Stem Cells News and Research

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Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

HRSA to allocate $14M to public umbilical cord blood banks

HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration plans to allocate $14 million to public umbilical cord blood banks nationwide in an effort to increase the supply of cord blood from 50,000 to 150,000 units, the AP/Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

Washington Post examines Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Santorum, Casey

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey (D) (Finkel, Washington Post, 10/15).

17 Oct 2006

New technique allows partial-match cell transplants for children with most resistant leukemia

Clinicians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have successfully demonstrated an improved technique for blood stem cell transplantations in children that shows promise for those most likely to fail standard treatment for leukemia.

16 Oct 2006

Abortion-rights, women's groups endorse Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Patrick

NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts and other abortion-rights and women's groups on Thursday announced that they will support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick (D), the AP/Boston Globe reports.

16 Oct 2006

New York Times examines voter guides emphasizing Christian teachings on abortion, xloning, embryonic stem cell research

The New York Times on Saturday examined five Christian voting guides that emphasize church teachings on issues such as abortion, human cloning and human embryonic stem cell research.

16 Oct 2006

California agency releases 10-year plan for spending $3B on embryonic stem cell research

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine -- which is in charge of implementing the 10-year, $2.95 billion state human embryonic stem cell research program approved under Proposition 71 -- on Wednesday released a draft spending plan that "sets a strikingly modest tone" for outcomes of the research.

5 Oct 2006

SUMO1 gene implicated in cleft lip and palate defects

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health report in the current issue of the journal Science that a much-studied gene called SUMO1, when under expressed, can cause cleft lip and palate, one of the world's most common birth defects.

21 Sep 2006

New target for cancer therapy identified by Australian researchers

A new target for cancer therapy has been identified by Monash University scientists investigating the cell signalling pathways that turn on a gene involved in cancer development.

21 Sep 2006

Drugs that enhance the activity of calcineurin or NFAT could become a new treatment for type-2

Certain immune-suppressing drugs, such as those taken by patients who have had organ transplants, greatly increase the risk of developing diabetes. These drugs are known to put a stranglehold on a protein called calcineurin.

21 Sep 2006

Regenerative Medicine wins award for best new journal

The journal Regenerative Medicine has been recognized by The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers as joint winner of the 2006 ALPSP/Charlesworth Award for Best New Journal. This prestigious international award is presented annually to the best new journal across a wide range of disciplines.

20 Sep 2006

California Bill seeks to restrict payments to egg donors

A California bill seeks to extend to privately funded laboratories a provision under Proposition 71 that says scientists receiving state embryonic stem cell research funds can reimburse egg donors only for their expenses and cannot pay egg donors, the Los Angeles Times reports (Romney, Los Angeles Times, 9/13).

14 Sep 2006

Primary election results for races involving women's health issues

Nine states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday held primary elections, and some of the races involved women's health issues.

14 Sep 2006

Concerns that stem cell study could influence future embryonic stem cell legislation

Technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying human embryos, recently published in the journal Nature, could impede funding for stem cell research in this week's "Health on the Hill From kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

13 Sep 2006

WiCell and Advanced Cell Technology offer to distribute new stem cell lines

The WiCell Research Institute (WiCell) and Advanced Cell Technology announced today an agreement, in principle, to collaborate to jointly distribute to U.S. scientists a range of new cell lines.

12 Sep 2006

Sens. Specter, Harkin say 'hype' surrounding Nature study harms chances of expanding Federal stem cell funding

"Hype" surrounding a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature describing a technique that could derive human embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo is harming chances of approving legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, CQ HealthBeat reports (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 9/6).

7 Sep 2006

New radiotherapy/chemotherapy strategy improves outcomes for children with medulloblastoma

Radiotherapy that is adapted for the severity of disease and followed by a shortened course of chemotherapy substantially improves the outcome of children with a type of brain tumour called medulloblastoma, claim investigators in an Online/Article in The Lancet Oncology.

7 Sep 2006

Crist, Davis win Florida Gubernatorial primaries

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) -- who has said he would sign a bill into law that bans abortions with exceptions in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the woman is in danger -- on Tuesday won the Republican gubernatorial primary over state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, the New York Times reports.

6 Sep 2006

Some researchers question conclusion in Nature study that stem cells can be created without destroying embryos

Some human embryonic stem cell researchers recently have questioned whether methods used in a study published in the Aug. 24 edition of the journal Nature were sufficient to conclude that human embryonic stem cells could be created without destroying the embryo, the Wall Street Journal reports (Hamilton/Regalado, Wall Street Journal, 9/5).

6 Sep 2006

Most U.S. residents disagree with Liberals, Conservatives approaches to religion in public forum

Most people living in the U.S. disagree with the way liberals and Christian conservatives approach religious issues in the public forum -- including topics such as abortion and human embryonic stem cell research -- according to a recently released national survey on politics and religion, the Los Angeles Times reports.

6 Sep 2006

UIC receives $20 million NCI grant to research blood disorders

A $19.6 million National Cancer Institute grant has been awarded to the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine to advance basic and clinical research for incurable blood disorders.

6 Sep 2006

Stem Cells News and Research

Further Reading

HRSA to allocate $14M to public umbilical cord blood banks

Washington Post examines Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Santorum, Casey

New technique allows partial-match cell transplants for children with most resistant leukemia

Abortion-rights, women's groups endorse Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Patrick

New York Times examines voter guides emphasizing Christian teachings on abortion, xloning, embryonic stem cell research

California agency releases 10-year plan for spending $3B on embryonic stem cell research

SUMO1 gene implicated in cleft lip and palate defects

New target for cancer therapy identified by Australian researchers

Drugs that enhance the activity of calcineurin or NFAT could become a new treatment for type-2

Regenerative Medicine wins award for best new journal

California Bill seeks to restrict payments to egg donors

Primary election results for races involving women's health issues

Concerns that stem cell study could influence future embryonic stem cell legislation

WiCell and Advanced Cell Technology offer to distribute new stem cell lines

Sens. Specter, Harkin say 'hype' surrounding Nature study harms chances of expanding Federal stem cell funding

New radiotherapy/chemotherapy strategy improves outcomes for children with medulloblastoma

Crist, Davis win Florida Gubernatorial primaries

Some researchers question conclusion in Nature study that stem cells can be created without destroying embryos

Most U.S. residents disagree with Liberals, Conservatives approaches to religion in public forum

UIC receives $20 million NCI grant to research blood disorders

Stem Cells eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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