Embryonic Stem Cells News and Research

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Scientists produce cartilage from embryonic stem cells

Scientists have succeeded in producing cartilage formed from embryonic stem cells that could in future be used to treat the painful joint condition osteoarthritis.

3 Mar 2015

Sall4 protein helps fix DNA damage

A protein that helps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their identity also promotes DNA repair, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The findings raise the possibility that the protein, Sall4, performs a similar role in cancer cells, helping them fix DNA damage to survive chemotherapy.

3 Mar 2015

Culture conditions in which stem cells are grown can affect genetic stability

The therapeutic promise of human stem cells is indisputably huge, but the process of translating their potential into effective, real-world treatments involves deciphering and resolving a host of daunting complexities.

28 Feb 2015

Researchers generate new reporter system to study bone regeneration potential of embryonic stem cells

A new reporter system used to study the bone regeneration potential of human embryonic stem cells has been generated in research led by the University of Minnesota. The new reporter system is the first of its kind for human pluripotent stem cells and is important for identifying certain agents and pathways that mediate early stages of human bone development.

11 Feb 2015

Three Keck Medicine scientists of USC receive $4.3 million from CIRM for stem cell research

Three scientists from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California have won grants exceeding $4.3 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine for research that includes creating a temporary liver for transplant patients, finding novel ways to treat immune disorders and blood diseases and developing a new animal model for exploring diseases like heart failure, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

5 Feb 2015

Study documents concerns relating to tissue donation

When donating blood, plasma, human tissue or any other bodily sample for medical research, most people might not think about how it's being used. But if you were told, would you care?

2 Feb 2015

Imperial College professor honored with Helmholtz International Fellow Award

The British cell biologist Professor Amanda Gay Fisher of Imperial College London has been honored with the Helmholtz International Fellow Award for her excellent research. Fisher is one of seven outstanding researchers from abroad who received the award, each of which is endowed with 20,000 euros. According to the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific organization, the award also includes an invitation to visit one or several Helmholtz research centers.

27 Jan 2015

$New device holds promise for improving the delivery of stem cell therapy for non-healing fractures$

New device holds promise for improving the delivery of stem cell therapy for non-healing fractures

A new device that can rapidly concentrate and extract young cells from irrigation fluid used during orthopaedic surgery holds promise for improving the delivery of stem cell therapy in cases of non-healing fractures. UC Davis surgeons plan to launch a "proof-of-concept" clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of the device in the coming months.

16 Jan 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

Johns Hopkins scientists use genome editing technology to alter human stem cells

A powerful “genome editing” technology known as CRISPR has been used by researchers since 2012 to trim, disrupt, replace or add to sequences of an organism’s DNA.

6 Jan 2015

Researchers suggest new strategy to control cellular identity and fate

A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are strong evidence that a specific chemical modification, or "tag," on RNA plays a key role in determining the ability of embryonic stem cells to adopt different cellular identities.

6 Dec 2014

Global stem cell market estimated to reach US$117.66B in 2018

Stem cells have the potential to transform healthcare by enabling the cost-effective treatment of many conditions that currently have poor treatment options.

2 Dec 2014

USC researcher receives first Broad Fellowship to study kidney stem cells

What makes stem cells develop into kidneys? Lori O'Brien, a postdoctoral research associate in the laboratory of Andy McMahon, has received the first Broad Fellowship to help answer this question.

12 Nov 2014

Induced neural stem cells hold promise for therapeutic transplantation

Induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) created from adult cells hold promise for therapeutic transplantation, but their potential in this capacity has been limited by failed efforts to maintain such cells in the desirable multi-potent NSC state without continuous expression of the transcription factors used initially to reprogram them.

7 Nov 2014

McLean Hospital lab explores use of stem cell therapy to treat epilepsy

McLean Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists have new evidence that stem cell transplantation could be a worthwhile strategy to help epileptics who do not respond to anti-seizure drugs.

7 Nov 2014

Researchers reconstruct early stages of mammalian development using embryonic stem cells

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have managed to reconstruct the early stage of mammalian development using embryonic stem cells, showing that a critical mass of cells – not too few, but not too many – is needed for the cells to being self-organising into the correct structure for an embryo to form.

6 Nov 2014

MIT researchers develop new way to model effects of cancer-causing genetic mutations

Sequencing the genomes of tumor cells has revealed thousands of genetic mutations linked with cancer. However, sifting through this deluge of information to figure out which of these mutations actually drive cancer growth has proven to be a tedious, time-consuming process.

24 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Ebola myths; Sen. McCain's 'opportunistic alarmism'; Gov. Jindal on CDC's misspent resources

Hubris is the greatest danger in wealthy countries - a sort of smug assumption that advanced technologies and emergency-preparedness plans guarantee that Ebola and other germs will not spread. It was hubris that left Toronto's top hospitals battling SARS in 2003, long after the virus was conquered in poorer Vietnam. It was hubris that led the World Health Assembly in 2013 to cut the WHO's outbreak-response budget in favor of more programs to treat cancer and heart disease.

14 Oct 2014

Four UCLA researchers receive NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Four scientists from the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received a National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award that will forward revolutionary stem cell and neuro-science in medicine.

12 Oct 2014

BRD4 protein appears to play key role in keeping stem cells in immature "pluripotent" state

A protein implicated in several cancers appears to play a pivotal role in keeping stem cells in an immature "pluripotent" state, according to a new study by NYU Langone Medical Center scientists.

26 Sep 2014