, according to a new report in the journal
. The child had a rare, deadly brain disease called ataxia telangiectasia, or A-T. The disease can lead to degeneration of a region of the brain; most people with A-T die by their teens or early 20s. The boy had traveled to Russia at age 9, when he was injected with fetal neural stem cells in his brain and spinal cord, the Associated Press reports. He received two additional sets of injections at ages 10 Read the rest of this entry »

With the first-ever human test of a medical treatment based on embryonic stem cells gaining federal approval, researchers are optimistic that President Obama will soon lift a controversial Bush administration ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and speed work to
. The newly approved human trial involves an attempt to repair severed spinal cords in paraplegics.
can replicate over and over, thanks to an enzyme that slows their Read the rest of this entry »

.
Dr. Steven Teitelbaum, a pathology and immunology professor at
, said scientists there were enthused about the prospect of advancing research with embryonic stem cells but also shared a word of caution about expectations.
“We want to see the promise of this therapy move forward,” he said Friday. “But we have to be careful about expectations. This is not a clinical trial to test whether embryonic stem cells will work therapeutically. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been hurdles for Geron, including how the company would conduct its trials and the ethical questions and religious opposition to using human embryos.
The biggest hurdle may have been the lack of government funding for stem cell studies. Because there is no federal money for this kind of research, other than through the
, there has been little movement in the embryonic stem cell arena outside of Geron’s privately funded effort. That Read the rest of this entry »

Induced pluripotent stem cells are derived from an adult stem cell using genes and viruses. Researchers have tried to improve this method by developing a safer way to obtain stem cells from adult cells without using the viruses that can cause cancer. Last year, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston managed to reprogram adult skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells using adenoviruses which don’t Read the rest of this entry »

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline)-Pointing to his father’s battle with diabetes, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster praised the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to allow testing using human embryonic stem cells.
“As the son of a man who battled diabetes, I believe stem cell research is an important channel to fight disease,” Koster said in a statement.
Last week, the FDA gave a green light to Menlo Park, Calif.-based biotechnology Read the rest of this entry »

The FDA recently permitted Geron Corp., a biotech company in California, to test embryonic stem cells in human patients for the first time.
Apparently deciding to forego the numerous ethical and safety concerns associated with this practice, the FDA gave Geron the green light the same week President Barack Obama was inaugurated. This is undoubtedly a sample of the “change” we have been promised.
Geron should abandon the limelight in Read the rest of this entry »

Other researchers had previously begun human testing of embryonic cells derived from adults and fetuses, but the new study will mark the first authorized use of those derived from embryos, which have been highly controversial because the embryos are destroyed in the process.
The Food and Drug Administration approved a request from Geron of Menlo Park to test the stem cells on eight to 10 patients with severe spinal cord injuries. The study, which Read the rest of this entry »

Mich. Voters Divided On Ballot Initiative To Allow Embryonic Stem Cell Research
, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to allow embryos created for fertility treatments that otherwise would be discarded to be used for stem cell research, the
reports. The proposed amendment pits the state’s public and private biological research centers against conservative Catholic and evangelical groups who oppose the research, the
reports Read the rest of this entry »

Using stem cells is controversial because embryonic stem cells are taken from human fetuses. 
Earlier this month, Glasgow researchers were planning a “major trial” to test the
, according to the BBC. The United Kingdom approved the trial after the US Food and Drug Administration rejected the proposal from ReNeuron, the company that developed the therapy, two years ago.
According to Medical News Today, “
. However, the rest Read the rest of this entry »