Florida News

Florida News

Stem cell research is becoming a heated topic in Florida. There have been various recent attempts in the state of Florida to pass competing ballot initiatives that would either fund or ban embryonic stem cell research (neither got enough signatures), and there are efforts to increase funding for biotechnology in general, to bring researchers to Florida, and so on. An editorial in the Palm Beach Post argues that “politicians need to leave the science to scientists” and work hard to make Florida a promising place for biotech companies to come, rather than limiting embryonic stem cell research. Meanwhile, also in the Palm Beach Post, there’s an article reporting that Democrats in the state legislature say that although their bill for $150 million for embryonic stem cell research is apparently dead, another biotech bill that looks likely to pass might allow embryonic stem cell research to go forward because of ambiguity in the language. The bill’s sponsor denies it and says that the bill does not allow any research not permitted by federal guidelines. However, it appears that it does not exclude research on the authorized stem cell lines. The Democrats admit that having pointed out the loophole might now lead to an explicit ban on stem cell research, but they say that would at least get the debate started.

Protein Appears to Regulate HSC production

Protein Appears to Regulate HSC production

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have found that a protein transcription factor called MEF is instrumental in telling blood stem cells whether to divide and make more blood cells or to remain quiescent and wait. According to the press release, mice without the protein had an increased population of stem cells and were resistant to the destructive effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Consequently, reducing the amount of MEF might lead to a better tolerance of chemotherapy and radiation as a treatment for blood cancers, since the stem cells that help the body would be more numerous and less damaged, thus allowing swifter recovery. However, it is not known yet if the cancer-causing stem cells might also be able to resist the radiation and drugs targeted at them.

Hwang Woo-Suk Loses License

Hwang Woo-Suk Loses License

A widely reported story says that the South Korean Health Ministry has stripped Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk of his license to do embryonic stem cell research. He has already lost most of his other professional positions. There is now no lab in South Korea which can do embryonic stem cell work, according to an AP story in the Washington Post. Reuters quotes from the ministry statement, which says that the license was withdrawn due to a requirement of at least one research paper published in three years. Hwang’s research papers were withdrawn and no longer count. Chosun Ilbo says that Seoul National University is still a stem cell research facility, but presumably it is now limited to research on adult stem cells, cord blood, and so on. I wonder what it will take for another scientist to get such a license in the future.