Successful liver transplants, without the need for immunosuppressive drugs, have been carried out in the US. Using rats, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center used a gene therapy strategy to alter the donor liver before surgery so that the immune system of the recipient became permanently tolerant of the new organ.
According to a report in the latest issue of Nature Medicine the advantages of such a localised system for countering the immune system rejection of newly engrafted organs are potentially significant.
"Currently all immunosuppression is systemic and lifelong," according to Prof Kim Olthoff, lead author of the study. "So, to protect the new organ from rejection, long-term drugs that suppress the entire immune system must be given, making the person susceptible to infections, cancers and a number of other complications, including nerve and kidney damage. In our study, a one-time gene therapy treatment of only the donor liver made the recipient's immune system tolerant of the new organ without the need for any further immunosuppression."
The Director General of UNESCO, Mr Federico Mayor, has strongly reiterated that human cloning cannot be accepted under any circumstances. Speaking in Paris he said the practice is banned as an offence against human dignity under the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, adopted last year by UNESCO's 186 member states.
The annual Tyndall demonstration lecture at the RDS will be presented by Dr Paul Vlaanderen of the University of Amsterdam on Friday, February 13th at 2.30 p.m. The lecture, "The Unexpected in Physics", aims to show that physics can be fun and that nature can behave unexpectedly. The presenter will conduct experiments that apparently defy the laws of physics and border on the magical. Members of the public are welcome but the lecture is particularly geared for transition and fifth-year students. Schools are requested to book tickets (£1 per student) by contacting the RDS. There is a limit of 50 per school. A limited number of tickets will also be available at the door. Further details are available from Ms Carol Power, science development executive, RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, (01) 668-0866.
The Russian space station, Mir, makes a return to night skies over Ireland. The station will be clearly visible to the naked eye from anywhere in Ireland - cloud cover permitting - from February 5th-14th. The times it appears will vary from night to night, and it will make two "Irish passes" per night. It will be visible for only short periods during each pass as it moves from west to east, but it will be the brightest object in the sky. Astronomy Ireland's newsline provides full details of the best time to observe Mir. It is available at: 1550 111 442 (Northern Ireland: 0891 881950).
Contact Science on Monday by emailing Dick Ahlstrom, Science Editor, at dahlstrom@irish-times.ie