(Reuters) – A pioneering clinical trial to inject stem cells into the brains of patients disabled by stroke has been cleared to progress to the next stage after the treatment raised no safety concerns in the first three candidates. ReNeuron Group PLC, the British biotech behind the trial, said the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board had reviewed safety data from its ReN001 stem cell therapy and recommended the trial advance to the higher dose. “Data from the laboratory safety tests, neurological examinations and neurofunctional tests conducted thus far indicate that the ReN001...

A group of scientists in Japan has been able to restore fertility in infertile mice, the Wall Street Journal reported. The scientists took early sperm cells, which were made from embryonic cells, and implanted them in infertile mice. The resulting sperm enabled the mice to father pups that were not only healthy, but also fertile. This is the first time that laboratory-created sperm has successfully created healthy animals. Mitinori Saitou, the team leader, reported that “the mouse babies are just fine and they’ve had normal, fertile babies of their own.” The team of scientists...

When Matthew Green leaves hospital, the one thing he really mustn’t forget is his rucksack. By Andrew Levy The father of one will be carrying part of his new heart in it. Mr Green, 40, will be the first Briton to be discharged from hospital with a completely artificial heart. The device in his chest is slightly larger than the organ it replaces and weighs less than six ounces. It delivers blood to the body with the help of a pump that is carried in the rucksack, along with a battery. Read More…

MADRID, Spain — Doctors in Spain have carried out the world’s first double leg transplant, giving new lower limbs to a patient who lost both legs at mid-thigh in an accident, officials said Monday. The Valencia regional government said the surgical team was led by Dr. Pedro Cavadas, who in 2009 carried out Spain’s first face transplant — the first anywhere to include a new tongue and jaw. The government statement said the operation at La Fe Hospital in Valencia was extremely complex and Cavadas will wait at least 48 hours to release more information. “Today we can say...

Probing colons has never been this much fun. Japanese researchers have developed the world’s first self-propelled endoscopy device, a remote controlled tadpole-like camera that can “swim” through the digestive tack gathering imagery along the way. This kind of endoscopy isn’t wholly new, of course, but previous iterations of ingestible cameras relied on natural muscle contractions to move them through the body. The “Mermaid,” as it is known, simplifies the process by moving quickly through the digestive tract to its destination, whatever that point may be. Read more…

Paraplegic Man Regains Voluntary Movement With Implanted Device, Rehab May 19, 2011 – Rob Summers can’t walk — yet. But he can do something no other person paralyzed with a devastating spinal cord injury ever has done: He can stand up from his wheelchair when he wants to. “Being able to stand for first time was both emotional and exciting. After years of seeing no gains or recovered function, I was able to see my hard work pay off. It was as rewarding as anything I have ever done in my life,” Summers said at a news teleconference. He does it with the help of a pacemaker-like...

Permits funding of research using human embryos The Obama administration can continue to fund research that uses human embryonic stem cells, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday, ending months of uncertainty for scientists. The ruling from the US Court of Appeals in Washington reverses a lower court’s injunction that had halted new federal funding for several weeks last year. “I am pretty excited about it,’’ said Dr. Leonard Zon, director of the stem cell program at Children’s Hospital Boston. Read more…

The quality is deemed good enough for doctors to make diagnoses from MRIs and other medical images on an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Reporting from Washington — Add diagnosing soft-tissue injuries to online banking, e-mail, video games and thousands of other applications available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The Food and Drug Administration ushered in the era of mobile diagnostic radiology Friday, approving software for viewing images and making medical diagnoses from MRIs and CT, PET and SPECT scans on several of Apple Inc.’s popular hand-held devices. Read more…

By Anthony Baxter Home DNA testing kits are going on sale in Boots stores across the UK later. Until now, the paternity packs have only been available online and in a few independent pharmacies. The chemist says it is the first High Street shop to sell the kits, which let people settle disputes over whether someone is father to a baby without outside help. The kit costs £29.99, with an extra £129 to get the results back from the laboratory. The couple and the child each rub a cotton swab inside their mouth, put each one in a specially coloured envelope and send them off to be tested. Results...

Having smartphones like Blackberry is fun for some people. With smartphones, the activity of exchanging e-mails, chatting, or surfing the internet can be done simultaneously, anytime and anywhere. But think carefully before using this technology. Cosmetic doctor stated that smartphone users will get old faster characterized by premature wrinkles. Wrinkle as a sign of one being old is usually experienced by someone in their middle age 30. However, younger women are now having wrinkles more quickly due to overuse of smartphones. Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh says that staring at the phone screen which has...