2 hours ago

On average, organic farms support 34% more plant, insect and animal species than conventional farms, say Oxford University scientists.

Researchers looked at data going back thirty years and found that this effect has remained stable over time and shows no signs of decreasing.

'Our study has shown that organic farming, as an alternative to conventional farming, can yield significant long-term benefits for biodiversity,' said Sean Tuck of Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences, lead author of the study. 'Organic methods could go some way towards halting the continued loss of diversity in industrialised nations.'

For pollinators such as bees, the number of different species was 50% higher on organic farms, although it is important to note that the study only looked at 'species richness'.

'Species richness tells us how many different species there are but does not say anything about the total number of organisms,' said Mr Tuck. 'There are many ways to study biodiversity and species richness is easy to measure, providing a useful starting point. Broadly speaking, high species richness usually indicates a variety of species with different functions. Taking the example of bees, species richness would tell us how many different species of bee were on each farm but not the total number of bees.'

The study, published this week in the Journal of Applied Ecology, looked at data from 94 previous studies covering 184 farm sites dating back to 1989. The researchers re-analysed the data using satellite imagery to estimate the land use in the landscape surrounding each farm site to see if this had an impact on species richness. The study was carried out by scientists at Oxford University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science, and partly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Organic farms had a bigger impact on species richness when the land around them was more intensively farmed, particularly when it contained large tracts of arable land. Arable land is defined as land occupied by crops that are sown and harvested in the same agricultural year, such as wheat or barley.

'We found that the impacts of organic farms on species richness were more pronounced when they were located in intensively-farmed regions,' said Dr Lindsay Turnbull of Oxford University's Department of Plant Sciences, senior author of the study. 'This makes sense because the biodiversity benefits of each organic farm will be diluted in clusters of organic farms compared to an organic 'island' providing rich habitats in a sea of pesticide-covered conventional fields. This effect was weakest in pollinators, which may be because pollinators are likely to visit neighbouring farms and could be affected by pesticides there.'

The impact of organic farming on total species richness varied significantly across the data, with the average gain in species richness varying between 26% and 43%. This variation could be down to a number of factors relating to regional variation in farming practices and definitions of 'organic'.

Read the original here:
Organic farms support more species

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Y. NIU ET AL/CELL 2014

Two female cynomolgus monkeys named Mingming and Ningning are the first primates to have their genes precisely edited by scientists.

The two cynomolgus monkeys, also known as crab-eating macaques, are the first primates to have their genes precisely edited using a gene-snipping tool borrowed from bacteria, a team of Chinese scientistsreports January 30 inCell. The work is part of an effort to genetically engineer monkeys to produce mutations like those seen in human diseases, especially ones involving the brain.

Other researchers have inserted foreign genes into primates (SN: 6/20/09, p. 13), but until now, no one has succeeded in altering the animals own genes, says Guoping Feng, a neurobiologist at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT who was not involved in the work.

To alter the monkeys genes, Jiahao Sha of Nanjing Medical University and his colleagues wielded molecular scissors first discovered in bacteria. The scissors are a DNA-cutting enzyme called Cas9. In bacteria, Cas9 is part of a primitive immune system known as CRISPRs that defends against viruses by chopping up ones that the bacteria have encountered before and recognize as threats.

The technique has been used to edit the genes of human cells growing in laboratory dishes and in rats, mice and other laboratory organisms, but never before in a living primate.

Sha, along with Xingxu Huang of Nanjing University and Weizhi Ji of the Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research and Kunming Biomed International, injected mRNA used to produce Cas9 into single-celled monkey embryos. At the same time, the researchers inserted other small RNA molecules that would guide the enzyme to three genes the scientists wanted to disrupt. Once the enzyme reached the genes, it would snip the DNA, leaving the cell to attempt a repair. In some cases, the cell would be unable to repair the break correctly, leading to disruption of the genes activity.

Researchers hope to use the technique to disrupt genes linked to human diseases so they can study how the disease develops and test treatments. For this study, the researchers chose three genes to disrupt:NrOb1, which is involved in keeping embryonic stem cells flexible and for determining sex;Ppar-gamma, which helps regulate metabolism; andRag1, an immune system gene.

The researchers found that two of the three targeted genes had been simultaneously altered in eight of 15 injected embryos. Those eight embryos were transplanted into surrogate mothers. The researchers delivered the first two female babies, named Mingming and Ningning, from one of the surrogate moms on November 11, 2013. Both infants carry disruptedPpar-gammaandRag1genes. Two of the other surrogates miscarried, and the researchers said in an e-mail that they are awaiting the birth of the remaining baby monkeys.

Only the targeted genes were disrupted, the researchers reported. That fact is encouraging, says Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of California, Berkeley who is a pioneer of CRISPR techniques. It suggests that CRISPRs could be used to repair some human genes without inadvertently damaging others.

Read more here:
Scientists Genetically Engineered Monkeys To Have Human Diseases

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Feb-2014

Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology

MINNEAPOLIS New research shows how pesticides may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease and that people with certain gene variants may be more susceptible to the disease. The research is published in the February 4, 2014, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The research shows that certain pesticides that inhibit an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) are related to an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. The enzyme plays a role in detoxifying substances in cells, along with metabolism of alcohol. The study also found that people with a variant of the ALDH2 gene were two to five times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease with exposure to these pesticides than people who did not have that gene variant.

"These results show that ALDH inhibition appears to be an important mechanism through which pesticides may contribute to the development of Parkinson's disease," said study author Jeff M. Bronstein, MD, PhD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Understanding this mechanism may reveal several potential targets for preventing the disease from occurring or reducing its progression."

The study involved 360 people with Parkinson's disease in three rural California counties who were compared to 816 people in the area who did not have the disease. Researchers looked at participants' exposure to pesticides at work and at home using a geographic computer model based on information from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

The researchers developed a test to identify which pesticides inhibited ALDH. The 11 pesticides that inhibited ALDH, all used in farming, fell into four structural classesdithiocarbamates, imidazoles, dicarboxymides and organochlorides. Exposure to an ALDH-inhibiting pesticide at both the workplace and at home was associated with increased risks of developing Parkinson's disease, ranging from 65 percent for the pesticide benomyl to six times the risk for the pesticide dieldrin. People who were exposed to three or more of the pesticides at both work and home were 3.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease as those who were not exposed.

Bronstein noted that the relationship between the gene variant and Parkinson's only appeared when people had been exposed to the pesticides. "In other words, having this gene variant alone does not make you more likely to develop Parkinson's," he said. "Parkinson's is a disease that in many cases may require both genetics and environmental factors to arise."

Bronstein said the findings provide several possible targets for lowering Parkinson's risk, including reducing exposure to pesticides and improving the functioning of ALDH.

Read more:
Research identifies how pesticides may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Scientists in China have created two monkeys with customized gene mutations. The successful births of the twin macaques, named Ningning and Mingming, may bring researchers closer to being able to recreate such human diseases as Alzheimers and Parkinsons in primates. This would allow scientists to use primates, rather than rodents, as more realistic models of human illness.

To engineer the monkeys, researchers at Nanjing University and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research in Kunming, China, used a new gene-editing technology called Crispr, which allows scientists to insert, delete, or rewrite a specific gene sequence. The technique, which may help usher in a new era of genetic medicine, has previously been used to manipulate the genomes of rats, mice, and zebrafish. But this is reportedly the first time it has been used successfully in primates.

The Chinese researchers altered genes in several fertilized monkey eggs before implanting them in surrogate mothers. (Several surrogates miscarried and some pregnancies are reportedly ongoing.) Newborn Ningning and Mingming have three modified genes: one that regulates metabolism, another that regulates immune cell development, and a third that regulates stem cells and sex determination, according to the MIT Technology Review.

The infant monkeys are too young for researchers to determine the physiological and behavioral effects of their mutations, but scientists worldwide are already looking to create their own Crispr-modified monkeys. Although mice are giving us tremendous insight into basic brain biology and the biology of the disease, theres still a big gap in between the mouse brain and the monkey brain, Robert Desimone, director of MITs McGovern Brain Institute for Brain Research, told the MIT Technology Review. Not to mention that several drugs that work in mice dont work in humans.

Researchers also hope that the possibility of using genetically-modified monkeys will encourage more companies to boost spending on drugs to treat neurological disorders, reversing a recent trend of large pharmaceutical companies pulling back from such risky research. They also say Crispr may eventually be used for human gene therapy to treat inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell anemia. The ability to alter DNA is also being investigated as a way to make people resistant to HIV.

Chinas mutant-monkey breakthrough is controversial among animal rights activists. According to PETA, more than 125,000 primates are kept in U.S. laboratories and used for experiments every year.

Read this article:
China Creates Monkeys With Custom Gene Mutations

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise BUFFALO, NY New evidence reported by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) lends support to the hypothesis that the SSeCKS/AKAP12 gene is a key inhibitor of prostate cancer metastasis. The data are some of the first to demonstrate this dynamic in transgenic animal models, with promising implications for development of targeted therapies for prostate cancer and perhaps for other solid-tumor cancers.

A team led by Irwin H. Gelman, PhD, noted that aggressive prostate cancers in humans typically turn off or delete two major regulatory genes, SSeCKS/AKAP12 and Rb. To explore this dynamic, the researchers developed a transgenic animal model to study the effects on prostate cancer progression of deleting these two genes. They report in Cancer Research, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research, that the loss of these two genes and associated protein products leads to early prostate cancer. Moreover, more than 80 percent of the transgenic models in their study developed metastatic lesions in lymph nodes near the prostate.

This correlates with our earlier finding that SSeCKS/AKAP12 inhibits the chemotaxis of metastatic prostate tumor cells that is, their ability to move on to another environment in response to chemical attractants, said Dr. Gelman, the John & Santa Palisano Chair in Cancer Genetics at RPCI. Thus, our data suggest that SSeCKS plays a role in preventing the early dissemination of prostate cancer cells to metastatic sites. Importantly, we show that humans whose prostate cancers have turned off or deleted the SSeCKS/AKAP12 gene have significantly higher rates of metastasis formation compared to cases where SSeCKS/AKAP12 levels are sustained.

While the SSeCKS/AKAP12 gene is deleted in about a third of metastatic prostate cancers, precluding benefit from targeted therapies exploiting this vulnerability, the remaining two-thirds of such tumors may be treatable with drugs that induce the reactivation of SSeCKS/AKAP12 production. Dr. Gelman and colleagues are now looking to identify the genomic signatures controlled by SSeCKS/AKAP12 in the suppression of metastasis pathways at the level of the tumor cells themselves and in the cells that form the metastatic microenvironment.

At least 93 percent of cancer patients die because of complications due to metastatic cancers, yet the vast majority of pathways studied and therapies developed address the biology of primary cancers, Dr. Gelman noted. This current research is important in that it addresses specific mechanisms of cancer metastasis, with the result that genetic tests and therapies derived from such studies will have a higher chance of affecting cancer patient survival.

The work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants R01CA70292, R01CA94108 and R01CA116430, by U.S. Department of Defense grants PC074228 and PC101210 and, in part, by RPCIs Cancer Center Support Grant from the NCI (P30CA016056).

The study will be published online ahead of print at cancerres.aacrjournals.org.

###

Go here to read the rest:
Researchers Advance Findings on Key Gene Related to Cancer Metastasis

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

"Genetic Engineering" Fan Video
Fan video of "Genetic Engineering" by Acetate. Created using Video Star: http://VideoStarApp.com/FREE.

By: michael fogg

Read the rest here:
"Genetic Engineering" Fan Video - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Feb-2014

Contact: Vicki Bendure vicki@bendurepr.com 202-374-9259 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

In a study to be presented on Feb. 6 at 2:45 p.m. CST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in New Orleans, researchers will report that a variant in SERPINE1, a gene involved in inflammation and blood clotting, is associated with cerebral palsy and death in very preterm babies. This gene has been associated with increased risk of cerebral palsy in one previous study of preterm babies.

Previous genetic studies of very preterm babies have suggested several genetic variations that might predispose to brain injury and developmental problems. However, different studies have had different results.

This study, titled Genetic Predisposition to Adverse Neurodevelopmental Outcome After Early Preterm Birth: A Validation Analysis, was a collaborative effort between the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units and Neonatal Research Networks.

Researchers evaluated two different populations of very early preterm births (earlier than 32 weeks) with the goal of confirming the same genetic risk factors in both groups. The first population of preterm births was enrolled in a large Neonatal Research Network study, and the other group was of births that were enrolled in a Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network study of magnesium sulfate before preterm birth for prevention of cerebral palsy.

Results revealed a variant in the gene SERPINE1, a gene involved in inflammation and blood clotting, was associated with cerebral palsy and death after early preterm birth in both populations of preterm babies.

"Preterm birth is the leading cause of childhood brain injury in otherwise normal children. The earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of brain injury. However, even among the tiniest preemies, some babies develop quite normally, while others have devastating brain injury and life-long disability," said Erin Clark, M.D., the study's author. "The reason for this difference in outcomes is not well understood. Genetics may allow identification of babies at increased risk so that we can target those babies for prevention and treatment strategies. These results add to the evidence that genes may play a role in risk of brain injury and death in preterm babies."

Clark, assistant professor of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also noted that additional research is necessary to further evaluate genes that may influence risk and to determine how to apply these results to clinical care.

See the original post:
Study associates gene with cerebral palsy and death in very preterm babies

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Mathematical Models in Population Genetics II
Anand Bhaskar, UC Berkeley Evolutionary Biology Boot Camp http://simons.berkeley.edu/talks/steven-evans-anand-bhaskar-shishi-luo-2014-01-21b.

By: Simons Institute

Here is the original post:
Mathematical Models in Population Genetics II - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Kirtland Genetics Project Prompt One
This video is about our Genetics Project.

By: Matt Grazia

Read the rest here:
Kirtland Genetics Project Prompt One - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Mutants Genetics Gladiator- Bushi Now Hatched
God is amazing because I didnt have to breed a zomborg to get my bushi! Royalty Free Music by: http://www.audiomicro.com My Pages: https://www.facebook.com/j...

By: IamJaylew

Link:
Mutants Genetics Gladiator- Bushi Now Hatched - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Male Fertiity, Sexual Function After Spinal Cord Injury
On January 28, Center for Men #39;s Health at TUCC director, Jesse Mills, M.D., led an interactive presentation on diagnosis and treatment options for men post s...

By: TUCCVideos

Originally posted here:
Male Fertiity, Sexual Function After Spinal Cord Injury - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Dr. Riddle #39;s Wound Spray Demonstration on how to use the treatment
http://riddleinstitute.com Dr. Riddle #39;s Wound Spray Demonstration on how to properly use the treatment.

By: Riddle Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Follow this link:
Dr. Riddle's Wound Spray Demonstration on how to use the treatment - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise LA JOLLAThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies will join Stanford University in leading a new Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics, created through a $40 million award by California's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The center will bring together experts and investigators from seven different major California institutions to focus on bridging the fields of genomics the study of the complete genetic make-up of a cell or organism with cutting-edge stem cell research.

The goal is to use these tools to gain a deeper understanding of the disease processes in cancer, diabetes, endocrine disorders, heart disease and mental health, and ultimately to find safer and more effective ways of using stem cells in medical research and therapy.

"The center will provide a platform for collaboration, allowing California's stem cell scientists and genomics researchers to bridge these two fields," says Joseph Ecker, a Salk professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator. "The Center will generate critical genomics data that will be shared with scientists throughout California and the rest of the world."

Ecker, holder of the Salk International Council Chair in Genetics, is co-director of the new center along with Michael Snyder, a professor and chair of genetics at Stanford.

Salk and Stanford will lead the center, and U.C. San Diego, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Scripps Research Institute, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina Inc., all in San Diego, will collaborate on the project, in addition to U.C. Santa Cruz, which will also run the data coordination and management component.

"This Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics shows why we are considered one of the global leaders in stem cell research," says Alan Trounson, president of the stem cell agency. "Bringing together this team to do this kind of work means we will be better able to understand how stem cells change as they grow and become different kinds of cells. That deeper knowledge, that you can only get through a genomic analysis of the cells, will help us develop better ways of using these cells to come up with new treatments for deadly diseases."

In addition to outside collaborations, the center will pursue some fundamental questions and goals of its own, including collecting and characterizing induced pluripotent stem cell lines from patients with familial cardiomyopathy; applying single-cell genomic techniques to better understand cellular subpopulations within diseased and healthy brain and pancreatic tissues; and developing novel computational tools to analyze networks underlying stem cell genome function.

The rest is here:
Salk Institute and Stanford University to Lead New $40 Million Stem Cell Genomics Center

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Durham, NC (PRWEB) February 03, 2014

Previous studies have shown that multiple stem cell implantations might assist adults suffering from complete spinal cord injuries (SCI). Now a groundbreaking study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows for the first time that children with SCI might benefit, too.

Marcin Majka, Ph.D., and Danuta Jarocha, Ph.D., led the study at Jagiellonian University College of Medicine in Krakow, Poland. "Although it was conducted on a small number of patients carrying a different injury level and type, preliminary results demonstrate the possibility of attaining neurological, motor and sensation and quality-of-life improvement in children with a chronic complete spinal cord injury through multiple bone marrow derived cell (BMNC) implantations. Intravenous implantations of these cells seem to prevent and/or help the healing of pressure ulcers," Dr. Majka said.

The study involved five children, ranging in age from 3 to 7, all of whom were patients at University Childrens Hospital in Krakow. Each had suffered a spinal cord injury at least six months prior to the start of the stem cell program and was showing no signs of improvement from standard treatments. The patients collectively underwent 19 implantation procedures with BM-derived cells, with every treatment cycle followed by an intensive four weeks of rehabilitation.

The children were evaluated over a one to six year period for sensation and motor improvement, muscle stiffness and bladder function. Any improvement in their quality of life was also noted, based on estimated functional recovery. Additionally, the development of neuropathic pain, secondary infections, urinary tract infections or pressure ulcers was tracked.

"Two of the five children receiving the highest number of transplantations demonstrated neurological and quality-of-life improvements," Dr. Jarocha said. "They included a girl who, before the stem cell implantations, had to be tube fed and needed a ventilator to breathe. She is now able to eat and breathe on her own."

The study also demonstrated no long-term side effects from the BMNCs, leading the researchers to conclude that single and multiple BMNCs implantations were safe for pediatric patients as well as adults.

Interestingly, when the scientists compared their study with those done on adults, the results did not suggest an advantage of the younger age. "This is somehow unexpected since the younger age should provide better ability to regenerate. Since the present study was done on a small number of patients, a larger study using the same methodology for pediatric and adult patients allowing a direct comparison should be performed to confirm or contradict the observation. Larger studies with patients segregated according to the type and level of the injury with the same infusion intervals should be performed to obtain more consistent data, too," Dr. Majka added.

"While this studys sample is small, it is the first to report the safety and feasibility of using bone marrow derived cells to treat pediatric patients with complete spinal cord injury," said Anthony Atala, M.D., editor of STEM CELLS Translational Medicine and director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. "The treatment resulted in a degree of neurological and quality-of-life improvement in the study participants."

The full article, "Preliminary study of autologous bone marrow nucleated cells transplantation in children with spinal cord injury," can be accessed at http://www.stemcellstm.com.

See the article here:
First Study Tracking Stem Cell Treatments For Children With Spinal Cord Injuries Shows Potential Benefit

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

therapy treatment for spinal cord injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india
improvement seen in just 5 days after stem cell therapy treatment for spinal cord injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india. Stem Cell Therapy done date 7 Jan ...

By: Neurogen Brain and Spine Institute

Link:
therapy treatment for spinal cord injury by dr alok sharma, mumbai, india - Video

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Cancer drugs that recruit antibodies from the body's own immune system to help kill tumors have shown much promise in treating several types of cancer. However, after initial success, the tumors often return.

A new study from MIT reveals a way to combat these recurrent tumors with a drug that makes them more vulnerable to the antibody treatment. This drug, known as cyclophosphamide, is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat some cancers.

Antibody drugs work by marking tumor cells for destruction by the body's immune system, but they have little effect on tumor cells that hide out in the bone marrow. Cyclophosphamide stimulates the immune response in bone marrow, eliminating the reservoir of cancer cells that can produce new tumors after treatment.

"We're not talking about the development of a new drug, we're talking about the altered use of an existing therapy," says Michael Hemann, the Eisen and Chang Career Development Associate Professor of Biology, a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and one of the senior authors of the study. "We can operate within the context of existing treatment regimens but hopefully achieve drastic improvement in the efficacy of those regimens."

Jianzhu Chen, the Ivan R. Cottrell Professor of Immunology and a member of the Koch Institute, is also a senior author of the paper, which appears in the Jan. 30 issue of the journal Cell. The lead author is former Koch Institute postdoc Christian Pallasch, now at the University of Cologne in Germany.

Finding cancer's hiding spots

Antibody-based cancer drugs are designed to bind to proteins found on the surfaces of tumor cells. Once the antibodies flag the tumor cells, immune cells called macrophages destroy them. While many antibody drugs have already been approved to treat human cancers, little is known about the best ways to deploy them, and what drugs might boost their effects, Hemann says.

Antibodies are very species-specific, so for this study, the researchers developed a strain of mice that can develop human lymphomas (cancers of white blood cells) by implanting them with human blood stem cells that are genetically programmed to become cancerous. Because these mice have a human version of cancer, they can be used to test drugs that target human tumor cells.

The researchers first studied an antibody drug called alemtuzumab, which is FDA-approved and in clinical trials for some forms of lymphoma. The drug successfully cleared most cancer cells, but some remained hidden in the bone marrow, which has previously been identified as a site of drug resistance in many types of cancer.

The study revealed that within the bone marrow, alemtuzumab successfully binds to tumor cells, but macrophages do not attack the cells due to the presence of lipid compounds called prostaglandins, which repress macrophage activity. Scientists believe the bone marrow naturally produces prostaglandins to help protect the immune cells that are maturing there. Tumor cells that reach the bone marrow can exploit this protective environment to aid their own survival.

Continue reading here:
New weapon fights drug-resistant tumors hiding in bone marrow

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Few medical discoveries have held the great promise of stem cells to regenerate nerves, organs and tissue damaged by disease, heredity or injury. Basically, the stem cells could replicate any other cell in the body, offering immense hope that were still anxiously waiting to be realized of curing Alzheimers, making damaged spinal cords whole, treating kidney, liver and lung disease and making damaged hearts whole.

Already subscribe to the Evansville Courier & Press or The Gleaner? Unlimited access to CourierPress.com, TheGleaner.com and the Courier & Press smartphone and tablet apps is included with your subscription. All you need to do is ACTIVATE now!

Activate Now

Want to keep reading? We now offer Premium and Digital Subscriptions. Subscribe now and select how you want to keep up-to-date on local news, reader comments, photos, videos, blogs and more.

Subscribe Now

2014 Evansville Courier & Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read more:
EDITORIAL: Stem-cell discovery addresses ethical issues

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Stretch Goal Cast - Episode #4, Part 1: Jurassic Genetics on Kickstarter
Welcome to Part 1 of Episode #4. In this segment, Jared kicks things off with some genuine, prehistoric excitement for the new Kickstarter game, Jurassic Genetics. Thanks for watching! Please...

By: Stretch Goal Cast

The rest is here:
Stretch Goal Cast - Episode #4, Part 1: Jurassic Genetics on Kickstarter - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Genetics at Quixotes Denver CO 02-01-14
Final Fantasy Seven Opening for Stir Fry wsg. Michael Kang.

By: katerhake

Read the original post:
Genetics at Quixotes Denver CO 02-01-14 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

EPRT. BodiHealth. Spinal Cord Injury. 1 Video+++ Channel 7 1spinal cord

By: peturssp

Go here to read the rest:
EPRT. BodiHealth. Spinal Cord Injury. 1 Video+++ Channel 7 1spinal cord - Video

Recommendation and review posted by sam

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a protein critical to hematopoietic stem cell function and blood formation. The finding has potential as a new target for treating leukemia because cancer stem cells rely upon the same protein to regulate and sustain their growth.

Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to all other blood cells. Writing in the February 2, 2014 advance online issue of Nature Genetics, principal investigator Tannishtha Reya, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology, and colleagues found that a protein called Lis1 fundamentally regulates asymmetric division of hematopoietic stem cells, assuring that the stem cells correctly differentiate to provide an adequate, sustained supply of new blood cells.

Asymmetric division occurs when a stem cell divides into two daughter cells of unequal inheritance: One daughter differentiates into a permanently specialized cell type while the other remains undifferentiated and capable of further divisions.

This process is very important for the proper generation of all the cells needed for the development and function of many normal tissues, said Reya. When cells divide, Lis1 controls orientation of the mitotic spindle, an apparatus of subcellular fibers that segregates chromosomes during cell division.

During division, the spindle is attached to a particular point on the cell membrane, which also determines the axis along which the cell will divide, Reya said. Because proteins are not evenly distributed throughout the cell, the axis of division, in turn, determines the types and amounts of proteins that get distributed to each daughter cell. By analogy, imagine the difference between cutting the Earth along the equator versus halving it longitudinally. In each case, the countries that wind up in the two halves are different.

When researchers deleted Lis1 from mouse hematopoietic stem cells, differentiation was radically altered. Asymmetric division increased and accelerated differentiation, resulting in an oversupply of specialized cells and an ever-diminishing reserve of undifferentiated stem cells, which eventually resulted in a bloodless mouse.

What we found was that a large part of the defect in blood formation was due to a failure of stem cells to expand, said Reya. Instead of undergoing symmetric divisions to generate two stem cell daughters, they predominantly underwent asymmetric division to generate more specialized cells. As a result, the mice were unable to generate enough stem cells to sustain blood cell production.

The scientists next looked at how cancer stem cells in mice behaved when the Lis1 signaling pathway was blocked, discovering that they too lost the ability to renew and propagate. In this sense, the effect Lis1 has on leukemic self-renewal parallels its role in normal stem cell self-renewal, Reya said.

Continue reading here:
Split Decision: Stem Cell Signal Linked with Cancer Growth

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) February 02, 2014

Stem cell research and experimentation has been in process for well over five decades, as stem cells have the unique ability to divide and replicate repeatedly. In addition, their unspecialized nature allows them to differentiate into a wide variety of specialized cell types. The possibilities arising from these characteristics have caused great commercial interest, with potential applications ranging from the use of stem cells in reversal or treatment of disease, to targeted cell therapy, tissue regeneration, pharmacological testing on cell-specific tissues, and more. Diseases such as Huntingtons Chorea, Parkinsons Disease, and spinal cord injuries are examples of clinical applications in which stem cells could offer benefits in halting or even reversing damage.

Traditionally, scientists have worked with both embryonic and adult stem cells as research tools. While the appeal of embryonic cells has been their ability to differentiate into any type of cell, there has been significant ethical, moral and spiritual controversy surrounding their use for research purposes. Although some adult stem cells do have differentiation capacity, it is often limited in nature, which creates narrow options for use. Thus, induced pluripotent stem cells sector (http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/206575-complete-2012-13-induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-industry-report.html) represent a promising combination of adult and embryonic stem cell characteristics.

Continued research and experimentation has resulted in numerous advances over the last few years. In one example, the University of Michigan announced in Circulation Research (2012) that they had developed innovative methods for use of induced pluripotent stem cells derived from skin biopsies to create cardiac muscle cells. This accomplishment quickly fueled other research into the use of iPSCs for the reversal and repair of diseased heart tissue.

Similar advances will continue to be perfected for use of reprogrammed adult cells in the treatment of other diseases and disorders. Original techniques for iPSC production, such as viral induced transcription processes, are being replaced with newer technologies as private industries join with the scientific community to develop safe and efficient methods of iPSC production. With sustained research and experimentation, established guidelines for effective production of iPSCs will be commonplace.

In summary, induced pluripotent stem cells represent a promising tool for use in the reversal and repair of many previously incurable diseases.

Market Metrics - iPSC Research Products: For this reason a large and thriving research products market has grown into existence for the cell type. The number of iPSC research products sold worldwide has been growing at an annual rate of 14.7% for the past five years. In addition, 22% of all stem cell researchers now self-report as having used induced pluripotent stem cells within a research project. It is clear that iPSCs are a vital research trend within the scientific community.

A distinctive feature of this report is an end-user survey of 274 researchers (131 U.S. / 143 International) that identify as having induced pluripotent stem cells as their core research focus. These survey findings reveal iPSC researcher needs, technical preferences, key factors influencing buying decisions, and more. They can be used to make effective product development decisions, create targeted marketing messages, and produce higher prospect-to-client conversion rates.

Remember, to benefit from this lucrative product market, you need to anticipate and serve the needs of your clients, or your competitors will.

Purchase Report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=206575.

Here is the original post:
iPSC Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Market 2013 14 Complete Report at ReportsnReports.com

Recommendation and review posted by simmons

CING-CSMM Herb Garden
We are sure you know the benefits of living in a green environment. This is not always possible however especially in urban city centre locations. At the Cyp...

By: Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics

Read this article:
CING-CSMM Herb Garden - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Probabilities in Genetics

By: profamann

Continued here:
Probabilities in Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith

Non-Mendelian Genetics
A look at genetics that do not follow Mendel #39;s laws.

By: profamann

See more here:
Non-Mendelian Genetics - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith