TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Letters: Comfort at Life’s End (1 Letter) A letter to the editor. feeds.nytimes.com |
AstraZeneca joins UCL to find stem cell cure for diabetic blindness AstraZeneca and UCL researchers look to use stem cells to repair eyesight in rising number of diabetic retinopathy patientsAstraZeneca and University College London (UCL) will announce a research partnership tomorrow to develop medicines that use stem cells to repair damaged eyesight in people with diabetes.Under the three-year deal funded by the drugmaker, researchers from AstraZeneca will team up with scientists at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology to work on new medicines that use the regenerative capacity of stem cells. They hope to come up with a compound in three to five years, which could then undergo clinical development and possibly be on the market in 10 years' time.Dr Marcus Fruttiger of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, who is leading the project, said: "These tools could be used either to manufacture transplantable material or to directly stimulate new cell growth in the eye to help restore or improve the vision of those with diabetic retinopathy [DR]."DR is now the most common cause of vision impairment or blindness among western people of working age. The majority of patients with type-1 diabetes, which occurs when the body produces no insulin and often develops during the teenage years, will suffer eyesight problems and about 20%-30% will become blind. Moreover, at least 50% of patients with type-2 diabetes – the far more common type of diabetes, which occurs when the body produces too little insulin or when cells in the body do not react properly to insulin – will also develop retinopathy over time.With the rapid spread of type-2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, the need for a retinopathy treatment will grow as more than 438 million people are expected to suffer from diabetes by 2030. A study published this year by Oxford University predicted that eight out of 10 men and almost seven in 10 women will be overweight or obese by 2020. It forecast a 98% rise in obesity-related diabetes by 2050.Alan Lamont, director of sciences and technology alliances at AstraZeneca. said: "We're getting very keen on the whole area of regenerative medicines and they will be part of our research development over the next few years." He said the collaboration aimed to come up with a treatment that could be administered to the back of the eye to repair damage locally.AstraZeneca's US rival Pfizer also has a partnership with Professor Pete Coffey of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, for another eye condition, macular degeneration. Coffey said: "It's great that 'Big Pharma' is considering regenerative medicines as a serious possibility." He added: "This is British science being developed into a commercial entity with the pharmaceutical industry. It's a good example why the government shouldn't cut funding for biomedical research."While this is the first time that AstraZeneca has worked on medicine for retinopathy, diabetes has been an area of focus. The company has a new diabetes treatment on the market called Onglyza, which was developed with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the companies are developing a second diabetes drug that could be submitted to regulators for approval later this year.AstraZenecaPharmaceuticals industryDiabetesHealthHealthcare industryJulia Kolleweguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Soyuz capsule lands in Kazakh steppe with 3 aboard By PETER LEONARD 2010-09-25T19:26:25ZALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) -- A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts who lived six months on the International Space Station touched down safely, but one day late, Saturday morning in the cloudy, central steppes of Kazakhstan.... hosted.ap.org |
If the queen is the Queen, why is the pope not the Pope? And other questions | Mind your language Q&A The Guardian style guide editors answer readers' queries – first in a seriesWe receive a large number of questions about Guardian style and wider language issues. This is the first in an occasional series of Mind Your Language blogposts attempting to answer some of them.Big Society or big society?Simon Hoggart rightly described this phrase as "surely the vaguest slogan ever coined by a political leader. Nobody knows what it means." Until they do, keep it in quotation marks, at least the first time you mention it in a story, and always lowercase – so it's "big society".So it's "tea party" then?If you're talking about cucumber sandwiches, scones and a pot of Earl Grey. If, however, you are referring to the Tea Party movement, use initial caps. The reference is, of course, to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, which did involve tea (though not sandwiches and scones).Due to or owing to?If you can substitute "caused by", due to is correct; if you can substitute "because of", owing to is correct: The train's late arrival was due to leaves on the line; the train was late owing to leaves on the line. This rule is so simple that it is astonishing how rarely people (including those who write in the Guardian) get it right.Beyond the pale? Surely it should be beyond the pail (that's what I was always taught)I'm afraid your teachers were wrong. This pale is derived from the Latin palus, a stake as used to support a fence (cf palisade); hence the figurative meaning of beyond the pale as being outside the boundary, unacceptable.The pope, the Queen? They are both job titles, yet you capitalise the Queen but not the popeThere are lots of queens, and a risk of ambiguity (in a story about the Commonwealth, say) if we don't cap up the Queen. That said, plenty of Guardian readers think we should call the Queen "the queen" for political reasons. There is only one pope, just as there is only one archbishop of Canterbury. Capital letters are about communication, not status.I would like to request that you consider banning the use of "track record" (in favour of "record"). It drives me mad – it is lazy and cliched. I have got to the point where I stop reading an article if it's usedGood idea, now incorporated into the style guide. Thank you.A native of Luxembourg is a Luxembourger. In your sport section, cyclist Andy Schleck has been continually referred to as "the Luxembourgeois" and it's bugging me. Why?The sports department was following the style guide, which was wrong. It has now been corrected, with thanks to this reader.An article today uses the neologism "congregants". Is the Guardian so disastrously affected by the current economic crisis that it cannot afford to print the extra letters involved in "members of his congregation"?No. Point taken.Is "bouncebackability" a real word?Yes, it's an alternative to "the ability to bounce back" and is believed to have been coined by the football manager Iain Dowie. Thanks to @guardianstyle's followers on Twitter, it has been translated into French (la rebondissabilité) and German (die Rücksprungsfähigkeit).Hello! Having appeared in the Times last week I thought you may be interested in seeing my blog – thestylelocker.com. Similar to you I comment on all the must-have recommendations from the best of what's hip and stylishNot that similar to us, really. But we do like the trenchcoat.Post your questions and comments here, email them to guardian.style@guardian.co.uk, or tweet them to @guardianstyleLanguageDavid Marshguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Climate Change Doubt Is Tea Party Article of Faith The movement’s supporters are wary of the Obama administration’s plans to regulate carbon dioxide. feeds.nytimes.com |