Free Republic

New bioarchaeological research shows malaria has threatened human communities for more than 7000 years, earlier than when the onset of farming was thought to have sparked its devastating arrival..."Until now we've believed malaria became a global threat to humans when we turned to farming, but our research shows in at least Southeast Asia this disease was a threat to human groups well before that."This research providing a new cornerstone of malaria's evolution with humans is a great achievement by the entire team," Dr Vlok says...While malaria is invisible in the archaeological record, the disease has changed the evolutionary history of...

Research using adult stem cells has saved the life of a Texas boy suffering from sickle cell anemia.   Dallas-area residents Joe and Darlene Davis welcomed the news of a pregnancy and later the birth of their first son. Texas Alliance for Life recorded an interview with the couple. "I was very excited to find that I had a son -- but finding out that he had sickle cell anemia, as a nurse I knew there was going to be a lot of problems associated with that disease," Joe said. "The child can have strokes," Darlene also noted. "It can stunt his growth and...

Finding a cure for cystic fibrosis has been deemed politically incorrect, on the grounds that this awful disease tends to effect those who deserve to suffer — the source of all evil, male Caucasians: OTTAWA - The Carleton University Students' Association has voted to drop a cystic fibrosis charity as the beneficiary of its annual Shinearama fundraiser, supporting a motion that argued the disease is not "inclusive" enough. Cystic fibrosis "has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men" said the motion read Monday night to student councillors, who voted almost unanimously in favour of it. Here...

Adult stem-cell research may lead one day to cures for terminal and debilitating diseases "I hope we will always be guided by both intellect and heart, by both our capabilities and our conscience." -President George W. Bush1 Few areas of scientific study hold as much potential as adult stem-cell research. This research is already generating medical breakthroughs and treatments for debilitating diseases and disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, sickle cell anemia and Parkinson's. Indeed, scientists laud stem-cell treatments as the "miracle cure" of the 21st century. Unlike so many areas of biotechnology, adult stem cells do not spark a...

Wearing a T-shirt with "Girls Rock" emblazoned across the chest, Denise Mallory asserts that she has a little bit of boy in her. "I have boy's blood," said the 8-year-old at her family's home in Chester. "Diesel gave me his blood to save me." Diesel is the nickname for her little brother, Dennis Jr., 4. When he was born, his parents saved the blood from his umbilical cord and had it stored away in a cord blood bank in Oakland, Calif. They did so because Denise has sickle cell anemia, and her parents knew the day could come when a...

WASHINGTON, DC, December 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Saturday, the House of Representatives voted to pass HR 2520 - the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act - written by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ). The non-controversial legislation had earlier passed the House of Representatives in May by a vote of 431-1 and was slightly altered before passage by the Senate Friday night. The bill will now be signed into law by President Bush. Umbilical cords are a rich, non-controversial source of stem cells. Currently hospitals throw millions of them away each year because the infrastructure required to properly collect and store...

Freepers, I'd like to ask you for prayers for the comforting of a very fine man and his family. Friday evening I received an unexpected phone call from the secretary of the school where I work. She told me that the daughter of our school's counselor, Ed, had unexpectedly died that afternoon. The death of a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent, but Ed and his wife have lived in fear of this for 25 years or more-- both of their children suffer from sickle-cell anemia. The children, both in their 20s, have had multiple...