>From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: The joy of science >Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 15:36:13 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > >Some people ask, "Well, if you don't put your faith in God, what do you put >your faith in?" Answer: science. When Jesus said, "These things you will do, >and even greater," I think he was talking, in part, about the scientific >advances that make the "miracles" of Biblical times commonplace occurences >today. Every day, people are brought back from death, the blind see, the >lame walk, and it happens so often we don't think a thing of it. > >Here are two examples of future "miracles" in the making. > >Enjoy, > >Peter > >---------------- > >Wednesday January 26 2:04 PM ET > > Geron Tries Cloning Without Using Eggs > > LONDON (Reuters) - The scientists that cloned Dolly >the Sheep are working on a new > method to cut the need for human egg cells and cloned >embryos, a magazine said Wednesday. > > If successful, Geron BioMed's technique could remove >a major ethical obstacle to using > therapeutic cloning to repair cells or human organs >damaged by disease, New Scientist > reported. > > The research firm, launched by the Roslin Institute >in Edinburgh where Dolly was cloned and > now owned by U.S. biotechnology company Geron Corp, >is already testing the technique on > mouse and sheep cells. > > ``We have some completely novel ideas which we can't >disclose now. Once we confirm the > hypothesis in sheep, we might be able to try it in >people three years later,'' Simon Best, Geron > BioMed's managing director, told the magazine. > > New Scientist said that unlike conventional cloning, >in which the gutted egg reprograms the > genes of the donor cell, winding back their >developmental clock, the new technique will use > embryonic stem cells. > > ``In this case, the reprogrammed cells wouldn't form >an embryo, but instead develop directly > into the cells or tissues the patient needs,'' the >magazine said. > > The embryonic stem cells, which can develop into any >of the body's tissues, will still come from > human embryos but the technique will reduce the >number of embryos needed because they can > be grown in culture. > > When Geron acquired the research company from the >Roslin Institute last year it said it planned > to focus on growing human tissue that would not have >the immune system problems with donor > organs. > > Geron recently won the first two British patents >covering the technology used to clone Dolly the > sheep. The nuclear transfer technique involves taking >the nucleus out of an adult cell and using it > to reprogram an unfertilized egg. > > The patents also cover the new technique. > > ``Rather than specifying eggs, the patents describe >fusion of donor cell with 'a suitable recipient > cell','' the magazine added. > > > > >------- > >Scientists Identify Protein Linked to Nerve Repair > > By Patricia Reaney > > LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified a >protein that prevents damaged cells in the > brain and spinal cord from regenerating in a >discovery that could offer new hope for people > paralyzed by stroke or spinal cord injuries. > > Unlike tissue in many parts of the body that can >repair itself, nerve cells survive injury but the > axons or wires that connect them and transmit nerve >impulses are severed and do not grow > back. > > But in three reports in the science journal Nature, >scientists in Britain, the United States and > Switzerland said an inhibitory protein called Nogo is >one of the reasons why. > > ``It is very likely that Nogo is one reason why but >it might be one of several reasons why,'' > Stephen Strittmatter, a neurologist at Yale School of >Medicine, said in a telephone interview. > > Although new experimental therapies for stroke >victims and people with spinal cord injuries are > still years away, the researchers believe the >discovery of the Nogo protein marks a huge > advance in the study of neurological disorders. > > ``It opens up the possibility of allowing axon >regeneration to happen in the brain and spinal > cord. That is the promise of it. There are many >things to be done before that promise is > realised,'' he added. > > Strittmatter and his Yale colleagues and scientists >at Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston > showed that the Nogo protein generated in the >laboratory stops axon growth. > > Martin Schwab and scientists at the University of >Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of > Technology and Dr Frank Walsh, who led the team at >British drugs giant Smithkline Beecham, > reported similar findings about Nogo. > > ``Now that we have the structure of the Nogo protein >we can move on and hopefully identify > more specific and more effective ways of neutralizing >or inhibiting the effects of Nogo,'' Walsh > told Reuters. > > The researchers are not sure how the protein works >nor how to block its function. That's the > next step. > > The SmithKline Beecham team have produced Nogo >protein in the laboratory to assess its > importance. They will also screen Nogo against >libraries of genes to try to find receptors to > which the protein binds. > > In a commentary on the research papers in Nature, >J.L. Goldberg and B.A. Barnes of Stanford > University School of Medicine in California described >the Nogo findings as ``a landmark step > on a long road toward treatments for patients >suffering from neurological conditions, including > spinal-cord injury and stroke.'' > > ----- > > > > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: