Stem cell trial in ALS treatment advances

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Stem cell trial in ALS treatment advances DETROIT (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they are ready to begin the next phase of a clinical trial of a stem cell treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis The trial aims to slow progression of the fatal disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, by injecting millions of stem cells into the spines of patients, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. Since the trial, overseen by University of Michigan neurologist Eva Feldman, won approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2009, scientists have injected stem cells into the lower spines of nine ALS patients who could no longer walk. If the FDA determines the procedure is still progressing safely, a patient will receive stems cells in the upper part of the spinal cord in June, Feldman said, with the goal of protecting the large nerve cells that aid breathing muscles. "Up until now, we've been targeting the lower part of the spine and if the therapy was effective -- and that's only if -- what would be retained would be the ability to walk," Feldman said. "Walking is not necessarily essential for survival. What is essential for survival is the ability to breathe." About 7,000 cases of ALS, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and progresses to paralysis and death, are diagnosed in the United States every year, the News reported. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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'Pancake' stingrays found in Amazon IQUITOS, Peru (UPI) -- Scientists say they have discovered two new species of freshwater stingrays in the Amazon rain forest and dubbed them "pancake" rays. Called that because of their almost perfectly round, flat shape, the examples belong to the first new stingray genus found in the Amazon area in more than 20 years, Nathan Lovejoy, a biologist at the University of Toronto, and Marcelo Rodrigues de Carvalho of the University of Sao Paolo in Brazil, said. The researchers' work in the upper Amazon confirmed the new genus, Heliotrygon, and the two new species, Heliotrygon gomesi and Heliotrygon rosai, LiveScience.com reported Monday. Besides their pancake-like appearance, both rays are big, have slits on their bellies and sport a tiny spine on their tails. Most of the specimens came from the Rio Nanay, near Iquitos, Peru. The discovery brings the total number of neotropical stingray genera -- from an area that also includes tropical Mexico, the West Indies and Central America -- to four. "The most important thing this discovery tells us is that there are quite likely to be other large fishes in the Amazon yet to be discovered and described," Lovejoy said. "Our understanding of the biodiversity of this region is not complete by any stretch of the imagination." The discovery was reported in the journal Zootaxa. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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NASA books seats on Soyuz through 2015 GREENBELT, Md. (UPI) -- NASA says it has signed a $753 million agreement with the Russian space agency Roscosmos for 12 round trips for astronauts to the International Space Station. The arrangement will let NASA fly a dozen U.S. or partner agency astronauts on Russia's venerable Soyuz spacecraft between 2014 and 2015 at a cost of about $62.7 million per seat, SPACE.com reported Monday. That's up from the $55.8 million per seat NASA paid for six upcoming round trips to the ISS in 2013 and 2014. "It's an 8.5 percent annual increase," NASA spokesman Josh Bluck said of the overall increase. "The increase covers just the general inflation rate in Russia for the cost of processing and preparation." The agreement comes during a major transition for NASA as it prepares to retire its space shuttle fleet after 30 years of missions. Once the shuttles are in museums, NASA will utilize commercially built spacecraft developed by private companies to deliver crews and cargo to the ISS. The first flights for the commercial craft are anticipated around 2015, four years after the last shuttle mission. "We are still anticipating having the availability of domestic commercial crew transportation by the middle of the decade," Bluck said. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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Astronomers detect 'room temperature' star UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (UPI) -- U.S. astronomers have discovered a brown dwarf star that contradicts the perception of all stars being hot -- this one is, in fact, room temperature, they say. Like normal stars, brown dwarfs form from collapsing gas clouds, but they don't become massive enough to sustain nuclear reactions, so they briefly shine red from the heat of formation then fade. Still, before discovering this latest star, the coolest known brown dwarfs were determined to be hot enough to roast any astronauts who might approach too close, NewScientist.com reported Monday. Pennsylvania State University astronomers used NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope to detect the glow of this brown dwarf just 63 light years from Earth with a temperature of only 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The object, orbiting a white dwarf star, has seven times the mass of Jupiter, a figure that would normally classify it as a planet. Planets, however, form in discs of gas and dust around stars, researchers say, and this object -- dubbed WD 0806-661 B --lies too far from its star to be deemed a planet if it formed where it now is. While hotter than Jupiter, which is at minus 236 degrees F., it is much cooler than the next coolest known brown dwarf star, measured at 212 degrees F. This means that WD 0806-661 B will act as a "missing link" to reveal how temperature affects the atmosphere and features of objects that are roughly the size of Jupiter, the astronomers said. Copyright 2011 by United Press International
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