Greg,

Considering birds are able to walk, swim and fly ( which we aren't able to
do) and to be served up for Thanksgiving dinner, it seems to me that they
must have a fair amount of neurological  activity.  Whereas, some peoples'
capabilities leave a lot of room for questioning.. If given a choice, who
wouldn't want to be the bird able to fly, sing and be most appreciated
during a celebration ?

*Seattle*  Audrey  friend of aussie pwp John  48/40/38??

:)

----- Original Message -----
From: Greg Sterling <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: NEWS: BBC: Bird brains offer stem cells hope


> Janet,
> Interesting news.  What will they discover next?  I am to the point that
I'm
> willing to try anything even if it causes me to break out in song in the
> spring.
>
> This would also confirm many people's opinion of me as a proverbial "bird
> brain".
> :)
> Greg
> 47/35/35
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "janet marie paterson" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 9:46 AM
> Subject: NEWS: BBC: Bird brains offer stem cells hope
>
>
> > Bird brains offer stem cells hope
> >
> > Thursday, 24 February, 2000, 13:00 GMT - A new development concerning
stem
> cells is keeping them at the forefront of biomedical research. Stem cells,
> it is believed, have the ability to develop into any other type of cell.
> >
> > Some scientists say that controlling them will herald a revolution in
> medicine and a new way to treat disease because it would open the way to
> cell replacement.
> >
> > In an intriguing example of this ongoing research scientists have used
> bird brains. They have coaxed new brain cells to grow from elusive adult
> stem cells. There are important implications for repairing human brains
> damaged by Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
> >
> > By destroying certain brain cells in zebra finches the scientists say
they
> have prompted the growth of new brain cells. Describing their research in
> the journal Neuron, they say they believe that neural stem cells must be
the
> source of the new neurons.
> >
> > "This is, we believe, the first example where it has been demonstrated
> that one can induce the birth of new brain cells and that they actually
> contribute to a complex behaviour," said Jeffrey Macklis, a neuroscientist
> at Harvard University.
> >
> > "It is a step toward attempting the same in mammals" he added.
> >
> > The researchers chose zebra finches because of an interesting variation
in
> bird biology.
> >
> > Canaries stop singing every autumn when a population of brain cells
> responsible for song-generation die. Over the winter, a whole new
population
> of neurons grows back and in the spring the canaries learn their songs all
> over again.
> >
> > But zebra finches lack this seasonal cycle. Instead, their brains
generate
> a continuous trickle of new neurons.
> >
> > Until recently scientists believed that brain cells did not regenerate
but
> they now know that new cells do grow to a limited degree, especially in
> brain regions called the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus. One theory
> receiving serious attention holds that when certain neurons die, they
signal
> stem cells to produce replacements.
> >
> > Macklis's team selectively killed one kind of song-related neuron in
their
> zebra finches. The birds, as predicted, partly lost their ability to sing.
> But three months later they were singing as normal.
> >
> > When the researchers looked at their brains, they saw that the neurons
had
> grown back, in much the same way that canary neurons come back. They say
> they are now performing more experiments to see just where the new cells
> came from but they suspect they coaxed stem cells into action.
> >
> > Stem cells are cells that can develop into other types of cells and as
> such they have the potential to be used to replace cells that have been
lost
> of damaged.
> >
> > The new-found ability to grow stem cells from human embryos in the
> laboratory was hailed by Science magazine as one of the major
breakthroughs
> of recent years.
> >
> > Scientists are trying to find ways to use either adult or embryonic stem
> cells, or both, to regenerate various forms of tissue, including brain
cells
> of patients with disease such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.
> >
> > They are however difficult to isolate and grow. Controversially they can
> be taken from aborted foetuses or from embryos left over from IVF
> (test-tube) fertilisation programmes. In many countries this is illegal.
> >
> > Some researchers say that there may be a solution to the ethical
problems
> of obtaining stem cells from embryos. Many tissues in the human body
contain
> stem cells. Usually they develop into more cells of the tissues they are
in
> but there is hope that they can be re-programmed.
> >
> > There is some recent evidence that they can be enticed to go back to an
> unspecialised 'blank' state. This line of research has the promise to
obtain
> stem cells without using human embryos.
> >
> >
> > By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse
> > BBC News Online: Sci/Tech
> > http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/sci/tech/newsid_655000/655194.stm
> >
> > janet paterson
> > 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
> > a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/
> > 613 256 8340 PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario Canada K0A 1A0
> >
>