India / All Themes
Indian-origin scientist claims to uncovering Achilles Heel of HIV
16.07.2008 08:26
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An Indian-origin researcher studying Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston claims that his team has uncovered the Achilles heel in the armour of the HIV virus. Sudhir Paul, Ph.D., has found that this weak spot is hidden in the HIV envelope protein gp120. This protein is essential for HIV attachment to host cells, which initiate infection and eventually lead to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS. Normally the body’s immune defences can ward off viruses by making proteins called antibodies that bind the virus, but no HIV preventative vaccine that stimulates production of protective antibodies is available. The Achilles heel, a tiny stretch of amino acids numbered 421-433 on gp120, is now under study as a target for therapeutic intervention. “Unlike the changeable regions of its envelope, HIV needs at least one region that must remain constant to attach to cells. If this region changes, HIV cannot infect cells. Equally important, HIV does not want this constant region to provoke the body’s defense system. So, HIV uses the same constant cellular attachment site to silence B lymphocytes - the antibody producing cells. The result is that the body is fooled into making abundant antibodies to the changeable regions of HIV but not to its cellular attachment site. Immunologists call such regions superantigens. HIV’s cleverness is unmatched. No other virus uses this trick to evade the body’s defenses,” said Paul. Paul is the senior author on a paper about this theory in a June issue of the journal Autoimmunity Reviews. Additional data supporting the theory are to be presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference Aug. 3-8 in Mexico City in two studies titled “Survivors of HIV infection produce potent, broadly neutralizing IgAs directed to the superantigenic region of the gp120 CD4 binding site” and “Prospective clinical utility and evolutionary implication of broadly neutralizing antibody fragments to HIV gp120 superantigenic epitope.” Paul’s group has engineered antibodies with enzymatic activity, also known as abzymes, which can attack the Achilles heel of the virus in a precise way. “The abzymes recognize essentially all of the diverse HIV forms found across the world. This solves the problem of HIV changeability. The next step is to confirm our theory in human clinical trials," Paul said. He stressed that abzymes degrade the virus permanently unlike regular antibodies. A single abzyme molecule inactivates thousands of virus particles. Regular antibodies inactivate only one virus particle, and their anti-viral HIV effect is weaker. Usually, the abzymes are derived from HIV negative people with the autoimmune disease lupus and a small number of HIV positive people who do not require treatment and do not get AIDS. “We discovered that disturbed immunological events in lupus patients can generate abzymes to the Achilles heel of HIV. The human genome has accumulated over millions of years of evolution a lot of viral fragments called endogenous retroviral sequences. These endogenous retroviral sequences are overproduced in people with lupus, and an immune response to such a sequence that resembles the Achilles heel can explain the production of abzymes in lupus. A small minority of HIV positive people also start producing the abzymes after decades of the infection. The immune system in some people can cope with HIV after all,” said Stephanie Planque, lead author and UT Medical School at Houston graduate student. Carl Hanson, Ph.D., who heads the Retrovirus Diagnostic Section of the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory of the California Department of Public Health, has shown that the abzymes neutralize infection of human blood cells by diverse strains of HIV from various parts of the world. Human blood cells are the only cells that HIV infects. “This is an entirely new finding. It is a novel antibody that appears to be very effective in killing the HIV virus. The main question now is if this can be applied to developing vaccine and possibly used as a microbicide to prevent sexual transmission,” said David C. Montefiori, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research & Development at Duke University Medical Center. The abzymes are now under development for HIV immunotherapy by infusion into blood. They could also be used to guard against sexual HIV transmission as topical vaginal or rectal formulations. The journal article is titled “Catalytic antibodies to HIV: Physiological role and potential clinical utility” and is published in the latest issue of the journal Autoimmunity Reviews. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
How vitamin A promotes cancer growth
16.07.2008 08:26
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A new study from Georgetown University Medical Centre has found that vitamin A can push breast cancer cells to form blood vessel, thus promoting tumour growth in patients. The researchers found that vitamin A, when applied to breast cancer cells, triggers genes that can push stem cells embedded in a tumour to morph into endothelial cells. These cells can then build blood vessels to link up to the body''s blood supply, promoting further tumour growth. They showed that in cancer cells, vitamin A seems to turn on cancer stem cells, allowing them to form the blood vessel tissue, needed most as tumours develop. The team said that the new find is a proof of principle of the new vasculogenic mimicry theory, proposing that, as needed, tumours build their own blood pipelines. This is very different from the well-known role of tumour angiogenesis, when tumours send signals to blood vessels to grow toward the cancer. "Finding that vitamin A may cause some breast cancer cells to form blood vessels brings up the rather disturbing notion that treatment with these drugs may actually stimulate tumour growth," said study''s senior author, Stephen W. Byers, Ph.D., a professor of oncology and cell biology at Georgetown''s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Centre. "None of this means that people should avoid foods rich in vitamin A, or should refuse to take their vitamins," he said. "What led us to this study is that previous research on retinoids implied that they may be effective in a preventative setting, but may actually have a negative effect after tumour initiation and during progression," he added. During the study, the researchers found that treating the cells with retinoic acid triggered 81 genes that are associated with endothelial cells, such as vascular endothelial (VE) cadherin, which plays a role in binding endothelial cells together into a structure. When they mixed the treated cancer cells with endothelial cells taken from human umbilical cord blood, structures similar to blood vessels developed within the tumour masses grown in culture. “What this study tells us is that treating stem cells that have retained the ability to become cell types other than breast with differentiating agents such as vitamin A may cause an inappropriate cell to develop - in this case potentially promoting tumor vasculogenesis and growth, which is not a desired effect," said Byers. The findings are published in the July 16 online issue of PLoS ONE. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Bumblebees go ‘off-color’ when ill
16.07.2008 08:26
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Like humans, bumblebees too are not at their most astute when they are ill, says a new research, which found that the bees go ''off colour'' and can''t remember which flowers have the most nectar when they are feeling under the weather. The study from the University of Leicester has been published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. Lecturer in Animal Biology at the University of Leicester Dr. Eamonn Mallon, who lead the research group, said: "Disease can influence different behaviours including foraging, mate choice, and predator avoidance. Several recent papers have shown reduced learning abilities in infected insects. “However, it is difficult to separate the effects of the immune response from the direct effects of the parasite. That was the purpose of our study" In the research, bees were divided into a control group and a group that were injected with lipopolysaccharide, a substance that stimulated an immune response without a need for the bee to be infected with a disease. Bees were offered the choice of blue and yellow artificial flowers only one type of which contained sugar water. An individual''s flight was recorded over ninety visits to these flowers. Eventually the bees spent almost all of their time going to the rewarding flowers, but it took the immune stimulated bees longer to reach this point. The research, ''Immune response impairs learning in free flying bumble-bees'', was conducted in the Department of Biology, in collaboration with the Department of Genetics, at the University of Leicester. Dr Mallon added: "This work has two important applications. Firstly, there is a lot of interest in the connections between the immune system and the nervous system in human biology. The Mallon lab was the first to show that these interactions also exist in the much more experimentally tractable insects. "Secondly, there is concern about both the decline in wild bumble-bee species and the effects of disease on the honeybee industry. It has been shown that learning is vitally important to how well a colony prospers. This effect of immunity on learning highlights a previously unconsidered effect of disease on colony success." (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Kotak securities announced launch of AutoInvest nationwide
16.07.2008 02:19
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Kotak Securities today announced the launch of AutoInvest and its gold profile AutoInvest- Gold where you can invest in Gold ETF too, the product is a first that allows investors to invest via SIP (Systematic investment Planning) in Gold ETFs along with the equity and mutual funds all in one portfolio. Gold has always been close to Indians as it plays a significant role in religious and human sentiment. The glittering yellow metal is also considered as a safe investment that is protected from currency fluctuations and the downswings in the financial markets. Commenting on the AutoInvest benefits, Prasanth Prabhakaran Senior VP, Kotak Securities said, "Through continuous research, we found that there was a category of investors who wanted to invest in the stock market for long term but are unable to do so, either due to the lack of time or a lack of knowledge in stock picking. We therefore decided to launch AutoInvest to address this gap.” “Further taking AutoInvest to the next level, we have also launched AutoInvest Gold which allows investors to build their investments in a combination of Gold ETF, Equity stocks and Mutual Funds. It is our constant endeavour to involving investors in every step of their wealth creation to both motivate them as well as educate them on the best choices available. We aim to cater to investors who believe in a systematic long-term wealth creation. The investor should however be aware that investments in equities are subject to market risks and a SIP product does not necessarily assure returns," added Prabhakaran. AutoInvest- Gold, is a systematic investment solution that enables an investor to invest in gold ETFs, stocks and mutual funds on a regular basis, making it a well diversified investment. With AutoInvest - Gold, on sale of Gold ETFs through Kotak Securities, the client will be given a two per cent discount coupon which client can redeem at any Kotak Mahindra Bank branch if he wishes to purchase gold within the validity period of the said discount. For availing the discount coupon on sale of Gold ETF through Kotak Securities the client needs to be a Kotak Mahindra Bank account holder. Under AutoInvest - Gold the investor can invest in three-four stocks, mutual funds and gold ETF every month, which is/are recommended by a dedicated research team at Kotak Securities. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Indian shares provisionally end down 5.4 percent
16.07.2008 02:19
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India''s main share market index provisionally fell 5.38 per cent on Tuesday to its lowest close in more than 15 months, led by financials such as ICICI bank on fears of worsening global credit turmoil. The banking sector index was down 5.1 per cent. ICICI, India''s No. 2 lender, fell as much as 6.2 per cent to 543.65 rupees, it’s lowest since August 2006, and mortgage lender Housing Development and Finance Corp dropped five per cent to 1,836 rupees. Although Indian banks have no direct exposure to the US sub prime mortgage sector, the global financial sector turmoil impacts sentiment in the local market and raises worries of more withdrawals by foreign funds. According to market analysts the downward trend in the market is due to the prevailing political instability in the country. “There are a lot of factor that are contributing to this volatility. Number one is the crude oil, the crude oil has been hovering between 135 to 146,147 a barrel because of which not only the Indian market but the global market is going up and down. Number two which is totally for the Indian context is our political situation in the country. July 22nd is going to be the vote of confidence, where the current government will be sitting for the vote and there has been a lot of sea-saw. At least from the media and from what we read. There has been a lot of horse-trading, you can say. Both the parties are trying to corner MP''s (Member of Parliament) whichever way they want. This is again putting a speculation in the market whether the government will sail through or not,” said Ankit Ajmera, Market Analyst. The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index provisionally ended down 717.74 points at 12,612.77, with all its components in the red. The broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index provisionally fell 5.01 per cent to 3,837.20. (ANI)
India
Economics & Finance
Bhutan PM to hold talks with Manmohan Singh
16.07.2008 02:19
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Bhutan''s first democratically elected Prime Minister, Jigmi Y. Thinley, will meet his Indian counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh here today and hold discussions on a wide range of issues. Issues like border management, security, cooperation in hydropower, health and tourism are expected to be considered during the meeting. Both the leaders are likely to hold discussion on developing Tala Hydropower Project to India and Bhutan. The Tala power project, which was commissioned on March 30, 2007, is expected to further boost the tapping of the estimated 30,000-megawatt of hydro-power resources that Bhutan possesses. As of now the identified techno-commercially feasible potential is about 23,500 megawatt out which only 1488 megawatt installed capacity is exploited at present. After completion, the project will generate 4,865 million units of power in an average year. It would also provide 1122 megawatt of peaking power throughout the year. Surplus power generated from the project will be exported to India through 400 KV transmission lines to a pooling point in Siliguri, and from there to India''''s Eastern and Northern Grids. Thinley will also call on President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Hamid Ansari. He will also meet External Affairs Minster Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani. Thinley, who arrived here on a four-day visit, yesterday met Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and held discussions, related to the hydropower and tourism sectors. He also met Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Thinley is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Affairs Minister Ugyen Tshering, Economic Affairs Minister Khandu Wangchuk and Finance Minister Wangdi Norbu. (ANI)
India
Social Life
ULFA cadres vouch for peace, but leaders indulge in violence
16.07.2008 02:19
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The disconnect between the ULFA leadership and its cadres has been an open secret in Assam for quite a few years. This came out into the open last week when two major divisions of the outfit''s mainstay 28th battalion, revolted against the leadership accusing them of working against the interests of the people of Assam.The people of Assam have welcomed this development. Meanwhile, in desperation ULFA resorted to violence and killing of innocent people."We battalion level leaders are not competent to sit in such negotiations. This is why we are convinced that direct talks between our central leadership and the Indian government, in conjunction with the Assam government is the need of the hour," said Mrinal Hazarika, a former cadre and "commander", 28th battalion, ULFA.Noni Gopal Mahanta, Professor, Conflict Resolution, Guwahati University, said, "I believe that other battalion might realize that this is quite serious. How far a leadership, which is outside the state, can realize this burning issue? So in that way, this is the fundamental difference between the previous kinds of surrendering as compared to this time."It is not only the analysts who are appreciating the positive development, the people of Assam too are happy.Assam Public Works, a non-government organization working for peace in the state, organized a peace march to welcome the change."First of all, we welcome the 28th battalion, which as declared ceasefire. We request all the battalions to come forward and sit for the talks to solve the problem of Assam," said Abhijit Sharma, Director, Assam Public Works.Thousands of the people have come out on the streets. It is this pressure for peace and disenchantment with violence that compelled the cadres of the ULFA to join the mainstream and debunk their leadership that is operating from a foreign country."I firmly want to appeal that we need a good political strategy. We need good policy to tackle the insurgency and that is why I strongly believe that it should be the effort of the government of India, to bring the leader to the negotiating table and peace will become lasting and sustainable," said Noni Gopal Mahanta.But the question is does ULFA leadership want peace? How can the government hold talks with an outfit that is indulging in mindless killing in desperation?"Whose interest Paresh Barua is serving? Of India or of Assam or of inimical forces?" asked Tarun Gogoi, Assam Chief Minister.In recent months, security forces have managed to curb the activities of the ULFA.In addition, lack of people''s support and sympathy for the outfit and its cause has been a major reason for the marginalization of the organization in the state. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Home Secretary to convene anti-Naxal meeting tommorow
16.07.2008 02:19
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Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta has called a special meeting of senior officials and police chiefs of four severely Naxalite affected states on July 16, the focus of which will be how to counter the growing Maoist menace. Police chiefs and senior officials of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, which together accounts for over 80 per cent of Naxal violence in the country, are expected to discuss current efforts on the security front to deal with Naxalism. The meeting will be followed by another meeting at the Cabinet Secretary level where these states will be asked to implement Central Government’s scheme in a time bound manner. The meeting has been called in the wake of the killing of Jharkhand’s former Welfare Minister Ramesh Singh Munda and over 50 personnel of the elite “Greyhound” anti-Naxal force in Orissa. This force was created by the Andhra Pradesh Government to deal with the Naxal menace in the state and in other parts of the country. The Central Government also plans to fine tune a proposal to create a specialised security force of 10,000 people before submitting it to the Union Cabinet for approval. Since it will take at least two years to raise the special force of ten battalions, Home Ministry sources said that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been asked to provide two battalions (nearly 2,000 personnel) to take up anti-Naxalite operation across various states. (ANI)
India
Social Life
BJP issues whip for trust vote
16.07.2008 02:19
b4uindia.com
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a whip here today to its Lok Sabha MPs for the July 22 trust vote to topple the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government in the crucial vote of confidence in the Parliament. V K Malhotra, Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha told reporters in New Delhi, "All the NDA constituents are together and we are confident that the UPA government will fall.” Malhotra added, “The BJP has issued a whip and we are talking to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents like Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Janata Dal (United), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and others." Malhotra further said, "Smaller parties and members of United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) are also talking to us to vote against the Government." According to sources, the BJP said that all NDA partners, including and Shiv Sena, SAD would vote against the UPA Government. A meeting of all NDA chief ministers has been called on July 17 to discuss the forthcoming trust vote, necessitated after the withdrawal of support by the Left parties to the UPA Government over Indo-US civil nuclear deal issue. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Two militants arrested in J-K
16.07.2008 02:19
b4uindia.com
The Jammu and Kashmir police has arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen militant at Kota forest falling under the jurisdiction of police station Bandipora, Baramulla. Ali Lone alias Azad, resident of Chuntimulla, Bandipora was hiding in the Kota forest. He was a battalion commander of Hizbul Mujajhideen outfit. One AK-47 rifle, six AK rounds, a wireless set was recovered from his possession. In another operation, Shopian police apprehended one Over Ground Worker (OGW) of Al-badr outfit. Muzaffar Ahmad Chopan, resident of Reshipora Harmeen from Mimander Shopian. 126 rounds of Pika and a pouch was recovered from his possession. (ANI)
India
Social Life
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