Stem cell institute names its chief scientific officer

University retains patents of all human embryonic stem cells

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me@rescam.org

Stem cell institute names its chief scientific officer

University retains patents of all human embryonic stem cells

Sorry if this comment is ill taken.......
But.....'Patents My Arse.......'
God has the patent on all human life........
And if any human being can find a way to make it work to find another path to human healing.......I am all for it......and nobody 'owns' those rights.....it is a discovery for all mankind......much as the Seti discovery we are all hoping to find......
It's not 'us and them'......it's us and all.......

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

State stem cell grant played important role in drug discovery, cooperation

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me@rescam.org

''President Bush used his veto power for the first time in his presidency to quash a law that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research''.

Thats very good policy considering that 'completing the known types and functions of human quarks' will cost less than $50 million dollars. The frequency signitures of the quarks is the indicator of particular weakness's which will emerge among the human organism. Funding that research is of much more importance regarding the development of knowledge of how the human body operates. The importance of such decisions is testamant of the management experience neccessary which guards human development.

Thats very good policy considering that 'completing the known types and functions of human quarks' will cost less than $50 million dollars. The frequency signitures of the quarks is the indicator of particular weakness's which will emerge among the human organism. Funding that research is of much more importance regarding the development of knowledge of how the human body operates. The importance of such decisions is testamant of the management experience neccessary which guards human development.

Uhhh....what exactly do you mean "human quarks"??

Quarks exist in all atoms; whether those atoms constitute human flesh or not is irrelevant.

And what exactly do you mean that "frequency signatures of quarks will indicate weaknesses in the human organism"?

What exactly are you talking about?

And what $50 million dollar research are you referring to?

Research lab promise outweighs glider flights

UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

April 22, 2008

Since the late Jonas Salk's establishment of an internationally renowned institute on Torrey Pines Mesa in 1963, San Diego has been in the vanguard of global medical research. But the emerging plan by four of San Diego's premier research centers to collaborate on a single institution centered on stem cell studies holds the promise of medical advances on a much wider scale.

It is lamentable in the extreme, then, that a handful of glider enthusiasts are trying to kill the medical consortium's proposal to build a $115 million headquarters lab on Torrey Pines Mesa. The structure would house the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, a joint initiative by UCSD, the Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research.

The university is contributing the land on which the research lab would be built. Under UCSD's master plan, the site is designated for academic development, a mission that the new research institution certainly would fulfill. What's more, the location would be of enormous benefit to the consortium's researchers because it is in the heart of the Torrey Pines biomedical cluster, which includes more than a dozen other world-class research entities, such as the Neurosciences Institute, the Center for Molecular Medicine and the San Diego Super Computer Center.

The Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California and the Torrey Pines Soaring Council are attempting to kill the project because it would be built on North Torrey Pines Road near the Torrey Pines Gliderport. The unpaved airstrip, on land owned by UCSD, is used intermittently by glider pilots, while a larger number of hang-gliders use the nearby cliffs to launch into flight over the Pacific.

The new research lab, about 60 feet tall, would have no impact on the hang-gliders. But there is fierce disagreement over whether it would interfere with conventional glider operations, which are relatively few and scattered throughout the year.

Opponents claim the new building would force closure of the gliderport, an assertion they also made unsuccessfully in their bid to prevent UCSD from building a 14-story dormitory on a nearby parcel. Supporters of the lab point out, however, that it would be no taller than the surrounding eucalyptus trees, which glider pilots have been negotiating for years. An environmental impact report compiled for UCSD concludes the lab would not prompt the end of glider operations, but that it could require pilots to alter their flight patterns. In the end, both the California Coastal Commission and Caltrans' aeronautic division must issue permits for the lab's construction.

The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine has enormous potential to alleviate such chronic diseases as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The biomedical revolution is only now beginning. Its far-reaching benefits for mankind are not yet known. It would be a tragedy of enormous proportions if glider advocates succeeded in snuffing out this promising initiative.

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me@rescam.org

Stem cell group gets its first building block

By Terri Somers
Union-Tribune

May 8, 2008

The fundraising has only just begun.

The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine yesterday received a $43 million grant from the state stem cell institute to help build a research center in Torrey Pines where the region's scientists will attempt to unlock the mysteries of stem cells and treat disease.

While the consortium members were thrilled to receive the grant, it will cost $115 million to build the research center. During the next several months, the consortium will be looking for other sources of grants, philanthropic gifts and loans to raise the additional $72 million.

The consortium, which includes University of California San Diego, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and The Scripps Research Institute, had asked for $50 million. The group was one of 12 that were awarded $271 million in construction funding yesterday by the stem cell institute's board.

“The fact that we want to build a stem cell research facility here in San Diego and the state is willing to give us $43 million to help make that happen is pretty good,” said Louie Coffman, the consortium's vice president. “Forty-three million dollars is a pretty good head start.”

The grants are a part of Proposition 71, the $3 billion stem cell research initiative that voters approved in 2004. It created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to distribute the grant money that makes the state the world's biggest funder of stem cell research.

Proposition 71 limits investment in infrastructure to 10 percent of its overall funding, or $300 million.

This round of grants takes it to that threshold. But the funds will be leveraged to bring more than three times as much money into expanding research space.

As a condition of receiving this money, every grant recipient must raise additional funds equivalent to at least 20 percent of the grant amount. All plan to collect much more than their grant amounts.

The 12 grant recipients will contribute $560 million to the construction projects, bringing the total statewide investment to $831 million. Add the recruiting costs and other expenses, and the investment jumps to about $1.1 billion.

“As a patient advocate, I am inspired by the amount of leverage California research institutions have contributed from their charitable donors and from their reserves,” said Robert Klein, chairman of the state stem cell institute.

The consortium plans to build a four-story building, with a basement, on 7½ acres at North Torrey Pines Road and Torrey Pines Scenic Drive. The land, owned by UCSD, is valued at about $15 million.

Scientists from the four member institutions combine expertise on stem cells as well as bioengineering, computational biology, chemistry and clinical sciences. Seldom are scientists in those disciplines able to work together in one facility with the goals of unleashing the regenerative powers of stem cells and harnessing them for health care.

The center would be the first of its kind in the nation, where four institutes that have formed a nonprofit entity will share resources, staff and expertise.

The consortium hopes to break ground for the facility by the first quarter of 2009.

It first must complete an environmental impact report for the site, which is just east of the Torrey Pines Gliderport. That report then must be reviewed and approved by University of California regents and the California Coastal Commission.

A possible impediment to securing the approvals is a group of pilots who say the building would prohibit them from landing their fixed-wing gliders at the gliderport, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The pilots have asked the State Historical Resources Commission to consider expanding the site's boundaries, although it remains uncertain whether the issue would stop construction.

Meanwhile, the consortium will be raising funds for the building.

An out-of-state philanthropist, whom the consortium declined to identify, has pledged to donate $30 million, with $10 million paid upfront. The remainder would be paid in $2 million annual installments.

The consortium will seek grants from other sources to pay for some equipment for the facility, Coffman said. It anticipates seeking a loan to fund the rest while soliciting other donors, he said.

The consortium has planned extra laboratory space that it could rent to help pay off debt, Coffman said.

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me@rescam.org

Stem Cells Might Cause Cancer

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Repairing damage to brain may be nearer

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