Category Archives: New York Stem Cells

The Museum of the Bible in Washington posts "COVID Commandments" to keep visitors safe. Some Evangelical figures take an opposite stance, spreading disinformation and skepticism about coronavirus vaccines and safety measures. | Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP

Last summer, some of my family visited folks in Pennsylvania. All of us leaving the Bronx were fully vaccinated. Mask-wearing compliance on Amtrak was basically 100%the conductors told passengers who werent wearing masks to put them on. Unlike too many passengers I see daily on city buses and the subway system, those passengers complied without complaint.

While walking to the car after reaching our destination, I discovered the mother of our host family was not vaccinated. The father laughed at my mask, which I forgot to remove, but he didnt know Amtrak required them. His state had recently lifted mask mandates for people inside restaurants and stores.

The family is evangelical Christian, so I wasnt entirely surprised at the revelations. To be a non-controversial guest, I chose to not discuss the issue. But one night while watching cable news coverage on the growing Delta variant, I commented aloud that we werent through the crisis. The headline was that even vaccinated people were getting infected.

A better headline would have been that the unvaccinated were much more likely to catch the virus. For example, in New York City, 96% of coronavirus patients are unvaccinated. Those fully vaccinated account for less than one percent of the cases.

Anyway, the news report prompted one of the children to ask me, why bother getting vaccinated? Besides, he continued, the Centers for Disease Control was inflating the number of infected people.

My heart sank hearing this misinformation. I told him I had watched, listened to or read the news every day, and I never came across that claim. I wondered who told him that. Was the family minister giving the OK to decline vaccines? Again, questions best avoided in order to keep the peace.

I am sure my suspicion was correct. My outgoing city council member, and before that, my state senator, Rev. Rubn Daz, Sr., recently confirmed it. In his Sept. 21 edition of his What You Should Know newsletter, he explained why so many people of faith, especially Christian Evangelicals, are opting out of getting Covid Vaccines.

Daz cites 1 Corinthians 6: 1920. This passage tells Christians that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is inside the bodies of believers. Since Christians are not [their] own, they must honor God with [their] bodies. The selection does not and could not possibly discuss vaccines. Perhaps inoculations against smallpox reach back a thousand years, in China, northern Africa, and Turkey. The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians was written nearly a thousand years before those first inoculations. And vaccines have been around for only some 200 years.

Beyond the theological basis, religious objections against vaccinations usually protest that stem cells are often used in their development. Recently, this has been confused with incorrect claims that COVID-19 vaccines contain stem cells from aborted fetuses. Much breakthrough scientific research would not be so without stem cells. To be consistent, Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen, Motrin, and other products would also have to be refused.

In our secular society, should all religious objections be considered authentic? Federal guidelines and previous court decisions guide employers to make judgments. Employers can ask if the workers behavior shows consistency with the religious belief. Is a religious reason being used as a convenience for secular, non-religious benefits? Does the timing of the religious objection make it suspicious? Does the employer have good reason to doubt that the religious objection is not sincere?

In 2016, Vermont removed nonreligious beliefs as a way out of vaccine requirements for public schools kindergarten admission. Immediately, the number of religious exemption cases spiked. In other words, people grabbed onto religious objections when other objections could not be used.

For generations, vaccines have been required for entrance into our public schools, to prevent outbreaks of smallpox, polio, diphtheria, rubella, measles, chickenpox. And for decades, objections did not overlap with politics. Now, in a much more polarized America, Republicans are far more likely to skip the coronavirus vaccine.

Daz likewise argues that the fear of side effects is a valid reason to refuse vaccinations. Especially because, he implies, no one will be liable for pressuring people into getting the shot(s), should a horrible side effect unfold.

He and the unvaccinated are failing probability class. Yes, it is possible that serious side effects can cause long-term problems, but that is extremely unlikely. More likely are mild and short-lived side effects, but COVID-19 damage is often long lasting and even fatal.

Rev. Daz claims so many people of faith are refusing vaccination. But this is simply false. Evangelical Christians are the outlier; most religious leadership disagrees.

The Pope and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are telling Catholics to get vaccinated. Pope Francis is vaccinated and said it would be suicide to not do so. He calls getting vaccinated an act of love.

Similarly told are followers of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, as are Eastern Orthodox worshippers, represented by the Holy Eparchial Synod of the nationwide archdiocese.

The same tidings are preached by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas, a Southern Baptist megachurch. Add to the list the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In some cases, these religious groups are requiring their students or their missionaries to be vaccinated. In other cases, vaccines are urged though not via official policy statements. Examples here are the United Methodist Church and the Orthodox Union, an umbrella organization for Orthodox Judaism. The Islamic scholars of the Fiqh Council of North America advise Muslim believers to get their shots and argue against baseless rumors and myths about vaccines.

Jehovahs Witnesses are also urged to become protected. Despite their long history of opposition to vaccinations, Christian Scientists are open to the vaccines that fight COVID-19.

My soon-to-be-retired city council member also argues that some people already have acquired Natural Herd Immunity. Another F grade, this time for science class.

Herd immunity is synonymous with community immunity. It doesnt happen to individuals unless it occurs to the collective. How does it come about? Either massive numbers are vaccinated or so many get the disease, the spread from one person to another is no longer likely. The disease or virus still spreads, but only on an individual level. It doesnt tear through entire cities, states, towns, etc.

To repeat the nonsense from Paul Kengor of The American Spectator is reckless. Kengor argues that herd immunity via community infection is superior to immunity via vaccines. The truth is that the first path has major problems. One is possible reinfection, much more likely with the unvaccinated. The other pitfall is that it would take probably 70% of the U.S. population to get COVID-19 and recover for natural immunity to occur.

Should leaders, whether from the pulpit or not, believe conservative political sources or the Mayo clinic for guidance about COVID-19? Daz chooses the first source, the one that advertises impeached President Trump hawking Minuteman Bill Of Rights Gold Half Dollars.

The same American Spectator article cites a study claiming that people who recovered from COVID do not get additional benefits from vaccination. Scientists wholeheartedly disagree. There is evidence that those who have recovered from the coronavirus but are not vaccinated are more than two times as likely to get re-infected compared to people who are fully vaccinated.

Rev. Daz is vaccinated, but he does not pressure his church members or visitors to follow suit. He blesses emotional and physical objections but gives more weight to spiritual reasons. Are we to believe that the unvaccinated in his congregation know more about the Good Book than he? Why is the vaccine necessary for him but not for the flock?

The best of our elected officials have lost patience with voluntary vaccination schemes. New York State now requires health care workers to get their shots. If they dont, they will lose their jobs. A week before the requirement, 82% of the states nursing home workers and about 84% of its hospital workers had received one or more doses. When the mandate was in place, the figures jumped to 92%. The two groups overall are much more protected than the rest of society, but I wonder if the 8% holdouts are listening to Rev. Daz and similar voices.

Does freedom of religion potentially harm public safety? Some ancient religions used human sacrifice to please the gods. Their societies were not scientific and were bewildered by volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, epilepsy, and the like. Today, we would all agree that killing humans is not the answer to natural disasters, germs, and viruses. We must ask, does blessing opposition to vaccines potentially harm too many people? Ask the staffs of hospitals that are overrun with COVID-19 cases and that must turn away other medical problems.

On this point, my city council member-to-be, Amanda Faras, enters the debate. Throughout the pandemic, Faras has distributed masks, food, and hand sanitizerand correct information about vaccines. An Oct. 5 statement argues that unvaccinated COVID-19 cases are harmful to the community in their own right. And by unnecessarily filling up hospital beds, they are crowding out other patients, such as women with breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer among women.

Taking a polar opposite approach from the man who retired rather than face her in an election, Faras tells the people of her district that we must not only take care of ourselves but also take care of our neighbors. How? By getting vaccinated. A link in the release lands readers to vaccination locations throughout large areas of the Bronx.

Rev. Daz should be more careful. I cant object to his sincere religious objections. But his newsletter raises far more than matters of faithit spreads numerous scientific falsehoods. And it circulates beyond his email list via his Twitter feed as well as its reproduction in many local Bronx printed and online publications. These include The Bronx Chronicle, Newsbreak, La Voz Internacional, 100 Percent Bronx, various Facebook pages. Online coverage means the message spreads beyond the borough.

We need leadership if we are to make it through the coronavirus era. Rev. Daz and similar voices are failing their own constituents and followers. And like the virus itself, the damage cannot be contained.

As with all op-eds published by Peoples World, this article reflects the opinions of its author.

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Holy wars against vaccines and science People's World - People's World

New York must allow unvaccinated health care workers who object to getting the COVID-19 vaccine due to religious beliefs to remain on the job, at least for now.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, however, vows the fight over mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers isnt over following a federal judge ruling upholding religious exemptions.

A federal judge has ruled that New York must continue to allow health care workers to seek exemptions from a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate on religious grounds as a lawsuit challenging the requirement proceeds.

Judge David Hurd in Utica had issued a temporary restraining order a month ago after 17 doctors, nurses and other health professionals claimed in a lawsuit that their rights would be violated with a vaccine mandate that disallowed the exemptions. The group filed a suit against the state mandate on the grounds that getting the vaccine, in their claim, would cause them to sin as they maintained fetal stem cells were used in the research and development of the shots.

Hurds ruling October 12 means New York will continue to be barred from enforcing any requirement that employers deny religious exemptions.Judge Hurd says, however, the issues surrounding the case merits the expected appeals.

Governor Hochul issued a brief statement following the ruling saying, My responsibility as Governor is to protect the people of this state, and requiring health care workers to get vaccinated accomplishes that. I stand behind this mandate and I will fight this decision in court to keep New Yorkers safe.

KEEP READING: Learning From Mistakes During the Spanish Flu

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Judge Rules to Uphold Religious Exemption to NY Vax Mandate - wnbf.com

The initiation of the phase 3 ENHANCE trial looks to build on the generally early response to azacitidine with the addition of magrolimab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody, for patients with intermediate-, high-, and very highrisk myelodysplastic syndrome.

Standard-of-care options for patients with intermediate-, high-, and very highrisk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) have plateaued in their efficacy, leading investigators to seek alternative novel therapies. The initiation of the phase 3 ENHANCE trial (NCT04313881) looks to build on the generally early response to azacitidine with the addition of magrolimab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody.1

There are only 2 treatments available [for these patients], said Eytan M. Stein, MD, a hematologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, New York, in an interview with OncologyLive. These options are essentially 2 sides of the same coin. They are both hypomethylating agents; one is azacitidine [Vidaza] and the other is decitabine [Dacogen].

Azacitidine was approved for all types of MDS in May 2004 based on results of the phase 3 Cancer and Leukemia Group B 9221 study in which the agent elicited a 16.2% response (n = 16/99) compared with no response with placebo (n = 0/92); response rates in similar single-arm studies ranged from 11.8% to 18.8%.2 Similar results were observed to support the FDA approval of decitabine in 2006; the response rate was 21% among 56 evaluable patients treated with the agent vs 0% in the supportive care arm (n = 89).3

We know from clinical studies that were done about a decade ago that theyre better than doing nothing, which is what we had before these treatments, Stein said. But theyre certainly not good enough. The remission rate is in the range of 30% to 40%, [and] survival is somewhat limited. For this patient population, another key factor is that even in the patients who do respond to these drugs, they typically stop working after a year or two. The duration of response [DOR] is not particularly long. Theres a real need for new agents for MDS.

ENHANCE will evaluate the efficacy of magrolimab in combination with azacitidine, compared with azacitidine plus placebo in previously untreated participants with intermediate-, high-, or very highrisk MDS.1 Preclinical models have shown synergistic effects of combining hypomethylating agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors, and investigators have hypothesized that the combination may overcome resistance mechanisms that arise with hypomethylating agents alone.4

Magrolimab blocks CD47, a key do not eat me signal that is often overexpressed on tumor cells. The binding of magrolimab to CD47 induces potent macrophage- mediated phagocytosis of tumor cells. Azacitidine synergizes with magrolimab by increasing expression of prophagocytic eat me signals.5-7

There was a lot of good preclinical science that was done primarily in laboratory work by Ravi Majeti MD, PhD, at Stanford [University in California], Stein noted. This [preclinical work] showed that by giving an anti-CD47 antibody, you can get this immunologic approach where you can eradicate the MDS cells, the bad cells, that are causing the problem. The [inhibition of the] do not eat me signal allows macrophages to basically recognize the malignant MDS cells, which then allows them to be eradicated through phagocytosis.

Investigators examined the combination of magrolimab and azacitidine in patients with hematological malignancies in a phase 1b trial (NCT03248479). A total of 39 patients with MDS have been treated with the combination. The median age of this cohort was 70 years (range, 47-80) and 13% of patients harbored a TP53 mutation.7

Magrolimab was given via a priming/intrapatient dose-escalation regimen of 1 to 30 mg/kg once a week for the first 2 cycles, then once every 2 weeks in cycles 3 and beyond. Azacitidine was administered at a dose of 75 mg/m2 on days 1 to 7.

Among 33 patients evaluable for efficacy, the objective response rate (ORR) was 91% with 42% of responders achieving complete remission (CR). Several responses deepened over time; patients with at least a 6-month follow-up achieved a CR rate of 56%. The median overall survival (OS) has not been reached (95% CI, 1.4-18.3), and the 6-month estimated OS rate is 100%.7

Cytogenetic CRs were observed in 35% of efficacy-evaluable patients, with 91% of responding patients having a continuing response at 6 months. The median time to initial response was 1.9 months. Minimal residual disease negativity by multi- parameter flow cytometry was reported in 22% of patients with CR, CR with incomplete hematologic recovery, or marrow CR.7

Regarding safety, the most common adverse effects (AEs) of any grade were anemia (44%), fatigue (18%), infusion reaction (18%), and neutropenia (8%). No patients in the MDS cohort discontinued treatment because of an AE, and no treatment-related febrile neutropenia was seen by investigators.7

The median decrease in hemoglobin with the first dose of magrolimab plus azacitidine was 0.4 g/dL. Investigators noted that the combination had a similar safety profile compared with azacitidine monotherapy.7

Magrolimab actually possesses a fairly good toxicity profile; it doesnt have many significant AEs, Stein said. The most significant AE is that patients can experience an on-target anemia, which can be pretty dramatic at the onset. Also, in some patients, you can see the hemoglobin dropped by 2 to 3 grams.

The phase 3 trial will enroll approximately 520 previously untreated adult patients with intermediate-, high-, very highrisk MDS by Revised International Prognostic Scoring System in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia [Figure8]. To be eligible for the study, patients must have adequate performance status and hematological, liver, and kidney function. Patients will be evenly randomized to receive either magrolimab plus azacitidine or placebo plus azacitidine.1,8

Ineligible patients include those with active hepatitis B, C, and/or HIV after testing at screening or in their medical history. Patients previously treated with anti-CD47 or signal-regulatory protein -targeting agents are not eligible for the trial. Patients with clinical suspicion of active central nervous system involvement or those who are pregnant or actively breastfeeding also will be excluded.8

Patients in the trial cannot have undergone any prior antileukemic therapy for treatment of intermediate-, high-, or very highrisk MDS. Patients with contraindications to azacitidine will be excluded, as well as those who have immediate eligibility for allogenic stem cell transplant with an available donor, as determined by the investigators.8

Patients in the experimental arm will receive a 1 mg/kg dose of magrolimab intravenously on days 1 and 4 of cycle 1, followed by 15 mg/kg on day 8, and 30 mg/kg on days 11, 15, and 22. In cycle 2, patients will be given 30 mg/kg of magrolimab on days 1, 8, 15, and 22. In cycle 3 and beyond, 30 mg/kg of magrolimab will be administered every 2 weeks on days 1 and 15.1,8

Stein said that a change in the trial designtreating patients frequently with smaller doses at the starthelped to curb some of the common AEs. As a result of [this dosing schedule], we believe that is going to help prevent this anemia that you may see, he said.

In the control arm, placebo to match magrolimab will be administered intravenously. In both arms, azacitidine will be given at 75 mg/m2 on days 1 to 7, or days 1 to 5 and 8 to 9 of each cycle, either subcutaneously or intravenously according to region-specific drug labeling.8

The primary end points of the trial are CR rate and overall survival. Key secondary end points include duration of CR, ORR, DOR, and progression-free survival. The trial is estimated to be completed by February 2025.8

I believe magrolimab with azacitidine will become the standard of care, Stein concluded. If [the data] pan out in this phase 3 trial, it would be the first real immunotherapy/checkpoint inhibitor treatment for a myeloid malignancy. People talk about PD-L1 and PD-1 inhibitors in solid tumors [but] we havent had something that really works like that in patients with MDS or acute myeloid leukemia. If this [regimen] does work in the phase 3 setting, its a proof of concept that there is an immunologic therapy that you can give that can make outcomes in patients better in this class of diseases.

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Investigators Aim to Fill Unmet Need of Intermediate- to High-Risk MDS With ENHANCE Trial - OncLive

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 05 October 2021, 09:10 am

Healthcare research has gone a long way from the dark days of old, when today's simplest illnesses can be a death sentence. And now, there's reason to look forward to a brighter future because of this news.

(Photo : Getty Images )

According to BigThink, a team from Iowa State University claimed that they've found a way to integrate human immune systems in pigs, as a way to study illnesses much closer.

In other words, they basically "humanized" the pigs to try and find out how to better treat human diseases in the future.

The implications of their research are quite profound, too. As per the researchers, this breakthrough could theoretically advance healthcare research in areas such as virus and vaccines, cancer, and even stem cell treatments.

Before this, scientists often used mice in their biotech and biomedical experiments. However, the problem is that mice-based results don't translate well to humans.

Aside from mice, primates have also been used in related fields of healthcare research due to their direct biological connections with humans. Nevertheless, a lot of ethical issues popped up, thus leading to the retirement of primates, including chimpanzees, from this type of research eight years ago.

This won't be the first time that healthcare research has produced what's basically human-animal hybrids to study illnesses.

Three years ago, a team of scientists from Rockefeller University in New York managed to create a human-chicken embryo, in an attempt to take a closer look at the intricacies of stem cell therapies.

Read also: Scientists Want To Create Part-Human Part-Animal Chimeras To Find Cure For Diseases

It started when the same scientists from Iowa State University discovered a genetic mutation in pigs that caused an illness called SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency).

Some people may know this from the film "The Boy In The Plastic Bubble" from 1976, which tells the story of a child whose immune system never fully developed. As such, he was forced to literally live inside a sterile bubble because even the slightest cold would kill him.

Upon this discovery, the researchers then developed a pig that's far more immunocompromised compared to a person with SCID, then successfully "humanized" it by injecting human immune stem cells into the livers of piglets.

The researchers were able to do this by using ultrasound imaging as a guide.

Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, makes use of high-frequency waves to look inside the body.

(Photo : Getty Images )

The resulting pigs had excellent healthcare research potential, because they were found to have human immune cells in their blood, thymus gland, spleen, and liver.

However, the SCID-afflicted pigs are in constant danger of infections. As such, they have to be housed in so-called bubble biocontainment facilities. These facilities work by maintaining high positive pressure, which keeps dangerous pathogens out. All staff members have to wear sterile protective gear at all times.

They've basically turned into their own versions of the boy in the bubble.

Before this research, pigs have often been used to know more about the human body because of how strikingly similar their anatomy is to humans.

In fact, a few scientists even believe that with how biologically similar pigs are to humans, they might be classified into an animal family occupied by primates, reportedScience.org.au.

But of course, there have been ethical issues involving the use of these human-animal hybrids for healthcare research. Eventually, though, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) relaxed their regulations a bit back in 2016, which made it easier for scientists to transfer human stem cells into animal embryos.

Related: Scientists Grow Sheep Embryos With Human Cells To Revolutionize Organ Transplant

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce

2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Healthcare Researchers Are Putting HUMAN Immune Systems In Pigs To Study Illnesses-Here's The Tech Behind It - Tech Times

Every person, every mouse, every dog, has one unmistakable sign of aging: hair loss. But why does that happen?

Rui Yi, a professor of pathology at Northwestern University, set out to answer the question.

A generally accepted hypothesis about stem cells says they replenish tissues and organs, including hair, but they will eventually be exhausted and then die in place. This process is seen as an integral part of aging.

Instead Dr. Yi and his colleagues made a surprising discovery that, at least in the hair of aging animals, stem cells escape from the structures that house them.

Its a new way of thinking about aging, said Dr. Cheng-Ming Chuong, a skin cell researcher and professor of pathology at the University of Southern California, who was not involved in Dr. Yis study, which was published on Monday in the journal Nature Aging.

The study also identifies two genes involved in the aging of hair, opening up new possibilities for stopping the process by preventing stem cells from escaping.

Charles K.F. Chan, a stem cell researcher at Stanford University, called the paper very important, noting that in science, everything about aging seems so complicated we dont know where to start. By showing a pathway and a mechanism for explaining aging hair, Dr. Yi and colleagues may have provided a toehold.

Stem cells play a crucial role in the growth of hair in mice and in humans. Hair follicles, the tunnel-shaped miniature organs from which hairs grow, go through cyclical periods of growth in which a population of stem cells living in a specialized region called the bulge divide and become rapidly growing hair cells.

Sarah Millar, director of the Black Family Stem Cell Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved in Dr. Yis paper, explained that those cells give rise to the hair shaft and its sheath. Then, after a period of time, which is short for human body hair and much longer for hair on a persons head, the follicle becomes inactive and its lower part degenerates. The hair shaft stops growing and is shed, only to be replaced by a new strand of hair as the cycle repeats.

But while the rest of the follicle dies, a collection of stem cells remains in the bulge, ready to start turning into hair cells to grow a new strand of hair.

Dr. Yi, like most scientists, had assumed that with age the stem cells died in a process known as stem cell exhaustion. He expected that the death of a hair follicles stem cells meant that the hair would turn white and, when enough stem cells were lost, the strand of hair would die. But this hypothesis had not been fully tested.

Together with a graduate student, Chi Zhang, Dr. Yi decided that to understand the aging process in hair, he needed to watch individual strands of hair as they grew and aged.

Ordinarily, researchers who study aging take chunks of tissue from animals of different ages and examine the changes. There are two drawbacks to this approach, Dr. Yi said. First, the tissue is already dead. And it is not clear what led to the changes that are observed or what will come after them.

He decided his team would use a different method. They watched the growth of individual hair follicles in the ears of mice using a long wavelength laser that can penetrate deep into tissue. They labeled hair follicles with a green fluorescent protein, anesthetized the animals so they did not move, put their ear under the microscope and went back again and again to watch what was happening to the same hair follicle.

What they saw was a surprise: When the animals started to grow old and gray and lose their hair, their stem cells started to escape their little homes in the bulge. The cells changed their shapes from round to amoeba-like and squeezed out of tiny holes in the follicle. Then they recovered their normal shapes and darted away.

Sometimes, the escaping stem cells leapt long distances, in cellular terms, from the niche where they lived.

If I did not see it for myself I would not have believed it, Dr. Yi said. Its almost crazy in my mind.

The stem cells then vanished, perhaps consumed by the immune system.

Dr. Chan compared an animal's body to a car. If you run it long enough and dont replace parts, things wear out, he said. In the body, stem cells are like a mechanic, providing replacement parts, and in some organs like hair, blood and bone, the replacement is continual.

But with hair, it now looks as if the mechanic the stem cells simply walks off the job one day.

But why? Dr. Yi and his colleagues next step was to ask if genes are controlling the process. They discovered two FOXC1 and NFATC1 that were less active in older hair follicle cells. Their role was to imprison stem cells in the bulge. So the researchers bred mice that lacked those genes to see if they were the master controllers.

By the time the mice were 4 to 5 months old, they started losing hair. By age 16 months, when the animals were middle-aged, they looked ancient: They had lost a lot of hair and the sparse strands remaining were gray.

Now the researchers want to save the hair stem cells in aging mice.

This story of the discovery of a completely unexpected natural process makes Dr. Chuong wonder what remains to be learned about living creatures.

Nature has endless surprises waiting for us, he said. You can see fantastic things.

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Losing Your Hair? You Might Blame the Great Stem Cell Escape. - The New York Times

Published: Oct. 4, 2021 at 4:00 AM MDT

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI), a leading developer of cellular therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that Stacy Lindborg, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Research, will deliver a presentation at the2021 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, being held as a hybrid conferenceOctober 12-14, and October 19-20, 2021.

Dr. Lindborg's presentation highlights the expansion of Brainstorm's technology portfolio to include autologous and allogeneic product candidates, covering multiple neurological diseases. The most progressed clinical development program, which includes a completed phase 3 trial of NurOwn in ALS patients, remains the highest priority for Brainstorm. Brainstorm is committed to pursuing the best and most expeditious path forward to enable patients to access NurOwn.

Dr. Lindborg's presentation will be in the form of an on-demand webinar that will be available beginning October 12. Those who wish to listen to the presentation are required to registerhere. At the conclusion of the 2021 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, a copy of the presentation will also be available in the "Investors and Media" section of the BrainStorm website underEvents and Presentations.

About the 2021 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa

The meeting will feature sessions and workshops covering a mix of commercialization topics related to the cell and gene therapy sector including the latest updates on market access and reimbursement schemes, international regulation harmonization, manufacturing and CMC challenges, investment opportunities for the sector, among others. There will be over 135 presentations by leading public and private companies, highlighting technical and clinical achievements over the past 12 months in the areas of cell therapy, gene therapy, gene editing, tissue engineering and broader regenerative medicine technologies.

The conference will be delivered in a hybrid format to allow for an in-person experience as well as a virtual participation option. The in-person conference will take place October 12-14 in Carlsbad, CA. Virtual registrants will have access to all content via livestream during program dates. Additionally, all content will be available on-demand within 24 hours of the live program time. Virtual partnering meetings will take place October 19-20 via Zoom.

About NurOwn

The NurOwntechnology platform (autologous MSC-NTF cells) represents a promising investigational therapeutic approach to targeting disease pathways important in neurodegenerative disorders. MSC-NTF cells are produced from autologous, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that have been expanded and differentiated ex vivo. MSCs are converted into MSC-NTF cells by growing them under patented conditions that induce the cells to secrete high levels of neurotrophic factors (NTFs). Autologous MSC-NTF cells are designed to effectively deliver multiple NTFs and immunomodulatory cytokines directly to the site of damage to elicit a desired biological effect and ultimately slow or stabilize disease progression.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of innovative autologous adult stem cell therapeutics for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to clinical development and commercialization of the NurOwntechnology platform used to produce autologous MSC-NTF cells through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement. Autologous MSC-NTF cells have received Orphan Drug designation status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). BrainStorm has completed a Phase 3 pivotal trial in ALS (NCT03280056); this trial investigated the safety and efficacy of repeat-administration of autologous MSC-NTF cells and was supported by a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM CLIN2-0989). BrainStorm completed under an investigational new drug application a Phase 2 open-label multicenter trial (NCT03799718) of autologous MSC-NTF cells in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) and was supported by a grant from the National MS Society (NMSS).

For more information, visit the company's website atwww.brainstorm-cell.com.

Safe-Harbor Statement

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information, including statements regarding future NurOwnmanufacturing and clinical development plans, constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'s actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Terms and phrases such as "may," "should," "would," "could," "will," "expect,""likely," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "potential," and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, BrainStorm's need to raise additional capital, BrainStorm's ability to continue as a going concern, the prospects for regulatory approval of BrainStorm's NurOwntreatment candidate, the initiation, completion, and success of BrainStorm's product development programs and research, regulatory and personnel issues, development of a global market for our services, the ability to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our clinical trials, the ability to generate significant revenue, the ability of BrainStorm's NurOwntreatment candidate to achieve broad acceptance as a treatment option for ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases, BrainStorm's ability to manufacture, or to use third parties to manufacture, and commercialize the NurOwntreatment candidate, obtaining patents that provide meaningful protection, competition and market developments, BrainStorm's ability to protect our intellectual property from infringement by third parties, heath reform legislation, demand for our services, currency exchange rates and product liability claims and litigation; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available athttp://www.sec.gov. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BrainStorm's forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or assumptions if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, unless otherwise required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

ContactsInvestor Relations:Eric GoldsteinLifeSci Advisors, LLCPhone: +1 646.791.9729egoldstein@lifesciadvisors.com

Media:Paul TyahlaSmithSolvePhone: + 1.973.713.3768Paul.tyahla@smithsolve.com

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The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc.

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BrainStorm to Present at the 2021 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa - KKTV 11 News

The latest:

Alberta is expanding COVID-19 booster eligibility to more vulnerable groups as the province battles a severe wave of infections that has strained its health-care system for weeks. Meanwhile, B.C. is makingthird doses available to a widergroup of immunocompromised people.

Starting Wednesday in Alberta,everyone who is75 years of age or older andFirst Nations, Inuit or Mtis people who are 65 or older can book a third dose of the vaccine, provided it has been six months since their last dose.

"We're doing this because older Albertans remain uniquely at risk and will benefit from more protection," Premier JasonKenneysaid atanews conference Tuesday.

The change means more than150,000Albertans will be eligible for booster shots by the end of October, he said.

Alberta reported663 new cases and26 additional deaths on Tuesday. There were 1,094 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospital, including 252 in intensive care.

The Canadian Armed Forces is preparing to send up to eight critical care nurses to help in the province's intensive care units.

Meanwhile, neighbouring B.C. has announced it willexpandthe group of immunocompromised people who are eligible for a third dose of the vaccine.

Third doses are already available for those in the province who arethemost clinically vulnerable, including people who have hadwhole organ transplants, bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants, those with blood cancersand certain immune disorders.

During a news conference Tuesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry saidthat those considered moderately to severely immunocompromisedwouldalso receive an invitation for a third dose. That group comprises approximately 100,000 people, she said.

Johnson & Johnson saysit has submitted data to the FDAfor emergency use authorization of a booster shot of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in people aged 18 years and older.

J&J on Tuesday said its submission includes data from a late-stagestudy that found a booster of its vaccine given 56 days afterthe primary dose provided 94 per centprotection against symptomaticCOVID-19 in the United States and 100 per centprotection against severedisease, at least 14 days after the booster shot.

The FDA has already authorized a booster dose of the vaccinedeveloped by Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTechfor 65-year olds and older, people at high risk of severedisease and others who are regularly exposed to the virus. Moderna submitted its application seekingauthorization for a booster shot of its two-dose vaccine lastmonth.

J&J said it plans to submit the data to other regulators,the World Health Organization and National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups to inform decision-making on localvaccine administration strategies, as needed.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has requestedemergency use authorization from U.S. regulators for its newtreatment to prevent COVID-19 for people who respond poorly tovaccines because of a weakened immune system.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker saidit included data in its filing with the Food and Drug Administration from a late-stage trial that showed its antibody therapy called AZD7442 reduced the risk of people developing any COVID-19 symptoms by77 per cent.

While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to developtargeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, AZD7442 contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body formonths to contain the virus in case of an infection.

A U.S. authorization for AZD7442 based on two antibodiesdiscovered by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the UnitedStates could be a major win for AstraZeneca, whose widely usedCOVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved by U.S. authorities. Trial results on the AZD7442 therapy, first published inAugust, were taken three months after injection, but the company hopes it can tout the shot as a year-long shield as trialinvestigators will follow up with participants as far out as 15 months.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 235.6million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus-tracking tool. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.8million.

In Asia,India's top court ordered state authorities to pay 50,000 rupees ($844 Cdn)as compensation for each death caused by COVID-19as a way to help families cope with the loss, according to its order reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

Singapore's Health Ministry reported 3,486 new cases of COVID-19, itshighest since the beginning of the pandemic, andnine new deaths.

China reported no new local COVID-19 casesfor the first time in more than three weeks.

In Europe,the number of new infections in Romania exceeded 15,000 in the past 24 hours and there were no available intensive care beds, the government said.

Coronavirus deaths in Russia have reached a new highfor the third time this month at 895, and new cases have exceeded 25,000 a day as vaccination rates in the country remain low.

Meanwhile, Norway and Portugalhave become the latest countries to announce they will start administering COVID-19 booster shots to people ages 65 and older.

In the Americas, New York State's largest health-care provider has fired1,400 employees who refused to get vaccinations.Meanwhile, a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for teachers and other staff members has taken effect in New York City's million-plus-student public school system.

In Africa, South Africa reported429 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 39 deaths on Monday.President Cyril Ramaphosa eased restrictions to the country's lowest alert level last week,afterthe National Institute for Communicable Diseases said the country had exited its third and worst COVID-19 wave.

More here:
Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Tuesday - CBC.ca

Almost two months after Jeff Bezosblasted off into space debuting his rocket along with a new, plumper face the Amazon honcho announced anew investmentinAltos Labs, a startupdedicated todiscovering how to reverse the aging process.

While non-Botoxed eyebrows were raised around the world, Bezos isnt the only mega-wealthy man who wants to become Dorian Gray.

Eternal life has become the new space quest for the tech overlords.

Its a little bit juvenile,Rami Kaminski, MD,Kaminski, who is the founder and director of The Institute of Integrative Psychiatry(TiiPS). You may go to Mars, but you cannot go out into the solar system. [These wealthy men] are limited. What theyre trying to do is get away from the mortal coil. Every day when you look in the mirror you are reminded you are made of carbon. It is degrading and has to be recycled.

Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-foundertoldBusiness Insiderin 2012.,There are all these people who say that death is natural, its just part of life, and I think that nothing can be further from the truth, noting that death is a problem that can be solved.

Also on the hunt for the Fountain of Youth is Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google. In 2013,Google founded Calico, a biology company with the stated goal of solv[ing] death. The company, according to itsWeb site, Seek(s) to answer the most challenging biological questions of our time how humans age and can we develop interventions to allow people. To live longer, healthier lives.

Keith Campbell, a psychology and social personality professor at the University of Georgia, told The Post: I call this process rebuilding Frankenstein [The desire]comes from a radical misunderstanding of the human condition, [where] materialism and behaviorism are mashed up with AI. That coupled with egoand fear and lots of money leads to the search.

Silicon Valleyentrepreneur Serge Faguet founder of the video platform TokBox and the Russian booking Web site Ostrovok has spent more than $250,000 on biohacking. Hes also a fan of microdosing with MDMA, telling The Guardian its all helped him become calmer, thinner, extroverted, healthier and happier. Oh, and its increased his sex drive, helping him (pick) up girls.

Meanwhile, lets not leave out TeslasElon Musk, who doesnt care about his body he simply wants his thoughts and brain to live forever via his new company,Neuralink.

The quest for the Fountain of Youth is not a new one. Ponce De Len never found it. In modern times, you have men like Peter Nygard. The disgraced fashion execbuilt a bio science lab in the Bahamasas part of a scheme to gather stem cells from the aborted fetuses of women hed impregnate all to elongate his life. (Hes now in jail in Canada, facing trial for sex trafficking and racketeering, amid several sexual assault allegations.)

Why are so many powerful men eager to, seemingly, live forever?

Death is the great equalizer the only thing that can bring [these men] down is death and you can not do anything about it. Unless you can,Kaminski told the Post. They are literally scared to die and immortality is the ultimate defense.

They want to defeat the only thing they cannot. They have the means and the power. When you have limitless amount of money you start pushing the boundaries. For the super billionaires, its not surprising they are choosing the ultimate limit.

And because these men have done the seemingly impossible in their work lives, and are treated like demigods on social media, their ego has morphed into a Dr. Frankenstein-esque manner, where they think they can now control the one thing man has never been able to control: death.

People with big egos think they matter more than their organizations, Campbell said. They think that, if they were gone, the world would fall apart because they are smarter than others and they were put here for a reason. Because theyve been so successful in putting their will on reality they think, Why cant I beat [death]? I can beat anything.

This feeling of being able to master the universe and manipulate all in their realm leads to a very real God Complex.

When an individual is exposed to excess wealth and power over an extended period of time it can alter their entire worldview; (they believe) they are special and better than others because of their ability to amass and hoard money, Dr.BethanyCook, a licensed psychotherapist told the Post. If one has vast amounts of money and power, along with a God complex, its easy to see why they may invest in discovering the secret to eternal life; they wish to retain their power and wealth for as long as possible.

The psychologists and psychiatrists The Post spoke to also noted that while these men think they are masters of the universe, their actions suggest immaturity and a fear of the inevitable.

Our old elites had some life experiences, like going to war or even doing sales, and were not psychological children like this new crowd, said Campbell. These arent spiritually grounded individuals. They may have a high IQ, but they are linear and very detached from reality.

And while some see the billionaires continued quest for everlasting life as interesting, Campbell finds it worrisome.

Im utterly terrified of people who think they know better than everyone else and who have power and arent afraid to use it, he said. Thats what a tyrant is. People who think they can control the world, who have power without humility makes me nervous.

And once the Fountain of Youth is discovered, how do we stop it? Already scientists are predicting humans can live to 130 years and that its not improbable to think we could live forever and the consequences have already been dire. This week, 23 more species, including the ivory-billed woodpecker, were declared extinct due to human activity. What will happen if we all live forever and keep reproducing?

Kaminski warns, Maybe there will be a breakthrough [for longevity] but then what do we do with humanity? If they had a pill to stop everyone from dying, people would be crawling all over the planet there wouldnt be a place to sit. The problem is the defiance of nature.

That, thus far, has never really worked out for humans.

The rest is here:
Why Bezos, Musk, Page and other billionaires want to live forever - New York Post

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday heard arguments in a case brought by a conservative nonprofit challenging a New York order that prohibits state health care workers from seeking religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

We The Patriots USA, Inc. wants the three-judge panel to grant a temporary injunction that would force the state to allow religious exemption requests from health care workers while the court fight continues.

The case stems from an emergency order issued in August by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Hochul requiring state health care workers to get a vaccine or a medical exemption or face suspension or termination. Over the weekend, she unveiled a plan to deal with potential worker shortages which includes the possibility of activating the National Guard.

The order took effect Monday, but a federal court in Utica last week ruled in a similar case and temporarily blocked the vaccine mandate for those seeking a religious exemption until Oct. 12 which prompted the circuit judges to question the need for another injunction.

Cameron Atkinson, lead attorney for the Connecticut-based nonprofit, argued the group of Christian nurses he represents should not be dependent on the outcome of other proceedings.

Theyre on a ticking clock, he said. As soon as that clock swings in the direction of the orders being lifted my clients are left hung out to dry theyre fired on the spot the next day.

The nurses say they do not want to take a vaccine linked to fetal stem cells because it would violate their Christian beliefs. They argue the lack of a religious exemption violates their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

Meanwhile, New York Deputy Solicitor General Steven Wu argued that the regulation does not run afoul of that constitutional right because it does not target or display hostility to religion and it applies to all health care workers.

Asked why there is a medical exemption but not a religious exemption, he said there was a desire to make it consistent with mandates for measles and rubella vaccines, which also only include medical exemptions. He added that religious exemptions generally exceed medical exemptions by a significant amount.

Mr. Wu said the governors order came in response to very serious concern over the highly transmissible delta variant which has really swamped the diagnoses that are taking place across the state.

And this order was issued to ensure the health care workers in these facilities who are dealing with particularly vulnerable populations will be protected themselves, and will not themselves be a vector for further spread in these facilities, he said.

It is not clear when the judges will rule on the case.

If the preliminary injunction is denied, We The Patriots USA, Inc. said it plans to file an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The groups website states that it is dedicated to fighting to restore individual liberties and the God-given inalienable rights of all Americans, as recorded in the United States Constitution.

Continue reading here:
Court hears dispute over N.Y. healthcare workers seeking COVID vaccine religious exemption - Washington Times

This spring, Southwest Missouri folks thought the coronavirus was taking its last gasps, but it came back with a vengeance.

So, what happened? If we look back a year or so, we can see the beginnings of the reason.

COVID-19 news dominated the media, and ideas and opinions about how to protect ourselves swirled around us.

We eagerly soaked up information ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous.

In this part of the world, Branson televangelist Jim Bakkers faithful followers received welcome news there was a cure for the threatening disease. A guest on the show assured believers that the product, Silver Solution, could totally eliminate the virus. Lucky viewers could buy a bottle of this magic COVID-19-killer for just $80 (NPR, March 11, 2020).

Bakkers remedy was a fraud and as part of a legal settlement he agreed to pay back at least $156,000 in restitution.

But, compared to Springfield-area health clinic owner and state Rep. Patricia Derges, R-Nixa, Bakker was a small fish.

Derges operated for-profit clinics in Springfield, Ozark and Branson and a nonprofit, Lift Up Someone Today, in Springfield.

Her clinics charged $167 each for COVID-19 tests, bringing in approximately $517,000. She is accused of fraudulently acquiring CARES Act funds through Lift Up by billing Greene County for tests that had already been paid for by other payers. She allegedly received $296,574, which she diverted to her for-profit Ozark Valley Medical Clinic.

Another major moneymaker was a regenerative stem-cell treatment that she is accused of advertising as a safe and natural potential cure for COVID-19. It didnt actually have any stem cells, according to prosecutors.

Derges was indicted on charges of felony wire fraud, illegal distribution of controlled substances, and making false statements. Her statehouse colleagues removed her from committee assignments in the state Capitol.

However, Chicago former osteopath Joseph Mercolas natural health operations make Bakker and Derges look like small fry. Mercola, a pioneer of the anti-vaccine movement, is the most influential spreader of COVID-19 misinformation online, researchers say.

In the last 10 years Mercola has built a vast operation that boosted his net worth to more than $100 million. He is listed as top man in the Disinformation Dozen, the group of 12 people responsible for sharing 65% of all anti-vaccine messaging on social media (The New York Times, July 25, 2021).

But theres an even larger fish in this propaganda sea, our longtime adversary: Russia.

It has weaponized COVID-19 misinformation in worldwide propaganda campaigns that push anti-vax messages on a large scale by using bots on troll farms and influencers recruited on Facebook. Reuters reported on Aug. 10 that Facebook had removed a network of accounts from Russia aimed at enlisting influencers to push anti-vaccine messaging.

Here in our corner of the world, these misleading campaigns have been overwhelmingly successful. Vaccination rates are low and more than 500 residents in the two-county Joplin metro area have lost their lives to the COVID-19 pandemic. On a recent weekend, 18 patients in Mercy and Freeman hospitals died.

The fallout from misinformation goes beyond the physical toll. The tsunami of divisive messaging has thrown our communities into chaos, torn relationships apart and caused menacing confrontations.

Were swimming in a sea of misinformation.

Lets try to avoid drowning in it.

Vera Nall lives in Neosho.

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Vera Nall: Misinformation will kill us in Southwest Missouri - Joplin Globe