Disease Modeling News and Research

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Salk scientists discover chemical cocktail that enables stem cells to generate tissues

When scientists talk about laboratory stem cells being totipotent or pluripotent, they mean that the cells have the potential, like an embryo, to develop into any type of tissue in the body.

6 Apr 2017

Stem cells strictly abide by innate developmental clocks, study shows

The mystery of what controls the range of developmental clocks in mammals — from 22 months for an elephant to 12 days for an opossum — may lie in the strict time-keeping of pluripotent stem cells for each unique species.

28 Feb 2017

New method to generate kidney organoids from patient cells can help study human kidney diseases

A new method to create kidney organoids from patient cells may provide insights into how kidney diseases arise and how they should be treated.

18 Nov 2016

Cardiac reprogramming could shrink heart scar tissue, improve patients' heart function

Patients with heart failure often have a buildup of scar tissue that leads to a gradual loss of heart function. In a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine report significant progress toward a novel approach that could shrink the amount of heart scar tissue while replenishing the supply of healthy heart muscle.

4 Mar 2016

New initiative aims to improve access to PTSD research

Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Cohen Veterans Bioscience and Exaptive Inc. today announced a new initiative to improve access to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research. The creation of a PTSD KnowledgeMap  will systematize the current PTSD research space and provide interactive tools for scientists and others studying PTSD.

11 Feb 2016

Scientists successfully create fully-functional pancreatic cells from human skin cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco have successfully converted human skin cells into fully-functional pancreatic cells. The new cells produced insulin in response to changes in glucose levels, and, when transplanted into mice, the cells protected the animals from developing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease.

6 Jan 2016

Urine-derived iPSCs model could help predict patient response to cholesterol-lowering drugs

We all know how important it is to keep our levels of blood cholesterol - especially the 'bad' variety - in check with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Although cholesterol is a key structural component of cell membranes and is vital for the biosynthesis of certain hormones and vitamins, high levels can lead to the formation of arterial plaques, which are a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.

20 Nov 2015

New progenitor cells differentiate into mature cell types, prevent risk of unwanted tumors

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) can become any type of cell in the adult body, offering great potential in disease modeling, drug discovery and creating replacement cells for conditions ranging from cardiovascular to Alzheimer's disease.

11 Nov 2015

SCT, Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborate to advance development of cardiac disease models

Stem Cell Theranostics announced today that they have successfully completed a research collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific focused on advancing the development of cardiac disease models derived from induced pluripotent stem cells using Thermo Fisher Scientific's suite of work flow reagents and SCT's patient biobank and proprietary disease modeling methods.

7 Oct 2015

Researchers explore why some mutations can cause severe disease in humans, but benign in animals

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School have identified a mechanism that explains why some mutations can be disease-causing in one genome but benign in another.

30 Jun 2015

Univercell-Biosolutions opens center of expertise with industrial, standardized approach to hiPSC production

Univercell-Biosolutions, a leading provider of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and hiPS derived product cells for drug discovery, today announces the opening of a center of expertise with an industrial and standardized approach to hiPSC production.

25 Jun 2015

ORIG3N, LabCorp form strategic partnership

ORIG3N, Inc., a pioneer in regenerative medicine and provider of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) storage, called LifeCapsule, today announced a strategic collaboration with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings.

19 May 2015

MDC scientists find solution to increase efficiency of precise genetic modifications

CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful new tool for editing the genome. For researchers around the world, the CRISPR-Cas9 technique is an exciting innovation because it is faster and cheaper than previous methods. Now, using a molecular trick, Dr. Van Trung Chu and Professor Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch and Dr. Ralf Kühn, MDC and Berlin Institute of Health, have found a solution to considerably increase the efficiency of precise genetic modifications by up to eightfold.

30 Mar 2015

UCLA researchers develop method that defines unique stages of reprogramming skin cells

In a groundbreaking study that provides scientists with a critical new understanding of stem cell development and its role in disease, UCLA researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research led by Dr. Kathrin Plath, professor of biological chemistry, have established a first-of-its-kind methodology that defines the unique stages by which specialized cells are reprogrammed into stem cells that resemble those found in the embryo.

7 Jan 2015

Human stem cells made from adult donor cells remember their origin, say McMaster scientists

Scientists at McMaster University have discovered that human stem cells made from adult donor cells "remember" where they came from and that's what they prefer to become again.

3 Dec 2014

Research on zebrafish helps identify cause of unknown genetic disorder

Research in zebrafish has helped identify the cause of an unknown genetic disorder affecting a boy and two of his uncles, scientists report in an article published October 14 in the journal GENETICS.

16 Oct 2014

Researchers develop new lung-on-chip model for laboratory studies of respiratory challenges

Researchers at RTI International, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have developed a new lung-on-chip microdevice for laboratory studies of respiratory challenges and therapeutics. The microdevice includes multiple vertically stacked cellular layers that mimic the structure of the airway tissue.

15 Aug 2014