Wisconsin Advanced Technology Advocates, Inc.

Development of embryonic stem cells into tissue-specific cells demonstrated by Hebrew University, other researchers

While it has long been known that embryonic stem cells have the ability to develop into any kind of tissue-specific cells, the exact mechanism as to how this occurs has heretofore not been demonstrated. Now, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and elsewhere have succeeded in graphically revealing this process, resolving a long-standing question as to whether the stem cells achieve their development through selective activation or selective repression of genes.

 

The collaborative research group, which included Dr. Eran Meshorer of the Department of Genetics at the Silberman Institute of Life Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has revealed that the embryonic stem (ES) cells express large proportions of their genome “promiscuously.”  This permissive expression includes lineage-specific and tissue-specific genes, non-coding regions of the genome that are normally “silent,” and repetitive sequences in the genome, which comprise the majority of the mammalian genome but are also normally not expressed.

 

When ES cells differentiate into specific cell tissue-types, they undergo global genetic silencing. But until this occurs, the ES cells maintain an open and active genome. This might very well be the secret of their success, since by maintaining this flexibility they maintain their capacity to become any cell type. Once silencing, or genetic repression, occurs, this ability is gone.

Full story.

Medical College of Wisconsin Receives Award to Study Anesthesia's Affect on the Brain

     The Medical College of Wisconsin has received a four-year, $1,293,730 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate how anesthesia puts the brain in an unconscious state.  The research may help unravel the mystery of consciousness, and lead to the development of novel methods for monitoring states of consciousness.

     Anthony G. Hudetz, Ph.D., professor of anesthesiology, physiology and biophysics at the Medical College, is principal investigator of the grant.

     It is thought that loss of consciousness from anesthesia is caused by a disruption in communication in parts of the brain that are involved with sharing sensory information. 

NIH Renews Funding of Medical College National EPR Center For Years 32-36, As a Biomedical Technology Resource Center

     The National Biomedical Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin has received a five-year, $5.66 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The EPR Center, in the department of biophysics, was established in 1976 and is classified as a "Biomedical Technology Resource Center (BTRC).” It is one of eight major federally-designated research centers at the College.

     The renewal, which covers direct and indirect costs from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2013, represents years 32 to 36 of the Center's BTRC funding. 

     James S. Hyde, Ph.D., professor of biophysics and director of the Center, is principal investigator for the grant, which has served as a core source of funding helping leverage other funding initiatives and research collaborations.

     In what is regarded as one of the strongest EPR groups in the world, Dr. Hyde leads a group of distinguished electrical engineers in technology research and development of novel analytical instrumentation for EPR spectroscopy, an essential tool for biophysics researchers worldwide.

     "Biotechnology research grants support novel, cutting-edge, multidisciplinary technology-development programs—each of which focuses on an experimental technology and serves the needs of a large, broadly based community of users,” says Dr. Hyde. "Technology research and development core projects are key to successfully securing this support. They must be at the cutting-edge of the specific research and development area, with the translational goal of increasing the usefulness of the technology in biomedical research.”

     Among Medical College faculty researchers using EPR are, Balaraman Kalyanaraman, Ph.D., professor and chairman of biophysics, and professors Neil Hogg, PhD; Joy Joseph, PhD, and Jeannette Vasquez-Vivar, Ph.D., who are using EPR to study the role of oxygen radicals in normal and diseased tissues in the Free Radical Research Center directed by Dr. Kalyanaraman, which is closely linked to the EPR Center.

     Professors Candice S. Klug, Ph.D. and Jimmy B. Felix, Ph.D, carry out studies of molecular structure and dynamics of membrane-bound proteins using spin-labeling methods, another major application of EPR spectroscopy.

     Professors William E. Antholine, PhD, and Brian Bennett PhD, use EPR spectroscopy to study the roles of transition metals in mediating biochemical reactions, and professor Witold Karol Subczynski, PhD, uses it to study oxygen transport in membranes—particularly of the lens of the eye.

Madison-based FluGen signs contract with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

JUDY NEWMAN
608-252-6156
May 7, 2008

FluGen, a Madison company founded in 2007 based on the research led by UW-Madison avian flu expert Yoshihiro Kawaoka, has signed a licensing agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The primary goal: to create a faster, more effective, less expensive way to manufacture influenza vaccine.

Since the 1930s, the standard for making flu vaccine has been that a team of experts decides which flu strains to target, then chicken eggs are injected with the viruses which are then grown for use in the vaccine.

"It takes quite a bit of time to come up with that, and this year, they were off," Paul Radspinner, FluGen president, chief executive and co-founder said.

Kawaoka, a veterinary medicine professor, and UW-Madison virologist Gabrielle Neumann pioneered a new technique called reverse genetics that produces the virus in cell culture instead of eggs. Large, stainless steel vats are used "like those used in brewing beer," Radspinner said.

Full story.

Madison group heads funding for tissue regeneration firm

Jeff Richgels

May 1, 2008

Tissue Regeneration Systems Inc., a medical device company developing bioactive implants for bone and soft tissue regeneration, on Thursday announced the close of a $2 million round of financing led by Madison-based Venture Investors and joined by the founders of TRS.

The company is a spin-out of the universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, where TRS' core proprietary technologies were developed over the past decade, and from which TRS has an exclusive option to commercialize.

TRS currently is developing its first generation products aimed at the $6 billion spine market using its bioresorbable scaffold and bioactive coatings technology platforms.

TRS said it has demonstrated in animals the ability to produce spinal implants that grow strong bone without leaving an artificial implant in the body. These improvements are expected to result in patients being able to return to their normal function sooner and with improved long-term patient outcomes.

Currently, permanent metallic and polymer implants are the standard in spinal fusion or disc replacement, "hardware-based approaches" with the "primary role to mechanically fix the tissue and mechanically replace vertebrae in the spine and fuse vertebrae together," TRS co-founder Bill Murphy, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and pharmacology at the UW, said in a statement.

Full story.

At 78, scientist hopes for proof soon that he was right about the Universe

Mark Henderson, Science Editor

The 40-year hunt for the holy grail of physics – the elusive “God particle” that is supposed to give matter its mass – is almost over, according to the leading scientist who first came up with the theory.

Peter Higgs, whose work gave his name to the elusive Higgs boson particle, said that he was more than 90 per cent certain it would be found within the next few years.

The Higgs boson was the professor’s elegant 1964 solution to one of the great problems with the standard model of physics – how matter has mass and thus exists in a form that allows it to make stars, planets and people. He proposed that the universe is pervaded by an invisible field of bosons that consist of mass but little else.

As particles move through this field, bosons effectively stick to some of them, making them more massive, while leaving others to pass unhindered. Photons, light particles that have no mass, are not affected by the Higgs field at all.

The mysterious boson postulated by Professor Higgs, of the University of Edinburgh, has become so fundamental to physics that it is often nicknamed the “God particle”. After more than 40 years of research, and billions of pounds, scientists have yet to prove that it is real. But Professor Higgs, 78, now believes the search is nearly over.

Full story.

Superfast internet may replace world wide web

By Lewis Carter
Last Updated: 2:47am BST 07/04/2008

The internet could soon be made obsolete by a new "grid" system which is 10,000 times faster than broadband connections.

Scientists in Switzerland have developed a lightning-fast replacement to the internet that would allow feature films and music catalogues to be downloaded within seconds.

The invention could signal the end of the dreaded 'frozen screen', when computers seize up after being asked to process too much information.

The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the internet, the grid could also provide the power needed to send sophisticated images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technology could change society.

He said: "With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine."

The power of the grid will be unlocked this summer with the switching on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a new particle accelerator designed to investigate how the universe began.

Full story.

Medical tech boosts state

Wisconsin is No. 3 nationwide in sector employment

By JOHN SCHMID
jschmid@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 1, 2008

It delivers instant images inside the body or shrinks tumors with laser-like radiation. And according to the nation's largest and oldest technology trade group, medical technology plays a commanding role in keeping Wisconsin in the global technology race.

Wisconsin hosts the nation's third-largest cluster of medical-equipment manufacturers as measured by employment (5,800 jobs), behind No. 1 California (13,100) and No. 2 Minnesota (12,600), according to "Cyberstates 2008," an annual state-by-state overview by the American Electronics Association.

The organization, known as the AeA, focuses on electronics, telecommunications, software and information services. It excludes the proliferation of bioscience and stem-cell technology firms around Madison.

Full story.

Medical College Receives NIH Grant To Study New Chemotherapy Target

The Medical College of Wisconsin has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate potential new pathways for targeting cancer drugs.

Robert Deschenes, Ph.D., the Joseph P Heil, Jr. Professor in Molecular Oncogenesis, is principal investigator for the grant.   Dr. Deschenes is one of the nation's leading researchers in the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of cellular cell growth regulation.

The project focuses on the Ras oncogene protein that has been found in nearly 30% of all cancers, with the incidence of Ras mutations appearing in some cancers being considerably higher. The normal Ras protein serves as a molecular switch, controlling cell growth and division. In cancer, mutations cause the switch to remain on, leading to uncontrolled growth of malignant cells. The Ras protein "switch” must be correctly delivered and assembled into active complexes within the cells.

The delivery pathway is poorly understood, but recently the Deschenes laboratory discovered an enzyme that attaches a lipid signal required for targeting Ras to the membrane where it acts. This grant will clarify the details of this novel pathway using yeast as a model system for cancer cells. The ultimate goal is to develop novel inhibitors of this pathway that can be developed into novel cancer chemotherapeutic drugs.

Tiny buckyballs squeeze hydrogen like giant Jupiter

Carbon cages can hold super-dense volumes of nearly metallic hydrogen

Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it's difficult to store in bulk. In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter.

The research appears on the March 2008 cover of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters.

"Based on our calculations, it appears that some buckyballs are capable of holding volumes of hydrogen so dense as to be almost metallic," said lead researcher Boris Yakobson, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice. "It appears they can hold about 8 percent of their weight in hydrogen at room temperature, which is considerably better than the federal target of 6 percent."

The Department of Energy has devoted more than $1 billion to developing technologies for hydrogen-powered automobiles, including technologies to cost-effectively store hydrogen for use in cars. Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe, and it is very difficult to store in bulk. For hydrogen cars to be competitive with gasoline-powered cars, they need a comparable range and a reasonably compact fuel system. It's estimated that a hydrogen-powered car with a suitable range will require a storage system with densities greater than those found in pure, liquid hydrogen.

Yakobson said scientists have long argued the merits of storing hydrogen in tiny, molecular containers like buckyballs, and experiments have shown that it's possible to store small volumes of hydrogen inside buckyballs. The new research by Yakobson and former postdoctoral researchers Olga Pupysheva and Amir Farajian offers the first method of precisely calculating how much hydrogen a buckyball can hold before breaking.

Full story.

Medical College of Wisconsin discovery alters longstanding concept of fixed protein structure

May advance cancer and neurological diseases research

The thousands of proteins found in nature are simply strings of amino acids, assembled by genes, and scientists have long believed that they automatically fold themselves into uniquely fixed, 3-dimensional shapes to fire the engine of life. In the era of genetic research, identifying those shapes and their functions has become a worldwide focus of biomedical science.

Now, researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have found that a protein, lymphotactin, which plays a vital role in the body’s immune response, can rapidly shift its shape --up to ten times a second-- between two totally unrelated structures, each with a unique role in defending the body.

Their discovery, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, March 17, alters a fundamental concept of biochemistry established in the 1960s. It may also inspire the search for other proteins with the ability to change form, and help address diseases of misfolded proteins such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, mad cow disease and many cancers.

“While our discovery raises more questions on the protein folding enigma, we hope it generates intensified research to learn the complex processes of these devastating diseases,” says team leader Brian Volkman, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry.

Dr. Volkman’s team is using highly sensitive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to solve three-dimensional protein structures. NMR provides information on the number and type of chemical entities in a molecule, and can measure distances between pairs of atoms within the molecule to produce a computer-generated 3-D model of its structure.

They discovered that human lymphotactin, a regulatory protein released by the immune system to attract and activate white blood cells, exists naturally in two distinct structures, and that the newly-identified form has no similarity to any other known protein. They also learned that each form has a unique role, one attaching to the interior wall of the blood vessel, and the other reaching out to grab white blood cells. This means that converting from one lymphotactin structure to the other is likely essential for its activation, according to Dr. Volkman.

“Proteins often have multiple functional states that are closely related to a single structure” he says. “In its natural state however, we found that lymphotactin adopts two equally-populated but unrelated structures that rapidly change from one to the other.”

Medical College of Wisconsin Receives NIH Grant To Study New Pathways for Cancer Chemotherapies

The Medical College of Wisconsin has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate potential new pathways for targeting cancer drugs.

Robert Deschenes, Ph.D., the Joseph P Heil, Jr. Professor in Molecular Oncogenesis, is principal investigator for the grant. Dr. Deschenes is one of the nation’s leading researchers in the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of cellular cell growth regulation.

The project focuses on the Ras oncogene protein that has been found in nearly 30% of all cancers, with the incidence of Ras mutations appearing in some cancers being considerably higher. The normal Ras protein serves as a molecular switch, controlling cell growth and division. In cancer, mutations cause the switch to remain on, leading to uncontrolled growth of malignant cells. The Ras protein “switch” must be correctly delivered and assembled into active complexes within the cells.

The delivery pathway is poorly understood, but recently the Deschenes laboratory discovered an enzyme that attaches a lipid signal required for targeting Ras to the membrane where it acts. This grant will clarify the details of this novel pathway using yeast as a model system for cancer cells. The ultimate goal is to develop novel inhibitors of this pathway that can be developed into novel cancer chemotherapeutic drugs.

Protein linked to cancer's spread

Study says it makes breast tumors more aggressive

By KAWANZA NEWSON
knewson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 13, 2008

Scientists have pinpointed a key protein that causes cancerous cells to spread throughout the body, a finding that could enable doctors to better predict how aggressive breast tumors might be.

The study's authors say the findings suggest a relatively straightforward way to halt cancer progression in women.

"This is really an important advancement," said Brian Volkman, an associate professor of biochemistry at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center. He was not involved with the study.

Full story.

Madison wins international stem cell summit

City beats New York, D.C.; scientists, investors to attend

By STACY FORSTER and SUSANNE RUST
sforster@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 13, 2008

Madison - Wisconsin's capital city will host an international stem cell research summit this fall, which will bring up to 1,000 of the world's top researchers, investors and industry representatives to Madison.

The World Stem Cell Summit, to be hosted by the Genetics Policy Institute, WiCell and the University of Wisconsin Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center on Sept. 22 and 23, will mark the 10th anniversary of James Thomson's isolation of human embryonic stem cells at UW-Madison.

The announcement Wednesday came on the heels of an important patent victory for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected three challenges to three key embryonic stem cell patents.

Thomson is expected to give a keynote address about his latest breakthrough using human skin cells. Stem cells are thought to hold the promise of treatment for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

This is the fourth meeting of the World Stem Cell Summit. The first three were held at Baylor, Stanford and Harvard universities.

Full story.

Two UW stem-cell patents upheld

By David Wahlberg

608-252-6125
March 11, 2008

The federal government has upheld two more UW-Madison stem-cell patents, meaning all three patents under contention can stand.

But expected appeals on one of the patents could linger for years. And the government review caused the university to narrow some patent claims and loosen its licensing policies, the patent challengers say.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, UW-Madison 's tech-transfer organization, holds the patents, based on work by campus stem-cell pioneer James Thomson. The patents essentially cover all human embryonic stem-cell research in the country.

WARF, which has earned more than $3.2 million from patents, stands to gain many millions more. Scientists are using the cells to better understand and develop possible treatments for diabetes, Parkinson 's disease and other conditions.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 's decision to uphold the two patents, announced Tuesday, was made last week. The patent office upheld the third patent last month.

"This is a home run, " said Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of WARF. "I said from the beginning that we feel they were patentable inventions and that we would ultimately prevail. "

Full story.

Third Wave trials a success

By JUDY NEWMAN 608-252-6156

March 12, 2008

Third Wave Technologies has hit a major milestone, and at least one expert is predicting it will send the Madison biotechnology company's stock soaring today.

Third Wave said Tuesday it has completed human clinical trials on its test for the human papillomavirus (HPV), often a precursor of cervical cancer. More than 3,400 women were screened at 47 sites and Third Wave's test, which screens for 14 high-risk types of HPV, demonstrated a 99 percent likelihood that women with a negative test result do not have cervical disease, the company said.

The results will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.

Full story.

UWM lab crunches data to seek mysterious gravitational waves

By MARK JOHNSON

markjohnson@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 9, 2008

From outside Room 223, you can hear Nemo roar.

Open the door and a deafening drone emanates from 780 gleaming metallic computers and the fans tirelessly cooling them, and the air conditioners keeping the whole room from cooking like a hundred space heaters. Blue lights blink like distant stars from one group of computers; green lights blink from another. The machines in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's physics building have been networked together to form the supercomputer dubbed Nemo.

Nemo represents mankind's best effort to find a gravitational wave.

Full story.

Congressional Budget Office: Patent bill cost exceeds expected revenue

By Andrew Noyes CongressDaily February 19, 2008

Legislation making sweeping changes in patent law that is slated for Senate debate in the coming weeks would increase federal spending by $26.9 billion and boost revenue by $25.5 billion over a nine-year period beginning in 2009, according to a CBO analysis released late last week.

The legislation sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would alter the rule that prioritizes the award of a patent from the "first to invent" to the first inventor to file; increase the Patent and Trademark Office's authority to collect and spend fees; and institute a number of litigation-related changes. A sizable shift on the federal balance sheet would result from language to make permanent the PTO's authority over money collected from patent and trademark applications, CBO said. Compliance costs could be $200 million annually starting in 2009, with most of the financial burden falling on the private sector, officials said.

Full story.

Researchers engineer new polymers to change their stiffness and strength when exposed to liquids

CLEVELAND -- An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the departments of macromolecular science and engineering and biomedical engineering at the Case School of Engineering and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center has published ground-breaking work on a new type of polymer that displays chemoresponsive mechanic adaptability -- meaning the polymer can change from hard to soft plastic and vice versa in seconds when exposed to liquid -- in the March 7, 2008, issue of Science, one of the world's most prestigious scholarly journals covering all aspects of science.

Jeffrey R. Capadona, associate investigator at the VA's Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center, graduate student Kadhiravan Shanmuganathan, and Case Western Reserve University professors and APT investigators Dustin Tyler (biomedical engineering), Stuart Rowan (macromolecular science) and Christoph Weder (macromolecular science) have unveiled a radically new approach for developing polymer nanocomposites which alter their mechanical properties when exposed to certain chemical stimuli.

"We can engineer these new polymers to change their mechanical properties -- in particular stiffness and strength -- in a programmed fashion when exposed to a specific chemical," says Weder, one of the senior authors of the paper.

"The materials on which we reported in Science were designed to change from a hard plastic -- think of a CD case -- to a soft rubber when brought in contact with water," adds Rowan, who has been Weder's partner on the project for almost six years.

"Our new materials were tailored to respond specifically to water and to exhibit minimal swelling, so they don't soak up water like a sponge," saud Shanmuganathan.

In their new approach, the team used a biomimetic approach -- or mimicking biology -- copying nature's design found in the skin of sea cucumbers.

Full story.

Engineered protein shows potential as a strep vaccine

A University of California, San Diego-led research team has demonstrated that immunization with a stabilized version of a protein found on Streptococcus bacteria can provide protection against Strep infections, which afflict more than 600 million people each year and kill 400,000.

In the March 7 issue of the journal Science, the researchers describe, for the first time, the detailed structure of the streptococcal M protein, which is critical to the virulence of Group A Streptococcus (GAS). GAS causes a wide variety of human diseases including strep throat, rheumatic fever, and the life-threatening “flesh-eating” syndrome called necrotizing fasciitis. Studies were performed using M1 protein, which represents the version of M protein present on the most common disease-associated GAS strains.

The team also produced a variant of M1 protein that stimulates the immune system in mice, without the serious side effects caused by natural M1 protein. They say that their results should help scientists develop M1 protein-based vaccines against GAS.

“Using X-ray crystallography, we determined that M1 protein has an irregular, unstable structure,” explained Partho Ghosh, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in UCSD’s Division of Physical Sciences. “We created a modified version of M1 with a more stable structure, and found that it is just as effective at eliciting an immune reaction, but safer than the original version of M1, which has serious drawbacks to its use in a vaccine.”

“Certain antibodies that are produced by the immune system against M1 protein have been shown to cross-react with normal human tissues including heart muscle, potentially triggering the serious autoimmune disease known as rheumatic fever,” added Victor Nizet, professor of pediatrics and pharmacy at the UCSD School of Medicine and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “M1 protein can also act as a toxin, producing clotting abnormalities and lung injury when injected into mice. Therefore our results with modified M1 provide very novel insight about the role of M proteins in invasive GAS disease and rheumatic heart disease.”

Because M protein is vital for the survival of GAS in the host, various research groups have been trying to determine its structure for decades. According to Ghosh, M1 is “long and skinny,” which makes it a particularly difficult protein to crystallize. Case McNamara, who solved the protein structure while he was a graduate student working with Ghosh and is the first author on the paper, spent three years optimizing the conditions to crystallize the protein and collect the required data.

Full story.

UW tries worm eggs to help MS patients

Doctors to study immune systems

By JOHN FAUBER
jfauber@journalsentinel.com

Posted: March 6, 2008

For several years, scientists have suspected that our hyper-hygienic world of vaccinations, antibacterial soap and bottled water actually might be making some people sick by bewildering their immune systems and causing them to turn on their bodies.

Now, doctors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are about to carry that theory to the ickiest extreme.

They soon will begin serving up liquid concoctions of microscopic worm eggs to people with multiple sclerosis in the hope that the parasites will tone down the immune systems of the patients and relieve their symptoms.

The experiment is based in part on observations first made more than 40 years ago that high levels of sanitation in a child's environment are associated with an increased risk of developing MS.

MS is believed to be a so-called autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system launches an attack against its own tissue, specifically the substance myelin, which insulates nerve cells.

Some researchers say the trick to halting the attack might lie in the tiny helminth whipworm, an organism that long has infected humans, usually without harm, especially in undeveloped countries.

UW doctors plan to give helminth eggs to five MS patients over the course of several months. If the experiment proves safe and shows promise, more patients will be enrolled.

More than 2,000 of the football-shaped eggs, which are produced by the German company OvaMed, can fit onto a space that's smaller than the head of a pin.

Once inside the body, the eggs will hatch and the worms grow to about the size of an eyelash. It is hoped that the presence of the worms will redirect the immune systems of the patients and slow down the damage to the myelin coating on their nerve cells.

Full story.

WARF stem cell patent claim upheld by patent office

Bill Novak

February 28, 2008

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has won a key patent battle for one of its stem cell patents, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upheld the foundation's claim to the patent.

The decision affirms WARF's contention that an initial UW-Madison human embryonic stem cell discovery is a patentable invention.

The decision was announced in a press release this morning from WARF.

Full story.

Bacterial 'battle for survival' leads to new antibiotic

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT biologists have provoked soil-dwelling bacteria into producing a new type of antibiotic by pitting them against another strain of bacteria in a battle for survival.

The antibiotic holds promise for treatment of Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach ulcers in humans. Also, figuring out the still murky explanation for how the new antibiotic was produced could help scientists develop strategies for finding other new antibiotics.

The work is reported in the February issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Full story.

Yale scientists create artificial 'cells' that boost the immune response to cancer

New Haven, Conn. — Using artificial cell-like particles, Yale biomedical engineers have devised a rapid and efficient way to produce a 45-fold enhancement of T cell activation and expansion, an immune response important for a patient’s ability to fight cancer and infectious diseases, according to an advance on line report in Molecular Therapy.

The artificial cells, developed by Tarek Fahmy, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Yale and his graduate student Erin Steenblock, are made of a material commonly used for biodegradable sutures. The authors say that the new method is the first “off-the-shelf” antigen-presenting artificial cell that can be tuned to target a specific disease or infection.

“This procedure is likely to make it to the clinic rapidly,” said senior author Fahmy. “All of the materials we use are natural, biodegradable already have FDA approval.”

Cancer, viral infections and autoimmune diseases have responded to immunotherapy that boosts a patient’s own antigen-specific T cells. In those previous procedures, a patient’s immune cells were harvested and then exposed to cells that stimulate the activation and proliferation of antigen-specific T-cells. The “boosted” immune cells were then infused back into the patient to attack the disease.

Full story.

UW accuses Intel in federal lawsuit

Research arm alleges patent violation

By PAUL GORES

Intel Corp.'s popular Core 2 Duo processor, the brain of many of today's personal computers, includes technology created by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, according to a federal lawsuit accusing Intel of patent infringement.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the university's licensing arm, claims that while its application for a patent on the technology was pending, one of its inventors met with Intel and offered to discuss licensing it for use in future Intel products.

But instead of discussing licensing, Intel incorporated the patented technology into its products, including the Core 2 Duo processor, the research foundation's lawsuit says. Intel refuses to obtain a license from the research foundation, the lawsuit contends,

The lawsuit characterizes the technology, which improves computer efficiency and speed, as "a pioneering invention that has been widely recognized as a significant advance in computer microprocessing both by researchers in the field and those in industry."

Full story.

New Way to Kill Viruses: Shake Them to Death

By Michael Schirber, Special to LiveScience

posted: 05 February 2008 09:27 am ET

Scientists may one day be able to destroy viruses in the same way that opera singers presumably shatter wine glasses. New research mathematically determined the frequencies at which simple viruses could be shaken to death.

"The capsid of a virus is something like the shell of a turtle," said physicist Otto Sankey of Arizona State University. "If the shell can be compromised [by mechanical vibrations], the virus can be inactivated."

Recent experimental evidence has shown that laser pulses tuned to the right frequency can kill certain viruses. However, locating these so-called resonant frequencies is a bit of trial and error.

Full story.

Seventh Annual International Bioethics Forum: Evolution in the 21st Century

Gehrke & Associates, SC is a proud sponsor of the Seventh Annual International Bioethics Forum: Evolution in the 21st Century taking place at the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center in Madison, WI on April 17^th and 18^th, 2008. 

Lisa M. Gehrke, JD, MA will be a featured speaker for a discussion session on Patenting Living Organisms.

For more information please visit BTCI’s website.

Finding the right mix

Device to analyze fuel may jumpstart start-up

By KATHLEEN GALLAGHER
kgallagher@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Feb. 3, 2008

A small Milwaukee start-up that's attracted strong interest from local angel investing groups is launching its first product, a biodiesel analyzer, at a national industry conference.

A year after spinning its proprietary technology out of Marquette University's engineering school, Paradigm Sensors LLC has five full-time and two contracted employees, and is bringing to market a hand-held sensor that judges the quality of biodiesel fuel.

The $5,000 device is about the size of a cordless phone. It tests for total glycerin, methanol, acid number and the percentage of biodiesel fuel in a blend, said Robert Young, Paradigm's president and chief executive officer.

The sensor emits electric frequencies to measure the electrochemical responses of liquids using a technology called impedance spectroscopy. The device was to make its debut Sunday at the National Biodiesel Board Expo in Orlando, Fla.

"It really is a potential paradigm-shift technology," said Herb Zien, senior vice president of Trigen Cos. in Boston, chairman of Paradigm's board and an investor in the company. "This device can perform onsite, in real time, as compared to having measurements on these oils that go to the lab and take some time to get results back."

The only other way to get the information that Paradigm's device delivers in minutes is to send fuel to a lab, which is expensive and can take several days, said investor George Mosher.

Mosher, Zien and one other member of Wauwatosa-based Silicon Pastures recently invested a total of $150,000 in Paradigm Sensors. That investment brought to $540,000 the amount of money Paradigm has raised, Young said.

Full story.

MU gets $25 million gift

Donation takes engineering complex fund raising beyond halfway point

By ERICA PEREZ
eperez@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Jan. 29, 2008

An anonymous $25 million gift from the family of a Marquette University alumnus takes the school's vision of a transformed College of Engineering facility beyond the financial halfway mark, university President Father Robert Wild said Tuesday.

Proceeds from the gift will go toward construction of the planned Discovery Learning Complex, a scholarship fund for engineering students and other uses in the college, including an energy workshop, Marquette spokeswoman Mary Pat Pfeil said.

The complex, with an estimated price tag of $100 million, is one piece of the school's $167 million strategic plan, which includes $35 million for seven endowed faculty chairs and $32 million for scholarships. Marquette hopes to boost the number of engineering undergraduates from 1,140 this year to about 1,200 in three years.

Wild announced the gift to Marquette faculty and staff at the annual president's address Tuesday afternoon in the Alumni Memorial Union.

Full story.

Lithium and Beryllium No Longer "Lack Chemistry"

Even though the lightest known metals in the universe, lithium (Li) and beryllium (Be), do not bind to one another under normal atmospheric or ambient pressure, an interdisciplinary team of Cornell scientists predicts in the Jan. 24 issue of Nature that Li and Be will bond under higher levels of pressure and form stable Li-Be alloys that may be capable of superconductivity. Superconductivity is the flow of electricity with zero resistance.

Full story.