PARP inhibitors will be taking center stage at the European Society of Medical Oncology Congress as rival drugmakers aim to show off data that supports broader use of the drug in treating various cancers.

Both AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline will showcase the power of Lynparza (co-developed with Merck) and Zejula, respectively. At ESMO, both companies will highlight clinical data supporting the efficacy and safety of the PARP inhibitors. AstraZeneca will provide details of Lynparza studies in ovarian cancer and prostate cancer, as well as pancreatic cancer. GSK will present Zejula data from its late-stage ovarian cancer trial, as well as data from breast cancer studies.

PARP inhibitors have mainly been tied to cancers that have a BRCA mutation. However, a recent study conducted by UT Southwestern has shown that PARP inhibitors could have broader effectiveness in treating other types of cancer, including ovarian and prostate cancer. PARP stands for poly ADP ribose polymerase, which is an enzyme many cancer cells are more dependent upon than regular, healthy cells are. PARP inhibitors are designed to disable DNA repair pathways in cancer cells, which make it difficult for those cells to survive.

Positive data that is well-received is something both companies need to bolster their oncology programs, an analyst told Reuters. Echoing the UT Southwestern study, John Bowler, an asset manager at Schroders, told Reuters that the utility of PARP inhibitors could become much broader than patients with the BRCA mutation.

That becomes relevant when you start thinking about the drugs role in other tumor types like prostate cancer and breast cancer where the incidence of new patients each year is much greater than in ovarian cancer, Bowler told Reuters.

For GSK, the data could be especially important since the company laid out its new R*D strategy last year that focuses on genetics and the immune system. R&D Head Hal Barron laid out a strategy that focuses on the development of medicines that target mechanisms of action with strong human genetic validations. Those targets have a higher probability of success, which means a shift to a genetics-driven portfolio. Bowler said the data from the Zejula trials will be an important milestone for Barrons strategy. GSK acquired Tesaro Oncology, the maker of Zejula, in December 2018 for $5.1 billion. That bet appears to have paid off. In July, GSK reported that Zejula hit the mark in a Phase III ovarian cancer study. The PRIMA study met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival for women regardless of their biomarker status. The PRIMA study is one of the Zejula trials that GSK will tout at ESMO.

Not to be outdone, last month AstraZeneca reported that for the second time, Lynparza met its endpoints as a potential first-line treatment for ovarian cancer in a Phase III trial. The Phase III PAOLA-1 trial assessed Lynparza as a companion to the standard of care treatment Bevacizumab (Genentechs Avastin) in women with advanced ovarian cancer. The combination treatment proved to be a powerhouse in the intent-to-treat population with a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful improvement in progression-free survival.

In its analysis of the PARP field, Reuters predicted that Lynparza will generate about $3.1 billion by 2023, while Zejula will post about $1.1 billion in sales that year.

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GSK and AstraZeneca's PARP Inhibitors Will Flex Their Muscles at ESMO - BioSpace

Human remains found at what is thought to be a Pictish-era cemetery near Muir of Ord on the Black Isle in the north east of Scotland, have led archaeologists to believe they belong to an ancient Pictish woman. The discovery came as something of a surprise as the scientists say they did not expect to find any human remains in the acidic soil at the site, and the discoverer talked to press about his eureka moment.

The dig was conducted by the North of Scotland Archaeological Society ( NOSAS) and archaeologist Steven Birch told The Scotsman that his discovery had been made on the final day of the dig. He had been working at one particular grave and said he was certain there had been something there.

Aerial view of trench 3 where the remains were found. (Andy Hickle / Tarradale Through Time )

Its really kicking off in the north of Scotland. In August this year I wrote an Ancient Origins news piece about archaeologist Anne MacInnes discovering a massive Pictish symbol stone buried within an early Christian church in Dingwall, less than 10 miles away. Then in September I wrote another article discussing a new study published by researchers from the University of Edinburghs Usher Institute and MRC Human Genetics unit which presented the first comprehensive genetic map ofScottish peoples DNAshowinggenetic linksbetween modern Scots and the Picts.

Now, after aerial photographs suggested the presence of a burial ground , archaeologists from NOSAS spent two weeks uncovering barrows (earthen mounds) over ancient graves to get to the remains of the Pictish person. Mr Birch says he found the human remains near blackened patches in the soil which enticed him to trowel back at that level and to his astonishment the faint outlines of the Picts skeleton emerged after 1400 years.

The faint outlines of a Pict emerged form the dirt. ( Tarradale Through Time )

Mr Birch told reporters I was able to find the legs and the feet, which appear to have been bound together before burial. He then identified the spinal column, the upper arms and shoulders and then the relatively well preserved skull which had partly collapsed. Mr Birch added that he has been an archaeologist for a long time and over the years he has made some important discoveries, "but this was a real eureka moment for me.

This Black Isle excavation is one of the largest Pictish cemeteries in Scotland and is located within the old Pictish province of Fortriu which existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. While traditionally Fortrui was thought to have been located in and aroundStrathearnin centralScotland, James E. Fraser suggests it was in the north of Scotland, centered on Moray andEaster Ross, where most early Pictish monuments are located.

Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen is an advisor at the excavation and he told press that Tarradale is one of the largest recorded Pictish barrow cemeteries known about and that the Tarradale Through Time project did a fantastic job revealing and excavating part of the cemetery. It is known that the Picts were a matrilineal society and it is thought maybe this person was a woman of high status for she had been buried in what NOSAS say would have been a very large and imposing barrow.

It is thought this person was a woman of high status. (Tarradale Through Time )

I always find it funny when scientists play with such wholly unscientific subjects such as fate, destiny and superstition. In this instance, Dr Eric Grant, the leader of the archaeological project, told the Scotsman It is a bit of a joke amongst archaeologists that the best finds "always come on the last day and suggests this outcome has been proved on many occasions, he said A few years ago the remains of a Pictish man was discovered in a cave at Rosemarkie , again on the last day of the dig.

And it is not only in the far north of Scotland that archaeologists are adding to our understanding of the Picts, for according to a report in The Scotsman (on "August 23rd 2018) Aberdeen University archaeologists discovered a very significant Class I Pictish symbol stone , similar to the one discovered in Dingwall, featuring carved symbols including a triple disc with cross bar, a mirror, and a notched rectangle with two internal spirals.

Pictish symbol stone found in the River Don in Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. (Image: HES)

With human remains being recovered in the north , symbol stones being found in the south and DNA being studied by computers , we are experiencing a Quickening in our knowledge of how these Highland Picts both lived and died.

Top image: Outline of a Pictish burial found near Muir of Ord, Black Isle, Scotland. Source: Tarradale Through Time

By Ashley Cowie

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1400-year-old Pictish Remains Finally Unearthed in Scotland - Ancient Origins

By: Julie Compton

After a large-scale study published in August revealed there is no single gay gene influencing same-sex attraction, the studys lead researcher, Dr. Benjamin Neale, has been a little worried.

Neale, who is openly gay, knew conversion therapy advocates would misconstrue the studys findings, which show that same-sex attraction arises out of a complex interplay between environmental, social, and genetic factors. The study shows, for instance, that genes are responsible for about a third of the influence on same-sex sexual behavior.

He also knew that conversion therapy has long been proven harmful pseudoscience, but that has never detered its advocates.

I dont see that this work makes that circumstance better or worse, Neale tells Out. The hope I have is that these results reinforce the idea that there is some biology to what people are expressing and that that biology is part of our population, part of our species, and that diversity is a natural part of what we see, and that message I think should be carried forward to advance the struggle for equality.

Not everyone has gotten the message. In a blog post titled Not Born This Way After All?, American Conservative writer Rod Dreher wrote: If homosexuality is primarily a matter of nurture, not nature, why is it wrong to let gay people who want to seek therapy in hope of reducing or eliminating same-sex desire undergo that treatment?

The Catholic website LifeSite, meanwhile, twisted the findings to say that the study shows children can be influenced to think they are gay through envrionmental influences and upbringing.

What the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies, really shows is the opposite: Sexuality is too complicated to pin to any single factor.

The Potential Dangers of Studying Gay Genes

Many people have expressed ethical questions around such research: Why do scientists feel a need to prove that same-sex attraction is rooted in biology? Does ones sexuality have to somehow be biologically determined to be authentic? How will people with anti-gay agendas abuse the complex findings?

Julia Serano, an evolutionary biologist, author, and transgender activist, warned that any research related to gender and sexual minorities can serve as a Rorschach test to anyone reading the results.

People will project whatever ideas that they want to project onto them, she says.

For example, a 2018 study showed that the brains of transgender adolescents tended to match their non-trans peers with the same gender identity. The study didnt prove that brain scans can demonstrate whether someone is transgender, Serano said, but some people interpreted that in the findings anyway.

It immediately got used and has been thrown about often again in anti-transgender and trans-skeptical parents groups who now say, Well, why dont we just hold off on acknowledging childrens gender identities until we can do brain scans on them and determine whether or not they are transgender or not? Serano says.

Jeremy Yoder, an assistant professor at California State University Northridge, is a gay evolutionary biologist who has written about the ethics of seeking a genetic explanation for same-sex attraction. While the researchers intentions might have been benign, he says, such studies have a long history of being misused.

Scientists have not been great at anticipating negative unintended consequences on these kinds of studies as they are absorbed and processed by broader society, Yoder says.

According to Yoder, there are many questions about how exactly the results could be used. For instance, what if an anti-LGBTQ+ government had access to a database where the genetic data of its citizens is stored? He speculated about whether these governments might try to use the research to prove whether one of its citizens is gay, even if the genetic variations cant actually determine sexuality.

Its a little bit paranoid to talk about it this way, Yoder acknowledges, but we have this history of anti-gay misapplications of science that I think makes it a thing that we need to worry about.

While Yoder also expressed concerns that doctors and parents may someday try to use the data to reverse engineer embryos in an attempt to ensure that their children are heterosexual Neale said genetic variants cannot determine an embryos future sexuality.

Its not possible to use the results for genetic engineering, he insists.

Despite how their research might be interpreted, Neale said scientists have a responsibility to describe the world as accurately and scientifically as possible.

Some aspects of [LGBTQ+] civil rights history, historically, have been rooted in demonstrating that this is a normal and natural part of human behavior and human variation, that this is part of biology, that diversity and variability is part of biology, he says, We hope to reinforce that message, and we hope that societies will use those results to advance the cause for equality.

But advocacy is hard, civil rights are taken, not given, he adds. Its a challenging space.

How the Findings Could Actually Advance LGBTQ+ Rights

Regardless of potential risks, a large-scale study into same-sex attraction was inevitable given the genetic data that scientists now have access to, according to Neale.

A geneticist at the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard, Neale feared that if his top-notch team of international researchers didnt do the study first, scientists with less concern for the LGBTQ+ community would. We really wanted to make sure the work was done thoughtfully, rigorously, and actually in conjunction with different advocacy and alliance organizations about the work itself, he says.

Accuracy was another reason to move forward with the study, according to Neale. Similar studies in the past were smaller, often left out women, and were not a true reflection of what the actual genetic influence on behavioral traits really looks like.

But the researchers knew they had a responsibility to the LGBTQ+ community to make sure the studys findings were well communicated, he said. The team worked closely with advocacy groups to craft a plan around how they would convey the study to the public. The goal, Neale said, would be to mitigate any inadvertent stigmatization the results might have on the LGBTQ+ community.

The team created a website and video explaining the complexity of the findings. They published essays on the research, detailed its limitations, and were upfront about the fact that anti-LGBTQ+ conservatives would probably try to misconstrue it.

Despite the ways in which conversion therapy advocates have attempted to exploit the results, Robbee Wedow, a Harvard sociologist and geneticist and member of the research team that conducted the study, says he believes the research has the power to make society less homophobic.

Wedow, who is gay, was raised in an ultra-religious community in Indiana. He says no one in his home town talked about the complex role of genetics in human behavior.

I grew up really thinking that I was going to go to hell, he says.

Wedow said his father, who didnt speak to him for years after he came out, called him after reading the study. I think this has been my great hope for this work, that the conversations we have will begin to open space, to increase tolerance, he says.

Yoder commended the steps researchers took to safeguard against potential abuse but cautions these measures are pretty new.

Theres not been a lot of cases where the negative effects on a marginalized group have been anticipated this way and then the research has gone forward but with all of these attempted safeguards, he says. But we dont know how well or poorly thats going to work.

Despite these concerns, Yoder says he also hopes the study will increase LGBTQ+ inclusion and acceptance.

I think its been a well-performed study and the authors have done their due diligence, he argues. The worries I have are: How does society react to this now that its out there?

RELATED |The Gay Gene Study Is Being Used to Justify Conversion Therapy

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The Complicated Truth About That Controversial 'Gay Gene' Study - Out Magazine

The Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan todaylaunched UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative and inaugurated NIDAN (National Inherited Diseases Administration) Kendras, which is being supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT),M/o Science and Technology.Speaking on the occasion in New Delhi, the Minister for Science & Technology brought attention to the issue of ensuring proper treatment to children and creation of awareness amongst the masses and urged upon all to dwell more into finding solutions. Congratulating DBT for supporting this path-breaking initiative, Dr Harsh Vardhan said With the program being implemented at government hospitals, people who cannot afford expensive care for genetic disorders will be benefited. He further emphasized on the use of cutting edge scientific technology and molecular medicine for extending Universal Health Coverage for all.Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT also highlighted how UMMID is a path-breakinginitiative in the health-care sector. She said UMMID initiative is meeting the hopes of large number of persons with inherited diseases.Taking into account that congenital and hereditary genetic diseases are becoming a significant health burden in India, and realizing the need for adequate and effective genetic testing and counselling services. DBT has started the UMMID Initiative which is designed on the concept of Prevention is better than Cure.

In Indias urban areas, congenital malformations and genetic disorders are the third most common cause of mortality in newborns. With a very large population and high birth rate, and consanguineous marriage favored in many communities, prevalence of genetic disorders is high in India, the UMMID initiative aims (i) to establish NIDAN Kendras to provide counselling, prenatal testing and diagnosis, management, and multidisciplinary care in Government Hospitals wherein the influx of patients is more, (ii) to produce skilled clinicians in Human Genetics, and (iii) to undertake screening of pregnant women and new born babies for inherited genetic diseases in hospitals at aspirational districts.As a part of this initiative, in the first phase, five NIDAN Kendras have been established to provide comprehensive clinical care.Training Centres at Madras Medical Mission- Chennai; SGPGIMS- Lucknow; CDFD Hyderabad; AIIMS- New Delhi; MAMC- New Delhi; NIIH- Mumbai and CMC Vellore have been supported to provide training in Biochemical Genetics, Cytogenetics, Molecular Genetics, and Clinical Genetics to the clinicians from government hospitals. Screening of 10,000 pregnant women and 5000 new born babies per year for inherited genetic diseases will be taken up at the following seven aspirational districts.The department is planning to expand the program and establish more Nidan Kendras in other parts of the country, train more clinicians in clinical genetics and cover more aspirational districts for screening of pregnant women and new born babies for inherited genetic diseases to provide comprehensive clinical care, in the next phase under this UMMID initiative.The Government of India has launched the National Health Policy, 2017 aiming to shift focus from sick-care to wellness. UMMID initiative shall work towards achieving wellness by promoting prevention of genetic diseases.

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