Cell Therapy News Volume 8.16 | Apr 30 2007

Career Opportunity: Stem Cell (Cryopreservation) Laboratory Supervisor
We are seeking a Medical Technologist with managerial experience and familiarity with stem cell processing and clinical research activities for this stimulating and busy laboratory in the Department of Transfusion Medicine. You will oversee day-to-day operations, collaborate with investigators in coordinating research protocols, keep abreast of and ensure compliance with applicable regulations and standards, participate in final preparations for a planned Transfusion Medicine facility.
Click here for more information and to apply.

CRYO 2007, The 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Cryobiology
July 28 – August 1, 2007 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
Cryo 2007 will bring together diverse disciplines related to cryobiology and biopreservation, from the fundamentals to applications.  A pre-conference workshop on blood preservation will be held on July 28. May 1, 2007 is the last day to submit your abstract. Click here to submit your abstract today. Click here to register today.

Researchers Develop Economic System for Expanding Stem Cells to Form Cartilage Tissue
Professor Mohamed Al-Rubeai has developed an economical tissue engineering approach which could offer new possibilities for restoring damaged or lost knee cartilage tissue.
Article

Stem Cell Study Homes in on ALS Cause
Two reports published in the journal Nature Neuroscience may show new ways to treat the degenerative nerve disease, which slowly paralyzes its victims until they die. Both studies used embryonic stem cells from mice to generate batches of cells that mimicked the disease.
Article

UBC Research Could Help Transplant Recipients
Medical researchers at the University of B.C. say they’ve made a breakthrough that could lead to fewer rejections following organ transplants.
Article

New Gene Discovered in Human Stem Cells May Benefit Transplant Patients
A team at the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at Oxford University has found that a gene called ‘Nephroblastoma Overexpressed’ (known as Nov) plays a key role in regulating how much blood is produced from stem cells.
Article

Inkjet Innovation
Researchers are using the basics of inkjet technology to “print” human cells into the form of organs and tissues – a groundbreaking system that could change the way researchers study the field of tissue-engineering.
Article

Nanotechnology Used to Treat Spinal Cord Injuries
Paralyzed lab mice with spinal cord injuries have regained the ability to walk after being injected with a nanomaterial.
Article

Canadian Researchers ‘Create’ Leukemia Stem Cell, Watch Disease Unfold
Canadian researchers have converted normal human blood cells into leukemia stem cells, then transplanted them into lab mice and witnessed the disease unfold.
Article

Horses Lead Humans in Stem Cells Race
Stem cell therapy may be controversial in human medicine but in the world of horse racing it is becoming the odds-on favorite for tackling tendon damage, which accounts for one in three racecourse injuries.
Article

Alleged U.S. Stem Cell Fraudsters Shielded by South African Legal Logjam
A former American catwalk model and her South African husband, wanted by the FBI for allegedly administering fraudulent stem cell treatments, have so far managed to avoid being extradited from their current home in South Africa to the United States to face their charges.
Article

Controversial Medical Article to be Retracted
A U.S. medical journal will retract an article that set off an international plagiarism dispute but will take no action against the lead author, a prominent South Korean scientist whose Los Angeles institute is in line to receive state funds for stem cell research.
Article

ABSTRACTS, REVIEWS AND SPECIAL REPORTS

Reversal of Autoimmune Disease in Lupus-prone NZB/NZW Mice by Nonmyeloablative Transplantation of Purified Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Using lupus prone NZB x NZW (NZBW) mice, the researchers investigated the use of highly enriched, haplo-mismatched allogeneic HSC to prevent development or to treat established autoimmune pathology.
Abstract

EU Lawmakers Back Rules for Stem Cell, Other Cures
European lawmakers backed new rules for stem cell and other advanced medical therapies on Wednesday, despite opposition from a key member of the European Parliament.
Article

Should We Allow the Creation of Human/animal Embryos?
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has launched a consultation on the ethical and social implications of creating human/animal embryos in research.
Article

Brazil Court Hears Embryonic Stem Cell Testimony
Brazil’s Supreme Court opened its chambers to the public for the first time last week as it heard testimony over whether medical researchers using stem cells from frozen embryos were violating a constitutional right to life.
Article

Geron and CXR Conclude Collaboration to Develop In Vitro Assays Using hESC-Derived Hepatocytes
Geron Corporation and CXR Biosciences Ltd. have announced the conclusion of a research collaboration that focused on the development of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived hepatocytes for use in in vitro assays of drug metabolism and toxicity.
Article

BioLife Solutions Grants Product License to Centocor Research & Development, Inc.
The agreement provides Centocor with certain rights to long term access to BioLife’s CryoStor DLite reduced DMSO cryopreservation media.
Article

Invitrogen Establishes Technology Networks
Invitrogen Corporation has announced it has launched a program whereby GIBCO(R) cell culture media products and platforms offered by PD-DirectTM Bioprocess Services are evaluated in concert with third party technologies.
Article

New Partnership Leverages Canadian Stem Cell Intellectual Property
The MaRS Discovery District (MaRS) and the Canadian Stem Cell Network (SCN) are partnering in a translational development company called Aggregate Therapeutics.
Article

Stem Cell Bank to be Opened in City by Malaysian Joint Venture
A stem cell bank will be opened in Viet Nam under an agreement signed recently in HCM City by the Ngoc Tam Hospital Joint Stock Co and Malaysia’s CryoCord Co.
Article

Career Enhancement Award for Stem Cell Research (K18) (PA-07-359)
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PA-07-354, Bioengineering and Obesity (R01) Contact Information Correction (NOT-HL-07-112)
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Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting
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FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (Untited States of America)

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Human Tissue Intended for Transplantation
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Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Human Cells, Tissues,  and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products: Establishment Registration and Listing; Form Food and Drug Administration 3356; Eligibility Determination for Donors; and Current Good Tissue Practice
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AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND THERAPEUTIC PRODUCTS AUTHORITY (Australia and New Zealand)

Consultation Paper: The Regulation of Human Cellular and Tissue Therapies (HCTs)
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ISCT 2007-Register Now!
13th ISCT Annual Meeting
June 24-27, 2007
Sydney, Australia

Register by clicking here.
View the Program at a Glance by clicking here.

ISCT Membership
Renew your ISCT Membership for 2007 now!
Not a member?  Visit the ISCT website to learn about the benefits of membership.
Link