Thursday, March 3, 2011

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars, PICS; Mar 4, 2011-Safe PICS For All Ages [Prospective Cure of Aids]



Model Wars, PICS; Mar 4, 2011
Safe PICS For All Ages / Support Keith Olbermann who will be on "Current TV"

Updates on Keith Olbermann  @ ObamaBiden2008 (Update: Keith joined "CURRENT TV").  Check with your cable provider to see if you have "Current TV".  Current TV's website has option for you to request service from your cable provider.   Current TV's founder is Al Gore.  Charter Cable does not carry "Current TV".  Please Contact Charter now!  Keith is a man who stuck his neck out for progressives, as well as the LGBT community.

Updates on slain gay activist - David Kato of Uganda @ ObamaBiden2008

Boycott: "Chick-fil-a" as they are against gay marriage and donate to anti-gay causes.

Consider joining:

Diet & Fitness:

  • Reminder: Did you complete your Diet Journal today?
  • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
  • Perhaps our male fitness photos shall inspire you to get Fit!
Health - Wellness - Exercise - Reflections:   ALERT
Promising new gene therapy for HIV immunity
 
[Prospective Cure of Aids]
 
By Marie McCullough/Philadelphia Inquirer/Mar 3, 2011

In a feat that is renewing hopes for conquering AIDS, researchers have genetically engineered patients' vital immune cells to make them resistant to HIV infection.

To confer this invulnerability, scientists took the immune cells from HIV-positive patients' own blood, then snipped out a single gene - the first time such a precise alteration has been achieved on a meaningful scale.

When put back in the patient, the cells no longer make a receptor that HIV needs to enter the cell, effectively blocking the virus.

At an AIDS conference Wednesday in Boston, University of Pennsylvania gene-therapy expert Carl June presented data from nine HIV-positive patients who received the novel treatment in Philadelphia, New York, and California. The first patient received the one-shot infusion in July 2009.

The engineered cells remained free of HIV infection in all nine patients and multiplied dramatically in eight of them, accounting for an average of 6 percent of their total supply of the immune cells, known as T cells. The T cells were found in tissue in the patients' guts, an area where HIV builds a reservoir.

No patient suffered serious side effects, although all had temporary symptoms such as headache, chills, or fever.

June, who has worked on other experimental gene therapies for HIV, said the new approach "shows the most promise of any yet tested."

"It's a big accomplishment because this is the first successful attempt at genetic editing," he said. "It gives us an essential tool."

That tool - called "zinc fingers" because an atom of zinc binds to two loops of proteins - was developed by Sangamo BioSciences of Richmond, Calif., the small biotech company that is funding human testing of the engineered T cells.

Zinc fingers are able to recognize specific sequences of DNA. By attaching a protein that cuts DNA, scientists can use zinc fingers like molecular scissors, cutting and then deleting - or inserting - genes. Until now, gene therapy has been imprecise, relying on viruses to insert genes somewhat randomly into a cell's DNA.

"This is elegant work, scientifically very sound, and an important 'proof of concept,' " said Anthony Fauci, an AIDS research pioneer at the National Institutes of Health. It funded the lab research that laid the groundwork for the human studies.

Although producing the HIV-resistant T cells was a technological tour de force - hundreds of exacting steps were involved - the cells conveyed only partial immunity to patients, because there are many kinds of immune cells other than T cells.

The question now, experts said, is whether it is possible to confer total immunity - in effect, cure HIV - by altering the whole immune system.

That's what happened in a fortuitous fluke in 2009. An HIV-positive man in Germany who developed leukemia received a stem-cell transplant from a donor who happened to be naturally resistant to HIV infection.

The donor, it turned out, had a gene mutation that left his T cells unable to make the receptor that HIV latches onto. The mutation - which June and his colleagues created with zinc fingers - was first identified in the 1980s, but population geneticists have traced its origins to the mid-14th century, when it conferred protection against the bubonic plague virus.

"You can inherit one copy or two copies of the mutation," June said. "About 1 percent of people have two copies and are completely resistant to HIV."

Researchers have already shown they can "cure" HIV by deleting the receptor-making gene from blood stem cells, then transplanting these cells - but only in mice.

That study, published in July, was described at Wednesday's conference by lead researcher Paula M. Cannon, a molecular biologist at the University of Southern California.

Although the mouse model was sufficiently exciting to inspire an accompanying editorial, titled "Can HIV be cured with stem-cell therapy?", experts are not sure the approach would be practical for humans. A stem-cell transplant requires destroying the patient's entire blood immune system with toxic drugs, then infusing the stem cells over several weeks to rebuild the system. That's a potentially lethal regimen, especially for a patient who starts out with a compromised immune system.

Another question involves the source of the stem cells. If the patient used his own stem cells, they would be infected with HIV. And if donated stem cells were used, rejection would be a problem.

"Instead of antiretroviral drugs [to treat HIV], the patient would have to take antirejection drugs - which some would say is even worse," noted Fauci. "That is a big stumbling block."

Nonetheless, Sangamo BioSciences had obtained a $14.5 million grant from California to try to develop such a stem-cell-based therapy, company spokeswoman Elizabeth Wolffe said.

Meanwhile, June and his Penn colleague Pablo Tebas are planning a clinical trial that would give the modified T cells to patients with recent HIV diagnoses who don't yet need antiretroviral drugs.

Tebas is hopeful, but said talk of a cure was premature. "It's a step. I don't want to give too much hype to it," he said. "It's a step in a long process."

For Jay Johnson, 50, the second patient to receive the modified T cells, the prospects are thrilling. His total T-cell count - a key indicator of a healthy immune system - has remained twice as high as it was before the treatment.

"I'm ecstatic," said Johnson, the volunteer coordinator at Action AIDS in Philadelphia. "It's really promising. Maybe someday I can come off drug therapy altogether. That would be a blessing."
Take Action:

And Now, Model Wars!

This group is called "Peckers Pics."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health, Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"   Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
 
Your participation in discussion of health / news articles - appearing in this message is greatly appreciated.
Lee Kholafai
 
VS
Kairon John
 
You Decide!
One of several DJs on board on the RSVP Caribbean cruise that set sail on
2/11/2011.  Photo date: Feb 19, 2011.
Stoked?
80's costume party and tea dance on RSVP Caribbean cruise. Eddie poses with
dancers from Debbie Gibson's show; Feb 15, 2011. Cruise began on Feb 11, 2011.
Support for Gay Marriage Continues to Increase
Charles Franklin / March 3, 2011 / Huffington Post

Support for gay marriage continues to rise in a new Pew Center for the People and the Press poll, completed 2/22-3/1/2011. The latest poll shows support at 45% and opposition at 46%, the narrowest margin in the history of Pew polling on the issue. Some polls by other pollsters have found support exceeding opposition but as the chart above shows, the trend estimates have converged by not quite reached equal levels of support and opposition. The consistency of the trends since 2005, however, all but guarantee support will exceed opposition within the year.

The chart also highlights the Pew polls, which have tended to measure slightly lower levels of support than the overall trendline based on all polls. Opposition in the Pew polls has been more nearly centered on the overall trend. This suggests that pollsters other than Pew are likely to find more support than opposition in upcoming polls.

The long term trend is one of the most compelling in recent history. With the exception of 2004, following the first legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts which provoked a brief backlash, support has steadily risen while opposition has declined since the first polls on the topic in 1985.

The question wording for the above chart is a dichotomous one, basically "do you believe gay marriage should be legal"? Actual question wording varies across pollsters but all offer only legal or not legal response options. Since 2004 several pollsters (not including Pew) have also offered a trichotomous question, offering "civil unions but not marriage" as an option. Those data and trends are plotted below through the fall of 2010, the last poll we have with this form of the question.

The striking result here is that support for marriage has moved from third to first place among these three options, while opposition to any legal recognition has fallen to near-parity with civil unions. While the civil union preference has remained flat, support for marriage actually passed opposition to any legal relationship at the very end of 2008. While we don't have direct data on who is changing, it is plausible to imagine movement from complete opposition into civil unions and simultaneous movement out of civil unions into support for full marriage rights. The stability of the civil union group suggests that this movement has been quite evenly balanced. While this series has not been asked since September 2010, the continued trend in the first chart gives us no reason to expect a sharp change in this trend in the last 6 months.

Much has been written about the generation gap in views of gay marriage. The trends here show that opposition to gay marriage is becoming a less and less acceptable position through the public more generally. It is not merely the young who are shifting views. While individual states are certain to vary widely in the balance of public opinion, the national shift is so striking and so regular that it is hard to imagine this issue will remain in doubt for much longer. As a majority emerges in support of gay marriage, the political issue will be state by state repeal of the various "defense of marriage" amendments and referenda that passed in 2004-2006. That battle will depend much more on the more variable views in individual states.
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
....Jake
 

Important Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS. Both groups were co-created to work with each-other.  To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group MUST Join ObamaBiden2008. It is unfair for members that belong to both groups to hear members of just Peckers PICS (only) to make statements when the ObamaBiden2008 has covered such topics.  President Obama has dismissed the constitutionality of DOMA and stated he will no longer defend it this aspect of it.  However, the Republican House shall have the legal right to fight it.   A few members of this group do not read such articles that I placed in this group -and such articles were further discussed in ObamaBiden2008. Yet, such members state the opposite about our president.  Therefore, members must join ObamaBiden2008 within the next 2 days, or I shall go through our member list and remove any member that does not belong to both groups. This shall clear up communications and confusion.  If you send a letter of protest, than you are being apathetic, and shall be banned.  The LGBT cause is too important and beyond 1 person's need to just look at pictures.

The Yahoo Invite program advices me of who is not a member.  I shall start banning 50 members per day as of Sat. Mar 5, 2011. The ban shall be permanent. It takes me only 3 minutes to complete the process. Recommend you join ObamaBiden2008 now.  No you don't have to read every article! But, it covers the LGBT community and includes updates on Health insurance; LGBT boycott list; Westboro Church; and the end of DADT, etc...Also, updates with state gov't war against unions and people with disabilities.  The group is created for you!  There are gay teen suicides going on. There are hate crimes against gay people.  There are gays who are fired from their jobs.   There are gay people who died for our cause!  This is not asking you too much to do!  What about Harvey Milk?  What about David Kato?  Should I go on?  They were killed because they are gay and acted to protect the LGBT community!  Pres. Obama reversed DADT. Pres. Obama signed the Hate Crime Bill.  Pres. Obama has offered Fedl employees same gender benefits. President Obama now wants to end DOMA!  He needs our help!  President Obama gave us a Health care Bill that forces private insurers to issue health insurance for customers with HIV! 

The people that died for us do need our help!   

 

 



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Thank you!
 

"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

...Jake (Moderator)



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