http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/stemcells/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:02:58 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420212/posts Recent Findings Support Need for Maintaining Stem Cell HealthSAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - December 28, 2009) - Medistem Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MEDS). In a collaborative publication, a group of scientists theorized that a special type of stem cell circulating in the blood stream, called the "endothelial progenitor cell," may be a critical factor in maintaining a long and healthy life. This was followed up with human data demonstrating the food supplement Stem-Kine increased the numbers of these cells in circulation. The paper, entitled "Circulating Endothelial Progenitor Cells: A New Approach to Anti-Aging Medicine?" synthesized current research in the area of age-associated deterioration... Medistem Inc. via Marketwire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420212/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:02:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418780/posts Nature Methods' Method of the Year 2009 goes to induced pluripotency for its potential for biological discovery. This series of articles—and the related video—showcase how induced pluripotency is coming into its own in 2009 as a tool for discovery in both basic and disease biology and explore the incredible impact this area promises to have in biological research. The Methods to Watch feature provides a glimpse of future Methods of the Year and the Reader's Choice shows methods nominated by readers and editors, and the votes that they received... Nature Methods http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418780/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:36:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418778/posts Abstract A brief overview of methods for reprogramming to induced pluripotency and of the properties of induced pluripotent stem cells. Introduction What is induced pluripotency? Pluripotency—the ability to make all cell types of the body—is a property possessed by a few cells in the early mammalian embryo, those belonging to the blastocyst inner cell mass. Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived by in vitro culture of the inner cell mass and are also pluripotent. As the embryo develops, its cells become progressively more specialized and pluripotency is lost, although somatic tissues retain what are called multipotent cells (or adult stem... Nature Methods http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418778/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:25:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418720/posts Abstract Rapid progress with induced pluripotent stem cells is bringing scientists closer to understanding their strengths and weaknesses as embryonic stem cell stand-ins. Introduction In 2006, with formidable legal and technical obstacles keeping the promise of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in check, Shinya Yamanaka's announcement was truly a scientific 'shot heard around the world'. He and his team at Kyoto University had reprogrammed adult mouse fibroblasts into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)1, opening the stem cell field to legions of eager scientists and offering the promise of unprecedented capabilities for targeted disease research using stem cells derived directly from... Nature Methods http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418720/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 01:12:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418597/posts Monya Baker is Technology Editor at Nature and Nature Methods Correspondence to: Monya Baker1 e-mail: m.baker@us.nature.com Abstract Now that the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells is becoming routine, researchers can get on to the more exciting prospect of using the cells to make discoveries in disease and basic biology. Monya Baker reports. Introduction As Shinya Yamanaka finished the experiments that would win him the 2009 Lasker prize, a stem-cell fraud was prominent in his thoughts. In 2005, Woo Suk Hwang had rocketed to star status for reportedly developing a technique to generate human embryonic stem (ES) cells genetically matched... Nature Methods http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418597/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:00:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415393/posts In a developing animal, stem cells proliferate and differentiate to form the organs needed for life. A new study shows how a crucial step in this process happens and how a reversal of that step contributes to cancer. The study, led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, shows for the first time that three proteins, called E2f1, E2f2 and E2f3, play a key role in the transition stem cells make to their final, differentiated, state. These proteins help stimulate stem cells to grow and proliferate. But... Ohio State University Medical Center via biologynews.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415393/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:39:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413770/posts Stem cell cure for attack victim Cells from Mr Turnbull's good eye were transplanted into his damaged one A man partially blinded in an attack on Tyneside has praised scientists who restored his vision using stem cells. Russell Turnbull, 38, lost the sight in one eye in 1994 when he was squirted with ammonia after intervening in an argument on a bus in Newcastle. He was left with Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency (LSCD), a painful condition which requires constant treatment. He said the Newcastle University team which developed the treatment had "transformed his life". The method involves taking a small... BBc Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413770/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:57:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408756/posts A climber who was warned he faced the amputation of a limb has had his leg saved by a new stem cell technique. Andrew Kent broke his leg so badly while rock climbing in the Lake District that traditional surgery failed. For the first time in Britain, doctors then used his own stem cells to heal the bones in a technique they believe could revolutionise orthopaedic operations. "I've got a good prognosis. I'm very pleased with the way things have turned out," Mr Kent told Sky News. He and his son were climbing in the Langdale Pikes earlier this year... Sky News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408756/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:56:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407983/posts An Australian man who was confined to a wheelchair by multiple sclerosis has made a remarkable recovery after receiving a groundbreaking stem cell treatment. Ben Leahy, 20, was diagnosed with the disease in 2008 and lost the ability to stand within a few months. However, a new procedure to combat the disease has helped him regain his health and he is now walking again. Telegraph UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407983/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:24:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400191/posts The Obama administration has begun approving new lines of human embryonic stem cells that are eligible for federally funded experiments, opening the way for millions of taxpayer dollars to be used to conduct research that was put off-limits by President George W. Bush. Launching a dramatic expansion of government support for one of the most promising but most contentious fields of biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday authorized the first 13 lines of cells under the administration's policy and was poised to approve 20 more Friday. "This is the first down payment on what is going to... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400191/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 15:18:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398805/posts WASHINGTON - Scientists can start using taxpayer dollars to do research with 13 batches of embryonic stem cells and the government says dozens more cell lines should be available soon, opening a new era for the potentially life-saving field. President Barack Obama lifted eight years of restrictions on these master cells last spring. But $21 million-and-counting in new projects were on hold until the National Institutes of Health determined which of hundreds of existing stem cell lines were ethically appropriate to use. "This is the first down payment," Dr. Francis Collins, NIH's director, said Wednesday as he opened a master... msnbc.msn.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398805/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 23:15:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399474/posts (ANSA) - Rome, November 27 - A pregnant woman carries stem cells that could be used in critical medical treatments for her baby, either in the womb or later in life, a team of Italian scientists has announced. These cells, found in the womb during pregnancy, can be removed during a simple antenatal test and stored for future use, concluded the study, which appears in next week's edition of the Cloning and Stem Cells journal. They could then be used to generate tailor-made organs and tissues or even to treat the woman's baby while still in the womb, said Giuseppe... ANSA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399474/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:50:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397516/posts PARIS (Reuters) – French scientists have found a way to create human skin rapidly from stem cells, a discovery that could save the lives of many burns victims who are vulnerable to infection and now wait weeks for a skin graft. The scientists made the breakthrough by creating a patch of human skin on a mouse's back using stem cells -- cells which have the ability to develop into any human cell. Skin grafts have traditionally been created from cell cultures taken from the patient -- a process that takes three weeks, too long for some patients suffering extensive burns.... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2397516/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 13:03:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2391728/posts A proposal to limit embryonic stem cell research at the University of Nebraska failed to win the approval of the NU Board of Regents Friday, a critical verdict that came after one regent broke ranks with his pro-life colleagues to cast the deciding vote. Lincoln Regent Jim McClurg's about-face split the regents' vote 4-4, stalling the proposal and opening the door to expanded research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Supporters of embryonic stem cell research hailed the vote as a hallmark opportunity for NU to play a key role in lifesaving work. The vote also helps counter a... Journalstar.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2391728/posts#comment Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:53:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381949/posts Induced pluripotent stem cells could be a boon for regenerative medicine.REUTERS/Junying Yu/University of Wisconsin-Madison Given the right conditions, any adult cell can be coaxed into becoming stem-cell like, according to a team of researchers based in the United States. The team, led by Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were also able to speed up the process, cutting the time required for cells to become stem-cell like by around half. The results are good news for those battling to work out the complex biology of these cells, know as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381949/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 05:44:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381936/posts A treatment based on HIV finds first success in humans.Researchers have halted a fatal brain disease by delivering a therapeutic gene to the stem cells that mature into blood cells. The gene was transferred using a virus derived from HIV, a technique that researchers have pursued for more than a decade but has not been successful in humans until now. Together with his colleagues, paediatric neurologist Patrick Aubourg at INSERM — France's main biomedical research agency — and at the Saint-Vincent de Paul Hospital in Paris, developed the system to treat X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a neurodegenerative disease that affects young... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381936/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 04:58:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375318/posts (See all these news nuggets and more by clicking the excerpt link below): 1. BBC News: “Darwin Teaching ‘Divides Opinion’” Darwinism is a controversial topic, and many believe creation should be taught in the classroom. But why is that news? 2. ScienceDaily: “Junk DNA Mechanism that Prevents Two Species from Reproducing Discovered” Has the U.S. government finally supported creationist research? Alas, no, but the results of a National Institutes of Health study fit squarely within the young-earth creation framework. 3. PhysOrg: “Charles Darwin Really Did Have Advanced Ideas about the Origin of Life” Charles Darwin was convinced that life’s origin... AiG http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375318/posts#comment Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:19:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373395/posts Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood. It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own. But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies. Opponents argue that it is wrong to meddle with the building blocks of life and warn that the advances taking place... Daily Mail via The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373395/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:01:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2373232/posts Obama is, in the street vernacular, a useful idiot. Does he actually do anything? The Patriot Room http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2373232/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:32:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370968/posts A University of Nebraska Medical Center research team led by Iqbal Ahmad, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, has reprogrammed regular body cells to resemble embryonic stem cells without the use of potentially harmful foreign genetic material. The research, published in STEM CELLS, suggests that cells taken from a patient's eye can be "reprogrammed" to replace or restore cells lost to degenerative diseases. The research is the first proof in principle that somatic, or body cells, can be transformed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) simply through the influence of the microenvironment in which the sampled cells are cultured.... Bioresearch Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370968/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:18:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369973/posts (For all these stories and more, click on the excerpt link below) 1. BBC News: “Primate Fossil ‘Not an Ancestor’” Remember “Ida,” the missing link that wasn’t? In a Nature letter, scientists attack the lofty claims that surrounded the announcement of the fossil primate. 2. Did the Baby Mammoth, Lyuba, Suffocate in a Dust Storm? In a special guest news analysis, creationist (and mammoth expert) Michael Oard considers the well-preserved mammoth “Lyuba” (whom we first discussed in A Mammoth Discovery). The occasion? Lyuba’s worldwide debut. 3. National Geographic News: “Chimps Display Humanlike Good Will” Chimps, especially mothers and their offspring,... AiG http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2369973/posts#comment Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:09:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365662/posts A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has developed a method that dramatically improves the efficiency of creating stem cells from human adult tissue, without the use of embryonic cells. The research makes great strides in addressing a major practical challenge in the development of stem-cell-based medicine. The findings were published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature Methods on October 18, 2009. The new technique, which uses three small drug-like chemicals, is 200 times more efficient and twice as fast as conventional methods for transforming adult human cells into stem cells (in this case... Science Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365662/posts#comment Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:19:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365317/posts News to Note, October 17, 2009: A weekly feature examining news from the biblical viewpoint (fascinating STEM CELL piece in story #5!)... AiG http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2365317/posts#comment Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:13:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363156/posts Surgeons report success in first human bone growth procedure using fat stem cells--with no culturing necessary Stem cells so far have been used to mend tissues ranging from damaged hearts to collapsed tracheas. Now the multifaceted cells have proved successful at regrowing bone in humans. In the first procedure of its kind, doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center replaced a 14-year-old boy's missing cheekbones—in part by repurposing stem cells from his own body. The technique, should it be approved for widespread use, could benefit some seven million people in the U.S. who need more bone—everyone from cancer patients to... Scientificamerican.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363156/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:59:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360303/posts Live-cell fluorescence imaging identifies bona fide reprogrammed cells.Fluorescence imaging could help resolve whether iPS cells have been properly programmed.Alamy The next tools for reprogramming cells to an embryonic-like state might just be a camera and a set of fluorescently tagged antibodies. Researchers imaged more than a million human cells in vitro as they changed from skin tissue cells, known as fibroblasts, into colonies of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. As expected, many similar-looking colonies appeared, but only very few consisted of fully reprogrammed iPS cells. After assessing which were which, researchers led by Thorsten Schlaeger and George Daley of the... Nature News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360303/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:35:19 GMT