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.

NOXXON commences Spiegelmer NOX-A12 Phase IIa trial in CLL

NOXXON Pharma today announced the treatment of the first cohort of three chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial of its NOX-A12 anti-CXCL12/SDF-1 (CXC Chemokine Ligand 12 / Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1) Spiegelmer.

12 Jul 2012

Thrombopoietin mimetic offers aplastic anemia hope

Eltrombopag significantly improves blood counts in some patients with refractory severe aplastic anemia, suggests research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Jul 2012

Victims of stray-bullet shootings are often children, females

Most people killed or wounded in stray-bullet shootings were unaware of events leading to the gunfire that caused their injuries, and nearly one-third of the victims were children and nearly half were female, according to a new nationwide study examining an often-overlooked form of gun violence.

11 Jul 2012

DRCRF names 21 new Damon Runyon Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 21 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its spring Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jul 2012

Scientists discover two key epigenetic regulating genes that govern stem cell differentiation

The ability to control whether certain stem cells ultimately become bone cells holds great promise for regenerative medicine and potential therapies aimed at treating metabolic bone diseases. Now, UCLA School of Dentistry professor and leading cancer scientist Dr. Cun-Yu Wang and his research team have made a significant breakthrough in that direction. The scientists have discovered two key epigenetic regulating genes that govern the cell-fate determination of human bone marrow stem cells.

10 Jul 2012

Lipid ceramide helps cells keep cilium or antenna from retracting

A lipid that helps lotion soften the skin also helps cells find and stay in the right location in the body by ensuring they keep their "antennae" up, scientists report.

10 Jul 2012

Disabling Nf1 gene makes stem cells from the third ventricle proliferate rapidly

Scientists showed in mice that disabling a gene linked to a common pediatric tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), made stem cells from one part of the brain proliferate rapidly. But the same genetic deficit had no effect on stem cells from another brain region.

10 Jul 2012

Sox10 gene plays a central role in melanoma

Black skin cancer, also known as melanoma, is particularly aggressive and becoming increasingly common in Switzerland. Despite intensive research, however, there is still no treatment. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered a gene that plays a central role in black skin cancer. Suppressing this gene in mice inhibits the development of melanoma and its proliferation - a discovery that could pave the way for new forms of therapy.

10 Jul 2012

BioView, ScreenCell enter collaboration agreement for imaging of CTC

BioView Ltd. and ScreenCell, a privately-held company, today jointly announced the signing of a commercial collaboration agreement for Bioview's Automated Cell Imaging Systems for imaging of CTC's isolated with ScreenCell's Cyto Kit.

9 Jul 2012

FDA approves Capricor’s IND application for myocardial infarction study

Capricor, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on regenerative medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved initiation of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the ALLSTAR study, which will use allogeneic cardiac-derived stem cells (CDCs) to treat patients following large myocardial infarctions (MI).

9 Jul 2012

Next generation predictive 3D cell toxicity assays to be developed by Medicyte GmbH and Reinnervate Ltd

Two market leading companies in the field of cell based assays and predictive toxicology today announced a new product collaboration. Medicyte (inventors of the upcyte® technology) and Reinnervate (market leaders in the growing field of 3D cell culture) said they will work together to combine their upcyte® and Alvetex®Scaffold technologies to bring next generation cell bases assays to the biopharma and academic research markets.

9 Jul 2012

PsiOxus closes Series B round of equity financing

PsiOxus Therapeutics, Ltd. announced that it has closed a Series B round of equity financing totaling £22 million ($34 million).

9 Jul 2012

Robot assists in complex uro surgery for pediatric patient

Pediatric specialists of Apollo Hospitals successfully completed a complex surgery on the bladder base of a 7 year old child from Africa with the assistance of a Robot. The child's urethra, the tube from the urinary bladder, was crushed in a road accident.

7 Jul 2012

NIH awards Clinical and Translational Science Award to three Texas Medical Center institutions

In 2006, three Texas Medical Center institutions were among the first in the nation to receive a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into patient treatments. That grant has been renewed for another 5 years.

7 Jul 2012

New Gateway-funded phase II ADAPT study for metastatic colorectal cancer

The Gateway for Cancer Research announces an exciting new Gateway-funded phase II study using ADAPT therapy for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer based on a 2010 AACR presentation by Dr. Lin and his collaborators.

7 Jul 2012

New optical microscope identifies rare breast cancer cells

The ability to distinguish and isolate rare cells from among a large population of assorted cells has become increasingly important for the early detection of disease and for monitoring disease treatments.

7 Jul 2012

New insights into role and importance of exosomes and their targeted gene transcripts

In the July 6 issue of Cell Stem Cell, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine describe how human epidermal progenitor cells and stem cells control transcription factors to avoid premature differentiation, preserving their ability to produce new skin cells throughout life.

6 Jul 2012

New class of injectable materials can stimulate tissue regeneration

The University of Nottingham has begun the search for a new class of injectable materials that will stimulate stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue in degenerative and age related disorders of the bone, muscle and heart.

6 Jul 2012

Insight into understanding IDH mediated disease

Agios Pharmaceuticals, the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in cancer metabolism, announced today the publication of a new study that provides further evidence of the link between a mutated metabolic enzyme and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most common types of leukemia in adults.

6 Jul 2012

Metformin can activate neural stem cells to encourage brain repair

The discovery is an important step toward therapies that aim to repair the brain not by introducing new stem cells but rather by spurring those that are already present into action, says the study's lead author Freda Miller of the University of Toronto-affiliated Hospital for Sick Children. The fact that it's a drug that is so widely used and so safe makes the news all that much better.

6 Jul 2012