Friday, October 25, 2013

Barrier to HIV cure bigger than previously thought

Barrier to HIV cure bigger than previously thought


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24-Oct-2013



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Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press



New Cell paper suggests the latent reservoir barrier in HIV patients could be 60 times larger than previous estimates




HIV infection is typically treated with antiretroviral therapy, which targets actively replicating HIV but does not affect inactive or latent forms of the virus. The latent reservoir is the biggest barrier to curing HIV, and a study published by Cell Press October 24th in the journal Cell has shown that it could be 60 times larger than previously thought. The findings, publishing ahead of the upcoming translational medicine conference "What Will it Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?" organized by Cell and The Lancet, highlight important limitations of current treatment strategies and could lead to the development of more effective interventions.


"We would like to use these findings by developing better ways to measure the size of the latent reservoir in patients who are participating in future trials of potentially curative strategies," says senior study author Robert Siliciano of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In this way, we think our analysis will contribute to HIV eradication efforts."


The latent reservoir in HIV-infected patients consists of provirusesviral DNA that gets inserted into the genome of the patients' immune cells. A treatment strategy known as "shock and kill" involves activating these immune cells and the proviruses they harbor, and then using antiretroviral therapy to keep the activated viruses from infecting other cells. But when these immune cells are activated in the test tube, less than 1% of proviruses are turned on, according to recent estimates using standard methods that measure the size of the latent reservoir.


In the new study, Siliciano and his team set out to characterize the vast majority of proviruses that are not affected by this intervention. They found that a significant proportion of these noninduced proviruses have intact genomes and are capable of replicating normally, in contrast to the prevailing belief that they are defective. Moreover, these intact noninduced proviruses may increase the size of the latent reservoir by a factor of 60, compared with previous estimates. "These results indicate an increased barrier to cure, as all intact noninduced proviruses need to be eradicated," Siliciano says. "Although cure of HIV infection may be achievable in special situations, the elimination of the latent reservoir is a major problem, and it is unclear how long it will take to find a way to do this."


In an effort to bridge the gap between clinicians and researchers focused on understanding, preventing, and curing HIV/AIDS, Siliciano is co-organizing a conference with Kenneth Mayer (the Fenway Institute) and Editors from Cell and The Lancet called "What Will it Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?" Taking place November 3rd through 5th in San Francisco, California, the meeting will bring scientists and clinicians together in editorially curated sessions designed to catalyze the development of new translational approaches and solutions. "We would like to bring together basic virologists and immunologists, experts in vaccine development and drug treatment, and public health experts to discuss the most important approaches to ending the epidemic," Siliciano says.


###

Cell, Ho et al.: "Replication-competent non-induced proviruses in the latent reservoir increase barrier to HIV-1 cure."


For more information on the upcoming Translational Medicine Conference "What Will It Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?", please visit http://www.translationalmedicine-lancet-cell.com/HIV/index.html




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Barrier to HIV cure bigger than previously thought


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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Oct-2013



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Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
moleary@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press



New Cell paper suggests the latent reservoir barrier in HIV patients could be 60 times larger than previous estimates




HIV infection is typically treated with antiretroviral therapy, which targets actively replicating HIV but does not affect inactive or latent forms of the virus. The latent reservoir is the biggest barrier to curing HIV, and a study published by Cell Press October 24th in the journal Cell has shown that it could be 60 times larger than previously thought. The findings, publishing ahead of the upcoming translational medicine conference "What Will it Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?" organized by Cell and The Lancet, highlight important limitations of current treatment strategies and could lead to the development of more effective interventions.


"We would like to use these findings by developing better ways to measure the size of the latent reservoir in patients who are participating in future trials of potentially curative strategies," says senior study author Robert Siliciano of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "In this way, we think our analysis will contribute to HIV eradication efforts."


The latent reservoir in HIV-infected patients consists of provirusesviral DNA that gets inserted into the genome of the patients' immune cells. A treatment strategy known as "shock and kill" involves activating these immune cells and the proviruses they harbor, and then using antiretroviral therapy to keep the activated viruses from infecting other cells. But when these immune cells are activated in the test tube, less than 1% of proviruses are turned on, according to recent estimates using standard methods that measure the size of the latent reservoir.


In the new study, Siliciano and his team set out to characterize the vast majority of proviruses that are not affected by this intervention. They found that a significant proportion of these noninduced proviruses have intact genomes and are capable of replicating normally, in contrast to the prevailing belief that they are defective. Moreover, these intact noninduced proviruses may increase the size of the latent reservoir by a factor of 60, compared with previous estimates. "These results indicate an increased barrier to cure, as all intact noninduced proviruses need to be eradicated," Siliciano says. "Although cure of HIV infection may be achievable in special situations, the elimination of the latent reservoir is a major problem, and it is unclear how long it will take to find a way to do this."


In an effort to bridge the gap between clinicians and researchers focused on understanding, preventing, and curing HIV/AIDS, Siliciano is co-organizing a conference with Kenneth Mayer (the Fenway Institute) and Editors from Cell and The Lancet called "What Will it Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?" Taking place November 3rd through 5th in San Francisco, California, the meeting will bring scientists and clinicians together in editorially curated sessions designed to catalyze the development of new translational approaches and solutions. "We would like to bring together basic virologists and immunologists, experts in vaccine development and drug treatment, and public health experts to discuss the most important approaches to ending the epidemic," Siliciano says.


###

Cell, Ho et al.: "Replication-competent non-induced proviruses in the latent reservoir increase barrier to HIV-1 cure."


For more information on the upcoming Translational Medicine Conference "What Will It Take to Achieve an AIDS-free World?", please visit http://www.translationalmedicine-lancet-cell.com/HIV/index.html




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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/cp-bth101713.php
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Official who made big healthcare website decision a frequent White House visitor


By Gabriel Debenedetti and Susan Cornwell


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government official identified as being responsible for a last-minute decision that helped jam up the Obamacare health insurance website has been a frequent presence at the White House, according to visitor logs.


Henry Chao, deputy chief information officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was named Thursday in congressional testimony as the one who ordered the lead contractor to make consumers register before browsing for price information, a step avoided by popular online shopping sites such as Amazon.com.


As a result of this decision made just two weeks before the website went public on October 1, Healthcare.gov was overwhelmed with so many people trying to register at once that the site crashed, Cheryl Campbell, senior vice president of lead contractor CGI Federal, told U.S. lawmakers wanting to know why the site had so many problems.


"I believe it was Henry Chao and members of his team," Campbell told the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee.


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is the agency spearheading the health care program.


Republican opponents of Obamacare who are looking into the website's troubles have been attempting to find out why the change was made and whether the White House was involved in it, theorizing that the administration was trying to erect a barrier that would keep consumers from finding out the true costs of the premiums they would be paying.


They have offered no evidence to support that claim, however, and the administration has denied any such motive. A spokeswoman for CMS said on Friday that the agency was trying to "prioritize the ability for us to launch live so consumers could conduct the full online application process."


She would not comment on whether Chao made the decision that Campbell said had led to problems.


White House visitor records show Chao visiting the White House 36 times between November 2011 and May 2013, with one visit in December 2009, to see President Barack Obama's advisers including health care and technology officials.


The records, which were voluntarily disclosed by the White House, provide information about visits through August 2013. No records were yet available for the month leading up to the launch, so it was not possible to determine whether Chao visited the White House during that period.


Chao, asked for comment, referred Reuters to CMS. Neither the White House nor others at CMS responded immediately to requests for comment on Chao's role.


Starting in May 2012 Chao began visiting often, spending time in the White House or Old Executive Office Building, where many administration offices are based, multiple times per month. He visited at least once monthly between May 2012 and May 2013.


Though he met with an array of officials, he most frequently saw White House healthcare official Jeanne Lambrew.


Two of Chao's visits with Lambrew followed his comments at a conference on March 14, 2013, when he said he was "pretty nervous" about the roll-out of the law's online system.


"Let's just make sure it's not a third-world experience," CQ reported Chao saying at the time. He then visited the White House on March 19 and March 26.


Chao also met White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park twice - in April 2012 and January 2013 - and then-Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel in February 2012.


Chao was a point of contact for contractor CGI Federal as it worked to build the technology backbone of the Healthcare.gov website. CGI Federal is a unit of Canada-based CGI Group Inc.


Some Republicans, notably House Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa, say they believe the White House was trying to hide the "sticker shock" of insurance premiums online so as to attract people to sign up for insurance under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.


But when asked whether Chao and others at CMS had given reasons for not making the "browser" option live on the website and whether the decision was political, Campbell told lawmakers: "I can't answer whether it was political or otherwise."


She also said she was not aware of any political intervention by the White House itself into her work on Heatlhcare.gov.


(Reporting By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan; Editing by Fred Barbash and Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/official-made-big-healthcare-website-decision-frequent-white-004715500--sector.html
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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Say goodbye to internal "SuperDrives" with the latest MacBook Pro refresh

Say goodbye to internal "SuperDrives" with the latest MacBook Pro refresh

It's the end of an era. At Tuesday's iPad and Mac Event, Apple refreshed the MacBook Pro with Retina Display with Intel's fourth-generation "Haswell" Core processors and other enhancements. In the process, the company quietly put to bed the last remaining Mac computers that include an internal "SuperDrive."

For now, the "standard" $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro - with SuperDrive - remains available to order through the Apple Store, but no mention of it is apparent on Apple's product web site (except for an unobtrusive link that I missed until it was pointed out to me). It's a legacy product, as well - untouched since it was last refreshed in 2012.

When Apple introduced the iMac in 1998, it shocked many for its absence of a floppy disk - indeed, the first Mac not to have a floppy disk drive as standard equipment, ever. At the time, naysayers in the industry thought that Apple had jumped the gun. Floppy disks had been standard issue on computers for years - a common delivery medium for software installers and an indispensible tool for "sneakernet" - the colloquial term used to describe physically moving files from one computer to another by copying them to a floppy.

But Apple doubled down, pulling floppy drives from all of its machines, eventually replacing them with "SuperDrives" - optical drives capable of reading and writing CD and DVD media.

SuperDrives remained a mainstay of the Mac product line until last year, but the first cracks in the armor appeared in 2008, when Apple introduced the first MacBook Air. The diminutive MacBook Air was too slender to accommodate an internal optical drive, and for a few years, anyway, it would remain an anachronism - the one Mac that didn't have any internal optical storage.

Fast-forward to 2011 and the Mac mini, which was refreshed mid-year and was the first Mac mini model (outside of Apple's server model) to lose the optical drive. Then in 2012 Apple introduced MacBook Pros with Retina Displays and iMacs, all of which got rid of the drives.

When the old "cheese grater"-style aluminum Mac Pro got discontinued earlier this year, that left two machines in Apple's product line with internal optical drives: both "standard" MacBook Pros.

Apple envisions its customers as less and less dependent on optical media thanks to the increasing availability of fast Internet connections. And the world has definitely moved in that direction - fewer of us rent DVD movies, we stream them from Netflix or rent them from iTunes and other services. Fewer of us buy software on disc, we download it from the Mac App Store and other services. Even as a backup and archival medium, optical drives are coming up short. With hundreds of GB to back up, you're better off using an external hard drive.

That's not to say there's no need for optical storage anymore, and that's why Apple continues to offer an external USB-based SuperDrive (the Mac works with any number of cheap commodity CD/DVD burners available from online retailers, too). But Apple's decided the optical drive is just no longer mandatory equipment. Design plays into every decision that Apple makes, too, so excising the drive makes it possible for them to build slimmer and smaller devices as well.

Now it's down to one last Mac with an optical drive: the entry-level MacBook Pro. And I bet that won't be around for too long. Without getting any sort of refresh, the $1,199 MacBook Pro is relegated to legacy model status and won't be long for this world.

Will we miss SuperDrives once they're gone for good? It didn't take us too long to adapt to life without floppy drives. I think we'll be able to handle this transition just fine.

What do you think? Do you still need to burn discs, or read optical media? Is Apple making as strategic error by getting rid of SuperDrives? Sound off in the comments.


    






Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/HNt1hwtayY4/story01.htm
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Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., elected to Institute of Medicine

Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., elected to Institute of Medicine


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Contact: Bob Nellis
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic





ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., radiologist and noted Alzheimer's disease researcher at Mayo Clinic, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, part of the national academies. Election is considered one of the top honors in medicine.


"This is a great recognition for Dr. Cliff Jack and an honor that is well deserved," says
John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "Dr. Jack is internationally known for his discoveries in radiology and imaging and for his impact on Alzheimer's disease analysis. Much of what we know about how Alzheimer's develops is because Cliff Jack found a way to visualize it."


Dr. Jack is a pioneer in developing medical imaging methods that identify biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. He has introduced imaging methods to help identify aspects of Alzheimer's in the brain, determine its severity, measure disease progression, and predict its progression. His approaches and imaging techniques have been widely adopted by others. His early achievements focused on a type of brain imaging known as anatomic magnetic resonance imaging, but he has also made pioneering contributions in magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion imaging, functional MRI, high field microimaging, and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) analyses of amyloid burden. The criteria described for presymptomatic Alzheimer's by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association are based largely on his model.


Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, has said of Dr. Jack, "I cannot think of another person who has had a greater long-term impact on the field of neuroimaging in aging and dementia."


Dr. Jack is the Alexander Family Professor of Alzheimer's Disease Research at Mayo Clinic, where he completed a fellowship in neuroradiology. He earned his medical degree at Wayne State University and completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Jack joined Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 1985. He has been awarded the Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's and Related Diseases from the American Academy of Neurology and also the MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's disease. Both are the highest honors given in the field of Alzheimer's research. He has also received the Gold Medal from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the American Society of Neuroradiology Award for Outstanding Contributions in Research, and was elected to the inaugural Council of Distinguished Investigators of the Academy of Radiology Research.


Dr. Jack has mentored a number of promising young scientists, three of whom now have their own programs nested within his lab.


Dr. Jack's research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1991. His research group develops and validates magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), amyloid and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography analysis methods for diagnosing and measuring progression of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. A major effort is directed at modeling interrelationships among cognitive performance, imaging, and biofluid biomarkers over time. Dr. Jack's research group serves as the magnetic resonance imaging center for several large national multisite studies including the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network, and Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities.


The Institute of Medicine is both an honor membership organization and an expert advisory group that serves as a national resource for independent analysis and recommendations on health issues. New members are elected by current active members through a selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. With their election, members commit to volunteer their service on Institute of Medicine committees, boards and other activities.


Mayo physician-researchers Richard Ehman, M.D., also a radiologist, and Andrew Engel, M.D., a neurologist, have also been elected to the Institute of Medicine.


###


About Mayo Clinic



Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.


Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.



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Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., elected to Institute of Medicine


[ Back to EurekAlert! ]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

24-Oct-2013



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Contact: Bob Nellis
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic





ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Clifford Jack Jr., M.D., radiologist and noted Alzheimer's disease researcher at Mayo Clinic, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine, part of the national academies. Election is considered one of the top honors in medicine.


"This is a great recognition for Dr. Cliff Jack and an honor that is well deserved," says
John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "Dr. Jack is internationally known for his discoveries in radiology and imaging and for his impact on Alzheimer's disease analysis. Much of what we know about how Alzheimer's develops is because Cliff Jack found a way to visualize it."


Dr. Jack is a pioneer in developing medical imaging methods that identify biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. He has introduced imaging methods to help identify aspects of Alzheimer's in the brain, determine its severity, measure disease progression, and predict its progression. His approaches and imaging techniques have been widely adopted by others. His early achievements focused on a type of brain imaging known as anatomic magnetic resonance imaging, but he has also made pioneering contributions in magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion imaging, functional MRI, high field microimaging, and amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) analyses of amyloid burden. The criteria described for presymptomatic Alzheimer's by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association are based largely on his model.


Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, has said of Dr. Jack, "I cannot think of another person who has had a greater long-term impact on the field of neuroimaging in aging and dementia."


Dr. Jack is the Alexander Family Professor of Alzheimer's Disease Research at Mayo Clinic, where he completed a fellowship in neuroradiology. He earned his medical degree at Wayne State University and completed his residency in diagnostic radiology at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Jack joined Mayo Clinic in Rochester in 1985. He has been awarded the Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer's and Related Diseases from the American Academy of Neurology and also the MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's disease. Both are the highest honors given in the field of Alzheimer's research. He has also received the Gold Medal from the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, the American Society of Neuroradiology Award for Outstanding Contributions in Research, and was elected to the inaugural Council of Distinguished Investigators of the Academy of Radiology Research.


Dr. Jack has mentored a number of promising young scientists, three of whom now have their own programs nested within his lab.


Dr. Jack's research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1991. His research group develops and validates magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), amyloid and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography analysis methods for diagnosing and measuring progression of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. A major effort is directed at modeling interrelationships among cognitive performance, imaging, and biofluid biomarkers over time. Dr. Jack's research group serves as the magnetic resonance imaging center for several large national multisite studies including the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network, and Atherosclerotic Risk in Communities.


The Institute of Medicine is both an honor membership organization and an expert advisory group that serves as a national resource for independent analysis and recommendations on health issues. New members are elected by current active members through a selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. With their election, members commit to volunteer their service on Institute of Medicine committees, boards and other activities.


Mayo physician-researchers Richard Ehman, M.D., also a radiologist, and Andrew Engel, M.D., a neurologist, have also been elected to the Institute of Medicine.


###


About Mayo Clinic



Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit http://www.mayoclinic.org/about and http://www.mayoclinic.org/news.


Journalists can become a member of the Mayo Clinic News Network for the latest health, science and research news and access to video, audio, text and graphic elements that can be downloaded or embedded.



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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.




Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/mc-cjj102413.php
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'Star Wars: Episode VII' Writer Drops Out


Michael Arndt has left the project, as director J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan take over.


By Kevin P. Sullivan








Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1716146/star-wars-episode-vii-writer-drops-out.jhtml

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What's Keeping Self-Driving Cars Off the Road?

What's Keeping Self-Driving Cars Off the Road?

It's easy to see how self-driving cars would benefit society. Traffic jams gone. Accidents reduced. Leisure time increased!

Read more...


    






Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hkxk_LU1yXc/whats-keeping-self-driving-cars-off-the-road-1450916024
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Kerry Washington: I Don't Drink and I Get Bored Easily

She might drink a big glass of wine as she tries to deal with situations on her hit series "Scandal," but away from the studio, Kerry Washington refuses to go near any alcoholic beverages.


During an interview with the NY Post, the 36-year-old actress revealed why drinking is not part of her normal diet.


"I actually live quietly. Work hard. Get bored easily," Miss Washington explained. "Don't drink. Who needs those empty calories."


In regards to how she keeps her body in shape, Kerry stated, "I watch what I eat. I train, do Pilates."


Besides working on her hit ABC series, Miss Washington dished about her home makeover. "I'm now renovating my L.A. apartment, and that tests your patience and clarity."


"Living out of a suitcase so long, I'm finally establishing residence, but I'm always back in NYC. I'm born here. My parents are here," she added.


Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/kerry-washington/kerry-washington-i-dont-drink-and-i-get-bored-easily-1054399
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