Alachua County Today

UF astronomers contribute to NASA’s planet discoveries

  GAINESVILLE --- NASA announced today the discovery of 11 new “solar systems” hosting at least 26 planets found with data from NASA’s Kepler Mission.

 The discovery nearly doubles the number of verified Kepler planets so far. It also triples the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits – or passes in front of -- its host star. Such systems are particularly valuable for the clues they provide about how planets form.

 Eric B. Ford, associate professor of the astronomy department at the University of Florida, is part of the Kepler Mission science team. Ford's research group at UF, including graduate student Robert Morehead and postdoctoral associate Althea Moorhead, has contributed to several previous Kepler discoveries.  Ford is lead author of the paper describing Kepler-23 and Kepler-24, two of the 11 systems announced today.

 In this research, Ford and his team not only describe the two new planetary systems but also develop a new technique that, in Ford’s words “dramatically accelerates planet discovery and will enable astronomers to confirm planets transiting fainter and more distant stars.”

 The Kepler Mission uses a 1-meter space telescope to stare constantly at a patch of the Milky Way, registering the small decreases in the light from stars caused when a planet crosses in front of it. With this tool, astronomers are able to constantly monitor more than 160,000 stars at a time.

 Until now, confirming that small decreases in a star’s brightness was caused by a planet required additional observations and time-consuming analysis. The new technique takes advantage of the gravitational effects that different planets in a system have on each other’s orbits. By precisely timing the deviations from the expected orbital times caused by this effect, the team was able to detect the gravitational tug exerted by the planets on each other, and confirm 10 of the newly announced planetary systems.

 Five of the new planetary systems contain a pair of planets where the inner planet orbits the star twice during each orbit of the outer planet. Another five systems contain a pair of planets where the outer planet circles the star twice for every three times the inner planet orbits its star.

 “These configurations help to amplify the gravitational interactions between the planets, similar to how my sons kick their legs on a swing at the right time to go higher,” said  Jason Steffen, the Brinson Postdoctoral Fellow at Fermilab Center for Astroparticle Physics and lead author of a paper confirming four of the systems.

 The new planets orbit close to their host stars, their size ranging from 1.7 times the radius of Earth to about the size of Jupiter. Fifteen of them are smaller than Neptune and further observations will be required to determine which of them are rocky like Earth and which have thick gaseous atmospheres like Neptune. The confirmed planets orbit their host star once every 6 to 143 days, so all of them are closer to their host star than Venus is to the sun.

 The new discoveries will be published in the Astrophysical Journal and the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Searching for exoplanets using real Kepler data is open to everyone by visiting planethunters.org. For more information about the Kepler mission visit: http://www.nasa.gov/kepler.

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UF researchers develop gene therapy that could correct a common form of blindness

  GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new gene therapy method developed by University of Florida researchers has the potential to treat a common form of blindness that strikes both youngsters and adults. The technique works by replacing a malfunctioning gene in the eye with a normal working copy that supplies a protein necessary for light-sensitive cells in the eye to function. The findings are published today (Monday, Jan. 23) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online.

Several complex and costly steps remain before the gene therapy technique can be used in humans, but once at that stage, it has great potential to change lives.

“Imagine that you can’t see or can just barely see, and that could be changed to function at some levels so that you could read, navigate, maybe even drive — it would change your life considerably,” said study co-author William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., the Rybaczki-Bullard professor of ophthalmology in the UF College of Medicine and a professor and eminent scholar in department of molecular genetics and microbiology and the UF Genetics Institute. “Providing the gene that’s missing is one of the ultimate ways of treating disease and restoring significant visual function.”

The researchers tackled a condition called X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic defect that is passed from mothers to sons. Girls carry the trait, but do not have the kind of vision loss seen among boys. About 100,000 people in the U.S. have a form of retinitis pigmentosa, which is characterized by initial loss of peripheral vision and night vision, which eventually progresses to tunnel vision, then blindness. In some cases, loss of sight coincides with the appearance of dark-colored areas on the usually orange-colored retina.

The UF researchers previously had success pioneering the use of gene therapy in clinical trials to reverse a form of blindness known as Leber’s congenital amaurosis. About 5 percent of people who have retinitis pigmentosa have this form, which affects the eye’s inner lining.

“That was a great advance, which showed that gene therapy is safe and lasts for years in humans, but this new study has the potential for a bigger impact, because it is treating a form of the disease that affects many more people,” said John G. Flannery, Ph.D., a professor of neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley who is an expert in the design of viruses for delivering replacement genes. Flannery was not involved in the current study.

The X-linked form of retinitis pigmentosa addressed in the new study is the most common, and is caused by degeneration of light-sensitive cells in the eyes known as photoreceptor cells. It starts early in life, so though affected children are often born seeing, they gradually lose their vision.

“These children often go blind in the second decade of life, which is a very crucial period,” said co-author Alfred S. Lewin, Ph.D., a professor in the UF College of Medicine department of molecular genetics and microbiology and a member of the UF Genetics Institute. “This is a compelling reason to try to develop a therapy, because this disease hinders people’s ability to fully experience their world.”

Both Lewin and Hauswirth are members of UF’s Powell Gene Therapy Center.

The UF researchers and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania performed the technically challenging task of cloning a working copy of the affected gene into a virus that served as a delivery vehicle to transport it to the appropriate part of the eye. They also cloned a genetic “switch” that would turn on the gene once it was in place, so it could start producing a protein needed for the damaged eye cells to function.

After laboratory tests proved successful, the researchers expanded their NIH-funded studies and were able to cure animals in which X-linked retinitis pigmentosa occurs naturally. The injected genes made their way only to the spot where they were needed, and not to any other places in the body. The study gave a good approximation of how the gene therapy might work in humans.

“The results are encouraging and the rescue of the damaged photoreceptor cells is quite convincing,” said Flannery, who is on the scientific advisory board of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which provided some funding for the study. “Since this type of study is often the step before applying a treatment to human patients, showing that it works is critical.”

The researchers plan to repeat their studies on a larger scale over a longer term, and make a version of the virus that proves to be safe in humans. Once that is achieved, a pharmaceutical grade of the virus would have to be produced and tested before moving into clinical trials in humans. The researchers will be able to use much of the technology they have already developed and used successfully to restore vision.

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Gainesville weekly gas price update and outlook

  GAINESVILLE – Average retail gasoline prices in Gainesville have risen 1.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.48/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has increased 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.34/g, according to gasoline price website GainesvilleGasPrices.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Gainesville during the past week, prices yesterday were 31.4 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 17.2 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 11.8 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 25.3 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.

"We saw oil prices fall gently late last week as tensions with Iran seemingly have cooled somewhat," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan. "I'm certainly hopeful that the recent easing in tensions between Iran and the West continues in coming months, but there are certainly no guarantees and few expectations of such. Having said that, I expect gasoline prices to move very little in the next week, and in some areas of the U.S. gasoline prices may fall this week," DeHaan said.

GasBuddy operates GainesvilleGasPrices.com and over 250 similar websites that track gasoline prices at over 140,000 gasoline stations in the United States and Canada. In addition, GasBuddy offers a free smartphone app which has been downloaded over 20 million times to help motorists find gasoline prices in their area.

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Robert "Hutch" Hutchinson announces candidacy for Alachua County Commission

Robert Hutchinson is running for a seat on the Board of County Commissioners for Alachua County.  He is vying for the District 3 seat currently held by Commissioner Paula DeLaney who recently announced she is not seeking re-election.  Hutchinson is running as a Democrat, with a primary election currently scheduled for August 14, 2012 and the general election on November 6, 2012.

 Alachua County government is at a crossroads, with significant changes occurring to the County Commission due to three seats being up for election in 2012.  An interim County Manager was recently appointed, and the County Attorney and many long-time county employees are retiring soon.

 Robert Hutchinson served one term on the Alachua County Commission, from 1998-2002.  Other jobs have included Development Director for the Florida Museum of Natural History, Director of the Gainesville Downtown Redevelopment Agency, and Director of Alachua Conservation Trust, Inc. (a position he currently holds).  Hutchinson graduated from Gainesville High School in 1971 and from Emory University (B.A. Psychology) in 1974.   He is married to Meg Niederhofer, Gainesville’s recently retired City Arborist, and is 59 years old.

 Says Hutchinson, “Twelve years ago, issues at the forefront in Alachua County included growth management, environmental protection and land conservation, and finding ways to reduce jail over-crowding and improve courthouse safety.”  During my one term in office, the Alachua County Forever program was created with voter support, the Criminal Courthouse was completely funded with voter support, and Emergency 911 communications was consolidated between City and County – an efficiency that had eluded previous local officials for decades.”

 “Today, the issues I will focus on include how to fund transportation, particularly road maintenance; how to protect our water resources which are being polluted and given away; and how to innovate in business and technology while also finding ways to help those in need of mental health or substance abuse assistance, or who find themselves homeless for economic reasons. I intend to pick up where departing commissioners left off by immersing myself in local charitable and faith-based efforts to see how they can work more seamlessly with government programs.”

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