Scientists discover ingredients for life on Saturn moon - CBS News - astrobiology

Asteroid Ryugu samples found to contain uracil, a key component of RNA - Astronomy magazine - astrobiology

Asteroid Ryugu samples found to contain uracil, a key component of RNA: The discovery adds weight to the theory that basic organic molecules may have arrived on Earth from outer space.

1.3. ASTROBIO - What is Life? - University of Edinburgh - Professor Charles Cockell

Investing Today:Top Positions February 2015

I think stocks are fairly valued,relatively cheap compared to bonds,said famed money manager Bill Miller,Chairman and Chief Investment Officer at Legg Mason Global Asset Management;but I also think there are too many cross-currents here:Greece,Ukraine.There's a fair degree of interest in the Fed of moving off the zero mark.I think they want to do it because of the very low rates.I would think the 10-year Treasury will settle somewhere at 4-5%,its normal rate.
Amazon had a bad year last year,and after Q4 we went into it heavily,to our largest position.They have a market cap of 170 billion;they haven't sold stock;and they make a lot of cash,which to me is more important than profits.The Apple Pay and Apple Watch should do very well this year.If Apple struggles to reach her highs,the whole market struggles.Intrexon is a synthetic biology company.It's going to rewrite DNA,with applications for health care,energy and the environment making it a consumer company.
The S&P Homebuilders etf is a top ten position,along with Intrexon,Mr.Miller revealed.*
Halliburton Oil is cutting 8% of its workforce-not surprising since prices are still below the level needed to sustain the industry,according to energy analyst Pavel Molchanov of Raymond James Financial.Fifty or fifty-five dollar oil doesn't cut it medium-term.If oil stays in the fifties,global supply will decline in 2016,being self-correcting.Oil supply is stabilising by the end of this year,as supply will be flat or down slightly.*
Amazon(AMZN),Apple Computer(APPL),Intrexon(XON),SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF(XHB),Halliburton Oil Company(HAL)

Pfizer Breast Cancer Drug Gets Breakthrough Designation

A Pfizer investigational compound,palbociclib,an oral drug,has received Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA for the potential treatment of patients with a form of breast cancer.The designation expedites the development and review of the compound,as it is intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease and preliminary evidence indicates the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies.
Pfizer has initiated a Phase 3 study evaluating palbociclib in combination with letrozole versus letrozole alone as a first line treatment for post-menopausal patients with ER+,HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.The study is currently open and enrolling.
Preliminary Phase 2 data show that women treated with the combination of palbociclib with letrozole achieved statistically significant improvement in median survival compared to those treated with letrozole alone(26.1 months versus 7.5 months.)
Palbociclib is an inhibitor of cyclin dependent kinases,or enzymes that serve as on and off switches in tumour cells.The drug was shown to inhibit cell growth and supress DNA replication.Pfizer,the world's largest pharmaceutical company,is also investigating the drug's potential for treating other cancers.
Pfizer(PFE)

Sarai Sierra:American Mother's Body Flies Home From Istanbul

Turkish Airlines provided a free flight home for the body of slain New York mother Sarai Sierra Thursday.The murder victim was found dead along ancient city walls of Istanbul,Turkey on February 2.She had gone missing on January 21 when she reportedly went to bridge she wanted to photograph and failed to fly home as scheduled the next day.
A Turkish citizen's group had helped in the search for Ms.Sierra,33.A man who had printed fliers for the effort accompanied four men carrying her canvas-draped coffin through the Galata Saray neighbourhood of Istanbul,holding her photo up as the small procession made its way to a waiting hearse.She had lain in repose in an Armenian Catholic church.
An autopsy showed signs of struggle and that she was killed by a blow to the head,suffering many bruises and scratches as well.DNA evidence was collected from her and 21 other people,but so far no one has been charged with the horrific crime.Most of those detained in the investigation have been released.
Ms.Sierra had been on a photography junket in the storied Turkish city once known as Constantinople,the capital of the Byzantine Empire,making side trips to Amsterdam and Munich as well.The aspiring photographer was a resident of Staten Island,New York,which was recently devastated by Hurricane Sandy.She was the mother of two young boys and had planned to travel with a friend,but went alone when the woman bowed out.
The autopsy showed no signs of sexual assault and she was still in her jewelry,underwear and shirt.The mystery and the tragedy go on.

Fighting Disease:A Corporate/Academic Partnership

The University of Maryland Institute for Genome Sciences and OpGen,Incorporated are to collaborate on a microbial database.To the untrained eye,OpGen's maps of genomic sequences look like colorful bar codes.To scientists,however,the maps enable rapid,accurate assembly and analysis of DNA sequence data of the whole genome.The OpGen maps advance the understanding of clinically relevant disease microorganisms.
OpGen and the University of Maryland Institute for Genomic Sciences have announced their collaboration in developing a database of high quality,finished and annotated microbial sequences.IGS will provide clinically characterized microbial samples and sequencing data,especially from the National Institutes of Health microbial genomic studies.OpGen will contribute the optical maps and sequence finishing technology.
This database will serve as an extraordinary set of reference organism templates to be used by the large number of resequencing efforts worldwide,said IGS director Claire Fraser-Liggett,PhD,who is also a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.Such databases inform microbiology research and clinical diagnostics,providing insight into microbial genome architecture in a more complete and accurate way.
iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund(IBB)

Exercise Counters Cell Damage

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have confirmed that stress can cause physical damage to cell nuclei.In a stressed person,protective strips of DNA called telomeres are shortened,exposing the chromosomes they cap to unraveling.Chromosomes are rod-shaped bodies within the cell nucleus.Short telomeres are believed to be linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease,as well as premature death.
The UCSF study of post-menopausal female caregivers also found that those who engaged in vigorous exercise for as little as 42 minutes over three days did not suffer from shortened telomeres.Their physical activity seemed to protect their immune cells from the corrosive effect of stress.
The Centers For Disease Control recommend that adults get 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week,or 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.