Welcome To Iconocast

How to add a URL link from your web site to the Iconocast web sites

Virtual tour of Southern California

Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: new + large + landmark  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

Telerik Announces Landmark Q2 2008 Release MarketWatch - Telerik Reporting Q2 offers high-level improvements to facilitate the development of large Business Intelligence projects. Among its major additions are: ... Pittsburgh Post Gazette Art Review: At The Frick, landmark exhibit documents antique ... Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - Seven years later, James Palmatary produced his extraordinary, sweeping lithograph of the city in four sheets that form a large rectangle, 43 by 85 inches. ... Getting nose to nose with a grizzly Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - In December, San Francisco saw a landmark event in the history of accredited American zoos: the first-ever death of a visitor caused by an escaped animal. ... Wall Street Journal The Architect-Designer Focuses on Child's Play Wall Street Journal - (Its eventual $4 million price tag, which includes site preparation, was boosted considerably by the Seaport area's landmark status, which makes the ... New RI trail makes waves with kayakers Boston Herald, United States - Aug 3, 2008 Portsmouth Abbey has installed the only major wind turbine in Rhode Island, and its slowly spinning blade is a major landmark from the water. ... Testament to progress atrophies after Games Chicago Tribune, United States - ATHENS ? The large open area surrounding the major cluster of this city's Olympic venues remains as unpleasantly barren as it was during the 17 days of the ... Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition and Environmental Defense Fund ... Business Wire (press release), CA - In 2007, Environmental Defense Fund helped negotiate a landmark agreement with Texas electric provider TXU to withdraw plans for eight new coal plants and ...NRG Landmark Credit Card Reform Bill Moves to House Floor - California ... California Progress Report, CA - Aug 3, 2008 A large share of disposable income goes to service overall debt?14.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008. How did we get into this mess? ... Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights survives key vote CreditCards.com all 19 news articles » Landmark campus set for approval Scotsman, United Kingdom - Aug 1, 2008 In a report for the committee, Head of Planning Alan Henderson said: "The proposed building creates an arrival point in the form of a large civic space ... Johnson Controls Actively Participated In and Facilitated 'Green ... Stockhouse, Canada - Aug 4, 2008 Utilized in many landmark buildings, such as the Shanghai World Finance Center, Shanghai International Airport, and Olympic facilities, such as the Laoshan ...JCI

Landmark Study Identifies Large Number of New Proteins Implicated in Huntington's Disease

Researchers from four organizations have identified more than 200 new proteins that bind to normal and mutant forms of the protein that causes Huntington’s disease (HD). HD is a fatal inherited disease that affects 30,000 Americans annually by laying waste to their nervous system. The research was led by Buck Institute faculty member Robert E. Hughes, PhD. Results of the study, which may facilitate the discovery of an effective treatment for HD, will be published in the May 11 edition of PLoS Genetics, an online, open-source journal, enabling scientists from around the world to take advantage of the findings immediately.

The work, which involved high-tech screening of the human genome and proteome, was unprecedented both in terms of its scale and in the way the protein interactions were validated in a genetic model of the disease. By conducting additional experiments in fruit flies genetically altered to express features of human HD, scientists showed that changing the expression of these interacting proteins affected the degree of damage seen in the fly neurons. This indicates that a significant number of the proteins might be potential drug targets for HD.

Now that researchers have discovered the interacting proteins using human libraries and human protein extracts and tested them in the fly, Hughes says the next step is to bring the research back into the mammalian world. The new genes and proteins discovered in this study are being screened and analyzed in cultured mammalian cells; the ones that show activity in ongoing experiments will be tested in mouse models of HD.

Article continues below and (thank you)

“Here at the Buck Institute, we’re going to be focusing on a few dozen proteins,” said Hughes. “Effective follow-up on any target protein depends, in large part, on how much expertise a scientist has with that target. We are hoping that researchers will look at this study and that those with specific expertise in a particular protein will move forward with their own inquiries.”

The work was supported by HD advocacy organizations. “We are very excited about this significant discovery,” said Allan Tobin, PhD, Senior Scientific Advisor to the High Q Foundation and CHDI, Inc. “This work helps define and refine possible therapeutic targets for a disease that lacks thorough understanding.” Tobin added, “We are pleased this study is being published in an open-access journal, which makes it easier for scientists at other organizations to get to work on following up on this landmark discovery.” Traditional peer-reviewed journals usually require scientists to pay a fee to access study results.

Tobin added that the need for further scientific inquiry is urgent. There is currently no effective treatment or cure for HD, which is typically characterized by involuntary movements and dementia. The disease slowly diminishes a person’s ability to move, think and communicate. Those affected eventually become totally dependent on others for their care and usually die from complications such as choking, heart failure or infection. The disease is hereditary; each child of a person with HD has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal gene. Approximately 200,000 Americans are believed to be at risk of developing HD, a disease that affects as many people as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy. The symptoms of HD typically begin to appear in mid-life, although the progression of the disease varies among individuals and within the same family.

Joining Hughes as co-authors of the paper are Buck Institute scientists Cameron Torcassi, and Lisa Ellerby; along with Eliana Romano and Juan Botas from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; Andrew Strand, and James Olson from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle; and Linda Kaltenbach, Sudhir Sahasrabudhe, Cornelia Kurschner, and John M. Peltier of Prolexys Pharmaceuticals in Salt Lake City. The work was supported by grants from the HighQ Foundation, CCHI Inc, the Hereditary Disease Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

The Buck Institute is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to extending the healthspan, the healthy years of each individual’s life. The National Institute of Aging designated the Buck a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging, one of just five centers in the country. Buck Institute scientists work in an innovative, interdisciplinary setting to understand the mechanisms of aging and to discover new ways of detecting, preventing and treating age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, cancer, stroke, and arthritis. Collaborative research at the Institute is supported by genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics technology. For more information: http://www.buckinstitute.org.