advanced cell technology

Cloning advance could lead to designer babies

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:59 -0400

A new cloning method that relies on skin cells is far more efficient and easier to use than the antiquated methods employed to create Dolly the sheep. And some critics of the science are concerned that the bar may be lowered so far that researchers will be tempted to use the technology to begin to routinely offer designer babies--a realm once exclusively the preserve of science fiction writers. In the new approach, scientists injected skin cells into an early-stage embryo created through in vitro fertilization. The process produced both partial and full clones and can be replicated without the severe defects that afflicted many earlier cloned animals.

"It's unethical and unsafe, but someone may be doing it today," Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of American biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology, told The Independent. "Cloning isn't here now, but with this new technique we have the technology that can actually produce a child. If this was applied to humans it would be enormously important and troublesome."

- read the report in The Independent

Related Articles:
Single-parent stem cells may skirt cloning controversy. Cloning report
Mature stem cells prove effective in cloning. Stem cell report
U.S. scientists renew stem cell cloning efforts. Cloning report

ALSO NOTED: ESCs used to treat stroke damage; New hunt for diabetes genes; Early-stage trial for brain cancer therapy;

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Technology

Stanford University scientists have achieved new, detailed understanding of how a polymer folds into a unique three-dimensional structure by using an "optical trap" to precisely unfold a functional RNA molecule. Report

V-Frog, the world's first virtual-reality-based frog dissection software designed for biology education--allowing not mere observation, but physically simulated dissection--has been developed and is being marketed by Tactus Technologies, a spinoff of the University of Buffalo Virtual Reality Laboratory. Release

Stem Cell Research

For the first time, researchers have used embryonic stem cells to reliably transform into neural cells that can be used to repair stroke damage without consistently spawning tumors. The key was a combination of growth hormones that prodded ESCs in a Stanford lab to form into mature neural cells that could avoid the tumor issue. Report

A new way to manipulate human embryonic stem cells offers hope for an eventual cell-based therapy to treat muscular dystrophies. Release

Scientists at Novocell converted ESCs into cells that produce insulin and controlled diabetes in mice. "I think this validates human embryonic stem cells as something that can be very valuable and used to produce islet-like cells for diabetes treatment, a very specific, very differentiated cell type that would be difficult to get otherwise," Emmanuel Baetge, Novocell's chief scientist, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Report

Advanced Cell Technology reported a "robust and highly efficient process" for the generation of high-purity hepatocytes (liver cells). Release

A bill introduced to the California Senate seeks to eliminate "inherent" conflicts of interest at the state stem cell institute. Report

A company named Vet-Stem is using adult stem cell therapy to treat animals. Report

Legislative analysts in Maryland are questioning whether $23 million in state funds should be budgeted for stem cell research as planned. Report

Noted UW-Madison stem cell researcher James Thomson has joined the leadership of the new Morgridge Institute for Research at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Report

Genetics

The Beijing Genomics Institute has begun sequencing DNA samples in search of gene variants that trigger diabetes and five types of cancer. Report

Developers are engaged in several studies for new drugs that target the gene that causes muscular dystrophy. Story

Three new genetics studies released in the past week have shed light on how people, and diseases, have migrated around the planet. Article

Researchers at the University of Bonn have identified a gene that plays a key role in baldness, pointing the way to new therapies to treat the condition. Report

Cancer Research

Researchers are preparing a small Phase I human trial of a gene therapy for patients with glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer. Report

With a four-year, $707,000 grant from the American Cancer Society, Yanchang Wang, assistant professor of biomedical sciences in the Florida State University College of Medicine, hopes to learn how a particular enzyme could possibly help put the brakes on the runaway cell division process that occurs in many forms of cancer. Release

New findings show that a specialized virus with the ability to reproduce its tumor-killing genes can selectively target tumors in the brains of mice and eliminate them. Release

Patients with the inoperable brain tumor known as gliomatosis cerebri lacking the chromosomes 1p and 19q respond significantly better to chemotherapy than patients who have the chromosomes, surviving an average of four years longer. Report

A team of researchers spearheaded by Dennis Carson M.D. has identified a potent new anti-cancer drug isolated from a toxic blue-green algae found in the South Pacific. Release

More Research

Invitrogen spent $640,000 last year lobbying Congress to boost research spending. Report

Znomics has expanded its facilities to include additional laboratory space in the new Biomedical Research Building on the campus of Oregon Health and Science University. Release

A recent analysis released by Thompson Scientific's Essential Science Indicators, ranks the research conducted at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory among the most cited in the world. Release

Geron aims to be first in human trials with ESCs

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

In a first, Geron made headlines at the BIO CEO conference in New York with its announcement that it could begin its first human trials using embryonic stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries as early as this spring. Geron first has to meet the "high bar" set by the FDA, says Geron CEO Thomas Okarma. Geron is in a race to start the first FDA-approved ESC trials. Advanced Cell Technology, which has been trying--unsuccessfully so far--to find a way around the controversy generated by ESCs by creating new stem cell lines without destroying embryos, also plans to launch human trials this year. Novocell is believed to be further back in the field. But no one believes that FDA approval will be quick and easy.

"This is the first time that a human embryonic stem cell application is being submitted to the FDA, so there's a good chance that some questions will arise," said Ren Benjamin, analyst for Rodman & Renshaw.

A significant crowd has turned out for the annual biotech confab. Organizers of the conference estimate attendance at around 2,500, noting an increase over last year's gathering of biotech executives.

- read the report from CNN

ALSO: A number of stem cell companies say that this is going to be a watershed year in development work. Report

Related Articles:
Geron: Stem cells repair heart attack damage. Report
Geron reports breakthrough in stem cell research. Report
Geron faces critics' wrath. Report

ALSO NOTED: ESC therapies in race to the clinic; Ultraviolet light used to target tumors; Scientists find chemical trigger to P

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Stem Cell Research

Researchers at Geron and Advanced Cell Technology are jockeying to begin the first human clinical trials of embryonic stem cell therapies. Geron plans to file for regulatory approval by the end of this year, with ACT saying it will file its application by the middle of next year. Report

Orthopedic researchers at Jefferson Medical College have for the first time found stem cells in the intervertebral discs of the human spine, suggesting that such cells might someday be used to help repair degenerating discs and remedy lower back and neck pain. Release

According to a new study published in Circulation Research, University of Missouri-Columbia researchers say that a muscular dystrophy patient should be able to maintain a normal lifestyle if only 50 percent of the cells of their heart are healthy. Release

India's first clinical research facility for stem cells and regenerative medicine will be opened in Hyderabad by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences. Report

Carnegie Mellon University's Stefan F. Zappe is using adult neural stem cells to develop a new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy that may ultimately help treat a variety of inherited genetic disorders like Hunter syndrome. Release

Cancer Research

Colin Self and Stephen Thompson of Newcastle University have developed a technique that uses ultraviolet light to activate antibodies in a targeted attack on tumors. Report

A team of scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York City say that knocking out the virus responsible for a number of cancers could be the most effective approach in preventing the disease. Both liver and cervical cancer are caused by viruses. And the scientists have been developing radioimmunotherapy to kill the viruses. Report

VIB scientists connected to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in collaboration with the Flemish biotech company ThromboGenics, have been studying the anti-cancer action of anti-PLGF. Release

U.S. researchers have found a mechanism to predict survival in women aged 65 and older with early stage lung cancer. The new study, published on Thursday in the medical journal Cancer Research, links high levels of aromatase, an enzyme that makes estrogen from another hormone called androgen, to a more aggressive and lethal form of the cancer. Release

A drug-- 2ME2--that has shown promise in treating sarcoma, lung and brain cancers, demonstrates that the drug may also be effective in treating breast cancer, in particular the spread of breast cancer. Urszula Iwaniec, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences at OSU, is the one of the authors of the study. Release

Genetics

The genome of the Abyssinian cat has been decoded, which will help advance research on some 200 human illnesses. Report

Shared genome data has been used to confirm that the SORL1 gene is linked to Alzheimer's. Report

UK scientists have discovered a genetic marker that may increase a person's susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. That work may highlight new targets for RA. Report

Genes linked to fruit fly sensitivity to alcohol may shed light on human drinking behavior. Report

New research published in the journal Nature revealed more than 50 genomic regions that are frequently gained or lost in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer in the United States. Release

More Research

Scientists have discovered that the tuberculosis drug D-cycloserine can alleviate anxiety and counter fear when used in a combination therapy. Report

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson's disease--a "breakthrough" finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies. Release

The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests. Release

British scientists say the nAG protein plays a critical role in spurring limb regeneration in newts, a discovery that could help advance the field of tissue regeneration. Report

A cold sore virus appears to be linked to Alzheimer's disease, a finding that could assist researchers looking for a vaccine to counter the threat. Report

Alzheimer's disease may progress more rapidly in people with high blood pressure or a form of irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation, according to results of a Johns Hopkins study published in Neurology. Release

Duke University Medical Center researchers have used imaging technology to identify a new marker that may help identify those at greatest risk for cognitive decline and the development of Alzheimer's disease. Release

Northwestern University researchers have shown that nanodiamonds are very effective at delivering chemotherapy drugs to cells without the negative effects associated with current drug delivery agents. Release

ALSO NOTED: Stem cell initiative goes to voters; Two genes linked to MS;

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Advanced Cell Technology has advanced a new method to create embryonic stem cells without destroying the embryo, but federal officials say that the Bush Administration's policy on ESCs prevents them from funding work in the field. Report

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has signed legislation that will allow voters to decide on a $450 million package to support stem cell research. Report

Researchers at the University of Nottingham are studying techniques that use stem cells to repair the damage caused by heart attacks. Report

The NIH is exploring the possibility of sponsoring a variety of research projects on the International Space Station, including stem cell science. Report

Genomics

Scientists have found two genes that may help cause multiple sclerosis. A variation in the interleukin 7 receptor gene was linked to a 20 percent to 30 percent increased risk of MS. Report

Washington University researchers say they believe they have found a gene responsible for itching. Report

Researchers at the University of Michigan say that the gene Sox17 may regulate the development of blood-forming stem cells. Report

A common variant of the ADRA2B gene creates more vivid memories of emotionally charged incidents. Report

Research on the DNA of 15 mouse strains commonly used in biomedical studies is expected to help scientists determine the genes related to susceptibility to environmental disease. Release

Cancer Research

Killing cancerous tumors isn't easy, as anyone who has suffered through chemotherapy can attest. But a new study in mice shows that switching off a single malfunctioning gene can halt the limitless division of tumor cells and turn them back to the path of their own planned obsolescence. Release

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have identified a protein that prevents the body's immune system from recognizing and attacking Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Based on this finding, the researchers are now investigating targeted therapies to disable this molecular "bodyguard" and boost a patient's ability to fight the blood cancer. Report

A combination of two drugs works better than either drug alone for patients with renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer, according to a pilot study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. Release

More Research

Researchers developed a molecular switch that can be used to control gene expression, a process that could play a big role in controlling disease. Report

A task force has concluded that the FDA needs to increase its knowledge of nanotechnology but shouldn't have to flag all nanotech products for consumers. Report

Two recent articles report findings that demonstrate that neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1) protects against damage to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and identifies an important trigger for its production and novel molecular mechanisms that support vision. Release

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that after HIV docks onto a host cell, it dramatically lowers the energy required for a cell membrane to bend, making it easier for the virus to infect immune cells. Report

ALSO NOTED: ACT develops ESC lines without harming embryos; New treatment for colon cancer; TB research helps ID drug targets;

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Researchers at Advanced Cell Technology has developed three new stem cell lines by taking an individual cell from an embryo and then froze the embryo with no harm done to it. ACT had generated a wave of criticism for its earlier announcement on the process. That work involved destroying the embryo to prove the theory that you could develop stem cell lines by withdrawing cells from an embryo. This new work saves the embryo to prove that the theory works in practice. Report

Scientists in Australia have created embryonic stem cells from monkey embryos, moving ever closer to the goal of human therapeutic cloning. Report

Lawmakers in New Jersey have been advancing legislation to ask citizens for their approval to issue $450 million to back new stem cell research. Report

Scientists have sped the repair of inner ear damage by injecting bone marrow stem cells to the injury site. Release

In the first trial of its kind in the world, 60 patients who have recently suffered a major heart attack will be injected with selected stem cells from their own bone marrow during routine coronary bypass surgery. Report

Cancer Research

Leire García Navarro, a researcher at the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra, has developed a new treatment which slows the growth of colon and liver cancers. In order to carry out the study, this scientist of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology used genetic therapy with non-viral vectors for transferring genetic material to the cancerous cells. Release

The sea-squirt derived drug trabectedin (ecteinascidinin-743) shows anti-tumour activity in more than half of patients with a specific type of cancer, conclude authors of a recent article. Release

A group of researchers at the University of Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences have devised a multifunctional nanoparticle platform comprising nanoparticles synthesized within dendrimers equipped with targeting molecules and dyes. These dendrimer nanoparticle systems are able to seek out and specifically bind to cancer cells. Report

Research led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has uncovered two new potential points of vulnerability on a key cancer-promoting protein, called XIAP. Drugs that target either of these activities could help push cancer cells back into a more regular programmed cell death and thereby reduce or eliminate tumors. Release

Levels of a small non-coding RNA molecule called let-7 appear to define different stages of cancer better than some of the "classical" markers for tumor progression. Report

More Research

A team of researchers from the University of Surrey has completed the first genome-scale model of the microbe that causes tuberculosis. The model may be a highly useful tool to identify new drug targets and design new vaccines. Release

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have patented a strategy for developing a human vaccine to prevent against Human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection and disease. Report

Australian researchers say that cholesterol drugs could prevent nerve damage spurred by diabetes. Report

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have determined a key mechanism by which the body regulates iron metabolism, a discovery that may provide new approaches for the treatment of anemia. Release

The University of Nottingham has been advancing studies into finding alternatives to using animals in drug research. Report

Eight common gene variations have been linked to a susceptibility to fever following a smallpox vaccination. Report

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered how a single molecular "on switch" triggers gene activity that might cause effects ranging from learning and memory capabilities to glucose production in the liver. Release

Two proteins that are implicated in autism have been found to control the strength and balance of nerve-cell connections, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Release

And Finally… An Amazon tribe say they were lied to and exploited by researchers who gathered blood samples in exchange for medicine that never arrived. Now the samples are being sold online and the tribe wants compensation. Article

New stem cell research slows loss of vision

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Researchers were able to grow new cells from embryonic stem cells and used them to slow vision loss in rats with a genetic ailment comparable to macular degeneration. The scientists--Raymond D. Lund, who had been at the University of Utah's John A. Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, and Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology--say that their work demonstrates the utility of using new cells to substitute for the failing photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye. Failing photoreceptor cells is a condition common to macular degeneration. The researchers injected about 20,000 cells into each of the eyes of 14 rats with a condition similar to macular degeneration. Eight rats received injections without cells. Treated rats were twice as responsive to flashes of light as untreated rats. After three months of therapy the treated rats had twice the visual acuity of untreated rats. At least one other expert said that while the research is exciting, scientists will need to note that the rat disease is not identical to macular degeneration and an immune response to the injections could spur rejection. Of particular note is that the researchers in the trial were able to consistently make the new cells from embryos, a process that necessitated the destruction of the embryos.

- read the article on the stem cell work from The Washington Post

Editor's Corner

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Stem cell research should be encouraged
Advanced Cell Technology has taken a lot of heat for its work that purports to show researchers can create new embryonic stem cell lines without destroying the embryo. That remains more of a working theory than a fact. But as this week's top story illustrates, the controversy hasn't slowed down its research in the field. As researchers continue to highlight new ways that embryonic stem cells can provide cures for terrible diseases like macular degeneration, they will continue to put pressure on policymakers to revise a position that has slowed work in the field. This research needs to be encouraged so that young scientists will step into the field and advance new therapies. Throwing up a roadblock here by severely limiting federal funding is exactly the wrong thing to do. In the mean time, let's congratulate the UK's new stem cell bank (see tip below) for stepping in where the U.S. government has so far feared to tread. - John Carroll

More doubts raised about embryonic stem cell project

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

The claim that new embryonic stem cell lines can be created by extracting a single cell from eight- to 10-cell embryos without harming the embryo continues to draw skepticism. Last week researchers at Advanced Cell Technology conceded that all the embryos used in their research project were destroyed but insisted that the embryos could have survived if researchers had allowed them to grow. Now, outside observers are also questioning the company's conclusions that they could successfully extract a cell and grow a new line from it without being forced to harm the embryo. The doubts center on ACT's decision to culture the cell along with others extracted from the same embryo. That could have allowed the cells to share proteins necessary for their survival. ACT responds that they did successfully culture a single cell and believes it can culture several cells from different embryos together. Other scientists say the data simply isn't sufficient to prove what ACT has been claiming. Politically, none of that may matter. The Bush Administration has made it clear that they aren't willing to open the federal funding tap on any process that manipulates an embryo to create a new embryonic stem cell line, whether or not the embryo is destroyed.

- here's the Wall Street Journal article on ACT (sub. req.)

PLUS: Researchers at Michigan State, meanwhile, say that they have identified genes in human eggs that have no known function. The research opens up a line of inquiry to determine if certain genes can be used to stem cells without harming embryos, and opening up a new source of embryonic stem cell lines. Report

ALSO: Researchers from the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) have shown that a single gene involved in embryonic development is responsible for two seemingly contradictory activities--maintaining stem cells after the embryo has implanted in the mother's uterus and later providing cues to direct their differentiation in a coordinated fashion when the time is ripe. Release

ACT unveils embryonic stem cell breakthrough

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 20:01:39 -0400

There's no question that the big research news of the week came from Advanced Cell Technology. A team of scientists at the company say they were able to extract embryonic stem cells from early-stage, eight-cell embryos and create new stem cell lines that could be used in new research work. Their work is being published in Nature. As luck would have it, I was doing some research of my own on embryonic stem cells and reached Advanced Cell Technology CEO William Caldwell, IV the day before yesterday's big news release. The company is clearly hoping that the research breakthrough will give the Bush administration cause to start funding stem cell lines if they can demonstrate an ability to develop new lines without harming the embryo.

Scientists at the biotech company say they can use a cell withdrawn from an eight-cell embryo for testing purposes to create the new stem cell lines. Taking 18 embryos donated by fertility patients, the researchers took as many cells as they could from each, destroying some in the process. They gathered a total of 91 embryonic stem cells and were able to coax 53 to start dividing. Two of the cells created robust colonies of new stem cells. Researchers noted that the process was inefficient, adding that if they limited themselves to one test cell from each embryo the process would become even more difficult. Early signs from the Bush administration weren't encouraging. "Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical concerns," said a White House statement. "The President is hopeful that with time scientists can find ways of deriving cells like those now derived from human embryos but without the need for using embryos."

- here's the article from The Washington Post