Stem Cells // Current

Riken researchers make brain tissues from stem cells

"Kobe- Japanese researchers said Thursday they had created functioning human brain tissues from stem cells, a world first... more

Jeshi
added this

'New prostate' grown inside mouse

Scientists have grown new prostate glands in mice, in another advance for stem cell technology. The team from San Francisco... more

TravG73
added this

Human Testicles Yield Stem Cells

Scientists have derived potentially therapeutic stem cells from adult, human testicles—a development that may eventually... more

cassandrajl
added this

Testicles 'are stem cell source' Possible Breakthrough!

The cells in a man's testicles may be able to do a lot more than just make sperm - they could provide any cell type in his... more

TrikyNiki
added this

CELLULE STAMINALI - Italiano riceve riconoscimento dal Governo cinese

SHENZHEN, CINA - Gianni Demarin, originario di Monza (Mi) e residente in Svizzera, la scorsa settimana ha ricevuto un importante riconoscimento da una rappresentante del governo centrale di Pechino, la direttrice generale del polo di alta tecnologia di Shenzhen (SHIP – Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park) l’Onorevole Qiu Xuan. Il riconoscimento gli è stato consegnato per il suo costante impegno nel diffondere le informazioni sui risultati ottenuti nelle biotecnologie mediche, scienza per la quale la Cina punta ad ottenere la leadership mondiale.

« È stata per me una vera sorpresa – dichiara Demarin – anche perché non sapevo che qualcuno avesse in mente di concedermi un onore del genere. È stato molto emozionante sentirmi dire « Thank you for your help » da una rappresentante del governo cinese. Sono molto orgoglioso di poter diffondere i risultati che si ottengono con le cellule staminali da cordone ombelicale sui pazienti affetti da patologie neurodegenerative, ma mettere d’accordo due mentalità scientifiche completamente diverse come quella asiatica e quella occidentale è tutt’altro che cosa facile. Ma si parla di qualcosa che migliorerà o salverà vite umane, quindi i miei sforzi in quella direzione sono ampiamente giustificati ».

Alla consegna del riconoscimento hanno partecipato anche il presidente e fondatore del Gruppo Beike, Dr. Hu Xiang ed il direttore generale Beike alle operazioni internazionali, l’italo-australiano Dr. Enrico Bisello.

Direttore generale per l’Europa di Beike Europe, società che si occupa di creare un canale diretto per le cure dei cittadini europei presso strutture ospedaliere cinesi, Demarin viene da una formazione trentennale nell’ambito della comunicazione di massa, motivo per il quale è stato chiamato alla direzione di questa filiale svizzera che ha come obiettivo quello di creare una collaborazione tra la scienza orientale e quella occidentale, nonché la diffusione tramite i mass-media di informazioni utili ai malati.

« Gli ostacoli da superare sono molti, primo su tutti quello dell’orgoglio per le scelte scientifiche da entrambe le parti. Altro ostacolo non indifferente è l’importante ingerenza economica e politica che l’industria del farmaco ha nella scienza occidentale. Ma sono convinto che i veri scienziati nostrani siano alla ricerca di un dialogo con i cinesi, che già si sono dimostrati aperti in questa direzione » .

SHENZHEN, CINA - Gianni Demarin, originario di Monza (Mi) e residente in Svizzera, la scorsa settimana ha ricevuto un importante... more

StemCellsReporter
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

New way to make stem cells is safe: research

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have developed a safer way to make powerful stem cells from ordinary skin cells, taking one... more

GrandKnow2
added this

0 responses

1 month ago

Does ideology trump facts? Studies say it often does

We like to think that people will be well informed before making important decisions, such as who to vote for, but the truth is that's not always the case. Being uninformed is one thing, but having a population that's actively misinformed presents problems when it comes to participating in the national debate, or the democratic process. If the findings of some political scientists are right, attempting to correct misinformation might do nothing more than reinforce the false belief.

This sort of misinformation isn't hypothetical; in 2003 a study found that viewers of Fox News were significantly more misinformed about the Iraq war, with far greater percentages of viewers erroneously believing that Iraq possessed WMDs or that there was a credible link between the 9/11 attack and Saddam Hussein than those who got their news from other outlets like NPR and PBS. This has lead to the rise of websites like FactCheck and SourceWatch.

Saying that correcting misinformation does little more than reinforce a false believe is a pretty controversial proposal, but the claim is based on a number of studies that examine the effect of political or ideological bias on fact correction. In the studies, volunteers were shown news items or political adverts that contained misinformation, followed by a correction. For example, a study by John Bullock of Yale showed volunteers a political ad created by NARAL that linked Justice John Roberts to a violent anti-abortion group, followed by news that the ad had been withdrawn. Interestingly, Democratic participants had a worse opinion of Roberts after being shown the ad, even after they were told it was false.

Over half (56 percent) of Democratic subjects disapproved of Roberts before the misinformation. That rose to 80 percent afterward, but even after correcting the misinformation, 72 percent of Democratic subjects still had a negative opinion. Republican volunteers, on the other hand, only showed a small increase in disapproval after watching the misinformation (11 percent vs 14 peercent).

Along those lines, a pair of political scientists, Brendan Nyhan of Duke and Jason Reifler of Georgia State, have shown a similar effect, this time concerning misinformation surrounding the presence of WMDs in Iraq, tax cuts, or stem cell research. Participants were shown news reports that contained inaccuracies, followed by a correction. The news reports were not real, but were presented to the volunteers as coming from either the New York Times or Fox News. Again, the findings suggest that facts that contradicted political ideology were simply not taken in; if anything, challenging misbelief with fact checking has the counterintuitive effect of reinforcing that misbelief.

Unlike the Bullock study, Nyhan and Reifler only demonstrate this effect of congitive dissonance on Republican volunteers, and acknowledge that follow-up studies are needed with liberal or Democratic volunteers.

These findings, if true, have worrying implications. Cognitive dissonance won't help people make rational decisions, but it also suggests that there's little point in arguing with someone who holds an opposing belief. Could this response be why, despite being repeatedly refuted in the media, the percentage of Americans who believe Sen. Obama to be a Muslim continues to grow? The research might also apply beyond the political to other attitudes—I'm thinking of the constant flame wars between fans of the PS3 and Xbox 360, or Mac and PC users. Is all that time spent in the Battlefront or the Soap Box wasted?

---------------

Follow the link for more.We like to think that people will be well informed before making important decisions, such as who to vote for, but the truth is... more