and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL) are involved in differentiating both human and mouse cells and have produced prostate tissue using hES cells.
Collaborations continue to be an important part of stem cell research in Australia. The Department of Health and Aging formed a partnership with the state government of Victoria and Monash University in 2008 to establish the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute with a $150 million investment. The institute focuses on understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms that control the regenerative abilities of organs damaged by disease or injury. Nadia Rosenthal, an American muscle regeneration biologist, was selected to head the institute. A partnership with China has also been established to bring the Stem Cell Research Centre of the University of Peking and MISCL of Monash University together to operate the Australia-China Centre of Excellence in Stem Cell Sciences. The center, which is headed by Richard Boyd and Graham Jenkin of Australia and Lingsong Li of China, focuses on the applications of stem cell research to cancer, liver diseases, and high-profile epidemics. The Australian Society for Stem Cell Research is a collaborative effort between Australia and New Zealand. It was established with a $200,000 grant from the state government of Victoria. Australia is also a member of Stem Cell Network Asia-Pacific (SNAP) and the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
While Australia is considered a leader in the field of stem cell research, Australian researchers often bemoan the fact that the country suffers from a “brain drain” in which young researchers prefer to receive their postdoctoral and early career training in the United States or Europe. There is also some concern about biotech companies that have moved their base of operations away from Australia. ESI is based in Singapore but has significant interests in Australia. BresaGen and Stem Cell Services have taken operations offshore. The latter performs most of its work in the United Kingdom. Mesoblast, which is based in Melbourne, is owned by an American company.
Elizabeth Rholetter Purdy
Independent Scholar
See Also: California; China; Singapore; United Kingdom; University of Southern California.
Further Readings
Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. http://www.armi.org.au (Accessed April 2014).
BioMed. “A Matter of Conscience? The Democratic Significance of ‘Conscience Votes’ in Legislating Bioethics in Australia.” http://www.biomedsearch.com/article/matter-conscience-democratic-significance-votes/212759604.html (Accessed April 2014).
Harvey, Olivia. “Managing Innovation in the Stem Cell Sciences: Australian Views From the Field.” Prometheus, v.20/2 (June 2011).
Harvey, Olivia. “Regulating Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning in an Australian Context: The Lockhart Review.” New Genetics and Society, v. 7/1 (March 2008).
Sanderson, Aimee. “Stem Cells: Taking a Closer Look at the Advancements and Hurdles of Stem Cell Research in Australia.” Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, v.54/1 (March 2008).
Stem Cells Australia. http://www.stemcellsaustralia.edu.au (Accessed April 2014).
Trounson, Alan and Richard P. Harvey. “A Critical Time for Stem Cell Research in Australia.” Cell Stem Cell, v.2/2 (February 2008).
Autism
Autism
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Autism
Autism is a childhood developmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and by restricted, repetitive, or stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities.
It is recognized as one of the conditions in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which includes Asperger syndrome, which has less severe symptoms and absence of delays in cognitive development and language, childhood disintegrative disorder, marked by severe and irreversible regression of cognition, language, and motor skills typically after the age of 2 years, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or other conditions are not met, but yet there is an impairment in the development of social and communication skills.
The signs of autism may be noted by caregivers around 12 to 18 months, however, definitive diagnosis is generally made around 24 to 36 months. The symptoms of autism can vary widely and unusual social development may become apparent in early childhood. Lack of communication is present from the early life, ranging from delayed speech and vocal patterns to severely impaired language development that restricts daily communication. Children have poor eye contact and may show less attention to social stimuli and respond less to their own name. The social impairment in some of the children is so severe that they cannot express themselves, not even by their expressions or gestures. Children with autism appear distant and self-occupied with themselves. Inability to integrate new experiences and learning new information or adjusting to a new environment is a characteristic of these autistic children.
Autistic individuals may display some unusual behaviors such as stereotypy (repetitive movement or actions, e.g., hand flapping or head rolling), compulsive behavior (arranging objects in stacks), restricted behavior (limited interest of focus or activity, being preoccupied with the same thing), echolalia (repeating words) or pronoun reversal (“you” instead of “I”). Other typical behaviors may include resistance to change and insisting on the same daily activities or eating habits.
According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, about 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is found to be almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than among girls (1 in 189). Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with ASD with an average prevalence of about 1%. It is estimated to cost between $17,000 and $21,000 extra for health care, education, ASD-related therapy, family-coordinated services, and caregiver time for a child with ASD compared to a child without ASD and about $40,000 and $60,000 per child per year on the autistic behavior therapies.
Causes of Autism
The majority of the evidence suggests that ASD represents a complex relationship between exposure to environmental stressors and genetic susceptibilities. There is substantial evidence that autism is the result of genetic defects. Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of autism found in younger siblings of the children with the disorder. Several genes have been implicated in the process, however, researchers have not been able to identify the exact genes involved.
Several contributory factors are proposed to be associated with the condition, including advancing parental age at time of conception; premature birth (before 35 weeks of pregnancy); defective blood–brain barrier; exposure to alcohol, cocaine, or medications such as sodium valproate, misoprostol, or thalidomide; perinatal infections such as congenital rubella; or CMV, in-utero hypoxia, or defective immune response to other viral or bacterial agents. Thimerosal (a preservative used in vaccines) and Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccination has been postulated in relation to the causation
