SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE ENDANGERS THE HEALTH OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY, INSTITUTIONS AND CITIZENS OF TEXAS

A rider added to the state budget bill by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday would undermine critical medical research into treatments for serious diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, the head of Texans for the Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR) warned today.
On Tuesday the Senate Finance Committee voted 6-5 to add a [...]

Obama Reverses Bush Policy on Stem Cell Research

President Obama today lifted restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and called on Congress to provide further support for what he called a “promising” line of scientific inquiry under “strict guidelines,” including a ban on human cloning.
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A Novel Human Stem Cell-based Model of Lou Gehrig's Disease Opens Doors for Rapid Drug Screening

Major ALS Breakthrough at Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Newswise — Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements. In fact, defective astrocytes can lay waste to motor neurons and are the main suspects in the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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WHY ARE EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS IMPORTANT?

Wise Young, Ph.D., M.D.
W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience
http://sciwire.com
Opponents of embryonic stem cell research often argue that embryonic stem cell research is not necessary because adult stem cells from bone marrow or umbilical cord blood cells are already curing diseases, are more likely to cure diseases, and that adult stem cells would not be [...]