Wednesday, April 13, 2014


News Clips For The Day


U.S. military cautiously ups role in Iraq
CBS NEWS August 13, 2014, 6:58 AM

ERBIL, Iraq -- On the orders of President Obama, 130 more U.S. military advisers have arrived in Iraq to help figure out how to rescue thousands of refugees chased from their homes by ISIS militants in the country's north and northwest.

The deployment, confirmed Tuesday by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, brings the total number of American advisers in Iraq -- sent into the country since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants began their offensive in the north in June -- to 380. Hagel stressed that the American military contingent in Iraq would work in a strictly advisory role.

"We're not going back into Iraq in any of the same combat mission dimensions that we once were in in Iraq," said the defense chief.

CBS News correspondent Holly Williams says the new advisers will help assess how to help the thousands of members of the small religious minority Yazidi community who have been hounded by the Islamic extremists and are now stranded on barren mountaintops around the town of Sinjar, which ISIS captured days ago.

The militant group, which has re-branded itself simply "the Islamic State" in a bid to permanently establish its own Sunni Muslim territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border, has issued an ultimatum to Yazidis and Christians in towns and villages across northern Iraq; to convert the group's own warped version of Islam, leave their homes and flee, or be killed.

Two and half years after U.S. forces left Iraq, and as American F/A 18 fighter jets carry out airstrikes on ISIS positions around Erbil, the capital city of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north of Iraq, thousands of Yazidis remain stranded on Sinjar Mountain, surrounded by the militants and facing starvation.

U.S. and Iraqi airdrops of food, water and basic emergency supplies are helping keep them alive, but the helicopter drops are risky missions.

The helicopters sometimes come under fire from the militants surrounding the mountains. On Tuesday, a helicopter crashed, injuring two American journalists on board and killing the pilot. Iraqi officials said it crashed due to a melee on the ground as refugees tried desperately to climb aboard.

A photographer for TIME who was also on the helicopter captured stark images of the desperate situation as refugees and Iraqi soldiers tried to scramble away from the badly damaged aircraft.

What help has reached the refugees came too late for more than 50 children who have already died on the hot, dusty mountains.

Yazidis who have made it to safety tell harrowing stories of men being slaughtered by the militants and of hundreds of young women being captured as slaves.

While the U.S. aerial fire power has enabled regional Kurdish forces to keep ISIS militants from storming into Erbil, it has failed to significantly reverse the group's advance in the region. ISIS continues to claim more territory across the border in Syria, and they remain firmly in control of a vast swathe of northern Iraq, including the key city of Mosul.

The Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, have repeated called for more directly military support from the U.S. and its allies. They say the air support is welcome, but not enough to beat ISIS back.

As this humanitarian crisis unfolds, meanwhile, Iraq does at least appear closer to getting a new government.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who many people blame for fueling Iraq's sectarian tensions, has become extremely isolated and lost even the support of many of his former backers from his Shiite sect of Islam.

The question remains, notes Williams, as to whether a new government can unify Iraq and deal with the threat to the nation posed by the Islamic militants.

Early this week, President Obama acknowledged the "difficult task" facing any new government chosen to lead Iraq.

"It has to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively, and by taking steps to demonstrate its resolve," Mr. Obama said Monday from Martha's Vineyard, where he was on his annual family vacation.

"These have been difficult days in Iraq, a country that's faced so many challenges in its recent history, and I'm sure that there will be difficult days ahead but just as the United States will remain vigilant against the threat posted to our people by [Iraqi extremists], we stand ready to partner with Iraq in its fight against these terrorist forces."





“As this humanitarian crisis unfolds, meanwhile, Iraq does at least appear closer to getting a new government. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who many people blame for fueling Iraq's sectarian tensions, has become extremely isolated and lost even the support of many of his former backers from his Shiite sect of Islam.... Early this week, President Obama acknowledged the "difficult task" facing any new government chosen to lead Iraq. 'It has to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively, and by taking steps to demonstrate its resolve,' Mr. Obama said Monday from Martha's Vineyard, where he was on his annual family vacation.”

A hundred thirty more military advisers, bringing the total to three hundred eighty doesn't look to me like a very helpful move, but with the CIA sending weapons to the Kurds that is a bit better. If al-Maliki will allow a new government into power which is “inclusive” and which will “demonstrate its resolve,” while sharing weapons with the Kurds, perhaps ISIS can be stopped. Al-Maliki doesn't seem to be aware of the danger of Iraq's situation, and is holding to the old cultural divisions when old rivalries need to be dropped. I hope to see change soon.




New police shooting near tense Missouri town
CBS/AP August 13, 2014, 4:58 AM

Ferguson, Mo. -- Police in St. Louis County, Missouri say an officer shot and critically wounded a suspect early Wednesday very near Ferguson, the suburb of the city of St. Louis where a fatal weekend police shooting sparked two nights of violent protests, reports CBS St. Louis affiliate KMOV-TV.

The station quotes St. Louis County police spokesman Brian Schellman as saying officers responded to a report of four men wearing ski masks armed with shotguns a block or two east of Ferguson, as well as reports of shots fired in the area.

When they arrived, he says, they found more than two dozen suspects fleeing on foot.

At one point, an officer confronted a suspect who, Schellman says, pulled a handgun on the officer.

"In fear for his life, the officer shot the subject," Schellman continued. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The suspect's handgun was recovered at the scene.

Separately, said Schellman, one person was injured in a drive-by shooting in Ferguson early Wednesday.

He said the incident involved several males in a black sedan, and a female was shot once in the head. He said she was taken to a hospital with injuries that did not appear life-threatening.

Schellman said the shooting occurred in the same vicinity as the protests over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton pressed police Tuesday to release the name of the officer who shot Brown, an unarmed black teenager, and he pleaded for calm after two nights of violent disturbances over Brown's death.

There were more protests in Ferguson Tuesday night into early Wednesday, but they didn't turn violent, witnesses said.

Still, authorities reported several new arrests.

At one point, police used tear gas to disperse a crowd, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Police said death threats prompted them to withhold the name of the officer, who was placed on administrative leave after shooting Brown.

Investigators have released few details, saying only that a scuffle unfolded after the officer asked Brown and another teen to get out of the street. At some point, the officer's weapon fired inside a patrol car, police said.

"The local authorities have put themselves in a position - hiding names and not being transparent - where people will not trust anything but an objective investigation," Sharpton said during a news conference in St. Louis at which he was joined by Brown's parents.

He also echoed pleas for peaceful protests by the NAACP and Brown's father, Michael Brown Sr., who told the crowd, "I need all of us to come together and do this right. ... No violence."

President Obama also urged calm, saying people must comfort each other "in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds." Mr. Obama called Brown's death "heartbreaking."

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, whose appearance was unannounced, told a standing-room only crowd at a community forum Tuesday night that the shooting feels "like an old wound torn fresh" in a nation still struggling with race relations.

KMOV says Nixon didn't answer reporters' questions about whether he'd call out the National Guard if the civil unrest resumed in Ferguson.

The forum, held at a church, was organized as an alternative response to two nights of unrest in which crowds burned stores, vandalized vehicles, assaulted reporters and taunted officers. Ferguson's mayor and police chief also attended the meeting, and were welcomed with applause.

Earlier in the day, Police Chief Tom Jackson said he had decided against releasing the officer's name Tuesday after death threats were called in to police and City Hall and posted on social media. Jackson said it could be weeks before he releases the name.

"If we come out and say, 'It was this officer,' then he immediately becomes a target," Jackson said. "We're taking the threats seriously."

The officer has been with the force for about six years and was on a routine patrol when he encountered the two young men, Jackson said.

Police have not disclosed the race of the officer, but witnesses said he was white. Brown was black.

The Ferguson police force has 53 officers, three of whom are black. Jackson said the city has had trouble recruiting and retaining black officers.

The fullest account of Brown's death so far has come from Dorian Johnson, who said he was walking home from a convenience store with Brown when they were approached by an officer in a squad car who, using expletives, ordered them to move to the sidewalk.

In the hours after the shooting, Johnson told news crews that he and Brown had kept walking and explained to the officer they were near their destination. The officer then reversed his car "to where it almost hit us."

The officer, Johnson said, tried to open his door, but he was so close to the men that it "ricocheted" back. Johnson said the officer then reached through the window, "grabbed my friend around the neck" and tried to pull him into the car. 

The officer then reportedly pulled out his weapon and said, "'I'll shoot you,' or 'I'm going to shoot,'" Johnson said.

When the officer opened fire, Brown was hit and started to bleed, Johnson said. Johnson ran to hide behind a car.

Brown "kept running, and he told me to keep running because he feared for me, too," Johnson said.

Johnson said the officer pursued Brown with his weapon drawn and fired again.

When Brown felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air and started to get down on the ground. But the officer kept firing, Johnson said.

"And my friend died. He didn't say anything to him. He just stood over and he's shooting."

Authorities have not commented directly on Johnson's account.

Another witness, Phillip Walker, told the AP he was on the porch of an apartment complex overlooking the scene when he saw a white officer with Brown, who was "giving up in the sense of raising his arms and being subdued." Walker said the officer then "stood over him and shot him."

Police have said there is no security or police video of the confrontation.

St. Louis County police are leading the investigation into Brown's death, and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to order flight restrictions over Ferguson until Monday to give police helicopters unfettered access to that airspace. Those restrictions were lifted Tuesday.





“Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, whose appearance was unannounced, told a standing-room only crowd at a community forum Tuesday night that the shooting feels "like an old wound torn fresh" in a nation still struggling with race relations.... Earlier in the day, Police Chief Tom Jackson said he had decided against releasing the officer's name Tuesday after death threats were called in to police and City Hall and posted on social media. Jackson said it could be weeks before he releases the name.... The Ferguson police force has 53 officers, three of whom are black. Jackson said the city has had trouble recruiting and retaining black officers....” Maybe that means that when blacks take on the job they are harassed by the white officers. I would like to see Governor Nixon look into that as long as he is looking at this horribly botched interaction with Brown and Johnson. There was a fire department in the news for racial harassment issues when the management hired a black firefighter. It seems that when there is an all man group with a macho image at the forefront, they tend to be the opposite of “inclusive.” One of the firefighters secretly made a noose and hung it in the firehouse. Women in police departments have been similarly treated with disrespect. Where there is too much “team spirit,” there tends to be abuse.

“The fullest account of Brown's death so far has come from Dorian Johnson, who said he was walking home from a convenience store with Brown when they were approached by an officer in a squad car who, using expletives, ordered them to move to the sidewalk.” Johnson admits that the boys “kept walking” and explained that they were near their destination, at which point the officer drove backward almost hitting them and when he tried to open his door it hit the boys and bounced back. The officer reached through the window and grabbed Brown by the neck, pulling him toward the car, saying “I'll shoot you.” Brown was hit but succeeded in running away. The officer shot him again in the back. When he turned around, with his hands up and tried to get on the ground, the officer killed him. Another witness Phillip Walker confirmed Johnson's account of Brown's death.

Even if the boys didn't “move over to the sidewalk” as ordered, the officer shouldn't have physically assaulted them. This is like the story yesterday of the homeless woman who was walking on a freeway. Even if it was dangerous, it wasn't an attempt at assault or endangerment of the officer, but the policeman took that opportunity to “teach her a lesson” by beating her badly. The boys, of course, should have moved over to the sidewalk without delay, even if the officer did swear at them. The trouble with failing to obey an officer is that the police when they are on patrol like that are doing their duty and are the representatives of the law. Police in patrol cars are looking for “anything suspicious,” and I can see how that would include walking out in the street rather than on the sidewalk. It looks like the boys were trying to be troublesome.

The officer shouldn't have sworn at them, however. That was outside his authority and was personally provocative. Cops should avoid being aggressive when it isn't needed. Apparently he reacted in anger to their failure to respond, ending up using his gun for no good reason. Now there is another apparently race-based incident on the mind of the nation, inflaming hatred, which could have and should have been avoided by the officer simply speaking calmly and more politely to them, and certainly refraining from grabbing the boy. Failing to move over to the sidewalk is not a high crime. Shooting an unarmed man in the act of submitting is a crime, and one that was totally unnecessary. I hope Brown's family will sue the officer like the homeless woman has done in yesterday's report.




Department stores come back to life – CBS
By KIM PETERSON MONEYWATCH August 13, 2014, 7:46 AM

Remember when everyone thought department stores were going down the tubes? Those fuddy-duddy retailers were sure to be crushed by spiffy new e-tailers, a sputtering economy and a customer shift away from huge malls.

It hasn't happened. In fact, department stores spent their years in the retail doghouse figuring out how to rapidly change for a modern economy. Now, some chains are mounting a comeback, with sales and revenue ticking up.

In a surprising turn of events, it's big-box giants like Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT) that are stumbling. Target has been distracted by a massive data breach and changes at the CEO level, and Walmart can't seem to revive its slumping U.S. Sales.

This ongoing revival department stories could be on show this week when three big chains report their quarterly earnings. Macy's (M) said Wednesday that sales in the second quarter rose 3.3 percent to $6.3 billion, up from $6.1 billion a year ago. Analysts were expecting a 4 percent jump in revenue from a year earlier. The company's operating income to $571 million, up 6.9 percent from $534 million in the year-ago period.

Nordstrom (JWN) reports Thursday, and revenue is expected to rise 6 percent from a year earlier.

Even J.C. Penney (JCP), which has spent the last several years feverishly restructuring in an effort to boost results, is finally seeing a payoff. In the first quarter it surprised investors with a 6.2 percent increase in same-store sales. It also reports its latest results Thursday, with analysts expecting a 5.9 percent increase in same-store sales.

Investors are perhaps the most bullish on Macy's, whose shares are up 13 percent this year. J.C. Penney shares have been more volatile, given the company's tumultuous past year, but have climbed more than 70 percent from lows in early March. And Nordstrom shares have risen more than 12 percent this year.
What why are these stores thriving? Here are five reasons:

Grabbing the online bull by the horns: Macy's equipped 500 stores with the ability to fulfill online orders, and as a result has seen significant e-commerce growth. The company is also rolling out its "buy online, pick up in store" service.

Nordstrom is making a big online investment with its acquisition of Trunk Club, a subscription service with 250 personal stylists that work directly with shoppers. There is no fee for Trunk Club. Customers sign up online, and a stylist selects clothes for them and ships the garments in the mail.

Cutting costs: All three department stores are cutting back on expenses, and that includes closing underperforming locations. Nordstrom is closing two locations in January, and Macy's recently announced two store closings as well. J.C. Penney said in January it will close 33 stores and eliminate about 2,000 jobs.

Giving customers what they want: J.C. Penney is going back to the private brands, such as St. John's Bay, that were spurned under the management of former CEO Ron Johnson. Private labels are generally more profitable than national brands, which will help the company's bottom line. Although the jury is still out on the turnaround, customers seem pleased -- April was the first month in 30 that the company saw growth in store traffic.

Riding the economic rebound: The retail sector could be on the cusp of a turnaround, and economists expect better trends in the second half of the year as the consumer outlook brightens, economists say. Consumers seem more confident, too. The University of Michigan's consumer survey is expected to climb from 81.8 points in July to 82.5 points in August.

Working with partners: Coach (COH) is closing 20 percent of its stores this year, and will turn to Macy's and Nordstrom to help make up for the lost sales, Fortune reports. It's even placing its own staff members in Macy's huge flagship store in Manhattan. Other retailers, such as Finish Line (FINL) and Sephora, run small boutique shops inside Macy's and J.C. Penney. While private-label brands are certainly profitable, department stores know that retail partnerships with Ralph Lauren (RL) and others are the key to a diverse customer base.

Department stores still have a long way to go before they hit the peak sales seen in 2000, Fortune reports. Overall sales for the sector topped $232 billion back then, and fell to just under $180 billion in 2012. Big names such as Mervyn's are now gone, which is one reason sales have dropped so much.

It's unclear if department stores can ever hit that peak again, but they're going to try rather than lose more business to Amazon.com (AMZN), Gilt Groupe and other online retailers. The shopping malls they anchor are largely still in a rut, but department stores are starting to shine.




I'm glad to see department stores holding their own. They are a source of clothing and accessories that are moderately priced and of a conservatively stylish design. In other words, I can afford them, they look ladylike and the sewing of the seams will hold together for longer than a few months. I have never wanted to shop for clothing at Walmart. Their things are not made as well and they don't have as many choices. Walmart concentrates on stocking every item known to man, but has a limited amount of each thing. I do go to Walmart for electronic goods such as my Tracfone and recently a computer printer. Staples is my favorite for those things, but they are 10 miles away from my apartment and Walmart is 3 miles. Besides, I like to see some things be the same as they were when I was young. My hometown has no “downtown” left, as all the stores have moved to a mall on the edge of town which is dominated by a Walmart. Many times when I was in high school I walked downtown to meet friends for window shopping, a cream puff from the local bakery and eating at the Dairy Queen. My first job in High School was in the Ladies Accessories Department at the local Belk's Department Store. Those are good memories.




Iraqi Christians: "We need somewhere safe to live"
By HOLLY WILLIAMS CBS NEWS August 12, 2014, 7:47 PM

ERBIL, Iraq - There are important developments in the Iraq crisis.

It appears Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will step down. There had been concern that after eight years he would try to hold on to power by military force. And correspondent David Martin reports that President Obama is sending about 130 more American military advisers to Iraq. There are 250 in the country already.

They're helping the Iraqi government roll back ISIS, a Muslim extremist army that has taken control of parts of Iraq and Syria.

Obama ordered airstrikes on ISIS when it threatened the Kurdish city of Erbil in northern Iraq. That's where these new American advisers would go, to help thousands of refugees who are surrounded on Mount Sinjar.

On Monday, when an Iraqi helicopter dropped water to help the refugees, some refugees seized the chance and jumped aboard.

On Tuesday, a similar Iraqi mission crashed after it was rushed by refugees. The pilot was killed. Many were injured.

Refugees are fleeing because ISIS militants have murdered, by the thousands, anyone who is not a member of their Sunni Muslim faith.

CBS News discovered what's happening to the Christians. Christians in Iraq still pray in Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ.

We visited the town of Bartella two months ago, as ISIS militants began their campaign of violence and terror in northern Iraq.

Christians have lived here for at least 1,500 years. They still pray in Aramaic - the language spoken by Christ.

With the Islamic extremists just 10 miles away, Capt. Firaz Jacob and his 600 local militiamen had vowed to protect their home.

We asked what they would do if the militants came to this Christian town?

"We don't know," Firaz told us, speaking in Arabic, "but maybe they'll do what they've done in other places and kill us."

Capt. Firaz and his men held on until last week when ISIS went on the rampage again, capturing more territory for what they say is their own, Islamic state.

The townspeople fled in the middle of the night. Now, 200 families are crowded into a community hall, including baby Marbel, who was born the same day they ran for their lives.

These are proud people who have lost everything and have nowhere to go.

Capt. Firaz is here and told us he was the last to leave Bartella, after everyone else had made it out.

Does he think they will ever be able to go back to Bartella?

"If we go back to our town in a few months or a few years we'll be pushed out again," he said. "We need somewhere safe to live."

Many people blame the current prime minister, al-Maliki, for fueling religious and ethnic tensions here. He's now isolated and will probably have to leave office. He's lost the support of his Iranian backers as well as the militias that were once loyal to him.

But the question is whether a new government can end those hatreds and unify Iraq.





“Christians have lived here for at least 1,500 years. They still pray in Aramaic - the language spoken by Christ. With the Islamic extremists just 10 miles away, Capt. Firaz Jacob and his 600 local militiamen had vowed to protect their home. We asked what they would do if the militants came to this Christian town? 'We don't know,' Firaz told us, speaking in Arabic, 'but maybe they'll do what they've done in other places and kill us.'”

Like the Yazidis treated in yesterday's blog, these Christians are part of a very old tradition. See the Wikipedia article below.


Christianity in Iraq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest surviving continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority areEastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians; however, there is a very small community of Armenians, too.

In Iraq, Christians numbered about 1,500,000 in 2003, representing just over 5% of the population of the country. They numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the population.[1] After the Iraq War, it was estimated that the number of Christians in Iraq had dropped to less than 450,000 by 2013[2] - with estimates as low as 200,000.[3] Chaldean Catholicsform the biggest group among the Christians of Iraq.[4]

Christians live primarily in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Arbil and Kirkuk and in Assyrian towns and regions such as the Nineveh Plains in the north.[5]

Christianity was brought to Iraq in the 1st century AD by the Apostles Thomas and Addai (Thaddaeus) and his pupils Aggagi and Mari. Thomas and Thaddeus belonged to the twelve Apostles.[6] Iraq's Eastern Aramaic speaking Assyrian Christian communities are believed to be among the oldest in the world.

In the early centuries after the Arab Islamic conquest, native Assyrian (known as Ashuriyun by the Arabs) scholars and doctors played an influential role in Iraq, however, from the late 13th century AD through to the present time, Assyrian Christians have suffered both religious and ethnic persecution, including a number of massacres.[7

As of 21 June 2007, the UNHCR estimated that 2.2 million Iraqis had been displaced to neighbouring countries with a large majority of them Christians, and 2 million were displaced internally, with nearly 100,000 Iraqis fleeing to Syria and Jordan each month.

In August 2004, International Christian Concern protested an attack by Islamistson Iraqi Christian churches that killed 11 people.[15] In 2006, an Orthodox Christian priest, Boulos Iskander, was beheaded and mutilated despite payment of a ransom, and in 2008, the Assyrian clergyman Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of the Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul died after being abducted.[14]In January 2008, bombs exploded outside nine churches.[14]

In 2010, reports emerged in Mosul of people being stopped in the streets, asked for their identity cards, and shot if they had a first or last name indicating Assyrian or Christian origin.[7] On 31 October 2010, 58 people, including 41 hostages and priests, were killed after an attack on an Assyrian Catholic church in Baghdad.[18] See October 2010 Baghdad church attack. A group affiliated to Al-Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq, stated that Iraq's indigenous Christians were a "legitimate target."[19] In November, a series of bombings and mortar attacks targeted Assyrian Christian-majority areas of Baghdad.[19]

Apart from emigration, the Iraqi Christians are also declining due to lower rates of birth and higher death rates than their Muslim compatriots. Also since the invasion of Iraq, Assyrians and Armenians have been targeted by Islamist extremist organisations and Arab nationalists.[21]

Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz's (real name Michael Youkhanna) death sentence was not signed by the Iraqi president in 2010 because the president "sympathise[d] with Tariq Aziz because he is an Iraqi Christian."[24] This also came after appeals from the Holy See not to carry out the sentence.[25]





Buzz over bee venom in cancer research
By AGATA BLASZCZAK-BOXE CBS NEWS August 13, 2014, 5:57 AM

Bee, snake or scorpion venom may sound more like a health nightmare than a cure, but they could in fact be used in cancer-fighting drugs, a new study suggests.

Injecting someone with pure venom could have disastrous health consequences, but researchers say they have found a way to avoid such issues. They separated the "useful" venom proteins and peptides, making them specifically target malignant cells while evading healthy ones, therefore eliminating harmful effects that the toxins would normally have on a person's health.

"We have safely used venom toxins in tiny nanometer-sized particles to treat breast cancer and melanoma cells in the laboratory," study author Dipanjan Pan of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said in a statement. "These particles, which are camouflaged from the immune system, take the toxin directly to the cancer cells, sparing normal tissue."

Venom from snakes, bees and scorpions contains proteins and peptides that can attach to cancer cell membranes, which could potentially block the growth and spread of cancer, as previous studies have suggested.

However, scientists have been unable to harness these promising anti-cancer properties into a drug, because venom injection is likely to cause serious side effects such as damage to heart muscle and nerve cells, unwanted clotting or bleeding under the skin.

And this is where the new research comes in.

When Pan and his team examined honeybee venom, they identified a substance called melittin that prevents cancer cells from multiplying. However, bees make very little of this substance, so it is not practical to extract it for lab testing and clinical use; instead, the researchers synthesized melittin in the lab. Then they injected the synthetic version of the toxin into tiny nanoparticles.

"The peptide toxins we made are so tightly packed within the nanoparticle that they don't leach out when exposed to the bloodstream and cause side effects," Pan said.

Those synthetic peptides target and reach the tumor directly and get attached to cancer stem cells, which in turn blocks them from growing and spreading -- at least in the lab.
Pan said that he would next like to test the new treatment on rats and pigs, and, eventually, on human patients in the next three to five years.

The study was presented at the 248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The ACS also released a video explaining how it works.




Scientists have been as busy as bees. “They separated the 'useful' venom proteins and peptides, making them specifically target malignant cells while evading healthy ones, therefore eliminating harmful effects that the toxins would normally have on a person's health.... 'We have safely used venom toxins in tiny nanometer-sized particles to treat breast cancer and melanoma cells in the laboratory,' study author Dipanjan Pan of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said in a statement. 'These particles, which are camouflaged from the immune system, take the toxin directly to the cancer cells, sparing normal tissue.' … When Pan and his team examined honeybee venom, they identified a substance called melittin that prevents cancer cells from multiplying. However, bees make very little of this substance, so it is not practical to extract it for lab testing and clinical use; instead, the researchers synthesized melittin in the lab. Then they injected the synthetic version of the toxin into tiny nanoparticles. 'The peptide toxins we made are so tightly packed within the nanoparticle that they don't leach out when exposed to the bloodstream and cause side effects,' Pan said.”

This technique has only been tested on cells in the lab, so scientists next want to use rats and pigs before human trials. Any cancer cure is a great thing, and if this one might be less prone to side effects due to the “camouflaged” particles, that will make cancer treatment more comfortable for patients than it is now. Hopefully there will be more news about this in the next few years.







Biologists Choose Sides In Safety Debate Over Lab-Made Pathogens – NPR
by NELL GREENFIELDBOYCE
August 13, 2014 3:25 AM ET

A smoldering debate about whether or not researchers should ever deliberately create superflu strains and other risky germs in the interest of science has flared once again.

Proponents of the work say that in order to protect the public from the next naturally occurring pandemic, they have to understand what risky infectious agents are capable of — and that means altering the microbes in experiments. Critics argue that the knowledge gained from making new strains of these germs isn't worth the risk, because a lab-made pathogen might escape the laboratory and start spreading among people.

Now, as scientists on both sides of the dispute have formed groups that have issued manifestos and amassed lists of supporters, it looks like the prestigious National Academy of Sciences will step in to weigh the risks and benefits.

A representative of the National Institutes of Health, which funds this research, says that NIH, too, is "giving deep consideration to the many views expressed by various highly respected parties" about the best way forward.

In a recent editorial in "mBio," the journal's editor-in-chief, Dr. Arturo Casadevall, urged his colleagues to "lower the level of rhetoric and focus on the scientific questions at hand."

Scientists have passionate debates all the time, but it's usually about the meaning of some experimental result, says Casadevall, a microbiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

"What is different here is that we are facing a set of intangibles," he says. "And because they involve judgment calls at this point, people are often weighing the risks and the benefits very differently."

Dr. David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, thinks the risks of making a new strain of flu virus that has the potential to cause a pandemic are very real.

"I don't think we have adequately involved the public," Relman says, "so that they understand the possible consequences of mistakes, or errors, or misadventures in performing this kind of science — the kinds of consequences that would result in many, many people becoming ill or dying."

Controversial work on lab-altered bird flu was halted for more than a year in a voluntary moratorium, after two labs generated new, more contagious forms of the bird flu virus H5N1. Eventually, after federal officials promised more oversight, the experiments started back up and the controversy quieted down. But key questions were never answered, Relman says.

"One of the big issues that has not been advanced over the last two years is a discussion about whether there are experiments that ought not to be undertaken and, if so, what they look like," he says, noting that scientists keep publishing more studies that involve genetically altered flu viruses. "You know, every time that one of these experiments comes up, it just ups the ante a bit. It creates additional levels of risk that force the question: Do we accept all of this?"

Last month, Relman met in Massachussetts with others who are worried. They formed the Cambridge Working Group and issued a statement saying that researchers should curtail any experiments that would lead to new pathogens with pandemic potential, until there's a better assessment of the dangers and benefits.

By coincidence, they released their official statement just as the public started hearing news reports of various laboratory errors, such as a forgotten vial of smallpox found in an old freezer, and mishaps involving anthrax and bird flu at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What's more, the unprecedented Ebola outbreak has reminded the public what it looks like when a deadly virus gets out of control.

All of this led a different band of scientists to also form a group — to publicly defend research on dangerous pathogens.

"There are multiple events that have come together in a rather unusual convergence," says Paul Duprex, a microbiologist at Boston University.

He sees the recent reports of lab mistakes as exceptions — they don't mean you should shut down basic science that's essential to protect the public health, he says.

"These viruses are out there; they cause disease, they have killed many, many people in the past," Duprex says. "We bring them to the laboratory to work with them."

Duprex helped form a group that calls itself Scientists for Science. The group's position statement emphasizes that studies on risky germs already are subject to extensive regulations. It says focusing on lab safety is the best defense — not limiting the types of experiments that can be done.

Whenever questions about safety are raised, Duprex says, scientists have one of two options. They can keep their heads down, do their experiments, and hope it will all go away. Or, he says, they can proactively engage the public and provide an informed opinion.

His group has taken the latter approach, "because ultimately we're the people working with these things."

Each of these two groups of scientists now has a website, and each website features its own list of more than a hundred supporters, including Nobel Prize winners and other scientific superstars.

One thing that almost everyone seems to agree on is that, to move forward, there needs to be some sort of independent, respected forum for discussing the key issues.

The American Society for Microbiology has called on the prestigious National Academy of Sciences to take the lead. A representative of the Academy says NAS does plan to hold a symposium, later this year. The details are still being worked out.

Tim Donohue, a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who is president of ASM, says a similar kind of debate happened back in the mid-1970s, when brand-new technologies for manipulating DNA forced scientists and the public to tackle thorny questions.

"And I think that is a productive exercise," Donohue says, "to have scientists and the public, sitting around the table, making sure each one understands what the benefits and risks are, and putting in place policies that allow these types of experiments to go on so that they are safe and so that society can benefit from the knowledge and innovation that comes out of that work."




“A smoldering debate about whether or not researchers should ever deliberately create superflu strains and other risky germs in the interest of science has flared once again.... In a recent editorial in 'mBio,' the journal's editor-in-chief, Dr. Arturo Casadevall, urged his colleagues to 'lower the level of rhetoric and focus on the scientific questions at hand.'... Dr. David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, thinks the risks of making a new strain of flu virus that has the potential to cause a pandemic are very real. 'I don't think we have adequately involved the public,' Relman says, 'so that they understand the possible consequences of mistakes, or errors, or misadventures in performing this kind of science — the kinds of consequences that would result in many, many people becoming ill or dying.'...Controversial work on lab-altered bird flu was halted for more than a year in a voluntary moratorium, after two labs generated new, more contagious forms of the bird flu virus H5N1. Eventually, after federal officials promised more oversight, the experiments started back up and the controversy quieted down. But key questions were never answered, Relman says.”

“Proponents of the work say that in order to protect the public from the next naturally occurring pandemic, they have to understand what risky infectious agents are capable of — and that means altering the microbes in experiments. Critics argue that the knowledge gained from making new strains of these germs isn't worth the risk, because a lab-made pathogen might escape the laboratory and start spreading among people.” The Cambridge Working Group and Scientists for Science are two opposing groups of scientists who are debating the issue. “'These viruses are out there; they cause disease, they have killed many, many people in the past,' Duprex says. 'We bring them to the laboratory to work with them.'”

Duprex argues that such research is already under “extensive regulations,” and stresses lab safety over limiting research. The news article suggests reading both groups' websites, which include lists of supporters of their viewpoint. NPR stated that there is consensus on the need for an “independent, respected forum” for discussing the issues, and that the National Academy of Sciences has been suggested for the task. They are planning to hold a forum on the subject “later this year.”

The following article from NIH on modern day biological military research in the US is published separately today on my blog “manessmorrison2.blogspot.com” called “Thoughts and Researches,” where you can read it in full. It is called Biological Warfare NIH 2003 – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1326447/. “Germ warfare,” or any research that is not aimed at the control rather than the use as a weapon of these very deadly microbes, should be stopped, in my opinion. When an anonymous person sent powdered anthrax through the mail a few years ago, the government called it “weaponized anthrax,” so there is no doubt that they have been doing such projects and “weaponizing” bacteria.

I understand that microbe genetic engineering has produced some positive results, a treatment for diabetes for one thing, but scientists should only work with the less lethal life forms, and then not in a way that changes them to make them more dangerous. We have enough problems already. The last two incidents of mishandling lethal germs at CDC were very discouraging. The possibilities of a disaster are just too great.

Why is Obama not speaking out against this? He is a “good guy.” He should not shield unethical and dangerous people from their activities. At the very least, if the government is going to conduct such experiments, there should be no cloak of secrecy about it. There is too much secrecy already, and this is an especially dangerous area to be hidden from the public view.

That's why Snowden's expose caused such a splash; the public didn't have any proof of the extent of government surveillance on private individuals before that time, and they were not pleased to find it out. The Feds had claimed they were only spying on aliens under specific suspicion, but it then came out that they had collected massive amounts of data without specific cause, and without going through the courts – a lazy shortcut. I think Snowden should be pardoned and welcomed back into the US. He stated recently that he would be willing to go to jail, and wants to come home. I don't think he should be persecuted for the rest of his life.