Phone Numbers Are Dead, They Just Don’t Know It Yet

Editor’s note: The following guest post is by Nikhyl Singhal, the co-founder and CEO of voice-application startup SayNow.

Is it conceivable that one of our greatest inventions, the phone number, is about to face extinction?

Just ask Mark Zuckerberg. Earlier this year, when askedif Facebook would be around in 100 years, as long as Ma Bell has been around, Zuckerberg responded, “I don’t know. But I don’t know how long telephones will be around for.”  Will they be around for ten more years? I’ll go even further. It may not even take 5 years for the phone service, as we know it, to meet its demise.

Who’s going to lead the charge?  Voice on Gmail andSkype are just the beginning.  What are Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, and Microsoft doing?  As AT&T, Verizon, Apple and Google spent this summer hashing out plans for world domination, it seems that Facebook is best positioned to strike the fatal blow against our beloved carriers.  And it starts with those phone digits.

I’m certain my grandkids will never dial a phone number, or even have one. It’s time to say goodbye to ten digits along with the world’s oldest social network.  While we’re at it, let’s kill phone-tree mazes, do-not-call lists…everything associated with phone numbers.

Don’t misconstrue what I’m saying. This isn’t the demise of phone calls.  Far from it.  People will still talk on their phones.  They just want the service to be simple and fun, which won’t entail punching digits into a device to start a conversation.

Why put phone numbers on deathwatch?  Consider a few facts:

1. No control. Anyone can dial your 10 digits, including your ex-girlfriend, a political campaign worker, or a solicitor.  Unlisted numbers, Caller ID and do-not-call lists all tried to solve this problem, but these solutions still don’t prevent unwanted calls.
2. Phone numbers are tied to a device, not to you. Everyone has multiple numbers, yet your home line is shared, leaving callers guessing the best way to reach you.
3. User experience is very limited. The phone was designed as a utility—dial a number, have a conversation. It’s remained this way since its inception.  It’s not optimized for other experiences, which is why voicemail and conference calls are tedious, and why checking flight status is worse than a root canal.

Compare this to your social networks.  You have control over who accesses your information; you have one username and profile that you use at all times; and applications fill in the holes and extend the network’s capabilities to communicate, play games and meet people on your own terms.

On any Facebook page, I can “send a message”, even if we aren’t friends. And I can choose to receive messages from non-friends. The key thing is the network sets up a policy, and I as a user can change this. We don’t have this choice on the phone network today. Anyone can dial my number, and I can’t control it—but I do control my interaction on a social network.

Google, Skype, and others try to resolve telephony problems by stuffing the phone system into the web.  Personally, I’ve spent five years at SayNow trying to eke more out of the digit-based phone system too.  We’ve built dozens of applications that enable brands, celebrities and millions of users to use the phone in an entirely new way.  But we’ve all hit the limits of what we can accomplish.  Instead of replicating the antiquated phone network inside the web, let’s instead dramatically simplify telephony by adding voice on top of our social networks.

If given a choice between Ma Bell and Zuckerbell as our operator, we should choose Zuck.  Despite criticisms about Facebook’s privacy settings, the site gives us far more control over our interactions than we have on the telephone.  Since our contacts live in the network, we already belong to the world’s largest white pages.  And with more businesses moving to social networks, throw in the global yellow pages, too.  So say goodbye to lost phone numbers, moving contacts between devices and even 411.  More importantly, just as you determine who can see your bachelor party photos, you will soon have complete control over who has access to call you and who doesn’t. As I write this I already hear my wife saying, “Honey, why can’t my mom call us anymore?”

Also relevant here are the creative smartphone applications that developers churn out daily.  None of these leverage the primary reason these mobile devices exist: voice.  Once smartphone platforms allow developers to initiate conversations and voice messages, you can bet voice will finally become flexible and fun.

Speaking of which, I was at a Lady Gaga concert recently, and the good people at Virgin Mobile arranged for Gaga to “surprise” a fan with a phone call that upgraded her seats.  Great idea, but we all know the entire activity was scripted and carefully orchestrated.  But what if it wasn’t?  Lady Gaga should be able to open her iPhone, see her Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace fans, choose someone checked in at the venue, and…. (cue drumroll), call them.  Call one of them.  Some of them.  All of them.  And whether you have 5 million friends or just 5, phone calls should be just that easy.  So enjoy punching those digits while they are still around.

Possibilities of Treating Prostate Cancer | Prostate Cancer Treatment

Possibilities of Treating Prostate Cancer | Prostate Cancer Treatment: "Possibilities of Treating Prostate Cancer
August 27th, 2010 | Author: admin"

In order to prevent prostate cancer scientists are trying to find abnormal genes that are related to this disease and so identify those who are at risk of developing prostate cancer.

For these people special treatment will be instituted earlier in order to stop the disease from occurring.

Nowadays the scientists use the DNA micro-array technology for studying many genes at the same time and discover those that are related to prostate cancer. This screening could save a lot of time and could replace the currently used PSA blood test.

DNA micro-array identified a product of one gene (named EZH2) that seems to appear more frequently in advanced prostate cancers than in early staged cancers. Scientists want to find out if this gene product signalizes that the cancer is more aggressive or not. This could help doctors decide whether that form of cancer needs treatment or must only be supervised carefully.

Researchers have discovered that tomato and soybeans contain some substances that are useful in preventing prostate cancer (lycopenes and isoflavones). Vitamins are also useful: vitamin D, E and selenium decrease the risk of prostate cancer.

A new clinical trial has been developed in order to see if patients with prostate cancer respond to medication that decreases the level of the androgen hormone called DHT. These drugs (Finasteride and dutasteride) have been used until now only for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Staging prostate cancer is very important for doctors because it helps them institute the most proper treatment. CT and MRI are not so efficient in this case. Instead, enhanced MRI is quite helpful because it detects the possible cancer cells in the lymph nodes.

As a possibility of treatment is surgery. The radical prostatectomy could have some risks. If the nerves that control erection have to be removed the man will end up being impotent. Doctors are testing a replacement of those nerves with the Sural nerve but they are not positive about the usefulness of this technique.

Radiation therapy is also possible. If using conformal radiation therapy (CRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) the radiation will be directed straight to the prostate gland and affect less other normal tissues.

Chemotherapy seems to be effective in prostate cancer too. Chemotherapy drugs can be successfully used in combination with other drugs like: Taxotere associated with Calcitriol, a form of vitamin D.

A vaccine has also been tested with amazing results on prostate cancer patients. This vaccine is not like the others that are designed to prevent a disease. This is made to treat advanced prostate cancer by increasing the immune systems response to cancer cells. The vaccine has been made out of a genetically engineered protein and a dendritic cell provided from the patients bloodstream. Three shots of the vaccine (Provenge) were made over the course of a month. The immune system will react and will activate immune T-cells to find and destroy the cancer cells.

Monoclonal antibody treatment can also be applied in this case. They stimulate the bodys natural cell-killing mechanism or they carry a radioactive molecule that will destroy the cancerous cell.

Another treatment is using angiogenesis inhibitors. These drugs prevent the growth of blood vessels and so, the tumor cells will not be nourished any more.

Sometimes the prostate cancer spreads in the body and affects the bones. For stopping the bone pain doctors use radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and CT. with this technique they will destroy the tumor by heating it.

For recovering patients are advised to adopt a certain lifestyle. They must not eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products, keep an active lifestyle and even perform yoga.

For more information about prostate cancer prevention and about early symptoms prostate cancer please review this web site http://www.prostate-cancer-center.com

For more information about prostate cancer prevention and about early symptoms prostate cancer please review this web site http://www.prostate-cancer-center.com

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever cancer vaccine. The immunotherapy, called Provenge, trains the immune system to attack prostate cancer cells. In clinical trials at Duke University Medical Center, the vaccine extended the lives of patients who received it, by four months, on average. The treatment uses a novel approach: clinicians collect about a pint of the patients white blood cells, similar to a blood donation. The immune cells are overnighted to a specialized lab where theyre exposed to key proteins that help kick the immune system into high gear. Dr. Deborah Bradley: Were essentially trying to teach the immune cells, the infection fighters, to recognize prostate cancer and to target prostate cancer. The boosted immune cells are shipped back to the clinic on ice, and administered as an infusion, similar to a blood transfusion. In trials, the vaccine produced very few side effects, because it was derived from patients own cells. The whole idea of teaching your immune system to recognize cancer is something weve been after for years and multiple vaccines have been looked at and have not panned out to be as exciting as we originally thought that they wereso this is the first cancer vaccine thats available for patients. Doctors stress that this vaccine was a life-extender in most cases, but it is not a cure. Researchers hope a similar immunotherapy vaccine approach will be developed and eventually approved for other kinds of cancer.

Shell Oil Bets $2 Billion on ... Sugar

by Ariel Schwartz"



Add Shell to the growing list of oil companies investing in alternative fuels. The oil company announced this week that it finalized a massive deal with Cosan SA Industria & Comercio, the world's biggest sugarcane producer, for a biofuel venture in Brazil.
Shell is expected to contribute $1.95 billion, along with 2,740 service stations. Cosan will throw in 23 sugar mills, power plants that produce energy from sugarcane waste, and 1,730 service stations. When all assets involved are taken into account, the venture is worth approximately $12 billion.
It's a fairly safe bet--Brazil's ethanol fuel program is 30 years old, and sugarcane ethanol represented 17.6% of the country's total energy consumption in the transport sector in 2008. Brazilian sugarcane also has a high EROEI (the energy returned on energy invested); for every unit of fossil fuel input, eight units of sugarcane ethanol energy are outputted.
The multi-billion dollar venture brings Shell into the big leagues of biofuel-producing oil companies. Last year fellow oil giant Exxon invested $600 million in algae biofuel technology from Synthetic Genomics. BP bought Verenium's biofuel business earlier this summer for $98 million. Chevron also recently partnered with Weyerhaeuser Company for a joint venture, dubbed Catchlight Energy, which will produce biofuels made from forest-based biomass. The remaining Big Oil companies, including ConocoPhillips ($22 million for biofuel research) and Total (undisclosed investments in biofuel startups Amyris and Coskata), have made relatively minor biofuel investments.
But Shell's biofuel gamble may be the biggest thus far. If it succeeds, other oil giants may yet creep out of the woodwork with multi-billion-dollar deals.
Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.

Researchers Recommend Statins With Your Fries: Scientific American Podcast

Researchers Recommend Statins With Your Fries: Scientific American Podcast: "Researchers Recommend Statins With Your Fries"

A study concludes that including actual statin drugs with high-fat restaurant meals is a justifiable public health effort. Karen Hopkin reports.

 

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Restaurant patron: “Gimme the chocolate milkshake and the cheeseburger deluxe.”

Waitress: “That’s the cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, fries and statin pill, coming right up.” 

 

That scene could someday happen, if researchers at Imperial College London have their way. They say that including a dose of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could offset the health risks of a high-fat meal. They present their case in the American Journal of Cardiology. [Citation to come.]

 

We all know that eating a greasy burger is not the most heart-healthy approach to dining. It can raise our cholesterol and boost our risk for heart attacks. But could a statin pill really neutralize the harmful effects of a pit stop at the local burger joint?

 

Reviewing data from some 43,000 patients involved in seven clinical trials, scientists calculated how much a person’s heart attack risk increases with fat intake, and how much statins can decrease that risk. They conclude that a daily dose of statins would compensate for a daily cheeseburger and a small milkshake.

 

Dispensing the drug would cost pennies—not much more than the packet of ketchup that restaurants already give you for free. It may not be a Happy Meal. But it could be a healthier one.

—Karen Hopkin

[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast]    

Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Children, Adults, and Seniors

Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Children, Adults, and Seniors: "Who Needs Omega-3s?
Do you? Your baby? Your teen? Your parents?
By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD Feature Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

You’ve likely heard about the many health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Are you getting enough of them in your diet?

According to experts, probably not. And most people you know -- your spouse, your toddler, and your mom – probably aren’t either.

“Pretty much everybody’s diet is deficient in omega-3s,” says David C. Leopold, MD, director of integrative medical education at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego. “I think that’s why adding them back in seems to have so many health benefits. We’re just balancing out what’s normally” there.

Omega-3s are rapidly becoming an important tool in mainstream medicine. They seem to have health benefits for every age group – from before birth to old age. There’s conclusive evidence that they protect against heart disease and lower triglycerides. There’s also some research showing that they might help with dozens of other conditions, too.

To help you better understand the benefits -- and some of the risks -- of omega-3s, here’s a primer on using omega-3 fatty acids. WebMD has also surveyed the evidence of how omega-3s help four groups of people -- infants, children and teens, young adults, and middle-aged to older adults.

What Are Omega-3s?

Omega-3s are essential fatty acids -- we need them for our bodies to work properly. One of their most important benefits is that they seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

“A lot of diseases, like heart disease and arthritis, seem to be related to an inflammatory process,” says Leopold. “Omega-3s can tune down the body’s inflammation, and that may be how they help prevent some of these chronic diseases.”

So how do omega-3s benefit people at different ages? Here’s the rundown on the research. 

Keep in mind that few of these studies are definitive, and larger studies are needed to determine therapeutic benefit.  Also, some used food sources of omega-3s, and others used fish oil supplements with varying brands, dosages, and  ingredients.

Always discuss the use of any medication or supplement with your doctor.

Omega-3s for Infants, Prenatal Health, and Pregnancy

Omega-3s are important for children’s health right from the start – actually, before they’re even born. Here’s some of the evidence.

• Cognitive development. Some studies show that infants fed formulas enriched with the omega-3 fatty acid DHA show improvements in hand-eye coordination, attention span, social skills, and intelligence test scores. Studies have shown that children born to mothers who took supplements of omega-3s (DHA and EPA) during pregnancy and the during the first months of breastfeeding scored higher on cognitive tests at 4 years of age compared to children whose mothers did not take supplements of DHA and EPA.
• Asthma risk. A 2008 study found that the teenage children of women who took fish oil during pregnancy were less likely to have developed asthma.
• Growth. There’s some evidence that when omega-3s are added to formula, it promotes growth and brain development in premature infants.
• Preterm labor. A 2003 study found that women who ate eggs enriched with omega-3s were less likely to go into premature labor than women who ate standard eggs.

Although none of these studies are conclusive, there’s good reason to make sure that infants – and pregnant women -- are getting their omega 3s such as DHA and EPA.

Many infant formulas are now supplemented with DHA. A mother’s breast milk is an ideal source of omega-3s, although it may be affected by how many omega-3s she’s getting in her diet.

Omega-3s for Children and Teens

Some of the childhood conditions that have been studied include:

• ADHD. Kids with ADHD may have lower levels of omega-3s in their bodies than normal, and a few small studies have looked at fish oil supplements as a treatment. They found that the supplements might improve behavior, reduce hyperactivity, and boost attention in kids under 12.
• Depression. Fish oil is often used as a treatment for depression in adults; there have been a few studies in children too. One small 2006 study of fish oil in depressed 6- to 12-year-olds found it helped their symptoms significantly.
• Diabetes. One small study looked at kids who were at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that those who ate a high omega-3 diet were less likely to develop the condition.
• Asthma. Omega-3s may reduce inflammation in the airways, which could benefit those with asthma. One small study of 29 children with asthma found that those taking fish oil for 10 months had fewer symptoms than those who didn’t. However, other studies of omega-3s as an asthma treatment have not found consistent evidence that they help.

Keep in mind that many of these studies were small and other studies have sometimes found contradictory evidence. More research needs to be done before we’ll know the full implications.

Omega-3s for Young Adults

As an age group, young adults tend to be pretty healthy. But it’s a good time to start thinking ahead and considering your health in the long-term. So how can omega-3s help?

• Cardiovascular health. Studies have found that people who eat fatty fish twice a week have lower rates of heart disease. One study found that fish oil – in foods or supplements – cut the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 32%. People with documented heart disease are advised to get about 1 gram of omega-3s from fish oil per day or to consider EPA plus DHA supplements.
• Cancer. So far, the evidence is not very strong. But a number of studies have noted that people who take in higher amounts of omega-3s seem to have lower levels of certain cancers. These include cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, ovaries, esophagus, and others. Are the omega-3s really responsible? It’s impossible to say. But the evidence is promising and more research needs to be done.
• 
  
  Depression and other psychiatric conditions . There’s some fairly good evidence that omega-3s can play a role in brain chemistry and a number of studies have found some benefits. Several studies have found that blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids are lower in those who suffer from depression .

“We have studies showing that countries that have healthier diets -- with more vegetables and fish -- tend to have a lower incidence of depression than western countries,” says Ronald Glick, MD, medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

At least a few studies have found that adding omega-3s supplements is beneficial for those suffering from depression. For instance, fish oil does seem to boost the effectiveness of some antidepressants. There’s also some early evidence that omega-3s might help with schizophrenia and the depressive symptoms of bipolar disorder. There’s some conflicting evidence that omega-3s may help with other conditions -- ranging from skin conditions to painful menstruation to Crohn’s disease. More evidence is needed to determine whether omega-3 supplements benefit people with inflammatory bowel disease.

Omega-3s for Middle-aged and Older Adults

As you get older, the risks of serious conditions like heart disease grow. The good news is that omega-3s have their best established benefits in people of this age group.

• Heart health. “Omega-3s have enormous benefits from a cardiovascular standpoint,” says Erminia M. Guarneri, MD, a cardiologist and medical director of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. Not only do they help prevent problems in healthy people, they also cut the risk of complications and death in people who already have heart disease. Omega-3s seem to help keep the heart rhythm steady. One study found that people who had already had a heart attack and took fish oil had a 45% decrease in the risk of heart-related death. Fish and fish oil also seem to slow down arteriosclerosis and lower the risk of strokes.
• Triglycerides. The omega-3s -- DHA and EPA -- can slash triglyceride levels by 20% to 50%. The effect seems to depend on the amount, so your doctor might recommend fairly high doses. The effects of omega-3s on other types of cholesterol are less clear.
• Rheumatoid arthritis. While the evidence isn’t conclusive, a number of studies have found that fish oil can reduce rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, like morning stiffness and pain. High doses – of 3 to 4 grams -- may be necessary. No one should be on such a large dose without the supervision of a doctor.
• Osteoporosis. Studies have found that people who eat higher levels of fatty fish than average have greater bone density in the hip. One study found that fish oil – in combination with calcium and primrose oil – increased bone density in older people with osteoporosis.
• Memory, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Several studies have found that diets high in fatty fish may help prevent memory loss and lower the risk of dementia in older people. However, other studies have not found a benefit. Studies are evaluating whether the omega-3 supplement DHA can slow the decline seen in those with Alzheimer dementia.
• 
  

  How Should I Get More Omega-3s?

  What’s the best way to get your omega-3s? Improve your diet, experts say.

  Fatty fish are a good source of DHA and EPA. Although there are plant sources of omega-3s – in foods like flax, olive oil, and some leafy greens – they don’t seem to be quite as effective. Plants contain a fatty acid called ALA, which has to be broken down into DHA and EPA in the body. Many food products are fortified with algae oil and can be a good source of DHA.

  Children and women who are breastfeeding or pregnant must be careful of the toxins that can build up in some seafood, such as shark, swordfish, and tilefish. They should eat smaller fatty fish – like salmon and trout – and eat no more than 12 ounces a week.

  What about omega-3 supplements? Although getting nutrients from food is always preferable, adding a supplement might be smart. Also many foods are now fortified with omega-3s, such as some milk products, juices, breads, eggs, cooking oils, and snack foods.

  “Omega -3 supplements are extremely safe for most people,” says Leopold. He cautions that anyone with a bleeding disorder – or who takes a medicine that could affect bleeding, like the blood thinner Coumadin – needs to talk to a doctor first before taking fish oils. Evidence suggests that eating less than 3 grams a day is unlikely to result in bleeding.Are omega-3 supplements for children an option? “While you must talk to a pediatrician first, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t consider giving an appropriate dosage of omega-3 supplements to a child,” Leopold tells WebMD. Just keep in mind that a doctor needs to work out the correct dosage.

  Omega-3s: A Not-So-Alternative Treatment

  Although many people might consider omega-3 fatty acids an “alternative” medicine, experts stress that omega 3s are really a complementary treatment. They seem to work best not on their own, but side by side with traditional medicine, often amplifying the effects of prescription drugs.

  “Omega-3s may not replace your medicines for arthritis or depression,” says Gail Underbakke, RD, nutrition coordinator of the Preventative Cardiology Program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. “But they might allow you to take lower doses of those drugs.”

  So don’t look at omega-3s as an alternative treatment that you administer by yourself. Instead, discuss omega-3 supplements or fortified foods with your doctor. Figure out how you should be using omega-3s – and at what dose -- in the context of your overall health and treatment. And make sure that you don’t have any medical conditions – or take any medicines – that would make omega-3s too risky.

  “With a few exceptions, I don’t think there’s any problem with the average person taking a fish oil supplement daily, like a multivitamin,” says Guarneri. “By and large, an extra gram of fish oil is only going to help you.”

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A Protein Killer Could Treat All Cancers, and Possibly All Illnesses

by Corey Binns"


Since last April, 19 cancer patients whose liver tumors hadn't responded to chemotherapy have taken an experimental drug. Within weeks of the first dose, it appeared to work, by preventing tumors from making proteins they need to survive. The results are preliminary yet encouraging. With a slight redesign, the drug might work for hundreds of diseases, fulfilling the promise that wonder cures like stem cells and gene therapy have failed to deliver.
The biotech company Alnylam announced in June that its drug ALN-VSP cut off blood flow to 62 percent of liver-cancer tumors in those 19 patients, by triggering a rarely used defense mechanism in the body to silence cancerous genes. Whereas conventional drugs stop disease-causing proteins, ALN-VSP uses RNA interference (RNAi) therapy to stop cells from making proteins in the first place, a tactic that could work for just about any disease. "Imagine that your kitchen floods," says biochemist and Alnylam CEO John Maraganore. "Today's medicines mop it up. RNAi technology turns off the faucet."
Here's another analogy: If DNA is the blueprint for proteins, RNA is the contractor. It makes single-stranded copies of DNA's genes, called mRNA, which tell the cell to produce proteins. In 1998, scientists identified RNAi, a mechanism that primitive organisms use to detect and destroy virus's double-stranded RNA and any viral mRNA. Mammals' immune systems made RNAi's antiviral function irrelevant (although all vertebrates, including humans, still use RNAi to regulate mRNA activity), but researchers found that introducing small segments of double-stranded RNA to cells could trigger the ancient mechanism and selectively halt the production of specific proteins.
That ability makes RNAi a potential fix for many diseases, including cancer, that arise when abnormal cells produce excessive amounts of everyday proteins. In theory, manipulating RNAi to kill proteins is simple. ALN-VSP, for example, consists of synthetic double-stranded RNA designed to match tumor mRNA that codes for two proteins: VEGF, which cancers overproduce to help grow new blood vessels, and KSP, which sets off rapid cell division. The researchers send the synthetic RNA into liver cells, and the body's RNAi system kills both the synthetic RNA and any matching tumor-grown mRNA. Knock out the mRNAs coding for those proteins-which in the liver are produced only by cancer cells-and the tumor stops growing.
"We can turn off any one of 20,000 genes with RNAi," says Bruce Sullenger, a molecular biologist researching RNAi at Duke University. "The challenge has been to get a drug into only the desired cells and not harm others." Researchers have worried that a drug might disrupt normal protein production in a healthy cell, or that the immune system will destroy the drug before it reaches its target.
Alnylam overcame both concerns by packaging the drug in a fatty envelope that is absorbed primarily by the liver. This allowed doctors to administer the drug through the blood, rather than by an injection to one spot, which improves results by ensuring that the entire liver receives an even dose.

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Science, cancer treatment, headlines, health, illness, medicine, proteins, September 2010

The technique's ability to attack single genes could lead to drugs for the 75 percent of cancer genes that lack any specific treatment, as well as for other illnesses. Alnylam is already testing RNAi therapy for Huntington's disease and high cholesterol in cell cultures; other researchers are tackling macular degeneration, muscular dystrophy and HIV. The potential has driven nearly every major pharmaceutical company to start an RNAi program.
Because the approach is fundamentally simple, RNAi therapy could be ready within two years, say experts including John Rossi, a molecular geneticist at City of Hope National Medical Center in California. Alnylam plans to enroll an additional 36 patients in the ALN-VSP trial and increase the dosage, but the early results are good enough to suggest that it could be among the first RNAi therapies to hit the market. "I think RNAi could work for anything," Rossi says. "But even if it only works for liver cancer, it would be pretty good." For liver-cancer patients who have been failed by chemotherapy and radiation and felt their harsh side effects, that would be wonder drug enough.