[solemnclockwork]

Originally Posted by MMM

"I don't know how effective it would be". So therefore we shouldn't explore the possibilities? Come on.

I am curious as to why being pro-life would mean that stem-cell research wouldn't be feasible. Doesn't a woman's body "abort" an egg every month she isn't actively getting pregnant?

Don't twist the argument about abortion, When does it become abortion when the body, does something that is natural? BIG DIFFERENCE to add to that egg was not fertilized was It? Also I said "WE not I don't know how effective they are right now".

There is a reason why we shouldn't explore areas that destroy life. It's embryo stem-cells which IS a fertilized egg. Which means it's human life. So when did it become ethical to destroy one life to save another?

Taken from the Chicago breaking news written by Bruce Japsen

A stem cell treatment designed to regenerate the heart led to less discomfort and an "improved tolerance" for exercise in patients suffering severe heart disease and chest pain known as angina, a study announced today that is led by Northwestern University and sponsored by Baxter International Inc. shows.

Nearly 170 adult patients were studied for six months after having their own stem cells injected into their hearts. Although still early in research, researchers conducting the trial say the results are significant enough that research will continue into a critical final stage with a larger group of patients studied.

"The six-month, phase II data provide the first evidence that a patient's own stem cells could actually be used as a treatment for their heart disease," said Dr. Douglas Losordo, director of Northwestern University's Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute.

After a final phase, Deerfield-based Baxter would then decide, likely within the next five years, whether to submit the product to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for possible approval. The study presented today was announced in Orlando at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

Losordo has been working with Baxter on the process of using adult stem cells to create new blood vessels in the cardiovascular system. The study is designed to investigate whether injecting adult stem cells directly into the heart can help patients rebound from severe coronary artery disease.

The research involves use of Baxter's Isolex cell separation and selection system to extract stem cells from the many types of cells in bone marrow. The cells, once carefully isolated using the machine, are then injected directly into the heart via catheter in hopes of regenerating damaged areas that trigger heart failure.

Stem cells are building-block cells that are able to develop into many different types of specialized cells. They serve as a sort of repair system for the body, and theoretically can divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is alive.

Supporters of stem cell research believe blood vessels leading to the heart can be rebuilt and that damaged areas of the heart can be regenerated.

Still, industry analysts and researchers involved in the Northwestern and Baxter research say there is a long way to go. Losordo said the results presented today, "while encouraging, are not yet definitive and require verification in a larger study."


Taken from the Chicago tribune written by TOMOKO A. HOSAKA

TOKYO (AP) — A new team of U.S. and Japanese researchers is stepping up the global race to perfect a cutting-edge technology that could offer an alternative to embryonic stem cell research.

Kyoto University and iZumi Bio Inc., a biotechnology startup based in South San Francisco, California, announced this week that they would begin collaborating on "induced pluripotent" stem cell technology — a type of cellular reprogramming that turns the clock back on ordinary skin tissue.

Called "iPS" for short, the new technique tinkers with human skin cells so they behave like embryonic stem cells, which can potentially morph into things like heart and nerve cells, as well as lead to new therapies for currently incurable diseases.

Scientists around the world have embraced the technology recently, in large part because it does not entail getting the stem cells from embryos, a process considered controversial by some.

The latest partnership brings together two heavyweights in the field — and raises hopes that their work could lead to faster, better results.

Scientist Shinya Yamanaka at the Kyoto University lab led one of two teams who were the first to report generating human iPS cells in late 2007. iZumi Bio was founded in 2007 and is backed by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, which lists former Vice President Al Gore as one of its partners.

"The partnership between these two leading organizations is a critical step in furthering this research and turning stem cell research into therapeutic realities sooner," Gore said in a statement Tuesday.

The California firm says the researchers will initially focus on three neurological disorders — Parkinson's disease, spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — a nerve affliction more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

But when the announcement was made last year about the skin cells' transformation into stem cells, the technique required disrupting the skin cells' DNA, which raises the cancer risk.

Experts said that made it unacceptable for creating transplant tissue that could theoretically be used to treat diseases like Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries.

To avoid such risks, other scientists have urged that work continue on other ways of getting stem cells, such as via cloning.

The technique also faces other hurdles before it can be used to treat humans safely.

Akemi Nakamura, a spokesman for Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, said Wednesday that it would take time before the technology could be used to treat patients and the teams have not yet established specific development timelines.

Even if the technology were to progress to clinical studies, the Japanese government has yet to establish clear research guidelines, she said.

But such guidelines — and money — may well be in the works. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who outlined last week a long-term strategy for Japanese growth, highlighted the country's leading position in stem cell research and pledged more government support in the coming years.

Taken from News-medical.net written by "doesn't say"

For the study, researchers from the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University and Children's Hospital Boston found that amniotic cells in the laboratory can grow into all of the major types of cells, dividing at the rate of once every 36 hours. Researchers coaxed amniotic fluid stem cells to develop into brain cells and injected them into the skulls of mice with diseased brains. The stem cells replaced the diseased areas and appeared to create new connections with surrounding healthy neurons, the researchers reported. Researchers also coaxed amniotic fluid stem cells to become bone cells and implanted them in a mouse. The study found the stem cells calcified and turned into dense, healthy bone. The researchers also coaxed amniotic fluid stem cells to develop into muscle, fat, blood vessel and liver cells. Stem cells extracted from amniotic fluid can be isolated starting at 10 weeks' gestation from fluid taken during tests performed to identify birth defects, according to the study. The stem cells, even after more than two years in the laboratory, did not show signs of aging or of having the potential to grow into tumors, the study found. Amniotic stem cells can be frozen for later use, the Post reports.

According to the Post, amniotic fluid stem cells are "adding credence to an emerging consensus among experts that the popular distinction" between human embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells is "artificial" and that there is a "continuum of stem cell types" (Weiss, Washington Post, 1/8). Amniotic fluid stem cells are a "different kind of stem cell" that is "not as early as a human embryonic stem cell, and it's not as late as the adult stem cells," Anthony Atala, senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest, said, adding, "So far, we've been successful with every cell type we've attempted to produce from these stem cells" (Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 1/8). Atala said that if 100,000 women donated their amniotic stem cells to a cell bank, it would provide enough cells for "99% of the U.S. population with a perfect match for genetic transplantation" (Weise, USA Today, 1/8). He added that the stem cells can be found not only in amniotic fluid but also in the placenta, which is discarded after birth (Washington Post, 1/8). Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, said that the study "is one in a line of studies showing very versatile stem cells can be obtained from a number of different products after live birth -- amniotic membrane, amniotic fluid, cord blood, placenta, even umbilical cord tissue," adding, "There is no reason why the amniotic fluid couldn't be obtained, raising no moral problem whatever" (Hall, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/8). Atala said it is unclear how many different cell types can be produced from amniotic stem cells, and researchers said that it will be several years before preliminary tests can be performed on patients, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Elias, AP/Houston Chronicle, 1/7). "[Amniotic fluid stem cells] can clearly generate a broad range of important cell types, but they may not do as many tricks as embryonic stem cells," Robert Lanza, head of scientific development for Advanced Cell Technology, said (Los Angeles Times, 1/8).