Embryonic Stem Cells News and Research

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Mice sperm grown in a lab produces baby mice

In ground breaking research scientists have for the first time produced mice using sperm grown in the laboratory from embryonic stem cells.

10 Jul 2006

Birth of IVF baby to 62 year old mother causes controversy

The birth of a baby boy to a 62 year old mother following IVF treatment from Italian fertility expert Professor Severino Antinorihas has caused controversy in the UK.

9 Jul 2006

Dopamine drug leads to new neurons and recovery of function in Parkinson's

In preliminary results, researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of the nerve-signaling chemical dopamine causes new neurons to develop in the part of the brain where cells are lost in Parkinson's disease (PD).

5 Jul 2006

Dopamine drug may lead to new ways of treating Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers have shown that a drug which mimics the effects of the nerve-signaling chemical dopamine causes new neurons to develop in the part of the brain where cells are lost in Parkinson's disease

4 Jul 2006

Researchers develop T-cells from human embryonic stem cells

Human embryonic stem cells can be genetically manipulated and coaxed to develop into mature T-cells, raising hopes for a gene therapy to combat AIDS.

3 Jul 2006

Scientists use embryonic stem cells to awaken latent motor nerve repair

In a dramatic display of stem cells' potential for healing, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports that they've engineered new, completed, fully-working motor neuron circuits - neurons stretching from spinal cord to target muscles - in paralyzed adult animals.

26 Jun 2006

Stroke damage may be reversible

Scientists in the U.S. say they have discovered a way to make the brain reverse the damage it suffers after a stroke, and are optimistic that it will lead to treatment which will exploit the body's ability to heal itself.

26 Jun 2006

Egg donation for stem cell research - balancing the risks and benefits

In the wake of the scandal involving fraudulent cloning research, concerns about the welfare of women donating eggs for research purposes have arisen.

19 Jun 2006

Bush's Draconian plan to ban stem cell research flounders as Harvard goes it alone

Scientists at Harvard University in the United States, in direct defiance of President Bush's wish to ban such research, have begun efforts to clone human embryos.

7 Jun 2006

New discovery about role of sugar in cell communication

A research team from Uppsala University has uncovered an entirely new mechanism for how communication between cells is regulated.

9 May 2006

Polycomb proteins key factors in influencing the direction of embryonic stem cell development

Embryonic stem cells may one day provide a means to treat disease, but according to two new reports, they are already revealing remarkable insights into the mysteries of human biology. How humans manage to develop from a single fertilized egg into the trillions of cells that make up a mature adult remains a poorly understood process. Now, using both human and mouse embryonic stem cells, researchers have mapped how a key developmental ingredient controls the genome.

28 Apr 2006

Discovery brings embryonic stem cell medicine a step closer

A team of scientists announced a critical step on the path of realizing the promise of embryonic stem (ES) cells for medicine. The researchers have discovered unique molecular imprints coupled to DNA in mouse ES cells that help explain the cells' rare ability to form almost any body cell type. These imprints, or "signatures," appear near the master genes that control embryonic development and probably coordinate their activity in the early stages of cell differentiation. Not only do these findings help to unlock the basis for ES cells' seemingly unlimited potential, they also suggest ways to understand why ordinary cells are so limited in their abilities to repair or replace damaged cells.

26 Apr 2006

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

Two studies in the April 21, 2006 Cell report new details of the "genetic program" that affords embryonic stem cells the flexibility to give rise to any cell type in the body. Both groups identified mechanisms by which the embryonic stem cells of mice or humans keep from going down any one particular developmental path--that of muscle or nervous tissue, for example--while remaining "poised for activation."

26 Apr 2006

Studies indicate stem cells are flexible enough to become any cell in the body

26 Apr 2006

The Notch effect steers stem cells into cells of the nervous system

Stem cell scientists at the University of Edinburgh have discovered that Notch, a protein first discovered more than 80 years ago in the fruit fly, directs unspecialized embryonic stem cells to become cells of the nervous system.

13 Apr 2006

Single dose of stem cells produce robust behavioral recovery in animal models for stroke, cerebral palsy

A single dose of adult donor stem cells given to animals that have neurological damage similar to that experienced by adults with a stroke or newborns with cerebral palsy can significantly enhance recovery from these types of injuries, researchers say.

11 Apr 2006

Minimal nutritional requirements for growing and maintaining human embryonic stem cells

Researchers at Yale have established the minimal nutritional requirements for growing and maintaining human embryonic stem cells, a recipe that is critical for clinical application and for developmental studies, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

11 Apr 2006

Weill Cornell experts publish review of genetic medicine

In an article published in the April issue of Nature Reviews Genetics, two experts at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University sum up the achievements, challenges and promise of a burgeoning field: genetic medicine.

3 Apr 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

The legal and ethical issues associated with human embryonic stem cell research

"As my university gears up for human embryonic stem cell research," says Stanford law professor Henry Greely in an Essay for PLoS Medicine, "it finds that a host of ethical and legal questions still need to be answered."

1 Mar 2006