""We want scientists to have the best resourc

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NAIROBI， July 22 (Xinhua) -- Trade ministers from 194 countries on Friday agreed to strengthen the mandate of the Geneva-based U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to effectively deal with matters affecting trade， foreign investments and the fight against poverty.


Kenyan foreign minister Amina Mohamed who chaired the talks said the deal reached in Nairobi and named the ""Nairobi Mafikiano"" (Consensus) offers a direction on the role of UNCTAD and the programs to be undertaken by UNCTAD for the next four years.


""We have a deal done. It is a good day and a win for multilateralism，"" Mohamed told reporters.


The new deal proposes sweeping powers to be granted to UNCTAD to deal with the issues affecting investments by both local and international corporations， governments and the private sector.


""We have an outcome we are proud off. The eight days have shown the world what Kenya can offer，"" Mohamed said after announcing the agreement on the role of UNCTAD in managing trade and other emerging issues such as the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and the fight against poverty.


The Nairobi talks were held amid complaints from the civil society groups from Kenya， South Korea and Zimbabwe， who complained the trade liberalization talks were meant to rip poor Africans by giving more powers to foreign cooperation to acquire firms in new destinations and hurt the poor.


""We are here to raise our concerns against the wrongs underlying the treaties we have today. The foundations of these treaties were established based on consumers and producers，"" said Dr Justus Juma， Founder and Coordinator of a civil society coalition campaigning against trade in food.


""Africa is seen as a continent without the capacity to produce. We do not benefit from the massive resources we have，"" Juma told Xinhua， while leading a civil society protest against the UNCTAD talks.

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WASHINGTON， July 11 (Xinhua) -- Several U.S. and European funding agencies on Monday launched a collaborative project to develop a large bank of new cancer cell culture models for the purpose of accelerating cancer research.


The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI)， Cancer Research UK， Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Dutch foundation Hubrecht Organoid Technology will jointly develop the Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI)， which aims to make about 1，000 cancer cell models.


Using new techniques to grow cells， scientists can make models that will better resemble the tissue architecture and complexity of human tumors than the cell lines used today， a statement from the NCI explained.


""This new project is timed perfectly to take advantage of the latest cell culture and genomic sequencing techniques to create models that are representative of patient tumors and are annotated with genomic and clinical information，"" said Louis Staudt， director of NCI' s Center for Cancer Genomics.


""This effort is a first step toward learning how to use these tools to design individualized treatments.""


The HCMI efforts will provide researchers with genetic sequencing data from tumors and derived models， as well as clinical data about the patients and their tumors.


All information related to the models will be shared in a way that protects patient privacy.


Scientists will make the models using tissue from patients with different types of cancer， potentially including rare and children's cancers， which are often underrepresented or not available at all in existing cell line collections.


Overall， the HCMI collaborators hoped to speed up development of new models and to make research more efficient by avoiding unnecessary duplication of scientific efforts.


""We want scientists to have the best resources to be able to easily study all types of cancer，"" Ian Walker， Cancer Research UK's director of clinical research and strategic partnerships， said.


""And these new cell lines could transform how we study cancer and could help to develop better treatments for patients，"" said Walker. Enditem