Tuesday, August 10, 2010

“PROT, GNBT, ELN , PETS Stock Update - PennyToBuck.com - PR Inside” plus 3 more

“PROT, GNBT, ELN , PETS Stock Update - PennyToBuck.com - PR Inside” plus 3 more

PROT, GNBT, ELN , PETS Stock Update - PennyToBuck.com - PR Inside

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 08:56 PM PDT

2010-08-10 05:57:10 - Elan Corporation, plc announced continued progress on their ongoing efforts to maximize financial performance and strength, and to position its business for continued growth.

PROTEONOMIX, INC. (OTC:PROT), a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics based upon the use of human cells and their derivatives, announced that it has formed a new subsidiary called X Gen Medical LLC, a Nevis Virgin Island entity. X Gen Medical has been established with the intention of conducting business in the global medical marketplace. Proteonomix plans on utilizing X

Gen Medical to serve as a platform for joint ventures with medical facilities worldwide. It is anticipated that new relationships formed with X Gen Medical will create medical facilities capable of not just attracting treatments locally, but also acting as hubs for medical tourism. Medical tourism is constantly on the rise and anticipated to continue to grow substantially due to current high costs of health care for certain procedures and improvements in both technology and standards of care in many countries.

Generex Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq:GNBT) (www.generex.com) announced that it has named Craig Eagle, M.D. to its scientific advisory board. Dr. Eagle brings a wealth of oncology experience to help the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, Inc. (www.antigenexpress.com), dba "Generex Oncology", further its synthetic cancer and influenza vaccine development efforts. Dr. Eagle currently serves as Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships for the Oncology business unit at Pfizer Inc.

Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE:ELN) announced continued progress on their ongoing efforts to maximize financial performance and strength, and to position its business for continued growth. Kelly Martin, CEO of ELN, said: "The financial plans and strategic initiatives that we are announcing, combined with the news on the development of ELND005 that we announced separately today, underscore our unwavering commitment to building value for shareholders and developing our robust pipeline focused on neurodegenerative diseases. We continue to carefully manage both our balance sheet and cost structure to ensure that we remain financially strong."

PetMed Express, Inc. (Nasdaq:PETS) announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share on its common stock, compared to the $0.10 per share dividend that has been paid in prior quarters. The dividend will be payable on August 27, 2010, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 13, 2010. The Company intends to continue to pay regular quarterly dividends; however the declaration and payment of future dividends is discretionary and will be subject to a determination by the Board of Directors each quarter following its review of the Company's financial performance.

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Pets vital to human evolution - msnbc.com

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 07:12 AM PDT

Dogs, cats, cows and other domesticated animals played a key role in human evolution, according to a theory being published by paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman of Penn State University.

The uniquely human habit of taking in and employing animals — even competitors like wolves —spurred on human tool-making and language, which have both driven humanity's success, Shipman says.

"Wherever you go in the world, whatever ecosystem, whatever culture, people live with animals," Shipman told Discovery News.

For early humans, taking in and caring for animals would seem like a poor strategy for survival. "On the face of it, you are wasting your resources. So this is a very weird behavior," Shipman said.

But it's not so weird in the context something else humans were doing about 2.6 million years ago: switching from a mostly vegetarian diet to one rich in meat. This happened because humans invented stone hunting tools that enabled them to compete with other top predators. Quite a rapid and bizarre switch for any animal, Shipman said.

"We shortcut the evolutionary process," said Shipman, who published her ideas in the latest issue of Current Anthropology and in an upcoming book. "We don't have the equipment to be carnivores."

So we invented the equipment, learned how to track and kill, and eventually took in animals who also knew how to hunt — like wolves and other canines. Others, like goats, cows and horses, provided milk, hair and, finally, hides and meat.

Managing all of these animals — or just tracking them — requires technology, knowledge and ways to preserves and convey information. So languages had to develop and evolve to meet the challenges.

Tracking game has even been argued to be the origin of scientific inquiry, said Peter Richerson, professor emeritus in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis.

One of the signs that this happened is in petroglyphs and other rock art left by ancient peoples. At first they were abstract, geometric patterns that are impossible to decipher. Then they converge on one subject: animals.

"Think what isn't there: people, landscapes, fruit and edible plants," said Shipman. This implies that animals and information about animals was of great importance.

There have also been genetic changes in both humans and our animals, Shipman argues.

For the animals those changes developed because human bred them for specific traits, like a cow that gives more milk or a hen that lays more eggs.

But this evolutionary influence works both ways. Dogs, for instance, might have have been selectively taken in by humans who shared genes for more compassion. Those humans then prospered —a.k.a. reproduced — with the dogs' help in hunting and securing their homes.

All this and more Shipman breaks down and addresses in view of the archeological evidence.

"The overall message is highly plausible," Richerson said.

© 2010 Discovery Channel

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Pets of the week for Aug. 10 - Duluth News Tribune

Posted: 10 Aug 2010 07:26 AM PDT

JOSIE is a female dog available for adoption through Animal Allies Humane Society. She arrived at the shelter as a stray and staff members are surprised she wasn't claimed. She seems to be very smart, is definitely playful and loves to be with people.

An adoption fee and application process is required for all adoptions. Call (218) 722-2110 or visit www.animalallies.net for more information.

LORETTA LYNN is a 9-year-old female Newfoundland/border collie mix available for adoption through Animal Rescue Federation in Superior. She is a very loving girl and likes to be the center of attention. She seems to do well with most other dogs, cats and children.

An adoption fee is required for all adoptions. Call (715) 394-PETS (7387) or go to www.animalrescuefederation.com.

To adopt a cat or dog elsewhere in the Northland, call:

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Pet health care takes bigger bite High-tech treatments boost spending on furry family ... - Omaha World-Herald

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 06:01 AM PDT

See Spot run.

Run, Spot, run.

See Spot run up a $2,000 bill for high-tech cancer treatment, causing Dick and Jane to freak out and think maybe they shouldn't be spending that kind of money on a dog in a down economy. Though he really is a good ol' dog and has been like a member of the family for years, always great with the kids — ohmigosh, what will they say?

The growth of sophisticated veterinary techniques — along with many pets' rise to the status of family members — is leading to an animal health care quandary. It isn't as dramatic as the human version still playing out in Washington, but it has parallels:

Ÿ Costs are up. Despite the recession, Americans spent $12 billion on veterinary care last year, up 8 percent over the previous year, according to the American Pet Products Association, a trade group. It expects the figure to hit $12.8 billion in 2010.

ŸA big reason spending is higher is the technology now available. CT scans. Root canals. Digital endoscopy. More options mean more ethical dilemmas: Try the expensive, experimental treatment? Or choose a cheaper, less stressful approach and enjoy the days Spot has left? How do you gauge quality of life when the patient can't talk? What role should euthanasia play?

ŸEconomic pressure is complicating decisions. For instance, the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha reports more people surrendering pets because they can't afford medical care for them.

ŸHealth insurance for pets is gradually becoming more popular as high-tech, high-dollar treatments for the furry set raise the classic question: Get coverage or try to pay medical bills out of pocket?

Former Omaha TV meteorologist Dean Wysocki, 42, can relate.

In May, he said, Gracey, the Labrador-greyhound he calls "my kid," who had gone from joyously scrambling up trees in pursuit of squirrels to a stumbling walk, received a tough diagnosis: probable brain tumor.

The doc said confirmation would require an MRI, a procedure no longer rare in pet medicine, and referred Wysocki to specialists at Kansas State University, one of the top veterinary schools in the country.

Some $1,800 later, Gracey's tumor was confirmed, and Wysocki was referred to surgeons at the University of Minnesota. They told him that an operation was possible, that it might buy 10-year-old Gracey one or two more years but would require trips to Minneapolis for post-surgical chemotherapy. The tab: between $3,000 and $5,000.

That made him gulp.

"I said, oh my God, what do I do? Take out a loan?" And what about Gracey? he thought. The travel and the treatments would be hard on her at age 10 — canine senior citizenhood — and for what?

Agonizing over the decision, he returned to Gracey's primary vet, Dr. Kimberly Weber of Lincoln. What would you do? he asked.

After discussing the dog's age and the stress of surgery, they decided to try steroids instead, which wouldn't combat the tumor but could reduce brain swelling. Weber said it might buy Gracey another six to eight months. Cost: about $13 a month.

Now the dog "is back to her old self," Wysocki said. She's bounding and happy, no longer tripping and "wobbling like a drunken sailor." The two are relishing whatever time together they have left.

"I really think it's going to be longer" than six months, he said. "She's a fighter."

In the end, he said, the treatment choice was clear. "Quality of life was the absolute, deciding factor."

That concern illustrates the underlying change in the way people think about America's 94 million cats and 78 million dogs, said Dr. Louise Murray, a veterinarian with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"Pets have become members of our family sometime in the last decades," she said. The feeling may vary — perhaps stronger in cities than where animals traditionally had to earn their keep — but it is spreading, she said.

It's evident even in pet names, she added: She used to treat Blackie or Fluffy. Now it's more often Elizabeth or Henry.

So if Henry's diagnosis is dire, people who once might have said, "Well, his time has come," now want treatment options, Murray said. They're willing to pay and unabashedly say why.

"Even the guy with tattoos comes in and says, 'This is my baby!'"

Murray said she bristles when she hears someone ask, "How can you spend $500 on your cat when there are starving children in the world?" The same person wouldn't challenge $500 for a cruise or a flat-screen TV, she said.

Moreover, pet and human medicine have long had a mutually beneficial relationship. Experimental technologies often are pioneered on animals, then migrate to human use when they've proved themselves, said Omaha vet Dr. Peter Bashara. Then the technologies mature, become more economical and are adapted for widespread use on animals, he said. And the cycle repeats.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's vet school boasts that a surgical technique developed to repair torn knee ligaments in dogs was so successful that it's now being used on NFL players, according to the Associated Press.

The Animal Medical Center in New York City, a nonprofit that specializes in advanced care, says pets' arthritic joints are now being healed with stem cell transplants not yet approved for humans. Cost: $4,000.

With more options have come more ethical dilemmas — what treatments to choose, whether to pursue "heroic measures," when to resort to euthanasia. Learning how to help pet owners through the moral thicket is a standard part of vet students' training, said Dr. Ronnie Elmore, who teaches "Ethics and Jurisprudence" at Kansas State.

For some owners, the dilemma has become, "Do I fix the dog, or do I feed the kids for the next month?" said Pam Wiese, spokeswoman for the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha. "We do have some people who come in to the shelter and say, 'My dog needs an operation that I can't afford.'"

Neither President Barack Obama nor Congress has moved to overhaul pet health care, though a House bill — introduced last summer but still in committee — would make pet care expenses tax-deductible. Most pets remain uninsured.

But pet health insurance is a growing industry. Polling by the pet products trade group indicates that 3 percent of American dogs and 1 percent of cats have coverage, up from nearly zero a decade ago.

The ASPCA says it has sold 80,000 policies since starting to offer them in 2006. Monthly premiums begin at about $8 for cats and $10 for dogs, with a $100 annual deductible. They rise quickly depending on age of the animal and the level of coverage.

But Richard File, a breeder of Bernese mountain dogs when he isn't teaching accounting at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the policies have too many exemptions and exclusions. Instead of insurance, he keeps a sort of health care savings account for his three canine children.

On the other hand, Wysocki, who endured Gracey's health scare and is now cherishing her twilight, is sold. He shudders to think of the decision he'd have faced had Gracey's brain tumor appeared years sooner.

"Buy pet insurance when your dog is young," he said.

Contact the writer:

444-1140, roger.buddenberg@owh.com


Copyright ©2010 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.

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