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Blood drawn with a simple needle stick can be coaxed into producing stem cells that may have the ability to form any type of tissue in the body, three independent papers report in the July 2 Cell Stem Cell. The new technique will allow scientists to tap a large, readily available source of personalized stem cells. Because taking blood is safe, fast and efficient compared to current stem cell harvesting methods, some of which include biopsies and pretreatments with drugs, researchers hope that blood-derived stem cells could one day be used to study and treat diseases — though major safety...

Last Updated: Monday, 25 June 2007, 11:07 GMT 12:07 UK The bomb struck the lobby of the hotel A number of senior Sunni tribal leaders have been killed in a suicide bombing at a hotel in central Baghdad, which has left 12 dead and 15 injured. "According to initial reports, six sheikhs are among the dead," Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bleichwehl said. Sunni tribal leaders meeting at the Mansour Hotel were the target of the attack, police say. Earlier, blasts in the southern city of Hilla, and in the city of Baiji, in the north, left at least 18 people dead....

In a fundamental discovery that someday may help cure type 1 diabetes by allowing people to grow their own insulin-producing cells for a damaged or defective pancreas, medical researchers here have reported that they have engineered adult stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin. The researchers announced their laboratory finding, which caps nearly four years of research, in the June 2007 issue of the medical journal Cell Proliferation, posted online this week. Their paper calls it "the first demonstration that human umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells can be engineered" to synthesize insulin. "This discovery tells us...

Galveston, TX (LifeNews.com) -- Advocates of embryonic stem cell research and the disease industry in America are convinced that using stem cells that are only derived from destroying human embryos is the only way to help those with diabetes. Yet, scientists continue to make progress with adult stem cells. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say they have made a fundamental discovery that someday may help cure type 1 diabetes. The research could allow people to grow their own insulin-producing cells for a damaged or defective pancreas. That's because the scientists say they have engineered adult...

Mice cloned from skin stem cells 13 February 2007 US researchers have cloned healthy mice from skin cells for the first time. Despite notorious difficulties in producing animals through cloning, nine of 19 mice who were born survived into adulthood. The scientists replaced the nucleus from an unfertilised egg with the nucleus from an adult skin stem cell. Embryos produced in this way may also be a useful source of stem cells, say the researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers have previously managed to clone mice using other kinds of adult cells, but it has...

Administering Stem Cells To Patients With Myocardial Infarction Leads To A Reduction Of The Infarct Doctors at the Catholic University of Leuven, connected with the University Hospital - Gasthuisberg, the Stem Cell Institute Leuven (SCIL), and the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), recently publishing a major breakthrough in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Their research shows that the administration of a patient's own stem cells has a significant positive effect on the heart's recovery: in the patients studied, the size of the infarct was clearly reduced. The use of stem cells appears to be safe, and...

To the surprise of perhaps no one, Senators Arlen Specter and John McCain have jumped on this morning's reports of NSA spying within the United States as another opportunity to grab the limelight.Report of NSA Spying Prompts Call for Probe (AP) Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter put the Bush administration on notice Friday that his panel would hold hearings into a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States. "There is no doubt that this is inappropriate," said Specter, R-Pa., calling hearings early next year "a very, very high priority." He wasn't...

American Security Council Year: 2002Issue: Foreign Aid and Policy IssuesWebsite: http://www.ascusa.org/asc_home.phpEmail: American Security Council 405 North Street, SW Washington D.C. 20024 Phone: 202-479-4580 Fax: 202-479-4587 Public policy research organization focussing on defense, foreign policy and economic issues. Serves as educational secretariat of the Congressional Caucus on National Security. American Security Council Ratings: State Office District Name Party Ratings AK U.S. Senate Sr Ted Stevens Republican 75 AK U.S. House At-Large Donald E. 'Don' Young Republican 75 AL U.S. Senate Sr Richard C. Shelby Republican 75 AL U.S. Senate Jr Jefferson B. 'Jeff' Sessions Republican 75 AL U.S. House 2...

Confused issues Stem cell research could soon give us a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, right? Wrong, says The Times science correspondent Ask most people why scientists are so keen to experiment with stem cells and it will not be long before they mention Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia patients might be elderly but they have become the poster kids for this new and controversial branch of medical technology. When Chinese researchers claimed this week to have grown human brain cells in culture for the first time, many reports hailed the work as an important step towards a cure for Alzheimer’s. The...

The Stem Cell Cover-Up Posted May 24, 2004 By Michael Fumento Activists such as Christopher Reeve have it backward when they say that restrictions on funding for embryonic stem-cell research will prevent him from walking again. Stem-cell research constitutes one of the most exciting areas in medical science. It promises to prevent, ameliorate and cure diseases for which there are now few if any treatments. Far easier is listing what stem cells don't have the potential to do, but here are a few of the wonders in progress: More than 30 anticancer uses for stem cells have been tested on...