Diane's Discoveries

More About the Stem Cell Bill

It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me and know of my interest in Alzheimer's Disease, to know of my interest in Stem Cell Research. Here's the latest news about the Senate bill.

Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican and chief sponsor of a bill to expand federal financing for human embryonic stem cell research, issued a stark challenge to President Bush on Wednesday, saying he had enough votes in the Senate to override a presidential veto of the measure.

"I don't like veto threats, and I don't like statements about overriding veto threats," Mr. Specter said, speaking at a news conference where the House backers of the measure presented him the legislation, which passed the House on Tuesday, topped with a red bow.

"But if a veto threat is going to come from the White House, then the response from the Congress is to override the veto, if we can," Mr. Specter added. "Last year we had a letter signed by some 58 senators, and we had about 20 more in the wings. I think if it really comes down to a showdown, we will have enough in the United States Senate to override a veto."...

...Debate on the research does not fall neatly along party lines; Mr. Specter appeared Wednesday with two other Republicans, Senators Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Gordon H. Smith of Oregon, who oppose abortion but support embryonic stem cell science. Mr. Specter, who is undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease and has lost his hair as a result, cited himself as a powerful reason to take that position.

"It is scandalous, absolutely scandalous," he said, "that there are so many people with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and heart disease and cancer - some of whom, myself, look in the mirror every day, can barely recognize myself. And not to have the ability of the best medical care is simply atrocious."

Source: Sponsor of Stem Cell Bill Says Senate Could Override a Veto - New York Times.

Stanford Researchers Get Gold Standard

Interesting research...want to know more? Follow this link: Wired News: Folded Proteins Get Gold Standard.

Stanford researchers have developed a color-coded method for determining whether a protein has folded or unfolded by attaching it to gold nanoparticles.

The technique could become a fast and inexpensive diagnostic tool for detecting proteins related to diseases, said Richard Zare, director of the chemistry lab that developed the method. Researchers believe it could detect proteins associated with diseases such as AIDS or tuberculosis.

Scientists call proteins the workhorses of the human body, because they carry out instructions from genes. How they do so remains a mystery, but researchers know the key is their ability to fold and unfold themselves into unique, three-dimensional shapes.

Nanobacteria?

One of the advantages of retirement...I have time to discover all kinds of interesting news that would usually slip by me if I was just reading the newspaper. It was not my intention to report on health matters in my blog but what better service if I discover something that will help someone else! I've just captured a few paragraphs to entice you; the complete article is not long but is worthy of your attention.

...a steadily increasing number of studies linking nanobacteria to serious health problems, including kidney stones, aneurysms and ovarian cancer. The studies show that nanobacteria can infect humans, a find that has helped push nanobacteria back into the limelight. Now the pressure is on to resolve the controversy and expose how nanobacteria works -- no matter what it is.

"It's all pretty exciting stuff," said David McKay, chief scientist for astrobiology at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "Whether these are bacteria or not -- it doesn't matter at this point. What matters is if we can figure out the association between nanobacteria and kidney stones and develop some kind of countermeasure."

...a 2004 study by the esteemed Mayo Clinic supported many of their key findings and helped them regain some of their support. The Mayo study found that nanobacteria does indeed self-replicate, as Kajander had noticed, and endorsed the idea that the particles are life forms.

...Roughly 177,500 patients were discharged from U.S. hospitals with kidney stones and related problems in 2001, according to the NIH. More than 25,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. In the same period, 14,000 Americans die from complications caused by calcified arteries.

Link: Wired News: Are Nanobacteria Making Us Ill?.