Increasing Stem Cell Production For Faster Healing

Wandering Wombat tips a BBC story about researchers from Imperial College London who were able to stimulate stem cell production by a factor of 100 in the bone marrow of mice. Such stem cells are released by the marrow to help with the regeneration of damaged bone and tissue. "Techniques already exist to increase the numbers of blood cell producing stem cells from the bone marrow, but the study focuses on two other types — endothelial, which produce the cells which make up our blood vessels, and mesenchymal, which can become bone or cartilage cells." The scientists hope that the increased production rate could be used to greatly speed tissue repair and to allow recovery from wounds that would otherwise be too severe. "There are also hopes that the technique could help damp down autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, where the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells are known to have the ability to damp down the immune system." The full research paper is available at Cell Stem Cell.

Comments

Distance is Subjective

[mfh]

Anyway, there is no evidence that enough of us can get into space fast enough to make a difference on Earth. See here [antipope.org] for an elaboration.

Distance, in space, is irrelevant. History will prove me correct, and while you may not wish to open your mind to accept my statements, perhaps someone else will.

Re:Space and Medical discovery

[glitch23]

Medical discoveries like this one, by increasing the level of reproduction rates in stem cells by a factor of 100, remind me that eventually humanity will cure death. However, unlike that fateful society on that distant memory of a Star Trek episode, we have INFINITE stars and potential to flourish outside of our known universe, and therefore we should not fear immortality.

We won't cure death. We can't. We can't cure every disease that can kill us. New diseases will pop up (AIDS anyone?). Cancer prevalence is going higher it seems. You can't stop the normal aging process due to photons anyway. We are destined to die but remember it is only our earthly bodies which do so. I know I wouldn't want to stay on this planet, made wretched by evil people, any longer than I have to. Those who know they are going to a better place after Earth shouldn't fear death either. Why fear something that relieves you of all the bad things asociated with this planet? Moving to another planet doesn't relieve the good people of the evil ones. Ironically, even good people eventually settled in Australia.