Category Archives: Alabama Stem Cells

The first commercial product from Hampton Creeks new clean meat production platform will likely be in the avian family, director of cellular agriculture Eitan Fischer told FoodNavigator-USA as the company best known for its work on plant-based proteins unveiled ambitious plans to explore the animal variety.

Fischer was speaking to us after Hampton Creek founder Josh Tetrick posted anarticle on linkedin explaining that producing 'clean' or 'cultured' meat (by culturing cells without raising or slaughtering animals) and plant-based meat/eggs, both stemmed from a desire to find kinder and more sustainable alternatives to industrial animal farming.

His comments came as Dr Eric Schulze, senior scientist at Memphis Meats probably the best-known clean meat company told delegates at the IFT show this week that his company aims to launch premium-priced clean meat products in high-end restaurants in 2019, and more mass market products in grocery stores in 2021.

Poultry will likely be first to market in late 2018, Fischer told us: We believe the first product released commercially will likely be in the avian family.

Longer term, however, the plan is to build a multi-species, multi-product platform spanning the entire range of meat and seafood, he said.

We haven't solved the meat and seafood problem until we are able to make all of these products.

Asked how long Hampton Creek had been working on the technology, and what kinds of scientists were working on the project, he said: We have been working on this for over a year. Many members of our 59-person R&D team are involved, between our molecular team, our analytical chemistry team, our process team, and our product development team.

We also supplemented the significant in-house expertise we had previously with additional, more specific specialists such as scientists with stem cell biology, medicine, and tissue engineering backgrounds.

"We believe that clean meat can be evaluated and regulated within existing regulatory frameworks... Clean meat is a food, not a drug, not a new animal drug or a food additive..." [read more on this at FoodNavigator-USA next week..]

Rebecca Cross, counsel,Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

We think its unlikely that families in Alabama (or anywhere in the world) will consistently choose plant-based alternatives over chicken, beef, pork, and seafood Over the past year, weve started the early work of expanding our platform to solve the technical challenges of scalable clean meat.

With plants providing nutrients for animal cells to grow, we believe we can produce meat and seafood that is over 10x more efficient than the worlds highest volume slaughterhouse.

Imagine choosing between a similarly priced pound of clean high-grade bluefin tuna belly or conventional tilapia from underwater traps. Or clean A5 Kobe beef versus conventional sirloin (corn-fed and confined). Our approach will be transparent and unquestionably safe, free of antibiotics and have a much lower risk of foodborne illness. The right choice will be obvious.

Weve started the process of licensing our discoveries to the worlds largest food manufacturers and, in the years ahead, well do the same with the worlds largest meat and seafood companies.

Josh Tetrick, founder and CEO, Hampton Creek

Fischer would not say what kind of stem cells the company is using, or whether the plan is to first proliferate cells in a stir tank bioreactor and then transfer them to a larger perfusion type bioreactor where they will mature and differentiate in to the different cell types (fat, muscle, connective tissue).

However, he confirmed that, We are building a platform that enables us to produce cells of different types including muscle, fat, and others, in a bioreactor-based process.

As for the go-to-market strategy, he said: We are exploring various options for the initial release but are most focused on how to get the costs down to parity or below current meat prices. We haven't truly solved the meat and seafood problem until we've done so.

The company has not said what it is using as a growth medium (the nutrient-rich bath the cells need to grow) but said its expertise in plant-based products had enabled it to develop a viable vegan alternative to animal serum.

"The entry of a billion-dollar company into the clean meat market sector is a vote of confidence in the technology, and we hope that Hampton Creek will be the first of many major food companies to dive into this incrediblypromisingfield."

Bruce Friedrich, executive director, The Good Food Institute

In a mapping document penned by the Good Food Institute earlier this month, the authors predicted that clean meat would likely come to market in phases, with the first products perhaps hybrids combining clean meat and plant-based meat; followed by ground meat products (nuggets, burgers); and finally those mimicking steaks or chicken breasts, which present significantly greater technical challenges.

The first products that come to market may be hybrid products wherein clean meat is included as a part of plant-based products that essentially require only cell lines, media, and proliferative bioreactors to come to fruition.

They add: The next commercial products will likely be ground meat mimics, where scaffolding can be minimal; more complex structures requiring vascularization or perfusion bioreactors are not necessarily required.

Finally, more structured tissues like those mimicking steaks or chicken breasts will require research and development in all of the areas outlined above. Thus, a consideration of target product(s) should drive the R&D focus.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the GFI on June 8, Dr Specht added: "I think there's a lot of evidence to suggest that consumers would be interested in hybrid products," citing the success of products already on the market that feature combinations of regular meat and plant-based ingredients, such as mushroom blend burgers and sausages with 40% meat, which are marketing on a health and sustainability platform, and can also be more affordable.

"The phrase 'clean meat' is similar to 'clean energy' in that it immediately communicates important aspects of the technologyboth the environmental benefits and the decrease in food-borne pathogens and drug residues."

Bruce Friedrich, executive director, The Good Food Institute

This Good Food Institute schematic illustrates one conception of the clean meat production process at scale. The first stage is proliferation of the cells, followed by a differentiation and maturation stage where cells are seeded onto scaffolds and allowed to mature into the cell types required for meat.

Clean meat production begins with obtaining cell lines for the desired animal species (eg. chicken, pork, beef) that behave in a predictable way through many generations, while maintaining an unlimited capacity to reproduce/divide (ie. immortalized cell lines).

Next you have to proliferate cells, perhaps in a stir tank bioreactor where you might suspend your cells in the growth medium (both Hampton Creek and Memphis Meats claim to have found viable alternatives to animal serum read more about that HERE ) and stir them and keep them warm.

As for the next stage, where you want to encourage the creation of an organized pattern of muscle, fat, and connective tissue cells, this would probably require seeding onto scaffolding and then differentiating into the various cell types, the stage at which you get real fat cells forming and the muscle cells forming into fibers to give that authentic meaty texture, said Dr Specht.

Here, the scaffolding would need to be something that is subsumed within the final meat product so it would have to be made out of something that is degradable over time, or something edible that would not impact the taste or safety of the final product such as cellulose or collagen, she said.

To accommodate three-dimensional growth, the scaffolds must exhibit porosity for perfusing nutrient media [the nutrients have to be able to reach the cells], she added. Alternatively, they must support vascularization of the tissue itself, i.e., the formation of a network of vessels to allow nutrients to permeate the tissue. Several production methods, including 3D printing and spun-fiber platforms, allow fine-tuning of pore size and microstructures within the scaffold.

"Once you get to the scaffold stage, that area is less explored and has not yet been demonstrated at scale."

Interested in clean meat?

GFI senior scientist Dr Liz Specht will give delegates at FOOD VISION USA 2017 the lowdown on clean meat, while Alex Lorestani will explain how Geltor is producing gelatin without animals. See the latest speaker list HERE .

See the original post here:
Hampton Creek to enter clean meat market in 2018: 'We are building a multi-species, multi-product platform' - FoodNavigator-USA.com

Newswise BIRMINGHAM, Ala. A brain tumor was the furthest thing from Kathy Englishs mind that day in 2003 when she walked into a neurologists office. Shed had some uncontrolled sinus issues, so her doctors had ordered a variety of tests, including an MRI. When she arrived to get the MRI results, the neurologist said he had not yet had a chance to look at them himself.

He said wed look at them together, English recalled. As he looked over the scan, he pointed out a small abnormality, a tumor which he described as a meningioma. Then he saw another one. And another. By this time, I was getting pretty worried. Ultimately, he found 12, and now I was really worried.

A meningioma is a usually benign, slow-growing tumor. While referred to as a brain tumor, it actually does not grow from brain tissue but rather from the meninges, layers of tissue which cover the brain. Still, 12 meningiomas are not to be taken lightly.

The neurologist immediately referred English to neurosurgeon James Markert, M.D., an internationally renowned brain tumor expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Markert, who is professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery in the UAB School of Medicine, says meningiomas are relatively rare, but certainly not unheard of. He followed English for several years, and when one of the tumors began to grow, he surgically removed it, along with eight others that were easily accessible. Two more were later eliminated through a gamma knife radiation procedure. Markert continues to monitor the others. Through it all, English never had any symptoms, other than a bucket-full of anxiety.

It was like knowing you have bugs on your head Get them off! Get them off! she said. Its so reassuring to know that Im being treated and monitored by some of the top brain tumor people in the nation.

Her experiences made English something of a brain tumor expert herself, certainly enough to realize something was not right when her husband, John, became dizzy and off-balance after bending over to unplug a computer cord. Hed had a couple of bad headaches in the previous weeks, and that evening in the fall of 2016, there was something obviously wrong.

We ruled out stroke pretty quickly, and our physician ordered an MRI, English said. The results came back astrocytoma. A brain tumor. We were stunned.

Two days later, John English was in Markerts office, and in less than two weeks, had surgery to remove a Grade 2 tumor. His recovery has been robust, and he knows he is lucky.

While we never anticipated having a second person in the family with a brain tumor, Kathys experiences made us proactive, John said. My prognosis is so much better due to the quick recognition of the tumor, and the quick response by UAB.

The Englishes did not consider themselves prime candidates for brain tumors. Both are pescatarians (individuals who add fish to a vegetarian diet) who stay fit and keep a close eye on their health.

The scientific community still has much to learn in order to predict the onset of a brain tumor or who is at risk, said Markert, who holds the James Garber Galbraith Endowed Chair of Neurosurgery at UAB and is a senior scientist in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Some, called primary tumors, arise in the brain. Others are called metastatic tumors, which arise elsewhere in the body and migrate to the brain.

The good news, Markert says, is that the landscape for brain tumor therapy is much better now than ever before.

A diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor is still devastating, but weve come a long way, he said. The horizon is very bright for the development of even more impactful treatments in the very near future.

Markert credits improved imaging with some of that optimism. Improvements in neuroimaging can now reveal much more information about the makeup of tumors.

We used to classify tumors based simply on their microscopic appearance, Markert said. We are now able to look at mutations within tumor cells, and weve found that certain sets of mutations are associated with different tumor types and subtypes. This really is precision medicine, as we can now tailor therapy based on our better understanding of the genetic signature of an individual tumor.

A new oral chemotherapy agent called temozolomide is a good example. It is effective on some tumors, but others are resistant to the drug. Advances in genetic testing can predict which patients will respond best to the drug and which will not.

Another new agent, aminolevulinic acid, or 5-ALA, is used in a fluorescence imaging technique. The drug is absorbed into tumors and causes them to glow when viewed on an MRI. Surgeons can then better visualize the tumor, especially at its boundaries with healthy cells. Those boundaries are usually indistinct, and the line between tumor and healthy tissue can be blurred. 5-ALA helps guide surgeons as they attempt to remove as much of a tumor as possible while leaving healthy tissue intact. 5-ALA is expected to be approved for use by the FDA in the near future.

New technology will soon be in place at UAB, such as intraoperative MRI scanning, where surgeons will have the ability to do real-time MRI scans in the operating room during surgery. Another advance, also based on improved MRI use, will employ lasers surgically inserted into the tumor to precisely destroy tumor cells with heat energy.

Markert says proton therapy, an option over traditional radiation technology and coming to UAB in 2019, can be a valuable tool for pediatric tumors or tumors situated close to delicate structures such as the brain stem or optic nerve.

Another promising therapy has been under investigation in Markerts lab for years. In 2001, Markert and his colleagues published initial results of a first-generation genetically engineered herpes virus as a therapy to destroy brain tumors. A second generation virus, known as M032, is currently undergoing clinical trials. The virus infects tumor cells and replicates, while leaving healthy cells alone.

The act of viral replication in the tumor kills the infected tumor cells and causes the tumor cell to act as a factory to produce new viruses. As the tumor cell dies, progeny viruses are released from the cell. These viruses infect other tumor cells in the vicinity and continue the process of tumor killing. The virus also causes the patients own immune system to attack the tumor.

This process, especially combined with advances in immunotherapy, presents a very promising approach to treating tumors, Markert said.

Markert explains that the bodys immune system is designed to patrol for foreign cells in the body, including mutated cancer cells. The immune systems killer T cells have an off-switch, known as a checkpoint. The checkpoint is usually turned off, keeping T cells from attacking healthy cells. It turns on again, usually in the presence of a foreign cell, prompting T cells to attack. But tumor cells are very good at fooling the checkpoint so it remains in the off position. Drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors are under development which would turn the checkpoint on, stimulating the T cells to attack the tumor.

One approach we are considering now is a combination of viral and immunotherapy, Markert said. The viral therapy using our modified herpes virus should produce a vibrant immune response, followed by introduction of the checkpoint inhibitors, which would turn on the checkpoints and activate individual T cells.

Markert is excited about the future of brain tumor research and treatment. As a leading academic medical center home of one of the nations Comprehensive Cancer Centers, and the states leader in personalized medicine, UAB is primed to be at the forefront of new discovery.

We have a remarkable array of talent here, in radiation oncology, hematology/oncology, neurology, neurosurgery, and other fields, he said. We have an outstanding research enterprise in both adult and pediatric brain tumors. Its an exciting time to be in this field.

Brain cancer is not the most prevalent kind of cancer breast and lung cancer top the list; but malignant brain tumors can be particularly devastating. The National Cancer Institute predicts 33,800 new cases in 2017. The NCI also estimates that 16,700 Americans will die of brain cancer this year.

We are turning a corner, but there are still too many people who die from brain tumors each year, Markert said. These patients and their families are very courageous people. We owe it to them to find better treatments.

The Englishes had two firsthand experiences to convince them to continue to be proactive and involved in their health care.

Pay attention to your body, and if something unusual happens, dont blow it off, John said. Be aggressive in following up. We are two people who paid attention to our medical issues and, as a result, got the right care to provide us the best possible outcomes.

About UAB

Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is the state of Alabamas largest employer and an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center; its professional schools and specialty patient-care programs are consistently ranked among the nations top 50. UABs Center for Clinical and Translational Science is advancing innovative discoveries for better health as a two-time recipient of the prestigious Center for Translational Science Award. Find more information at http://www.uab.edu and http://www.uabmedicine.org.

EDITORS NOTE: The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a separate, independent institution from the University of Alabama, which is located in Tuscaloosa. Please use University of Alabama at Birmingham on first reference and UAB on subsequent references.

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More:
Brain Tumors: Still Devastating, but Treatment Has Come a Long Way - Newswise (press release)

TIMMINS-

It seemed that everyone at this year's ALS walk had a personal connection to the disease.

Either the story was written in one word, a fill-in-the-blank sticker on walkers' shirts stating the name of the person they walked for a father, a sister, a grandparent or a friend, or it was told in conversation with other participants who could relate.

Saturday's walk was dedicated to three Timmins women currently living with ALS Janine, Gloria and Joanne.

May Caissy walked for her late husband, Jean-Yves.

My husband passed away three years ago, and I did everything to beat the disease, said Caissy, who said she's now writing a book about her experience.

Within two months of her husband's diagnosis, he was no longer able to work. And like other people diagnosed with ALS, he lost one ability after another.

It started with constant twitches and spasms and ended with her husband no longer able to communicate.

I took him to Alabama for stem cells. I read from day to night to try to find any kind of cure, any kind of food that would change the process.

Caissy joked that she may not be a doctor, but after all her research, she feels like a scientist.

She wore purple to the walk, bringing purple balloons to share with other participants. She said there's some irony in the fact that purple was her wedding colour and is also the colour for the walk.

Siblings Dominique and David Cadeau walked for seven family members who had ALS: their brother, mother, grandfather, two aunts and two uncles.

It's an awful disease, said David Cadeau. The last few years, at the walks were just people who've been affected.

He's hopeful that a cure will be found one day.

We actually started the ALS walk here in Timmins, it was in memory of my brother Durwin, said Dominique Cadeau.

That was more than a decade ago but the family still comes to the fundraising event, now organized by the ALS Society of Canada.

Brigitte Labby is the regional manager for North East Ontario. She said the goal for the day was $8,000 60% of which would be used for client services, which includes client support, our equipment program, education and awareness.

The rest would be used to research the disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Things are coming along. We're starting to understand what may or may not be causing it, so it's still quite critical, said Labby.

An individual will lose their ability to use their limbs, will lose muscle mass, and eventually won't be able to stand or walk, and eventually will have difficulties speaking and eating, said said, noting that the disease is a terminal one.

She said she has 46 ALS clients in the region, though there are about 860 in the province. Labby will participate in several fundraising walks this spring. Recently, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury walks raised $59,000 and nearly $30,000 respectively.

Luckily, Labby chose cole secondaire Thriault instead of Gillies Lake for the walk. With rain pouring down for much of the morning, the event was held inside the year.

The organizer handed out cornflower seeds to families of people with ALS, noting the flowers are both hardy and delicate just like ALS patients.

NDP MPP Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay) attended the event and told the crowd, We live with hope for the day that we're going to be able to make breakthroughs for the disease so that we can actually fight this and we can win the fight against ALS.

City of Timmins mayor Steve Black thanked volunteers and fundraisers, but said recognition was due to those who care for loved ones with ALS.

I know it means the world to them, Black said. A big congratulations...for the support that you give, day in and day out, dealing with this terrible disease.

Read more:
Walk for "terrible, awful" disease - Timmins Press

The children have a debilitating metabolic disorder that affects only 500 people in the United States.

LAKELAND Joel Strickland is a rare boy, not only because he is a diminutive, 12-year-old, guitar-playing, cowboy-hat-wearing, dirt-bike-riding fisherman and hunter whose love of cooking has led to being an online Tupperware salesman.

He is rare because he does all this while dealing with a debilitating metabolic disorder that affects only 500 people in the United States.

Both Joel and his 1-year-old sister, Hannah, have been diagnosed with the genetic disorder cystinosis.

Their parents, Dawn and Travis Strickland, ages 38 and 44, of Lakeland, did not know they each carry a recessive gene for cystinosis, a disease so atypical that only 2,500 people worldwide are diagnosed with it and so serious that the good news is some patients are now surviving into their late 20s, even 30s and early 40s.

Their son Jonah, 14, and daughter Grace, 7, did not inherit the disorder.

In cystinosis the body accumulates the amino acid cystine (a building block of proteins), according to the National Institutes of Healths Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center. The extra cystine forms crystals that can build up and damage cells, which can impact all the organs.

Those diagnosed with the disorder must remain on a strict regimen of medications and supplements to prevent complications, including kidney failure, blindness, muscle wasting, difficulty swallowing, diabetes and hypothyroidism.

All cystinosis patients are very different, said Dr. Carlos Araya, a pediatrician and pediatric nephrologist with Nemours Childrens Hospital in Orlando, who said he has treated only four children with cystinosis, including Joel and Hannah.

Even Joel and Hannah, who have the same genetic marker, seem to be presenting differently, Araya said.

Joel had iron, potassium and bicarbonate deficiencies so severe that by the time he was 18 months old he had developed rickets, a sign of severe malnutrition. His frequent vomiting prevented his body from absorbing nutrients so his muscles were not developing and he was weak, not yet walking, his mother said.

Hannah has phosphorous and bicarbonate deficiencies. She does not have the severe vomiting issues Joel had at her age, but she is underweight, only 14 pounds.

Since being hospitalized for nearly a week in January she had developed cystinosis-related severe dehydration she reverted from eating solid food, her mother said. And it has been increasingly difficult to get her to take a bottle. She wants only water so she is not getting her needed nutrition.

Soon, Hannah, like Joel, will have a feeding tube, which requires a surgical procedure.

When Joels feeding tube was inserted a decade ago, he was receiving both food and medications through it. Now it is for medications only and, his mother said, Joel is an adventurous eater, always looking for something new and exotic to try after the nausea passes from the twice-a-day dose of a maintenance drug that protects his kidneys.

Joel remains small for his age, but he recently completed growth-hormone treatment to help him reach adult height, Araya said.

In addition to Araya, the children see other specialists at Nemours, including a pediatric gastroenterologist and, for Joel, a pediatric endocrinologist. And Nemours has a pediatric ophthalmologist who makes visits to Lakeland, and through him, Joel obtains his eye drops, which much be administered once every hour while he is awake, Dawn Strickland said.

Typically the crystals start forming in the eyes at 18 to 24 months so Hannah may soon also be on a schedule of hourly eye drops.

Life expectancy has improved with treatment, Araya said. Having very good adherence to treatment prevents or delays onset of other conditions.

Although kidney failure can still happen, the medication delays it, he said.

The diagnosis

We had never heard of cystinosis when Jonah was a baby, Dawn Strickland said.

When Joel was born, the Stricklands were starting a retail baby-supplies business in their hometown of Crestview.

Even though they often gave advice to other parents, I kept asking people who would come in to look at my baby, He cries a lot; he is little; he does not take his bottle," Dawn Strickland said. "But people would say, He will be OK, you know what you are doing, look at Jonah.

At 4 months, Joel was having trouble taking a bottle, she said. An ear, nose and throat doctorclipped the base of his tongue to see if that would help with his swallowing. Still, Joel could not finish a bottle and he was constantly crying.

At 11 months, he was often vomiting.

By 17 months, the vomiting was every morning; he wanted water and salty foods. He wasnt walking yet.

They kept labeling him with failure to thrive, a very vague diagnosis, Strickland said. Sometimes hed vomit 10 or 15 times a day. They kept saying maybe he will get over it. I knew there was something serious going on.

The Stricklands changed pediatricians. The new pediatrician hospitalized Joel for two weeks and ran a range of tests ruling out cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, celiac disease and other disorders and diseases but still came up with no diagnosis other than low sodium and low potassium.

The family asked to go to a larger hospital so Joel was sent to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, four hours away.

Still no diagnosis. But a feeding tube was inserted so Joel was finally getting vital nutrition and was keeping medications down.

Finding an answer

Travis Stricklands parents were living in Tennessee at the time and his mother suggested they take Joel to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

After being told the next available appointment with a pediatric nephrologist was three months away, the desperate family, afraid Joel would not survive that long, went to Nashville and parked themselves in Vanderbilts emergency department.

I refused to be sent away, and said 'I will keep coming back until someone sees him,' Dawn Strickland said. I told them 'my baby is sick; no one will help me.'

They got an appointment for the following Monday.

The doctor looked through Joels chart, took one look at Joel and said, Have you heard of cystinosis? Dawn Strickland said. I said Id already asked doctors about it and they had said no.

The nephrologist explained that the only way to tell was through a specialized blood test to check for cystine in the cells and to do an eye exam looking for an accumulation of crystals in the eyes.

They had an ophthalmologist check Joels eyes and he immediately saw the crystals at the back of his corneas, Dawn Strickland said. It wastwo weeks before confirmation of cystinosis came through the results of the specialized blood test.

Even a decade later, the memory of that time frustrates Dawn Strickland.

At the beginning

When Joel was about 1 year old, Travis Stricklandcame across a contractor who said he knew of a child with similar symptoms. He couldnt remember the name of the disease but came back a few days later with cystinosis scrawled on a sheet of paper.

Later the same week, three separate friends called Dawn Strickland, each saying they had seen a show on TLC called Mysterious Diagnosis and the symptoms of the disease, cystinosis, sounded like Joels.

I did research on the internet and when I saw the information on cystinosis I just cried and cried. I knew, this was the answer. But when she asked the specialists about cystinosis, they basically said, Dont go on Google, it will scare you. Just go home, mom, you are not a doctor.

At least a year passed before the diagnosis was made and Joel was started on the life-saving medications.

It was devastating to have lost so much time that we could have been administering meds and to know you lost that time because no one was hearing your voice, his mother said.

Grace was born healthy and never developed symptoms.

Hannah also seemed healthy but Dawn Strickland said she asked for Hannah to be tested at 4 months old because she was small and having some difficulty with feeding. When the tests came back positive, medications and supplements started immediately.

The truth of the matter is, I was praying so hard for a diagnosis with Joel. Whatever the diagnosis is, you want to know. Not knowing is the worst thing a person can go through," she said. "I kept praying, God, please give me wisdom.

She said that when Joel was finally diagnosed, I knew God had prepared my heart to start dealing with this.

Coming to Lakeland

The Stricklands arrived in Lakeland about a year ago, movingfrom New Tampa. A guest speaker from Abundant Life Church in Lakeland had intrigued the family and they started traveling to Lakeland for services.

Travis and Dawn Strickland already had a connection although distant to Lakeland. Each had attended Southeastern University at different times in the late 1990s.

Travis went on to receive a degree in mechanical engineering from Troy State. Typically he works on large contract jobs at power plants, which takes him away for months at a time. He currently is looking for work.

Dawn Strickland said, although it is preferable to have both parents available while caring for two chronically ill children who need medications and caretaking around the clock, the family is struggling financially.

She home-schools the children, which allows the family to work around Joels medical condition, to start lessons after daily bouts of pain and nausea pass.

We can do lessons on our schedule, she said.

Joel got interested in Tupperware when his grandmother signed up DawnStricklandto be a Tupperware distributor as a way to earn money. She admitted she was overwhelmed by the prospect, knowing how much time and energy she expends taking care of the family, home-schooling the children and dealing with medical issues.

But Joel was excited, loving to cook and seeing the possibilities,'' she said.He has a video on Facebook that demonstrates how to make an omelet using Tupperware.

Joel saiddealing with all the symptoms and medications probably makes me more determined.

The future

In the decade since Joel was diagnosed, there have been two major advances in treating cystinosis, unusual progress for an orphan disease that is so rare it is not cost-effective for pharmaceutical companies to invest in research.

The progress can be traced to the Cystinosis Research Foundation, founded in 2003 by Nancy and Jeff Stack of Newport Beach, Calif., whose daughter, Natalie, has cystinosis.

There was very little research going on; it was such an ultra-rare disease, Nancy Stack said. We have raised $43 million since 2003. The operations of the foundation are underwritten so all the funds go directly to research.

The money pays for the type of multi-year research projects needed for breakthroughs, Stack said. Currently there are 151 multi-year studies going on across the world.

When Natalie Stack was born 26 years ago, the only medication was in powder form that was mixed into liquid. In 1993-94, the medication became available in pill form, which was administered every six hours.

There was not another breakthrough until 2013, when the foundation-funded slow-release medication, Procysbi, became available.

Taking the medication two times a day instead of four times a day improves the quality of life, Stack said. The side effects are horrific. Now they get them twice a day instead of four times.

And parents, who went for years without a full nights sleep, no longer had to get up in the middle of the night to administer meds, she said.

The foundation also helped fund development of a tiny wafer that will slowly release medication to the eyes, eliminating the need for hourly eye drops that help reduce the painful feeling of sand in the eyes, Stack said. It will become available after it passes through the Food and Drug Administration approval process.

As children reach into their 20s, we see a lot of side effects from having this disease for decades, Stack said. The average age of death is 27 or 28.

At 26, Stacks daughter Natalie is doing remarkably well, although she takes 46 pills a day. She has received her bachelors degree and her masters degree in social work and has a full-time job.

But cystinosis does not go away, her mother said. It is progressive.

A foundation-sponsored researcher has been able to reverse cystinosis in a mouse study using stem cell and gene therapy, Stack said.

We are hoping to get approval to start human trials next year," she said. "We never know what we will get with human patients but we hope at a minimum it could stop cystinosis where it is. At its best, we could reverse damage.

Marilyn Meyer can be reached at marilyn.meyer@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @marilyn_ledger.

Link:
Rare disease hits 2 of family's 4 children - The Ledger

NationalTech Posted By Terri Williams on June 7, 2017 at 1:07 pm

A study in the Journal of Chemical Education may shed light on why students who perform well on ACT, SAT, and AP exams often struggle with introductory science courses in college and end up transferring from STEM disciplines. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis studied more than 800 students taking chemistry classes over the course of three semesters, and discovered that a students learning style determined success in these courses.

The STEM pipeline issue is troubling on several fronts. On more than one international assessment, U.S. students fail to impress in math and science. Meanwhile, it appears to be a disconnect between the most popular degrees and the most in-demand degrees, resulting in not enough students pursuing STEM majors.

But how many college students might be leaving STEM disciplines as a result of their performance in introductory STEM subjects? For example, a previous report reveals that Calculus I may stop some women students from pursuing STEM degrees.

As noted above, the Washington University study focuses on learning styles. Mark McDaniel, one of the studys authorsand a professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences and co-director of the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE) at Washington University, tells GoodCall, Some people tend to memorize or learn the examples that are provided as instances of the concept we term these exemplar learners, while others tend to extract the underlying principles or abstraction that summarizes the critical features of the training instances we term these abstraction learners.

However, the exemplar learners did not fare as well when presented with abstract concepts. In fact, 50% of the students in the study were not able to grasp concepts on chemistry tests when presented in a different format. This is problematic because the ability to solve complex problems is critical in chemistry and other STEM classes. The study shows that for courses that require a more process-oriented approach (the need to have in-depth reasoning and conceptual understanding), the performance differences (on course exams) between exemplar and abstraction learners are quite robust.

As a result, McDaniel explains that students who learn by example go on to perform significantly more poorly in advanced chemistry courses. And these results are independent of performance on ACT, SAT, and AP exams.

According to Gina Frey, one of the studys co-authors and also the Florence E. Moog Professor of STEM Education in Arts & Sciences, and co-director of CIRCLE, Exemplar-learning students learn by memorizing examples and solutions to example problems but these students tend not to learn the underlying principles or abstractions that are captured by the examples used in class and on homework.

If the test problem is modified or presented in a different context, Frey explains, These students do not understand that how the previously studied problems are analogous to, or can be applied to, the new test problem essentially, these learners do not know how to start to solve the test problem.

Dexter Perkins, a professor in the department of geology and geological engineering at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, has written extensively on this topic. He tells GoodCall that as a general rule, lecture classes and simple objective exams are not effective in promoting learning, and most college teachers need to change how they teach. Students must be engaged in order to learn, they must be engaged in order to progress intellectually, and traditional college classes are just not engaging to most students today. He believes that STEM disciplines present problems that arent related to students who learn by example.

I have many students who come to my classes and start by telling me that they are no good at math, or no good at science, etcetera, but where do they get these notions? Perkins says hes convinced that many K-12 teachers are not trained to teach science and math, and they also believe that these are difficult subjects. I think the teachers, even if they do not mean to, pass this notion on to their students. And, Perkins believes that parents and society as a whole also contribute to this way of thinking.

He explains that STEM disciplines are actually very abstract. Drop a ball and time it falling to the ground that is bookkeeping, but, explain why it falls and why it accelerates that is heavy stuff.

Likewise, Perkins says its easy to identify minerals and memorize what happens in biological cells. But explaining what constitutes a mineral or all of the moving parts in biological cells thats a different story. Students figure out quickly that there is something missing with those simplistic models.

While subjects like science and engineering require a higher-level of thinking, Perkins doesnt think students, even those with several years of college, are at that level. It is hard to say, but I think that my poor students never get there: the mediocre ones maybe start to get it during their senior year, and the top students there are very few may get it a year earlier.

However, Perkins says it takes (1) time, (2) practice, and (3) nurturing, to develop good STEM habits. And most college classes are not designed to help this development.

So, does this mean that abstract learning is a lost cause for exemplar students those who learn by example? McDaniel says its not clear if all of the students in a given course can develop abstract learning skills. However, we do have preliminary data that show that using active-learning methods that strive to make the underlying principles visible at least, we have shown this for the Peer-Led Team Learning or PLTL method can improve performance on far-transfer problems for a subset of exemplar learners.

Frey adds, This result implies that with appropriate instruction, these learners were able to acquire more abstract knowledge of the underlying chemistry principles.

If teachers can apply learning concepts to different contexts, this might help students to make the necessary connections, according to Hui-Yin Hsu, an associate professor and chair of Teacher Education at New York Institute of Technology. Hsu tells GoodCall, For example, a teacher might need to use several examples to help students apply Newtons law of motion to understand the law of inertia students need time to digest the concept itself and to practice the concept in various contexts.

Some contexts for students who learn by example might include various approaches. They might perform experiments, watch videos, and exchange with classmates the ways in which the law relates to their personal experiences in real life situations, Hsu explains. And, with a comprehensive understanding, she believes that students even those who typically learn by example will be in a better position to solve problems. The students will be able to make connections or association to the concept even outside familiar contexts. But Hsu acknowledges, This kind of instruction requires time.

Terri Williams Terri Williams graduated with a B.A. in English from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her education, career, and business articles have been featured on Yahoo! Education, U.S. News & World Report, The Houston Chronicle, and in the print edition of USA Today Special Edition. Terri is also a contributing author to "A Practical Guide to Digital Journalism Ethics," a book published by the Center for Digital Ethics and Policy at Loyola University Chicago.

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STEM College Students Who Learn by Example May Lack Key Attribute - GoodCall News (blog)

June 12, 2017 - By Hazel Jackson

The stock of Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) hit a new 52-week high and has $80.73 target or 5.00% above todays $76.89 share price. The 7 months bullish chart indicates low risk for the $4.98 billion company. The 1-year high was reported on Jun, 12 by Barchart.com. If the $80.73 price target is reached, the company will be worth $249.00M more. About 21,379 shares traded. Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) has risen 57.47% since June 12, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 40.77% the S&P500.

Biotime Incorporated (NYSEMKT:BTX) had an increase of 4.64% in short interest. BTXs SI was 5.53M shares in June as released by FINRA. Its up 4.64% from 5.29M shares previously. With 237,800 avg volume, 23 days are for Biotime Incorporated (NYSEMKT:BTX)s short sellers to cover BTXs short positions. The SI to Biotime Incorporateds float is 8.6%. About 72,830 shares traded. BioTime, Inc. (NYSEMKT:BTX) has risen 22.71% since June 12, 2016 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 6.01% the S&P500.

Analysts await Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) to report earnings on August, 3. They expect $0.90 EPS, up 11.11% or $0.09 from last years $0.81 per share. HRCs profit will be $58.29M for 21.36 P/E if the $0.90 EPS becomes a reality. After $0.88 actual EPS reported by Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts 2.27% EPS growth.

Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. is a global medical technology company. The company has market cap of $4.98 billion. The Firm operates through four divisions: North America Patient Support Systems, International Patient Support Systems, Front Line Care and Surgical Solutions. It has a 33.16 P/E ratio. The Companys services and products include Patient Support Systems, Front Line Care and Surgical Solutions.

Among 6 analysts covering Hill-Rom (NYSE:HRC), 5 have Buy rating, 0 Sell and 1 Hold. Therefore 83% are positive. Hill-Rom had 7 analyst reports since September 23, 2015 according to SRatingsIntel. The company was initiated on Wednesday, February 8 by Barclays Capital. The firm has Buy rating given on Tuesday, January 24 by Stifel Nicolaus. The rating was upgraded by Northcoast to Buy on Wednesday, December 16. The stock of Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) has Buy rating given on Monday, May 1 by Stifel Nicolaus. The rating was reinitiated by Goldman Sachs with Neutral on Wednesday, September 23. The stock of Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) earned Overweight rating by Morgan Stanley on Thursday, June 16. KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) on Thursday, January 21 to Overweight rating.

Investors sentiment increased to 1.42 in 2016 Q4. Its up 0.04, from 1.38 in 2016Q3. It increased, as 34 investors sold Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. shares while 72 reduced holdings. 45 funds opened positions while 105 raised stakes. 54.15 million shares or 0.55% more from 53.85 million shares in 2016Q3 were reported. Blackrock Group Ltd invested in 75,940 shares or 0% of the stock. Clarivest Asset Management Limited Com has invested 0.07% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). Parametric Port Associates Limited Liability Com invested 0.02% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). Retirement Systems Of Alabama stated it has 111,225 shares or 0.04% of all its holdings. Next Fin Gp has 50 shares. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc invested in 13,136 shares. Citigroup Inc reported 19,330 shares. Gargoyle Inv Advisor Lc accumulated 1.06% or 48,457 shares. Riverhead Cap Mngmt Limited Liability Company invested 0.01% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). Serv Corp stated it has 0.01% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). Hillsdale Invest Mngmt Inc has 0.05% invested in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) for 4,500 shares. Tiaa Cref Invest Mngmt Ltd reported 227,796 shares stake. The British Columbia Canada-based Pacad Inv has invested 0.06% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). The New Jersey-based Blackrock Inv Ltd Limited Liability Company has invested 0.01% in Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC). Ahl Prtn Ltd Liability Partnership accumulated 0.11% or 65,280 shares.

Since February 9, 2017, it had 0 buys, and 6 selling transactions for $15.95 million activity. The insider Richardson Jason sold $143,124. Shares for $13.70M were sold by GREISCH JOHN J. SHADER ALTON also sold $1.04M worth of Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HRC) on Thursday, March 16. The insider Johnson Paul Sherwood sold 2,078 shares worth $150,239. Shares for $838,067 were sold by FRANK ANDREAS G on Tuesday, June 6.

BioTime, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm focused on developing and commercializing products addressing degenerative diseases. The company has market cap of $349.23 million. The Companys clinical programs are based on two platform technologies: pluripotent stem cells and cell/drug delivery platform technologies. It has a 3.22 P/E ratio. The foundation of its cell delivery platform is its HyStem cell and drug delivery matrix technology.

Since February 15, 2017, it had 2 buys, and 0 sales for $6.01 million activity. 2,000 shares were bought by ANDREWS DEBORAH J, worth $6,410. Another trade for 2.22 million shares valued at $6.00 million was made by BROADWOOD PARTNERS L.P. on Wednesday, February 15.

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Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (HRC) Reaches $76.89 52-Week High, Biotime (NYSEMKT:BTX) Shorts Increased By 4.64% - UtahHerald.com

Are the red and eastern wolves separate species, or hybrids with coyotes? And what has that got to do with climate change? Actually a lot, in illustrating what scientific inquiry is and what it isnt.

COMPARING CANID GENOMES

A report in this weeks Science Advancesquestions conclusions of a 2016 comparison of genome sequencesfrom 28 canids. The distinction between species and hybrid is of practical importance, because the Endangered Species Act circa 1973 doesnt recognize hybrids. But DNA information canrefine species designations or muddy the waters.

At first, genetic marker (SNP) studies hinted at a mixing and matching of genome segments among coyotes, wolves, and dogs. Then came full-fledged genome sequencing.

Last yearBridgett M. vonHoldt, head of Evolutionary Genomics and Ecological Epigenomics at Princeton and colleagues, scrutinized the 28 full genome sequences for signs of lack of unique ancestry. They compared the genomes of 3 domestic dog breeds (boxer, German shepherd, and Basenji), 6 coyotes, a golden jackal from Kenya, and various wolves to 7 reference genomes from 4 Eurasian gray wolves (to minimize recent mutations) and 3 coyotes. The conclusion: lots of genes have flowed from coyotes and gray wolves into the genomes of the animals that became what we call red and eastern wolves, in different proportions.

A bit of background. Red wolves were declared endangered in 1973. A dozen animals, selected by appearance and absence of coyote traits in their young, were captively bred to establish a population in North Carolina that is now several hundred strong. The 3 red wolf genomes evaluated in the 2016 study came from NC. Historically the animals are from the southeastern US. Gray wolves and coyotes, according to the 2016 study, are very close relatives with a recent common ancestry, although theres about as much genetic variability between the two species as within each. Eastern wolves are from the Great Lakes and the Algonquin Park region of Ontario, moving eastward.

Classifying these animals based on geography and visible traits gets confusing, with all the overlaps and shared DNA sequences. Apparently various pairings can successfully mate but probably dont do so very much in the wild when populations are large. Tracking genomes reveals a classic cline, in the parlance of population genetics, with coyote gene introgression into wolf genomes rising from Alaska and Yellowstone (8-8.5%), to the Great Lakes (21.7-23.9%), to Ontario (32.5%-35.5%), and to Quebec (>50%). (BTW the Basenji, the barkless dog, is 61% gray wolf.)

Paul A. Hohenloheof the University of Idaho and colleagues maintain that the 2016 findings actually support 2 hypotheses: recent admixture (hybridization) or that red and eastern wolves are distinct species. Actually its 3: hybridization might have happened a long time ago, something that following genes with known mutation rates might reveal.

The new paper challenges the 28-genome comparison:

The 7 reference genomes were chosen based on the animals physical characteristics and home turf not on some standard coyote or gray wolf genome. So the genomes to which the 28 were compared might not have been pure anything. Two reference coyote genomes were pooled from animals from Alabama and Quebec which might have had some gray wolf genes. Gene flow when animals mate is, after all, a two-way street, sending wolf genes back into coyotes as well as the other way around. The 2016 paper hypothesizes that red wolves are distinct due to genetic drift chance sampling from an ancestral genome but unique ancestry is an alternate explanation. The lack of unique ancestry from the 2016 study doesnt mean it isnt there.

Dr. vonHoldts team respondedto Dr. Hohenlohes teams comments, reiterating that the results show red wolf and eastern wolves are genetically very similar to coyotes or gray wolves, reflecting recent hybridization.

Discussion of wolf classification goes back a quarter century, and this trio of papers is only a recent glimpse of the debate. But I love the respectful back-and-forth of the efforts to extract a compelling narrative from the data that might be what actually happened. Multiple interpretations of the same data and amending interpretations as new data accumulate is the very essence of the scientific process.

ANTI-SCIENCE RHETORIC

Lets reframe the wolf papers using the language of the popular climate change discussion.

Are Hohenlohe and his co-workers coyote deniers?

Do vonHoldt and her colleagues believe in wolf-coyote couplings and Hohenlohe et al dont?

The science of wolf origins is clearly not settled for science is NEVER settled. Facts arent proven, but instead evidence demonstrated and assessed, from both experimentation and observation. The information from tested hypotheses may be so consistent and compelling that it eventually builds to gestate a theory, or even a law, that then explains further observations. But to get there, science is all about asking questions. As Ive written in all 35 or so editions of my various textbooks, science is a cycle of inquiry.

In fact the history of genetics is a chronicle of once-entrenched dogma changing with new experiments and observations. I was in grad school when Walter Gilberts famed Why Genes in Pieces? was published. The classic paper introduced introns, the parts of genes that arent represented in the encoded protein. It was an astonishing idea circa 1978, but with compellingevidence. Yet even Mendels pea crosses sought an alternate explanation for the prevailing notion that traits simply disappear between generations.

Before Im hurled insults, let me assert that although my expertise isnt in climate science, I think that the evidence very strongly supports the hypothesis that the planet is warming at an accelerated rate compared to some other times. And fossil fuel use is likely a partial cause, not just a correlation or association, because the relationship is linear and a mechanism plausible. But I dont believe in global warming as if it is the tooth fairy or a deity.

I cringe when politicians and celebrities appoint and anoint themselves experts on climate change, then use language that illustrates profound unfamiliarity with the ways of science.

Why did Eddie Vedderbegin his speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Pearl Jam with climate change is real? Hes a musician, not a meteorologist. Why not, semi-conservative DNA replication is real? Or hydrogen bonds are real? Noble gases are real?

Ive long had a problem with the term climate change, because of course climate changes! Why would it ever be static, given weather ups and downs?

Climate dynamics are a little like the composition of blood, or any other manifestation of biological homeostasis. Have a complete blood countat various times and, if youre healthy, results are likely to be within a narrow normal range. Ditto blood sugar, liver enzymes, serum cholesterol level. But steady blood counts dont mean that the same blood cells hang out forever. Bone marrow stem cells continually pump out blood cell progenitors as the older specialized cells die off. Natural systems change over time, with fluctuations large and small.

Climate always has and always will change.

We can learn about normal blood circulationby studying off-kilter situations leukemia, infection, anemia without fear of being labeled a denier. Its not only a scientifically inappropriate term, but one that is offensive to some, with its echoes of the Holocaust.

Im interested in other times deep, geologic time, not the presidents simplistic reference to the next century when the climate warmed at the rate that it is doing so now. How long did the warming escalate and persist? What forces or events might have precipitated warming? What factors accompanied its ultimate reversal as ice ages neared? By asking questions we can learn what we can expect from nature, so that perhaps we can better understand what we can do to counter the warming trend.

And so those who claim to believe in climate change and vilify those who ask questions might learn a lesson in what science actually is from the elegant discussion of wolf origins.

(Mini book review: for a compelling look at a fictional U.S. embroiled in a second civil war circa 2074-2095 that erupts over fossil fuel use, when Florida is a sea and much of humanity has fled underwater coastal cities for the former midwest, read American War, by Omar El Akkad. I am a voracious reader of dystopian fiction, and this book is hauntingly terrific.)

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Wolf Evolution and Settled Science - PLoS Blogs (blog)

Photonics.com Jun 2017 MINNEAPOLIS, June 6, 2017 A new 3D-laser-printed patch has been developed that can help heal scarred heart tissue after a heart attack.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Alabama-Birmingham used laser-based 3D bioprinting techniques to incorporate stem cells derived from adult human heart cells on a matrix that began to grow and beat synchronously in a dish in the lab.

"This is a significant step forward in treating the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S.," said Brenda Ogle, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. "We feel that we could scale this up to repair hearts of larger animals and possibly even humans within the next several years."

The patch is modeled after a digital 3D scan of the structural proteins of native heart tissue. It is then made into a physical structure by 3D printing with proteins native to the heart and further integrating cardiac cell types derived from stem cells.

"We were quite surprised by how well it worked, given the complexity of the heart," Ogle said. "We were encouraged to see that the cells had aligned in the scaffold and showed a continuous wave of electrical signal that moved across the patch."

The researchers will soon begin working on a larger patch and testing it on a pig heart, which is similar to a human heart.

The research study is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research (doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.310277).

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3D-Printed Patch Mends Hearts - Photonics.com

Fatal shootings of civilians by police officers are less common in states with stricter gun laws than they are in states that take a more relaxed approach to regulating the sale, storage and use of firearms, new research says.

A study published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health has found that fatal police shootings were about half as common in states whose gun laws place them in the top 25% of stringency than they were in states where such restrictions ranked in the bottom 25%.

The new findings draw from an analysis of 1,835 firearms-related deaths involving a police officer in the United States all such fatalities reported in the 22 months following Jan. 1, 2015. It found that, of 42 laws enacted by states, the ones most strongly linked to lower fatal police shootings were those that aimed to strengthen background checks, to promote safe firearm storage, and to reduce gun trafcking.

We suspect that because these states have more robust gun laws, theyre better able to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people, said the studys lead author, University of Indianapolis psychology professor Aaron Kivisto. The likely result, he suggested, is that police in such states are just less likely to encounter people in circumstances where they shouldnt have a gun.

The association held up even after researchers accounted for state differences in the density and demographics of its citizens.

The study results add to a broad pattern of findings about states rates of gun ownership, which largely rise and fall along with gun-related suicides, accidental firearm injuries and domestic violence deaths.

New Mexico, Wyoming, Alaska, Oklahoma and Arizona led the country in rates of fatal police shootings, which were calculated as the number of such deaths per 1 million state residents. All but Oklahoma had among the most relaxed gun laws on their books.

Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois were among the states with the lowest rates of officer-involved fatal shootings. All had gun laws that placed them among the nations most restrictive states.

But not all states fit the pattern. California was especially unusual, Kivisto said: Though the state claimed the No. 1 position for stringency of gun laws, its rate of fatal police shootings during the study period was much higher than the national average. In fact, the rate of officer-involved gun deaths in California fell between those of South Dakota and Alabama, two states with some of the scantest restrictions on the sale, ownership and use of guns.

Kivisto suggested that for some states, including California, statutory efforts to staunch the supply of guns on the streets were likely being undermined by gun trafficking from neighboring states. Arizona and Nevada have gun laws that are among the nations least restrictive (as well as rates of fatal police shooting that are well above the norm).

A state can have the strongest gun laws possible, but it cant stop gun from flowing across state boundaries, Kivisto said. One of strongest arguments for federal gun laws would be that some uniformity may be needed to stop guns flowing in from other states.

Other states bucked the national pattern by maintaining both few gun restrictions and low rates of officer-involved fatal shootings. This group included Maine, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Indiana.

Kivisto and his co-authors did not rely on Justice Department statistics of police-related shootings, since states are not required to report those and dont necessarily do so routinely. Instead, the researchers relied on a running tally of officer-involved fatalities maintained by the British newspaper The Guardian, a source that is considered comprehensive.

In addition to verifying and chronicling the time, location and circumstances of the shootings, The Guardians database, called The Counted, also documents the victims gender, race or ethnicity, whether he (96% of all victims during the study period were male) was armed, and by what mechanism the victim was killed (for instance, by taser, by firearm or struck by a car).

Of 2,021 fatalities during the 22-month study period, 1,835 were killed with a police officers gun. And in 53% of those cases, the person killed was also armed with a gun. One in 10 were thought to be entirely unarmed at the time of the fatal shooting. Individuals from racial or ethnic minority groups made up slightly more than one-third of all victims.

melissa.healy@latimes.com

@LATMelissaHealy

ALSO

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When states have strong guns laws, they also have fewer fatal police shootings - Los Angeles Times

In high school, Grant Schroeders tunnel vision earned him the nickname Shrobot, as in robot, as he methodically crammed for an AP calculus test during a rowdy water polo training camp.

That moniker stuck with Schroeder at UC Berkeley, where his unwavering prowess in collegiate athletics, research, public service and a 4.0 GPA has won him the coveted University Medal.

(UC Berkeley video by Melani King).

In the last month alone, he has competed in a national championship triathlon and learned that a paper he co-authored on the cellular mechanics of organ development is a likely contender for publication in the venerable Science magazine.

This Saturday, May 13, Schroeder, 22, an integrative biology major, will address thousands of his peers at a campuswide commencement ceremony as UC Berkeleys top graduating senior. Instead of cataloguing his achievements, his speech will touch on the experiences and vulnerabilities that turned him from methodical to mensch.

At Berkeley, you cant just grind on in a robotic way, Schroeder says. This campus is like a Roman Coliseum where fundamental principles, like free speech and public safety, are constantly clashing. Its really opened my eyes and humanized me.

Dawn, Richard, Erica and Grant Schroeder

A native of 30,000-population Goleta, Santa Barbara County, and the son of a two-time Olympic gold-medalist swimmer, Schroeder admits that, unlike many of his peers, hes been sheltered from many of lifes adversities.

Defying stereotypes

I dont have a huge sob story or defining life story that people can easily sympathize with or empathize with, says Schroeder. I have had struggles here and there, but Im not going to pretend to be someone Im not.

Schroeders mentors are quick to defend him against stereotypes:

We were concerned that his impressive academic record might have given him a sense of arrogance that may not have fit with the often humble and less glamorous grind of day-to-day lab work, wrote Amy Shyer, a researcher in the laboratory of molecular and cell biology professor Richard Harland, in her letter recommending Schroeder for the University Medal.

But once the research team got to know Schroeder, she wrote, It became clear to us that despite his incredible academic success, Grant approaches work and those around him from the perspective of a rigorous hard worker, not from the perspective of a gifted diva.

In August, Schroeder will begin a yearlong research post at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where he will experiment with stem cell therapies to regenerate skeletal tissue in animal models. He will also apply to medical school.

As an extreme athlete who has suffered nagging shoulder, back and knee injuries, as well as a bilateral hernia surgery that sidelined him for two months, Schroeder aims to do pioneering work in preventive orthopedics.

Ive put my body through the wringer playing all kinds of sports. Ive seen my teammates sidelined. Ive seen my parents and their friends battle injuries that prevent them from staying active, he says. My goal is to prolong healthy bodies into later life by using strength conditioning and other therapies to prevent injuries before they arise.

Athletics are undeniably in Schroeders genes. His parents, Richard and Dawn, met at UC Santa Barbara as stars on the swim team. Richard Schroeder went on to win gold medals in breaststroke in the 1984 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

Athleticism in his genes

I grew up looking up to my dad and his accomplishments and trying to learn from him how to be the best all-round athlete I could be, Schroeder says. He told me, If you want to be the best athlete, or be the best at anything, really, you have to work harder than anyone else and make sacrifices.

All through school, Schroeder played soccer, basketball, baseball and water polo with a tight circle of competitive athletes, many of whom remain his best friends. His younger sister, Erica, is a state track and field champion headed to the University of Washington.

Meanwhile, he inherited his academic drive from his mom, who was his second-grade teacher at Kellogg Elementary in Goleta.

I called her Mrs. Schroeder, not mom. And she was tough on me, he says. She really showed me how to be a good student, respect my teachers, be a good classmate, get good grades and study hard.

After earning top scores in AP calculus, environmental science and world history, among other subjects, Schroeder entered UC Berkeley in fall 2013 as a Regents and Chancellors Scholar. He had also been accepted to UCLA.

UCLA felt more comfortable for me, but I wanted to be a little uncomfortable in college, he says. Berkeleys uniqueness and the fact that its the No.1 public in the nation decided it for me.

He vividly recalls the contrast between the raucous street life on Telegraph Avenue and the view from the top of the Campanile: I took a deep breath, and saw how beautiful the Bay Area was, and soaked it all in.

As an incoming freshman, he joined UC Berkeleys top-ranked water polo team as a walk-on, and had to demonstrate his mettle: I was the smallest player on the team and I had to work hard and prove I could make it, he says.

He made it. Then came the hard knocks. His high school water polo team co-captain, who had gone to UC Santa Barbara, died in a freak drowning accident. Then, the father of another close friend died from cancer.

Breaking out of his cocoon

Id lived a very sheltered, stable life, and it shook me up, he says. Experiencing loss has also been really crucial to my development.

Another setback was the breakup of his first romantic relationship, which he began in his sophomore year: It actually really hurts, he says. And thats an intense emotion that I had never felt before.

In his junior year, Schroeder quit water polo to focus on research and expand his horizons. He got an internship with the P3 Peak Performance Project, an organization that trains high-level athletes.

Through the campuss Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, he landed a research position with the Harland Lab, where he worked closely with two postdoctoral researchers on how cells and tissue evolve into functioning organs. Specifically, they tracked follicle patterns in chicken skin to better understand the underlying mechanics of organ development.

His contributions earned him the distinction of second author on a paper under review in Science magazine, an honor usually reserved for senior researchers. Moreover, his key experiments also opened up a new topic area of exploration for us, which we used as the basis for a $1 million National Institutes of Health grant, Shyer wrote in her recommendation letter.

An unexpected growth experience for him were the mental-health check-ins that his research team conducted whenever they met.

At first I thought, Why should it matter how Im feeling? Im just here to do work, he says. But then it became refreshing to say, I feel good today, or Im stressed out about an exam. It opened me up.

As a volunteer, Schroeder mentored new undergraduates in the Harland Lab, and high school students in Oaklands College Prep STEM research program.

And, as captain of the Cal Triathlon Team, he brought the NCAA Womens West Region National Qualifier to UC Berkeley, allowing Cals top female triathletes, he says, to compete in their own backyard.

One triathlon hell never forget is last months national collegiate championship in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. There he was, charging ahead of the pack, the finish line in sight, when his legs suddenly buckled and he crashed into the barricades.

People were passing me, and I couldnt stand. I couldnt use my legs, he says. Then out of the blue, two racers I didnt know scooped me up and carried me to the finish line in an amazing display of sportsmanship.

And that about sums up Schroeders life so far: Its been a crazy race to the finish line, he says. Im looking forward to what comes next.

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Top graduating senior in 'crazy race to the finish line' | Berkeley News - UC Berkeley