ALSO NOTED: Stem cells cure paralysis in rats; New model for cancer drug development; MIT researcher resigns in protest;

Stem cell research

Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report. The study, led by Martin Marsala, M.D., UC San Diego professor of anesthesiology, is published in the June 29, 2007 issue of the journal Neuroscience, which is now online. Release

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have illuminated the path taken by human neural stem cells that were transplanted into the brains of rats and mice, and found that the cells successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke. Release

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty have agreed to collaborate on the development of new stem cell therapies. McGuinty is giving $28 million for a Cancer Stem Cell Consortium at a Toronto research center. Report

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has filed a lengthy defense of three key patents regarding its embryotic stem cells. Report 

Cancer research

A new compound, called ABT-888, has passed the first stage of clinical examination using a new model for drug development that promises to shorten--by up to six to 12 months--the timeline for taking anticancer drugs from the laboratory to the clinic, according to a team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute. Release

Canadian researchers say they've identified genetic mutations linked to a form of stomach cancer called hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. Release

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified the cancer stem cells that propagate tumors in colon and rectal cancer, a discovery that could lead to improved treatment of this deadly cancer. Release

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified a tiny bit of genetic code, a microRNA called miR-34a, that participates in p53's uncanny ability to kill cells likely to become malignant because of damaged genes in their nuclei. Report

New data from a U.S.-Canadian study of natural therapies indicates that American ginseng may be effective in treating cancer fatigue and flaxseed could be helpful against prostate tumors--but shark cartilage is worthless in fighting against lung cancer. Report

Researchers have discovered the first inherited gene mutation that increases a person's risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), one of the most common forms of the disease. Release

An established second-line drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia has high response rates when given to newly diagnosed patients as their first therapy for the disease, according to early results from a phase II clinical trial at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Release

Higher levels of a protein called S-100 in melanoma patients may correlate with a higher risk of the disease returning, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. The study tested serum samples from 103 patients treated with high-dose interferon an average of eight years prior. Release

More Research

Frank Douglas, executive director of the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation, is resigning to protest the university's not to grant tenure to James Sherley. Sherley claims the decision to not grant tenure was motivated by racism. Report

Northwestern University Professor Vania Apkarian says that one source of chronic pain could be a memory trace that essentially gets stuck in the prefrontal cortex. The drug D-Cycloserine appears to treat it. Report

University of Missouri-Columbia biochemistry Professors Grace Sun and Gary Weisman have won a $6 million grant from the NIH to continue a promising project identifying the causes of Alzheimer's. Report

Researchers using genetically engineered mice say they have pinpointed a receptor in sensory nerve cells that is the mechanism the body uses to sense cold temperatures. Report

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, uses a pre-existing transport system to leave one infected cell and infect new ones, Hopkins scientists have discovered. Release

A team of scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that a key inflammatory regulator, a known villain when it comes to parsing out damage after a stroke and other brain injuries, seems to do the opposite in Alzheimer's disease, protecting the brain and helping get rid of clumps of material known as plaques that are a hallmark of the disease. Release

Bioengineering researchers at UC San Diego published videos of a key message-carrying protein called paxillin moving abruptly from hubs of communication and transportation activity on the cell surface toward the nucleus. Paxillin was labeled with a red fluorescence marker to make it stand out in live cells. Release

Scientists say that defective versions of the epithelial ion channel protein may prevent the transport of bicarbonate, which is needed to activate sperm to fertilize an egg, causing infertility. Release

MUHC-led study identifies a gene responsible for Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), the most common cause of congenital blindness in infants and small children. Report

People with a class of rare genetic disorders that often lead to brain damage, coma and death can be successfully treated with drugs, says a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Release