Press Release: September 2007 Archives

Saying it was more suited for corporations than for educational institutions, University of Maryland officials have refused to sign the agreement that would release their portion of $15 million in grant money awarded from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.

Officials of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute â€" as well as the founder and CEO of the only private company to win a grant from the stem cell fund â€" said they have spent recent weeks airing their concerns over the document to the Maryland Technology Development Corp., known as TEDCO.

Stem cell funding stalled by contract
 (mddailyrecord.com)

A New Jersey judge ruled Monday that a ballot measure authorizing the state to borrow $450 million to fund stem cell research would remain on the November ballot, despite the objections of anti-abortion activists. The measure would allow the state to use money to fund federally restricted embryonic stem cell research as well as research on adult stem cells for ten years.

The New Jersey Right to Life (NJRTL) claims that the wording of the measure fails to disclose that it will "finance the creation, experimentation and then destruction of cloned human beings through the entire period of normal gestation." But Superior Court Judge Neil H. Shuster ruled that the ballot question was "fair, balanced, and neutral" and that legislation authorizing the referendum specifically prohibits human cloning.
 
Stem Cell Measure Will Remain on New Jersey Ballot
 (feminist.org)

A pioneering Australian biologist who was among the first scientists to grow human embryonic stem cells in a laboratory will lead California's $3-billion effort to translate such research into cures for diseases.

The unexpected announcement that Alan Trounson, 61, director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories in Melbourne and a founder of the Australian Stem Cell Centre, would be the new president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine came during a teleconferenced meeting of the institute's oversight board Friday.
 
Stem cell pioneer to lead state's institute
(latimes.com)

SAN FRANCISCOâ€"California's $3 billion stem cell agency named Australian scientist Alan Trounson as its new president on Friday.
The 3-year-old California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, based in San Francisco, has been searching for a science chief since its first president, Zach Hall, retired at the end of April.

Twenty members of the 29-person committee that oversees the agency were in attendance at Friday's monthly meeting in Los Angeles. All 20 voted for Trounson's appointment, instantly propelling him to the forefront of stem cell research.

California's $3 billion stem cell agency names new chief
(mercurynews.com)

Wisconsin is among the world's leaders in human embryonic stem cell science, the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council told a Fond du Lac group Thursday.

Wisconsin scientists have succeeded in coaxing human embryonic stem cells to become heart, blood, pancreatic and central nervous system cells and they are using stem cells to screen pharmaceutical products and develop treatments for a variety of diseases, Tom Still told the Fond du Lac Morning Rotary Club.
 
Commentary: Wisconsin's place at forefront of stem cell science faces challenges
(fdlreporter.com)

Last week, Britain made a landmark decision that allows researchers to use animal eggs in the creation of human stem cells.

The ruling, laid down by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, makes Britain the first country in the world to explicitly enable scientists to use human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

<a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=3594730&page=1">
UK to Allow Stem Cell Human-Animal Hybrid Research
</a> (abcnews.go.com)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The University of Missouri's interim president says he opposes limits to stem cell research.

Gordon Lamb says the constitutional amendment proposed by the group Cures Without Cloning "assaults Missouri" and could "permanently destroy the future of research" at state universities and private labs.

The experimental procedure involves injecting a human egg into a person's cell.
Scientists remove the resulting stem cells for research, destroying the newly formed embryo.

<a href="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=49cd5fba-5114-4dc5-bd25-88d6cf00871b&rss=766">
MU interim president opposes limits to stem cell research
</a> (nbcactionnews.com)

BOSTONâ€" Plans for a $235 million science facility and an embryonic stem cell research bank at the University of Massachusetts Medical School passed an initial funding hurdle yesterday as the finance committee of the board of trustees included the projects in a five-year capital plan for the university system.

A $2.9 billion spending plan for capital projects at all UMass campuses was approved by the committee with the support of state Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie A. Kirwan, an appointee of Gov. Deval L. Patrick. The plan will be considered for approval by the full board of trustees Sept. 19.

<a href="http://www.telegram.com/article/20070906/NEWS/709060751/1116">
Research funds pass hurdle
</a> (telegram.com)

Britain is considering whether to permit research using animal eggs to create human stem cells â€" a process that tests the ethical boundaries of cutting-edge scientific research.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority will rule Wednesday on whether to accept such research, which involves placing human DNA into cow or rabbit eggs that have had their genetic material removed. If the authority allows such research, each project will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/04/europe/EU-GEN-Britain-Stem-Cells.php
"> Britain to decide on stem cell research</a> (iht.com)

President Bush and and some Evangelical Christian groups may object to stem cell research on moral grounds, but the objection extends only to stem cells that were obtained as the result of an abortion. Even though the source of stem cells has been restricted in the US for research purposes. Stem cells are cells that have the potential to develop into different types of cells throughout the body. When a stem cell divides the new cell can either remain a stem cell or become a different type needed elsewhere in the body of an animal. Aborted fetuses are one of the richest sources of stem cells, but by no means the only one available. Stem cells exist in the body through an animal's life.



<a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/360288/research_on_human_stem_cell_transplants.html">Research on Stem Cell Transplants May Go Forward </a> (Lara Tacita, associatedcontent.com)