Andrew Duff, MEP Proposals to restrict stem cell research have been opposed by a Cambridge-based MEP. Liberal Democrat Andrew Duff voted against a report in the European Parliament which he said would result in stricter requirements on voluntary and unpaid donations of tissues and cells for medical research. Afterwards, he said: The report swings the debate on stem cell research in the wrong direction, allowing individual EU member states to stop important medical science in its tracks. It is unhelpful to call for further restrictions on the donation of tissues and cells in the EU at a time when the number of patients in need of treatment based on stem cells is growing exponentially. The report was drawn up by a Conservative MEP. Mr Duff added: Cambridge is a world leader on life sciences. The European Parliaments restrictive conservative philosophy usually driven by ill-judged ethical motives puts our research centres at risk and could drive away high quality science abroad, for example to India. Regenerative medicine relies on a steady supply of stem cells. More: MEP fights European proposal to restrict stem cell research … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Genetics Also Included In: Heart Disease;Stem Cell Research Article Date: 17 Sep 2012 - 4:00 PDT Current ratings for: DNA Blueprint Maps How A Heart Becomes A Heart 3.8 (5 votes) 2.33 (3 votes) The researchers write about their work in the 13 September online issue of Cell. The findings bring hope of new treatments for people born with life-threatening heart defects like irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) and hole in the heart (ventricular septal defect). Senior investigator Benoit Bruneau, associate director of cardiovascular research at Gladstone, an independent, nonprofit biomedical research group, tells the press in a statement: "Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defects -- affecting more than 35,000 newborn babies in the United States each year." "But how these defects develop at the genetic level has been difficult to pinpoint because research has focused on a small set of genes. Here, we approach heart formation with a wide-angle lens by looking at the entirety of the genetic material that gives heart cells their unique identity," he explains. For this part of the experiment they extracted DNA from developing and mature heart cells, because they contain the epigenetic signatures … Continue reading →

NOKOMIS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rainbow Biosciences, the biotechnology subsidiary of Rainbow Coral Corp. (RBCC), announced today that it will expand its focus on technology capable of culturing 3D cell clusters to include adult stem cells, as well. According to a report published last year by analysts as GIA, global investments in adult stem-cell research are forecast to reach $2.4 billion by 2015. That growth is being driven by technological advancements, the rising number of research groups engaged in stem cell research activities, broadening research activities and substantial investments from governments in leading global markets. A rising incidence of life-threatening diseases, un-met needs in the area of medicine, and costs associated with drug development also contribute to the market expansion. RBCC aims to help develop and market advanced new technologies capable of growing adult stem cells for research that more closely resemble those found in the body, said RBCC CEO Patrick Brown. Demand from the worlds growing elderly population is making continued stem-cell research a necessity, and we intend to position our company and our shareholders to capitalize on that need by providing the best stem-cell technology in the world. RBCC plans to develop technology to compete in the stem-cell research industry … Continue reading →

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, and iPS Academia Japan, Inc. (Kyoto, Japan) today announced a global licensing agreement for AJs induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell patent portfolio. The non-exclusive agreement provides EMD Millipore the opportunity to continue to develop and ultimately commercialize iPS cells for research applications. Under the agreement, EMD Millipore will continue to offer its STEMCCA reprogramming kits, which provide a highly efficient, reproducible method for creating iPS cells. The iPS cell patent portfolio is a result of work by Professor Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, Japan. Terms of the agreement are not disclosed. We are extremely honored to collaborate with AJ on furthering research in the area iPS cell technology, said John Sweeney, Head, Bioscience Business Unit, EMD Millipore.To collaborate with the founder of iPS cell discovery provides the ideal opportunity for EMD Millipore to build upon our current product offering of the STEMCCA reprogramming kits, as well as further advance our research and discovery in the area of stem cell technology, and to provide our customers with the tools necessary in this important, breakthrough area of stem … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday refused to order the Obama administration to stop funding embryonic stem cell research, despite complaints the work relies on destroyed human embryos. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court decision throwing out a lawsuit that challenged federal funding for the research, which is used in pursuit of cures to deadly diseases. Opponents claimed the National Institutes of Health was violating the 1996 Dickey-Wicker law that prohibits taxpayer financing for work that harms an embryo. But a three-judge appeals court panel unanimously agreed with a lower court judges dismissal of the case. This is the second time the appeals court has said that the challenged federal funding of embryonic stem cell research was permissible. Dickey-Wicker permits federal funding of research projects that utilize already-derived ESCs which are not themselves embryos because no human embryo or embryos are destroyed in such projects, Chief Judge David B. Sentelle said in the ruling, adding that the plaintiffs made the same argument the last the time the court reviewed the issue. Therefore, unless they have established some extraordinary circumstance, the law of the case is established and we will … Continue reading →