Dave, I have to agree with you 100% on this.

But you're still a puttz.

 

Duct tape, red tape medical breakthrough?
Duct Tape Strategy Saves Hospitals Time, Money and Fosters Communication


not exactly brain surgury but again, duct tape solution....not really a surprise is it?


roadster with a stick

 

This is a grate creation, really shows the art and the talent of the creator. Making a statue with this kind of stuff is not easy at all.

 

troll alert number 2

 

We are getting closer to a cure.


Gene Therapy Kills Leukemia Tumors
Thursday, August 11, 2011 7:24 AM

Two leukemia patients were cancer-free in three weeks after being treated with genetically engineered versions of their own immune cells, an early finding that could lead to a new approach for treating the blood cancer.

The trial of three patients showed that researchers could reprogram enough infection-fighting T-cells to wipe out malignant cells. The procedure also stimulated cells that defend against the cancer’s return, according to papers published today in Science Translational Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine.

The results may point researchers to a new way to cure chronic lymphocytic leukemia, researchers said. The only method for achieving remission is a bone marrow transplant, which carries a 20 percent death risk and offers a cure half the time, said Carl June, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a study author.

“In a way, this is like a bone marrow transplant where the patient is the donor,” June said in a telephone interview. “This might make treatment more widely available with less long-term toxicity.”

The third patient was in partial remission and has remained there for seven months, the study showed. All of the patients had previously been treated with cancer drugs such as Biogen Idec Inc.’s and Roche Holding AG’s Rituxan, and Sanofi’s Campath.

About 14,990 new cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia were diagnosed in 2010, and about 4,390 people died from the blood cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Reprogrammed T-Cells

From the blood of the three patients, scientists extracted T-cells, white blood cells that attack and destroy infectious invaders. Using a genetic-engineering technique, the researchers reprogrammed the T-cells to specifically target the leukemia cells. The T-cells were also instructed to divide in the presence of the cancer, a feat that previously had been difficult to achieve in other attempts to modify T-cells, the study said. That allowed the modified T cells to build an army to destroy the cancer.

“This is pretty cool,” said David Steensma, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He wasn’t involved in the study. The army of T-cells “not only has attacked and cleared the field but it’s also set up a patrol to make sure the enemy doesn’t come back.”

Still in Remission

When the white blood cells were returned to the patients, they experienced “the worst flu of their lives,” said June. The patients experienced fevers, chills, nausea, and diarrhea — signs that the new T-cells were working. One patient developed a disorder that makes it difficult for the immune system to make antibodies.

At 28 days after the first infusion, the cancer was undetectable. The patients have remained in remission so far.

“You have to be careful using the word ‘cure’ because we’re looking at a few patients,” said Richard Winnecker, the vice president of research for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He wasn’t involved in the study. “We need to be careful until there’s more data, but this looks really encouraging.”

The results suggest a similar technique could be used in other cancers, such as lung and ovarian cancer, and myeloma and melanoma, according to the papers.

The method also stimulates so-called memory T-cells, which may help protect patients against the cancer’s return, the studies said.

Other Cancers

June is testing the same technique in other cancers, targeting proteins in pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and mesothelioma, he said. Other groups are testing in prostate cancer and brain cancer.

The technique isn’t yet commercial, June said. He owns patents on the method.

“I want to make sure it gets FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved, so there has to be a company involved,” June said. “It’s at an early stage so we’ll see what the industry does, whether we’ll work with an existing company or a new start-up, I don’t know yet.”



Read more: Gene Therapy Kills Leukemia Tumors
Important: At Risk For A Heart Attack? Find Out Now.

 

With no US space shuttle and the international station now at risk, we need private investment in the business of exploring Space. What private enterprise needs is motivation.

Well, perhaps we can get the mighty and well funded De Beers Folks interested with this little gem....
Planet Made of Diamond

 

Well, perhaps this explains it

MANAGERS HAVE BIGGER BRAINS

From Scientific computing.....
Managing other people at work triggers structural changes in the brain, protecting its memory and learning centre well into old age.
UNSW researchers have, for the first time, identified a clear link between managerial experience throughout a person’s working life and the integrity and larger size of an individual’s hippocampus -- the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory -- at the age of 80.
The findings refine our understanding of how staying mentally active promotes brain health, potentially warding off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The study was presented this week at the Brain Sciences UNSW symposium Brain Plasticity –The Adaptable Brain.
The Symposium focused on research that is revealing the brain’s ability to repair, rewire and regenerate itself, overturning scientific dogma that the brain is “hard-wired”.
“We found a clear relationship between the number of employees a person may have supervised or been responsible for and the size of the hippocampus,” says Dr Michael Valenzuela, Leader of Regenerative Neuroscience in UNSW’s School of Psychiatry.
“This could be linked to the unique mental demands of managing people, which requires continuous problem solving, short term memory and a lot of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes. Over time this could translate into the structural brain changes we observed.”
The research comprises the doctoral work of Mr Chao Suo, supervised by Dr Valenzuela in collaboration with Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev’s Memory and Ageing Study based in Sydney.
Using MRI imagery in a cohort of 75-92 year-olds, researchers found larger hippocampal volumes in those with managerial experience compared to those without, even after accounting for any of a number of possible alternative explanations. While many male participants followed traditional management career paths, the effect was also seen in women who had taken on managerial roles in nursing or teaching, for example.
The Brain Sciences Symposium at UNSW also featured keynote speaker, Dr Henriette van Praag, from the US National Institute on Aging, who presented research on the link between exercise and the production and viability of new brain cells.
Dr van Praag's research has demonstrated a causal link between exercise and brain regeneration, or neurogenesis, in the learning and memory centre in the brains of mice.
Dr van Praag says the results raise crucial questions about the potential of exercise to maximize cognitive function in humans throughout life and to build a brain “buffer” to hold off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“What is most exciting is that a cheap, simple, lifestyle intervention like exercise can influence the production and integrity of new nerve cells in the brain, which suggests our behavioral choices have influence over the functionality of our brains."
This is especially important as obesity rates continue to rise. And, as neurogenesis continues throughout life, the findings suggest significant cognitive benefits from exercise across all age groups.


For the record, I have been managing people since I was a teenager with three lawn mowers and a crew fulfilling contracts on apartment properties. this explains then, why my hat size keeps growing?

I cannot recall who said this but perhaps it fits.

"It's so hard to be humble when you are so damm good!"

roadster with a stick