Castillo suffered from tuberculosis which left her with a ruined trachea and a collapsed lung, leaving her unable to breath. At least two other patients await their own transplants, as the procedure requires about three months to grow.
University of Bristol Professor Martin Birchall, who worked with the Spanish team, said, "This is just the beginning. I think it will completely transform the way we think about surgery. In 20 years' time the commonest surgical operations will be regenerative procedures to replace organs and tissues damaged by disease with autologous tissues and organs from the laboratory. We are on the verge of a new age in surgical care."
It is important to note the difference between adult stem cells and the more controversial embyonic stem cells. While adult stem cell research has shown great promise in a number of different areas, embryonic stem cell research has consistently proven to be a dead end.
New York is broke, both the state and the city. So, with budget deficits looming and no solution in sight, the Manhattan Transportation Authority (MTA) is making cuts. More than 1500 employees will be losing their jobs, resulting in fewer subway trains, buses and more crowding on those lines still running. Fewer customer assistance centers will be open, as well as fewer turnstiles to accomodate crowded stations.
MTA CEO Elliot Sander has said the authority will have to raise fares and impose drastic service cuts if Gov. Paterson and the Legislature don't adopt a bailout plan.
The projected 2009 operating budget has widened from about $900 million to $1.2 billion because of the weak economy and dramatically declining tax revenues, Sander said.
Fares on most lines will be increased, by as much as fifty percent, even as services are cut. Waits between buses and trains will be increased throughout the system, and some routes will be eliminated altogether during off hours.
The Obama Administration has taken a step closer to formation of a cabinet with the revelations that President-elect Obama is in negotiation with Robert Gates to stay on in the new administration as Secretary of Defense.
In addition, it has been reported that the President-elect is close to announcing his selection of Eric Holder to become the first African-American Attorney General. Holder, another Clinton-era appointee, served as deputy attorney general, has been a partner in the D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, and served on the selection committee to find a vice-presidential selection for Obama.
President-elect Obama has publicly acknowledged that he is patterning his administration after that of President Abraham Lincoln, who famously selected a "team of rivals" from his defeated opponents.
Adding weight to that approach President-elect Obama met last week with Sen John McCain to discuss ways of working together in a bipartisan manner, and has reportly chosen Sen Hillary Clinton to be his new Secretary of State.
The internet is changing everything, including the way that Communist countries manage the news. With the immediacy of internet communication worldwide, it is no longer possible to prevent the dissemination of news, and so the new policy is to report news as it happens.
In the past, when an event happened, news of that event were reported to Beijing to get official permission. Usually, after a few days, a news blackout would be officially announced. Because of that policy:
— It took China 18 years before it broke its silence to reveal that 694 people – including 597 children – had died in a Chinese New Year’s Day inferno in a crowded cinema in 1977. There was no explanation for the delay in the news
— In 1975, 62 dams in central Henan province crumbled over the course of three days or were intentionally destroyed amid record rainfall, killing at least 175,000 people in the worst such recorded disaster in history. Government figures were declassified only in 2005
The new policy is not be be confused with freedom of the press, but rather a more refined method of managing the news available to the Chinese people.
China's propaganda chief, Li Changchun is quoted as saying, “Let us use the method of providing news as the way to control news. The principle is to report an incident as soon as possible without the need to inform the leaders in advance.”
The intent of the new policy is to prevent internet rumor and gossip by keeping the news in the hands of the official news agencies.
Convicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has lost his bid for reelection to a seventh term. Stevens, 85, trails his challenger Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich by 3724 votes with only about 2500 overseas absentee ballots left to be tallied.
Begich becomes the first Democrat to represent the state of Alaska in Washington in 30 years.
The very popular Stevens was indicted by the US Justice Department and convicted last month of receiving bribes. Had he won his reelection bid, he would have been forced to resign, and the Governor of Alaska, Gov Sarah Palin, would have named his successor. With the result of the election returns that successor will be Begich.
Stevens has announced that he will not seek a pardon from outgoing President Bush, and that he intends to appeal his conviction. In the US Senate, South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint has planned to introduce a move to expel Stevens from the party conference and strip him of his committee assignments. Sen DeMint has been awaiting results of the election to see if such a move was necessary.
"After talking with many of my colleagues, it's clear there are sufficient votes to pass the resolution regarding Senator Stevens," a statement by DeMint said. "The question now is timing. Some who support the resolution believe we should address this after the results of his election are confirmed in Alaska."
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has hit Southwestern Panama, close to that nation's third largest city of David. The epicenter of the quake occurred at a depth of about 30 miles, and no damage or loss of life is reported at this time.
A similar earthquake struck near the same city in January. David, a city of about 125,000 is near the border with Costa Rica. Reportedly tremors were felt as far away as San Jose, the Costa Rican capital.
An Indian navel vessel sank a Somali pirate ship today after that ship refused to be inspected and then fired on the Indian warship. The incident occurred in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 285 miles southwest of Salalah, Oman.
Pirate activity in the area has become intense in recent years as the lawless state of Somalia has become a safe haven for pirates. Military ships from several countries, including the United States, patrol the area searching for suspected pirates.
When hailed for inspection, the Somali vessel first threatened and then fired upon the Indian navel vessel. The Indian ship returned the fire, hitting the Somali ship.
"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the vessel," according to an Indian navy statement.
Two speedboats attempted to flee the sinking ship. One speedboat was later found abandoned, while the other got away.
about this stem cell news. I think we are on the verge of a "cure" for diabetes (among many other diseases.) Growing a pancreas, from one's own cells, that secrets insulin would be nothing short of a miracle to millions of people. In my line of work (I'm a nurse) I see the multiple complications of this disease on all body organs.
We've been growing skin in labs for a while. Now we have an actual organ, regrown and implanted. And it appears to work! It's stunning news to me!
"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot."
~Charlie Chaplin
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