Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) November 24, 2014

Exclusive Genetics, a leader in the bucking bull industry returns to Las Vegas, Nevada for the fourth consecutive year to feature its $1.5 million Bucking Bull Games. The Games will be held December 4-13 parallel to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, when over 250,000 fans converge on Las Vegas for the world series of rodeo.

Bucking Bull Games will present, over the course of 10 days, five bucking bull events with a record high $1.5 million in payouts to winners. Championships will be determined in categories including the Million Dollar Bucking Bull Championship Final Round, the Second Chance Championship, and the Finale of the Bull and Rider Tournament.

This prestigious event will also feature a special event called Buck Autism Weekend. Sponsored by Branded Cities Network, the campaign aims to raise funds and awareness to support families who have children diagnosed with autism.

Billy Jaynes, CEO of Orchard, Texas-based Exclusive Genetics, Bucking Bull Games and the Million Dollar Bucking Bull Championship, as well as Founder of Buck Autism is confident that, Folks in the bucking bull community are some of the most generous and compassionate people I know. They rally around a cause and I am happy that Buck Autism and its goals have touched so many people in a positive way. He added, We are also pleased to see corporations supporting the campaign, including Branded Cities Network. Their displaying of a Public Service Announcement on the Harmon Corner Digital Board in Las Vegas will be paramount to raising awareness about the events in support of the National Autism Association.

Wendy Fournier of the National Autism Association expressed her gratitude in being able to be involved with the Buck Autism Campaign saying, "With 1 in 68 children in the United States affected by autism, we are blessed to have partnered with Billy Jaynes who continues to work hard to raise awareness of NAA within the bucking bull industry. We are looking forward to the December Bucking Bull Games Championship where we will continue the Campaign including charity events encompassing Buck Autism Weekend.

Events will be held both at Cowboy Marketplace in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, as well as the historic rodeo arena at Horsemans Park next to Sams Town Hotel and Gambling Hall. Bucking Bull Games is sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition LLC and Sams Town Hotel & Gambling Hall.

For more information and the complete event schedule visit http://www.BuckingBullGames.com. To support the Buck Autism campaign visit http://www.BuckAutism.com.

About Bucking Bull Games Exclusive Genetics Bucking Bull Games presents six major events during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, NV that offer industry leading payouts of over $1,500,000. The competitions include the two-year-old Million Dollar Bucking Bull Championship and Second Chance Championship, yearling Gold Buckle Challenge and Million Dollar Bucking Bull and Rider Tournament for three-, four- and five-year-olds. Visit http://www.exclusivegenetics.com/bucking_bull_games.

About Buck Autism "Buck Autism founded by Billy Jaynes, CEO of Exclusive Genetics, stems from how one persons life changed dramatically after getting involved in the bucking bull world. Wyoming resident, Jayci Mead, a 21-year-old woman who has autism, is involved in bull ownership through Exclusive Genetics. Her interest in bucking bulls has helped her communicate and express herself in ways that she was unable to do so prior to her connection to bull ownership. To learn more or to see Jaycis complete story and video at http://www.BuckAutism.com.

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Stem Cell Cure for "Bubble Baby" Disease (SCID), Pioneered by UCLA #39;s Don Kohn
On November 18th, 2014, a UCLA research team led by Donald Kohn, M.D., announced a breakthrough gene therapy and stem cell cure for "bubble baby" disease, or severe combined ...

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preservation laboratory, where stem cells were kept for use in transplants in children whose bone marrow has been damaged during chemotherapy.

Concerns were first raised when Sophie Ryan-Palmer, 12, who had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, failed to make progress after her transplant in June 2013, which involved using a donors stem cells rather than her own.

She had been diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of two and had undergone three previous transplants. She began fundraising for cancer charities when she was six.

By October last year the hospital had identified that a higher than usual proportion of eight children who had undergone stem cell transplantation between March and August had suffered what doctors call delayed engraftment. But by the time it stopped freezing stem cells on site at its base in Bloomsbury, central London, and launched an investigation, three of the eight had died.

Ryan Loughran, aged 13 months, from Bournemouth, died on July 10. Sophie, from Sunbury in Middlesex, followed on July 17. Katie Joyce, from Hertfordshire, died on October 6. A fourth patient, Muhanna al-Hayany, aged five, died in August this year. He had come from Kuwait to have the treatment. Following the deaths it was discovered that the method used to freeze the stem cells had inexplicably stopped working and that, although still alive, the cells were unable to mature properly.

At the inquest, Katie Beattie, the barrister representing Katie Joyces family, questioned whether the girls transplant in August should have been suspended, knowing Sophie and Ryan had died the previous month. Great Ormond Street went ahead even though there was plenty of time to stop it, she said.

Doctors from the hospital told St Pancras coroners court that they regretted not halting transplants sooner and Katies life might have been saved if they had. But they said they believed they were doing the right thing by continuing with the transplants because cancer doesnt wait.

Great Ormond Street said it has since overhauled its procedures to prevent further incidents, but is still investigating why the freezing process stopped working.

A spokesman said: Before giving our patients any frozen cells we carried out tests, which are standard across most laboratories in the UK, to ensure they were alive and viable. All of the samples passed these tests, so there was nothing to suggest there was a problem at this stage.

The coroner, Mary Hassell, is expected to deliver verdicts on all four deaths on Tuesday.

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Stem cell failure 'led to children's deaths' at Great Ormond Street

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Patients, aged one to 12, among eight children whose transplants failed Concerns arose in 2013 after operation on fundraiser Sophie Palmer, 12 Hospital says Katie Joyce, 4, could have been saved if quicker action taken Lawyers have also accused hospital of taking too long to stop transplants Doctors 'regret' not stopping sooner but decision seemed right at time Ryan Loughran, 13 months, and Muhanna al-Hayany, 4, also died last year Seventeen months on, investigations are still ongoing into exact cause

By Steph Cockroft for MailOnline

Published: 06:45 EST, 22 November 2014 | Updated: 12:57 EST, 22 November 2014

Four cancer-stricken children died at Great Ormond Street Hospital after a series of failures in stem cell transplants at the world-renowned hospital, an inquest has heard.

The young patients, aged between one and 12, were among eight children whose transplants failed when the stem cell freezing system - used in life-saving operations - inexplicably stopped working.

Four children went on to recover. But well-known charity fundraiser Sophie Ryan Palmer, 12, one-year-old Ryan Loughran, four-year-old Katie Joyce and Muhanna al-Hayany, also four, died between July and October last year.

Katie Joyce (left) and Sophie Ryan (right) were among two of the four young patients who died after a series of failures in stem cell transplants at Great Ormond Street Hospital

The children's hospital has now admitted that Katie might have survived if it had acted more quickly to resolve the problems.

Lawyers for two of the families have also accused Great Ormond Street of taking too long to stop the transplants once concerns arose.

At an inquest into the deaths this week, the court heard that doctors were initially dumbfounded as to why the procedures suddenly started failing after a decade of success, the Guardian reports.

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Four children dead at Great Ormond Street after stem cell transplant failure

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The skin is the body's first line of defense against infection. And when this barrier is broken, or an internal organ is ruptured, it is the process of coagulation, or clotting, which relies largely on blood cells called platelets, that seals the breach and stems the flow of blood. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) have now synthesized nanoparticles that mimic the form and function of platelets, but can do more than just accelerate the body's natural healing processes.

Platelets are nucleus-free blood cells that are essentially the building blocks for any blood clot, binding together at the edge of a wound as well as changing shape and secreting chemical messengers to call more platelets to the scene of the injury to assist in the healing process. However, coagulation can be hampered if an injury is too severe, or if the injured person is taking anti-coagulation medication or suffers from a platelet disorder.

In such cases, the platelet-like nanoparticles (PLNs) synthesized at UCSB could save the day. Developed by researchers in UCSB's Department of Chemical Engineering and its Center for Bioengineering, the synthetic platelets behave just like their naturally-occurring counterparts, mimicking their shape, flexibility and surface biology.

In this way, their creators say they could be added to a patient's own natural blood supply or augment the patient's own platelet supply and accelerate the healing process for both internal and external injuries. Not only will the PLNs congregate at the site of an injury, but like natural platelets, they'll also call other platelets to the site and bind to them. Then, once their task has been completed and the wound has been plugged, the PLNs will dissolve into the blood.

Furthermore, the researchers claim to have improved on nature, with their nanoscale synthetic platelets outperforming micron-sized natural ones in tests. The synthetic platelets are also able to be customized with medications that match the needs of patients with a specific condition. They could also be used to carry antibiotics to certain parts of the body, such as across the blood-brain barrier, to provide targeted therapy and improved diagnostics.

"This technology could address a plethora of clinical challenges," said Dr. Scott Hammond, director of UCSBs Translational Medicine Research Laboratories. "One of the biggest challenges in clinical medicine right now which also costs a lot of money is that were living longer and people are more likely to end up on blood thinners." The researchers say PLNs would help in the treatment of such elderly patients, allowing the PLNs to be targeted at the site of an injury without triggering unwanted bleeding.

Importantly, the researchers say the synthetic platelets have a longer shelf life and are cheaper relatively speaking than another person's platelets both important factors at times of emergencies and natural disasters when blood products are in highest demand.

These aren't the first synthetic platelets weve seen that improve on nature. In 2009, researchers at Case Western University reported the development of artificial platelets made of biodegradable polymers that reduced clotting times in animal models and attracted the interest of the military.

The team will now look at how well the production of the PLNs scales up and asses practical clinical concerns, such as manufacturing, storage, sterility ahead of pre-clinical and clinical testing.

Results of the researchers current findings appear in the journal ACS Nano.

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Stem Cell Therapy: Dr. Roberta Shapiro - A NY Physician #39;s Path to Panama
Special Guest Speaker, Roberta F. Shapiro DO, FAAPM R speaks about: A New York Doctor #39;s Path to Panama at the Stem Cell Institute #39;s Stem Cell Therapy Publi...

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Buddy the beagle can walk again
Buddy the beagle wasn #39;t able to walk when he first arrived at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center. With the help of U of M veterinarians and staff, using stem-cell therapy,...

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Genetic Engineering Mash Up

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Mower Genetics - itn iek

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THANK YOU from Saving Eliza!
THANK YOU to all the supporters of Saving Eliza and helping make history! YOU did it! You #39;ve made a significant impact on stopping Sanfilippo Syndrome for this generation and future generations!...

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HOPE, HYPE REALITY: ZINC FINGER GENE THERAPY TO CONTROL OR CURE HIV
A video to answer your questions about a gene therapy approach to an HIV cure. On Nov 5, 2014, the defeatHIV Community Advisory Board hosted a talk with Dr. Philip D. Gregory (Chief Scientific...

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By Cyndi Root

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI), a non-profit research institute, and TapImmune have formed a partnership to develop TapImmunes cancer vaccines. The companies announced the collaboration in a press release stating that they will move experimental vaccines for breast and ovarian cancers into Phase 2 clinical trials.

Keith Knutson, PhD, VGTIs Director of Cancer Vaccines and Immune Therapies Program, explained the need for vaccines, All it takes is a few malignant cells to continue to circulate in the body until they eventually anchor and metastasize. Because these cancer cells already survived primary therapy, they are typically drug-resistant and much more difficult to treat.

VGTI and TapImmune Agreement

VGTI and TapImmune have agreed to coordinate efforts on cancer vaccines, including study design and trial site selection. VGTI will work with TapImmune to recruit clinical advisors, select manufacturers, and procure outsourced resources as necessary. The two will also work together in executing the clinical trials. Upon successful regulatory approvals, TapImmune holds the exclusive commercialization rights for the vaccines.

Cancer Vaccine Candidates

Investigators from VGTI and TapImmune hope to vaccinate women who have achieved remission in their breast or ovarian cancer in order to prevent cancer recurrence. Dr. Knutson said that cancer survivors have a substantial rate of cancer returning due to malignant cells that escaped during primary treatment. Antigens, determined by genetic and molecular profiling, in the vaccine would work to target the proteins expressed on the patients tumor cells, triggering an immune response with few side effects. The immune system would eliminate rebel cancer cells and stop new ones from growing.

Cancer Vaccines

Cancer vaccines are being engineered to boost the immune system, kickstarting it so it will kill abnormal cells and prevent malignant cell growth. Cancer vaccines are distinguished according to prevention or treatment. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved prevention vaccines for the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver cancer, and human papillomavirus (HPV). Clinical trials for treatment vaccines are much more numerous than those for preventative vaccines. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is currently listing 12 trials for vaccines to prevent cervical cancer and three to prevent solid tumors.

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Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute, TapImmune Partner On Cancer Vaccines

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Roughly 40 million people across the world are blind and, for a long time, most forms of blindness were permanent conditions. The same situation held for degenerative diseases that affect eyesight.

But recently, scientists have made some surprising headway into changing that. New treatments like gene therapy, stem-cell therapy, and even bionic implants are already starting to restore some patients' sight. And these technologies are expected to keep improving in the future.

Here's a look at all the ways scientists have tried and, increasingly, succeeded in curing the blind:

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Daniel Burke/AP Photo This undated image released by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia shows doctors Albert Maguire, left, along with wife Jean Bennett at the University of Pennsylvania. The two are part of two teams of scientists in the United States and Britain that are using gene therapy to dramatically improve vision in four patients with an inherited eye disease that causes blindness in children.

Tweaking genes is one promising route to treat blindness.

In 2011, a group led by Jean Bennett of the University of Pennsylvania used gene therapy to treat some patients with a congenital blindness disorder. The patients in question all hada hereditary disease called Leber congenital amaurosis, and they all had mutations in their RPE65 gene.The patients were each given a non-harmful virus that could sneak a healthy copy of the gene into their eye cells. Six out of 12 showed improvement.

Then, in 2014, researchers led by Robert MacLaren, an ophthalmologist at Oxford,presented some promising early results of a very smallstudy of six patients at various stages of a rare, inherited disease calledchoroideremia. These patients all lacked a protein calledREP1, which leads to progressive vision loss. Doctors took the gene forREP1, put it in a non-harmful virus, and injected that virus into the patients' eyes. All reported some improvement in their sight.

"One patient, who before his treatment could not read any lines on an eye chart with his most affected eye, was able to read three lines with that eye following his treatment,"wrote Susan Young Rojahn at MIT Technology Review.

Commercial treatments are still a ways off, however. Researchers first have to continue to monitor these patients to see what happens to their vision over the long term (and check for side effects).The FDA currently recommends 15 years of safety monitoring before trying to get a specific gene therapy approved.

2) Stem cells

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4 strategies doctors are using to cure the blind

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2nd International Conference onPredictive Preventive Personalized Medicine Molecular Diagnostics
2nd International Conference on Predictive, Preventive and Personalized Medicine Molecular Diagnostics will be organized during November 3-5, 2014, at Embassy Suites Las Vegas, USA with the...

By: Srinu Babu Gedela

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AVON LAKE, OH (WOIO) - When Shannon Goulding's bloodhound Butler tore a ligament in his knee his entire personality changed.

"He was sedentary, and he wasn't as active as before," said Goulding.

Dr. Petti a veterinarianat the Avon Lake Animal Clinic told Goulding, who also works at the clinic, suggested that stem cell therapy could help.

"Watching him walk he looked stiff and uncomfortable," said Petti.

The therapy was successful. Goulding said after four weeks after the surgery she could see a change the way Butler moved.

Stem cell therapy helps animals suffering from sore knees and joints by using their own fat cells.

"You take them from the patient, you process them, make them active, and then you re inject them into the parts of the animal that are giving them problems," said Petti.

Petti said Avon Lake Animal Clinic has helped about 15 animals with stem cell therapy and people from all over the country have been calling.

One injection of stem cells can last up to three years, and after that a second injection may be needed.

Stem cell therapy is also an expensive procedure. It ranges from $2,000-2,500, but for Goulding she says seeing Butler run free without pain is worth it.

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Local clinic treats animals with stem cell therapy

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Researchers of CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU-UCH) for the first time transplanted bone marrow stem cells into damaged brain tissue while applying lipoic acid (a potent antioxidant), with the aim of improving neuroregeneration in the tissue. This new way of repairing brain damage, which combines cellular treatment with drug therapy, has shown positive results, especially in forming blood vessels (a process called angiogenesis) in damaged areas of the brains of adult laboratory mice. Angiogenesis is a process that is essential to the recovery of damaged neural tissues. The investigation was led by Jos Miguel Soria Lpez, deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at CEU-UCH, and its results were published in the international medical journal Brain Injury.

Professor Soria, who is affiliated to the Department of Biomedical Sciences at CEU-UCH, heads the investigative group 'Strategies in Neuroprotection and Neuroreparation', which carried out the investigation in cooperation with the Andalusian Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Centre (CABIMER), located in Sevilla, and the Mediterranean Ophthalmological Foundation, located in Valencia. The research team used the experience they obtained from their previous investigations on the neuroregenerative efficiency of lipoic acid to develop a new remediation strategy for patients of brain damage. This new therapy combines the transplantation of bone marrow stem cells into the brain -- in this case, the brains of adult rats -- with the administration of the potent antioxidant lipoic acid.

Lipoic acid is already used in the treatment of degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis or diabetic neuropathy. Professor Soria concluded from previous researches he conducted at CEU-UCH that it has the ability to increase the creation of blood vessels, which speeds up cerebral immune response after an injury and stimulates the restoration of damaged tissues. Several other researches, for their part, proved that after brain damage stem cell therapies using a patient's own bone marrow induce functional improvements. The two therapies -- one cellular; the other one pharmacological -- were both applied in this research so as to evaluate their combined effect.

New blood vessels

Angiogenesis -- the process that forms new blood vessels -- in the treated neuronal tissue began only eight days after the application of this new, combined therapy. CEU-UCH professor Soria says that "although bone marrow stem cells disappear from the brain tissue where they were transplanted after only 16 days, new cells keep forming. To put it another way, brain tissue is regenerated by new cells that appear in the brain as a result of stem cell transplantation. This proves the regenerative efficiency of the new combined therapy."

The research also shows how the blood vessels that formed after the treatment grow into the damaged area of the brain. "They act as a kind of scaffolding to that area that allows microglia cells to migrate," professor Soria says. "In the damaged area, they contribute to regeneration." He adds that "the application of both treatments results into high angiogenic activity, which is crucial for an efficient recovery of the damaged brain area." According to Soria, "the laboratory mice that recovered fastest from brain injuries were those that had a higher density of regenerated blood vessels."

Taking into consideration brain damage is, especially among children and adolescents, one of the leading causes of disability and death in the developed world, the good results that were obtained from the combination of the two therapies make the research team very hopeful. "Combining an antioxidant such as lipoic acid with bone marrow stem cells has proven to be an effective remedy," Soria observes. The team plans to conduct future research into similar combined therapies.

The image above shows the transplant of bone marrow stem cells from transgenic mice under the effects of cerebral cortex after suffering local brain damage. Also visible is a neuroprotective drug therapy.

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Brain injuries in mice treated using bone marrow stem cells, antioxidants

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Katie Joyce, left, aged four, and Sophie Ryan Palmer, aged 12, were among the four children who died as a result of complications with transplants. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Four children have died after failings in how stem cells used in life-saving operations were frozen at Great Ormond Street hospital, it emerged this week.

The four, who were between one and 12 years old, were among eight children with cancer whose bone marrow transplants did not work as a result of problems with the freezing process.

Britains best-known childrens hospital has admitted that one of them, four-year-old Katie Joyce, might have survived if it had acted more quickly when problems arose.

An inquest into the deaths this week heard that doctors were initially baffled as to why a decade of success using the procedures suddenly came to a halt in summer 2013. Despite extensive investigations, the hospital failed to pinpoint the source of the setbacks in its cryopreservation laboratory, used for freezing stem cells which were kept there for using in bone marrow transplants in children.

The transplanted stem cells were intended to help the childs bone marrow, damaged during chemotherapy, grow again to maximise the chance of recovery.

At the inquest, lawyers for two of the families whose children died accused Great Ormond Street of taking too long to halt the transplants once staff began having concerns.

The hospital has since overhauled its procedures to prevent further incidents and there are calls for the deaths to lead to tighter procedures around how stem cells are stored at hospitals and research centres across the UK.

Concerns were first raised in June 2013 when 12-year-old Sophie Ryan Palmer, who had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, failed to make progress after her transplant at Great Ormond Street, which involved using a donors stem cells rather than her own.

By October 2013 the hospital had identified that a higher than usual proportion of eight patients who had undergone stem cell transplantation between March and August had suffered setbacks after encountering what doctors call delayed engraftment. It immediately stopped freezing stem cells on site at its base in Bloomsbury, central London, and launched an investigation.

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Great Ormond Street deaths caused by stem cell lab failures, inquest told

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The Saint Mary's student club, SMC Stands up to Cancer, held a bone marrow registration drive Friday. Registrants' genetic information will be added to the Be the Match marrow database which searches for possible matches with blood cancer patients. Suitable donors can provide bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to patients, saving lives.

Allison Lukomski, a communicative sciences and disorders major, was a match for a female cancer patient from last years drive. She said it is very rewarding, knowing she was able to help someone else.

"You could save a life," Lukomski said, "and I just think it is so incredible and it is such an incredible experience I had, my family had, everyone in my family decided to join because they thought it was a really cool process." She said everyone asks about the pain, but once they realize how much information there is every step of the way, many people sign up.

This is the second year for the bone marrow drive. For more information on joining the bone marrow donation registry, visit Be The Match.

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Saint Mary's holds bone marrow drive

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

20-Nov-2014

Contact: Cristy Lytal lytal@med.usc.edu 323-442-2172 University of Southern California - Health Sciences

There are plenty of body parts that don't grow back when you lose them. Nails are an exception, and a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reveals some of the reasons why.

A team of USC Stem Cell researchers led by principal investigator Krzysztof Kobielak and co-first authors Yvonne Leung and Eve Kandyba has identified a new population of nail stem cells, which have the ability to either self-renew or undergo specialization or differentiation into multiple tissues.

To find these elusive stem cells, the team used a sophisticated system to attach fluorescent proteins and other visible "labels" to mouse nail cells. Many of these cells repeatedly divided, diluting the fluorescence and labels among their increasingly dim progeny. However, a few cells located in the soft tissue attached to the base of the nail retained strong fluorescence and labels because they either did not divide or divided slowly -- a known property of many stem cells.

The researchers then discovered that these slow-dividing stem cells have the flexibility to perform dual roles. Under normal circumstances, the stem cells contribute to the growth of both the nails and the adjacent skin. However, if the nail is injured or lost, a protein called "Bone Morphogenic Protein," or BMP, signals to the stem cells to shift their function exclusively to nail repair.

The researchers are now wondering whether or not the right signals or environmental cues could induce these nail stem cells to generate additional types of tissue -- potentially aiding in the repair of everything from nail and finger defects to severe skin injuries and amputations.

"That was very surprising discovery, since the dual characteristic of these nail stem cells to regenerate both the nail and skin under certain physiological conditions is quite unique and different from other skin stem cells, such as those of the hair follicle or sweat gland," said Kobielak.

###

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Elite Emage Stem Cell Therapy
Elite Emage Stem Cell Therapy.

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Nov-2014

Contact: Quinn Eastman qeastma@emory.edu 404-727-7829 Emory Health Sciences @emoryhealthsci

Patients who receive more cells get significant benefits. That's a key lesson emerging from a clinical trial that was reported this week at the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.

In this study, doctors treated heart attack patients with their own bone marrow cells, selected for their healing potential and then reinjected into the heart, in an effort to improve the heart's recovery.

In the PreSERVE-AMI phase II trial, physicians from 60 sites treated 161 patients, making the study one of the largest to assess cell therapy for heart attacks in the United States. The study was sponsored by NeoStem, Inc.

"This was an enormous undertaking, one that broke new ground in terms of assessing cell therapy rigorously," says the study's principal investigator, Arshed Quyyumi, MD, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and co-director of the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute.

"We made some real progress in determining the cell type and doses that can benefit patients, in a group for whom the risks of progression to heart failure are high."

All participating patients received the standard of care -- stent placement -- and were only enrolled if, four days after heart attack and stenting, their ejection fraction (a measure of the heart's pumping capacity) was less than 48 percent. The average starting ejection fraction was 34 percent, a sign of severe injury to the heart.

After enrollment, patients had cells extracted from their bone marrow and received an intracoronary injection of sorted bone marrow cells or a placebo. Not all patients received the same dose of cells. Patients were supposed to receive a minimum of 10 million cells but some received more, up to 40 million.

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In landmark study of cell therapy for heart attack, more cells make a difference

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Scientists from Universit Laval, the University of British Columbia and the University of Oxford have discovered a natural resistance gene against spruce budworm in the white spruce. The breakthrough, reported in The Plant Journal, paves the way to identifying and selecting naturally resistant trees to replant forests devastated by the destructive pest.

A research team composed of professors ric Bauce, Joerg Bohlmann and John Mackay as well as their students and postdocs discovered the gene in spruces that had remained relatively undamaged by a local budworm outbreak. The scientists compared the genomes of the more resilient trees and those that suffered substantial damage. "We measured expression levels of nearly 24,000 genes in the two groups of trees, explains Professor Mackay. We discovered a gene, betaglucosidase-1, whose expression in the needles of resistant spruce trees is up to 1,000 times higher than in non-resistant trees."

Postdoctoral scientist Melissa Mageroy then produced the protein encoded by the gene. Tests showed that the protein plays an essential part in chemical reactions resulting in the production of two compounds that are toxic to the budworm, piceol and pungenol, identified in 2011 by a research team supervised by Dr. ric Bauce. "We could say the gene we discovered produces natural insecticides in the tree foliage," sums up Dr. Mackay.

The resistance gene is present in all white spruces, but is expressed to varying degrees. "Theoretically, we could create white spruce stands that are less vulnerable to the budworm by reforesting areas with plantings from trees with a high expression of the resistance gene," says postdoctoral fellow and study coauthor Genevive Parent. Universit Laval and University of British Columbia researchers have partnered with Quebec's Ministre des Forts, de la Faune et des Parcs and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to evaluate applications of their discoveries.

The spruce budworm is a moth whose caterpillar feeds primarily on balsam fir and white spruce needles. It is the most devastating insect to coniferous stands in Eastern North America. The last major outbreak that took place between 1970 and 1990 caused an estimated loss of half a billion cubic meters of wood in the province of Quebec alone, roughly the equivalent of 15 years of harvesting. Since 2003, the total affected forest area has been increasing steadily. Related caterpillars are affecting other types of conifer trees across Canada.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Universit Laval. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Natural resistance gene against spruce budworm found

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Nov-2014

Contact: Jean-Franois Hupp jean-francois.huppe@dc.ulaval.ca 418-656-7785 Universit Laval @universitelaval

Quebec City, November 21, 2014--Scientists from Universit Laval, the University of British Columbia and the University of Oxford have discovered a natural resistance gene against spruce budworm in the white spruce. The breakthrough, reported in The Plant Journal, paves the way to identifying and selecting naturally resistant trees to replant forests devastated by the destructive pest.

A research team composed of professors ric Bauce, Joerg Bohlmann and John Mackay as well as their students and postdocs discovered the gene in spruces that had remained relatively undamaged by a local budworm outbreak. The scientists compared the genomes of the more resilient trees and those that suffered substantial damage. "We measured expression levels of nearly 24,000 genes in the two groups of trees, explains Professor Mackay. We discovered a gene, betaglucosidase-1, whose expression in the needles of resistant spruce trees is up to 1,000 times higher than in non-resistant trees."

Postdoctoral scientist Melissa Mageroy then produced the protein encoded by the gene. Tests showed that the protein plays an essential part in chemical reactions resulting in the production of two compounds that are toxic to the budworm, piceol and pungenol, identified in 2011 by a research team supervised by Dr. ric Bauce. "We could say the gene we discovered produces natural insecticides in the tree foliage," sums up Dr. Mackay.

The resistance gene is present in all white spruces, but is expressed to varying degrees. "Theoretically, we could create white spruce stands that are less vulnerable to the budworm by reforesting areas with plantings from trees with a high expression of the resistance gene," says postdoctoral fellow and study coauthor Genevive Parent. Universit Laval and University of British Columbia researchers have partnered with Quebec's Ministre des Forts, de la Faune et des Parcs and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to evaluate applications of their discoveries.

The spruce budworm is a moth whose caterpillar feeds primarily on balsam fir and white spruce needles. It is the most devastating insect to coniferous stands in Eastern North America. The last major outbreak that took place between 1970 and 1990 caused an estimated loss of half a billion cubic meters of wood in the province of Quebec alone, roughly the equivalent of 15 years of harvesting. Since 2003, the total affected forest area has been increasing steadily. Related caterpillars are affecting other types of conifer trees across Canada.

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The study's coauthors are: Genevive Parent, Gaby Germanos, Isabelle Gigure, Nathalie Delvas, Halim Maaroufi, and ric Bauce (Universit Laval); John Mackay (Universit Laval and University of Oxford); Melissa Mageroy and Joerg Bohlmann (University of British Columbia). The research was supported by Genome Canada, Genome Qubec, Genome British Columbia, the iFor Research Consortium and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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Researchers discover natural resistance gene against spruce budworm

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Scientists in China say they've identified a gene that may play a role in some people being uncomfortable in relationships.

Perhaps your incompatibility is simply genetic. What a relief. Wahbanana/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

You often get the call late at night.

There's a sniffling at the other end. Then the words: "We just broke up."

You try and be sympathetic, even though this is the fifth time this year that your friend has broken up with the love of his life. Yes, there have been five loves of his life this year. And now, it may well be that it isn't entirely his fault.

Researcher from Peking University in China believe they have identified a gene variant that might be partly responsible for people not being very good at relationships.

Published this week in Scientific Reports, the research examined "a polymorphism (C-1019G)...of 5-HT1A gene," and found it was "significantly associated with the odds of being single both before and after controlling for socioeconomic status, external appearance, religious beliefs, parenting style, and depressive symptoms."

You can't blame God. You can't blame looks. You can't even blame your parents. Well, actually you can. They gave you the gene.

Still, the ultimate conclusion is quite dramatic. The researchers wrote: "These findings provide, for the first time, direct evidence for the genetic contribution to romantic relationship formation."

Surely we always feel that there are strange genetic things going on in terms of both attraction and relationship maintenance. There are people who, according to objective criteria, aren't attractive at all. Yet, to us, there's something viscerally alluring about them. There are also people with whom, for no obvious reason, we simply get on.

Link:
Is there a gene that keeps you single?

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

UNIV 100 Genetic Engineering

By: Zoe Murray

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UNIV 100 Genetic Engineering - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith