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NEW YORK, NY, and MADISON, NJ, June 1, 2014 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the worlds oldest and largest private cancer center, and Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced a joint collaboration that will utilize MSKs clinical and research insights into gene mutations associated with solid tumors. The goal is to use molecular laboratory testing to improve physicians ability to treat patients with breast, prostate, colon, lung, and a variety of other solid tumor cancers by giving them a better understanding of the genomic underpinnings of their patients illnesses.

In recent years, research has demonstrated that certain gene mutations influence the efficacy of cancer drug therapies, and that a therapy that is effective for one type of cancer may be effective for other types that share the same gene mutations. MSK has amassed extensive databases of gene mutations linked to various types of cancer and developed pharmaceutical treatments based on scientific literature, treatment of patients by the institutions multidisciplinary teams, and clinical trials conducted by MSK researchers and scientists.

In the first phase of the collaboration, MSK will provide contextual information about individual mutations identified as part of Quests OncoVantage, an independently validated, lab-developed test that launches today to enable molecular characterization of solid tumors. Beginning this summer, physicians who order OncoVantage will benefit from the MSK data through a co-branded clinical annotation report designed to aid the assessment of a patients prognosis, as well as to guide treatment selection and to monitor disease progression.

Over time, the two organizations intend to further study and extend the mutation data sets to potentially generate improved diagnostics, in addition to research and clinical trials.

This relationship will empower clinicians to improve their patients health by identifying the best therapies for patients today and by identifying specific patients who may benefit from participation in clinical trials. The needs of tomorrows patients will be addressed by the deeper knowledge base we are building and its potential to drive the basic science needed to discover new therapies, said Craig B. Thompson, MD, MSKs President and CEO. This collaboration with Quest speaks to our mission and extends our ability to improve the quality of care for patients everywhere.

We are excited to offer oncologists and patients everywhere unprecedented access to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers exceptional knowledge of the role of gene mutations in solid tumors and the therapies most effective in treating them, said Steve H. Rusckowski, President and CEO of Quest Diagnostics. By combining our broad market reach, which covers half the practicing physicians and hospitals in the United States, with MSKs deep experience in cancer care and molecular science, we hope to illuminate the best possible cancer treatment options for patients across the country.

Extending Molecular Laboratory Testing of Solid Tumors across the United States

Quests OncoVantage test is performed on tumor biopsies and uses next-generation sequencing technology to assess the most commonly mutated exons in 34 genes. The sequencing data, in de-identified form, will be shared with MSK, which will leverage its databases to correlate specific gene mutations to potential therapies and disease progression applicable to that cancer type.

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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Quest Diagnostics Partner to Advance Precision Medicine in Cancer Diagnosis ...

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For thousands of years, people have both prized and mocked blond hair. Now, a new study shows that many can thank a tiny genetic mutationa single letter change from an A to a G among the 3 billion letters in the book of human DNAfor their golden locks.

The mutation "is the biological mechanism that helps create that [blond] color naturally," said David Kingsley, a professor of developmental biology at Stanford University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, who led the research. "This is a great biological example of how traits can be controlled, and what a superficial difference blond hair color really is."

Kingsley, a brunet, said the study, published today in Nature Genetics, also offers a powerful insight into the workings of the human genome. The mutation doesn't alter the protein production of any of the 20,000 genes in the human genome, he said. Instead, in people of European ancestry, it causes blond hair through a 20 percent "turn of the thermostat dial" that regulates a signaling gene in the hair follicles of the skin.

Elsewhere in the body, that signaling gene is involved in the formation of blood, egg, sperm, and stem cells. Turning such a gene entirely on or off could be devastating. But a tiny mutation that tweaks the gene's activity in only one areain this case the skinallows for harmless changes, he said.

Pardis Sabeti, a computational biologist at Harvard University and Broad Institute who was not involved in the research, said the study is a "beautiful demonstration" of this kind of tweaking, which has previously been poorly understood. To find a single letter change and prove that it is a big driver of blond hair is a major scientific accomplishment, she said.

Blond hair, like this young girl's, is caused by a single DNA base pair change.

Photograph by Martin Schoeller, National Geographic Creative

A Subtle Change With Big Results

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Gene Study Shows Blond Hair Color Is Just Skin Deep

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Jun-2014

Contact: Henry French henry.french@icr.ac.uk 020-715-35582 Institute of Cancer Research

Around a quarter of smokers who carry a defect in the BRCA2 gene will develop lung cancer at some point in their lifetime, a large-scale, international study reveals.

Scientists announce a previously unknown link between lung cancer and a particular BRCA2 defect, occurring in around 2 per cent of the population, in research published in Nature Genetics today (Sunday).

The defect in BRCA2 - best known for its role in breast cancer - increases the risk of developing lung cancer by about 1.8 times.

Smokers as a group have a high lifetime risk of around 13 per cent (16 per cent in men and 9.5 per cent in women). The new study therefore suggests around one in four smokers with the BRCA2 defect will develop lung cancer. Around 10 million adults in Great Britain smoke, which means that up to around 200,000 adult smokers could have the specific BRCA2 defect, known as BRCA2 c.9976T.

The researchers, led by a team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, compared the DNA of 11,348 Europeans with lung cancer and 15,861 without the disease, looking for differences at specific points in their DNA. The team was mainly funded by the US National Institute of Health, with additional support from Cancer Research UK.

The link between lung cancer and defective BRCA2 known to increase the risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers was particularly strong in patients with the most common lung cancer sub-type, called squamous cell lung cancer. The researchers also found an association between squamous cell lung cancer and a defect in a second gene, CHEK2, which normally prevents cells from dividing when they have suffered damage to their DNA.

The results suggest that in the future, patients with squamous cell lung cancer could benefit from drugs specifically designed to be effective in cancers with BRCA mutations. A family of drugs called PARP inhibitors have shown success in clinical trials in breast and ovarian cancer patients with BRCA mutations, although it is not known whether they could be effective in lung cancer.

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Smokers with gene defect have 1 in 4 chance of developing lung cancer

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By Janice Wood Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 31, 2014

New research has found that some cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may result from environmental influences rather than gene mutations.

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University say their research may help explain why older mothers are at an increased risk for having children with autism.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 68 U.S. children has an ASD a 30 percent rise from one in 88 two years ago.

A significant number of people with an ASD have gene mutations, but a number of studies including those involving identical twins, in which one twin has ASD and the other does not have shown that not all ASD cases arise from mutations, according to the researchers.

A study of more than 14,000 autistic children published earlier this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that gene abnormalities could account for only half the risk for developing ASD.

The other half was attributable to nongenetic influences, meaning environmental factors, such as conditions in the womb or a pregnant womans stress level or diet, researchers explain.

Previous studies have also found that fathers over the age of 40 are more likely to have children with an ASD, probably because of gene mutations that accumulate over the years in sperm-making cells. Yet little is known about older mothers and the connection to ASD, according to the Einstein researchers.

That is why they set out to look for genetic as well as environmental influences that might account for older mothers increased risk for having children with ASD.

Their study, led by Esther Berko, an M.D./Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. John Greally involved 47 children with ASD and 48 typically developing (TD) children of women aged 35 and over.

Continued here:
New Research Shows Environment May Factor Into Autism

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Children with asthma may be using medicines that do not work and in some cases this could increase their suffering, according to a study.

The inhaler, which is often the first line of treatment in asthma, could be less effective or may even make the condition worse for some children carrying a particular gene change, research at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has shown.

The researchers' concerns follow the publication of the first national study of asthma deaths in the UK, which claimed some asthma patients are dying because of complacency among both medical staff and patients.

BSMS experts are planning new trials this autumn which they believe will provide further evidence to support the idea of providing personalised medicine to improve treatment.

Professor Somnath Mukhopadhyay, chairman of Paediatrics at BSMS who is heading the research, said: "Both asthma 'reliever' and 'controller' medicines may not work well in a proportion of children because the child's genetic make-up makes the medicine less effective.

"A simple test can determine whether a child carries the gene change and identify those who might benefit from a switch to an alternative, more effective medicine."

Prof Mukhopadhyay said parents and health professionals should be made more aware of the possible risks to children who carry the gene change.

The research has been funded by the charity Haydn's Wish, named after nine-year-old asthma sufferer Haydn Wileman, from Newhaven, East Sussex, who died in 2011 after an allergic reaction.

The charity, which supports the BSMS research, said the audit showed many parents of children with asthma felt the blue inhaler did not work well.

Haydn's mother Emma Wileman, who leads the charity, said: "Some children with asthma appear to be suffering more because they are not responding to 'reliever' medicine.

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Children's asthma medicine warning

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The gap between stem cell research and regenerative medicine just became a lot narrower, thanks to a new technique that coaxes stem cells, with potential to become any tissue type, to take the first step to specialization. It is the first time this critical step has been demonstrated in a laboratory.

University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with scientists at Notre Dame University and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

"Everybody knows that for an embryo to form, somehow a single cell has a way to self-organize into multiple cells, but the in vivo microenvironment is not well understood," said study leader Ning Wang, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the U. of I. "We want to know how they develop into organized structures and organs. It doesn't happen by random chance. There are biological rules that we don't yet understand."

During fetal development, all the specialized tissues and organs of the body form out of a small ball of stem cells. First, the ball of generalized cells separates into three different cell lines, called germ layers, which will become different systems of the body. This crucial first step has eluded researchers in the lab. No one has yet been able to induce the cells to form the three distinct germ layers, in the correct order -- endoderm on the inside, mesoderm in the middle and ectoderm on the outside. This represents a major hurdle in the application of stem cells to regenerative medicine, since researchers need to understand how tissues develop before they can reliably recreate the process.

"It's very hard to generate tissues or organs, and the reason is that we don't know how they form in vivo," Wang said. "The problem, fundamentally, is that the biological process is not clear. What is the biological environment that controls this, so they can become more organized and specialized?"

Wang's team demonstrated that not only is it possible for mouse embryonic stem cells to form three distinct germ layers in the lab, but also that achieving the separation requires a careful combination of correct timing, chemical factors and mechanical environment. The team uses cell lines that fluoresce in different colors when they become part of a germ layer, which allows the researchers to monitor the process dynamically.

The researchers deposited the stem cells in a very soft gel matrix, attempting to recreate the properties of the womb. They found that several mechanical forces played a role in how the cells organized and differentiated -- the stiffness of the gel, the forces each cell exerts on its neighbors, and the matrix of proteins that the cells themselves deposit as a scaffolding to give the developing embryo structure.

By adjusting the mechanical environment, the researchers were able to observe how the forces affected the developing cells, and found the particular combination that yielded the three germ layers. They also found that they could direct layer development by changing the mechanics, even creating an environment that caused the layers to form in reverse order.

Now, Wang's group is working to improve their technique for greater efficiency. He hopes that other researchers will be able to use the technique to bridge the gap between stem cells and tissue engineering.

"It's the first time we've had the correct three-germ-layer organization in mammalian cells," Wang said. "The potential is huge. Now we can push it even further and generate specific organs and tissues. It opens the door for regenerative medicine."

Continue reading here:
Researchers see stem cells take key step toward development: A first

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Growing The Good Seed
This film documents the genetic engineering of corn that took place at DeKalb Agricultural Association in 1972. This film also documents how DeKalb Ag. proce...

By: DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association (DAAHA)

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Growing The Good Seed - Video

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Updates on Stem Cell Research and MS
Dr. Kantor speaks with Dr. Mark Freedman, Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at the Ottawa Hospital, about what we have learned from Stem Cell ...

By: msworldinc

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Updates on Stem Cell Research and MS - Video

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Jun-2014

Contact: Glenna Picton picton@bcm.edu 713-798-4710 Baylor College of Medicine

HOUSTON (June 1, 2014) Baylor College of Medicine scientists defined a previously unrecognized genetic cause for two types of birth defects found in newborn boys, described in a report published today in the journal Nature Medicine.

"Cryptorchidism and hypospadias are among the most common birth defects but the causes are usually unknown," said Dr. Dolores Lamb, director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at Baylor, professor and vice chair for research of urology and molecular and cellular biology at Baylor and lead author of the report.

Cryptorchidism is characterized by the failure of descent of one or both testes into the scrotum during fetal development. In the adult man, the testes produce sperm and the male hormone, testosterone. Hypospadias is the abnormal placement of the opening of the urethra on the penis. Both birth defects are usually surgically repaired during infancy.

Cryptorchidism occurs in about 3 percent of full term male births. Similarly, the incidence of hypospadias is about 1 in 125 births.

Lamb and colleagues used a method of genome wide screening (essentially a molecular karyotype) called array comparative genomic hybridization to study children with these defects. The method looks specifically at changes in chromosomal regions that have undergone duplication or deletions too small to see under a microscope, termed copy number variations. These genomic changes can alter gene dosage (gene gains or losses) resulting in a change in cell function.

In its analysis, the team showed that the cause of these birth defects in a subset of children with these defects of testis and penile development resulted from a change in the number of copies of a gene, VAMP7.

"The birth defects were a result of microduplication on the X chromosome that altered estrogen receptor and androgen receptor action in ways not previously recognized," said Lamb.

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Study identifies new genetic cause of male reproductive birth defects

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-Jun-2014

Contact: Sarah Avery sarah.avery@duke.edu 919-660-1306 Duke University Medical Center

DURHAM, N.C. A collaborative effort between Duke Medicine researchers and neurosurgeons and scientists in China has produced new genetic insights into a rare and deadly form of childhood and young adult brain cancer called brainstem glioma.

The researchers identified a genetic mutation in the tumor cells that plays a role in both the growth and the death of a cell. Additionally, the mutation to the newly identified gene may also contribute to the tumor's resistance to radiation.

The findings, published online in the journal Nature Genetics on June 1, 2014, provide both immediate and long-term benefits. Knowing that this mutation may render radiation ineffective, patients could be spared that therapy. The mutation would also serve as a strong candidate for drug development.

The researchers conducted genetic tests and found that many of the tumor cells had a mutation in a gene called PPM1D, which causes cells to proliferate and avoid natural death. It is the first time this mutation has been found to be a major driving force in the development of brainstem gliomas; it is not evident in other brain tumors.

If tumors have this PPM1D mutation, they do not have another more common genetic mutation to the TP53 gene, a tumor suppressor that, when defective, is linked to half of all cancers.

"This finding has immediate clinical applications, because either mutation - PPM1D or TP53 cause the tumor cells to be resistant to radiation," said senior author Hai Yan, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of pathology at Duke University School of Medicine. "Knowing that could spare patients from an ineffective treatment approach."

Additionally, the PPM1D genetic mutation is a strong candidate for new drug development.

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Newly identified brain cancer mutation will aid drug development

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[TUTORIAL] Attack Of The B-Team - Advanced Genetics - German/Deutsch
BITTE LESEN Kauf dir MINECRAFT und untersttze die Entwickler! Link zur Offiziellen Website : http://minecraft.net/store Attack of the B-Team Playlist -...

By: JadderCrafter | Minecraft

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[TUTORIAL] Attack Of The B-Team - Advanced Genetics - German/Deutsch - Video

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Minecraft: New Fully Automatic Advanced Genetics Lab - Attack of Mojo Jojo Episode 10!
Hello everybody! You know what? Let #39;s start a modpack series... wait what? Attack of the B-Team you say? Sure! Hold on let me grab Soolol with me so that we ...

By: MiningMuch

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Minecraft: New Fully Automatic Advanced Genetics Lab - Attack of Mojo Jojo Episode 10! - Video

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Genetics and multiple sclerosis - A/Prof Helmut Butzkueven
In this video, A/Prof Helmut Butzkueven (neurologist and MS researcher) discusses the importance of understanding genetic markers of multiple sclerosis and t...

By: MStranslate

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Genetics and multiple sclerosis - A/Prof Helmut Butzkueven - Video

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A Shot in the Arm for Evolutionary Genetics Research
2012 Pew biomedical scholar Nels Elde studies the evolution of conflict -- how the process of infection can drive some of the most dramatic adaptations seen in nature. As an assistant professor...

By: University of Utah

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A Shot in the Arm for Evolutionary Genetics Research - Video

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The Sims 3 | Perfect Genetics Challenge Part 6: Happy Birthday!
In this part, Ashley ages up and spends quality time with her father naw 🙂 Backstory: "Once upon a time, the Mighty Player sent a Sim to live in the world where all its creations were living...

By: simplyapril

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The Sims 3 | Perfect Genetics Challenge Part 6: Happy Birthday! - Video

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Mass Effect 2: Miranda #39;s Genetics other Conversations - Paragon Story Walkthrough #15
Mass Effect 2: Conversations on the Normandy after the missions on Omega. Learning more about Miranda and the others. Next Episode: http://youtu.be/8jwjXqJb9-k Support the Channel:...

By: xLetalis

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Mass Effect 2: Miranda's Genetics & other Conversations - Paragon Story Walkthrough #15 - Video

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Termis Chapter Meeting 2014 - Regenerative Medicine Engineering
Comecer will be exhibiting a new solution for regenerative medicine. 10 -- 13 June, Genova -- Italy, Booth no. 3 More information: http://www.comecer.com/events/termis-2014/

By: Comecer Group

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Termis Chapter Meeting 2014 - Regenerative Medicine Engineering - Video

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Miami (PRWEB) May 30, 2014

GlobalStemCellsGroup.com will host the First International Symposium on Stem Cell Research in Buenos Aires, Argentina Oct. 2, 3 and 4. The symposium will provide an opportunity to showcase advancements in stem cell research and therapies on a global level and establish a dialogue among the worlds leading stem cell experts. Pioneers and luminaries in stem cell medicine will be featured speakers as well as accomplished guests prepared to share their knowledge and experience in their individual medical specialties.

Regenerative medicine as a field is still in its infancy, and Global Stem Cells Group President and CEO Benito Novas believes it is time to clear up old misconceptions and change outdated attitudes by educating people on the wide range of illnesses and injuries stem cell therapies are already treating and curing. The first step, Novas says, is establishing a dialogue between researchers and practitioners in order to move stem cell therapies from the lab to the physicians office.

Our objective is to open a dialogue among the worlds medical and scientific communities in order to advance stem cell technologies and translate them into point-of-care medical practices, Novas says. Our mission is to bring the benefits of stem cell therapies to the physicians office for the benefit and convenience of the patient, safely and in full compliance with the highest standard of care the world has to offer.

An interdisciplinary team of leading international stem cell experts will provide a full day of high-level scientific lectures aimed at medical professionals.

Among the growing list of speakers are some of the worlds most prominent authorities on stem cell medicine including:

The objective of Global Stem Cell Groups international symposium is to educate the public and the medical community, and at the same time establish a dialog between physicians, scientists, biotech companies and regulatory agencies in order to advance stem cell technologies so they can be used to benefit people who need them.

Global Stem Cells Group is also joining forces with some of the most prestigious regenerative medicine conferences in South America including:

Stem cell therapies are revolutionizing the anti-aging aesthetics industry while offering new hope for sufferers of serious chronic debilitating diseases

For more information on the Global Stem Cell Group First International Symposium on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine and the events lineup of speakers, visit the Global Stem Cells Symposium website, email bnovas(at)regenestem(dot)com, or call 305-224-1858.

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Global Stem Cells Group to Host the First International Symposium on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in Buenos ...

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-May-2014

Contact: Liz Ahlberg eahlberg@illinois.edu 217-244-1073 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The gap between stem cell research and regenerative medicine just became a lot narrower, thanks to a new technique that coaxes stem cells, with potential to become any tissue type, to take the first step to specialization. It is the first time this critical step has been demonstrated in a laboratory.

University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with scientists at Notre Dame University and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

"Everybody knows that for an embryo to form, somehow a single cell has a way to self-organize into multiple cells, but the in vivo microenvironment is not well understood," said study leader Ning Wang, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the U. of I. "We want to know how they develop into organized structures and organs. It doesn't happen by random chance. There are biological rules that we don't yet understand."

During fetal development, all the specialized tissues and organs of the body form out of a small ball of stem cells. First, the ball of generalized cells separates into three different cell lines, called germ layers, which will become different systems of the body. This crucial first step has eluded researchers in the lab. No one has yet been able to induce the cells to form the three distinct germ layers, in the correct order endoderm on the inside, mesoderm in the middle and ectoderm on the outside. This represents a major hurdle in the application of stem cells to regenerative medicine, since researchers need to understand how tissues develop before they can reliably recreate the process.

"It's very hard to generate tissues or organs, and the reason is that we don't know how they form in vivo," Wang said. "The problem, fundamentally, is that the biological process is not clear. What is the biological environment that controls this, so they can become more organized and specialized?"

Wang's team demonstrated that not only is it possible for mouse embryonic stem cells to form three distinct germ layers in the lab, but also that achieving the separation requires a careful combination of correct timing, chemical factors and mechanical environment. The team uses cell lines that fluoresce in different colors when they become part of a germ layer, which allows the researchers to monitor the process dynamically.

The researchers deposited the stem cells in a very soft gel matrix, attempting to recreate the properties of the womb. They found that several mechanical forces played a role in how the cells organized and differentiated the stiffness of the gel, the forces each cell exerts on its neighbors, and the matrix of proteins that the cells themselves deposit as a scaffolding to give the developing embryo structure.

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For the first time in the lab, researchers see stem cells take key step toward development

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Patients do not have an automatic right to a compassionate therapy for which there is no scientific evidence of efficacy, according to a landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The 28 May ruling referred to the case of Nivio Durisotto, whose daughter suffers a degenerative brain disease. He wished her to be treated with a controversial stem cell-based therapy offered by the Stamina Foundation, based in Brescia, Italy.

But more generally, it will guide any judge facing requests from desperate patients for access to unproved therapies promoted from outside the regulated medical sector.

The judgement is yet another blow for the Stamina Foundation, whose president, Davide Vannoni, is now facing charges of fraudulently obtaining public money to support his therapy.

The Italian Medicines Agency had closed down the Stamina operations in August 2012 on safety grounds (see Leaked files slam stem-cell therapy). In March 2013, the government issued a decree allowing patients to continue Stamina treatment if they had already begun.

Then on 11 September, 2013 an expert committee appointed by the health ministry to examine the Stamina method concluded that there was no evidence to indicate that it might be efficacious (see Advisers declare Italian stem-cell therapy unscientific). The committee further warned that it could be dangerous.

With encouragement from Vannoni, some patients appealed to courts for the right to treatment with the Stamina method. Some judges ruled that the treatment should be given on compassionate grounds, while others including the judge in the Durisotto case ruled that compassionate therapy was not justified because there was no scientific evidence of efficacy.

Durisotto brought his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on 28 September, 2013 a month after losing his case in Italy.

The European Court dismissed Durisottos claim, saying that the Italian courts ruling had pursued the legitimate aim of protecting health and was proportionate to that aim. It further said that the Italian courts decision had been properly reasoned and was not arbitrary, and that the therapeutic value of the Stamina method had, to date, not yet been proven scientifically. Because the case had been appropriately reasoned, it said, Durisottos daughter had not been discriminated against even if some other national courts had allowed the therapy for similar medical conditions.

Munich-based patent lawyer Clara Sattler de Sousa e Brito, an expert in biomedical laws, says that this clear ruling that scientific proof is necessary will help avoid the use of unproven therapies for so-called compassionate purposes in the future.

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Human rights court rules that evidence must support compassionate therapy

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By: Stephanie Guadian EL PASO, Texas - Inaki Arruti is an El Paso boy battling leukemia and a shortage of blood and bone marrow donations from the Hispanic community. I recently shared his story with KFOX 14 viewers.

The story hit home for Janet Chavarria. She is an employee at Western Technical College and Inaki's cousin.

After being inspired by our story to take action, she and the school organized a two-day Be the Match blood and bone marrow drive. Those who agreed to register simply swabbed their cheeks. The DNA will be compared to patients for a possible match.

It's not just Inaki. There are more children out there you know that have this. There are more people that have this. So, if we are not helping out Inaki, there might be someone else. But hopefully, there will be a match, said Janet Chavarria.

According to Be the Match, a national marrow donor program, Hispanics have only a 72 percent chance of finding a donor, compared with 93 percent for white patients. Anita Gonzales is a Be the Match employee working in El Paso.

We are blessed with another country right next to us. But everything they blow into the air. Unfortunately, it comes into El Paso and we breathe it. It's in the particles in the air, the ground that we walk on, the food that we eat. So, anyone can get leukemia. It's not inherited, said Gonzales.

Today -- the most common way of collecting stem cells is done by filtering them from a person's blood. The procedure is considered painless and similar to donating blood. The donation could one day save of the life of someone like Inaki.

Nearly 300 people signed up to be potential matches at the two day blood and bone marrow drive at Western Technical College. If you would like to find out how you can sign up to be a donor, check outbethematch.org

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Drive held to save El Paso boy and other children in need of donations

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Beverly Hills, California (PRWEB) May 29, 2014

The Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute is now providing several types of stem cell procedures for healing ligament injuries and meniscal tears of the knee. The stem cell therapies are often able to repair the injuries, provide pain relief and help patients avoid the need for surgery. For more information and scheduling, call (310) 438-5343.

Injuries to the knee may occur from sports injuries, auto accidents or result from degenerative arthritis. Conventional treatments typically work well for pain relief, however, they do not repair the damaged soft tissue. Therefore, conventional treatments result in healing that is incomplete and may still lead to the need for the surgery.

At Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, Double Board Certified Los Angeles Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Raj has been a pioneer in stem cell procedures for the knee. He is an expert in several types of stem cell therapies for knee injuries including amniotic derived or bone marrow derived stem cell injections.

The regenerative medicine procedures are performed as an outpatient and maintain exceptionally low risk. The amniotic-derived stem cell material is processed at an FDA regulated lab, while the bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy involves a short harvesting procedure from the patient himself. Both types of procedures have been shown in small studies to have excellent clinical results for knee conditions.

Along with treating all types of knee injuries with stem cell therapy, Beverly Hills orthopedic surgeon Dr. Raj also treats shoulder, hip ankle and spinal conditions with regenerative medicine as well. Treatments are provided for amateur and professional athletes, weekend warriors, executives, grandparents, students and more.

For those who desire to explore stem cell procedures for helping repair knee injuries and avoiding surgery, call the Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute at (310) 438-5343.

Link:
Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute Now Offering Stem Cell Procedures for Meniscal Tears and Ligament Injuries of the ...

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

30-May-2014

Contact: Krista Conger kristac@stanford.edu 650-725-5371 Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. For many scientists, the clinical promise of stem cells has been dampened by very real concerns that the immune system will reject the transplanted cells before they could render any long-term benefit. Previous research in mice has suggested that even stem cells produced from the subject's own tissue, called iPS cells, can trigger an immune attack.

Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that coaxing iPS cells in the laboratory to become more-specialized progeny cells (a cellular process called differentiation) before transplantation into mice allows them to be tolerated by the body's immune system.

"Induced pluripotent stem cells have tremendous potential as a source for personalized cellular therapeutics for organ repair," said Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. "This study shows that undifferentiated iPS cells are rejected by the immune system upon transplantation in the same recipient, but that fully differentiating these cells allows for acceptance and tolerance by the immune system without the need for immunosuppression."

The findings are described in a paper to be published online May 30 in Nature Communications. Wu is senior author of the paper. Postdoctoral scholars Patricia Almeida, PhD, and Nigel Kooreman, MD, and assistant professor of medicine Everett Meyer, MD, PhD, share lead authorship.

In a world teeming with microbial threats, the immune system is a necessary watchdog. Immune cells patrol the body looking not just for foreign invaders, but also for diseased or cancerous cells to eradicate. The researchers speculate that the act of reprogramming adult cells to pluripotency may induce the expression of cell-surface molecules the immune system has not seen since the animal (or person) was an early embryo. These molecules, or antigens, could look foreign to the immune system of a mature organism.

Previous studies have suggested that differentiation of iPS cells could reduce their tendency to inflame the immune system after transplantation, but this study is the first to closely examine, at the molecular and cellular level, why that might be the case.

"We've demonstrated definitively that, once the cells are differentiated, the immune response to iPS-derived cells is indistinguishable from its response to unmodified tissue derived from elsewhere in the body," said Kooreman.

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Coaxing iPS cells to become more specialized prior to transplantation cuts rejection risk

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Newswise A study of 338 patients with coronary artery disease has identified a gene expression profile associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death. Used with other indicators such as biochemical markers and family history, the profile based on a simple blood test may help identify patients who could benefit from personalized treatment and counseling designed to address risk factors.

Researchers found the risk signature by comparing gene expression profiles in 31 study subjects who died of cardiovascular causes against the profiles of living members of the study group. Twenty-five of the 31 deaths occurred in the group with the high-risk profile, though coronary deaths were also recorded among the lower risk members of the study group. All of the patients studied had coronary artery disease (CAD), and about one in five had suffered a heart attack prior to the study.

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and Princeton University participated in the study, which obtained gene expression profiles from blood samples taken from patients undergoing cardiac catheterization at Emory University clinics in Atlanta. The results are scheduled to be published in the open-access journal Genome Medicine on May 29, 2014.

We envision that with our gene expression-based marker, plus some biochemical markers, genotype information and family history, we could produce a tiered evaluation of peoples risks of adverse coronary events, said Gregory Gibson, director of the Center for Integrative Genomics at Georgia Tech and one of the studys senior authors. This could lead to a personalized medicine approach for people recovering from heart attack or coronary artery bypass grafting.

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Manifested in the narrowing of blood vessels through the buildup of plaque, CAD sets the stage for heart attacks and long-term heart failure.

As many as half of Americans over the age of 50 suffer from CAD to some extent, so the researchers wondered if they could single out those with the highest risk of death. From a cohort of more than 3,000 persons known as the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank (EmCD), they selected two groups of patients for extensive gene expression analysis based on blood samples.

After following the patients for as long as five years, the researchers examined gene expression patterns in a total of 31 persons from the study group who had suffered coronary deaths. Comparing these patterns against those of other study subjects revealed a pattern in which genes affecting inflammation were up-regulated, while genes affecting T-lymphocytes were down-regulated.

The patients studied ranged in age from 51 to 73, were mostly Caucasian, and 65 percent male. Seventy percent of the subjects had significant CAD, and 18 percent were experiencing an acute myocardial infarction when blood samples were taken. Gene expression was analyzed using microarrays and two different normalization procedures to control for technical and biological covariates. Whole genome genotyping was used to support comparative genome-wide association studies of gene expression. Two phases of the study were conducted independently with the two different groups, and produced similar results.

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Gene Expression Signature Identifies Patients at Higher Risk for Cardiovascular Death

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College Prep English at EIE May 29, 2014
Oratory practice: discussion of genetic engineering.

By: Abacus Ed

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College Prep English at EIE May 29, 2014 - Video

Recommendation and review posted by Bethany Smith