Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells News and Research

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Researchers identify group of cells in brain that plays important role in Down syndrome

Researchers from UC Davis School of Medicine and Shriners Hospitals for Children - Northern California have identified a group of cells in the brain that they say plays an important role in the abnormal neuron development in Down syndrome.

21 Jul 2014

Researchers reveal how schizophrenia-linked genetic variation alters skeletons of developing brain cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have begun to connect the dots between a schizophrenia-linked genetic variation and its effect on the developing brain. As they report July 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, their experiments show that the loss of a particular gene alters the skeletons of developing brain cells, which in turn disrupts the orderly layers those cells would normally form.

4 Jul 2014

Findings provide new insights into the basic biology of stem cells

A team of researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University and Salk Institute for Biological Studies has shown for the first time that stem cells created using different methods produce differing cells.

3 Jul 2014

Researchers create three-dimensional complement of human retinal tissue in a dish

Using a type of human stem cell, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have created a three-dimensional complement of human retinal tissue in the laboratory, which notably includes functioning photoreceptor cells capable of responding to light, the first step in the process of converting it into visual images.

11 Jun 2014

RPB grants $500,000 to accelerate treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), the leading eye research foundation, is providing $500,000 to accelerate the development of treatments for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) -- a family of retinal diseases that progressively create extreme tunnel vision, loss of night vision and leave affected patients legally blind by the age of 40.

5 Jun 2014

New approach provides a viable way to culture hESCs for clinical purposes

To be suitable for medical transplantation, one idea is that human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) need to remain "undifferentiated" i.e. they are not changing into other cell types.

29 May 2014

New dual-pronged approach for treating Niemann-Pick type C disease

By studying nerve and liver cells grown from patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a potential dual-pronged approach to treating Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease, a rare but devastating genetic disorder.

16 May 2014

Stem cell production becomes much easier with polymer-based 3D culture system

Mass producing human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, for regenerative medicine and drug discovery may have gotten much easier, thanks to a polymer-based 3D culture system developed by Japanese researchers.

26 Apr 2014

SIRT1 protein necessary for telomere elongation and genome integrity during cell reprogramming

Cell reprogramming converts specialised cells such as nerve cells or skin cells towards an embryonic stem cell state. This reversal in the evolutionary development of cells also requires a reversal in the biology of telomeres, the structures that protect the ends of chromosomes; whilst under normal conditions telomeres shorten over time, during cell reprogramming they follow the opposite strategy and increase in length.

22 Apr 2014

Novartis Institute researcher receives second annual Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences

Carnegie Mellon University will award the second annual Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences to Ricardo Dolmetsch, global head of neuroscience at the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research.

8 Apr 2014

Researcher pinpoints error in protein formation that could be root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

By studying nerve cells that originated in patients with a severe neurological disease, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has pinpointed an error in protein formation that could be the root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

4 Apr 2014

Stem cell research opens doors to potential new treatments for bipolar disorder

What makes a person bipolar, prone to manic highs and deep, depressed lows? Why does bipolar disorder run so strongly in families, even though no single gene is to blame? And why is it so hard to find new treatments for a condition that affects 200 million people worldwide?

26 Mar 2014

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

24 Mar 2014

Proteins that regulate energy metabolism are essential for stem cell formation

Proteins that regulate energy metabolism are essential for stem cell formation, University of Washington researchers find.

21 Mar 2014

BWH researchers explore newer approaches to treat Alzheimer's disease

A team of Alzheimer's disease (AD) researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has been able to study the underlying causes of AD and develop assays to test newer approaches to treatment by using stem cells derived from related family members with a genetic predisposition to (AD).

7 Mar 2014

Scientists reveal how a genetic code variation results in devastating brain diseases

New findings reveal how a mutation, a change in the genetic code that causes neurodegeneration, alters the shape of DNA, making cells more vulnerable to stress and more likely to die.

6 Mar 2014

Stem cells from patients offer model, drug-discovery platform for early-onset form of Alzheimer's

Harvard stem cell scientists have successfully converted skins cells from patients with early-onset Alzheimer's into the types of neurons that are affected by the disease, making it possible for the first time to study this leading form of dementia in living human cells. This may also make it possible to develop therapies far more quickly and accurately than before.

5 Mar 2014

Study highlights novel reprogramming method that offers new hope for treating liver failure

The power of regenerative medicine now allows scientists to transform skin cells into cells that closely resemble heart cells, pancreas cells and even neurons. However, a method to generate cells that are fully mature-a crucial prerequisite for life-saving therapies-has proven far more difficult.

24 Feb 2014

Rhythm important for correct development of baby hearts

To develop correctly, baby hearts need rhythm...even before they have blood to pump.

19 Feb 2014

New theory for how stem cells decide whether to become liver or pancreatic cells

Harvard stem cell scientists have a new theory for how stem cells decide whether to become liver or pancreatic cells during development. A cell's fate, the researchers found, is determined by the nearby presence of prostaglandin E2, a messenger molecule best known for its role in inflammation and pain.

14 Feb 2014