Pioneering DNA research set to offer hope to millions of people could also help secure more jobs for Newcastle, health secretary Jeremy Hunt has told the Chronicle. Mr Hunt was in the city to meet scientists and Tyneside families who have been involved with genetic testing that has been labelled as significant as the development of the internet by Prime Minister David Cameron. In a medical breakthrough, North East scientists taking part in an unprecedented genome sequencing project have, for the first time in the UK, diagnosed rare diseases in two families after mapping their genes. The technique, developed at Newcastle University, uses an individuals genetic blueprint to enable doctors to personalise medical care. It means the Tyneside patients involved can now receive specialised treatment for their conditions, as well as helping prevent future generations who share their DNA from suffering a life of uncertainty. Mr Hunt was introduced to the families taking part in the 100,000 Genomes Project at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University. He said: This is historic, a huge amount of hard work into this. Its a very proud day for Newcastle and a very proud day for the NHS. If you said in … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Therapy for Achilles Tendon Repair - Dr. Wade McKenna Dr. McKenna discusses non-surgical treatment of acute and chronic tendon problems using bone marrow stem cells augmented with amniotic tissue. He cites an ex... By: Riordan-McKenna Institute … Continue reading →

A new study by University of Alberta law researchers reveals sometimes overly optimistic news coverage of clinical translation of stem cell therapies--and as spokespeople, scientists need to be mindful of harnessing public expectations. "As the dominant voice in respect to timelines for stem cell therapies, the scientists quoted in these stories need to be more aware of the importance of communicating realistic timelines to the press," said researcher Kalina Kamenova, who co-authored the study with professor Timothy Caulfield in the University of Alberta's Health Law Institute, based in the Faculty of Law. Their analysis of media coverage showed that most news reports were highly optimistic about the future of stem cell therapies and forecasted unrealistic timelines for clinical use. The study, published in the latest issue of Science Translational Medicine, examined 307 news reports covering translational stem cell research in major daily newspapers in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2013. While the field of stem cell research holds tremendous promise, "it has also been surrounded by tremendous hype, and we wanted to quantify that in some degree," Caulfield said. "Pop culture representations have an impact on how the public perceives the readiness of stem … Continue reading →