iPad Review: Sword and Sworcery EP

iPad Review: Sword and Sworcery EP

Posted on 11th Apr 2011 at 10:50 by David Hing with 12 comments

Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP for the iPad is like nothing else you have ever played. Described as ?a 21st century interpretation of the archetypical old school videogame adventure? it uses beautifully crafted pixel-scapes to do for video gaming what the impressionist painters did for art.

A collaborative project from indie studio Capybara, rock musicians and art from the Superbrothers themselves, Sword and Sworcery EP is a essentially a point and click adventure game that sees you cast as a warrior out to destroy an ancient evil. To do that you?ll need to solve puzzles, fight bears and collect an artefact called the Megatome ? so far, so adventure-game. What sets is apart from the likes of Kings Quest however are the lashings of surrealism, abstraction and poetry that somehow never slips into infuriating pretentiousness.


The real star isn?t the music or the mysticism, however, but the visual style. It?s absolutely perfect, causing us to frequently stop playing for a moment or two just to admire the scenery ? no mean feat considering the outstanding visual quality of most modern games. The landscapes are rich and detailed and invoke a near painterly quality. There?s a rare sense of artistry to Sword and Sworcery that we?ve not seen in a long, long time.

Sword and Sworcery?s music is still exemplary, however. The sound design has been meticulously crafted, fitting perfectly with the gameplay and creating an absorbing atmosphere that genuinely hooks you in to the moment. The sounds and music towards the end of our first session built a huge amount of tension and it was only after the threat ? which we won?t name to avoid spoiling it ? passed that we realised that our eyes were stinging due to lack of blinking.

A major drawback of most iPad and iPhone games is that they fail to make the most of the touchscreen interface or try to shoe horn in an ineffective d-pad. Point and click games seem like an assured win for touch-screens however, so Sword and Sworcery is a natural fit. It doesn?t limit itself to the conventions of the genre though, using screen-tilting mechanics regular switches from landscape to portrait to keep things interesting. In landscape mode you?re able to move around with your sword and shield equipped, while turning to portrait position opens your Megatome ? a combination spell book and help guide.


Sword and Sworcery isn?t all hard-core art-game, however ? there are points of genuine humour and awesome subtlety. At one point, for example, you have to travel into your dreams to find a lost key, which involves following a bear which dances like Ricky Gervais in the Office. It?s a moment which, like the game as a whole, feels beautifully surreal and yet oddly poignant.

Verdict: Sword and Sworcery could be a landmark in history of mobile gaming, proving to be the first title we?ve seen on the iPad platform which so wonderfully blurs the line between gaming and ambient art. Pensive, intelligent and wonderfully rich, you can feel the deep love and adoration for gaming that has gone into this project and it shines from its every pixel.

Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP is developed by a whole host of talented artist and is available for the iPad via the AppStore.

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The 10 Essential Elements of Design

No simple checklist could ever fully define what we mean by good design, but when we look at examples of it, we see that some essential elements tend to show up consistently.

As we described in the introduction to this month's package on design, by exploring these elements individually?and by thinking about design as not just a noun (the design) but also a verb (to design)?we can approach the abstract question of "What is design?" in a productive way. Drawing on what design is actually like in the real world helps us talk about what it could, and should, become.

Here are 10 essential elements or aspects of good design that transcend context, industry, and geography.

Tools

Technologies, from the humble pencil to the most advanced software, amplify human imagination and intelligence, allowing us to imagine and create things.

Experience

Design is not just about the object created, but also about the way that creation makes us feel, think, or learn. It's about the human response to the things we make for the world.

Systems

New systems and approaches to design?such as sustainable design, design computation, integrative design, biomimicry, and crowdsourcing?are being developed to help us address complex global challenges.

Emotional Appeal

Today we are increasingly designing for the right brain by focusing on the emotional aspects of design and by asking "How will it make people feel?" in addition to "How will it look?" and "How will it work?"

Sustainability

"It's not good design if it's bad for the planet" is the mantra of the sustainable-design movement, which encourages designers to consider the impact their creations will have on the environment and people.

Growth

Great design (along with its close cousin, real innovation) has turned into a powerful competitive advantage for companies that have learned how to do it consistently.

Function

Design is sometimes thought to be about form, style, and how things look, but it's also very much about function, or what something does. With new technologies making it possible to develop new functions, this is now more true than ever.

Aesthetics

The power of beauty is vividly illustrated by the success of companies like Apple. Competing on price and product features is no longer enough.

Spark

How do great designers generate all those great ideas? By asking "What if?" By making unexpected connections. By applying new technologies. By turning to nature. And also from each other, through crowdsourcing and open innovation.

Process

The design process?the way things actually get done?is being transformed by new technologies and new approaches that can radically alter traditional design phases, workflows, time frames, roles, and outcomes.

Tom Wujec is a fellow at Autodesk, a maker of software used by architects, artists, and designers in manufacturing, engineering, and the entertainment industry. Bill O'Connor is in Autodesk's corporate strategy and engagement group.

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iPad Review: Sword and Sworcery EP

iPad Review: Sword and Sworcery EP

Posted on 11th Apr 2011 at 10:50 by David Hing with 12 comments

Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP for the iPad is like nothing else you have ever played. Described as ?a 21st century interpretation of the archetypical old school videogame adventure? it uses beautifully crafted pixel-scapes to do for video gaming what the impressionist painters did for art.

A collaborative project from indie studio Capybara, rock musicians and art from the Superbrothers themselves, Sword and Sworcery EP is a essentially a point and click adventure game that sees you cast as a warrior out to destroy an ancient evil. To do that you?ll need to solve puzzles, fight bears and collect an artefact called the Megatome ? so far, so adventure-game. What sets is apart from the likes of Kings Quest however are the lashings of surrealism, abstraction and poetry that somehow never slips into infuriating pretentiousness.


The real star isn?t the music or the mysticism, however, but the visual style. It?s absolutely perfect, causing us to frequently stop playing for a moment or two just to admire the scenery ? no mean feat considering the outstanding visual quality of most modern games. The landscapes are rich and detailed and invoke a near painterly quality. There?s a rare sense of artistry to Sword and Sworcery that we?ve not seen in a long, long time.

Sword and Sworcery?s music is still exemplary, however. The sound design has been meticulously crafted, fitting perfectly with the gameplay and creating an absorbing atmosphere that genuinely hooks you in to the moment. The sounds and music towards the end of our first session built a huge amount of tension and it was only after the threat ? which we won?t name to avoid spoiling it ? passed that we realised that our eyes were stinging due to lack of blinking.

A major drawback of most iPad and iPhone games is that they fail to make the most of the touchscreen interface or try to shoe horn in an ineffective d-pad. Point and click games seem like an assured win for touch-screens however, so Sword and Sworcery is a natural fit. It doesn?t limit itself to the conventions of the genre though, using screen-tilting mechanics regular switches from landscape to portrait to keep things interesting. In landscape mode you?re able to move around with your sword and shield equipped, while turning to portrait position opens your Megatome ? a combination spell book and help guide.


Sword and Sworcery isn?t all hard-core art-game, however ? there are points of genuine humour and awesome subtlety. At one point, for example, you have to travel into your dreams to find a lost key, which involves following a bear which dances like Ricky Gervais in the Office. It?s a moment which, like the game as a whole, feels beautifully surreal and yet oddly poignant.

Verdict: Sword and Sworcery could be a landmark in history of mobile gaming, proving to be the first title we?ve seen on the iPad platform which so wonderfully blurs the line between gaming and ambient art. Pensive, intelligent and wonderfully rich, you can feel the deep love and adoration for gaming that has gone into this project and it shines from its every pixel.

Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP is developed by a whole host of talented artist and is available for the iPad via the AppStore.

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Conservative Congressman?s Star Power Extends Beyond Florida District

But the most compelling part of Representative Allen B. West of Florida is his own biography, there for all to see: an African-American Tea Party activist Republican congressman and ally of hard-right Israelis who, after his beloved career in the Army ended under a cloud, defeated the sitting Democrat in a largely white, politically polarized district here and quickly became one of the right?s most visible spokesmen.

Mr. West?s fans in his district, which stretches over two counties along the east coast of Florida, are both numerous and loud; hundreds fill his town hall-style meetings, many of them favoring T-shirts bearing his image. At a recent Tea Party rally in Washington, supporters flocked to him like sea gulls to a crust of baguette. Among the 87 House Republican freshmen, he ranks third in the latest fund-raising period for his re-election campaign; his $433,551 haul came largely through individual donations.

Mr. West?s popularity among conservatives goes far beyond South Florida. He was chosen to give the keynote speech in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and is frequently featured on the Fox News Channel and in other conservative settings where he enjoys explaining, reiterating or unleashing any number of incendiary remarks concerning what he often calls ?the other side.?

There was his recent observation that liberal women ?have been neutering American men,? and that the president of the United States is a ?low-level socialist agitator.?

Mr. West scoffs at the notion that he has become a sensation. ?I don?t drink my own tub water or read my own press,? he said in a brief interview before a town hall-style meeting here this week. ?I tell the truth and I stand on convictions and you know what you?re getting.?

While Mr. West?s decision to cast himself as an iconoclast has made him a conservative star, it is unclear how well it will serve him as he seeks re-election next year in this swing district, where far more voters are likely to come out for a presidential election than in the midterm cycle.

With its two new Congressional seats, Florida will likely receive intensified national attention among swing states in 2012, perhaps highlighting this district ? which was central to the disputed 2000 presidential recount ? as one of the best tests of the Tea Party?s endurance outside reliably Republican districts.

Democrats have singled out Mr. West as one of their key freshmen to defeat. ?He is the king of rhetoric,? said Mitch Ceasar, the chairman of the Democratic Party in Broward County. ?And that is what separated him in 2010. But what swept him in then may be the gust of wind that sends him out.?

The 22nd Congressional District, which may well be redrawn to favor Republicans, is roughly 48 percent quite conservative, and another 48 percent quite liberal, say officials from both parties, who also say each party covets the remaining 4 percent, who are swing voters. The district went for Senator Barack Obama and Senator John Kerry in their respective presidential races.

Mr. West?s place in the Democratic crosshairs stems, he said, from the fact ?that I scare the liberal establishment.?

?You?re looking at a black man who was brought up in the inner cities, career military, a conservative, married going on 22 two years, two beautiful daughters, and for whatever reason that really does scare them,? he said. ?My theory is that for whatever reason I could cause others like me to reject these liberal social-welfare policies.?

Mr. West, 50, was born and raised in Atlanta, received a bachelor?s degree from the University of Tennessee on an R.O.T.C. scholarship and holds two master?s degrees.

In the Army, he rose to battalion commander during the war in Iraq. His 22-year military career came to an end in that theater when he was relieved of his command after using a gun to coerce information from an Iraqi police officer during an interrogation. He retired with full rank, honors and benefits in 2004, and moved to Florida with his family. After a short stint as a high school teacher, he worked as a civilian adviser to the Afghan army, ran and lost against Representative Ron Klein in 2008, then came back to handily defeat Mr. Klein, a Democrat, in 2010.

Mr. West?s political beliefs hew closely to the most conservative members of the House; he was among the 59 House Republicans who voted against a deal worked out with Democrats to finance the government through the rest of the year, arguing that the included spending cuts did not go far enough, and says he will not vote to lift the nation?s debt ceiling without more cuts.

His views on the Middle East tend to tack even more to the right of the strongest supporters of Israel. During his campaign, Mr. West posted on his Web site a statement saying: ?I do not support any creation of a Palestinian state, to do so would be to create a terrorist state. There is already a state for the Arabic people residing in the region called Palestine, Jordan.?

His recent remarks to a conservative Christian women?s group that women affiliated with liberal groups ?have been neutering American men? are the sort that tend to attract attention. ?America needs strong men,? Mr. West explained, adding, ?the feminist movement was a great thing to push the equality of women but that does not mean you have to make men feel inferior or degrade them.?

Mr. West said he tends to keep to himself on Capitol Hill, where he is busy with hearings, meetings and constant reading. ?So the end of the day I?m kind of tired,? he said, ?about 10 or 10:30 at night I get to my little bat cave, then I?m back up at 5:30 to get in a five- or six-mile run and I?m back at it again. So right now it is not so much about hanging out with people as it is about making sure I am developing myself as a capable legislator.?

Ron Nixon contributed reporting from Washington.

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Apple may have bought iCloud domain for $4.5 million

Apple may have bought the iCloud.com domain name for $4.5 million. The rumor is based on information from a source familiar with the company, according to GigaOm.

The iCloud.com domain name was owned by Linkoping, Sweden-based desktop-as-a-service company Xcerion, which provides a storage-as-a-cloud service. Xcerion's iCloud service was recently rebranded to CloudMe, and the company acquired the CloudMe.com domain on April 5, 2011. The rumor goes that Apple was responsible for Xcerion's rebranding efforts, though neither company has confirmed this. In fact, a Whois lookup still shows Xcerion as the owner of the iCloud.com domain, navigating to iCloud.com redirects to CloudMe.com, and Xcerion currently owns the iCloud trademark.

Although Apple has not announced a cloud-based service, the general consensus (fueled by rumors and speculation as always) is that Cupertino is interested in competing with Amazon's recently announced Cloud Drive. The difference is that Apple wants the music industry to be onboard as well (Amazon started its service without getting approval from the big record labels). Cupertino has reportedly already procured deals from at least two of the big four labels (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music) within the last two months, according to All Things Digital.

Apple will reportedly let users store songs they've purchased from its iTunes store, as well as other songs stored on their hard drives, and listen to them on multiple (iOS?) devices. Amazon's service does the same thing, but if Apple gets approval from the music industry it will have one advantage: store a single master copy of a song on its servers, and share that with multiple users. Amazon's service meanwhile requires users to upload a copy of every song they want to access remotely.

Amazon offers its users 5GB of storage for free, which is upgradeable to 20GB with the purchase of any Amazon MP3 album or from 20GB up to 1TB at $1 per gigabyte. It's not yet clear if Apple intends to charge its users for iCloud, or whatever it ends up being called (the term cloud in regards to computers really isn't that mainstream), or if it will absorb the storage and licensing costs on its own. A rumor from earlier this month suggested that Apple recently ordered 12 petabytes of storage to support not only a music cloud, but a video one too.

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Meet Heather Poe


This is Heather Poe. She?s a young woman, living in Los Angeles and attending college there, though it isn?t her hometown. She?s kind, happy, eager to please and a little bit geeky. She?s also one of the best features of one of my favourite games, Troika?s Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines.

You find Heather in the hospital, where she?s been rushed into the emergency room for some strange neck wound. As a newly turned vampire yourself, you know that there?s more to this story than meets the eye, but your heightened senses also tell you that she?ll survive her undead encounter if she just gets some fresh haemoglobin. Unfortunately, there isn?t a doctor to hand and the hospital is criminally understaffed.

Earlier, a friend of yours told you that vampire blood has certain special characteristics when drunk by humans ? mainly as a healing elixir. You pause, then slit your wrist to save her young life before disappearing back into the night. You have errands to run, after all. Little do you know that this isn?t the last time you?ll be seeing Heather.

She shows up a few nights later, grabbing you on the street and desperate to thank you. She?s babbling and doe-eyed and she knows far too much about you and your kind ? you?ll suffer reprisals if you don?t take this matter in hand, but now is not the time. You send her back to your haven ? that grotty motel in Santa Monica ? and tell her to wait for you.

You have a choice now. Your blood is mixing with Heather?s and creating a potent, mind-altering brew. The more time she spends with you, the more she falls under your thrall, whether you want her to or not. You know you should send her away, break the bond and tell her to forget all this silliness about vampires. You know you should, but a lot of reasons run through you mind for why you shouldn?t ? a lot of excuses.

You?re little more than a servant for others at the moment, so the idea of cultivating your own slave does have a certain appeal. Letting her go may bring the wrath of your superiors if she exposes you. You wonder about the direction you could steer Heather, making her serve you in a way that seems repugnant in the daylight hours.

That?s what's great about being a vampire; not casting a reflection. You can avoid a lot of guilt and shame when you don?t have to meet your own gaze.


Over the next few days or weeks, Heather changes. Sometimes you're the one pushing, telling her how to dress or to surrender her life savings. At other times, it?s the blood that changes her. She was eager to please at the beginning, but now her devotion is fanatical. One day you find she?s bought you home some food - still alive and locked in the bathroom. The longer the ?relationship? lasts, the more you get the idea that it isn?t going to end well, but the harder it becomes to end it.

Heather?s fate ultimately lies in your hands. She?s a nice, likeable person and you want to do well by her. At the same time, though, the rest of LA is working to reshape you. You may have been just an average guy a few weeks ago, but now you?re a vampire; suffering and cruelty is your stock and trade.

As you acclimatise to this new existence, you start to adapt. You already don?t have to look at yourself in the mirror, but now you?re learning to hide the rest of yourself behind your new definition of what you are. You are a demon. Once you accept that, it becomes very easy to do very nasty things to a very nice person.

Then, when the game ends, you realise what?s happened and you learn something about yourself. That?s why Vampire: Bloodlines is one of my favourite games.

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Conservative Congressman?s Star Power Extends Beyond Florida District

But the most compelling part of Representative Allen B. West of Florida is his own biography, there for all to see: an African-American Tea Party activist Republican congressman and ally of hard-right Israelis who, after his beloved career in the Army ended under a cloud, defeated the sitting Democrat in a largely white, politically polarized district here and quickly became one of the right?s most visible spokesmen.

Mr. West?s fans in his district, which stretches over two counties along the east coast of Florida, are both numerous and loud; hundreds fill his town hall-style meetings, many of them favoring T-shirts bearing his image. At a recent Tea Party rally in Washington, supporters flocked to him like sea gulls to a crust of baguette. Among the 87 House Republican freshmen, he ranks third in the latest fund-raising period for his re-election campaign; his $433,551 haul came largely through individual donations.

Mr. West?s popularity among conservatives goes far beyond South Florida. He was chosen to give the keynote speech in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and is frequently featured on the Fox News Channel and in other conservative settings where he enjoys explaining, reiterating or unleashing any number of incendiary remarks concerning what he often calls ?the other side.?

There was his recent observation that liberal women ?have been neutering American men,? and that the president of the United States is a ?low-level socialist agitator.?

Mr. West scoffs at the notion that he has become a sensation. ?I don?t drink my own tub water or read my own press,? he said in a brief interview before a town hall-style meeting here this week. ?I tell the truth and I stand on convictions and you know what you?re getting.?

While Mr. West?s decision to cast himself as an iconoclast has made him a conservative star, it is unclear how well it will serve him as he seeks re-election next year in this swing district, where far more voters are likely to come out for a presidential election than in the midterm cycle.

With its two new Congressional seats, Florida will likely receive intensified national attention among swing states in 2012, perhaps highlighting this district ? which was central to the disputed 2000 presidential recount ? as one of the best tests of the Tea Party?s endurance outside reliably Republican districts.

Democrats have singled out Mr. West as one of their key freshmen to defeat. ?He is the king of rhetoric,? said Mitch Ceasar, the chairman of the Democratic Party in Broward County. ?And that is what separated him in 2010. But what swept him in then may be the gust of wind that sends him out.?

The 22nd Congressional District, which may well be redrawn to favor Republicans, is roughly 48 percent quite conservative, and another 48 percent quite liberal, say officials from both parties, who also say each party covets the remaining 4 percent, who are swing voters. The district went for Senator Barack Obama and Senator John Kerry in their respective presidential races.

Mr. West?s place in the Democratic crosshairs stems, he said, from the fact ?that I scare the liberal establishment.?

?You?re looking at a black man who was brought up in the inner cities, career military, a conservative, married going on 22 two years, two beautiful daughters, and for whatever reason that really does scare them,? he said. ?My theory is that for whatever reason I could cause others like me to reject these liberal social-welfare policies.?

Mr. West, 50, was born and raised in Atlanta, received a bachelor?s degree from the University of Tennessee on an R.O.T.C. scholarship and holds two master?s degrees.

In the Army, he rose to battalion commander during the war in Iraq. His 22-year military career came to an end in that theater when he was relieved of his command after using a gun to coerce information from an Iraqi police officer during an interrogation. He retired with full rank, honors and benefits in 2004, and moved to Florida with his family. After a short stint as a high school teacher, he worked as a civilian adviser to the Afghan army, ran and lost against Representative Ron Klein in 2008, then came back to handily defeat Mr. Klein, a Democrat, in 2010.

Mr. West?s political beliefs hew closely to the most conservative members of the House; he was among the 59 House Republicans who voted against a deal worked out with Democrats to finance the government through the rest of the year, arguing that the included spending cuts did not go far enough, and says he will not vote to lift the nation?s debt ceiling without more cuts.

His views on the Middle East tend to tack even more to the right of the strongest supporters of Israel. During his campaign, Mr. West posted on his Web site a statement saying: ?I do not support any creation of a Palestinian state, to do so would be to create a terrorist state. There is already a state for the Arabic people residing in the region called Palestine, Jordan.?

His recent remarks to a conservative Christian women?s group that women affiliated with liberal groups ?have been neutering American men? are the sort that tend to attract attention. ?America needs strong men,? Mr. West explained, adding, ?the feminist movement was a great thing to push the equality of women but that does not mean you have to make men feel inferior or degrade them.?

Mr. West said he tends to keep to himself on Capitol Hill, where he is busy with hearings, meetings and constant reading. ?So the end of the day I?m kind of tired,? he said, ?about 10 or 10:30 at night I get to my little bat cave, then I?m back up at 5:30 to get in a five- or six-mile run and I?m back at it again. So right now it is not so much about hanging out with people as it is about making sure I am developing myself as a capable legislator.?

Ron Nixon contributed reporting from Washington.

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Intel SSD roadmap shows five new drives coming in 2011

Engadget has published a leaked roadmap detailing Intel's SSD launch schedule. Assuming the graph is correct, Intel has a busy year planned with five new flash drives due before 2012. This, of course, is in addition to the 310, 320 and 510 series drives that have already invaded the consumer retail space. The 3xx drives are more budget-oriented, while the 510 is Intel's current mainstream flagship drive (we'll be publishing our review of the 510 shortly).

Toward the end of this quarter, Intel intends to introduce its 710 SSDs (codenamed Lyndonville), which will be served in 100GB, 200GB and 400GB helpings and comprised of 25nm MLC-HET flash chips. According to VR-Zone, MLC-HET chips are particularly high quality and intended for enterprise usage. We're not sure how it compares to SLC NAND. Interestingly, the 710 drives use SATA 3Gb/s, meaning that they'll be slower than the 510 series.


Briefly after Lyndonville is outed, Intel will yank the curtain back on its enterprise-oriented 720 series. Known internally as Ramsdale, the 720 drives will be outfitted with SLC NAND in capacities of 200GB and 400GB. This series will break beyond the 3Gb/s interface, but it will attach via PCIe, not SATA. During the same timeframe, the company will unveil its 20GB 3xx Larsen Creek drive, which is expected to be sold for caching purposes on Z68 boards.

As 2011 draws to a close, Intel will welcome two more SSD families: the 3xy Paint Creek and 520 Cherryville drives. The former appears to be an entry-level mSATA 3Gb/s offering with 25nm MLC flash in quantities of 40GB and 80GB. We assume Paint Creek might use the same PC29AS21BA0 controller that drives Intel's existing X25 and 3xx products. The 2.5-inch Cherryville drives will come in 64GB through 480GB flavors and use SATA 6Gb/s.

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Priming the Body to Tackle Cancer

Melanoma, one of the most common cancers, is usually treated with surgery and aggressive chemotherapy. In a new, preliminary study, Dr. Marcus O. Butler, of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, suggests a kinder, gentler way of treating melanoma, and perhaps other cancers, using the body's own defense system.

In a study published in the April 27 edition of Science Translational Medicine, Butler and his colleagues harvested immune cells from nine patients. They souped up the cells in their lab?in effect giving them the ability to remember cancer cells?multiplied them in number, and infused them back into the patients from whom they been taken. This technique, called adoptive t-cell therapy, primes the immune system to seek out and destroy cancer cells throughout the body.

Ten weeks after starting the therapy, seven of the nine patients had more of the specially trained cells than they had started with. The disease in four of the patients had become stable?neither advancing nor retreating. In one patient, the cancer disappeared completely; two years later, it has still not returned.

"We were pleased," Butler says.

Dr. Cassian Yee, a professor at the University of Washington and researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, says the Dana-Farber study proves adoptive therapy can work.

Yee, who also researches adoptive therapy, says cancer doctors tend to push for more-aggressive treatments that save lives but leave patients drained and ill. Butler's success suggests that equally effective treatments could be developed that are less damaging, he says.

This might be a "good end to the more-is-better" approach, says Yee. "This is really the right way to go, in terms of seeing what minimally is necessary to demonstrate some effectiveness." Because Butler's patients were relatively healthy, says Yee, more research will be needed to determine effectiveness in the sickest patients.

The work is not yet ready for commercialization. Laboratory methods for boosting immune cells need to be perfected and made more efficient, and more early clinical trials are needed, both Butler and Yee say.

Five of the Dana-Farber patients went on to take ipilimumab, a human monoclonal antibody made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved for treatment of metastatic melanoma. With the addition of ipilimumab, Butler says, tumors shrank in three of the five patients and stopped growing in the other two, a response far better than that shown in previous trials of the drug. Butler says this suggests his immunotherapy may help drugs work better.

"We're very encouraged," Butler says. "We're also the first to admit that it could have something to do with patient selection or the small number of patients [in our study]." He says he's in the process of putting together a clinical trial to look directly for any benefit from combined therapy.

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