October 26, 2011 at 5:09am
Where scientists go to learn about swine flu
Usually, at a forum on swine flu, all the experts stand up, present a bunch of general background material, a few new findings, and leave. The learning curve on H1N1 is so steep that by the time you fill in the background, you are out of time, and thereâs no point in hearing the next presenter speak to a general audience
But this weekâs Institute of Medicine  meeting was different. Epidemiologists â the people who specialize in how disease spreads â were talking to molecular geneticists. Keiji Fukuda of the World Health Organization filled in the bench scientists on how negotiating to get vaccines and drugs for poor countries was taking up everyoneâs valuable time. Veterans of the 1976 swine flu vaccine mess told their stories. Every scientist sat there raptly listening to the otherâs presentations. Much of the material had not yet gone through the time consuming peer-review process needed for publication in a medical journal, so it was a little raw, but that much more useful and timely to an educated audience.
They traded notes on how technology could make it a lot harder to fight the rumor mill about vaccines and drug side-effects; presented good news about the severity of the pandemic and traded their worries about how the public health system â or rather the lack of one in the United States and many other countries â will cope.
CDC pathologist Dr. Sherif Zaki looked at the bodies of patients who died of swine flu and found a surprise â the virus does not act like regular flu, at least not in seriously ill patients. And more study confirmed that the virus did indeed originally come from pigs.
The consensus is that while many may accuse the public health community and the media of hyping the pandemic, the world is not out of the woods yet, and this virus will continue to surprise the experts for a long time.
October 17, 2011 at 3:12pm
Hedge funds seen sticking with gold despite sell-off
Gold has droppped around 11 percent since the start of last week as liquidity-strapped investors scrambled to convert gold into cash amid fears over Greece’s near-bankruptcy, likely hitting a number of hedge funds which have profited from its bull run in recent years.However, the yellow metal is still around 7 percent above its level at the start of July, and is up 14 percent this year, leaving long-term holders comfortably in the black for now.”I don’t think… people who hold it as another currency… are changing their view,” said Morten Spenner, chief executive of $2.8 billion fund of funds firm International Asset Management (IAM).”For some people who are long-term holders … and who have banged that drum, they’re likely to take it (the price fall),” Spenner said, adding that short-term market volatility that put pressure on the price of gold would not sway managers to abandon their positions.Some big-name hedge fund managers have been successfully betting on the gold price this year, including John Paulson and Paul Tudor Jones.Meanwhile, some managed futures funds — whose investment decisions are dictated by computer models — such as Man Group’s (EMG.L) AHL and Winton Capital may have been hit by the fall in gold, although profits in other areas have offset the damage.The AHL fund has sold down much of its long position in gold in recent weeks — one of the $23.9 billion fund’s best-performing trades in 2011 — after its models showed that the metal’s price was losing its momentum, although it still has a small long position.”If you look at the price action in precious metals, particularly over the last four weeks, it’s been pretty sideways and choppy. That is the sort of scenario where we actually start reducing our positions because it does indicate to us that there is no strength in that trend,” Kevin Chuah, senior client portfolio manager at AHL, said.The fund, which has also taken out a small short position on base metals including copper recently, gained last week after profiting from short positions on equities and crude oil and long positions on bond markets, Chuah said.Winton, which manages $25 billion in assets and whose flagship fund is up around 1 percent this month, declined to comment.Coast Sullenger, managing director of Gaia Capital, which buys commodity-related stocks, said gold equities had performed well recently, despite last week’s sell-off, and he may buy more gold equities if prices continue to fall.”Gold equities is one of the only sectors that has been performing,” he told Reuters. “If the sell-off continues, it will probably create more of a buying opportunity… Gold shares are trading at a very, very low valuation, vis-a-vis their own history.”We’re of the opinion that gold shares is an asset class you should be overweight.”
October 14, 2011 at 9:01am
Hilary Swank “deeply regrets” attending Chechen party
“I deeply regret attending this event, which has thrown into question my long and deeply-held commitment to the protection of human rights,” Swank said in a statement.Swank gave Kadyrov birthday wishes at the ceremony and told him “people are better dressed here than in New York.” When asked by a Russian host if she knew it was Kadyrov’s birthday, she said: “I do my research, I study what is going on here.”The “Million Dollar Baby” actress said on Thursday she agreed to go because the project was described to her as a symbol of hope, and that she had been requested by organizers on the day to wish Kadyrov a happy birthday.She added she was unaware of Kadyrov’s policies that human rights groups say promote fear, abductions, and executions of those involved in Chechnya’s Islamist insurgency.”I would never intentionally do anything that raised doubts about such commitment. I will continue to donate my time and my financial resources not only to the charities with which I am currently affiliated, but also those dedicated to the preservation of human rights,” Swank said.Other celebrities included Belgian action star Jean Claude Van Damme, who told Kadyrov “I love you with all my heart.” Violinist Vanessa Mae and British singer Seal also attended.The Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said it had written an open letter to all the entertainers before the event asking them not to attend.Human Rights Watch has urged the celebrities to return any money or gifts they may have received for attending the celebration.Swank won best actress Oscars for her roles in “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby” and also starred in romantic drama “P.S. I Love You” and “Amelia”.
October 12, 2011 at 4:17am
UK study shows how better HIV drugs extend lives
While life expectancy for HIV patients is still lower than
in the general population, dramatic progress in reducing side
effects from drugs, offering them as combination therapies and
starting treatment earlier have helped turn HIV into a chronic
disease with a good prognosis, the researchers said.In a study published in the British Medical Journal, the
researchers added that the average lifespan of HIV positive
patients should increase further with guidelines recommending
they start treatment even earlier with modern, improved drugs.”These results are very reassuring news for current patients
and will be used to counsel those recently found to be
HIV-positive,” said Mark Gompels of Britain’s North Bristol NHS
Trust, who co-led the study.Around 34 million people globally have the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, and the vast
majority of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.Access to screening, diagnosis and early treatment with HIV
drugs is limited in many poorer nations, but in wealthy
countries like Britain their availability has made a big
difference to many patients’ lives.Gompels worked with Margaret May of Bristol University and
used data from the UK Collaborative HIV Cohort study, which in
2001 began collating routine data on HIV positive people who had
been attending some of Britain’s largest clinics since January
1996.They looked at patients aged 20 and over who started
treatment with at least three HIV drugs between 1996 and 2008.Their analysis showed that life expectancy for an average
20-year-old infected with HIV increased from 30 years to almost
46 between the periods 1996 to 1999 and 2006 to 2008.”We should expect further improvements for patients starting
antiretroviral therapy now with improved modern drugs and new
guidelines recommending earlier treatment,” May said in a
statement about the work.The findings also showed that life expectancy for women
treated for HIV in Britain is 10 years higher than for men.During the period 1996 to 2008, life expectancy was 40 years
for male patients and 50 years for female patients, compared
with 58 years for men and nearly 62 years for women in the
general UK population.In a comment on the findings, Elena Losina, a senior
scientist at the Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the
United States said that although the progress in Britain was
encouraging, it should also serve as “an urgent call” to
increase awareness among patients and health workers about how
effective HIV treatment can be — especially if started early.”In turn this should increase rates of routine HIV
screening, with timely linkage to care and uninterrupted
treatment,” she said. “As these factors improve, the full
benefits of treatment for all HIV infected people can be
realised.”
