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Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said he decided to play in 2017 only after cleared by a neorologist. By Dave Birkett, DFP.

Haloti Ngata rushes Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson during the third quarter of the Lions' 26-6 loss in the playoffs in Seattle on Jan. 7, 2017.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier, DFP)

For the Detroit Lions to have a better defense this fall, they'll need to get more out of their pass rush.

And after watching the moves the Lions made this off-season, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said they're set up to dothat.

"I love the guys that we brought in," Ngata said. "Some of the rookies that we got, I love. Meeting those other two, (Akeem) Spence and Jordan (Hill), theyre great guys and love working with them so far. I think theyre going to help us a lot this year."

The Lions tied for 30th in the NFL with 26 sacks last season, their lowest total since their 2-14 season of 2009.

Top pass rusher Ziggy Ansah missed three games with a high ankle sprain and battled the injury much of the season, and the Lions struggled to consistently generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks in his absence.

Related:

Here are 5 Detroit Lions on the hot seat after the NFL draft

Kerry Hyder led the Lions with eight sacks last season, and no one else had more than 4.5.

"Definitely Ziggy being healthy is going to be huge because hes an awesome person at getting sacks," Ngata said. "Thats definitely going to help. I think some of the guys that we picked up with Cornelius Washington and some of the inside guys we brought in, explosive guys, thats definitely going to help."

Washington, who had two of his three career sacks last year with the Chicago Bears, has never been a dominant pass rusher but still should compete with Hyder for the starting left end job opposite Ansah.

Ngata and second-year pro A'Shawn Robinson are expected to start at defensive tackle, with Spence, Hill and Khyri Thornton as rotational backups.

The Lions spent the early part of the draft rebuilding their back seven anddid not take a pass rusher until Day 3 when they grabbed Arkansas defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter in the sixth round and Eastern Michigan defensive end Pat O'Connor in Round 7.

Both players will have to win roster spots in training camp.

"The things that weve kind of done this off-season with the draft and the guys weve picked up, Im excited," Ngata said. "Especially with all these young draft picks we got with linebacker and DBs, and its going to be a lot of fun to see how they can help us. Well see with some of the guys we picked up in the off-season on the defensive line, see what we can do and hopefully be a better defense this year."

Detroit Lions' Haloti Ngata good to go in '17 after brain checkup

Introducing Detroit Lions' 2017 NFL draft class

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@davebirkett.

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Haloti Ngata: New additions should bolster Detroit Lions' pass rush - Detroit Free Press

LSU continues to examine the possibility of having its athletic nutrition center included in the scheduled expansion to the football operations building.

The athletic department is aggressively exploring the idea, said Eddie Nunez, the schools deputy director of athletics overseeing projects. This is something athletic director Joe Alleva mentioned in February.

The nutrition center, an athlete-only, glorified dining hall, would be one of several additions to the operations facility during a facelift of the 12-year-old building that could begin as early as after this football season. The renovation to the building, reported on a year ago, is the second of a two-phase plan to spruce up a facility thats slipped, in some respects, behind some similar structures at other Southeastern Conference programs. The first phase, remodeling the weight room, was completed last summer.

The teams locker room, training room and second-floor coaches offices are scheduled to be expanded and renovated. Officials are studying whether a nutrition center can be added to the building, too.

The biggest concern for administrators is the logistics of relocating the coaches and players during renovations, Nunez said. Fundraising for the project is on-going.

The nutrition center has been a talked-about project for more than two years. It's had three potential locations.

The LSU athletic department, in an email sent to its 350-plus athletes, communicated its re

Construction on a standalone, 22,500-square foot center on Skip Bertman Drive was scheduled to begin last April. Those plans were scrapped last summer amid proposed state budget cuts.

Officials then planned to house the center in a vacant floor of the south end zone addition to Tiger Stadium. That is still a possibility, Nunez said. LSU has raised at least $12 million for the project, the original cost of the standalone structure.

LSU set for new concession partnership

LSU is beginning a partnership with a new company to operate its athletic concessions.

The school is entering into a 10-year contract with Aramark Sports, according to the agenda for the upcoming meeting of the LSU Board of Supervisors. The deal must be approved Friday by supervisors.

Compass has operated LSUs concessions since 2002. The school is not extending its contract with the company. It ends June 30.

Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company, agrees to pay LSU a minimum commission guarantee of $2.4 million per year. The commission guarantee will only be paid to LSU in years that the percentage of gross receipts from all concession sales paid to the athletics department does not exceed $2.4 million.

The company will also make a $1.6 million investment for improvements to the food service facilities and concessions presumably part of LSUs plan to renovate bathrooms and concessions in Tiger Stadium. Aramark will also provide $1.5 million as a commission advance for the upcoming year.

The Tiger Athletic Foundation is reviving its Tiger Tour, and football coach Ed Orgeron is s

Track to be resurfaced

LSU plans to resurface the track at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium with approval of the LSU Board of Supervisors, according to the agenda.

The cost of the new track will be no more than $1.4 million, the agenda says. Mondo, the manufacturer of the current track installed in 2010, is removing and resurfacing the track at a heavy discount, according to the board agenda. The discount has been offered in light of problems that have arisen with the current surface.

The Tiger Athletic Foundation will fund the project. LSU has agreed to drop any claims against Mondo involving the current track issues.

Follow Ross Dellenger on Twitter, @RossDellenger.

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LSU continues 'aggressive' exploration of nutrition center in football operations building - The Advocate

John Appleyard, Special to the News Journal 8:06 a.m. CT May 7, 2017

The 1950 graduating class of the School of Nursing poses for a photo in front of the old 12th Avenue location of Sacred Heart Hospital. About 750 nurses were trained by the school until 1967.(Photo: Special to the News Journal)

Despite its strong economy of the early 20th century, Pensacola fell well behind similar communities in facilities for delivering health care.A series of small, proprietary institutions had come and gone. In 1914, the survivor of such small facilities had been the Pensacola Infirmary, with just over 20 patient accommodations and minimal equipment.

Community leaders, led by Father John Kennedy, physicians Clarence Hutchinson and Sidney Kennedy, Chamber of Commerce officers and city commissioners led by Adolph Greenhut, agreed that a city of almost 25,000 deserved much better.Working together these proponents developed a series of incentives, then approached the Daughters of Charity inEmmitsburg, Maryland, for assistance.The Daughtersalready were owners and operators of several large, successful centers of care.

More:Appleyard: Spanish influence still part of City of Five Flags

As potential, the community proposed to provide a square block of property on 12th Avenue, $10,000 towardconstruction fundingand assurance that all of the countys more than 25qualifying physicians would give full admissions support.The Daughters accepted the proposal.Architect A.O. Von Herbulis became designer, and so work on the $400,000 hospital began.

The building was designed with a late Gothic Revival styling, to be faced with Indiana Limestone.The facility was erected with two four story wings, and with generous installation of windows throughout for lighting and ventilation.Arrangements for patient accommodations followed those in general practice of the times, with allowances for wards of several sizes, and a few private and some semi-private rooms.Provision was made for modern radiology and laboratory services,and the surgical suites were state-of-the-art.

More:Appleyard: Grand Hotel has a piece of Pensacola history

The experience enjoyed by the Daughters from other locations guided planning for dietary programsand for maternity and child care.All appropriate phases of the community assisted in speeding construction. Following an open house, the first patients were admitted Sept. 1, 1915, with Daughters present for administration and patient care.

The hospital first called Pensacola, later Sacred Heartmoved quickly to begin nurse training.This was expanded in later war years, then was terminated in 1969.

The handsome building was a much used, much appreciated addition to the community.Facilities and staff served well during World War I and in the 1918 Spanish influenza epidemic.

More:Appleyard: Assisting the homeless woven into Pensacola's history

For 30years this was the communitys onlyhospital, thus through depression and the second World War, Sacred Heart was caregiver to many thousands. However, through those times funds were seldom available for expensive equipment additions or modernizations.One by one new health care suppliers opened.To meet competitionand to relocate to serve an expanding population, the Daughters chose to begin anew.Their North Ninth Avenue campus saw ground breaking in 1963.Soon thereafter the 12th Avenue building was vacated.

From 1969 through 1978, the building became the site of a private academy.In 1980, the structure was acquired for private uses, and in years that followed private offices, restaurants, other private schools and even a theater, with required modernizations.

Into the 21st century older citizens, passing by the 1010 N. 12th Ave. structure, remarked that "they remembered fine things done there and that the building, built with the strength of a fort, would probably remain present and in use for many more decades."

John Appleyard(Photo: News Journal file photo)

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Appleyard: Pensacola health care a century in the making - Pensacola News Journal

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Whats On Report - Commercial and residential construction ...

GRAND RAPIDS Kent County received three wide-ranging bids earlier this week for its 104,000-square-foot downtown office building at 82 Ionia Ave. NW.

Jenison-based nonprofit affordable housing developer West Michigan Housing Alliance came in as the high bidder at $10 million, while Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction Company Inc. offered a little over $7 million. Naperville, Ill.- and Grand Rapids-based Franklin Partners LLC offered $3.4 million.

Only one of the development groups opted to share specific details of their plans for the building.

Jeffrey Dombrowski, principal with West Michigan Housing Alliance, said his group would redevelop the building into around 110 workforce housing units, targeting residents earning between 60 percent and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). The plans also include ground-floor commercial space.

We love the building and the site, Dombrowski said. The county has done a wonderful job maintaining the structure.

Dombrowski added that converting the building from an aging municipal office facility into housing would require a significant investment, but is very doable.

The other development groups were more hesitant to share details regarding potential uses of the building.

Rockford Construction executives say theyre still evaluating several potential options for the building. A Franklin Partners executive declined to comment forthis report.

Kent County officials say theyll assess the bids based on multiple factors including, but not limited to financial considerations, terms and conditions, and timing issues, according to Communications Director Lisa LaPlante. The county wants to ensure a smooth transition for its staff currently working in the building and for the buyer, she said.

Some of the bidders mentioned being open to possible sale leaseback deals involving the county.

The county has no specific timeline for announcing the successful bidder, LaPlante added.

Kent County began seeking proposals nearly two years ago after a study conducted by architecture firm Progressive AE found the local government was under-using the building and that the four departments housed at 82 Ionia could easily be absorbed in other county-owned facilities.

Last July, Kendall College of Art and Design backed out of a $10 million bid to acquire the building, stating that the facility would not allow for the kinds of renovations needed to make it feasible for student housing, as MiBiz reported at the time.

Franklin Partners and Airmont, N.Y.-based The Embassy Group Acquisitions LLC bid on the building at that time as well, offering $6.8 million and $6.5 million, respectively.

Regardless of which bidder is ultimately successful, a redevelopment of the 82 Ionia building would add to the rush of activity in the area and for all of the bidding parties.

A subsidiary of the West Michigan Housing Alliance currently has the nearby Keeler Building at 56 North Division Ave. under option with plans of developing affordable housing and ground-floor retail on the site. Franklin Partners previously had the building under option but decided against moving forward with a project, as MiBiz previously reported.

Dombrowski from West Michigan Housing Alliance told MiBiz on Friday afternoon that having the two buildings in such close proximity would allow for significant efficiencies in terms of property management and other services.

For its part, Franklin Partners is currently in talks to build an office tower on a surface parking lot south of Van Andel Arena as part of a mixed-use entertainment district.

Meanwhile, Rockford Construction redeveloped the Morton House building across the street from 82 Ionia. The Morton is now market-rate apartments with retail and office space. The construction and development firm recently began demolition of several buildings along Bridge Street west of downtown Grand Rapids as part of a large-scale mixed-use development set to bring apartments, office and retail to the area.

Rockford Construction was also one of five development groups to respond to a request for qualifications from the city of Grand Rapids as part of a process to redevelop a publicly-owned 15-acre site along the Grand River on the south end of downtown.

Link:
3 developers bid on Kent County-owned downtown Grand Rapids office building - MiBiz

Eastland Independent School District Superintendent Jason Cochran has been working with the community to make sure his latest construction proposal fares better than his last.

The district is one of three in the Big Country, along with Dublin and Paint Creek ISDs, proposing bond projects to residents on their ballots Saturday.

He's asking for $8.2 million to considerably increase access to the district's high school that is beyond the conventional definition of "needed."

"Our high school was built in 1929," Cochran said. "It's a three-story high school without an elevator or restrooms on the second or third floor. We're proposing a renovation of the building and an addition that adds an elevator, restrooms,two science labs and three new collaborative learning areas."

Cochran said the community was consulted for months in designing these improvements after the district's failed bond proposalfor $26.5million last May, including the construction of a new high school.

The new additions, if approved, would add 19 cents per $100 assessed valuation to taxpayers, Cochran said.

Meanwhile, voters in Dublin ISD are being asked by administrators and the school board to support a $10.8 million bond.

Superintendent Rodney Schneider said the primary purpose of the bond is to provide safety and security upgrades, including new security cameras across the district's buildings and a new entry vestibule at the elementary school.

Other aspects of the proposal include band hall renovations and building a new football field, track and tennis courts at the high school, Schneider said.

Paint Creek residents in Haskell County are, themselves, being asked to consider a $3.6 million bond Saturday.

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Big Country school districts asking voters for money - ReporterNews.com

Is it possible to become homesick for a place thats not your home?

Juninho thinks so.

A year ago, the Brazilian midfielder left the Galaxy for Tijuana in Mexicos Liga MX, a move that marked a step up in class, a doubling of his salary and a chance to grow as a player.

There was just one problem: He never got to play.

So after starting nine games in two seasons with the Xolos, Juninho asked for a transfer back to MLS, where he was snapped up by the Chicago Fire with the No. 2 pick in last Decembers allocation draft.

And 18 months after playing his last MLS game in the StubHub Center, Juninho returned with the Fire on Saturday.

It was my decision to go, Juninho said last week. It was my decision to be back again.

Both decisions, he said, where good ones.

I was not unhappy there, he said of Mexico. It was my choice to go to a league where I could learn a lot more.

The biggest lesson, though, was that he missed MLS.

Im very happy to be where I know everything. And where I speak the language, he said by phone from Chicago. So I feel much better than I did in Tijuana.

Juninho, 28, learned English during six seasons with the Galaxy, where he averaged 30 starts a year and grew from a wide-eyed 21-year-old rookie into a key figure and fan favorite on a team that won three MLS championships.

Success has a price, though and Juninhos left him in a line for a raise from the $350,000 he earned in 2015, making his contract difficult to fit under the MLS salary cap. He was also feeling underappreciated, with the additions of Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos overshadowing his contributions.

Juninho wants to be recognized, that's for sure," his agent, Ricardo Silveira said at the time.

The greener grass on the other side of the border turned out to mostly weeds, though, so a year after leaving the U.S., Juninho asked Tijuana to send him back.

But if the decision to come home was his, where he landed was out of his control.

The Galaxy, looking to bolster their midfield last winter, would have been his first choice. But because the team sold him to Tijuana, Juninho had to go through the allocation progress to return and the Galaxy would have had to trade up to get him.

To be honest, I would have liked to go where I felt comfortable. I know everything in L.A., he said. It could have been a good move.

Chicago proved more aggressive, though, sending allocation money, a second-round pick in the SuperDraft and the No. 3 spot in the allocation ranking order to Minnesota in exchange for the rights to Juninho last December.

A month later the Galaxy signed Portugals Joao Pedro as their holding midfielder.

Houston and Columbus really wanted him as well. So there was no way he was going to go down to L.A., said Silveira, adding that his clients $700,000 base salary marks a pay cut from what he got in Tijuana.

He said OK, I will make less money. But I want to be back in MLS.

Then three games into his MLS encore, Juninho found himself overshadowed once again, this time by German World Cup star Bastian Schweinsteiger, who joined the Fire last month.

However Schweinsteiger has smartly gone out of his way to tout Juninhos contributions.

It helps a lot, he said to have players like Juninho.

Who says you cant go home again?

So far, so good, Juninho said of his move to Chicago. Im getting used to it.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com

Twitter: kbaxter11

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Juninho's homecoming started long before his return to StubHub Center - Los Angeles Times

VOL. 10 | NO. 19 | Saturday, May 06, 2017

Its the end of an era with the final demolition of Raleigh Springs Mall underway, and city and community leaders hope its the beginning of a brighter future with the much-anticipated Raleigh Springs Town Center set to rise in its place.

After years of legal wrangling and delays, the project is right on track, said Memphis City Council member Bill Morrison, who grew up in Raleigh in the malls heyday.

Weve had a tough time getting to this point, Morrison said. Its nice to be to a point where weve had smooth going on the project.

Memphis City Councilman Bill Morrison is helping lead the effort to overhaul the former Raleigh Springs Mall into the Raleigh Springs Town Center.

(Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)

And Morrison cannot hide his excitement about what the town center might mean for the future of the city.

The design process started with the people who ran the library and we were very diligent, said Morrison. Weve spent years getting public input, so we didnt want to change anything unless budgeting required it. Were right where we need to be. On track and on budget.

The $23.4 million project design was approved in late 2013, and the budget was approved a year later. Demolition of the 1970s-era mall is underway; a request for proposals, or RFP, for new construction is set to be issued in June, with construction to begin in August and a projected completion date of September 2018.

Mike Carol, former president of the Raleigh Community Council and the owner of longtime Raleigh business Mikes Autoplex, is skeptical but hopeful.

Carol points to the site of the demolished Montesis grocery store at Austin Peay Highway and Yale Road as his reason for doubting the new town center will ever be completed. In recent years, city leaders had said they would redevelop the property as the Memphis Police Departments traffic precinct. Those plans shifted, and the precinct is now one of the elements slated to go in the Raleigh Springs Town Center.

Two things can happen, Carol said. Either nothing will happen or well put so much pressure on (the city) that they follow through.

Morrison acknowledges the change in plans but says the new project is better-designed. In addition to the traffic precinct, the Old Allen police station MPDs oldest is slated to move into the town center. The close proximity of the two stations will cut down on the duplication of services and will save taxpayers money, Morrison says.

The development, which was designed by another son of Raleigh, Tom Marshall of O.T. Marshall Architects, will also include a state-of-the-art library with a tech center specifically for 13- to 18- year-olds and a second-story rooftop observation area overlooking an adjacent lake.

The 11-acre lake will include a fountain and be surrounded by a one-mile walking trail.

People have always used that mall for walking, so we wanted to incorporate that into the design, Morrison said.

The lake will also serve as flood control to protect the nearby residential homes.

The design will also incorporate a large skate park designed by a California firm as well as ample parking flanking the development.

When you talk about what a community needs to address to thrive traffic, crime and public services we think weve covered all the needs with this project, said Morrison, who also hopes the proximity of the library and recreation areas to the police station will encourage members of the community to build relationships with police while also encouraging unity and civic pride.

Commercial and residential development is another long-term goal of building the town center. Morrison sees it as a natural draw and a plus for families and businesses looking for a place to call home.

We are hoping and expecting the development of the Raleigh Springs Town Center will bring more jobs and interest to the Raleigh area, said Faye Morrison, current president of the Raleigh Community Council and Bill Morrisons mother. Were hoping it will bring new faces, new blood and new jobs into the life of the community.

Austin Peay Highway, the main commercial corridor of the Raleigh community, has already seen commercial redevelopment in recent years. New additions over the past 16 months include longtime Memphis restaurant supply company Lit Junior as well as a variety of national chains, including dds Discounts, Smoothie King, Conns HomePlus and Gen X Clothing.

Its just popping up, Morrison said. We still have our needs, and one of our biggest desires is to see a restaurant come back to Austin Peay. I think that would add to the families who are coming here.

He said Raleigh has a lot going for it, but we just dont sell it very well.

Its one of the more stable communities in the city in terms of homeownership and income, he added, and I hope this brings even more redevelopment and retail to Austin Peay.

More:
Raleigh Springs Town Center 'On Track and On Budget' as Mall is Razed - Memphis Daily News

Scientists led by Salk Institute researchers say they have introduced stable changes into human stem cells that control how their genes are activated or suppressed.

This first-time accomplishment in the field known as epigenetics or epigenomics will help research into diseases caused by improper activation or silencing of genes, the scientists say in a study published Thursday in Science.

Stem cell researcher Juan Carlos Izpisa Belmonte was the senior author. Yuta Takahashi, also of the Salk Institute, was the first author. The study can be found at: j.mp/cpgstem.

Epigenetics concerns chemical additions or subtractions to DNA that dont change the underlying genetic sequence. It has been called the second genetic code, because of its profound effect on how genes function.

This is a major way of having homeostasis and control and interaction with the environment, Izpisa Belmonte said. I would say its as important as the genome.

Malfunctions in the epigenetic code have been linked to cancer, Angelman syndrome and a related condition called Prader-Willi syndrome, among other diseases. In the study, epigenetic changes associated with colon cancer were reproduced, as was an epigenetic defect that causes one form of Angelman syndrome. (The syndrome is also caused by a genetic mutation or deletion).

The new study extends the Izpisa Belmonte labs recent development of a new technology to modify genes in non-dividing cells, which make up many of the cells in the human body. By introducing changes in pluripotent stem cells, researchers can also alter the epigenetic profile expressed in them and the adult cells derived from them.

Research is now in progress to test epigenetic modifications on whole animals, Izpisa Belmonte said.

Studying epigenetic alterations has been difficult because unlike genetic changes, epigenetic changes cant be stably introduced into cells.

The Salk Institute-led study demonstrated how to do this, creating stem cells that reliably pass along their modified epigenomes to descendant cells, and to mature cells produced from them.

They used a widely occurring epigenetic process called methylation, which involves adding or subtracting a methyl group. Adding a methyl group suppresses the gene.

This technology lays the underpinnings for more complete studies of how epigenetics factors into diseases, and how to treat them, Izpisa Belmonte said.

Complicated, but cool

Stem cell researcher Jeanne Loring described the studys technology as very complicated, but cool.

While we know the whole DNA sequence, we dont know very much at all about how the activity of the genome is regulated - what genes are active where, and when, Loring wrote in an email.

One of the most mysterious of these regulators is DNA methylation. A lot of the genome is kept silent by a chemical modification that puts a methyl group on one of the four bases, cytosine - and we have almost no idea about how this happens.

Belmontes group has found a way to modify what parts of the genome are methylated. This is important because some diseases, including some cancers, are clearly caused by abnormal methylation of DNA. This technology will be a great tool for figuring out how genes are regulated, which will give us an opening to understanding and treating human diseases, Loring wrote.

Producing the stable changes required inventing a method to induce methylation into important areas of DNA called CpG islands that normally resist methylation. The scientists introduced CpG-free DNA into these islands, causing the entire CpG sequence to become methylated.

The methylation persisted even after the introduced DNA was removed. And the change was stably transmitted to daughter pluripotent cells, and to adult cells produced from them.

Catching up

First author Yuta Takahashi said his team performed the research to help epigenomic research catch up to genomic research.

Previously, people have tried to modify the epigenome by adding methylation, but that is not stable, Takahashi said. Theyre not stable after differentiation of the stem cells, theyre not stable even after passaging for a few times.

In our case the modifications are quite stable. We show that even after 30 passages in culture, these marks are still there. And in the disease called Angelman syndrome, the modifications are stable after differentiating into neurons.

Also important is that the modifications were produced across a wide expanse of the CpG islands, Izpisa Belmonte said. Thats because epigenetic diseases can affect broad stretches of these islands.

Some existing drugs affect epigenetic markers, but they lack precision, Takahashi said. Drugs developed with the methylation technology employed in this study would presumably be free of side effects.

Further down the road, the ability to precisely change epigenetic markers could be useful in studying embryonic development, said Jun Wu, another co-author at the Salk Institute.

While the genome of an organism is determined when egg and sperm to form a zygote, certain genes inherited from the mother are inactivated, as well as certain genes from the father. Aberrations in this process, called imprinting can produce diseases such as Angelman and Prader-Willi syndrome, which affect genes carried on the same stretch of DNA.

Prader-Willi syndrome is caused by inactivated paternal genetic activity, or the presence of two copies of the maternal genes. In Angelman syndrome, the paternal genes are inactivated, or there are two maternal genes. A partial imprinting defect has been linked to an exceptionally mild case of Angelman syndrome.

In addition, epigenetic patterns change with development and in the aging process, Wu said.

Building live animals models with altered methylation patterns can shed light on how these processes go awry in human diseases, he said.

Other authors included Keiichiro Suzuki, Paloma Martinez Redondo, Mo Li, Hsin-Kai Liao, Min-Zu Wu, Reyna Hernndez-Bentez, Tomoaki Hishida, Maxim Nikolaievich Shokhirev, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban and Ignacio Sancho-Martinez of the Salk Institute.

The work was funded by the NIH-National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Chapman Foundation, and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, UCAM and the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

UPDATES:

12:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

It was originally published at 11 a.m.

Link:
'Second genetic code' edited in stem cells to study disease-causing ... - The San Diego Union-Tribune

LEXINGTON, Ky. The outlook for Kentucky basketball next season just improved dramatically, as the Wildcats landed a surprise commitment Saturday from 5-star small forward Kevin Knox. Virtually no one expected him to pick UK over fellow finalists Duke, North Carolina and Florida State.

Im shocked, said Evan Daniels, Scout.coms director of recruiting. I feel like I usually have a pretty good feel even if I dont know exactly where theyre going, I can usually narrow it down to a school or two. But he left a lot of people guessing, and I didnt see this coming. I didnt think Kentucky was in the top 2even.

But the 6-foot-8 McDonalds All-American, a consensus top-10 overall prospect nationally, delivered the stunner via Twitter, then explained his decision in an as-told-to story in RMF Magazine with writer Jesse Nadelman. Knox laid out how he wouldve loved to play for Leonard Hamilton at Florida State where his father was a wide receiver in the 1990s or to add to the rich tradition that Duke University holds on and off the court.

RELATED: UK signees BBN cookies for Knox worked!

He wrote that it wouldve been a thrill to play for Roy Williams and chase back-to-back national championships at North Carolina or even attend Missouri, despite three straight losing seasons, because No. 1 overall recruit Michael Porter is heading there next season.

But ultimately, Knox chose Kentucky and the goal of bringing a national championship to the city of Lexington, he said, ending on: See you soon, Big Blue Nation. Score another one for master recruiter John Calipari and his ace assistant, Kenny Payne.

A lot of credit to those guys, Daniels said, because this is one of the more surprising commitments of 2017. When Kenny gets his claws in and builds a relationship with a kid and his family, hes tough to beat.

RELATED: 5-star Bamba could be a monster, final piece for UK

The Wildcats already had the nations No. 1-ranked class for 2017 before Knoxs decision and now have eight top-100 prospects, six 5-stars and five McDonalds All-Americans although the status of Hamidou Diallo, who enrolled in January but sat out the second half of the season, is up in the air.

Diallo declared for the2017 NBA Draft but didnt hire an agent; he will participate in the NBA combine next week before deciding whether to return to UK. Regardless of that decision, preseason hype for the Wildcats will be enormous again, especially if 5-star big man Mohamed Bamba finishes off this recruiting class with an exclamation point.

If they get Bamba, too, and Diallo comes back, youre looking at a preseason top-3 team a team that can win it all, said Daniels, who explained what Kentucky is getting in Knox: a versatile forward, a guy who can play the three or the four. He sees himself as a straight wing, but he can play inside for them as well. Hes really versatile, really athletic, has really improved his outside shooting and can guard multiple positions. He is one of thereally elite players in the Class of 2017.

RELATED:No. 1 recruit for 2018, Marvin Bagley, impressed by Kentucky

And Kentucky is still considered the favorite to land Bamba, a 7-foot McDonalds All-American ranked as high as No. 2 overall in the class. Duke and Texas are the other contenders for Bamba.

In Scout.coms rankings, the Cats already have No. 9 Knox, No. 10 Diallo, No. 11 Jarred Vanderbilt, No. 14 P.J. Washington, No. 16 Nick Richards, No. 22 Quade Green, No. 39 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and No. 85 Jemarl Baker. UK figures to be loaded with forwards next season, as sophomores Wenyen Gabriel (6-foot-9), Sacha Killeya-Jones (6-10) and Tai Wynyard (6-10) are back, plus the additions of 6-7 Vanderbilt, 6-8 Washington and 6-8 Knox.

The reason Im so surprised by Knoxs decision is they already had guys in Vanderbilt and Washington that are similar in position, Daniels said. I just didnt see those three dudes all going to the same place. I guess I shouldve learned my lesson after Eric Bledsoe and John Wall both went to Kentucky.

Thestunner Saturday was a reminder about recruiting: Never count out Calipari and the Cats.

Originally posted here:
5-star SF Kevin Knox's commitment to Kentucky a stunner - SECcountry.com