Public release date: 23-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Wileen Wong Kromhout wwkromhout@support.ucla.edu 310-206-0540 University of California - Los Angeles Understanding the genetic diversity within and between populations has important implications for studies of human disease and evolution. This includes identifying associations between genetic variants and disease, detecting genomic regions that have undergone positive selection and highlighting interesting aspects of human population history. Now, a team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Israel's Tel Aviv University has developed an innovative approach to the study of genetic diversity called spatial ancestry analysis (SPA), which allows for the modeling of genetic variation in two- or three-dimensional space. Their study is published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics. With SPA, researchers can model the spatial distribution of each genetic variant by assigning a genetic variant's frequency as a continuous function in geographic space. By doing this, they show that the explicit modeling of the genetic variant frequency the proportion of individuals who carry a specific variant allows individuals to be localized on a world map on the basis of their genetic information alone. "If … Continue reading →

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Sir Richard Roberts, the eminent British biologist and Nobel Prize laureate, said today European opposition to genetically modified organisms is political rather than scientific in nature. He also said "personal medicine" based on human genome research holds large-scale promise to improve the health of the world's people on an individualized basis. Roberts, who won the Nobel in 1993 for his shared discovery of split genes, made his remarks at the Astana Economic Forum, a global conference of scientists, academics, multinational executives and government leaders. "On a political level, governments must embrace genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and not give way to European prophets of doom, who oppose the use of GMOs for purely political reasons," said Roberts. "It is important to note there is a complete absence of evidence that GMOs can cause any harm. Indeed to any well-informed scientist, traditionally bred plants seem much more likely to be harmful than GMOs." Roberts predicted growing knowledge of the human genome will yield better medical treatments and diagnostics. "It is just as important that we learn more about the bacteria that colonize our bodies since they are an essential part of what it means to be … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Marge Dwyer mhdwyer@hsph.harvard.edu 617-432-8416 Harvard School of Public Health Boston, MA Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have found that detailed knowledge about your genetic makeupthe interplay between genetic variants and other genetic variants, or between genetic variants and environmental risk factorsmay only change your estimated disease prediction risk for three common diseases by a few percentage points, which is typically not enough to make a difference in prevention or treatment plans. It is the first study to revisit claims in previous research that including such information in risk models would eventually help doctors either prevent or treat diseases. "While identifying a synergistic effect between even a single genetic variant and another risk factor is known to be extremely challenging and requires studies with a very large number of individuals, the benefit of such discovery for risk prediction purpose might be very limited," said lead author Hugues Aschard, research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology. The study appears online May 24, 2012 and will appear in the June 8, 2012 print issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics. Scientists have long hoped that using genetic information gleaned … Continue reading →

Washington, May 25 : Detailed knowledge about your genetic makeup'the interplay between genetic variants and other genetic variants, or between genetic variants and environmental risk factors'may only change your estimated disease prediction risk for three common diseases by a few percentage points, which is typically not enough to make a difference in prevention or treatment plans, say researchers. The study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers is the first to revisit claims in previous research that including such information in risk models would eventually help doctors either prevent or treat diseases. 'While identifying a synergistic effect between even a single genetic variant and another risk factor is known to be extremely challenging and requires studies with a very large number of individuals, the benefit of such discovery for risk prediction purpose might be very limited,' said lead author Hugues Aschard, research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology. Scientists have long hoped that using genetic information gleaned from the Human Genome Project and other genetic research could improve disease risk prediction enough to help aid in prevention and treatment. Others have been skeptical that such 'personalized medicine' will be of clinical benefit. Still others have argued that there will … Continue reading →

05/24/2012 . (Classic Rock) Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno wants his ex-bandmate Clive Burr to undergo stem cell therapy, despite the costs and risks associated with the procedure. Burr, the drummer with Maiden from 1979 until 1982, has been in a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis, which has been attacking his nervous system since before he was diagnosed in 2002. MS reduces the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, resulting in a wide range of potentially severe symptoms. The cause is unknown and there is no cure; but in 2009 researchers made the first breakthrough in reversing symptoms through stem cell therapy. Di'Anno tells Talking Metal Pirate Radio Burr's condition is "not very good at all." He had a lot to say, read it here. Classic Rock Magazine is an official news provider for antiMusic.com. Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission. antiMUSIC News featured on RockNews.info and Yahoo News ...end Continue reading here: Di'Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Tom Vasich tmvasich@uci.edu 949-824-6455 University of California - Irvine Irvine, Calif., May 24, 2012 A UC Irvine immunologist will receive $4.8 million to create a new line of neural stem cells that can be used to treat multiple sclerosis. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded the grant Thursday, May 24, to Thomas Lane of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UCI to support early-stage translational research. CIRM's governing board gave 21 such grants worth $69 million to 11 institutions statewide. The funded projects are considered critical to the institute's mission of translating basic stem cell discoveries into clinical cures. They are expected to either result in candidate drugs or cell therapies or make significant strides toward such treatments, which can then be developed for submission to the Food & Drug Administration for clinical trial. Lane's grant brings total CIRM funding for UCI to $76.65 million. "I am delighted that CIRM has chosen to support our efforts to advance a novel stem cell-based therapy for multiple sclerosis," said Peter Donovan, director of the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. MS is a disease … Continue reading →

Washington, May 25 : A new study has described how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them. UCSF scientists, working with mice, focused on treating chronic pain that arises from nerve injury -- so-called neuropathic pain. In their study, the scientists transplanted immature embryonic nerve cells that arise in the brain during development and used them to make up for a loss of function of specific neurons in the spinal cord that normally dampen pain signals. A small fraction of the transplanted cells survived and matured into functioning neurons. The cells integrated into the nerve circuitry of the spinal cord, forming synapses and signaling pathways with neighbouring neurons. As a result, pain hypersensitivity associated with nerve injury was almost completely eliminated, the researchers found, without evidence of movement disturbances that are common side effects of the currently favoured drug treatment. 'Now we are working toward the possibility of potential treatments that might eliminate the source of neuropathic pain, and that may be much more effective than drugs that aim only to treat symptomatically the pain that … Continue reading →

DUARTE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- City of Hope was granted a $5,217,004 early translational research award by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to support the development of a T cell-based immunotherapy that re-directs a patients own immune response against glioma stem cells. City of Hope has been awarded more than $49.7 million in grant support from CIRM since awards were first announced in 2006. City of Hope is a pioneer in T cell immunotherapy research, helping to develop genetically modified T cells as a treatment for cancer. This strategy, termed adoptive T cell therapy, focuses on redirecting a patients immune system to specifically target tumor cells, and has the potential to become a promising new approach for treatment of cancer. In this research, we are genetically engineering a central memory T cell that targets proteins expressed by glioma stem cells, said Stephen J. Forman, M.D., Francis and Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and director of the T Cell Immunotherapy Research Laboratory. Central memory T cells have the potential to establish a persistent, lifelong immunity to help prevent brain tumors from recurring. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 22,000 people in the U.S. will … Continue reading →

CLEARWATER, FL--(Marketwire -05/24/12)- Biostem U.S., Corporation, (HAIR.PK) (HAIR.PK) (Biostem, the Company), a fully reporting public company in the stem cell regenerative medicine sciences sector, announces a $5,000,000 financing agreement through private placement of stock. CEO, Dwight Brunoehler, announced today that the company has signed an agreement with a funder to issue 20,000,000 shares of the company's common stock in exchange for $5,000,000 in cash or 25 cents ($.25) per share. No other considerations will be granted to the funder in exchange for the cash payment. In announcing the funding agreement, Mr. Brunoehler commented, "We consider the eagerness of the funder to acquire Biostem shares at a price above the current market to be a tribute to our proven proprietary technology to enhance hair re-growth using human stem cells. Although we anticipated funding the company through the sale of a convertible debenture, the funder insisted on being able to acquire stock at a set price now, rather than risk having to convert at higher prices later. Although Rule 144 sale restrictions usually cause private placements of stock to be executed at a discount to the market, Biostem feels that its current share price is not truly reflective of the value of … Continue reading →

05/24/2012 . (Classic Rock) Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno wants his ex-bandmate Clive Burr to undergo stem cell therapy, despite the costs and risks associated with the procedure. Burr, the drummer with Maiden from 1979 until 1982, has been in a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis, which has been attacking his nervous system since before he was diagnosed in 2002. MS reduces the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, resulting in a wide range of potentially severe symptoms. The cause is unknown and there is no cure; but in 2009 researchers made the first breakthrough in reversing symptoms through stem cell therapy. Di'Anno tells Talking Metal Pirate Radio Burr's condition is "not very good at all." He had a lot to say, read it here. Classic Rock Magazine is an official news provider for antiMusic.com. Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission. antiMUSIC News featured on RockNews.info and Yahoo News ...end Here is the original post: Di'Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy … Continue reading →