Ireland’s first stem cell manufacturing centre approved at NUI Galway

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Embryonic stem cells have been highly valued for their ability to turn into any type of cell in the body.

Stem cells can be manufactured for human use for the first time in Ireland, following Irish Medicines Board licensing of a new facility in Galway.

NUI Galways Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland aims to culture adult stem cells to tackle conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and associated conditions.

The centre, which is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for stem cell manufacture, has been developed by researchers at NUIGs regenerative medicine institute.

Stem cells serve as the bodys repair mechanism. They can be isolated from tissues such as bone marrow and fat, and cultured in laboratory settings.

More controversially, embryonic stem cells have been highly valued for their ability to turn into any type of cell in the body, but scientists can now use reprogrammed adult skin cells to create a stem cell that is very similar to embryonic versions.

The centre will be opened today by Minister of State for Research and Innovation Sen Sherlock, at a time when the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland have approved funding there for clinical trials on using mesenchymal stem cells cells that can differentiate into a variety of types for treatment of critical limb ischemia, a condition associated with diabetes that can result in amputation.

The new centres director Prof Tim OBrien explained that the stem cells must be grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities, following their isolation from the bone marrow of adult donors, and the facility will help Ireland to develop therapies for a broad range of clinical problems which do not have effective treatments today.

It will also allow us to translate discoveries from the basic stem cell research programme led by Prof Frank Barry at the Science Foundation Ireland-funded REMEDI to the clinic, and to be competitive for grant funding under the Horizon 2020 programme of the EU, he said.

Stem cell research in Ireland is in what scientists have described as a legislative lacuna, but this relates to use of embryonic stem cells and does not in any way inhibit the use of adult stem cells, Prof OBrien explained.

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Ireland’s first stem cell manufacturing centre approved at NUI Galway

Stem cells lab to open in Galway

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Published Monday, 27 January 2014

A young teenager with diabetes tests his blood levels. (UTV)

Scientists behind the new facility at the National University of Ireland Galway will aim to produce adult cells to combat conditions like diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.

Stem cells created at the lab will be used in clinical trials following regulatory approval - the first of which is to test their effects on critical limb ischemia, a common complication associated with diabetes which often results in amputation.

The cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), will undergo safety tests after being isolated from bone marrow from donors and grown in the laboratory to generate sufficient quantities.

The university said it will position it as a global player in regenerative medicine.

NUI Galway's Centre for Cell Manufacturing Ireland is the first facility on the island of Ireland to receive a licence from the Irish Medicines Board to manufacture culture-expanded stem cells for human use.

It is one of less than half a dozen in Europe authorised for the process.

Some 70% of pharmaceutical companies have regenerative medicine therapies in development, with 575 active trials in cell and gene therapy under way.

There are more than 1,900 cell therapy clinical trials ongoing worldwide with regenerative medicine products generating more than $1bn in revenue in 2012.

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Stem cells lab to open in Galway

Audi Bets on Bio Gasoline Startup

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Startup Global Bioenergies uses genetic engineering to avoid one of the costliest steps in biofuel production.

Test plant: Global Bioenergies is adapting this test facility, owned by the European research organization Fraunhofer, to produce biofuels using a new process that avoids a costly distillation step.

Audi is investing in a startup, Paris-based Global Bioenergies, that says it can make cheap gasoline from sugar and other renewable sources. The strategic partnership includes stock options and an unspecified amount of funding.

As with conventional biofuel production, Global Bioenergies technology uses microrganisms to ferment sugars to produce fuel. But its process eliminates the second most costly part of producing biofuelsthe energy-intensive distillation step. And by making gasoline instead of making ethanol, the startup skirts a major problem hampering growth in biofuelsthe fact that the market for ethanol is saturated.

Global Bioenergies has demonstrated its technology in the lab and is building two pilot facilities to produce isobutene, a hydrocarbon that a partner will convert into gasoline through an existing chemical process. The larger of the two pilot facilities will be big enough to support the production of over 100,000 liters of gasoline a year.

The process addresses one of the key challenges with conventional biofuels productionthe fuel can kill the microrganisms that make it. In a conventional fermentation process, once the concentration of ethanol gets to about 12 percent, it starts to poison the yeast so that it cant make any more ethanol.

Global Bioenergies has genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to produce a gas (isobutene) that bubbles out of solution, so its concentration in the fermentation tank never reaches toxic levels. As a result the bacteria can go on producing fuel longer than in the conventional process, increasing the output of a plant and reducing capital costs.

The isobutene still needs to be separated from other gases such as carbon dioxide, but Global Energies says this is much cheaper than distillation.

The new process doesnt address the biggest cost of biofuels todaythe cost of the raw materials. Its designed to run on glucose, the type of sugar produced from corn or sugarcane. But the company is adapting it to work with sugars from non-food sources such as wood chips, which include glucose but also other sugars such as xylose.

Audis partnership with Global Bioenergies is part of push by the automaker to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the face of tightening regulations. Audi recently announced two other investments in cleaner fuels. It funded a project to make methane using renewable energythe methane can be used to run Audis natural-gas fueled cars (see Audi to Make Fuel Using Solar Power). And it funded Joule Unlimited, which is using photosynthetic microrganisms to make ethanol and diesel (see Audi Backs a Biofuels Startup).

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Audi Bets on Bio Gasoline Startup

Debate rages over labeling genetically modified food

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Inject a gene from a certain cold-water fish into a strawberry, and the strawberry can withstand colder temperatures. But would you still want to eat it?

Such advances in genetic engineering have implications for helping feed a growing, hungry world but a lot of people aren't too keen on eating those advances just yet.

Others wouldn't hesitate.

The difference reflects the "wild, messy debate" surrounding genetically modified food, with one of the more recent skirmishes centering on whether food labels should contain information about such ingredients, according to Nick George, president of the Midwest Food Processors Association, based in Madison.

Wisconsin's agriculture and food production industries find themselves smack in the middle of the debate.

"This is a big issue," George said. "It's not going away."

Neither, it seems, are genetically engineered crops in the American food chain.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 93% of soybean acres and 85% of corn acres in 2013 were planted with genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant crop varieties.

The percentage of insect-resistant corn planted in 2013 stood at 76%, according to the USDA. The insect-resistant corn contains a gene from the soil bacterium Bt Bacillus thuringiensis. The bacteria produce a protein that is toxic to specific insects.

Consider that there are nearly 1.3 million dairy cows in Wisconsin, and some of them are no doubt eating corn with genetically modified ingredients.

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Debate rages over labeling genetically modified food

Comets Win in OT

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January 26, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets The Utica Comets are starting to heat up at the right time, as they earned their second straight overtime victory over Abbotsford Saturday night, with a 4-3 win. Utica has now won four in a row overall and six consecutive against the Heat to move to 15-20-2-3 this season.

Benn Ferriero scored the overtime winner for the second night in a row, this just 1:10 into the extra session. Forward Alexandre Grenier scored two goals for the Comets and Brandon DeFazio also added a goal of his own. Pascal Pelletier collected two assists in the victory. Joacim Eriksson made 23 saves on 26 shots, as he won for the eighth time in nine starts.

The Comets picked up right where they left off in overtime last evening, as they opened the scoring just 2:05 into the first period. DeFazio fought his way to the front of the net and buried a feed from Jordan Schroeder, who was set up in Gretzky's office behind the cage. The goal was the fifth of the season for DeFazio and the assist marked Schroeder's first point as a Comet, in just his second game played.

Markus Granlund evened things up 5:37 later, as he walked in from the right circle and beat Eriksson for his seventeenth goal of the season. Max Reinhart and Evan Trupp picked up the helpers on the play. The goal ended Eriksson's shutout streak against the Heat at 131 minutes even.

The Comets once again pulled ahead as Grenier collected a loose puck in the slot and fired a quick wristshot past MacDonald to make it 2-1. Center Pascal Pelletier picked up an assist on the play, his team leading 28th, while Grenier's goal was his 14th this season.

Abbotsford once again tied things up with a special teams tally, this a shorthanded goal from Reinhart. The Heat centerman drove the front of the net and deflected home a feed from Granlund, giving both players two points on the evening. Reinhart's tally was just the third shorthanded goal surrendered this season by the Comets.

Abbotsford took a 3-2 lead 7:18 into the third period on a superb individual effort from forward Brett Olson. After forcing a turnover from Utica blueliner Yann Sauve, Olson picked up the puck, moved into the slot and fired a wrist shot just under the crossbar and past Eriksson. Olson's goal, which came unassisted, was his seventh of the season.

The Comets knotted things up just under four minutes later as Grenier scored for the second time tonight. MacDonald misplayed a dump in from Pelletier and the puck came out to Grenier, who tapped it into an open net. The marker moved Grenier into a tie for fourth amongst all AHL rookies with 15 goals on the season. Pelletier is now tied for third in the league with 29 assists.

In a dj vu moment for the Comets, Ferriero finished off the Heat for the second night in a row with an overtime winner. The winger carried the puck down the right wing and put a twisted wrister past MacDonald to end the game and give Utica the two points. Ferriero's goal tied him with Grenier for the team lead this season. Sauve picked up the lone assist on the play.

The Comets return to the Mohawk Valley for a three game homestand, which begins Tuesday at The AUD against the Lake Erie Monsters. Utica will also host the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night and the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday evening. All three games are slated to begin at 7:00 p.m.

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Comets Win in OT

World’s Wackiest Marathons and Races

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North Korean travel agencies surprised athletes the world over recently when they announced that admission to the Pyongyang Marathon will be open to recreational runners this year.

Previously, The Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, its formal title, was an elite-only event and has never included a U.S. athlete. Now the looser restrictions may lure some Americans to travel to the mysterious, long-forbidden country.

READ: Elderly Couple Ran a Marathon Every Day of 2013

But running in a socialist state is far from the most unusual thing one can do during a race. In fact, the world is full to brimming with curious quests. Here are some of the world's wackiest marathons and races:

The Neverending Marathon If you're the type who steps onto the course and feels like he could run forever, consider signing up for Morocco's Marathon des Sables, a 151-mile "ultra-run" across the Sahara Desert. That should quench your thirst for mileage, if not your actual thirst.

Run with the... Mules Animal lovers will get a kick (possibly literally) out of the Boom Days Pack Burro Race in Leadville, Colo., where runners are paired up with a burro or donkey to run alongside for 22 miles of mountainous terrain.

A Vision in White Fancy a jog in the southernmost area of the world? Enter the Antarctic Ice Marathon, a frigid 26.2 mile race with an average windchill temperature of -20C and an altitude of 700 meters.

READ More: Hospital 'Buzzing' Over Engagement of Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor to Nurse

Tropical Trot At the other end of the spectrum, the Kona Underpants Run in Kona, Hawaii, calls for stripping down to one's skivvies. Held a few days before the Hawaii Ironman World Championship, the event was designed to allow athletes to blow off some steam before the big competition but now it's become its own destination.

Dash in the Middle of the Night Choose from 3K, 5K and 10K options at the Midnight Run in Reykjavik, Iceland. Despite kicking off at 10 p.m., the race takes place in complete daylight as it occurs during the solstice. Afterward, participants rub elbows in geothermal hot tubs. Glugging glogg is entirely optional.

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World's Wackiest Marathons and Races

World Cup riots in Brazil trigger riots and arrests

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Social unrest ranks alongside shoddy infrastructure as leading concerns for teams and supporters planning to travel to Brazil for the tournament.

While the country has won the World Cup five times, many Brazilians resent the scale of spending poured into hosting the tournament. Banners carried in the business districts of Sao Paulo proclaimed No rights, No World Cup and Fifa go home.

Despite the popularity of the game, some demonstrators took aim at the earnings of players. Wake up Brazil, a teacher is worth more than [the footballer] Neymar was one slogan.

It is not just the disparity of income between rich footballers and public sector employees that took the brunt of anger. By rights we mean the peoples right to decent public services, said Leonardo Pelegrini dos Santos, a university student. We are against the millions and millions of dollars being spent for the cup. It is money that should be invested in better health and education services and better transportation and housing.

Demonstrators staged a sit-in along a line of lavatory bowls set along Copacabana beach in Rio to highlight that 70 per cent of the citys sewage was untreated before it was dumped in the bay.

The Olympics are coming, the World Cup is coming, its a chance to draw attention and maybe the world can talk about whats happening here in Rio, said Leona Deckelbaum, an activist. To me it is unbelievable that theres not basic sanitation in a city like Rio.

Another pointed out the contrast between the images in tourist brochures and the consequences of lack of city services. Its really dirty. The sand, everything, said Ruth Ferreira.

Separately Brazil has been hit in recent weeks by generalised unrest targeting commercial areas.

Almost a dozen shopping centres in the country have been hit by rolezinhos mobs, composed primarily of young people from slum areas, going on the rampage in upmarket shopping malls in Rio and Sao Paulo.

Dilma Rousseff, the president, has seen her governments popularity hit even as she prepares to open her campaign for re-election in October.

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World Cup riots in Brazil trigger riots and arrests