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Europe's highest court ruled today that it's not legal for companies to patent any sort of research method that requires the destruction of human embryos. Christian groups are super psyched about this because God says cellbabies are exactly the same as grown up humans with faces and feelings. Scientists are upset because they say that this will drive research away from Europe. People who will end up dying of diseases that could have been cured using methods discovered through stem cell research could not be reached for comment. More »
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In a step forward in stem cell research, scientists have created the cells by combining a human egg with skin-cell DNA. However, this doesn't eliminate the need for more controversial embryonic stem cell research. More »
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Japanese scientists say they've taken a "hugely exciting" step forward in the treatment of male infertility. After implanting sperm cells made from embryonic stem cells into infertile mice, the animals were able to father healthy offspring. The researchers hope to someday create sperm from the skin cells of infertile men. More »
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Would you trade hip, butt or belly fat for somewhat larger breasts—if safe and "natural" feeling? The discovery of stem cells in fat tissue could make this more than hypothetical, and implications go beyond the beauty myth. More »
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In February, at a panel about "embarrassing" products and women, someone mentioned that menstrual blood is rich with stem cells. Comedian Sarah Haskins quipped, "one day we'll all be living on period farms." Good news: That day is almost here. More »
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Doctors are hopeful that new stem cell technology will allow women to regrow breasts within the next three years. The technique - which involves injecting fat tissue into a biodegradable chamber - has already proved successful in pigs. [Telegraph] More »
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Scientists say they've created the first human sperm from stem cells, but, as several news outlets hasten to reassure us, that doesn't mean we'll soon be "producing human life in a dish." More »
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In a repeal of Bush-era limitations, federal funding can now be used on any existing embryonic stem cell line, as long as the initial embryo was created for IVF and freely given by a well-informed donor. [Washington Post] More »
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• Richard Nixon apparently thought interracial pregnancy was grounds for abortion. On a newly released tape, he reportedly says, "There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white." • More »
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What do you do with 2,000 abandoned embryos? Dr. Robert Anderson's answer to this question highlights how the simple combination of sperm and egg has become complicated in the age of reproductive technology. More »
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University of São Paulo scientists used stem cells harvested from fallopian tubes discarded after hysterectomies or sterilizations to create a variety of other tissue lines. They hope someday to be able to create fallopian tubes to potentially treat infertility. [BBC] More »
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Scientists have found evidence that adult women have stem cells in their ovaries that let them generate more eggs, challenging the long-standing belief that women are born with a fixed number of ova. More »
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• Yesterday, thousands gathered to celebrate the Steel Phallus festival in Kawasaki, Japan. The fertility festival traditionally falls on the first Sunday in April, and centers around a penis-venerating shrine. Sounds fun! •  More »
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• This poor otter was near death when Camilla Ravenshear found him wandering alone on the road. He is now feeling much better, and is now taking comfort in his new teddy bear friend. •  More »
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Most infertility patients support using leftover embryos for stem cell research and are in favor of selling the embryos to other couples, according to a recent survey of 1,350 infertility patients at a university fertility center in Illinois. It was estimated in 2002 that nearly 400,000 embryos are in storage at U.S. clinics as a result of extra embryos being produced during procedures. As to whether couples should be allowed to sell leftover embryos (a practice deemed unethical by the by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), 56% of the 588 respondents who stated a definitive opinion answered yes. [Science Daily] More »
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Periods are awesome! A new study has found that circulation-blocked mice, when injected with cells obtained from menstrual blood (called endometrial regenerative cells) their circulation and functionality were restored. This means that people suffering from critical limb ischemia, as advanced form of peripheal artery disease that causes 150,000 amputations a year, may be able to be treated with ERCs. The cells are good because they don't requite matching, complex equipment, can be delivered to the point of care, and are capable of forming 9 different tissue types. [Science Daily] More »
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• An Australian rabbit named "Rabbit" totally saved his family from a fire. (That's not him at left.) There's a pretty good joke about this kind of thing. • Help from your daughter-in-law makes you less depressed, if you're an elderly Chinese woman; help from your son, apparently not so much. • Girls just as good at math as boys throughout primary and secondary school. Raise your hand if you're surprised. More »
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• Scientists have found stem cells in menstrual blood. • And a new company, C'elle, is already offering women period blood storage starting at just $99/year! • Joan Benoit Samuelson, "the matriarch of marathons," is running Olympic trials in Boston for fun. • Amy Poehler eats Honey Nut Cheerios because of The Wire• An ex-prisoner in Sweden was fined after he gave parting gifts of wooden dicks to female guards. • More from Sweden: a Muslim woman won a discrimination case after she was told to vacate a bus for wearing a niqab scarf. • The first born are usually the smartest. • The Supreme Court will consider using the death penalty for child rape. • Media Matters calls Bill O'Reilly a big ol' homophobe. More »
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Imagine your vaginal area hurting so much that you can't sit for prolonged periods of time and sex is absolutely out of the question. Doctors are reporting that as many as one in six American women may be suffering from vulvodynia, which the New York Times describes as "searing or shooting pain when any amount of pressure is placed" on the vulva, adding, "Some women compare the feeling to acid being poured on an open wound." Although some physicians call the condition a "vulvar fibromyalgia" because of the intense pain and the tendency of medical professionals to tell women it's purely psychological — Yay, hysteria! — other doctors are taking the condition seriously, prescribing hormones and steroids to help lessen the inflammation (others remove what they believe to be "an overabundance of nerve endings" that might be causing the unending hurt). More »
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So, apparently, there is a menstrual blood bank. Cyro-Cell, a cord blood company, has just launched a controversial service for women who want to store their own stem cells taken from their period blood, in hopes that medical advances will enable stem cells to cure certain diseases like cancer. Women are sent a "discreet" collection kit, which includes a menstrual cup and collection tubes. (Yuck.) Anyway for $499, Cyro-Cell will process your cells and store them for a year, but some experts believe that it's too early to tell if menstrual stem cells are going to be "therapeutically viable," and that selling this service, with such iffy science backing it up, is simply preying upon women's fears. [BBC News] More »
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• Jennifer Aniston just says no to that more rotund Vince Vaughn and picks herself up a male model named Paul Sculfor (who we show you almost-nudie, to the left) to date instead. [People.com]

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