Sally Church

Where do members of the public turn to understand what genetic tests mean in terms of their own health? Now that genome-wide association studies and complete genome sequencing are widely available, the importance of education in personalized genomics cannot be overstated. Although some media have introduced the concept of genetic testing to better understand health and disease, the public’s understanding of the scope and impact of genetic variation has not kept up with the pace of the science or technology. - Sally Church

Courier is a real device, and we've heard that it's in the "late prototype" stage of development. It's not a tablet, it's a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They're connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre. - Sally Church

Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) carry approximately a 10% lifetime risk of developing a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST). Although the molecular mechanisms underlying NF1 to MPNST malignant transformation remain unclear, alterations of both the RAS/RAF/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways have been implicated. - Sally Church

Now you can export all your documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs from Google Docs in a ZIP archive. - Sally Church

Now you can export all your documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs from Google Docs in a ZIP archive. - Sally Church

The overall response rate, to date, is 65 percent (20/31 patients [95 percent CI: 45 percent, 81 percent]) and disease control rate (DCR) at 8 weeks is 84 percent (26/31 patients [95 percent CI: 66 percent, 95 percent]). Median PFS has not yet been reached. The median duration of treatment is 24.5+ weeks. - Sally Church

PF-02341066 is an investigational, selective, ATP-competitive small molecule dual inhibitor of mesenchymal epithelial transition growth factor (c-Met or hepatocyte growth factor) and ALK tyrosine kinases, which are implicated in the progression of several cancers, including NSCLC. A subset of NSCLC patients have been identified whose tumors carry a unique mutation in which the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) gene is fused to ALK, also known as an EML4-ALK translocation. - Sally Church

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a soft tissue tumor with tendency to recur locally and only rarely metastasizes to vital organs. Surgery with wide margins remains the standard treatment. DFSP is characterized by specific chromosomal abnormalities involving the platelet derived growth factor B locus (PDGFB). - Sally Church