Stem Cells
> The advocate general of the European Union goes against the idea of stem cell patenting. Article
> Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have isolated stem cells that form the developing placenta and altered them so they have the same properties of stem cells associated with an aggressive type of breast cancer. According to Drug Discovery & Development, this "scientific first" paves the way for targeted therapies aimed at triple negative breast cancer, (TNBC), which is a highly recurrent tumor that spreads aggressively beyond its original site in the breast. Story
> Three UCSF scientists have received grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to advance their investigations of treatment strategies for degenerative muscle diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, and heart disease, and to determine why human embryonic stem cells are susceptible to forming tumors. UCSF release
Cancer Research
> Colorectal cancer screening rates increased for Medicare beneficiaries when coverage was expanded to average-risk individuals, but racial disparities still exist, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Release
> Patients who received therapy for cancer during childhood have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal (GI) complications later in life, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute. Compared with their siblings, cancer survivors had an increased risk of late-onset complications of the upper GI tract, lower GI tract and liver. Item
> Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified a target for potential therapies for rhabdoid tumors--aggressive childhood cancers that usually strike children under three years old and affect the brain or kidneys. Release
Genetics
> The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a genomics research initiative--the Million Veterans Program--in an effort to consolidate genetic, military exposure, health, and lifestyle information together in one single database. Story
> San Diego Zoo leads efforts to map the genes of 10,000 animals. Story
> In a genetic first, Mayo Clinic turns zebrafish genes off and on. Item