The Pluripotent

A couple of “pro-life”  news sources are reporting that adult stem cells have reversed the effects of Parkinson’s disease in a UCLA clinical trial.  One source reports: “Scientists have published a paper in a medical journal describing the results of the world’s first clinical trial using autologous neural stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. A leading bioethics watchdog says the results show more money should be put behind adult stem cells.”  What’s this medical journal you ask?  Benthan Open Stem Cell Journal, which was started this year.  Judging by their website, which looks more like a sketchy off-shore based ebay store website, it seems like anyone can submit and “publish” a paper, which raises a bunch of red flags about the validity of this clinical study.

Also, this South Dakota based pro-life news source reported the story too, and they sure do hype up the adult stem cell aspect of the “study.”  They tastefully add that “not a single successful treatment has been developed from embryonic stem cell research.”  Great, lock the dog in the cage and blame him for not being able to run.

P.S.  This post was not put in the ‘Science’ category.

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The guy in the picture is Ge Lin, a postdoc in UConn’s Stem Cell Core Laboratory in Farmington.  He and fellow researchers developed two new lines of embryonic stem cells that are expected to boost work seeking treatments for a variety of diseases.  The new stem cell lines, named CT1 and CT2, were derived from embryos from a fertility clinic, donated with the consent of the patients.  Why is this news?  The breakthrough is significant because it will allow UConn to supply researchers in Connecticut and elsewhere the material necessary for research that scientists believe could lead to advances ranging from the repair of bones shattered in war to cures for diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s.

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At an inauguration event at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., actor Michael J. Fox spoke with Reuters reporter John McCrank about his hopes for the Obama administration.  If you’ve ever seen an episode of Spin City, you probably already know that he’s afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous sytem.  It’s tough to hear him clearly past the pompous babbling in the background, but Reuter’s quotes says he “expects a very productive ‘four-to-eight years’, saying Obama ‘is a fan of science and intellectual curiosity’ and is committed to moving forward with research.”  We really hope that Obama isn’t late to help out MJF… like Christopher Reeve late.

[Via Reuters]

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