Monday, April 26, 2010

Could government funding for stem cell research help to find better cancer treatments?

just wondering.

Could government funding for stem cell research help to find better cancer treatments?
Stem cell research could absolutely help improve cancer treatments, and because a large portion of medical research is government funded, government funding of stem cell research is critical.





Believe it or not, cancer cells actually have quite a bit in common with stem cells. As you probably already know, stem cells are undifferentiated cells, meaning they aren't any particular type of tissue, they're just cells that can turn into specific types. They basically look like generic cells. Skin cells are flat, neurons are long and kind of tree-like, but stem cells are just kind of blob-like. They look something like the pictures of generic cells you might have seen in biology textbooks (the ones where the show all the organelles, and the cell is just kind of a generic blog with no specialized structures). They can also keep dividing indefinitely, unlikely differentiated cells that can only divide so many times before the cell line just dies. They also tend to divide more quickly than normal cells, particularly if the produce cells that are in constant demand (for example, stem cells in the bone marrow produce blood cells, which constantly need to be replaced, and stem cells in the hair follicles produce hair cells, and hair is always growing).





Cancer cells are normal somatic cells that have, in a sense, undifferentiated. A cancer cell might have started out as a skin cell, but by the time it's in something that would be considered a tumor, it's barely recognizable as a skin cell, and is more of a generic blob. It can also keep dividing indefinitely.





Because cancer cells are so similar to stem cells, cancer treatments tend to destroy stem cells along with cancer cells. The reason that a patient's hair typically falls out during chemo is that the chemicals used to kill the cancer cells also kill the stem cells in the hair follicles. More problematic are the stem cells in the bone marrow. Those ones produce both red and white blood cells, which are pretty darned important. Cancer patients will often develop anemia (from too few red blood cells), and weakened immune systems (from too few white blood cells) during chemo, and may even need a bone marrow transplant.





Improved understanding of the physiological differences between stem cells and cancer cells would allow researchers to design cancer treatments that don't attack cancer cells. Also, improved understanding of the mechanisms of differentiation might lead to a better understanding of exactly what goes wrong in cancer cells (since they basically differentiated in reverse), which might lead to the ability to reverse the damage to the cell that caused it to become cancerous in the first place.
Reply:abc
Reply:i believe there is a cure for cancer. my wife has ovarian cancer that has spread to all of her major organs. the surgeon opened her up and closed her right back up. he said he would do more damage trying to remove it. he said try chemo and see if that will shrink it enough to remove it, but there is very little hope. so I've researched this ALOT and I've bought everything from b-17 (which i started taking and my sciatic nerve quit hurting and my blood pressure is more normal than it's ever been) to ozone generator and everything in between. my wife refuses to try them but I've bought them.


my mother (skin cancer) and my brother in law (hip,lymph,lung and brain) were all having surgery on the same day at the same time at different hospitals. my brother in law was having a hole drilled into his hip to scrape out the cancer and to put bone cement in so his hip wouldn't break. when they checked the cancer cells that had been removed they were all dead!! he was drinking this nasty tea that you make from a tree bark from south America. he isn't doing very good now. I'm sure it's spread too far. but back to my thoughts on a cure. HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF A HIGH RANKING PUBLIC OFFICIAL EVER DYING FROM CANCER? if you have please post it. it's like the deadly aids virus the last time i seen magic Johnson on TV he looked very healthy to me
Reply:You bet. There's already a world of new discoveries thanks to it.





One of the most exciting things I've read about cancer research for the future is this, nano-technology:





http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/d8...





I'll paste one part of it here:





Today's best cancer treatments destroy tumor cells with about as much precision as an atomic bomb. Now researchers at Rice University are developing tumor-frying "nanoshells" that spare healthy tissue. The treatment, which begins clinical trials early next year, hinges on cancer-specific antibodies glued to nano-scale spheres of glass and gold. Here, a guided tour of how nanoshells will kill cancer inside the body.





(1) Each gold-coated nanoshell is about 10,000 times smaller than a white blood cell. To diagnose and treat cancer, a doctor injects thousands of them into the patient's bloodstream. Dispersed inside the body, the nanoshells seek out and bind to tumor cells via antibodies stuck to their surface. (2) Once roughly 20 nanoshells cover each tumor, a brief exposure to near-infrared light, which passes harmlessly through tissue, illuminates the shells. Next, doctors deliver a more intense near-infrared dose, heating only bound tumors. (3) Free-floating electrons on the outer gold shells concentrate the intensified near-infrared energy, heating each individual nanoshell and cooking the tumor--all during a single visit to the doctor's office.





You can read how stem cell research probably contributed to this too: (Click on View photos when you scroll down part way and read the articles on each page listed there...click on "next photo" to see each new discovery)





http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/4b...
Reply:It certainly would.
Reply:appearently we are making little, but some progress in Canada, with only a 10'th of the funds and resurces available to the U.S. of A., imagine what the good 'ol U.S. of A. could do
Reply:We are stretched pretty thin right now with other pressing issues if you have noticed lately.


Research is going along privately with many product oriented projects TBA very soon..


Generally government dollars are not well spent unless there are refined projects that need acceleration..


loligo1@yahoo.com
Reply:The government takes so much money, and because it is such a large bureaucracy consequently cannot help but waste a lot of money, it is almost unconscionable that they not fund stem cell research, even if one believes the chance of it finding a cure are tiny.








("Freaking_moron", you are confusing "petroleum" with organic chemistry. Atoms arranged differently behave differently. If you drink H2O2 you will probably die, if you DON'T drink H2O you will definitely die! if you visit the site for the FSM {search 'FSM' on google} you will see there is also a perfect correlation between global temperatures and pirates, so by your logic, the "cure" for global warming would be to have more pirates!)
Reply:Anything a Government can do towards finding a cure for all cancers is commendable and should be supported with vigor.


However i do not believe that a Government is capable of balancing the Country's treasury fairly and just.... I look around myself, and find all nations, warring with each other over trivial matters such as Gas/Oil which have nearly been depleted... Unwillingness to look after our environment, for the sake of economics.... One country is well on its way, to decide the course of everybody´s fate on this planet for the better part of a 100 years, now, and look where it brought them... trillions into debt, interfering in Nations politics on other continents, as if they have been ordered to do so by UN Council, which is as far from the truth as Santa Claus really existing.. Any research on the cure of cancer should be widely supported by us all, even if it means, having to fund some of it ourselves by donating to the cause.... eh, when it is a priority in your personal view.....
Reply:It is very possible, many believe that stem cell research could help find cures to cancer and many other deadly diseases.
Reply:I don't think so. They don't WANT a cure for it. Every day they make decisions that will help keep cancer going forever.





I feel strongly that our food is the biggest problem with the rise in cancer. FD%26amp;C food colors are made out of petroleum, artificial flavors are usually derived from petroleum. BHT, BHA, TBHQ are petroleum based and one is actually used TO PROMOTE the GROWTH of TUMORS in lab animals. And we put this stuff in our food supply?! I don't care what the FDA says, these things were not meant to be consumed and processed by our bodies. Why do they say not to sniff gas fumes, but it's ok to eat things made from petroleum. It's a contradiction and it's killing us. We don't need bright blue food, or Red#40 added to our salmon so it looks more "natural".





Many of these things came onto market in the late 60's, early 70's and that is when the rise of many of our health problems started. Why do we have so many kids with ADD, ADHD, OCD, birth defects, cancer, etc? We have poisoned ourselves and most don't realize it!





Help us wage a war on the food industry while you are fighting for a cure. People with cancer really don't need BHT in their food to make their cancer grow.

Martial Arts Shoes

It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats?

it makes no sense, what kind of research?

It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats?
So we get rid of the researchers...or the rats????
Reply:So...who cares?
Reply:kill them both and god can sort them out!!!!!


hahahahahahahahahahaha


What is stem cell research,can it cure cancer or other bad diseases?

so if i can why do we use it

What is stem cell research,can it cure cancer or other bad diseases?
Stem cell transplants (in lieu of bone marrow transplants) are used all the time (in the US, and Federally funded) to treat leukemias, lymphomas, and other auto immune disorders.





The cells either come from the peripheal blood stream of an adult, or the cord blood and placenta of a HEALTHY baby AFTER a HEALTHY birth. Baby nor mother are harmed in any way.





While they may be using embryonic for this transplant in research (I dont know), they are NOT using embryonic in actual transplants on humans.





While I dont know that anyone can actually officially say it is a cure, it shows promise that it could be.





I know several patients who have lived years in remission after transplant. I just went through transplant this summer. I am currently in remission, and it may be my only chance at long term remission, or 'cure'.





www.marrow.org has a lot of information about this type of transplant, the stems cells, and what diseases it can be used with. This is the National Marrow Donor's Program website.





I dont have links, but if you do a couple of google searches, you will find that embryonic stem cells are proving to be 'unstable'.





They are used for sure in research in the US, but I am not sure they are actually used in treatment. This research and treatment is NOT federally funded, but is legal.





Adult stem cells and babys cord blood and placenta is used in research and treatment every day, and IS federally funded (My transplant was paid for by your tax dollars - I have medicare)





I am not as well schooled on other types and uses, but improvements are being made day by day.
Reply:they take the cells from the cord I believe after birth and they are working everyday to find cures one day they will.
Reply:Stem cells can be used to cure many issues. Think of a stem cell as ultimately being a blank cell, one without the information of potential use of that cell being written into that cells "code" yet. Ultimately meaning, a stem cell can be used to create or heal organs by the devision and thus replication of the stem cells.


More complex information can be found on them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stem_cell
Reply:i agree with devon. not only do stem cells come from umbilical cords, but also from aborted fetus'. since its comes from fetus', thats why theres so much controversy on whether its morally correct or not.


Is it true that breakthrough medical research has proved that doing research on rats causes cancer in rats?

Yes and no. For example, some kinds of cancers that ONLY occur in rats have been found. It was widely believed that saccharin or cyclamates (I forget which one) caused cancer, but the fact was that rats digest, process and eliminate it differently than we do. When it is concentrated in their urine, it forms crystals, which it does not do in our urine because our urine contains a higher percentage of water. (A human with water levels in the urine as low as a rat's would already be dead of dehydration.)





The sharp-edge crystals in the rats' bladders repeatedly cut them and caused bleeding, required healing, and eventually led to a breakdown of the healing process, with uncontrolled cell growth and reproduction, called cancer-- because the bladders were continually being cut by the sharp-edged crystals and needing to be healed...! So it was not that the sweetener caused cancer. ANYTHING that crystallized in their urine like that would eventually have caused cancer.





The rats just couldn't tell us, that's all.





Stop medical experiments on mute animals-- experiment on PETA members, instead.





THOSE WORTHY OF OUR RESPECT WOULD VOLUNTEER.





11 DEC 06, 1851 hrs, GMT.

Is it true that breakthrough medical research has proved that doing research on rats causes cancer in rats?
this is probly a joke question(?)but--having had many rats and mice over the years,i can tell u that EVERY-and i do mean 100% of them-rodent that i ever had,died of cancer in its old age.u could see the tumours,and they'd have to be put down.in the wild,they are predated by almost everything-owls,foxes,u name it.they dont live long enough to develop the disease.but 3 year old mice and 5 yr old rats are extraordinarily prone to cancer in my opinion.ive often wondered if those tests are skewed-i mean,was it the diet they were fed.or the chemicals they ingested in the lab-or,like my pets,was it just that rodents are cancer prone to begin with??????


Why is there so much time and money wasted on silly research?

There are so many organisations out there that a desparate for funds into legitimate and worthy causes like cancer research. Why do people and governments keep on pouring money into researching things with no benefit towards human or animal society

Why is there so much time and money wasted on silly research?
Research is kind of like a 100,000 (or more) piece puzzle. Without one piece, it's impossible to know where others go.





That shower curtain research, for example, could lead to more knowledge about the ways weather systems evolve in the atmosphere over tropical regions of Earth. Which could lead to more advanced hurricane prediction. Which could lead to better building codes. Which could lead to less damage following a major storm. Which could lead to less need for federal recovery assistance. Which could lead to more money for the federal education budget. Which could lead to lower tuition costs at universities. Which enables more kids to go to college and research shower curtain motion.
Reply:I don't see how much more they can research cancer.





They'd be better putting the money somewhere else imo.


Anyway, I agree with you though, there are studies being funded to see why nobody seems to like green jelly beans and all sorts of pathetic things like that. Try writing to them Report Abuse

Reply:Like the guy who researched why the shower curtain sucks inwards during a hot shower!! Also I get annoyed when celebrities have $6000 handbags and that is about the same cost for 3 months of chemo therapy for a small child. :(
Reply:why did you saying like that? exploring and researching in the past days gives you , your country, and medicines for your healthy life they can give more things to the humanbeings at least they dedicated their life to our well wish your spirit of research should come forward an inspiration should takes root in your soul and once you get some success in your research, it will really a serve to god money never come in this way without human being what you do with the money?
Reply:What exactly do you call silly research? How do we find newer and better things without it? People thought that space research was silly until it resulted in improving medical treatment, building materials, and water purification systems.

BIRD

Im really confused about is artifical sweetner causes cancer?

i consume alot of artifical sweetner and an scared that it may cause cancer however ive researched it and everything points to no. does anyone have any evidence?

Im really confused about is artifical sweetner causes cancer?
Well, as anything . . moderation is the key. No clinical scientific evidence exists that artificial sweetners cause cancer in humans. However, some studies done years ago where rats were given high doses of Saccharin developed bladder cancer. Subsequent studies involving human beings have never been able to confirm that first finding. Data about Aspartame also shows no clear link between cancer and human beings.





You can read more about the various artificial sweetners and locate the relevant research studies done on each sweetner at the National Cancer Institute.





NCI: Artificial Sweetners and Cancer


http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/facts...





FDA Statement about Aspartame


http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpaspart.h...
Reply:I dont think there is a link of artificial sweeteners causing cancer
Reply:Cancer may be caused by exposure to carcinogenic chemicals.


Many carcinogenic chemicals are known, and in all cases the degree of risk is associated with the quantity of the chemical absorbed by the body.


Artificial sweeteners were tested for carcinogenicity on laboratory animals by forcing the animals to consume huge amounts of the sweeteners.


It is possible, but highly unlikely that the sweetener will cause cancer in humans, though it did not caus cancer in laboratory animals. Also, even if it is mildly cancerous, it is not likely to do harm in the small amount you consume.


Life is a risky business, and you have to balance the risks from traffic, diseases, crimes, pollution, etc. with the risks from your food.


Cancer, MS, to Crohns: Disease research scams ?

Disease 'research' scam ?





On the one hand the 'specialist" tell the patient, 'you have a disease, no cause no cure..."and on the other hand an old country doctor says 'you have a bacterial infection'.





One gives you no treatment, merely hope if you join the association to find a cure for IBS, for Crohns, for MS, for Cancer....the other doctors gives you a simple cause and cure.





So why the difference ?

Cancer, MS, to Crohns: Disease research scams ?
I think you need to be in the medical section of YA. However, if you want to live healthier and better, switch to the Clever Diet:


http://chasclever.tripod.com.clever-diet...





And if you want to live forever, select the Jesus link--it's connected to heaven.





See the Bible code that proves Jesus is the Messiah at http://abiblecode.tripod.com





Blessings, Balaam
Reply:Yes, and one is quack. Cancer is NOT caused by a bacterial infection.
Reply:I found the story about the Canadian nurse.


http://www.cancer-solutions.net/DrGlumIn...
Reply:We've actually had the cure for cancer for decades. It's an herbal one. 98% effective.


Some Canadian nurse discovered it.





The medical business, like any other, is just after your money. They WANT you to be unhealthy, so cures like that are kept secret.