Malaria Vaccine Candidate Produces Disappointing Results in Clinical Trial

The latest clinical trial of the world?s leading malaria vaccine candidate produced disappointing results on Friday. The infants it was given to had only about a third fewer infections than a control group.

But researchers said they wanted to press on, assuming they keep getting financial support, because the number of children who die of malaria is so great that even an inefficient vaccine can save thousands of lives.

Three shots of the vaccine, known as RTS, S or Mosquirix and produced by GlaxoSmithKline, gave babies fewer than 12 weeks old 31 percent protection against detectable malaria and 37 percent protection against severe malaria, according to an announcement by the company at a vaccines conference in Cape Town.

Last year, in a trial in children up to 17 months old, the same vaccine gave 55 percent protection against detectable malaria and 47 percent against severe malaria.

The new trial ?is less than we?d hoped for,? Moncef Slaoui, Glaxo?s chairman of research and development said in a telephone interview. ?But if a million babies were vaccinated, we would prevent 260,000 cases of malaria a year. This is a disease that kills 655,000 babies a year ? 31 percent of that is a very large number.?

The company, which has already spent more than $300 million on the vaccine, wants to keep forging ahead, he said, ?but it is not just our decision.?

It also depends on the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which has put more than $200 million of its Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation financing into the vaccine, and on the World Health Organization, which has helped talk seven African countries into allowing the vaccine to be tested on their children.

The Gates Foundation declined to say how much money it was ultimately prepared to spend on an imperfect vaccine; this set of trials is set to go into 2014.

?The efficacy came back lower than we had hoped, but developing a vaccine against a parasite is a very hard thing to do,? Bill Gates said in a prepared statement. ?The trial is continuing, and we look forward to getting more data to help determine whether and how to deploy this vaccine.?

All the families in the trial were given insecticide-impregnated mosquito nets and encouraged to use them; 86 percent did, so the vaccine worked despite other anti-malaria measures.

RTS, S contains a protein found on the parasite?s surface that provokes an immune reaction. It was first identified decades ago by two New York University scientists, Ruth and Victor Nussenzweig. The vaccine was developed by Glaxo in Belgium and initially tested on American volunteers by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. When the Gates Foundation began focusing on global health in the early part of this century, it was one of the first projects the foundation adopted. Different ways to make the vaccine more effective, including adding different boosters and giving more shots, are being experimented with. Other vaccines using different ways to provoke an immune reaction exist, but none are as far along in clinical trials.

Like an H.I.V. vaccine, one against malaria has proved an elusive goal. The parasite morphs several times, exhibiting different surface proteins as it goes from mosquito saliva into blood and then into and out of the liver. Also, even the best natural ?vaccine? ? catching the disease itself ? is not very effective. While one bout of measles immunizes a child for life, it usually takes several bouts of malaria to confer even partial immunity. Pregnancy can cause women to stop being immune, and immunity can fade out if someone moves away from a malarial area ? presumably because they no longer get ?boosters? from repeated mosquito bites.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/health/malaria-vaccine-candidate-produces-disappointing-results-in-clinical-trial.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Boehner says Obama should take lead on immigration

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio calls on a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Boehner said any deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff should include lower tax rates, eliminating special interest loopholes and revising the tax code. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio calls on a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Boehner said any deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff should include lower tax rates, eliminating special interest loopholes and revising the tax code. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures as he speaks to reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Boehner said any deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff should include lower tax rates, eliminating special interest loopholes and revising the tax code. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio calls on a reporter during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. Boehner said any deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff should include lower tax rates, eliminating special interest loopholes and revising the tax code. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Speaker John Boehner on Friday said it was time to address immigration policy and urged President Barack Obama to take the lead in coming up with a plan that would look at both improved enforcement of immigration law and the future of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally.

Immigration policy, largely ignored during Obama's first four years in office, has reemerged as a key issue as Republicans seek ways to rebound from the beating they got from Hispanic voters during the presidential election. More than 70 percent of Hispanic voters supported Obama, who has been more open than Republicans to comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws.

"It's just time to get the job done," Boehner said at a news conference. He said lawmakers from both parties want to resolve the issue. "But again, on an issue this big, the president has to lead."

But Boehner would not commit to supporting legislation that might open a pathway to citizenship ? an idea that most Republicans have strongly opposed ? for those living in the country illegally.

"I'm not talking about a 3,000-page bill," he said. "What I'm talking about is a common-sense, step-by-step approach to secure our borders, allow us to enforce the laws and fix a broken immigration system."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after the election that the vote showed that Democrats are the party of diversity, and he plans to bring up an immigration reform bill next year. He said Republicans would block such legislation at their own "peril."

Boehner, in an earlier interview with ABC, appeared to open the way for discussion on immigration by saying that a comprehensive approach is long overdue, and "I'm confident that the president, myself, others can find the common ground to take care of this issue once and for all."

That won praise from Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., head of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, who called Boehner's recognition of the urgent need for immigration reform a "breakthrough."

But Rep. John Fleming, R-La., also expressed concern that Boehner was "getting ahead of House Republicans when he commits to getting a 'comprehensive approach' to immigration."

"There's been zero discussion of this issue within the conference, and I'm urging the speaker to talk with House Republicans before making pledges on the national news," Fleming said.

Hispanics proved to be a critical source of support for Obama, and Republicans have since cited their failure to attract Hispanic voters as one reason for Obama's victory. The two candidates offered a stark contrast during the campaign.

Obama has been supportive to immigration law overhaul and in June announced that people brought here illegally as children who had graduated high school or served in the military would not be deported and would be granted work permits. GOP candidate Mitt Romney, meanwhile, supported more hardline policies and at one point called for "self-deportation" to shrink the number of people in the country illegally.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-11-09-Boehner-Immigration/id-985d837ca2f044219a41e514ac75535f

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News Summary: Chevron profit hurt by lower prices

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Facebook adds a way for you to really, really 'like' something

17 hrs.

Joel Johnson

Richard Metzger isn't very happy with Mark Zuckerberg.?

The founder of Dangerous Minds,?an outsider arts and?culture blog, Metzger has cultivated more than 50,000 fans on his Facebook page over the last three years. But ever since Facebook went public in May, changes to the social networking giant's content algorithm have made Dangerous Minds' content an increasingly infrequent part of fans' daily Facebook timeline.

When you click "like" on something, you may think that means your timeline will get all the?updates from that brand. And it used to. But in an attempt to improve the usefulness of data it shows you on your timeline???which can mean removing content you don't interact with???Facebook has also confused what users and publishers?can expect "liking" something to mean.?In an attempt to clear up that confusion, Facebook has added new "like" options, such as "Get Notifications" and "Show in News Feed," which ask users to micromanage the properties that they already "liked."

In a fiery public complaint,?Metzger accused Facebook of "the biggest bait 'n' switch in history" with the introduction of "Promoted Posts." Essentially,?Facebook started asking Dangerous Minds to pay to promote posts to its willing?followers, a charge that Metzger estimated?could amount to $672,000 a year or more ? for something that was once?freely distributed to the same audience.?

Metzger broke down his calculations:

At Dangerous Minds, we post anywhere from 10 to 16 items per day, fewer on the weekends. To reach 100 percent of of our 50k+ Facebook fans [on fans' timelines] they?d charge us $200 per post. That would cost us between $2,000 and $3,200 per day???but let?s go with the lower, easier to multiply number. We post seven days a week, that would be about $14,000 per week, $56,000 per month? a grand total of $672,000 for what we got for free before Facebook started turning the traffic spigot down in spring of this year???wouldn?t you know it???right around the time of their badly managed IPO.

According to Metzger, traffic from Facebook back to Dangerous Minds has dropped by half to two-thirds from its previous levels, with the only apparent recourse being paying Facebook to promote posts to fans.

A?Facebook spokesperson told?NBC News that Metzger has misinterpreted the idea behind promoted posts: According to Facebook, they're going for quality, not quantity.

"We?re continuing to optimize (the)?news feed to show the posts that people are most likely to engage with, ensuring they see the most interesting stories," said the spokesperson. "This aligns with our vision that all content should be as engaging as the posts you see from friends and family."?

Facebook's advertising is designed????and priced????so that "the most engaging content" is promoted, but not in the way you might think: The most "organic engagement" a piece of content has????natural momentum from people viewing the content, commenting on it, or clicking "Like"????the less Facebook charges an advertiser to promote it.?

Just because a Facebook user has clicked "Like" on a fan page doesn't mean that person, publication, organization or brand will have unfettered access to push updates into a Facebook user's timeline? (even though, not that long ago, that's more or less how Facebook worked).

This can be confusing for some users and publishers, who had grown used to previous iterations of Facebook that operated more like Twitter or feed readers such as Google Reader, which show every bit of content from "liked" brands or publications in personal timelines.

But what does clicking "like" on a fan page mean to a user? As Allen Tingley said to me on Twitter, "Just because I 'like' something does not mean I want your marketing [crap] all day long in my newsfeed. social != free ads." But for?other users, clicking "like" may mean they want to be reached by? their "like-ee" as often as possible.

The confusion stems not just from users' varying perception of what clicking "like" means, but also from changes Facebook has made (and continues to make) to the way the algorithm that surfaces content to a user's timeline works over the last year.?

Clicking "like" is only one of "ten portions that count as engagement," according to Facebook. (The only way to count "disengagement," as it were, is to click the button that hides posts on your timeline.)?

Writing a post on a wall, tagging a photo, commenting on a fan page????all of these things add up behind the scenes to inform Facebook of what it should and shouldn't post on your timeline. As Facebook learns more about you from watching your online behavior, it attempts to present to you the content it thinks you most want to see.

The more you engage with a brand, an organization, or a person on Facebook, the more likely it is you'll see their content in your timeline. (Unfortunately, that's about as much direct control as you have over your timeline; there's no "See Everything From So-And-So" switch.)

Unless, of course, an advertiser???anyone from a big brand to a small publisher like Metzger, or even one of your personal friends???pays Facebook to push content to your timeline. Like Google, Facebook is at heart an advertising company. Or at least it is now that it must begin to pay back its investors.

For a small publisher like Metzger, who spent years investing time and resources into building a Facebook community because of the traffic it sent to his website in return, Facebook's recent monetization of his work feels like deception. "The idea that Facebook's senior management wouldn't have anticipated something like this???a very negative reaction from their most engaged user base???happening just boggles the mind," Metzger told NBC News. To Metzger, those 50,000 people are friends ??or at least "friends"????while Facebook sees them as mutually shared customers.

Yet Facebook can't operate as a free service forever, at least not for everyone. Since it's not likely that individual users will pay for Facebook accounts, that leaves only advertisers. Even if, as in the case of Metzger and Dangerous Minds, the social network didn't think they were an advertiser, but instead another user.

It's a new twist on the old aphorism, "If you're not paying for the merchandise, you are the merchandise." This time around, Dangerous Minds is both the merchandise and the customer: The blog?built a community and provided content to Facebook; Facebook built a social network that provided traffic and tools to Dangerous Minds in return for free, until the community that Metzger built became valuable enough to sell to advertisers???including Metzger.

While Facebook is unlikely to roll back changes to its sharing?algorithm?to "full blast," the company has confirmed that users will now have a way to opt in to receiving full updates from companies, organizations or publications they "like" by clicking a "Get Notifications" toggle on the Like button itself. Of course, this demands followers to go to the company page and specifically adjust settings ? something most likely won't do.

Metzger sees it as an improvement, if only just. As he told NBC News, "Obviously, from just about every perspective I can think of, this is a?significant change for the better, but if [Facebook's algorithm] was the?opt-in feature to begin with, and not an opt-out thing,?then Facebook wouldn't have invited the [storm] of toxic public?opinion that greeted the roll-out of their promoted posts scheme." Metzger still considers the original implementation "amateur-hour vulture capitalism."

In other Facebook users,?Metzger may have struck a nerve, telling NBC News that his rant currently had been "liked" over 20,000 times within 24 hours of its posting ??on Facebook.

Joel Johnson is a tech & science reporter who lives in Brooklyn.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/responding-criticism-facebook-adds-way-you-really-really-something-1C6669506

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Watch These New Yorkers Celebrate in the Streets After Getting Power Back By Eric...

Watch These New Yorkers Celebrate in the Streets After Getting Power Back

By Eric Limer

Manhattan’s lower east side had the pleasure of finally getting its power back yesterday, after about a week of going without. As you can imagine, people were pretty stoked. This passerby caught some footage of the celebration. The whole scene is positively jubilant. Enjoy. [Reddit]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/m9TNPrNY3u8/34909233058

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10 Things to Know for Friday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about on Friday:

1. WHO'S THE REAL CANDIDATE OF CHANGE

Both Romney and Obama vie for the mantle as they make their closing arguments in an unpredictably close race for the White House.

2. THE ECONOMY BEGINS TO SHINE AGAIN

Several reports show a brightening view with cheaper gas, rising home prices and lower unemployment, giving consumers the confidence to spend more.

3. AS ROUTINE RETURNS TO NYC, IT'S JOINED BY FRUSTRATION

City residents grapple with traffic, bus lines and shortages, prompting one to exclaim "I'm tired of it, big-time."

4. A TRAGIC ENDING IN THE SEARCH FOR MISSING BOYS

Police find the bodies of the children, ages 2 and 4, who were separated from their frantic mother in Staten Island at the height of Superstorm Sandy by the rising water.

5. WHAT THE CIA SAYS REALLY HAPPENED IN BENGHAZI

Agency officers say they responded to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in less than 25 minutes and were never told to delay or stand down.

6. WHY PUTIN IS KEEPING A LOW PROFILE

Speculation abounds that the Russian president injured himself during a publicity stunt when he used a motorized hang-glider to fly with cranes, though his office denies it.

7. HOW THE REBELS ARE STRIKING BACK IN SYRIA

Assaults on military checkpoints in the north and other attacks result in the deaths of 78 regime soldiers

8. TWO CHILDREN STABBED TO DEATH IN GRUESOME SCENE

A suburban Chicago woman tells investigators she killed her 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old girl because she was angry that her husband, a trucker, was often away, prosecutors say.

9. NYC MARATHON: THE RACE MUST GO ON

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the Sunday run won't divert resources from storm victims as he defends the decision not to cancel the event.

10. BLAKE'S BIG NIGHT AT THE CMA's

Blake Shelton, "The Voice" star, wins entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-things-know-friday-103047600.html

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Blake Shelton pulls off surprise win at CMAs

Miranda Lambert, left, and Blake Shelton embrace onstage after winning the award for song of the year for "Over You" at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP)

Miranda Lambert, left, and Blake Shelton embrace onstage after winning the award for song of the year for "Over You" at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP)

Miranda Lambert, winner of the awards for song of the year for "Over You" and female vocalist of the year, left, and Blake Shelton, winner of the awards for male vocalist of the year, song of the year for "Over You" and entertainer of the year, pose backstage at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Jimi Westbrook, from left, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet, of Little Big Town, accept the award for vocal group of the year at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP)

Eric Church accepts the award for album of the year for "Chief" at the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP)

Jason Aldean performs during the opening of the 46th Annual Country Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Wayde Payne/Invision/AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Winning the Country Music Association Awards' entertainer of the year is a top honor and always counted as a career high point. But for Blake Shelton it wasn't even the most memorable moment of an amazing Thursday night.

"The Voice" star took home three trophies, including his third straight male vocalist victory, but nothing compared to sharing song of the year with wife Miranda Lambert. The pair wrote "Over You," about the death of Shelton's brother Richie in a car wreck 15 years ago. He said that trophy will always have a special place in their Oklahoma home.

"For me as a songwriter that is as personal as I can get," Shelton said. "So that songwriter award, song of the year award, it will have its own shelf. It will have spotlights on it and an alarm and everything. Trip wires and there will be a land mine if you walk towards it. It is a real big deal to Miranda and I."

Shelton's entertainer win was the biggest surprise of a night full of them. Even he couldn't believe he'd won the award in a field that included Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley.

"I didn't think about that tonight. I was thinking there's Taylor Swift right there," he said of the two-time entertainer of the year. "Really, this is pretty dumb that there's anyone else even nominated."

The reality, though, is Shelton capped one of the most impressive career reboots in country music history with the win. About three years ago, he was searching for a hit or a gimmick that might return him to the top of the charts, without much luck. He scored a novelty hit with Trace Adkins called "Hillbilly Bone," began a run of hits and then joined "The Voice" in a move that made him an instant celebrity outside the country world.

He hasn't sold as many records as Swift, whose "Red" just moved 1.2 million copies in its first week, or as many concert tickets as Chesney or Aldean. But his leading-man looks, wicked sense of humor, Twitter presence and mellow baritone have made him one of country's top stars.

While Shelton didn't give himself much of a shot, Lambert ? who also won her third straight female vocalist of the year award ? thought he fit the definition of entertainer of the year after doing a little research.

"I realized that it just meant not only touring numbers, not only ticket sales or how much production you have, but the way that you represent country music within a year," Lambert said. "The media that you do and the work that you do and the TV shows that you are on and how you represent yourself and how you speak out about country music. When you think about it that way, Blake Shelton deserved to win that trophy tonight."

Shelton's victory was just one of many surprises during the awards. Quartet Little Big Town joined Lambert with two wins apiece, taking home vocal group and single of the year for "Pontoon." And Thompson Square's Shawna and Keifer Thompson won vocal duo of the year, ending Sugarland's five-year run in that category.

"Y'all, this has been a 13-year journey," Karen Fairchild said as members of the group fist-pumped, jumped up and down and shouted on stage. "We're living proof that if you work really hard and chase your dream, all the good stuff happens and it follows you. Nashville, you made us your band. Thank you for letting us do this."

Like fellow outsiders LBT, Eric Church felt the love from the CMA's voters for the first time. He won the prestigious album of the year for his breakthrough record "Chief," signaling the North Carolina native's complete acceptance by the country music community.

"I spent a lot of my career wondering where I fit in ? too country, too rock," Church told the crowd. "I want to thank you guys for giving me somewhere to hang my hat tonight."

The awards went off-script early, and not just for Little Big Town. Thompson Square won in a category that's been locked up by either Sugarland or Brooks & Dunn 19 of the last 20 years.

"Ever since I was 5 years old, I used to practice in the kitchen with one of my Meemaw's Mason jars for this moment here," Shawna Thompson said.

Hunter Hayes won new artist of the year, while Chesney and Tim McGraw won musical event of the year for "Party Like a Rock Star" and Toby Keith won video of the year for "Red Solo Cup."

Church helped kick off the show by combining forces with Aldean and Luke Bryan. Playing with a large American flag behind them, the trio of performers teamed up on Aldean's new single "The Only Way I Know" from his new album "Night Train" and earned a standing ovation. Each returned later to play singles, showing how large a market share they now own in country music.

Most of country's top stars were on hand at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena for the celebration, with many slated to perform. Swift performed her somber new single "Begin Again" on a set with a picture of the Eiffel Tower and falling leaves in the background. She received an ovation of her own.

Shelton, McGraw and wife Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban joined together to salute lifetime achievement winner Willie Nelson, ending with a group sing-along of his iconic "On the Road Again."

Little Big Town performed their winner "Pontoon," a song that was something of a departure for Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet. Produced by Jay Joyce, the song has a sharper groove than LBT's previous efforts.

In a coincidence, Joyce also produced Church's "Chief." The hard edge he brought to both paid off all around.

Church said album of the year, arguably the CMA's second most prestigious award, was a win that fit right in with his and Joyce's philosophy.

"I still think in this day and time the only way to really get a fan base is you've got to give them more than one chapter of a book," Church said. "They've got to read the whole book."

___

AP writer Kristin M. Hall in Nashville contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://cmaworld.com

http://abc.go.com/shows/cma-awards

___

For the latest country music news from the Associated Press: http://twitter.com. Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott: http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-02-Music-CMA%20Awards/id-4b24dcbb253f42ca9e0629d8edee797b

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