Word: stems
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...nearly a decade in the making, but the first human trial using embryonic stem cells was approved on Friday...
...trial, which will test a stem-cell-based treatment for spinal-cord injury, will begin later this summer and will use cells generated by Geron Corp. The approval marks the first time human stem cells, extracted and grown from embryos, will be transplanted into patients. Adult stem cells, which are present in many types of tissue, have been used in treatments for years - the most common being bone-marrow transplants in cancer care - but an embryonic study is a whole new thing. There's a good reason it's being greeted with so much excitement. (See the top 10 medical...
...Scientists believe that embryonic stem cells are more versatile than adult cells in generating the more than 200 different tissue types in the body. The need for healthy new cells is particularly acute in the case of spinal-cord injury, because once central-nervous-system tissue is destroyed, it does not regenerate - not in any significant way, at least. The Geron team began its work with what is known as a presidential stem-cell line - stem cells derived from discarded in vitro-fertilization embryos that already existed in 2001 when then President Bush decided to prohibit the use of federal...
...therapy revolves around coaxing the stem cells to develop into a type of cell known as an oligodendrocyte, which in turn gives rise to critical insulation and growth factors that can repair neurons damaged by a trauma to the spinal cord. Geron has named its version GRNOPC1. By having more of these cells around the spinal cord, more nerves might be repaired and can then potentially re-establish proper connections. Simply by working with the GRNOPC1 cells, Geron scientists have learned more about how they operate, which will expand their understanding of how the central nervous system might be healed...
...against Hizballah fighters in Lebanon. Israel is also satisfied by promises made by the U.S. and Europeans to provide technical assistance that will supposedly help the Egyptians stop the flow of weapons through smugglers' tunnels to Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. pledged on Friday to help stem the international traffic of arms from Iran and other suppliers to Gaza...