Science: Cause of aging reversed in mice: Human trials may start next year.

With the wide-ranging benefits of reducing disease and enabling a longer, healthier life, reversing the causes of aging is a major focus of much medical research. A joint project between the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney and Harvard Medical School that restored communication within animal cells has the potential to do just that, and maybe more. With the researchers hoping to begin human clinical trials in 2014, some major medical breakthroughs could be just around the corner.

The researchers have managed to reverse the effects of aging in mice using an approach that restores communication between a cell’s mitochondria and nucleus. Mitochondria are the power supply within the cell, generating the chemical energy required for key biological functions. When communication breaks down between mitochondria and the cell's control center, the nucleus, the effects of aging accelerate.

A team led by David Sinclair, a professor from UNSW Medicine who is based at Harvard Medical School, found that by restoring this molecular communication, aging could not only be slowed, but could be reversed. The technique has implications for treating cancer, type 2 diabetes, muscle wasting, inflammatory and mitochondrial diseases.

The study follows on from previous research showing that exercise and certain dietary habits, such as calorie restriction or the intake of resveratrol (found in red wine and nuts), slowed the breakdown of intra-cellular communication and therefore aging.

Responsible for this breakdown is a decline of the chemical NAD. By increasing amounts of a compound used by the cell to produce NAD, Professor Sinclair found that he could quickly repair mitochondrial function.

“It was shocking how quickly it happened,” co-author Dr Nigel Turner, an ARC Future Fellow from UNSW’s Department of Pharmacology says. “If the compound is administered early enough in the aging process, in just a week, the muscles of the older mice were indistinguishable from the younger animals."

Looking for indicators of insulin resistance, inflammation and muscle wasting, the researchers found that the tissue of two-year-old mice given the NAD-producing compound for just one week resembled that of six-month-old mice. They said that this is comparable to a 60-year-old human converting to a 20-year-old in these specific areas.

They also found that young mice given the same compound became "supercharged" in certain aspects, suggesting that the technique could have benefits for young, healthy humans as well.

Another significant finding, with possible implications for cancer treatment, was the involvement of the chemical HIF-1. This chemical is responsible for the disruption of communication within the cell and is naturally produced by the body when deprived of oxygen. Cancer is also thought to be responsible for activating HIF-1 and the researchers have now found it also switches on during aging.

“It’s certainly significant to find that a molecule that switches on in many cancers also switches on during aging,” said Ana Gomes, a postdoctoral scientist in the Sinclair lab. “We're starting to see now that the physiology of cancer is in certain ways similar to the physiology of aging. Perhaps this can explain why the greatest risk of cancer is age.”

The researchers are now looking at the longer-term outcomes of the NAD-producing compound in mice and how it affects the mouse as a whole, including whether it will give the mice a longer, healthier life. The researchers hope to start clinical trials on humans late in 2014.

“There’s clearly much more work to be done here, but if those results stand, then aging may be a reversible condition, if it is caught early,” says Professor Sinclair.

The team's study is published in the journal Cell.

Source:UNSW,Harvard Medical School

Peregrine Falcons in Perú

These falcons are formidable hunters that prey on other birds (and bats) in mid-flight. Peregrines hunt from above and, after sighting their prey, drop into a steep, swift dive that can top 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour).

Peregrine falcons are among the world's most common birds of prey and live on all continents except Antarctica. They prefer wide-open spaces, and thrive near coasts where shorebirds are common, but they can be found everywhere from tundra to deserts. Peregrines are even known to live on bridges and skyscrapers in major cities.

These birds may travel widely outside the nesting season—their name means "wanderer." Though some individuals are permanent residents, many migrate. Those that nest on Arctic tundra and winter in South America fly as many as 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers) in a year. Yet they have an incredible homing instinct that leads them back to favored aeries. Some nesting sites have been in continuous use for hundreds of years, occupied by successive generations of falcons.

Peregrine populations were in steep decline during the mid-20th century, and in the United States these beautiful falcons became an endangered species. The birds have rebounded strongly since the use of DDT and other chemical pesticides was curtailed. Captive breeding programs have also helped to boost the bird's numbers in the U.S. and Canada. Now populations are strong in those nations, and in some parts of the globe, there actually may be more peregrines than existed before the 20th-century decline.

Peregrines are favored by falconers, and have been used in that sport for many centuries.

 I've seen the amazing speed of the flight of these peregrine falcons,and luckily I know a close friend who knows,and I will arrange a personal visit to Jose Antonio Otero El Huayco breeding facility.

Jose Antonio Otero Corbetto, has his raptor breeding facility outside Lima. The name of his facility is El Huayco. It is a center for reproduction and rehabilitation for the raptors of Peru. 

  Jose has been flying falconry birds for over 30 years. His intense interest led him to begin breeding many of the South American species that are popularly used in the sport. His successes at breeding and raptor husbandry also opened opportunities for him to provide rehabilitation for the wild injured and ill birds of his country. Peru has many vastly different climates, from desert-like beaches and plains, such as where the Nazca Lines are found, to some of the highest mountains in South America along the spine of the Andes Mountains, to hot and steamy jungles in the Amazon basin. Raptors occupy all of these environments, pursuing the various feathered and furred quarry so abundant in many of these remote locations.

Everywhere that falconry is practiced, there is a native falcon to fill that nitch. Or rather, wherever there are falcons to be found, humans have longed for a relationship with these exquisite creatures. The Peregrine falcon is one of the most wide spread of raptors, with sub-species found throughout the world, and on every continent except Antarctica. The Cassini subspecies of this extensive family is the Peregrine of the Andes.

Chinese FM pledges support to Arab countries

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged support to Arab countries during a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra here on Saturday.

Wang said China has always regarded and developed its relations with Arab countries from a strategic and long-term perspective. Under the new situation, China has put forward a four-point support policy toward Arab countries.

China supports the Arab countries to steadfastly pursue their choice of development path. "We understand the Arab people's appeal for reform, and wish the Arab countries to find a political system and development path suitable for their national conditions. Any outside forces should have no right to make decisions for the Arab countries and people," the foreign minister said.

China supports the Arab countries to solve hot issues through political means, resolving disagreements through dialogue and settling disputes through negotiations, Wang said. China supports the Middle East peace process and is willing to actively participate in and push for political solution to regional hotspot issues.

Wang said China supports the Arab countries to enhance cooperation with it and seek common development. "There are huge potential and broad prospects for China-Arab cooperation. China is willing to connect the Chinese Dream of realizing national rejuvenation with the Arab people's dream of pursuing national prosperity and revival, and to enhance pragmatic cooperation in all areas in order to bring more benefits to the people on both sides," the foreign minister said.

China supports the Arab countries to safeguard their legitimate rights. "The Arab countries are important and equal members of the international community. China opposes harming the Arab countries' national dignity in excuse of anti-terrorism and human rights, and is willing to strengthen collaboration and cooperation to better safeguard the interests of both China and the Arabic nations, as well as other developing countries," Wang said.

The foreign minister said China believes the Arab countries need development, stability and unity. Development is the basis of and key to solving any problems. Stability is a precondition for realizing development, while unity can bring strength to the Arab countries to better safeguard their core and long-term interests.

"In their course toward development, stability and unity, China will stand alongside the Arabic nations," Wang said.

Announcement of Fed taper a relief to markets

The taper in the quantitative easing (QE) program announced by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision was a relief to markets, according to economists.

The Federal Reserve started the taper with the reduction of 5 billion U.S. dollars each from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and treasuries.

Rob Carnell, U.S. economist at ING Bank, said the Fed had begun the taper in a larger scale than many were expecting.

He said, "Although markets will be relieved on some measures to see the taper finally start, after eight months of flagging and false starts, the scale of the initial taper seems larger than necessary, and larger than the consensus expectation."

Carnell added it was hard to argue with the FOMC's opinion that the risks to the outlook for the economy and for the labor market had become more nearly balanced given recent data flows.

In addition, it was reasonable to see improvements in the labor market and economic activity in the United States, despite the effects of fiscal retrenchment.

Carnell said that now tapering had begun it was likely to be added to in coming months.

"Now the genie is out of the bottle, it is reasonable to expect further tapering at coming meetings, depending on the flow of data," he said.

The FOMC explicitly highlighted ongoing improvement in labor market conditions and inflation moving back toward its longer-run objective as conditions that would allow further reductions in the pace of asset purchases in measured steps.

"So assuming no shocks, we might well expect QE to fall by 5 to 10 billion U.S. dollars in the coming meetings of the FOMC," said Carnell.

Jim Reid, strategist with Deutsche Bank, said the true test of whether markets and the economy can handle the taper process will probably only be known in the first half of next year.

"But for now markets like the way the Fed has handled what was becoming an increasingly inevitable first move. We still have our doubts whether you can get from 85 billion U.S. dollars/month to zero without causing a problem somewhere in this still fragile global economy with low nominal growth and high debts," he said.

He added, "We also wonder whether low levels of global inflation will slow the Fed down at some point in 2014. For now though, the Fed has started a process that it thinks it will end in the latter part of 2014."

Reid said that, globally, central bank liquidity would remain high, due in part to current policies at the Bank of Japan and the shrinkage of the European Central Bank (ECB) balance sheet by 730 billion euros.

Reid said that the FOMC guidance language included two important qualitative additions. First, the FOMC stated that the current Fed funds target will remain unchanged until unemployment was "well past" the 6.5 percent threshold, and secondly that this was appropriate especially if inflation continues to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run goal.

Bernanke noted that the Fed remained concerned about the low level of inflation and said it would take appropriate action if inflation did not return to its target.

Reid said, "One could argue that the Fed has now put in place an inflation floor of sorts as well as an unemployment threshold of somewhere below 6.5 percent." 

Source: Xinhua

Ex-Im Bank Annual Report

Ex-Im Bank Annual Report Outlines Record Year for Small Businesses $27 Billion in Export Financing Supported More than 200,000 U.S. Jobs

Washington D.C. – Today the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) released its  annual report highlighting its approval of more than $27 billion in authorizations that supported an estimated 205,000 American jobs. The Bank also approved more than 3,400 small-business authorizations, a new record.

“I am proud to announce that nearly 90 percent of the Bank’s transactions in FY 13 were for small businesses – an all-time high,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “Ex-Im Bank employees have done a remarkable job of ensuring that American entrepreneurs have the tools they need to succeed in international markets. Whether it’s providing export-credit insurance to first-time exporters or working-capital guarantees to returning customers, Ex-Im Bank will continue to fulfill its mission of creating U.S. jobs.”

Among the highlights from the 2013 Annual Report:

* Ex-Im financing created or supported an estimated 205,000 export-related U.S. jobs.

* In the last five years (FY 09 to FY 13), Ex-Im Bank has assisted in financing more than $188 billion of U.S. exports and supported 1.2 million American jobs.

* In FY 13, Ex-Im Bank authorized financing for a record high 3,842 export transactions, which totaled an estimated export value of $37.4 billion.

* In FY 13, Ex-Im Bank approved 3,413 small-business authorizations – an all-time high.

* Non-aircraft manufacturing was the industry with the highest authorized amount at $8.5 billion, surpassing aircraft for the first time since 1997.

* Approximately one in five transactions involved women- or minority-owned small businesses.