Stem Cells Research

Sources of Stem Cells

2011-02-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

There are two major "sources" of stem cells: The type that gets into all forms of media daily are embryonic (and fetal) stem cells, which are over-hyped, are never used clinically, are illegal, and many of us believe are immoral and unethical. The legal, moral and ethically correct type of stem cells are bone marrow derived stem cells and umbilical cord stem cells that almost never receive any publicity because they are not controversial!

The most important thing a person should understand is that a stem cell is a stem cell is a stem cell! All forms of stem cells are essentially very similar and differ only in fairly minor ways. Primitive undifferentiated (untrained) stem cells by and large can go to any injury and help to repair the damaged tissues. Yes some are more potent than others but in reality they all work as stem cells and support regeneration of damaged tissues. That is the bottom line. All of the hype about embryonic stem cells is just that. The media does not care about presenting facts - they are concerned with selling papers and getting ratings! And it's ratings you get by talking or reporting controversial subjects and getting people upset and excited enough for them to tell others that they have to buy a certain newspaper or magazine to read all about the controversy. When I was inexperienced with media people and would read statements similar to mine above, I would have viewed those words as the rantings of some fanatic pushing his own product or point of view. It was only when I began to be interviewed about my work with umbilical cord stem cells that the media's need for controversy became crystal clear. Many times I have been interviewed by some very nice-sounding reporter who promised to tell the exact information as I presented it - only to find later they eliminate all of the modifiers and qualifiers I used with my information.

They would use only those parts of my information they thought could be distorted so that all of the work I was reporting on appeared misguided and delusional. All the while they would promote the use of embryonic stem cells. Sometimes it is not the reporters but the propaganda put out by the research scientists who are working on embryonic stem cells. The truth is, these scientists have or are trying to get patents on different processes used in the production of embryonic stem cells that could make them a great deal of money. Since they are professors at major universities, the media holds them in great regard even though they have never treated a single patient with stem cells.

They claim to know everything about stem cells yet they've only treated mice! Thus the public has become convinced that we the public are being deprived of miraculous cures since embryonic stem cells are not available. With this erroneous information, everyone has been convinced that we need to spend billions of dollars (in California 3 billion dollars) in hopes of getting embryonic stem cells legalized so they can be used to cure everybody of everything from A-Z.

Unfortunately, the public has not been told about the success of umbilical or bone marrow stem cells as therapy for the very same diseases that all of this money is being spent to develop embryonic stem cells to treat. People are suffering and dying waiting for the moral, ethical, political and profit debates to subside over embryonic stem cell research - while adult stem cells are available now and proving in a clinical setting to work and be safe in thousands who have benefitted from them.

Adult Stem Cells have been found in nearly every tissue in the body. In addition, umbilical cord stem cells are categorized as adult stem cells because they have grown beyond the embryonic stage. Adult stem cells, in fact, have been used in transplants for over 30 years. In the 1960's researchers discovered that bone marrow contains at least two kinds of stem cells, hematopoietic (forms all types of blood cells in the body) and bone marrow stromal cells (a mixed population of cells that form bone, cartilage, fats and fibrous connective tissue). An adult stem cell (sometimes called "somatic stem cell") is a stem cell that has not yet "specialized" (differentiated) which means it hasn't yet become a specific tissue or organ. Adult stem cells are found among differentiated cells in a tissue or organ, can renew themselves, and can differentiate to become specialized cell types.

In fact, the primary role of adult stem cells is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. We find "multipotent" stem cells in adult stem cells. These are true stem cells and can differentiate into a great number of different cell types. For example, the bone marrow contains multipotent stem cells that give rise to all the cells of the blood. In fact, the excitement over the past years has been that hemapoietic stem cells in both cord blood and bone marrow can give rise to neurons and glial cells as well as kidney, liver, and heart cells.

It's the location and growth factors that help determine what the cell can produce. Multipotent stem cells are found in adult animals; perhaps most organs in the body contain them (e.g., brain, liver) where they can replace dead or damaged cells. Bone marrow stem cells are a readily available source of stem cells for most people. In my clinic I use bone marrow transplantation, and now, of course Stemgevity™ is the easiest way to get bone marrow stem cells into the system. Umbilical cord stem cells are available in other countries and are also safe and effective when properly tested and processed.

Both bone marrow and umbilical cord stem cells are multipotent, able to divide into a variety of cells, and they show great promise in reparative and regenerative therapy for all manner of disease in people of all ages. IN FOODS TO PURCHASE ORGANIC, please look at the first sentence in each line. Many of them should have a period and then a capitalization of the next word.

The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cell

2011-02-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cells.
Click Here for Full Information

The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cell

2011-02-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cells.
Click Here for Full Information

[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 787

2009-04-21T06:44:00.001-07:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: TEXAS TORNADO: Three Billion dollars in Cancer Research May be Swept From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: TEXAS TORNADO: Three Billion dollars in Cancer Research May be Swept

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

Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:29 pm (PDT)

TEXAS TORNADO: Three Billion dollars in Cancer Research May be Swept
Away

By Don Reed

Texas Governor Rick Perry's recent recommendation that Texas secede
from America was nonsensical. If the Governor is so uncomfortable in our
country that he wishes to leave, that is his right; but he will not take
Texas with him. Recent polls show the rest of his state is quite happy
being associated with the United States.

This fuss and furor is just a blustering dust storm, stirred up for
whatever temporary political purpose the Governor hoped to achieve. Few
people took him seriously; I doubt very much he did either. (When Mr.
Perry's political biography is written, it will quite rightly pay
more attention to the kindness of the Governor when Hurricane Katrina
created homeless refugeesand Texas took them inthan this
secession nonsense.)

But there is another Texas tornado which is deadly serious, and which
may cost Texas families a great deal.

Anyone who has cancer (my sister has it; my mother died of it) wants the
research for cure to move forward.

Lance Armstrong is a fighter for research, and he helped Texas pass an
amazing

$3 billion dollar research bill dedicated to finding a cure for cancer.
That money came with no restrictive anti-research strings attached.

Unfortunately, Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) is attempting to block a
vital component of that research: shutting down embryonic stem cell
research in Texas.

Ogden is a cunning politico; this guy is legitimately tough, and knows
how to street fightunfortunately he is using his very real
strengths to back an anti-research vision that is as out of step with
America as the Governor Perry's secession plan.

At a time when the rest of the country is embracing cure research, Mr.
Ogden wants to ban it.

Because he knows he is out of touch with Texas voters, he first tried to
do the damage quietly.

Senator Ogden inserted a "rider" onto the state's must-pass
budget bill, Senate Bill One. This rider bans state funding of embryonic
stem cell research.

As Committee chairman, Ogden waited until pro-research committee members
were out of the room, and then rushed through a quick vote, which passed
6-5.

There was no public notice, no testimony, no discussion. When asked
about this undemocratic procedure, he replied that the members had been
talking about it "privately". No worries about sunshine or
openness for Mr. Ogden!

Now, like a tick on the neck of a horse, that anti-research rider is
attached to the budget, to suck the life out of the cancer research
bill, and weaken that state's hope for cure.

Asked if he thought this would end embryonic stem cell research in his
state, the Senator reportedly replied, "If that bill won't do
it, the next one will."

The Senate let his rider stay onthe House stripped it offnow
the two houses will confer, and one will win and one will lose

The next attack he spoke of, is Senate Bill 1695.

We need to let Senator Ogden knowpolitely but firmlythat the
families of Texas and America deserve better.

Now here's the catch. The Senator is an old pro, and as such knows
how to block unwanted correspondence.

I called yesterday and left a message. Then I emailed him.

I doubt very much either message will reach him.

But I am also going to send him a personal letter, the old-fashioned
kind, remember those, they have stamps on them? And thateven if
thrown awaywill be noticed.

Because nobody writes letters anymore. Any personal letter gets
attention, and the Senator's staff will be tallying the responses.

The Senator expects, I am sure, to hear nothing but letters of support
from his allies in the Religious Right.

Let us surprise him. Politely, of course: rudeness only makes us look
like fringe elements, instead of mainstream America, which is what we
are.

I will be sending three copies of my letter to the Senator: one to each
of his three public offices.

Those addresses are:

1. Sen. Steve Ogden, Texas Senate, P.O. Box 12068, Capitol Station,
Austin, TX 78711

2. East District Office, 3740 Copperfield Drive, Suite 103, Bryan, Texas
77802
979/776-0521

3. West District Office, 309 West Main, Suite 115, Round Rock, Texas
78664
512/828-5224

Want some background? Below is probably more than you need, so if you
already are up on the effort, feel free to skip over itbut please,
help me with a letter, a call, or an emaildon't leave it to
somebody else.

This is for Texas, but it is also for everyone. Texas is a wonderful
state, huge, full of diverse energy and powerwe need the scientists
and colleges and patients and advocates and political leaders of the
Lone Star Statewe need Texas, and so does the world..

The following info is from my friends at TXAMRTexans for the
Advancement of Medical Research.

SB 1695 BY OGDEN (this is the second wave of attack I mentioned
earlier--dr)

Bill Background info: Would limit the use of state money or facilities
for research involving the destruction of human embryos, even those
destined for discard as medical waste by IVF clinics and used to create
stem cell lines for research. The rider would also ban IVF treatments.

WHAT THE BILL DOES:

* Ban research on stem cell lines created using fertilized eggs from
fertility clinics, eggs that were destined to be discarded as medical
waste. Using these eggs that would otherwise be thrown out to study
diseases and to search for treatments and cures, offers the hope of
healthier life for thousands of Texans.

* Ban research currently being conducted in state research
institutions around the state. SB 1695 does much more than ban funding
for embryonic stem cell research; it bans the conduct of the research by
NIH funds as well as private funding.

* Ban current research on previously approved federal stem cell
lines. Research studies using the embryonic stem lines approved by
President Bush in 2001 would come to a halt in Texas.

* Stop all embryonic stem cell research in all state institutions in
Texas

* Senator Ogden's bill would prohibit the use of state dollars to
pay the salaries of our state employed researchers who work with
embryonic stem lines.

* Senate Bill 1695 would prohibit the use of state supported labs for
embryonic stem cell research even if the research money comes from
federal grants.

* Under Senator Ogden's bill, researchers will face a choice of
leaving state institutions or stopping their research. The state of
Texas will likely lose our best researchers, their staff, their research
grant money and their graduate students and medical students to other
states and countries that appreciate good science and good medicine.

* Under Senator Ogden's bill, cancer research conducted at the
newly established Cancer Research Initiative, and research into other
life threatening diseases such as Parkinson's Disease,
Alzheimer's and diabetes will be severely limited.

* Senator Ogden's bill would halt the gains we have made at
better understanding how cells function and where malignancies or
mutations occur and why. Researchers have repeatedly said that studying
embryonic stem cells helps in the development of adult stem cell
therapies.

WHAT YOU MIGHT WISH TO SAY:

I urge Senator Ogden to abandon his plans to push SB 1695 in Senate
Finance Committee.

As a state with premier research institutions, citizens across the
country are hopefully awaiting treatments and cures for life threatening
diseases and conditions that may be discovered in Texas.

Texas has too much to lose in banning the funding of ethical, regulated
embryonic stem cell research.

I urge Senator Ogden to carefully consider the human and economic losses
in not supporting legal, ethical and safe embryonic stem cell research
in this state.

Here is my letter (Don Reed)

Dear Senator Ogden:

First, thank you for being a Senator-- I am sure it is never an easy
job!

As the father of a paralyzed young man, Roman Reed, I am deeply
distressed by SB 1695. I am very familiar with embryonic stem cell
research, having been the citizen sponsor of a small law in California,
the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999. "Roman's
Law" funded the first state-sponsored embryonic stem cell research
in the nationthe spinal cord injury research experiment which goes
to human trials this Summer.

I have seen it work. On March 1, 2002, in the laboratory named after my
son (the Roman Reed Laboratory, within the Reeve-Irvine Research
Institute at UC Irvine) I held in my hand a laboratory rat which had
been paralyzed, but which walked again, thanks to embryonic stem cell
research.

Biblically, I tend to go along with Psalm 139, which says, "He knit me
together in my mother's womb". That is where an individual life begins.
Scientifically, as you know, it is biologically impossible to create a
child without a mother's womb-- and accordingly, cells in a Petri dish
can never become a child.

I respect your right to your views, Senator Ogden, but please be aware
there are millions of Americans who suffer every day, and who want the
research to move forward.

Do please reconsider your advocacy for SB 1695. If enacted into law, it
would slow the progress of Lone Star scientists as they work their way
toward cure.

Thank you,

Don C. Reed

Want to know more, do more? More from our friends in TXAMR

About Stem Cell Research Bills Now Pending in the Texas Legislature

If you had a chance to make a call to your state senator and Lt. Gov.
Dewhurst, many thanks. If you didn't, here's another opportunity to make
calls in support of stem cell research. Below is information on what's
happening right now and how you can help. At the bottom are an editorial
and an op-ed further explaining why this is so important. Again, please
pass this on to your friends and family.

If you are not sure who represents you, click here
<http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/> and enter your home address under
"who represents me" to find your senator and representative and their
phone number.

Texans for Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR) thanks you for making
your voices heard -- we had word that the majority of calls coming in to
the offices were in support of research.

We also appreciate your passing these emails on to others. (If you are
not receiving TAMR's alerts, sign up here <http://www.txamr.org/> to be
an advocate.)

Unfortunately, the budget bill, SB1, passed with the rider still
attached. Five senators, Kirk Watson, Eliot Shapleigh, Mario Gallegos,
Rodney Ellis and Wendy Davis had the courage to vote against the bill
that carried this destructive rider.

What happens next?

The House will act on its own budget bill, HB1. Then, both bills go to a
Conference Committee with 5 people chosen from each of the committees
that heard the bill. These 10 people will decide whether the rider
becomes part of the budget for the next two years.

Finance chair, Steve Ogden changed his rider that will go before the
committee to read:

Sec. 17.13 No Destruction of Human Embryos for Research Purposes. Until
legislation is passed by the Texas Legislature and becomes law
authorizing and regulating embryonic stem cell research, no funds
appropriated under this Act shall be used to directly fund research,
which involves the destruction of a human embryo.

This is not acceptable.

Even if the budget bill is stripped of the rider, we still have to deal
with Ogden's bill SB 1695, co-authored by Dan Patrick and Jane Nelson,
that prohibits the use of state money for research involving destruction
of human embryos. This is written broader than the rider to the budget
and would end all embryonic stem cell and IVF research in any of the
laboratories of our state and private universities (because all receive
state funding.)

SB 1695 reads:

A person may not use state money or a facility owned, leased, or managed
by a state agency, department or office for research involving the
destruction of human embryos, including embryonic stem cell research, or
to support research involving the destruction of human embryos.

So, the bottom line is:

We need you to keep up the good work and watch your email for alerts, as
your help is certain to be needed over the next few weeks.

If you have not had the opportunity to make these three calls, please do
so with this message:

"I want you to understand the importance of stem cell research, and the
impact it will have on Texas if it is banned--for the institutions,
researchers, patients, and the economy. I am asking you not to let a ban
on embryonic stem cell research or the funding for it happen in Texas,
either in a stand-alone bill like SB 1695 which has been filed, but has
not yet been heard in committee, or in the budget for the state."

Call: Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst (512) 463- 0001 (He will
appoint 5 Senate members to the Conference Committee for the budget,
where the rider that bans hESC will be stripped or retained.
Call: Speaker of the House Joe Straus (512) 463-0686 He will appoint 5
House members to the Conference Committee for the budget, where the
rider that bans hESC will be stripped or retained.
Call: Rep. Jim Pitts (512) 463-0516 Chair of House Appropriations
Call: Rep. Leo Berman (512) 463-0584 District 6 or Rep. Tommy Merritt
(512) 463-0750 District 7

If you missed the recent editorial from Houston Chronicle or the op-ed
from Bernard Weinstein, economist, please read them below. I think you
will find them interesting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6354531.html
<http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6354531.html>

Stealth legislating: Vote down ban on state funding for stem cell
research

By injecting an amendment into the Texas Senate budget bill to ban state
funding for stem cell research that involves the destruction of a human
embryo, Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, has provided a
textbook example of how powerful elected officials can end-run
democratic processes to suit their own ideological agendas.

Passed with scant discussion by Ogdens committee 6-5, the budget bill
includes a rider that if allowed to become law, will inflict serious
damage to efforts to boost regenerative medicine research in Texas,
particularly at state institutions, including the University of Texas
Health Science Center in Houston.

Proponents of the stem cell funding ban have failed to pass bills in
previous legislative sessions, as lawmakers from both parties have
opposed it. Republican House members Beverly Woolley of Houston and Rick
Hardcastle of Vernon are among the key supporters of responsible stem
cell research, as is U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Now that the administration of President Barack Obama is dismantling
federal barriers to expanded fetal stem cell use, new state funding
restrictions would drive talent and research dollars to other states.

An open letter to legislators from pre-eminent members of the states
scientific community contends that the ban would halt ongoing research
projects and negatively impact the ability of the Texas academic health
institutions, both public and private, to competitively recruit and
retain world-class scientists, professors and medical students in the
biological sciences. They contend that since private funding is almost
never available for early-stage biomedical research, a ban such as this
would effectively stifle this research in Texas. The letter is signed by
researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, the UT Health System and
Rice, as well as two Nobel Laureates and a former presidential science
adviser.

Bernard L. Weinstein, who directs the Center for Economic Development
and Research at the University of North Texas at Denton, says the ban
would run counter to a campaign by Gov. Rick Perry to boost the Texas
biotech industries. It would cost the state billions of dollars in
economic activity while undermining Texas image as a hospitable
environment for research.

State Rep. Ellen Cohen, a Democrat whose district includes the Texas
Medical Center, says the amendment was passed with no public debate or
input from the thousands of doctors, researchers and medical
professionals responsible for extending so many lives I cannot stand by
silently when the voices of so many responsible for so much good are not
even heard.

Ogdens amendment is no minor technical measure inserted for some
hometown special interests. It is an attack on the viability of a vital
sector of the state economy and upon the well-being of future thousands
of desperately ill Texans who could benefit from the cures resulting
from stem cell advances.

Late Wednesday the Senate passed the budget, including Ogdens amendment,
by a vote of 26-5. Before the vote, he explained that his intent was not
to ban all such research but to keep state money from being used
directly for research involving the destruction of a human embryo.
Whatever his stated intent, more progressive members should strike the
ban when the budget reaches conference committee.

While claiming the moral high ground in defense of fertility clinic
embryos that are routinely discarded, Ogden used the amendment route
rather than relying on his own bill with similar wording that would have
faced public hearings and an up-and-down vote by colleagues.

This issue is far too important to be decided by a back-room legislative
maneuver. It is now up to responsible lawmakers in the Texas Senate and
House to counter Ogdens power play and approve a budget that does not
undermine the ability of our medical institutions to participate in the
renewed national effort to advance a promising field of medical
research.

===

Proposed Restrictions on Stem Cell Funding May Kill Texas' Emerging
Biotechnology Industry

By Bernard L. Weinstein*

Recent scientific advances have caused tremendous excitement in the
burgeoning field of regenerative medicine, which focuses on developing
therapies to restore or replace damaged cells and tissues in the human
body. Stem cell research has proven to be one of the most promising
areas of research, offering the opportunity to revolutionize medical
treatment, drug development and biomedical research.

From heart disease and diabetes, to Parkinson's disease and spinal cord
injuries, stem cell research in its many forms-including embryonic stem
cell research-holds the key that could potentially unlock the secrets to
treatments and cures that have long eluded patients suffering from some
of the most devastating diseases.

Unlike Texas, many other states are making strong commitments to stem
cell research, not only to improve public health but also to capitalize
on its economic development potential. Institutions in California, New
Jersey, Massachusetts and Wisconsin have been the leaders in this field,
in part because of state laws that ensure the legality of embryonic stem
cell research. By contrast, the Texas Senate Finance Committee has just
reported out a budget bill for the next biennium that would prohibit the
use of any state funds for embryonic stem cell research, even as
restrictions on federal funding for such research have been removed.

An even greater irony is that Governor Rick Perry has targeted the
biosciences as a growth sector for the Texas economy. (emphasis added,
dr) Texas currently possesses a biotechnology industry comprised of
about 950 private companies as well as world-class universities and
research facilities and the largest medical center in the world. But
putting legislative restrictions on stem cell research runs the risk of
damaging the entire biotech sector, as serious researchers are likely to
locate in states with more accommodating political climates. The
potential economic and humanitarian losses could be huge.

Texas currently accounts for only 2.9 percent of the nation's
biotechnology industry compared with almost 8 percent of its gross
domestic product. Just increasing our share to the national average
would contribute an additional $87.4 billion to state economic activity
and support over 230,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs paying more
than $12.8 billion in salaries and wages. State and local tax receipts
would be boosted by more than $8 billion annually.

The fruits of stem cell research also promise to reduce the financial
burden of treating serious diseases such as stroke, type 1 diabetes,
Parkinson 's disease, and spinal cord injuries. Currently, the cost of
treating Texans with these ailments is nearly $14 billion a year.
Reducing these costs by as little as one percent would save almost $140
million each year. Over a thirty-year period, these cost reductions
would sum to $4.2 billion. Savings would also be achieved in the state's
Medicaid program.

If Texas is to be a leader in the biosciences, with all the anticipated
health and economic benefits that will follow, the state must maintain a
hospitable environment for research and development. At a minimum, Texas
needs to be known as a "safe haven" for medical research, including
embryonic stem cells. Indeed, if we're serious about becoming a major
player in the global bioscience arena, we should be allocating-not
prohibiting-state funding for such research.

*Weinstein is director of the Center for Economic Development and
Research and a professor of applied economics at the University of North
Texas in Denton. His email address is bernard.weinstein@unt.edu
<mailto:bernard.weinstein@unt.edu>

====

Make a donation to support the work of TAMR.
Texans for Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR) is a Texas Nonprofit
Corporation and is a 501(C)(4). grassroots volunteer legislative
advocacy organization; therefore your contributions are greatly
appreciated but are not deductible for IRS income tax purposes.

Tell a friend to Become an Advocate for regenerative medicine.

Thanks, Folks!

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 786

2009-04-20T00:18:00.001-07:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY by Don C. Reed From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY by Don C. Reed

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

Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:46 am (PDT)

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY

by Don C. Reed

Before my son Roman received a spinal cord injury, I never gave much
thought as to what it meant to be disabled. I was polite, of course. If
I met a person in a wheelchair, I just went around. But what was it like
to be denied the use of one's limbs? Or to be unable to hear? Aside
from an occasional movie, like the "The Miracle Worker", Helen
Keller's true story of being both blind and deaf, the subject never
seemed to come up.

Disability was just a word.

Then, in an instant, everything changed. Roman became paralyzed, and he
(and indirectly his family) became part of the disability community.

I had no idea how many citizens with disabilities there were.

According to the most recent U.S. Census, roughly one in five Americans
has a disability: meaning she or he has difficulty with everyday
activities: like breathing, or seeing, or getting dressed in the
morning.

The disability community is America's largest minorityeven
without their families! If organized, we can win any election.

This vast potential power has not gone unnoticed.

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sarah Palin and John McCain tried
to rally the disability community against the Democratic party. Their
campaign stated that Obama's tax plan would hurt disabled people, by
taxing families who had set up trust funds for their special needs
family members.

That was a surprise to me. Trust fund? Most folks in the disability
community are poor: financially struggling to make ends meet. Even in
the best of times, unemployment for disabled workers is like the Great
Depression. When you are worried about scraping together enough money
to put food on the table, there is no extra cash for stocks or bonds or
any kind of trust fund.

I was glad to hear Obama spokespeople respond strongly. One advisor,
Jason Furman, called the attack a "blatant lie", saying that
Obama would work with the Treasury department to "make sure tax
rates do notincrease on any family making less than $250,000 a
year." Another (Bill Burton) said that Mr. Obama "has a
comprehensive plan to support families that have children with special
needs and empower individuals with disabilities." Wall Street
Journal, Chozick and Timiraos, October 24, 2008.

Were they telling the truth?

Like millions of Americans, I was a volunteer worker for Obama, seeing
his leadership as crucial for the nation as a whole, and the disability
community in particular.

One of the people I worked with on the campaign was Kareem Dale. He was
in charge of outreach to the disability community. We never met, just
talked on phone conferences, where he was invariably calm and affable,
very focused and on top of the situation. I did not realize till much
later that he was blind.

So, after the campaign, did Mr. Dale go back to what he had been doing
before? Did the Obama campaign tell him, thank you very much, we
appreciate your support, see you next election?

Not exactly.

A new position was created in the White House.

And a few days ago, I received the following information from Kareem
Dale, now Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy..

Kareem Dale may be visually challenged, but he sees deeply into the
problems of the disability community, and he is right there beside the
President, making sure our families will never be forgotten.

Remember the disability community saying, "Nothing about us, without
us"? Disability folks do not want occasional handouts, crumbs tossed
from the tablewe want to be seated at the table of power,
contributing and participating when decisions are made.

The rest of this column is from Kareem Dale, listing some of the steps
the Obama Presidency has already taken in support of Americans with
disabilities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN DISABILITY COMMUNITY IN FIRST 60 DAYS

SIGNINGS

* (President Obama) signed SCHIP, which will provide insurance to
millions of children, including children with disabilities.
* Signed stem cell Executive Order, which will open the door to
potential cures for many disabilities.
* Signed Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, which will, for
the first time in history, bring together the best minds across the
country to collaborate on research, rehabilitation and improvement of
quality of life for people living with paralysis.

RECOVERY ACT

* People with disabilities were included as never before in the
recovery plan.
* Provided a one-time additional payment of $250 to people who
receive Social Supplemental Income.
* Provided $500 million to the Social Security Administration to help
reduce backlogs.
* Provided $87 billion in Medicaid funding for states.
* Provided $140 million in funding for independent living centers.
* Provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation
services to help with job training, education and placement.
* Provided $12 billion in funding for the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.

APPOINTMENTS

* Appointed a Special Assistant to the President for Disability
Policy with responsibilities in the Domestic Policy Council and Office
of Public Liaison for the first time in history.
* Appointed a Special Assistant to the President in the White House
Office of Personnel to focus on disability appointments for the first
time in history.
* Appointed a Senior Advisor on Disability Policy in the Domestic
Policy Council for the first time in history.
* Nominated a person with a disability, Kathy Martinez, to be
Director of ODEP.
* Nominated Seth Harris, a long time disability advocate, to be
Deputy Secretary of Labor.
* Nominated Tom Perez, a long-time supporter of the disability
community, to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of
Justice.

OUTREACH

* President hosted a greet with 10 disability leaders following the
signing of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.
* Vice-President led a delegation to the Special Olympics.
* Included people with disabilities at all public White House events.
* Invited Carmen Jones, an African American woman with a disability,
to participate in the small group meeting with seven other small
business owners to discuss issues with the President facing small
business owners.
* Invited six leaders from the disability community to the signing of
SCHIP.
* Invited disability leaders to participate in the White House and
regional healthcare summits, including members of CCD, ADAPT, National
MS Society, mental health groups, autism groups and many other
disability groups across the country.
* Invited CCD to participate in the fiscal summit.
* Hosted outreach meetings with disability leaders and organizations.
* Hosting briefing and meeting for presidents of national disability
organizations.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 785

2009-04-13T05:57:00.001-07:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: NORTH DAKOTA, STEM CELLS, AND THE GREAT "PERSONHOOD" LIE by From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: NORTH DAKOTA, STEM CELLS, AND THE GREAT "PERSONHOOD" LIE by

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

Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:43 am (PDT)

NORTH DAKOTA, STEM CELLS, AND THE GREAT "PERSONHOOD" LIE

by Don C. Reed

Filling sandbags against a raging river, North Dakota citizens inspired
the world not long ago. Shoulder to shoulder the residents of Fargo,
North Dakota worked, long nights in the pouring rain-- and they built
that sandbag dam, protecting the lives and homes of their neighbors.

But now imagine a piece of foolishness: suppose a new law has been
enacted, criminalizing the making of sandbags. The legislation says each
grain of sand has an existence of its own, and must be allowed freedom,
independence, and a lawyer: full standing in a court of law.

The new legislation permitsno, requires!that every sandbag be
set free, yanked out of those North Dakota dams. And so the floods come
roaring down, on the undefended homes

Ridiculous? Don't laugh too soon.

On February 17th, 2009, North Dakota's House of Representatives
passed an equally short-sighted bill with potentially devastating
real-life consequences. That bill goes now to the state's Senate.

House Bill 1572 is a "personhood" law establishing
microscopic human cells as a person, a full-fledged human being.

It sounds harmless enough, at first.

But this new definition of personhoodgiving legal status to tissue
samples smaller than a grain of sand-- could blast the entire field of
embryonic stem cell research.

Let's take a quick run through this bill, which would so casually
criminalize one of humanity's best hopes.

Here are a few brief highlights; complete text follows at the end.

98312.0200 Sixty-first Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1572 of
North Dakota, Introduced by Representative Ruby.

"Section 1. Equality and rights guaranteed to all human beings.

a. "Human being" means any organism, (emphasis added)
including the single-cell human embryo (which) possesses a genome
(for) the human species."

Comment: According to the Human Genome Project, the genome is "found
in every nucleus of a person's many trillions of cells"

(http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/publicat/primer/prim\
1.html
<http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/publicat/primer/prim\
1.html> )

There are approximately 100 trillion human cells in every human
bodyaccording to the new definition, how many are human beings?

"2. The state shall naturalize all preborn persons and shall afford
to them all the privileges and immunities of state citizenship, except
that the state is not required to include preborn children in state and
local censuses."

Comment: The great commentator and comedian Will Rogers once said,
"When Congress makes a joke, it's a law." HB 1572 does
contain some unintended humor, like the above-named census exemption.

With trillions of newly-defined "preborn persons", a census
would indeed be difficult not to mention the income tax
complications -- could we claim our own cells as dependents?

But the proponents of this bill are deadly serious.

In a clear attempt to tar stem cells by association (like repeatedly
naming a Congressman in an article on horsetheft) HB 1572 contains
numerous references to: incest, abortion, dismemberment, torture-- and
the killing of children.

"Section 3, part d:

"Because scientists have discovered a way of creating pluripotent
cells using umbilical stem cells, there is no need to kill children to
obtain their embryonic stem cells."

There it is: the great personhood lie-- the pretense that there are
children involved in embryonic stem cell research.

And what a shameful deception it is.

A blastocyst in a Petri dish is living tissue, not a life.

To prove this, we need only ask ourselves one question:

Can a sperm and egg become a childoutside the womb?

Common sense provides the answer. Without the nurturing shelter of a
mother's womb, it is biologically impossible to make a child.

No mother, no child: this is not rocket science.

Stem cell research, as the name implies, is cells, cells, nothing but
cellsand the possibility of cure.

Why would such a ludicrous bill even be considered?

First, the opposition is running scared. They are losing, and they know
it. When President Obama overturned the Bush restrictions on embryonic
stem cell research, that put the Federal government officially on our
side. The game is almost up.

However: if personhood laws can re-define life as having citizenship at
the single-cell level, the U.S. Supreme Court (remember, the Roberts
Court is very conservative) might actually find grounds to criminalize
the entire field of embryonic stem cell research.

Impossible?

The Dickey-Wicker Amendment already blocks federal funding for any new
embryonic stem cell linesand it does so with personhood language
and concepts.

To be continued

As promised, here is the full text of HB 1572.

"98312.0200 Sixty-first Legislative Assembly

HOUSE BILL NO. 1572 of North Dakota

Introduced by Representative Ruby

A BILL for an Act to provide for equality and rights to all human beings
at every stage of

biological development; to create and enact two new sections to chapter
12.1-17, relating to the crimes of dismemberment and torture; to amend
and reenact subsection 3 of section 12.1-20-03, section 12.1-20-11,
subsection 2 of section 12.1-20-17, and section 12.1-27.2-04.1 of the
North Dakota Century Code, relating to penalties for crimes against born
alive children; to provide legislative intent; and to provide a penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:

SECTION 1. Equality and rights guaranteed to all human beings.

1. For purposes of this Act:

a. "Born", "birth", "partially born", "born alive", and any derivation
thereof, apply

to any child located inside a uterus, which is pulled out of the mother;
or who

has ever had any part of its body, including the head, pulled out of the
uterus,

such as during natural birth, artificial birth, or abortion.

b. "Human being" means any organism, including the single-cell human
embryo,

irrespective of the method of reproduction, who possesses a genome
specific

for and consistent with an individual member of the human species.

c. "Human embryo" means all human beings from the beginning of the

embryonic period of their biological development through eight weeks,

irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of

reproduction, whether in vivo or in vitro.

d. "Human fetus" means all human beings from the beginning of the fetal
period

of their biological development, which begins at nine weeks gestation
through

birth, irrespective of age, health, function, physical dependency, or
method of

reproduction, whether in vivo or in vitro.

e. "Human genome" means the total amount of nuclear and extra-nuclear
DNA

genetic material that constitutes an organism as an individual member of
the

human species, including the single-cell human embryo.

f. "Person" or "individual" means the legal recognition of a human
being's full

status as a human person that applies to all human beings, irrespective
of

age, health, function, physical dependency, or method of reproduction,

including their preborn offspring at every stage of their biological

development.

2. The state shall naturalize all preborn persons and shall afford to
them all the

privileges and immunities of state citizenship guaranteed in section 21
of article I of

the Constitution of North Dakota, except that the state is not required
to include

preborn children in state and local censuses.

3. The state shall afford the equality and inherent rights guaranteed to
individuals in

section 1 of article I of the Constitution of North Dakota and the right
to due

process guaranteed to persons in section 12 of article I of the
Constitution of North

Dakota to all human beings, including the preborn, partially born, born
alive, and

born alive who reenter the womb.

4. Personhood may not be denied:

a. If all the body parts are pulled out of the uterus except the legs or
arms or

portions of legs or arms are still inside the uterus;

b. When the child is about to be born;

c. When the child's head is taken out and placed back inside the uterus;

d. If a child's head is pushed back inside the uterus;

e. To partially born or born alive babies; or

f. Once a uterus is placed back inside the mother.

SECTION 2. Legislative findings regarding certain effects of
establishing

personhood.

1. With respect to preborn personhood, it is the intent of the
legislative assembly to:

a. Immunize a woman from criminal prosecution for abortion.

b. Increase and decrease the penalties for crimes against persons.

2. It is the intent of the legislative assembly that every available
means to assert

preborn personhood be used, which has been denied to even late term
preborn

and partially born children.

3. It is the finding of the legislative assembly that:

a. The right to life is the paramount right of a person. The right to
life is a more

fundamental right of a preborn child than the mother's right to liberty
or pursuit

of happiness, which does not include the right to kill other people. In
no way

does a child's right to life interfere with a mother's right to life.

b. The state does not need to prove that it has a prerogative or a
compelling

interest before the courts allow this state to recognize that all
children are

persons and human beings, which they are. The legislative assembly may

not attempt to immediately solve all the effects of preborn personhood
until

after thorough study and more importantly until after actually
establishing

preborn personhood and waiting for the courts to recognize it.

c. When the uterus with a child inside is placed back inside the mother,

personhood extends to all other preborn children due to equal protection
of

the laws.

d. Because scientists have discovered a way of creating pluripotent
cells using

umbilical stem cells, there is no need to kill children to obtain their
embryonic

stem cells.

e. It is not yet possible to conclusively determine whether all chemical

contraception is abortifacient or not.

f. All abortions, whether surgically or chemically induced, terminate
the life of a

whole, separate, unique, living human being. There is an existing
relationship

between a pregnant woman and her preborn child during the entire period
of

gestation.

g. Because all preborn children are persons, no abortion performed with
specific

intent is legal. A direct abortion is always performed with the specific
intent to

bring death to a preborn child; it is a deprivation of the right to life
and the right

to the equal protection of the law and is the ultimate manifestation of
the

involuntary servitude of one human being to another.

h. A mother is not going to die by recognizing her child's right to
life. When the

mother needs a life-saving medical operation, then an indirect abortion
is not

legally or morally considered abortion because it is not performed with
specific

intent to bring death to a preborn child. The death of the child may be

permitted as an indirect and unavoidable result of steps necessary to
save the

mother's life. Physicians shall make, in all cases, every effort to
preserve

both the life of the mother and the life of the preborn child.
Physicians shall

provide equal care and equal consideration to the mother and child.

i. Medical treatment that has as its primary purpose to cure a disease
of the

pregnant woman or of a twin preborn human being may not be considered

abortion. The pregnant woman must be given the choice of which treatment

to receive provided it is treatment intended to act upon or cure a
disease.

This excludes the possibility of ever performing an abortion under the

pretense of a medical necessity since a preborn human being is not a

disease.

j. In the case of twins, all medical procedures designed to address
specific

medical conditions that affect both twins are lawful provided as the
physician's

actions are performed with the specific intent to save the life of the
preborn

human being with highest chance of survival.

k. If a pregnant woman's health is in danger during a pregnancy, the
physician

may not be held criminally responsible for unintentionally causing the
death of

the preborn human being from legitimate treatment administered to the

pregnant woman. Chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and other medical

procedures that are not intended to cause the death of the preborn human

being but that are likely to do so, may not be prohibited if prescribed
to cure

the pregnant woman. Under no circumstance may abortion be considered

legitimate treatment.

SECTION 3. Two new sections to chapter 12.1-17 of the North Dakota
Century Code

are created and enacted as follows:

Dismemberment - Penalty.

1. A person is guilty of an offense if that person intentionally
dismembers the body of

another human being, as defined in section 1 of this Act, without
causing the death

of the other human being.

2. The offense is a class C felony, except if the victim is a born alive
child, as defined

in section 1 of this Act, the offense is a class B felony.

Torture - Penalty.

1. A person is guilty of an offense if that person intentionally
inflicts excruciating pain

on another human being, as defined in section 1 of this Act, without
causing the

death of the other human being.

2. The offense is a class C felony, except if the victim is a born alive
child, as defined

in section 1 of this Act, the offense is a class B felony.

SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Subsection 3 of section 12.1-20-03 of the North
Dakota

Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:

3. a. An offense under this section is a class AA felony if in the
course of the

offense the actor inflicts serious bodily injury upon the victim, if the
victim is a

born alive child, as defined in section 1 of this Act, if the actor's
conduct

violates subdivision a of subsection 1, or if the actor's conduct
violates

subdivision d of subsection 1 and the actor was at least twenty-two
years of

age at the time of the offense. For any conviction of a class AA felony
under

subdivision a of subsection 1, the court shall impose a minimum sentence
of

twenty years' imprisonment, with probation supervision to follow the

incarceration. The court may deviate from the mandatory sentence if the

court finds that the sentence would impose a manifest injustice as
defined in

section 39-01-01 and the defendant has accepted responsibility for the
crime

or cooperated with law enforcement. However, a defendant convicted of a

class AA felony under this section may not be sentenced to serve less
than

five years of incarceration.

1. Otherwise the offense is a class A felony.

SECTION 5. AMENDMENT. Section 12.1-20-11 of the North Dakota Century
Code is

amended and reenacted as follows:

12.1-20-11. Incest. A person who intermarries, cohabits, or engages in a
sexual act

with another person related to him within a degree of consanguinity
within which marriages are declared incestuous and void by section
14-03-03, knowing such other person to be within said degree of
relationship, is guilty of a class C felony. If the victim is a born
alive child, as defined in section 1 of this Act, the person is guilty
of a class B felony.

SECTION 6. AMENDMENT. Subsection 2 of section 12.1-20-17 of the North
Dakota

Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:

2. A person who, knowing that that person is or has been afflicted with
acquired

immune deficiency syndrome, afflicted with acquired immune deficiency
syndrome

related complexes, or infected with the human immunodeficiency virus,
willfully

transfers any of that person's body fluid to another person is guilty of
a class A

felony. The person is guilty of a class AA felony if the victim is under
the age of

fifteen or the victim is a born alive child as defined in section 1 of
this Act.

SECTION 7. AMENDMENT. Section 12.1-27.2-04.1 of the North Dakota Century
Code

is amended and reenacted as follows:

12.1-27.2-04.1. Possession of certain materials prohibited. A person is
guilty of a

class C felony if, knowing of its character and content, that person
knowingly possesses any motion picture, photograph, or other visual
representation that includes sexual conduct by a minor. A person is
guilty of a class B felony if the minor is a born alive child as defined
in section 1 of this Act.

SECTION 8. STATE TO DEFEND CHALLENGE. The legislative assembly, by joint

resolution, may appoint one or more of its members, as a matter of right
and in the legislative member's official capacity, to intervene to
defend this law in any case in which its constitutionality is
challenged.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 784

2009-03-31T07:03:00.001-07:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: ONE PHONE CALLTO SAVE TEXAS STEM CELL RESEARCH RIGHTS!--by Don From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: ONE PHONE CALLTO SAVE TEXAS STEM CELL RESEARCH RIGHTS!--by Don

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

Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:17 am (PDT)

ONE PHONE CALLTO SAVE TEXAS STEM CELL RESEARCH RIGHTS!

by
Don C. Reed

Dear Friends:

Anti-research forces in Texas are trying to pull a fast one, to kill all
hopes for embryonic stem cell research in the state, permanently. They
are doing it two ways.

First, Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) "quietly" inserted a
24-word provision banning state funds for any form of embryonic stem
cell research-- into the Texas budget (SB 1). If the budget passes
(which it must) as is, the research is effectively banned.

According to the Dallas Morning News, "The Senate finance committee,
which Ogden heads, took only two minutes to consider his rider. It says,
"No funds appropriated under this act shall be used in conjunction
with or to support research which involves the destruction of a human
embryo."R. T. Garrett, Dallas Morning News, March 30, 2009.

Senator Ogden did not allow research scientists or patient advocates to
speak.

Afterwards, Ogden was asked if that provision would kill embryonic stem
cell research in Texas. He reportedly responded, "If that one
doesn't, my next one will."

Second, Senator Ogden's bill, SB 1695, would "end all
embryonic stem cell researchin any of the laboratories of our
state. Even private institutions like Baylor College of Medicine would
be affected because they receive state funding."Texas research
advocate Dr. Ralph Dittman, cited in Huffington Report.

Folks, the debate on the Texas budget begins Wednesday, which is
TOMORROW.

Any chance you could make one phone call, to try and preserve Texas stem
cell research? (Which, by the way, is very much worth fighting for; I
will tell you later about some of the outstanding scientists in the Lone
Star state.)

It doesn't matter where you live. Texas voters have the most
importance of course, but right now, the main thing is to make some
noise. This is attack legislation-- in a state which has the
possibility of genuinely vast amounts of research, as much as three
billion dollars for cancer alone. We dare not lose the enormous
contributions of this vital state.

As always, Texans for the Advancement of Medical Research, TAMR, is
leading the charge against this insidious infringement on research
rights.

Friend Judy Haley, immediate past President of TAMR, says:

"This is the worst situation we have ever had an emerging
disaster. They (the rider to the budget, SB 1, and the bill, SB
1695--dr) would ban ALL hESC in Texas in any research facility that
receives any state funding(including) all our public and private
labs. This would be a disaster, not only in Texas, but as a model for
how to do it (damaging legislation) for the rest of the nation."

Joe Brown, current President of TAMR suggests a message:

First, if you live in Texas:

Click on this link http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/
<http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/> and enter your home address under
"who represents me" to find your senator and their phone number.

CALL OR FAX YOUR STATE SENATOR WITH THE MESSAGE:

"Stem cell research is important to me, to my family, and to
millions of Texans; it is unacceptable for the Texas Legislature to pass
any bill or rider which restricts embryonic stem cell research done
under National Academy of Science ethical guidelines. I want Senator
_____________ to actively work to make sure that neither SB 1's
prohibitive rider nor SB 1965 do not become part of Texas law."

Don't live in Texas?

Call anyway.

Three calls you could make:

1. David Dewhurst, President of the Senate and Lt. Governor: (512)
463-0001
2. Jim Pitts, Chairman of House Appropriations Committee: (512)
463-0516
3. Joe Straus, Speaker of the House: (512) 463-0516

Nothing fancy is required. Just tell whoever answers that you oppose the
anti-embryonic stem cell research rider on the Texas budget this year,
and also you oppose SB 1695.

You might even tell them why, maybe mentioning a condition which affects
you or a loved one.

The opposition calls itself "right to life" people. But the way
I see it, my sister Barbara has both cancer and leukemia, and she has a
right to life as well.

Please make that phone call; it will take you five minutes, and it could
make the difference.

To help heal our loved onesstand tall for Texas today!

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 783

2009-03-26T06:53:00.001-07:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF CALIFORNIA'S STEM CELL RESEARCH PROGRAM B From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF CALIFORNIA'S STEM CELL RESEARCH PROGRAM B

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

Thu Mar 26, 2009 5:44 am (PDT)

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF CALIFORNIA'S STEM CELL RESEARCH PROGRAM

By Don C. Reed

Imagine that you and I are involved in a terrible war, against a
relentless enemy which fully intends to kill us and all our families.
But we are fighting back hard, and despite tremendous odds against us,
we are beginning to win.

Suddenly good news arrives: reinforcements are on the way!

Should we respond by laying down our arms, to surrender?

President Obama's reversal of the Bush stem cell restrictions is
wonderful: a decision that will echo down the halls of history. But it
is not victory.

The Obama edict brings no guarantees of new stem cell funding. Those
"extra" NIH funds you heard about? At best, they help make up
for 5 years of flat-lined funding, when National Institutes of Health
budgets remained stagnant, not even matching increases of inflation.

Now is the time to redouble our efforts, not relax them.

Let me show you why.

In the midst of all the economic gloom and doom, something shining has
emerged in California: the beginning of a vastly better world.

Take a look at some highlights of what the California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) didwith just twelve months of reliable
funding, in 2008.

(You can verify the following amazements by going to
http://www.cirm.ca.gov/ <http://www.cirm.ca.gov/> Scroll down the left
side of the page, until you find a bright red picture of stem cells,
click under that: 2008 report, download it for free.)

LABORATORIES: have you tried to find parking for your car at an
overcrowded college campus lately? Imagine what a nightmare it is to
find space for new stem cell laboratories, let alone equip them.
Dedicated buildings are urgently needed.

But bricks and mortar costs a lot, and the last thing California wants
is to spend precious research dollars on a bunch of unnecessary
buildings. So, a limit was set: no more than 10% of the entire
program's cost, $300 million, could be used for facilities. But,
that's not much money. In today's market, it would pay for only
about three or four hundred homes: nowhere near enough for serious labs.

How did the CIRM meet this challenge?

They authorized $271 million on facilities (buildings and
equipment)and, to make sure we got the most possible bang for its
buck, a special requirement. Any organization wanting a grant had
to bring their own money as well.

This strategy brought in an additional $880 million dollars. Our $271
million in taxpayer money was leveraged (great word) into $1.15 billion
dollars.

Twelve major facilities will be builtand soon. All these buildings
are contractually obligated to be up and running by the end of 2010.

And of course, we must not forget the stem cells

CIRM NEW CELL LINES AWARDS

After 8 years of being stuck with a tiny number of ancient stem cell
lines, America desperately needs new ones--$25 million went to derive
new cell lines. Some were disease-specific: allowing us, for the first
time in history, to watch the development of Alzheimer's disease in
a Petri dish, instead of only seeingtoo lateits devastating
results on a person.

Other stem cell lines are needed to compare embryonic stem cells with
the new kind of cells, induced Pluripotentiary Stem cells (iPS). As we
struggle to find out if the new (iPS) method can be made safe for human
use, or even as a research tool, we also need to know if it can really
do the job.

And who will be allowed access to these new stem cell lines funded by
CIRM?

These valuable biomaterials will be available to any responsible
researcher working toward cures

New buildings, new stem cell lines-- how about some new scientists?

TRAINING NEW SCIENTISTS: CIRM RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM II

For too long, only scientists in their mid to late forties, folks who
had their PhD's for almost a decade, have been able to receive
funding from the NIH.

But if we only fund scientists that far along in their career, how will
the field grow? If young scientists cannot get grants, their options are
limited. At best, they will work for other scientists, doing research
directed by them instead of blazing their own trail; or, financial need
may drive them out of the field altogether.

The very first project CIRM funded was training grants, to help new
scientists into our field, an oasis of funding in what had been barren
desert. Training Program II continues providing funds for these young
men and women and their labs: allocating $40 million for this vital
effort.

But even the greatest scientist cannot do his or her work alone.

TEAM ASSISTANCE: Generals are nothing without soldiers; even so,
scientists rely on the assistance of trained professionals; where will
they come from?

"An educated and properly trained workforce is essential if our
state is to retain its premier position and fully realize the medical
and economic benefits from this emerging industry."joint
statement, Senator Gloria Romero and Senate President Pro Tem Darrel
Steinberg.

The "CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research Awards" program is
designed to insure training exists for these incredibly valuable
technicians: the workforce to make the miracles possible, perhaps
becoming future superstars themselves you never know where success
in such a new enterprise may lead.

$17 million in these Bridges awards has been approved.

But what about the business side? The greatest stem cell idea in the
world means nothing, if it is not translated into something real and
usable: and that means biotech.

LOANS

"Our new loan program for biotech companies is meant to provide
support for institutions testing the safety and efficacy of possible
therapies."Robert N. Klein, Chair, ICOC.

Developed by our new Vice-Chairman Duane Roth and Finance subcommittee
Chairman Michael Goldberg, (and of course Chairman Klein, who is pretty
much everywhere) the new loan program is for $500 millionand
hopefully an additional $500 million in federal loan guarantees as part
of the stimulus package.

Numbers that big numb my brain like novocaine at the dentist's.

But wait, there's more!

"That amount would be scaled up by recycling an additional $1
billion in repayment proceeds over the first decade of the program. In
short, with $500 million in federal long-term guarantees and recycled
principal repayments, interest and stock warrant revenue from borrowers,
over $1.5 billion in additional resources could be added to the
Proposition 71 portfolio."BK.

As I understand it (always an element of doubt about that) this would be
astonishing.

Leveraging five hundred million in state dollars to two billion, perhaps
even two and half billion, so that California got five times the value
of its initial investment?

And, these loans are targeted: designed to answer an unmet and colossal
need.

CLINICAL TRIALS

Taking just one new product from idea to pharmacy costs hundreds of
millions of dollars, due to safety testing.

The time between basic research and clinical trials completion is called
the "Valley of death" because so many products and companies die
during that period. What an agony it would be to have a great cure for
paralysis, for example, and then watch it fail-- for lack of money to
pay for those tests.

The new loan program is designed to help turn the ideas of cure into
products everyone can use: promising new medicines or therapies through
the grueling cycle of tests, so they can be submitted to the FDA for
approval.

MODEL FOR THE COUNTRY

Look at the path that CIRM has laid down for cure: educating and
supporting scientists, helping train their support staff, setting up
loans for the companies that will risk so much to develop products for
patients this is something which should be shared, and imitated.

COMMUNICATION:

Next ICOC meeting you go to, look for a crew-cut, glasses-wearing
individual with tremendous energy, listening to everything, hardly ever
sitting stillthis is Don Gibbons. Very often, he has the honor of
being the voice of the CIRM.

A tough job indeed. For starters, he has to understand enough of the
science to be able to translate it into people talk, enough legalese to
do the same for those complicated aspects.

In addition to sharing information through public outreach, some of
Gibbons' projects include: updating the CIRM website, (major
improvements just days away, btw) Town Hall Meetings (You MUST come to
one of thesethe first one was last week, and it was
terrificthree outstanding scientists use people talk to share where
their corner of the science is atmore info at bottom of page.

And what a message he has to share, as the CIRM's influence grows,
even leaping beyond the artificial boundaries of lines drawn on a map.

COOPERATING WITH OTHER STATES AND NATIONS:

"no one state or nation (can) do this alone," stated Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger,"collaborationswhich bring together
leading medical researchers from around the globe have a great potential
in improving the lives of not only Californians, but all the people
around the world."

The CIRM has already made agreements for combined research with
countries including Australia, Spain, Japan, the United Kingdom and
Canada, bringing in additional funds to the effort. Those countries have
already committed over $200 million dollars to collaborative efforts
with CIRM.

For example, Canada will be teaming with California to fight cancer.

There is more to come. California money must always be spent inside the
borders of our state (as required by Prop 71 statute), but knowledge can
and should be shared.

State to state cooperation will, increase our strength. Consider the
example set by Dr. Dennis Clegg of UC Santa Barbara. Working with
colleagues in Massachusetts, he found a molecule that helps embryonic
stem cells multiply faster, while still maintaining their stability,
vital characteristics for the large quantities of pure cells we will
need for cure.

CALIFORNIA GOLD

It is not enough just to labor endlesslyeverybody wants results.
As President Alan Trounson puts it: "I tell my colleagues here at
CIRM probably at least once a week: "We are in a hurry; we have a
short time frame, and we need to get genuine cures to Californians."

The opening page of the 2008 report shows the official motto of the
CIRM:

"turning stem cells into cures".Roman Reed.

That is my son who wrote those words, in case you did not knowand
that is our goal.

Success will come in careful reliable steps, and we are taking them
right now.

We benefit from the leadership of chief science officer Marie Csete
(pronounced chet-uh) an energetic little exclamation point of a person,
and the indefatigable Director of Scientific Activities, Patricia Olson.

Do you know them? If you live in California, you should. Walk up and say
hello to them at the next CIRM meeting.

Are they approachable? You bet. Here is an example.

There will soon be an autism workshop: for scientists only. This is
fairly common, giving the scientists a chance to speak their own
language, and interchange ideasvery important. BUT such
knowledge should be shared. So, seeing Dr. Csete at another public
meeting (there have been about 150 public meetings so far) I asked her
if there was a way to make the autism meeting more open, because there
were literally millions of people interested in this all-too-common
condition. She thought about it for a minute, and then said, there
should be a transcript, print and video, and that could be made
available on the web. (Something I forgot to ask was: could parents of
autistic children send in questions to be asked of the scientists?)

That is how this program works. The decisions are made in public, and
anyone who wants to get involved is welcome.

Come to the meetings; California wants you! (to find out when and where
the meetings are, go to http://www.cirm.ca.gov/
<http://www.cirm.ca.gov/> and click on Meetings; it is up near the top
of the page.

Already, CIRM scientists have authored more than 70 scientific
publications, adding to the world's understanding.

If you go to the meetings, you will get to hear Dr. Trounson talking
about the latest breakthroughs in stem cell science. Such as:

Remember one huge difficulty with the new stem cell method, iPS,
induced Pluripotent Stem cells, mainly that the use of viruses might
cause cancer? At Scripps Institute, a scientist named Sheng Ding may
have found a way around that obstacle, using "small molecules rather
than viruses to carry reprogramming genes into cells, moving the iPS
cells closer to being safe for clinical use."

And speaking of genes, this miniscule marvels which turn body processes
on and off, it is vital we know exactly which genes do what-- and Dr.
Jean Loring and her team "published a database of gene expression
profiles", vital information for the sorting of cells.

(Both those scientists, by the way, received CIRM grants.)

Sometimes, a step in one area helps in another; look at the next two
paragraphs.

First, If we can learn how healthy cells are turned into cancer cells,
(as Dr. Wei Guo of UCLA did with blood cells), maybe we can learn how to
do the reverse-- and turn cancerous cells back into healthiness.

Second, at Stanford, Dr. Emmanuelle Passegue showed that a "family
of cancer-fighting proteins also helps blood-forming stem cells divide
normally."

As CIRM President Dr. Alan Trounson observed, "These two
push-and-pull findings hold great promise for uncovering novel ways of
treating cancer and preventing its spread."

CIRM helped Dr. Catriona Jamieson of UCSD as she brought a new approach
to fighting leukemia to human trials.

So much more: at Stanford, human embryonic stem cells were grown into
"primitive cardiac tissue (which) repaired heart damage in
mice".

At UCLA, scientists matured human embryonic stem cells into T cells and
inserted a genewhy does that matter? "Their eventual goal is to
insert a gene that makes the cells immune to HIV/AIDS, then replace a
person's infected cells with the resistant ones"

Yet there are still dark days ahead, much work to do, battles yet to
fightincluding financial ones.

WILL THERE BE MONEY TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING?

If the financial equivalent of Hurricane Katrina crashes down upon us,
(and it did) we have only two choices: adjust, or let the program die.

First, every new grant comes with a proviso that the money will be
provided if and when it is available. Some extremely worthwhile projects
may have to be delayed a year. This is just a fact of economic life.

Our program depended on selling bonds.

If California cannot sell bonds, will we be able to keep the stem cell
program alive?

Here is the official CIRM answer.

"CIRM's Financial Commitments Are Secure CIRM currently has
significant cash reserves of $160 million, which can fund all existing
commitments through at least September. The agency's plans have
always called for raising new capital on a cash-flow, as-needed basis.
We expect the traditional bond market will open soon with resolution of
California's budget situation. To supplement this public bond
market, CIRM is working with the State Treasurer's office on a CIRM
private placement of $200 million in general obligation bonds this year
and $200 million again next year The Agency intends to continue the
planning and review needed to maintain its mission on schedule"

The men and women of California's stem cell program have taken up
the gauntlet, accepting this new challenge.

They deserve the support and thanks of a nation.

SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

In California we have funded a solid beginning. We must build on that,
in "synergistic cooperation" (Gibbons' phrase) with the
federal government, each side strengthening the other, and the same with
other states across the land.

Ten thousand stem cell advocates developed Proposition 71; seven million
Californians voted it into law; what we need now is more of the same.

Not every state wants or needs to be a California or New York, with
major biomedical infrastructure employing hundreds of thousands of
workers in excellent and good-paying jobs. But every state should at
least have funding for regenerative research, and the freedom to do it.

As patient advocates, you and I are involved in a war against chronic
disease and disability. And it is a war, make no mistake about that.
Millions of lives are at stake, as well as the economies of every
nation.

Our motivation is continual; for those who themselves are suffering, the
pain and distress is a constant reminder. For we who have the luck of
health, our loved ones must be fought for.

But ours is a war like none that ever was before. It is a very civilized
combat.

We have two sides essentially throwing words at each other. We pound the
keyboards for a whileargue, argue, arguethen rest, do some
other chores for a while, and then come back to the computer, fight some
more.

These are epic confrontations, on which the future of the world depends;
yet, nobody is killed. There are no ruined families, no widows made, nor
orphans, no silent graveyards, no white crosses on a hill.

In this war, we are fighting to save lives, not take them.

And when we win, there will be no reason for tears: save only those of
joy.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 782

2009-03-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: Stem Cell Action News-Issue Number 5-March 10, 2009 From: Stephen Meyer

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Message

1.: Stem Cell Action News-Issue Number 5-March 10, 2009

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

Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:38 am (PDT)

Stem Cell Action News
Powered by Genetics Policy Institute <http://www.genpol.org/>
<http://www.genpol.org/scan.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/report_contents.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/index.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/index.html>

March 10, 2009

Welcome to issue number 5 of Stem Cell Action News, dedicated to
informing the stem cell community on the latest and most important
developments impacting the Pro-Cures Movement.

Obama Lifts Stem Cell Restrictions
No Time for ComplacencyTough Stem Cell Policy Battles Ahead

Yesterday, President Barack Obama delivered a striking blow in favor of
sound science by overturning the Bush Executive Order of August 9, 2001,
which banned federal funding of embryonic stem cell research beyond the
21 presidential lines. The Genetics Policy Institute applauds President
Obama for signing a new executive order that expands federal funding for
this life-saving research.

However, at this pivotal moment the stem cell community can not become
complacent. Our most difficult work lies ahead, as we expect research
foes to unleash new legal roadblocks and delaying tactics by continuing
to assert unsupported arguments playing upon ignorance and fear. We
urge all stem cell stakeholders to take action and support
yesterday's executive order and future advocacy 2.0 efforts.

In order to provide certainty, the next step is to protect embryonic
stem cell research by legislation. Building on the momentum, it's
time to repeal the Dickey-Wicker Amendment that serves as a blockade for
funding research on work on embryos discarded from in vitro
fertilization procedures to derive new cell lines or somatic cell
nuclear transfer. We applaud Congresswoman Diana DeGette who has
expressed her intention to seek reversal of this fundamental funding
restriction.

Headlines & Advocacy

Obama overturns Bush policy on stem cells - BostonHerald.com
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=666606377&u\
rl=http://news.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/healthcare/view.bg?articlei\
d=1157353> 09/03-2009 13:22 (BostonHerald.com) WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama signed an order today that allows federal
taxpayer dollars to fund expanded embryonic stem cell research,
reversing one of his predecessor's policies viewed by many as
blocking development of potentially life-saving medical treatment.

Eight Reasons to Applaud Action on Stem Cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=666620524&u\
rl=http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/stem_cell_action.html/\
> 09/03-2009 13:20 (Center for American Progress) Report: A Life
Science Crucible: Stem Cell Research and Innovation Done Responsibly and
Ethically Interactive timeline: A Brief History of Stem Cell Research
President Barack Obama takes a first step today toward bringing the
United States back to the scientific cutting edge by issuing an
executive order...

Obama Lifts Stem Cell Restrictions
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=666623706&u\
rl=http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/obama_stem_cells.html/\
> 09/03-2009 13:20 (Center for American Progress) With the stroke
of a pen, President Barack Obama today erased the Bush
administration's eight-year-old restrictions on federal funding of
research involving human embryonic stem cells, reaffirming his
commitment to evidence and biomedical hope over his predecessor's
ideological distortion of science.

Obama Addresses Decision to Lift Embryonic Stem Cell Limits
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=666596178&u\
rl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR200\
9030901219.html> 09/03-2009 13:01 (The Washington Post) PRESIDENT
OBAMA: Today, with the Executive Order I am about to sign, we will bring
the change that so many scientists and researchers; doctors and
innovators; patients and loved ones have hoped for, and fought for,
these past eight years: we will lift the ban on federal funding for
promising embryonic stem...

Obama to Let Health Institute Decide on Stem Cells - NYTimes.com
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=665830492&u\
rl=http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/03/08/washington/politics-us-stem\
cells-usa.html> 08/03-2009 20:22 (The New York Times) Filed at 7:02
p.m. ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will lift his
predecessor's restriction on federal funding of human embryonic stem
cell research on Monday and will give the National Institutes of Health
four months to come up with new rules on the issue, officials said on
Sunday.

Obama Expected to Reverse Limits on Stem Cells - NYTimes.com
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=664357497&u\
rl=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/us/politics/07stem.html?hp>
06/03-2009 17:49 (The New York Times) WASHINGTON President Obama is
expected to announce on Monday that he is reversing Bush administration
limits on federal financing for embryonic stem-cell research, White
House officials said on Friday.

Stem Cell Funding Roadblock
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=659056072&u\
rl=http://www.genengnews.com/articles/chitem.aspx?aid=2801> 01/03-2009
12:07 (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) When President Bush
assumed office in 2000, the human embryonic stem cell revolution was
primed to launch. The outgoing Clinton administration directed the NIH
to prepare comprehensive rules to govern the nascent field of discovery,
with funding to follow.

piggyBac transposition reprograms fibroblasts to induced pluripotent
stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=658598275&u\
rl=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nature07863.ht\
ml> 01/03-2009 03:58 (Nature.com refers DOI) Knut Woltjen1, Iacovos
P. Michael1,2, Paria Mohseni1,2, Ridham Desai1,2, Maria Mileikovsky1,
Riikka Hämäläinen1, Rebecca Cowling1, Wei Wang3, Pentao Liu3,
Marina Gertsenstein1, Keisuke Kaji4, Hoon-Ki Sung1 & Andras Nagy1,2
Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto,
Ontario M5G 1X5,...
Stem cells give hope to ailing pets, rich owners - BostonHerald.com
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=650244480&u\
rl=http://news.bostonherald.com/news/offbeat/view/2009_02_22_Stem_cells_\
give_hope_to_ailing_pets__rich_owners/srvc=news&position=also>
BostonHerald.com - 02/22/2009 00:44 CHICAGO - Meet Zoey Walsh, a
teenage stem-cell recipient who is pushing the frontier of medical
science. He's a dog. Unable to alleviate his pain with drugs and
unwilling to risk another hip surgery on a dog so old, Zoey's owners
turned to a treatment that involved injecting stem cells, which had
been...
Stem Cell Treatment For Crohn's Disease
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=650210310&u\
rl=http://en.redtram.com/go/183760144/>
redtram (ENG) - 02/21/2009 22:14 Hospital ClÃnic, Barcelona is
one of the few hospitals in the world to apply this new therapeutic
option for patients with Crohn's disease, and it does so with the
guarantee of success experienced in the US and Italy, where the »
Full text » 2009-02-22 03:14:46 Stem Cell Treatment For Crohn's
Disease...
WiCell, California firm agree to distribute stem cell lines derived with
new technique
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=650839850&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology/WiCell--California-fir\
m-agree-to-distribute-stem-cell-lines-derived-with-new-technique-2260-4/\
>
Bio-Medicine - 02/20/2009 22:16

Donor-Derived Brain Tumor Following Neural Stem Cell Transplantation in
an Ataxia Telangiectasia Patient
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=645624514&u\
rl=http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=1\
0.1371/journal.pmed.1000029>
PLOS Journal - 02/18/2009 00:07 Ninette Amariglio1,2, Abraham
Hirshberg3, Bernd W. Scheithauer4, Yoram Cohen1, Ron Loewenthal5, Luba
Trakhtenbrot2, Nurit Paz1, Maya Koren-Michowitz2, Dalia Waldman6, Leonor
Leider-Trejo7, Amos Toren6, Shlomi Constantini8, Gideon Rechavi1,6* 1
Cancer Research Center, Sheba Medical Center and Sackler School...
New kind of stem cells can turn into heart cells, University of
Wisconsin-Madison researchers show
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=640949641&u\
rl=http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/438231>
Wisconsin State Journal - 02/12/2009 22:51 A new kind of stem cells
developed by UW-Madison researcher James Thomson performs like his old
kind in a lively way. The new cells can be turned into heart cells that
beat in a lab dish, other scientists on campus have shown.
Stem cells to cure HIV?
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=639656831&u\
rl=http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=6653540>
Channel 7 abc - 02/11/2009 16:49 NEW YORK (WABC) -- There is an amazing
report in the New England Journal of Medicine, in which doctors say a
stem cell transplant may have cured a man of HIV. Stem cell
treatment heals police dog
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=638246013&u\
rl=http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/health&id=6649775>
Channel 7 abc - 02/09/2009 14:12 FREMONT, CA (KGO) -- The first human
trials involving stem cell therapy were approved just weeks ago, but a
growing number of other patients are already benefitting from stem cell
treatments. Hadassah urges action on stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=636312293&u\
rl=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/02/08/1002838/hadassah-among-groups-\
urging-action-on-stem-cells>
JTA - 02/08/2009 09:31 WASHINGTON -- A pro-stem cell research coalition
which includes Hadassah urged President Obama to act quickly on the
issue. In a letter to the president, the Coalition for the Advancement
of Medical Research said it was encouraged by a media report that Obama
told a member of Congress it was a "guarantee" he... Stem
cell, cloning expert Jerry Yang dies
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=635425073&u\
rl=http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&A\
rticleID=48612&TM=1483.615>
Capital Press - 02/07/2009 00:34 HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -
Xiangzhong "Jerry" Yang, a Chinese-born stem cell scientist who
successfully cloned the first farm animal in the United States, has died
after a long battle with cancer. U of MN researchers use
human embryonic stem cells to kill cancer cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=633586790&u\
rl=http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-3/U-of-MN-researchers-use-h\
uman-embryonic-stem-cells-to-kill-cancer-cells-9750-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/04/2009 07:36 For the first time stem cell
researchers at the University of Minneso... Researchers generated
natural killer cells from the human embryo... This is the first
published research to show the ability to make . Stanford
Scientists Awarded $10.7 Million in Latest State Stem Cell Grants
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632018350&u\
rl=http://www.stemcellarabia.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1197867\
036&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&>
Stem Cell Arabia - 02/04/2009 01:53 December 12, 2007 - Stanford,
California- Stanford University School of Medicine researchers today
received $10.7 million from the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine in awards designed to help jump-start the careers of young
scientists in the field of stem cell research. Adverse
events among 2408 unrelated donors of peripheral blood stem cells:
Results of a prospective trial from the National Marrow Donor Program
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=631673736&u\
rl=http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/content/abstract/blood-\
2008-08-175323v1>
Blood - 02/02/2009 18:42 CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us Digg Reddit
Technorati What's this? Michael A. Pulsipher*, Pintip Chitphakdithai,
John Miller, Brent R. Logan, Roberta J. UCSB gets $1.2
million stem cell grant
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=629288215&u\
rl=http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&ID=565\
519113468903462>
Santa Barbara News - 02/01/2009 04:57 The California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine awarded a $1.2 million training grant to UCSB to
fund Stem Cell research. BILL McMORRIS, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
2009-02-01 09:57:48 UCSB gets $1.

Policy
Management fails at stem cell centre
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=660132728&u\
rl=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25134377-12332,00.\
html> 03/03-2009 09:12 (The Australian) AUSTRALIA'S $115 million
taxpayer-funded flagship for financing stem cell research was sliding
towards insolvency as early as 2009-10, hit by high corporate costs and
poor management, a review into the Australian Stem Cell Centre reveals.

$1 Billion for Stem Cell Labs: Troubles and Status
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=658437279&u\
rl=http://californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com/2009/03/1-billion-for-st\
em-cell-labs-troubles.html> 02/03-2009 00:20 (California Stem Cell
Report) California's $1 billion stem cell lab construction program
will be under scrutiny on March 9 as the state's stem cell agency weighs
a request for changes in one approved grant while other recipients
report difficulty in raising the required matching money to build their
labs.

Embryonic Stem Cell Bill Defeated
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=652567515&u\
rl=http://www.redcounty.com/pennington/2009/02/embryonic-stem-cell-bill-\
defea/>
D County - 02/24/2009 09:35
The South Dakota legislature had been considering a repeal of the state
ban on embryonic stem cell research. However, the state senate voted
yesterday voted to reject SB 195 by a vote of 20-14.
Funding for stem cell body drained
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=645199755&u\
rl=http://www.congoo.com/news/2009February17/Funding-stem-cell-body-drai\
ned>
Congoo - 02/17/2009 14:09 THE Australian Stem Cell Centre will be
scaled down and shed its role as a research funding body under a new
business plan being finalised by the interim board.
Vietnam opens 1st stem cell bank for medical purposes
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=643492180&u\
rl=http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?section=he\
adlines&docKey=100-046h8907-1>
Scottrade - 02/15/2009 22:58 Vietnam's first stem cell bank MekoStem
opened in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, offering services of cell
collection, analysis and separation for medical treatment purposes, the
local newspaper Young People reported Monday.
Missouri stem cell ballot measure prompts two lawsuits
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=638357963&u\
rl=http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/02/10/missouri-stem-ce\
ll-ballot-measure-prompts-2-lawsuits/>
Missourian - 02/10/2009 16:40 JEFFERSON CITY A proposed
constitutional amendment barring the use of public funds for abortion
and human cloning has prompted dueling lawsuits contending the ballot
summary is insufficient and unfair.
Doyle authorizes $5 million to woo stem cell companies
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=637723362&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology/Doyle-authorizes--245-\
million-to-woo-stem-cell-companies-2656-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/09/2009 01:50
Mount Sinai Hospital researcher develops Canada's first embryonic stem
cell lines
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=637589591&u\
rl=http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-3/Mount-Sinai-Hospital-rese\
archer-develops-Canadas-first-embryonic-stem-cell-lines-11458-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/08/2009 20:22 A senior scientist at Mount Sinai
Hospital has developed Canada's firs... My hope and the hope of my
world-class laboratory team is that our ... Our research remains in an
early phase but the ability of these cells.
Doyle urges passage of federal stem cell bill
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=635646371&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology/Doyle-urges-passage-of\
-federal-stem-cell-bill-2499-2/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/06/2009 06:52 In the House, the Wisconsin delegation
voted along party lines, with Democrats Dave Obey, Ron Kind, Tammy
Baldwin, and 2009-02-06 11:52:14 Doyle urges passage of federal stem
cell bill...
State puts up $1 million for James Thomson's new stem cell startup
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=636800421&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology/State-puts-up--241-mil\
lion-for-James-Thomsons-new-stem-cell-startup-2188-2/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/06/2009 02:01
Oklahoma stem cell funding plan approved
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=633044649&u\
rl=http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-stem-cell-funding-plan-approved/articl\
e/3343324?custom_click=headlines_widget>
NewsOK.com - 02/04/2009 20:11 State lawmakers have given preliminary
approval to legislation that could provide nearly $2 million for adult
stem cell research in Oklahoma. House Joint Resolution 1035 by Rep.
Stem cell expert: Proposal 2 will bring new opportunities to the
University of Michigan
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632320510&u\
rl=http://www.concentratemedia.com/inthenews/annarborstemcells0042.aspx>
Concentrate - 02/04/2009 07:11 Stem cells are a hot topic of
conversation in southeast Michigan, but this time its all about what
kind of economic development opportunities they will create.
Stanford Scientists Awarded $10.7 Million in Latest State Stem Cell
Grants
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632018350&u\
rl=http://www.stemcellarabia.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1197867\
036&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&>
Stem Cell Arabia - 02/04/2009 01:53 December 12, 2007 - Stanford,
California- Stanford University School of Medicine researchers today
received $10.7 million from the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine in awards designed to help jump-start the careers of young
scientists in the field of stem cell research.
New Jerseys Stem Cell Referendum defeat and lessons learned - by Jersey
Girl - Helium
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632001435&u\
rl=http://www.helium.com/items/690439-new-jerseys-stem-cell-referendum-d\
efeat-and-lessons-learned>
Helium - 02/04/2009 01:14 The people have spoken - enough Is enough! In
last Tuesday's election, 53% of New Jersey voters rejected a ballot
measure that will allow the state to borrow $450 million for stem cell
research.
Doyle urges Senate to loosen stem cell restrictions
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=631813389&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology/Doyle-urges-Senate-to-\
loosen-stem-cell-restrictions-2416-2/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/03/2009 21:22

Science

piggyBac transposition reprograms fibroblasts to induced pluripotent
stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=658598275&u\
rl=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nature07863.ht\
ml>
01/03-2009 03:58 (Nature.com refers DOI)

Knut Woltjen1, Iacovos P. Michael1,2, Paria Mohseni1,2, Ridham Desai1,2,
Maria Mileikovsky1, Riikka Hämäläinen1, Rebecca Cowling1, Wei
Wang3, Pentao Liu3, Marina Gertsenstein1, Keisuke Kaji4, Hoon-Ki Sung1 &
Andras Nagy1,2 Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai
Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5,...
Human Stem Cells Provide A New Model For Lou Gehrig's Disease,
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Study
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=652626489&u\
rl=http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=127550>
Biospace - 02/24/2009 10:59 ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) Motor
neurons derived from embryonic stem cells mimic the progress of familial
ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's
disease, is a devastating condition in which motor neuron degeneration
causes progressive loss of movement and muscle tone,...
Study identifies 5 genetic themes key to keeping stem cells in a
primitive, flexible state
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=649681876&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/Study-identifies-5-genetic-t\
hemes-key-to-keeping-stem-cells-in-a-primitive--flexible-state-5442-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/20/2009 05:57 ...For more than 25 years stem cells
have been defined based on what the...Now a team of Canadian scientists
has identified 1155 genes under th..."You could call this a
`theory-of-everything' for stem cells" said se.
Reprograming of Stem Cells by a single gene: Oct4
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=642851858&u\
rl=http://www.scientistsolutions.com/science-blog_809a06a3-250f-4ad1-9d0\
c-bcbc634c39a7.aspx>
Scientist Solutions - 02/11/2009 22:36 If you follow the stem cell
literature, this latest finding is of special interest. A group from
Germany was able to reprogram cells into stem cells by expressing a
single gene: Oct4.
Mount Sinai Hospital researcher develops Canada's first embryonic stem
cell lines
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=637589591&u\
rl=http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-3/Mount-Sinai-Hospital-rese\
archer-develops-Canadas-first-embryonic-stem-cell-lines-11458-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/08/2009 20:22 A senior scientist at Mount Sinai
Hospital has developed Canada's firs... My hope and the hope of my
world-class laboratory team is that our ... Our research remains in an
early phase but the ability of these cells.
Researchers use single gene to return mature stem cells to embryonic
state
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=634018942&u\
rl=http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/39150537.html>
JS Online - 02/05/2009 16:45 German scientists have sent mouse stem
cells back to their embryonic origin by introducing just a single gene,
a finding that could eventually lead to simpler, safer ways of
generating cells for human medicine.
Scientists discover source of cancer stem cells' resistance to radiation
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632715374&u\
rl=http://www.physorg.com/news152977118.html>
PhysOrg.com - 02/04/2009 14:01 Much to the dismay of patients and
physicians, cancer stem cells tiny powerhouses that generate and
maintain tumor growth in many types of cancers are relatively
resistant to the ionizing radiation often used as therapy for these
conditions.
U of MN researchers use human embryonic stem cells to kill cancer cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=633586790&u\
rl=http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-3/U-of-MN-researchers-use-h\
uman-embryonic-stem-cells-to-kill-cancer-cells-9750-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/04/2009 07:36 For the first time stem cell
researchers at the University of Minneso... Researchers generated
natural killer cells from the human embryo... This is the first
published research to show the ability to make .
UCLA researchers develop T-cells from human embryonic stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=631624898&u\
rl=http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/UCLA-researchers-develop-T-c\
ells-from-human-embryonic-stem-cells-3531-1/>
Bio-Medicine - 02/03/2009 17:29 Researchers from the UCLA AIDS
Institute and the Institute for Stem Ce...The study to be published the
week of July 3 in the online edition of...The results mark the first
time that scientists have been able to deri.
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols features stem cell differentiation, plant
RNAi methods
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=630678762&u\
rl=http://www.sciencecodex.com/cold_spring_harbor_protocols_features_ste\
m_cell_differentiation_plant_rnai_methods>
Science Codex - 02/02/2009 21:36 COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Feb.
2, 2009) -- By using OP9-DL1 cells as a support system, researchers can
study the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mature components
of the immune system.
Stem Cell Breakthrough for Diabetes Treatments
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=631608834&u\
rl=http://www.investvictoria.com/020209StemCellBreakthroughforDiabetesTr\
eatments>
Invest Victoria - 02/01/2009 17:43 Stem cell researchers backed by a
joint Victorian and NSW Government grant have created Australia's
first human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. The ability to
produce human iPS cell lines locally will greatly assist researchers to
progress their research into the causes of serious diseases and to d...

Business

StemCells Inc. (STEM) to Acquire Cell-Based Drug Discovery
Platforms and Related Businesses of Stem Cell Sciences plc
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=658951634&u\
rl=http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?StoryID=128412&full=1>
02/03-2009 10:30 (Biospace)
PALO ALTO, Calif. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--StemCells, Inc.
(NASDAQ:STEM - News) and Stem Cell Sciences plc (AIM:STEM) (ASX:STC -
News) announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement
pursuant to which StemCells will acquire the operating subsidiaries and
certain related assets of Stem...
Pluristem Therapeutics Receives FDA Clearance to Begin â
First-In-Humanâ Placenta-Derived Stem Cell Clinical Trial
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=658584008&u\
rl=http://www.pr-inside.com/pluristem-therapeutics-receives-fda-clearanc\
e-to-begin-first-in-human-placenta-derived-stem-cell-clinical-trial-r108\
8153.htm>
02/03-2009 03:36 (PR-Inside.com) Pluristem Therapeutics Inc.
(NasdaqCM:PSTI)(DAX:PJT), a bio-therapeutics company dedicated to the
commercialization of unrelated donor-patient (allogeneic) cell therapy
products for a variety of disorders, announced today that the US Food &
Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Company's Investigational...

<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=651985826&u\
rl=http://www.caihuanet.com/zhuanlan/meiti/xhmt/china/200902/t20090224_5\
45937.shtml> NeoStem Obtains Exclusive Worldwide License to Innovative
Stem Cell Technology and Applications for Anti-Aging Skin Rejuvenation
Therapies
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=651985826&u\
rl=http://www.caihuanet.com/zhuanlan/meiti/xhmt/china/200902/t20090224_5\
45937.shtml>
Cai Hua Net - 02/23/2009 22:26 æ¥ 08:01
æ¥æºï¼æ°åç¾éãåä½"ï¼å¤§ ä¸
å°ã` License Enhances NeoStem's Presence in Anti-Aging Arena NEW
YORK, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- NeoStem, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US:
NBS), which is pioneering the pre-disease collection, processing and
long-term storage of adult stem cells for future medical need, announced
today it has signed a license agreement to obtain the exclusive
worldwide rights to innovative stem cell technology and applications for
cosmetic facial and body procedures and skin rejuvenation...
Neuralstem's ALS Trial with Stem Cell Therapy Delayed
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=648856077&u\
rl=http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=49943227&chid=4&sourc\
e=genwire>
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - 02/20/2009 11:14 GEN News
Highlights Neuralstem reports that its spinal cord stem cell trial to
treat ALS is on clinical hold. FDA has provided the company with
specific comments, questions, and recommendations for modifications to
its protocol. Stanford University Uses Fluidigm Integrated
Fluidic Circuits To Help Identify The Source Of Cancer Stem Cell's
Resistance To Radiation <http://www.genpol.org/>
MediLexicon - 02/19/2009 12:37 Fluidigm Corporation announced that
Stanford University has used the unique single-cell gene expression
capabilities of the company's integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) to help
identify the source of cancer stem cells' resistance to radiation.
Alnylam Looks to Spinoffs To Unleash RNAi Technologies for Stem Cells,
Vaccines
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=647308220&u\
rl=http://www.congoo.com/news/2009February19/Alnylam-Spinoffs-Unleash-RN\
Ai-Technologies>
Congoo - 02/19/2009 08:11 Biotech, RNA Interference, Life Sciences Luke
Timmerman 2/18/09 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is one of the fortunate few in
biotech with more than $500 million in the bank, so money is the least
of its worries. MaxCyte, Inc. Introduces the GT(TM) Flow
Transfection System for Application with Autologous and Allogeneic Stem
Cell Therapies
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=637246926&u\
rl=http://ca.sys-con.com/node/835318>
Biospace - 02/19/2009 00:12 "The MaxCyte GT(TM) Flow Transfection
System addresses two of the primary challenges hindering acceleration of
effective stem cell therapies. It enables design and development of stem
cell products modified to allow for improved regenerative responses and
permits robust, automated, cost-effective, cGMP and... Singapore
teams up to discover drugs using brain tumor stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=645685693&u\
rl=http://www.biospectrumasia.com/content/180209SGP8614.asp>
BioSpectrum - 02/18/2009 01:24 Lilly Singapore Center for Drug
Discovery (LSCDD), the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and the
Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) have teamed up to
advance drug discovery using adult brain tumor stem cells. San
Diego's Stem Cell Startup Reports Hair-Regrowth Results
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=645220122&u\
rl=http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/02/17/san-diegos-stem-cell-star\
tup-reports-hair-regrowth-results/>
Xconomy - 02/17/2009 14:24 San Diego-based Histogen CEO Gail Naughton
is presenting encouraging preliminary results today at a stem cell
conference from the startup's first human trial of its hair regrowth
treatment, ReGenica. Astrazeneca and Cellartis extend their
collaboration to develop new way to test drug safety using stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=645220122&u\
rl=http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2009/02/17/san-diegos-stem-cell-star\
tup-reports-hair-regrowth-results/>
Bio-Dundee - 02/16/2009 06:38 AstraZeneca and Cellartis AB announced
today that they have signed an extension to their ongoing scientific
collaboration to develop improved safety screening systems based on
human embryonic stem cell (hESC) derived hepatocytes (liver cells) and
cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) for target and lead...
Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) To Provide Cutting Edge Treatment Using
Proprietary Adult Stem Cell Products - Yahoo!7 Finance
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=643440355&u\
rl=http://au.biz.yahoo.com/090216/42/24mv0.html>
Yahoo!7 Finance - 02/15/2009 21:35 - (ABN Newswire) - Mesoblast Limited
(ASX: MSB.AX)(PINK:MBLTY) One of Singapore's leading private healthcare
providers, Parkway Group Healthcare Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Parkway
Holdings Limited, and Australian regenerative medicine company,
Mesoblast Limited, today announced a collaborative program to...
Ficano venture aims to lure stem cell work to Wayne County
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=641225176&u\
rl=http://www.freep.com/article/20090213/NEWS06/902130345/1008>
Detroit Free Press - 02/13/2009 04:27 Wayne County Executive Robert
Ficano said Thursday that county government will partner with Tech Town
at Wayne State University to try to bring embryonic stem cell business
to southeast Michigan. Osiris touts stem cell trial results
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=640365116&u\
rl=http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/osiris-touts-stem-cell-trial-resul\
ts/2009-02-12>
Fierce Biotech - 02/12/2009 12:01 Osiris shares soar on $1.38B Genzyme
pact ALSO NOTED: Osiris files IPO; Amgen initiates kidney disease study;
and much more... Osiris Therapeutics blueprints $80M IPO SPOTLIGHT:
Osiris granted orphan status Osiris gains $50M Osiris Therapeutics says
its final set of two-year results from a trial for... Stemgent
Licenses TET's Stem Cell Reprogramming Reagents
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=639542763&u\
rl=http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=49482560&chid=0>
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - 02/11/2009 14:48 GEN News
Highlights Stemgent entered into an agreement to market reagents based
on TET Systems' technology for creating inducible stem cells.
Stemgent will apply Tet Technology to its portfolio of viral vector
systems for induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. ArunA
Biomedical Announces Commercial Release of its Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Derived Neural Cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=638814365&u\
rl=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/prnewswire/press_releases/Georgia/\
2009/01/30/CL64845>
Atlanta Business Chronicle - 02/11/2009 01:46 ATHENS, Ga., Jan. 30
/PRNewswire/ -- ArunA Biomedical, Inc., announced today that it will
make its hN2(TM) cells commercially available to the research community
in early 2009. Edinburgh: Producing neural tumour stem cells
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=638536610&u\
rl=http://www.congoo.com/news/2009February10/Edinburgh-Producing-neural-\
tumour-stem>
Congoo - 02/10/2009 20:56 unityResearchers at the have developed a new
method of producing neural tumour stem cell lines. A patent covering all
available territories has been filed and the university is seeking
commercial partners to license the technology. Stem Cell
Therapeutics Corp. Provides Corporate Update
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=637246926&u\
rl=http://ca.sys-con.com/node/835318>
Sys.Con Canada - 02/09/2009 11:21 CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) --
02/09/09 -- Stem Cell Therapeutics Corp. (the "Company" or "SCT") (TSX
VENTURE: SSS) announces today an update on key corporate developments
and strategies. AstraZeneca and Cellartis extend stem cell
collaboration - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=646359937&u\
rl=http://www.pharmexeceurope.com/europharmexec/article/articleDetail.js\
p?id=582272>
Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - 02/08/2009 17:04 AstraZeneca and
Cellartis have signed an extension in their collaboration to develop
better safety screening systems based on human embryonic stem
cell-derived (hESC) liver and heart muscle cells. ITI Life
Sciences achieves major milestone with first license deal with Cellartis
for Stem Cell...
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=635172124&u\
rl=http://www.newstin.co.uk/tag/uk/102656224>
Newstin - 02/06/2009 17:39 Signing of 7th licence for ITI Life Sciences
sees Dundee-based biotech company Cellartis AB commercialise pioneering
stem cell technology Dundee, Scotland, ITI Life Sciences today announced
it has signed a licensing agreement with world leading Stem Cell company
Cellartis AB, granting them a worldwide... World First For
Glasgow University As Stem Cell Therapy Trials Are Approved
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=632228923&u\
rl=http://en.redtram.com/go/180877578/>
redtram (ENG) - 02/04/2009 04:33 ReNeuron announced today (19 January
2009) that it has received approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare
Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to commence a first-in-man clinical
trial for the treatment of patients who have been left disabled by an
ischaemic » Full text » 2009-02-04 09:33:58 World First For...
Aastrom Heart Stem Cell Trial on Hold After Adverse Event
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=631903104&u\
rl=http://www.pharmacychoice.com/News/article.cfm?Article_ID=281408>
Pharmacy Choice - 02/03/2009 22:50 Aastrom Biosciences Inc., a company
that is developing stem cell products, said Monday that a patient
enrolled in the company's U.S. Phase II heart failure trial developed a
serious adverse event associated with anesthesia management during
treatment at one of the study sites. Neuralstem gets US patent
for new stem cell immortalization tech
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=549160&p=109643&d=630061208&u\
rl=http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=48163&sectioni\
d=>
Pharmabiz - 02/02/2009 07:37 Neuralstem, Inc has received Official
Notice of Allowance for its patent application, number 10/047,352, for
Stable Neural Stem Cell Lines from the US Patent and Trade Office
(USPTO).
Contact GPI
Robert E. Margolin
Associate Director
908-605-4203
rob@genpol.org <mailto:rob@genpol.org>

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 781

2009-03-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: YESTERDAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE by Don Reed From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: YESTERDAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE by Don Reed

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

Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:46 am (PDT)

YESTERDAY AT THE WHITE HOUSE by Don C. Reed Dear Stem Cell
Research Advocate: Yesterday, being in the room when President Obama
signed an executive order reversing ideological restrictions on
embryonic stem cell research was an honor and a delight. But for my
paralyzed son Roman Reed and all the other patient advocates in the
room, it meant so much more than that: the White House is now squarely
on the side of cure. The East Room was jammed with dignitaries as we
waited for the President to come in. Just a few feet away were Senators
Orrin Hatch, Dianne Feinstein, Jim Langevin, many more. Scientists like
Renee Reijo-Peira, Harold Varmus, and Irv Weissman. Patient advocates,
champions all, Bob Klein, Zach Hall, Dan Perry, Kris Gulden, Alta Charo,
literally hundreds more, each one deserving of his or her own book,
champions all. And then the voice said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the
President of the United States." LAn emotion like an electric current
surged through us, and I found myself on my feet without knowing how I
got there. You have to look up his speech, it was too great to miss.
It is only ten minutes, but just packed with value. Not only did he
speak out strongly on behalf of stem cell research,but he also announced
a new White House-directed effort to be sure that scientific policy was
based on science, not ideology. He spoke clearly, and calmly, and with
the accuracy too often dismissed as mere eloquence. He spoke the truth,
and it registered strongly because it was the truth. All too soon it
was over, and he was heading out the door, but he stopped to shake a few
hands, and to take a picture or two, including one with my son, Roman.
My wife Gloria tried to get him to allow another one with me personally,
but he said "Hey, guys, I really have to go," talking to us like we were
neighbors, and he had to go answer the phone. Like John F. Kennedy who
pointed toward the moon, the President has challenged a nation: we are
all part of this tremendous adventure, as we work to cure diseases and
disabilities that are not only ruining lives, but also devastating our
economy. Last year America spent $2.3 trillion on medical costs, more
than all federal income taxes put together. Only cure can
substantially lower these mountainous costs. That was what yesterday
meant: that we have set cure as a goal for our nation, and the world.
P.S. The Reed family got home at 11:30 last night, and will be on the
road again at 4:30 this morning, one hour from now, to go down to the
Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act "Meet the Scientist" Days at
UC Irvine and another day of meetings on California's stem cell program.
I will write more later, but I had to speak now or burst with happiness.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 780

2009-02-10T11:29:00.001-08:00

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: President Obama made some positive statements regarding for stem cel From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: President Obama made some positive statements regarding for stem cel

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

Mon Feb 9, 2009 6:55 pm (PST)

[Advocacy in Action] [JDRF Action Alert]
Fwd to a Friend
<http://takeaction.jdrf.org/site/R?i=MpZINkr9e0zPVVxfWw5dTQ..>

At a recent meeting of legislators, President Obama made some positive
statements regarding his Executive Order expanding the federal
government's support for stem cell research. Please take a moment to
send him a 'thank you' note for his promise to expand stem cell research
by clicking here
<http://takeaction.jdrf.org/site/R?i=CLl00RLW1-vm8Ix64psZQQ..> or on
the link below.

Thank the President for His Stem Cell Research Support!
<http://takeaction.jdrf.org/site/R?i=P5tXh_1hQiZDT7tY56QTow..>

You can read what the President had to say about stem cell research by
clicking here
<http://takeaction.jdrf.org/site/R?i=EgtXD_NOcUF8-piPk0JN4g..> . Please
send your message TODAY and encourage others to join you in thanking the
President!

Thank you.

JDRF Government Relations

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 779

2009-02-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

Messages In This Digest (2 Messages)

1.: Excerpts are from Jan 29 article, available online in Hartford Coura From: Stephen Meyer

2.: Latest Stem Cell Research Information From: Stephen Meyer

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Messages

1.: Excerpts are from Jan 29 article, available online in Hartford Coura

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

Sat Feb 7, 2009 4:01 pm (PST)

From the Hartford Courant, January 29, 2009

"State leaders praised the development of the new stem cell lines as
validation of the state's 2005 decision to invest $100 million in stem
cell research over 10 years. Because former President George W. Bush
<http://www.courant.com/topic/politics/government/presidents-of-the-unit\
ed-states/george-bush-PEPLT000857.topic> restricted the use of federal
funds for human embryonic stem cell research, the state money allowed
Connecticut researchers to work in a cutting-edge area of science that
their counterparts in all but a handful of other states could not.

Now, at a time when the state's economic prospects look bleak and
policymakers worry about the exodus of young, educated workers from
Connecticut, stem cell research is offering a bit of hope. The state
stem cell money has allowed Connecticut to lure top scientists
including Xu, Ge Lin, the postdoctoral fellow who created the stem cell
lines, and Haifan Lin, director of the Yale Stem Cell Center and
has spurred research and biotech business efforts.

"Instead of having a brain drain where all of our best and brightest in
Connecticut were going out of the country or to other states, we started
to receive some of the best and the brightest in Connecticut," said
Warren
<http://www.courant.com/topic/us/connecticut/litchfield-county/warren-%2\
8litchfield-connecticut%29-PLGEO100100203240000.topic> Wollschlager,
who administers the state stem cell research program as the chief of the
office of research and development at the state Department of Public
Health.

That could soon pay off in even bigger ways.

President Barack Obama
<http://www.courant.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT0074\
08.topic> is expected to lift the restriction on federal funding for
human embryonic stem cell research, and officials and researchers say
Connecticut's head start will give it a major advantage in competing for
federal research money.

"We have a track record now, which I think will be looked upon very
favorably in Washington," Pescatello said.

So far, the $29.6 million in state stem cell money has been used to
build the infrastructure for research facilities, recruit faculty and
fund research by scientists from UConn, Wesleyan and Yale. Wollschlager
said the state program has begun receiving more private sector
applications and that they are improving in quality.

Already, businesses related to stem cells are developing in the state,
Pescatello said. One company getting started in the New Haven
<http://www.courant.com/topic/us/connecticut/new-haven-county/new-haven-\
%28new-haven-connecticut%29-PLGEO100100205150000.topic> area is
planning to use stem cells to create a uniform supply of cells to test
new drugs on, Pescatello said.

UConn's new stem cell lines, named CT1 and CT2, were derived from
embryos from a fertility clinic, donated with the consent of the
patients, according to UConn

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2.: Latest Stem Cell Research Information

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

Sat Feb 7, 2009 4:22 pm (PST)

If you are really interested in the latest news in Stem Cell Research,
check out the Genetics Policy Institute's web site at

http://www.genpol.org/ <http://www.genpol.org/>

After you look at the site, join the Stem Cell Action Network.

http://www.genpol.org/newsletter.html
<http://www.genpol.org/newsletter.html>

Steve

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 778

2009-01-29T14:29:00.001-08:00

Stem Cell Research Information + Impact

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: THE RETURN OF JOHN REED ...by Don Reed From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: THE RETURN OF JOHN REED ...by Don Reed

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

Thu Jan 29, 2009 5:33 am (PST)

THE RETURN OF JOHN REED

By Don C. Reed

On the 29th and 30th of this month, there will be a meeting of the
Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, (ICOC), governing body of the
California stem cell program. This one will be in San Francisco.

As always, you are invited.

When you come in, you will first see rows and rows of folding chairs,
for interested citizens like you and I. And at the front? Great tables
decked in white cloth, each place with its own microphone, water glass,
and folded cardboard name tag. Here is where the ICOC sits: our 29
members, every one a champion of their field.

One nametag you will see that has been missing for more than a year: Dr.
John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of the Burnham Institute
for Medical Research. (He is no relation, though I would be proud to
call him kin.)

His scientific field is somewhat grimly-titled: apoptosis, cell death.
Understanding how and why cells die is crucial in the battle for cure.
If cells die too soon, you can have a stroke; not soon enough-- cancer.

The Institute for Scientific Information identified Dr. Reed as the most
frequently cited scientist in the decade 1995-2005. He has authored over
800 research publications, written more than 50 book chapters, and is
the named inventor for more than 70 patents.

Why has he been gone for a year? That is the subject of this column.

Dr. Reed voluntarily absented himself from ICOC deliberations-- while
California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) investigated
something he did.

First, background: ICOC members like Dr. Reed are forbidden to
participate in decisions affecting their home organizations. Preventing
such conflicts of interest is crucial to the program: or board members
could just use their vote to send the money to themselves.

A scientist who works with Dr. Reed's organization, David Smotrich,
applied for a grant through our California program. The proposal went
through the usual process, was reviewed by a committee of scientists
from out of state, then voted on by the ICOC and, as is required by
law, Dr. Reed took no part in that decision: so far, so good.

The project was judged excellent, receiving one of the highest scores
given.

But-- when the CIRM staff and legal department did their "due
diligence", making sure the grant fit every requirement, they found
what they thought was a fatal flaw.

One of the requirements of this particular grant was that the recipient
had to be a full-time employee of the institution making the request.

Burnham Institute was asking for the money, therefore Dr. Smotrich had
to be a full-time employee.

Was he?

Maybe yes, maybe noit depended on how you defined fulltime.

Smotrich had a "full faculty position and privileges at the
Burnham a small institution(which) does not have a hospital,
so it does not have full-time clinicians."Terri Somers, "Top
Burnham Official accused of conflict of interest", San Diego
Union-Tribune, November 22, 2007.

He did not get a salary there, which would seem to disqualify him; but,
on the other hand, with funding hard to get, many scientists at
institutions have to pay their own way, bringing a grant with them,
while they use the space and equipment of the Institute.

Suddenly, the whole project was deadon a technicality-- which might
be a mistake.

What would you have done? Stayed silent and accepted it, watch an
outstanding project go down, through a possible misunderstanding?

Remember, there was at this time no official review process for
complaints.

Also, the decision had already been made so was Dr. Reed allowed to
voice his concerns now? It was clear he could not use his power of
voting or discussion to influence the project's chances when it was
before the ICOC. But afterwards, when the decision was made, could he
speak up then, like at a football game, where coaches do not interfere
during the action, but may argue with the referee, after the play has
been called?

Did the rulebook say anything about the timing of complaints? I visited
the CIRM website, and could find nothing to clarify that.

Was this a new situation, which had not been considered, and therefore
was not covered by the laws?

Also, there was something else:

"executive officers of research institutionswho, as part of
their responsibilities, oversee and advise researchers in their
institutionshall not be deemed to have a conflict of interest under
this provision. Recusal, however, is required"

"Conflict of Interest Policy for Members of the Independent
Citizen's Oversight Committee", (footnote at the bottom of page
1-dr)

This is official policy, and it seems to me (admittedly a non-lawyer) to
contain some wiggle room. On the one hand, the "recusal" part
(not voting on money decisions affecting your outfit) had definitely
been followed.

But did Dr. Reed's legal right to "oversee and advise" allow
him to explain his institution's definition of a full-time employee?

That was a gray area.

With a brand-new organization like the California stem cell program, the
rules are not always crystal clear. The process of making the laws began
with the writing and passage of Proposition 71. After the voters said
yes, there was an immediate major conference with the National Academy
of Sciences to figure out best practices, and the ICOC (with the
continual input of Sacramento) has been working hard on the rules ever
since.

But despite the best planning, going first is not simple.

Dr. Reed felt a mistake was being made, so, he contacted ICOC Chairman
Bob Klein, asking him what he should do.

Bob Klein said he "didn't have the ability to evaluate the
information in the administrative review, so if Dr. Reed thought there
were errors, he should make them public by writing a letter to the
scientific staff." (ibid)

This was done. Dr. Reed wrote a six and a half page letter, detailing
the problem, and sent it to Dr. Arlene Chiu, head of the science
department.

It was a mistake.

The CIRM legal department caught the error immediately, stopped it cold.
General Counsel Tamara Pachter pointed out there was no appeals process,
and the matter would not be considered.

The grant did not receive funding.

But that was not the end of the matter.

Enter John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a frequent critic of our
program. He filed a complaint with California's Fair Political
Practices Committee (FPPC), alleging a conflict of interest, and called
for the resignations of both Dr. Reed and Chairman Klein.

To my mind, such a penalty is vastly out of proportion, like suggesting
the electric chair for a parking violation, but Simpson feels otherwise.

As he puts it: "This is not trivialWhen you hand out millions
of dollars in public money, you have to play by the rules. He (Smotrich)
didn't meet the eligibility rules advertised for this grant and
waiving them would have been unfair to everyone else."
California Stem Cell Report, November 21, 2007

How did CIRM feel about it?

In an interview with David Jensen of the California Stem Cell Report,
CIRM Acting President Dr. Rich Murphy said:

"It is important to remember that Dr. Reed sent his letter after the
ICOC had approved the grantAt the time, Dr. Reed mistakenly
believed that conflict rules would not prevent him from providing
technical information regarding the status of a faculty member to CIRM
staff. As soon as CIRM staff received the letter, counsel advised Dr.
Reed that he must refrain from contacting the staff and board members
regarding a grant to the Burnham and advised staff to disregard Dr.
Reed's letter. It therefore had no effect on CIRM's process, and
Dr. Reed now fully understands the conflict rules."

The FPPC studied the accusation and background issues for more than a
year.

Meanwhile, the rules were clarified, and a complaint process was
established, whereby scientists denied grants could speak up, and be
heard.

And Dr. Reed voluntarily took himself off the board, until the matter
was resolved.

For me, as a patient advocate, the loss was painful, like a favorite
football team being forced to play all year with one of our best
athletes sidelined: In addition to being incredibly intelligent, Dr.
Reed is passionate, clear, dedicated, and caring.

So, we all waited.

At last, the answer came.

A few days ago, the FPPC answer was delivered, in a public letter.

"In our view, by submitting a "letter of appeal" to CIRM
staff, Dr. Reed intended to influence a decision that had the potential
to affect his economic interests. Howeverit appears that Dr. Reed
attempted to influence a prior-made governmental decision that could not
be appealed Thus, although this matter raises ethical concerns, we
are closing this matter with a warning letter.Dr. Reed is advised
that failure to comply with the provisions of the Act can result in an
enforcement action against him, including monetary penalties of up to
$5,000 for each violation"

--Kourtney C. Vaccaro, Division Chief, Enforcement Division, Fair
Political Practices Commission, January 7, 2009

That is harsh language, especially when you consider it took the FPPC
itself, experts in the field, over a year to figure it out.

There was no penalty, because there was no violation of the law. Because
Dr. Reed had objected to a decision which could not be undone, no crime
had been committed.

But that does not mean Simpson was wrong in filing his complaint.
Democracy depends on critics; like antibodies, their reactions are often
painful to the body politic; yet they perform a vital function.
Simpson's fuss and furor made everybody really stop and think about
the issue.

Above all, our system worked. California's blend of public and
private oversight found a problem, and dealt with it. Our legal
department spotted the error, and immediately blocked it; while the
transparent nature of our program (allowing and encouraging citizen
involvement) made the blunder clear, accessible, and fixable.

The incident is done. As its letter states, "the Fair Political
Practices Commission has closed its file"

And Dr. John Reed? One of America's greatest scientists is
returning to the ICOC. His life goes forward, benefiting all: this
molehill of controversy outweighed by his mountain of accomplishment.

Welcome home, Doctor Reed.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 777

2009-01-19T11:56:00.001-08:00

Messages In This Digest (2 Messages)

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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Messages

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
Powered by Genetics Policy Institute

Forward this newsletter to a Colleague by visiting this link
<http://globalstemcell.org/news/?p=forward&uid=c9e926623ad48a763f967b185\
2e118f7&mid=85>

<http://www.genpol.org/scan.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/report_contents.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/index.html>

<http://www.worldstemcellsummit.com/index.html>
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=614676391&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=614472828&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=613367314&ur\
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?
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=606239154&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=604002425&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=607285427&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=603978140&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=601374488&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=596529207&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=596542630&ur\
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
<http://www.magentanews.com/redirect.asp?u=324405&p=99693&d=596552917&ur\
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
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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
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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 YORKThe 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
cellsthey can differentiate into each of the three main types of
body tissuebut 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,
MDStem 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
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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-2dependent regulatory dendritic cell population
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 injurybut 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) combinedand 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
policyin 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 moonbut 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 existenceand quintupled that investment for
the Golden State, bringing in an additional $50 million in matching
funds from the feds, new money for our statefunding 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
notwith 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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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 776

2009-01-16T11:08:00.001-08:00

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

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

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

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

Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:09 am (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 injurybut 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) combinedand 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
policyin 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 moonbut 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 existenceand quintupled that investment for
the Golden State, bringing in an additional $50 million in matching
funds from the feds, new money for our statefunding 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
notwith 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.

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[StemCellInformation] Digest Number 775

2009-01-09T12:12:00.001-08:00

Messages In This Digest (1 Message)

1.: TIME TO TAX? OR-- THE YANT ALTERNATIVE..By Don Reed From: Stephen Meyer

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1.: TIME TO TAX? OR-- THE YANT ALTERNATIVE..By Don Reed

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

Fri Jan 9, 2009 5:36 am (PST)

TIME TO TAX? OR-- THE YANT ALTERNATIVE

by Don C. Reed

First, here is an argument FOR increased taxation of the very rich, the
sort of folks for whom the first great Depression was a happy time: when
prices were low, and servants worked cheap. For those who ignore the
sufferings of millions, there may be no answer, except to tax.

But for the far-sighted, there is another way, which I will get to in a
minute.

Part One: Time to Tax

"Let the rich alone," said William F. Buckley, in a famous essay
of 1968, and for forty years our country has taken that advice all too
literally, as cornerstone financial policy.

Until very recently, the worst thing that could be said about a
politician was to be labeled a "tax and spend" Democrat.
Instead, we were told, the "unseen hand of the market" was cited
as the answers to all ills.

In California, that attitude is enshrined in law. A virtually
unattainable 2/3 majority is required to pass any new tax. The result?
We once provided the best public school education country have fallen to
46th in per-pupil spendingand the Golden State is reportedly just
weeks away from bankruptcy.

Nor is California alone in its difficulties. America is going broke:
mired in debt, increasingly unable to pay our bills. One huge expense
alone, ($2.3 trillion in medical costs), outstrips all federal income
tax receipts (1.8 trillion) combined.

Real unemployment is close to 13%. The usual figure of 6.7% is
misleading; if a person is out of work for more than a few weeks, they
are considered to have given up seeking employment, and are not counted
any more. But they have not gone away. They are still there, and are
growing increasingly hungry.

The gap between rich and poor has widened, until the income of the top
three hundred fifty thousand Americans is more than the bottom one
hundred fifty million.

Is it not time to reconsider the dreaded "T word"?

Or have we forgotten what took us out of the first Great Depression?

Massive governmental spending taxed-and-spent us out of depression-- and
into the greatest lasting prosperity the world has ever known.

Soon, a new Administration will begin: a new President, a new Democratic
majority in Congress and the Senate. We all wish them courage and wisdom
for what lies ahead.

They must do what every politician dreads: inflicting new taxes on the
very rich: requiring them to give back to the country which made their
wealth possible.

To do otherwise is to break faith with a woman named Andrea, a
30-year-old injured military veteran, whose unemployment benefits just
ran out.

As she walked away from the volunteer soup kitchen, not long before
Christmas Day, Andrea carried a small frozen turkey, some canned
vegetables, and a tub of sour cream, which was all that charity had left
to give her.

The little bit of food would have to last. Andrea is also a mother, a
single mom, raising a little girl on her own.

"I gave up on eating every day," Andrea said, "I want to
make sure what we have lasts for my daughter."*

Voluntary charity is not enough for all the Andreas and their children
in our country, the ten per cent of our population which goes to bed
hungry every night.

America must not let her down.

It is time to tax.

* "Food stamp recipients have quadrupled in the past year, study
shows",

Karen de Sa, Fremont Argus, Bay Area News Group, 12/23/08

PART TWO:

ORthere is Bob Yant's Way

Bob Yant is a gentle-voiced friend of scientific research-- and of
anybody in a wheelchair who wants to get out.

A mainstay of the research movement, Bob has been fighting for science
many years, always with a smile, and the attitude that "wouldn't
it be great if it were possible to", so the ideas linger in the
mind.

He can handle giant ideas, and "talk science" with the best of
them.

Andhe is a businessman. His product?

Excuse me, but I must get personal for a moment.

Anybody in a wheelchair knows that bathroom needs cannot be taken for
granted.

Once paralyzed, never again is it enough to just say, "Hey, where is
the restroom?", and that is all it takes.

Assistance is required: like catheterization tubes that go inside the
body.

A trustworthy product is needed. So, Bob designed his own
catheterization gear, based not only on the most up-to-date science, but
also backed by the irreplaceable knowledge of many years living in a
chair.

I am no urologist to understand the medical side of such things.

But I know Bob Yant, and I trust him. In my opinion, any product he
develops will be outstanding.

In a minute I will point you to his website.

But first, the reason for this editorial.

Because Bob also came up with an ALTERNATIVE TO TAXATION: his own
personal

way to advance scientific research without being forced.

Instead of waiting to be taxed, the Yant approach was to voluntarily
donate ten per cent of what he makes from the product, and give it to
research.

I am no economist, but I cannot help wondering about the impact his
example could bring. We already have a certain level of taxation, which
has to be maintained, and loopholes closed: even the most tight-fisted
of conservatives agree the national debt must be paid down, and there is
no other way.

But what would happen if every company and wealthy individual followed
the Yant example, and genuinely donated ten per cent of gross income to
support a social goal?

There might be no need to increase taxation at all.

For a look at Bob Yant's product, and his policy, go to
http://www.curemedical.com <http://www.curemedical.com/> .

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Stem Cells Research

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The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cell

The Un-Exposed Truth About Your Own Stem Cell

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