Sunday, 31 August 2008
Researchers Devise Means To Create Blood By Identifying Earliest Stem Cells
The biochemical marker, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), is well known for its role in the regulation of blood pressure, blood vas growth, and inflammation. ACE inhibitors are already widely used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure, and the findings are, the researchers say, likely to have got promise for developing new treatments for heart diseases, anemias, leukemia and early blood cancers, and autoimmune diseases because they evince for the first clock time that ACE plays a fundamental role in the very early growth and development of human origin cells.
"We figured out how to get the 'mother' of all blood stalk cells with the correct culture conditions," says Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D., of the Institute of Cell Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Division of Pediatric Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
"There is real hope that in the succeeding we pot grow billions of blood cells at will to treat consanguineal disorders, and just as critically if not more so, we've got ACE as a 'new' old marker to guide our work," Zambidis adds.
Researchers did not wait ACE to have a role in blood theme cells, he notes, "only were very pleasantly surprised to reveal it as a beacon for finding the earlier blood stem cells known, as well as new ways to find and manipulate this marker to make them grow."
The team's findings, published Aug. 26 in the online edition of the journal Blood, explain that these earliest stem cells marked by ACE, called hemangioblasts, first arise normally in the developing human fetus, when a woman is ternary or quartet weeks fraught. Hemangioblasts commode now be derived in unlimited supply experimentally from cultured human embryonic stem cells, which are the origin of all cell types in the soundbox. These hemangioblasts go on to become either stock cells or endothelial cells, which flesh the inner lining of the philia, veins and arteries, and lymph vessels.
The research grew out of Zambidis' interest in reason the composite biological processes of pedigree development and the transmutation of embryotic stem cells into the various types of cells that make up the human body.
Hemangioblasts make the body's earlier form of blood in the fetal yolk sac, which nourishes a fertilized egg, and later in the foetal liver and bone substance. However, because human embryonic cells disappear early in gestation, their role in the early production of blood could not, to the researchers' knowledge, be studied in humans because scientists had no room to distinguish these human progenitor blood stems cells to follow their development. The scientists suspected they existed in humans, however, because they have been found in mice and zebra fish.
To find the blood shank cell, Zambidis' team grew human embryotic stem cells in polish and federal official them growth factors over 20 years. Each time the cell colonies expanded, the researchers sampled private cells, searching for ones capable of making both endothelial and blood cells, the trademark of hemangioblasts.
They plucked the newly discovered hemangioblasts from culture dishes, grew them in conditions that Zambidis and his team developed to speed replication, and tested cells for their ability to make endothelial and blood cells. Cells capable of making endothelial cells and all the elements of blood (platelets, and white and bolshevik cells) were specifically marked with ACE on their outer surface.
The researchers ground not only that ACE was a marker for hemangioblasts, only turning off the enzyme also helps guide the cells' replication and ontogenesis into either blood or endothelial cells. By treating the hemangioblasts with losartan, an ACE pathway block agent routinely used to treat high blood pressing, dramatically increased the rate of blood cell production.
The next footmark, Zambidis adds, is to test this research in animal models and exhibit that "we can make lots and lots of blood cells from human stem cells for transfusions, regenerate new vascular trees for heart diseases, as well as create test tube factories for devising transplantable blood cells that treat diseases. We ar very far from discourse," Zambidis cautions, "but this is a big step."
If the new technique of mass producing progenitor blood cells is eventually proved to work in humankind, it would allow patients getting os marrow transplants to have their own stem cells creating the blood they need, significantly reducing rejection risk.
The research reported today used federally approved embryonal stem cadre lines, but other related research by the team comes from nonapproved lines. The discipline was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.
Johns Hopkins Medicine
901 S Bond St., Ste. 550
Baltimore, MD 21231
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Monday, 11 August 2008
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Bladder-Brain Link May Point To Better Treatments For Sleep, Attention Problems
"We frequently tend to focus on just one organ, simply here we see how an abnormal organ affects the whole organism," aforementioned behavioral scientist Rita J. Valentino, Ph.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who lED the research describing how an hyperactive bladder altered nervous system activity in animals.
The sketch appeared in the July 21 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Overactive bladder, piece it occurs in a variety of conditions in both adults and children, is especially prevalent among elderly men, in whom an hypertrophied prostate secretory organ partially obstructs the menstruation of piddle and makes bladder muscles contract involuntarily. Valentino's research team mimicked the status in an animal example by surgically constricting the outlet of urine from rats' bladders.
Building on their previous investigations of the neural circuits between the bladder and the nous, the researchers found that two small brain structures, the Barrington's nucleus and the locale ceruleus, developed abnormal activity as a result of the vesica obstruction. In particular, the locus ceruleus showed persistently high activity, and this resulted in an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded from the cortex, the large-minded mass of the encephalon that governs higher-level functions. In hoi polloi, abnormally highschool activity in the pallium may result in unordered sleep, anxiety and difficulty in concentrating.
Valentino said further studies ar necessary to analyze the direct connections between heightened brain activeness and specific behaviors, merely added that the mastermind circuits involving the locus ceruleus might be a useful mark for drugs to better attention and sleep patterns in patients with bladder dysfunctions.
Furthermore, she added, in addition to overactive vesica, other visceral diseases, such as irritable bowel disorder, may as well affect the same nervous circuitry, with similar neurobehavioral consequences.
The National Institutes of Health provided grant support for this research. Valentino's co-authors, all from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, were Stephen A. Zderic, M.D.; Elizabeth Rickenbacher, Madelyn A. Baez, Lyman Hale, and Steven C. Leiser.
About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's number 1 pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing allegiance to providing exceptional patient care, grooming new generations of paediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major inquiry initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children world-wide. Its paediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs give brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a prima advocate for children and adolescents. For more entropy, visit hTTP://www.chop.edu.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
34th & Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States
http://www.chop.edu
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Thursday, 26 June 2008
Barack Obama Reveals His iPod Playlist: Jay-Z, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen ... And Sheryl Crow?
We've already learned that President Bush's "iPod One" is loaded with songs from Van Morrison, George Jones, Joni Mitchell and the Knack. And we're not sure what is on Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain's MP3 player (if he has one), but a revealing peek at Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama's iPod reveals a playlist that ranges from jazz to hip-hop, pop and roots rock.
For a candidate who has already shown that he knows how to brush the dirt off his shoulder, it's no surprise that Obama's playlist includes some Jay-Z tracks, but according to an interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone that hits stands on Friday, Obama is also a big fan of Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and the Rolling Stones.
"I have pretty eclectic tastes," Obama told the magazine, explaining that growing up in the 1970s influenced his fondness for everything from Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire to the Stones. The anti-Iraq war candidate said his favorite track from the British rock legends is the pugnacious anthem "Gimme Shelter," which features the famous refrain "War, children/ It's just a shot away."
Among the 30 or so songs by Dylan on Obama's iPod are tracks from the folk legend's 1975 album about the dissolution of his marriage, Blood on the Tracks, which features such iconic songs as "Tangled Up in Blue," "Simple Twist of Fate," "Idiot Wind" and "You're a Big Girl Now."
In the thick of what is promising to be a bruising battle with McCain, Obama said one of his favorites during the political season is Dylan's 1965 protest song "Maggie's Farm," a broadside against those attempting to keep him in check. "It speaks to me as I listen to some of the political rhetoric," Obama said of the song, which features the telling lyric "I try my best/To be just like I am/But everybody wants you/To be just like them."
In a recent interview with The Times of London, Dylan, who has steadfastly refused to make political endorsements in the past, praised Obama, saying, "We've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up: Barack Obama. He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."
Another musician on Obama's playlist supporting his bid is Bruce Springsteen. "I've got to say, having both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen say kind words about you is pretty remarkable," Obama said. "Those guys are icons." The Illinois senator said he's never met the Boss, but they've talked over the phone, according to an Associated Press report on the Rolling Stone story.
"Not only do I love Bruce's music, but I just love him as a person," Obama said. "He is a guy who has never lost track of his roots, who knows who he is, who has never put on a front." And, yes, he addressed the New Jersey bard as "the Boss," because, as Obama admitted, "You've got to."
Also on Obama's playlist are classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz giants Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. And though he's sometimes concerned about the messages his daughters — Malia, 9, and Sasha, 7 — might get from some of the hip-hop they listen to, Obama praised the genre for helping to break down racial barriers.
"I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics," he said, praising Jay-Z, Ludacris and hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons [LINK http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/simmons_russell/artist.jhtml] for being "great talents and great businessmen." "But I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music. ... It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying that they were getting bad images of themselves."
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Wednesday, 25 June 2008
My Chemical Romance
Artist: My Chemical Romance
Genre(s):
Rock
ROck: Alternative
Pop: Pop-Rock
Discography:
Teenagers
Year: 2007
Tracks: 2
My Chemical Romance Piano Tribute
Year: 2007
Tracks: 10
The Black Parade
Year: 2006
Tracks: 14
Life on the Murder Scene
Year: 2006
Tracks: 11
Live At Download 2005
Year: 2005
Tracks: 7
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Year: 2004
Tracks: 13
Headfirst For Halos
Year: 2004
Tracks: 2
I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
Year: 2002
Tracks: 11
Based in New Jersey, My Chemical Romance is an alternative pop/rock and punk-pop dance band that has been compared to Thursday and, to a lesser level, Cursive. Their name was divine by author Irvine Welsh (of Trainspotting fame), and piece many of their songs ar tacky, fast, hyper, and aggressive, My Chemical Romance's work besides tends to be melodic and pop-minded. My Chemical Romance got started in the early 2000s, when lead vocalist Gerard Way and drummer Matt Pelissier distinct to try committal to writing some songs together. The first base strain that Way and Pelissier -- world Health Organization had been friends since high school -- came up with was called "Skylines and Turnstiles" (a post-9/11 birdcall written after Way witnessed the Twin Towers fall piece working at his animation job in New York City). Way and Pelissier both felt well close to the song, and Way asked guitar player Ray Toro if he would be interested in running with them. My Chemical Romance's five-man lineup was complete when Way, Pelissier, and Toro united forces with bassist Mikey Way (Gerard's small brother) and guitar player Frank Iero. With that lineup in place, the banding started acting all around the Northeast Corridor and made plans to begin working on their first gear album.
In 2002, Eyeball Records (the New York-based indie for which Thursday had recorded) released My Chemical Romance's debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. The record album was often compared to Thursday -- a comparison that, for several reasons, was inevitable and ineluctable. Both bands were from New Jersey, both had recorded for Eyeball, and both combined punk-pop's musical aggression with self-examining, confessional lyrics. Plus, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was produced by Thursday vocalist Geoff Rickly. But Thursday isn't their only influence; reviewers have cited the Smiths, Morrissey, the Cure, and the Misfits as influences, piece the old Way has regular cited British heavy alloy icons Iron Maiden.
Lyrically, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love is as non-white as it is introverted and psychotherapeutic; Way has been quoted as locution that the band's lyrics were a big way for him to consider with the problems he had been departure through (which included terrible depression, drug/alcohol misuse, and a serious illness in his family). The 2002 discharge included Way and Pelissier's first-class honours degree sung, "Skylines and Turnstiles," and many of the album's other vocal titles were evenly intriguing, including "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us" and "Vampires Will Never Hurt You." In 2003, My Chemical Romance signed with Reprise/Warner Bros. and released the sharply slick magazine Troika Cheers for Sweet Revenge one year later. Proving to be tremendously popular, the record album boasted several successful singles on commercial radiocommunication and MTV, including "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," "Capital of Montana," and "The Ghost of You," as the record album climbed the Billboard charts.
Amid their ontogenesis popularity, Pelissier gone from the band in mid-2004, and he was shortly replaced on drums by Bob Bryar; they'd antecedently met while touring with the Used, as Bryar was doing well-grounded for the Utah act. Relentless touring continued to increase their fanatical winnow following; the lot headlined dates with Alkaline Trio, scored an initiative slot for Green Day, and shared bills with Story of the Year, Taking Back Sunday, and the Used, among many others. As My Chemical Romance fain to embark the studio for their third base album, they issued Life on the Murder Scene in March 2006. The CD and double-DVD parcel extensively documented much everything MCR, including demos, music videos, live footage, interviews, and more; it sufficiently tied fans over until My Chemical Romance (now boast a sober and bleach-haired Gerard Way) issued the in darkness conceptual and extremely ambitious The Black Parade that October. Anticipation for the record album could scantily be contained at the release of its highfalutin first single, "Welcome to the Black Parade," whose refine attendant video looked and sounded wish the solvent of Tim Burton directional Queen. The record went pt by early 2007.
Ivan Ferreiro
Revis
Artist: Revis
Genre(s):
Metal: Alternative
Discography:
Places For Breathing
Year: 2003
Tracks: 11
Justin Holman (vocals), Robert Davis (guitar), Nathaniel Cox (guitar), Bob Thiemann (bass part), and David Piribauer (drums) be the infectious post-grunge sounds of Revis. They came together in the recent '90s and played local gigs in their native Carbondale, IL, under the Orco byname. A incite to Los Angeles in 2001 gave them a new direction and a nominate change and motivated them to record a demo. Epic Records was impressed with their tight display and inked Revis a handle in 2002. Producer Don Gilmore linked them in the studio for their full-length debut subsequently that summer. The end resolution was the guitar-laden Places for Breathing. Just as it was ready to hit stores in late May, the city of Carbondale christened May 19, 2003, as "Revis Day" in tribute to their danton True Young hometown heroes. The album went on to trade 10,000 copies during its first week of release and debuted at numeral one and only on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
Sony To Focus On Rebuilding Tv, Game Units
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Heather Locklear seeking treatment for anxiety, depression
NEW YORK - Heather Locklear is seeking treatment for anxiety and depression.
"Heather has been dealing with anxiety and depression," publicist Sarah Fuller said Tuesday in a statement. "She requested an in-depth evaluation of her medication and entered into a medical facility for proper diagnosis and treatment. This is a confidential medical matter and no further statement will be released."
People magazine's website reported Tuesday that the 46-year-old actress checked into a facility in Arizona.
Locklear's divorce from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was finalized in April 2007. They have a daughter, Ava Elizabeth. Locklear is reportedly dating former "Melrose Place" co-star Jack Wagner.
Locklear's TV credits include "T.J. Hooker," "Dynasty" and "Spin City," and her film roles include "The Perfect Man" and "Uptown Girls."
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New date set for Phil Spector murder trial
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler ordered Spector to stand trial beginning September 29, after his first trial ended in a hung jury last year.
Spector was charged with second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson nearly five years ago, for which he would have faced a minimum of 18 years in jail if he had been convicted.
After sitting through five months of heated testimony, the jury reached a 10-2 deadlock in favour of convicting Spector, which resulted in the judge declaring a mistrial.
Spector -- the pioneer behind the 1960s Wall Of Sound technique -- is accused of murdering Clarkson at his Los Angeles mansion on February 3, 2003, hours after meeting her at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip where she worked.
The defence team in the original case contended that Clarkson was depressed and shot herself in the mouth.
Most of Spector's defence team quit in October causing delays in the retrial, reports Reuters.
The producer's new defence team is attempting to have Fidler removed from the trial on the grounds that he is biased against Spector.
--By our Los Angeles staff.
Find out more about NME.
Michael Johns "F**ks" Up His Career
The Aussie wannabeen was pulled out of the crowd and onto the stage at a Dan Band concert (the foulmouthed wedding singers from "Old School"), and finally gave a performance worth watching.
At least he's not in a balloon festival yet ...
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Hottest tracks of the week
a formidable reputation for live chaos. This is one of the breathers in
their set – bluesy slide-guitar with a rapped stream of observations on TV
evangelists and picking up girls on the street. Huge. 4
WHITE WILLIAMS – Violator. Feel-good loungey beats with a
leftfield slant, from Joe Williams’ debut album Smoke. 4
MICHAEL JACKSON featuring AKON – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.
Lively version of the original with a new vocal from Jacko. The tentative
first step on the comeback trail. 3
THE PRESETS – This Boy’s In Love. Electro-pop which would
have been described as futuristic in the Eighties. Disco beats with a new
romantic icy coolness from the Aussies. 4
BRENDAN CAMPBELL – Twilight Bird EP. Four arresting tracks from
the 25-year-old Glaswegian folkie. 4
JONAS BROTHERS – SOS. Teenage heartthrobs playing adolescent
rock. 2.5
WE SMOKE FAGS – Eastenders. Brattish punk vocals with a fuzzy
backing track like a Rolf Harris Stylophone. 3
PANIC AT THE DISCO – That Green Gentleman. They’ve swapped their
Las Vegas glam popsters sound for a sub Britpop. Confusing. 2
I WAS A CUB SCOUT — The Hunter’s Daughter. Anthemic proggy
synth-pop with swelling, impassioned choruses. 3
JAMIE LIDELL – Another Day. Uplifting soul. 3
Gary Glitter - Glitter Wants To Make Pop Return
Disgraced rocker GARY GLITTER is to launch a pop comeback - as soon as he is released from jail.
The fallen star - real name Paul Gadd - is currently serving a three-year sentence in a Vietnam prison following his 2006 conviction for committing obscene acts with two Vietnamese girls, aged just 11 and 12.
He is due to be released in August (08), when he will be deported back to his native Britain - and he is reportedly planning a return to the charts.
He says, "I have an incomplete album that I want to finish. I have been thinking about the plan during my days in jail."
But Glitter has also admitted he is looking to make a new home in a country other than the U.K. - where he will be on the country's sex offender register after he was convicted and jailed for downloading child pornography in 1999.
He adds, "I am trying to contact my lawyer and friends to see where the best place to live is."
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Tokio Hotel
Artist: Tokio Hotel
Genre(s):
Pop
Rock
Rock: Pop-Rock
ROck: Alternative
Discography:
Zimmer 483
Year: 2007
Tracks: 12
Scream
Year: 2007
Tracks: 12
Room 483
Year: 2007
Tracks: 12
Der Letzte Tag (Cd2)
Year: 2006
Tracks: 2
Der Letzte Tag (Cd1)
Year: 2006
Tracks: 4
Schrei
Year: 2005
Tracks: 16
Durch Den Monsun
Year: 2005
Tracks: 4
Emo quartet Tokio Hotel emerged as one of the to the highest degree successful novel German acts of the Apostles of their generation, grading three figure ane singles via 2005's debut LP, Schrei. Bill and Tom Kaulitz, 12-year-old twins, formed the grouping in their native Magdeburg in 2001, recruiting bassist Gustav Schäfer and drummer Georg Listing to round of golf out the card. Originally dubbed Devilish, the adolescent little Joe toured sharply before signing to Universal in 2003, adopting the soubriquet Tokio Hotel in tandem with the deal. Composed primarily by Bill Kaulitz in tandem with a series of high profile songwriters, Schrei was preceded by the August 2005 release of Tokio Hotel's debut single, "Durch den Monsun." Teenage girls cursorily embraced the band with calf love excitation, and by the closing of the month the single topped the German pop chart and its Austrian opposite number. The follow-ups "Rette Mich" and "Der Letzte Tag" also remove number one, although the quondam appeared in a re-recorded version dramatically different from its LP adaptation thanks to Kaulitz's post-pubescent outspoken changes. After the singer clothed his contributions to filmmaker Luc Besson's animated phantasy Chester A. Arthur and the Minimoys, Tokio Hotel returned to the studio to complete work on their 2007 followup album, Zimmer 483.
Green Guerilla Groovers
Hartnett cast in martial arts film
Variety reports that the film follows a revenge-seeking drifter (Hartnett) in an alternate universe.
The trade daily says the film mixes elements of the spaghetti western, gangster and samurai genres.
'Bunraku' is due to begin shooting in Europe in the spring.