Subject: Science News
Date: Mon Sep 18 11:19:49 2017
User: ejchapMessage:This is what my son, Eric, is working on.
Judgment day nears for Alnylam and a new technology
Soon-to-be released clinicial trial data will reveal much about the Cambridge biotech’s future — as well as RNAi drug development
A $7 billion market valuation and the credibility of the entire field of RNA interference drug development is riding on the results of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ (ALNY1) next big clinical trial.
No pressure, folks.
ejchap
Date: Mon Sep 18 12:46:58 2017
User: TNmountainmanMessage:You probably know this, ejchap, but just over a week ago, they announced that they were quitting dosing in one of their clinical trials (not sure if it's the particular trial you're referring to or not), due to the death of a patient. Subsequently, at least 3 ambulance-chasing type of law firms announced they are "investigating claims" about the behavior of the officers of the company. (To be sure, this kind of thing happens *all* the time.) That, along with a couple of downgrades since then, have given the company's stock a moderate haircut. (And that kind of thing happens all the time, too. I'm *not* bad-mouthing the company at all.)
That said, I'm a believer in (the potential of) RNA therapies. I don't know as much about the RNA interference angle as I do the antisense technology (even though they're similar -- antisense uses single-strand RNA, while interference uses double-stranded) but I do believe there's lots of promise in general. Personally, although not being an expert (or nowhere close) in the interference approach, I think there's enough 'real' there that to say "....the credibility of the entire field of RNA interference drug development is riding on the results..." is a bit overstated. There's SO much we don't know about the details of how those things work, but the idea of gene silencing is full of promise, imo. Even if this trial fails, the research on this stuff will continue. We *know* the concept works, as it's been demonstrated in lower animals (insert your own personal joke punch line here) successfully already. But to say that this technology is complex is a terrific understatement.
As always with biotech things at the forefront of new research, there will be winners and losers, both technologically-speaking, and in terms of the companies themselves.
Date: Mon Sep 18 16:44:19 2017
User: ejchapMessage:"You probably know this, ejchap, but just over a week ago, they announced that they were quitting dosing in one of their clinical trials (not sure if it's the particular trial you're referring to or not), due to the death of a patient"
I did some reading on this; and I believe it was another clinical trial.
ejchap
Date: Wed Sep 20 09:49:09 2017
User: TNmountainmanMessage:Alnylam wins!
Date: Wed Sep 20 11:58:45 2017
User: ejchapMessage:TN My son just called me
Alnylam’s rare disease drug shines in trial, paving way for a brand-new class of medicines
The age of RNA interference drugs has arrived.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced positive results Wednesday 9/20/2017 from a closely watched phase 3 clinical trial of patisiran, the company’s lead drug designed to treat a rare nerve disorder known as familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP.)
Most importantly, the safety profile of patisiran in the FAP study looks clean, assuaging concerns raised by toxicity reported with some of Alnylam’s other pipeline drugs.
Date: Wed Sep 20 14:38:45 2017
User: ejchapMessage:TN I posted this on 3 boards. You were the only person who knew anything about this.
So
great heads up
ejchap
Date: Thu Sep 21 09:49:32 2017
User: TNmountainmanMessage:I would say that just because I'm the only person who responded doesn't mean I'm the only one who knows something about it. There likely are others.
Date: Thu Sep 21 12:04:39 2017
User: The_InterpreterMessage:The Shadow knows.
Date: Thu Sep 21 14:45:20 2017
User: ejchapMessage:TN I posted this on 3 boards. You were the only person who knew anything about this.
I would say that just because I'm the only person who responded doesn't mean I'm the only one who knows something about it. There likely are others.
User: The_Interpreter
Message:
The Shadow knows.
I stand corrected 2 of you replied. My son emailed me.
He got some sort of award at work, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
ejchap
Date: Thu Sep 21 16:23:26 2017
User: caharrisMessage:how proud you must be of your son. Fantastic news.
Date: Thu Sep 21 17:08:07 2017
User: ejchapMessage:yes
thanks
carol
Date: Thu Sep 21 19:27:48 2017
User: ejchapMessage:Yhis is what my son just emailed to me
"it could change medicine - basically RNAi therapeutics could essentially treat any disease because its further up regulated than any current DNA/host targetted therapeutics.
You gave me all the skills and drive to be successful in life and my work...........
love you
Eric
Date: Thu Sep 21 23:34:52 2017
User: TNmountainmanMessage:If The_Interpreter was doing his job adequately, this wouldn't be necessary....
Link: RNAi - how it works
Date: Fri Sep 22 09:41:15 2017
User: ejchapMessage:thanks for the video
ejchap
Date: Fri Sep 22 15:21:08 2017
User: hotnurseMessage:I don't know diddly about this research but, being science-minded, I love it.
My main interest is in finding a cure for degenerative neuro diseases like ALS and MS. These diseases tend to strike young adults in particular. Right now there is not only no cure but the drugs available to those inflicted with these diseases are out of reach for all but the uber-rich.
Congrats to your son, ejchap and best of luck in his research.
Date: Sat Aug 17 14:16:51 2019
User: TNmountainmanMessage:ejchap...................on the "Big, big, BIG (science) news" thread, you posted some recent stuff about your son, who's apparently gravitated from Alnylam (with which you started this thread), and then Cognate BioServices, over to Genprex. I'm curious, if he saw something in Alnylam which caused him to migrate. As noted in the linked new SA article, IONS seems to have done a better job of making progress, altho it's unclear whether it's due to their antisense approach vs. Alnylam's interference approach. And I'm curious as to why you posted it there instead of here, where we'd been discussing this research? Further..........Genprex, which he's now joined, hasn't made much noise in this field yet. Do they have plans to jump into RNA alterations? Looks like their lead candidate, Oncoprex, is looking at microvesicle uptake as a drug delivery system, and targets cancer cells via selective apoptosis. Altho gene expression in involved, it doesn't look like an antisense or interference approach. Just curious as to what has been driving his moves. Just curious if it's about the science involved; not trying to be personally nosy.
More generally.................as evidenced by the information in the SA article, the hope I expressed nearly two years ago above is clearly beginning to be realized. Real human patients are being helped tremendously, and the horizon of possibilities is (nearly) limitless. And yes, hotnurse, if you see this, it could well mean great news (on down the line) for the issues you care about.
Link: advances in antisense are becoming more tangible
Date: Sat Aug 17 17:31:48 2019
User: ejchapMessage:TN
Thanks for the message.
You know more about the science stuff than I do.
I am just very proud of the work my son is doing.
If you show promise in science, these companies raid each other to get the best employees.
I will try to keep you informed.
ejchap
Date: Mon Aug 19 15:36:42 2019
User: ejchapMessage:to TNMountainman
send me an email to this addy
crc8of12@gmail.com
and I can send you a writeup
of what my son is doing at Genprex
You may understand it better than I do
ejchap
Date: Sun Oct 20 15:07:58 2019
User: TNmountainmanMessage:Ok. I'm shouting. (Not really.) But this article is likely a more lay representation of antisense and interference RNA therapies. Hopefully The_Interpreter is not needed for this one.
Link: update on RNA therapies
Date: Thu Jan 23 03:04:36 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:That star and it's shenanigans has certainly been a hot water cooler conversation topic lately, has it not?
I doubt that Betelguese will go supernova on us in the near future (in human terms), but how cool would that be? Since my early years of science learnin', that's something I'd always hoped I'd get to see in my lifetime, but knew unlikely. That and Haley's, which I did get to see, but was pretty much a dud for all the years of anticipation.
For background on the gravity waves aspect of this, go to the thread "Big, big, BIG (science) news", which I started nearly 6 years ago now, with the first legitimate evidence of detection of same. I would link it below, but I'm on a smartphone that doesn't handle multiple tasks like that well, especially on this site. Easy to find, and I did not overstate that case, as time has shown.
Other sources have noted that large stars like Betelguese can undergo such intensity variations, but this one seems a bit odd, so who knows?
Date: Thu Jan 23 08:33:18 2020
User: The_InterpreterMessage:Geez, you're talking about something that might have happened in the 14th or 15th century. I thought this was Science NEWS.
Date: Thu Jan 23 12:07:15 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:Yes, and that's even "might". But remember the "old days" (but much more recent than Betelgeuse acting out)................."news" took weeks, or months, to get disseminated. The Battle of New Orleans was fought well after the end of the war, for one of many examples. So this is just an extension of that type of "news".
Date: Thu Jan 23 16:02:26 2020
User: KleppMessage:My retinae hope to catch the very, very, very first photons streaming from its supernova to Earth...as "live" as one could possibly hope for, I guess...(I wonder if neutrinos could be out in front of said "live" photons, thus giving a signal to "get ready to watch live explosion" (even if forewarning is a mere fraction of a second)...one would know easily enough where *exactly* to look in the sky...
I'd personally like to witness Antares go first...
Date: Thu Jan 23 16:58:49 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:Indeed, that's an extremely thoughtful reading. I think, with the recent total solar eclipse of just a year and a half ago, some light (yes, pun intended) could be shed on their musings. I had remembered the 1054 event as being brighter than the 1006 one, so that refreshed my knowledge base on that.
And Klepp, please remember to wear your fancy glasses from the eclipse when checking out those first photons and neutrinos. LOL.
I personally feel any reactions will be muted, but was pleasantly surprised by all the interest in the eclipse.
Date: Mon Feb 17 10:47:42 2020
User: sprucegooseMessage:One of the coolest most amazing science related sights I experienced was the June 6, 2012 Transit of Venus. It's one of the rarest predictable astronomical phenomenon. And first predicted by Johannes Kepler himself - though not the 2012 transit - Kepler predicted the 1631 transit. Amazing to do that math on paper.
I had my solar filter on my telescope on the sidewalk of the local grocery store, being a street-evangelist for science to my friends and neighbors and strangers passing by. One 25-ish kid said: "I'm busy, I'll see it next time." Nope, I don't expect he'll be around in 114 years.
Date: Mon Feb 17 20:48:12 2020
User: KleppMessage:"And if Betelgeuse does defy the odds and blow up in our lifetimes, astronomers say there will be ample warning. Instruments on Earth would start detecting neutrinos or gravitational waves generated by the explosion as much as a day in advance."--see link below
Link: (Eventual) celestial show
Date: Tue Feb 18 01:55:42 2020
User: Dr.BombayMessage:Alas, I’ve read tonight that the dimming of Betelguese has stopped over the last ten days. It’s bottomed out at 36% !! of its max brightness. Astronomers are now expecting it to start getting brighter again. I’m still holding out hope for the super nova though.
Date: Thu Feb 20 18:07:05 2020
User: KleppMessage:Jupiter-sized planet with revolution time of 18 hours, 27x closer than Mercury...
Link: *Serious* centripetal force
Date: Fri Feb 21 09:09:10 2020
User: BuzzClikMessage:... 27x closer to its star than Mercury is to the sun.
Date: Fri Feb 21 10:45:36 2020
User: Kumquat-of-ConciliationMessage:Only 1/27th as far from it's sun as Mercury is from ours.
Date: Thu Mar 12 21:16:01 2020
User: The_InterpreterMessage:There is some knowledge that is just plain useless.
Date: Thu Mar 12 23:20:31 2020
User: KleppMessage:I possess piss-poor math skills, but then here goes...
If F=Gm1m2/r^2, that is, **Newton's gravitational equation** in reference to the above hot Jupiter orbiting 27x closer than Mercury to its sun (~70% Our Sun's mass, class K5V star).............then F=?
As I say, my physics/math skills are 9th-grade sophisticate but: planet twice Jupiter's mass times sun 70 percent Sol's mass, times constant G...divided by 1/27 Mercury's Solar distance *squared*...........................is, I think......................................(.7)1.9884E30 kg times (2)1.8982E27 kg times G: (6.674E-11)...quantity divided by (5.791E10 divided by 27)quantity squared...................1.392E30 kg times 2.8982E27 kg times G is.........4.034E57 kg^2 times G is.........
.......6.044E47 kg m^3/s^2 divided by 2.144E9 km quantity squared.....is,
.......6.044E47 kg m^3/s^2 DIVIDED BY 4.601E18 km^2..................is,
.......my labels are ****ed -up I'm sure, but isn't
.......**1.3E29** the correct scaler? Or some power or root of that?
Some physicist in the peanut gallery can help me, sure...
Date: Thu Mar 12 23:29:36 2020
User: jamesblackburn-lynchMessage:Klepp,
It looks like you have both meters and kilometers...need to convert units.
All else looks right (I don’t know the actual values, but am assuming you have those from some reliable source).
James
Date: Thu Mar 12 23:35:52 2020
User: KleppMessage:I do recall at some point changing 27 to 30 to account for meters vice kilometers...
...maybe tomorrow I'll check how many HP that equals, s***s and giggles...
Date: Fri Mar 13 00:37:36 2020
User: ixMessage:>> The star itself is around 70% the radius of our Sun
not 70% the mass of our sun, minor point
Date: Fri Mar 13 03:22:15 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:That's a pretty wild and interesting theory, altho intuitively it just doesn't seem likely. As if the various strangenesses of the universe *did* seem likely. Barring some strong evidence, I'll go with the 20-to-1 odds against it being the case. I mean..........one could make an entropy argument such a thing shouldn't exist after 13.8 billion years. I like that someone is thinking "inside the bubble", but it seems FAR more likely that dark matter and/or dark energy is the cause - but obviously we really don't have anything close to an answer.
Have you all gone back to the planet thing of two weeks ago, instead of the more thought-provoking (despite what The_Interpreter seems to imply) "Hubble Bubble" idea? (Not meaning to diss such astonishing centripetal force!)
Since Geneva is Tony's neighborhood, maybe he could get the author, Lucas Lombriser, to come on here and discuss the concept - and of course if there's any chance that such a "bubble" could account for climate 5 games being harder than climate 6 games.
Date: Sun Mar 15 01:37:19 2020
User: KleppMessage:Something to do with the greater curvature of space near the massive star going supernova?
Date: Tue Jul 14 22:03:02 2020
User: KleppMessage:[resurrected since I like this link's make-up and hope to add to it soon (with at least a dose of quality input)]
Date: Wed Jul 15 13:27:57 2020
User: hotnurseMessage:Comet (don't remember the name) can be seen in the NW sky @ about 10 degrees around 2215 tonight and for the next few nights rising towards 15 degrees. Btw, this is just from memory from what I heard on the news last night.
Date: Wed Jul 15 14:04:49 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:"NEOWISE". The link below shows some very nice time-lapse video of it.
And one needs a 'decent' view towards the western/northwestern horizon. I've heard it's (mostly) flat in Hoosier land. LOL.
Link: comet NEOWISE video
Date: Wed Jul 15 19:44:50 2020
User: hotnurseMessage:Well, TN, the majority of Hoosierland is as flat as a pancake but I live in a rolling hilly area towards the Wabash valley.
I'll try to look for the comet tonight but clouds will be rolling in 'bout then.
Date: Wed Jul 15 19:57:51 2020
User: TNmountainmanMessage:You'll have several more chances to see the comet in days upcoming. The space station is gonna be visible here tonight a couple of times.
Someone tried to twist my arm once upon a time to try living in Southern Indiana. When I told them I couldn't live away from mountains, they told me about "The Knobs". LOL.
Date: Wed Jul 15 22:01:14 2020
User: hotnurseMessage:Although I live about 230 miles from the Knob I do live only 10 miles from Gobbler's Knob which is a great old fashioned ice cream parlor and antique shop.
I love to write down humorous names of towns when we travel. Some of the best are in Tennessee and West Virginia.
Date: Fri Aug 14 16:41:41 2020
User: hotnurseMessage:Oopsie! Looks like I posted something on the wrong thread ( see above TN). Btw, was it obvious?
Post follow-up