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NEW INDUSTRY OF CORD BLOOD BANKING. "1974 ... first proposed that stem and progenitor cells were present in human cord blood and 1983 that umbilical cord blood was proposed as an alternative source of stem cells for transplant. In 1988, the first successful cord blood ... 1995 that the first private cord blood bank began operations." http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2014-report-on-the-us-cord-blood-banking-industry-242430861.html View in LinkedIn

HUMAN CORD BLOOD STORAGE. "The cord blood banking industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. There were only 23 active cord blood banks as of 2005, and now there are 485 worldwide ... now exist in nearly every developed country, as well as within several developing nations. That is a 21-fold increase ... in less than a ten-year period." http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2014-report-on-the-us-cord-blood-banking-industry-242430861.html View in LinkedIn

THE NEXT SERIES of blogs will look at worldwide efforts to bank critical human cells like stem cells that have the potential to transform medicine as we know it today. Not only can cell-based therapies offer hope of treatment for diverse diseases where small molecules are impotent, they also usher in the era of personalized medicine. View in LinkedIn

FLAWED REGULATION OF GENETIC ENGINEERING. "The future success of synthetic biology depends in large part on whether public policy toward its applications is well-crafted. Policymakers should learn from the regulatory missteps inflicted on genetic engineering that illustrate ... has critical implications for a technology." http://lnkd.in/d38F4ur View in LinkedIn

THE DE-EXTINCTION of ancient species, including human ancestors is a lively debate today and is unlikely to go away. Like it or not, this subject will inexorably unfold as new scientific progress develops. King Canute (985 AD) famously failed to command the East Anglian tide from rising: we can imitate Canute, or adopt a realistic viewpoint. View in LinkedIn

CONSERVATIVES CALL SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY "an extreme form of genetic engineering," (and the) "ETC Group and Friends of the Earth, wants to ban the use of synthetic biology ... Until these regulations are in place, the group wants a moratorium on the release and commercial use of synthetic organisms and their products." http://lnkd.in/d_Pd4mp View in LinkedIn

UCBT SIMILAR TO BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS. "A cord blood transplant is similar to a bone marrow transplant. However, the blood stem cells are derived from the umbilical cord blood of a newborn rather than from an adult donor. One of the advantages of umbilical cord blood is that matching between donor and recipient does not need to be as exact." http://lnkd.in/drVk_kU View in LinkedIn

MANY EXAMPLES OF REINTRODUCTION OF SPECIES. "The return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park after an absence of 70 years is regarded as one of the great recent conservation coups. Black-footed ferrets ... Beavers ... wolves." Stewart Brand ... on the case for de-extinction. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_case_for_de-extinction_why_we_should_bring_back_the_woolly_mammoth/2721/ View in LinkedIn

1 MILLION TRANSPLANTS BY 2012. "A total of 1 million stem cell transplants (bone marrow, peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood) have been performed worldwide*. Today, more than 70 malignant and non-malignant diseases are typically treated with a stem cell transplant. This intervention, which is perfected day by day," https://www.fcarreras.org/en/a-total-of-1-million-stem-cell-transplants-have-been-performed-worldwide_147898 View in LinkedIn

SYNBIO AND CONSERVATION. "Conservation workers will this week seek help from an unlikely set of allies. They will ask researchers working on synthetic biology – the science of creating advanced manipulated organisms – to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats." http://lnkd.in/dQPXv7v View in LinkedIn