UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

NIH approves use of embryonic stem cells

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced approval Wednesday of the use of human embryonic stem cells in NIH-funded research.

NIH Director Francis Collins announced the decision approving use of the first 13 human embryonic stem cell lines under the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research.

"I am happy to say that we now have human embryonic stem cell lines eligible for use by our research community under our new stem cell policy," Collins said. "In accordance with the guidelines, these stem cell lines were derived from embryos that were donated under ethically sound informed consent processes. More lines are under review now, and we anticipate continuing to expand this list of responsibly derived lines eligible for NIH funding."

Researchers said they hope that eventually cells differentiated from the human embryonic stem cells might be used to treat a myriad of diseases, conditions and disabilities and to test the safety of new drugs in the laboratory.

President Obama earlier this year issued an executive order allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the NIH, to support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research.

President George W. Bush in 2001 prohibited federally funded research involving human embryonic stem cells, except for a small group of stem cell lines created before August 2001. Obama's order reverses that decision.

Exercise slows 'biological clock'

HOMBURG, Germany, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Long-term physical activity has an anti-aging effect on the body at the cellular level, German researchers say.

The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, finds intensive exercise helps prevent the shortening of telomeres -- DNA that protects chromosomes from damage.

The shortening of telomeres, say the researchers, limits the number of divisions cells can make and speeds up the "biological clock." Longer telomeres slow the aging of the cardiovascular system.

The researchers measured the length of telomeres in blood samples from two groups of professional athletes -- professional runners with an average age of 20 and middle-aged athletes with a history of continuous endurance exercise since their youth whose average age was 51.

The exercisers were matched by age to two groups who were healthy nonsmokers, but not regular exercisers.

"The most significant finding of this study is that physical exercise of the professional athletes leads to activation of the important enzyme telomerase and stabilizes the telomere," lead author Dr. Ulrich Laufs of Saarland University in Homburg, Germany, says in a statement.

"This is direct evidence of an anti-aging effect of physical exercise. Physical exercise could prevent the aging of the cardiovascular system, reflecting this molecular principle."

Rhino poaching surges in Asia and Africa

GLAND, Switzerland, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A report by two Switzerland-headquartered conservation groups says worldwide rhinoceros poaching is increasing, especially in Asia and Africa.

The report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife Fund says the poaching is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos.

The organizations said since 2006, 95 percent of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa, new data indicates.

"These two nations collectively form the epicenter of an unrelenting poaching crisis in southern Africa," said Tom Milliken of TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network established by the two conservation groups to ensure trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.

The report also raises concerns regarding the low and declining numbers as well as the uncertain status of some of the Sumatran and Javan rhino populations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

However, the conservationists note in some areas populations of rhinos are increasing. "Where there is political will, dedicated conservation programs and good law enforcement, rhino numbers have increased in both Africa and Asia," they said.

The report is available at http://www.cites.org/common/cop/15/doc/E15-45-01A.pdf.

Cleft palate onset reversed in fetal mice

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have non-surgically reversed the onset of cleft palate in fetal mice, moving science closer to understanding similar human defects.

Researchers at the University of Southern California's School of Dentistry, led by Associate Professor Yang Chai, said cleft palate is one of the most common congenital birth defects in humans and current surgical treatment for the craniofacial abnormality is often complex, lengthy and invasive.

Chai said cleft palate can cause serious complications, including difficulty eating and learning to speak. But close regulation of important signaling molecules during palate formation might one day allow doctors to reverse a cleft palate before the baby is even born, Chai said.

The procedure used to reverse the defect in the fetal mice is described in the journal Development.