Anderson Cooper, who has braved angry mobs in Egypt, faced potential radiation poisoning in Japan, and rescued a bloodied child in Haiti, shows a decidedly less hard-hitting side on his new daytime show . Case in point: On the second episode of Anderson yesterday, Coop went for a spray tan with—…
Continue reading …A Spanish court has reopened a rape case against Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, a man Forbes recently dubbed the richest man in the Arab world. Prince Alaweed allegedly drugged and raped a 20-year-old model aboard a luxury yacht in the Mediterranean in August 2008,…
Continue reading …Synthetic DNA added to yeast cells, paving way for ‘evolution’ on demand
September 14, 2011 No Comment
Scientists’ feat could lead to better biofuels and vaccines, and is a significant step towards completely synthetic organisms Life forms have been created that carry strands of genetic material designed and built from scratch in the lab, paving the way for on-demand “evolution” of organisms. Scientists made sections of chromosomes, the long molecules that bear DNA, and transferred them into yeast cells, of the kind normally used in baking. The cells adopted the new genetic code as part of their normal cellular machinery and, to the scientists’ surprise, appeared as healthy as their natural counterparts. The feat is a big step towards the manufacture of completely synthetic organisms that could be designed to churn out biofuels, vaccines and industrial chemicals, the researchers said.said Jef Boeke, who led the study at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Studies of bugs with synthetic DNA are widely anticipated to shed light on some of the toughest questions in biology, such as what is the minimal suite of genes required for life on Earth. “We have created a research tool that not only lets us learn more about yeast biology, but also holds out the possibility of someday designing genomes for specific purposes, like making new vaccines or medications,” said Jef Boeke, who led the study at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland . Built into the synthetic chromosomes are genetic sequences that, when triggered by a chemical, dramatically rearrange the organism’s genes. The technique, known as genome scrambling, allows scientists to accelerate the evolution of the organisms on demand, by creating thousands of new strains and collecting the best survivors. The advance was made possible by powerful techniques that have emerged from rapid developments in genetics, computing and synthetic chemistry. Boeke’s work centred on a yeast known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the most well-understood organisms in the field of genetics. It has 16 chromosomes that together carry around 6000 genes. The team started with a digital version of one yeast chromosome, which they edited on a computer according to three simple rules. These required the scientists to streamline the chromosome by removing non-essential genes without compromising the organism’s fitness. Further sections of genetic code were then written into the chromosome to allow scientists to rearrange the genes in future experiments. Once the first chromosome was finalised, Boeke’s team took a second chromosome and edited that in a similar way. In the next stage of the experiment, Boeke’s team used feedstocks of chemicals to manufacture the new chromosomes from scratch. They then dropped these into growing colonies of yeast cells, which replaced parts of their natural chromosomes with the synthetic versions. The yeast cells’ genetic makeover was modest, amounting to changes in only one percent of the organism’s entire genome, but Boeke was still intrigued to see the organisms thrive. “They are remarkably healthy and to us that’s incredibly exciting because it means our design is sound and we can play all the games we are fantasising about,” Boeke told the Guardian. The study is reported in the journal, Nature . Boeke has recently developed more advanced methods for designing chromosomes but for these experiments, the work involved hours of meticulous editing on the computer. “It was unbelieveably tedious and it’s almost a miracle the yeasts grows, because the potential for errors that could have occured is prodigious,” he said. To see what happened when the yeast cells jumbled their genetic code, Boeke added a chemical that yeast does not normally come into contact with — the female sex hormone, oestrogen. This caused wholesale rearrangements of the organisms’ genes, but also removed some genes entirely. “After scrambling, it’s a very different story,” said Boeke. “Most of the yeast are dead, there are a lot of essential genes missing and there are a lot of sick puppies in there that aren’t as fit as natural yeast.” Ultimately, the process of rearranging and deleting genes from the yeast cells should produce strains that survive with the bare minimum set of genes needed to sustain life, Boeke said. But the process has more practical implications, by allowing scientists to direct the evolution of yeast cells, until they are better than those in use by industry. “Man and yeast have this ancient relationship. We’ve been brewing beer and making bread since before the written word,” said Boeke. “Nowadays, a major share of fermentation is done using yeast, and that’s everything from making vaccines to chemicals and biofuel production. “All of those industries are actively looking for yeast that makes their favourite product better, whether it’s more efficiently, with a higher yield, or in special conditions. “Industrial geneticists are always looking for new tools for their toolbox and this will become an important part of that.” Genetics Biology Biochemistry and molecular biology Ian Sample guardian.co.uk
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Cabinet office ‘nudge unit’ encourages use of product banned in many countries, in bid to reduce smoking-related deaths The government’s “nudge unit” wants to encourage the use of smokeless nicotine cigarettes, banned in many countries around the world, in an attempt to reduce the numbers killed in the UK by smoking diseases each year. The Cabinet Office’s behavioural insight team – better known as the nudge unit – wants to adopt the new technology because policy officials believe the rigid “quit or die” approach to smoking advice no longer works. Rather, they want nicotine addiction to be managed to help smokers who otherwise won’t quit – an approach the unit believes could prevent millions of smoking deaths. Ten million people in the UK smoke, and smoking claims 80,000 lives a year. The nudge unit’s first annual report, published today, says the unit – the first of its kind around the world – has, in the face of criticism, implemented a series of measures they believe could save thousands of lives a year, as well as £100m over the course of the next parliament. Ideas already being rolled out include “nudging” people to donate organs by asking someone to opt out rather than opt in when filling out an online driving licence application. The report also says the government is to change tax forms to tell people how many people in their area have paid their taxes ahead of them. Now the unit wants to explore and encourage new products that deliver nicotine to people’s lungs but without the harmful toxins and carcinogens in tobacco smoke that kill. The annual report reads: “It will be important to get the regulatory framework for these products right, to encourage new products. A canon of behaviour change is that it is much easier to substitute a similar behaviour than to extinguish an entrenched habit (an example was the rapid switch from leaded to unleaded fuel). If alternative and safe nicotine products can be developed which are attractive enough to substitute people away from traditional cigarettes, they could have the potential to save 10,000s of lives a year.” Current alternatives to smoking range from smokeless tobacco to the Swedish snuff-like product Snus, which is illegal in the UK. Versions of smoke-free cigarettes are illegal in Australia, and banned in Canada, Brazil, Singapore and Thailand because side-effects haven’t been tested. But experts have advised the UK government that the nicotine contained in some new, smoke-free cigarettes is no more harmful than caffeine in coffee. A cabinet office source said: “A lot of countries are moving to ban this stuff; we think that’s a mistake.” John Britton, professor of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, told the Guardian that on top of the current smokeless range – which includes electronic or “e-cigarettes” that simulate smoking by producing an inhaled mist – there are three or four devices in different stages of development. But he said some companies have been reluctant to develop this technology because they had expected it to be as tightly controlled as pharmaceutical drugs. Britton said: “If a manufacturer makes a health claim for anything then it becomes a drug, and drugs have to be regulated with tight controls. The current nicotine replacements are sold as drugs; however, e-cigarettes contain nicotine but get around this by making no health claim and so can be sold freely, but with little or no information on safety or standards. What we’re asking for is a regulation change to bring all nicotine products into a light-touch regime that will guarantee reasonable purity and safety standards but make them as available as cigarettes in a shop.” The Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is looking into approving these devices for use. If it finds in their favour, the government is likely to push for them to be placed prominently in shops alongside tobacco cigarettes, where they would be sold at a cheaper rate. The unit is keen to engage with those critics who believe its analysis and intervention in people’s behaviour is “nanny statism”. David Halpern, the unit’s head, told the Guardian: “As with seatbelts and the smoking ban, these ideas were unpopular at first but after a while when you explain them to people, they understand and say, ‘Yeah, alright then.’ “A year in,” Halpern added, “we’re much more confident about how well this can work, and the early trials have also made us much more confident about public acceptability. There’s no doubt it can save many lives and hundreds of millions of pounds. In fact, our problem has become that we have so many inquiries from across Whitehall, we have to turn down many of the requests for help.” Smoking Health Cancer Health policy Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …With Congress getting set to consider President Obama’s $447 billion job-creation package, there’s another chance for an economic boost on the horizon that isn’t getting as much attention. Next week, Federal Reserve board policymakers will meet to mull whether to launch a new program of bond buying, or other measures designed to loosen credit and
Continue reading …The Guinness Book of World Records is not just for regular joes who go on epic bar crawls or paddleboard rides . No, it’s also for celebrities—and according to Perez Hilton , Gossip Cop , and MTV , a whole slew of them made their way in to the 2012 edition: Lady Gaga…
Continue reading …Lawyers for Duane Edward Buck are urging Texas Gov. Rick Perry to step in and stay their client’s execution, scheduled for tomorrow, citing racially biased testimony presented at his sentencing hearing. Texas law requires juries to decide if a defendant poses a “future danger” when deciding whether to give the…
Continue reading …Jacob Kiss, otherwise known as the guy in the Gumby costume who epically failed in his quest to rob a San Diego 7-Eleven last week, is still not winning. Kiss, 19, turned himself in to police yesterday, accompanied by alleged accomplice Jason Giramma, also 19, who was pictured in the…
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Appeal to businesses follows coalition push to finds ways to regain lost women voters The home secretary, Theresa May, has appealed to firms to publish information on pay-gaps and promotion rates across the gender divide, as part of a coalition drive to attract more women voters. May gave a speech on pay inequality and appeared on BBC Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour on Wednesday, while David Cameron hinted in the Commons that the government will introduce further measures to improve female representation in boardrooms and Westminster as part of a charm offensive to win back women’s support. It came a day after the Guardian revealed a leaked government policy memo exposing anxiety at the heart of the coalition over their poor polling with women voters and setting out ideas to reach out to them, including shortening the school holidays, frontloading child benefit and banning advertising to children. It is now understood that the document was commissioned by the Liberal Democrats. However, the Tories are also deeply concerned at their polling with women. May announced that Tesco, BT and the law firm Eversheds have signed up to the voluntary reporting scheme and will publish equality data on their staffing on their websites, in some cases including full pay audits. She said it was wrong that among full time workers a gender pay gap of more than 10% had persisted. Asked on Woman’s Hour why existing laws that would make gender auditing mandatory had not been enacted, she said: “The mandatory power is still available in the Act but I think if you make something mandatory they do it but only to the point at which they have to do it. We’re encouraging companies to look more widely at their equality issues in their workplace.” She confirmed that the government is looking “across the board” at how its policies affect women and appeared to recognise that women are bearing the brunt of the economic strategy to cut the deficit. “It is very tough out there for a lot of people at the moment,” she said. “I know that and obviously we are hearing figures on the economy that show that things are choppy and difficult for people. I recognise that. “I think women will look at a variety of issues. They will look at their own personal circumstances, what the government is doing to help them back into the work place, but they will also look at what we’re doing for their families.” The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for women’s rights, welcomed May’s recognition of the problem but said that the government was failing to acknowledge the full impact of its cuts on women. Anna Bird, acting chief executive, said: “Sadly it appears the government thinks the problem is one of perception not reality. In response to a 23-year high in women’s unemployment the government seems to think an exercise in spin or at best a few cheap wins is called for.” Anne Longfield, director of the charity 4 Children, said the government should take note of the Unicef report this week which found that children are stuck in a “materialistic trap” because their parents use gifts to try to appease their guilt over struggling to spend time with them. She said: “The pressure on mothers especially – to give children the time they know they need and deliver everything else and enough money – leaves many feeling a real sense of constant under-performing and guilt. Under the current economic plans of course people start to blame the government. The government has got to take the prime minister’s promise to family-proof its policies more seriously.” At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday Cameron said that more changes could be introduced to encourage more women to become MPs and join company boards. “Only 14% of FTSE 100 company directors are women. We should do far better,” he said. “We need to take much more proactive action to make sure we have a much better balance at the top of politics. We need a much better balance at the top of our boardrooms as well.” Four of the 49 female Tory MPs were positioned directly behind him throughout the session. Grandparents’ role Shadow cabinet minister Tessa Jowell is proposing that Labour recognise the role grandparents play in raising children. Jowell has lead Labour’s Family Life Policy Review over the last year and one of her major conclusions is that with half of all grandparents under the age of 65, increasing numbers are involved in childcare. Jowell says 35% of grandparents are doing so while remaining in work. Jowell said in a speech on Wednesday: “[A grandmother] will be giving much more time than her own mother would have done, helping her grandchildren. Not as a treat, but absolutely integral to the pattern of her grandchildren. In Germany and Portugal, she said, grandparents have the right to parental leave when parents are unable to take it. “In Germany, grandparents can take up to 10 days of paid leave to care for a grandchild in a medical emergency, and in Portugal grandparents are allowed to take 30 days of paid leave a year to care for a sick grandchild if parents can’t.” She pointed to employees at ASDA, where they are entitled to 5 days’ unpaid leave at the birth of a grandchild, or for a child’s first day at school or religious festivals. They may also apply to take up to 12 weeks leave which grandparents often use to look after children during the summer holidays. Gender Women in politics Theresa May Liberal-Conservative coalition Pay Work & careers Conservatives Liberal Democrats Polly Curtis Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Human rights lawyer who defended protesters has had her prison sentence cut from 11 years to six, her husband says An appeals court in Iran has reduced the prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh’s jail sentence to six years, her husband said. The 45-year-old lawyer, who has represented several political activists and protesters arrested in recent years, has been kept in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since last September. In Evin, she is spending time with some of the prisoners she defended in court. She was originally sentenced in January to 11 years in jail and banned for 20 years from working as a lawyer or travelling abroad, for the offences of “acting against the national security”, “propaganda against the regime” and “membership of Human Rights Defenders Centre” – a rights organisation presided over by the Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. Speaking by phone from Tehran, Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan said that his wife’s ban from working as a lawyer had been reduced to 10 years. Sotoudeh, a mother of two children aged three and 11, fell foul of the authorities after highlighting juvenile executions in Iran and representing activists caught in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in 2009. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran executed at least one juvenile offender in 2010, and five in 2009. The lawyer’s supporters describe the charges against her as bogus and insubstantial. They said recently that she has refused to accept visits from her children because her son and daughter were traumatised each time they saw her in prison. Sotoudeh has repeatedly gone on hunger strike in protest at her arrest and being deprived of her rights while in jail, such as access to her lawyer and family. In reaction to the new development in Sotoudeh’s case, Shadi Sadr, an award-winning Iranian human rights lawyer, said the reduction in her sentence showed “Iran cares about the international attention”. Sadr was briefly arrested in Iran herself and now lives in exile in London. Sotoudeh’s case has drawn widespread international condemnation for the Iranian regime and the British foreign secretary, William Hague, highlighted her case in a speech on Tuesday. “It is sad to see that activists are arrested, their lawyers are arrested and the lawyers of the lawyers have also been arrested,” said Sadr in an interview with the Guardian. One of Sotoudeh’s lawyers, Abdolfattah Soltani has also been arrested. In January, the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, joined international organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to urge Iran to release Sotoudeh . Iran Middle East Human rights Saeed Kamali Dehghan guardian.co.uk
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