Disease Modeling News and Research

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Scientists develop unique CRISPR-based method for more precise, systematic gene tagging

The genome editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9 has opened many doors for biomedical research by allowing scientists to precisely edit DNA sequences and alter function. The technology offers hope for correcting genetic defects and preventing disease.

24 Oct 2017

Time spent outdoors impacts risk for contracting Zika virus

When Zika first buzzed into the continental United States during the 2016 outbreak, Florida was hit first--and hardest--with 1,174 documented cases to date. So, when Marco Ajelli, associate research scientist at Northeastern and an expert in infectious disease modeling, wanted to study how time spent outside might affect the spread of the epidemic, he chose to focus on the state's most stricken county: Miami-Dade.

22 Sep 2017

NIH awards $15 million to develop 3D microphysiological system platforms that model human disease

More than 60 percent of investigational drugs fail in human clinical trials due to a lack of effectiveness, despite promising pre-clinical studies using cell and animal research models.

13 Sep 2017

Id genes found to play crucial role in heart development

Researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University and other institutions were surprised to discover that the four genes in the Id family play a crucial role in heart development, telling undifferentiated stem cells to form heart tubes and eventually muscle.

22 Aug 2017

Netflix's ‘13 Reasons Why’ linked to increase in internet searches for suicide methods

If you haven't heard of Netflix's television series "13 Reasons Why," just ask the nearest teenager. They'll tell you it's an immensely popular show among their young-adult peers, depicting the anguish and eventual suicide of a teenage girl as experienced by a friend listening to the series of audio-cassette journal entries she left behind.

31 Jul 2017

Gene editing technology shines light on rare dyskeratosis congenita

Using the gene editing technology CRISPR, scientists have shed light on a rare, sometimes fatal syndrome that causes children to gradually lose the ability to manufacture vital blood cells.

27 Jul 2017

Research shows key role of diffusion dynamics in stem cell differentiation and tissue development

Gradients of molecular signaling factors play an essential role in numerous events in embryonic development, from patterning limb and organ formation to the intricate shaping of the brain and neuroanatomical architecture.

27 Jul 2017

Research team receives NIH grant to develop new way to examine cancer cell metastasis

A University of Delaware researcher is part of a team that recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a new way to examine how cancer cells metastasize.

28 Jun 2017

Researchers recapitulate pathological condition of retinal diseases on a chip

Approximately 80% of all sensory input is received via the eyes, so suffering from chronic retinal diseases that lead to blindness causes a significant decrease in the quality of life (QOL).

15 Jun 2017

Salk scientists discover chemical cocktail that enables stem cells to generate tissues

When scientists talk about laboratory stem cells being totipotent or pluripotent, they mean that the cells have the potential, like an embryo, to develop into any type of tissue in the body.

6 Apr 2017

Stem cells strictly abide by innate developmental clocks, study shows

The mystery of what controls the range of developmental clocks in mammals — from 22 months for an elephant to 12 days for an opossum — may lie in the strict time-keeping of pluripotent stem cells for each unique species.

28 Feb 2017

New method to generate kidney organoids from patient cells can help study human kidney diseases

A new method to create kidney organoids from patient cells may provide insights into how kidney diseases arise and how they should be treated.

18 Nov 2016

Cardiac reprogramming could shrink heart scar tissue, improve patients' heart function

Patients with heart failure often have a buildup of scar tissue that leads to a gradual loss of heart function. In a new study published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine report significant progress toward a novel approach that could shrink the amount of heart scar tissue while replenishing the supply of healthy heart muscle.

4 Mar 2016

New initiative aims to improve access to PTSD research

Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI), Cohen Veterans Bioscience and Exaptive Inc. today announced a new initiative to improve access to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research. The creation of a PTSD KnowledgeMap  will systematize the current PTSD research space and provide interactive tools for scientists and others studying PTSD.

11 Feb 2016

Scientists successfully create fully-functional pancreatic cells from human skin cells

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco have successfully converted human skin cells into fully-functional pancreatic cells. The new cells produced insulin in response to changes in glucose levels, and, when transplanted into mice, the cells protected the animals from developing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease.

6 Jan 2016

Urine-derived iPSCs model could help predict patient response to cholesterol-lowering drugs

We all know how important it is to keep our levels of blood cholesterol - especially the 'bad' variety - in check with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Although cholesterol is a key structural component of cell membranes and is vital for the biosynthesis of certain hormones and vitamins, high levels can lead to the formation of arterial plaques, which are a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.

20 Nov 2015

New progenitor cells differentiate into mature cell types, prevent risk of unwanted tumors

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) can become any type of cell in the adult body, offering great potential in disease modeling, drug discovery and creating replacement cells for conditions ranging from cardiovascular to Alzheimer's disease.

11 Nov 2015

SCT, Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborate to advance development of cardiac disease models

Stem Cell Theranostics announced today that they have successfully completed a research collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific focused on advancing the development of cardiac disease models derived from induced pluripotent stem cells using Thermo Fisher Scientific's suite of work flow reagents and SCT's patient biobank and proprietary disease modeling methods.

7 Oct 2015

Researchers explore why some mutations can cause severe disease in humans, but benign in animals

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School have identified a mechanism that explains why some mutations can be disease-causing in one genome but benign in another.

30 Jun 2015

Univercell-Biosolutions opens center of expertise with industrial, standardized approach to hiPSC production

Univercell-Biosolutions, a leading provider of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and hiPS derived product cells for drug discovery, today announces the opening of a center of expertise with an industrial and standardized approach to hiPSC production.

25 Jun 2015