CURE News is pleased to report the
latest developments in stem cell research from around
Connecticut. Please send your latest news to bkelly@curenet.org.
***
Connecticut was wise to
fund stem cell research, according to an editorial that
appeared in December in the Connecticut Post. "The
bottom line is that the global effort in stem cell research
holds the potential for treatment or cure of debilitating
conditions like Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
aka Lou Gehrig's disease; heart disease and the rest of the
litany of ailments that make up the human condition,"
the editorial states. "The work going on in Connecticut
today is going to benefit humanity. We should be proud of
it, and continue to support it (more)."
***
Last December U.S. Rep.
Christopher Murphy urged Gov. M. Jodi Rell and legislative
leaders to reject a proposal to eliminate $10 million in
stem cell research funding for 2010. In a conference call
with stem cell researchers and reporters, Murphy
said that Connecticut has laid the groundwork to be a leader
in stem cell research. Cutting the funding now would hurt
the state's ability to build on its foundation, sending the
wrong message to potential investors just as the federal
government dispenses an unprecedented amount of money for
stem cell work, he said. Joining the conference call were
Yale's Haifan Lin, UConn's Marc Lalande and Ted Rasmussen,
Carl Zuckerberg of the CT Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation, and CURE president Paul Pescatello. (more).
***
A conference January 29 at
Wesleyan University addressed the question "Stem Cells
into the Clinic: Biological, Ethical, and Regulatory
Concerns." Speakers included Dr. Irving Weissman of
Stanford and Professor Bonnie Steinbock of the University of
Albany (more).
***
Eliminating
cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor could hold the key
to successful treatments for ovarian cancer, which has been
notoriously difficult to detect and treat. "We
found that stopping the expression of two genes—Lin28 and
Oct4—reduces ovarian cancer cell growth and
survival," said Yingqun Huang, M.D., assistant
professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology &
Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.
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