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Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. Second, under certain physiologic or experimental conditions, they can be induced to become tissue- or organ-specific cells with special functions. In some organs, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions.
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FAPESP funds $680 million to support 17 RIDCs

FAPESP funds $680 million to support 17 RIDCs

The Brazilian funding agency for scientific and technological research S-o Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP, based in the state of S-o Paulo, announced an investment estimated in US$ 680 million to support 17 Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers for a period of up to eleven years, subject to continuation reviews on years 2, 4 and 7. [More]
Caltech biologists show that microRNA-146a protects stem cells during inflammation

Caltech biologists show that microRNA-146a protects stem cells during inflammation

When infections occur in the body, stem cells in the blood often jump into action by multiplying and differentiating into mature immune cells that can fight off illness. But repeated infections and inflammation can deplete these cell populations, potentially leading to the development of serious blood conditions such as cancer. [More]
Cell Therapeutics announces issuance of final benefit assessment report for PIXUVRI

Cell Therapeutics announces issuance of final benefit assessment report for PIXUVRI

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today reported that Germany's Federal Joint Committee has issued its final benefit assessment report for PIXUVRI (pixantrone), which is indicated as a monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who have failed two or three prior lines of therapy. [More]
AGA Research Foundation announces recipients of 2013 Student Research Fellowship Award

AGA Research Foundation announces recipients of 2013 Student Research Fellowship Award

The American Gastroenterological Association Research Foundation has announced the 2013 Student Research Fellowship Award recipients. The awards are intended to stimulate interest in research careers in digestive diseases among high school, undergraduate, graduate and medical school students. [More]
UC Davis scientists detect novel molecular target for multiple sclerosis

UC Davis scientists detect novel molecular target for multiple sclerosis

Working with lab mice models of multiple sclerosis, UC Davis scientists have detected a novel molecular target for the design of drugs that could be safer and more effective than current FDA-approved medications against MS. [More]
Controversy lurks as cloning technique yields embryos with eye on stem cell therapies

Controversy lurks as cloning technique yields embryos with eye on stem cell therapies

Political and ethical fights over human cloning may follow the latest stem cell therapy advance after scientists created embryos that are genetic copies of living people in an effort to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's. [More]
Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be "paternal" in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions. [More]
UCSF researchers create first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells

UCSF researchers create first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells

Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells, in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, the tissue can be used to foster the development of white blood cells the body needs to mount healthy immune responses and to prevent harmful autoimmune reactions. [More]
Novel cell sorting enhancement to MoFlo Astrios platform to be introduced by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences at CYTO 2013

Novel cell sorting enhancement to MoFlo Astrios platform to be introduced by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences at CYTO 2013

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Research breakthrough: Human skin cells becomes embryonic stem cells

Research breakthrough: Human skin cells becomes embryonic stem cells

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to become embryonic stem cells capable of transforming into any other cell type in the body. [More]
Researchers uncover unique cellular, molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal

Researchers uncover unique cellular, molecular mechanisms behind tooth renewal

Alligators may help scientists learn how to stimulate tooth regeneration in people, according to new research led by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. [More]
Vijay Tiwari from IMB receives Bruno Speck Award from Swiss Foundation of Haematological Research

Vijay Tiwari from IMB receives Bruno Speck Award from Swiss Foundation of Haematological Research

Dr Vijay Tiwari, a Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, has been awarded the Bruno Speck Award by the Swiss Foundation of Haematological Research. The award recognises outstanding work by young scientists in the fields of haematology and stem cell research. [More]
Synthetic silicate nanoplatelets can stimulate stem cells to become bone cells

Synthetic silicate nanoplatelets can stimulate stem cells to become bone cells

In new research published online May 13, 2013 in Advanced Materials, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital are the first to report that synthetic silicate nanoplatelets (also known as layered clay) can induce stem cells to become bone cells without the need of additional bone-inducing factors. [More]
Findings could help develop new approaches to treat depression and memory loss in the elderly

Findings could help develop new approaches to treat depression and memory loss in the elderly

Scientists have known for some time that exercise induces neurogenesis in a specific brain region, the hippocampus. However, until this study, the underlying mechanism was not fully understood. [More]

Medicare reveals what hospitals charge for many procedures

News outlets continue plumbing newly released federal data that details for the first time what hospitals charge for some of the most common in-patient procedures. [More]

First Edition: May 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been seeking out funds from private sources to support efforts to publicize the health law. [More]

Disease-in-a-dish models show promise for treating ataxia telangiectasia

Led by Dr. Peiyee Lee and Dr. Richard Gatti, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have used induced pluripotent stem cells to advance disease-in-a-dish modeling of a rare genetic disorder, ataxia telangiectasia. [More]
Modifications in key epigenetic markers influence human embryonic stem cells

Modifications in key epigenetic markers influence human embryonic stem cells

Scientists have long known that control mechanisms known collectively as "epigenetics" play a critical role in human development, but they did not know precisely how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical instructions in DNA contribute to development. [More]
Drug resistant brain tumors: an interview with Prof. Mischel, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Prof. Bensinger, University of California

Drug resistant brain tumors: an interview with Prof. Mischel, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Prof. Bensinger, University of California

In cancer, mutations in proteins that control cell growth are common, leading to unrestrained cellular proliferation and tumor formation. [More]
Loyola opens 20-bed unit for patients undergoing stem cell transplants for cancers

Loyola opens 20-bed unit for patients undergoing stem cell transplants for cancers

Loyola University Medical Center has opened a new 20-bed unit for patients undergoing stem cell transplants for cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. [More]