UCLA and UCI Awarded $8M Grant to Launch Collaborative Stem Cell Clinic "Center of Excellence"

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Newswise In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the University of California, Los Angeles, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and University of California, Irvine Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center received a five year $8M grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the states stem cell agency, to establish a CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic center of excellence to conduct clinical trials for investigational stem cell therapies and provide critical resources and expertise in clinical research.

The $8M grant was one of three awarded today by CIRM as part of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (CASC) Network Initiative. The joint UCLA/UCI award under the direction of Dr. John Adams, a member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and professor in the department of orthopaedic surgery, will accelerate the implementation of clinical trials and delivery of stem cell therapies by providing world-class, state-of-the-art infrastructure to support clinical research.

CIRM grant reviewers lauded the UCLA/UCI Consortiums impressive and multidimensional team of experienced personnel that will expand access to patients, attracting national and international clinical trials and accelerating future trials in the pipeline.

The initial stem cell trials supported by the UCLA/UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic will be two UCLA projects using blood forming stem cells. The first trial will test a stem cell-based gene therapy for patients with bubble baby disease, also called severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), in which babies are born without an immune system. Under the direction of Dr. Donald Kohn, the clinical trial will use the babys own stem cells with an inserted gene modification to correct the defect and promote the creation of an immune system. The second clinical trial, under the direction of Dr. Antoni Ribas, will use patients own genetically modified blood-forming stem cells to engineer and promote an immune response to melanoma and sarcomas.

This CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic grant is an important acknowledgement of our cutting-edge research and will help us to advance the design, testing and delivery of effective and safe stem cell-based therapies, said Dr. Owen Witte, professor and director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The implementation of a standard of excellence in clinical research will improve healthcare and the lives of patients far beyond the longevity of individual trials.

Operating as part of the larger state-wide CIRM supported network, Alpha Stem Cell Clinics provide critical operational support to conduct clinical trials, with focused resources and expertise in stem cell-based clinical research including clinical operations support and patient care coordination personnel.

UCI has established a strong preclinical stem cell research program, and its vital to move ahead to the clinical testing phase, said Sidney Golub, director of UCIs Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. To advance treatments in this field, we all have to work together, and thats what the UCLA-UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic program represents.

About the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research

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UCLA and UCI Awarded $8M Grant to Launch Collaborative Stem Cell Clinic "Center of Excellence"

Balancing crime, spirituality and mental health (Books This Weekend)

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1. Book: The Paying Guests; Author: Sarah Waters; Publisher: Hachette; Pages: 566; Price: Rs. 599

It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work are demanding change. And in a genteel house in the south of the city, its inhabitants still recovering from the devastating losses of the First World War, life is about to be transformed.

Widowed Mrs. Wray and her daughter, Frances - an unmarried woman with an interesting past, now on her way to becoming a spinster - find themselves obliged to take in lodgers.

The arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a young couple of the "clerk class", brings with it gramophone music, colour and fun.

Open doors offer Frances glimpses of the newcomers' habits, and the staircase and landing have never seemed to her so busy.

As she and Lilian are drawn into an unexpected friendship, loyalties begin to shift. Secrets are confessed, dangerous desires admitted; the most ordinary of lives, it seems, can explode into passion and drama.

A love story, this is also a crime story.

2. Book: The Final Report; Author: Monabi Mitra; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 246; Price: Rs. 199

When a young girl falls to her death from the Mission Row Police Housing Complex, home to DSP Bikram Chatterjee, the Crime Branch goes into a tizzy.

Who is she? Is it murder or suicide? And, most importantly, how did she manage to climb up to the roof without being noticed?

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Balancing crime, spirituality and mental health (Books This Weekend)

Remove misconceptions that hinder progress

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How often have we been held back from taking progressive steps because of misconceptions unaddressed and unconquered? Sometimes they are obvious. Sometimes they are lying undetected in the dark closet of thought. But one thing is for sure: When we remove these mistaken concepts that seem like major obstacles, a sense of freedom and progress follows.

We remove these mental misconceptions and limitations, which are based on a material sense of who and what we are, through understanding the spiritual truth about ourselves and the power of divine good, God. A higher and deeper understanding of what is true brings freedom to thought, which in turn brings freedom to our daily lives.

There are many obstacles that people face on a daily basis that stand in the way of progress and freedom. Fear of sickness, feeling restricted by old age, or a total lack of self-confidence often keeps people from finding health, freedom, and their God-given dominion.

Through prayer these seemingly unbreakable fetters yield when we understand something of Gods love and of His care for all His children. Christian Science brings out that Gods mandate for His creation is blessing, not cursing; that God is all good and created all good; and that each of us is made in Gods likeness, expressing Gods perfection and freedom. This spiritual understanding of what we are helps us overcome fears and doubts about ourselves and brings healing into our experience by giving us fresh, spiritual ideas that reveal the good that truly belongs to us.

When Christ Jesus entered a temple on one occasion, he noticed a man with a withered hand. Jesus spirituality freed the man from this incapacity an obstacle that had kept him from full health and strength. The Master commanded him to have confidence in his divine capacity. He told the man to do something he believed he hadnt been able to do before. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other (see Matthew 12:10-13).

Christ Jesus possessed a spiritual understanding of the real nature of man as the perfect expression of Spirit and was able to remove what was hindering people from recognizing their true self-worth. The ability to detect and remove such obstacles to freedom, which are no more than material misconceptions, is based on a higher understanding of the divine facts of Gods goodness and our real status as Gods beloved child.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, discerned, through her inspired study of the Bible and her own experience in healing, the method Christ Jesus used to destroy those misconceptions that would keep mankind from experiencing their God-given freedom and health. He had spiritual insight into the reality of God as divine Truth and Love, and this understanding dissolved fears and other mistaken material beliefs. She writes: The meek Nazarenes steadfast and true knowledge of preexistence, of the nature and the inseparability of God and man, made him mighty. Spiritual insight of Truth and Love antidotes and destroys the errors of flesh, and brings to light the true reflection: man as Gods image (Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896, p. 189).

For freedom from the errors of flesh, for progress and healing, spiritual enlightenment is needed enlightenment that comes through the Christ, the presence and power of God. Even understanding to some degree that God, divine Spirit, is the only creator and cause of our existence brings this spiritual enlightenment and the revelation of present spiritual good. The more familiar we become with divine goodness and reality, the more obvious our mistaken and unreal fears become, and the more easily we are able to remove them, so they no longer stand in the way of our God-given right to freedom and progress.

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Remove misconceptions that hinder progress

Space Station 76 (2014) – IMDb

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Space Station 76 is a refueling satellite near an alternate-reality Earth, circa 1976. Jessica arrives to serve as the station's new first mate. While she narrates a piece about how she likes the predictability of asteroids, some placidly drifting asteroids are shown colliding in chain-reaction fashion. While at first the station appears normal and the people friendly, Jessica soon discovers that the people on board have issues due to the isolation and stress of being cooped up with one another in a relatively small space far from Earth. This is in addition the usual problems people struggle with, such as infidelity, loneliness, depression, and drug abuse. She tries to make friends and fit in, but, unable to connect meaningfully with anyone, she becomes lonely. She's baffled and disillusioned by the stiff and irritable Captain Glenn, who harbors secrets of his own. She finds herself drawn to Ted, a lonely, married crewman, and his 7 year-old daughter, Sunshine. Ted yearns to reconnect... Written by Ken B.

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Space Station 76 (2014) - IMDb

'Aquastronauts' Go Below the Waves to Train for Space

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Have you ever wondered where astronauts train before heading into space? They actually travel in the opposite direction of the International Space Station: they go underwater.

Since 2001, NASA has sent astronauts-in-training to take part in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) program, alongside astronauts from the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. So far, theyve completed 19 missions, each of which comprises a six- to ten-day stay in the habitat.

I had the rare opportunity to join a group of NASA astronauts-in-training underwater at the Aquarius base off of Key Largo, Florida, located 63 feet underwater. The base offers the would-be space-faring candidates the most extraterrestrial experience available while still on Earth. The lab also hosts other underwater adventurers from time to time, and made headlines over the summer when Fabien Cousteau grandson of the renowned explorer Jacques Yves-Cousteau spent 31 days living there underwater with a team of researchers.

While the training program takes place under the waves, an extensive team topside makes it all happen. I first met up with Jesse Buffington, who is the Exploration Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Tools Development project manager with NASAs Johnson Space Center, in the NASA control room which is an hour (by boat) from the astronauts underwater base. Jesse said that NEEMO has built confidence and self-reliance in trainees while also facilitating hardware development for the NASA technical team. The extreme circumstances and varying landscapes work well to simulate isolated conditions similar to space. We have significantly more confidence and more foundation to make decisions, says Buffington.

Participating astronauts agree. Nicole Stott, who was part of the crew aboard the shuttle Discovery in 2009 and 2011, took part in NEEMO 9, on an 18-day mission, which is the longest NEEMO to date. She says the underwater training really helps prepare astronauts "to live and work in space in an equivocally real experience. The situational awareness is the same, she says. For example, with the nature of the Aquarius extreme environment, you cant just swim to the surface.

Working with the NEEMO program fits in with the goals of Florida International University (FIU), which operates the lab. According to Aquarius Reef Base director Thomas Potts, "FIU's mission is to leverage the unique capabilities of Aquarius to address real-world problems and inspire the next generation of explorers."

It takes about 30 people topside from NASA, FIU and often the Navy to support four astronauts in the aquatic training program. The trainees live in the depths of the ocean, in a space thats not much larger than a small bus, measuring 43 feet by 9 feet, with capabilities of sleeping six persons. Not surprisingly, there is little space for privacy. A full control room monitors the trainees every move through Outland POV hardwired cameras, which stream video back to the base.

To maximize time spent underwater, the divers live in the facility for about a week and do two underwater dives per day, totaling around eight hours of dive time. Sleep is imperative for those in training, and a minimum of eight hours per night is recommended. For nourishment, the trainees live on ready-to-eat packaged foods used by backpackers and campers.

Each NEEMO mission supports a different theme or purpose, and past trips have included training activities like robotic surgery and telemedicine; examining how rovers work in harsh landscapes; researching the physiological and psychological impact of an extreme environment with limited contact; developing hardware, such as biometric monitoring; methods of exercise in an extreme environment; nutrition; the impact of gravity on bones; how space impacts digestion; asteroid mining; and examining different methods for removing samples during a spacewalk.

Currently, only 40 individuals are training as astronauts with NASA, although not all of them will have the chance to participate in NEEMO. Though who have participated get the bragging rights of being an aquastronaut a combination of astronaut and aquanaut,which means theyve spent 24 hours underwater. To put the rarity of those accomplishments in perspective, there are more climbers who have summited Mt. Everest than there are aquanauts. There are even fewer aquastronauts.

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'Aquastronauts' Go Below the Waves to Train for Space

Development of Small Atomic Clock Essential to Deep Space Exploration – Video

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Development of Small Atomic Clock Essential to Deep Space Exploration
The Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC project, managed by NASA #39;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is developing -- for use aboard spacecraft -- a smaller and lighter version...

By: Waspie_Dwarf

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Development of Small Atomic Clock Essential to Deep Space Exploration - Video

Filling a Gap: Bellcomms 1968 Lunar Exploration Program

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Bellcomm, Inc., based near NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, was carved out of Bell Labs in 1962 to provide technical advice to NASAs Apollo Program Director. The organization rapidly expanded its bailiwick to support nearly all NASA Office of Manned Space Flight advance planning.

In a January 1968 report, Bellcomm planners N. Hinners, D. James, and F. Schmidt proposed a mission series designed to fill a gap which they felt existed in NASAs lunar exploration schedule between the first piloted Apollo lunar landing and later, more advanced Apollo Applications Program (AAP) lunar flights. The trio declared that their plan was based upon a reasonable set of assumptions regarding hardware capability and evolution, an increase in scientific endeavor, launch rates, budgetary constraints, operational learning, lead times, and interaction with other space programs, as well as the assumption that lunar exploration will be a continuing aspect of human endeavor.

To bridge the gap between early Apollo and AAP, they envisioned a series of 12 lunar missions in four phases. Phase 1, Apollo Lunar Landing Missions, would span the period from 1969 through 1971. The five Phase 1 flights would launch at least six months apart to give engineers and scientists adequate time to learn from each missions accomplishments and apply knowledge gained to subsequent missions. They would begin with Lunar Landing Mission (LLM)-1, the first Apollo landing.

The LLM-1 Lunar Module (LM) lander would alight on a flat, relatively smooth basaltic plain known as a mare (Latin for sea). The maria, which appear as mottled gray areas on the moons white face, cover about 20% of the Earth-facing Nearside hemisphere.

For LLM-1 and the other Phase 1 missions, the LM would have several back-up mare landing sites. Almost any mare would do for LLM-1, Hinner, James, and Schmidt argued, because the first piloted landing mission would emphasize engineering, not science. LLM-1 would test the LM, lunar space suits, and other moon exploration systems ahead of more ambitious Phase 1 missions. If all went as planned, the LLM-1 crew would stay on the moon for 22 hours and carry out two moonwalks.

The LM design used in the five Phase 1 missions would carry up to 300 pounds of payload to the lunar surface. For all five missions, this payload would include geologic tools for gathering up to 50 pounds of lunar rocks and dirt for return to Earth. LLM-2 through LLM-5 would, in addition, each carry an Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiment Package (ALSEP) geophysical station for deployment on the lunar surface. Astronauts of missions LLM-2 through LLM-5 would also perform geological traverses on foot to spots several thousand meters (that is, several kilometers) from the LM while the CSM Pilot in lunar orbit photographed the moons surface.

LLM-1 would follow a free-return flight path that would guarantee that the Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) and attached LM would loop around the moon and return to Earth in the event that the CSMs Service Propulsion System (SPS) main engine failed en route to the moon. The SPS was meant to adjust the CSM/LM combinations course during flight to and from the moon, slow the CSM and LM so that the moons gravity could capture them into lunar orbit, and boost the CSM out of lunar orbit for return to Earth. The Bellcomm planners noted that the free-return trajectory would help to ensure crew safety but would greatly limit the percentage of the moons surface that LLM-1 could reach.

LLM-2 would, like LLM-1, be restricted by a free-return trajectory and a stay-time of 22 hours at a mare landing site. The LLM-2 astronauts would, however, carry out three moonwalks and deploy the first ALSEP, enabling them to accomplish more scientific exploration than the LLM-1 astronauts.

LLM-3, the third mission of Lunar Exploration Program Phase 1, would abandon the free-return trajectory so that it could attempt to reach a fresh crater on a mare. The crater would, Hinners, James, and Schmidt explained, act as a natural drill hole that would expose ancient rocks from deep inside the moon for sampling. The astronauts would perform three moonwalks during a surface stay that would last longer than 22 hours but less than 36 hours. LLM-4 would be similar to LLM-3, but would be targeted to a mare wrinkle ridge.

LLM-5, the final Phase 1 flight, would see an LM spend 36 hours at a mare site bordering a highlands region. The highlands of the moon, the light-colored areas on the moons disk, are ancient cratered terrain. The LLM-5 astronauts would perform four moonwalks.

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Filling a Gap: Bellcomms 1968 Lunar Exploration Program