Category: Health

It didn’t take a scientist to figure out that grumpy people make others feel lousy, and feeling lousy makes them less productive at work.

University of Wisconsin-Madison and WiCell researchers have developed a way to grow human embryonic stem cells without using large amounts of mouse cells, which could contaminate the lines.

It’s a significant step because a recent study by University of California-San Diego researchers showed that human embryonic stem cells used for research have been contaminated with the animal cells in which they were grown. That made them acceptable for use in research, but not for potential clinical applications.

University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researchers have received a $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation of Los Angeles.

The team, led by renowned researcher James Thomson, will use the money for a three-year project focusing on the ability of embryonic stem cells to proliferate indefinitely while being able to develop into any of the cell types in the human body.

In his first Wisconsin appearance as a private citizen in 38 years, former cabinet secretary Tommy G. Thompson said Thursday that he supports all types of stem cell medical research but refused to criticize controversial limits on that research imposed by President George W. Bush.

Michael J. Fox has long spoken about the virtues of studying human embryonic stem cells. And on a visit to UW-Madison, he finally got to see them.

He peered through a microscope to see the technological wonders at the Waisman Center, where scientists study human development, developmental disabilities and neurodegenerative diseases.

Actor Michael J. Fox hopes that the stem cell research that’s going on at the UW will lead to some treatments for dibilitating diseases…and eventually cures. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, toured the Waisman Center on campus yesterday….

Fox called the work the UW is doing the “gold standard,” and added that “there isn’t another Madison. There isn’t another Waisman Center.”

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It’s being billed as a scientific breakthrough. Xue-Jun Li says, “I was very exciting, the first time, after I really got the very, very high population of the cells, what I want.”

Since 2001, Li’s been a part of a team of researchers, led by University of Wisconsin instructor, Dr. Suââ?¬â??Chun Zhang, which has been trying to develop a method to guide stem cell development. They’ve succeeded.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have whipped up an exciting – but intricate – new recipe that could someday treat spinal cord injuries or provide a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The attention of the scientific community is centered right here in Madison, after UW researchers announce a major breakthrough in stem cell research.

Led by University of Wisconsin neurodevelopmental biologist Dr. Suââ?¬â??Chun Zhang, a team of scientists has developed a way to encourage human embryonic stem cells to become spinal motor neurons. Since spinal motor neurons dictate almost every bodily movement.

Using their own line of embryonic stem cells, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have become the first to make human motor neurons, the spindly nerve cells that control nearly all movement in the body.

As most any student will tell you, hunger and sleepiness seem to go together all too often. Recent findings from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study offer new evidence that appetite and sleep are indeed linked, and that two hormones may cause people who get shortened sleep to feel hungrier when they are awake.

All human embryonic stem cell lines approved for use in federally funded research are contaminated with a foreign molecule from mice that may make them risky for use in medical therapies, according to a study released Sunday.

Researchers at the University of California-San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego report that if the stem cells are transplanted into people, the cells could provoke an immune system attack that would wipe out their ability to deliver cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison panel has suspended a popular researcher of Lou Gehrig’s disease from leading research studies.

Gov. Jim Doyle’s State of the State speech tonight (at 7 p.m.) will alternate between the conciliatory and the contentious, aides say.

….Doyle is likely to offer some boost to the University of Wisconsin System, which absorbed more than $150 million in budget cuts over the past two years. Aides say Doyle is still looking to university officials to trim administrative costs, but he has already proposed a $750 million building initiative to encourage biotech research.

Dear Editor:…We need to continue stem cell research, especially at the university level….Let’s back Gov. Doyle and our own University of Wisconsin to continue the search for answers. We cannot afford to lag behind in this valuable research.

Sylvia Oberle
Stanley

New Jersey would invest an additional $500 million during the next decade to secure the state’s place as a world leader in stem-cell research in a proposal being considered by acting Governor Codey.

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have found a way to revive dying brain cells in lab mice, spurring hopes of combating major human neurological diseases.

“It’s actually amazing,” said Jeff Johnson, an associate professor in the School of Pharmacy and the lead researcher. He said the discovery can be put to work trying to halt the progression of early-stage diseases like Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s and Alzheimer’s.

UW-Madison researchers have found a protein that may stop the progression of neurological diseases such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s and Alzheimer’s.