Skin Cells News and Research

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New genetic cause of retinitis pigmentosa

Combining the expertise of several different labs, University of Iowa researchers have found a new genetic cause of the blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and, in the process, discovered an entirely new version of the message that codes for the affected protein.

10 Aug 2011

Human brain cells created from skin cells: Potential for Alzheimer’s

This feat comes a year after researchers at Stanford University performed the same feat in mice, turning cells from the rodents' skin into neurons. The lab-created brain cells act the same as normal human brain cells, the researchers found. These cells have the same ability to send electric signals; they seem to express the same genes in the same ways; and they are able to communicate with other brain cells, as demonstrated in a lab dish and when implanted into mice.

5 Aug 2011

Scientists convert human skin cells into forebrain neurons

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have for the first time directly converted human skin cells into functional forebrain neurons, without the need for stem cells of any kind.

5 Aug 2011

Roadmap to overcome obstacles for using induced pluripotent stem cells

The possibility of developing stem cells from a patient's own skin and using them to treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and cancer has generated tremendous excitement in the stem cell research community in recent years. Such therapies would avoid the controversial need for using stem cells derived from human embryos, and in theory, also bypass immunological problems inherent in using cells from one person to treat another.

5 Aug 2011

Drink wine to prevent sunburns: Flavonoid research

According to a new Spanish study wine could protect against harmful sunburns. The researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Spanish National Research Council find that a compound found in grapes or grape derivatives may protect skin cells from skin-damaging ultraviolet radiation.

1 Aug 2011

Grapes help protect skin cells from sun's UV radiation

Some compounds found in grapes help to protect skin cells from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, according to a study by researchers from the University of Barcelona and the CSIC.

29 Jul 2011

Scientist discovers novel way to convert human skin cells into neurons

A scientist at the Gladstone Institutes has discovered a novel way to convert human skin cells into brain cells, advancing medicine and human health by offering new hope for regenerative medicine and personalized drug discovery and development.

29 Jul 2011

Mitochondrial genome undergoes random reorganisation during reprogramming

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material.

28 Jul 2011

New strategy for improving development of induced pluripotent stem cells

University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have developed a new strategy to improve the development of induced pluripotent stem cells.

21 Jul 2011

Autism Speaks honors Scripps Research scientist with Weatherstone Fellowship

Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy group, has awarded a two-year Dennis Weatherstone Pre-Doctoral Fellowship to Kristopher Nazor of The Scripps Research Institute.

16 Jul 2011

Study: Early-stage melanomas can help predict tumor metastasis

Wanderlust in a person can be admirable or romantic. In a cancerous tumor, it may be lethal. Most deaths from cancer result from tumor cells that have strayed from their original location to insinuate their way into distant tissues. With few exceptions, however, doctors have little way of determining whether a newly formed tumor is more likely to remain idle or send invader cells to other parts of the body.

15 Jul 2011

Microneedle patches may target dentritic cells more efficiently and induce immunity against HIV

Applying a vaccine patch to the skin with thousands of tiny micro-needles could help boost the body's immune response and prevent the spread of life-threatening infections like HIV and TB, a major Cardiff University study aims to uncover.

11 Jul 2011

STSI receives NIH grant to conduct heart-based research

Researchers looking to find a root cause for heart attacks and coronary artery disease will soon begin using a novel investigative approach that borders on science fiction as they work toward the holy grail of American medicine: preventing the nation's No. 1 killer.

2 Jul 2011

Pill for rare ageing disease on the horizon

Scientists have found that a drug used in transplant patients could reverse the effects of premature ageing and extend human life by over 10 years.

1 Jul 2011

Tissue-engineered blood vessels from donor skin cells successfully implanted in patients

For the first time, blood vessels created in the lab from donor skin cells were successfully implanted in patients. Functioning blood vessels that aren't rejected by the immune system could be used to make durable shunts for kidney dialysis, and potentially to improve treatment for children with heart defects and adults needing coronary or other bypass graft surgery.

28 Jun 2011

New 3D herpes infection model brings hope

Herpes infections on the lips, in the eyes or on the nose are painful, long-lasting and unpleasant. A new 3D herpes infection model brings hope: active ingredients and new treatments can be reliably tested with this model. Animal tests could soon be a thing of the past.

27 Jun 2011

Growth-braking tumor-suppressor gene slows growth of childhood brain tumors

Johns Hopkins researchers have found a likely explanation for the slow growth of the most common childhood brain tumor, pilocytic astrocytoma. Using tests on a new cell-based model of the tumor, they concluded that the initial process of tumor formation switches on a growth-braking tumor-suppressor gene, in a process similar to that seen in skin moles.

24 Jun 2011

Reduced levels of VAPB protein may play central role in causing ALS

An international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to reveal for the first time how reduced levels of a specific protein may play a central role in causing at least one inherited form of the disease.

22 Jun 2011

Healthy diet, antioxidants, critical nutrients and activities may provide the foundation to youthful living

As the baby boomer generation continues to increase in age, so does its passion to remain youthful, both inside and out. Beating the clock is now a multi-faceted, science-driven industry. From its age-old quests to find the elixir of life, to modern exploration of how microcellular activity contributes to metabolic breakdown, scientific research continues to advance its goals to enhance bodily energy, vigour and performance, and fade or stall the visible signs of aging.

16 Jun 2011

Life Technologies introduces CytoTune-iPS Reprogramming Kit

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of CytoTune-iPS Reprogramming Kit -- research technology that provides far improved efficiency over standard methods to develop induced pluripotent stem cells from human somatic cells.

16 Jun 2011