PWP News

Whistleblowers at FDA May Be Stifled, Grassley Says (Update3)

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:41:11 +0000

Bloomberg, March 24, 2009, By Rob Waters

Government employees who think public safety is being compromised may be deterred from speaking out because of a memorandum from the acting head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Senator Charles Grassley said.

Posted in FDA Tagged: FDA

Protein Is Key To Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:45:25 +0000

ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2009)

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have learned that a protein called Shp2 plays a critical role in the pathways that control decisions for differentiation or self-renewal in both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs).

Posted in Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research Tagged: Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research

Maryland: Senate budget panel suggests cuts in stem cell research

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:43:23 +0000

Baltimore Sun, By Julie Bykowicz, March 25, 2009

Senators on a budget subcommittee proposed on Tuesday reducing money for stem cell research – one of several differences from what their counterparts in the House of Delegates recommended. The House’s full budget committee wants to keep $18.4 million in funding for the research, while the Senate’s budget subcommittee on education suggested cutting stem cell grants to $5 million.

Posted in Stem Cell Research Tagged: Stem Cell Research

Imaging Technique May Trace Development of Parkinson’s Disease

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:41:02 +0000

University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs, by Paul Francuch, March 24, 2009

While finding a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease that would let physicians screen for or track its progression remains an elusive goal, a team led by a University of Illinois at Chicago neuroscientist has shown that a non-invasive brain scanning technique offers promise.

Posted in Diagnostic Imaging, PD Research Tagged: Diagnostic Imaging, PD Research

Are Two Heads Better Than One? Not At FDA

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:35:45 +0000

The RPM Report, By Ramsey Baghdadi,Monday, March 23 2009

Commissioner nominee Hamburg’s first challenge will be establishing that she is singular leader despite the simultaneous nomination of principle deputy Sharfstein. Administration says there is no truth to premise Hamburg will focus on food while Sharfstein oversees drug issues—but don’t be surprised if it works out that way.

Read m0re…

Posted in FDA Tagged: FDA

Obama defends decision on stem cells

finestitcher — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:33:02 +0000

Associated Press, March 25, 2009

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that lifting federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell research was the “right thing to do and the ethical thing to do.” The Democratic president said he wrestled with the ethics of the decision but is hopeful that the science will lead to help for people with debilitating diseases.

Posted in Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Obama Administration, Stem Cell Research Tagged: Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Obama Administration, Stem Cell Research

Experimental Parkinson’s therapy may have robust weight-loss effect

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:14:50 +0000

University of Florida News, Filed under Health, Research on Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A growth factor used in clinical experiments to rescue dying brain cells in Parkinson patients may cause unwanted weight loss if delivered to specific areas of the brain, according to University of Florida researchers in the March online edition of Molecular Therapy.

Posted in gene therapy, PD Research Tagged: gene therapy, PD Research

States Consider Harder Line on Stem Cell Research

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:11:54 +0000

Fox News, By James Osborne, Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Legislators in Georgia and Oklahoma are considering bills that would limit, if not outright prohibit, scientists from working with human embryonic stem cells in their research to cure or reverse medical conditions, including diabetes, paralysis and Parkinson’s disease. In Texas and Mississippi, lawmakers are considering blocking state funding for that research, mirroring existing laws in other states.

Posted in Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research Tagged: Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research

EPA Calls CO2 a Danger — At Last

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:37:44 +0000

Time, By Bryan Walsh, Monday, Mar. 23, 2009

It’s been two years since the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change laid out the definitive case that human beings were causing global warming, and two decades since NASA scientist James Hansen first told Congress of the threat of rising CO2 emissions. So, why has it taken this long for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce that greenhouse gases endanger human health? Change can be slow in Washington.

Posted in Environmental Causes

One Man’s Rules for Parkinson’s

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:34:32 +0000

The Washington Post, Tuesday, March 24, 2009; Page HE04

After I took speech therapy, my therapist recommended that I put up signs everywhere, saying THINK LOUD. I did as I was told.

Posted in PWP In The News Tagged: PWP In The News

More Than $2 Million From New York State To Fund Stem Cell Research At Rensselaer

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:32:21 +0000

Medical News Today, Article Date: 24 Mar 2009 – 2:00 PDT

Two groups of Rensselaer researchers each have received a $1.08 million grant from New York through the state’s stem cell research initiative. Both grants will fund research on the growth and development of stem cells and will provide some of the first insights available into the role specific genes and biological molecules play in stem cell function in the human body.

Posted in Stem Cell Research Tagged: Stem Cell Research

Human Adult Testes Cells Can Become Embryonic-like

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:55:43 +0000

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009)

Using what they say is a relatively simple method, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have extracted stem/progenitor cells from adult testes and have converted them back into pluripotent embryonic-like stem cells. Researchers say that the naïve cells are now potentially capable of morphing into any cell type that a body needs, from brain neurons to pancreatic tissue.

Posted in Stem Cell Research Tagged: Stem Cell Research

Louisiana: State law forbids embryonic stem-cell research, stunting industry

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:54:12 +0000

WWLT, Bigad Shaban / Eyewitness News, 11:24 PM CDT on Monday, March 23, 2009

NEW ORLEANS – The moral debate over embryonic stem-cell research is now an issue of economics in Louisiana. President Obama cleared the way for researchers in the field to now receive federal funding, but some scientists say Louisiana will never see the money.

Posted in Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR Tagged: Embryonic Stem Cell, es

Social Security Administration: Claims move from months to minutes

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:50:50 +0000

TGDaily, by Rick C. Hodgi, Monday, March 23, 2009 06:49

Washington (DC) and Armonk (NY) – On Friday, IBM, MedVirginia and the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) announced an electronic medical records exchange system to be used in speeding up the process of granting disability benefits “from months to minutes”. The project is part of the $19 billion granted by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Posted in Social Security Tagged: Disability, Social Security

Hans Keirstead to brief Congress on stem cell research

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:45:53 +0000

UCI scientist is behind the field’s first human clinical trial

Today at University of California, Irvine, Calif., March 23, 2009

UC Irvine’s Hans Keirstead – the neurobiologist behind what will be the world’s first human embryonic stem cell clinical trial – will brief Congress on the state of the field 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, in Washington, D.C.

Read more…

Posted in Stem Cell Research Tagged: Stem Cell Research

Protein called Shp2 is key to embryonic stem cell differentiation

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:42:10 +0000

News-Medical.net, Published: Monday, 23-Mar-2009

Posted in Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research Tagged: Embryonic Stem Cell, ESCR, Stem Cell Research

Can Sound Slow Parkinson’s?

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:39:23 +0000

The Med Guru, Published on March 23, 2009

Several small studies have suggested that music therapy can slow the progression of Parkinson’s. One of the best-known clinical trials, from Italy, found that music therapy positively affected movement, emotions and quality of life among a small group of patients.

Posted in Music, PD Therapies, Sound Tagged: Music, PD Therapies, Sound

23andMe already testing for rare Parkinson’s mutations?

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:34:51 +0000

Genetic Future, Posted on: March 23, 2009 9:15 AM, by Daniel MacArthur

In other words, the company already has probes on its custom chip targeting these variants, but it isn’t yet reporting results back to customers. Why isn’t it reporting back? If you’d asked me a couple of months ago, I’d say the motivation was probably to avoid the regulatory hassles associated with testing overtly clinical markers…

Posted in 23andMe, Genetics Tagged: 23andMe, Genetics

The Empty Promise of Embryonic Stem Cell Research

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:31:17 +0000

Why scientific breakthroughs make the destruction of human embryos obsolete.

ChristianityToday, Rep. Mike Pence | posted 3/23/2009 10:51AM

There is no right more fundamental than the right to life. There is no realm in which more exciting progress has been made than that of science. And the two are not inherently opposed to one another.

Posted in Religion, Stem Cell Research Tagged: Religion, Stem Cell Research

Lawmakers eye claims backlog at SSA

finestitcher — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:28:36 +0000

GovernmentExecutive. com, By Elizabeth Newell, March 23, 2009

A joint hearing on Tuesday of two House Ways and Means subcommittees will review how the Social Security Administration is addressing the significant backlog of disability benefits claims, and how additional stimulus funding could improve service.

Posted in Social Security Tagged: Social Security