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Alnylam Joins GSK In Donating Intellectual Property To Patent Pool For Neglected Tropical Diseases
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY) announced that Alnylam will contribute more than 1500 issued or pending patents on its RNA interference (RNAi) technology patent estate to the patent pool established by GSK earlier this year.

Scientists Discover New Strain Of HIV Closely Related To Simian Virus
Scientists have discovered a new strain of HIV in a 62-year-old woman from Cameroon that "differs from the three known strains ò€¦ and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas" according to a study in today"s edition of the journal Nature Medicine, AP/Washington Times reports. The study was funded by the NIH and the Tietze Foundation (8/3). "The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups," researchers note in the study (Reuters, 8/3). According to the AP/San Francisco Chronicle, the woman had no contact with gorillas or meat from wild animals and "currently shows no signs of AIDS and remains untreated, though she still carries the virus, the researchers said." The article adds, "How widespread this strain is remains to be determined. Researchers said it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere."
News of the day
Notre Dame Controversy, Supreme Court Selection Test Obama's 'Balancing Act,' NYT Reports
The New York Times on Friday examined how two events -- controversy surrounding President Obama"s upcoming commencement speech at University of Notre Dame on Sunday and the selection of a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter -- are testing the "delicate balancing act" the president has pursued on abortion rights. Notre Dame"s invitation to Obama to deliver the commencement speech and receive an honorary degree has sparked ongoing protests from abortion-rights opponents, and Obama is now forced to decide whether he will recognize this opposition in his address on Sunday. According to Anita Dunn, the president"s communication adviser, Obama likely will "make reference to the controversy" in his speech but will not "allow it to become the focus of a day that"s actually supposed to be about the graduates." Meanwhile, the pending Supreme Court vacancy has "galvanized backers of abortion rights," according to the Times. Although both sides expect that Obama will select a nominee who supports abortion rights, advocates "are taking no chances," the Times reports.Obama has attempted to present a nuanced approach to abortion-rights issues and expressed that he intends to form consensus around reducing unintended pregnancies and promoting adoption. In addition, his policy moves to date have attempted "to straddle the abortion divide" by creating a dialogue with religious conservatives, avoiding contentious legislative fights and taking a gradual approach to reversing the policies of former President George W. Bush, the Times reports. Obama has named abortion-rights supporters to head jobs, such as his nomination of Dawn Johnsen, a former legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to lead the Justice Department"s Office of Legal Counsel. He also repealed the "Mexico City" policy, which prohibited federal funding for international groups that provide abortion services or information; lifted some limits on embryonic stem cell research; proposed decreasing funding for abstinence-only sex education; and took action to rescind the Bush administration"s HHS provider "conscience" rule allowing health care workers to refuse to provide services they find morally or religiously objectionable. However, the president has stepped away from some abortion-related issues, including the Freedom of Choice Act, which would effectively codify Roe v. Wade. Although Obama said in a 2007 speech to Planned Parenthood that he would sign the bill if elected president, he said in a press conference last month that it is not his "highest legislative priority."Meanwhile, Obama"s top domestic policy adviser, Melody Barnes, is convening a series of meetings with leaders from both sides of the abortion rights debate to discuss policy ideas, with an aim of drafting recommendations by late summer. David Gushee, a Christian ethics professor at Mercer University who has participated in the talks, said the president is signaling to moderate Catholics and evangelicals that "he clearly knows what the bright red lines are and is trying to avoid stepping over them." However, some religious conservatives and abortion-rights opponents who have not been included in the discussions contend that "Obama is trying to have it both ways," according to the Times. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, said coming to a consensus would entail the president advocating for restrictions such as parental consent requirements for minors and bans on certain abortion procedures. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who opposes abortion rights, called Obama"s strategy "[m]oderate rhetoric, hard-left policies."Polls show that U.S. residents remain "deeply conflicted" over abortion rights, with support declining over the years, the Times reports. About 60% of U.S. residents believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases in a 1995 poll; a recent Pew Research Center poll showed the number declined to 46% (Stolberg, New York Times, 5/15).
Medical Devices

Cancer Researchers Link DICER1 Gene Mutation To Rare Childhood Cancer

Research published recently in Science Express from the journal Science demonstrates the first definitive link between mutations in the gene DICER1 and cancer. By studying the patterns of DNA from 11 families with an unusual predisposition to the rare childhood lung cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) investigators found that children with the cancer carried a mutation in one of their two DICER1 gene copies. DICER1 makes an important protein that works to suppress other genes through intermediary molecules known as microRNAs. Scientists have learned that microRNAs can fine-tune the expression of many other genes, which is particularly important in normal human development. Recent research has also focused on DICER1 as having a potential role in cancer because the micro-RNA molecules it produces appear vastly different from normal when found in cancer cells; some suggest that the pattern of microRNAs in cancers resembles an embryonic stage. "When we realized that DICER1 was in the segment of chromosome that was shared among children with PPB we were very excited," said D. Ashley Hill, MD, lead author and chief of Pathology at Children"s National Medical Center. "PPB is a tumor that appears to arise out of a localized area of abnormal lung development. The implications of a defect in a master controller gene for normal organ development would be significant." Hill says not everyone who inherits a mutation develops PPB and children with PPB are typically normal in every other way. The team theorizes that something else must happen to the normal copy of DICER1 in lung cells for a tumor to develop. When the research team looked at PPB tumors to see if there is any DICER1 protein being made from the remaining normal copy of the gene, they were surprised by the results: "We expected to see that the tumor cells had no DICER1 protein giving us a nice explanation for why the tumor cells had gone haywire." But that wasn"t the case. They found that the benign cells that grew on the surface of the tumor had lost the DICER1 protein. "During lung development the cells that line the airways and the cells that make up the support structures have to communicate." Hill explained. "Loss of DICER1 in the airway lining cells could disrupt this communication, possibly setting the stage for abnormal growth." Studying tumor cells for genetic mutations has led to many advances in the understanding of cancer. This discovery may represent a first step in understanding a new mechanism for how cancer begins. Conceivably, the mutated cells do not turn into tumors themselves. Instead, these cells influence surrounding cells to grow quickly, setting the stage for additional genetic mutations in cells that then become cancerous. Hill"s team will now focus on demonstrating the sequence of events that result from loss of DICER1. Only 50 or 60 cases of PPB are diagnosed worldwide each year. The cancer presents as cysts in early stages and progresses to solid lung tumors over time. If detected in the earliest stages, 90 percent of patients appear to be cured when treated with a surgical intervention and sometimes chemotherapy. The research was conducted at Children"s National Medical Center, the International Pleuropulmonary Blastoma Registry at Children"s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, and Washington University School of Medicine and other collaborating institutions. Jennifer Leischer Children"s National Medical Center


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