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.

New approach links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome

Identifying gene mutations in cancer patients to predict clinical outcome has been the cornerstone of cancer research for nearly three decades, but now researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have invented a new approach that instead links cancer cell metabolism with poor clinical outcome. This approach can now be applied to virtually any type of human cancer cell.

15 Apr 2011

New treatment improves immune function in 13-year-old with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

In a novel approach that works around the gene defect in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, an inherited immune deficiency disorder, researchers used an alternative cell signaling pathway to significantly improve immune function in a 13-year-old boy with the disease.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify novel small molecules that block human tumor cell growth

Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers create artificial cornea using pig and human stem cells

Researchers extracted pig corneal cells and replaced them with human stem cells. Thus, the University of Granada takes the lead in the making of bioartificial organs, a field so far led by the Hospital Gregorio Marañón in Madrid.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers report injectable gel can help treat arthritis

Some 25 million people in the United States alone suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or its cousin osteoarthritis, diseases characterized by often debilitating pain in the joints. Now researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital report an injectable gel that could spell the future for treating these diseases and others.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers show how TET1 enzyme controls fetal development and fights cancer

To ensure normal fetal development and prevent disease, it is crucial that certain genes are on or off in the right time intervals. Researchers in Professor Kristian Helin's group at BRIC, University of Copenhagen, have now shown how the TET1 enzyme controls the activity of our genes. The results are just published in the journal Nature.

15 Apr 2011

AAN, PDF honor Boston researcher with Clinician Scientist Development Award

A clinician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is receiving $240,000 to further his research into how stem cells may be used to treat Parkinson's disease through the American Academy of Neurology Foundation and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation Clinician Scientist Development Award in Parkinson's Disease Research.

15 Apr 2011

Experts suggest Fukushima clean-up workers store blood cells for future use

As Japan still reels with the after effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and radiation exposure, plant workers are working to control the radiation leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Experts note that the work there will take years, posing a risk of accidental exposure.

15 Apr 2011

Pig stem cell transplants key to future research into retina treatment

A team of American and Chinese scientists studying the role of stem cells in repairing damaged retina tissue have found that pigs represent an effective proxy species to research treatments for humans. The study, published in STEM CELLS, demonstrates how cells can be isolated and transplanted between pigs, overcoming a key barrier to the research.

13 Apr 2011

Scientists discover how anti-depressants make new brain cells

For the first time in a human model, scientists have discovered how anti-depressants make new brain cells. This means that researchers can now develop better and more efficient drugs to combat depression.

12 Apr 2011

Rockefeller University professor earns recognition in developmental psychobiology

Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons have announced that The Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology has been awarded to The Rockefeller University's Dr. Fernando Nottebohm for his seminal work in songbirds that has led to the discovery of neuronal replacement.

12 Apr 2011

Periodontal ligament stem cells most efficacious among dental tissue-derived stem cells

Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) have been found to be the most efficacious of three kinds of clinically tested dental tissue-derived stem cells, reports a study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (20:2), freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/.

12 Apr 2011

Early uMSC transplantation may treat lupus nephritis

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mensenchymal stem cells have been found to offer benefits for treating lupus nephritis when transplanted into mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus.

12 Apr 2011

Shrink Nanotechnologies to acquire Nanopoint

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative high technology company, announced today that it has executed a binding letter of intent to acquire 100% of Hawaii-based Nanopoint Inc., a biomedical instrumentation and microfluidics company with global distribution for its award-winning suites of life sciences products.

12 Apr 2011

Researchers discover new cancer stem cells in breast tissue

Whitehead Institute researchers have discovered that a differentiated cell type found in breast tissue can spontaneously convert to a stem-cell-like state, the first time such behavior has been observed in mammalian cells.

12 Apr 2011

Novelos Therapeutics acquires Cellectar

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for treatment and diagnosis of cancer, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Cellectar, Inc., a Wisconsin-based drug development company, in a stock-for-stock transaction.

12 Apr 2011

New nonviral method to create cardiac cells

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a simplified, cheaper, all-purpose method they say can be used by scientists around the globe to more safely turn blood cells into heart cells. The method is virus-free and produces heart cells that beat with nearly 100 percent efficiency, they claim.

11 Apr 2011

Louisville Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine earns APS' Walter B. Cannon Award

Heart failure affects roughly six million Americans, yet treatment consists of either a heart transplant or the insertion of mechanical devices that assist the heart. This is unacceptable to Roberto Bolli, MD, Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky., which is why he is on a mission to make cardiac stem cell treatment an option for all who must cope with the limitations of a failing heart.

11 Apr 2011

Key regulator of fat cell development may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs

New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and collaborating institutions has identified a key regulator of fat cell development that may provide a target for obesity and diabetes drugs.

8 Apr 2011

Viewpoints abound on impact of Ryan plan, government showdown

If the federal government shuts down at midnight on Friday — which seems likely unless negotiations take a sudden turn toward rationality — it will not be because of disagreements over spending. It will be because Republicans are refusing to budge on these ideological demands: No federal financing for Planned Parenthood. ... No local financing for abortion services in the District of Columbia. ... No funds for health care reform.

8 Apr 2011