Stem Cell Clinic

ReNeuron cell-based treatment hailed by leading non-profit group funding research into treatments for retinal degenerative diseases – Proactive…

By Stem Cell Treatment

Benjamin Yerxa, chief executive of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, said results from a recent clinical trial represented a major step forward for sufferers of a degenerative disease called retinitis pigmentosa

A leading non-profit group funding research into treatments for retinal degenerative diseases has hailed as major step forward a potential therapy developed by ().

The comments from Benjamin Yerxa, chief executive of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, followed the presentation of data from a phase I/IIa clinical study by trial investigator Pravin Dugel.

He has been working on ReNeurons human retinal progenitor (hRPC) stem cell line, which has shown early promiseimproving, or stabilising clarity of vision in people with the degenerative disease retinitis pigmentosa.

Dugel's address to the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting in San Francisco was based on the latest results from the clinical assessment of the drug candidate, published on October 2.

After the presentation, Yerxa said: "We're excited by the progress of ReNeuron's hRPC therapy.

From the Foundation's perspective, any gain in vision, or even stabilisation, is a major step forward for patients with RP as currently it is a condition where progressive loss of vision leads to blindness."

Earlier this month ReNeuron said it had seen rapid and profound results in the first three patients of the second phase of clinical studies of its human retinal progenitor cells.

The phase IIa trials saw noticeable improvements in visual acuity as measured by the number of letters that could be read on a standard eye chart.

Six months after treatment there was a mean improvement of 18.5 letters per treated eye, with a mean improvement of 12 letters per treated eye after nine months, whereas inexorable disease progression is the norm for this disease.

With total of 22 patients now treated and the study still ongoing, ReNeuron said the efficacy in subsequent patients was seen but at a lower rate and magnitude, with improvement in visual acuity ranging from +5 to +11 letters in the treated eye three months after treatment.

I believe that we are seeing a clear signal of efficacy in this patient population where any gain in vision, let alone the levels seen in some of these patients, is so hard to come by and so very much appreciated," said Dr Pravin Dugel, managing partner at Retinal Consultants of Arizona and clinical professor at the Roski Eye Institute in Los Angeles.

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Gay Couple Adopt HIV-Positive Child After She Was Rejected By Ten Other Families – UNILAD

By Stem Cell Treatment

A gay couple have spoken out about the immediate connection they felt after adopting a HIV-positive child who had been rejected by 10 other families.

Damian Pighin, 42, and Ariel Vijarra, 39, were the first gay couple to get married in the north-eastern Argentine province of Santa Fe, and made the decision to expand their family in 2011.

The married couple, from Rosario, had several years of disappointment before receiving a call in 2014 about a newborn baby who was ready to be adopted.

The baby girl, who was born with HIV, was 28 days old when Damian and Ariel received the call and were informed 10 families had previously rejected her.

However, they did not hesitate to accept her into their family, with Ariel telling local media:

As soon as I saw her, I felt that she was part of my life. The connection was immediate. We held her in our arms, gave her the bottle and she looked at us with her eyes wide open without crying.

The little girl, who has been named Olivia, responded very well to her HIV treatment and she immediately started to gain weight. A couple of years ago, the family received brilliant news when tests showed the virus was no longer detectable in Olivia.

The family grew by one more in 2015, when a woman who heard about the couples story wanted them to adopt her baby girl. They did, and so Damian and Ariel welcomed Victoria into their lives.

The two siblings are similar in age, with Olivia turning five years old later this month and Victoria celebrating the same birthday in February.

Ariel and Damien work for non-governmental organisation Acunar Familias, which roughly translates to Cradle Families, helping couples adopt unwanted children.

Although there is currently no cure for HIV, medical treatment is available that significantly reduces the amount of the virus in the body. As per Medical News Today, this can be to the point the virus becomes undetectable in the blood.

An undetectable viral load means the person living with HIV is no longer infectious and the virus is no longer able to damage their immune system.

Earlier this year, a third person appeared to have been cured from the virus when they underwent a stem cell transplant to treat cancer, rather than HIV. The transplant involved killing most of their immune cells with radiotherapy or drugs, and then replacing them with cells from a donor.

Although this provides hope a cure is close to being confirmed, bone marrow transplants reportedly wont be used for people with HIV who dont have cancer because of the risks involved in the procedure namely graft versus host disease, infection, organ damage, and death.

Regardless, Doctor Annemarie Wensing, a virologist at the University Medical Center Utrecht, told The New York Times she hoped news of the cases will inspire a generation of doctors to keep striving for what was previously believed to be impossible.

She concluded by saying this will inspire people to believe the cure is not a dream but is, in fact, reachable.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [emailprotected]

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).

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Gay Couple Adopt HIV-Positive Child After She Was Rejected By Ten Other Families - UNILAD

Cell therapy startup raises $16 million to fund its quest for the Holy Grail in regenerative medicine – Endpoints News

By Stem Cell Medicine

In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka shook stem cell research with his discovery that mature cells can be converted into stem cells, relieving a longstanding political-ethical blockage and throwing open medical research on everything from curbing eye degeneration to organ printing.

But that process still has pitfalls, including in risk and scalability, and some researchers are exploring another way first hinted at years ago: new technology to convert mature cells directly into other mature cells without the complex and time-consuming process of first making them into stem cells.

One of those companies, Mogrify, just raised $16 million in Series A financing to bring its overall funding to over $20 million since its February launch. Led by CEO Darrin Disley, the funding will help expand their new base in Cambridge to a 60-strong staff and push forward their direct-conversion approach to cell therapy through research and licensing. Investors include Parkwalk Advisors and Ahren Innovation Capital.

They list potential applications as treatments for musculoskeletal and auto-immune disorders, cancer immunotherapy, and therapies for ocular and respiratory diseases. For example, you could use it regenerate cartilage in arthritis patients.

If you could take a cell from one part of the body and turn it into any other cell at any other stage of development for another part of the body, you effectively have the Holy Grail of regenerative medicine, Disley told Labiotech.eu in April.

Mogrifys advantage over the Yamanaka method called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), is that in theory it can be more scalable and avoid the problems associated with iPS. These include instabilities arising from the induced immature state and an increased risk of cancer if any pluripotent cells remain in the body.

The concept behind Mogrify actually predates, by nearly 19 years, Yamanakas discovery, which fast won him the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine. A 2017 Nature study on transdifferentiation, as the process is called, of fibroblasts into cardiac tissue traced the idea to a 1987 findingthat a master gene regulator could convert mice fibroblasts into skeletal muscle.

The problem though, according to Mogrify, is that most current efforts rely on an exhausting guess-and-check process. With hundreds of cell types and an even greater number of transcription factors the program that recodes the cell finding the right factor for the right cell can be like a custodian with a jangling, unmarked key ring trying to get into a building with thousands of locks.

Mogrifys key tech is a computer model they say can predict the right combination. The scientists behind the platform published a 2016 study in Nature applying the model to 173 human cell types and 134 tissues.

Before Mogrify, Disley led the Cambridge-based gene-editing company Horizon Discovery.

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Some cases of SIDS may have this genetic cause – Futurity: Research News

By Stem Cell Medicine

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New research links a genetic anomaly and some forms of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, which claims the lives of more than 3,000 infants a year.

The research, published in Nature Communications, focuses on mitochondrial tri-functional protein deficiency, a potentially fatal cardiac metabolic disorder caused by a genetic mutation in the gene HADHA.

Newborns with this genetic anomaly cant metabolize the lipids found in milk, and die suddenly of cardiac arrest when they are a couple months old. Lipids are a category of molecules that include fats, cholesterol, and fatty acids.

There are multiple causes for sudden infant death syndrome, says Hannele Ruohola-Baker, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, who is also associate director of the Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine.

There are some causes which are environmental. But what were studying here is really a genetic cause of SIDS. In this particular case, it involves defect in the enzyme that breaks down fat.

Lead author Jason Miklas, who earned his PhD at the University of Washington and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, says he first came up with the idea while researching heart disease and noticed a small research study that had examined children who couldnt process fats and who had cardiac disease that was not readily explained.

So he and Ruohola-Baker started looking into why heart cells, grown to mimic infant cells, died in the petri dish where they were growing.

If a child has a mutation, depending on the mutation the first few months of life can be very scary as the child may die suddenly, Miklas says. An autopsy wouldnt necessarily pick up why the child passed but we think it might be due to the infants heart stopping to beat.

Were no longer just trying to treat the symptoms of the disease, Miklas says. Were trying to find ways to treat the root problem. Its very gratifying to see that we can make real progress in the lab toward interventions that could one day make their way to the clinic.

In MTP deficiency, the heart cells of affected infants dont convert fats into nutrients properly, resulting in a build-up of unprocessed fatty material that can disrupt heart functions. More technically, the breakdown occurs when enzymes fail to complete a process known as fatty acid oxidation. It is possible to screen for the genetic markers of MTP deficiency; but effective treatments remain a ways off.

Ruohola-Baker says the latest laboratory discovery is a big step towards finding ways to overcome SIDS.

There is no cure for this, she says. But there is now hope, because weve found a new aspect of this disease that will innovate generations of novel small molecules and designed proteins, which might help these patients in the future.

One drug the group is focusing on is Elamipretide, used to stimulate hearts and organs that have oxygen deficiency, but barely considered for helping infant hearts, until now. In addition, prospective parents can undergo screening to see if there is a chance that they could have a child who might carry the mutation.

Ruohola-Baker has a personal interest in the research: one of her friends in Finland, her home country, had a baby who died of SIDS.

It was absolutely devastating for that couple, she says. Since then, Ive been very interested in the causes for sudden infant death syndrome. Its very exciting to think that our work may contribute to future treatments, and help for the heartbreak for the parents who find their children have these mutations.

The National Institutes of Health, the Academy of Finland, Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research of Canada, an Alexander Graham Bell Graduate Scholarship, and the National Science Foundation funded the work.

Source: University of Washington

Original Study DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12482-1

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Some cases of SIDS may have this genetic cause - Futurity: Research News

More Studies Needed to Assess Effects of Cord Blood Transplants in CP, Review Finds – Cerebral Palsy News Today

By Stem Cell Medicine

More controlled clinical studies are needed to investigate the effects of umbilical cord blood transplants as a form of treatment for cerebral palsy (CP) and other diseases, according to a recent literature review.

The study, Systematic review of controlled clinical studies using umbilical cord blood for regenerative therapy: Identifying barriers to assessing efficacy, was published in Cytotherapy.

There has been an increasing use of umbilical cord blood (UCB) for different therapeutic purposes in regenerative medicine in recent years.

Cord blood is a long-known source of different cell types, including stem cells a type of cell capable of promoting the repair of damaged tissues. These cells represent a promising treatment for numerous conditions, including cerebral palsy. However, the usefulness of UCB transplants for new indications, including for the treatment of CP, type 1 diabetes, liver diseases, and congestive heart failure, is still unclear.

Clinical studies have been conducted in many different countries and have described cord blood therapy for a broad array of indications, the researchers said. However, these studies are often heterogeneous in nature, and study designs are variable and describe outcomes using a range of measures at various time-points.

In addition, many of these studies lacked a proper control group, which made estimations of therapeutic efficacy impossible for these new indications, they said.

In this review study, the researchers focused on summarizing the main findings of controlled clinical studies investigating the usefulness of UCB for CP, type 1 diabetes, and nine other new indications.

Literature searches in two online databases Medline and Embase yielded a total of 360 potentially relevant studies published between June 2016 and April 2018. After further screenings, a total of 16 controlled studies four on CP, three on type 1 diabetes, and nine on other medical conditions were selected for inclusion in this review.

Three of the four studies performed in CP, involving 247 children with the disease, were based on the use of allogeneic cells that is, UCB cells that had been obtained from a matching donor.

Only one of the studies investigated the effect of banked UCB cells that had been collected from the children at birth and then re-transplanted back to them at some point a procedure called autologous treatment.

Six months after treatment, children with CP who received allogeneic cells had a significant improvement in gross motor function, as measured by the Gross Motor Performance Measure (GMPM) and by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), compared with those who did not receive UCB cells (controls).

Mental and motor function scores at other time points were highly variable between studies.

The one study in which children received autologous treatment also reported a significant improvement in the participants GMFM scores after one year, compared with controls. This positive effect on motor function was proportional to the number of cells these children had received, known as a dose-dependent effect.

Although studies of cerebral palsy appear promising, the use of different scoring systems at varied time points following transplantation limits our ability to determine whether the intervention is beneficial, particularly at later time points beyond 12 months, the researchers said.

Of the three studies that focused on patients with type 1 diabetes, one evaluated the effects of allogeneic treatment, and two the effects of autologous treatment. All three failed to detect any positive effects of the therapy on daily insulin requirements, or on glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) the fraction of hemoglobin that is bound to glucose, or sugar, in the blood compared with controls.

Only one of the remaining nine controlled studies, which focused on investigating the effects of UCB cells in adults with optic nerve hypoplasia, reported a positive effect of treatment.

More controlled studies are needed that use similar approaches regarding cell source and outcome measures at similar time points. Pooled estimates of results from multiple studies will be essential as published studies remain modest in size, the researchers said.

Patients should continue to be enrolled in clinical trials because there are no novel potential indications remain unproven, they concluded.

Joana is currently completing her PhD in Biomedicine and Clinical Research at Universidade de Lisboa. She also holds a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology from Universidade de Lisboa. Her work has been focused on the impact of non-canonical Wnt signaling in the collective behavior of endothelial cells cells that make up the lining of blood vessels found in the umbilical cord of newborns.

Total Posts: 70

Ana holds a PhD in Immunology from the University of Lisbon and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Instituto de Medicina Molecular (iMM) in Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated with a BSc in Genetics from the University of Newcastle and received a Masters in Biomolecular Archaeology from the University of Manchester, England. After leaving the lab to pursue a career in Science Communication, she served as the Director of Science Communication at iMM.

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More Studies Needed to Assess Effects of Cord Blood Transplants in CP, Review Finds - Cerebral Palsy News Today

Roche vice-chair: Let’s repair the damage that short-term profit drive has done to the planet – Endpoints News

By Stem Cell Medicine

Count Pfizer in as a top player in the blockbuster game of JAK1 inhibitors.

Over the weekend the pharma giant posted some stellar Phase III efficacy data for their heavyweight contender abrocitinib in atopic dermatitis (eczema) that lines up ahead of a booming Dupixent (dupilumab), a blockbuster in the portfolios of Regeneron and Sanofi. And they put some real distance ahead of Eli Lillys trailing Olumiant, which made a delayed initial arrival on the market for rheumatoid arthritis after the FDA hobbled it with some additional hurdles on safety concerns.

JADE-MONO-1 scores well for Pfizer, teeing up what will be an intensely followed breakdown of the JADE MONO-2 data, which the pharma giant recently top-lined as similar to the first Phase III when tested against a placebo a control group that has been easily outclassed by all the drugs in this market niche.

As of now, Pfizer looks to be equipped to run into the review stage advantaged by a breakthrough therapy designation that is intended to speed up the regulatory process.

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Roche vice-chair: Let's repair the damage that short-term profit drive has done to the planet - Endpoints News

Gene Expression Market to Reach USD 11.37 Billion by 2026 | Reports and Data – P&T Community

By Stem Cell Medicine

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the current analysis of Reports and Data, the Global Gene Expression market is expected to reach USD 11.37 billion by the year 2026, in terms of value at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2019-2026. Gene expression promises to tap into a previously unexplored segment in the vast and burgeoning genetic engineering industry. Gene expression is the process by which the genetic code - the nucleotide sequence - of a gene is used to direct protein synthesis and produce the structures of a cell. It is the process by which instructions in the DNA are converted into a functional product like protein. The commercial applications of gene expression have been studied and researched upon extensively in recent years. Many diverse and wide ranging applications have been found for this novel technique. With the increased availability and lowering costs of DNA technologies, gene expression has become a more readily used tool indispensable in drug discovery and development.

Increase in investments in the market, which are supporting the technological advancements, and rise in healthcare expenditure are estimated to shape the growth of the gene expression market. Drug discovery & development and increase in demand for personalized medicine in chronic diseases such as cancer will be observed as the most lucrative applications for gene expression analysis in the forecast period. Application of gene expression in clinical diagnostics, on the other hand, will reflect a moderate growth throughout the analysis period. Moreover, the falling costs of sequencing have facilitated the integration of genomic sequencing into medicine. With the increased availability and lowering costs of DNA technologies, gene expression has become a more readily used tool indispensable in drug discovery and development. Many companies and educational institutions are collaborating to make gene expression publicly accessible through databases such as the Connectivity Map (CMap), Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) and the Tox 21 project.

New product development has been the consistent strategy undertaken by majority of the players to expand their product portfolio for serving a larger consumer base. For example, in September 2019, Qiagen N.V., launched the newly enhanced GeneGlobe Design & Analysis Hub, which integrates the company's manually curated knowledge base on over 10,000 biological entities with the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and functional analysis. Other companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific and Illumina Inc. have launched new products in the last few months which are being used in the gene expression market.

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Qrons Granted Exclusive World-Wide License by Dartmouth College for Intellectual Property Related to 3D Printable Materials in Human and Animal Health…

By Stem Cell Medicine

NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Qrons Inc. (OTCQB: QRON), an emerging biotechnology company developing advanced stem cell-synthetic hydrogel-based solutions for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and penetrating injuries, announced today that it has entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement (the Agreement) with Dartmouth College for an exclusive world-wide license of Intellectual Property related to 3D printable materials in the fields of human and animal health. The Agreement provides for the payment by Qrons of initial and annual license fees and royalty payments based upon Qrons' product sales. The Agreement was signed on October 2, 2019 and is effective as of September 3, 2019.

Qrons is using the 3D process covered by the patent entitled Mechanically Interlocked Molecules-based Materials for 3D Printing as part of its injury specific 3D printable implants to treat penetrating brain injuries. Qrons is also a party to a Sponsored Research Agreement with Dartmouth to advance the license or ownership of additional Intellectual Property. The Qrons research team is working closely with Professor Chenfeng Ke, a member of Qrons Scientific Advisory Board and an inventor of the licensed 3D process, and PhD candidate Qianming Lin.

Ido Merfeld, Qrons Co-founder and Head of Product, commented, The intellectual property covered by this license has been instrumental in helping us advance our research on the treatment of penetrating brain injuries. We believe combining Qrons proprietary hydrogel with customizable 3D printing capabilities is an innovative approach to treating traumatic brain injuries, for which there are limited treatments.

Jonah Meer, Qrons Co-founder and CEO, added, Were excited to have concluded negotiations to acquire an exclusive license for this important intellectual property. There is a great need for our promising treatments, and this technology is an integral part of our work to develop innovative 3D printable, biocompatible advanced materials.

Chenfeng Ke, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, stated, We are excited to partner with Qrons and continue the development of smart hydrogels with 3D printing capability for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries.

Nila Bhakumi, Director of Technology Transfer at Dartmouth, echoed Professor Kes comments and added, We are delighted with Dr. Kes collaboration with Qrons as they try to solve the very important problem of Traumatic Brain Injury.

About Dartmouth College

Founded in 1769, Dartmouth College is a member of the Ivy League and consistently ranks among the world's greatest academic institutions. Dartmouth has forged a singular identity for combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate liberal arts and graduate education with distinguished research and scholarship in the Arts & Sciences and its three leading professional schools - the Geisel School of Medicine, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business.

About Qrons Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, Qrons is a publicly traded emerging biotechnology company developing advanced stem cell-based solutions to combat neuronal injuries with a laser focus on traumatic brain injuries and concussions. The Company has two product candidates for treating TBIs, both integrating proprietary, modified mesenchymal stem cells ("MSCs") and smart synthetic material, QS100, an injury specific, 3D printable, implantable MSCs-synthetic hydrogel, to treat penetrating brain injuries and QS200, an injectable MSCs-synthetic hydrogel for the treatment of diffused injuries commonly referred to as concussions.

The Company is a party to a license and research funding agreement and related service agreements with Ariel Scientific Innovations Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ariel University, based in Ariel, Israel, and in addition to the world-wide exclusive intellectual property license, a Sponsored Research Agreement with Dartmouth College funding further research with Professor Chenfeng Ke and his team in the Chemistry Department, to develop innovative 3D printable, biocompatible advanced materials. For additional information, please visit http://www.qrons.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting the Company's business including increased competition; the ability of the Company to expand its operations, to attract and retain qualified professionals, technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Qrons Granted Exclusive World-Wide License by Dartmouth College for Intellectual Property Related to 3D Printable Materials in Human and Animal Health...

Nobel Prizes in Cell Biology Over the Years – Technology Networks

By Stem Cell Medicine

In 1895, Alfred Nobel left a large part of his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. As per his wishes, a portion of this was to be awarded each year to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded110 times to 219 Nobel Laureatesby the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

This year,the prize was jointly awardedtoWilliam G. Kaelin, Jr.,Sir Peter J. RatcliffeandGregg L. Semenzafor their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. Although it has been known for some time the importance of oxygen in sustaining life and the problems that can occur when levels become too low or high, it wasnt until the winning trios discovery that the molecular mechanisms which enable cells to sense oxygen levels and adapt appropriately to fluctuations were uncovered. The prize marks one of several awarded over the years for ground-breaking cell biology research. In this list we highlight seven of these and the remarkable discoveries behind them.

Autophagy is the process of self-eating that cells use to destroy and recycle their own cellular components. In the 1990s, Ohsumi used bakers yeast toidentify the genes and mechanisms underlying the process, leading to greater understanding of the role of autophagy in physiological processes and disease.

In 2013, the prize was awarded jointly toJames E. Rothman,Randy W. SchekmanandThomas C. Sdhof"for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells."

The winning trio discovered how cells organize the transport of molecules around the cell by encapsulating them in vesicles. Schekman identified the genes required, Rothman the protein machinery, and Sdhof the signals. Efficient cellular transport is required for the delivery of many important molecules such as hormones and neurotransmitters, and problems in the system can cause a range of diseases.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2010 was awarded toRobert G. Edwards"for the development of in vitro fertilization."

Edwards discovered principles for human fertilization and in 1969, his work led to the successful fertilization of a human eggin vitrofor the first time. Since the first test tube baby was born in 1978,human in vitro fertilization (IVF)has resulted in an estimated eight million births to couples who were suffering from infertility.

2001 The Cell Cycle

In 2001, the prize was awarded jointly toLeland H. Hartwell,Tim HuntandSir Paul M. Nurse"for their discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle."

The cell cycle is the process involving the growth of a cell, DNA synthesis and mitosis, to produce two daughter cells. Disruptions to the control of this cycle can lead to diseases such as cancer. Hartwell discovered genes controlling the cell cycle, such as start, Nurse identified one of the key regulators, CDK, and Hunt discovered proteins that regulate CDK.

The prize was awarded jointly toJ. Michael BishopandHarold E. Varmusin 1989 "for their discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes."

Oncogenes are a large family of genes which control the normal growth and division of cells and are implicated in the development of cancer. In 1976, Bishop and Varmus identified that retroviral oncogenes have a cellular origin and were not true viral genes. Their findings have led to greater understanding of the growth of cells, and how normal cells can transform into tumor cells.

Albert Claude,Christian de DuveandGeorge E. Paladewere jointly awarded the prize in 1974, "for their discoveries concerning the structural and functional organization of the cell."

The Nobel press release from the time stated how their accomplishments were largely responsible for the creation of modern Cell Biology. Claude played a large part in the application of the electron microscope for studying animal cells and the development of differential centrifugation. Palade later added important methodological improvements to both and combined the two techniques to make important structural-functional analyses of different cellular components such as the endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes. de Duve used the techniques to discover lysosomes and the peroxisome.

What used to be a cell with components, the reality of which was often a matter of dispute and functions as a rule unknown is now a system of great organizational sophistication with units for the production of components essential to life and units for disposal of worn out parts and for defense against foreign organisms and substances, concluded the Nobel press release.

In addition to these seven examples, several other achievements in cell biology have been recognized by the Nobel Prize over the years, ranging from ion channels, to immunology, to cell death, highlighting the importance of the field to science.

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Nobel Prizes in Cell Biology Over the Years - Technology Networks

Coming Unstuck and Reaching Beyond Ourselves – ALS News Today

By Stem Cell Treatment

Before my husband, Todd, got ALS, we had minor problems, but we were full of hope. We had a small baby so I wasnt getting much sleep, but I knew that things would get better. Todd was sometimes frustrated with his work, but he hoped to be promoted. Our obstacles didnt seem to be insurmountable or permanent.

Challenges were harder once Todd was disabled because there was no hope. I went from sleepless nights for the sake of my children to sleepless nights to help my husband. Todd was no longer discouraged with his work because he couldnt work. He became restless when he had nothing to do. And I became increasingly tethered to home, as I cant leave him for more than a couple of hours.

We were feeling stuck.

Our situation reminds me of a scene from Groundhog Day. Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, sits down with a couple of guys at a local bar and asks, What would you do if you were stuck in one place, and every day was exactly the same, and nothing you did mattered?

One of the men responds, That about sums it up for me.

Stuck in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, reliving the same day over and over, Phil eventually takes advantage of the time loop to improve himself. He learns to speak French, masters the piano, and becomes skilled at carving ice statues.

Disease and disability shrink our world. We can no longer enjoy the adventures we once did. We dont have control over our futures. But we can do some things.

We have taken advantage of our smaller world to develop new skills. Todd and I have learned the craft of writing, and he helps me to edit my books and articles. Ive become comfortable speaking to groups. Todd created my website, and he has become adept at drawing using his Orin HeadMouse. I make Christmas wreaths from Fraser fir branches and sell them at craft fairs.

In her book Becoming, Michelle Obama writes about how she rose above her working-class upbringing to become a lawyer. Her parents were proud of what the young Michelle Robinson had accomplished. But then after she met Barack, she realized it was one thing to get yourself out of a stuck place, but, it was another thing entirely to try and get the place itself unstuck.

In Groundhog Day, Phil remains stuck even after his self-improvements. He then uses his time loop to reach beyond himself. Every repeated day, he shows up at a restaurant at a particular time to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man. He walks down a street to catch a boy who falls out of a tree. And he tries to save an old man from dying but doesnt succeed.

Sometimes people just die, a nurse tells him. But that doesnt stop Phil from showing compassion. Instead of trying to save him, he spends time with the man, buying him lunch at a local diner.

Phil made Punxsutawney a better place while he was stuck there.

The world is a better place when we reach beyond ourselves.

I admire Steve Gleason for what he has accomplished with Team Gleason the foundation helps people with ALS to access technology to improve their quality of life. Gleason also lobbied for legislation to change the federal policy limiting access to speech-generating devices for people with degenerative diseases.

Most people dont have the financial resources or connections to achieve as much as Gleason has. We can only do our best.

Ive come across bloggers and others on social media who have a wealth of knowledge about navigating ALS. When we have a problem to solve, I look to these folks for resources. Todd and I try to pay it forward. We created a YouTube channel, ALS 411, to share tips and advice about disabled living.

Shortly after Todds diagnosis, I was encouraged by Darcy Wakefields memoir, I Remember Running: The Year I Got Everything I Ever Wantedand ALS. It inspired us to tell our story in our book, Heavy, so that those who read it will know that they are not alone.

Matt Bellina received BrainStorms stem cell treatment under the Right to Try Act. NurOwn is showing positive results in some people with ALS whove been fortunate to get into the trials. Bellina regained his ability to stand up. Now he and others are advocating for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the experimental therapy immediately so that everyone with ALS can access the treatment.

Its good for our spirits to expand our experiences beyond ourselves, and its even better when we can make a difference in the world.

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Note: ALS News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of ALS News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to ALS.

Kristin Neva is an author, blogger, mother of two, and caregiver for her husband, Todd, who has ALS.

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Coming Unstuck and Reaching Beyond Ourselves - ALS News Today

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