Hackers intercept FBI, Scotland Yard call

This two picture combo shows, above: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, and below, New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, also Friday Feb. 3, 2012. Hackers claim to have intercepted and leaked a sensitive conference call between cyber crime investigators at the FBI and Scotland Yard. The hacker group Anonymous has released a roughly 15-minute-long recording of what appears to be a Jan. 17 conference call devoted to tracking and prosecuting members of the loose-knit hacking group. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Alastair Grant)

This two picture combo shows, above: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington Friday, Feb. 3, 2012, and below, New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, also Friday Feb. 3, 2012. Hackers claim to have intercepted and leaked a sensitive conference call between cyber crime investigators at the FBI and Scotland Yard. The hacker group Anonymous has released a roughly 15-minute-long recording of what appears to be a Jan. 17 conference call devoted to tracking and prosecuting members of the loose-knit hacking group. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Britain's for-most and largest police serviceFriday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged . At the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Britain's for-most and largest police serviceFriday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged. At the heart of the conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

A general view of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, Britain's foremost and largest police service, Friday, Feb., 3, 2012. Hackers have intercepted a conference call between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Scotland Yard it has emerged. At the heart of a conference call between the FBI and Scotland Yard was a strategy aimed at bringing down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, which has launched a series of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

LONDON (AP) ? Trading jokes and swapping leads, investigators from the FBI and Scotland Yard spent the conference call strategizing about how to bring down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, responsible for a string of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.

Unfortunately for the cyber sleuths, the hackers were in on the call too ? and now so is the rest of the world.

Anonymous published the roughly 15-minute-long recording of the call on the Internet on Friday, gloating in a Twitter message that "the FBI might be curious how we're able to continuously read their internal comms for some time now."

The humiliating coup exposed a vulnerability that might have had more serious consequences had someone else been listening in on the line.

"A law enforcement agency using unencrypted, unsecure communications is a major fumble," said Marcus Carey, who spent years securing communications for the U.S. National Security Agency before joining security-risk assessment firm Rapid7.

"What if this event was talking about some terrorist plot to blow up something and 'they' were listening in? It could've been much worse if it was related to an al-Qaida plot or something ... So this is a lesson learned."

The leak was one of a slew of Anonymous hacks that hit websites across the United States Friday, including in Boston, where the police site was defaced, and in Salt Lake City, where officials said that personal information of confidential informants and tipsters had been compromised.

Anonymous also claimed credit for defacing the Greek Justice Ministry's website and stealing a mountain of data from the Virginia-based law firm that defended a U.S. Marine recently convicted for his role in the bloody 2005 raid in Iraq that became known as the Haditha massacre.

The hackers' successful attempt to spy on the very people charged with tracking them down remained the most dramatic coup of the day, with sensitive police conversations broadcast across the world.

The FBI said the communication "was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained," but added that no FBI systems were breached. It said that "a criminal investigation is under way to identify and hold accountable those responsible."

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation, told The Associated Press that authorities were looking at the possibility the message was intercepted from the private email account of one of the dozens of invited participants ? who hailed from the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Anonymous published just such an email Friday, complete with the date, time and password needed to access the call.

Graham Cluley, an expert with data security company Sophos, said that anyone with that information could have "rung in and silently listened to the call just like Anonymous did."

In Paris, a French police official who was briefed on the interception said it could prompt international law enforcement bodies to be more circumspect about sharing information in conference calls. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

Scotland Yard said there was no immediate evidence their operations were compromised.

Amid jokes about a teenage hacking suspect (who one officer describes as "a bit of an idiot") and lighthearted banter about McDonald's, the investigators on the call discussed whether to delay the arrest of two hacking suspects to give the FBI more time to pursue its side of the investigation.

Updates were given on the status of inquiries stretching from Los Angeles and Baltimore to England and Ireland, with one member of Scotland Yard's central e-crime unit telling the FBI that British police had identified a 15-year-old with possible connections to a recent breach at U.S. videogame company Valve Corp.

"Yeah that's fantastic," an FBI official said in response. "We actually do have a pending investigation looking into that compromise."

An email to the FBI official leading the call was not immediately returned Friday, while the e-crime investigator referred questions to Scotland Yard's press office. The press office confirmed it had someone on the call but said it would have no further comment.

Most sensitive appears to be discussion of what legal strategy to pursue in the cases of Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis, two British suspects linked to Anonymous. The U.K. police official on the call said prosecutors were secretly going to court to delay procedures in order to give the FBI more time pursue a related case.

When the FBI official thanked his U.K. counterpart for the favor, the Briton said cheerily: "We're here to help!"

Karen Todner, a lawyer for Cleary, said the recording could be "incredibly sensitive" and warned that such data breaches had the potential to derail the police investigation.

"If they haven't secured their email it could potentially prejudice the investigation," she told the AP.

Anonymous, an amorphous collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists, has increasingly focused its attention on law enforcement agencies in general and the FBI in particular.

The hackers' targets have included the Church of Scientology, the music industry and financial companies such as Visa and MasterCard. It has recently expanded to include government, police and military targets.

Dozens of suspected members and supporters have been arrested across the world.

___

Associated Press Writers Pete Yost in Washington, Cassandra Vinograd in London, Brian Skoloff in Salt Lake City, Denise Lavoie in Boston and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-02-03-Hacking-FBI/id-e58f6570db514b08a402bee4f5003a1b

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Paul: States should resolve land management issues

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is shown on a camcorder screen as he answers questions from reporters following a rally, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is shown on a camcorder screen as he answers questions from reporters following a rally, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, speaks at a rally Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, wave signs as they wait for the candidate to arrive for a rally, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Jan Wimberley of Buhl, Idaho, waves a sign reads "Google Ron Paul," as she rallies outside a campaign stop for Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. Wimberley said the sign is to tell people "either too young or too old" to know who Paul is to find out who he is using the Internet. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, wave signs as they wait for the candidate to arrive for a rally Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012, in Elko, Nev. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

ELKO, Nev. (AP) ? Republican Rep. Ron Paul railed against the federal government during campaign stops in Nevada on Thursday, saying states are in the best position to resolve conflicts over the management of wild horses and roads on public lands.

Paul addressed about 600 people in Reno and 400 people in Elko ahead of Saturday's presidential caucus in Nevada.

He told a raucous crowd at a Reno hotel-casino night that he's tired of people saying he's an idealist who must learn to compromise.

"I think compromise is sort of like selling out," he said to loud cheers from supporters who waved placards reading, "End the Fed," ''End All Wars" and "Ron Paul Revolution."

"It looks like the revolution is alive and well," Paul said. "This is a great state. There's a lot of people here who really like freedom."

During a stop earlier in the day in Elko, Paul said that while he's unsure of the solution to the wild horse problem in Nevada and other Western states, he thinks federal land managers should be the last resort to resolve the issue. He said he would like to see Nevada and other states come up with solutions.

"The last thing I think is some bureaucrat in Washington should be solving this problem," Paul said. "I can guarantee they'll make a wrong decision and not please anyone. The more privatized and localized, the better solution it would be."

In recent years, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has removed thousands of "excess" wild horses from public lands in the West it says are harming rangelands and native wildlife. Horse advocates oppose the move, saying the agency is removing the animals to appease ranchers and make room for more cows.

Paul also said the U.S. Forest Service should not be imposing travel management plans on public land in Nevada and elsewhere across the West. The effort, which began under George W. Bush's presidential administration, should be up to the states, he said.

"I don't want the federal government dictating to Nevada, period," Paul said. "I want to see the land owned and controlled by the states."

Paul said he offers a choice to voters because he doesn't support the status quo.

"If the status quo is extended by the other candidates, I have to challenge them. And they all represent a variation of the status quo," he said.

Paul shrugged off Donald Trump's endorsement of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, saying he doesn't think it will help Romney at all.

"I don't know why anybody talks about him (Trump)," Paul said. "I don't think he has that much credibility. I don't understand why we pay attention to him.'

Four years ago, Paul finished second to Romney in Nevada's GOP caucuses.

___

Associated Press writer Martin Griffith in Reno contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-02-03-Paul/id-e68e68fe893649e39c2b9f43a87da4d6

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Dropbox offers up to 5GB of free space to anyone willing to go beta

Here's some good news for all you Dropboxers out there: the company is offering a bundle of free storage space to anyone who tries the beta version of its new Experimental software. It's really quite simple: just download the test program, upload a photo, and instantly get 500MB of free storage. Upload another photo or video, and an additional 500MB will magically appear at your doorstep. The idea is to test out the beta software's new photo and video uploader, which automatically pulls media from any camera, smartphone or SD card and drops it in the cloud. Free space is limited to 5GB per user, and there's an inherent risk to testing any unfinished product, but those willing to make the leap can find all the requisite materials and information at the source link, below.

Dropbox offers up to 5GB of free space to anyone willing to go beta originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Colo. lawmakers consider trans-fat ban in schools (AP)

DENVER ? The nation's leanest state is taking aim at junk food in school cafeterias as it considers the nation's toughest school trans-fat ban.

A Colorado House committee was scheduled to hear a bill Thursday to forbid any trans-fat in school food ? not just the food served through regular cafeteria lunches.

That would mean vending machines, after-school bake sales and popular "a la carte" items on lunch lines such as ice creams or pizza would have to be produced without artery-clogging trans fats.

Several states already limit trans-fat in school cafeterias, but none has a trans-fat ban that extends before and after school. Delaware and California, for example, both ban school food with trans-fat, but not at all after-school activities.

Colorado has the nation's lowest obesity rate, but young people are becoming fatter along with their counterparts in other states. In 2007, Colorado's childhood obesity rate was the nation's third-best. By 2010 it ranked 23rd according to the Colorado Health Foundation, a change researchers attribute to sedentary behavior and a growing childhood poverty rate.

Lawmakers who sponsored the trans-fat ban ? a Republican and a Democrat ? said Colorado needs to step up healthy eating among children to hang onto its prized leanest-state title.

"Colorado is one of the healthiest states but has the one of the highest rates of childhood obesity. So if we're going to do something about that, this is a step in the right direction," said one of the bill's sponsors, House Education Chairman Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs.

The American Heart Association is working to assure skeptical Colorado lawmakers that the trans-fat ban wouldn't forbid childhood faves such as pizza and French fries. The bill also wouldn't affect naturally occurring trans-fat, such as that in beef and dairy.

"You can still have the exact same food. You'd have to find different ways of preparing them," association lobbyist Susanna Morris said.

Colorado's Department of Education says it doesn't have a statewide trans-fat standard. A spokeswoman for the state education department, Janelle Asmus, said a department review "found the amount of trans-fat in a school meal to be minimal" but added that the review didn't include items for sale in vending machines and after-school activities such as bake sales.

The Legislature has not estimated how much the change would cost local schools. Supporters insist that schools could serve the same foods, just switch to trans-fat-free shortening and oils. The bill would require no changes to school kitchens or how food is prepared.

Colorado's best-known school nutritionist says the complete trans-fat ban is do-able. Ann Cooper, author of the "Renegade Lunch Lady" blog, is in charge of food service at the Boulder Valley district, thought to be the only public school district in the state that is trans-fat free.

"We don't serve convenience food, we don't serve junk food," Cooper said. "That's where the trans-fat is. You cook from scratch, it's not a problem cutting all the trans-fat."

If approved, Colorado's trans-fat ban would take effect next school year. Supporters say the proposal may be amended to give schools more time to comply, a change they accept. The bill may also be amended to exempt fundraisers from the ban, protecting many sporting-event concessions such as nachos.

___

Follow Kristen Wyatt at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt

___

Online:

Senate Bill 68: http://goo.gl/wrtBb

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120202/ap_on_re_us/us_schools_trans_fats

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Legal Profession Blog: Website Puffery Results In Reprimand

? False Resume Draws Reciprocal Reprimand | Main | "All Right, Nikki..." ?

February 1, 2012

Website Puffery Results In Reprimand

An attorney has been publicly reprimanded by the South Carolina Supreme Court for misconduct described in the court's order:

Upon admission, respondent opened a solo practice, handling primarily domestic and criminal matters.? Between July 2010 and July 2011, respondent consulted with 93 potential clients.? He opened 79 client files and resolved 25 cases by settlement, guilty plea, or completion of non-litigation legal work (i.e., drafting a deed). ?Representation of 15 of the opened files ended without resolution of the clients' legal matters.? As of July 2010, respondent had never handled any matter involving contested litigation to jury verdict.?

In August 2010, respondent began using a law firm website at www.divorcelawyercolumbia.com.? In December 2010, respondent added a website at www.dmd-law.net to his law firm marketing.? Respondent began using these websites without adequate review of the relevant provisions of the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.?

The websites contained the following rule violations:????????

1.? material misrepresentations of fact and omissions of facts necessary to make the statements considered as a whole not materially misleading by mischaracterizing respondent's legal skills and prior successes; falsely stating he handled matters in federal court; falsely stating he graduated from law school in 2005; and, listing approximately 50 practice areas in which he had little or no experience;

2. statements likely to create unjustified expectations about the results respondent could achieve;

3.? statements comparing respondent's services with other lawyers' services in ways which could not be factually substantiated; and

4.? descriptions and characterizations of the quality of respondent's services.?

In addition, respondent set up internet profiles on various online directories and professional marketing sites, including www.lawyers.com, www.lawguru.com, and www.linkedin.com.? Respondent relied on company representatives who were lawyers and non-attorney web designers who assured him that the advertisements would comply with respondent's ethical requirements.? Respondent did not review the applicable provisions of the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct prior to posting the internet profiles.? As a result, respondent's internet profiles contained the following:

1.? material misrepresentations of fact by overstating and exaggerating respondent's reputation, skill, experience, and past results;

2.? a form of the word "specialist" even though respondent is not certified by this Court as a specialist;

3.?? statements likely to create unjustified expectations about the results respondent could achieve; and

4.??descriptions and characterizations of the quality of respondent's services.

The attorney was admitted in May 2010. The discipline was imposed by consent. (Mike Frisch)

February 1, 2012 in Bar Discipline & Process | Permalink

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Don Cornelius took 'Soul Train' on pioneering trip (AP)

NEW YORK ? In an era when Beyonce and Jay-Z are music royalty, when Barack Obama is the nation's chief executive, and when black stars in the cast of a TV show are commonplace, it may be hard to grasp the magnitude of what Don Cornelius created once he got his "Soul Train" rolling.

Yes, the syndicated series delivered the music of Earth Wind & Fire, the Jacksons, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder into America's households, infusing them with soul in weekly doses. Yes, it gave viewers groovy dances and Afro-envy, helping get them hip to a funky world that many had never experienced, or maybe even suspected.

But it was more than that. Before BET would give African-Americans their own channel, and before black music and faces found their way to MTV videos as well as network dramas and comedies, "Soul Train" became a pioneering outlet for a culture whose access to television was strictly limited.

"Most of what we get credit for is people saying, `I learned how to dance from watching "Soul Train" back in the day,'" Cornelius told Vibe magazine in 2006. "But what I take credit for is that there were no black television commercials to speak of before `Soul Train.' There were few black faces in those ads before `Soul Train.'

"And what I am most proud of," he added, "is that we made television history."

"Soul Train" (which went on for 35 seasons) didn't make history just by influencing the music charts. It served as a pop-culture preview and barometer of fashion, hairstyles and urban patois.

By some measure, "Soul Train" was the equivalent of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," although belatedly. Arriving on the wave of the Civil Rights Era, it premiered 13 years after "Bandstand" went national, then took a while longer to attract local stations to air it and advertisers to support it.

From there, it became a Saturday afternoon ritual as soul and rap artists (and white artists, too, including Elton John and David Bowie) showed off their latest releases while kids responded on the dance floor.

"When you come up with a good idea, you don't have to do a whole lot," Cornelius told The New York Times in 1996 in describing his show's formula. "The idea does it for you."

On "Soul Train" ("the hippest trip in America," the announcer proclaimed, "across the tracks of your mind") the host, of course, was Cornelius, but to describe him as the black Dick Clark is somewhat misleading. (A bit like calling Pat Boone the white Little Richard, as David Bianculli noted in his "Dictionary of Teleliteracy.")

For Cornelius, the difference was all in the execution, as he told The Associated Press in 1995.

"If I saw `American Bandstand' and I saw dancing and I knew black kids can dance better; and I saw white artists and I knew black artists make better music; and if I saw a white host and I knew a black host could project a hipper line of speech ? and I DID know all these things," then it was reasonable to try, he said.

On his show, Cornelius was the epitome of cool, with a baritone rumble that recalled seductive soul maestro Barry White, and an unflappable manner.

He laced his show with pro-social messages directed at his black audience.

On a 1974 program, he interviewed James Brown about the tragedy of violence in black communities ("black-on-black crime looks very bad in the sight of The Man," Brown said sorrowfully). Then he brought on a 19-year-old Al Sharpton, already a civil rights activist, who presented Brown with an award for his music.

But Cornelius never let preaching get in the way of "Soul Train's" hipness ? or of his own.

Standing by Mary Wilson of the Supremes on another edition, he displayed a slim black suit that flared into bellbottoms, a grey shirt with white polka dots, and a huge afro.

"What do you do for kicks?" he asked Wilson, who mentioned bowling as one hobby, but said how much she wanted to dance with Cornelius on "Soul Train."

"You can dance with me," Cornelius replied. "But not on television."

___

Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120201/ap_en_mu/us_obit_cornelius_appreciation

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Researchers identify key peptides that could lead to a universal vaccine for influenza

Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rebecca Attwood
r.attwood@soton.ac.uk
0238-059-5457
University of Southampton

Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine flu.

Influenza, an acute viral infection, affects hundreds of thousands of people a year and puts an enormous strain on healthcare providers globally. The last pandemic flu outbreak in the UK swine flu was in 2009 when it claimed 457 lives. While previous pandemics have been more serious, there is a heightened risk of more severe pandemics in the future.

The scientific collaboration used a research method known as "Human Viral Challenge Studies", where healthy volunteers are infected with influenza virus, and their immune responses closely monitored in an isolation unit.

These were important to the research, published online in Nature Medicine, as they allowed the healthy volunteers to be held in "sterile" isolation conditions and ensured they had no existing infections. The volunteers were then "challenged" with influenza virus, with blood samples being taken at regular intervals to observe how their immune systems responded to the viral infection.

Researchers discovered that the immune systems produced various types of T-cells (part of the immune system that kills both viral particles, and cells infected with viral particles). Notably, the T-cells responded to peptides associated with the internal structures of the influenza viruses.

Unlike the external structures of influenza virus, that mutates very rapidly and creates a new strain of virus most years, the internal structures change very slowly over a long period of time. These internal structures are found in all strains of influenza virus - thus, a vaccine that targets such peptides may provide immunity against all strains of influenza, including seasonal (yearly), avian (bird), and swine flu, for many years.

A vaccine against these peptides would activate the T-cell immune response which is able to respond much more rapidly than vaccines that activate an antibody response.

Dr Tom Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton, who led the study, says: "Influenza is a virus that we know has a global impact, and the threat of further pandemics is a real one. Most influenza vaccines only protect us against known influenza strains by creating antibodies in the blood but the influenza virus has the ability to rapidly change itself and new strains can emerge which rapidly spread across the globe by escaping this immunity.

"We have found that there is an important role for T-cells that recognise the flu virus, which if harnessed could protect against most or even all strains of seasonal and pandemic flu. Through this discovery we hope to improve vaccines for future strains of influenza; and potentially protect against the next pandemic. However there is more to do to translate these findings into new approaches to treatment."

"Current flu vaccines are very good at producing antibodies against flu, but not so good at generating a lasting immunity involving T-cells,' says Professor Sir Andrew McMichael, Director of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University. "The big question is: if we had a pandemic involving a much more severe virus than the swine flu we saw, what would we do in the six months it takes to develop an effective vaccine? This study suggests that vaccines stimulating a T-cell response might be an option, but there remains a lot to do to be certain of this approach."

Dr Rob Lambkin Williams, Chief Scientific Officer of Retroscreen, adds, "It is great to see the quality of data produced using the challenge study technique. Knowing that the volunteers were only infected with the viral strains that the research team had introduced, takes the guess work out of such research. The immune response observed in these volunteers was as a direct result of the virus to which they had been exposed. This quality of data will have the potential to rapidly speed up the rate that we are able to create a universal vaccine for influenza."

Retroscreen's Chief Executive Officer, Kym Denny said: "Retroscreen is delighted that our scientists and doctors have been able to work so closely with two leading universities. This work significantly expands our understanding of the immune response to influenza infection; this could be key in the fight against a future pandemic."

Finally, Professor John Oxford, President, Scientific Director and founder of Retroscreen and Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry said: "Dedicated volunteers in our isolation unit have helped us to open a window into why some people get flu and others do not and even better to formulate a new vaccine."

###

The study was funded by the University of Southampton, the MRC and Retroscreen Virology Limited.

To view the paper published in Nature Medicine visit http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.2612.html

---

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Public release date: 31-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rebecca Attwood
r.attwood@soton.ac.uk
0238-059-5457
University of Southampton

Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine flu.

Influenza, an acute viral infection, affects hundreds of thousands of people a year and puts an enormous strain on healthcare providers globally. The last pandemic flu outbreak in the UK swine flu was in 2009 when it claimed 457 lives. While previous pandemics have been more serious, there is a heightened risk of more severe pandemics in the future.

The scientific collaboration used a research method known as "Human Viral Challenge Studies", where healthy volunteers are infected with influenza virus, and their immune responses closely monitored in an isolation unit.

These were important to the research, published online in Nature Medicine, as they allowed the healthy volunteers to be held in "sterile" isolation conditions and ensured they had no existing infections. The volunteers were then "challenged" with influenza virus, with blood samples being taken at regular intervals to observe how their immune systems responded to the viral infection.

Researchers discovered that the immune systems produced various types of T-cells (part of the immune system that kills both viral particles, and cells infected with viral particles). Notably, the T-cells responded to peptides associated with the internal structures of the influenza viruses.

Unlike the external structures of influenza virus, that mutates very rapidly and creates a new strain of virus most years, the internal structures change very slowly over a long period of time. These internal structures are found in all strains of influenza virus - thus, a vaccine that targets such peptides may provide immunity against all strains of influenza, including seasonal (yearly), avian (bird), and swine flu, for many years.

A vaccine against these peptides would activate the T-cell immune response which is able to respond much more rapidly than vaccines that activate an antibody response.

Dr Tom Wilkinson, Senior Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton, who led the study, says: "Influenza is a virus that we know has a global impact, and the threat of further pandemics is a real one. Most influenza vaccines only protect us against known influenza strains by creating antibodies in the blood but the influenza virus has the ability to rapidly change itself and new strains can emerge which rapidly spread across the globe by escaping this immunity.

"We have found that there is an important role for T-cells that recognise the flu virus, which if harnessed could protect against most or even all strains of seasonal and pandemic flu. Through this discovery we hope to improve vaccines for future strains of influenza; and potentially protect against the next pandemic. However there is more to do to translate these findings into new approaches to treatment."

"Current flu vaccines are very good at producing antibodies against flu, but not so good at generating a lasting immunity involving T-cells,' says Professor Sir Andrew McMichael, Director of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University. "The big question is: if we had a pandemic involving a much more severe virus than the swine flu we saw, what would we do in the six months it takes to develop an effective vaccine? This study suggests that vaccines stimulating a T-cell response might be an option, but there remains a lot to do to be certain of this approach."

Dr Rob Lambkin Williams, Chief Scientific Officer of Retroscreen, adds, "It is great to see the quality of data produced using the challenge study technique. Knowing that the volunteers were only infected with the viral strains that the research team had introduced, takes the guess work out of such research. The immune response observed in these volunteers was as a direct result of the virus to which they had been exposed. This quality of data will have the potential to rapidly speed up the rate that we are able to create a universal vaccine for influenza."

Retroscreen's Chief Executive Officer, Kym Denny said: "Retroscreen is delighted that our scientists and doctors have been able to work so closely with two leading universities. This work significantly expands our understanding of the immune response to influenza infection; this could be key in the fight against a future pandemic."

Finally, Professor John Oxford, President, Scientific Director and founder of Retroscreen and Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry said: "Dedicated volunteers in our isolation unit have helped us to open a window into why some people get flu and others do not and even better to formulate a new vaccine."

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The study was funded by the University of Southampton, the MRC and Retroscreen Virology Limited.

To view the paper published in Nature Medicine visit http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nm.2612.html

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Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uos-rik013112.php

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