In Europe’s first human embryonic stem cell trial, surgeons have been given permission to implant embryonic stem cells into patients suffering from Stargardt’s disease, an incurable eye disease.

The “Wissenschaftsladen Bonn” (“Science Shop Bonn”), or WiLaBonn for short, is hosting a regular science café with the goal of presenting scientific findings in such a way that the general public can appreciate them. At the café, visitors can mingle with scientists and science journalists in a relaxed atmosphere. Dr. Christiane Hohensee was also invited to take part on 22 September and to answer the questions of 11th and 12th class pupils regarding the possible uses of stem cell research as an alternative to animal experiments.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) has received a $6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a consortium to develop a new technological methodology for mapping the molecular pathways of toxicity within cells.

Researchers under the leadership of Preben Boysen from the Norway University of Veterinary Sciences in Oslo have found that laboratory mice raised in a sterilized environments have less killer cells (NK cells) in their immune system than humans or members of the same species raised in the wild. This results is therrefore of particular interest because it shows that scientific results obtained from experiments on mice cannot be reliable transferred to humans.