Source: truthinaging

Osmosis has done it again: an effective product at a great price with proven anti-agers. I learned to love Osmosis Replenish several years ago, but have only just got to be impressed by Osmosis Correct ($44 in the TIA shop), a skin resurfacer with retinal at 0.5%.

Members of the Truth In Aging community are likely aware that I regard retinols with caution. However, I wanted to see if this one from Osmosis – which surrounds its retinal with plenty of other interesting ingredients – would be effective without being irritating. And for my sensitive skin, even around the lip line area (I was testing it to tackle lip lines), Osmosis Correct proved to be gentle. Oh, and I was pleased to see that it did help to fade those lines and smooth the skin on my neck.

The retinol in Correct is trans-retinal (retinaldehyde), a form of retin A that is relatively stronger as well as being gentler. A Swiss study concluded: “Retinaldehyde, which is fairly well tolerated, seems to be the most efficient cosmeceutical retinoid; it has significant efficiency toward oxidative stress, cutaneous bacterial flora, epidermis renewing, and photoaging.” Having said that, retinols in general can be irritating and, if over used, can thin the skin due to their powerful exfoliating effect.

Correct has an interesting selection of actives. I was very pleased to the relatively new peptide, caprooyl tetrapeptide-3. Known as ChroNoline, I first came across this in the recently revamped La Vie Celeste products and SenZen. It may help maintain the structure of the skin and prevent sagging by boosting laminin as well as collagen lll. Anti-aging heavy hitters continue with two wound repairers, epidermal growth factor and GHK copper peptide, antioxidant R-lipoic acid and chlorella, and 1,3 beta glucan (usually found in mushrooms), which can activate the immune system.

Other ingredients are ubiquitous across the Osmosis stable, such as the (also very good) Replenish. Both have phosphatidylcholine, niacinamide and L-lactic acid. Phosphatidylcholine has essential fatty acids that assist in the communication and repair of cell membranes throughout the body, including within the skin.

There’s nothing to dislike about Correct, except that the pump has a tendency to resist and then send a stream of orange serum across the bathroom. The smell is slightly bitter but, like the slight tackiness after application, soon dissipates.

Although I will continue to be a sparing (only where needed for stubbornly sun damaged or lined skin) and cautious (only at night) user of Osmosis Correct, it is a retinol-based serum that has my blessing. Although given the toxicity concerns around retinols, I would not recommend this for pregnant women.

Ingredients: Harmonized water, ceteareth olivate (from olive oil), organic almond oil, phosphatidylcholine, niacinamide, yellow corn alcohol, caprooyl tetrapeptide-3, glycerin, L-lactic acid, L-hydroxyproline, butylactyl cetearate (vegetable source), 1,3 beta glucan, cetyl palmitate (from olive oil), trans retinal (0.5%), R-lipoic acid, chlorella, epidermal growth factor, GHK copper peptide, dextran, lecithin, tocopheryl acetate, potassium sorbate, xanthan, essential oil blend.

You can buy the product here :  Click here 

Source: truthinaging Osmosis has done it again: an effective product at a great price with proven anti-agers. I learned to love Osmosis Replenish several years ago, but have only just got...

Medical Australia (ASX: MLA) is introducing a breakthrough regenerative animal stem cell therapy into the UK and Ireland.

The company has invested $500,000 to establish a fully functioning clinic in Hampshire, England, where it can cryogenically freeze stem cells for domestic pets, small animals and the equine market.

Importantly, the facility is believed to be the first of its kind in Europe, providing Medical Australia with a first mover advantage in the region.

Mark Donnison, managing director, said, “For MLA this represents a major strategic development for the company as it moves us into an area of the animal healthcare industry where we are offering a more cutting edge technology with higher margins, repeat business and future cross-selling opportunities.

“This technology is a major growth driver for MLA. It puts us in a leading position in the veterinary market in the UK and Ireland, as we are pioneering a unique technology that has immediate and significant commercial upside.”

Medical Australia secured the rights to the stem cell therapy technology through its licensing agreement with Australian-owned MediVet.

Under the TUTAVet brand, the company is now actively marketing the technology to the UK veterinary market.

Pet owners, zoos, and the equine market spend considerable sums of money treating animals with degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, and ligament and cartilage injuries.

Donnison said pet owners and the equine market in particular spend thousands of dollars each year on regenerative treatments for pets and animals.

“Our technology offers much better outcomes for animal healthcare and is competitively priced. With more than 5,000 veterinary clinics in the United Kingdom and Ireland alone, we have a large and deep market to penetrate,” he said.

“Each veterinary clinic is likely to invest A$10,000 to set up the technology offering in-house, and will spend around A$900 on consumables associated with each and every treatment.”

By acquiring the TUTAVet technology and kit, veterinary surgeons will be able to offer surgery, harvesting, and administering of stem cells in-house in a three to four hour period.

Stem cells harvested from the animal’s own fat tissue are administered to accelerate the healing of muscles and joints damaged by injury, disease or degeneration.

TUTAVet will also be able to cryogenically freeze stem cells and store them for customers at its facility in Hampshire.

The first procedure will be undertaken this month by Dr Mike Hutchinson, who has performed more than 300 stem cell procedures using this technology.

Medical Australia expects to sell its first kits in the coming months.

Re-rating
Earlier this year, an equity research and market intelligence firm reaffirmed its positive outlook on Medical Australia based on an updated DCF valuation model.

The price target of $0.038 offers an upside potential of 153% from the last traded share price of $0.015.

Last year the company entered into several major distribution agreements and supply contracts which is expected to substantially enhance Medical Australia’s financial performance from financial year 2012 onwards.

One of the agreements tipped as significant in the research report was a global supply and manufacturing agreement with Sydney-based animal healthcare company MediVet.

The deal, which was secured in July 2010, launches Medical Australia into the lucrative US$11 billion pet healthcare market in the U.S and is anticipated to generate A$3 million in annualised revenues.

Medical Australia (ASX: MLA) is introducing a breakthrough regenerative animal stem cell therapy into the UK and Ireland. The company has invested $500,000 to establish a fully functioning clinic in...

One of the most promising current applications of nanotechnology to medicine is the use of nanoparticles to specifically target drug therapy to cancer cells. A variety of different types of nanoparticles using different drug delivery strategies are being investigated, including one type using biopolymers that we described here last week. Another report shows that a very different type of nanoparticle, composed of gold, works by delivering a drug directly to the nucleus of cancer cells. A hat tip to ScienceDaily for reprinting this news release from Northwestern University written by Megan Fellman “Tiny hitchhikers attack cancer cells: Gold nanostars first to deliver drug directly to cancer cell nucleus“:

Nanotechnology offers powerful new possibilities for targeted cancer therapies, but the design challenges are many. Northwestern University scientists now are the first to develop a simple but specialized nanoparticle that can deliver a drug directly to a cancer cell’s nucleus — an important feature for effective treatment.

They also are the first to directly image at nanoscale dimensions how nanoparticles interact with a cancer cell’s nucleus.

“Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers,” said Teri W. Odom, who led the study of human cervical and ovarian cancer cells. “They are attracted to a protein on the cancer cell’s surface that conveniently shuttles the nanostars to the cell’s nucleus. Then, on the nucleus’ doorstep, the nanostars release the drug, which continues into the nucleus to do its work.” …
Using electron microscopy, Odom and her team found their drug-loaded nanoparticles dramatically change the shape of the cancer cell nucleus. What begins as a nice, smooth ellipsoid becomes an uneven shape with deep folds. They also discovered that this change in shape after drug release was connected to cells dying and the cell population becoming less viable — both positive outcomes when dealing with cancer cells.

The results are published in the journal ACS Nano [abstract].

Since this initial research, the researchers have gone on to study effects of the drug-loaded gold nanostars on 12 other human cancer cell lines. The effect was much the same. “All cancer cells seem to respond similarly,” Odom said. “This suggests that the shuttling capabilities of the nucleolin protein for functionalized nanoparticles could be a general strategy for nuclear-targeted drug delivery.”

The nanoparticle is simple and cleverly designed. It is made of gold and shaped much like a star, with five to 10 points. (A nanostar is approximately 25 nanometers wide.) The large surface area allows the researchers to load a high concentration of drug molecules onto the nanostar. Less drug would be needed than current therapeutic approaches using free molecules because the drug is stabilized on the surface of the nanoparticle.

The drug used in the study is a single-stranded DNA aptamer called AS1411. Approximately 1,000 of these strands are attached to each nanostar’s surface.

The DNA aptamer serves two functions: it is attracted to and binds to nucleolin, a protein overexpressed in cancer cells and found on the cell surface (as well as within the cell). And when released from the nanostar, the DNA aptamer also acts as the drug itself.

Bound to the nucleolin, the drug-loaded gold nanostars take advantage of the protein’s role as a shuttle within the cell and hitchhike their way to the cell nucleus. The researchers then direct ultrafast pulses of light — similar to that used in LASIK surgery — at the cells. The pulsed light cleaves the bond attachments between the gold surface and the thiolated DNA aptamers, which then can enter the nucleus.

In addition to allowing a large amount of drug to be loaded, the nanostar’s shape also helps concentrate the light at the points, facilitating drug release in those areas. Drug release from nanoparticles is a difficult problem, Odom said, but with the gold nanostars the release occurs easily.

That the gold nanostar can deliver the drug without needing to pass through the nuclear membrane means the nanoparticle is not required to be a certain size, offering design flexibility. Also, the nanostars are made using a biocompatible synthesis, which is unusual for nanoparticles.

Odom envisions the drug-delivery method, once optimized, could be particularly useful in cases where tumors are fairly close to the skin’s surface, such as skin and some breast cancers. (The light source would be external to the body.) Surgeons removing cancerous tumors also might find the gold nanostars useful for eradicating any stray cancer cells in surrounding tissue.

A particular advantage of these nanostars is that the plasmonic electrons produced on the surface of the nanostars by the laser solves the problem of how to efficiently discharge the drug target from the nanoparticle vehicle.
—James Lewis, PhD

to medicine is the use of nanoparticles to specifically target drug therapy to cancer cells. A variety of different types of nanoparticles using different drug delivery strategies are being investigated, including one type using biopolymers that we described here last week. Another report shows that a very different type of nanoparticle, composed of gold, works by delivering a drug directly to the nucleus of cancer cells. A hat tip to ScienceDaily for reprinting this news release from Northwestern University written by Megan Fellman “Tiny hitchhikers attack cancer cells: Gold nanostars first to deliver drug directly to cancer cell nucleus“:

Nanotechnology offers powerful new possibilities for targeted cancer therapies, but the design challenges are many. Northwestern University scientists now are the first to develop a simple but specialized nanoparticle that can deliver a drug directly to a cancer cell’s nucleus — an important feature for effective treatment.

They also are the first to directly image at nanoscale dimensions how nanoparticles interact with a cancer cell’s nucleus.

“Our drug-loaded gold nanostars are tiny hitchhikers,” said Teri W. Odom, who led the study of human cervical and ovarian cancer cells. “They are attracted to a protein on the cancer cell’s surface that conveniently shuttles the nanostars to the cell’s nucleus. Then, on the nucleus’ doorstep, the nanostars release the drug, which continues into the nucleus to do its work.” …
Using electron microscopy, Odom and her team found their drug-loaded nanoparticles dramatically change the shape of the cancer cell nucleus. What begins as a nice, smooth ellipsoid becomes an uneven shape with deep folds. They also discovered that this change in shape after drug release was connected to cells dying and the cell population becoming less viable — both positive outcomes when dealing with cancer cells.

The results are published in the journal ACS Nano [abstract].

Since this initial research, the researchers have gone on to study effects of the drug-loaded gold nanostars on 12 other human cancer cell lines. The effect was much the same. “All cancer cells seem to respond similarly,” Odom said. “This suggests that the shuttling capabilities of the nucleolin protein for functionalized nanoparticles could be a general strategy for nuclear-targeted drug delivery.”

The nanoparticle is simple and cleverly designed. It is made of gold and shaped much like a star, with five to 10 points. (A nanostar is approximately 25 nanometers wide.) The large surface area allows the researchers to load a high concentration of drug molecules onto the nanostar. Less drug would be needed than current therapeutic approaches using free molecules because the drug is stabilized on the surface of the nanoparticle.

The drug used in the study is a single-stranded DNA aptamer called AS1411. Approximately 1,000 of these strands are attached to each nanostar’s surface.

The DNA aptamer serves two functions: it is attracted to and binds to nucleolin, a protein overexpressed in cancer cells and found on the cell surface (as well as within the cell). And when released from the nanostar, the DNA aptamer also acts as the drug itself.

Bound to the nucleolin, the drug-loaded gold nanostars take advantage of the protein’s role as a shuttle within the cell and hitchhike their way to the cell nucleus. The researchers then direct ultrafast pulses of light — similar to that used in LASIK surgery — at the cells. The pulsed light cleaves the bond attachments between the gold surface and the thiolated DNA aptamers, which then can enter the nucleus.

In addition to allowing a large amount of drug to be loaded, the nanostar’s shape also helps concentrate the light at the points, facilitating drug release in those areas. Drug release from nanoparticles is a difficult problem, Odom said, but with the gold nanostars the release occurs easily.

That the gold nanostar can deliver the drug without needing to pass through the nuclear membrane means the nanoparticle is not required to be a certain size, offering design flexibility. Also, the nanostars are made using a biocompatible synthesis, which is unusual for nanoparticles.

Odom envisions the drug-delivery method, once optimized, could be particularly useful in cases where tumors are fairly close to the skin’s surface, such as skin and some breast cancers. (The light source would be external to the body.) Surgeons removing cancerous tumors also might find the gold nanostars useful for eradicating any stray cancer cells in surrounding tissue.

A particular advantage of these nanostars is that the plasmonic electrons produced on the surface of the nanostars by the laser solves the problem of how to efficiently discharge the drug target from the nanoparticle vehicle.
—James Lewis, PhD

One of the most promising current applications of nanotechnology to medicine is the use of nanoparticles to specifically target drug therapy to cancer cells. A variety of different types of...

Source: http://researchnews.osu.edu

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A national study suggests that a significantly greater number of highly educated women in their late 30s and 40s are deciding to have children – a dramatic turnaround from recent history.

Among college-educated women, childlessness peaked in the late 1990s, when about 30 percent had no children, according to the new analysis of U.S. data. But childlessness declined about 5 percentage points between 1998 and 2008.

“We may be seeing the beginning of a new trend,” said Bruce Weinberg, co-author of the study and professor of economics at Ohio State University.

“One of the major economic stories of the second half of the 20th century was that highly educated women were working more and having fewer children. It is too early to definitively say that trend is over, but there is no doubt we have seen fertility rise among older, highly educated women.”

The turnaround in fertility is especially surprising because other trends – particularly lower rates of marriage – would tend to keep fewer women from becoming mothers.

The study shows that college-graduate women born in the late 1950s were the turning point. They were less likely to have children than previous cohorts up until their late 30s, when they reversed the trend and showed large increases in fertility.

Highly educated women born since then have continued the trend, being more likely to have children, and starting to have children at earlier ages.

It is not clear from this research whether older, highly educated women are dropping out of the labor market to have children, or are continuing to work.

“We don’t have the data in this study to say whether they are opting out of the labor market. But we can say they are increasingly opting for families,” Weinberg said.

The first author on the study is Qingyan Shang, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Their study appears online in the Journal of Population Economics, and will be published in a future print edition.

This study is a considerably more comprehensive analysis of highly educated women’s fertility than several other recent studies of the subject that came to contradictory results, according to the authors.

The researchers used two major data sets: the June Current Population Survey for 1980 to 2008, which is a joint effort between the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau; and the Vital Statistics Birth Data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Findings on women’s fertility were very different depending on education level, Weinberg said.

“For the less educated women, it is more a story about the timing of their fertility. They are having their children earlier now than they used to, but they are not having any more children overall,” he said.

“For the highly educated women born after the late 50s, they are more likely to have children than did previous cohorts, and they are having them near the end of their childbearing years.”

For women with graduate education, cumulative fertility is flat among 25-29 year olds in recent years. It increases somewhat among 30-34 year olds and considerably more among older women.

 
“We don’t have the data in this study to say whether they are opting out of the labor market. But we can say they are increasingly opting for families.”

The results for women with bachelor’s degrees (and no advanced degrees) are not as dramatic. There are no discernible trends for women aged 25 to 34, but there are increases at older ages. For women who have some college, but did not graduate, cumulative fertility increases at all ages, with the increase starting earlier at younger ages.

The study notes that one possible reason that women in their late 30s and 40s are now deciding to have children could be that fertility treatments have become more accessible and affordable in recent years.

With the data available, there is no completely accurate way to calculate how many older women are using fertility treatments. But one way to make a rough estimate is to see how many women are having multiple births – more than one baby at a time. That’s because fertility treatments are known to be associated with high rates of multiple births.

In their analysis, the researchers found that multiple birth rates began increasing around 1990 – especially among highly educated older women, who would probably be most likely to be using fertility treatments.

Among college-graduate women in their early 40s, the multiple birth rate more than tripled from 1990 to 2006.

That suggests the use of fertility treatments played a role in the increasing number of educated older women having children. But it is not the only cause, according to the researchers.

“Although our estimates are not exact, it is clear that there was an increase in older women having children even after taking into account the fact that fertility treatments are more accessible and affordable,” Weinberg said.

“Fertility treatments contributed, but it isn’t the only factor.”

#

Contact: Bruce Weinberg, (614) 292-5642; [email protected]
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; [email protected]

Source: http://researchnews.osu.edu   COLUMBUS, Ohio – A national study suggests that a significantly greater number of highly educated women in their late 30s and 40s are deciding to have children –...

Researchers at the University of Vermont have discovered two new proteins on red blood cells that confirm the testable existence of two new blood types. It’s an important discovery, one that’ll greatly reduce the risk of incompatible blood transfusions among tens of thousands of people. But what we were more struck by in this press release was the fact that these two new blood types–named Junior and Langereis–bring the total number of recognized blood types up to 32. 32!

Turns out there’s much more than just A, B, AB, and O: there are now 28 other, rarer types, often named after the person in whom they were discovered. These rarer types are identified by the presence of a particular group of antigens (substances that tell your immune system to send out antibodies), and many, like the Kell and MNS blood types, can actually be concurrent with more common blood types like A or O.

But the discovery of new blood types is pretty rare; the last new one was discovered more than a decade ago. So it’s big news that two were discovered at the same time. The Junior and Langereis groups are particularly prevalent in East Asia, especially Japan. Says University of Vermont biologist Bryan Ballif: “More than 50,000 Japanese are thought to be Junior negative and may encounter blood transfusion problems or mother-fetus incompatibility.”

The study appears in the February issue of Nature Genetics.

Researchers at the University of Vermont have discovered two new proteins on red blood cells that confirm the testable existence of two new blood types. It’s an important discovery, one that’ll greatly...

Source: abcnews.com

An Oklahoma bill that would ban the sale of food containing aborted human fetuses has some people wondering: What food currently contains aborted human fetuses?

The bill, introduced Jan. 18 by  State Sen. Ralph Shortey, prohibits the manufacture or sale of “food or any other product intended for human consumption which contains aborted human fetuses in the ingredients or which used aborted human fetuses in the research or development of any of the ingredients.”

Shortey declined to give specific examples  but said some food manufacturers used stem cells in the research and development process.

“There is a potential that there are companies that are using aborted human babies in their research and development of basically enhancing flavor for artificial flavors,” he told KRMG Radio. “I don’t know if it is happening in Oklahoma, it may be, it may not be. What I am saying is that if it does happen then we are not going to allow it to manufacture here.”

Shortey may be acting on claims that the San Diego-based company Semonyx used proteins derived from human embryonic kidney cells to test artificial sweeteners, NPR reported. The cell line, known as HEK 293, was created from a human embryo in 1970 and has become a staple in biochemistry labs around the world.

Some people are calling the bill a back-door attempt to ban embryonic stem cell research — a ban Shortey said he would support, KRMG reported.

Indeed, embryonic stem cell research is  controversial. Critics argue it destroys embryos, which they consider the earliest form of life. But proponents say stem cell research could cure diseases. Last week, for example,  embryonic stem cells were found to improve vision in two women who were legally blind.

If passed, the bill would take effect Nov. 1.

Source: abcnews.com An Oklahoma bill that would ban the sale of food containing aborted human fetuses has some people wondering: What food currently contains aborted human fetuses? The bill, introduced Jan. 18...

http://goo.gl/hyxDA

Wow, finally you arestarting to catch up.

We have been doing this for the last 7 years

http://goo.gl/hyxDA Wow, finally you arestarting to catch up. We have been doing this for the last 7 years

source: http://thehill.com

An Oklahoma state senator wants to outlaw the use of embryonic stem cells in food research, NPR reports.

Most Americans — almost 6 in 10 — believe the Supreme Court justices will rely more on ideology than a legal analysis of the healthcare law’s individual mandate in their ruling, Kaiser Health News reports.

Pregnant women who eat a diet high in animal fat have an increased risk for gestational diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is petitioning the U.S. 5th Circuit Court for a new hearing on the state’s ultrasound law.

The United States doesn’t conduct a lot of research on unnecessary healthcare, NPR and Kaiser Health News report.

source: http://thehill.com An Oklahoma state senator wants to outlaw the use of embryonic stem cells in food research, NPR reports. Most Americans — almost 6 in 10 — believe the Supreme Court justices...

dailyfinance.com 2010-04-13 For investors on the hunt for groundbreaking technologies, stem cell therapies originally looked promising. But the world has been waiting for a long time for the basic research...

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) — Scientists seeking new ways to fight maladies ranging from arthritis and osteoporosis to broken bones that won’t heal have cleared a formidable hurdle, pinpointing and controlling a key molecular player to keep stem cells in a sort of extended infancy. It’s a step that makes treatment with the cells in the future more likely for patients.

Controlling and delaying development of the cells, known as mesenchymal (pronounced meh-ZINK-a-mill) stem cells, is a long-sought goal for researchers. It’s a necessary step for doctors who would like to expand the number of true skeletal stem cells available for a procedure before the cells start becoming specific types of cells that may — or may not — be needed in a patient with, say, weak bones from osteoporosis, or an old knee injury.

“A big problem has been that these stem cells like to differentiate rapidly — oftentimes too rapidly to make them very useful,” said Matthew J. Hilton, Ph.D., the leader of the team at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “It’s been very hard to get a useful number of stem cells that can still become any one of several types of tissue a patient might need. Having a large population of true skeletal stem cells available is a key consideration for new therapies, and that’s been a real roadblock thus far.”

In a study published online in the journal Development, Hilton’s team discussed how it was able to increase the number and delay the development of stem cells that create bones, cartilage, muscle and fat. The first authors of the paper are Yufeng Dong, Ph.D., senior instructor, and technician Alana Jesse, who worked in Hilton’s laboratory at the Center for Musculoskeletal Research.

Hilton’s team showed in mice that a molecule called Notch, which is well known for the influence it wields on stem cells that form the blood and the nervous system, is a key factor in the development of mesenchymal stem cells, which make up a tiny fraction of the cells in the bone marrow and other tissues.

The team showed that Notch prevents stem cells from maturing. When the scientists activated the Notch pathway, the stem cells didn’t progress as usual. Instead, they remained indefinitely in an immature state and did not go on to become bone cells, cartilage cells, or cells for connective tissue.

The team also settled a long-standing question, fingering the molecule RBPJ-kappa as the molecule through which Notch works in mesenchymal stem cells. That knowledge is crucial for scientists trying to understand precisely how Notch works in bone and cartilage development. A few years ago, Hilton was part of a team that showed that Notch is a critical regulator of the development of bone and cartilage. The latest study extends those observations, providing important details that suggest appropriate activation and manipulation of the Notch pathway may provide doctors with a tool to maintain and expand mesenchymal stem cells for use in treating disease.

The work is part of ongoing research around the world aimed at harnessing the promise of stem cells for human health. Unfortunately, stem cell therapy has been slow to actually make a difference in the lives of patients with problems of the bones and cartilage, Hilton notes, largely because so many questions are currently unanswered.

“To really make stem-cell medicine work, we need to understand where the stem cells have come from and how to get them to become the cell you want, when and where you want it. We are definitely in the infancy of learning how to manipulate stem cells and use them in treatment,” said Hilton, assistant professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.

“This research helps set the foundation for ultimately trying new therapies in patients,” he added. “For instance, let’s say a patient has a fracture that simply won’t heal. The patient comes in and has a sample of bone marrow drawn. Their skeletal stem cells are isolated and expanded in the laboratory via controlled Notch activation, then put back into the patient to create new bone in numbers great enough to heal the fracture. That’s the hope.”

Work in Hilton’s laboratory was initially funded through start-up funds from the medical center. The early findings have helped him attract two grants from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, and the University has filed a patent on the Notch technology.

In addition to Dong, Jesse, and Hilton, authors include M.D./Ph.D. graduate students Anat Kohn and Lea Gunnell; and faculty members Regis J. O’Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Zuscik, Ph.D. Tasuko Honjo of the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine also contributed.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) — Scientists seeking new ways to fight maladies ranging from arthritis and osteoporosis to broken bones that won’t heal have cleared a formidable hurdle, pinpointing and controlling...