Free Republic

Scientists are reporting a significant milestone for cancer research after charting 21 major mutations behind the vast majority of tumours. The disruptive changes to the genetic code, reported in Nature, accounted for 97% of the 30 most common cancers. Finding out what causes the mutations could lead to new treatments. Some causes, such as smoking are known, but more than half are still a mystery. Cancer Research UK said it was a fascinating and important study. A tumour starts when one of the building blocks of bodies, a cell, goes wrong. Over the course of a lifetime cells pick up...

Bristol University scientists in England have created a living bandage from adult stem cells that will be used to heal common sports injuries. Dr. David Stevens of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) says knee injuries have, until now, been limited to surgical treatments such as removal of torn tissue and transplantation. However, he believes this new medical success could make knee and hip replacements obsolete. "What they're doing with this living bandage is actually creating a collagen framework, putting adult stem cells from the bone marrow directly on that and using it as a patch in the leg,...

No particular Republican is named but it’s no mystery whom this is aimed at. Was Joe Biden referring to Sarah Palin, a mother of a child with Down syndrome, when he made this comment? “I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have both the joy, because there’s joy to it as well, the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability, who were born with a birth defect. Well guess what folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support stem cell research?”...

Bioethics: UCLA scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells. The process doesn't use human eggs or destroy human embryos, so you may not have heard of it.Confirming the work first reported last November by researcher Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University and James Thompson at the University of Wisconsin, researchers at UCLA also have managed to coax the human skin cells back in time to a point in their development before they had committed to becoming a particular type of tissue. The reprogrammed cells, known as "induced pluripotent stem cells," genetically...

On August 9, 2001, President Bush announced a compromise decision on the contentious question of whether the federal government should provide financial support for research into the curative properties of human stem cells extracted from embryos. Bush’s compromise allowed funding for research into embryonic stem cells that had already been harvested. At the same time, he disallowed funding for procedures that would collect stem cells from frozen (but still living) embryos, since doing so would require their destruction. In the case of those already collected, he said, “The life-or-death decision has already been made.” But that life-or-death decision would not...

Apparently, according to the documents below, Mike Huckabee took $35,000 in honoraria from a major embryonic stem cell research firm, Novo Nordisk, in late 2006 and early 2007. Earlier this year, Mitt Romney got substantial flack for owning stock in the same firm, and he divested himself of it. See the article below, with links to the documents and websites: "The Cooler has obtained documents that show Mike Huckabee received $378,000 in consulting fees during 2006, while he was still governor of Arkansas. Most noteworthy, $35,000 came from Novo Nordisk, one of the world's largest embryonic stem cell researchers. It...

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have discovered stem cells in adult tendons can regenerate tissue -- a finding that promises new treatments for tendon injury and disease. A consortium of scientists that included University of Southern California School of Dentistry researcher Songtao Shi identified unique cells within the adult tendon that have stem-cell characteristics -- including the ability to proliferate and self-renew. The researchers were able to isolate the cells and regenerate tendon-like tissue in an animal model. "Clinically, tendon injury is a difficult one to treat, not only for athletes, but for patients who suffer from...

Cardiac patients will soon be able to 'grow their own' heart valves and have them transplanted within weeks of seeing a doctor. The groundbreaking treatment, developed by British surgeons, will create heart tissue from stem cells from the patient's body. The technique offers hope to millions who suffer heart disease. Scientists said the valves would not be rejected after a transplant because the tissue will have come from the patient and be genetically identical. In April, a team led by heart surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub of Harefield Hospital, in West London, revealed that they had used bone marrow stem cells...

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists have discovered a group of adult stem cells derived from human muscles that might be used to treat muscle injuries. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh researchers -- led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Professors Johnny Huard and Bruno Peault -- have identified a unique population of adult stem cells that could also treat such diseases as heart attack and muscular dystrophy. The scientists isolated and characterized myoendothelial stem cells that are easily isolated using cell-sorting techniques, proliferate rapidly and can be differentiated in the laboratory into muscle, bone and cartilage cells....

SANTA FE — New Mexico's Roman Catholic bishops pressed Gov. Bill Richardson again Thursday to reconsider his plan to spend state money on stem cell research. The bishops, in a meeting with Richardson, reiterated their opposition to embryonic stem cell research. Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan called it "a pro-life issue.'' "Even a small embryo is a human being. ... It's not potential human life. It is human life,'' Sheehan said at a news conference at the Capitol. The governor proposes the state spend $10 million over the next three years on facilities, equipment, training and staffing at the University of...

A major showdown is looming over stem cell research in the state Legislature. Sen. Mark Miller, D-Madison, is circulating a bill that would affirm in state statute that stem cell research is legal in Wisconsin. "There has been legislation introduced to restrict the ability of Wisconsin researchers to conduct stem cell research, and it seems to me it's time to make a very clear statement that we support stem cell research in Wisconsin," Miller said this morning. Support for embryonic stem cell research, which was pioneered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds promise of cures for such diseases as...

Scientists said they had found a plentiful source of stem cells that sidesteps the controversy over destroying human embryos.....Researchers at Wake Forest and Harvard reported stem cells drawn from amniotic fluid donated by pregnant women hold much the same promise as embryonic stem cells........they were able to extract the stem cells without harm to mother or fetus and turn their discovery into several different tissue cell types, including brain, liver and bone. "Our hope is that these cells will provide a valuable resource for tissue repair and for engineered organs....." said Dr. Anthony Atala, of Wake Forest.....

New Jersey took a leap forward in its self-declared race with other states for the lead in stem cell research yesterday as Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill providing $270 million in state aid to build five research centers. Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex), a prime sponsor of the legislation, told a standing-room-only audience at the Statehouse ceremony that research to be conducted at the new centers will affect people all over the world. "The true scope of this initiative may not be felt for a decade or even longer," Codey said, "when people around the world live vastly improved...

BOSTON -- A black professor at MIT has threatened to go on a hunger strike and "die defiantly" outside the provost's office if the university does not grant him tenure, which he said was denied because of racism. For two years, stem cell scientist James L. Sherley has asked senior administrators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to overturn the decision by his department head not to put him forward for tenure. On Monday, he was told by provost L. Rafael Reif that the decision would stand. "I will either see the provost resign and my hard-earned tenure granted at...

A company scolded in Congress and criticized by religious groups for an experiment involving human embryonic stem cells clarified its work on Wednesday and said it had demonstrated an acceptable alternative to producing the controversial cells. Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Massachusetts published additional details that showed the work had yielded human embryonic stem cells without the need to harm any embryos, although several embryos were destroyed in this particular experiment. "We've done this experiment several times now, and the embryos remain frozen in liquid nitrogen. We plan to maintain them just like they do with leftover embryos at IVF...

Medicines and other medical treatments can produce adverse side effects in some patients. The penicillin that could save me from a deadly infection would have killed my mother who was allergic to it. Stem cells (adult and embryonic) which are being touted as possible treatment for various ailments have a dark side. They are the leading suspects as the source of cancer cells. Some recent research indicates that with some cancers activation of what biologists call a "signaling pathway" named "hedgehog" has been found active in various cancers (esophagus, stomach, pancreas, basil cell carcinoma, a deadly lung cancer and the...