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.

George Higginson Professor to receive 2010 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize

Howard Green, a founding father of regenerative medicine and the George Higginson Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, will receive the 2010 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize for developing methodologies leading directly to permanent skin restoration therapy which is saving the lives of thousands of burn patients around the world.

22 Sep 2010

Access enters $30M supply agreement for MuGard with RHEI

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in products for cancer and supportive care signed a $30 million supply agreement for MuGard with RHEI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on bringing proprietary medicines to the China market. Access will ensure manufacturing capacity of up to a minimum of $30 million of product in the licensed territories.

21 Sep 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation for MultiStem stem cell therapy

Athersys, Inc. announced today that MultiStem, Athersys' multipotent adult progenitor stem cell therapy, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of graft vs. host disease (GvHD).

21 Sep 2010

Cytheris commences enrollment in CYT107 recombinant human Interleukin-7 clinical trial for HIV

Cytheris SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development of new therapies for immune modulation, today announced that it has begun enrolling patients in INSPIRE 3, a Phase II clinical program evaluating the effect of repeated cycles of the company's investigative immune-modulator, recombinant human Interleukin-7 (CYT107), in the treatment of chronically HIV-1 infected patients classified as Immunological Non-Responders (INR) after at least 24 months of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART).

21 Sep 2010

Talecris Biotherapeutics announces 2010 eALTA award recipients

Talecris Biotherapeutics GmbH announced yesterday the recipients of the 2010 European alpha1-antitrypsin Laurell's Training Awards (eALTA). The annual awards, sponsored by Talecris, provide two fellowships of 50,000 euros to young investigators whose research aims to enhance the understanding and treatment of alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AAT deficiency).

21 Sep 2010

Biomerix, Synthecon enter strategic distribution agreement for 3D cell culture scaffolds

Biomerix Corporation, a medical technologies company developing and manufacturing innovative regenerative medicine biomaterials, and Synthecon, a leading biotechnology company specializing in the design and manufacturing of rotating cell culture systems, today announced a strategic distribution agreement for three-dimensional cell culture scaffolds developed using Biomerix Corporation's unique biomaterial technology.

21 Sep 2010

Six3 gene safeguards future retina

New research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators adds to evidence that the Six3 gene functions like a doorman in the developing brain and visual system, safeguarding the future retina by keeping the region where the eye is forming free of a signaling protein capable of disrupting the process.

21 Sep 2010

Researchers identify protein essential for dendritic cell development

A protein called PU.1 is essential for the development of dendritic cells, the sentinels of the immune system, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers in Melbourne, Australia, have shown.

20 Sep 2010

Micromet initiates MT103 phase 2 trial in adult ALL patients

Micromet, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase 2 trial of the Company's lead product candidate blinatumomab (MT103) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Blinatumomab is the first of a new class of agents called BiTE antibodies, designed to harness the body's T cells to kill cancer cells.

20 Sep 2010

MultiStem multipotent adult progenitor cell therapy preserves 'blood brain barrier'

Athersys, Inc. announced today the publication of a key study in the October issue of Experimental Neurology conducted by researchers at Athersys, the University of Texas Medical School, the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices, and Texas A&M University.

20 Sep 2010

Cord Blood America acquires controlling interest of Biocordcell Argentina

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, today announced that it has purchased controlling interest, 50.1 percent, of Biocordcell Argentina S.A. (BioCells, Inc.).

20 Sep 2010

Shrink enters final phase of commercialization program for StemDisc product line

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative nanotechnology company developing products and licensing opportunities in the alternative energy industry, medical diagnostics and sensors, and biotechnology research and development tools businesses, announced today that it is entering the final phase of its commercialization program for its first cell culturing devices for the StemDisc family of stem cell culturing products.

18 Sep 2010

Lawmakers debate action on stem cell research, public health bills

Sen. Arlen Specter said at a Senate hearing Thursday that Congress should move on allowing the government to fund human embryonic stem cell research "to avoid giving a final say on the issue to a conservative Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports.

18 Sep 2010

APC gene mutation affects DNA methylation in colon cancer: Research

Colon cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States and causes more than 50,000 deaths each year. It has been known for some time that mutations in the APC gene occur in more than 85 percent of all sporadic colon cancers. Now researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah demonstrate in a study featured today in Cell the mechanism by which mutation of the APC gene affects a cellular process known as DNA methylation.

18 Sep 2010

76% of Americans oppose cloning human embryos for research

As the U.S. Senate prepares to hold a hearing on human embryonic stem cell research (hESCR), a new public opinion poll shows that a plurality of Americans (47 percent) oppose federal funding of stem cell research that involves destroying human embryos, while only thirty-eight percent (38 percent) support such funding. The poll, conducted by ICR / International Communications Research, surveyed 1,006 adults September 8-14. It was commissioned by the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

17 Sep 2010

Shrink Nanotechnologies files patent for CellAlign tissue engineering technology

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative nanotechnology company developing products and licensing opportunities in the alternative energy industry, medical diagnostics and sensors and biotechnology research and development tools businesses, announced today that certain patent applications related to its advanced tissue engineering technology platform, CellAlign, have been filed.

17 Sep 2010

Research on signaling pathways may help to design therapy for neurodevelopmental disorders

Researchers at the Center for Neuroscience Research at Children's National Medical Center have discovered that the two major types of signaling pathways activated during brain cell development-the epidermal growth factor receptor pathway and the Notch pathway-operate together to determine how many and which types of brain cells are created during growth and repair in developing and adult brains.

17 Sep 2010

Metabolic Solutions to present MSDC-0160 clinical candidate data at EASD conference

Metabolic Solutions Development Company (MSDC), will present research at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual conference in Stockholm, Sweden on Sept. 23, 2010. The research indicates that the company's clinical candidate, MSDC-0160, promotes the proliferation of stem cells that create brown fat, leading to the creation of more brown fat. The research was conducted in tissue cultures and mice.

17 Sep 2010

Researchers reveal Prozac reactions to increase serotonin level

The response time to antidepressants, such as Prozac, is around three weeks. The adaptation mechanisms of the neurons to antidepressants has, until now, remained enigmatic. In particular, the researchers have revealed, for the first time, a sequence of reactions caused by Prozac at the neuron level, which contributes to an increase in the amounts of serotonin, a chemical "messenger" essential to the brain, and deficient in depressive individuals.

17 Sep 2010

Fat-derived stem cells can aid breast reconstruction after mastectomy

Fat-derived stem cells can be safely used to aid reconstruction of breast tissue after mastectomy as long as there is no evidence of active cancer, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

17 Sep 2010