Iran Producing Anticancer Nano Drug

Iran has launched the production line of an anticancer nano drug named Sinadoxosome in the northern city of Rasht and the medicine will soon be sold in the domestic market.
In addition to producing the nano drug, the production line makes possible the drug’s export to other countries, Fars News Agency reported.
The drug has acquired the necessary certificates from Nanotechnology Committee of Health Ministry in November 2011.
Dr. Mahmoud Reza Jafari, the managing director of Exir Nano Sina Company, said the anticancer drug will be presented to the market next month.
“This product has been produced by the knowledge-based company Exir Nano Sina in association with Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council. It has acquired the production certificate from the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education,” he added.
The production of this medicine had been monopolized by European countries (under the commercial name Calix) and by the United States (under the commercial name Doxil).
The import of this medicine costs $5 million annually. However, this medicine will be presented to patients at one-third of the price of the foreign drug after the production of Sinadoxosome.
Sinadoxosome contains nano liposome that is a kind of doxorubicin anticancer medicine. It targets the tumor tissue by using the increase in the permeability mechanism and boosts the effect of medicine but decreases the side-effects.
The medicine has applications in the treatment of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and leukemia, and in the treatment of Kaposi’s Sarcoma (a type of soft tissue cancer).
The production line of Sinadoxosome anticancer drug was launched on February 8, 2012, in the presence of Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council authorities and the managing director and researchers of Sobhan Oncology Pharmaceutical Company.

Superfoods to Naturally Lower Cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol, you aren’t alone: nearly half of all American adults have high cholesterol.
Not all cholesterol is bad, though. Your body makes its own and uses it for important functions, such as producing cells and certain hormones. But too much of this waxy substance in the blood clogs arteries, Shine.yahoo said.
Though your genes determine how much cholesterol your body produces naturally, your diet plays a role too. If you’re worried about your cholesterol, aim to eat less saturated fat (found in red meats, butter and full-fat milk and other dairy) and more fruits and vegetables. Add these foods to your diet, too, which are cholesterol-friendly.

1. Almonds
Substances in almond skins help prevent LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol from being oxidized, a process that can otherwise damage the lining of blood vessels and increase cardiovascular risk.
Sprinkle almonds on cereals and salads, or nibble on a handful for an afternoon snack.

2. Avocados
The monounsaturated fats in avocados have been found to lower ‘bad’ LDLs and raise ‘good’ HDLs, especially in people with mildly elevated cholesterol. Slice avocados into sandwiches and salads or mash with garlic, lemon juice and salsa for a terrific guacamole.

3. Barley
When volunteers in a USDA study added barley to the standard American Heart Association diet, LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol levels fell more than twice as far.
Barley makes a great substitute for rice, adds depth to soups and is terrific combined with dried fruits, nuts and a little oil and vinegar for a hearty salad.

Fasting Can Help Combat Cancer

Going without food for short periods may help combat cancer and boost the effectiveness of treatments, say scientists.
According to Daily Mail, a study found fasting slowed the growth and spread of tumors, and cured some cancers when it was combined with chemotherapy.
It is hoped that the discovery will prompt the development of more effective treatment plans and further research is now underway.
The latest investigation, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found that tumor cells responded differently to the stress of fasting compared to normal cells.
Instead of entering a dormant state similar to hibernation, the cells kept growing and dividing, in the end destroying themselves.
Lead researcher Professor Valter Longo, from the University of Southern California, said the cell is, in fact, committing cellular suicide.
“What we’re seeing is that the cancer cell tries to compensate for the lack of all these things missing in the blood after fasting. It may be trying to replace them, but it can’t,” he said.
Professor Longo and his team looked at the impact fasting had on breast, urinary tract and ovarian cancers in mice.
Fasting without chemotherapy was shown to slow the growth of breast cancer, melanoma skin cancer, glioma brain cancer and neuroblastoma--a cancer that forms in the nerve tissue.
In every case, combining fasting with chemotherapy made the cancer treatment more effective.
Multiple cycles of fasting combined with chemotherapy cured 20 percent of those with a highly aggressive form of cancer while 40 percent with a limited spread of the same cancer were cured.
None of the mice survived if they were treated with chemotherapy alone.
Researchers are already investigating the effects of fasting on human patients, but only a clinical trial lasting several years will confirm if human cancer patients really can benefit from calorie restriction.
However, they highlight that fasting could be dangerous for patients who have already lost a lot of weight or are affected by other risk factors, such as diabetes.
Results of a preliminary clinical trial will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cancer Oncologists in Chicago this June.

Nat’l Computing Grid Planned

Iran will launch the National Computing Grid by March 20.
Nasrin Soltankhah, vice president for technological and scientific affairs, also told ISNA that Iran will launch the national computing grid by connecting computing grid centers.
Referring to the launch of Amir Kabir Grid Computing Center at Amir Kabir University and Sheikh Bahaei Grid Computing Center in Isfahan University, Soltankhah said 9 supercomputers will be launched in 9 research centers and universities, particularly in Shiraz, east and west Azarbaijan and Tehran provinces.
Soltankhah noted that centers, which are capable of processing up to 3 teraflops, would be connected to Amir Kabir and Sheikh Bahaei supercomputers.
“The two supercomputers of Amir Kabir and Isfahan universities are among the 500 supercomputers across the world and they would meet the country’s industrial needs.
The vice president further said Iran will join to the list of countries possessing ultra-fast computers, referring to the key performance of computers in fields such as defense, meteorology and vital research.
“The supercomputers, for instance, can be used in propulsion systems to simulate medicine delivery to body cells,” she said.
Soltankhah noted that they can also be used in research programs that need sophisticated computations.

Iranian Builds Bomb-Proof Rubbish Bin

A London-based business has reinvented the rubbish bin, making its new recycling containers bomb-proof and sticking LCD screens on the side to tell Londoners about market moves and breaking news.
Renew, a brainchild of two former London School of Economics students, will install 100 bomb-proof bins in London’s financial district before the Olympics kick off in July.
“There has hardly been any innovation in this space. Rubbish bins have just been a box with a hole,” Kaveh Memari, CEO of Renew, told Reuters.
Historically, London authorities have been reluctant to place rubbish bins in busy areas and near London subway stations, mainly because of bomb threats from the Irish Republican Army guerrilla group.
In recent years, Londoners have also become accustomed to being handed free newspapers and magazines on their way to work, making recycling a greater priority.

Usefulness
Memari, a businessman who appears more like a Silicon Valley entrepreneur in trendy jeans, vintage glasses and sporting Apple’s ultra thin MacBook Air in his bag, said Renew’s recycling bins will be much more than just a waste management solution.
“We don’t think this is just solving issues with recycling or bins. Yes, it helps to go green and it helps to be safe, but this is also about usefulness,” said Memari, who recently received funding from Qatar Islamic Bank to complete the latter stage of the project.
One bin is outside the entrance to Aldgate subway station in east London, the scene of one of the suicide bomb attacks on London’s rail system on July 7, 2005, which killed 52 people.
“One big criticism from the 7/7 attacks was lack of communications,” Memari said. “The phone networks were down and there was nothing coming to people. But we could turn our screens into an emergency broadcast channel.”
This idea was echoed by a London corporation report that said the Renew screens could be particularly useful during the Olympics.

Channel of Communication
They could provide the city with additional channels of communication, i.e. congestion at train or tube stations or information from the city or London Police in the event of emergency.
One Renew recycle bin in London’s Gresham Street, an area which houses several investment banking businesses, was showing the latest headline on the racism case against former England soccer captain John Terry, followed by infographics on the biggest risers and fallers in the FTSE 100 Index.
A few seconds later, the screen flicked over to display live information about disruptions on the London Subway, showing the Victoria Line had minor delays. The next time the screen changed, it showed there were 34 pay-and-go bicycles to rent at a docking station in nearby Cheapside.
“We actually tell you how many bikes are around the corner,” said Memari. “We want to help you to get home easily.”
The bins cost 25,000 pounds each, partly because they are made of special material which is four times stronger than steel.
Renew pays for the bins and their maintenance, selling access on the LCD panels to content providers.
Memari said Renew has signed an agreement with Manhattan authorities, which will see a solitary bin installed in front of the New York Stock Exchange to test the project in the United States.
The company is also in talks with Singaporean authorities and officials from Japan.
“In Japan, their concern was about earthquakes,” Memari said. “Their security concerns were also different. They were more concerned with gas attack protection and bio-nuclear detection.”

Tiny Lizards Found In Madagascar

One of the world’s tiniest lizards has been discovered by keen-eyed researchers in Madagascar.
The miniature chameleon, Brookesia micra, reaches a maximum length of just 29 mm.
German scientists also found a further three new species in the north of the island, NewScientist said.
The lizards were limited to very small ranges and scientists are concerned they could be at risk from habitat disturbance.
The research team, led by Dr. Frank Glaw from the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, have a specialist knowledge of Madagascar’s dwarf chameleons having described other species in the past.
They conducted fieldwork at night during the wet season in order to find the easily overlooked animals.
“They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day ... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them,” said Dr. Glaw, explaining that the animals moved up into branches to sleep. The scientists carefully scanned the most likely habitats with torches and headlamps to find roosting sites.
They found the smallest species on a remote limestone islet and believe it may represent an extreme case of island dwarfism.

Crab Shells Help Produce Cheaper Pharmaceuticals

Chitin, one of the main components of crabs and lobsters exoskeletons, has recently found use in things such as self-healing car paint, biologically-compatible transistors, flu virus filters and a possible replacement for plastic.
Now, something else can be added to that list. Researchers from the Vienna University of Technology are developing a technique in which chitin is being used to cheaply produce a currently very-expensive source of antiviral drugs, Gizmag wrote.
Many presently-used antiviral drugs are derived from N-Acetylneuraminic acid, also known as NANA. The substance can be synthesized or obtained from natural sources, but in either case it is very costly--at about €2,000 (US$2,626) a gram, it is approximately 50 times more valuable than gold.
To produce cheaper NANA, the Vienna scientists introduced bacterial genes into a very common fungus called Trichoderma. Normally, the fungus feeds on chitin and breaks it down into monomer amino sugars.
With the addition of the new genes, however, a couple of extra steps are added to the process, with the chitin ending up as N-Acetylneuraminic acid.

Memory Problems

The study found that people who woke up more than five times per hour were more likely to have early symptoms of Alzheimer’s compared to people who didn’t wake up as much.