aging process

Human stem cells aren't immune to the aging process, according to scientists. Researchers studied hematopoietic stem cells, which create the cells that comprise the blood and immune system. Understanding when and how these stem cells begin to falter as the years pass may explain why some diseases, such as acute myeloid leukemia, increase in prevalence with age, and also why elderly people tend to be more vulnerable to infections such as colds and the flu.

Fat stem cells may help heal damaged heart?

Yes, according to a news report about a year ago, researchers took fat stem cells from 14 patients who suffered from heart attacks and injected the fat cells directly into the heart. The results showed that six months later, those patients showed a 50% decrease in their heart muscle damaged; whereas, the control group, who received the placebo treatment showed no change.... This is because the fat stem cells that were injected into the patients heart may have had one or more of the following effects:
1. generated healthy heart muscle cells
2. stimulated growth of new blood vessels to repopulate damaged heart tissue
3. secreted new growth factors
4. assisted via some other mechanism

Henrietta's family

In 1966, Henrietta’s daughter, Deborah, gave birth when she was a
junior in high school. Henritta’s
cousin, Bobbette took care of Deborah instead of Henrietta. She was a wonderful woman who forced with a
positive encouragement to Debora to graduate the high school and got a
job. Bobbette took care of her baby like
Henrietta would do if she were there. In the past, families helped together when anyone got into troubles or difficult
times. I think that we learn something from them. John Hopkins Hospital history was introduced
in this chapter. John Hopkins donated $7
million to start a medical school and charity hospital. John Hopkin’s friends and family created one
of the top medical schools in the country.
The book implied that they might abuse black bodies or children for the
medical research purpose. Nobody can
abuse anyone who is alive for medical reasons.
However, dead bodies are different.
Once I met a doctor who used real human skeleton to teach bone structure
to the students and this skeleton was always in his office. This skeleton belonged to his previous teacher,
a doctor. His teacher donated his body to him.
If I died, I would like to donate my body for medical use. In 1969, a Hopkins researcher used blood
samples from more than 7,000 children—most of them from poor black
families. It is hard for me to say that
Hopkins hospital did wrong for medical advancement. But I concern that the process was conducted
in acceptable manners not spoiling children’s healthy bodies. The author blamed that Henrietta lacks’ body
was exploited by white scientists. Then,
if Henrietta were a white, can we say that it could be suitable. One thing I really don’t like is that
doctors didn’t give Henrietta’s family any information about her “immortality”
for over twenty years. In addition, they used Henrietta’s family in research
without informed consent. They did not
say anything when the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that
sells human biological materials.

Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks lived
her life as a typical young black lady in 1950s. She was a poor, but had a happy life with her
family until she discovered that she had a cervical cancer. At that time, Pap test system was not
popular for cervical cancer like today.
Cancer attacks anyone and any young lady who get cancer have a hard time
to survive even though today’s advanced medical environment because cancer is
strong and young like youthful people. They
progress faster and deeper into mature bodies.
However, Henrietta gives me a striking image as a healthy young woman
who dressed up like a businesswoman wearing official suits and high heel with
fashionable hair style on her picture.
She looks like smiling to me. She ended up her life as a person, but
left enormous contribution to our society in past, present and future. I admire her life and remember her name as
long as I live. Her name is Henrietta,
not science name of Hela.
It
does not matter how effective treatment was given to her, she could not live
longer time. Nevertheless, I feel sad
because she had to die under discrimination.
I wanted her to die proud of herself contributing society and she
deserved to get respect from doctors.
Without her knowledge, her cells were taken from her as the first
“immortal human cells” in the culture.
They are still alive today. At
least, her family should know it. HeLa cells were essential for developing the
polio vaccine, revealed cancer characteristics, viruses, and the atom bomb’s
effects, and used for in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping, and
have been bought and sold by the billions. Her cells have been contributing to
our world and producing lots of profits.
I hope that her family can reward from this. They deserve to receive part of profits to
live average life style, not poor like they live now.

Man's Heart Saved By His Own Stem Cells

This news story from early this year is amazing. A man's own stem cells from his bone marrow was harvested, prepped and then re-inserted back into his heart to help grow blood vessels around his heart to treat his coronary artery disease. But the most amazing part is that his stem cells were harvested during surgery giving him results that were almost seen immediately. See the attached link for a more detail read...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health/your_health&id=7938808

Simply Astonishing!

1st Artificial Windpipe Made With Stem Cells Seems Successful

http://news.yahoo.com/1st-artificial-windpipe-made-stem-cells-seems-successful-000806429.html

How a man with a golf ball sized tumor in his trachea was given the gift of life again by miraculous stem cells.

A Conservative Protest About Stem Cells and the Media

November 25, 2011

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnfarrell/2011/11/25/a-conservative-protest-about-stem-cells-and-the-media/?feed=rss_home

Post your comment.

Adult stem cells effective against clogged leg arteries

Amazing and touching to me because my grandmother recently had a severe clogged artery. Luckily, she noticed it in time and saved her own life!!!

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/healthy/your _health&id=8222247

SUCCESSFUL clinical trial use of stem cells!

Here is another great application of stem cells...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health/your_health&id8235406

and here is the video link of the same thing...

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=8235422

ENJOY!

Cloning method may help make personal stem cells

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/health&id=8381851

This is interesting! So, they could not clone removing the donor's genetic material from the egg but they could clone without removing the donor's genetic material from the egg. Thus resulting in 69 chromosomes!

Could baby teeth stem cells save your child?

what do you think? Is it worth it?

http://abc7local.go.com/kabc/storey?section=news/health/your_health&id=8382209

I personally do not think it is worth it since there are currently no medical applications using dental stem cells. However, I guess if I were rich, I woiuldn't mind potentially investing $769 to store my child's tooth in hopes of it being useful one day.

Operation marks another step forward in stem cell research

First person to be injected with stem cells in the spinal cord. He is part of a FDA-approved clinical trial that is testing the safety of injecting stem cells into the spinal cord of patients Lou Gehrig's disease.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/21/health/stem-cells-als/?hpt=he_c2

Catriona Jamieson Talks About Therapies Based on Cancer Stem Cells

Catriona Jamieson is a CIRM grant and She is assistant professor of medicine at UC, San Diego and Director for Stem Cell Research at Moores UCSD Cancer Center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUK9Pby928Y&feature=player_embedded#!

Fat Reconstruction

Reconstruction surgery using Stem cells from fat.

http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2011/11/20/health/9909421&sec=health

Some youtube links to Henrietta Lacks family and the author

Henrietta's family gives an interview about their knowledge about HeLa cells on CBS Sunday morning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRrNjHYxP_o&feature=related


Rebecca Skloot talking about Deborah and Zakariyya coming to the lab to look at their mother's cells and their expression and images:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=497Scue9sdY&feature=related

A New Way to Treat Cancer

Hey everybody saw this on yahoo news and thought I would share this with you all.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/this-could-be-big-abc-news/way-treat-cancer-053418029.html

Advance Cell Technology Inc.: First Patients Undergo Embryonic Stem Cell Transplantation Treatment

This is the most recent update of Advanced Cell Technology Inc. clinical trails regrading the use of hESC for the treatment of macular degeneration.

http://advancedcell.com/news-and-media/press-releases/act-announces-first-patients-undergo-embryonic-stem-cell-transplantation-treatment-for-stargardts-disease-and-macular-degeneration-at-uclas-jules-stein-eye-institute/index.asp

Another interview

On a lighter note, here is Stephen Colbert talking with Rebecca skloot. You can tell Colbert is using ironic talking points to push the conversation.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/267542/march-16-2010/rebecca-skloot

PBS Interview with the author

Here is an interview from PBS with the author of the book Rebecca Skloot. Definitely interesting to see her views on the subject behind research ethics and stem cell usage.
http://video.pbs.org/video/1722974526

Some thoughts..

I found it interesting that during a time of racism, HeLa cells were being used to help cure Polio for every American. African American researchers and technicians were working with the HeLa cells at the Tuskegee Institute and this was not only a scientific breakthrough but a social one as well. This goes to show that the contributions African Americans have made often go unnoticed. I thought it was also interesting that during Henrietta's burial a wild storm passed through and caused the death of one of her cousins. Was this just coincidence or was Henrietta making a statement? I did not know that the beginnings of virology relied on HeLa cells as well as the development of freezing cells.

ANOTHER READ FOR PARKINSON'S..... Very surprised to see this in foxnews.com because we all know that fox seems to promote more conservative political positions.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/07/human-stem-cells-used-to-treat-parkinsons-in-mice/

HEY EVERYBODY CHECK THIS OUT!!!!

STEM CELL HOPE FOR PARKINSON'S PATIENTS

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/stem-cell-hope-for-parkinsons-patients/story-e6frfku0-1226191473762

HeLa

This book is an awesome read. The detail of this book is great, especially when she gets in her tub and “inspects” herself. The slightest touch to the mass would make her bleed. However, Henrietta Lacks is truly an inspiring person. She went trough so much. At least for me, she truly wanted to get better yet she didn’t want her family to know. I know I wouldn’t be able to go through radiation treatments alone. What really touched me was when she asked her doctor if she would ever be able to have a child after her treatments. As you keep reading, her doctor informs her that she is infertile. TRAGIC. I don’t know if this is impacting me more than other people because I am a female and even if I don’t ever have children I would like to have the choice to do so.

Nevertheless, the ethics debate over HeLa cells is very interesting, yet sometimes I wonder if Gey would have not done what he did would we have ever cultured human cells? Even if we did, who knows how long it would have been before they were able to culture a human cell line. I am not choosing their side over Henrietta Lacks’ but it is just something the ponder about.

misidentified cell line

http://www.cellbankaustralia.com/Misidentified-Cell-Line-List/default.aspx

See you are in good company

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/25/139948707/college-common-reads-lessons-from-henrietta-lacks

See you are in good company

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/25/139948707/college-common-reads-lessons-from-henrietta-lacks

Henrietta's Dance - John Hopkins Magazine

http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/0400web/01.html

Erasing the Signs of Aging in Human Cells Is Now a Reality

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111103120605.htm

Sound a little bit like Fridays seminar.

New buzz around biological hazards

http://www.biopoliticaltimes.org/article.php?id=5919