Maniolas

Rod photoreceptors (in green) within a “mini retina” derived from human iPS cells in the lab©Image courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine (PARIS-AFP) – In another step towards reversing degenerative vision loss, scientists said Tuesday they had coaxed stem cells into growing into a tiny, light-sensing retina in a lab dish. The study is an important technical feat in using reprogrammed cells, whose discovery in 2006 has unleashed huge interest, they said. “We have basically created a miniature human retina in a dish that not only has the architectural organisation of the retina but also has the ability to sense light,” said Valeria Canto-Soler of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. The work is the latest advance towards the goal of creating transplant cells that reverse damage to the retina, the light-capturing surface on the back of the eyeball. Stem cells are infant cells that develop, or differentiate, into the various tissues of the body. Until 2006, the big focus was on stem cells culled from early-stage embryos, which are highly versatile but also ethically controversial. That changed with the discovery in Japan of so-called human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), which are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to return to a youthful, pre-differentiated state. The latest research marshalls the iPS into the right architecture for the retina, ordering the complex layers of specific photoreceptor cells which absorb and process light. More work is needed, though, to understand how these cells transmit signals to the brain. Experiments in Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III and His Excellency Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, witness as Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor signs in the Palace guest book at the Reception Hall of the Malacañan Palace for the Prime Minister’s Working Visit to the Philippines and to witness the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on Thursday (March 27). MANILA (Mabuhay) — The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law will be submitted to Congress when it resumes session in July, Malacañang and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) committed on Tuesday. “At present, efforts have already been made to coordinate with the Senate and House leadership to ensure that the draft BBL is submitted to Congress when sessions resume in July,” Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and BTC chair Mohagher Iqbal said in a joint statement released Tuesday. The BBL will formalize the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Its draft, which was crafted by the 15-member BTC, was based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed late March. Ochoa and Iqbal said they acknowledge the urgency behind the passage of the BBL but that they also recognize that a “thorough, extensive and comprehensive review of the draft law’s numerous provisions is a necessary part of the process to ensure that these are consistent with what the parties agreed upon in the 17 years of peace negotiation.” “We believe that investing time in Read More …

Officers of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) led by general manager Eduardo Chu launch its monthly Manila Bay port clean-up campaign on Monday (July 29, 2013) at the Navotas Fish Port complex in Navotas City. (MNS photo) BRUSSELS (AFP) – The EU warned Tuesday the Philippines, one of the world’s largest fishing nations, and Papua New Guinea that they faced an import ban if they do not curb illegal fishing. The European Commission said it had failed to make progress in talks with both countries and decided to issue a formal warning – a “yellow card” – that they must reach European Union standards on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. If the Philippines, listed as the 12th biggest global fishing nation, and PNG fail to come up to scratch “through dialogue and cooperation … then the EU can proceed to trade measures,” it said. The position will be reviewed in six months time to see if the two countries have made enough progress on action plans drawn up by the EU, it added. In March, the EU banned fish imports from Belize, Cambodia and Guinea for “acting insufficiently against illegal fishing.” The Commission similarly warned Panama, Fiji, Togo, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu in 2012 and South Korea, Ghana and Curacao in 2013 but said Tuesday most of these countries had “cooperated constructively” with Brussels. Illegal fishing is estimated to account for 15 percent of the world catch annually, with the EU importing about 65 percent of its seafood. Fisheries Read More …