Monthly Archives: April 2012

Stem cell researchers map new knowledge about insulin production

Posted: Published on April 26th, 2012

ScienceDaily (Apr. 26, 2012) Scientists from The Danish Stem Cell Center (DanStem) at the University of Copenhagen and Hagedorn Research Institute have gained new insight into the signaling paths that control the body's insulin production. This is important knowledge with respect to their final goal: the conversion of stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells that can be implanted into patients who need them. Insulin is a hormone produced by beta cells in the pancreas. If these beta cells are defective, the body develops diabetes. Insulin is vital to life and therefore today the people who cannot produce their own in sufficient quantities, or at all, receive carefully measured doses -- often via several daily injections. Scientists hope that in the not-so-distant future it will be possible to treat diabetes more effectively and prevent secondary diseases such as cardiac disease, blindness and nerve and kidney complications by offering diabetes patients implants of new, well-functioning, stem-cell-based beta cells. "In order to get stem cells to develop into insulin-producing beta cells, it is necessary to know what signaling mechanisms normally control the creation of beta cells during fetal development. This is what our new research results can contribute," explains Professor Palle Serup from … Continue reading →

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New embryonic stem cell line will aid research on nerve condition

Posted: Published on April 26th, 2012

ScienceDaily (Apr. 25, 2012) The University of Michigan's second human embryonic stem cell line has just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research. It is the second of the stem cell lines derived at U-M to be placed on the registry. The line, known as UM11-1PGD, was derived from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproductive purposes, tested and found to be affected with a genetic disorder, deemed not suitable for implantation, and would therefore have otherwise been discarded when it was donated in 2011. It carries the gene defect responsible for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder characterized by a slowly progressive degeneration of the muscles in the foot, lower leg and hand. CMT, as it is known, is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affecting one in 2,500 people in the United States. People with CMT usually begin to experience symptoms in adolescence or early adulthood. The embryo used to create the cell line was never frozen, but rather was transported from another … Continue reading →

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How stem cell therapy can keep the immune system under control

Posted: Published on April 26th, 2012

Public release date: 26-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Beth Dunham bethdunh@usc.edu 213-740-4279 University of Southern California A new study, appearing in Cell Stem Cell and led by researchers at the University of Southern California, outlines the specifics of how autoimmune disorders can be controlled by infusions of mesenchymal stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are highly versatile stem cells that originate from the mesoderm, or middle layer of tissue, in a developing embryo. MSC can be isolated from many different kinds of human tissue, including bone marrow and the umbilical cord. Principal investigator Songtao Shi, professor at the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, said that recent studies have shown the benefits of administering MSC to patients with immune-related disorders such as graft versus host disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and more. These studies showed that infusions of MSC appeared to quell the production and function of overactive immune cells, including T- and B-lymphocytes. However, the specific mechanism behind how MSC get the immune cells under control hasn't been fully understood. "Mesenchymal-Stem-Cell-Induced Immunoregulation Involves FAS-Ligand-/FAS-Mediated T Cell Apoptosis" shines light on how infused MSCs target and defeat overactive immune cells. Examining … Continue reading →

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VistaGen Secures Key U.S. Patent Covering Stem Cell Technology Methods Used to Test Drug Candidates for Liver Toxicity

Posted: Published on April 26th, 2012

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -04/25/12)- VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VSTA.OB - News) (VSTA.OB - News), a biotechnology company applying stem cell technology for drug rescue, has secured a new United States patent covering the company's proprietary methods used to measure and type the toxic effects produced by drug compounds in liver stem cells. Test methods included in this new patent, (U.S. Patent 11/445,733), titled "Toxicity Typing Using Liver Stem Cells," cover all mammalian liver stem cells -- rat and mouse cells, for example, in addition to human cells. Liver stem cells used in drug testing can be derived from in vivo tissue or produced from embryonic stem cells (ES) or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). H. Ralph Snodgrass, Ph.D., VistaGen's President and Chief Scientific Officer, said, "This patent covers the monitoring of changes in gene expression as an assay for predicting drug toxicities. It is well known that drugs activate and suppress specific genes, and that the changes in gene expression reflect the mechanism of drug toxicities. The specific sets of genes that are affected become a profile of that drug." VistaGen's new patent also covers techniques used to develop a database of gene expression profiles of drugs that have the … Continue reading →

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Singles in the City | An insider's guide to the Tulsa dating scene

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

The Census Bureau identifies "single" as simply not married. But on, say, Facebook, "single" and "married" are just two options in a spectrum of commitment. "It's complicated" can mean anything from "We're about to break up" to "We're dating but fighting a lot" to "Someone misunderstood that random hook-up." The solitary status is often reviled, but being single -- perhaps more than any other relationship status -- comes in a hundred different shades, with different reasons and stages. Your single is not my single. Her single is not his single. But single is never static; it's a dynamic, moving, changing thing. Post-painful breakup single has a vastly different vibe than say, casually dating around single or girls just wanna have fun single. Know where you are at all times. Know what you want -- or don't. And remember, do what Nicci tells you. Last July, UTW went out on the town (it was research!) with Nicci Atchley. The social media maven, girl-about-town and Nicci 6 dating blogger (nicci6.com) took us out to see how single is done in Tulsa. She and her handpicked crew of six other single ladies hit up six hotspots in one night. Pre-Partying 53.1 percent: Percentage … Continue reading →

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Houston Rockets Playoff Spot Gag Job Means Change Should and Must Come

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

A ticket stub from a Houston Rockets game does not stretch the length of my neck; so gag me with pages from the teams media guide. Or, how about one of those towels used to wipe the Toyota Center court during timeouts? Houston Chronicle writer Fran Blinebury opened an unforgettable column in April 1994 with a sentence that fit the jarring, abrasive headline. Almost 17 years later, and for the first time since Tracy McGradys departure from Houston, it is time to retrieve that blasphemous but fitting and accurate phrase. Welcome back to choke city. The hands of this metropolitan areas pro hoops squad have not strayed far from the vicinity of its throat since those back-to-back championships. The die-hard basketball fans here know the Heimlich like the words to the Star Spangled Banner. Ugh. I hate typing this as much as you detest reading it. Just uttering those two words makes me want to upchuck my breakfast. So does watching this April 2012 Rockets collapse of embarrassing proportions. One week and five days ago, the team arrived home on its charter flight with a tenuous grip on its conferences sixth-best record but a clear path to a coveted postseason … Continue reading →

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Serie A Week 33, Preview And Fixtures: Let's Try This Again, Shall We?

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

By Kirsten Schlewitz - Italian Soccer Editor Serie A tries to play its Week 33 fixtures again following the suspension of all matches in honour of Piermario Morosini. Follow , and Like SBNation.com on Facebook. Apr 24, 2012 - We've been here before, in Round 33. We all remember it -- Piermario Morosini collapsing. Panic in Pescara. The ambulance being blocked. Gates closed on stadiums all around Italy, a mark of respect for a life cut short. And so Serie A tries again, with a midweek round of games wedged in before Champions League play starts. But no one who suffered through Chelsea - Barcelona last week should have the audacity to call the Italian league defensive. These matches will likely be more entertaining, and nearly every one will have an impact on the scudetto, on European play, on relegation. Poor Cesena -- still struggling to hang on, they're stuck with hosting Juventus this week, so it will almost certainly be ciao to the Seahorses. Genoa will have an interesting time of it. Bologna managed to hold Milan to a point at the San Siro last week, so perhaps the grifone will prove their right to wear the shirt, and … Continue reading →

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Election Commission and the peril of reforms

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

Malaysia's Election Commission is created and empowered by Article 114 of the Federal Constitution. It was set up with the purpose to regulate and conduct elections in Malaysia. The Commission has the power to delimit constituencies, revise the electoral roll of registered voters, and regulate the manner in which elections are conducted. Since it is under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, the commission is not considered to be an independent body. Arguably, this is going to be the main contention of the reform promises announced by the Prime Minister Najib Razak. Bersih accused the EC of failing to investigate 3.1 million voters whose personal details are different from the electoral roll. Opposition parties have submitted their own complaints on the electoral roll as well. Electoral roll is the most essential basis for a clean and fair election process. Other complaints included the presence of foreigners, duplicate voters, phantom voters and other irregularities on the voters list. However, the EC has reacted in the most predictable manner. It has decided to give itself a top mark for transparency and efficiency. Its Chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof claimed that Malaysia's electoral roll was the cleanest in the world. He said … Continue reading →

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7 Countries With Most Cosmetic Surgery

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

Nips and tucks are on the rise seemingly everywhere. While the U.S. is notorious for its beauty-obsessed culture, the country doesn't take the top plastic surgery spot in the world by percentage of population. That medal goes to South Korea, according to 2010 data reported by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. "The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has worked hard to share best practices," said Dr. Julius Few, director of the Few Institute for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. "This educational initiative combined with wider acceptance abroad has led to an increased acceptance in some cultures over others." Read on for the top seven nip/tuck nations that span the globe. The plastic surgery industry has stormed Asia, and South Korea has the continent's biggest clientele. The Economist first reported that a 2009 survey by a market-research firm known as Trend Monitor found that about one in five women from Seoul have undergone some sort of plastic surgery. According to the report, more than 360,000 total procedures were performed in 2010, with the most common procedures being liposuction, nose jobs and blepharoplasty, or double eyelid surgery. More than 44,000 double eyelid surgeries were performed in 2010. "In Asia, it's very … Continue reading →

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Stem Cells from Bone Marrow Grows New Bone! – Video

Posted: Published on April 25th, 2012

23-04-2012 15:56 A research team led by UC Davis Health System scientists has developed a novel technique to enhance bone growth by using a molecule which, when injected into the bloodstream, directs the body's stem cells to travel to the surface of bones. Once these cells are guided to the bone surface by this molecule, the stem cells differentiate into bone-forming cells and synthesize proteins to enhance bone growth. The study, which was published online today in Nature Medicine, used a mouse model of osteoporosis to demonstrate a unique treatment approach that increases bone density and prevents bone loss associated with aging and estrogen deficiency. "There are many stem cells, even in elderly people, but they do not readily migrate to bone," said Wei Yao, the principal investigator and lead author of the study. "Finding a molecule that attaches to stem cells and guides them to the targets we need is a real breakthrough." Researchers are exploring stem cells as possible treatments for a wide variety of conditions and injuries, ranging from peripheral artery disease and macular degeneration to blood disorders, skin wounds and diseased organs. Directing stem cells to travel and adhere to the surface of bone for bone … Continue reading →

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