First successfull stem cell surgery

Physicians at four European universities have completed what they say is the first successful transplant of a human windpipe using a patient’s own stem cells to fashion an organ and prevent its rejection by her immune system.

From CNN:

Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue engineered from her own stem cells in what experts have hailed as a “milestone in medicine.”

The breakthrough allowed Claudia Castillo, 30, to receive a new section of trachea — an airway essential for breathing — without the risk that her body would reject the transplant.

Castillo was given the stem cell surgery, the controversial branch of medicine that some say could lead to human cloning, after suffering a severe lung collapse.

The condition, caused by long-term tuberculosis left Castillo, a Colombian now living in Barcelona, unable to carry out simple domestic duties or care for her two children.

The only conventional option was a major operation to remove her left lung, a risky procedure with a high mortality rate.

From the New York Times:

The transplant operation was performed on the patient, Claudia Castillo, in June in Barcelona, Spain, to alleviate an acute shortage of breath caused by a failing airway following severe tuberculosis. It followed weeks of preparation carried out at the universities of Barcelona, Spain, Bristol, England and Padua and Milan in Italy.

News of the procedure coincided with speculation that President-elect Barack Obama may reverse the Bush Administration’s restrictions on stem cell research, which has been contentious in some European countries, too. Anthony Hollander, a professor at Bristol University, said ethical concerns relating to embryonic stem cell research had not surfaced in the latest procedure because it had used only the patient’s own stem cells. “This was not embryonic stem cell research,” he said in a telephone interview.

Ms. Castillo, 30, was hospitalized in March with her windpipe so badly damaged by tuberculosis that she was unable to walk more than a few steps at a time, according to a statement from Bristol University.

“The only conventional option remaining was a major operation to remove her left lung which carries a risk of complications and a high mortality rate,” Bristol University said.

The surgery represented what the university called “pioneering work.”

“We are terribly excited by these results,” said Prof. Paolo Macchiarini of the University of Barcelona, who performed the operation. “Just four days after transplantation the graft was almost indistinguishable from adjacent normal bronchi.”

SEE THROUGH-FROG

Japanese researchers have succeeded in producing see-through frogs, letting them observe organs, blood vessels and eggs under the skin without performing dissections.
"You can see through the skin how organs grow, how cancer starts and develops," said the lead researcher Masayuki Sumida, professor at the Institute for Amphibian Biology of state-run Hiroshima University.
"You can watch organs of the same frog over its entire life as you don't have to dissect it. The researcher can also observe how toxins affect bones, livers and other organs at lower costs,"
Dissections have become increasingly controversial in much of the world, particularly in schools where animal rights activists have pressed for humane alternatives such as using computer simulations.
The researchers produced the creature from rare mutants of the Japanese brown frog, or Rena japonica, whose backs are usually ochre or brown.Two kinds of recessive genes have been known to cause the frog to be pale.
Sumida's team crossed two frogs with recessive genes through artificial insemination and the offspring looked normal due to the presence of more powerful genes. But crossing the offspring led to a frog whose skin is transparent from the tadpole stage."We can see dramatic changes of organs when tadpoles mutate into frogs".
The transparent frogs can also reproduce, with their offspring inheriting their parents' traits, but their grandchildren die shortly after birth.While the researchers relied on artificial insemination, they said that genetic engineering could also produce transparent and even illuminating frogs.
Sumida said researchers could also inject into the transparent frogs an illuminating protein attached to a gene, which would light up the gene once it manifests -- for example, showing at what stage cancer starts.
She also said it would be unrealistic to apply the same method to mammals such as mice as their skin structure is different.

ZOMBIES, are they real or a work of fiction??

As you know, dear readers, I am quite a fan of zombies.,obviously the ones who have completed the entire series of RESIDENT EVIL, as well as I AM LEGEND, will surely have the urge to know whether the “so called” T-VIRUSES creating ZOMBIES.,actually exist… I was reading through a bunch of zombie stuff, and I thought I’d write up my Origins of Zombies. By that I term I mean, “how are they created?”
A zombie is a reanimated human corpse. They are among the lower forms of the undead, and often appear in large numbers. No one is certain about the origins of these pathetic and horrible things. They are near-mindless, possessing little reasoning power, though many can perform "remembered behaviors" from their mortal existence.
Zombies have been confused with many other monstrous creatures. Monstrous will try to make a clear distinction between the different entities that proceed from death.
Some zombies have the appearance of the living but their lack of free will and souls give them the appearance of mechanical robots.
Other display visible signs of desiccation, decay and emaciation on their face and body. They have blank, expressionless faces that become more animated when they get hungry and engage in a feeding frenzy.
They are incapable of speech, but often tend to make moaning and guttural sounds. They are normally encountered wearing whatever clothing they wore in their human life, prior to reanimation.

POWERS OF ZOMBIES….

Zombies never sleep, and they are incapable of fatigue.
Zombies are impervious to pain and require no air to breathe.
They are thus immune to drugs, poisons, gases, extremes of temperature and pressure, high voltage electricity, suffocation, and drowning.
While not invulnerable to physical injury, zombies can suffer great damage to their bodies (including dismemberment) without being adversely affected. Dismembering the legs will render the zombie immobile, but the creature will still continue to subsist. Likewise, decapitation will incapacitate the body, but the head will still "live".
Zombies don’t possess any superhuman strength, nor do they have a night vision, a characteristic usually common to undead monsters.
Contamination
Another deadly aspect of the zombie is their ability to rapidly spread their undead scourge, increasing their numbers to vast measures. The bite of a zombie will cause its victim to quickly grow sick and die (usually within 3 days), only to rise again as a zombie. There is no known cure for this virus. Excision and cauterization of the "bite-infected" area (e.g. - removing a hand or arm, etc.) has proven to be completely ineffective in halting a victim's metamorphosis into the Living Dead.
TYPES OF ZOMBIES:-
Two kinds of zombies exists in modern popular culture: one created by voodoo resulting in a spell-bound near dead state, and creatures created by scientific experimentation of strange chemicals on living human..
Voodoo Zombies
Typically, coming from the Caribbean, this type of zombie is created by use of black magic. Some call that magic voodoo, others like to call it hoodoo. There are two variants to Voodoo Zombies:
The Living Zombie: here the zombie is more a still alive person under a spell more than a zombie as we’d understand it. The remarkable thing about this type of zombie is that people can be cured: the spell or effects of the drug can be reversed. Additionally, these zombies are typically not infectious. These zombies have a chance to remember their pre-zombie life. In some cases, such zombies have the same mental capacity as their pre-zombie self. Indeed, selves “zombie kings” made themselves into zombies to achieve a rotting immortality.
Undead Zombie: in this case, the black magic is used to raise the dead rather than make control the living in a zombie-like state. These are your normal zombies: they want to eat people and their bite or other “fluid exchange” creates a new zombie. These zombies know nothing of their pre-zombie life. Indeed, they’re often rotting and just shambling mounds of grave-gunk.
BIO-ZOMBIES:-
These zombies are created by either genetic engineering or some sort of drug. There are two sub-types: Man-Made and Natural Bio Zombies.
Man-Made Bio Zombies
In most cases, esp. now-a-days, genetic engineering is involved with some sort of virus as the vehicle or cause of the “transformation.” Typically, a private pharama company is doing research for the military to create The Ultimate Weapon: a human converted into a zombie having (a.) near immunity, (b.) great strength, (c.) r determination to fight, and yet, (d.) are easy to control, at least as needed.
Also, Man-Made Bio Zombies can be created from toxic waste, post-Nuke derbies, or other agents whose zombie transformative powers are unintentional.
Natural Bio Zombies
In this case, instead of humans creating the Zombie Virus, it naturally occurs. For example, in the Max Brooks world of Zombies, the “Solanum” virus causes the initial out-break in China, where is spreads to the rest of the world.
These are inevitably “traditional zombies” through-and-through: slow moving, mindless, flesh-craving undead.
Apart from these there are even QUEISLING and PHILOSOPHICAL zombies….
The readers must be wondering, as to how did I select such an unusual topic for an article….. Well well….Sometimes the extra-ordinary reach of human experimentation sends a sudden shrill across my spine….. I just wonder….. ARE WE MECHANICAL ZOMBIES?? ARE WE HUNGRY FOR MORE POWER??
Hmmm…. So do give a thought to it….

MORE DIRT ON ANTIMICROBIAL SOAPS

Researchers have found that the use of antimicrobial soaps and other cleaning products may be directly exposing consumers to significant quantities of the carcinogen chloroform. They shown that when the chemical triclosan, present in many antimicrobial soaps, reacts with chlorine in tap water, chloroform is produced. Triclosan is a synthetic antimicrobial agent. Its broad-spectrum bacteria-fighting ability has made it increasingly pervasive in personal care products, cosmetics, antimicrobial creams, acne treatments, lotions, hand soaps, and dish soaps.
"There are numerous potential exposure pathways that can be envisioned, such as inhalation and skin exposure, when using antimicrobial soaps to wash dishes or when taking a shower. There is also risk of exposure when using triclosan laden moisturizers as they may also react with chlorine in the water."
There are some possibilities that the chloroform produced when the antimicrobial soap containing triclosan mixes with chlorinated water could be absorbed through your skin or inhaled.
These new findings add weight to calls for the FDA to closely monitor and possibly regulate the home use of antimicrobials such as triclosan. Most of the consumer products that contain triclosan eventually end up being discharged down residential drains. Previous research has shown that photochemical reactions involving triclosan could be producing dioxins in the presence of sunlight. Researchers are concerned as even at low levels, dioxins tend to accumulate along the food chain. The researchers note that the increasing popularity of antimicrobial products has preceded the study of the possible harmful affects of the use of such products.

Parasites: 10 frightening facts!

Ten Things You Never Wanted To Know About Parasites
1: They're everywhere!You cannot always see parasites, but rest assured that a whopping 75% of the world's creatures belong to this family. And did you know the average human body alone is known to host over a million of them?2: Gut feelingsIf you don't have at least one kind of worm residing in your guts, you're in the minority. After all, over three-quarters of the world's population keep them cosy. Though most of them are small, the biggest tapeworm ever recorded was over 60 feet long. Nice!3: HookwormsA staggering 1.3 billion of the world's population suffer from hookworms, minute monsters that cause anaemia by sucking the blood from the intestinal lining. 4: SmallpoxSmallpox was officially eradicated in 1980, but did you know that the micro parasites that cause this deadly disease currently lie dormant in the ice of Greenland? Some scientists are even worried that global warming could actually free them from captivity.5: EbolaSome parasites are content to feed on bits of you over time. Others are less polite. The dreaded Ebola parasite will, for example, attack internal organs and eat into collagen, which is the connective tissue that holds the human body together.6: Pregnant protectionPregnant women may have a special reason to resent parasites. Scientists believe that morning sickness is the body's way of protecting mother and child from parasitic infection.7: Guinea WormsThe good thing about Tapeworms is that they have the decency to stay hidden. Not so the Guinea Worm. Ingested via contaminated water, the larvae burrow into the intestines and eventually emerge, fully grown, from the skin.8: PinwormsAs prevalent in the West as anywhere else, Pinworms are staple-sized intestinal blighters that crawl out of your backside while you're asleep and deposit their eggs on your bedding.9: Men more at threatMen are twice as likely as women to die of parasite-induced causes. This is thought to be because men tend to be larger and present a greater target.10. Most deadly parasiteThe worst parasite of all is the one that causes malaria. Currently killing a person every 30 seconds, malaria has been responsible for over half of all human deaths since the Stone Age.

LIMULUS AMEBOCYTE LYSATE

Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) is an aqueous extract of blood cells (amoebocytes) from the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. LAL reacts with bacterial endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a membrane component of Gram negative bacteria. This reaction is the basis of the LAL test, which is used for the detection and quantitation of bacterial endotoxins.The LAL cascade is also triggered by (1,3)-β-D-glucan. Both bacterial endotoxins and (1,3)-β-D-glucan are considered "Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns", or PAMPS, substances which elicit inflammatory responses in mammalian systems.

There are three basic LA test methodologies: gel-clot, turbidimetric, and chromogenic. The primary application for LAL is the testing of parenteral pharmaceuticals and medical devices that contact blood or cerebral spinal fluid. In the United States, the FDA has published a guideline for validation of the LAL test as an endotoxin test for such products

The LAL Test
LAL provides significant benefits to each of us. Have you ever had surgery? Have you ever taken an antibiotic? The FDA now requires an LAL test for injectable and intravenous drugs as well as for screening prosthetic devices such as heart valves or hip replacements. LAL is also used to diagnose spinal meningitis and other diseases.

LAL Production
In order to produce LAL, large horseshoe crabs are caught, examined for health, and bled using a stainless steel needle that is inserted into their circulatory system. The crab's blood is centrifuged to separate the amoebocytes from the liquid plasma. The amoebocytes are then freeze-dried and processed for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Horseshoe crabs are not seriously harmed during this process, and studies have indicated that bled horseshoe crabs have a relatively low mortality rate (10%). People in the LAL business carefully monitor their methods to guard their "golden goose." One quart of LAL is worth $15,000!
Three United States companies produce nearly all Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate products used worldwide. Associates of Cape Cod: http://www.acciusa.com/Cambrex: http://www.cambrex.com/default.aspCharles River Endosafe: http://www.criver.com/products/endotoxin/index.html

New Discoveries
Alternatives to LAL are currently being investigated in India (http://www.nio.org) and China. TAL, or Tachypleus amoebocyte lysate, functions similarly to LAL, aiding in the detection of gram-negative bacteria.
Scientists in Singapore are working to clone the toxin-detecting gene in horseshoe crab blood. If the gene can be cloned, LAL derivatives can be prepared without the harvest of horseshoe crabs for blood extraction.