Boulder-based Sciona backs product against GAO report
A Boulder-based maker of direct-to-consumer DNA tests on Thursday defended itself against a government report that questioned the product’s validity.
The report by congressional investigators examined the tests, including those offered by Boulder-based Sciona Inc., that promise nutrition advice customized to people’s genes. It concluded that the tests are of no medical value and can mislead people.
“The GAO’s conclusion that the genetic tests are misleading is incorrect for two reasons,” said Rosalynn Gill-Garrison, Sciona’s co-founder and chief science officer. “The GAO found that the test reports predicted risk of specific diseases. However, Sciona does not diagnose or predict disease in the company’s consumer reports.”
The report concluded that the tests were invalid because they resulted in different reports for multiple samples from the same genetic material. Gill-Garrison said that finding was a result of investigators filling out different diet and lifestyle profiles for each sample.
“Sciona stands behind our products and looks forward to working with the government to develop appropriate standards,” she said. Gill-Garrison testified Thursday in front of the Senate meeting led by the GAO.
Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy, a Boulder-based pharmacy that started selling Sciona’s tests last year, declined to comment on the GAO report.
DENVER
Stapleton residents young, well-educated
Developer Forest City Stapleton on Thursday released the results of a resident survey conducted by Boulder-based Egg Strategy.
The survey, completed by 590 of the community’s estimated 6,000 residents, indicated that most are young and well-educated.
Most respondents are younger than 45. Sixty-seven percent are married, and 43 percent have children under 18 living at home.
The survey also showed that 87 percent of respondents are college graduates, and 44 percent hold a post-graduate degree.
DENVER
Qwest giving phones in safety promotion
Qwest plans to give away 1,000 telephones Saturday in the Stapleton neighborhood as part of its “Connect for Summer Safety” campaign.
The phone company wants customers to understand why regular phone lines are better than cellphones and Internet phones for making emergency calls, said Michael Dunne, a Qwest spokesman. For example, if the power goes out, land-line phones work when cordless or Internet phones may not, Dunne said.
The phones will be available at 10 a.m. at the King Soopers grocery store on East 29th Avenue between Quebec and Syracuse streets.
TOKYO
Japan’s import ban on U.S. beef lifted
Japan on Thursday announced the resumption of U.S. beef imports, ending a ban imposed over concerns about mad cow disease and removing a strain in relations with Washington.
The U.S. ambassador immediately welcomed the move, which reopens Japan’s lucrative market to a select list of U.S. meat exporters, saying that it resolved an issue of primary importance to the United States.
The latest ban was imposed in January when Japanese inspectors found banned parts in a shipment.
ST. PAUL, Minn.
City OKs extension of utility franchise
The St. Paul City Council has approved a utility franchise extension with Xcel Energy that could pump more than $440 million into city coffers over the 20-year life of the deal, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Thursday.
The fee – which is passed on to customers through their utility bills – is the third-largest source of revenue for the cash-strapped city.
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
Intel counters AMD’s microprocessor lead
Intel Corp. on Thursday launched its biggest product revamp in six years, unveiling 10 microprocessors that are expected to help the world’s largest chipmaker retake ground lost to smaller competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The Core 2 Duo microprocessors, which are being rolled out gradually over the next month, are Intel’s first desktop and mobile chips to feature a blueprint designed to deliver significantly better performance while requiring less power and emitting less heat.
REDMOND, Wash.
Microsoft on mission to compete with iPod
Microsoft Corp. will invest hundreds of millions of dollars over three to five years to compete with Apple Computer Inc.’s dominant iPod digital music player, said entertainment unit president Robbie Bach.
Microsoft will produce the hardware, software and services for the product, branded Zune, Bach said Thursday at Microsoft’s annual analyst meeting at the company’s headquarters.
LOS ANGELES
Kazaa owner agrees to settlement on suits
Sharman Networks Ltd., owner of the Kazaa file-sharing network, agreed to pay more than $100 million to settle music- industry lawsuits over the illegal downloading of songs.
The settlement resolves lawsuits filed by Vivendi SA’s Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group Plc and Warner Music Group in Los Angeles and Australia.
Sharman Networks also agreed to introduce a “legitimate” service and stop the illegal distribution of copyrighted files by its users.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.
Striking mechanics, airline to resume talks
The union representing Northwest Airlines mechanics who have been on strike for nearly a year said Thursday that contract talks will resume Aug. 15.
Neither side has attached any preconditions, said Jeff Mathews, spokesman for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association bargaining committee.
There have been no talks since November. AMFA went on strike Aug. 20, and Northwest imposed a new contract on those who crossed the picket line.
NEW YORK
U.S. employers plan 3.7% hike in salaries
U.S. employers plan to increase base salaries by 3.7 percent this year, just a bit higher than the average 3.6 percent rise they granted in 2005, according to a survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
If the projections play out, workers’ wages could fall behind creeping inflation. The Labor Department’s overall Consumer Price Index picked up in the second quarter, pushed higher by record energy prices, and is on pace for a 4.7 percent rise for 2006, more than a percentage point higher than 2005’s 3.4 percent.
