News Roundup – Sunday, September 4, 2011
September 4, 2011
FDA approves Crizotinib (Xalkori) drug for non-small-cell lung cancer patients with ALK mutation (Food & Drug Administration) Pfizer announced recently that the FDA has approved crizotinib for treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer. Xalkori is being approved with a companion diagnostic test that will help determine if a patient has the abnormal ALK gene, a first-of-a-kind genetic test called the Vysis ALK Break Apart FISH Probe Kit. It is the second such targeted therapy approved by the FDA this year. This ALK gene abnormality causes cancer development and growth. About 1 percent to 7 percent of those with NSCLC have the ALK gene abnormality. Patients with this form of lung cancer are typically non-smokers. Xalkori works by blocking certain proteins called kinases, including the protein produced by the abnormal ALK gene. Xalkori is a pill taken twice a day as a single-agent treatment.
BLM: No 'crown jewels' in Wyoming (Billings Gazette) The Wyoming Bureau of Land Management has waved off a request by the Interior Department to list public lands in the state for possible wilderness protection.The state BLM office didn't identify any Wyoming sites as so-called "crown-jewel" BLM-managed areas. The Interior Department will pass along a list of sites identified as "crown jewels" to Congress, which in turn will place them off-limits to most development and human activity. Thursday, September 1st, was the deadline for state BLM directors to send recommendations of "crown-jewel" lands.
Jackson builds new bouldering park (Billings Gazette) Jackson Hole has a new bouldering park in the center of town and offers free climbing for all abilities. The Teton Boulder Project is nearly complete. The project, which will have three large boulders and a climbing memorial and historical wall when finished, is already open to the public. It is located at the base of Snow King Mountain in Phil Baux Park. The project already raised more than $400,000, and now needs less than $20,000 for the third and final boulder and to finish the historical wall.
Downtown Laramie gets murals – cooperative project with Mainstreet program (Houston Chronicle) Laramie Main Street and the University of Wyoming Art Museum are working on a mural project in downtown Laramie. The east and north walls on the Whole Earth Grainery building are being painted into a landscape. The mural is the second mural from the Laramie downtown mural project, which plans to create five murals downtown. The project costs about $25,000 and is funded through a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, the Guthrie Family Foundation, the city of Laramie and the Laramie Beautification Committee. The majority of Laramie Main Street's money comes from private donations.
Wyoming lawmakers draft law to block emails from public view (Billings Gazette) State lawmakers voted to draft legislation that would make emails sent to members of city councils, school boards and other elected bodies exempt from public-records law. The legislation would keep from public view any correspondence sent directly to members of elected bodies, as long as the documents aren't sent to a majority of the group.
Wyoming County 24, Absaroka, to be featured in the A&E television pilot ‘Longmire’ (Houston Chronicle) In the summer of 2012, Wyomingites can see what a county-24 license plate looks like. A&E picked up a 10-episode season of "Longmire," a TV series based on author Craig Johnson's novels about Walt Longmire, sheriff of the least-populated county of the least-populated state. Besides the pilot, the deal calls for a full season of nine more episodes. Each will be shot in northern New Mexico, but Wyoming viewers may recognize some of the landmarks. The show will star Australian Robert Taylor as Walt and Katee Sackhoff ("Battlestar Galactica") as foul-mouthed deputy Victoria Morretti. Lou Diamond Phillips and Cassidy Freeman ("Smallville") will also star.
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