Posted on 03/29/2005 5:03:52 PM PST by neverdem
FINDINGS
Stem cells found in hair follicles of mice can develop into nerve cells and might be useful in medical treatment, researchers said yesterday.
They found that stem cells taken from the follicles of mouse whiskers matured into neurons and other neural cells known as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, as well as into skin cells, smooth muscle cells, and pigment-producing cells called melanocytes.
The finding, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers another potential source of master cells, which scientists hope may provide new tissue and organs for transplants.
Robert Hoffman at AntiCancer Inc. in San Diego and colleagues at the University of California at San Diego and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said it may someday be possible to take a person's own stem cells from hair follicles and grow a tissue transplant.
Study Questions Ads Used by Top Hospitals
Many of the nation's top-ranked medical centers employ some of the same advertising techniques doctors often criticize drug companies for -- concealing risks and playing on fear, vanity and other emotions to attract patients, a study found.
--snip--
American Hospital Association spokesman Rick Wade said that advertising is a necessity for hospitals, and that appealing to emotion is inherent in advertising.
Acupuncture Technique Lowers Rats' Blood Pressure
A specialized acupuncture treatment that uses low levels of electrical stimulation can lower blood pressure dramatically in rats, researchers reported yesterday.
"The Western world is waiting for a clear scientific basis for using acupuncture, and we hope that this research ultimately will lead to...
--snip--
Acupuncture alone had no effect, but adding electrical stimulation at low frequencies lowered the blood pressure, although it did not bring it to normal, the team found. The effects lasted as long as two hours. They are now testing the technique on people.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
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Thank You Chucky Cheese........
To mice,mayhap ?
Somehow I imagine the experimenter with several hairs on his beard developing into healthy mice, attached to the experimenter by tails. Could be worked into a Dilbert-like cartoon, Adams likes to depict anthropomorphic critters.
For people eventually, after they learn the techniques to culture the desired cell types after perfecting them in mice, then monkeys or maybe chimps.
ping
I know there is a technique called "cell washing",which has to be used to "get the mouse out".
There was also something done recently with cat and mouse cells to combat allergy to cat hair.
STRANGE new world !
Does anyone long for the day when a "may" turns in to a "does?"
Call me when they reverse the process and turn brain cells into hair!!!
LOL!
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