LONGECITY

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-=Pharmaceutical Industry to Address Potential of Stem Cells=-

Highlights of...

[URL=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030908/nym062_1.html/]Pharmaceutical Industry to Address Potential of Stem Cells /URL]

NEW YORK, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Data from recent studies on CNS regeneration using adult stem cells will be presented by the pharmaceutical industry at an upcoming conference, signaling the first step towards the industry's willingness to pursue therapeutics in the hotly debated field.

Over the course of its two highly successful annual events, the conference has attracted stem cell scientists from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as CEO's, CSO's, investors, and others seeking to make contact with the development of the new and promising science.
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Edited by CarboniX, 13 September 2003 - 04:03 PM.

Xref: From http://www.imminst.o...t=0

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-=Stem Cells in the Fight Against Crohn's Disease=-

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Bryan hopes the stem cell transplant will control the disease and put Bryan into remission.

All 10 patients who have received the transplant no longer suffer from any symptoms related to the disease, said Dr. Richard Burt, a stem cell transplant specialist and chief of the division of immunotherapy at Northwestern.

"We offer the stem cell transplant to those who have very serious disease and have failed everything else,"Burt said."The 10 we have done are all doing great and are in clinical remission."

The stem cell transplant procedure is still considered experimental, but it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials two years ago.

Bryan was scheduled to receive the transplant Sept. 15, but his father, a local police officer, has yet to come up with the $100,000 needed for the transplant, living expenses in Chicago and follow-up medical care.

Insurance won't cover the medical costs, because the transplant is considered experimental.

Edited by kevin, 09 September 2003 - 04:57 AM.

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-=I Guess You Could Call It A Focus Group For Regeneration=-

Highlights of...

Yang is alone, Yang gets a $10.6 Mill Research Pad

"I'm happy here, but I'm alone. I'm just lonely in my research," Yang, told school officials at the time. "I needed an environment. I needed collaborators."

The university responded by building a $10.6 million Advanced Technology Lab, which will be dedicated Monday. Built with state and federal funds, the state-of-the-art lab also houses the Technology Incubation Program, a wing dedicated to helping private biotech companies with startup operations.

The A-Team (seasoned personnel in the field of regenerative research):

Theodore Rasmussen, a molecular and cellular biologist, was doing biomedical research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when UConn recruited him. He is currently trying to determine how and why stem cells are able to develop for different functions.

The other researchers include Joanne Conover, a neurobiologist, David Goldhamer, a developmental biologist, X. Cindy Tian, an expert in genetic reprogramming, who is also Yang's wife, and William Fodor, a cellular biologist.

Their collaboration is the basis for the lab's Center for Regenerative Biology, which could ultimately lead to the development of new cells, tissues or organs to be used in the treatment of several disorders such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
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-=Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean: He is at least trying=-

Highlights of...

Scroll to: Stemming the Tide

After limited success on Capitol Hill, an eclectic new political constituency is hoping to use the 2004 presidential campaign to advance cutting-edge research on human stem cells.

The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR)is pressing President Bush and the nine Democrats challenging him to support not only stem cell research but also the more controversial nuclear transfer technology known as therapeutic cloning.

In a letter sent last week, the coalition said it intends to post candidate positions on its Web site and distribute the information to its 80 member groups, which include scientific societies, patient advocacy organizations and the leading biotechnology organization. CAMR hopes its action will put pressure on candidates in early primary states.

"With over 100 million Americans affected by life-threatening diseases and conditions who could benefit from advances in stem cell research, I think this could become a major issue in the campaign," said CAMR President Michael Manganiello. Scientists say embryonic stem cells hold great potential because of their ability to develop into virtually any type of cell. Researchers are pursuing stem cell treatments for illnesses such as Parkinson's disease, juvenile diabetes and Alzheimer's. Embryonic stem cells are extracted from human embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

Nuclear transfer research involves growing stem cells in a laboratory dish. Scientists say these tailor-made cells could enable patients to be treated using their own unique DNA.

Opponents, including some influential religious conservatives, say both types of research amount to the taking of a potential life. Facing that pressure, Bush announced a political compromise two years ago, permitting federal research only on the 60 cell colonies that existed at the time. But so far, only a dozen cell lines have been usable.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) said recently that on the first day of his presidency -- assuming that occurs -- he would rescind Bush's order.

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This is a semi-political sum up of stem cells for anyone who wants to know - it is a good refresher and gives us a hit as to how the presidential elections may be fought.
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XREF: http://www.imminst.o...t=0

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-=Sick Kids researchers identify cancer stem cell for brain tumours=-

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"The discovery of a cancer stem cell for brain tumours means that only a small number of cells in a brain tumour have the ability to drive tumour growth. Many current cancer therapies may fail because they do not kill the cancer-sustaining stem cells. We now have to work on designing therapies that will attack these stem cells," said Dr. Peter Dirks, an HSC neurosurgeon and scientist-track investigator in the Developmental Biology Research Program, and an assistant professor of Neurosurgery at U of T.

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-=Schering to research ageing in Japan=-

Highlights of...

regenerative medicine in Japan

Like Germany, Japan faces a demographic time bomb resulting from shrinking birth rates and rising life expectancy. By mid-century, demographers say, Japan will have more than 1m people aged over 100.

The Japanese government has fully recognised the needs and the challenges of an ageing society," Schering said.

Schering, the German drug maker known best for contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy, is to open a research centre for regenerative medicine in Japan, signalling a new focus on the demands of an ageing society.

Regenerative medicine ranges from the use of stem cells to regenerate entire organs to using genes to initiate regenerative processes. Schering has regenerative products for heart disease and Parkinson's in late-stage clinical research.
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We can always move. (chuckle)
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-=ANTI-ESCs=-

Highlights of...

Slanted writing used to contort all understanding for laywomen, burns me!

Scroll down to...
Cloning for Cures?
By Joni Eareckson Tada, founder/ president of Joni and Friends, speaker, disability advocate, and author of the new release, The God I Love (Zondervan).

Lately the news magazines (and Congress) are abuzz about hopeful new cures to be found through cloning stem cells from human embryos. Yet "cloning for cures" is a smack in the face of God's creative authority. It's creating human life for the purpose of lethal experimentation and exploitation. A society that views life as a commodity grows calloused toward anyone weak and frail. Every medical condition researchers are using cloning to address already is being addressed more safely, effectively, and economically using adult stem cells. It's my prayer women will stand courageously on the side of life's sanctity through adult stem-cell research. God gave us life; safeguard it for the sake of your disabled children, husband, and elderly parents.

First, the embryos would of been destroyed. Second, social dawinism will not go into effect if we research using ESCs, complete crap. Third, adults SCs are farther due to represion of ESCs research by the religious ruling of the current political body.
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-=Stem cells grown into sperm cells - Shows furthering of control understanding=-

Highlights of...

Embryonic stem cells have been encouraged to grow into sperm cells

The researchers incubated the stem cells with other cells that produce a protein called BMP4, which is known to stimulate formation of sperm cells during the development of an embryo.

In their laboratory, some of the stem cells began developing into sperm cells within one day, a process that takes three days in the embryo.

The work is very preliminary, and was done in the laboratory with mouse stem cells. The next step will be to see if it can be repeated in live animals
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-=U.S. Plans New Anti-Cloning Push at U.N.=-

Highlights of...

U.S. Plans New Anti-Cloning Push at U.N.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to push a U.N. resolution expected to call for a ban on all forms of cloning, a stance likely to be opposed by nations favoring more limited restrictions, diplomats said on Wednesday.

A U.S.-led drive last year forced a key U.N. committee to postpone for one year a Franco-German proposal for a treaty that would have banned the cloning of humans but permitted cloning of human embryos for medical research purposes.

The debate pits global opponents of abortion against many in the scientific community who see value in research involving cloning of stem cells taken from human embryos.

U.S. officials told reporters they would support a resolution on cloning put forward by Costa Rica and backed by about 40 other nations. (I bet they do the "no human cloning but thereputic cloning is good to go.")

Other diplomats said the resolution would form a committee to negotiate a convention on cloning and instruct the panel to ensure the treaty forbids all forms of cloning.
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-=ASCs: Skin Cells=-

Highlights of...

Scientists achieve breakthrough towards isolating skin stem cells

Researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) have taken the first major step towards isolating adult stem cells from mouse skin, having developed a test that confirms the presence and number of stem cells in a given amount of tissue.

Until now, such a technique has only existed for isolating adult stem cells found in blood. "This assay has opened up a whole new avenue of research," said Ruby Ghadially, SFVAMC staff physician and UCSF associate professor of dermatology.

"If you can determine how many stem cells you have, then you can identify distinguishing characteristics that will allow you to isolate the cells. We could then potentially use these cells as effective carrier cells for gene therapy and, someday, use them to produce new stem cells for treating burns and wounds in the skin," Ghadially added.
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-="Nobel Prizes of the medical community"=-



Highlights of...

2003 Lasker Awards Honor 3 Physicians, Actor Christopher Reeve

The prestigious Lasker Awards for Medical Research and for Public Service this year honor three physicians for their advancements in research and treatment and actor Christopher Reeve for his contributions to medical advocacy. The Lasker Awards are sometimes called the Nobel Prizes of the medical community.


"When the time comes to make decisions about public policy, there is an undue influence from politics and religion, particularly in the case of stem cell research that is to the detriment of patient outcomes," he said.


Dr. Robert Roeder of Rockefeller University was awarded the Basical Medical Research award for pioneering studies about gene transcription, allowing scientists to learn about mapping genes in animal cells.



A team of two immunologists, Australian Dr. Marc Feldmann and Sir Ravinder Maini, who is British, shared the award for Clinical Medical Research for their breakthrough treatment for auto-immune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis.
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-=nStem Cells get Fed Money=-

Highlights of...

StemCells grows federal grant

The 8-year-old company recently received a $342,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to continue animal experiments using its patented human neural stem-cell technology.

StemCells is developing a cell-based therapy made from human neural stem cells, which promises to repair or repopulate neural tissue that has been damaged or lost as the result of disease or injury. For example, a neural stem cell could repair a person's damaged central nervous system.

Earlier this year, StemCells announced that mice inflicted with spinal-cord injuries showed improved motor function after the company transplanted its neural stem-cells into the animals. The company plans to use its federal grant to expand the experiment to a greater number of mice and use more refined transplantation techniques, McGlynn says.

"This is the first time, to our knowledge, that transplanted and engrafted human neural stem cells have been directly correlated with improved function recovery in a mouse spinal-cord injury model," McGlynn says. "Previously É injured rats have been given stem cells from other rats or mice, but not stem cells from a human source."
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Edited by CarboniX, 20 September 2003 - 09:14 PM.

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-=nSCs=-

Highlights of...

Therapeutic Cloning Can Cure Parkinson's-Like Disease In Mice

Using the new technique, the team differentiated stem cells into genetically matched neural cells in vitro. They were able to selectively develop nerve cells specific to the forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord, as well as supporting neural cell types called glial cells. The research demonstrates how closely the generated nerve cells in the culture dish mimic normal brain cell development, including how long the process takes, the appearance of the cells, and their function.

"The new technique is a model system that will provide scientists with the opportunity to see how the brain develops in vitro, and conduct experiments such as observing in a culture dish the developmental consequences of disrupting single or multiple genes," said Dr. Studer, senior author of the study.

The next step is to develop unique cell lines for a number of Parkinsonian mice and show that these cloned cells can cure each individual mouse.
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-=CURRENT BANNING WARS=-

I think this decision and article belong here if only by default. For those that do not understand why let me spell it out, THERE IS A PROFOUND ETHICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPRODUCTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC CLONING and this is the difference at the core of the decision to ban Human Reproductive cloning by various serious scientific councils such as the British Society described in the article.

It belongs here because the demand to protect Therapeutic Cloning directly relates to the ability to promote and advance stem cell research from mere esoterica to the level of available therapy that will influence our individual abilities to survive.

I personally might not agree with all the panicked reasons to ban human cloning but regardless I can see them as complex, related but not dependent issues and if "we" as an organization must take a stand, it is only rational to take our stand on cloning as critically imporant for Stem Cells and other aspects of Therapeutic Cloning.

http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/3128098.stm
Call for ban on human cloning
Monday, 22 September, 2003, 08:07
BBC World News

Scientists from around the world have called for an international ban on the cloning of humans to make babies.

Only a few countries, including the UK, have so far outlawed it.

All attempts to introduce a world-wide ban have been stymied because some countries want that to include the use of all cloning techniques in medical research.
{excerpts}

Related Links
BBCi: Cloning and Ethics
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Edited by Lazarus Long, 24 September 2003 - 08:00 PM.

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-=CURRENT BANNING WARS Cont.=-

Highlights of...

Bishops back cloning ban

Heh, don't you think they would get it by now Laz?

Archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith, Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship wrote to the Prime Minister to air his grave concerns.

"In this debate language is slippery. Some things now being called ‘therapeutic cloning’ are perfectly morally acceptable: there is nothing wrong with taking adult stem cells or other cells in the body and cloning them. But what is deeply wrong is the creation of new human lives by cloning, when these lives are then destroyed. This too is being called ‘therapeutic cloning’."

"Furthermore, huge advances have recently been made in adult stem cell research, which is producing prospects of treatment using stem cells without any need to clone young human lives to harvest them."

"The UK government want to support a ban on ‘reproductive’ cloning alone. But the difference consists only in the objective in the procedure – whether the cloned human life is to be implanted in the womb to be born, or simply used for stem cell research and then destroyed."

"What we need is a total ban on cloning human lives.”
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Exactly what Laz said, this is failing to understand that these are not humans. The genetics may be there but the development is not.

Biological organisms that undergo a metamorphosis during their lives are not "the same all the time." One can be generally called a tadpole and another a frog. Genetics may be there but the development is not. As for using spare embryos - 1.) there is enough of us right now 2.) the ones used in research are donated 3.) over 300,000 existed in ONE storage area I posted a while back. To not understand there is a difference is a failure to understand this simple logic, which seem to be actually hard. Just like people who don't understand evolution.
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-=YOU FRIGGEN CELL! WHY DO YOU AGE! TELL ME!=-

Highlights of...

Yeast Offers Insight Into Aging and Cancer

It is a huge step from yeast to humans, Gottschling acknowledges, but the basic principles of cellular reproduction are the same for both. In humans, reproduction happens as stem lines for various tissues keep reproducing. The thought is that older human stem cells start making the same kind of mistakes as seen in yeast.

One interesting aspect of the study is that the genetic damage occurs in daughter cells, not in the older reproducing cells, Sinclair says. "Perhaps old cells accumulate damaged proteins," he says. "Many studies have suggested that damaged proteins are the cause of aging. This study could help validate that theory."

These were special yeast cells, engineered to change color when genetic instability appeared. Several strains of yeast were studied and McMurray's through-the-night observations showed the color changes appeared in every one of them at about the 25th cycle, which is late middle age for a yeast cell.

"Right now we're working like crazy to figure out how this happens, Gottschling says. "What causes the breakdown? Once we understand a little bit about the process and how genes respond, we can think about making the leap to humans."
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-=ENDLESS WALTZ, RIGHT?=-

Highlights of...

Stem cell standoff in Germany

German scientists and clinicians are locked in a dispute over whether adult stem cells should be used to treat patients before the safety and effectiveness of the method has been fully proven.

The Problem:
Hescheler said that his team had failed to find evidence in experiments on mice that stem cells drawn from the bone marrow had developed into heart cells, and he noted that there was still no evidence that the adult stem cells injected into Strauer's patients had actually turned into healthy heart muscle cells.

Furthermore, he warned that injecting high concentrations of adult stem cells into arteries close to patients' hearts could lead to the formation of tumors and to disturbances in heart rhythms.

"We need more basic science to know how cells integrate into the host tissue, and especially whether there is an electrical integration. It is still not clear whether adult stem cells cause strong arrhythmias, which could be fatal," Hescheler said in an interview with The Scientist.
End Problem Section

Hescheler is the only one of two scientists in Germany who has been given permission to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells.

Hescheler's experiments in mice have, however, shown that embryonic stem cells can replace cells killed during a heart attack.

Despite the tiff, it seems that scientists and the clinicians will continue working side by side in the field of stem cells.

"It is still an open question whether the stem cell therapy will live up to all expectations. A larger number of patients need to be studied for a longer period of time," she told the paper.
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And so we wait. To bad we are not trying to focus more on ESCs and get the "all in one" tool. Im not saying that ESCs are not without their problems too.
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-=The Cloning Bill gets 12 more supporters, In a good way=-

Highlights of...

Progress on Support

Transforming the votes of 12 New Democrats from nays to yeas could offset the opposition from pro-life Liberals who oppose the bill because it would allow research on embryonic stem cells.

The New Democrats wanted assurances the board would include an equal number of women and men, and it would exclude people with conflicts of interest -- for example, doctors specializing in fertility treatments.

"Fantastic!" Boudria said, when asked to comment on the New Democrats' change in position. "It's 24 votes difference, assuming they're all there.

"It increases the possibility of getting this legislation through immensely."
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-=ESCs Need High Quallity Embryos=-

Highlights of...

Couples ‘should create embryos for experiment’

Healthy couples may agree to create prime-quality embryos specifically for research, once they see the controversial exper iments leading to cures for disease, according to the UK’s leading stem cell scientist.

Professor Austin Smith, director of the Institute for Stem Cell Research at Edinburgh University, says his pioneering research into new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and heart disease is being held back by a shortage of quality embryos. At the moment, the research depends on spare embryos left over from fertility treatment, but these are often of poor quality as the best ones have been selected to create babies.

He added: “If and when we get to that stage, there will need to be some discussion about what society wants. Society would need to debate this first. Society might be quite concerned about this, but if we can show that the donation would be clinically useful, people might change their minds.

“A couple might have a relative who suffers from diabetes or Parkinson’s, and could want to donate an embryo for that reason.”

Creating embryos specifically for stem cell research would technically be legal in the UK at the moment, but it might be difficult to get a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the government agency which regulates experiments on embryos.
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What? And we thought life extension was going to be easy. *chuckle* Continue dancing please, the waltz has yet to end.
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Edited by CarboniX, 06 October 2003 - 01:19 AM.

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-=CORD-BLOOD IS EASY SOURCE TO TAP=-

Highlights of...

Extracting cord blood a simple procedure

"The good thing about cord blood is, when you ask for it, it's readily available in the bank," said Dr. Jan Moreb, a transplant physician who is the director of the stem-cell laboratory at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida.

The process takes about 10 minutes to extract, on average, about 3.5 ounces of cord blood, according to Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the pediatric bone-marrow transplant program at Duke University in Durham, N.C. "No technique works as well as gravity to get the baby's blood out," she said.

Once the donated cord blood meets certain standards as to size, maternal health and genetic testing, she said, it can be frozen and stored in a liquid-nitrogen freezer for up to 10 years. Whether cord blood remains viable or usable after a decade is not yet known, though. (Quallity probably suffers.)
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Overall, its easy to get CORD but that sure doesn't make grounds to ban ESCs therapy research. That just means that its good to have other stem cell supplies which can further genetic understanding of 'what buttons to push.' And ESCs, as we all should know, are the card of all trades.
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-=WiCell Gets $1.7 Million Grant For ESCs=-

Highlights of...

The National Institutes of Health has awarded WiCell Research Institute a three-year, $1.7 million grant for embryonic stem cell research.

The NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences is awarding three grants, announced last week, totaling $6.3 million to three leaders in the stem cell field. The other two grants will go to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington-Seattle and the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Andrew Cohn, a WARF spokesman, said the grant will help researchers learn more about the basic science of stem cells.

Human embryonic stem cells are valued by researchers because they are primitive blank-slate cells that have not yet begun to grow into specific kinds of cells, such as brain or pancreatic or heart cells.

The hope is that scientists will be able to guide the growth of stem cells so they can then be used to replace diseased cells in the body.
WiCell Research Institute
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Ah what we need to hear. [B)]
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I had posted about this earlier and they still seem to be working on it, making stem cells from rabbit embryos fused with hSkin cells. I don't know, the leading research may like it but it being rabbit doesn't assure me too much. If we were to try anything medical with it, I mean.

Scroll down to the very bottom post for Hu-Rabbits. (Link function isn't giving specific links at the moment.)
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Edited by CarboniX, 06 October 2003 - 12:30 AM.

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-=CURRENT UN BANNING WARS=-
It is interesting how this debate is shaping up. It parallels the debate between Stock and Annas that we witnessed at th beginning of the WTA Conference at Yale. This administration is behaving very poorly with respect to many scientific concerns this not being the only one that are not such big news catchers.

We need to also go on record in as many ways as possible in favor of therapeutic and at least abstain on reproductive cloning. If the organization wants to go on record as BJ has done against it I will accept that ruling but most importantly of all we must drive a wedge into the debate that supports the establishment of two distinct aspects of human cloning and not allow the opposition to bundle them together.

LL/kxs

http://us.rd.yahoo.c...e_cloning_un_dc
UN Anti-Cloning Treaty Seen Heading for Collapse
Fri Oct 3, 6:44 PM ET Science - Reuters
By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. drive for a global ban on human cloning appeared headed for collapse on Friday after drafters deadlocked over whether to push for the total ban backed by the United States or a partial ban exempting scientific research on stem cells.

The deadlock surfaced during a weeklong meeting of a U.N. General Assembly working group convened to lay the groundwork for the treaty to be drafted. During the week, governments divided into two blocs and acknowledged their differences probably could not be resolved, diplomats told Reuters. A final decision on the next steps will be up to the General Assembly's legal committee, which has set no date for a ruling on the matter.

A group of some 40 nations, led by Costa Rica and the United States and assembled with the help of U.S.-based anti-abortion groups, insisted on a treaty banning both the cloning of humans and "therapeutic" or "experimental" cloning, in which human embryos are cloned for medical research aims.

A rival group of 14 governments, most of them European but also including Japan, Brazil and South Africa, argued the top priority should be to quickly ban the cloning of humans, leaving it up to individual governments to decide whether -- and if so, how -- to regulate therapeutic cloning.

"Therapeutic cloning is one of the technologies that we believe has enormous promise," said Elizabeth Woodson of Britain's Department of Health. "We are looking to a future where cellular research will lead to new treatments for a range of serious diseases which affect many millions of people and which are currently without a cure."

But Ann Corkery, representing the United States, argued a treaty allowing experimental cloning "would essentially authorize the creation of a human embryo for the purpose of killing it to extract stem cells, thus elevating the value of research and experimentation above that of a human life."

The General Assembly first voted to draft a treaty against human cloning two years ago, at the urging of France and Germany. Those two countries had now backed away from the campaign in light of the divisions, diplomats said.
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Edited by CarboniX, 04 October 2003 - 05:19 PM.

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-=Working on ESC Availability=-

Highlights of...

Patient protection measures signed

Patient advocacy groups applauded the signing of two bills that will make California the first state to set up ethical guidelines for embryonic stem cell research -- and develop a registry for scientists to gain access to stem cells.

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-=Politics and Science, we need talking=-

Highlights of...

The science gap

The case for OTA's reincarnation is fairly straightforward. When Congress debates the Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto treaty to combat global warming or its explanation of the great blackout of 2003, partisan voices on all sides appeal to the authority of science. But what does the best science tell us? Members of Congress rarely have the ability or the time to inform themselves about technical issues. After the House of Representatives voted 265-162 to ban all cloning of human cells in 2001, Representative Peter Deutsch, a Florida Democrat, commented, "This is the least informed collectively that the 435 members of this body have ever been on any issue."
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-=COMMENTARY=-

LETS BE BLUNT: A Pseudo-Article
By Ryan Bates

Today I was looking around the web for acquiring direct news from Japan about their research on Embryonic Stem Cells but I ran across the DO NO HARM (This is an earlier post) website.

Let me back up a little. Why would I want to, in the first place, look around for ESC news from Japan? Well, if you have been paying attention for the course of stem cell news you would know they are THE place to be if you want to work on them. Not only are they seriously well funded but they have the entire Government backing. They are even defending ESC research at the UN Conference while the USA is on the side of extreme pro-life, at this very moment. In short they should be saying "You Stupid Americans."

Now I present a staple of the modern pro-life side. (to ImmInst, at least, it should be known as: "Thank you Captain Obvious") The staple is, from DO NO HARM: "Adult Stem Cells are better then Embryonic Stem Cells. Why? Because they have more research out on them. They have success stories." (This excludes the religious side) First ESCs, if pro-lifers can recall, were dealt a huge blow by President Bush(HERE) resulting in defective lines, lines that didn't even culture, lines littered with murine feeder cells and lines stuck in countries which wouldn't export the stem cells (India me thinks). Second, ASCs get the federal grants and they can use whatever they want where the waiting list for ESCs in the US can be months long with huge fees. The National Inst. of Health (federal inst) has recently given $1.7 million for ESC (HERE)(I think they are fed up). Now why can it possibly be that ASCs are looked into more then ESCs?

Moving on... Why are people interested in Embryonic Stem Cells? A good complaint that I have heard many times is "You have to get multiple treatments of Adult Stem Cells from different lines and companies (depends on problem at the time)" Why is this a bad thing?

*We need a stem cell that can detect somatic abnormalities/damage and diversify without having to be pre-diversified. (Aka: Time, convenience, plasticity problems)

*If centers that perform Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer were integrated (or state localized) into/by hospitals it would be immediately beneficial to patents with degeneration, loss of blood etc. They would be able to culture it close - increasing doctor-patient relationship, procreations of cells on time, dramaticaly less chance of something going wrong with SC collection. (Aka: Subjective assurance, time issues, convenience, direct access, building trust foundations)

*What about costs? With ASCs you would need multiple treatments and wait for more cultures to proliferate. They also need to make sure of what they have first then seperate it out. Your Insurance Company would love ESCs a lot better.

Bottom line. We as Humans want to have the best way to deal with the many problems of aging, injuries etc. So it would be logical to want the "all in one cell." Leading to lower costs (all the same cell), quicker treatment times and sparking the integration or localization of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Centers in each state.
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Sources of cells are excess embryos from fertility clinics. The American Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported Thursday that there are 396,526 frozen embryos in storage in the United States and that 88 percent are planned for use in helping families have children in the future. HERE

At the moment, the research depends on spare embryos left over from fertility treatment, but these are often of poor quality as the best ones have been selected to create babies.
HERE

We have derived four ES cell lines on mouse embryonic fibroblast cells in medium supplemented with basic fibroblast growth factor, human recombinant leukemia inhibitory factor, and fetal bovine serum. The source of these cell lines was poor-quality embryos that in the course of routine clinical practice would have been discarded. After continuous proliferation in vitro for more than 12 months, these ES cell lines maintained their developmental potential to form trophoblast and somatic cells, including cardiac muscle and neuronal tissue. HERE

We have the Embryos, otherwise they are going to waste since they are 'not the best for making babies.' People can say that we need donations which is fine but we have a long-term report saying different.

If women were allowed to sell their embryos to medical clinics like men do with sperm we could generate the supply line for people actually being able to have a company culture ESCs for customers. (Im sure some of us would like to retain our mito's DNA though.) Leading to a thriving economy of Life Extentionists. As for how the politics and society would change I do not know. It will be an interesting future though.
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Edited by CarboniX, 06 October 2003 - 01:42 AM.

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-=WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING! Personal Commentary=-

Excuse my excessive words but let me finish.

UN Anti-Cloning Treaty Seen Heading for Collapse


)))))))I know we have posted about this recently but this article makes it sound really friggen bad.
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A group of some 40 nations, led by Costa Rica and the United States and assembled with the help of U.S.-based anti-abortion groups, insisted on a treaty banning both the cloning of humans and "therapeutic" or "experimental" cloning, in which human embryos are cloned for medical research aims.

So... what the bleep is going on here? Who the crap let them "help?" Where are the REAL scientists in this? Is the US, JUST the anti-abortion groups? Are they crowing the observer seats? Is something that shouldn't be going on - going on? [angry]

But Ann Corkery, representing the United States, argued a treaty allowing experimental cloning "would essentially authorize the creation of a human embryo for the purpose of killing it to extract stem cells, thus elevating the value of research and experimentation above that of a human life."

DO WE HAVE ANY SCIENTISTS TO SLAP THESE PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE LECTERN? What degree do you need to be a damn politician! [angry]

ANYONE HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT THIS?!?!?!?!?
This is entirely absurd! To the highest degree! And you know if ESCs go down kiss any LE bye! Unless you move to Singapore...Im sure there is other countries too. [angry]
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Edited by CarboniX, 06 October 2003 - 07:29 PM.

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-=Reliance=-

Highlights of...

Reliance takes stem cell R&D to next level

BANGALORE: While factories mass-producing human cells and tissues to replace damaged ones are still in the realm of science fiction, an Indian research unit, Reliance Life Sciences, is among the few that has produced human tissue and cells in the laboratory.

Using cells derived from embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to become any human organ or tissue, Reliance Life Sciences has created nerve tissue that could reverse brain damage due to Parkinson's disease, as well as beta islet cells that can regulate diabetes, heart tissue to repair weak hearts and also blood cells.

The technology is now ready for animal trials, says Dr Satish Totey, research head at the laboratory that was in a list of 11 whose stem cell lines were cleared for federally funded projects by US President George Bush in 2001.

`Permanent cell lines developed for the pharma industry can cut 15 to 20 years and billions of dollars in the drug development process. Clinical data on the effectiveness of drugs can be obtained quickly by conducting experiments on these cell lines,' says Dr Totey.

Though India has no policy on this front, Reliance is preparing to develop new cell lines that have not been fed on mouse embryonic cells, says Dr Totey.
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We will see how it goes won't we?

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-=The science gap: Responses=-

Highlights of...

Responses

The science gap

In "The Science Gap," Chris Mooney finds that scientists and the Bush administration increasingly disagree on issues such as climate change, stem cells, and missile defense. Has the Bush administration unwisely ignored scientists' professional expertise? Has it wisely stuck to its own principles?
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In your lead you mentioned Congress has gotten rid of its science advisors. Given my low opinion of our representatives in Congress & their preoccupation with partisan politics, I don't think they would either be able to recognize real science if they stumbled into it nor would they be interested unless they could attack President Bush with any wild claims a so-called "scientist" would make.

R, Stoughton
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This administration has been ignoring not only scientists, but any opinion that disagrees with their own. One only need examine Bush's terribly flawed and damaging environmental policies to see he and his big business pals have no use for actual facts. Global warming? Just a theory. Arsenic in your drinking water? No biggie. Outdated mid western power plants polluting the north east? Let's cut them some slack. It will continue to be this way until the American public takes back the White House next year. Business profits should never outweigh destroying the planet.

Dave, Norfolk
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Bush has clearly been ignoring scientific facts regarding the environment but let's not forget the UN weapons inspectors who for months were saying they couldn't locate any evidence whatsoever of WMD. Of course that wasn't good enough for war monger Bush, who claimed the inspectors didn't know what they were doing. Well, gee, now look. Who's "facts" turned out to be true - the scientists or the liars in the White House?

Lou, Hingham
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Classic example - Bush's missle defense shield fantasy. Scientists say no way can it work given current technology, can't tell a decoy from the real thing. But our genius president says yup, we're still going to throw billions at this loser, make the boys at the Pentagon happy.

Bill, Swampscott
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I am a scientist in the Boston area and believe that the Bush Administration has not placed enough emphasis on research and science in general. This is proven in the lack of sufficient available funds in the form of grants provided by the NIH. If we desire to gain understanding in the fields of healthcare and disease prevention then an administration must step up and provide the funds to knowledgeable researchers whos work could further the discoveries of how diseases function and help to prevent and treat them.

Kevin L, Boston
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Hmm, lets see, a department created and backed by Ted Kennedy somehow being seen as wasteful and slow. Must be a mistake. At least Bush sr.and Gringrich had enough sense to get rid of another democratic dumping ground for Kennedy's cronies. This is just another way for the liberal globe to take cheapshots at the republicans.

TONY, BOSTON
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Bush's stance on purported global warming (and especially the economically suicidal Kyoto protocol) is exactly right, given the real state of climate science. Ironically, many of Bush's environmental policies, particularly re arsenic, are a continuation of regulations drawn up by Clinton's administration. But as comments from Dave from Norfolk and Lou from Hingham show, this is not commonly known. R. from Soughton has it right, but s/he should have also mentioned the media (specifically including the Globe) which due to a combination of scientific ignorance, laziness of research, and left-leaning partisan reporting will not or cannot give us a reasonable view of the state of science and science policy.

Paul, Plymouth

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-=Group Asks World Court to Rule Out Human Cloning=-

Highlights of...

World Court

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A group of scientists, doctors and legal experts asked the United Nations Wednesday to seek an advisory opinion from the World Court declaring human cloning to be a "crime against humanity."

"The World Court is the ultimate authority on international law, and an opinion from the court would bring a very strong legal and moral force to bear against the would-be cloners," said attorney Bernard Siegel of Coral Gables, Florida, who organized the initiative.
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Could they be smart enough to Ok the use of ESCs? We will see.
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-=Great Article of a Great Researcher=-

Highlights of...

Embryonic man (The Economist print edition)



IRVING WEISSMAN discovered his passion for science when he read Paul de Kruif's “Microbe Hunters”, which detailed the adventures of Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch and other early bacteriologists. Only ten years old at the time, he did not know then that he would himself become one of biology's pioneers. Today, Dr Weissman is widely known for being the first person to track down adult stem cells of any type.

In 1988, the Stanford professor of pathology and cancer biology reported having isolated blood-forming stem cells from mice. Four years later, he accomplished the same feat for humans. Recently, he has been part of a group that discovered human stem cells capable of generating various types of brain cells. His research has helped lay the foundations for a revolution in medicine.

To speed up that process, Dr Weissman has founded no less than three companies. Two are based in Palo Alto, California, minutes from his office. StemCells, started in 1995, hopes to begin human trials for its neural stem cells late next year. Possible beneficiaries include people suffering from Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative diseases of the brain, and also victims of strokes. Brand new, but more clinically advanced, Cellerant Therapeutics focuses on developing purification techniques for human blood-forming stem cells.

Thus far, Dr Weissman, who is now 63 years old, has worked only with adult stem cells. But he is the first to admit that, unlike the embryonic stem cells, their ability to divide and differentiate into other cells may be confined to specific tissue types. Though, as chairman of a National Academies' panel, he testified before the American senate against human reproductive cloning, he spoke in favour of nuclear transplantation (sometimes called “therapeutic cloning”), a technique that allows the creation of new embryonic stem-cell lines. “We can prohibit the research and thereby forfeit America's position at the forefront of science, or we can push ahead and potentially cure many fatal diseases.” Dr Weissman intends to do the latter—a view he emphasises publicly at every opportunity.

Irving Weissman was born into a family of pioneers. His grandfather arrived as an immigrant at Ellis Island around 1910, and made his way across America until he reached Montana, where he settled with his family. While Montana may not seem like the ideal place to get the education an aspiring scientist needs, for Irving Weissman it turned out to be precisely right. As a schoolboy, he looked for a chance to get some hands-on research experience. Lucky for him, the local pathologist at the Montana Deaconess Hospital, Ernst Eichwald, was also a specialist in transplantation biology. For the next few summers, young Weissman took care of the laboratory mice and was allowed to participate in the research. By the time he was 18, he had been co-author of two papers—a feat that helped him get into Stanford medical school.

A few months after his arrival in California, he found his way into Henry Kaplan's laboratory. The late Dr Kaplan, who pioneered the use of targeted high dose radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma and helped turn the then-fatal disease into one that is reasonably easy to cure, became Irving Weissman's mentor. He gave him lab space and let him investigate the properties of lymphocytes—a subset of disease-fighting white blood cells that play a key part in the immune system.

In the early 1960s, he met Sir James Gowans, who was developing sophisticated methods of understanding how lymphocytes function. By purifying the cells and putting them into a host, Sir James demonstrated how they circulate throughout the body; recognise and remember foreign antigens; and create an immune response. Studying with Sir James at Oxford for nine months convinced him of the importance of performing diligent experiments in vivo.

Finding the stem cell was like looking for a needle in a haystack, Dr Weissman recalls. When monoclonal antibodies were invented by Georges Kohler and César Milstein in the mid-1970s, he used them as a tool to bind to and identify various types of blood cell. Initially, the goals were to look for common ancestors of different lymphocytes; to understand their development at various stages; and to study where they go haywire and cause diseases such as leukaemias and lymphomas. Slowly working its way backwards, Dr Weissman's team eventually found precursors to t-cells, b-cells and the like.

They continued to isolate one cell type after another. By 1986, it became clear that the team was on to something big. In 1987, Dr Weissman and his colleagues performed a final test by injecting the last batch of cells, believed to be stem cells, into mice whose immune systems had been completely destroyed by radiation. The results were amazing. Before, bone-marrow transplants generally required at least 200,000 cells. Now, with only a tiny fraction of the original number—100 cells or so—the mice's marrow could be completely replenished.

While Dr Weissman has yet to achieve the ultimate goal of haematology—cultivating human blood-forming stem cells in vitro, he is on his way to commercialising purified versions for patients with cancer, auto-immune diseases and those needing transplants. Eventually, it should be possible, he believes, to replace a body's diseased bone marrow with tissue from a healthy donor without adverse immune reactions—making it possible to take organs and/or stem cells from that same donor and transplant them successfully. Because both will share the same immune system, tissue rejection should not be an issue.

Purified cells also offer hope for patients with late-stage cancers, who sometimes receive intense radiation and chemotherapy regimens as a last resort. A dose high enough to kill all tumour cells generally also kills all blood-forming stem cells, and thus the patient. To avoid this, physicians remove bone marrow prior to treatment, and transplant it back afterward. Unfortunately, in many cases the marrow itself contains cancer cells and can make the patient sick again. According to Dr Weissman, the remedy is to transfer highly purified stem cells.

Dr Weissman tested the concept at SyStemix, a company he had founded in 1988. The company began three small clinical trials in 1996—the most promising being for women with breast cancer in a late stage of development. Five years after receiving the purified cells, more than one-third of the participants are still alive—without a trace of the disease. The best survival rate other therapies have achieved is about 10%. Robert Negrin, head of Stanford's bone-marrow transplant programme, who led the trial, cautions that a large-scale randomised trial still needs to be performed in order to confirm the statistical significance of the results. But, he admits, “the patients are doing surprisingly well.”

The results are even more remarkable in light of the fact that, for metastatic breast cancer patients, bone-marrow transplants have been discredited. According to an influential paper published in April 2000 in the New England Journal of Medicine, they provide no survival benefit whatsoever. After the article appeared, the use of this treatment more or less stopped. Dr Weissman suggests that the blood cells in question may have contained stem cells mixed with other cells, including cancerous ones, and not purified enough to benefit the patients.

When Sandoz bought SyStemix in 1996, he hoped the pharmaceutical giant would speed up the commercialisation. But a couple of years after Sandoz's own merger with Ciba in 1996, the company (now called Novartis) changed its priorities and put SyStemix's cell sorting and purifying technologies on the back burner. Three years after SyStemix shut up shop, Dr Weissman convinced Novartis to license key technologies to his new company, Cellerant. He reckons it will take another three years to complete the late-stage trials necessary to bring purified cells to market.


From adult to embryo
Until now, Dr Weissman's work has been all about adult stem cells—though that may soon change. At Stanford's new Cancer and Stem-Cell Biology Institute, he plans to encourage the creation of new embryonic stem-cell lines. This is the controversial procedure that involves transferring the nucleus of an adult cell into an egg to create a “blastocyst”—essentially a very early stage embryo made up of a ball of 200 cells or so.

For the purposes of cloning a human, a blastocyst would have to be implanted into a womb and carried to term—a medically dangerous procedure that fails 99.2% of the time in animals and should be outlawed, Dr Weissman insists. What should be allowed, he says, is the creation of a blastocyst to harvest embryonic stem cells—those rare “pluripotent” cells that appear soon after conception. Creating new lines is essential, Dr Weissman argues, because the few available for government-funded research in America do not have the genetic diversity needed for the study of many diseases.

According to the human cloning prohibition bill, which was passed by America's House of Representatives in February 2003 and now before the Senate, anyone practising nuclear transfer for the purpose of cloning a human being or harvesting human stem cells will be punished with up to ten years in prison and fined a minimum of $1m. While Dr Weissman acknowledges the ethical and religious issues involved, he argues against such drastic measures. Ultimately, he says, the question is: Who do we care about more—a speck of cells or a grown human being suffering from a life-threatening or debilitating illness?

For his outspoken work, he gets the admiration of many other pioneers in the scientific community—including a Nobel laureate, Paul Berg, who praises Dr Weissman for leading the discussion. In fact, Dr Weissman likens the current debate on embryonic stem cells to the one Dr Berg helped spark on recombinant DNA more than 20 years ago. Back then, scientists themselves put a moratorium on the research until guidelines were established that oversee experiments without prohibiting them. As a result, the world now has many new medicines to help cure hundreds of thousands of people, Dr Weissman points out. Similarly, he believes that stem cells “will open the doors like recombinant DNA did for the biotechnology revolution.”
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-=People trying to Inform=-

Highlights of...

Institute brings debate on bioethics into the public arena

Rapid scientific and technological progress can give rise to serious ethical dilemmas of concern to European citizens. A key question, therefore, is how to ensure that citizens are kept informed and involved in the resulting ethical debates.

One organisation that is rising to the challenge of bringing such debates into the public sphere is the Brussels based European Institute of Bioethics. Their strategy includes holding public meetings, attracting members of the public who do not necessarily have a scientific background, but who wish to improve their understanding of how bioethical issues affect their daily lives.

On 9 October, the institute held one such meeting to provide an overview of bioethics, an explanation of technical terms such as stem cells and supernumerary embryos, and an analysis of press coverage and Belgian law in relation to bioethics. CORDIS News spoke to some of those attending the meeting and asked why they felt it was important to remain informed about ethical matters relating to genetic engineering and biotechnology.

'I am very wary of the direction these technologies are taking, particularly cloning for therapeutic purposes and research using human in vitro embryos,' said Ms Martin. 'But I would like to better understand the research area before passing judgement.'

'I already know a bit about bioethics from my philosophy classes, but I came here today because I know that if I don't continue to keep up with what's going on, I will get left behind in the debate.'

'Scientific issues are often quite complex and scientists find it is easier to debate among themselves than simplify the information for the public,' said Ms Jeanty. 'Perhaps those in the scientific community are not prepared to do this.' (How about you talk with the pro-life people and ask them why they like to contort things first before you pick on the scientists.)
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Overall only 40 people showed up. - Bates

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-=Eh, Its a Start...I Guess=-

Highlights of...

Australia ahead in stem cell research

From Melbourne, Ben Knight reports.

BEN KNIGHT: Late last year, after days and nights of debate, and a rare conscience vote, the Australian Parliament passed laws giving Australian scientists access to frozen surplus human embryos and their valuable stem cells.

While it did make some restrictions, like banning therapeutic cloning, and the use of new human embryos, it essentially gave Australian researchers a secure supply of embryonic stem cells, for at least two years.

But in Europe, it's been a far different story. Germany, Italy, Ireland and Austria are leading the charge for an outright ban on embryonic stem cells. And European scientists are feeling the effects.

Professor Christine Mummery, from the Hubrecht Laboratory in Holland, made history last year, when she and her team created a beating heart from stem cells. She's currently in Melbourne with some of the world's top stem cell researchers and she says it's becoming more and more difficult to do it in the EU.

CHRISTINE MUMMERY: Europe is very fragmented on this and many of us believe that it is a move by certain countries to actually block stem cell research in general. It's a very tricky way of getting in the backdoor and actually blocking our research.

BEN KNIGHT: The other powerhouse of medical research, the United States, also has tight restrictions on the use of these cells, banning the creation of any new lines for use by scientists and restricting federal money – all of which means that Australia is poised to pick up new researchers, and research, that might otherwise have been done overseas.

CHRISTINE MUMMERY: That's quite possible, yes, because Europeans are very Australian minded. There are a lot of Europeans here, so people actually feel very comfortable about working in Australia. So there's a good chance that very motivated people might come here now that the legislation's very favourable here to come and do their research.

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-=Adult Stem Cells Heal Tissue Damage=-

Highlights of...

Adult Marrow Stem Cells Heal Burns Faster than Embryonic

I'm sure you all have already read the study conducted by Russia's Scientific Research Institute of Transplantology and Artificial Organs (I don't think they have a site). The ASCs taken from the marrow were used to treat burns which worked a lot faster than the ESCs. Of course you have to recover from both the burn and the marrow extraction. (By all means, lets stop ESC research and just go with that. (roll eyes))

This research reinforces the fact that we need to understand the membrane signaling during cell crosstalk and try to increase this response in vivo.

A good representation of what I'm trying to convey here is with Global Warming. It may be true that we will survive the greenhouse effect with the burning of fossil fuels but, is that really a reason to stop worrying about trying to find a better source to derive energy from? Of course not, there are better sources that we can see in nature. This is the same thing - we have an example of a cell that can change into anything and to discard it because the "gasoline" works is not what smart humans do.

--Bates

Stem cell research debated, More
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-=ASCs Can do it, ASCs can't do it=-

Highlights of...

Study casts doubt on adult stem cells

Stem-cell studies probably misinterpreted, research suggests

Bone Marrow Research Is Questioned

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A study in mice indicates that contrary to previous thinking, a type of adult stem cell derived from bone does not give rise to new heart and brain cells when transplanted into the body.

The finding that this type of stem cell might not be as medically beneficial as researchers had hoped likely will have a significant impact on the political debate over embryonic and adult stem cells.

Previous studies, however, have hinted adult stem cells do not actually give rise to new cells when transplanted into the body but merely fuse with existing cells. Based on this, many stem cell scientists had come to accept the idea the cells did not offer the same regenerative capacity as embryonic stem cells.

The new study confirms the previous observations of fusion and "draws into question" the idea the adult stem cells could be used in humans to repair damaged heart and brain cells, principal investigator Arturo Alvarez-Buylla and his co-authors concluded in their paper, which the journal Nature published online Sunday.

The study "casts great doubt on the idea that adult stem cells could be the equivalent of embryonic stem cells," Dr. David Scadden, director of the center for regenerative medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, told United Press International. "That concept is generally, by and large, no longer accepted."

read more at the links above...
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-=Could push research closer to therapeutic applications and replacement organs=-

Highlights of...

MIT engineers report new approach to tissue engineering

Excellent

The team "seeded" human embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to differentiate into a variety of specialized cells, onto a biodegradable polymer scaffold. By treating the scaffold/stem cell structure with chemical cues, or growth factors, known to stimulate the formation of specific cell types, the researchers coaxed the stem cells to form tissues with characteristics of developing human cartilage, liver, nerves and blood vessels.

"Here we show for the first time that polymer scaffolds … promoted proliferation, differentiation and organization of human embryonic stem cells into 3D structures," the researchers wrote in a paper to appear the week of Oct. 13 in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Further, the resulting tissues continued to thrive when implanted in mice with suppressed immune systems (to eliminate rejection). They expressed human proteins, and integrated with the host's blood-vessel networks.

"For me it was very exciting to see that these [stem] cells could move around and start to 'talk' with one another, generating the different cell types common to a given tissue and organizing into that tissue," said Shulamit Levenberg, first author of the paper and a research associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

The technique could also have an impact on the study of cell and developmental biology. "When you give cells a three-dimensional structure [on which to grow], it's really a lot more like what's happening in the embryo," said Levenberg, a mother of four whose youngest child is seven months old.

Levenberg's colleagues on the work are Robert Langer, the Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering; MIT alumna Ngan Huang (S.B. 2002); Erin Lavik, a postdoctoral fellow in the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology who is now a professor at Yale; Arlin Rogers of MIT's Division of Comparative Medicine; and Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor of the Technion in Israel.

The work provides a new approach to prodding stem cells to grow into different tissues. Before, researchers created a variety of cell types from one batch of stem cells, then isolated the cell type of interest. The isolated cells were then grown on a given medium, such as a polymer scaffold. The same MIT team did just that last year with the endothelial cells that blood vessels are composed of.

This time around, the MIT researchers seeded stem cells directly into the scaffold. "We found that with different growth factors, we could push them in different directions," said Levenberg.

The polymer scaffold is key. "The scaffold provides physical cues for cell orientation and spreading, and pores provide space for remodeling of tissue structures," the researchers wrote.

The scaffold was carefully engineered. "If the scaffold is too soft," for example, "it collapses under the cells' mechanical forces," said Levenberg. The team also used two different polymers to create the scaffold. "One degrades quickly, the other more slowly," she said. "That gives cells room to grow while still retaining a support structure for them."

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health. The human embryonic stem cells are from an NIH-approved line.
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-=Ethics=-

Highlights of...

Seminar hears calls for openness and international engagement on ethics in medical research

Halfway into the article...
With no international guidelines yet available for the ethical administration of research on stem cells and in vitro embryos, Professor Trontelj expects the problem to get worse before it gets better, and said that an important step forward would be an additional protocol to the Convention on human rights covering research ethics.

For Professor Jan Helge Solbakk, Director of the centre for medical ethics at the University of Oslo, establishing a debate at international level is the key to reaching practical agreements(Yet, its happening at the UN). He warned of the dangers involved in overselling therapeutic potential in order to promote a particular field of research, and said that regions like Europe had an obligation to scale up their spending on research into diseases affecting the developing world.

Ms Rhode agreed that the EU itself has not been as engaged in the developing world dimension of ethical research as it should because it had been more focussed on issues related to internal diversity. That experience and diversity, however, meant that the EU has an important role to play in the global process, added Ms Rhode.

In drawing conclusions from the seminar, Mr Christian Hambro, Director General of the research council of Norway, said that some of the ethical issues raised in medical research were too important to be taken by individual scientists, or even by the scientific community as a whole. Professor Trontelj echoed this belief, and demanded that the public be consulted, and reminded of their duty to learn about the issues from credible sources. 'We must separate ethics from politics, and scientists should not be allowed to fuel the unrealistic expectations of science that politicians sometimes demand.'

Ms Rhodes concluded by agreeing that more EU cooperation is needed with the candidate countries and the developing world. Finally she stressed that, despite the complexity of the issues: 'ethics should not be seen as a barrier or bureaucratic hurdle to progress, but as an enabler of science.'

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-=Mmmm, any fusion? Is it only fusion?=-

Highlights of...

Stem cells repair heart attack damage

Stem cells repair heart attack damage

Oct 14 (Reuters Health) - After a heart attack, infusing stem cells into the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle leads to a reduction in the area of heart damage. Moreover, heart function improves after the treatment, German physicians report.

Stem cells are early-stage cells that can go on to become several different types of tissue. Dr. Stefanie Dimmeler and associates at J. W. Goethe-University Frankfurt isolated stem cells from the bone marrow or blood of 28 heart attack patients and about four days later infused the cells into the coronary artery that caused the heart attack.

I would like to know if these cells were fused with others but they don't seem to want to check for that. Even though that has been shown to be the case in some studies. We have had this problem before. Stem Cell Fusion

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-=Cutting-Edge Cellular Therapies and Stem Cell Applications Highlight Fourth Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine in Washington, D.C.=-

Highlights of...

Cutting-Edge Cellular Therapies and Stem Cell Applications Highlight Fourth Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Advisory/cutting-Edge Cellular Therapies and Stem Cell Applications Highlight Fourth Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine in Washington, D.C.

LARCHMONT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2003--The very latest research and clinical applications of cellular therapies and stem cell transplantation will be the focus of four presentations by leading researchers at the Fourth Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine. With an emphasis on "Rebuilding the Body, Restoring Function," the Conference is jointly sponsored by Genetic Engineering News, a publication of (www.liebertpub.com), the University of South Florida College of Medicine, and the Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology Society, and is presented by BioConferences International. The complete program including summaries of the presentations can be viewed at www.bioconferences.com/ebio.

Professor Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute will chair the session entitled "Cellular Therapies--Repairing the Damaged and Worn Body" and will deliver a presentation on "Nuclear Transfer as a Source of Cells for Therapy: Two Methods for Producing Immunologically Matched Cells." Approaches for overcoming the problem of immune rejection are the focus of two presentations: a talk by Roger Pedersen, Ph.D. from the Department of Surgery, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital on "Stem Cell Medicine Encounters the Immune System: Strategies for Avoiding Rejection"; and a discussion of "Purified Hematopoietic Stem Cells and the Induction of Immune Tolerance" by Judith A. Shizuru, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Taking an in-depth look at therapeutic applications of cellular therapies, Margaret A. Goodell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Center for Cell & Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, will speak on "The Derivation and Value of Hematopoietic Side Population Cells."

World-class scientists from leading academic centers, industry, and government research institutions will also present their most recent findings from the laboratory and the clinic during conference sessions that will focus on Substitutive Medicine: Organ Replacement and Repair, Exploring New Frontiers in Alzheimer's Disease, and Tissue Engineering.

Good Stuff.

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-=ANTI-STEM CELLS WITH BITE!=-

Highlights of...

New Stem-Cell Report Suspect

Eh, just click on the link if you really want to read it. [lol]
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