Embryonic Stem Cells News and Research

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Framing science - scientists should adopt new communication techniques

Seed Washington Correspondent Chris Mooney and American University professor and ScienceBlogs contributor Dr. Matthew Nisbet are co-authors of a provocative new article in Science entitled, Framing Science.

7 Apr 2007

Immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on "cancer stem cells," which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

2 Apr 2007

EU agrees to create embryonic stem cell line registry

The European Commission on Thursday agreed to spend about $1.3 million over three years to create a registry of human embryonic stem cell lines, Xinhuanet reports.

2 Apr 2007

Bioengineering heart parts

Some day, heart attack survivors might have a patch of laboratory-grown muscle placed in their heart, to replace areas that died during their attack.

30 Mar 2007

Immune response to cancer stem cells may dictate cancer's course

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on 'cancer stem cells,' which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

27 Mar 2007

Chemical cues turn embryonic stem cells into cerebellar neurons

Embryonic stem cells have shown a great deal of promise for alleviating heart disease and regenerating organs. But for some of the conditions for which people hold out the most hope - Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, for example - there's been little evidence to date that stem cells can work.

14 Mar 2007

Stem cells delay neurodegeneration in the brain

Sufferers from devastating neurodegenerative diseases have been given some hope by the results of recent research.

12 Mar 2007

European patent on stem cells may be a possibility

As long as the research meets the usual requirements for a patent, isolated embryonic stem cells should be considered for both method and product patents.

11 Mar 2007

Cannibalistic signals help mammalian embryos develop normally

A cannibalistic process called autophagy spurs dying embryonic stem cells to send "eat me" and "come get me" signals to have their corpses purged, a last gasp that paves the way for normal mammalian development, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

8 Mar 2007

Giuliani does not mention abortion rights at Conservative conference

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., "position[ed] themselves as allies" to conservatives despite their "mixed" records on issues such as abortion rights and stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2007

MIT researchers develop technique to encourage the survival and growth of adult stem cells

Adult stem cells, found in many tissues in the body, are precursor cells for specific cell types. For example, stem cells found in the bone marrow develop into blood cells, bone cells and other connective tissues, and neural stem cells develop into brain tissue.

28 Feb 2007

California Appellate Court panel upholds constitutionality of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

A three-judge panel of the California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Monday ruled unanimously that California's Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to provide $3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research -- is constitutional, the New York Times reports.

28 Feb 2007

'Complicated' statements from Romney, Giuliani on abortion rights are 'welcome,' opinion piece says

Although it is "easy to hoot with derision" at the "awfully complicated positions" on abortion rights taken by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), the two possible Republican presidential candidates "make sense" when listened to "with a decent sympathy," Ann Althouse, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

27 Feb 2007

U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority approves compensation for eggs donated for research

The United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority on Wednesday approved a policy that will allow women who donate eggs for human embryonic stem cell research to receive up to $500 for each cycle to cover costs associated with travel and lost wages, the AP/Washington Post reports

25 Feb 2007

Research defines the cancer role for protein Gab-2

A protein known for its ability to "bridge" interactions between other cellular proteins may spur metastasis in breast cancer, the disease's deadliest stage, a study from Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found.

22 Feb 2007

How stem cells are regulated

Researchers from Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) at University of Copenhagen have identified a new group of proteins that regulate the function of stem cells. The results are published in the new issue of Cell.

22 Feb 2007

First embryonic stem cell research grants approved under California Proposition 71

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine's Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee on Friday announced the approval of the first human embryonic stem cell research grants provided under Proposition 71, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

22 Feb 2007

Increased demand, compensation for egg donors in U.S.

The AP/Boston Globe on Monday examined how increased demand for egg donations and compensation for donors in the U.S. has prompted more young women to donate their eggs. According CDC data, about 10,000 women donated eggs to federally monitored programs in 2004, compared with 3,800 women in 1996.

22 Feb 2007

California Appellate Court panel hears arguments in challenge of State proposition promoting embryonic stem cell research

A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco on Wednesday heard oral arguments in two consolidated cases challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 71 -- approved by voters in 2004 to provide $3 billion for human embryonic stem cell research -- the Los Angeles Times reports.

19 Feb 2007

Researchers replace organ in mice using 'single-parent' stem cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have derived uniparental embryonic stem cells - created from a single donor's eggs or two sperm - and, for the first time, successfully used them to repopulate a damaged organ with healthy cells in adult mice.

18 Feb 2007