Biblical concept found to be beneficial to health

MIT.edu | Anne Trafton | 5-3-2018

Stem cell treatments.png
By Mikael Häggström - Public Domain, Link
Fasting boosts stem cells’ regenerative capacity

As people age, their intestinal stem cells begin to lose their ability to regenerate. These stem cells are the source for all new intestinal cells, so this decline can make it more difficult to recover from gastrointestinal infections or other conditions that affect the intestine.

This age-related loss of stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast, according to a new study from MIT biologists. The researchers found that fasting dramatically improves stem cells’ ability to regenerate, in both aged and young mice.

In fasting mice, cells begin breaking down fatty acids instead of glucose, a change that stimulates the stem cells to become more regenerative. The researchers found that they could also boost regeneration with a molecule that activates the same metabolic switch. Such an intervention could potentially help older people recovering from GI infections or cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, the researchers say. Read more.

MS, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's breakthroughs

Multiple Sclerosis

Several articles on the web report some success with amelioration of MS through adult stem cell therapy. The video is a story of one woman’s treatment success.

Articles:

Cancer

FierceBiotech reports breakthrough for cancer treatment:

Researchers at the University of Louisville have been testing a protein-based molecule they originally developed to boost the power of T cells in treating cancer. But in the course of testing the protein in mice, they made a surprising discovery: The drug, dubbed SA-4-1BBL, protected normal mice from developing cancer in the first place. Read more.

Melanoma Cancer

HealthDay reports on new drug for skin cancer:

For people with the deadly skin cancer melanoma, one dose of the drug Keytruda before surgery might stop the cancer in its tracks, according to a groundbreaking new study. Read more.

Diabetes

FierceBiotech reports biotech breakthrough for diabetes:

Diabetes occurs when the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed or become dysfunctional. Scientists are keen to find methods for regenerating these cells to treat diabetes. Now, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have converted other pancreatic cells into cells that can secrete insulin, and they have shown promising results in treating mouse models of diabetes. Read more.

Diabetes

UPI reports new drug therapy for Parkinson's:

Researchers have developed a new drug that could correct damage to the brain caused by Parkinson's disease and lead to improvement of symptoms, researchers report. Patients who had implants to replace damaged brain cells showed 100 percent improvement in reawakening portions of their brains harmed by Parkinson's...Read more.

Angel fish
Public Domain, Link

...and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind ... the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind ...the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1

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A SistersSite eBook

Flesh and Bone and The Protestant Conscience is an e-book on Amazon.com. It is 99¢ and in the Amazon lending library as well. It is also available here in PDF format. The book description follows.

Would you let your conscience be your guide?

Does God care if the skin and bone of the dead are passed along to the living for medical uses? Is organ donation OK with God? Should you sign a Living Will?

Did you know that dead organ donors are often anesthetized before their organs are removed? Do you know the current definition of death? The conscience cannot function without facts.

As we ponder the ethics of in vitro fertilization, stem cell research and man-made chimeras, our thoughts trail off. How then should we live? (Ez 33:10)

How should a Christian think about euthanasia by starvation when doctors and the state attorney general all agree it is time to withhold feeding from a brain injured patient? Some things are family matters, but someday it may be our family.

Here is a small book to help you think about whether you want to sign your driver's license, donate a kidney, cremate your loved one, and many other practical questions that may arise in the course of your healthcare decisions or watch over others.

It offers a special focus on the doctrine of the Resurrection that is related to such decisions. Sunday School classes and Bible Study groups could use this book to facilitate discussion about the issues covered.