From: Gina Miller (nanogirl@halcyon.com)
Date: Sun Sep 05 1999 - 22:33:49 MDT
Weekend Nanogirl News~This is to tide you over.
*Image of Electron Orbitals Confirms Controversial Bonding Hypothesis. Using
a combination of convergent beam electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction
techniques, a team of materials researchers at Arizona State University have
achieved startlingly clear images of electron orbitals responsible for
bonding in Cu2O, also known as cuprite, a ceramic semiconductor with a rare
structure.
http://clasdean.la.asu.edu/news/cuprite.htm
*Virginia Tech Researchers Create New Family Of Molecule, Solve Fullerene
Processing Mystery
BLACKSBURG, Aug. 30, 1999 -- Leaky lab equipment and Virginia Tech
researchers' eagle eyes have resulted in a new family of molecules with
potential applications ranging from medicine to optical-electronic devices,
and beyond. The researchers report in the Sept. 2, 1999, issue of Nature
that they can produce C80 fullerenes containing three metal atoms
("Small-bandgap endohedral metallofullerenes in high yield and purity").
http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/ur/news/Archives/Aug99/99348.html
* Wistar Institute Scientists Find Key Piece In Gene Regulation Puzzle
Philadelphia -- For the first time, scientists working in The Wistar
Institute laboratory of Ronen Marmorstein, PhD, in collaboration with
Shelley Berger, PhD, have determined the three-dimensional structure of a
key enzyme involved in gene activation.
http://www.wistar.upenn.edu/internet/new_site/pr_pages/pr_9.99_2.html
*Order Chemical Reviews special thematic issue:Nanostructures July 1999.
http://pubs.acs.org/journals/chreay/thematic/99/nanostructure.html
*For decades, pharmaceutical companies have struggled to overcome the
molecular equivalent of the Great Wall of China: the outer membrane of
cells, which prevents all but the tiniest of proteins from entering. Now
researchers have slipped a protein that's more than 200 times larger than
the average drug into the cells of living mice and shown that the protein
functions.
http://medicine.wustl.edu/~wumpa/news/dowdyprotein.html
*Scientists at Jefferson Medical College have found a way to isolate
hard-to-find hematopoietic stem cells. The researchers, in identifying a
chemical beacon – a protein marker – on the cell, believe the new work will
lead to laboratory production of all types of blood cells for transfusions
and innovative approaches for bone marrow transplants and gene therapy.
http://www.jeffersonhealth.org/news/1999/083199.html
*Loss of Molecular Handbrakes Compromises Immune System. Two related
proteins that act as brakes for a variety of cellular growth processes
appear to play a critical role in ensuring that both blood cells and immune
system cells are neither overactive nor overabundant. One of the proteins
may play a role in the development of certain types of leukemia.
http://www.hhmi.org/news/ihle.htm
*OSU Medical Center uses robotic heart surgery technique
A new minimally invasive heart surgery technique utilizing robotic
technology has been performed at The Ohio State University Medical Center.
It was the first use in North America of the da Vinci Computer-Enhanced
Surgical System which uses sensitive remote-controlled surgical instruments
guided by a surgeon at a computer keyboard.
http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/research/archive/1stsurg.htm
*Cloning gives second chance for bull. A calf has been cloned from a
21-year-old celebrity bull, the oldest animal yet reproduced using this
technology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_437000/437391.stm
*Genetic finds get smarter, faster Sydney Morning Herald)
Gene breakthroughs that could lead to ways to boost intelligence, extend our
life span, and cure diabetes were among many genetic findings announced in
international journals this week.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/9909/04/text/national13.html
*New Scientist book review of: The Making of Intelligence by Ken Richardson,
Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
http://www.newscientist.com/ns/19990904/whatmakesu.html
*DNA traces humble origins of noble wines.A grape variety once banned as
inferior and unworthy is actually the ancestor of some of France’s most
highly prized wines, says a researcher who analyzed the genetic history of
grapes from such legendary wine centers as Champagne and Burgundy.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/307475.asp
*A man with muscular dystrophy has been injected with genes for a needed
muscle protein, a method which may find success in treating the disease.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/md_genetherapy990903.html
*God Welcome in Biologist's Lab
Religion and science aren't mutually exclusive in Francisco J. Ayala's
universe. He's an evolutionary biologist and an ordained priest. Ayala
believes in God even as he stands stooped over in his laboratory, juggling
beakers and breeding new kinds of fruit flies.
http://www.latimes.com/excite/990904/t000079131.html
*Everyone's guide to DNA Computers.
http://dna2z.com/dnacpu/dne.html
*Read the letter that the American Society for Cell Biology wrote to the
Governor of Kansas in response to the recent ruling by that state's Board of
Education regarding the teaching of evolution.
http://www.faseb.org/ascb/
*Future riches may lie in genes Companies with potential to revolutionise
health care set to be stockmarket stars. WHEN the first biotechnology
companies went public in the 1980s, US stockbrokers likened the investment
opportunity to buying [ Xerox ] or IBM at its initial public offering. So
when the genomics firms tapped the public markets a decade later, it was no
surprise that the analogy that brokers made was to [ Microsoft ] . There may
be more than a germ of truth to this genomics pitch. If you believe that
some companies have the potential to create a new industry, or to alter the
rules for an existing one, then those are stocks to own for the long term.
The thesis behind the genomics companies is that deciphering all the genes
that make up the human genome, or the sum of the body's genetic information,
will prompt huge changes in health care. In this vision, gene-based
diagnostic tests will predict disease years or decades before it occurs, and
drugs of extraordinary specificity will prevent or cure illnesses such as
cancer, heart disease and stroke - without side effects. The leading drug
companies have already paid hundreds of millions of dollars to the genomics
firms to gain access to their data, and the betting is that the health-care
system will one day pay billions for genomics-based drugs. The shares may be
volatile, and investors may want to use big movements as trading
opportunities, but basically, those who believe the thesis may want to own
them almost regardless of how expensive they become. And those who do not
believe it, of course, may want to stay away. Shares of two of the biggest
gene merchants have been on a tear as investors have reacted to several
gene-related discoveries announced by Maryland-based [ Human Genome
Sciences ] . Shares in Human Genome, the early player and the only one to
take its own drugs into clinical trial, are up more than 80 per cent since
January 1. They closed on Wednesday at US$71.375 more than three times their
52-week low of $22.75 last September. The stock of [ Millennium
Pharmaceuticals ] , based in Massachusetts, has tended to follow that of
Human Genome, even though Millennium has yet to develop drugs of its own.
But it has reaped more than $1 billion from corporate partnerships and plans
to acquire a drug later this year. At its closing price of $62.50 on
Wednesday it has more than doubled since January 1 and is up sixfold from
its low last September. The other two big genomics stocks are in companies
that sell genetic data-bases to big drug companies.
In comparison to those in the first category, their shares seem like value
stocks. Celera Genomics Group Maryland was spun off from [ PE Corp ] at
$21.31 a share in May. It closed on Wednesday at $30.625. Shares of Incyte
Pharmaceuticals of California closed at $28.25 on Wednesday down more than
20 per cent since January, largely because of the perception that an
independent Celera poses a threat to its core business. Michael Murphy,
editor of the California Technology Stock Letter, recommends a basket of
Human Genome, Incyte and Celera. "Own all three, because what you want to do
here is get a position in what will clearly be the basis of medicine in the
21st century," he said. He thinks Human Genome could hit $150 by 2002 but
has not established targets for the others. Mr Murphy excludes Millennium
because it has diversified into agriculture and diagnostic sectors, and he
no longer sees it as a pure genomics play. But that assessment is not
universal. Viren Mehta, an analyst with Mehta Partners, a health-care stock
research firm, thinks Millennium has the best business model for both
finding partners and prospering on its own. "What is important to remember
is that up to now, the majority of drug discovery successes of smaller
companies had to be shared with larger companies," he said.
"It is quite likely the future will be no different." Most big-selling drugs
are pills, which must be based on small molecules produced through medicinal
chemistry, province of the big drug firms.
"Millennium has chosen to first establish a robust scientific
infrastructure, and from there to create very lucrative partnerships, where
a substantial portion of the combined success will still become the
exclusive property of Millennium," Mr Mehta said. "If you are going to buy
one stock and put it away for your grandchildren, which will it be? We have
recommended Millennium for a long time."
But other analysts say Millennium's future remains dependent on the success
of its partners or the acquisition of a compound that may become a
successful drug, for which it will have to compete with the same
deep-pocketed companies it partners with. Human Genome Sciences is alone
among the genomics companies in having created drugs - three of them, all
undergoing clinical trials. "We tend to favour companies that not only
supply genes or data bases to corporate partners but, most importantly, can
develop their own drugs," said Anthony Butler, an analyst with [ Lehman
Brothers ] , which took Human Genome public in 1992. "It's amazing what just
one drug will do for your value," Mr Butler said.
The New York Times (Copyright 1999)
Gina "Nanogirl" Miller
Nanotechnology Industries
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http://www.nanoindustries.com
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