Recent Happenings

There’s no way I can catch up on all the stories I missed over the last couple months (but I did get into law school!), so here are links to some of the ones I find more interesting, newest first (articles on money and politics are mostly not included, this is essentially just research):

1/10 BBC: British debate on hybrid cells (animal cells used as recipients of human DNA in cloning) taking place, research may be banned.

1/8: Press release from USC about stem cells causing cancer. An early, unrelated, story from CBC news discusses Canadian researchers’ findings that colon cancer is caused by cancer stem cells.

1/6 San Diego Tribune: Using stem cells to carry anti-cancer genes into the body. Similar story on press release 12/25 about neural stem cells.

12/22 UPI: Stem cells treat neuroblastomas in mice.

12/17 The Telegraph: Investigation into possible death of newborns in the Ukraine to obtain stem cells. (And people wonder why I am so firm on double-blind gov’t approved studies prior to treatment and wary of miracle cures from Kiev…)

12/15 AP (in The State): Researchers derive stem cells from unfertilized eggs. Related, more technical, article in The Scientist. Longer AP story on ABC News.

12/14 Press release: Mouse stem cells can help repair damaged brain tissue.

12/10 Boston Globe: Australia lifts ban on cloning.

12/10 Reuters: Scientists develop an “ink-jet” method of growing stem cells.

12/7 San Francisco Chronicle: Head of CIRM resigns for personal reasons, including age (69).

12/6 International Herald Tribune: Summary of laws about stem cell research around the world.

11/23 Boston Globe: Harvard researchers identify a cell that gives rise to all 3 kinds of heart tissue.

11/22 Reuters: Advanced Cell Technology clarifies its use of frozen embryos in a new technique for creating stem cells.

11/17 CNN: Iranian advances in stem cell research.

11/12 BBC: Stem cells from bone marrow help repair insulin-producing pancreatic cells. See also this related article.

11/9 The Independent: Stem cell transplantation repairs eyes in mice. Related story by Washington Post stem cell writer Rick Weiss in the Seattle Times.

11/9 CBS: Researchers develop potential lung cancer vaccine from mouse stem cells.

10/31 The Daily Record: Scientist in the UK grow miniature liver from umbilical stem cells.

10/23 The Age: Stem cells may cause brain tumors.

Other news includes using stem cells to regenerate teeth in pigs, a discovery that breast cancer stem cells may be resistant to radiation treatment, the possibility of using fat-derived stem cells in breast reconstruction, a stem cell heart trial in Britain, stem cell injections ease muscular dystrophy in dogs, heart damage repaired in pigs with stem cells, regrowth of neural stem cells in mice, additional risk of cancer after receiving allogeneic stem cell transplants, and heart valves grown from amniotic stem cells.

Well, that list by no means covers everything, but it should provide a decent swath of what’s been happening in the stem cell world.