7 genetic risk factors found to be associated with common eye disorder

Monday, March 4, 2013

An international group of researchers has discovered seven new regions of the human genome?called loci?that are associated with increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness. The AMD Gene Consortium, a network of international investigators representing 18 research groups, also confirmed 12 loci identified in previous studies. The findings are reported online today in the journal Nature Genetics. Supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI), a part of the National Institutes of Health, the study represents the most comprehensive genome-wide analysis of genetic variations associated with AMD.

"This compelling analysis by the AMD Gene Consortium demonstrates the enormous value of effective collaboration," said NEI Director Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. "Combining data from multiple studies, this international effort provides insight into the molecular basis of AMD, which will help researchers search for causes of the disease and will inform future development of new diagnostic and treatment strategies."

AMD affects the macula, a region of the retina responsible for central vision. The retina is the layer of light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye that houses rod and cone photoreceptor cells. Compared with the rest of the retina, the macula is especially dense with cone photoreceptors and is what humans rely on for tasks that require sharp vision, such as reading, driving, and recognizing faces. As AMD progresses, such tasks become more difficult and eventually impossible. Some kinds of AMD are treatable if detected early, but no cure exists. An estimated 2 million Americans have AMD.

Scientists have shown that age, diet, and smoking influence a person's risk of developing AMD. Genetics also plays a strong role. AMD often runs in families and is more common among certain ethnicities, such as Asians and people of European descent.

Since the 2005 discovery that certain variations in the gene for complement factor H?a component of the immune system?are associated with major risk for AMD, research groups around the world have conducted genome-wide association studies to identify other loci that affect AMD risk. These studies were made possible by tools developed through the Human Genome Project, which mapped human genes, and related projects, such the International HapMap Project, which identified common patterns of genetic variation within the human genome.

The AMD Gene Consortium combined data from 18 research groups to increase the power of prior analyses. The current analysis identified seven new loci near genes. As with the previously discovered 12 loci, these seven loci are scattered throughout the genome on many different chromosomes.

"A large number of samples was needed to detect additional genetic variants that have small but significant influences on a person's disease risk," said Hemin Chin, Ph.D., NEI associate director for ophthalmic genetics, who assembled the consortium and helped coordinate the study. "By cataloging genetic variations associated with AMD, scientists are better equipped to target corresponding biological pathways and study how they might interact and change with age or other factors, such as smoking."

The consortium's analysis included data from more than 17,100 people with the most advanced and severe forms of AMD, which were compared to data from more than 60,000 people without AMD. The 19 loci that were found to be associated with AMD implicate a variety of biological functions, including regulation of the immune system, maintenance of cellular structure, growth and permeability of blood vessels, lipid metabolism, and atherosclerosis.

"Like a map that identifies neighborhoods where the electricity has been knocked out by a storm, the AMD Gene Consortium's study effectively tagged regions within the genome where researchers are most likely to find short circuits in DNA that cause AMD," said Anand Swaroop, Ph.D., chief of the NEI Laboratory of Neurobiology and Neurodegeneration and Repair, and one of the group leaders of this consortium effort. "Once you are in the right neighborhood, going block to block or house to house to look for downed power lines goes much faster. Likewise, by limiting their search to the 19 genomic regions identified by the AMD Gene Consortium, scientists can more efficiently search for specific genes and causative changes that play a role in AMD."

As with other common diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, an individual person's risk for getting AMD is likely determined not by one but many genes. Further comprehensive DNA analysis of the areas around the 19 loci identified by the AMD Gene Consortium could turn up undiscovered rare genetic variants with a disproportionately large effect on AMD risk. Discovery of such genes could greatly advance scientists' understanding of AMD pathogenesis and their quest for more effective treatments.

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NIH/National Eye Institute: http://www.nei.nih.gov

Thanks to NIH/National Eye Institute for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127107/__genetic_risk_factors_found_to_be_associated_with_common_eye_disorder

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Violent start to Kenya vote: Police die in attack

Masaai women line up at dawn to vote in a general election in Kumpa, Kenya, Monday, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history. (AP Photo/Riccardo Gangale)

Masaai women line up at dawn to vote in a general election in Kumpa, Kenya, Monday, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history. (AP Photo/Riccardo Gangale)

Sarah James Kanaja, left, waits in line with her daughter Silvia, 3, as Kenyans line up to cast their vote in a general election at the Mutomo primary school near Gatundu, north of Nairobi, in Kenya early Monday morning, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Masaai line up to vote in a general election in Kumpa, Kenya, Monday, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history. (AP Photo/Riccardo Gangale)

Hundreds of Kenyans lineup as early as 4 a.m. to cast their ballots in a general election in Nairobi, Kenya , Monday, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history.(AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Kenyans lineup as early as 4 a.m. to cast their ballots in a general election in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, March 4, 2013. Five years after more than 1,000 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls on Monday to begin casting votes in a nationwide election seen as the country's most important - and complicated - in its 50-year history. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? A pre-dawn attack on police in Kenya early Monday killed several officers hours before Kenyans began casting votes in a nationwide election being held five years after more than 1,000 people died in election-related violence.

Police in the coastal city of Mombasa reported a 2 a.m. attack by a gang of dozens; early reports indicated several officers ? perhaps four or five ? and several attackers were killed. Police didn't immediately confirm a death toll.

The country's leaders have been working for months to reduce election-related tensions, but multiple factors make more vote violence likely. The police said late Sunday that criminals were planning to dress in police uniforms and disrupt voting in some locations.

In addition, intelligence on the Somali-Kenya border indicated Somali militants planned to launch attacks; a secessionist group on the coast threatened ? and perhaps already carried out ? attacks; the tribes of the top two presidential candidates have a long history of tense relations; and 47 new governor races are being held, increasing the chances of electoral problems at the local level.

Perhaps most importantly, Uhuru Kenyatta, one of two top candidates for president, faces charges at the International Criminal Court for orchestrating the 2007-08 postelection violence. If he wins, the U.S. and Europe could scale back relations with Kenya, and Kenyatta may have to spend a significant portion of his presidency at The Hague. Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, also faces charges at the ICC.

Long lines began forming early across the nation. In Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum, some 1,000 people stood in several lines at one polling station before daybreak. Voter Arthur Shakwira said he began standing in line at 4 a.m. but left the queue over confusion about which line to stand in. Nearby, Amos Achola said he arrived at the polling station at 2 a.m. and was one of the first to vote.

Kenyatta, a Kikuyu who is the son of Kenya's founding president, faces Raila Odinga, a Luo whose father was the country's first vice president. Polls show the two in a close race, with support for each in the mid-40-percent range. Eight candidates are running for president, making it likely Odinga and Kenyatta will be matched up in an April run-off, when tensions could be even higher.

Most voters in Kibera, like Achola, support Odinga.

"I think he wins but if he doesn't win I'll abide by the outcome," Achola said. "The other guy is also a Kenyan. If Kenyatta wins I'll accept it but I won't like. But I don't want violence."

New technology ? in part to prevent the allegations of rigging that haunted the 2007 vote ? appeared to slow down early voting. At the Mutomo Primary School in Gatundu, where Kenyatta is expected to cast his ballot, voting officials seemed overwhelmed by the finger-print technology. The election worker behind the computer looked nervous and sometimes scratched his head.

The first person to vote, an eldery woman, cast her ballot at 6:25 a.m., 25 minutes after the polls opened.

In Mombasa, police boss Aggrey Adoli said that police were attacked at 2 a.m. by a marauding gang while on patrol. He didn't immediately confirm a death toll but reporters at the scene said police indicated that up to five officers and several attackers were killed in a fight that involved guns and machetes.

A late Sunday attack in the city of Garissa, near the Somali border, killed two people, including a Red Cross paramedic and a driver. Officials said a candidate for parliament had been the target but was not hit.

Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Ahmed Maalim said Sunday that officials intercepted communications that indicated terror attacks were planned. Maalim said soldiers are patrolling the region to prevent attacks from al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group. He said 300 specialized troops known as GSU are patrolling the Dadaab refugee camp, where more than 400,000 Somalis live.

In the weeks leading up to Monday's vote, described by Odinga as the most consequential since independence from the British in 1963, peace activists and clerics have been praying that this time the election is peaceful despite lingering tensions.

Odinga's acrimonious loss to President Mwai Kibaki in 2007 triggered violence that ended only after the international community stepped in. Odinga was named prime minister in a coalition government led by Kibaki, with Kenyatta named deputy prime minister.

Some 99,000 police officers will be on duty during an election in which some 14 million people are expected to vote.

___

Associated Press reporter Daud Yussuf in Garissa contributed to this report. Rodney Muhumuza reported from Gatunda.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-04-Kenya-Election/id-eb1c6d1bb8c9432e8717a6966538ed47

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Geithner won't leave until 2013: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to stay into early next year to help the Obama administration forge a deal with lawmakers to avert the looming fiscal crisis, the White House said on Friday.

The Obama administration and Congress have less than two months to soften the blow from the "fiscal cliff" or $600 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts that will be sucked out of the economy next year if Washington fails to act to change current law.

"Geithner has indicated that he will stay on through inauguration and he will be, obviously, a key participant in the negotiations around the so-called fiscal cliff issues," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Geithner has long said he planned to step down if President Barack Obama won a second term, after spending grueling time dealing with the 2007-09 financial crisis first as the head of the New York Fed and then as Obama's Treasury chief.

After helping the White House negotiate last year's budget deal to raise the debt limit and cut the deficit, Geithner won over many Republicans who viewed him as reasonable and willing to listen to their concerns.

It is not clear who Obama will pick to replace Geithner but his chief of staff and former budget director, Jack Lew, is seen as a favorite because of his expertise and the fact that budget and tax reform could dominate the administration's domestic agenda.

The White House did not have a specific date for when Geithner would leave and would not comment on whether he would stay until the administration brokered a deal. It also was not clear whether the Senate would have the time to confirm Obama's nominee before inauguration January 21 given the urgency of the fiscal talks and number of other key positions that have to be filled.

Obama will have to move quickly to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is planning to leave, as well as CIA Director David Petraeus, who abruptly resigned on Friday citing an extramarital affair.

Another possible contender for the Treasury job is Erskine Bowles, who was Bill Clinton's chief of staff and was appointed by Obama to help craft a deficit reduction plan.

Roger Altman, a Clinton-era deputy Treasury secretary and co-founder of investment firm Evercore Partners; Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook; and Laurence Fink, the chief executive of asset manager BlackRock, are other names that have been floated.

(Reporting By Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/geithner-wont-leave-until-2013-white-house-194121624--sector.html

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That venture capital shakeout is still taking way too long | PandoDaily

Lately, I?ve heard a lot of VCs bringing up how much of their industry is going out of business. As both a member of the press and an entrepreneur, it?s hard for me to feel much pity or see it as some great sign of Darwinian health. Mostly, because I?ve now been writing about a venture capital shakeout since the year after I arrived in Silicon Valley.

This might be the slowest industry reckoning the capitalist world has ever seen. Seriously, Godot got here quicker.

It occurs to me that if I?m going to complain about the pivots and acqui-hires and the overall decrease of actual failure in Silicon Valley, I should start with the part of the Valley that funds it all.

By my count we are more than a decade now into a ?shake-out? in venture capital dating back to the excesses of the dot com crash. Yes, it is more real than theoretical after the last few years. Firms have started to go out of business and the concentration of limited partner money is going to a smaller and smaller set of firms. There was one particular quarter last year when just seven funds raised 80 percent of the venture capital.

But that quarter was mostly an anomaly and considering 95 percent of the returns still come from 5 percent of the deals, it seems the VCs are still getting a better deal than their investors.

As I?ve written before, there are precious few firms who can raise as much money as they want. Everyone else is scrapping. But the shocker to me has been how many firms people keep whispering are DOA that somehow find an LP somewhere in the world willing to give them another shot.

There are two reasons why. The first is that there is just a ton of institutional wealth that has been created in the world. First, in the US towards the end of the 20th century, and increasingly, in emerging markets. When nearly every institutional fund wants to put a tiny percentage of its wealth in the basket of ?alternative assets? like venture capital, that just adds up to more money than the industry can really put to work in good ways ? even at current levels.

The second reason is this chart:

Cambridge Associates, which tracks venture capital liquidity, released its most recent numbers last week and showed that, yep, results are down of late. But their investors measure them in ten-year increments, because the companies they fund take a while to mature and exit. And it turns out that math is almost always forgiving.

For a long time the ten-year index still included the heady times of 1999 and early 2000, so they were artificially bolstered up. Those have only recently fallen out ? about the time the bulk of this actual shakeout really started.

But now, Cambridge proclaims that the anemic post-bubble years of 2001 and 2002 are falling off the index as well. That?s causing the aggregate long term numbers to rise again. Are they the best venture capital has ever seen? Not at all. But they?re better than the market average.

And that?s the thing. We can all talk about ?venture style returns,? and most people mean making 10 times your cash. But as long as that?s the dreamy upside, and the downside is beating the market, investors still keep putting cash in.?Even if ? in practice ? most of those firms aren?t beating the market. Many aren?t returning capital at all. Everyone is just a hit away from dumb money looking brilliant.

In a perfect world, only the firms actually delivering would raise another round. But those good firms are all over-booked. So the rest of the industry?s cash goes to the rest or doesn?t invest.

VCs acutely feel like a shakeout is real and severe. But that?s largely because they?ve been in venture capital too long. It?s an insanely forgiving business, even if you?re on the losing end. Firms don?t just close down the way a company does. Each fund is a ten-year investment cycle that doesn?t end until the last deal has gone public, sold or gone under. They can limp along seemingly infinitely.

Several VCs I?ve talked to have pointed out that out of some 700 funds that are technically listed as doing business in the US, only 97 of them have invested at least $1 million for four straight quarters in the room. 700 down to 97 is certainly extreme.

But honestly, can you even name 97 venture firms? I write about this stuff for a living and I can maybe name 20 off the top of my head. Remember: This is a home run business and 95 percent of the returns are coming from 5 percent of the deals. Let?s be generous and say, at least fifty of those 97 can be putting up what LPs consider venture style numbers.

Clearly 600 firms would disagree with me that a venture shakeout hasn?t been severe enough. I don?t have a lot of pity for them. Anyone going under in this business has been given at least 10 years of second chances while their portfolio companies suffer far harsher economic realities.

[Illustration by Hallie Bateman]

Source: http://pandodaily.com/2012/11/09/that-venture-capital-shakeout-is-still-taking-way-too-long/

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