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DNA tests show remains to be those of missing Virginia brothers

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DNA tests have determined that two sets of remains found in Fairfax County over the past two years belonged to brothers who disappeared from Prince William County in 2010, Fairfax police said Thursday.

Virginias medical examiner had previously determined that the cause of death in both cases was homicide because both sets of remains showed blunt force trauma to the upper body, police said.

Manuel Mireles-Garcia and Alberto de Jesus Mireles-Garcia were last seen by family members about 10 p.m. on May 10, 2010, in the Triangle area, according to Prince William police. Both were in their early 30s. Relatives reported their disappearance two days after they were last seen.

The brothers vehicles were at their Triangle residence, but their IDs and keys were gone, police said. A search of the brothers shared apartment in the 18700 block of Fuller Heights Road turned up no additional clues to their whereabouts, police said.

Family members remain baffled by the brothers disappearance and their apparent killings.

They were regular ... guys who went to work every day, Ruben Garcia, a cousin, said.

Manuels skeletal remains were discovered just off the road in the 10200 block of Furnace Road in the Lorton area July 12, 2010, police said. He was wearing a chain necklace with a stone, heart pendant and an evil eye talisman attached, police said.

He also had on a green American Eagle-brand track suit, Cherokee-brand pajama pants, a blue T-shirt with a picture of a hot rod and a pair of white Reebok sneakers, according to police.

Albertos skeletal remains were discovered about a mile away on Furnace Road on March 15, 2011, police said. They were found at the base of a railroad trestle bridge by a man walking between Richmond Highway and Old Colchester Road, police said.

Police released no other details about the case. They werent found too far apart from each other, but it wasnt exactly close, said Eddy Azcarate, a spokesman for the Fairfax police. We dont know when they died or where. Its all still under investigation.

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DNA tests show remains to be those of missing Virginia brothers

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Synthetic DNA Created, Evolves on Its Own

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Step aside, DNAnew synthetic compounds called XNAs can also store and copy genetic information, a new study says.

And, in a "big advancement," these artificial compounds can also be made to evolve in the lab, according to study co-author John Chaput of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. (See "Evolution vs. Intelligent Design: 6 Bones of Contention.")

Nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA are composed of four basesA, G, C, and T. Attached to the bases are sugars and phosphates. (Get a genetics overview.)

First, researchers made XNA building blocks to six different genetic systems by replacing the natural sugar component of DNA with one of six different polymers, synthetic chemical compounds.

The teamled by Vitor Pinheiro of the U.K.'s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biologythen evolved enzymes, called polymerases, that can make XNA from DNA, and others that can change XNA back into DNA.

This copying and translating ability allowed for genetic sequences to be copied and passed down again and againartificial heredity.

Last, the team determined that HNA, one of the six XNA polymers, could respond to selective pressure in a test tube.

As would be expected for DNA, the stressed HNA evolved into different forms.

This shows that "beyond heredity, specific XNAs have the capacity for Darwinian evolution," according to the study, published tomorrow in the journal Science. (Read "Darwin's Legacy" in National Geographic magazine.)

"Thus, heredity and evolution, two hallmarks of life, are not limited to DNA and RNA."

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Synthetic DNA Created, Evolves on Its Own

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Evolution seen in 'synthetic DNA'

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19 April 2012 Last updated at 14:07 ET

Researchers have succeeded in mimicking the chemistry of life in synthetic versions of DNA and RNA molecules.

The work shows that DNA and its chemical cousin RNA are not unique in their ability to encode information and to pass it on through heredity.

The work, reported in Science, is promising for future "synthetic biology" and biotechnology efforts.

It also hints at the idea that if life exists elsewhere, it could be bound by evolution but not by similar chemistry.

In fact, one reason to mimic the functions of DNA and RNA - which helps cells to manufacture proteins - is to determine how they came about at the dawn of life on Earth; many scientists believe that RNA arose first but was preceded by a simpler molecule that performed the same function.

However, it has remained unclear if any other molecule can participate in the same unzipping and copying processes that give DNA and RNA their ability to pass on the information they carry in the sequences of their nucleobases - the five letters from which the genetic code is written.

There is nothing 'Goldilocks' about DNA and RNA - there is no overwhelming functional imperative for genetic systems or biology to be based on them

The classic double-helix structure of DNA and RNA are like a twisted ladder, where the steps are made from paired nucleobases.

Philipp Holliger of the UK Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology and a team of colleagues created six different DNA- and RNA-like molecules - xeno-nucleic acids, or XNAs - by replacing not the nucleobases but the sugar groups that make up the sides of the ladder.

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Evolution seen in 'synthetic DNA'

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'DNA of Gerbil accused' on pistol

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19 April 2012 Last updated at 11:12 ET

The DNA of murder accused Ross Monaghan was found on one of the guns used to shoot gangland figure Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll to death, his trial has heard.

Forensic scientist Pauline McSorley told jurors the chance of the DNA belonging to anyone other than Mr Monaghan was one in a billion.

But the High Court in Glasgow heard the DNA of a laboratory technician was also found on the weapon.

Mr Monaghan denies murdering Mr Carroll in an Asda car park in January 2010.

The court heard that the gun - a black self-loading pistol - was found alongside a revolver behind Coatbridge Library on 26 January 2010.

Mr Carroll, 29, had been shot dead 13 days earlier at an Asda car park in the Robroyston area of Glasgow.

Giving evidence to the trial, Ms McSorley told advocate depute Iain McSporran, prosecuting, that the gun was swabbed and they found DNA from "at least three people."

It's horrendous that should have happened from a scientific point of view

She said the major source of the DNA was 30-year-old Mr Monaghan, and described it as a "perfect match".

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'DNA of Gerbil accused' on pistol

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PerkinElmer's 'Ensemble for Biology' Suite Arises from 2011 Informatics Acquisitions

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Knome has added some new faces to its executive team, naming Jay Therrien as senior VP and head of global sales, Charles Abdalian as chief financial officer, and Adam Rosenberg as senior VP and head of corporate development.

Therrien was VP of commercial operations and sequencing at Life Technologies, and also had spent five years in various sales leadership roles at Illumina. Abdalian recently was senior VP and CFO of Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, and he was senior VP of finance and CFO at Coley Pharmaceutical. Rosenberg previously was an adviser for emerging life sciences companies, co-founder of Clean Membranes, and CEO of Link Medicine.

The company also has appointed Hugh Reinhoff to serve on its scientific advisory board. Reinhoff is currently a managing director of Life Science Venture Partners, an adjunct scientist at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, and CEO of FerroKin BioSciences.

Pacific Biosciences said this week that Hugh Martin has resigned from its board of directors for personal reasons, effective immediately. Martin was previously the firm's president and CEO but resigned at the beginning of this year and was replaced by Michael Hunkapiller. He had led the company since 2004 and has been battling multiple myeloma, with which he was diagnosed in 2009.

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PerkinElmer's 'Ensemble for Biology' Suite Arises from 2011 Informatics Acquisitions

Synthetic Genetic Evolution

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Scientists show that manmade nucleic acids can replicate and evolve, ushering in a new era in synthetic biology.

Synthetic genetic polymers, broadly referred to as XNAs, can replicate and evolve just like their naturally occurring counterparts, DNA and RNA, according to a new study published today (April 19) in Science. The results of the research have implications not only for the fields of biotechnology and drug design, but also for research into the origins of lifeon this planet and beyond.

Its a breakthrough, said Gerald Joyce of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, who was not involved in the studya beautiful paper in the realm of synthetic biology.

It shows that you dont have to stick with the ribose and deoxyribose backbones of RNA and DNA in order to have transmittable, heritable, and evolvable information, added Eric Kool of Stanford University, California, who also did not participate in the research.

Over the years, scientists have created a range of XNAs, in which the ribose or deoxyribose portions of RNA and DNA are replaced with alternative molecules. For example, threose is used to make TNA, and anhydrohexitol is used to make HNA. These polymers, which do not exist naturally, are generally studied with various biotechnological and therapeutic aims in mind. But some researchers, like Philipp Holliger of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, think XNAs might also provide insights into the origins of life. They might help to answer questions such as, why is life based on DNA and RNA, and, if we ever find life beyond earth, is it likely to be based on the same molecule or could there be other possibilities? Holliger said.

To get at some of these questions, Holliger and his colleagues had to first create enzymes that could replicate XNAs, a necessary first step to evolution. They did this both by randomly mutating and screening existing DNA polymerases for their ability to read XNA, and by an iterative process of selecting polymerase variants with capacities for XNA synthesis. In the end, they had several polymerases that could synthesize six different types of XNA.

To see whether XNAs could evolve, they generated random HNA sequences, then selected for those that could bind to two target molecules. After selection, the HNAs were amplified by the newly designed polymerases and again selected for their ability to bind the targets. Eight rounds of selection later, the HNA sequences were no longer random, as those with a particular target-binding motif became more abundant. Through selection and replication, the HNAs had evolved.

The finding in itself is not surprising, said Kool. Chemists have been working for 20 years to find new backbones for DNA and the feeling always was that it would be interesting and quite possible that some of them might be replicated one day. It was, nevertheless, impressive, he added. The hard part was finding the enzymes that could do it. So the big leap ahead for this paper was finding those enzymes.

The new polymerases synthesized XNA through rounds of DNA-to-XNA and XNA-to-DNA synthesis. Generating polymerases that can make XNA direct from XNA will be the next step, Holliger said, but it will be a lot harder because both strands would be foreign to the polymerase.

Holliger also explained that there was actually a benefit to having a DNA intermediate. It allowed us to access the whole gamut of technologies that are available for analyzing DNA sequences. Working with XNAs uniquely, he said, is like being thrown back to the way molecular biology was in the early 1970s, in that we have to develop all our tools afresh.

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Synthetic Genetic Evolution

Boundary between electronics and biology is blurring: First proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid

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ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2012) The boundary between electronics and biology is blurring with the first detection by researchers at Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory of ferroelectric properties in an amino acid called glycine.

A multi-institutional research team led by Andrei Kholkin of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, used a combination of experiments and modeling to identify and explain the presence of ferroelectricity, a property where materials switch their polarization when an electric field is applied, in the simplest known amino acid -- glycine.

"The discovery of ferroelectricity opens new pathways to novel classes of bioelectronic logic and memory devices, where polarization switching is used to record and retrieve information in the form of ferroelectric domains," said coauthor and senior scientist at ORNL's Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) Sergei Kalinin.

Although certain biological molecules like glycine are known to be piezoelectric, a phenomenon in which materials respond to pressure by producing electricity, ferroelectricity is relatively rare in the realm of biology. Thus, scientists are still unclear about the potential applications of ferroelectric biomaterials.

"This research helps paves the way toward building memory devices made of molecules that already exist in our bodies," Kholkin said.

For example, making use of the ability to switch polarization through tiny electric fields may help build nanorobots that can swim through human blood. Kalinin cautions that such nanotechnology is still a long way in the future.

"Clearly there is a very long road from studying electromechanical coupling on the molecular level to making a nanomotor that can flow through blood," Kalinin said. "But unless you have a way to make this motor and study it, there will be no second and third steps. Our method can offer an option for quantitative and reproducible study of this electromechanical conversion."

The study, published in Advanced Functional Materials, builds on previous research at ORNL's CNMS, where Kalinin and others are developing new tools such as the piezoresponse force microscopy used in the experimental study of glycine.

"It turns out that piezoresponse force microsopy is perfectly suited to observe the fine details in biological systems at the nanoscale," Kalinin said. "With this type of microscopy, you gain the capability to study electromechanical motion on the level of a single molecule or small number of molecular assemblies. This scale is exactly where interesting things can happen."

Kholkin's lab grew the crystalline samples of glycine that were studied by his team and by the ORNL microscopy group. In addition to the experimental measurements, the team's theorists verified the ferroelectricity with molecular dynamics simulations that explained the mechanisms behind the observed behavior.

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Boundary between electronics and biology is blurring: First proof of ferroelectricity in simplest amino acid

GenScript Rush Gene Synthesis – Driving Molecular Biology Research Faster

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PISCATAWAY, N.J., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- GenScript USA Inc., an internationally recognized biology contract research organization (CRO) has recently launched Rush Gene Synthesis service in the global market on Dec. 22, 2011, and has achieved 100% success and on time delivery rates ever since its kick-off.

"Two decades ago, a 2 Kb gene took me nearly two years to obtain the construct using conventional PCR cloning technologies in my PhD research. I did believe this could be changed. Nowadays, GenScript Rush Gene Synthesis service delivers synthetic genes in as little as 5 business days. The proprietary technology and a dedicated Rush Gene service team are the key points to making GenScript Rush Gene Synthesis service a big success," commented Frank Zhang, the CEO and co-founder of GenScript.

"Delivering synthetic genes in as little as 5 days, GenScript Rush Gene Synthesis service is not only fast but is accurate and worry-free to our customers," says Frank, "all our synthesized genes are packed into cloning vectors, picked from single clones and fully sequence-verified before the delivery. Therefore, none of our customers is bothered with picking up the right gene from the tube. With this rush service, we aim to drive molecular biology research faster than ever."

Besides the world-leading gene synthesis service, GenScript, as a contract research organization (CRO), also provides comprehensive services for biological research and early-phase drug discovery, such as bio-reagents, assay development & screening, lead optimization, antibody drug development and animal model services. The bio-reagents services include custom gene synthesis and molecular biology, custom protein expression and purification, custom peptide synthesis, antibody production, and custom cell line development. Headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, GenScript has three subsidiaries located in France, Japan, and China.

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GenScript Rush Gene Synthesis - Driving Molecular Biology Research Faster

Funding aids search for cancer killer

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WINDSOR, Ont. -- Windsor scientists whove recently confirmed that dandelion root extract inhibits the growth of tumours in mice have landed a $157,500 grant to help advance their research toward proving it kills cancer in humans.

University of Windsor biochemist Siyaram Pandey said Thursday the grant from the B.C.-based Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation is an exciting development. However, he added, hell be more excited should his team get approval for Phase I clinical trials from Health Canada, hopefully by the fall.

I think we managed to convince them with our published work, No. 1. No. 2, with our logic and going for a natural way of treating this, and No. 3, the fact that, if approved, people can take it safely at home.

Pandey emphasized the role played by local funders who believed in his work when the larger funding agencies in the country considered it a snake oil idea. First came the Knights of Columbuss council in St. Clair Beach, which gave $6,000 to help with initial research based on observations by Pandeys co-applicant Dr. Caroline Hamm.

Hamm, a Windsor Cancer Centre oncologist, noticed a number of patients whose conditions improved at least initially after they started to drink dandelion root tea as an alternative when traditional chemotherapy didnt work.

Their initial findings were enough to justify a $60,000 grant from Seeds4Hope, which provides seed money for local cancer research, in hope that promising results will receive further funding from the big national agencies. Pandey and his students got their initial samples of extract by digging the weeds out of local lawns.

This just matches exactly what we were hoping would happen when Seeds4Hope was established four years ago, said program administrator Michael Dufresne. This is the first example of local research receiving major funding as a result of a one-time infusion from Seeds4Hope.

He said the dandelion root extract results pose a brilliant possibility.

I say possibility because a lot still has to be done, but the potential is there.

The Windsor researchers have shown in the lab that the extract causes cancer cells to commit suicide, while not harming healthy cells, something that usually happens when toxic chemotherapy drugs are used.

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WAC Lighting Invitational Science Fair to Be Held at Commack High School on Sunday, April 22nd

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GARDEN CITY, NY--(Marketwire -04/19/12)- Over 400 high school students from across Long Island, New York will compete in The WAC Lighting Annual Invitational Science Fair, which will be held on Sunday, April 22nd from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, at Commack High School.

The Science Fair features projects in eight major categories with winners selected in Senior (grade 12) and Junior Divisions (grades 9-11). Awards and scholarships will be presented to winners of First, Second and Third Places, as well as honorable mentions. Categories include Environmental Science, Prototype Engineering; Biochemistry; General Biology; Behavioral Science; Chemistry; Physical Science; and Computer Science.

For 14 years, students have presented their research experience to esteemed judges from universities, hospitals, private practices and industries from the New York Metropolitan area. Participating students have spent months or even years in their high school or local university labs exploring the nature of cancer or inexpensive methods to produce alternative fuels. Everything is open for exploration; from astronomy to biotechnology, to basic research and theoretical studies, to projects focused on the practical.

Organized by The Research Association, the fair is a consortium of 13 Long Island, NY high schools represented by teachers dedicated to the importance of science education that understand that future leaders in science, technology and business begin focusing their skills in today's classrooms. The 13 high schools include: Commack, Great Neck North, Great Neck South, Herricks, Jericho, Locust Valley, Manhasset, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Paul D. Schreiber, Roslyn, South Side, Syosset, and The Wheatley School.

Participating students have gone on to pursue advanced studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), SUNY at Stony Brook, Harvard, Yale University, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Rochester University and others. Many have become medical doctors and other highly respected professionals.

Judges include over 120 academicians and professionals affiliated with Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Columbia University, Long Island University, New York University, North Shore University Hospital-LIJ Medical Center, Wiell Cornell Medical College, Hofstra University, Mount Sinai Medical Center, and other prestigious institutions.

The Science Fair is sponsored by WAC Lighting, a Garden City, New York-based global manufacturer of task and decorative lighting.

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WAC Lighting Invitational Science Fair to Be Held at Commack High School on Sunday, April 22nd

SeabuckWonders™, Leading Producer of USDA Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil, Earns Coveted 'Ashley Koff Approved' Seal of …

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CHICAGO, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --SeabuckWonders is pleased to announce its recent honor for two of its products: Ashley Koff Approved - the stamp of quality nutrition for optimal health.

SeabuckWonders Omega-7 Complete and SeabuckWonders USDA Certified Organic Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil were awarded the honors.

SeabuckWonders' berries are wild-crafted in the pristine Himalayan Mountains of Tibet. The annual harvest features over 190 bioactive nutrients as well as Omega 3, 6, 7, and 9 and are rich in vitamins A, C and E as well as carotenes, flavonoids and minerals such as sulfur, selenium, zinc and copper. The oil provides a wide spectrum of support for optimal health, and is an ideal supplement for people looking to transform their unhealthy lifestyles.

The climate in the Tibetan Plateau has equipped the fruit with extraordinary bio-defense mechanisms that provide many wholesome nutrients and health benefits. The Tibetan terrain holds 90 percent of the world's wild sea buckthorn forests. This area provides a higher concentration of Omega 7 than any other region due to high altitude, strong ultraviolet radiation, severe cold, scorching heat, and barren soil. SeabuckWonders' brand sea buckthorn oil guarantees a minimum of 30-35% Omega 7 content - the highest than that of any sea buckthorn product on the market today.

"The AKA stamp confirms that a product has been evaluated and approved by me, as a better quality and healthy choice," Koff stated. "More specifically, it means that the product does not contain any nutrition no-no's."

Ashley Koff is named among the Top 10 Registered Dietitians in the U.S. by Today's Dietitian Magazine. Koff appears regularly on national media outlets, including Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Good Morning America, CNN, AOL and E! Koff is also the dietitian for ESPN, the featured dietitian on the CW's "Shedding for the Wedding" and Lifetime's "Love Handles."

SeabuckWonders Omega -7 Complete combines berry and seed oil and offers the highest Omega-7 content in the industry with a concentration of 30%-35%. SeabuckWonders berries are wild-crafted in the pristine Himalayan Mountains of Tibet. The berries cultivated from the annual harvest feature over 190 bioactive nutrients as well as Omega 3, 6, and 9 and are rich in vitamins A, C and E as well as carotenes, flavonoids and minerals such as sulfur, selenium, zinc and copper. Sea buckthorn oil stands out in many Asian medical traditions in which it is described as "God Sent Medicine" or "liquid gold": http://www.ereleases.com/pic/2012-Seabuckthorn-Omega-7.jpg

SeabuckWonders Berry Oil is USDA Certified Organic and offers the highest Omega-7 content in the industry with a concentration of 30%-35%. Omega-7 is hailed as a special nutrient that protects, replenishes, moisturizes, and restores the skin and mucus membranes that line the digestive and urogenital tracts. It has strong pro-natural healing properties including infection and inflammation response. Sea buckthorn oil stands out in many Asian medical traditions in which it is described as "God Sent Medicine" or "liquid gold": http://www.ereleases.com/pic/2012-Seabuckthorn-Berry-Oil.jpg

About SeabuckWonders' Sea buckthorn

SeabuckWonders product line contains the highest Omega 7 content of all the products on the market today. It is the only full line of USDA Certified Sea Buckthorn Products. Sea buckthorn is widely used to heal wounds, clear up acne and eczema, stimulate collagen and fortify hair and nails. It has been referred to by dermatologists, ophthalmologists and dentists as the "miracle berry." Clinical studies have shown beneficial effects of sea buckthorn on mucus membranes, promoting tissue regeneration and improving brain, cardiovascular, oral and liver health. It is also practical in the treatment of inflammation and is used for anti-aging. Please visit: http://www.SeabuckWonders.com

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SeabuckWonders™, Leading Producer of USDA Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil, Earns Coveted 'Ashley Koff Approved' Seal of ...

Key genes that switch off with aging highlighted as potential targets for anti-aging therapies

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Public release date: 19-Apr-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Emma Reynolds emma.reynolds@kcl.ac.uk 44-207-848-4334 King's College London

Researchers at King's College London, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, have identified a group of 'ageing' genes that are switched on and off by natural mechanisms called epigenetic factors, influencing the rate of healthy ageing and potential longevity.

The study also suggests these epigenetic processes that can be caused by external factors such as diet, lifestyle and environment are likely to be initiated from an early age and continue through a person's life. The researchers say that the epigenetic changes they have identified could be used as potential 'markers' of biological ageing and in the future could be possible targets for anti-ageing therapies.

Published today in PLoS Genetics, the study looked at 172 twins aged 32 to 80 from the TwinsUK cohort based at King's College London and St Thomas' Hospital, as part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre.

The researchers looked for epigenetic changes in the twins' DNA, and performed epigenome-wide association scans to analyse these changes in relation to chronological age. They identified 490 age related epigenetic changes. They also analysed DNA modifications in age related traits and found that epigenetic changes in four genes relate to cholesterol, lung function and maternal longevity.

To try to identify when these epigenetic changes may be triggered, the researchers replicated the study in 44 younger twins, aged 22 to 61, and found that many of the 490 age related epigenetic changes were also present in this younger group. The researchers say these results suggest that while many age related epigenetic changes happen naturally with age throughout a person's life, a proportion of these changes may be initiated early in life.

Dr Jordana Bell from King's College London, who co-led the study said: 'We found that epigenetic changes associate with age related traits that have previously been used to define biological age.

'We identified many age-related epigenetic changes, but four seemed to impact the rate of healthy ageing and potential longevity and we can use these findings as potential markers of ageing. These results can help understand the biological mechanisms underlying healthy ageing and age-related disease, and future work will explore how environmental effects can affect these epigenetic changes.'

Dr Panos Deloukas, co-leader of the study from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: 'Our study interrogated only a fraction of sites in the genome that carry such epigenetic changes; these initial findings support the need for a more comprehensive scan of epigenetic variation.'

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Key genes that switch off with aging highlighted as potential targets for anti-aging therapies

Lifesaving stem cell treatments must be offered in Ireland, says expert

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Lifesaving stem cell treatments must be offered in Ireland, says expert

By Sen McCrthaigh

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Ireland is seriously lagging behind most other countries in offering live-saving treatments provided by the use of adult stem cells, a leading international medical expert has warned.

Colin McGuckin called on the Government and health authorities to facilitate the wider collection and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood in Ireland.

Prof McGuckin who is advisor to the Vatican on stem cells and a director of the Cell Therapy Research Institute in Lyon, France is director of the Adult Stem Cell Foundation of Ireland, which was formally launched yesterday.

"Treatments which are available in other countries must come to Ireland," said Mr McGuckin. He also expressed fears the lack of stem cell therapies here could force people to seek unregulated care abroad.

Presently, none of Irelands three main maternity hospitals allow for the collection of adult stem cells from umbilical cords except in high-risk cases.

The only facility which allows the practice is Mount Carmel Hospital in Dublin. All adult stem cells collected are sent abroad for storage.

Mr McGuckin said adult stem cells could be used in the treatment of over 70 diseases including leukaemia and heart disease. Advances are also being made in their use for neurological diseases such as Alzheimers.

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Baldness Cure: Japanese Study Finds Stem Cells Induce Hair Regrowth for Bald Heads on Mouse [PHOTO & VIDEO]

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From Rogaine to hair plugs, there have been many strides made to induce hair regrowth for bald or balding heads, but a new Japanese study found a possible cure to baldness by using stem cells.

Using stem cell therapy, scientists at the Tokyo University of Science in Japan led by Takashi Tsuki gave a hairless mouse a Mohawk by regenerating hair follicles.

Researchers used follicles from a normal mouse, namely adult epithelial stem cells and dermal papilla cell found in the skin, to create a "seed" of a hair follicle. Then, they implanted the newly-created "seed" using intracutaneous transplantation into the hairless mouse and -- Voila! -- hair.

According to the research published in Nature Communications, functional hair follicles grew on the hairless mouse properly on the skin in the epidermis, arrector pili muscle and nerve fibers. The newly regrown hair also went through a standard hair cycle of shedding and regrowth.

"Our current study thus demonstrates the potential for not only hair regeneration therapy but also the realisation of bioengineered organ replacement using adult somatic stem cells," the report said.

The baldness cure that worked on the hairless mice, however, has not yet been tested on humans, but the researchers hope to introduce the idea soon.

"We would like to start clinical research within three to five years, so that an actual treatment to general patients can start within a decade," researcher Koh-ei Toyoshima said in a statement.

However, even if it does work on people, the issue is raised about the cost, as stem cell therapy practices can be quite costly.

View the video of the hairless mouse with hair regrowth below.

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Baldness Cure: Japanese Study Finds Stem Cells Induce Hair Regrowth for Bald Heads on Mouse [PHOTO & VIDEO]

State: Grekos extracted tissue from stem cell patient who died, damaged patient’s abdomen

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Photo by Allie Garza

Dr. Zannos Grekos, a cardiologist whose practice is in Bonita Springs, speaks with a seminar attendant after one of his educational seminars about stem cell treatment, using one's own stem cells, for treating heart disease and other medical conditions, on Monday, March 14, 2011, at the Collier County Library. Allie Garza/Staff

K.K.Yankopolus

In a case involving a criminal investigation into the recent death of a 77-year-old man after stem cell treatment, state health authorities say Dr. Zannos Grekos extracted tissue from the patient while a second doctor later injected the patient with his own concentrated stem cells.

But when Grekos, a Bonita Springs cardiologist, initially harvested fatty tissue from Richard Poling's stomach on March 2, he unknowingly damaged the patient's abdomen which led to bleeding, according to a state Department of Health complaint.

New documents obtained by the Daily News shed more light on the case of Grekos and Dr. Konstantine Yankopolus, a Fort Myers obstetrician who assisted Grekos. They face potential disciplinary action from the state Board of Medicine for doing a stem cell treatment that the state says was experimental and dangerous.

The state issued separate administrative complaints against them in late March and early April, a few weeks after Poling died the same day of the treatment. He suffered a cardiac arrest in Grekos' practice on Bonita Beach Road and was pronounced dead at NCH North Naples Hospital.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office launched a criminal investigation in early March and it is ongoing, agency spokesman Larry King said.

Grekos also faces potential discipline when the state restricted his license in February, 2011 in connection to the death of a 69-year-old woman who went to him in 2010 for stem cell therapy.

She sought a remedy for neurological damage after chemotherapy for breast cancer. She fell in her home after the treatment, suffered a brain injury and later was taken off life support.

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State: Grekos extracted tissue from stem cell patient who died, damaged patient's abdomen

Stemlogix Selects Butler Schein Animal Health to Distribute Versatile In-Clinic Stem Cell Therapy System to …

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WESTON, Fla., April 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stemlogix, a regenerative medicine company offering premier in-clinic stem cell therapy solutions to veterinarians, announced today that it has selected Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) to distribute its regenerative medicine system, stem cell therapy kits and other biological therapies. Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) - a Henry Schein Company - is the largest companion animal health distribution company in the U.S.

Based in the U.S., Stemlogix is an innovative leader in the rapidly emerging field of veterinary regenerative medicine. The Company develops and manufactures stem cell therapy kits and platelet rich plasma kits domestically according to FDA cGMP regulations. Stemlogix offers scientifically validated technologies and protocols that will enable veterinarians to provide their patients with affordable, versatile regenerative medicine solutions including adipose (fat) and bone marrow derived stem cells, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and cytokine therapies at the point-of-care, all in less than 90 minutes. The Company also offers stem cell banking and stem cell expansion services to veterinarians around the country.

Butler Schein Animal Health(TM) will now offer the Stemlogix regenerative medicine system to its network of over 26,000 veterinary clinics in the U.S., helping Stemlogix to expand its market presence across North America. "We are excited to be working with Butler Schein to offer the Stemlogix in-clinic regenerative medicine system to their vast network of veterinarians," said Kristin Comella, CEO of Stemlogix. "This partnership will enable Stemlogix to help standardize and advance the field of regenerative medicine."

Clinical research has shown that regenerative stem cell therapies have been safely and effectively used to treat degenerative diseases and acute tissue injuries including arthritis, laminitis, tendon injuries and ligament injuries. Stemlogix has developed an array of convenient, affordable, same-day regenerative therapies designed to achieve reproducible and superior clinical outcomes. Stemlogix also has developed an innovative technique to remove stem cell rich fat tissue from horses in a minimally invasive, scar-free method, called Equine VetLipo(TM).

About Stemlogix, LLC

Stemlogix is an innovative veterinary regenerative medicine company committed to providing veterinarians with the ability to deliver the best possible stem cell therapy to dogs, cats and horses at the point-of-care. Stemlogix provides veterinarians the ability to produce PRP and isolate regenerative stem cells from a patient's own fat tissue or bone marrow in their own clinic. Stemlogix is the first company to provide veterinarians with the ability to produce multiple cellular therapies using the same system and the company offers the most versatile regenerative medicine system available. Stemlogix has a full scale cGMP stem cell manufacturing facility and a scientific team with expertise in developing stem cell products, FDA compliance and clinical research. For more information about veterinary regenerative medicine please visit http://www.stemlogix.com.

About Butler Schein Animal Health(TM)

Butler Schein Animal Health (Butler Schein) -- the veterinary division of Henry Schein (Nasdaq: HSIC - News) is the leading companion animal health distribution company in the United States headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Butler Schein employs approximately 900 team members including 300 field sales representatives and 200 telesales and customer support representatives. With 15 strategically positioned, state-of-the-art distribution facilities and 10 inside sales centers nationwide, we maintain 98%+ order-fill ratio, accomplishing our mission of providing the right product at the right place and at the right time.

Partnering with over 400 leading animal health manufacturers in the world, Butler Schein is positioned to bring the broadest selection of veterinary products and strategic solutions to veterinary professionals nationwide, including:

1.

Link:
Stemlogix Selects Butler Schein Animal Health to Distribute Versatile In-Clinic Stem Cell Therapy System to ...

Clock Evolution

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This post, originally published on January 16, 2005, was modified from one of my written prelims questions from early 2000.

EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY OF BIOLOGICAL CLOCKS

Circadian clocks allow organisms to predict, instead of merely react to, cyclic (predictable) changes in the environment. A sentence similar to this one is the opening phrase of many a paper in the field of chronobiology. Besides becoming a truth by virtue of frequent repetition, such a statement appeals to common sense. It is difficult to imagine a universe in which it was not true. Yet, the data supporting the above statement are few and far-between. Believe it or not, the data are not always supporting it either.

This post will attempt to briefly review the literature on evolutionary and adaptive aspects of biological rhythmicity. Also, using the perspectives and the methodology of evolutionary physiology, I will try to suggest some ways to test the hypothesis stated in the first sentence above.

REASONING BEHIND THE ARGUMENT FROM COMMON SENSE

For outside observers of the field of chronobiology and its recent successes in molecular, neural and medical aspects of biological rhythmicity, it may come as a surprise that the field was founded by ecologists, ethologists and evolutionary biologists. When the statements about adaptive function of clocks were initially made, the authors were much more careful than is usually seen today. It was meant as a hypothesis to be tested, and elaborate reasoning was often offered to persuade the reader why it might be true (Daan 1981, Pittendrigh 1967,1993, Enright 1970).

One of the most common arguments that a clock must be adaptive (for one reason or another) was its ubiquity all plants, fungi, protista, invertebrates and vertebrates (more recently cyanobacteria, too) tested by the pioneers in the field showed circadian rhythmicity. The way those rhythms behaved in the laboratory in various experimental treatments was surprisingly similar over all species. Thus, the reasoning goes, if a physiological mechanism is found in every living thing, and it seems to work in the same way in all of them, then it must have originated early due to natural selection and was preserved over eons due to natural selection.

Some of the earliest experimental work was designed to test the genetic basis of biological rhythmicity. Many generations of laboratory organisms were raised and spent all their lives in aperiodic environments, yet the rhythms persist (Sheeba et al. 1999). Period of the rhythm was species -specific, highly heritable, and very amenable to artificial selection. So, if it is in the genes, the clock must have evolved due to some kind of selective pressure.

When reviewing evolutionary literature on biological rhythms, it is often difficult to distinguish between hypotheses of current utility from hypotheses of origin. It was often assumed that same selective pressures which keep the clocks ticking all over biosphere today, are the pressures responsible for the initial discovery of timing mechanisms by early forms of life.

The current adaptive functions of biological rhythms are often divided into two, mutually not exclusive categories. The Internal Synchronization hypothesis stresses the need for temporal separation of incompatible biochemical and physiological processes within a body (or cell), and for temporal synchronization of processes which need to coincide. An example of the former would be temporal separation of photosynthesis from nitrogen fixation. For the latter, surge of a hormone and availability of its receptor need to be synchronized for the generation of the endocrine effect. Evolution of such timing control mechanisms would presumably alleviate energetic costs of constant production of enzymes and their substrates.

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Clock Evolution

UPDATE: Five college students hospitalized after science experiment

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STORM LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) -

Officials say five students from a Buena Vista University physiology class ingested caffeine as part of a student-led experiment. That experiment, however, went terribly wrong. Officials say the students ended up in the hospital after an overdose of caffeine.

BVU's Dean of Students, says students are a priority, and she's very concerned about their safety. That's why they are taking the precautions that they are.

"We don't want to interrupt the student's learning and educational experience. We just want to ensure that we are taking the proper steps to let them go forward and complete their semester," said McKeon.

Randy Hummel was in that physiology class. He says the students had separated into groups to do their experiments. He wasn't in the same group as the students who overdosed. Hummel says the objective was to see how the body reacts to different levels of substances.

"When we first heard about it, we didn't think it was that big of a deal, but then we heard about the dosage and it was extreme and we don't know how it got there," said Hummel.

Officials say students took high levels of caffeine orally, mixed with a liquid. While moderate levels of caffeine are okay, high doses can make you sick.

"School officials say the students' symptoms included nausea, dizziness, and jitters. Those are all consistent with the effects of caffeine.

"We're very grateful that the students are all healthy and appear to be doing well and that the situation will be corrected," said McKeon.

Those students will be in the hospital through Wednesday. McKeon says their fellow students are sticking together.

The rest is here:
UPDATE: Five college students hospitalized after science experiment

Final Winner of the “What’s New in Comparative Physiology” t-shirt contest! [Life Lines]

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Congratulations to Patricia Villalta, a graduate student at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, our final winner of the "What's New in Comparative Physiology?" t-shirt contest! Here are her reasons for being excited about going to this year's Experimental Biology meeting:

"Dear Dr. Dolittle,

Every year, I get excited about the Experimental Biology meeting because unexpected opportunities are bound to happen. For example, this past year, I attended for the first time the Science Policy Committee's Symposium "How to Become An Advocate: A Workshop for Scientists", where I discovered that there were many opportunities for people of all levels of science to get involved in science advocacy. I now advocate for science every chance I get and write to my senators and representatives on a consistent basis. In addition to being exposed to a new interest, I was also able to meet and interact with the Chair of the APS Public Affairs Committee, and we have maintained correspondence after the EB meeting. Also, I took full advantage of my time with members of the APS Respiration Section throughout the meeting and offered help at the different society functions. This allowed me to network with everyone from the APS President to corporate sponsors. I was asked by the incoming Chair of the Respiration Section to become Chair of the Trainee Subcommittee. I also attended "Meet the Editors" of the APS journals, volunteered to serve as a guide for high school students and teachers attending EB, and visited the NIH for a campus tour and seminars. By the end of the meeting, I had seized every unexpected opportunity, and for a fledgling like me, that makes EB a whirlwind experience.

Similarly, the EB experience allows me the chance to talk about comparative physiology with the greats in the field. I like to spark conversations about my favorite topic- how comparative physiology is making a comeback in the field after years of thinking that other routes, such as DNA and signaling pathways, were the key to solving the unknowns in the basic medical sciences. It is exciting to be part of the next generation of scientists who are being trained to think about the physiology of a problem and to be able to paint a clear, overview picture of what may have gone wrong. For example, my work focuses on mechanisms of edema formation in the lung. Our understanding of edema progression in the lung, as put forth by Dr. Nathan Staub, was that fluid accumulation started in the interstitium around larger vessels, and once the lymphatic removal of this fluid was overwhelmed, alveolar flooding ensued. We now appreciate that activation of certain calcium channels can cause direct alveolar flooding without any evidence of peribrochovascular interstitial edema. Our understanding of the physiology has been turned on its head, and its now up to us future scientists to truly understand how this may occur, and that in itself is tremendously exciting.

I hope I get to meet you this year at Experimental Biology!

Respectfully yours,

Patricia Villalta"

Thank you Patricia for your letter. Don't forget to wear your t-shirt at the meeting for a chance to win free coffee!

The rest is here:
Final Winner of the "What's New in Comparative Physiology" t-shirt contest! [Life Lines]