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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has infected 50 million people worldwide and killed 16 million so far, and the epidemic is still spreading with 16,000 new cases of HIV infection daily and a projection of 100million infected individuals by the end of the next decade. There is no question that a safe and effective acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) vaccine is urgently needed to bring the current AIDS pandemic under control. But, is preventive AIDS vaccine an attainable goat? Unfortunately, the results of many laboratory and clinical studies over the past two decades are not encouraging. We comment on the efficacy, safety and ethics of AIDS vaccine, and the urgent need for a new strategy for AIDS vaccine development. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All. rights reserved. 1st International Symposium on Genetic and Immune Correlates of HIV Infection and Vaccine-Induced Immunity, Jun 10-13, 2007, Budapest, Hungary

A culture of denial over the horizontal spread of genetically modified nucleic acids prevails in the face of direct evidence that it has occurred widely when appropriate methods and molecular probes are used for detection. (Published: 25 September 2014) Citation: Microbial Ecology in Health & Disease 2014, 25 : 25919 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/mehd.v25.25919

A simple method, using an ordinary light microscope, that gives marked anatomical colour-contrast in images of living organisms

A previously described optical technique for enhancing interference colour contrast in polarized light microscopy is adapted for quantitative image analysis. This is based on a linear relationship for colour intensity vs. molecular birefringence and degree of phase alignment, derived using nematic liquid crystal approximations, and verified experimentally. The image analysis is described and illustrated on a section of the marginal rib of the dogfish egg case.

Proposes that quantum coherence is the basis of living organization and can also account for key features of conscious experience: the “unity of intentionality”; our inner identity of the singular “I”; the simultaneous binding and segmentation of features in the perceptive act; the distributed, holographic nature of memory; and the distinctive quality of each experienced occasion.

Summary A simple, but little known technique for producing marked colour contrast in images of weakly birefringent biological samples obtained with a polarized light microscope is investigated. The technique involves inserting a full wave plate at a small angle of horizontal rotation with respect to the analyser or polarizer, rather than at the conventional angle of 45° commonly employed in the field of mineralogy for examining strongly birefringent specimens. Inserting the full wave plate at a small angle (typically less than 10°) enhances the contrast between regions of tissue having different optical path differences and, in particular, different orientations of optic axes; improving the detection of structures of interest with the polarized light microscope.

In many organisms, a reliable number of segments is produced even though important properties of the region involved, especially its size at the time of pattern formation, are apparently not specified with sufficient precision. We show that this can be readily accomplished if segmentation occurs through a sequence of bifurcations rather than all at once, and we provide evidence from developmental studies that indicates that this is typically what actually occurs. Our results strongly suggest that where patterns are formed reliably, this generally happens in stages rather than by the setting up in advance of a complete prepattern.

Our regulators are ignoring the precautionary principle, manipulating and corrupting science, sidestepping the law, and helping to promote genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the face of massive public opposition and damning evidence piling up against the safety of genetically modified (GM) food and feed.

Sir, Gregor Reid et al. (1) commented on our article, ‘Genetically modified probiotics should be banned’ (2), and promoted the use of genetically modified microbes for human health, which we shall address. We take issue first with the closing salvo of Reid et al. (1), which took the isolated words, ‘rogue’, ‘nasty’, and ‘warfare’, in our article out of context as representing sensationalism and a lack of common sense.

Ultraweak biophoton emission has been recorded in synchronously developing populations of early Drosophila embryos. On being stimulated briefly with white light within the first 40 minutes of development, a new kind of luminescence is observed in the form of superdelayed, intense flashes. We assume that the initial light stimulation sets up some kind of coherent interaction inside the system and develop a phenomenological number-phase-angle model to give a general interpretation of the superdelayed radiation patterns.

A marked deficiency of a specific thermolabile beta-galactosidase isoenzyme (pH optimum 3 to 5) was found in liver and kidney tissues of five patients with the Hurler's syndrome (types 1 to 3).

Recent progress has made it possible to detect homozygotes and heterozygotes for many of the sphingolipidoses by assays of specific enzymes in tissues and body fluids. These assays are of importance in the differentiation of disorders which are phenotypically similar. They are also of importance in detecting heterozygous family members for accurate genetic counselling. Finally, these assays provide a means for the prenatal diagnosis of affected fetuses in utero in many instances. In this presentation we discuss enzyme assay for the diagnosis of homozygotes and detection of heterozygotes in Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff’s disease, juvenile GM2 gangliosidosis, juvenile GMl gangliosidosis, chronic Gaucher’s disease, Fabry’s disease, and fucosidosis.