Saturday, July 21, 2007

Benefits of stem-cell engraftment may not last


The good news is that real, beating cardiomyocytes can be grown from undifferentiated stem cells, and large quantities of these cells with distinctly human characteristics can be obtained from human embryonic stem cells, as Mummery's talk proved. These differentiated cells will permit screens for drugs that bolster the numbers of cardiomyocytes produced and that help cardiomyocytes engraft and survive. Thus, although this progress may not signal the arrival of effective therapies, it may mark the true beginning of their development.


Link



The good news is also that the real work of heart repair is beginning.  The tough answers are beginning to come out.  Now, we can suspect that varying results might be caused by mis-labeling cells. Now, we know that the heart is a difficult but not impossible place to use stem cells, and that stem cells can form heart cells.



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Monday, July 09, 2007

Scientists Create Breakthrough Sensor Capable of Detecting Individual Molecules


This device could make direct observation of single biological events possible.





Applied physicists at the California Institute of Technology have figured out a way to detect single biological molecules with a microscopic optical device. The method has already proven effective for detecting the signaling proteins called cytokines that indicate the function of the immune system, and it could be used in numerous medical applications, such as the extremely early detection of cancer and other diseases, as well as in basic biological research.






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Embryo Screening


The Times's Amy Harmon talks about the increasingly common practice of the embryo screening procedure known as PGD. (Producer: Erik Olsen)



Video


Embryo screening will be much more complex when more than one condition is being checked.  The field should be very interesting.


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