Adult stem cells score

Shared this story from NPR on Facebook earlier this week.

Here’s what Christianity Today had to say…

Adult Stem Cells Score Again

Windpipe transplant patient Claudia Castillo.
Windpipe transplant patient Claudia Castillo.
A trachea engineered from bone marrow stem-cells makes ethical research more appealing.

Susan Wunderink

Claudia Castillo, whose lungs had been ravaged by tuberculosis, has a new trachea. She made it herself . . . sort of.

Doctors in Spain took stem-cells from Claudia Castillo’s bone marrow and had them form a section of trachea based on the trachea of an organ donor. The scientists transplanted the 2.75-inch piece and published the results in The Lancet:

The graft immediately provided the recipient with a functional airway, improved her quality of life, and had a normal appearance and mechanical properties at 4 months. The patient had no anti-donor antibodies and was not on immunosuppressive drugs.

The results show that we can produce a cellular, tissue-engineered airway with mechanical properties that allow normal functioning, and which is free from the risks of rejection.

Castillo is the first person to have an engineered trachea transplant, The Guardian says. She has had her new windpipe for several months without immunosuppressants—a breakthrough in surgery.

Besides giving hope to those who need transplants, Castillo’s case is also important to the debate over whether to allow stem-cell research which destroys embryos.

“Engineering new tissues and organs from stem cells has long been a goal of researchers, because it would help overcome a chronic shortage of donor organs.” NPR says. “But controversies over the source of stem cells have slowed research in the United States.”

However the transplant, rather than highlighting limitations, is another victory for ethical (and legal) stem-cell research. In its Q&A on stem-cells, CNN says “In the past, because adult stem cells were considered stuck in their ways, the focus had been on embryonic cells but now scientists and doctors will be wanting to see if adult cells can be used to treat a wider range of conditions.”

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I’m hoping the Obama-Biden team sees more and more stories like these and works to provide more funding for adult stem cell research. They’ve already pledged to increase funding for embryonic stem cell research – let’s keep adult stem cell research on the table as well as stem cells from umbilical cords — as we’re doing here in Texas.

The church is a war room – not a waiting room


Kingdom Coming from Shaun Groves on Vimeo.

Thoughts? Many great things here.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Download Shaun’s free song :: www.shaungroves.com/freemusic

St. Peter’s Brewery :: 25k words

Don’t worry, this won’t be a 25,000 word post. I now know that would take 58 pages in a word document.

I have crossed the halfway mark for #nanowrimo on Nov 18! WOOT! (25,298 words to be exact as of 10:12 p.m.)

Now in all seriousness, the challenge is to reach 30k by tomorrow night at midnight. I’m doubtful that I’ll be able to get a 5,000 word streak going tomorrow, but if I keep punching out at least 2,100 words a day over the next 12 days – I’ll be done with time to spare.

So as a “teaser” for those who keep asking, and I keep shrugging off, here’s the rough synopsis of the book ::

A twenty-something moves to a small town to try and run from the troubles he’s had in his past. Along the way he meets up with a community of quirky friends who show him that real life is not life lived alone – but lived in community with others.

You knew it would have something to do with community now didn’t you?

So now the struggle begins. I’ve reached the halfway point. Have I put too much into the story so far that I won’t have enough storyline left to reach the end? Am I still still trying to squeeze too much into the storyline? Are my characters developed enough? Does it matter?

Time to stop thinking and worrying about it…..

As a side note – I’ve heard two different strategies on writing/publishing/selling books. One strategy says all you need to do is sell one book to one fan. The fan will take care of selling the rest (as he tells their friends, who tell their friends, who tell their friends.) The other strategy says that if you can’t sell 100 books, you need a different book.

Which strategy to you subscribe to? Maybe I can get 100 people to say they’ll commit to buying the book for say — $12 (or less hopefully) — and then it won’t really matter will it 🙂

New books to read!


New books to read!
Originally uploaded by Jonathan D. Blundell.

new books to read, chew on, enjoy and review…

A New Kind Of Conversation
&
On the Side of the Angels: Justice, Human Rights and Kingdom Mission

Woot!