was once again named among the nation's top 10 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 12 of the past 13 years.
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
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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.
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