Day: January 9, 2002

Medical Researchers Successfully Treat Blindness in Rats with Human Retina Cells

British and American researchers announced in December that they had succeeded in using genetic engineering to restore sight to rats who went blind due to a condition that is the leading cause of sight loss in people over 50 in the Western world.

About 230,000 people are legally blind in the United States due to age-related macular degeneration, and many others have seriously impaired vision due to the disease. The disease is caused by the hardening of the arteries that bring blood to the retina. Deprived of some of the oxygen and nutrients the retina requires, vision in the center of the retina begins to deteriorate. The disease rarely leads to total blindness, but it can leave people with nothing but peripheral vision.

Researchers took genetically engineered human retinal pigment epithelial cells and transplanted them into rats who were born with a genetic predisposition to retinal degeneration. Not only did the cells survive — the first time this sort of cell has been successfully transplanted — but they restored the sight of the rats.

Professor John Greenwood of London’s Institute of Ophthalmology told the BBC,

The transplanting of genetically engineered RPE cells is totally unique. At present, there is no truly effective treatment or cure for age-related macular degeneration. We believe this work represents a tremendous leap forward in our endeavor towards developing a feasible strategy for treating patients with this debilitating disease.

Source:

Cell transplant reverses blindness. The BBC, December 17, 2001.

Did SHAC Illegally Transfer Funds from American Charity to British Protesters?

In December, the Sunday Telegraph (London) published a story alleging that Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty was illegally funneling money from a U.S. charity to SHAC operations in the United Kingdom.

The Telegraph reported that it sent a reporter to SHAC saying that he wanted to donate $1,300 to the group. The reporter claims he was told by SHAC activists Gregg Avery and Natasha Dellemagne — both now in jail for their role in harassing Huntingdon Life Sciences employees — that the best way to make this donation for tax purposes was to make the donation to the U.S. charity Animal Rights America.

According to the Telegraph,

Our undercover reporter was told that donating to the ARA was the perfect cover as the transaction would appear on banking records only as a contribution to a registered charity and could even qualify as a tax-deductible expense.

Dellemagne gave the reporter an account number, bank code and charity identification for Animal Rights America, and the money was transferred in July 2001.

According to the reporter, Dellemagne confirmed the money had been received and claimed that some of the money was taken out of the United States to Great Britain in cash carried in aircraft baggage.

This would be illegal under IRS rules governing charities. U.S. SHAC point man Kevin Jonas claims this never happened and that Dellemagne “must have been mistaken. Maybe she got confused.”

SHAC also criticized the Telegraph for using “tabloid-style” tactics. Right, because the activist at SHAC would never use such tactics.

Sources:

Animal rights group faces new claim. Patrick Jenkins, Financial Times (London), December 1, 2001.

Animal welfare thugs funded via US charity. Daniel Foggo, Sunday Telegraph (London), December 2, 2001.

Stephens Group Sells Its Interest in Huntingdon Life Sciences

Stephens Group announced this week that it is selling its stock and debt investments in Huntingdon Life Sciences to an undisclosed foreign investor. Stephens has been hit by animal rights protests, but the company insists that the decision is motivated by business interests rather than animal rights protests.

Stephens spokesman Frank Thomas told Arkansas Business,

If anything, this is a good deal for HLS, a good deal for the new owners and a good deal for Stephens. This company has for seven decades bought and sold businesses. This is nothing new. This company is always looking to invest and make a good deal. The new investors obviously like what they see.

In a press release issued by Stephens Group, Warren Stephens reiterated that, “We are plead to have accomplished our goal of supporting Huntingdon financially until it returned to profitable operations. … We are pleased with the return on our investment and convinced that the new investors acquiring our position are equally committed to Huntingdon’s long-term stability and success.”

The deal should be finalized by the end of the month, and the new investor will be identified in required filings with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission.

Source:

Stephens sells interest in animal testing lab. Gwen Moritz, Arkansas Business, January 8, 2002.