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.

Telomere length testing can alter treatment decisions for certain diseases

Research led by Johns Hopkins physicians and scientists shows that a test for measuring the length of DNA endcaps, called telomeres, which has a variability rate of 5 percent, can alter treatment decisions for patients with certain types of bone marrow failure.

27 Feb 2018

ASU researchers uncover crucial step in telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle

Can we stay young forever, or even recapture lost youth? Research from the laboratory of Professor Julian Chen in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University recently uncovered a crucial step in the telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle.

27 Feb 2018

University of Guelph researcher discovers cause of nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease

A University of Guelph researcher has discovered one of the factors behind nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease, unlocking the potential for treatment to slow the progression of this fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

27 Feb 2018

Study suggests novel approach for protecting diabetes patients from vascular disease

Recent findings suggest a novel approach for protecting people with diabetes from their higher risk of advanced blood vessel disease, which sets the stage for early heart attacks and strokes.

27 Feb 2018

Impairment of interneuron migration could lead to cortical malformation

A team from the University of Liège has discovered a new crosstalk between the migrating inhibitory interneurons and the stem cells that generate the excitatory neurons.

24 Feb 2018

Discovery may result in new medication to build stronger muscles in old age

As we grow older, our muscular function declines. A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows how an unexpectedly high number of mutations in the stem cells of muscles impair cell regeneration.

23 Feb 2018

New low-cost microfluidic device brings single-cell technology to bedside

Single-cell analysis holds enormous potential to study how individual cells influence disease and respond to treatment, but the lack of cost-effective and user-friendly instrumentation remains challenging.

23 Feb 2018

Researchers explore how evolutionary processes guide pathways of cells

Evolution describes how all living forms cope with challenges in their environment, as they struggle to persevere against formidable odds. Mutation and selective pressure--cornerstones of Darwin's theory--are the means by which organisms gain an advantageous foothold or pass into oblivion.

23 Feb 2018

Cell therapy for heart disease caused by muscular dystrophy also improves limb strength, study shows

Injections of cardiac progenitor cells help reverse the fatal heart disease caused by Duchenne muscular dystrophy and also lead to improved limb strength and movement ability, a new study shows.

23 Feb 2018

Asthmatics have lower degree of DNA methylation in certain immune cells

Children with asthma have epigenetic DNA changes in certain cells of their immune system, a major international study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows. The finding, which is presented in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, can one day lead to improved diagnostics and treatment.

23 Feb 2018

New discovery could accelerate clinical translation of stem cell-based therapies

A team of scientists from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine at CU Anschutz has reported a more efficient approach to reprogramming a patient's diseased skin cells into stem cells, raising hopes for future clinical trials and potential cures for critical illnesses.

23 Feb 2018

Researchers describe important step toward gene therapy for patients with Sandhoff disease

Babies with the rare, deadly genetic disorder Sandhoff disease begin to miss developmental milestones just months after birth. Lacking muscle tone, they never learn to sit up, develop heads too large to lift and eventually suffer uncontrollable seizures. There is no cure.

22 Feb 2018

Schizophrenia may be related to neurodevelopment changes, study says

Schizophrenia may be related to neurodevelopment changes, including brain's inability to create the appropriate vascular system, according to new study resulted from a partnership between the D'Or Institute for Research and Education, the University of Chile and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

22 Feb 2018

UT Dallas researchers use new technique to isolate cancer stem cells

Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have devised a new technique to isolate aggressive cells thought to form the root of many hard-to-treat metastasized cancers -- a significant step toward developing new drugs that might target these cells.

22 Feb 2018

Calorie restriction improves intestinal-tissue regeneration after injury

Dramatic calorie restriction, diets reduced by 40 percent of a normal calorie total, have long been known to extend health span, the duration of disease-free aging, in animal studies, and even to extend life span in most animal species examined.

22 Feb 2018

UCLA researchers use fluorescent colored proteins to trace origin of heart cells

UCLA researchers used fluorescent colored proteins to trace how cardiomyocytes -- cells in heart muscle that enable it to pump blood -- are produced in mouse embryos. The findings could eventually lead to methods for regenerating heart tissue in human adults.

22 Feb 2018

Aggressive cancer stem cells can now be isolated successfully in a scientific breakthrough

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have managed to formulate a new technique by which they can isolate aggressive cells which can be the main cause behind metastasized cancers or cancers that have spread to other major organs from their primary site of occurrence.

22 Feb 2018

Research opens up new avenue to minimize risks of transplants

A bone marrow transplant is often the only therapy available to save leukemia patients, but the risk of complications is high. In spite of devoting considerable time and effort to finding a suitable donor, nearly half of all patients experience an unwanted reaction of their immune system, which often attacks their skin and liver and in up to 50% of cases the intestines.

21 Feb 2018

Biomedical engineers create 3D hydrogel scaffolds to transform cells into muscle

Australian biomedical engineers have successfully produced a 3D material that mimics nature to transform cells into muscle.

21 Feb 2018

Cancer initiation found to be similar across organs

Recent research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis demonstrated that mature cells in the stomach sometimes revert back to behaving like rapidly dividing stem cells.

21 Feb 2018