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.

Study reveals mechanism behind failed remyelination in MS

Researchers have discovered that in adult stem cells, the activation of a specific transcription factor induces pathological quiescence and that this is deactivated in MS.

18 Dec 2018

Metal-based chemotherapy enhances the effect of cancer immunotherapy

Due to their powerful tumor-killing effect, metal-based chemotherapies are frequently used in cancer treatment. However, it was hitherto assumed that they damaged the immune system, because of their cytotoxic (cell-damaging) effect even against dividing healthy cells.

18 Dec 2018

New $1.6 million NIH grant supports study on a gene vital to circadian rhythms

Circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa diem -- "around a day") based on the Earth's 24-hour rotation have been observed since the fourth century.

18 Dec 2018

New robust method for microscopically profiling tiny single cells

Many of the cell types in our bodies work in obscure ways, that science does not yet fully understand. That also goes for immune cells, which are vital for protecting us against serious diseases.

17 Dec 2018

Mechanisms behind neonatal diabetes uncovered

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, have described mechanisms linking chronic cellular stress to the poor development of the insulin-producing cells.

17 Dec 2018

Rutgers scientists take an important step in making diseased hearts heal themselves

A team of Rutgers scientists, including Leonard Lee and Shaohua Li, have taken an important step toward the goal of making diseased hearts heal themselves - a new model that would reduce the need for bypass surgery, heart transplants or artificial pumping devices.

17 Dec 2018

Research offers hope for patients with serious bone marrow cancer

Hope has emerged for patients with a serious type of bone marrow cancer as new research into a therapeutic drug has revealed improved outcomes and survival rates.

14 Dec 2018

New findings could help develop new immunotherapies against cancer

NK cells, or natural killer cells, play an important role in the body's defences against cancer and various infections.

14 Dec 2018

New research lays out potential path for treatment of Huntington’s disease

New research gives scientists a clearer picture of what is happening in the brains of people with Huntington's disease and lays out a potential path for treatment.

14 Dec 2018

Researchers discover protein involved in nematode stress response

When humans experience stress, their inner turmoil may not be apparent to an outside observer. But many animals deal with stressful circumstances - overcrowded conditions, not enough food - by completely remodeling their bodies.

14 Dec 2018

Study uncovers new genetic clues to frontotemporal dementia

Unlike the more common Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia tends to afflict young people. It accounts for an estimated 20 percent of all cases of early-onset dementia.

13 Dec 2018

Scientists develop new stem cell line to study conversion of stem cells into muscle

To help patients with muscle disorders, scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have engineered a new stem cell line to study the conversion of stem cells into muscle. Findings appeared in Cell Reports.

13 Dec 2018

Research identifies new therapeutic target for cancer treatment and tissue regeneration

Research led by the University of Plymouth and Technische Universität Dresden has identified a new therapeutic target for cancer treatment and tissue regeneration - a protein called Prominin-1.

13 Dec 2018

New protein complex helps embryonic stem cells to maintain their indefinite potential

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are the very definition of being full of potential, given that they can become any type of cell in the body. Once they start down any particular path toward a type of tissue, they lose their unlimited potential.

12 Dec 2018

New method helps better understand pathological development of ALS

The neurodegenerative disease ALS causes motor neuron death and paralysis. However, long before the cells die, they lose contact with the muscles as their axons atrophy.

12 Dec 2018

ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress showcases novel technologies set to benefit many cancer patients

Innovation in immuno-oncology is exploding and new technologies that are set to benefit many patients with cancer are being showcased in the highly diverse array of topics to be discussed at the ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress, to be held 13-16 December in Geneva, Switzerland.

11 Dec 2018

Research pinpoints two proteins involved in creation of stem cells

Mammalian embryos are unlike those of any other organism as they must grow within the mother's body. While other animal embryos grow outside the mother, their embryonic cells can get right to work accepting assignments, such as head, tail or vital organ. By contrast, mammalian embryos must first choose between forming the placenta or creating the baby.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers develop new system for efficiently producing human norovirus

An Osaka University-led research team has developed a system for simply and efficiently producing human norovirus. By coaxing human induced pluripotent stem cells to develop into a type of cell that usually lines the intestine, they created a cellular environment that can be used for producing the virus, studying how it interacts with human cells, and investigating potential vaccines.

11 Dec 2018

Ezogabine treatment reduces motor neuron excitability in ALS patients, study shows

Brian Wainger, MD, PhD, of the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital presented initial, top-level results of a recently completed phase 2 clinical trial of ezogabine (also called retigabine) on December 9 at the Motor Neurone Disease Association annual meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers explore how glial cells develop in the brain from neural precursor cells

Two types of cells are active in the brain: nerve cells and glial cells. The latter have long been regarded primarily as supportive cells, but it is increasingly recognized that they play an active role in the communication between neurons in the brain.

10 Dec 2018