Stem Cells Used to Grow New Windpipe

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=12487

• A 10-year old boy has successfully undergone an operation to transplant a windpipe using his own stem cells, potentially heralding a revolution in transplant surgery

• "milestone moment" in the development of techniques that could enable people to grow damaged or transplanted organs inside their own bodies

• The operation was the first to use stem cells with the scaffold inside the body

• It was also the first entire windpipe transplant to be carried out on a child and the first to involve the entire length of the trachea

•Professor Martin Birchall, the head of translational regenerative medicine at University College London, said: "It is the first time a child has received stem cell organ treatment, and it's the longest airway that has ever been replaced

•"We need to conduct more clinical trials to demonstrate that this concept works. We'd like to move to other organs as well, particularly the larynx and oesophagus. We need to think about how to make regenerative medicine a part of healthcare”

•Professor Martin Elliott, who led the surgery, said the technique was a breakthrough because once the scaffold was ready it could be carried out in a matter of hours.

Reflection:

My biology class prepared me for this article because I had a clear understanding of how stem cells could be used and their purpose once they have been transformed. When the cells are renamed, they gain new properties which allow the surgery to happen.

"Stem Cells Used to Grow New Windpipe - Public Service." Public Sector & Government News - Public Service. 21 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=12487

Stem Cells: An Exciting Future for Medicine

http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=13723

stem cell therapy

• Like most other cells in the human body, stem cells carry a nucleus which contains the normal complement of chromosomes comprising the full human genome

• In the past, we thought that a specific cell type, such as a skin cell, could only fulfill its function as a skin cell and then die off

• recent research has revolutionized our thinking by showing that gene expression patterns in any cell are not necessarily fixed and that they can be turned back into an embryonic stem cell-

• Cells that have been reverted to this embryonic stem cell-like state are now referred to as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells

•IPS cells can be used in the laboratory as patient surrogates for the detailed study of almost any disease, as well as for drug toxicity testing and initial high-throughput screening of large numbers of potential drug compounds

•Right now, the pharmaceutical industry is assessing their potential and looking towards their development as tools for use in these three areas.

Reflection:

My biology class prepared me for this article because I had a general knowledge of stem cells. I know the differences between adult and embryonic stem cells as well as their purpose in the body. I somewhat have an interest in stem cells and this article has made me want to gain more knowledge regarding this fascinating and controversial topic.

"Stem Cells: An Exciting Future for Medicine - Public Service." Public Sector & Government News - Public Service. 21 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 May 2010. http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=13723

Signal Proteins for Plant Stem Cell Discovered

http://www.physorg.com/news187550690.html

wood stem cell

• The cells communicate with one another via the transportation of a protein

• Meristems are the key to plant growth

• Embryogenesis is the process by which the embryo is formed after fertilization\

• Arabidopsis - the genes which are activated by Menopteros

•Signal transmitted by the surrounding cells to form the hypophysis is a protein

•How do plant cells in the young embryo know what they have to become?

•The nearby cells tell them by sending a gene activator

•This communication makes sure that the meristems are at the right places, to enable stem cells to form roots at these places

Reflection:

I used an article on plant cells because we studied the difference between animal and plant cells in class. We drew diagrams and labeled each part of the cell. This article was interesting because I learned how plant growth is affected by the process of Embryogenesis. I didn’t know that plants realize what they have to become and this article did a great job informing me!

"Signal Proteins for Plant Stem Cells Discovered." PhysOrg.com - Science News, Technology, Physics, Nanotechnology, Space Science, Earth Science, Medicine. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.physorg.com/news187550690.html

The Vatican Supports Stem Cell Research?

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/vatican-backs-stem-cell-research/story?id=10447981

• Providing money for a center of stem cell research to be located in Rome

• "Rather than say they don't want [stem cell research], it would be more logical to say 'Is there a better way?'," Fasano says

• He believes that using adult stem cells, harvested from the intestines of the patients themselves, could be the "better way."

• Revolutionary move on behalf of the church

• Some stem cell researchers worry that the Vatican's agenda in this project is to argue against the need for embryonic stem cell research

•The new research aims to do away with the need for the embryonic stem cell research that the Vatican has called "gravely immoral”

Reflection:

This article is very controversial. The church is usually against stem cell research, and it's interesting that the vatican is supporting it. This is very important because there is a big controversy over stem cells, and a lot of it has to do with the church's views on taking a life.

Hutchison, By Courtney. "Vatican Backs Stem Cell Research - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Politics, Online News, World News, Feature Stories, Celebrity Interviews and More - ABC News. 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/vatican-backs-stem-cell-research/story?id=10447981

New Australian Dinosaur Fossil Shows That Tyrannosaurs’ Range Was Global

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=new-australian-dinosaur-fossil-show-2010-03-25

• The discovery of a distinctively tyrannosaur-like hipbone in Victoria, Australia, however, might change the way scientists think about the distribution—and evolution—of this infamous group of dinosaurs

• "The absence of tyrannosauroids from the southern continents was becoming more and more anomalous as representatives of other 'northern' dinosaur groups started to show up in the south," Paul Barrett, of the Department of Paleontology at the Natural History Museum in London

• The hipbone fossil is 30 centimeters long

• "The bone is unambiguously identifiable as a tyrannosaur because these dinosaurs have very distinctive hip bones," - Roger Benson

Reflection:

My biology class better prepared me to understand this article because of out time learning about the process of evolution. We did a project with the evolution of birds and that helped me to understand the article.

Harmon, Katherine. "Observations: New Australian Dinosaur Fossil Shows That Tyrannosaurs' Range Was Global." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. 25 Mar. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=new-australian-dinosaur-fossil-show-2010-03-25

Scientists Spot Genetic “Fingerprints” of Individual Cancers

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/636208.html

fingerprint

• "[This technique] will allow us to measure the amount of cancer in any clinical specimen as soon as the cancer is identified by biopsy," said study co-author Dr. Luis Diaz, an assistant professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University. "This can then be scanned for gene rearrangements, which will then be used as a template to track that particular cancer."
• Creates a higher success rate in the cancer battle

Reflection:

I thought this article was very interesting and informing because I learned that fingerprints of cancer could be used for possible treatment and to see how far the cancer can progress. This could help with the finding the cure to cancer.

Reporter, Amanda GardnerHealthDay. "Scientists Spot Genetic 'Fingerprints' of Individual Cancers - BusinessWeek." BusinessWeek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 18 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/636208.html

An Effort to Save One Child Starts A Longer Journey

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100402/ARTICLE/4021009/2055/NEWS?Title=An-effort-to-save-one-child-starts-a-longer-journey&tc=ar

Henry's mother

• The article was written to inform people of a disease called Fanconi Anemia, which is extremely rare.
• pre-implantation genetic diagnosis = PGD
• A field that developed in the wake of in vitro fertilization
• Henry had a disease called faconi
• Fanconi anemia is extremely rare
• It is a recessive disorder; Laurie and Allen, unknowingly, were carriers of type C
• During IVF treatments, sperm and egg are united in a lab to form a human embryo
• A transplant of umbilical-cord-blood stem cells from an HLA-matched sibling had an 85 percent chance of repairing Henry's immune and blood production systems; a transplant from an unrelated donor then had little chance of working

Reflection:

My biology class prepared me for this article because I had a clear understanding of genetic testing. We studied genetic testing and learned how today’s technology would allow us to see our entire DNA mapped out. The family in the article used genetic testing to try and save their son!

"An Effort to save One Child Starts a Longer Journey | HeraldTribune.com." Sarasota Florida News, Sarasota Weather, Sports and Business | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 02 Apr. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010. http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100402/ARTICLE/4021009/2055/NEWS?Title=An-effort-to-save-one-child-starts-a-longer-journey&tc=ar