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1.: Stem Cell Action News ,,,,,,January 16, 2009 From: Stephen Meyer

2.: A GLOBAL STEM CELL RESEARCH ACTION PLAN ....By Don C. Reed From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: Stem Cell Action News ,,,,,,January 16, 2009

Posted by: "Stephen Meyer" Stephen276@comcast.net stephen_meyer_stemcells

Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:45 pm (PST)

Stem Cell Action News
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January 16, 2009

Welcome to issue number 4 of Stem Cell Action News, dedicated to
informing the stem cell community
on the latest and most important developments impacting the Pro-Cures
Movement.

Special Announcement

This week's special announcement is not about a landmark scientific
breakthrough, a company acquisition,
or a major policy change, it's a about a student and friend of the
Genetics Policy Institute that's fighting
for his life. Gideon Sofer, a hero of the Student Society for Stem Cell
Research is on a mission to help
reform FDA clinical trial policies that could potentially save lives and
alleviate unnecessary human
suffering. GPI encourages all stakeholders to read Gideon's op-ed piece
in the December 30th edition
of the Wall Street Journal, which discusses his bought with Crohn's
Disease and his clinical trial experience.

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123059825583441193.html?mod=googlenews_\
wsj;mid=85>
Read this Article
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123059825583441193.html?mod=googlenews_\
wsj;mid=85>

Business

CELLARTIS, WARF SIGN LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM
CELLS
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l=http://www.media-newswire.com/release_1084460.html>
Media Newswire - 01/16/2009 11:32 MADISON - Cellartis AB, a premier
provider of human embryonic stem cell (hES) derived products and
technologies, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the
private, nonprofit patenting and licensing organization for the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, announced today (Jan. Sunrise's
Bioheart struggles with capital woes
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l=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/855936.html>
The Miami Herald - 01/16/2009 07:54 Bioheart, a Sunrise-based company
that has developed stem cell therapies to treat heart attack patients,
has run out of cash and is seeking new backers. BioE Receives FDA
510(k) Clearance For Cord Blood Processing System
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=614242875&ur\
l=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/135631.php>
Medical News Today - 01/16/2009 03:33 BioE®, Inc., a biomedical
company that provides enabling cord blood stem cell tools and
technologies, announced it received 510(k) clearance from the U.
VistaGen and Capsant Sign Strategic Stem Cell Technology
Commercialization Agreement
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l=http://www.pharmacychoice.com/News/article.cfm?Article_ID=255308>
Pharmacy Choice - 01/15/2009 10:22 Business Editors/Health/Medical
Writers SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. & SOUTHAMPTON, U.K.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--January 15, 2009--VistaGen and Capsant have signed a strategic
commercialization agreement under which the companies will combine their
leading-edge stem cell biology and 3D cell culture platforms,...
Joint Venture Between CHA Biotech and Advanced Cell Technology to be
called ?Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine International?
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l=http://www.pr-inside.com/joint-venture-between-cha-biotech-and-r995231\
.htm>
PR-Inside.com - 01/08/2009 22:32 The joint venture between Advanced
Cell Technology, Inc. (OTC:ACTC) and leading Korean-based biotechnology
company CHA Biotech Co, Ltd. (CHA), announced today that the company
would be named "Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine International.
Stem Cell Sciences signs further licence agreement for stem cell
technology with major pharmaceutical company
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47576&url=\
http://www.stemcellsciences.com/pressoffice/releases/114.html>
Stem Cell Sciences - 01/05/2009 15:49 Stem Cell Sciences plc (AIM:STEM,
ASX:STC), a company focused on the commercialisation of stem cells and
stem cell technologies, is pleased to announce the signing of a further
licence to its IRES technology. The undisclosed licensee is a major
research-based international pharmaceutical company in the top 20 by
market capitalisation and annual sales and it will use the technology in
its own research and development activities. Financial terms are not
disclosed for this fully paid-up licence, which was signed during the
Christmas holiday period. This follows the recent signing of an IRES
licence in November 2008 with a European company that provides
genetically modified rat and mouse models for medical and pharmaceutical
research for $750,000 over the next six years. Functional
Vasculature Generated From Advanced Cell Technologys Human Embryonic
Stem Cells
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l=http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/090105/20090105005315.html?.v=1>
Biz Yahoo! Finance US : News Providers - 01/05/2009 08:00
Hemangioblasts form multilayered blood vessels with functional smooth
muscle could provide an inexhaustible source of cells to treat
vascular... NanoInk Launches NanoStem Cell Division-New Division
Aims to Revolutionize the Utility of Adult Stem Cells Through
Nanotechnology
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l=http://www.smalltimes.com/News/Display_News_Story.cfm?Section=WireNews\
&SubSection=HOME&NewsID=172085>
Small Times - 01/05/2009 05:39 ) SKOKIE, IL, Jan 05, 2009 (MARKET WIRE
via COMTEX) -- NanoInk, Inc., a global leader in nanotechnology, began
the new year by announcing the launch of its NanoStem Cell division.
Bayer filed for stem cell patent before Kyoto Univ. team
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l=http://theblackship.com/news/japan-news/japan_technology/2243-Bayer-fi\
led-for-stem-cell-patent-before-Kyoto-Univ-team.html>
The Black Ship - 01/04/2009 07:24 TOKYO - German chemical giant Bayer
AG applied for a patent in Japan on June 15, 2007, for a technique to
generate induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, from human cells,
according to Patent Office data released by Sunday. International
Stem Cell Corporation Closes Financing
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l=http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/international-stem-cell-co\
rporation-closes-financing?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss&cmp-id=OTC-\
RSS-FB0>
Fierce Biotech - 12/31/2008 02:31 Posted December 31, 2008
International Stem Cell Corporation Closes Financing OCEANSIDE,
Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International Stem Cell Corporation
(OTCBB:ISCO) announced today that it had received the first $1 million
tranche of an anticipated private equity financing of up to $5 million
to be funded over... Technique for creating authentic rat
embryonic stem cells published in `Cell'
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47575&url=\
http://www.stemcellsciences.com/pressoffice/releases/113.html>
Stem Cell Sciences - 12/29/2008 00:00 Technology licensed exclusively
by Stem Cell Sciences ("Stem Cell Sciences", "SCS",
"the Company") Stem Cell Sciences plc (AIM:STEM, ASX:STC) is
pleased to announce that pioneering research describing a technique for
creating authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats has been
published in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal, Cell (Ref. 1). This
publication is believed to be the first in which germ-line transmission
from rat ES cells has been definitively demonstrated. It uses technology
licensed exclusively to SCS from the University of Edinburgh and
developed by Professor Austin Smith and his team, now at Cambridge
University. The technique is expected to allow the generation of
consistently pure and stable rat ES cells, from which drug discovery
assays as well as genetically modified animals can be created for
academ! ic, medical and pharmaceutical research. Madison stem
cell firm nabs $50K state grant
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l=http://wistechnology.com/articles/5317/>
WTN Media - 12/23/2008 14:12 Madison, Wis. - Shiloh Laboratories, a
Madison-based biotechnology company, has received a $50,000 state grant
to further develop a supplement used to grow stem cells in culture,
according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. VistaGen
Receives Significant Stem Cell Tools And Technologies Grant From
California Institute For Regenerative Medicine
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l=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133702.php>
Medical News Today - 12/23/2008 05:00 VistaGen Therapeutics announced
that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the
State's stem cell agency, has awarded a major grant to the Company to
expand ongoing development and commercialization of its leading-edge
stem cell-based technologies designed to predict clinical safety and...
Life Technologies To Develop Human Stem Cell Models Of Neurodegenerative
Diseases To Advance Drug Development
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l=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133603.php>
Medical News Today - 12/23/2008 05:00 Life Technologies Corporation
(NASDAQ: LIFE), a provider of innovative life science solutions,
announced it will use human embryonic stem cells to develop new models
of Lou Gehrig's Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases with a
grant it received this week from the California Institute for
Regenerative... Human Embryonic Stem Cell Technology: VistaGen,
WARF Sign License Agreement
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l=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133656.php>
Medical News Today - 12/23/2008 04:00 VistaGen Therapeutics and the
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) have signed a license for
human embryonic stem cell patents for the development and
commercialization of stem cell-based research tools. Neuralstem
files FDA application for ALS stem cell trial
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l=http://www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_news.asp?guid=58\
B173B9-6719-43DC-BCDD-38EF151CF393>
Pharmaceutical Business Review Online - 12/23/2008 01:51 Neuralstem has
filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA to begin a
clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Acquisition of stem cell company Axordia Limited
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http://www.intercytex.com/icx/news/releases/2008/2008-12-22/>
Intercytex Group - 12/22/2008 00:00 Intercytex Group plc (LSE: ICX)
("Intercytex"), the regenerative medicine company developing
innovative products to restore skin and hair, announces today that it
has acquired Axordia Limited ("Axordia"), a privately-held UK
company focused on the development of stem cell therapies. Under the
terms of the acquisition, Intercytex will issue 7,000,000 new ordinary
shares of 1 pence each as consideration for the purchase of the entire
issued share capital of Axordia, formerly a Fusion IP portfolio company.
Based on Intercytex' closing share price of 24p on 19th December
2008, this values Axordia at £1.68m. Novocell Announces
Non-Exclusive Drug Discovery Collaboration with Pfizer Research to
utilize Novocell's stem cell-derived pancreatic progenitor cells
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http://www.novocell.com/news/press/2008-12-19.html>
Novocell - 12/19/2008 00:00 San Diego, CA (December 19, 2008) –
Novocell, Inc., a stem cell engineering company, today announced it has
entered into a non-exclusive drug discovery collaboration with Pfizer
giving Pfizer access to Novocell's proprietary pancreatic progenitor
cells derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells. Fluidigm to
develop microfluidic chip for stem cell institute
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l=http://www.smalltimes.com/display_article/348214/109/ARTCL/none/none/1\
/Fluidigm-to-develop-microfluidic-chip-for-stem-cell-institute/>
Small Times - 12/17/2008 12:49 : California's Institute for
Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency, has awarded
Fluidigm Corp. and Stemgent Inc. a grant to develop a microfluidic cell
culture chip (C2C) and support system that will help researchers
accelerate stem cell research in California, the companies announced in
a... Fluidigm and Stemgent Awarded One of CIRM'S First Grants
to the Biotech Industry
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http://www.fluidigm.com/pr/news121608.html>
Fluidigm Corporation - 12/16/2008 00:00 California's Stem Cell
Agency Invests in Cell Culture Integrated Fluidic Circuit System
Tuesday, December 16, 2008; South San Francisco –California's
Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency,
has awarded Fluidigm Corporation and Stemgent, Inc. a grant to develop a
cell culture chip (C2C) and support system that will help researchers
accelerate stem cell research in California. BD Biosciences
Launches BD™ Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Sorting and Analysis Kit
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>
BD - Worldwide - 12/15/2008 00:00 News & Events Print [spacer image] BD
Biosciences Launches BD™ Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Sorting and
Analysis Kit First in a series of ready-to-use kits offers a "total
solution" approach for stem cell sorting and analysis Contact: Jeff
Ezell BD Public Relations (201) 847-5533 Email: jeff_ezell@bd.com San
Jose, CA -- Monday, December 15, 2008 -- BD Biosciences, a segment of BD
(Becton, Dickinson and Company), announced today the launch of the
BD™ Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Sorting and Analysis Kit – a
comprehensive research system for the reliable characterization and cell
sorting of human pluripotent stem cells using flow cytometry. This marks
the first in a series of flow cytometry-based kits that BD Biosciences
plans to release in the coming year. Product Provides Enhanced
Mobilization of Stem Cells for Autologous Transplantation in
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma Patients
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47580&url=\
http://www.genzyme.com/corp/media/GENZ%20PR-121508.asp#TopOfPage>
Genzyme Corporation - 12/15/2008 00:00 Genzyme Corporation (Nasdaq:
GENZ) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
granted marketing approval for Mozobil™ (plerixafor injection), a
drug intended to be used in combination with granulocyte-colony
stimulating factor (G-CSF) to mobilize hematopoietic stem cells to the
bloodstream for collection and subsequent autologous transplantation in
patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma
(MM). The product has also been granted orphan drug designation.
Athersys Receives IND Authorization for Multistem in Treatment of
Ischemic Stroke ( Third IND for Company's Proprietary Stem Cell Product
in Less Than a Year )
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l=https://sites.stockpoint.com/dain/newspaper.asp?site=D&Mode=Biotechnol\
ogy&Story=20081211/346u5430.xml>
RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. (fka Dain Rausche) - 12/11/2008 15:25 CLEVELAND,
Dec 11, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHX)
announced today that it has received authorization from the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a Phase I clinical trial
evaluating the safety of administration of its "off-the-shelf" adult
stem cell product,...
Headlines & Advocacy

Hebrew University scientists succeed through stem cell therapy in
reversing brain birth defects
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http://www.huji.ac.il/cgi-bin/dovrut/dovrut_search_eng.pl?mesge123063024\
632688760>
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem - 01/14/2009 15:42 Scientists at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in reversing brain birth
defects in animal models, using stem cells to replace defective brain
cells. The work of Prof. Joseph Yanai and his associates at the Hebrew
University-Hadassah Medical School was presented at the Tel Aviv Stem
Cells Conference last spring and is expected to be presented and
published nest year at the seventh annual meeting of the International
Society for Stem Cell Research in Barcelona, Spain. Text size:
increase text sizedecrease text size Research on embryonic stem cells at
a crossroads
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47567&url=\
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun-embryonic-stem-cells-gerj\
an11,0,7894612.story>
Chicago Tribune - 01/11/2009 15:36 Geron Corp. seeking federal approval
to begin 1st human clinical trials NEW YORK—The future of
controversial research on embryonic stem cells may be riding on the
shoulders of Dr. Thomas Okarma, whose company is poised to begin the
nation's first human clinical trials. Stem Cells: A Life
Sciences Crucible
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=606714051&ur\
l=http://www.scienceprogress.org/2009/01/stem-cells-a-life-sciences-cruc\
ible/>
Science Progress - 01/08/2009 19:16 Next week is bookended by science
policy events at CAP: innovation and patent reform on Monday and stem
cells on Friday: A Life Sciences Crucible Stem Cell Science and
Innovation Done Responsibly and Ethically Featured Panelists: Amy
Comstock Rick, President, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical
Research... CONVERTING ADULT SOMATIC CELLS TO PLURIPOTENT STEM
CELLS USING A SINGLE VIRUS
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l=http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news/releases/display.php?id=1742>
Boston University - 01/08/2009 07:08 (Boston)-A Boston University
School of Medicine-led research team has discovered a more efficient way
to create induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, derived from mouse
fibroblasts, by using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses
in the reprogramming process. Recipe For Capturing Authentic
Embryonic Stem Cells May Apply To Any Mammal, Study Suggests
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l=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081224215532.htm>
Science Daily - 12/24/2008 08:25 ) Researchers have what they think may
be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most
fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal,
including cows, pigs and even humans. New stem cell debate
DeGette urges Obama to take action, remove federal barriers
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http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=2821>
Denver Daily - 12/23/2008 00:00 U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and
Michael Castle, R-Delaware, chief architects of legislation expanding
stem cell research, led a bipartisan group of lawmakers yesterday in
sending a letter to President-elect Barack Obama, urging him to
immediately remove existing federal barriers to embryonic stem cell
research by executive order upon taking office. DeGette and Castle
recently introduced new stem cell legislation overturning President
Bush's executive order, updating previous legislation to ensure that
it is current with the field of stem cell research and bringing the
National Institutes of Health to the forefront. Eli Broad to
donate $25M for stem cell lab
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l=http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_11262589>
Daily Breeze - 12/18/2008 22:31 Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and
Edythe Broad say they will donate $25 million to UC San Francisco for a
state-of-the-art laboratory that will bring together some of the world's
leading scientists in the field of stem cell research. Stem cell
pioneer goes to UM
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l=http://mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=150901&type=Daily>
The Daily Record - 12/17/2008 12:03 Dr. Curt I. Civin, a long-time
faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a
pioneer in cancer research who developed a way to isolate stem cells
from other blood cells, has joined the University of Maryland School of
Medicine. Tracking down bowel cancer stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47573&url=\
http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2008/12/17/tracking-down-bowel-c\
ancer-stem-cells/>
Cancer Research UK - 12/17/2008 00:00 Stem cells are a hot topic in
cancer. In recent years we've seen the rise of the "cancer stem
cell" concept – the idea that many cancers are caused by a small
group of immortal stem cells. These produce `bulk tumour cells',
which can be killed off by treatments such as chemotherapy, but the stem
cells themselves are resistant to treatment. Vatican Issues
Instruction on Bioethics
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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/world/europe/13vatican.html?_r=1>
The New York Times - 12/12/2008 00:00 The Vatican issued its most
authoritative and sweeping document on bioethical issues in more than 20
years on Friday, taking into account recent developments in biomedical
technology and reinforcing the church's opposition to in vitro
fertilization, human cloning, genetic testing on embryos before
implantation and embryonic stem cell research. Scientists
Identify Exciting New Compounds for Stem Cell Production from Adult
Cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47581&url=\
http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20081110/ding.html>
Scripps Research Institute - 11/10/2008 00:00 Scientists from The
Scripps Research Institute have identified a combination of small
molecules that significantly improve the reprogramming of general adult
cells into pluripotent stem cells, which can then develop into all cell
types.
Policy

Missouri judge rejects lawsuit over stem cell research
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l=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/01/15/mo-judge-rejects-\
lawsuit-over-stem-cell-research/>
Missourian - 01/15/2009 23:08 JEFFERSON CITY — For the second time,
a Missouri trial judge ruled against critics of embryonic stem cell
research who want to block state funds from going to life science
grants. Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research
Releases New White Paper, 'Catalyst for Cures: Embryonic Stem Cell
Research'
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l=http://newsblaze.com/story/2009011408030600010.pnw/topstory.html>
News Blaze - 01/15/2009 10:42 - National Poll Reveals Three-Quarters of
Americans Want President-Elect Obama to Deliver on Campaign Commitment
to Lift Restrictions on Embryonic Stem Cell Research - WASHINGTON, Jan.
National Academy of Sciences Weighs in on Stem Cell Research
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l=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/93/19/1447>
JNCI - 01/15/2009 07:49 A comprehensive stem cell report from the
nation s top scientific body recommends far more publicly funded
research than is allowed by the policy President Bush announced in
August. Funding halted for Britain's stem cell research
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l=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/funding-halted-for-brita\
ins-stem-cell-research-14138523.html>
Belfast Telegraph - 01/13/2009 08:49 Britain's effort to lead the world
in stem cell research with the creation of human-animal "hybrid" clones
has ground to a halt through lack of funding less than a year after the
controversial technique was legalised. Millipore Corporation
Supports President-Elect Obama's Plans to Review Stem Cell Research
Policy
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l=http://dmnnewswire.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=627\
259>
DMN Newswire - 01/12/2009 20:09 By BusinessWire BILLERICA, Mass.,
BUSINESS WIRE -- Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), a leading provider of
technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry,
today announced it would support President-elect Barack Obama's plans to
review and possibly reverse an executive order that... All NIH
human embryonic stem cell registry lines now deposited at NSCB
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l=http://www.news.wisc.edu/16120>
University of Wisconsin-Madison - 01/12/2009 17:00 The U.S. National
Stem Cell Bank (NSCB) has announced that it has received deposits of two
human embryonic stem cell lines from Cellartis AB, a biotechnology
company based in Sweden. UCSF Snags $25 Million Stem Cell
Donation
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l=http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2008/12/ucsf-snags-25-mil\
lion-stem-cell.html>
California Stem Cell Report - 12/18/2008 02:56 Despite the nation's
financial woes, some philanthropists continue to pump out money with the
latest coming from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation for the benefit
of UC San Francisco's stem cell laboratory.
Science

Scientists can now differentiate between healthy cells and cancer
cells
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http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/main/news/news_2009/stem_cell_study.html>
McMaster University - 01/14/2009 15:40 One of the current handicaps of
cancer treatments is the difficulty of aiming these treatments at
destroying malignant cells without killing healthy cells in the process.
But a new study by McMaster University researchers has provided insight
into how scientists might develop therapies and drugs that more
carefully target cancer, while sparing normal healthy cells
SINGAPORE SCIENTISTS UNCOVER NEW METHOD TO CREATE INDUCED PLURIPOTENT
STEM CELLS
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47566&url=\
http://www.a-star.edu.sg/a_star/358-Technical-Release?iid=615>
A*STAR - 01/12/2009 15:34 Protein transcription factor Esrrb found to
have new role in cell reprogramming 1. Scientists at the Genome
Institute of Singapore (GIS), a research institute under the Agency for
Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the National University
of Singapore have discovered for the first time, that a protein –
Esrrb – played an essential role in changing differentiated murine
cells back to a pluripotent(1) stem cell state. Led by Dr Ng Huck Hui,
in collaboration with two other GIS groups headed by Dr Thomas Lufkin
and Dr Lim Bing, their discovery of this alternative method in creating
induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells was published in Nature Cell
Biology on January 11, 2009. This is also the first paper highlighting
novel R&D work done in Singapore in the field of cell reprogramming.
Penn Researchers Unlock Molecular Origin of Blood Stem Cells
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http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/01/blood-stem-cell-dev\
elopment.html>
Penn Medicine News - 01/09/2009 15:37 Implications for new blood
disorder therapies PHILADELPHIA – A research team led by Nancy
Speck, PhD, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has identified the
location and developmental timeline in which a majority of bone marrow
stem cells form in the mouse embryo. The findings, appearing online this
week in the journal Nature, highlight critical steps in the origin of
hematopoietic (or blood) stem cells (HSCs), says senior author Speck,
who is also an Investigator with the Abramson Family Cancer Research
Institute at Penn. Drosophila Stem Cells Share a Common
Requirement for the Histone H2B Ubiquitin Protease Scrawny
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l=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/323/5911/248>
Science Magazine - 01/09/2009 07:35 Michael Buszczak,* Shelley Paterno,
Allan C. Spradling Stem cells within diverse tissues share the need for
a chromatin configuration that promotes self-renewal, yet few chromatin
proteins are known to regulate multiple types of stem cells.
Scientists identify new kind of stem cell found in testes
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http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2009/january7/med-testes-010709.ht\
ml>
Stanford News Service - 01/07/2009 15:41 Scientists at the School of
Medicine and at UCSF have succeeded in isolating stem cells from human
testes. The cells bear a striking resemblance to embryonic stem
cells—they can differentiate into each of the three main types of
body tissue—but the researchers caution against viewing them as one
and the same. According to the study, testes stem cells have different
patterns of gene expression and regulation and don't proliferate and
differentiate as aggressively as embryonic stem cells.
"Scrawny" Gene Keeps Stem Cells Healthy
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http://www.ciw.edu/news/scrawny_gene_keeps_stem_cells_healthy>
Carnegie Institution for Science - 01/07/2009 15:39 Baltimore,
MD—Stem cells are the body's primal cells, retaining the
youthful ability to develop into more specialized types of cells over
many cycles of cell division. How do they do it? Scientists at the
Carnegie Institution have identified a gene, named scrawny, that appears
to be a key factor in keeping a variety of stem cells in their
undifferentiated state. Understanding how stem cells maintain their
potency has implications both for our knowledge of basic biology and
also for medical applications. The results will be published in the
January 9, 2009 print edition of Science. Researchers create
first functional stem cell niche
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l=http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2009/january7/med-stemniche-0107\
09.html>
Standford News Service - 01/07/2009 06:35 Like it or not, your living
room says a lot about you. Given a few moments to poke around, a
stranger could get a good idea of your likes and dislikes, and maybe
even your future plans. Cell-cycle restriction limits DNA damage
and maintains self-renewal of leukaemia stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=602016719&ur\
l=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7225/abs/nature07618.html>
Nature.com refers DOI - 01/01/2009 07:43 Andrea Viale1,5, Francesca De
Franco1,2,5, Annette Orleth1,2,5, Valeria Cambiaghi1, Virginia
Giuliani1, Daniela Bossi1, Chiara Ronchini1, Simona Ronzoni1, Ivan
Muradore1, Silvia Monestiroli1, Alberto Gobbi1, Myriam Alcalay1,4,
Saverio Minucci1,3 & Pier Giuseppe Pelicci1,4 Department of Experimental
Oncology... Mesenchymal stem cells induce mature dendritic cells
into a novel Jagged-2–dependent regulatory dendritic cell population
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=603114138&ur\
l=http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/1/4\
6>
Blood - 01/01/2009 04:17 1 Center of Excellence in Tissue Engineering,
Department of Cell Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese
Academy of Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union
Medical College, Beijing, China; and 2 Institute for Biomedical
Engineering, Department of Cell Biology, Rheinisch... Single
virus used to convert adult cells to embryonic stem cell-like cells
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l=http://www.newsrx.com/health-articles/1373744.html>
NewsRx - 01/01/2009 00:56 (NewsRx.com) -- Whitehead Institute
researchers have greatly simplified the creation of so-called induced
pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, cutting the number of viruses used in the
reprogramming process from four to one. Patient-derived induced
stem cells retain disease traits
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=107001&d=-47579&url=\
http://www.news.wisc.edu/16096>
University of Wisconsin-Madison - 12/22/2008 00:00 When neurons started
dying in Clive Svendsen's lab dishes, he couldn't have been more
pleased. The dying cells — the same type lost in patients with the
devastating neurological disease spinal muscular atrophy — confirmed
that the UW-Madison stem cell biologist had recreated the hallmarks of a
genetic disorder in the lab, using stem cells derived from a patient. By
allowing scientists the unparalleled opportunity to watch the course of
a disease unfold in a lab dish, the work marks an enormous step forward
in being able to study and develop new therapies for genetic diseases.
Stem cell funds may go to UNM
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l=http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/storage/paper344/news/2006/11/06/\
News/Stem-Cell.Funds.May.Go.To.Unm-2441521.shtml>
Daily Lobo - 12/21/2008 04:26 by Jeremy Hunt Daily Lobo Gov. Bill
Richardson announced support for legislation Friday that will give $10
million for embryonic and adult stem cell research at UNM's Health
Sciences Center. Clinical trial tests treatment for heart failure
with adult stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=592909213&ur\
l=http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/19206>
University of California - 12/18/2008 22:20 The University of
California, San Diego Medical Center is the first hospital in California
to enroll patients in a multicenter clinical trial, sponsored by
Angioblast Systems Inc. Crypt stem cells as the cells-of-origin
of intestinal cancer
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=592179728&ur\
l=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nature07602.htm\
l>
Nature.com refers DOI - 12/17/2008 17:58 Nick Barker1,4, Rachel A.
Ridgway2,4, Johan H. van Es1, Marc van de Wetering1, Harry Begthel1,
Maaike van den Born1, Esther Danenberg1, Alan R. Clarke3, Owen J.
Researchers Show that a Single Adult Stem Cell Can Self Renew
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=590431237&ur\
l=http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=47159534&source=genwir\
e>
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - 12/15/2008 17:21 GEN News
Highlights Stanford University scientists report that they have
demonstrated for the first time that a single adult stem cell can repair
tissue damage in a live mammal. Mesenchymal stem cell-mediated
ectopic hematopoiesis alleviates aging-related phenotype in
immunocompromised mice
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=588591310&ur\
l=http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-2\
008-10-182246v1>
Blood - 12/12/2008 18:44 Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, MD, United States Mesenchymal Stem Cell...
Contact GPI
Robert E. Margolin
Associate Director
908-605-4203
rob@genpol.org <mailto:rob@genpol.org>

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2.: A GLOBAL STEM CELL RESEARCH ACTION PLAN ....By Don C. Reed

Posted by: "Stephen Meyer" Stephen276@comcast.net stephen_meyer_stemcells

Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:47 pm (PST)

A GLOBAL STEM CELL RESEARCH ACTION PLAN

By Don C. Reed

Like a war more deadly than any in history, chronic disease is ravaging
Earth.

The incurably ill suffer and die no less than if bullets had struck
them; hospitals and sickrooms overflow, inadequate to the task.

Our problem is simple. With expensive modern medicines, we can keep our
loved ones alive despite almost any illness or injury—but we cannot
make them well.

Two staggering statistics: first, in America alone, medical costs exceed
$2.3 trillion in 2007, more than all federal income tax receipts ($1.8
trillion) combined—and three-fourths of all medical costs are
directly due to chronic (incurable) disease.

First, we need international recognition of the scope of the problem.

The United Nations must urge the world to work together on research for
cure: stem cell research, gene therapy, biomedicine-- within each
nation's ideological belief system.

Some nations (the Vatican, for example) oppose embryonic stem cell
research; but there is no reason they could not fund adult stem cell
research: the Pope's recently urged the Earth's Catholic
community to support non-embryonic stem cell research, including the new
induced Pluripotentiary (iPS) stem cells, an important piece of the
puzzle.

In countries that already do support full stem cell research, advocates
must build upon that hard-won foundation in the UK, China, Singapore,
Spain, Japan, Sweden, and many others, including (very soon) the United
States.

We need international scholarship programs, so even the poorest
countries can lend their brightest young men and women to Earth's
emergency. If a country cannot afford a medical research college, loan
programs should be developed for this global benefit.

In the business community, every country can and should encourage the
research, from basic theory in the laboratories, to translation into
actual use: therapies and cures.

As was done in San Diego , where four great institutes joined their
strength for the good of all, companies and colleges can form
consortiums, sharing their scientists, their knowledge, and their
equipment.

Cities, states, and provinces can make life easier for struggling
startups: establishing "incubators" for biomedical Mom-and-Pop
companies as Silicon Valley did for the fledgling computer industry.

New ways of thinking can foster cooperation among scientists, like the
disease team approach of the California stem cell program, and beyond.

What if the best scientists in the country were locked in a room, and
not let out until they found a cure for __________ disease? Ridiculous,
perhaps, or maybe not: if disease came with explosions, and germs were
big enough to wear uniforms, we would take it much more seriously.

At every step, government must help.

Asia understands. In China , the government is offering tax incentives,
as well as funding at national and local levels; in Singapore , an
entire community, Biopolis, provides jobs and housing for biomedical
scientists and their families. This is wisdom, and should be emulated
here at home, unless we want the biomedical revolution to be outsourced,
giving blessings only to other countries.

In America , the emerging life science industry must think of itself as
a new Defense Department-- and quit being so bashful! What business is
more vital, urgent, and irreplaceable than one which could save lives
and ease the suffering of millions?

We dare not flinch from political involvement. On the contrary, Biomed
must lobby aggressively, make campaign contributions to legislators who
support our goals, and vigorously oppose ideologues who would block the
industry of healing.

Talk about a justifiable tax exemption! To my mind, the entire
biomedical industry should be tax free for at least a decade, give it
time to grow.

In Washington , there is much to be done. President-elect Obama must
follow through with his promise: to remove ideological restrictions on
regenerative medicine. This goes deeper than the ill-conceived Bush
restrictions. The Dickey Amendment, for example, should no longer be
automatically renewed, attached every year to some "must-pass"
legislation. That miserable law defines cells in a Petri dish as the
equivalent of a human being; it is even rewritten year after year to
block new forms of research, like nuclear transfer research, which
involves neither sperm nor womb. It is time we stopped allowing
opponents of science to be the "deciders" on science
policy—in a country based on liberty.

But freedom to research, while crucial as the air we breathe, is not
enough. We cannot live on air alone, and neither can the families of
scientists. These men and women are trying to do the impossible with the
invisible, and we must look out for them.

Imagine if President John F. Kennedy had pointed to the sky, and said:
we are going to the moon—but we're not actually going to pay for
it? Research without funding is like a moonshot with no rocket.

The Castle/Degette Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (twice vetoed by
President Bush) must be rewritten to include major money for the
research.

The National Institutes of Health must no longer be ignored. The NIH was
once the crown jewel of Earth's research, and it must be so again.
Its funding levels have been "flat-lined" for the past five
years; costs have risen, but its funding has not even kept pace with
inflation. When a patient's vital signs flat-line, they need life
support; so does the NIH.

We need help from every state.

At present, only a "Magnificent Seven" states provide funds for
full stem cell research: California , New York , New Jersey ,
Massachusetts , Connecticut , Illinois , and Maryland . Even here,
there is no room to relax, as advocates must fight to protect what has
been won.

Not even the magnificent California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
is safe. There is money for grant programs until July of this year, and
enough to run the Institute itself (on a skeleton crew) for a year after
that. But our funding comes from bonds which are sold, and that sale
must be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. If the financial
conditions in the Golden State do not improve, and new bond sales are
not allowed, California may be forced to do again what ICOC chair Bob
Klein did to protect us before. When our funding was blocked by
lawsuits, he and a dedicated few board members brought in loan/gifts
from the public: a tremendously difficult job even then, and it will be
immeasurably more difficult now.

And what about the states which still handcuff their scientists? Places
like Arizona , Arkansas , Iowa , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine ,
Minnesota , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Mexico , North Dakota ,
Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Dakota , Utah , and Virginia still
put ideological hurdles in front of researchers, sometimes calling them
criminals, and threatening them with prosecution for their life-giving
work.

Advocates in such states do have options: they can directly challenge
the negative laws; or work around them, pushing for funding bills which
support only adult stem cell research; or, they may prepare the state
for tomorrow, giving educational talks to community organizations: such
speeches are hugely influential, planting seeds for future growth and
beneft.

One useful tool is a miniature research bill, like California 's
Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act. It is tiny, just $1.5
million a year. But from that small beginning, a way to cure paralysis
may spring. If you saw the paralyzed rats that walked again, scampering
around a purple plastic swimming pool on TV, you saw "our" work.
One influential scientist, Dr. Hans Keirstead, succeeded first with a
Roman Reed grant, then used that success as leverage for larger grants
from the NIH; That experiment (now funded by ground-breaking Geron) is
under consideration by the FDA for human trials, the first in the world.

"Roman's Law" has funded about $12 million in research over
the few years of its existence—and quintupled that investment for
the Golden State, bringing in an additional $50 million in matching
funds from the feds, new money for our state—funding more than 50
scientists and their staffs, good jobs for our state and nation

Why not a regenerative research funding law in every state?

One immediate benefit would be funding for new scientists, the young
ones all too often locked out of grants from the NIH. Because there is
so little money in the National Institutes of Health budget, a scientist
often won't get help from this prime source until he or she reaches
an average age of 43. A scientist who earns a doctor's degree (a
huge accomplishment) may not be able to make a living for the first
twenty years in the field!

In these and other ways, small and large, our states and nations can
work together. Every contribution helps: like little cloth squares,
meaningless by themselves, but when combined into a patchwork quilt,
bring warmth and comfort on a freezing Winter's night.

Imagine how beautiful international research cooperation could be: like
an Iranian/Israeli stem cell research institute. Why not? Both
countries are strong supporters of stem cell research, everybody loves
their children, and every family deserves access to the best medicine
science can provide.

Already, the State of California is working with countries like Canada,
Japan and the UK, finding ways to multiply our efforts, getting far more
bang to the buck, while still spending the money inside the Golden
State, as mandated by Proposition 71.

We must support the research where it grows; plant seeds where it is
not—with a global stem cell research action plan.

Don C. Reed is Vice-President for Public Policy, Americans for Cures
Foundation; his opinions may or may not reflect the views of the
Foundation.

Don C. Reed Sponsor, Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act Founder
and Co-Chair, Californians for Cures Don Reed is also Vice President
of Public Policy for Americans for Cures Foundation; opinions voiced
here as an individual may or may not reflect those of the Foundation.

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