tagged w/ Stem Cells
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Los Angeles Times...
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COLUMN ONE
A meeting of hearts if not minds
Some Jehovah's Witnesses with leukemia turn to an atheist Cedars-Sinai doctor who respects their refusal to accept blood transfusions.
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PHOTO:
Dr. Michael Lill examines Jehovah's Witness leukemia patient Christina Blouvan-Cervantes, 27, while her husband, Andres Cervantes, 21, observes during a weekly checkup at Cedars-Sinai's outpatient cancer center.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times / January 10, 2012)
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By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times
February 2, 2012
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PART ONE...
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Christina Blouvan-Cervantes had been battling aggressive leukemia when her blood count plummeted and she landed in the emergency room in Fresno. Her doctors told her a blood transfusion was her only hope. But her faith wouldn't allow her to receive one.
So she turned to one of the only doctors who could possibly keep her alive: a committed atheist who views her belief system as wholly irrational.
Dr. Michael Lill, head of the blood and marrow transplant program at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, is a last recourse for Jehovah's Witnesses with advanced leukemia.
They arrive at Lill's door out of desperation and a desire to live. Many specialists decline to treat them because of their biblically centered refusal to accept blood transfusions, a mainstay of conventional care for the cancer.
Lill thinks their refusal is risky and illogical but nevertheless has devised a way to treat them that accommodates their religious convictions.
Despite his belief that God doesn't exist, he has become a hero to many devout believers.
"We don't care if he believes in God or not," said David Goldfarb, chairman of the Los Angeles-area Hospital Liaison Committee for the Jehovah's Witnesses. "What we really believe in is, 'Are you a skilled and great doctor … and can you respect our belief system?'"
Lill, a 52-year-old Australian native, said ideological differences between doctor and patient are beside the point.
"Just because someone makes a decision which I would view as the wrong decision … doesn't mean at that point in time I say, 'No, I am not going to look after you anymore,' " he said. "I try and treat people's religious beliefs with respect."
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CONTINUED...
.Los Angeles Times...
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COLUMN ONE
A meeting of hearts if not minds
Some... more
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No dead cows, just real, sustainable beef, made with nothing but yummy stem cells and a touch of magic! All yours for a sizzling €250,000 each. And they’ll get cheaper and cheaper with every passing year (can we call that Moo’s law?)No dead cows, just real, sustainable beef, made with nothing but yummy stem cells and... more
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The Ironic News Report is a satirical news parody that skewers politics and current events. This weeks edition talks of tea party economics, Republican Candidates, and even Alex Trebek!
You can now find and download The Ironic News Report from iTunes! Go Here:
You can also get her on The Ironic News Report podcast on Itunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-ironic-news-report/id465579757
This week's Question: The Italian Prime Minister called his own country 'shitty'. Here in the US, TX governor Rick Perry wanted to secede from the union. Is that the same insult?The Ironic News Report is a satirical news parody that skewers politics and current... more
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As medical research continues to shed light on the potentially revolutionary breakthroughs that stem cells could one day make in treating injuries and diseases in human patients, scientists have begun to realize the potential impact they could have on other animals as well. Along with being used to treat conditions such as infertility and diabetes in non-human species, researches believe that they may actually allow for the revival of extinct animals in the not-too-distant future.
Link : http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/09/stem-cells-may-one-day-revive-species-from-extinction.phpAs medical research continues to shed light on the potentially revolutionary... more
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Casey Chan — For the first time in history, a patient has been implanted with a synthetic windpipe that was created using the patient's stem cells and a replica of his original windpipe. It's amazing even though it kinda looks like PVC piping
It's the future of medical science: there's no donor needed and no depressingly long wait times. Scientists from London created the replica using 3D scans of the 36-year-old patient. The material was made from polymers with a spongy and flexible texture with stiff rings around the tube to recreate a more human-like trachea. They coated and soaked the trachea model in a solution of stem cell's taken from the patient's bone marrow and after two days, the patient's own tissues had grown to cover replica.
According to the Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, a professor at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm that performed the surgery, said the "stem cells from the own patient were growing inside and outside. This structure was becoming a living structure." It's been a month since the surgery and the patient's body has accepted the synthetic organ and he should be released soon. The doctors hope that it can lead to more artificial organs for future transplants. Not cloning!
http://gizmodo.com/5819128/surgeons-perform-the-worlds-first-synthetic-organ-transplantCasey Chan — For the first time in history, a patient has been implanted with a... more
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A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating three genes in the skin cells; genes which are already known to be active in the formation of brain cells at the fetal stage.
The new technique avoids many of the ethical dilemmas that stem cell research has faced.
For the first time, a research group at Lund University in Sweden has succeeded in creating specific types of nerve cells from human skin. By reprogramming connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts, directly into nerve cells, a new field has been opened up with the potential to take research on cell transplants to the next level. The discovery represents a fundamental change in the view of the function and capacity of mature cells. By taking mature cells as their starting point instead of stem cells, the Lund researchers also avoid the ethical issues linked to research on embryonic stem cells.
http://aurmoth.blogspot.com/2011/06/ethical-dilemmas-stem-cell-research.htmlA research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from... more
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A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating three genes in the skin cells; genes which are already known to be active in the formation of brain cells at the fetal stage.
The new technique avoids many of the ethical dilemmas that stem cell research has faced.
For the first time, a research group at Lund University in Sweden has succeeded in creating specific types of nerve cells from human skin. By reprogramming connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts, directly into nerve cells, a new field has been opened up with the potential to take research on cell transplants to the next level. The discovery represents a fundamental change in the view of the function and capacity of mature cells. By taking mature cells as their starting point instead of stem cells, the Lund researchers also avoid the ethical issues linked to research on embryonic stem cells.
http://aurmoth.blogspot.com/2011/06/ethical-dilemmas-stem-cell-research.htmlA research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from... more
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A research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from human skin directly into brain cells, without passing through the stem cell stage. The unexpectedly simple technique involves activating three genes in the skin cells; genes which are already known to be active in the formation of brain cells at the fetal stage.
The new technique avoids many of the ethical dilemmas that stem cell research has faced.
For the first time, a research group at Lund University in Sweden has succeeded in creating specific types of nerve cells from human skin. By reprogramming connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts, directly into nerve cells, a new field has been opened up with the potential to take research on cell transplants to the next level. The discovery represents a fundamental change in the view of the function and capacity of mature cells. By taking mature cells as their starting point instead of stem cells, the Lund researchers also avoid the ethical issues linked to research on embryonic stem cells.
http://aurmoth.blogspot.com/2011/06/ethical-dilemmas-stem-cell-research.htmlA research breakthrough has proven that it is possible to reprogram mature cells from... more
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We're taking a daily look at some of the most popular stories from the Current community, and we've rounded up some highlights to share. Check them out and add your two cents:
IMF Head Charged with Raping Hotel MaidSubmitted by Dagum
The head of the IMF has been charged with the attempted rape of a hotel maid.
The incident is alleged to have happened in Mr Strauss-Kahn's luxury suite at the Sofitel hotel, not far from Manhattan's Times Square.
A 32-year-old maid told authorities she was attacked when she went into clean the room.
Stephen Hawking dismisses idea of a universal creator, calls heaven a ‘fairy story’Submitted by unimatrix0
British scientist Stephen Hawking has dismissed the idea of heaven or a universal creator, saying that the idea of a deity has no place in theories on the creation of the Universe, in light of recent developments in physics.
"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."
Self-renewing human lung stem cell discoveredSubmitted by onemalefla
For the first time, self-renewing lung stem cells have been identified, offering a possible clues for treating chronic lung conditions.
"The discovery of this stem cell has the potential to offer those who suffer from chronic lung diseases a totally novel treatment option by regenerating or repairing damaged areas of the lung."
Join the discussion -- or head over to the News group for more popular stories from the community.We're taking a daily look at some of the most popular stories from the... more
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WASHINGTON -- A divided federal appeals court has ruled that opponents of taxpayer-funded stem cell research are not likely to succeed in a lawsuit to stop it.
In a 2-1 decision Friday, the panel of the U.S. court of appeals in Washington overturned a judge's order that would have blocked taxpayer funding for stem cell research.
The panel reversed an opinion last August by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who said the research likely violates the law against federal funding of embryo destruction.
The 1996 law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in work that harms an embryo, so private money has been used to cull batches of the cells. Those batches can reproduce in lab dishes indefinitely, and the Obama administration issued rules permitting taxpayer dollars to be used in work on them.WASHINGTON -- A divided federal appeals court has ruled that opponents of... more
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Developing therapies from human embryonic stem cells is under threat in Europe, say scientists.
link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13214036Developing therapies from human embryonic stem cells is under threat in Europe, say... more
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eva2
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10 months ago
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The artificial organs were created in a laboratory using human amniotic fluid and animal foetal cells.
They are currently half a centimetre in length - the same size as kidneys found in an unborn baby.
Scientists at Edinburgh University hope they will grow into full-size organs when transplanted into a human.
The breakthrough could lead to patients creating their own replacement organs without the risk of rejection, a common complication in transplant procedures.
Physiologist Jamie Davies, a professor of experimental anatomy at Edinburgh University, said: ''It sounds a bit science fiction-like but it's not.
''The idea is to start with human stem cells and end up with a functioning organ.
''We have made pretty good progress with that. We can make something that has the complexity of a normal, foetal kidney.''
The research team hope that doctors will eventually be able to collect amniotic fluid, which surrounds the growing embryo in the womb, when a baby is born.
This will then be stored by scientists in case that person develops kidney disease later in life. The fluid can then be used to create a matching kidney.
Creating an organ using a patient's own stem cells solves the problem of having to use powerful immunosuppressant drugs to stop the body rejecting a another person's kidney.
Professor Davies said the technology could be ready for use on humans in around 10 years.
He added: ''Freezing a few cells is cost-effective compared with the cost of keeping someone on dialysis for years.
''If you have got a bunch of stem cells sitting in a test tube, that is a long way from being a beautifully, anatomically organised organ like a kidney, which is quite a complicated structure.
''So we are working on how you turn cells floating about in liquid into something as precisely arranged as a kidney.''
Around 7,000 people in the UK are on the waiting list for a new kidney and demand for organs is increasing.
The breakthrough will be officially unveiled at Edinburgh's Science Festival this month.
The use of stem-cell technology is seen as a "holy grail", which promises to reduce shortages of several types of organs.
There are currently around 7,000 people on the waiting list for a kidney in the UK.
Last week, Japanese scientists grew a retina from stem cells for the first time.The artificial organs were created in a laboratory using human amniotic fluid and... more
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Reprogrammed cells generated from people with schizophrenia could help scientists study the disease more closely, according to a study published online today in Nature. Such cells would allow scientists to look at the disease on a cellular level, and also test potential drugs to combat the condition.Reprogrammed cells generated from people with schizophrenia could help scientists... more
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eva2
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eva2
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A part of the eye that is essential for vision has been created in the laboratory from animal stem cells, offering hope to the blind and partially sighted.One day it might be possible to make an eye in a dish, Nature journal reports.
:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12963297A part of the eye that is essential for vision has been created in the laboratory from... more
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suzane
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10 months ago
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Ever thought what's the cause of male-pattern baldness? Well, it is not the just the lack of hair, but the stem cell defect, a new study reveals.Ever thought what's the cause of male-pattern baldness? Well, it is not the just... more
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Alstom
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1 year ago
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By mimicking stages of embryonic development, scientists have prodded human stem cells to produce three-dimensional (3D) organ tissue that resembles the intestine and recapitulates its major cell types.
link: http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101212/full/news.2010.668.htmlBy mimicking stages of embryonic development, scientists have prodded human stem cells... more
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eva2
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