Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Gingrich Vows to Ban Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Posted: January 30, 2012 at 4:28 pm

(Photo: REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker
of the House Newt Gingrich (R) speaks to the media after
attending a church service at the Exciting Idlewild
Baptist Church in Lutz, Florida January 29, 2012.

"I believe life begins at conception," the Republican
presidential hopeful stressed Sunday at a news conference
outside a Baptist church in Lutz, Fla.

"The question I was raising was what happens to embryos in
fertility clinics," Gingrich added, referring to the remarks he
made a day earlier at another Baptist church in Winter Park,
that embryonic stem-cell research amounts to "the use of
science to
desensitize society over the killing of babies."

Gingrich's proposal was seen as an attempt to woo evangelical
voters and gain an edge over former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, his biggest opponent in
Florida.

Gingrich went on to say he was in favor of a commission to
"look seriously" at the ethics of how fertility clinics are
managed. "If you have in vitro fertilization, you are creating
life; therefore, we should look seriously at what the rules
should be for clinics that are doing that, because they are
creating life," The Associated Press quoted him as saying
outside Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church.

Gingrich, who vocally supported federally funded research about
a decade ago, said he was also against the use of leftover
embryos for stem cell research.

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In vitro fertilization or IVF refers to formation of an embryo
outside a woman's body for implant inside the womb. Human
embryos can also be used in treatment or cure of illnesses and
injuries but they have life, conservatives say.

In 2009, President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on federal
funding for stem cell research, which were put in place by his
predecessor, George W. Bush in 2001.

Romney, who is not against the use of stem cell research on
excess embryos in fertility clinics, is leading in polls in
Florida. Reuters/Ipsos online poll results released Sunday
showed Romney having the support of 42 percent of likely voters
while Gingrich's support stood at 30 percent.

"It's clear that Romney's run a much more focused and effective
campaign in Florida than Newt," Republican strategist Matt
Mackowiak said Sunday, according to Reuters. "Newt's playing
defense every single day in every way and doesn't seem to be
able to make Romney play defense."

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Gingrich Vows to Ban Embryonic Stem Cell Research

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UCD stem cell research battles Huntington's disease

Posted: January 29, 2012 at 3:43 pm

A team of researchers at UC Davis has pioneered a technique to
use stem cells to smother the genetic problem that causes
Huntington's disease.

The findings, due in the journal Molecular and Cellular
Neuroscience, could pave the way for a treatment that stops the
disease's devastating progression.

Huntington's is an inherited disease in which the body produces
a mutant version of a protein, huntingtin, that destroys nerve
cells in the brain.

It causes uncontrolled movements and difficulty walking, plus
dementia that grows progressively worse until the disease
ultimately results in death. It strikes about one in every
10,000 people in this country, according to the Huntington's
Disease Society of America.

There is no known cure. Treatment aims to slow down the
worsening of symptoms and keep the patient comfortable.

Researchers at the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures,
led by Jan A. Nolta, attacked abnormal huntingtin with a
technique called RNA interference.

This is how it works: RNA is a molecule similar to DNA that
occurs naturally in the body and which cells use to produce
proteins.

If a strand of RNA is producing a bad protein, like the mutant
huntingtin, researchers can create another strand that's
essentially an inverted version of the bad one. Inject that new
molecule into a cell, and it locks onto the bad RNA like an
opposite puzzle piece, blocking it from making any protein.

For the first time, Nolta and colleagues were able to generate
huntingtin-blocking RNA in stem cells and inject them straight
into nerve cells – a treatment that significantly reduced the
amount of the mutant protein produced.

The scientists used stem cells derived from the bone marrow of
healthy human donors.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Team KJ
funded the research.

Nolta said the findings could lead to treatments for genetic
disorders such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and Parkinson's,
as well.

Now, she said, "Our challenge with RNA interference technology
is to figure out how to deliver it into the human brain in a
sustained, safe and effective manner. We're exploring how to
use human stem cells to create RNAi production factories within
the brain."

Nolta's lab recently received funding from the California
Institute for Regenerative Medicine to develop an RNAi delivery
system for Huntington's disease.

Call The Bee's Grace Rubenstein, (916) 321-1270.

• Read more
articles by Grace Rubenstein

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UCD stem cell research battles Huntington's disease

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Diabetes: Spotlight on Stem Cell Research – Ed Baetge – Video

Posted: January 25, 2012 at 12:04 am

12-06-2011 01:31 (Part 3 of 4) Ed Baetge, Ph.D. spoke at the Spotlight on Juvenile Diabetes, an educational event presented at the CIRM Governing Board meeting on September 25, 2008

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Diabetes: Spotlight on Stem Cell Research - Ed Baetge - Video

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Governor Romney On Stem Cell Research – Supports everything except farming

Posted: January 23, 2012 at 9:46 pm

03-01-2012 12:35 Governor Romney has described his change in position on abortion to be caused by opposition to potential stem cell research methods. However, Governor Romney has consistently supported all forms of stem cell research, only excluding embryo farming and cloning. But he supports fully the use of surplus embryos from fertility clinics as well as other lab created embryos that do not use fertilization as the method of creation.

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Governor Romney On Stem Cell Research - Supports everything except farming