Today at Big Cat Rescue Oct 15

Last Day to Vote for Big Cat Rescue to Win $25,000!

If you live in LA, TX, FL,AZ, CO, NM and Texarcana, AR and Salt Lake City, UT and at least 13 years of age or older we need you to vote 5 times a day for Big Cat Rescue to win $25,000.

You can do all 5 votes in a row. http://www.albertsonscpchallenge.com/index.php Our code number is 0063

The Frozen Zoo

With our existing cryobiological collection it is no longer necessary to keep breeding endangered species in captivity to preserve the species. More than 675 endangered species are preserved in the Frozen Zoo for repopulating the planet if we ever manage to set aside habitat that can sustain them.  The justification that zoos and breeders use for keeping big cats in cages is no longer valid.  There is a more humane way to repopulate the planet with endangered specied.

Cryopreservation Techniques Bring Hopes For Women Cancer Victims

And Endangered Species

ScienceDaily (Sep. 11, 2008) — Emerging cryopreservation techniques are increasing hope of restoring fertility for women after diseases such as ovarian cancer that lead to destruction of reproductive tissue. The same techniques can also be used to maintain stocks of farm animals, and protect against extinction of endangered animal species by maintaining banks of ovarian tissue or even nascent embryos that can be used to produce offspring at some point in the future.

Until now these clearly related fields of research concerning preservation of animal and human ovarian tissue have been largely separate, but are now coming together to reinforce each other, following a highly successful workshop on cryopreservation of ovarian tissue, organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF). The human and animals cryopreservation fields have much to teach each other, and progress in both is likely to be accelerated as a result of growing collaboration, according to the ESF workshop’s convenor Claus Yding Andersen.

Both parties can learn from each other,” said Andersen. “Experiments which cannot be performed in women can be done in animal species,” he noted, pointing out that much of the progress in humans has come as a result of animal experiments. But it is in humans where most successful transplantations of frozen ovarian tissue after thawing have been carried out, and where greatest experience in the field has been gained. Therefore the ESF conference considered how this could be applied to conservation of endangered species. “The vast experience in women, with several children born as a result of transplantation of frozen/thawed ovarian tissue, can be applied in endangered species to know where to implant and how to obtain pregnancies,” said Andersen. The techniques will also be valuable in agriculture, for preserving ovaries of farm animals in tissue banks with the potential for subsequent re-creation.

The conference highlighted recent progress in human ovarian cryopreservation, which has led so far to 25 women worldwide having ovarian tissue transplanted. Of these 25, five have given birth to babies following the successful transplantation of the frozen/thawed ovarian tissue, including two in Belgium, one in Israel, and two in Denmark. “We are likely to see a lot more of this coming in the coming years, including development of techniques for fertility preservation using different approaches,” said Andersen. Most of these women had lost fertility following treatment for various forms of cancer. Currently more than a thousand women globally have had their tissue cryopreserved in an attempt to preserve fertility. This number is likely to increase in future as the transplantation technology becomes more mature and widely available.

The approach used most widely so far for cryopreservation involves slow freezing, which minimises the damage caused by forming ice crystals to the follicles, the reproductive units containing the individual oocytes (eggs). However a new approach based on vitrification may achieve even better results, with both methods discussed at the ESF conference. Vitrification involves the conversion of ovarian tissue into a glass-like form without the damaging ice crystals, and can be achieved by very rapid freezing, for example by dowsing in liquid nitrogen. This supercools the water in the tissue, achieving a semi-solid form without formation of the crystals that destroy individual cells.

The ESF workshop will help give Europe a healthy base to expand cryopreservation research by unifying the human and animal sectors and applying common expertise and tools.” I believe that we had a very good interaction between all participants and the workshop has already established new collaborations and interactions,” said Andersen.

The ESF workshop, CryopreservationOf Ovarian Tissue In Cancer Patients, Farm Animals And Endangered Species, was held in Heidelberg, Germany in May 2008. Each year, ESF supports approximately 50 Exploratory Workshops across all scientific domains. These small, interactive group sessions are aimed at opening up new directions in research to explore new fields with a potential impact on developments in science.

Adapted from materials provided by European Science Foundation.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090825.htm

Tigers for the Cure – Big Cat Rescue Gives Back

The following is from 2008

by Honey Wayton

As a member of the Tampa Bay community, Big Cat Rescue is always looking for ways to give back to the area that supports us so generously. This Halloween weekend we will be doing just that. From October 31-November 2, 2008 the Breast Cancer 3 Day will be taking place here in Tampa. This is a 60-mile walk over 3 days to help raise money to find a cure…you read it right, that’s 20 miles a day! Four brave souls have taken on this challenge to represent Big Cat Rescue. Team Big Cat Rescue is made up of 3 Rescuers: Honey Wayton, Jamie Veronica, Erin Newman and Big Cat friend Katy Derenches. Each member must raise $2,200 which goes to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund to help find a cure.

When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2006 this became a cause dear to my heart. My mom is a survivor and I walk to honor her. Many other Big Cat Rescue family members have also been touched by this disease and we ALL walk to honor them. Our team has been training for the past 2 months and between the four of us we have walked over 500 Miles! There are 12 more weeks to train and many miles to walk, so we’ll see you out there. Each day we get one step closer to a cure.

Please check out the day at www.the3day.org and look for Team Big Cat Rescue. You can keep up with our progress, make a donation, or find a CHEER station during the event to come and cheer us on.Thank you for your continued support. You make it possible for Big Cat Rescue to make a difference in the lives of cats and humans alike everyday.