Embryonic Stem Cells News and Research

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Wall Street Journal examines record of Republican Vice Presidential nominee Palin on health care, other issues

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined the record of Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on health care and other issues as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and as governor of the state.

5 Sep 2008

Researchers devise means to create blood by discovering earliest form of human blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonic stem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biological marker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitors for red blood cells and lymphocytes.

28 Aug 2008

Transformation of ordinary cells into insulin-makers improves symptoms of diabetes

Scientists in the U.S. have successfully transformed ordinary cells into insulin-producing cells in a living mouse and thereby improved the symptoms of diabetes.

28 Aug 2008

Clinical-scale generation of functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. reported that it is feasible to differentiate and mature human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into functional oxygen-carrying red blood cells (RBCs) under conditions suitable for scale-up.

19 Aug 2008

The hype around stem cells

The most common use of stem cells in the near future will be in trials testing drugs for toxicity, rather than in revolutionary medical breakthroughs, a world expert in the social effects of stem cell research says.

10 Aug 2008

Recipe for cell reprogramming adds protein

A drug-like molecule called Wnt can be substituted for the cancer gene c-Myc, one of four genes added to adult cells to reprogram them to an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, according to Whitehead researchers.

6 Aug 2008

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

New research sheds light on the biological events by which stem cells in the bone marrow develop into the broad variety of cells that circulate in the blood. The findings may help improve the success of bone marrow transplants and develop better treatments for life-threatening blood diseases.

5 Aug 2008

Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that the Notch protein helps human embryonic stem cells 'decide' their own fate, a finding which may eventually be useful in programming cells for the development of stem cell therapies. Their results are reported in the May 2008 issue of Cell Stem Cell.

22 Jul 2008

Standards in stem cell research

Standards in stem cell research help both scientists and regulators to manage uncertainty and the unknown, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Efforts to standardise practices across different labs is, however, a balancing act where the autonomy of scientists and fragility of living material need to be weighed against the need for comparable data.

17 Jul 2008

Scientists identify 22 genes that control embryonic stem cell fate

Scientists have identified about two dozen genes that control embryonic stem cell fate. The genes may either prod or restrain stem cells from drifting into a kind of limbo, they suspect. The limbo lies between the embryonic stage and fully differentiated, or specialized, cells, such as bone, muscle or fat.

10 Jul 2008

Stem Cell Sciences granted UK patent for new growth medium for authentic embryonic stem cells

Stem Cell Sciences plc today announced that the UK Patent Office has granted it a patent covering the Company's new range of stem cell culture media. The new Culticell iSTEM range uses the inhibitor based technology discovered by Professor Austin Smith and recently published in Nature (vol. 453, pp.519-523).

8 Jul 2008

New method to evaluate variations identified in breast cancer susceptibility genes

Using mouse embryonic stem cells, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a new method to evaluate which mutations, or changes, in a gene known to increase breast cancer susceptibility, may lead to cancer. The new test, called a functional assay, is more comprehensive and reliable than most current methods.

7 Jul 2008

Scientists shed new light into early mechanisms governing cardiovascular specification

The mature heart is composed by different cell types, including contractile cardiac cells, vascular cells, smooth muscle cells as well as pacemaker cells.

3 Jul 2008

Mouse embryonic stem cells used to build heart parts

Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells.

2 Jul 2008

New technique produces genetically identical stem cells

Adult cells of mice created from genetically reprogrammed cells-so-called induced pluripotent stem (IPS) stem cells-can be triggered via drug to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the need for further genetic alteration.

1 Jul 2008

Stem cell research from an ethical point of view

New Springer book debates the moral status of the human embryo with special regard to stem cell research and therapy.

1 Jul 2008

Neural stem cell development may be linked to Autism

In a breakthrough scientific study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that neural stem cell development may be linked to Autism.

30 Jun 2008

Protein Ronin shown to be an alternate control for embryonic stem cells

Like the masterless samurai for whom it is named, the protein Ronin chooses an independent path, maintaining embryonic stem cells in their undifferentiated state and playing essential roles in genesis of embryos and their development, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers who reported on this novel cellular regulator in the current issue of the journal Cell.

27 Jun 2008

Scholarships for stem-cell research

The NSW Government has named two new scholarships for stem-cell research in honour of Paul Brock, an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney and a leading figure in Australia's education community.

25 Jun 2008

Nerve cells derived from embryonic stem cells and transplanted into mice may lead to improved brain therapies

Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have, for the first time, genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain, according to a study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience.

24 Jun 2008