Asa Mathat | All Things D Last week more than a dozen companies had IPOs and among them was an interesting bio-tech company called Foundation Medicine. Foundation offers to the public the kind of in-detailed genetic cancer testing made famous by Steve Jobs. Jobs was the first well-known person to try this sort of thing. For about $6,000, this test uncovers all the genetic mutations that lead to a persons tumor. It's helping to usher in a new era of "personalized medicine" where doctors choose cancer treatments based on genetic knowledge. Jobs spent some $100,000 to have this kind of test done, according to Walter Isaacsons biography, and in the end, it obviously didn't save him. But he deeply believed in the value of the attempt, saying Im either going to be one of the first to be able to outrun a cancer like this, or Im going to be one of the last to die from it, reports Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review. After Jobs died, the doctors who worked on the test at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, left Broad to start Foundation. Bill Gates and Larry Page both visited Jobs shortly before his death, according … Continue reading →

St Vincent's Hospital pioneers new epilepsy treatment Researchers at Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital have developed ground breaking new techniques to treat patients suffering from epilepsy, a condition that af... By: Dare To Make A Difference … Continue reading →

Sep. 26, 2013 Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) taken from a patient hold great therapeutic potential for many diseases. However, studies in rodents have suggested that the body may mount an immune response and destroy cells derived from iPSCs. New research in monkeys refutes these findings, suggesting that in primates like us, such cells will not be rejected by the immune system. In the paper, publishing September 26 in the ISSCR's journal Stem Cell Reports, published by Cell Press, iPSCs from nonhuman primates successfully developed into the neurons depleted by Parkinson's disease while eliciting only a minimal immune response. The cells therefore could hold promise for successful transplantation in humans. iPSCs are cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem-cell-like state, meaning that they can differentiate into virtually any of the body's different cell types. iPSCs directed to differentiate into specific cell types offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat ailments, including Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Studies in rodents have suggested that iPSC-derived cells used for transplantation may be rejected by the body's immune system. To test this in an animal that is more closely … Continue reading →