The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Leisure-oriented looks hit runways at NY Fashion Week Posted: 08 Sep 2012 04:01 AM PDT  A model presents a creation from the Nicole Miller Spring/Summer 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week, September 7, 2012. — Reuters pic Miller, a favourite of professional women for her wearable, stylish and confident designs, ventured into a more playful arena for spring 2013, with a dominant theme of floral prints configured in geometric shapes, and tight leggings in stretch leather or mottled prints. The collection, which Miller dubbed "Batteries Not Included" and was meant to suggest improbable juxtapositions, 1980s surrealist art, digital nature and sci-fi, used a palette of teal, soft greys, pink, mushroom and the ubiquitous black. In keeping with another trend this season, hard met soft with Miller topping a white linen dress with a black leather biker jacket. Shorts, which suggested running or track shorts, were well represented, lapels were large and coat and jacket sleeves pushed up. The collection was also heavy on tunics, which were variously rendered in silk and organza or abstract floral silk, paired with tight striped pants or stretch leather leggings. Vests were loose, oversized and flowing, while details were evident in beaded bodices or tank tops. Texture got a nod from separates rendered in leather, and what Miller called pixilated sequin or jacquard, which she employed for tunics and dresses. The looks were decidedly more classic, if similarly leisure-oriented, at English designer Ronson's Friday evening show. The Friday shows spoke to what Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus, called "relaxed chic." Ronson, especially popular with younger fashion mavens, showed mostly classic, highly wearable, mostly unstructured looks. Hemlines were short, and midriffs often bare in a collection rendered in shades of soft spring green and yellow, the latter which Ronson dubbed lemonade. But like Miller, Ronson's show emphasized shorts and rompers, and also played hard and soft elements off one another, as in a chain link lace mini-dress and mini-skirt. She also showed several tops dubbed bralettes, which resembled sports bras, in solid or water lily print or midnight leather. A collegiate-inspired concept of varsity vests, cardigans and jackets completed the sporty looks. There were highly feminine styles as well, many with sheer panels in gauzy chiffon. Hemlines ran short, and cutouts lent netted pullovers and draped dresses a sexy edge. Among the bolder pieces were vinyl varsity jackets turned out in electric shades of pink or blue, as well as black. Earlier on Friday, Bahrain-based label Noon by Noor made its New York Fashion Week debut, with socialites Nicky Hilton and Olivia Palermo sitting in the front row. Designers, cousins and Bahrain royalty Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Haya Mohammed Al Khalifa showed long flowing silk chiffon skirts and dresses with thigh-high splits, neon pink pants suits, brocade biker jackets and gold metallic jacquards. "Concentrating on sleek minimalist contouring, pared back separates are realized in the most luxurious fabrics," the Noon by Noor collection notes said. "Luxe utilitarian tailoring balances structure and fluidity." Fashion Week continues through the weekend, with Saturday shows by Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, Rebecca Taylor and Alex Herkovitch. Tracy Reese, Diane Von Furstenberg and Zac Posen show their collections on Sunday. — Reuters |
| DNA database unlocks map to genetic disease Posted: 08 Sep 2012 12:57 AM PDT MONZA, Italy, Sept 8 ― A massive DNA database has generated a map of the genetic switches which impact everything from hair loss to cancer and opened the door to revolutionary treatments for a host of deadly diseases, researchers said this week. "This is a major step toward understanding the wiring diagram of a human being," said lead researcher Michael Snyder of Stanford University. The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements ― or ENCODE ― has enabled scientists to assign specific biological functions for 80 percent of the human genome and has helped explain how genetic variants affect a person's susceptibility to disease. It also exposed previously hidden connections between seemingly unrelated diseases such as asthma, lupus and multiple sclerosis which were found to be linked to specific genetic regulatory codes for proteins that regulate the immune system. A key insight revealed in a host of papers published in the journals Nature, Science and Cell is that many diseases result from changes in when, where and how a gene switches on or off rather than a change to the gene itself. "Genes occupy only a tiny fraction of the genome, and most efforts to map the genetic causes of disease were frustrated by signals that pointed away from genes," said co-author John Stamatoyannoupoulos, a researcher at the University of Washington. "Now we know that these efforts were not in vain, and that the signals were in fact pointing to the genome's 'operating system.'" Another significant finding is that this blueprint of genetic switches can be used to pinpoint cell types that play a role in specific diseases without needing to understand how the disease actually works. For instance, it took researchers decades to link a set of immune cells with the inflammatory bowel disease Crohn's. The ENCODE data was able to swiftly identify that the genetic variants associated with Crohn's were concentrated in that subset of cells. This in-depth map of the human genetic code has also altered scientific understanding of how DNA works. The first sketch of the human genome described DNA as a string which contained genes in isolated sections that make up just two percent of its length. The space in between was dubbed "junk DNA" and many researchers did not believe it served a function. Attention was focused on the 'coding' genes which carried instructions for making the proteins that carried out basic biological functions. ENCODE confirmed more recent theories that the bulk of this 'junk' is actually littered with switches that determine how the genes work and act as a massive control panel. "Our genome is simply alive with switches: millions of places that determine whether a gene is switched on or off," said lead analysis coordinator Ewan Birney of the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute. "We found a much bigger part of the genome ― a surprising amount, in fact ― is involved in controlling when and where proteins are produced, than in simply manufacturing the building blocks." Perhaps most importantly, the database has been made available to the scientific community ― and the general public ― as an open resource in order to facilitate research. "ENCODE gives us a set of very valuable leads to follow to discover key mechanisms at play in health and disease," said Ian Dunham of the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute, who played a key role in coordinating the analysis. "Those can be exploited to create entirely new medicines, or to repurpose existing treatments." The project combined the efforts of 442 scientists in 32 labs in the United States, Britain, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan. The researchers used about 300 years worth of computer time to study 147 tissue types and identified over four million different regulatory regions where proteins interact with the DNA. ― AFP/Relaxnews |
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