Scientists have made a discovery with adult stem cells in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, which may have important implications for humans.

In a study led by Dr. Michael Buszczak, formerly of the Department of Embryology at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Laboratories in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center in Dallas, researchers have reported the identification of a protease-encoding gene in Drosophila which is commonly required in germline, epithelial and intestinal stem cells.

Known as the histone H2B ubiquitin protease “scrawny” (scny) gene, the gene encodes a ubiquitin-specific protease and is a common requirement in stem cells within diverse tissue types, since such stem cells share the common need for a chromatin configuration that promotes self-renewal. Chromatin proteins contain the genetic instructions that direct cell function, and are known to regulate multiple types of stem cells.

Among other effects, Dr. Buszczak and his colleagues observed that mutant fruit flies who lacked functional copies of the scrawny gene suffered a premature loss of stem cells in various tissue types which included their skin, intestinal and reproductive tissue.

As the authors conclude in their paper, “Our findings suggest that inhibiting H2B ubiquitylation through ‘scny’ represents a common mechanism within stem cells that is used to repress the premature expression of key differentiation genes, including Notch target genes.”

Although the scrawny gene has only been identified in fruit flies thus far, similar genes are suspected of performing similar functions in other multicellular organisms such as humans. According to Dr. Allan C. Spradling, director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Embryology, “Our tissues and indeed our very lives depend upon the continuous functioning of stem cells, yet we know little about the genes and molecular pathways that keep stem cells from turning into regular tissue cells – a process known as differentiation. This new understanding of the role played by scrawny may make it easier to expand stem cell populations in culture, and to direct stem cell differentiation in desired directions.”

This is not the first time that important clinical therapies for people have been developed from research conducted on the humble fruit fly. Indeed, the unpretentious Drosophila melanogaster has played a central role in the advancement of human medical science for over the past century, ever since the American geneticist and embryologist, Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan, began studying the common fruit fly in 1906 while at Columbia University. Although a few other scientists prior to Dr. Morgan had conducted experiments with Drosophila, Dr. Morgan became the first person to demonstrate, by studying successive generations of the fruit fly, that genes are transmitted from parents to offspring via chromosomes, which constitute the molecular mechanism of heredity. Such a discovery established the foundation for the entire field of modern genetics, and Dr. Morgan was awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, “for his discoveries concerning the role played by the chromosome in heredity.” Later, when Dr. Morgan relocated to the California Institute of Technology, he established the Division of Biology at Cal Tech which subsequently produced 7 Nobel Prize winners. To this day, in honor of Dr. Morgan and over half a century after his death in 1945, the Genetics Society of America still awards the annual Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal to one of its members, for outstanding contributions to the field of genetics. As a direct result of Dr. Morgan’s discoveries, Drosophila melanogaster continues to serve as a “model organism” of study for genetics and developmental biology, and as such this fruit fly has yielded a number of important discoveries that are applicable to a variety of other species, not only humans. Currently Drosophila is still being studied as a genetic model for many of the most perplexing of human diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and a number of the neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, among others.

Like all other species – whether flora or fauna, vertebrate or invertebrate – fruit flies have stem cells too. Unlike many species, however, fruit flies also exhibit a number of traits that lend themselves desirably toward scientific investigation, such as a fast reproductive cycle within a short lifespan, an ease of culturability in large numbers, and a genotype in which mutations are easily inducible and easily trackable by phenotype from one generation to the next. All things considered, fruit flies make a much more compliant and cooperative laboratory specimen to study than humans.

A familiar Latin adage attributed to the second century Roman poet Juvenal states: “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Nearly 2 millennia later, scientists are still discovering new scientific proof of such timeless wisdom.

The leading Harvard Medical School associate clinical professor of psychiatry, Dr. John J. Ratey, would like you to know that physical exercise offers a number of neurological and even intellectual benefits. Of course, most people were probably already aware of such a claim, at least intuitively if not scientifically, although they may not have fully understood the precise mechanisms underlying such phenomena. In his new book, Dr. Ratey sheds light on the compelling science behind this important topic by elucidating the many ways in which physical activity stimulates various parts of the brain, including, among other components, the brain’s own endogenous stem cells. These stem cells, which naturally reside within the brain throughout life, even into the advanced decades of adulthood, are capable of being prompted and directed in their formation of new brain cells by external stimuli such as physical exercise. In “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”, Dr. Ratey explores the connection not just between physical and mental health, but between specific types of physical exercise and cognitive acuity.

For years, neurophysiologists have already been studying the various factors, of both genetic and environmental origin, that influence the constant re-patterning of neural network connections which in turn provide the cellular basis upon which new information and experiences are processed. Now Dr. Ratey offers further depth and breadth of insight into the cellular and molecular processes of the brain, and into the essential role that physical exercise plays in catalyzing such mechanisms. As the title suggests, the resulting message is nothing short of “revolutionary” in conveying the absolutely critical importance of physical activity.

Among other benefits, Dr. Ratey explains, physical exercise improves the “fitness” of the neocortex, which in turn improves mental agility and mood as well as cognitive processes that require attention, alertness and motivation. But not all physical activity is created equal, and some types are more effective than others at accomplishing specific goals. For the greatest intellectual benefit, aerobic exercise in combination with “complex activity” has been found to maximize “brain power”. According to Dr. Ratey, “A fast-paced workout boosts the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. I call it Miracle-Gro for the brain, and physical activity is one of the best ways to release this brain-nourishing protein. A workout at the gym or a brisk walk also seems to build better connections between brain cells. Studies show that regular physical activity may increase the production of cells in the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in learning and memory. The end result is a brain that’s better able to perform in school, at home or on the job.” Underlying the continuous replenishing of brain cells are none other than the brain’s own stem cells, which are stimulated into action by physical exercise and without which new brain cells and connections between neurons could not be formed.

Dr. Ratey adds, “Aside from elevating endorphins, exercise regulates all of the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressants. It wakes up the brain and gets it going and improves self-esteem, which is one component of depression. Exercise also boosts dopamine, which improves mood and feelings of wellness. Studies have shown that chronic exercise increases dopamine storage in the brain. The process of getting fit is all about building up your aerobic base. The more you work your heart and lungs, the more efficient they become at delivering oxygen to your body and brain.”

As Dr. Ratey further explains, “We need to change the way we think about exercise. We really need to understand that exercise keeps the brain functioning well, and then realize that it also happens to be good for the body. We tend to think about it the other way around, but in fact it readies the cells in the brain to be optimal. We are made to move and people aren’t moving anymore.”

Devotees of the “mind-body medicine” that was so popular in the 1990s will be particularly interested in this book by Dr. Ratey, which advances the mind-body connection an order of magnitude further by examining with rigorous scientific objectivity the inseparability of physical health and cognitive performance. Even for those people who may not fall into the category of Olympic athletes, however, Dr. Ratey still offers hope by encouraging the reader to find motivation in the knowledge that even moderate exercise can sharpen memory and improve mental function.

Since the publication of Dr. Ratey’s book, Harvard Medical School has begun offering seminars on the subject through their Department of Continuing Education. Other universities and health conscious organizations are following the trend.

The book is coauthored with Eric Hagerman and published by Little, Brown & Company, 2008.

Imagine a high-tech sachet the size of a tea-bag, filled with very small beads, and each bead in turn contains thousands of adult stem cells. Then imagine that each adult stem cell has been individually bioengineered to produce a drug that is specifically designed to treat stroke. Although such a therapy may have originally began as the stuff of imagination, it is now a reality.

Developed by the British company Biocompatibles, these stem cell “beads” have already been used to treat a number of patients. A man in Germany who received the treatment last year following a stroke has already regained his speech and the use of his right arm, although such a recovery was considered so extraordinary that it has also generated some controversy.

The stem cells in the beads are human adult mesenchymal stem cells which have been obtained from healthy donors and “programmed” to secrete CM1, a synthetically produced replica of a naturally occurring protein, GLP-1, which has been found to prevent damaged brain cells from dying through its strong anti-apoptotic effect. The full delivery mechanism consists of the cluster of human adult stem cells encapsulated in alginate beads, which protect the stem cells from an immunological response by the patient, and which constitute a retrievable implant that is removed after 14 days.

According to Dr. Peter Stratford, chief scientific officer of Biocompatibles, “We use stem cells to produce the protein because we want a reasonably low level of protein, but constantly produced, within the injured site. So in patients with a hemorrhagic stroke we have access to the brain since the surgeons are going to remove the blood clots anyway, so we can put the cells into the place where they’re needed and produce the therapeutic protein over a 2 to 3 week period in exactly the right place, and prevent the surrounding cells and tissue from dying. Each one of the cell beads is about half a millimeter in diameter and contains a few thousand stem cells that are producing the protein. And all in all, there are a few thousand cells within the containment that we implant in the brain.”

The implant is expected to be available on the European market within 5 years.

With 2009 earnings that are estimated at $4.70 a share, and despite the current dismal global economic conditions, Genzyme has announced that it is on track to meet its goal of 20% compound earnings growth, or $7.00 growth per share, by 2011.

Unlike many companies whose stock has evaporated in recent months, Genzyme enjoyed a 13% growth in revenue which rose to $1.17 billion in the final 3 months of 2008. The company bases its projections of continued sustainable growth through 2011 upon strong sales of its proprietary drugs for rare and chronic diseases, for which Genzyme currently has more than a dozen novel therapies in its pipeline, several of which are expected to receive FDA approval in the coming year alone.

Speaking in Boston at the Goldman Sachs conference on healthcare, Genzyme’s CEO, Henri Termeer, expressed confidence that the company will continue to expand internationally, especially into the so-called “BRIC” countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India and China. According to Termeer, “The key here is to bring other programs in to create growth drivers when we get there. I would suggest that any company that does not become competent in how to do business in those countries in a way that is sustainable will be missing an opportunity over the next 10 to 20 years.”

Genzyme’s stock closed today at $65.41 per share, up $1.29 from its previous close yesterday.

One of the leaders in the growing field of the cryopreservation and banking of umbilical cord blood stem cells, Cord Blood America, is now poised to become a leader in the use of social networking websites. Realizing that the recent explosion in the popularity of such sites heralds the dawn of a new era of change and opportunity, not only in technology but also in business, Cord Blood America has announced its plans to seize such an opportunity. From now on, clients, shareholders and investors, both current and prospective, will be actively engaged with all the latest developments at Cord Blood America through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed, among others. Cord Blood America intends to use the social networking sites to develop relationships and to build networks as well as to answer questions regarding their business and the basic science of stem cells.

In a statement issued by Cord Blood America, founding CEO Matthew Schissler offered the following invitation: “It’s time to start the conversation. The word ‘stem cells’ invokes many thoughts, yet we have found that the vast majority of the population still does not know what they are, where they come from or how they dramatically impact almost all aspects of life as we know it. To most, ‘stem cells’ is a scientific term that has no direct impact on the individual. It’s our belief that most people want to understand in a practical fashion how stem cells affect their family directly. This is the purpose of the social media, to deliver in a user-friendly fashion practical information about stem cells. We intend to look at the issue from multiple angles, including medically from the eyes of the patients and health care practitioners, fundamentally from the scientists, economically from the investor and business perspective, and socially from a public policy perspective. Social media is growing explosively and this trend, according to all authorities, is going to continue. We believe that building a network of clients and investors in two-way communication via social media will establish ourselves and our business as market leaders of the future. We invite you to join us in the conversation at the outlets previously mentioned. Additionally we have set up a social media newsroom at Intelligendo.com. We will leverage this newsroom and Intelligendo to further our relationship and network building efforts.”

Cord Blood America is the parent company of CorCell, an umbilical cord blood adult stem cell preservation company that services expectant parents and their children.