Stem Cells News and Research

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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.

UCR postdoctoral researcher receives 'Pathway to Independence' grant from NIH

Rebekah Charney, a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, has received a five-year "Pathway to Independence" grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH.

12 Jul 2020

Fat cell hormone enhances therapeutic potential of MSC therapy

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to differentiate into a range of different cell types, including bone, fat, and muscle cells.

12 Jul 2020

Fatty acid can kill human cancer cells, study shows

Researchers have demonstrated that a fatty acid called dihomogamma-linolenic acid, or DGLA, can kill human cancer cells.

11 Jul 2020

New research can help overcome challenges in diabetes research

Scientists focused on finding better treatments or cures for types 1 or 2 diabetes are painfully aware of current limitations, including having to use animal tissue in studies that often don't translate to human trials.

9 Jul 2020

New study provides insight into the origin and evolution of glioblastoma

Brain cancers have long been thought of as being resistant to treatments because of the presence of multiple types of cancer cells within each tumor. A new study uncovers a cancer cell hierarchy that originates from a single cancer cell type, which can be targeted to slow cancer growth.

8 Jul 2020

Study: Cellular therapy can improve critical cases of COVID-19

A cellular therapy tested on 13 intubated patients with mechanical ventilation has shown to be efficient for the clinical improvement of critical cases of COVID-19.

8 Jul 2020

Researchers map non-coding, 'functional' genome in maize during early reproductive development

Growth and development of all organisms depends on coordinated regulation of gene expression in time and space, and this is largely controlled by non-coding sequences in the genome.

8 Jul 2020

RNA plays key role in helping stem cells know what to become

Look deep inside our cells, and you'll find that each has an identical genome -a complete set of genes that provides the instructions for our cells' form and function.

7 Jul 2020

New assay uses unique fluorescent tags to analyze multiple cell populations

An efficient, robust method of examining the interactions between cells uses fluorescent tagging to simultaneously analyze multiple cell populations, speeding up a once tedious and limiting process.

6 Jul 2020

Clemson researcher receives DOD grant to explore cellular underpinnings of developmental disorder

College of Science associate professor and researcher David Feliciano has received a $667,000 grant from the Department of Defense to explore the cellular underpinnings of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a developmental disorder characterized by the growth of benign tumors throughout the body, most notably in the brain.

6 Jul 2020

New strategies can help increase the efficiency of artificial cell reprogramming

Maria-Elena: Can you imagine being able to artificially generate cells that can develop into any cell type? That would be really fantastic! We call this ability 'totipotency' and it is the highest level of cellular plasticity.

6 Jul 2020

Highly effective and safe nanocrystal can fight against dangerous doses of radiation

Despite the wide application of radiation in diagnostics and treatments, there is still no magic material to protect people from radiation exposure.

6 Jul 2020

Research suggests protective effect of influenza vaccine against COVID-19 severity and mortality

A new study involving over 92,000 patients with COVID-19 in Brazil shows that the odds of severe disease, ventilatory support requirement, and death are reduced with a recent trivalent flu vaccine. This seems to indicate that these vaccines should be used as widely as possible to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, especially among high-risk groups. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020.

5 Jul 2020

Novel biomarkers can diagnose and assess the risk of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a devastating disorder that occurs very suddenly in the second half of pregnancy and causes severe health problems for both mother and baby.

3 Jul 2020

New approach could illuminate a critical stage in the life cycle of P. vivax malaria parasite

A new approach could illuminate a critical stage in the life cycle of one of the most common malaria parasites.

3 Jul 2020

New platform helps investigate harmful effects of microplastics and nanoplastics

Plastic pollution is a critical environmental issue facing the world today, yet the impact of all the microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) that have seeped into the food and beverage supply on human health is an "undervalued avenue of research," according to the team behind a revealing new study released today in STEM CELLS.

2 Jul 2020

New technology can increase the quality of stem cells used in regenerative medicine

Stem cells have been holding great promise for regenerative medicine for years. In the last decade, several studies have shown that this type of cell, which in Spanish is called "mother cell" because of its ability to give rise to a variety of different cell types, can be applied in regenerative medicine for diseases such as muscular and nervous system disorders, among others.

2 Jul 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection modeling in iPSC-derived type 2 cells

The most fatal form of COVID-19 disease is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), caused by direct viral injury as well as indirect noxious effects caused by cytotoxic chemicals and inflammatory processes. A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 shows that this is partly due to the rapid onset of inflammation caused by the infection of type 2 alveolar cells with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2 Jul 2020

Researchers develop biomedical device for use in regenerative medicine

The UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country has developed a sustainable biomedical device from food industry by-products for use in regenerative medicine

1 Jul 2020

'Mini-brains' can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus

A multidisciplinary team from two Johns Hopkins University institutions, including neurotoxicologists and virologists from the Bloomberg School of Public Health and infectious disease specialists from the school of medicine, has found that organoids (tiny tissue cultures made from human cells that simulate whole organs) known as "mini-brains" can be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.

30 Jun 2020