Use of Unproven Stem Cell Therapy Questioned

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Robert Vondracek has had multiple sclerosis for 20 years. His speech is starting to slur and he's been having more trouble getting around, and when he heard about a controversial stem cell therapy that might help, he got excited.

"I heard about the stem cell treatments being done right here in Phoenix," said Vondracek, 61. "It shocked me because it was not approved in this country, I didn't think."

The therapy was offered by an Arizona plastic surgeon who gives the stem cell treatments in the same clinic where he does cosmetic procedures.

But when Vondracek's neurologist heard about his interest in the therapy, which would cost $7,000 per treatment, "He went crazy," said Vondracek. He strongly advised Vondracek against it.

Plastic surgeons, other doctors and naturopaths at more than 100 clinics round the country are charging thousands of dollars for a controversial procedure called stem cell therapy to treat a range of disorders, including neurological diseases like MS and Parkinson's.

Robert Vondracek and his girlfriend, Terese Knapik.

The procedure has angered many neurologists and prominent researchers who say these doctors are preying on vulnerable people and capitalizing on the huge but still unrealized potential of stem cell research, which they say is years away from producing an approved treatment for neurological diseases.

"Peddling snake oil in the guise of stem cell therapies is really a threat to legitimate research," said Dr. George Daley, director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Children's Hospital, past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

"Finding cures is hard, it takes sometimes decades, it's extremely expensive and it's not something that we can just wish and hope for," he said. "It can only be achieved through very, very hard work."

Dr. George Daley is a nationally recognized expert on stem cells at Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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Use of Unproven Stem Cell Therapy Questioned

Cordlife launches newly upgraded stem cell facility

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Cordlife Medical Philippines Inc. (Cordlife), a fully owned subsidiary of Cordlife Group Ltd., a Singapore Exchange mainboard-listed consumer healthcare company catering to the mother and child segment, recently opened its newly upgraded stem cell processing and cryopreservation facility at UP-Ayalaland Technohub in Quezon City.

This expansion came less than five years from the opening of its facility in the country and was mainly driven by the growing number of parents who recognize the value of banking here their babys stem cells.

The event launch held at Crowne Plaza in Ortigas was hosted by popular DJ Delamar Arias and graced by celebrity moms, actress and beauty queen Lara Quigaman and journalist Nia Corpuz. Delamar, Lara and Nia all shared their personal experiences of being Cordlife moms themselves.

Also in attendance to underscore Cordlifes commitment to Filipino parents and their children were Cordlife Group CEO Jeremy Yee, Cordlife Philippines medical director Dr. Arvin Faundo and Cordlife Philippines director Michael Arnonobal.

The event highlighted the five essentials of mother and child that Cordlife addresses through services. These essentials are security, expertise, investment, bond and value for life.

With the newly upgraded stem cell facility that can accommodate up to 30,000 cord blood and cord lining units, more parents can enjoy a sense of security when they bank their babys stem cells at Cordlifes state-of-the-art processing and cryopreservation laboratory.

Peace of mind

Those who banked with Cordlife can have peace of mind knowing that their babys stem cells are kept in a highly-secure laboratory that was built to withstand earthquakes of up to magnitude 8, and ward off fire with its fire-retardant walls. Furthermore, the vapor-phased liquid nitrogen cryogenic tanks used to preserve the cord blood and cord lining samples are not dependent on electricity, making them 100-percent safe and reliable in case of power outages.

Cordlifes expertise in the stem cell banking arena, is proven not only by being the largest network of cord blood banks in Asia, but also the number of cord blood releases for stem cell transplant and their adherence to the stringent global standards of AABB (formerly known as American Association of Blood Banks).

Cordlife Philippines is also the countrys first and only ISO 9001:2008 and Department of Health-registered cord blood and cord lining bank.

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Cordlife launches newly upgraded stem cell facility

The Most Powerful Video on Spirituality and Happiness Rare Eckhart Tolle Teaching Must – Video

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The Most Powerful Video on Spirituality and Happiness Rare Eckhart Tolle Teaching Must
See this page for more happiness, health and wealth: Eckhart #39;s profound yet simple teachings have already helped countles. Watch how the meditation inspired a teacher and in turn gives a...

By: Willis Roberts

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The Most Powerful Video on Spirituality and Happiness Rare Eckhart Tolle Teaching Must - Video

Spiritual Growth. How To Grow Your Spirituality? Basis Of Spiritual Growth | Damie John – Video

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Spiritual Growth. How To Grow Your Spirituality? Basis Of Spiritual Growth | Damie John
Hi, I #39;m Damie John. Today I want to tell you about spiritual growth. Before we define spiritual growth we have to know what is spirituality. The spirituality...

By: Damie John

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Akashic Inspirations LIVE on Practical Spirituality (aired 11/14/2014) – Video

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Akashic Inspirations LIVE on Practical Spirituality (aired 11/14/2014)
Web: http://www.OrisOasis.com Tune in this month as we interview Mariaan of AkaschicInspirations.com. The Gratitude Goddess will be speaking on how to stay in your blessing space and all things...

By: Ori #39;s Oasis

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Akashic Inspirations LIVE on Practical Spirituality (aired 11/14/2014) - Video

What is Enlightenment?

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Continued from November 04

We still have bodies that break down in all sorts of amazing ways. We still face injustice and conflict. Awakening isnt a waiver from the shared circumstances of human life. But it does radically transform how we experience them. We are no longer beleaguered exiles but now people at home even in the most difficult times, searching for ways to respond that encourage the bursting forth of the enlightenment that is present always and everywhere.

Theres a story about Tolstoy that speaks to this fundamental shift from self-centeredness to all-centeredness, when we see the self as infinitely large, taking in all others. Tolstoy and Chekhov were on a walk in the spring woods when they encountered a horse. Tolstoy began to describe how the horse would experience the clouds, trees, smell of wet earth, flowers, sun. Chekhov exclaimed that Tolstoy must have been a horse in a previous life to know in such detail what the horse would feel. Tolstoy laughed and said, No, but the day I came across my own inside, I came across everybodys inside.

A great deal has been said about walking the path of awakening, including practices that show us our habits of exile and how our allegiance can turn away from them toward more spacious and generous lives. So Ill just mention one thing that relates to taking on a day-to-day practice of enlightenment. Especially early on, most of us still have a lot of self-centeredness, by which I mean belief in the absolute reality of the self and the primacy of its concerns and reactions. One of the bemusing results is that here we are, hoping for an event which by its nature is unprecedented, and we think we know best about how to make it happen. We try to exert control over the process, and we believe we can find our way to enlightenment through acts of will.

There is mad discipline and insane persistence on this path, but theyre in the service of something more fruitful than certainty, control, and will. Theyre in the service of availability. Whatever happens, you have to just keep showing up. Sit the meditation, attend the retreat, absorb the teachings, face the fear, feel the sorrow, endure the boredom, stay open to the disturbing and also the knee-bucklingly beautiful.

When revelation begins to walk toward you, have the courtesy to walk out to meet it. You know the tricks of distraction you play on yourself, so stay alert to them, but dont allow hyper-vigilance to blind you to the moments when the world comes to call you home. Theres an old story about a man who vowed to meditate until Krishna appeared to him. Moved by his commitment, Krishna walked up behind the man and put his hand on his shoulder. Without turning around, the man cried, Go away! Im waiting for Krishna!

Just keep showing up, no matter what, with an open mind and a whole heart. Allow your allegiance to be turned from the habits of exile to the promise of home, naturally. Make yourself unconditionally available, and trust that enlightenment will find you.

The metaphors we use can powerfully shape what we imagine awakening to be. My own Zen tradition has lots of descriptions, like wielding the sword and penetrating the mystery, that wed be forgiven for confusing with exercises of will. Enlightenment is likened to a lightning bolt or a sudden flash of sparks, something instantaneous and bright. But what happens when we listen to other voices with very different ways of describing the same thing? Here is Qiyuan Xinggang, a seventeenth-century Chinese nun, being questioned by her teacher:

In some Mahayana traditions, the luminous totality of the universe, called the dharmakaya, fulfills a vow that all things should come into existence and grow toward awakening. The bodhisattva vow harmonizes in microcosm with the dharmakayas macrocosmic vow: we will continue to exist, and we will dedicate ourselves to awakening so that we might help everything that exists awaken, too. To take this vow is to allow ourselves to be pulled to that place where our enlightenment is continuous with the universesour vow continuous with the dharmakayas vowso that there is no rub between our intention and its.

And so we enter a phase of awakening that we might, perhaps surprisingly, call endarkenment. Awakening is a marriage of wisdom and compassion, and each has an aspect that is enlightening and one that is endarkening. The enlightening aspect of wisdom is a growing clarity of insight that puts doubts to rest and creates confidence. Its about what we come to understand. The endarkening aspect of wisdom is our profound acceptance of the great mystery at the heart of things, which we can never understand in our ordinary ways but can rest in and be nourished by. This is sometimes called not-knowing mind.

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What is Enlightenment?

Mii amo spa and Sedona offer heavenly peace for a spiritual reboot

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Everyone can relate to wanting more balance in life. The popularity of juicing, of yoga, of meditation and the spin-lightening chain SoulCycle? Just the latest evidence that many of us continue to seek a certain equilibrium.

Earlier this year, I was one of those people in need of a serious reboot, but getting on a plane seemed counterintuitive. So I opted for Mii amo spa in Sedona, Ariz., a 7 1/2-hour drive from Los Angeles that felt far enough away to qualify as an escape.

Mii amo is on the grounds of Enchantment, a 70-acre resort five miles northwest of Sedona and surrounded by wilderness and the majestic red rocks of Boynton Canyon. The area was originally inhabited by the Yavapai, who consider it their place of origin. ("Mii amo" is a Native American term signifying passage or journey.)

The treatments, activities and cuisine, available to guests of the 218-room Enchantment resort as well as those who choose to stay in one of the 16 Mii amo all-inclusive spa rooms, were designed to promote healing of mind, body and spirit. But virtue isn't the only item on the menu; there are cocktails on offer as well.

I left L.A. before sunrise so I could beat the traffic and settle into the idea of relaxing. I passed Palm Springs and Blythe, then eased across the California state line into Arizona by midmorning. Bypassing Phoenix on State Route 303 and heading north on Interstate 17, I began to ascend the Mogollon Plateau, where saguaro cactus gave way to pine trees. Once I took the exit for Cottonwood, turning onto Route 179 North, I caught a glimpse of crimson, a hint of the scenery to come.

Arriving in Sedona at about 2:30 p.m., the towering buttes and cliffs looked like a scrim painted with every possible shade of rouge and ocher. No wonder so many Hollywood directors came here to film westerns. You don't need the road sign to know you have entered red-rock country.

The red-ribboned canyon enveloping Enchantment, a former tennis academy that opened as a resort in 1987, is guarded by two spires known as Kachina Woman and Warrior Man, which sit on one of Sedona's so-called energy vortexes and are accessible from the area's many hiking trails. Scattered throughout the property, the resort's rooms and casitas are nestled into the landscape, with western-style furnishings, spectacular views and thoughtful amenities delivered to your door, such as fresh orange juice every morning and a card printed with a Native American blessing at turn-down.

The 24,000-square-foot spa complex, opened in 2001, was designed by Gluckman Mayner Architects, the same firm responsible for the Dia Center for the Arts in New York City and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. Set into the slope of the canyon, the building is low, modern and environmentally appropriate, with peaceful spaces that flow into one another, and lots of red adobe brick, natural light and water elements.

I found myself in a tranquil cairn garden in the complex's central atrium, which set the mood for ahhhh. A cairn is a mound of stacked stones built as a landmark or memorial, and guests can choose from the piles of stones to create their own. Nearby, a kiva-like space called the Crystal Grotto invites quiet contemplation and is the site of the morning "ritual," a brief, mind-clearing moment of calm guided by a staff member.

If you are a doer, there's a lot to do. In fact, Mii amo and Enchantment almost feel like a summer camp for adults, with more than 100 activities offered weekly, including cooking demonstrations, yoga classes, juicing 101, chanting, vortex lectures, stargazing, tennis, golf and mountain bike excursions.

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Mii amo spa and Sedona offer heavenly peace for a spiritual reboot

Why The First Meaningful Thing To Be 3-D Printed In Space Will Be… A Buckle

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Now that the first functioning 3-D printer is on the International Space Station, scientists have settled on its first useful product: A buckle intended to keep astronauts healthy.

Designed by former flight surgeon and astronaut Yvonne Cagle, the buckle is intended to tighten a compression strap that prevents muscle loss and maintains heart strength in zero-gravity conditionsa persistent challenge for space health.

"I became very intrigued with what would happen if you could get the G [gravity] suit and actually used it to recondition the body," Cagle says. "Until we can print humans, we have to keep the human body conditioned so it can perform its tasks while living in space for extended periods of time," she says.

In designing the buckle, Cagle and her team faced an engineering challenge: how to make the device strong enough to withstand the rigors of space flight. "In order to get there you need something that is going to be a really powerful stabilizer but has a small enough footprint and is simple enough to fix or print more if you need it."

Cagle, along with the space 3-D-printing startup Made in Space and partners at Singularity University ended up with a simple design that could do something as complicated as gauge and verify the pressures that are needed to recondition the body amidst the atrophying effects of low gravity.

Designed to be placed on large muscle groups, the buckle is part of a harness and compression system that astronauts can place anywherea kind of muscle-preserving wearable technology, says Cagle. Sometime next year, it will be printed and assembled on the space station from three separate printed sections, each approximately 4.5 inches by one inch.

"Without the buckle, its just an Ace wrap that isn't able to generate higher pressures that could protect muscles and nerves," she says. "The buckle is really the turnkey to lock together the different embodiments and design."

Printing objects in space solves the problem of using lightweight parts that could be damaged under the stress of a launchand obviates the need to bring extras from Earth. But Cagle and Autodesk director of strategic initiatives Jonathan Knowles have already started thinking about the buckle's more earthly benefits too. "Not only can it be used for extended-stay space exploration or commercial space, but it can be emailed to people on Earth who are in bed rest or rehabilitating."

The buckle, designed in ]Autodesk's Fusion 360, will be printed on Made in Spaces second generation printer, which will be finished in the second quarter of 2015. The California-based company made history when its 3-D printer reached the space station in September. It printed its first off-world piece last week, a generic white plastic part emblazoned with the words "NASA" and "Made in Space."

Cagle says she intends to analyze the data from that initial print to finalize what materials will be used for the buckle. "Now we know that you can put up the design in record time, and then the crew can very promptly and reliably print something that works."

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Why The First Meaningful Thing To Be 3-D Printed In Space Will Be... A Buckle

Splashdown! Orion completes successful maiden voyage

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After orbiting the Earth twice, NASA's Orion spacecraft completed its maiden voyage and returned safely to Earth.

After orbiting the Earth twice and climbing 15 times higher than the orbit of the International Space Station, NASA's new spacecraft, Orion, today completed its maiden voyage and returned safely to Earth.

After lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:05 a.m. ET, the uncrewed Orion splashed down right on target in the Pacific Ocean, almost four and a half hours later. At mid-day, a recovery team made up of members of the U.S. Navy, NASA and Lockheed Martin was in the process of securing and retrieving the spacecraft.

"America has driven a golden spike as it crosses a bridge into the future," said a NASA announcer, moments after Orion made what he called a "bulls-eye" splashdown for America's newest spacecraft. "This was a perfect mission."

Today's mission was the first test flight for Orion, which is designed to be NASA's next deep-space vehicle. The space agency expects Orion to take space exploration beyond simply putting robotic rovers on Mars by taking humans to the Red Planet and bringing them home safely.

The flight appeared to go like clock work. After launch, the spacecraft successfully tested the motor for its new abort system, climbed into a first orbit that had it on the same level as the space station and then two hours into its trip, climbed much higher, reaching 3,600 miles above Earth.

Orion's journey included two passes through the Van Allen belts, an area around the planet known for its high radiation levels.

NASA briefly noted this afternoon that the radiation had no effect on the spacecraft's computers -- designed to be rugged in space -- or on its shielding. It wasn't immediately clear, however, whether any of the computers reset during the flight.

"Although this was an unmanned mission, we were all onboard Orion," Mike Sarafin, Orion flight director for NASA, said on NASA TV this afternoon. "Today was a great day for America."

This flight served as a testing ground for a variety of technology -- some old, some new -- onboard Orion.

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Splashdown! Orion completes successful maiden voyage

Successful Orion flight was another "Apollo moment" for space science

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. With Orion's perfect Experimental Flight Test-1 on Friday, NASA took the first step toward sending humans into deep space and delivered the U.S. another "Apollo moment."

It has been almost 42 years to the day since a human-rated spacecraft has traveled outside of low Earth orbit. Apollo 17, which put men on the moon for the last time, launched Dec. 7, 1972.

"We, as a species, are meant to push human presence in the solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration. "And this is the first step in starting to do that."

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Friday. On a "picture-perfect day," the Colorado-built spacecraft hurtled into space, orbited Earth twice and splashed down four hours later in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)

Every Florida road with a view of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station had cars lining the shoulder Friday morning as Orion, America's next-generation deep-space capsule, lifted off with a roar, carried to space on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.

Orion's 4-hour, 24-minute journey included two passes of Earth one at an altitude of 552 miles and another at 3,604 miles. The craft twice passed through the Van Allen Radiation Belts, which can wreak havoc on the spacecraft's systems.

Orion splashed down at 9:29 a.m. Mountain time, about 630 miles southwest of San Diego. The craft bobbed in the Pacific for about an hour while data was collected. Navy divers then recovered the capsule for transport back to San Diego aboard the U.S.S. Anchorage.

The launch, flight and recovery could not have gone any better for Centennial-based ULA, said an elated Jim Sponnick, vice president of ULA's Atlas and Delta rocket program.

"It was just a picture-perfect day from beginning to end," Sponnick said. "That's really a testament to years of hard-working and really capable folks working all of the details, that all culminated in a launch like we saw today."

Spectators cheer as the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, with NASA s Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (Smiley N. Pool, Associated Press/Houston Chronicle)

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Successful Orion flight was another "Apollo moment" for space science

Coalition for Space Exploration Congratulates NASA on a Successful Exploration Flight Test for Orion

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TheCoalition for Space ExplorationcongratulatesNASA and its industry team on the successful launch and test flight of the Orion spacecraft. The flight marked the first steps toward human exploration of deep space.

Orions Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) is a significant step on the road to deep space exploration and the human journey to Mars. Through this test of the Orion spacecraft and eventual tests of the Space Launch System rocket, NASA is providing a viable path forward for human spaceflight.

This giant leap was made possible by the dedication and commitment of skilled engineers, scientists and leaders throughout NASA and its industry partners. Thanks to their efforts, the United States is completing unprecedented milestones towards future space exploration and delivering humans, habitats and space systems beyond our moon and into deep space.

About the Coalition for Space Exploration

TheCoalition for Space Explorationis a group of space industry businesses and advocacy groups that collaborates to ensure that the United States remains the leader in space, science and technology by reinforcing the value and benefits of space exploration with the public and our nations leaders, and building lasting support for a long-term, sustainable strategic direction for space exploration.

# # #

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Coalition for Space Exploration Congratulates NASA on a Successful Exploration Flight Test for Orion

NASAs Orion Conquers Orbital Test as U.S. Budget Debate Looms

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The Orion spacecrafts almost flawless debut flight set the stage for the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations next challenge: finding the funding to carry humans to Mars in the 2030s.

The Apollo-like capsule orbited Earth twice yesterday to test critical functions, a 4 1/2-hour trip for the first U.S. vehicle built to transport humans to space since the shuttle in 1981. Now NASA must find political allies to keep championing a program that has already cost $7.4 billion.

The voyage, less than two months after a pair of disasters stunned the commercial space industry, helps bolster NASAs case for its biggest-ever expedition. Spending over 20 years for a Mars mission would dwarf outlays for the $100 billion International Space Station, the most expensive structure ever built.

We have a new Congress in January -- lets see what happens, said Henry Hertzfeld, research professor of space policy and international affairs at George Washington University. At the very least, anytime you have a success like that on something new, its great.

The NASA exploration budget that finances Orion and a new heavy-lift rocket is one of the few non-defense budget accounts for which House Republicans have proposed an increase from President Barack Obamas request for fiscal 2015, said Brian Friel, a government fiscal analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

Spending would rise 5 percent to $4.17 billion under the House bill, while the Senate proposes a 10 percent increase to $4.37 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The largest beneficiaries from more spending would be Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), which manufactured the Orion, and Boeing Co. (BA), the contractors co-owner of the venture building the new rocket.

Orion is the first spaceship developed to carry humans beyond the moon, and later versions will be fine-tuned to travel to asteroids next decade and to Mars in the 2030s. NASA is targeting an Orion trip with astronauts by 2021.

While Orion was among the top trending topics worldwide on Twitter.com, NASAs new ambitions are unfolding amid a federal budget squeeze and the short attention spans of the social-media era, not the race-for-the-moon competition of the Cold War.

At Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where a Delta IV Heavy rocket carried Orion aloft, some of the weather-worn buildings displayed faded signs from news organizations that once camped out to chronicle the Apollo program. They were a reminder that interest in NASA diminished after the U.S. won the race to the moon.

The White House called the trial an important step, and Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whose state is home to NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, said in a statement: This is the beginning of an historic advancement in space.

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NASAs Orion Conquers Orbital Test as U.S. Budget Debate Looms

All you need to know about NASA's spacecraft Orion and it's mission

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The US space agency's Orion space capsule blasted off from earth on Friday on its first journey into orbit, in a key test flight before carrying people to deep space destinations like the Moon and Mars in the coming years. Here's what you need to know about the Orion mission.

About Orion

It has been more than a generation that NASA has built a spacecraft to transport astronauts into space. The last time humans ventured into space beyond Low-Earth's orbit (an orbit around the earth) was the landing on the moon. Apollo 11 was the space flight that landed humans on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The Orion spacecraft is built to satisfy our curious need for deep space exploration. It's destination includes near earth asteroids, Earth's moon, the moons of Mars and eventually Mars itself.

Orion is touted to be the safest and most advanced spacecraft to ever have been built. It is flexible and capable enough to take humans to a variety of destinations including landing on an asteroid, and into interstellar space. Low Earth Orbit is where the International Space Station (ISS) currently flies.It is where the Hubble telescope, communication satellites, spy satellites and earth observing satellite also currently fly.

Source: NASA's official channel on youtube.com

Space exploration capabilities

The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) provides never before seen or experienced human space exploration capability. Orion is also capable of transporting crew and cargo to the ISS. Orion can remain docked at the ISS for upto six months. It also has the ability to stay in orbit around the moon, unattended without an astronaut on board for the duration of a lunar surface visit that could last up to half an Earth year.

Also Read:Nasa successfully launches Orion spacecraft; first step towards human expedition to Mars

Image Source: Reuters

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All you need to know about NASA's spacecraft Orion and it's mission