Edelweiss Financial Services Q2FY13 Total Income 511 cr , Profit ...

by NR INDRAN / INT

Edelweiss Financial Services Limited, India?s leading? diversified financial services company, declared its? unaudited, consolidated results for the? quarter and half-year? ended? September 30, 2012 today.

? Total? Revenue for the quarter ` 511 cr compared to ` 368 cr for Q2FY12, up 39%

? Profit After Tax? ` 42 cr

compared to ` 26 cr for Q2FY12, up 58%

? Group Networth? ` 2,952 cr; Tangible Equity ` 2,619 cr

Edelweiss continues to record consistently improved financial and business performance quarter on quarter in the last four quarters, despite challenging environment, as a result of? the conscious strategy to de-risk? the business model? by diversifying across businesses, asset classes and client segments.? These results are after? the impact of investments made in incubating our new businesses ? Life Insurance and Retail Financial Services for future growth. The profit after tax for the second quarter of FY13? is ` 54 cr excluding the loss of our life insurance business.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rashesh Shah, Chairman and CEO,? Edelweiss Financial Services Limited said:

?After a prolonged period of inaction, government announced a slew of? economic reforms during the quarter? setting in a renewed sense of optimism.? Improvement in liquidity,? banks signaling reduction in their? lending rates, robust FII inflows? and stable or declining commodities prices indicate that growth is bottoming out. However, the key to investment coming back on track will be the? execution of reforms process. At the same time, controlling inflation and fiscal deficit remain the? key challenges. We are hopeful that the reforms process? will continue to engage the government and we see growth returning soon.

For us, the second quarter has seen? higher? activity in? credit,? investment banking, broking and corporate debt syndication. We have also been able to demonstrate consistently improved financial and business performance sequentially in the past four quarters as a result of significant diversification in our businesses and the execution efficiencies that we? have been constantly ?working on. We continue to? invest in new businesses on the path to becoming a fully diversified financial services group. Given the strengths of Edelweiss, we are confident of capturing our share of growth in the markets when it reappears.

Financial Highlights:

? Interest and Treasury income from capital based businesses is? ` 418 cr for the quarter(` 279 cr in Q2FY12), up significantly 50%. This? income stream? includes income from Credit, Commodities and Treasury businesses.

? Capital based income? accounts for 83% of the total income for? Q2FY13, compared to 77% in Q2FY12 as a result of the scale up of Credit business.

? Fee & Commission income from agency businesses is? `? 80 cr for? the quarter? (` 84 cr in Q2FY12), down 5% reflecting continued challenging environment for agency businesses overall in the past four quarters though the activity levels improved this quarter marginally compared to the previous quarter. Agency Fee & Commission income? includes income from broking, investment banking, asset management and wealth advisory businesses.

? Our Life Insurance business, which is in a nascent stage, recorded Premium income of ` 6 cr for the quarter.

? Agency based? income accounts for 17% of the total income for? Q2FY13 compared to 23% in Q2FY12.

The revenue mix reflects the diversified nature of Edelweiss? businesses and income streams which successfully lowers the volatility in performance.

Business Highlights:

Businesses of Edelweiss are organised around? five? broad? business groups ? Credit including Retail? Finance and? Debt Capital? Markets, Capital Markets including? Asset Management, Commodities, Life Insurance and Treasury.

? Credit Business:

Edelweiss offers? Wholesale finance by way of? collateralized? loans? and? Retail finance which? includes housing mortgage, loan against property and SME finance. The total credit book of the group stands at ` 5,773 cr at the end of this quarter compared to ` 5,219 cr as at the end of Q1FY13. The wholesale collateralized loan book is adequately secured with an average collateral cover of 2.72 times. Asset quality of the? credit book continues to be satisfactory inspite of the tough operating environment with Gross NPLs at 0.42% and Net ?NPLs at 0.12% as a result of robust risk management.

Edelweiss forayed into Retail finance two years ago by launching housing finance business following the articulated strategy of diversifying into adjacent markets and client segments.

Retail Finance business has? now? built? a book? of? `? 1,195 cr by the end of this quarter compared to? ` 946 cr at the end of the previous quarter. This business currently operates across 9 major metros and plans to enlarge its footprint going forward.

The Indian Housing finance market, characterised by a very low penetration at present, is expected to grow over four times by the end of this decade given the young demographic profile that India enjoys and? the fact that it is the aspiration of every Indian to own a home. In addition, migration of working class from rural to semi-urban and urban cities will also drive demand for housing in these cities. This business, therefore, presents vast opportunity to Edelweiss for long-term growth together with designed diversification in the revenue streams.

? Debt Capital Markets business continued to? be? a leading debt? arranger in the country with a market share of 8% during? Q2FY13 in private placement of debt (source: Prime Database).

? While Edelweiss? is a large wholesale debt arranger in the country, this quarter marked its entry in public issues of debt by being a Lead Arranger in the NCD issues of `? 436 cr for Shriram City Union Finance? and of? `? 500 cr for India Infoline. Other ?transactions this quarter included? Long-term Bonds? placements for? large clients like REC (three issues),? HDFC,? Tata Capital Housing Finance,? Sundaram Finance and Dhanlaxmi Bank across seven deals.

? In addition, the Fixed Income Advisory business handled one advisory transaction.

The business, in all, handled 10 transactions in Q2FY13 compared to 9 in Q1FY13.

? Capital Markets & Asset Management Business:

? Investment Banking business continues to witness slow deal closures on the back of lackluster? investment? demand even though the deal pipeline continues to be strong.

Despite this, the business? handled? two transactions? during the quarter? ? a private equity placement of? `? 155 cr for Parag Milk Foods and de-listing of shares of India Securities.

? Institutional Broking business continued to be among the market leaders during the quarter.? The market sentiments and activity levels improved towards the end of the quarter on the back of a? slew of reforms announcements by the government.

Edelweiss was quick to capture these business opportunities leading to an increase in market share and an uptick in the income from broking in the second quarter.

Edelweiss? Research? covers 189 stocks across? 20 sectors representing? over 70% of market capitalization.

During the quarter, Edelweiss arranged the? EdelPulse Conference on? the theme? ?Reality: Moving? towards Ruralism which brought together over 25 dealers/sector experts and 140 participants from over 70 funds to? facilitate an understanding of ground level developments in the field of rural initiatives and emerging opportunities.

EdelPulse? is a unique event that has earned an enviable reputation over the years among institutional investors in India for its insightful window into the real world of business whereby the industry participants (dealers, marketing personnel and intermediaries) provide an unbiased view of the ground level realities.

? Retail? Capital Market? businesses continued? to? add new clients taking the base to 389,300 and? build scale during the quarter. The online portal? www.edelweiss.incontinues to be one of the most popular sites with the? cumulative number of unique visitors reaching 53 lac with 8 cr page views till September 30, 2012.

? Wealth Management business? continued to manage assets of? over `? 3,000 cr and Depository Participant (DP) AUMs at ` 1,500 cr by the end of Q2FY13. The Structured Products? portfolio? scaled up? to about `? 800 cr as at the end of? this? quarter with a handsome growth of around ` 100 cr in the quarter.

? Asset Management:

? AUMs/AUAs under Alternative Asset Management? were US$ 590 million equivalent at the end of Q2FY13 including the Structured Products portfolio. This is a growth business? for Edelweiss and? is poised to achieve significant growth going forward

? Retail? Asset Management? business manages 11 funds across Equity, Debt and Liquid Schemes, with average AUMs of ` 306 cr during this quarter. This business now has an active base of over? 7,100 investors compared to 6,200 at the start of the quarter. It has a distribution network comprising over 3,000 Distributors. The focus of ?this business continues to be on developing a variety of products and building investment track record while the industry grapples with issues connected with its business model and growth.

? Commodities:

Edelweiss? entered Commodities business about? four years ago? following the strategy? to diversify across asset classes. It has now emerged as an independent? business. It? is engaged in sourcing and distribution of precious metals, currently bullion and silver, at 11 centres to over 400 active clients.

Commodities business further diversified into dealing in? agri commodities over a year ago and is building scale. We believe? that? with increasing financialization of commodities in India, this business presents large business opportunities going forward.

? Life Insurance:

Edelweiss? Tokio Life Insurance completed one year of operations this quarter.? It? recorded New Business Premium of ` 6 cr in the quarter compared to ` 3 cr in Q1FY13. It expanded its operations to? six major cities? ? Bangalore,? Mangalore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi? during the quarter taking the total number of offices to? 39 across 29 cities in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chandigarh. The agency channel has been? significantly? scaled up? with the number of Personal Financial Advisors (PFAs)? reaching 1,845? by the end of this quarter compared to 1,260 at the beginning of the quarter.

The business offers diverse products to meet the basic needs of customers on education funding, wealth accumulation & enhancement, living with impaired health, income replacement and? retirement funding. It also offers group products for credit and life protection.

The life? insurance joint venture with Tokio Marine, one of the? oldest and biggest global? life Insurance companies? from Japan,? was launched? to participate in the exciting growth opportunities that? this industry presents given extremely low level of penetration in India.

This business also significantly enlarges the addressable retail markets for Edelweiss.

? Treasury:

Treasury? actively manages our? liquidity? position? and balance sheet. Treasury? assets ?allocation continues to be a function of liquidity management needs, capital requirement of businesses and opportunities in the markets. Our strong focus on enterprise wide risk management ensures optimum returns while preserving our capital and ensuring adequate short-term liquidity position.

You can contact author @ nr_indran@rediffmail.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

Source: http://apnnews.com/2012/11/06/edelweiss-financial-services-q2fy13-total-income-511-cr-profit-after-tax-42-cr/

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Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau stressing team concept without Derrick Rose

BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com November 4, 2012 8:11PM

Head coach Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls gets a laugh out of referee Tony Brothers #25 during a game against the Detroit Pistons at the United Center on March 30, 2012. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Updated: November 4, 2012 9:03PM

It has been said repeatedly since the most important anterior cruciate ligament in the city was torn in April: Without Derrick Rose, the Bulls have no superstar.

But hand it to coach Tom Thibodeau for making that weakness seem like a strength while Rose continues to rehab his injured left knee. Well, at least for getting his team to believe it?s a strength.

??In this league, in order to be a great team, you?ve got to have production from all the guys on the floor,?? guard Richard Hamilton said. ??You can?t just have one guy do the bulk of the scoring because good teams key on that, and ? later in the playoffs ? it?s hard to win like that.

??In order for us to be good and successful, we?ve all got to be better. We all have to help each other without Derrick and bring more of a team thing to win games.??

That means unselfishness on
offense, mucking up the game with defense and physical play on the boards. The Bulls did none of those things well in their 89-82 loss
Saturday to the New Orleans Hornets at the United Center.

So were the Bulls exposed by the Hornets? Somewhat. But it?s a guarantee Thibodeau will use the game film from Saturday as a coachable moment when the Bulls return to practice Monday.

??As a team, we were out of sync,?? Thibodeau said. ??We were trying to get something going. That?s when you really have to stay connected as a team ? when things aren?t going your way. I thought the
intentions were good by everybody. Everybody wanted to do well, but you have to do it as a team; you can?t do it individually. We wanted to change it, turn it around, and you have to stay within the team.??

What the loss also showed is that Thibodeau still is searching for consistency on offense and trying to learn which players he can count on in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls? inability to close out games irked Thibodeau during the preseason. That wasn?t a problem in season-opening victories against the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, but it resurfaced against the Hornets.

That?s why starters Carlos Boozer, Kirk Hinrich and Hamilton were on the bench for the last 12 minutes. Reserves Taj Gibson, Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson took their place alongside usual starters Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.

??Just searching, trying to get some energy out there,?? Thibodeau said. ??I just thought we were flat. I thought that group [with Gibson, Belinelli and Robinson] was playing with some energy.??

Thibodeau came to the Bulls from the Boston Celtics, an organization that embraced statistics on its way to winning an NBA championship in 2008. The plus/minus stat means something to him.

The only two players on the Bulls who haven?t had a minus next to their name in the box score this season are Belinelli and Robinson. Gibson is close, getting a minus-1 in the victory against the Kings.

That?s why Thibodeau leaned on those three in an effort to chase down the Hornets in the fourth quarter Saturday.

??Even in the wins we can do better,?? Robinson said. ??We just have to continue to play hard, be scrappy and make shots.??

And do it together. At least until Rose returns.

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/16153554-419/bulls-coach-tom-thibodeau-stressing-team-concept-without-derrick-rose.html

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Romney adds Election Day stops in Ohio, Pa.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) ? Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney added Election Day campaign stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania as he spent Monday warning voters of another recession if Democratic President Barack Obama is re-elected.

"The same course we're on isn't going to lead to a better destination. The same course we're on is going to lead to $20 billion in debt," Romney told a cheering crowd of more than 8,000 people at George Mason University's Patriot Center arena. "Unless we change course, we also may be looking at another recession."

Romney was rallying voters across four swing states and urging them to vote Tuesday.

"Look, we have one job left, and that's to make sure that on Election Day, we make certain that everybody that's qualified to vote gets out to vote," Romney told the thousands gathered inside an airplane hangar at Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida at the first of his five campaign rallies. "We need every single vote in Florida."

Supporters in the Florida crowd waved signs that said "Vote for love of country," a response to President Barack Obama's instruction to supporters that voting is the "best revenge." A second stop in Lynchburg, Va., featured an enormous "Get Out and Vote" banner.

The Florida rally would have been the beginning of Romney's last and longest day of campaigning, a sprint through Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire, from morning until a late-night rally in Manchester that originally was billed as his last hurrah. But in the afternoon, Romney's team announced a last-minute Election Day push that will take him to Cleveland and Pittsburgh for get-out-the-vote efforts before he returns to Boston to await the outcome.

Ohio is critical battleground that Romney has visited again and again ? but one where polls show a race with Obama that's stubbornly close. Romney all but ignored Pennsylvania until the final week of the campaign, as Republicans poured millions onto previously empty airwaves in a bid to expand the map.

The Election Day campaign events mimic Obama, who campaigned in Indiana on Election Day in 2008. He ultimately the state, which typically backed Republicans for president. A spokeswoman said Obama would not campaign Tuesday, but would remain in Chicago and reach out to swing-state voters through a series of television and radio interviews.

But while Indiana's 11 electoral college votes were a nice addition to Obama's 365-vote Electoral College landslide, Romney has been banking on Ohio to carry him over the finish line in what's been a fluid but close-fought contest. Without Ohio, Romney has to win nearly every other battleground state to defeat Obama. Adding Pennsylvania would change the calculus, but Democrats say they remain confident they'll win a state that's backed their party's presidential candidates since 1988.

"Tomorrow, we begin a new tomorrow," Romney said in Florida, his voice a bit hoarse as he spoke using a teleprompter to prevent mistakes borne of weariness. By the time he lands in New Hampshire, Romney will have covered more than 15,000 miles in four days, stopping in Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Ohio, Virginia, Florida and New Hampshire. Monday's five rallies are the most Romney has held in a single day during the general election campaign.

He covered tens of thousands of miles in the 523 days since he announced his second presidential bid in New Hampshire on June 2, 2011. All told, he's been running for president for nearly six years.

If Romney wins, he would become the nation's 45th president, and spend the fall and winter preparing to move into the White House and take over the executive branch of the government. There would be Cabinet secretaries to select, news conferences to hold, intelligence briefings to attend. The pack of cameras that has surrounded Romney almost daily since he announced would still greet him nearly every morning.

"Forty five! Forty five!" chanted several people in the Florida audience.

But if he loses, all the trappings of the campaign ? his charter airplane, the entourage of besuited Secret Service agents, the siren-filled motorcades down highways closed just for him ? will disappear.

Supporters seem to know they're watching history. On the rope line after his Florida event, a man presented Romney with a bag of pins from his father George Romney's 1968 bid for president.

Romney is already further along; his father lost the Republican nomination, and Richard Nixon went on to be elected president.

The son hopes for a different outcome. "We can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow," he said.

___

Follow Kasie Hunt on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kasie and Steve Peoples at http://www.twitter.com/sppeoples

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-adds-election-day-stops-ohio-pa-200743234--election.html

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U.S. fiscal cliff, Europe's debt woes worry G20

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Finance chiefs of leading economies pressed the United States on Sunday to show how it can avert a series of spending cuts and tax hikes that could hurt global output, though some countries saw Europe's debt crisis as the No. 1 danger.

Unless a fractious U.S. Congress can reach a deal, about $600 billion in government spending cuts and higher taxes are set to kick in from January 1, threatening to push the American economy back into recession.

"There was a strong demand (from Europeans) to be briefed on the fiscal cliff, to get a more detailed idea of how the U.S. may deal with the issue," an official from one of the Group of 20 countries said of preliminary talks in Mexico City before ministers gathered later on Sunday and on Monday.

With a close U.S. presidential election looming on Tuesday, action to avert the so-called fiscal cliff has been delayed and there is uncertainty that Congress can reach a deal, putting many countries on alert about risks to already weak growth.

South Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jaewan forecast the global economy could suffer adverse effects during the first quarter of 2013 because of uncertainty over the issue.

Nonetheless, he and other officials said they were counting on Congress being able to find some kind of fix. "I think compared to the euro zone crisis the fiscal cliff issue is much easier to solve," Bahk told Reuters in an interview.

A draft communiqu? being readied for the G20 policymakers sees further serious risks to the global economy, including Europe's protracted debt crisis and potential problems in Japan.

"Global growth remains modest and risks remain elevated, including due to possible delays in the complex implementation of recent policy announcements in Europe, a potential sharp fiscal tightening in the United States and Japan, weaker growth in some emerging markets and additional supply shocks in some commodity markets," the draft said, according to a G20 source.

The words on Europe seemed to be a reference to differences within Europe over how build a banking union, including a single banking supervision mechanism within euro zone member states, throughout 2013. France, Spain and Italy have been frustrated with German demands for the new scheme.

With several heavyweights like U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner - who is expected to stand down soon after the U.S. elections on Tuesday - European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and top Chinese officials skipping the meeting, few expect any major agreements.

GERMANY PRESSES ON DEBTS AND DEFICITS AGAIN

In a move that could revive tensions with the United States, Germany was pressing other countries on Sunday for new commitments on deficit and debt reduction targets beyond 2016.

The euro zone's biggest economy, which has faced criticism for its insistence on belt-tightening as a way to restore confidence in the world economy, came to the meeting saying the United States and Japan shared as much responsibility as Europe for ensuring global economic stability.

"I think the focus is now increasingly balanced, on both the U.S. and EU," a euro zone official said. "The difference being that there is recognition of and support for the EU efforts, while it is less clear how exactly the US should address its issue."

Policy makers are scrambling to stem a new slowdown in a global economy still limping after the 2008-09 financial crisis.

The G20's consensus of four years ago, which helped stave off the risk of a new depression, has given way to deep differences over issues such as spending to boost growth and the right pace of belt-tightening to tackle high debt levels.

The International Monetary Fund last month cut its forecast for global growth to 3.6 percent for 2013, citing "familiar" forces dragging on advanced economies: fiscal consolidation and a weak financial system.

Jose Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, said on Saturday the G20 should appeal to the United States to avoid the` fiscal cliff, but added he was optimistic that Congress would strike a deal.

"I still believe it is not going to be applied," Gurria said in an interview.

Officials are concerned about Japan's own version of the fiscal cliff, a potentially crippling funding shortfall just as it risks sliding into recession.

U.S. and European officials are likely to come under pressure from G20 peers for dragging their feet on implementing the so-called Basel III accords. They would require banks to set aside more capital - potentially hurting profits - which is one of the key global responses to the 2007-09 financial crisis.

Countries which fail to introduce the rules could face sanctions, a Mexican finance official said.

(Writing by Simon Gardner; Editing by William Schomberg and David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/g20-flags-u-fiscal-cliff-europes-debt-woes-053515874--finance.html

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Bad Moon Rising: The Science of Werewolves

It?s Halloween, that time of year when we celebrate all manner of monsters, from vampires and ghosts, to ghouls, zombies ? and werewolves. In fact, SciCurious has a fascinating post today on a 2012 paper exploring an unusual case of the psychological disorder of lycanthropy. It inspired me to re-post my own take on werewolves from 2009, covering not just the psychiatric disorder, but also the mythology inspired by it, as well as a rare genetic condition called hypertrichosis.

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Confession: I love werewolf mythology, and have done ever since I first saw the classic film I Was a Teenaged Werewolf as a kid during a sleepover at a friend?s house. My folks didn?t like me watching horror films, mostly because I had a vivid imagination and inevitably suffered nightmares afterward.

This was no exception. I woke suddenly in the night, and realized there was the vague outline of a furry human being near the foot of my bed. Terrified, I lay as still as possible and tried to regulate my breathing, figuring if the werewolf thought I was still asleep, it wouldn?t eat me. It was a good 10 minutes before my rational brain re-asserted itself and I realized it was a poster of David Cassidy my friend had hung on her wall. (I?m sure the therapists out there could have a field day with this one.)

The werewolf legend ? and shape-shifting in general ? is quite possibly as old as civilization itself. How Stuff Works points to ?The Epic of Gilgamesh,? one of the oldest written works, as a possible ?first mention? source for werewolves. Gilgamesh discovers that the goddess Ishtar ? who has amorous designs on his virtue ?turned one former lover (a shepherd) into a wolf. Gilgamesh wisely refuses her romantic overtures.

Eighteenth century woodcut of a werewolf attack. Public domain.

Ovid?s ?The Metamorphosis? tells the story of King Lycaon of Acadia, who is visited by the god Jupiter in disguise and dares to serve human flesh to the immortal. Jupiter frowns on cannibalism, it turns out, so he turns Lycaon into a wolf. It?s not a coincidence that his name comes from lykos, meaning ?wolf? ? which is also a root word for lycanthropy, the delusion wherein someone believes he or shehas been transformed into a wolf or other kind of animal.

The earliest film about werewolves is The Wolfman, in which those bitten by a werewolf transform into the same half-human, half-wolf hybrid.

Originally, the transformation took place in the autumn, commonly the season when monkshood or wolfsbane is in full bloom. People in the movie attach wolfsbane flowers to their clothing to ward off attacks, but in reality, the plant is very poisonous so it wasn?t the smartest protective mechanism. Those who work with these plants typically wear gloves and give their hands a thorough washing after.

In the Twilight series, Jacob Black?s unique condition runs in the family, and it turns out that there is a genetic disorder called hypertrichosis that gives rise to excessive hair growth, in the most extreme cases all over the body. It is sometimes called ?werewolf syndrome,? and may be the root of the werewolf legends.

In the mid 16th century, a man named Petrus Gonzales was brought to the court of King Henry II of France as a novelty: he had long soft hair all his body. Nonetheless, he married and fathered three children who inherited his condition.

His was not an isolated case. In the mid 19th century, a Mexican Indian woman named Julia Pastrana had hypertrichosis terminalis: her face and body were covered with straight black hair and she achieved some measure of fame as the ?Bearded and Hairy Lady? on the freak show circuit. She could read and write in three different languages, but people still gawked at her as if she were just an animal.

The person responsible for exploiting her was none other than her husband, Theodor Lent, who had no compunction about selling her body to a Russian anatomist after her death to scrounge a few extra dollars out of his ?investment.? And when the anatomist returned the mummified body, Lent took his wife?s remains on the road. Julia?s mummy was lost for many years, but was rediscovered in 1990 at the Oslo Forensic Institute in Norway, where it still resides today.

Many of those who suffered from hypertrichosis found themselves on the freak show circuit, figuring it was better to make the best of a bad situation and get paid for their unfortunate appearance. Other famous examples are Stephen Bibrowski, a.k.a., Lionel the Lion-Faced Man, the so-called ?wolf-boy? Jesus Aceves, Annie Jones the Bearded Lady, and Fedor Jeftichew, known to fans of P.T. Barnum?s traveling circuses as JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy. It was certainly preferable to the fate of sufferers who had the misfortune to live in the 16th century: in 1573 an alleged werewolf named Gilles Garnier was burned at the stake.

Petrus Gonzales (1648), the first recorded case of hypertrichosis. Public domain.

Apart from obsessive shaving and depilatory techniques, there is no treatment or cure. Back in 1995, a team of researchers managed to identify a gene that in its mutant form may cause (or at least contribute to) congenital generalized hypertrichosis, the rarest form of the disease.

The rare modern cases largely are confined to one particular Mexican family, 32 of whom agreed to donate their blood for genetic screening to participate in the study. Nearly all exhibit excess body face and body hair, but the condition is more pronounced in the males, because hypertrichosis is an ?X-linked trait.?

Daughters only inherit one copy of the mutant X chromosome responsible for the disorder, but their other normal X chromosome counters the expression of the gene. This means they usually only have patchy spots of excess. The male members, alas, only inherit one X chromosome, with no second X chromosome to offer any protection. Ergo, the mutation is active in every cell of the body resulting in a more uniform coat of hair.

More interesting than the gene itself ? which has not been completely isolated, but has been localized on the bottom half of the X chromosome ? is the fact that it seems to belong to the class of atavistic mutations: the re-emergence of a genetic trait that lies dormant because the organism has evolved in such a way that it?s no longer needed, and the gene is set aside.

But it doesn?t disappear from the genome completely, and the working hypothesis is that occasionally such atavistic mutations can reawaken those genes. Why is the body such a pack rat when it comes to hoarding no-longer-used genes? Per the New York Times article about that research:

?Biologists propose that the reason atavisms exist at all is nature?s propensity for recycling old ideas. Rarely is a gene used for a single purpose in the growth and health of an organism. Instead, most genes are Renaissance artists, able to work in a range of styles and media depending on the needs of the species. A gene involved in hair growth may also play a role in the development of skin or bones. Thus. even a relatively naked ape like Homo sapiens cannot afford to lose the hair gene for fear of jeopardizing the rest of the body?s architecture and packaging.?

This is not a new idea in evolutionary theory. Charles Darwin himself suggested that the condition of having more than the usual number of fingers or toes (polydactyly) was an ancient trait, now mostly formant, that occasionally reappears due to some hereditary misstep. In the case of hypertrichosis, the scientists speculate that humans way back in their earliest days still possessed some semblance of a protective ?fur coat.? The research could also tell scientists more about how hair grows, in theory producing a treatment for baldness. (Whoever figures that one out stands to make a fortune.)

Stephan Bibrowski, also known as Lionel the Lion-faced Man. Public domain.

Given the rarity of hypertrichosis, it?s unlikely this alone fueled the widespread versions of werewolf legends and other shape-shifting stories around the globe. The psychological disorder known as clinical lycanthropy ? the subject of Scicurious?s post today ? is a bit more common, and has been known for centuries.

The Greek physician Paulus Aegineta wrote about the syndrome in the 7th century, and the Biblical king Nebuchadnezzar is believed by some historians to have suffered from lycanthropy following a seven-year bout of depression. In 1589 a German named named Peter Stubbe was executed in Cologne for cannibalism and multiple murders; he claimed he had a magical belt that enabled him to turn into a wolf.

In France a decade or so later, a man named Jean Grenier claimed he had a skin that allowed him to become a wolf, and said he was responsible for several murders and disappearances. The court ruled he was insane and confined him to a monastery for the remainder of his life, but his was a common delusion.

Some historians estimate that between 1520 and 1630, there were over 30,000 recorded cases in France of people who thought they were werewolves. Robert Burton mentions the syndrome in his 1621 treatise The Anatomy of Melancholy:

?Lycanthropa, which Avicenna calls cucubuth, others lupinam insaniam, or wolf-madness, when men run howling about graves an fields in the night, and will not be persuaded but that they are wolves, or some beasts. Aetius and Paulus call it a kind of melancholy, but I should rather refer to it as madness, as most do.?

The disorder, while rare, is still around today. Some 30 cases have been reported in he medical literature since 2004 alone although only a few involve wolf or dog transformations. Despite its name, those suffering from lycanthropy believe they are transformed into various different animals, such as a 34-year-old schizophrenic woman who thought she could turn into a frog and often exhibited frog-like behavior, or another schizophrenic woman who believed she was turning into a bee.

Those who study these sorts of psychiatric conditions believe lycanthropy is usually linked to other conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or clinical depression, but that doesn?t explain why those episodes take the form of lycanthropy. There might be neurological factors at play.

For instance, certain parts of the brain are known to play a role in shaping body image, and at least one brain imaging study revealed that those suffering from clinical lycanthropy show an unusual level of activity in those parts of the brain. So the transformation process would feel extremely ?real? to them. That still doesn?t explain why they feel transformed into specific creatures; that may be due to cultural influences.

It certainly can make for some interesting family gatherings. One famous case involved a 49-year-old married woman who began experiencing delusions of being a wolf, culminating in disrobing at a family dinner and, well, basically behaving like a dog in heat. She had episodes of growling, scratching and gnawing at the furniture, and when she looked into the mirror, her body image was so distorted she saw the head of a wolf instead of her own face. Fortunately, nine weeks in an institution under medication for schizophrenia controlled her behavior sufficiently that she was discharged.

The case Scicurious highlights involved a woman dubbed ?Ms. A? admitted to the hospital after refusing to take her meds. Her excuse:

?She told her family and the doctors that she could not take the medication because they belonged to Ms. A, and Ms. A had died two weeks before. The patient told them that she had been transformed by the devil into a snake. She was observed sticking out her tongue in snake-like fashion, hiding under things, and attempting to bite (and threatening to kill) her doctors. Ms. A had a past history of several episodes of major depression. When she was prescribed antidepressants and antipsychotics, the symptoms resolves almost immediately and she was able to go home.?

Okay, I love the mythology, the history, and it?s fun to delve into the science behind such a quirky subject. But those with such rare conditions don?t have an easy time of it, despite the fact that at least one 11-year-old reveled in being named hairiest girl last year. The physical effects are daunting enough. Like Sci, I suspect that experiencing the psychological condition would likely prove even more terrifying ? almost as terrifying as actually shapeshifting into a wolf, as in the famous transformation scene from An American Werewolf in London:

That doesn?t look like much fun, does it? Have fun howling at the moon tonight folks ? but remember to steer clear of the moors!

References:

Felgenhauer WR. (1969) ?Hypertrichosis lanuginosa universalis,? J Genet Hum. 17(1):1?44.

Figuera, L.; Pandolfo, M.; Dunne, P.; Cant?, J.; Patel, P. (1995) ?Mapping of the congenital generalized hypertrichosis locus to chromosome Xq24-q27.1,? Nature Genetics 10 (2): 202?207.

Kahlil et al. (2012) ?Lycanthropy as a Culture-Bound Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature,? Journal of Psychiatric Practice.

Mac?as-Flores, MA, et al. (1984). ?A New Form of Hypertrichosis Inherited as an X-linked Dominant Trait,? Human Genetics 66 (1): 66?70.

Miles, A. E. W. (1974) ?Julia Pastrana: the bearded lady,? Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 67 (2): 160?164..

Sun, M. et al. (2009) ?Copy-Number Mutations on Chromosome 17q24.2-q24.3 in Congenital Generalized Hypertrichosis Terminalis with or without Gingival Hyperplasia,? American Journal of Human Genetics 84 (6): 807?813.

Wendelin, D.; Pope, D.; Mallory, S. (2003). ?Hypertrichosis,? Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 48 (2): 161?179.

Woodward, Ian. The Werewolf Delusion. New York: Paddington Press, 1979.

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Storm kills legions of NYU lab mice

One of New York University's medical research facilities has lost thousands of laboratory mice to Hurricane Sandy's storm surge, a research setback that could take years to correct, according to scientists.

The NYU Langone Medical Center confirmed on Wednesday that the Smilow Research Center, one of three animal research facilities on campus, "was adversely impacted by the severity of the flood surge and the speed with which it came on."

"Animal resource staff was on site continuously to mitigate the damage from the storm, but due to the speed and force of the surge, animal rescue attempts were unsuccessful," the medical center said in a statement. "This facility is a barrier facility that is 'super clean,' which restricts the movement of animals in and out of the facility."

NYU said it was "deeply saddened by the loss of these animals' lives and the impact this has on the many years of important work conducted by our researchers."

The loss of the mice was initially reported by the New York Daily News, citing an unnamed source. The building's power failure also took out freezers and refrigerators, likely destroying other biological research materials, the source reported.

Outside scientists said the consequences for medical research could be far-reaching.

"It's really, really devastating," said Jacco van Rheenen, a medical physicist at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands who has worked with laboratory mice. The problem may go beyond NYU, van Rheenan told LiveScience.

"Some mice are unique, they're just made for certain research," he said. "So if (the researchers) didn't send it out to other labs, that line is just lost." [ On the Ground: Hurricane Sandy in Images ]

Making a lab mouse
Mice can breed several times a year, and they reach maturity quickly. But that doesn't mean that it's easy to keep a colony of lab mice going. Scientists use genetic engineering techniques to create and breed what are called transgenic mice ? strains where certain genes are "knocked out" or otherwise altered so researchers can pinpoint genetic variables in development and disease.

Creating these transgenic lines can take years. It starts with lab work to target a specific gene, said Ashley Seifert, who researches tissue regeneration at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Next, researchers have to insert the altered genes into mice blastocysts (early embryos) and then implant those embryos into mother mice that can gestate the new strain. Then the researchers have to make sure the genetic alterations made it through development and into the sperm and egg of the baby mice so that they can breed and pass on these changes.

Simply knocking out one gene so that it doesn't function in the body takes about a year, Seifert told LiveScience. Many transgenic mice are more complex than that, however, and additional genetic alterations require crossbreeding or manipulating multiple genes. That can take two or three years.

How to rebuild
It's the kind of time a doctoral student might not have, Seifert said. A Ph.D. student working for three years to create a transgenic mouse strain for her research could find herself back to square one in what's supposed to be a five- or six-year program.

"If I were to lose all my mice in one fell swoop, I'm basically starting from scratch and have lost three years of work," Seifert said. It's the equivalent of the only copy of a typewritten novel burning in a house fire, he added. [Gallery: The Art of Biomedical Research]

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Not to mention three years of funding. Research money is hard to come by, and grants are competitive, said Erich Jarvis, a neurobiologist at Duke University. And in an academic climate of "publish or perish," early-career researchers who suffer a setback can be in trouble.

"Graduate students and postdocs, their careers depend on publishing successful scientific research, and if they lose their animals that's going to set them back," Jarvis told LiveScience. "I'm making it sound dire here, but it probably is."

Once the power is on and the damage cataloged, NYU researchers will have to rebuild, scientists said. If researchers have shared their mouse strains with other scientists, they'll be able to call their colleagues and ask for replacements, Jarvis said ? a type of scientific sharing that may save some researchers in the wake of this disaster.

"If somebody sent me something from NYU and they called me up, I would say, 'I'll breed you more animals,'" Jarvis said.

But some strains may be unique to NYU, either because their creators chose not to share them or because they're too new. Those researchers will have no choice but to scrape that line of work or start all over again. Graduate students will likely require extensions of deadlines to complete their work.

"One thing I would not do is, I wouldn't give up," Jarvis said.

This report includes information from NBC News and LiveScience's Stephanie Pappas. Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook ? and Google+.

? 2012 msnbc.com

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49628354/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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