International Council for the Life Sciences (ICLS)

12/29/2013

New data on the survivability of certain bacteria on surfaces - of particular relevance to both hospitals and laboratories:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270670.php

Two common bacteria that cause childhood infections - S. pneumoniae and S. pyogenes - may live for months on cribs, toys and books, according to a new study.

10/23/2013

A clear guide to what synthetic biology is and its potential applications from ICLS' good friend, Andrew Hessel:

http://getsynbio.com/andrew-hessels-definitive-guide-synbio/

Andrew Hessel has released a one hour video presentation called "You Can and Must Understand Synthetic Biology", taken from a similar title about computers from a book published in 1974. Hessel takes us through a full tour, assuming no prior…

10/15/2013

Synthetic Biology: Potential Medical application against biofilms:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21587769-genetically-engineered-bacteria-can-be-used-attack-other-bacterial-species-set?goback=%2Egde_2143039_member_5795588970276466690 #%21

Homing missiles BIOFILMS are a problem in medicine. When bacteria gang up to form the continuous sheets that bear this name they are far harder to kill with...

10/05/2013

Here's a very good piece on worries about a Syrian biological weapons programme:
http://pandorareport.org/2013/09/06/on-not-falling-prey-to-biological-weapons-alarmism-in-syria/

by Dr. Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley A September 5 Washington Post article raises concern that Syria might resort to biological weapons in retaliation for a Western military strike. The article states...

09/12/2013

Former UN weapons inspector Tim Trevan discusses the difficulties ahead

09/05/2013

SynBioBeta are offering introductory courses on synthetic biology in the UK and US.
http://synbiobeta.com/courses/

Courses Courses: An Introduction to Synthetic Biology Contact:For questions about the course, please email [email protected], or call (650) 549-4722.Receive new course dates:Email: Name: var err_style = ''; try{ err_style = mc_custom_error_style; } catch(e){ err_style = ' ...

08/22/2013

A paper from the American Society of Microbiology's online publication mBio on DURC issues surrounding Influenza A virus (IAV) research. In particular, while addressing the potential costs and benefits of such research, it stresses the known costs of inaction:
http://mbio.asm.org/content/4/4/e00365-13.full?goback=%2Egde_4429892_member_265145501 #%21

Influenza A viruses (IAV) are significant pathogens able to repeatedly switch hosts to infect multiple avian and mammalian species, including humans. The unpredictability of IAV evolution and interspecies movement creates continual public health challenges, such as the emergence of the 2009 pandemic...

08/22/2013

A study published in Nature suggests that H7N9 passed from migratory birds to domesticated waterfowl to poultry and thence to humans. The study also notes that this reservoir has a number of H7 flu viruses which could evolve into threats to humans:
http://www.counselheal.com/articles/6448/20130821/study-reports-ducks-responsible-bird-flu-china.htm

Researchers reported that ducks acted as hosts for the bird flu before it infected poultry and then humans.

08/22/2013

A new paper in Emerging Infectious Diseases looks at the potential origin of the MERS virus - bats:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265126.php

An insect-eating bat found near the first human case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia is a 100% genetic match for the virus.

08/14/2013

Check out this Op-Ed from Ehsan Masood in the 1 August 2013 issue of Nature.

http://www.nature.com/news/pakistan-must-seize-the-chance-to-revive-its-science-1.13472

The government of Nawaz Sharif needs to appoint a tough leader to deliver on its election promise of a research renaissance, says Ehsan Masood.

08/14/2013

Here's a fascinating report on common signatures for cancers, identified from over 7000 genomes of cancer patients from around the world. In addition to identifying a number of signatures, the research also established a link between aging and most of the cancers covered, and between viral infection and activation of a family of enzymes (APOBECs) which induce DNA mutations and are associated with half of the cancers studied:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/14/us-cancer-gene-signatures-idUSBRE97D0ZT20130814

LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers in Britain have set out the first comprehensive map of mutational processes behind the development of tumors - work that should in future lead to better ways to treat and

08/14/2013

The US has published a report of the accomplishments of its FY2012 Threat Reduction and Non-Proliferation programs, covering the Departments of Defense, State and Energy, available in full at:
http://pgstest.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/reports_fy12accomplishmentsreport_aug142013_mella1.pdf