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GR8Fool: Check the company website. A nice article appeared in IBD and the stock responded. Also 10Q reflected transactions with a new customer name. Appears to be coming together. RB thread much more active than IHUB, Perhaps you will set up crosslinks???
Stakddek
OT: Happy Birthday Chris! Let's all look forward to that day we can celebrate the DNAP Birthday at one grand party for all of us.
Stakddek
Our friends in Australia are keeping busy:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s988680.htm
Stakddek
Due Diligence Source:
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http://www.biobn.com/index.cfm?page=home
++++++++++++++++
Another horizon, I hadn't seen any of the search engines return a hit from this site, but then I'm not as cognizant of all the connections as the best of you!
Stakddek
Much effort by folks at CLSI RB thread.
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By: stockbuddy
08 Nov 2003, 01:23 PM EST
Msg. 39289 of 39297
Jump to msg. #
11-7-03 CLSI DD
Page This dd reflects an added market maker.
This thread is dedicated to the discussion of Clancysystems International- ticker symbol=CLSI.
While many of the members of this thread are sharing information about Clancy, we ask that each individual do their own due diligence. Also, people are trying to share accurate info. but errors may be made so again please do your own dd.
Below are links to information that may be of interest to newbies, lurkers, and current shareholders of clsi.
A profile introduction to clancysystems from yahoo:
http://yahoo.marketguide.com/MGI/busidesc.asp?target=/stocks/companyinformation/busidesc&Ticker=...
Links to Clancysystems Homepage and their Expo.1000
http://www.clancysystems.com/default.asp
http://www.expo1000.com/
The share structure is
Issued = 365 Million
Insiders = 183.8 Million
Float = 181.2 Million
Recent post regarding shares:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=36372
Clancy serves about 131 clients. (This number is needing updated due to clancy getting more new clients.)
Partial list of Clancy clients.
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=37429
Current # of market makers (mms) = 10
Recent NEWS headlines for Clancy:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031009/95412_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031007/75776_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/fin/l/c/clsi.ob.html
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=38152
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030819/195451_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/030814/clsi.ob10qsb.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/030515/clsi.ob10qsb.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/fin/l/c/clsi.ob.html
Raging Bulls Posts,
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=38667
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=38648
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=38130
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=38129
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&startfrom=&numposts=50&board=CL...
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=37373
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=35248
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=36306
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=36021
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=36076
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=35747
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLSI&read=35251
SEC Filings;
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
To all who visit our thread, welcome. Please do your own dd and feel free to ask the clsi thread members any questions.
The above info. is subject to error, but we hope it is accurate. Please feel free to make any necessary corrections. We want to share information that will help us all make good decisions for investing.
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As much help as I can be!
Stakddek
Hey Timhyma: There is quite a bunch of activity for CLANCY on RB. You might check over there for more DD. This stock appears to have become noticed!
My recollection of Brodbeck shares is that his "shares" are to be held thru early nest year. Of course as the volume Friday showed, his holdings could be easily absorbedin a short quarter.
Stakddek
That's fine Miss Scarlet, I was to lazy to link back and cut and paste the text, I guess I was just put off by the pink elephant hair color discussions. It's a shame that many of the acomplishments of DNAP and then later the accomplishments of the posters here who attempt to do due diligence are met with the "the material you found was valueless and it just goes to show how worthless this company is." It seems to have gone far beyond the "glass is half empty" syndrome. Now it appears that any accomplishment of the company in any field is to be decried for being extant. Any news or accomplishment is bad. This comments about haircolor being perceptual and variable is correct but the attitude with which the information is decried is vitriolic. Since we live in age where wigs of varying shades are available at the local dime store, and contact lenses are available to give you cat's eyes and whatever, I guess Retinome, that has been incorporated into the next witness package is of little value to the forensic community as well.
Given that, I can recall reading a book back in the sixties called "Black Like Me" where the reporter applied a dye to his skin and traveled throughout the South to report on his experiences.
The ability to apply a skin color changing agent would of course reduce the effectiveness of any tool such as DNA Wittness, and when combined with contacts and a wig, would all but prevent the identification of our own kin. Perhaps if DNAP got out of the genetics business entirely and became a costume rental agency for criminals.... Nah they would still decry the positive aspects of any activity of the company. They would be beating a large drum and with mightily amplified voices spend many hours being sure to let us all know that resistance is futile...
I don't think I could go through life thinking that everyone I met was out to get me, steal my money, or have a laugh at my expense. I know there are a few of that ilk out there, but I think that they tend to clump together, and in so doing limit the outlook they have on life. Thier perception of "out to get me" is accurate when applied to thier own environs. I don't have to live that way, and would never want to. I'm sure we all appreciate the gloomsters, we acknowledge thier ability to put every silver lining behind a storm cloud in a timely manner. I just hope that being exposed to the peculiar philosopic outlook they've finetuned I can continue my life unsullied by concerns that all is wrong and the world is not worth living in.
Stakddek
Busines Week On -Line
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2003/tc2003117_6127.htm
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Stakddek
MSFC Is that the December 2002 issue or December 2003????
OT: But maybe not.
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After five weekly infusions of the experimental drug taken from the unique good cholesterol, researchers saw, on average, a 4 percent reduction in the amount of plaque on artery walls. (ABCNEWS.com) Reversing Heart Disease
Strain of Good Cholesterol Reduces Plaque in Coronary Arteries
By John McKenzie
Nov. 4
— Researchers have discovered a treatment that, for the first time, appears to significantly reverse heart disease, the leading cause of death among Americans.
The pilot study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says that doctors were able to remove plaque from artery walls by using a most unusual approach.
Until now, the common way to treat heart disease has been the use of statin drugs to lower the body's harmful cholesterol, LDL. In this study, researchers focused on HDL, the "good" cholesterol that helps clear plaque from artery walls.
The discovery actually began more than 20 years ago in the little town of Limone Sul Garde, in northern Italy. Doctors found that about 40 people in the town had exceptionally low levels of HDL. Whereas a healthy level of HDL is considered 40 and above, these people had an average HDL level of 17.
Normally, you would expect people with so little good cholesterol to have severe heart disease and be dying of heart attacks in their 30s and 40s. But these people were living surprisingly full lives. Doctors discovered that what was in their blood was a unique form of good cholesterol called ApoA-1 Milano that appeared to be unusually potent.
‘Unprecedented’
Researchers in the United States turned this particular strain of good cholesterol into an experimental drug and gave it to 36 Americans with severe heart disease, people whose arteries were clogged with plaque. Eleven others received a placebo.
"This is the first time we've ever given good cholesterol as a therapeutic agent," said Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and lead author of the study.
Those given the placebo saw little change in their condition. But for those given the experimental drug, the result was dramatic.
"It was unprecedented," said Dr. Daniel Rader of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, who reviewed the study. "This study shows that plaque regression occurred much faster and to a greater extent than we've ever seen before."
After just five weekly infusions, researchers saw, on average, a 4 percent reduction in the amount of plaque on artery walls.
"Regression of 4 percent, while that might not seem like much, actually represents several years worth of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries," Rader told ABCNEWS.
It made a big difference to 51-year-old John Pierce, of Waterville, Ohio, whose arteries were severely clogged.
"I feel like my old self again," said Pierce. "There's no pain in the chest, there's no tightness in the chest, there's no shortness of breath."
Researchers report there were no side effects from the treatment. The next step, they say, is to do larger and longer studies to see whether giving more of the drug reduces even more of the plaque. They also need to demonstrate that the treatment actually results in fewer heart attacks and deaths.
Scientists say it could take another three to five years — but if all goes well, millions of Americans may have the kind of heart protection now enjoyed by a few dozen Italians.
Copyright © 2002 ABC News Internet Ventures.
Click here for Press Information, Terms of Use & Privacy Policy & Internet Safety Information applicable to the site.
Link to Annova:
European Space Agency using techniques for long range visible light astronomy to differentiate "bindings" on DNA chips. Good plain English description of chip.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_835243.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery.space
Mingwan0: My feelings on this are the same as yours. The trepidation is only to the misuse of a tool by "guns to savages" syndrome. You give a savage a tool(gun) to hunt with and instead of bringing home more meat for the table he conquers the neighbors and uses them for slaves in his fields!
In the case of the article, the author commented about the DNA dragnet being cast over a broad field. Much data was collected and processed, and perhaps more than can be easily assimilated by the investigative machine. Given the budget required for this dragnet technique to be employed, I wonder if the people involved gave any thought to "cold cases" that could have been processed with the same funds?
If you gave me the same chisel as Michaelangelo, I'd give you gravel. Sophisticated tools in the hands of, or at least at the disposal of the unsophisticated can sometimes blunt the tool instead of creating a masterpiece. I just fear for the misapplication by the unsophisticated resulting in a fiasco reflecting badly on the field.
Then again, maybe the whole story was a plant, to cause those reluctant witnesses to step forward???
Matt Thomas was referred to in the GMED 10Q as participating in the sample prep with DNAP for Doctor Moscowitz. Given the degrees removed stance of DNAP from DNA phenomics and the stated connection with the officers of DNAphenomics with GMED etc.; How would you infer the relations are between Doctor Moscowitz and Doctor Frudakis? It's almost as if all the hullaballoo created on this board a few months ago gave the mentioned companies an idea?? Perhaps there is solace for us in the accomplishment of bringing together all these players with just a few posts on a bulletin board??? (Swab in Cheek)
Stakddek
Mingwan0: It's a little disconcerting to me to see a DNA dragnet as mentioned in this story. As the collection process was a treasure trove of samples. I hope the crime scene people were very careful in documenting all the collected samples as to location etc. I would think it would be difficult to ascertain a time link for dried perspiration on a wall. Granted a moist piece of chewing gum or beverage container might lead one to believe in good conscience that the sample collected was current, but as the "net" gets finer, the detrius swept up becomes greater. The ability of the law enforcement people to act rationally in the face of all those leads is to be hoped for. I fear that a reasonably good defense attorney would enjoy tearing the possibility of the collection of "unrelated samples" from a reluctant prosecution witness. The promise is there and the technology is here, but the people doing the "field work are what I consider the weakest link. An overzealous misuse of the technology could be a setback for all dna forensic applications. Let's hope that a intelligent guiding force is leading this innovative use of the technology.
Stakddek
OT: Sort of. Sort of Not.
Halloween, 2003
Utilization Of Analysis to Minimize Repeat (Serial ) Unidentified Individuals
With the science at hand, the growing National Database of Offenders being used by 48 states, and the political awareness of voter interest, the time is at hand for full implementation of these resources. Beyond the application for the notorious cases, the everyday or mundane usefulness of the technology must come into play to improve the cost benefit ratio of the system. Using the identification cabability promised by DNA through CODIS it has been possible to sort available DNA evidence and compare to known samples collected from likely sources. This approach with "cold cases" has moved some open cases to the closed files. Many cases though are still open. These have a DNA sample, but have provided no match with the existing Codis database. The technology exists to provide a physical profile from this material. The probitive value will vary, but where analysis of samples shows the liklihood of one subject with a connection to multiple crimes, then a thorough evaluation and "genetic profile" fpr that "John Doe" perpetrator should be undertaken. It is in the hope that this technology can protect society from the continued behavior of the subject and do so without intrusive interviews and embarrassment to individuals who are under customary suspicion by the nature of thier "fit" to a statistical profile. This DNA database will if it is allowed to grow, provide a positive and undeniable witness to ones' true identity. By incorporating all individuals in the database, the portion that is CODIS will have the expanded data to review for an identification. Not only will this expanded CODIS data allow intervention with known criminals, but active criminals who have not been processed into CODIS (not been apprehended previously) will have a searchable DNA profile available for matching. This of course requires a DNA database consisting of all available samples. It would come to pass that in a few years a person who was not in the national ID database would become a subject of interest in any investigation that did not have a match in the National ID system.
This use of DNA as a national ID system has great merit but is fraught with danger of abusive behavior by parties who would seek to benefit from knowledge of a genetic predisposition. It will be difficult to balance in the future, but can you imagine a salesman bribing an official to get the names of the consumers genetically disposed toward mail phone or door to door sales pitches. Subcategorized to morning or evening susceptability for persuasion?
I am not making light of the consumer fear of insurers wishing to know which applicant is likely to develop which disease. It's just that the information that can be developed is so much more than we can currently comprehend. Will people volunteer to DNA Date-Match or sign up for a Wunderkind project? Will Geraldo and Jerry Springer type shows develop? Will "It's your Life" become "It's your DNA"? Will "Survivor -- Bad DNA" be a hit where we vote on who we think is the healthiest and watch with glee as the projected genetic longevity is disclosed to the participants live on camera?
Oh there are a lot of problems with the depth of the information our DNA contains. It can be a force for good, or bad it's just how we use it. Should the FDA have all our profiles available to warn us of bad drug choices before our doctor misprescribes the latest wonder drug that is great for 98% of the populace? Should the motorvehicle bureau be allowed to print a DNA identitag on our license in bar code? Should every hospital emergency room have dna capability and full database access in case of disaster? As in a Plane or Ferry crash with multiple unidentified victims? Lot's of questions arise, and the answers will only come with time. The question that we do have to answer now is will we walk into the wonderland that science can provide with our eyes wide open and unafraid, or do we resist the changes kicking and screaming for fear of what the unscrupulous few will seek to subvert? Perhaps in looking into the televised faces of the relatives of the victims of serial criminals, we can set aside our personal fears of the Goblins of Halloweens to come, and be ready to take those first steps to that better tomorrow when the path is ready to be throd.
Stakddek
From Anova:
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Ananova:
Test could match breast cancers to treatment
Researchers have unveiled a test that could be used to predict which breast cancer patients would benefit from anti-hormonal drugs and which would do better on other treatments.
Treatments such as tamoxifen and anastrozole work by interfering with the female hormone oestrogen, which is known to be the most important factor in the development of breast cancer.
But 30% of women currently receiving tamoxifen do not benefit from it and would do better on other treatments, with current testing methods only giving doctors a rough idea of how they might respond to the drugs.
Now scientists at Imperial College London and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology have found a way of predicting a woman's likely response to anti-hormonal drugs.
The test could also eventually be used to monitor patients over the course of their treatment and act as an early warning system if the tumour becomes resistant to drugs.
The test is set to enter the second phase of patient trials at Charing Cross Hospital in London early next year to determine its accuracy and potential for clinical use.
Tamoxifen prevents the growth-promoting actions of oestrogen on the cells of the breast and blocks a molecule called the oestrogen receptor (ER). Anastrozole, a new drug, shuts down the production of oestrogen completely and appears to be more effective with less side effects than tamoxifen in post-menopausal patients.
But both drugs are only effective in women whose cancers are reliant on ER for their growth.
Cancer Research UK researchers found that assessing the activity of ER rather than simply how much of it there was, was a better way of predicting what would work.
Leading clinical researcher Professor Charles Coombes said: "Tamoxifen and anastrozole effectively knock out the influence of oestrogen on breast cancer growth.
"There's no point in doing that in patients where ER doesn't work properly, since in these cases the tumour will have learned to live without the hormone.
"Our new test will, for the first time, allow doctors to assess directly the importance of the ER molecule for the growth of a particular tumour, which means they'll know much more accurately whether or not tamoxifen or other anti-hormonal drugs are likely to work."
The new test would help women whose ER activity was low who would benefit more from conventional chemotherapy instead.
It could also tell doctors which treatment the tumour was most likely to respond to, by taking cells and testing how each drug affects ER activity.
Story filed: 06:48 Thursday 30th October 2003
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What a novel concept.
Stakddek
Hey Cosmic! That's a great idea the government is advocating. Know of any companies that are geared up to do this kind of stuff? I'm gonna' start looking. Must be at least one around here somewhere. Let's see, they would need experience, some savvy business types to deal with the government, and maybe a few business types to line up all the ducks in a row. Then they would have to buy equipment and have a location for processing all the data. Know of anybody in the startups in this area that has a head start? Bet they would need some capital to get it expanded and running on all eight cylinders. I gotta' start looking. Probably not more than two or three outfits. And I just hope the government is sharp enough after all these years of dealing with big pharma to know they need an independent evaluator and tester to conduct these studies. It's always amazed me how the pharma companies tout these promising miracle drugs and then when they expand the test group or near final trials they have all sorts of problems when the tests are watched over by other parties. Just seems to me it has happened over and over.
Well enough shootin' the breeze. Gotta' start diligencin'. Must be some company somewhere that is in the forefront, just ready to break loose! Maybe I'll start checking under the "D"'s.
Stakddek
Hwan: When provided with the information provided in the investor packet there was a confidentiality agreement involved. Essentially, anyone who receieved the packet had to agree to be bound by that document. The document prohibits the disclosure or discussion of the offering by the parties until the company releases the information for all to know. I feel a moral obigation to abide by my aggreements, and I bet they could sue my donkey off if I was to violate that agreement.
So those of us who have decided to look into the private placement are obligated not to discuss the content of the private placement package we received. I would love to discuss the content with other rational minds, but I am precluded from so doing, by the very aggreement that got me access to the info.
Hwan to be fair, I can't even say if the content is bullshit or just wishful thinking. I can tell you that on my end, I am not bullshitting you.
Stakddek
OT: I have decided to join the early adopters!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ananova:
Red wine 'could protect against lung disease'
Evidence of the possible health benefits of red wine has been boosted further with researchers suggesting it could be used to help treat serious lung disease.
Past studies have linked components of red wine with helping to prevent cancer, protect against heart problems and improve brain function.
The latest study to point to the potential benefits of drinking red wine, published in the journal Thorax, suggested that the component resveratrol seemed to "damp down" the inflammatory process in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Researchers from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London said this polyphenol antioxidant compound, found in the skins of red fruits like grapes, could be developed to treat the disease.
Smoking is the main cause of COPD, which is irreversible and progressive. It causes the lungs to deteriorate, making it difficult and eventually impossible to breathe.
To assess the impact on the lungs, the Imperial researchers also ran experiments using smokers. The inflammatory process of COPD involves cells called macrophages, which produce powerful chemicals - interleukins - which stimulate the growth and activity of other immune system cells. They also produce chemicals to prolong cell life and generate free radicals in the process.
The research team isolated macrophages in lung fluid samples of 15 smokers and 15 COPD patients.
In one experiment they artificially spurred the macrophages into action using an interleukin or cigarette smoke, then added resveratrol. In another test resveratrol was added without any artificial stimulation. In the unstimulated samples, resveratrol almost completely wiped out the production of interleukin 8 - by 94% in smokers' macrophages and 88% in the COPD group.
The production of interleukin 8 was around five times as great in patients with COPD as it was in smokers. In the samples which were stimulated, resveratrol more than halved the amount of interleukin which was produced, and almost halved the amount of cell life enhancer.
The researchers concluded that the resveratrol or related compounds could be more effective than corticosteroids, which are usually used to treat COPD, but it was not clear how much of the compound would reach the lung tissues.
Story filed: 06:49 Tuesday 28th October 2003
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I consider this a win - win situation. Now the only problem is convincing Blue Cross Blue Shield that this is a valid preventative regime so that an ample supply of this medication may be imbibe-- ahhh, applied.
Stakddek
TOYOURHEALTH!
Yes. And of course all the material in the package is under the nondisclosure agreement, so other than the mechanics of the private placement, and information coming from other sources than the package, discussion of DNAP is curtailed for all those who received the package. There has been little or no information available from other sources. (unless you consider RB an information source!)
Stakddek
I have requested inclusion in the private placement and forwarded the paperwork. I have had a telephone conversation with Athena and been informed that I met the criteria for the placement and the the process is proceeeding. I have not recieved any further comnunication from Athena. Has anyone any indication that the Private Placement is proceeding?
Other than nuisance posts, very little activity on RB. Quiet here, as little new info is being developed. GMED is the only news, and if or how this will affect DNAP is only conjecture. The effect on GMED has not been momentous as of yet, and may never be.
The clock is ticking and the the lack of any noise is making me antzy. Calm before the storm? Creepy crawly feeling like just before a mortar or rocket attack for the Vets in the audience. You know something is coming, but just don't know when. You are ready but you are not ready, -- and the sooner it starts the better. Hurry up and wait!
Dagnabit!
Stakddek
Thanks Notam: I found it in this link though.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/content/bogert/nmbogert26.html
When I first tried the link it didn't work, but I found the page for the columnist and after reading the story copied the link as posted above. I tried the link I copied, and it worked. I went back an d tried your link posting and it worked. Oh well, artificial intelligence v. natural stupidity.
Stakddek
DNA Biosentinels
A NASA-supported researcher is learning how to snag strands of DNA and examine them one by one under a microscope.
Listen to this story via streaming audio, a downloadable file, or get help.
October 7, 2003: In a pot of boiling water, spaghetti's a tangled mess. But let's say you want to look at a piece more closely. Simple. Just hook a strand around the handle of a wooden spoon and it straightens out quite nicely. You can examine it easily.
Sign up for EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery
NASA-supported bioengineer Susan Muller of UC Berkeley wants to do the same thing to DNA.
When researchers get a sample of DNA for analysis it's often a tangled mess of coiled strands--just like that pot of spaghetti. They analyze it by chopping the strands into pieces, cloning the fragments, sequencing the pieces, sorting them according to size and, finally, fitting them back together again. In short, it's a complex and time-consuming process.
Muller and colleague Eric Shaqfeh are working on a more straightforward procedure--a way to stretch out a single strand of DNA for examination by a standard laboratory microscope.
Why does NASA care? Because astronauts have DNA.
Right: An artist's concept of DNA battered by heavy ions from space. Credit: OBPR.
"Astronauts in space are exposed to radiation, and this can damage their DNA," explains Frank Cucinotta of NASA's Space Radiation Health Program. Of particular concern are heavy cosmic rays--the energetic nuclei of iron atoms, for instance--which can crash through DNA like little atomic cannonballs, causing complex breaks called "clustered DNA damage."
"We know that cells on Earth have not evolved to be competent in repairing such damage," he says. New DNA analysis tools are needed "to study the problem and develop remedies."
To snag DNA for study, Muller uses a carefully devised fluid flow in a device just a few millimeters long. A flow device, with its tiny linked pools and channels, can be simple or maze-like in design. One that's shaped like a cross, for instance, with fluid flowing in through two arms and out through the opposite two, is very effective at stretching DNA. Muller's device is a bit more complicated than this; it not only stretches the DNA but also allows her to tag the DNA with fluorescent markers and to photograph the glowing strands.
Below: (A) a micro flow device designed by A. Deshmukh and co-workers. The central element is free floating and can be moved by the fluid. (B) glowing streaks trace fluid pathways through the device. "The flow was seeded with fluorescent microspheres," explains Muller. "Long-exposure photographs of the spheres were taken to reveal the details of the flow."
The DNA she's working with is from a virus that infects bacteria. "It's a very popular DNA with bioengineers," she says. "It has about 48 thousand base pairs (or 48,000 rungs in the DNA ladder). Under quiescent conditions, if it's just floating in solution, it has a size of about .7 microns. But it you were to stretch it out completely, it would be about 22 microns in length"--about 10 times longer than a typical bacterium.
To stretch and hold the fragile strands, a carefully spaced array of posts interrupts the flow. "If you have a forest of posts in the flow--a little set of obstacles--then the DNA loops around them, and gets stuck and stretched as it tries to unwind from the posts," she explains.
Once a strand is stretched, Muller uses fluorescent markers that locate and latch onto interesting areas of the DNA. The stretching makes it easier for the researchers to locate where the markers are. It also makes it easier for the markers to find their target sites: when the DNA is stretched out, the markers don't have to penetrate the tangles of coiled-up DNA.
Right: Images of individual DNA molecules flowing through the micro flow device at positions denoted by letters A through G. "The DNA is stretched and rotated by the flow. DNA stretching is greatest in regions of high flow acceleration," says Muller.
Protecting astronauts from deep-space radiation is a still-unsolved problem, and one that must be successfully tackled before deep space can be safely explored. Most approaches to the problem rely on shielding, and on limiting astronaut exposure.
Muller's work suggests the possibility of finding astronauts who themselves are more resistant. Just as some versions of genes are more prone to the mutations that lead to problems like breast cancer, others may be more easily damaged by the intense radiation of deep space. "You might use this device to seek out individuals who are not at high risk for these particular types of mutations," she speculates. "You'd be looking for particular genes, or for particular sequences within a gene, that were correlated with 'radiation toughness.'"
Because her method is so straightforward, it might lend itself to a future technology: portable DNA analyzers. Astronauts on long space voyages could take one along and test their own genes for radiation damage. At the first sign of trouble they could take precautions: avoiding spacewalks or spending the rest of the journey in heavily-shielded parts of the ship.
DNA "biosentinels," as Muller calls them, would benefit more people than just astronauts. The devices could be used to examine anyone's genes for, say, the tendency to develop a certain illness or to react in a particular way to a medication. Medical researchers, criminologists, pharmaceutical manufacturers: they would all like to have one.
That's in the future, though. Meanwhile, says Muller, "there's a lot of basic fundamental science that going to come out of understanding how to use flow to manipulate large molecules. There are still many challenges to making this work and a lot of interesting questions I think we're going to answer along the way."
SEND THIS STORY TO A FRIEND
Credits & Contacts
Authors: Karen Miller, Dr. Tony Phillips
Responsible NASA official: Ron Koczor Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips
Curator: Bryan Walls
Media Relations: Steve Roy
The Science Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center sponsors the Science@NASA web sites. The mission of Science@NASA is to help the public understand how exciting NASA research is and to help NASA scientists fulfill their outreach responsibilities.
more information
Muller's ongoing research project, entitled "A Biosensor for Single-Molecule DNA Sequencing" is supported by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research.
Susan J. Muller -- Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of California Berkeley
Click to view a schematic diagram of a single molecule DNA sequencing microdevice with posts to snag the strands. "At present we are trying a range of different post arrangements--varying post spacings and densities," says Muller.
The micro flow device shown in the main text is a check valve. The central element is free floating and can be moved by the fluid to an open or a closed position, depending on the direction of flow. It was designed by A. Deshmukh and co-workers. Reference: A. Deshmukh, D. Liepmann, and A.P. Pisano, "Continuous Micromixer with Pulsatile Micropumps,” IEEE Workshop on Solid-State Sensor & Actuator Workshop, Hilton Head, SC., 2000.
DNA Basics: Primer on Molecular Genetics (Human Genome Project); DNA from the Beginning (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory); How to Extract DNA from Anything Living (Genetic Science Learning Center); Cracking the Code of Life (PBS);
Voyage of the Nano-surgeons -- (Science@NASA) NASA-funded scientists are crafting microscopic vessels that can venture into the human body and repair problems – one cell at a time.
The Phantom Torso -- (Science@NASA) An unusual space traveler named Fred is orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station. His job? To keep astronauts safe from space radiation.
The Right Stuff for Super Spaceships -- (Science@NASA) Researchers hope to keep astronauts safe from space radiation by lining spacecraft with radiation-resistant materials.
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Stakddek Link to story for illustrations. Wonder if this technique could speed DNAP's efforts????
Thanks Ann. Everyone has thier favorites to dig through, and we have experiencied the elation from striking gold. Keep on diggin' and thanks for sharing.
Stakddek
Ananova: Link Chromosome #6
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_831293.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery.genetics
ASK Jeeves-- Resulr for DNAPrint and partner
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wang, Hong-Gang. "A model system for cancer pharmacogenomics." Grant Amount: $99,000. Partner companies: DNAPrint Genomics.
Layman's Abstract: DNA print genomics is enabling the medical application of human population genomics to help prevent, define and diagnose disease. With the University of South Florida will develop a cell based model system to determine the variable response to two widely used anti-cancer compounds. The resulting product will constitute a powerful tool for developing genomics-based pharmaco-predictive tolls that will form the foundation of the emerging personalized medical market.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stakddek
Hey Arch, from that article:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tony Frudakis, DNAPrint's science officer, said authorities are using DNA Witness in up to 30 cases nationwide.
If sales stay on their present course, he said, the publicly held company could generate roughly $1 million by the end of 2003.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Now do you think that Doctor Frudakis is theorizing based on his quest for scientific accuracy or he is projecting with an eye for business claims? I'd like to think he's keeping with his track record for not uttering outlandish forecasts. At least we won't have more than 6 months to wait for this answer.
Stakddek
Anova: Article in Lancet. Drugs v. Genetics
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_829426.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery
Gee, Heredity and responsiveness to a drug can be predicted! Golly Wow!
Stakddek
Arch: Can't find words to express any solace for that. Had aunt, very close, same routine. They kept her going 8 months before finally allowing nature to take it's course.
Commando: I have a friend who is related to the attorney for the husband. That is my only particular bent on this but, the poor woman has been on autonomic response for years and years. The legal system has had years and years for investigations. I think that people have espoused a cause here and are so hopped up with the power trip, they're forgetting the people who are really at the center. I regret that I have to use the term pawn, but that's what it seems like to me.
Let's hope that no one we love is ever in that position, so that we are never in the position of having to say words we know we must say that we can't say. I hope that if I ever have to face what these people, and Arch, and my uncle had to face, I will have the strenght to make my own decision about what is the right thing to do and have it respected by those around me.
Stakddek
OT: I've had trouble all day with page not found errors redirecting me to a dallas newspaper website. Has anyone else had this problem? It loads javascripts and gifs and in general is a pain in the cookies!
Stakddek
It's in the blood!
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_829047.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery.genetics
Yeah but how do I get it out!
Stakddek
NIJ PDF file from July 2002 on DNA and CODIS
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/194197.pdf
Stakddek
Another page of links to peruse.
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/crimeinformation/links.htm
Information about who to contact can be valuable if you ever need it. Might I suggest keeping a link to your appropriate officials in a little folder somewhere on your computer? I have a little DNAP STUFF folder for mine. I try to keep web pages and other links in it.
Stakddek
Chris or Arch, I know you have been alerting various agencies, parties about DNAP. Now I never would suggest bombarding these people with an e-mail from each of us, but perhaps a short cover letter with reference to existing stories and DNAP capabilities to some of the people in this link. Maybe a few of the stalwarts here would volunteer to contact via e-mail a few of the people in the link enclosed. If we do it by the state where you live, and no more than 10 per DNAP investor, we might bring the name DNAP to a point where recognition of the capability might garner some additional press exposure.
http://bolles.ire.org/dij/usa.html
If you or Chris have a cover letter prepared, and perhaps a short blurb with the press releases and appropriate links, well it would speed things along. I think that if we pursue a controlled effort we can benefit the company, without aggravating the reporters by deluging a few of them with hundreds of e-mails. I know I don't like SPAM, so let's avoid that reputation, but at least have the info for these guys and gals to be familiar with.
Stakddek
For entertainment, I'd like to find a stock dragon ASQ and crew liked and, well just keep them company, you know, help them not be too enthused and taking ill advised risks. You know sorta' like they do for us.
Stakddek
Lugan: There was a pr from DNAP. Any connection? ORCH was not mentioned in DNAP PR. ( Know there is a connection, but I can't see any correllation for todays movement.)
Stakddek
Well being a quiet night:
Grandma also used to say: ==
"When you're up to your arse in alligators sometimes it's hard to remember you went there to drain the swamp!"
TNX ALL FOR CONTINUED COMRADERIE. When it's dark and stormy it's not as bad when you have good company.
Arch: Yeah until the ink dries, but I am going to keep the note in my head that it could have been, I did see it, but the company says no. WE were all happy with Texas reports and bright future without DNA phenomics, so let's just say that the environment for such a laison is not right. Obviously DNAPrint is aware of DNA Phenomics, and has had some contact with people in that area of the world, but, they say they have no connection, so what can we say. I'll live without the hope and be happy with the plum I have. Sometimes when you rub too hard polishing it, you bruise the fruit. (Soybeans it's okay though!)
Stakddek
Well said Arch. We know big boys like GE are watching. I seem to remember a company named Fonar that had a run in with GE years ago. They're still around, but fighting with GE taxed them bad. Hope DNAP has an end run planned. Don't know because no info from the horses mouth. I'm discounting the whispers, but as oldtimers react to the FUD and see better uses for the money they have in DNAP, it's difficult staying in the game without a little cheerleading from our home team. The erosion of the PPS has been a buying opportunity that has gone on too long and now everyone is praying for a serial killer or two to be caught to spur it back up.
Months ago I had posted a link here to an earlier post from one of the I-Hub board who heard from the company on DNA Phenomics. The Company DNAPrint said no connection.
I think in all our minds the relationship still held true, what with all the coincidence in style, pictures, product description, objectives etc. This second effort by the company to quell this enthusiasm for a hoped for but vaporous tie into Malaysian Grant Money should really be all that is needed to quell this and lay it to rest.
But now that DNA Phenomics is out of the picture, and the other connections mentioned in articles are called ghosts of the past, we have very little to warm our hearts as the cold winter winds shave the trees of green.
I'm not a trader, and since my timing really stinks, I sort of have to hold thru thick and thin. Sometimes that works, other times it cost me a couple of farms. Now I haven't bet the farm on DNAP, but that new truck is off 'til nest year, and since other investments are running up, and look poised for a continuing run, I'm in the boat with all those who have an account with Spouse Bank. (She will take it with her!) I'll grab some fruit as it ripens and plant it back into DNAP. Won't be much, and it will be for trading when the price appreciates, so I can recoup some of the bucks sitting in DNAP shares. A much larger portion of those shares are my payment for that trip to the moon. Now maybe you and Arch and Chris have different meanings for "to da' moon", but I tend to take things literally. Of course as a realist maybe a piece of property with a moon view will be the closest I get, but I will have one heck of a view, and I'll set up a webcam so you guys can wave at all the pedestrians down here on I-Hub or over in the barnyard.
Old Irish grandmother used to say,
-- "patience is a virtue;
seldom in a woman;
And never in a man!" --
Stakddek
DNAP is at the bottom of this link. Just another puzzle piece.
http://www.duerinck.com/dnalabs.html
Note there are many other links available from this site.
Stakddek
Arch: You keep up the dig. Everything you unearth has value, because it's part of the big picture. It does have to be taken as a whole, and not nitpicked for all the elements as they stand alone. But you gotta' have those little elements to really know what is stirring. Thank you for all the efforts you expend on behalf of all of us here. No Arch, never boring.
Stakddek
Gee Arch, you mean a particular area of the genome may be more critical than another area? You think they mean that there is clutter and then there is information that is pertinent? Gee it would be swell if someone knew how to analyze the pertinent areas for drug response. WHOOPS! nevermind. Forgot about DNAP!
Stakddek