Assisted reproduction - a brave new world

We have come a long way since 1978 when the first test tube baby was born. In Australia today IVF accounts for close to close 3% of all births. Other developed countries show similar figures. But these new technologies do no leave a benign imprint. They have the power to rewire our social relationships in profound and in unexpected ways. This broadcast features two women - an Australian and an American - both studying closely our brave new world of making babies, and its impact on men, women and the world

Juan of many: an interpretive biography of an English learner and his journey through literacy

Research findings state that ELs (English Learners) are an ever growing population of learners in the American education system that continue struggle in school (Verdugo, 2006). This study is an interpretive biography of Juan, an EL student, and his journey in Southern American schooling. Chronicling his first days of elementary school and following him into high school, the research looks closely at Juan's state of illiteracy, both the successes and barriers he encountered. As Juan's tale unfolds in a narrative style, a stream of consciousness story-telling approach is used wherein the researcher looked not only at Juan's life, but takes a holistic research approach to Juan's education and schooling. Looking into various sociocultural aspects that influenced his past, the researcher interviewed Juan's parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and Juan himself. Data were collected over a six month span of time. Data from interviews and educational documents in Juan's past detail what teachers did when educating Juan. The research at times critically examines the politics of Southern culture, the small town mentality of immigration, and a school board influenced by that very same southern culture that seems to produce white flight. Touching on sensitive topics such as lingering racisms in the South, immigration, and illiteracy, this small scale study and its findings on Juan's issues in school, may point to large scale problems in U.S. education. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Bone marrow macrophages maintain hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niches and their depletion mobilizes HSCs

In the bone marrow, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in specific niches near osteoblast-lineage cells at the endosteum. To investigate the regulation of these endosteal niches, we studied the mobilization of HSCs into the blood-stream in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF).We report that G-CSF mobilization rapidly depletes endosteal osteoblasts, leading to suppressed endosteal bone formation and decreased expression of factors required for HSC retention and self-renewal. Importantly, G-CSF administration also depleted a population of trophic endosteal macrophages (osteomacs) that support osteoblast function. Osteomac loss, osteoblast suppression, and HSC mobilization occurred concomitantly, suggesting that osteomac loss could disrupt endosteal niches. Indeed, in vivo depletion of macrophages, in either macrophage Fas-induced apoptosis (Mafia) transgenic mice or by administration of clodronate-loaded liposomes to wild-type mice, recapitulated the: (1) loss of endosteal osteoblasts and (2) marked reduction of HSC-trophic cytokines at the endosteum, with (3) HSC mobilization into the blood, as observed during G-CSF administration. Together, these results establish that bone marrow macrophages are pivotal to maintain the endosteal HSC niche and that the loss of such macrophages leads to the egress of HSCs into the blood. © 2010 by The American Society of Hematology