Scientists find more precise way to turn off genes, a major goal of treatments that target cancer

Mar. 7, 2013 ? Scientists at UC San Francisco have found a more precise way to turn off genes, a finding that will speed research discoveries and biotech advances and may eventually prove useful in reprogramming cells to regenerate organs and tissues.

The strategy borrows from the molecular toolbox of bacteria, using a protein employed by microbes to fight off viruses, according to the researchers, who describe the technique in the current issue of Cell.

Turning off genes is a major goal of treatments that target cancer and other diseases. In addition, the ability to turn genes off to learn more about how cells work is a key to unlocking the mysteries of biochemical pathways and interactions that drive normal development as well as disease progression.

"We've spent energy and effort to map the human genome, but we don't yet understand how the genetic blueprint leads to a human being, and how we can manipulate the genome to better understand and treat disease," said Wendell Lim, PhD, a senior author of the study. Lim is director of the UCSF Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator and professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology.

The new technology developed by the team of UCSF and UC Berkeley researchers is called CRISPR interference -- not to be confused with RNA interference, an already popular strategy for turning off protein production.

"CRISPR interference is a simple approach for selectively perturbing gene expression on a genome-wide scale," said Lei Stanley Qi, PhD, a UCSF Systems Biology Fellow who was the lead author of the Cell study. "This technology is an elegant way to search for any short DNA sequence in the genome, and to then control the expression of the gene where that sequence is located."

The technique will allow researchers to more easily and accurately trace patterns of gene activation and biochemical chains of events that take place within cells, Qi said, and will help scientists identify key proteins that normally control these events and that may go awry in disease.

CRISPR Interference vs. RNA Interference

Unlike conventional RNA interference techniques, CRISPR interference allows any number of individual genes to be silenced at the same time, Qi said. In addition, it acts more crisply, if you will, by not turning off untargeted genes the way RNA interference techniques do.

Gene switching by RNA interference was identified more than a decade ago, launching a new research field that has spawned a Nobel Prize and billion-dollar biotech firms. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced its first approval of an injectable disease therapy based on a similar interference strategy, a drug to treat a rare form of high cholesterol.

RNA interference blocks the messenger RNA that drives protein protection based on the blueprint contained within a gene's DNA sequence. By preventing protein production, RNA interference may be used to get around the problem of difficult-to-target proteins, a frequent challenge in drug development.

But CRISPR interference acts one step earlier in the cell's protein manufacturing process. "The horse has already left the barn with RNA interference, in the sense that the RNA message already has been transcribed from DNA," said Jonathan Weissman, PhD, a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator and professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology, who is another senior author on the work. "With CRISPR interference, we can prevent the message from being written."

Implications for Regenerative Medicine

CRISPR -- an acronym for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" -- is a system that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses. CRISPR acts like a vaccine, incorporating bits of genes from viruses. Bacteria can reference this library of virus genes to recognize and attack viral invaders.

Qi and colleagues used a protein from this system, called Cas9, as a chassis into which they can insert any specific RNA partner molecule. The selected RNA serves as an adaptor that determines the target anywhere within the genome. "Targeting the machinery to new sites is extremely flexible and quick," Qi said.

The research team was able to get the system to work in mammalian cells as well as bacterial cells, and is working to improve its efficiency in mammalian cells, including human cells. The team aims to couple the Cas9 chassis to an enzyme that will enable the technology to turn genes on as well as off.

Such a versatile tool could prove valuable in efforts to reprogram cells for regenerative medicine. Lim's own lab is working on reprogramming immune cells to treat cancer.

"The idea is to reprogram cells to do the things we want them to do," Lim said. "We are still unlocking the secrets of the genome to harness the power of cellular reprogramming."

Additional UCSF co-authors of the Feb. 28 Cell study are postdoctoral fellows Matthew Larson, PhD, and Luke Gilbert, PhD. UC Berkeley co-authors are Adam Arkin, PhD, professor of bioengineering; and Jennifer Doudna, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Investigator and professor of biochemistry. All the study authors are members of QB3, the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, which is headquartered at UCSF Mission Bay.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Science Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Francisco. The original article was written by Jeffrey Norris.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Lei?S. Qi, Matthew?H. Larson, Luke?A. Gilbert, Jennifer?A. Doudna, Jonathan?S. Weissman, Adam?P. Arkin, Wendell?A. Lim. Repurposing CRISPR as an RNA-Guided Platform for Sequence-Specific Control of Gene Expression. Cell, 2013; 152 (5): 1173 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.02.022

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/fWzP4VyhFSU/130307190645.htm

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Death of lion lover spurs state, federal scrutiny

This undated photo provided by Paul Hanson shows his sister, Dianna Hanson. Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern at the Cat Haven in Dunlap, Calif., was mauled to death by a lion at the exotic animal park on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Hanson)

This undated photo provided by Paul Hanson shows his sister, Dianna Hanson. Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern at the Cat Haven in Dunlap, Calif., was mauled to death by a lion at the exotic animal park on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Hanson)

This Oct. 12, 2012 photo released by JP Marketing shows a 4-year-old male African lion named Couscous at Cat Haven, a private wild animal park in Dunlap, Calif. Authorities say the lion killed a female intern-volunteer on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at Cat Haven, where the cat had been raised since it was a cub. The intern was attacked and fatally injured after getting into an enclosure with the lion, Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Collins said. (AP Photo/JP Marketing, Vicken Massoyan)

This 2012 photo provided by the KFSN-TV shows a 4-year-old male African lion named Couscous at Cat Haven, a private wild animal park in Dunlap, Calif. Authorities say the lion killed a female intern-volunteer on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at Cat Haven, where the cat had been raised since it was a cub. The intern was attacked and fatally injured after getting into an enclosure with the lion, Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Collins said. (AP Photo/KFSN-TV) OUT KGPE, KSEE, KMPH, KFTV; FRESNO BEE OUT, VISALIA TIMES-DELTA OUT

This 2012 photo provided by KFSN-TV shows a 4-year-old male African lion named Couscous at Cat Haven, a private wild animal park in Dunlap, Calif. Authorities say the lion killed a female intern-volunteer on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, at Cat Haven, where the cat had been raised since it was a cub. The intern was attacked and fatally injured after getting into an enclosure with the lion, Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Collins said. (AP Photo/KFSN-TV) OUT KGPE, KSEE, KMPH, KFTV; FRESNO BEE OUT, VISALIA TIMES-DELTA OUT

An officer guards the gate near at the entrance of Cat Haven, the exotic animal park in central California where a 26-year old female volunteer intern was killed by a lion, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in Dunlap, Calif. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)

DUNLAP, Calif. (AP) ? A 24-year-old intern who was described by her father as a "fearless" lover of big cats ventured into a lion enclosure at a privately owned zoo and was mauled to death, prompting investigations by several government agencies that want to know how the accident happened.

Dianna Hanson, whose Facebook page is plastered with photos of her petting tigers and other big cats, was frustrated that the exotic cat zoo in California where she had worked since January did not allow direct contact with animals, her father told The Associated Press.

"She was disappointed because she said they wouldn't let her into the cages with the lion and tiger there," Paul Hanson, a Seattle-area attorney, said about Cat Haven, the site of the deadly mauling on Wednesday.

Friends of Dianna Hanson recalled her passion for cat conservation.

"She was lovely. Energetic, athletic. She did everything she could to help our conservation efforts," said Kat Combes of the Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya, where Hanson recently had volunteered to work in the Cheetah Research Center.

For reasons still being investigated, Dianna Hanson entered the enclosure of a male African lion named Cous Cous on a day that Cat Haven, 45 miles east of Fresno, was closed to the public.

The 4-year-old lion, which had lived at the park since it was a cub, attacked Hanson and was later shot by Fresno County sheriff's deputies who were trying to reach her body.

Autopsy results revealed the reddish-haired young woman died quickly of a broken neck, possibly from a paw swipe from the 550-pound lion, and the numerous bites and scratches she sustained were inflicted after she died.

"Which means the young lady ... wasn't alive when the lion was tossing the body about," said Fresno County Coroner David Hadden. "We think the lion hit her with his paw and that's what fractured her neck."

On Wednesday, deputies found the mortally injured Hanson lying inside the enclosure, with Cous Cous nearby, said Fresno County sheriff's Lt. Bob Miller.

Another park worker had failed to lure the lion into another pen, so deputies shot and killed it to reach the wounded woman, but she died at the scene, he said.

Whether Hanson ignored orders or was performing a function that placed her in danger is being investigated by Cal-OSHA, which also is trying to determine if employees were properly instructed about potential danger, as required.

"There should have been procedures that very clearly stated what the employees were required to do in order to not get killed," said agency spokesman Peter Melton, who added that documentation about the warning had not yet been provided by Cat Haven.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act, is also looking to understand why the lion turned on the intern.

"We're looking at whether the animal was acting in a manner leading up to that situation that maybe the staff should have been aware of," spokesman Dave Sacks said. "Was it being fed properly? Was it under undue stress?"

USDA inspectors conduct multiple unannounced inspections of Cat Haven every year and never had found a violation, Sacks said. Federal regulations pertain only to animal treatment, and do not "cover every single instance of what a facility can and cannot do," he said.

A necropsy on the lion is being performed at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab in Tulare.

Dale Anderson, founder of the 100-acre facility in the Sierra Nevada foothills on the road to Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, said he also is investigating whether the facility's procedures were followed.

"We want to assure the community that we have followed all safety protocols," Anderson said. "We have been incident-free since 1998 when we opened."

He declined to comment on the facility's specific safety protocols, saying the details are part of the investigation by law enforcement.

Cat Haven breeds and keeps lions, tigers, jaguars, lynx and other exotic cats and takes them out for public appearances. It does not hold voluntary accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums or by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which set standards for members.

"There are very clear standards for care," said Adam Roberts of Born Free USA, part of the federation. "Standards should not allow close contact with humans. Frankly, facilities that don't comply with the federation's standards are ripe for potential abuse and these kinds of problems."

By all accounts, Hanson loved contact with cats. Her Facebook page holds dozens of photos of her petting many exotics.

In one photo, a leopard is lying next to her leg.

Late last year, she traveled to a preserve where she had volunteered in Bellingham, Wash., and posted a photo of herself standing in a tiger enclosure holding a stick as she was preparing to scratch the animal's back.

"I was bending over to scratch her back with my hand," she wrote under the photo. "You only touch them with your hands ... one doesn't poke a tiger with a stick."

On the same post she expressed excitement about going to Cat Haven to "start an internship with more kittes(sic); so be prepared for more kitty pictures with new cats!"

Hanson's family was taking some solace in that she died doing what she loved.

"She was living her dream and pursuing her life's work to the fullest," Paul R. Hanson, her brother, told the AP. "Upon completion of college she set off to pursue her life's work of bringing awareness of the plight of these magnificent animals through education and outreach."

In a letter posted to family and friends, the woman who had graduated in 2011 from Western Washington University with a bachelor's degree in ecology, evolution and biology talked about falling in love with exotic cats. After meeting a Washington couple with four tigers, she was hooked.

"For the last two and a half years I have been learning how to care for these animals and come next February, my father has given me a plane ticket" to Kenya, she enthusiastically wrote, adding later: "As my mother can tell you, I have had the goals of working with big cats since she adopted a tiger in my name when I was 7. I'm getting there."

___

Cone reported from Sacramento. Kathy McCarthy in Seattle, Garance Burke in San Francisco, and Sue Manning in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-07-US-Fatal-Lion-Attack/id-f36ffb55a94f495a936f5e285f283dde

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Sony aims to triple India mobile phone sales

NEW DELHI | Wed Mar 6, 2013 5:26pm IST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sony Corp (6758.T) aims to triple sales of its mobile phones in India to 35 billion rupees in the year to March 2014, Kenichiro Hibi, managing director of its India unit, said, at the launch of the company's Xperia Z high-end smartphone.

The smartphone, which is priced at 38,990 rupees in India, went on sale in Japan last month and is now available in 60 countries. It is part of the Japanese electronics group's push for a greater market presence in mobile devices.

In India, Sony had a 9 percent share of the smartphone market last quarter making it a distant No.2 behind market leader Samsung's 40 percent share, according to research firm Canalys.

(Reporting By Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INbusinessNews/~3/UNzGHRW6zRo/sony-india-idINDEE92506Q20130306

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Small airports upset at removal of new scanners

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) ? Managers at dozens of small airports have expressed outrage at federal officials for hauling new full-body scanners away from their facilities and sending them to large hubs that haven't yet upgraded older machines criticized for showing too much anatomy.

U.S. Transportation Security Administration contractors were threatened with arrest after officials at a Montana airport said they received no notice before the workers arrived. In North Dakota, the scanners are set to be yanked from a terminal remodeled last year with $40,000 in local funds just to fit the new machines.

"We think it's silly to have installed the thing and then come back nine months later and take it out," Bismarck airport manager Greg Haug said.

The L3 Millimeter Wave body scanners, which are about the size of a minivan on end and produce cartoonlike outlines of travelers, are being removed from 49 smaller airports across the country to help replace 174 full-body scanners used at larger airports. After controversy erupted over the bare images of a person's body the full-body scanners produce, Congress set a June deadline for them to be removed or updated.

But officials at smaller airports said removing their machines will produce longer lines, increased pat-downs, decreased security and a waste of taxpayer money.

North Dakota officials are especially critical of the swap because the state's airline boardings are skyrocketing with booming oil development. TSA is slated to remove the newly installed scanners this week at airports in Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot.

"It does seem like a waste of time and energy, but the biggest issue is security concerns," state Aeronautics Commissioner Larry Taborsky said of removing the machines. "We are feeding a lot of traffic into the national system."

"Smaller airports are being treated as less important as bigger airports in the system," said Dave Ruppel, manager of the Yampa Valley Regional Airport in Steamboat Springs, Colo. "Any airport you go through is an entrance into the whole system."

Ruppel's airport lost its scanner late last month. He said the move to replace machines at big airports with scanners from smaller airports is "a political solution to a security problem."

TSA said in a statement that it will cost about $2.5 million to remove the machines from the 49 smaller airports and reinstall them at bigger facilities. The agency would not identify the specific airports where the scanners are slated to be removed. Airport directors said the machines cost about $150,000 each.

"TSA's deployment strategy is designed to ensure advanced imaging technology units are in place at checkpoints where they will be used a significant portion of operating hours, increasing overall use across the system," the agency's statement said. "TSA will continue to evaluate airport needs and will reassess its deployment strategy when additional units are procured."

That's little comfort for airport officials who point out the scanners were touted by TSA for being more secure, less intrusive and quicker.

At the Grand Forks airport, a bank of windows at the terminal had to be removed to place the machine, said Patrick Dame, airport director. The airport authority board in Grand Forks passed a resolution last week that prohibits the TSA from altering the terminal to remove the machine that has been in place less than a year.

"They're free to take the equipment, but they can't take the building apart to do so," Dame said.

Minot's scanning machine has been in place for only about 10 months, airport director Andy Solsvig said.

"With ours, they can disassemble it and wheel it out the door," Solsvig said.

That's what happened Tuesday night at the Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, Calif., said Jack Gotcher, airport director. The airport had its new scanner for about a year but it's now going to Los Angeles International Airport, he said.

"We're back to the metal detector, where we were before," Gotcher said.

Many of the 140,000 boardings at the Bakersfield airport are oil workers heading to North Dakota's rich oil patch in the western part of the state, he said.

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission said 2012 was a record year at the state's eight commercial airports with more than 1 million boardings, bolstered by big gains in the western part of the state, where booming oil development has spurred huge increases in airline activity.

Haug, Bismarck's airport manager, said to keep the machines, an airport must have had more than 250,000 boardings annually for three consecutive years. Bismarck had 236,000 boardings last year and is projected to surpass that soon.

"It's just a matter of time that they'll have to come back in under mandate and reinstall them because we'll quality as a bigger airport," Haug said. "This is not one of TSA's finest hours."

Airport officials in Helena, Mont., have been more drastic in attempts to keep the machines. Airport manager Ronald Mercer said workers under contract with TSA attempted to pull the machine at the airport last week but were told to leave the property or be arrested.

"We told them we weren't going to allow them to do it," Mercer said.

TSA's decision to remove the machine was a surprise to airport officials, Mercer said.

"We never heard they were coming to get it in the first place and we haven't heard anything since," he said. "We have heard rumors that they are sending federal marshals to come get it."

Taborsky, who has had a hip replacement, said the new machines allowed him to pass through security checkpoints without setting off an alarm. He said he'll likely have to go back to being a subject of pat-downs once the machines are gone.

"I'm going to set off the old metal detector now so it is really personal," Taborsky said. "It's going to impact the elderly, who have had hip or knee replacements, in particular."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/small-airports-irked-removal-body-scanners-214729410.html

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Insurance Commissioner: Annual insurance policy reviews could ...

As Pennsylvanians tackle the annual task of preparing to file tax returns, Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine encouraged consumers to go the extra step this year and review their insurance policies.

?Facing higher tax rates this year, consumers are looking carefully at how they spend their money,? Consedine said. ?Typically, insurance costs are among the top five household expenses, so it?s important to review your policies to save money where you can without being underinsured.?

Consedine offers these tips for consumers:

• Tell your agent/company about any updates from the previous year. Things change and so do your insurance needs. Your car is another year older, so re-evaluate coverage limits and deductibles.
• Home renovations or high-ticket purchases like electronics and jewelry should be accounted for.
• Life-changing events, like the birth of a child or quitting smoking should be reported.
• Ask for discounts. Some auto insurance companies offer discounts for completed driving courses, students with good grades or for clean driving records.
• Bundle your policies. Your auto insurance company may also be licensed to sell you a homeowner?s policy. Bundling could also mean a discounted rate.
• Compare prices. A good rule of thumb is to ask for quotes from at least three insurance companies.? Be sure the quotes you are comparing are identical, down to the limits and the deductibles. Also make sure the company is financially sound, provides good customer service and offers the policy that is right for you.
• Read your insurance policy. It is a contract and is very specific about what is, and is not, included.

For more consumer tips and information, visit www.insurance.pa.gov.

Source: http://fox43.com/2013/03/05/insurance-commissioner-annual-insurance-policy-reviews-could-save-you-money/

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Halloween product brings fun to business management | Wisconsin ...

WWBIC fills early stage capital gap for Pumpkin Teeth

For Keith Ksobiech, creator of Pumpkin Teeth, LLC, designing and selling a family-friendly Halloween product has been a fun business venture, one grounded by a strong business development network.

?Am I having fun? Are you kidding me?? Ksobiech said. ?It?s been rewarding to create a fun product for families. This is something that makes carving and decorating pumpkins super easy. And the kids feel like they decorated an amazing creation.?

Pumpkin Teeth are reusable plastic teeth that pumpkin carvers embed into their jack-o-lanterns, no longer requiring them to cut out teeth. This involves kids more in the carving process. Pumpkin Teeth come in three sizes, including glow-in-the-dark teeth, with new versions to be introduced later in 2013.

Ksobiech runs Pumpkin Teeth out of his family?s home in Windsor, Wis., just north of Madison. The concept for Pumpkin Teeth arose five years ago from an employee at Windsor Breads, which Ksobiech and his wife Cheryl Ksobiech operated at the time. With experience starting and running a business, Ksobiech worked with the employee on product development and business vision.

?I always wanted to bring a product to market?especially a simple and fun one. Something different and preferably something small and affordable,? Ksobiech said.

Ksobiech said he?s had several important partners and mentors in this business venture, mainly his wife, who had the inspiration to start the bakery in 2004 and supported selling it in 2012 to dedicate full attention to Pumpkin Teeth.

Working with a family member who had expertise in toy design and contacts in toy manufacturing, Ksobiech patented the Pumpkin Teeth product. He then called upon friend Brad Kolp to attend trade shows to secure some initial sales and be a business confidant.

?I still needed a partner?someone to hold me up when I was down, and he did that. Since then, he has become the vice president of sales [the only employee] and a part owner in the company,? Ksobiech said.

He credits Rogette Koby at US Bank in Sun Prairie, Wis., for directing him to the Wisconsin Women?s Business Initiative Corporation to provide the startup capital Pumpkin Teeth needed.

?I just know that every year that goes by you learn a lot of lessons, meet a lot of fantastic people, and learn about more resources, WWBIC being one of them,? Ksobiech said.

WWBIC initially provided Ksobiech a loan for startup. He said WWBIC ?got it? when he showed the business plan with purchase orders in hand. Ksobiech has paid off that loan and has secured a line of credit from WWBIC for additional capital.

?They?ve been amazing. They?ve stepped in when private investors could not anymore, when friends and family were tapped out. I cannot speak highly enough of them,? Ksobiech said.

Ksobiech also connected with other Halloween product developers including Dennis Zsable of Funkins (foam pumpkins that Ksobiech uses to demo his Pumpkin Teeth) and Jonah White, developer of Billy Bob Teeth. White saw Pumpkin Teeth at a trade show and told Ksobiech he had the idea for the same thing but never acted on it. White now sells a different style of pumpkin teeth, paying Ksobiech a royalty for the use of his patented product.

Spencer?s Gifts was Pumpkin Teeth?s first large customer, but Ksobiech said to make Pumpkin Teeth a success, he needs to get his product sold through more big retailers. He quickly learned that distribution at that scale was not something he could do on his own.

?Large companies do not want to deal with one-product companies. Distributors take on so much, in warehousing, shipping and taking care of clients,? Ksobiech said. ?I can make our product and get it to distributors to add to their product streams to retailers.?

Ksobiech found two distributors that will place his product with Wal-Mart and CVS. He said 2013 will be a significant test year, mainly to measure the success and feedback he receives from the product?s distributors and retailers.

He estimates that 70 percent of his business will come through this channel, more than 20 percent through mid-level channels like private grocery and hardware stores, and the rest from sales to agro-tourism businesses and Halloween haunted houses.

For more information, contact Keith Ksobiech at pumpkinteethllc@gmail.com

?

Source: http://inwisconsin.com/blog/2013/03/05/pumpkinteeth/

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Moveline Assigns You a Dedicated Assistant to Take the Hassle Out of Moving

Moving is a pain for everyone, but Moveline can make it a little easier. The service already reaches out to movers on your behalf, gathers estimates, and then presents them to you for comparison, but now Moveline assigns you a personal "Move Captain" that streamlines the process from beginning to end.

The last time we mentioned Moveline the service was just getting off the ground. Now the service has expanded to over a dozen major metro areas in the US, has more moving companies under their belt, and makes the moving process even easier. When you sign up, the service gives you a dedicated analyst to help streamline your move. Just tell the service where you are, where you're going, and provide some information about your move to get started. If you want, you can take a short video tour of your apartment or Facetime your analyst to provide them with more information about your move. This way movers don't have to visit to provide an estimate.

Moveline will then reach out to movers in your area that are all licensed, insured, and approved by the company, get competitive estimates for you to review, and then share them with you?along with ratings and reviews of each company from other users who have moved with them in the past. From there you can pick the one you want to handle your move.

Moveline's analysts even offer helpful tips to make the moving process itself easier, like estimating the number of boxes you'll need to buy, whether you should get a storage container. They'll help you add services you didn't know you needed, or just offer ways you can beat back the stress that comes with moving across town or across the country.

Moveline

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ONcO1F0drw8/moveline-assigns-you-a-dedicated-assistant-to-take-the-hassle-out-of-moving

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