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.

Australian doctors identify new disease and devise its cure

A team of Australian doctors have identified a new disease and its cure. In their report published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases the doctors from The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) report a case of a young NSW woman ill for almost a decade with repeated hospitalizations. She is now said to be suffering from a diseases that disabled the signaling processes of her immune system. The diseases is not named yet. Dr Maher Gandhi, head of QIMR's Immunohemotology Laboratory believes there are more cases of this disease. He said this Monday, “I haven't got a name for it other than T-cell signaling defect of which I assume there are quite a few different types… There are no recorded cases of this in the literature. Katie is unique ... I think we're at the tip of the iceberg here.”

17 May 2010

Hawthorn announces licensing deal with University of Pittsburgh for novel monoclonal antibodies for cancer

Hawthorn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced a global licensing deal with the University of Pittsburgh covering a series of novel monoclonal antibodies for cancer. The antibody portfolio targets a variety of cancers through the cell surface chondrotin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4), which plays an important role in signaling pathways regulating tumor cell survival, growth, and motility.

17 May 2010

genOway and Griffith University sign research partnership and license for olfactory stem cells technology

genOway, the biotechnology company dedicated to the development of genetically modified animal models, today reports an agreement with the Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) on a eight-months research partnership with its Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies focusing on autologous olfactory adult stem cells. This research program is coupled with a world wide exclusive license to genOway for the rodent transgenic business.

17 May 2010

Athersys presents data supporting MultiStem programs

Athersys, Inc. today presented data supporting its MultiStem® programs in cardiovascular disease, neurological disease and immune system modulation, and highlighted advancements in other areas, including progress in its drug development program in the area of obesity.

15 May 2010

Power3 Medical Products files provisional patent applications with USPTO

Power3 Medical Products, Inc. announced today that it has filed two provisional patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - one on Alzheimer's disease specific differential diagnosis in the clinical setting and the other on important differences in pathophysiology and therapeutic options for the genetically distinct groups of Alzheimer's disease patients.

15 May 2010

Robertson Foundation gifts NYSCF $27 million

The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) has received a grant of $27 million from the Robertson Foundation, established by Julian and Josie Robertson.

15 May 2010

LiU researchers discover new mechanism in stem cell regulation

A hitherto unknown function that regulates how stem cells produce different types of cells in different parts of the nervous system has been discovered by researchers at Linköping University.

15 May 2010

NYSCF receives a grant of $27M to advance in stem cell research

The New York Stem Cell Foundation has received a grant of $27 million from the Robertson Foundation, established by Julian and Josie Robertson.

15 May 2010

Oxygen levels induce X chromosome inactivation in female cells: Study

Oxygen levels in the lab can permanently alter human embryonic stem (ES) cells, specifically inducing X chromosome inactivation in female cells, according to Whitehead Institute researchers. Human ES cells have been routinely created and maintained at atmospheric levels of oxygen, which is about 20%. Cells in the body are usually exposed to only 1-9% oxygen.

14 May 2010

Revolutionary technology to protect skin stem cells and combat chronological aging

Emerge Labs presents a revolutionary technology that protects skin stem cells and combats chronological aging. The breakthrough patent-pending active ingredient, PhytoCellTec Solar Vitis, boosts the production of human skin stem cells, protects human skin stem cells against UV radiation, and fights photo-aging, thus decreasing wrinkles and producing younger, fresher looking skin.

14 May 2010

New way to coax embryonic stem cells and reprogrammed adult cells to develop sensory cells

After ten years of effort, researchers reporting in the May 14th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, say they have found a way to coax embryonic stem cells as well as reprogrammed adult cells to develop into sensory cells that normally reside in the mammalian inner ear. Those mechanosensitive sensory hair cells are the linchpin of hearing and balance.

14 May 2010

Poorly designed clinical trials adversely affect medical advances

In a paper published this week in Science, experts caution that important ethical issues in the testing of new therapies like stem cells may not be receiving the attention they deserve. Carnegie Mellon University's Dr. Alex John London (Dept. of Philosophy) joined McGill University's Dr. Jonathan Kimmelman (Faculty of Medicine) and University of Wisconsin-Madison's Marina Emborg (Dept. of Medical Physics) to examine the way scientists, physicians, and regulators evaluate risk and benefit when testing new drugs in human beings for the first time.

14 May 2010

Stanford researchers make hair-cell-like cells in a petri dish

Deep inside the ear, specialized cells called hair cells detect vibrations in the air and translate them into sound. Ten years ago, Stefan Heller, PhD, professor of otolaryngology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, came up with the idea that if you could create these cells in the laboratory from stem cells, it would go a long way toward helping scientists understand the molecular basis of hearing in order to develop better treatments for deafness.

14 May 2010

Each melanoma cell capable of cancer stem cell behavior: Study

Scientists at The Wistar Institute offer a new explanation for the persistent ability of melanoma cells to self-renew, one of the reasons why melanoma remains the deadliest form of skin cancer. The concept of the "dynamic stemness" of melanoma can explain why melanoma cells behave like both conventional tumor cells and cancer stem cells.

14 May 2010

GRNCM1 do not cause cardiac arrhythmias after transplantation: Preclinical study

Geron Corporation today reported positive preclinical study data showing that GRNCM1, Geron's cardiomyocyte product derived from human embryonic stem cells, does not cause cardiac arrhythmias after transplantation into a model of chronic heart damage designed to test this potential safety concern.

14 May 2010

GE Healthymagination Fund invests $5M in CardioDx

GE Healthcare, the healthcare business of GE and CardioDx, a pioneer in cardiovascular genomic diagnostics, announced today that the companies have entered into a strategic alliance to advance and co-develop diagnostic technologies to improve the care and management of patients with cardiovascular disease.

14 May 2010

Calcium deficiency may make people more prone to osteoporosis, obesity in later life: Study

There's no denying that people need calcium for strong, healthy bones. But new research from North Carolina State University suggests that not getting enough calcium in the earliest days of life could have a more profound, lifelong impact on bone health and perhaps even obesity than previously thought.

14 May 2010

Chimerix commences first-in-human study of CMX157 for HIV

Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, announced the commencement of a first-in-human study of CMX157, a novel lipid conjugate of the nucleotide tenofovir with in vitro activity against both tenofovir-sensitive and tenofovir-resistant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). CMX157 has the potential to increase efficacy and decrease toxicity as compared to tenofovir, and may enable the creation of new 'one pill, once-a-day', fixed-dose combination regimens for the treatment of HIV infection.

14 May 2010

Researchers provide better understanding of anti-cell death proteins and potential antagonist to defeat them

Cancer uses devious means to evade treatment and survive. One prime example is the way tumors express anti-cell death (anti-apoptotic) proteins to resist chemotherapy and radiation. However, the Pellecchia laboratory at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute has made two recent discoveries that may help curb these anti-apoptotic proteins and make current treatments more effective.

13 May 2010

Patient enrollment completed in Phase 2 clinical trial of orBec for prevention of acute GVHD

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that patient enrollment has been completed in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial of orBec for the prevention of acute Graft-versus-Host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation with myeloablative conditioning regimens.

12 May 2010