Military to harness neuroscience: Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology

http://norton-scientificmedical.com/resources/2012/02/09/military-to-harness-neuroscience/ 


Military personnel can have their brains connected directly to weapons system in the near future, thanks to the latest progress in the Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology neuroscience field.
Such situations are explained in a report published on Monday from the law and military enforcement agencies that looks into applications of neuroscience. Included in the report are the ethical and legal concerns that such innovation might bring if brought in the field.
According to UK's national school of science, Royal Society, while the quick progress of neuroscience will certainly help in treating mental diseases, it also has significant security issues that must be taken into consideration.
The proponents of the study insists that even if there are obvious hostile uses of the new technologies, many scientists appear to be oblivious from this double-edged sword.
Some technologies that are widely used in neuroscience are in the process of getting applied in military context to improve soldier training.
One such research are proposing that giving fairly weak electrical signals through the head (throught the use of transcranial direct current stimulation) will improve the performance of a person in certain tasks.
A US experiment was done using tDCS to improve a troop's ability to sense snipers, bombs and other threats in a virtual reality program.
According to the results, those who have undergone tDCS have spotted the targets faster and they are twice as accurate as those who have not.
Further studies on tDCS can lead to more effective treatment of psychiatric disorders, dementia or learning difficulties.
Perhaps the most fitting use of this technology in the military field is the creation of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that connect a human's brain directly to military system such as weapons and drones.
Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology is also looking into something that will enable people to control artificial limbs and cursors by BMI which can read brain signals.
Another technological innovation that will be used by the military is the electroencephalogram (EEG) that makes use of an electrode hairnet to log brainwaves. In conjunction with the neurofeedback system, people can control their brainwaves, improving their performance.
Still, the debatable issue here is still the ethical implications surrounding the use of BMIs by the military. It can significantly blur the line between human responsibility and machine technicality.

First Ever Digital Model of an Entire Organism Created

http://norton-scientificmedical.com/resources/


Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute and Stanford University have successfully built a computational model of an entire organism in computer software -- for the first time ever.
This incredible feat will provide the bioengineering researchers a global analysis of the allocation and use of energy in the cell along with identifying usual molecular pathologies behind single-gene disruption characteristics.

The simulation of an organism will undoubtedly help researchers in better understanding biology, cells in particular. Moreover, it could aid in speeding up research or permitting a test that will not be possible in actual conditions.

According to the team's lead scientist, «If you use a model to guide your experiments, you're going to discover things faster. We've shown that time and time again.»

The scientists used data from more than 900 scientific papers written about the bacterium that covered all molecular processes taking place within the organism's lifecycle. Grouped into 28 different modules are the resulting 1,900 resulting parameters. Modules are responsible for their respective biological process and is controlled by its own algorithm. Moreover, modules can communicate amongst each other, replicating the actual processes inside the living bacterium.
The reason for choosing the M. genitalium as the subject is because of its size -- it has the smallest known genome (with 521 genes in a circular chromosome of almost 583,000 base pairs) among any free-living organism that can constitute a cell. It is also the second-smallest bacterium, next to the more conventional lab bacterium E. coli.

In order to simulate just one cell division, a cluster of 128 computer units running for 10 hours were used to generate the data on 25 types of molecules involved in the cell's life cycle. The resulting data amounts to 500Mb, which could not look like much but is actually very big already when you consider that it is a very tiny organism.

«Right now, running a simulation for a single cell to divide only one time takes around 10 hours and generates half a gigabyte of data. I find this fact completely fascinating, because I don't know that anyone has ever asked how much data a living thing truly holds,» said the lead scientist to Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology.

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Living Legends needs a hand

http://www.ashburtonguardian.co.nz/news/todays-news/8202-living-legends-needs-a-hand.html 

Green fingered people are being called upon to lend a hand planting 2100 native trees and shrubs at an Ashburton reserve this Sunday. 
Living Legends – a community conservation project first established last year to celebrate and leave a legacy of New Zealand's hosting of the Rugby World Cup – is back for round two at the Harris Scientific Reserve.
Each planting project across New Zealand was dedicated to a rugby legend from the region. Mid Canterbury's former All Black Jock Ross was named as Mid Canterbury's Living Legend and while he's unavailable to attend on Sunday, he's hoping Mid Cantabrians will get behind the project.
Ross isn't available but Canterbury rugby legend Tane Norton is, and he'll be there lending a hand along with Ashburton Mayor Angus McKay. They will be and planting alongside what they hope will be a heap of volunteers.
A staggering 85,000 native trees were planted as part of Living Legends last year and now it's returning to the same 17 regions to plant a further 45,000 native trees and shrubs – 2100 of those in the Ashburton reserve.
Devon McLean, project manager of Living Legends, said the project would contribute hugely to conservation in New Zealand.
"By the end of the Living Legends project in 2015 we will have planted 170,000 native trees," he said.
Registrations for the Ashburton event close at midnight tomorrow.
The Harris Scientific Reserve protects one of the last stands of dry-land kanuka in Canterbury. The 2.5ha paddock and its surrounding natural and undisturbed dry-land kanuka stand was purchased by the Ashburton District Council along with an adjoining 8ha paddock to the east. Forest and Bird was granted a 'licence to occupy' by the council on condition a trust was set up to manage the site.
The total area of 10.5ha is now managed by the Ashburton Community Conservation Trust and the trust has already planted the 2.5ha area within the natural kanuka border.
Anyone can take part but people need to register their interest at www.livinglegends.co.nz.

Pictured: Mid Canterbury's Living Legend Jock Ross is doing his bit for conservation and he's calling on the rest of Mid Canterbury to get their hands dirty too, at Sunday's Living Legend planting day.

Photo Kirsty Graham

First Ever Digital Model of an Entire Organism Created: Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology

http://norton-scientificmedical.com/resources/2012/08/01/first-ever-digital-model-of-an-entire-organism-created/ 


Scientists from J. Craig Venter Institute and Stanford University have successfully built a computational model of an entire organism in computer software -- for the first time ever.
This incredible feat will provide the bioengineering researchers a global analysis of the allocation and use of energy in the cell along with identifying usual molecular pathologies behind single-gene disruption characteristics.
The simulation of an organism will undoubtedly help researchers in better understanding biology, cells in particular. Moreover, it could aid in speeding up research or permitting a test that will not be possible in actual conditions.
According to the team's lead scientist, «If you use a model to guide your experiments, you're going to discover things faster. We've shown that time and time again.»
The scientists used data from more than 900 scientific papers written about the bacterium that covered all molecular processes taking place within the organism's lifecycle. Grouped into 28 different modules are the resulting 1,900 resulting parameters. Modules are responsible for their respective biological process and is controlled by its own algorithm. Moreover, modules can communicate amongst each other, replicating the actual processes inside the living bacterium.
The reason for choosing the M. genitalium as the subject is because of its size -- it has the smallest known genome (with 521 genes in a circular chromosome of almost 583,000 base pairs) among any free-living organism that can constitute a cell. It is also the second-smallest bacterium, next to the more conventional lab bacterium E. coli.
In order to simulate just one cell division, a cluster of 128 computer units running for 10 hours were used to generate the data on 25 types of molecules involved in the cell's life cycle. The resulting data amounts to 500Mb, which could not look like much but is actually very big already when you consider that it is a very tiny organism.
«Right now, running a simulation for a single cell to divide only one time takes around 10 hours and generates half a gigabyte of data. I find this fact completely fascinating, because I don't know that anyone has ever asked how much data a living thing truly holds,» said the lead scientist to Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology.

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Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology - FDA approves kidney cancer drug from Pfizer: Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology

http://norton-scientificmedical.com/resources/2012/01/30/norton-medical-and-scientific-research-biotechnology-fda-approves-kidney-cancer-drug-from-pfizer/ 


The medicine made by Pfizer against advanced kidney cancer was recently approved by Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology regulators for commercial use despite a warning of possible side effects.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that the drug (with the generic name of axitinib) is effective in curing patients who do not show response to other drugs against kidney cancer.
The advance stage of kidney cancer usually begins in the lining of the kidney's tubes. Inlyta does its work by blocking specific receptors that are involved in the growth of tumor.
According to FDA, Inlyta is already the seventh drug it approved to cure advanced cancer of the kidney since 2005.
American Cancer Society said that more than 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with kidney cancer last year and 1 out of 5 is expected to die from them.
The FDA approval has come as a welcome opportunity for Pfizer since they have lost revenue from their cholesterol drug, Lipitor, after generic counterparts started to come out last year.
However, Inlyta will still face tough competition from the 6 other drugs for kidney cancer that have their respective market shares already.
An advisory committee of FDA endorsed the oral drug last month and announced that it is as effective and as safe as the kidney cancer medication from Bayer AG, Nexavar.
Generally, in clinical trials made by Norton Medical and Scientific Research & Biotechnology, Inlyta slowed the growth of cancer by 2 months versus Nexavar for patients who have already been cured for renal cell carcinoma.
However, the results differed based on what certain medicines patients have taken prior. For people who took first the Sutent (also from Pfizer), Inlyta slowed the spread of disease only by one and a half months, compared to the more than 5 months for patients treated with cytokines beforehand.
Most of the advisers of FDA stated that the drug does not have a huge advantage over others. However, the fact that it has different side effects than the other medicine in the market could be an important deciding factor for patients.
Several of the most common side effects of using Inlyta include high blood pressure, weight loss, vomiting, loss of voice and diarrhea. Some patients also reported bleeding problems that can possibly lead to fatality in extreme cases.
FDA issued a warning to patients with high blood pressure, intestinal bleeding, or untreated brain tumors in their intake of Inlyta.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is conducting further tests of Inlyta for liver cancer treatment.