| Scientists Devise New Ways to Create Stem Cells |
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Two new experiments may show how to obtain human embryonic stem cells without the destruction of early embryos, a step that could allow federal funding for such research, scientists reported Sunday.
Currently, scientists must sacrifice human embryos to harvest such cells, which can form any tissue type and are seen as valuable for studying and treating illnesses like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Objections to the embryo destruction have led to a ban on federal funding for such work, which scientists say hampers research.
The new methods, detailed Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature, seek to obtain the cells without destroying embryos.
A team at Massachusetts-based Advanced Cell Technology used an established fertility technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to take a single cell from a mouse embryo and use it to grow a batch, or line, of embryonic stem cells.
Another team at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology managed to genetically damage cells and then use cloning technology to make a crippled mouse embryo that could never develop in the womb. They then developed embryonic stem cells from the embryo.
The two methods had been discussed as ways to bypass objections that some people including U.S. President George W. Bush have to embryonic stem cell research. The studies, published in the journal Nature, show they are technically feasible.
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| Cooling shields Newborns against Brain Damage - Oct 13, 2005 12:41 IST |
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Reducing the temperature of babies whose brains have suffered oxygen deprivation may prevent the brain damage or death that often results from such deprivation, a recent study suggests.
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| Trachea developed using Stem Cells from Amniotic Fluid - Oct 10, 2005 19:26 IST |
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Undifferentiated stem cell from amniotic fluid,collected during pregnancy was used for producing the cells needed.The theory used is that mesenchymal stem cells descend directly from embryonic stem cells and they later specialize in making connective tissues, including muscle, bone, cartilage, fat and tendon.These cells are also rich in amniotic fluid, which in this case was exploited.
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| Foetal DNA testing – a safer way to test unborns for genetic diseases - Oct 9, 2005 9:26 IST |
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With the identification of foetal DNA in a mother’s blood scientists from the Chinese University of Hong have proposed a technique which may lead to a non-invasive and safer way of testing unborn babies for genetic diseases.
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| Cervical Cancer Vaccine - A Reality within a Year - Oct 7, 2005 12:19 IST |
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Gardasil, a vaccine that is in trials has been proved 100% effective against two virus strains which cause cervical cancer. The vaccine can be a reality within a year.
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| US awakens to the threat of avian influenza - Oct 6, 2005 21:58 IST |
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After a closed-door briefing last week, fear of an outbreak swept official Washington, which was still reeling from the poor response to Hurricane Katrina. The day after the briefing, led by Michael Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, and other senior government health officials, the Senate squeezed $3.9 billion for flu preparations into a Pentagon appropriations bill.
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| WHO Crusades against Chronic Diseases - Oct 6, 2005 21:58 IST |
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has made a strong call for immediate and effective global action to prevent chronic diseases. In its newly issued report "Preventing Chronic Diseases: a vital investment," the United Nations health agency said that about 17 million people die prematurely each year because of the slow but fatal diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes etc. Proactive show of concern the world over could save the lives of 36 million people who would otherwise die by 2015 from these diseases.
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| GE(R)M OF AN IDEA!!! - Oct 5, 2005 7:20 IST |
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Two Australian scientists have won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for showing that many stomach ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection and not stress or lifestyle. The findings by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren have revolutionized the treatment of these ulcers, even though their work was initially ridiculed.
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