Milestone of cancer research: Arresting cancers rather than killing them

Feb. 1, 2013 ? The research team of Prof. Dr. Martin R?cken from the Department of Dermatology of the University Medical Center T?bingen has shown for the first time that the immune system is able to drive tumours and tumour cells into a form of permanent dormancy (1). The resulting growth arrest allows tumour control in the absence of cancer cell destruction. This permanent dormancy -- scientifically known as senescence (2, 3) -- may persist for the whole life of the organism. Thus, immunotherapy can prevent tumour development without destroying the cells (1, 4).

Prof. Martin R?cken, Director of the Department of Dermatology of the University Medical Center T?bingen, outlines the current state of tumour therapy as follows: "About 50 years ago the former President of the United States of America Richard Nixon declared the "War on cancer." Strong financial and logistic efforts were undertaken and thought to overcome this devastating disease in relatively short time. At this time, researchers and clinicians learned to use chemotherapeutics or natural killer cells to directly attack the tumour cells and to destroy cancers including their environment. This led to several very important, partly brilliant achievements in the understanding of tumour development and to improved cancer diagnostics. What's more, the treatment of several different cancers was markedly improved by new and innovative operation techniques, radiation, chemo- and immunotherapy. However, the main goal, ie. the decisive victory on cancer, remained absent." "[For some time]," Prof. R?cken explains further, "doubts were raised about the strategy of the "War on cancer" which exclusively focussed on cancer destruction, as for example published in an essay in the journal The Lancet and other recent publications (5, 6, 7)."

Importantly, the work of the R?cken group revealed that immune responses also drive tumours of human origin into senescence. The human body apparently defends itself from cancer by inducing the senescence program in tumour cells thereby inhibiting tumour growth (1).

In this line, two well known signalling molecules of cancer therapy and immunology of infectious diseases move again in the center of attention: the interferons and tumor necrosis factor. Repeatedly, a bulk of researchers and clinicians tried to use these molecules and other techniques to destroy the tumour cells and their supplying blood vessels, and so did the scientists from T?bingen. Surprisingly, however, the R?cken group found that a combination of both signalling molecules, interferon and tumor necrosis factor, stopped the tumour growth in vivo without any signs of tumour or tissue destruction.

In animal experiments, the efficacy of immunotherapy-induced senescence proved to be much better than any other therapy based on "cancer destruction" (4). Most importantly, the common action of both signalling molecules, interferon and tumor necrosis factor, also stopped the growth of human tumours (1).

In the course of a natural immune response, the research team even detected senescence induction in regressing malignant tumours of cancer patients . Seven years ago, it was shown in principle that cancer cells can be shifted towards permanent dormancy or senescence (2, 3). Those theoretical insights were now successfully transferred into a therapeutic approach, here an immunotherapeutic regimen (1, 4).

The new therapeutic option will enable clinicians to approach their goal of a life-prolonging, mainly adverse effect-free cancer therapy. "It is very likely that we can't win the "War on cancer" by exclusive military means.," Prof. R?cken resumes. "Instead, it will be an important milestone to restore the bodies? immune control of malignant tumours."

Notes:

1. Braum?ller et al. M. T-helper-1-cell cytokines drive cancer into senescence. Nature, in press (2013).

2. Michaloglou, C. et al. BRAFE600-associated senescence-like cell cycle arrest of human naevi. Nature 436, 720-724 (2005).

3. Braig, M. et al. Oncogene-induced senescence as an initial barrier in lymphoma development. Nature 436, 660-665 (2005).

4. M?ller-Hermelink, N. et al. TNFR1 signaling and IFN-gamma signaling determine whether T cells induce tumor dormancy or promote multistage carcinogenesis. Cancer Cell 13, 507-518 (2008).

5. Sporn, MB. The war on cancer. The Lancet 347, 1377-1381 (1996).

6. Gatenby, RA. A change of strategy in the war on cancer. Nature 459, 508-509 (2009).

7. R?cken, M. Early tumor dissemination, but late metastasis: insights into tumor dormancy. J. Clin. Invest. 120, 1800-1803 (2010).

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universitaet T?bingen, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Heidi Braum?ller, Thomas Wieder, Ellen Brenner, Sonja A?mann, Matthias Hahn, Mohammed Alkhaled, Karin Schilbach, Frank Essmann, Manfred Kneilling, Christoph Griessinger, Felicia Ranta, Susanne Ullrich, Ralph Mocikat, Kilian Braungart, Tarun Mehra, Birgit Fehrenbacher, Julia Berdel, Heike Niessner, Friedegund Meier, Maries van den Broek, Hans-Ulrich H?ring, Rupert Handgretinger, Leticia Quintanilla-Martinez, Falko Fend, Marina Pesic, J?rgen Bauer, Lars Zender, Martin Schaller, Klaus Schulze-Osthoff, Martin R?cken. T-helper-1-cell cytokines drive cancer into senescence. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11824

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.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/cxjxvUM8tbk/130203212411.htm

kate gosselin helicopter crash matt jones whitney houston in casket photo resolute national enquirer whitney houston casket photo jk rowling

Man charged in fatal gun range shooting of ex-SEAL/author

GLEN ROSE, Texas (AP) ? A 25-year-old man was charged with murder in connection with a shooting at a central Texas gun range that killed former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and his friend, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Sunday.

Sgt. Lonny Haschel said in a news release that 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster was arraigned Saturday evening on two counts of capital murder. Officer Kyle Roberts at the Erath County Jail said Routh arrived there Sunday morning and is being held on a combined $3 million bond. Roberts did not have information on whether Routh had a lawyer.

Haschel said Erath County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a shooting at the Rough Creek Lodge, west of Glen Rose, at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Police found the bodies of Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, at the shooting range about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant said he did not know where Kyle and Littlefield were hit because he had not yet received the medical examiner's report.

Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range, said Travis Cox, the director of a nonprofit Kyle helped found. Littlefield was Kyle's neighbor and "workout buddy," Cox told The Associated Press on Sunday morning.

"What I know is Chris and a gentleman ? great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield ? took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them," Cox said.

Police said Routh opened fire on Kyle and Littlefield around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and then fled in a Ford pickup truck, which Bryant said was Kyle's truck. At about 8 p.m., Routh arrived at his home in Lancaster, about 17 miles southeast of Dallas. Police arrested him after a brief pursuit and took him to the Lancaster Police Department.

The motive for the shooting was unclear. A knock on the door at Routh's last known address went unanswered Sunday. A for-sale sign was in front of the cream-colored wood-framed home.

Kyle, a decorated veteran, wrote the best-selling book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. Kyle said in his book that Iraqi insurgents had put a bounty on his head. According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Kyle deployed to Iraq four times.

Kyle's nonprofit, FITCO Cares, provides at-home fitness equipment for emotionally and physically wounded veterans.

"Chris was literally the type of guy if you were a veteran and needed help he'd help you," Cox said. "And from my understanding that's what happened here. I don't know how he came in contact with this gentleman, but I do know that it was not through the foundation."

Cox described Littlefield as a gentle, kind-hearted man who often called or emailed him with ideas for events or fundraisers to help veterans.

"It was just two great guys with Chad and Chris trying to help out a veteran in need and making time out of their day to help him. And to give him a hand. And unfortunately this thing happened," Cox said.

Craft International, Kyle's security training company, had scheduled a $2,950-per-person civilian training event at Rough Creek Lodge called the "Rough Creek Shoot Out!" for March 1-3. The price included lodging, meals and shooting instruction. Kyle was scheduled to teach the first class, called "precision rifle."

Kyle is survived by his wife, Taya, and their two children, Cox said.

___

Associated Press Writers Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas, and Andale Gross and Erica Hunzinger in Chicago contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-charged-fatal-shooting-ex-seal-author-150201265.html

april 17 boston marathon tu pac hologram

The Tic-Tac-Toe Office

There's no rule that an office has to look like an office?that's just an assumption we make when we put ours together. Public speaker and author Gijs van Wulfen decided to stray from the usual and create a workspace more reminiscent of a tic-taco-toe board. Why? He explains:

Here I am in my ideation office. If you enter it, it doesn't look like an office. People visiting me there get a "homecoming" feeling. The warm coloured carpet on the floor reminds you of a living room. It helps getting the people I work with and myself in a relaxed mood.

You should want to spend time in your office, and others should, too. If it's fun and inviting?without offering up a ton of distractions, of course?you're more likely to take that first step towards getting things done. And, as we've often said, starting is everything.

Where I Work: My Tic-Tac-Toe Office | LinkedIn

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/D88aEOZoolo/the-tic+tac+toe-office

suzanne somers colbert colbert report legionnaires disease underwear bomber unclaimed money godspell

Vietnam hands down long jail terms in subversion case: TV

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A court in Vietnam has sentenced a man to life in prison and given jail terms of up to 17 years to other defendants after they were found guilty of subversive activities, state-run Vietnam Television said on Monday.

The verdict follows a series of harsh punishments handed down for dissent in the communist-ruled country, at a time of reported political infighting among the leadership centered on how to reform the economy and tackle management problems at big state firms that have led to piles of bad debt.

The People's Court of Phu Yen province gave a life sentence to Phan Van Thu, head of a group that wanted to establish a new government in Vietnam, the television station said in a news bulletin.

Jail terms of between 12 and 17 years were handed to others in the case, the television station said without elaborating.

"Their action has seriously violated the laws," it said.

People's Police newspaper, which is run by the Public Security Ministry, said Thu and others had built up their forces in a tourist resort in the central province of Phu Yen from 2004, printing a number of anti-government documents until they were arrested in February 2012.

Thu had spent time in prison for anti-government activities in the late 1970s, the newspaper said.

In January, 13 political activists were found guilty of anti-state crimes and sentenced to prison, a ruling condemned by rights activists as part of a crackdown on dissidents.

Late last month, police arrested human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan in Hanoi after he wrote an article criticizing the Communist Party, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2013 published on Friday.

"The Vietnamese government is systematically suppressing freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and persecuting those who question government policies, expose official corruption, or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule," the rights group said in its report.

The government has made no comment on the report.

Among other cases, on January 24 security forces detained a blogger in the northern province of Hung Yen and took him to a mental institution, according to a letter to Vietnam's leaders from the Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights.

Last week, the authorities deported Nguyen Quoc Quan, a U.S. national of Vietnamese origin, after keeping him in prison without trial since April last year.

Quan was accused of subversion and of being a member of Viet Tan, an outlawed pro-democracy group based in the United States, Communist Party newspaper Nhan Dan said.

Quan's trial, scheduled for January 22, was dropped and he was freed on January 30, the Viet Tan group said.

(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vietnam-hands-down-long-jail-terms-subversion-case-065033950.html

bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson splunk dark shadows iau

Alaska brewery powered by ? beer

The Alaska Brewing Co.'s Brandon Smith stands in front of his company's new broiler system that uses spent grains??A brewery is Alaska is being fueled by its own beer ? in a manner of speaking.

The Alaskan Brewing Co. (ABC) plans to use spent grain from the brewing process to help power the majority of the brewery?s functions and reduce energy costs by 70 percent.

"We had to be a little more innovative just so that we could do what we love to do, but do it where we're located," ABC co-founder Geoff Larson told the Associated Press.

The process works using an expensive broiler system purchased by the brewery, which will convert the grain into steam. Or, as the ABC officials put it, they are now creating, ?beer-powered beer,? in one of the nation?s largest craft breweries.

And even though the brewery spent $1.8 million on the broiler, minus a $500,000 federal grant, it is expected to save the company money over the long run. Brandon Smith, the brewery?s operations and engineering manager, says the new broiler will save his company about $450,000 per year.

?Renewable energy is one of the integral components to Alaska?s future. The new steam boiler at ABC is a great example of a forward-thinking approach to harnessing a new fuel source,? Alaska Rural Development State Director Jim Nordlund said in a statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. ?We?re happy to have played a part in this company?s innovation.?

Most breweries sell their spent grains to local farms for a profit. But because of the Alaskan brewery?s remote location, drying and shipping the grain was proving to be both expensive and wasteful.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/alaska-brewery-powered-beer-234715254.html

bobby petrino brian dunn vin scully petrino fired george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd

Synthetic biology: Recreating natural complex gene regulation

Feb. 3, 2013 ? By reproducing in the laboratory the complex interactions that cause human genes to turn on inside cells, Duke University bioengineers have created a system they believe can benefit gene therapy research and the burgeoning field of synthetic biology.

This new approach should help basic scientists as they tease out the effects of "turning on" or "turning off" many different genes, as well as clinicians seeking to develop new gene-based therapies for human disease.

"We know that human genes are not just turned on or off, but can be activated to any level over a wide range. Current engineered systems use one protein to control the levels of gene activation," said Charles Gersbach, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and member of Duke's Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. "However, we know that natural human genes are regulated by interactions between dozens of proteins that lead to diverse outcomes within a living system.

"In contrast to typical genetics studies that dissect natural gene networks in a top-down fashion, we developed a bottom-up approach, which allows us to artificially simulate these natural complex interactions between many proteins that regulate a single gene," Gersbach said. "Additionally, this approach allowed us to turn on genes inside cells to levels that were not previously possible."

The results of the Duke experiments, which were conducted by Pablo Perez-Pinera, a senior research scientist in Gersbach's laboratory, were published on-line in the journal Nature Methods. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, The Hartwell Foundation, and the March of Dimes.

Human cells have about 20,000 genes which produce a multitude of proteins, many of which affect the actions of other genes. Being able to understand these interactions would greatly improve the ability of scientists in all areas of biomedical research. However because of the complexity of this natural system, synthetic biologists create simple gene networks to have precise control over each component. These scientists can use these networks for applications in biosensing, biocomputation, or regenerative medicine, or can use them as models to study the more complex natural systems.

"This new system can be a powerful new approach for probing the fundamental mechanisms of natural gene regulation that are currently poorly understood," Perez-Pinera said. "In this way, we can further the capacity of synthetic biology and biological programming in mammalian systems."

The latest discoveries were made possible by using a new technology for building synthetic proteins known as transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs), which are artificial enzymes that can be engineered to "bind" to almost any gene sequences. Since these TALEs can be easily produced, the researchers were able to make many of them to control specific genes.

"All biological systems depend on gene regulation," Gersbach said. "The challenge facing bioengineering researchers is trying to synthetically recreate processes that occur in nature."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Duke University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Pablo Perez-Pinera, David G Ousterout, Jonathan M Brunger, Alicia M Farin, Katherine A Glass, Farshid Guilak, Gregory E Crawford, Alexander J Hartemink & Charles A Gersbach. Synergistic and tunable human gene activation by combinations of synthetic transcription factors. Nature methods, 03 February 2013 DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.2361

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/Qu5N1tfqoT0/130203145558.htm

game of thrones wrestlemania 28 game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley kenny chesney academy of country music awards brad paisley

at The End to Start Your Best - Small Business Trends

If your business is like those that author David Lavinsky (@davelavinsky) describes in Start At The End: How Companies Can Grow Bigger and Faster by Reversing Their Business Plan, rest easy. According to Lavinsky, not only are you not alone, but there is an answer to your daily drudgery.

Lavinsky is co-founder of Growthink, a consultancy that helps entrepreneurs and business owners identify and develop new strategies for growth. A serial entrepreneur, Dave has made a solid career at reengineering business plans and fund raising strategies.

And reengineering is what this book is about. I discovered the book while reviewing a site post about reengineering a business. His concept ? to think about your last day in business, be it a sale, an IPO, or having children inherit the company ? intrigued me. So many business owners dream of the beginning and seldom consider a business exit.

Lavinsky wastes no time getting to the core thoughts in each chapter. Some with intriguing names like How to Out Market Your Market Worksheets to download to their site, meant to provide new layered viewpoints to tactics as you read along. For example, Lavinsky encourages a planning list broken into 7 day, 60 day, and next year tasks.

The first chapter notes that the end of your business encourages a vision from the customer perspective and a vision from a business perspective. He gives some notable examples. He starts with a great note for those who try to attain investment while starting a business:

?However, your goal should be to achieve financial success even without?investors. After all, a business can?t achieve its customer-focused vision if it goes?out of business. It can?t serve its employees or fulfill the personal desires that?prompted the start or purchase of a business.

Because of this, you need to create your business-focused vision statement?to show:

1. The endgame you?d like to achieve.

2. The financial metrics and business assets you need to achieve and build?to realize that endgame.?

This reminds me of those entrepreneurs seeking Kickstarter-based help as well as those with Wall Street dreams that their business model needs to be viable. The material is lighter compared to strategy books such as Data Driven Marketing.? But Lavinsky does make points that reinforce good business building ideas and techniques without always saying it. His quote noted a business model without using the actual phrase ?business model.?

Now, you can make an argument that the value of the quote is relative to whether the reader read other books. True enough.? But this is a workbook and good business people are always reading to refine their outlook.? So as a workbook guide, it does deliver well to compliment other strategic books like Islands of Profit In a Sea of Red Ink.

Other chapters of note include:

• Financial Metrics:?knowing what metrics best guide you to your stated vision.
• Systemizing Your Business:?which may be the most useful and can compliment a more technical guide ? outlines how to formalize a plan for supporting your product or providing your services.
• How to Out Market Your Market:?touched upon more metrics, some familiar to analytics practitioners such as conversion rate.

I appreciated the metrics mention in the book.? You may have to adjust the suggestions to fit your own business and may have to dig a bit deeper to learn how to manage those metrics later on? (i.e. maintaining a dashboard). But Lavinsky?s inclusion through the chapters drives home the point that metrics can connect your idea to how well it?s executed.

Give this book a try if you are truly dedicated to your business beyond the profit and loss sheet. ?The book?s material will work for startups and can be a refresher for those whose business has come along, but not far enough. When it comes to working reviews for small business, Start At The End is indeed the perfect place to start.

About Pierre DeBois

Pierre DeBois is the founder of Zimana, a consultancy providing strategic analysis to small and medium sized businesses that rely on web analytics data. A Gary, Indiana native, Pierre is currently based in Brooklyn. He blogs about marketing, finance, social media, and analytics at Zimana blog.

?

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/02/start-end-business-strategy-book-review.html

josh johnson kim kardashian flour matt forte jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland bracket