By MEGAN GRAHAM In his old room in his parents' home, a pretty house in the Cherry Hills subdivision of Champaign, Chike Coleman is poking through his shelves. He wants to find a Blu-ray disc, one of the beloved movies he bought in a half-off online sale from a site that sells independent films. He moves aside tens of his prized jazz CDs, the Soapbox Derby trophies and the Hardy Boys books. The shelves are filled with 25 years of memories: books he has loved, model cars done in candy-colored lacquer, his University of Illinois diploma. His high school and college friends most 25-year-olds, for that matter no longer live in the dust of their boyhood belongings. But after his fleeting years of collegiate freedom, Chike moved right back into this room, with its boxes of waterproof dressing and nonstick pads and bandages, bottles of hydrogen peroxide, soap-free cleanser and Clindamycin gel. "It's just kind of waiting," he says. "Just like everybody else. Except your wait feels a lot shorter than everybody else's." Chike glances at a photograph of him leaning back casually in his wheelchair, royal blue graduation gown draping his chest as he smiles broadly. He looks normal. … Continue reading →

The Program for Jewish Genetic Health of Yeshiva University / Einstein is offering accessible and affordable carrier screening for Jewish genetic diseases. New York, New York (PRWEB) August 01, 2012 The Program for Jewish Genetic Health (PJGH) of Yeshiva University/Einstein has announced that it has enabled the most affordable and comprehensive Ashkenazi Jewish genetic disease carrier screening to date in the New York metropolitan area. Carrier screening via the PJGH, which includes individual genetic counseling sessions for each participant, is offered through the clinical services of the Division of Reproductive Genetics of Montefiore Medical Center/Einstein. The PJGH advocates that individuals and couples undergo genetic screening prior to conception; many health insurance policies, however, will provide only partial coverage at that stage. To address this issue, the PJGH, with assistance from its philanthropic and laboratory partners, has been facilitating low-cost screening for both uninsured and underinsured patients for several years. Thanks to a new relationship with leading genetic testing company Counsyl, who only recently received accreditation from the New York State Department of Health for the testing of New York State residents, the PJGH is able to further lower the cost of screening for all individuals. We are thrilled to be … Continue reading →

August 1, 2012 Connie K. Ho for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online 23andMe, a company focused on personal genetics, recently took the first step in working towards Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance; the FDA plans to review the paperwork over the next few months. Previously, the Silicon Valley company refrained from government regulation, claiming that the service provided consumers with information rather than a medical service. CBS News reported that 23andMe submitted the first group of seven health-related tests for the FDA to review. By the end of next year, the organization will have submitted another 100 tests to the agency. With these exams, the organization hopes to obtain government approval and scientific credibility. 23andMe has pioneered the direct-to-consumer genetic testing industry and we are committed to helping individuals understand their own genetic information through proven DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools, commented Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe CEO and Co-Founder, in a prepared statement. 23andMe is working proactively with the FDA to ensure the industry delivers high quality information that consumers can trust. 23andMes Personal Genome Service allows individuals to learn more about their personal DNA, offering over 200 health and trait reports along with information on genetic ancestry. The … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 31 Jul 2012 - 14:00 PDT Current ratings for: Stem Cell Therapy Only Works With Younger Hearts The researchers, using mice as their subjects, came to the conclusion that undifferentiated precursor cells grow new heart cells in a two-day-old mouse, but not in adult mice. This finding settled a decades-old debate whether or not stem cells can play a role in the recovery of the adult mammalian heart after infarction (when heart tissue dies due to a local lack of oxygen). Stem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms. They are characterized by the ability to divide through mitosis and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types. They can self-renew to produce more stem cells. Michael Kotlikoff, dean of Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine and senior author of the paper that will appear August 29th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said: According to Kotlikoff and team, the two-day old mice were able to grow new heart cells and almost completely recover from infarction, which proved that the injury did not stop stem cells from growing new heart cells. The results … Continue reading →

July 29, 2012, 3 a.m. Up for a walk ... Denise Stuckey, with her dog, Bella, who has had stem cell treatment from vet Joe Sulyok. Stem cell injections in dogs will become routine in the next two years and will probably cost less than $1000. The first data, collated last week, into the use of the procedure where cultured cells are injected into the joints of dogs with hip dysplasia or canine osteoarthritis has shown a success rate of 96 per cent. The procedure will be made available to veterinary clinics, promoted at dog shows and possibly in a television campaign. It has been transformed in little more than a year with stem cells from one animal used to treat other dogs. Previously, an invasive procedure was necessary, with incisions to remove subcutaneous or fatty tissue from the affected dog and stem cells isolated in a laboratory before being injected back into the dog. The procedure resulted in a culture containing only about 10 per cent to 15 per cent stem cells, while the culture from a donor in a breed with a genetic line clear of arthritis can been screened to provide a culture containing 100 per cent … Continue reading →