By Jonathan D. Moreno | Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Imagine a bizzaro universe in which Bush administration officials have to explain why they were so intent on paying for human embryonic stem cell research that they violated federal law to do it. In that same alternate reality, a court rules that none of the embryonic cell lines used by medical scientists for 10 years could continue to be applied to important research.

If your credulity hasn’t already been strained to the breaking point, now imagine that you’re a scientist who went to his or her lab this morning not knowing if you could continue your work on, say, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s or diabetes, work that was funded by the National Institutes of Health months ago that you were doing just yesterday. These are all plausible inferences that could be drawn from a United States District Court judge’s August 23 decision.

Welcome to the real world. (Read on …)

By Jonathan D. Moreno | Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

In our shrill political climate let’s celebrate the quiet passing of a science milestone.

Last week the Food and Drug Administration gave its first approval for a clinical trial of an embryonic stem cell treatment. Embryonic stem cells are special because they can grow, or differentiate, into any kind of human tissue. Many believe they hold great promise for treating a wide range of diseases and disorders, from Alzheimer’s to cancer to spinal cord injuries to blindness.

The FDA had put the application from biopharmaceuticals company Geron Corp, which produced the cells, on clinical hold after some mice given the treatment developed tiny spinal cysts. But another animal study found no cysts. The testing will involve patients with recent spinal cord injuries, who will receive infusions of embryonic stem cells that have been differentiated into cells that can produce myelin, the coating that conducts electrical impulses in the spine. (Read on …)

Turns out that the next stem cell research summit will be held in Detroit!

That’s appropriate, since Detroit is suffering through economic hard times and stem cell research provides good jobs, and will lead to even more good jobs when it leaves the laboratory and becomes the source of new medical technologies. This annual meeting brings together the diverse community of people worldwide who support the research, ranging from the scientists themselves to industry leaders, funders and philanthropists, patient advocates, and educators. Their shared aim: to review the current state of the research and chart the future of regenerative medicine. As well, the summit fosters international collaboration that can really move this life-saving effort forward. You can find out more at: www.worldstemcellsummit.com

“We are delighted to bring the 2010 World Stem Cell Summit to Detroit,” said Bernard Siegel, executive director of the Genetics Policy Institute. “Michigan is fast becoming a biotechnology hub. Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University all have world-class researchers and outstanding facilities dedicated not only to fundamental stem cell research but also to translating lab work into effective treatments and cures.”

I remember Bernie from our "First International Stem Cell Action Conference" held in Berkeley back in ‘04. He has contributed so much to our cause over the years. Check out his organization: Genetics Policy Institute.

Scientists continue to study so-called "induced pluripotent stem cells," which are like embryonic stem cells, but appear not to have the same regenerative potential.   This is from a forthcoming article in Nature, summarized by Sue McGreevey at Massachusetts General Hospital:

Better understanding of mechanisms involved should improve reprogramming of embryonic-like cells.

Scientists may be one step closer to being able to generate any type of cells and tissues from a patient’s own cells. In a study that will appear in the journal Nature and is receiving early online release, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine (MGH-CRM) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), describe finding that an important cluster of genes is inactivated in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that do not have the full development potential of embryonic stem cells. Generated from adult cells, iPSCs have many characteristics of embryonic stem cells but also have had significant limitations.

"We found that a segment of chromosome 12 containing genes important for fetal development was abnormally shut off in most iPSCs," says Konrad Hochedlinger, PhD, of the MGH-CRM and HSCI, who led the study. "These findings indicate we need to keep improving the way we produce iPSCs and suggest the need for new reprogramming strategies."

Although iPSCs appear quite similar to embryonic stem cells and give rise to many different types of cells, they have important limitations. Several molecular differences have been observed, particularly in the epigenetic processes that control which genes are expressed, and procedures that are able to generate live animals from the embryonic stem cells of mice are much less successful with iPSCs.

(Read on …)

State Stem Cell Agency Launches On-line High School Curriculum- A Key Tool for Training Today’s Youth for Tomorrow’s High-Growth Jobs