Scientific breakthrough as red blood cells are made from IVF embryos

British scientists have turned stem cells from spare IVF embryos into red blood cells as part of a project to manufacture synthetic blood on an industrial-scale. It is believed to be the first time in Britain that human red blood cells have been created from embryonic stem cells and it marks a milestone in a project aimed at producing blood for medical transfusions.

The aim of the £3m project is to develop an alternative source of O-negative blood, the universal donor group that can be transfused into the vast majority of the population without fear of rejection. The project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, has used more than a hundred spare IVF embryos from fertility clinics to establish several embryonic stem cell lines that replicate continuously in the laboratory. One of these lines, known as RC-7, has been transformed from embryonic cells into blood stem cells before being converted into the functioning red blood cells that contain the oxygen-carrying pigment haemoglobin.

Professor Marc Turner, the director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service in Edinburgh and leader of the project, said that synthetic blood made on an industrial scale would overcome the problem of blood shortages and the risk of transmitting new infections between donors and recipients. "We've proved the principle that from these embryonic stem cell lines we can generate red blood cells," Professor Turner said. "At the end of this three-year period we would envisage generating up to a unit [a pint] of red cells from embryonic stem cells at clinical grade which fulfil all the in vitro characteristics of red cells."

If all goes to plan, the first clinical trials of synthetic blood made from embryonic stem cells could begin within five years. The aim then is to scale-up the manufacturing process to produce more than two million pints a year using industrial bio-reactors.

It would raise the possibility of producing the entire supply of blood for the UK from a single "universal blood donor" who only ever existed as a four-day-old IVF embryo.

However, there are still obstacles to overcome. The scientists have to show, for instance, that the embryonic stem cells are cultured with laboratory reagents that have not been in contact with animal cells, which would risk contamination with animal diseases.

"The regulators, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the European Medicines Agency, would need to be comfortable that the cells were produced to sufficient quality and safety before they would allow the first studies in humans," Professor Turner said.

As part of the process of gaining regulatory approval, the project has produced four embryonic stem cell lines deemed good enough to be used in human clinical trials – conforming to the "good manufacturing practice" (GMP) grade. They have been made by Roslin Cells, a spin-off company from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh where Dolly the sheep was cloned.

Jo Mountford, a stem cell scientist at Glasgow University, confirmed that the synthetic red cells made in her laboratory from the RC-7 embryonic stem cell line produced by Roslin Cells contained the haemoglobin pigment. "We have cells that are clearly red so we're happy with that. We've managed to go 90 per cent down the path towards fully differentiated, adult red blood cells," Dr Mountford said.

One problem still to be resolved is to get the synthetic red cells to eject their nuclei, as happens naturally. This enables the cells to carry oxygen more efficiently and to pass through the narrow capillaries of the blood vessels.

Dr Mountford said that the haemoglobin in the synthetic red cells also shows signs of being more similar to foetal than adult haemoglobin, but she believes that further research will lead to mature, enucleated red blood cells with adult haemoglobin. "We're confident that we'll get the numbers of mature red blood cells that we need for clinical trials," she said.

Only one of the four embryonic stem cells lines produced at GMP grade has been tested for its blood type, Professor Turner said. The line, known as RC-9, is blood type B-positive and although it is not the universal donor type it can still be used for research.

The work on red cells is being watched with interest by researchers trying to convert embryonic stem cells into other specialised tissues. In many ways, red blood cells pose fewer problems than nerve, muscle or liver cells which contain cell nuclei and carry the risk of becoming cancerous, Professor Turner said. "If we can crack it with red cells, it takes us a long way. It doesn't solve it with other tissues but it takes us a long way to cracking it with other tissues, such as liver and so on."

A key requirement for synthetic blood is that it should be just as cheap, or cheaper, to produce than donated blood. It currently costs about £180 to make a pint of donated blood ready for transfusion, but the extra costs associated with testing and donation bring the total figure to about £500 per pint.

Chinese Digits

This Chinese boy has 34 fingers & toes. Now he has to undergo a surgery to remove extra digits.The previous world record was 25 digits.

Majority of women support single woman using IVF treatment to conceive, survey finds

Women feel strongly about their ability to conceive.

A recent survey of American women aged 25-45 that gauged attitudes toward In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) found that 83% of these women support a single woman using IVF to conceive if she is emotionally and financially able to care for the child.

The survey of 1,936 American women was conducted in June 2010 by Barbados Fertility Centre and Ipsos Reid. Barbados Fertility Centre is a destination for a growing number of American women and couples who want to undergo fertility treatment for half the cost of what they would pay in the US without compromising success rates.

"We have seen a sharp increase in patients and inquiries from all backgrounds in the United States, including heterosexual and gay single women and couples, so we wanted to better understand how American women view IVF," said Dr. Juliet Skinner, Medical Director of Barbados Fertility Centre, located in Barbados, in the Southern Caribbean. "Not only did we find overwhelming support for IVF for single women, but we learned that most women considering IVF are willing to travel to receive it if there is a cost-effective alternative that provides exceptional care."

Key Survey Findings: - Over one quarter of American women aged 25-45 (28%) who are planning to have a child are concerned about their ability to conceive. - Most surveyed (57%) were unwilling to travel outside of the US for any kind of medical procedure. However, fully 74% of women aged 25-45 who would consider IVF would be willing to travel outside of the US for the procedure if there was a significantly lower cost and higher pregnancy success rate. - 57% of women who plan to have a child, or are currently unsure, are likely to consider IVF.

Added Dr. Skinner, "the ability to have a child, whether in a couple or alone, is something women feel very strongly about and want to have as many options as possible available to them. This includes freezing their eggs, IVF treatment and travelling for more affordable, effective treatments."

The high cost of IVF treatment in the US, particularly in California and New York where costs are the highest, has created greater demand among American patients for services at Barbados Fertility Centre. The average cost of IVF in the US is $14,000 USD for one treatment cycle alone. In contrast, Americans travelling to Barbados pay an average of $5,750 USD, which is less than half the cost of receiving treatment at home. Even with the travel and medication costs factored in, the entire cost of the procedure is still significantly lower due to the rising costs of healthcare services in the US.

Gulf states order Blackberry users to cover their phones in a tiny Burqa

New laws in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will require that every Blackberry user dress their phone a miniature burqa and face veil.The Blackberry burqa means that people can still use their phones, said a Saudi government official, but the tiny niqab that covers the screen will stop them from reading emails or accessing the Internet.

The introduction of the burqa is intended to conceal the Blackberry from unwanted attention. With the veil in place only a tiny slit remains revealing just the time and date, thus preserving its modesty.

This is not about censorship or oppression, said UAE telecommunications regulator Mohammed al-Ghanem, this is about preserving the essential purity of the Blackberry and protecting it from being corrupted.

Some businessmen believe that making their phone wear a burqa can be very liberating. It’s great, said one, with the veil in place I am free to walk about with my Blackberry in public without the feeling that people are staring lustily at my multi-media application. It also covers my shame for not owning an iPhone.

Some religious groups have welcomed the policy. If the almighty had meant us to freely access the Internet He would have given us web browsers in our heads, said a local Imam, adding there is absolutely no mention of instant messaging in the holy texts and at no point did anyone, ever say LOL, ROFL or PMSL.

If the Blackberry burqa is successful it may spread to other countries. However, experts say that dressing your phone in a burqa could result in poor reception, especially in France and Belgium.

The British government has yet to declare an official line on phone burqas although Immigration Minister Damian Green said that to ban them would be very unBritish . He went on to explain that, the British thing to do, as always, is to grumble and tut.

The Saudi government have promised that anyone who refuses to dress their Blackberry in a burqa will face harsh punishment. I am not saying exactly what we will do, said their Minister for Justice, but suffice to say that it isn t so easy to text with your toes.

Southwest Terminal, Hobby Airport, Houston, TX

Champagne fizzles out if served with a splash! For best results, tilt glass and pour.

Not the best way to pour champagne.
If you want to enjoy champagne to the full, pour it out as you would a beer.
Sommeliers and connoisseurs may find the suggestion hard to swallow, but the evidence published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry1 seems irrefutable. Pouring champagne into a tilted glass helps it to retain the dissolved gas that is vital for the gustatory experience, say Gérard Liger-Belair and his colleagues at the University of Reims in France.
The French team compared the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide in a fresh flute of champagne poured the traditional way — splashing it into a vertical glass — with that after pouring along the inside of a tilted glass, as one does with beer to avoid giving it too much frothy 'head'. The researchers found that champagne served chilled (at 4 °C) contains about twice as much dissolved CO2 using the beer-like method.
A typical 75-cubic-centimetre bottle of champagne contains five litres of dissolved CO2. When uncorked, the release of pressure means that the liquid becomes supersaturated with the gas, which then begins to escape as bubbles. These contribute to the pleasure of drinking champagne in several ways: they give it a lively appearance, release aromas (the 'nose'), produce the stimulating oral sensation of collapsing bubbles, and create sharp tang owing to the conversion of CO2 to carbonic acid inside the mouth.
"CO2 has a strong effect on the sensory experience and flavour of champagne," says Susan Ebeler, an analytical chemist and oenologist at the University of California, Davis. "Flavour is a multisensory experience, including aroma, taste, colour, mouth-feel and even auditory cues. CO2 can affect many of these senses."

Cold comfort

The slower a glass of bubbly releases its CO2, the longer it remains vivacious. Yet it turns out that most CO2 is lost not through bubbles bursting but by simple diffusion across the liquid surface. That is why flutes are used in the first place: the narrow neck reduces the surface area from which gas can escape.

Tilting the glass helps to keep more carbon dioxide in solution.

Pouring has a big influence on the gas content, both because the 'tongue' of liquid falling from the bottle to the glass exposes a large surface area and because turbulence and entrapment of air bubbles as the liquid hits the glass can speed up diffusion of CO2 out of solution.
The beer-pouring action should cut CO2 loss on both counts: the column of flowing liquid is less exposed to air, and the gentler impact reduces turbulence. Liger-Belair and his colleagues have confirmed this, using a standard method for measuring dissolved CO2 concentrations (based on the activity of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which reacts with carbonic acid), and using a method called thermography, which provides snapshots of CO2 levels in air based on how strongly it absorbs infrared radiation.
The researchers also show that both to maximize CO2 retention and to obtain the full benefits of the beer-pouring technique, the champagne must be chilled. When served at close to room temperature (18 °C), champagne served by the beer technique loses about two and a half times more CO2 than when chilled — almost as much as it loses when served in the traditional way at room temperature.
Liger-Belair and his team show that increased gas loss from warm champagne is mostly a result of two factors. First, the colder liquid is more viscous, and so gas-leaking turbulence is dampened more quickly. Second, CO2 molecules diffuse slowler in cold water, and so are unable to reach the surface as quickly.
Will champagne lovers be persuaded to alter their ways? "Champagne is a universe full of traditions," says Liger–Belair, who has worked as a consultant for the research department of Moët & Chandon. "But maybe champagne and science can mix to offer a better way of tasting," he says. He has at least one convert already. "Based on this paper, I probably will pour using the beer-like method now," says Ebeler.

Steve Job's future line-up!