Neural Stem Cells News and Research

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UW-Madison neuroscientist discover genetic machinery that causes maturation in young nerve cells

In one of the first studies to 'read' the genetic activity inside individual brain cells, University of Wisconsin-Madison neuroscientist Xinyu Zhao has identified the genetic machinery that causes maturation in a young nerve cell. The cells under study came from the hippocampus, a memory-related structure that is the only place in a mammal's brain where new neurons can form throughout life.

18 Mar 2016

Neural stem cells from T cell-derived iPSCs provide neurological disease model

Researchers in Japan report that neural stem cells derived from readily available T cell-derived iPSCs provide a neurological disease model when cultured in a novel protocol developed by them. The findings are important for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and are published in Stem Cell Reports, March 2016.

16 Mar 2016

FSU researchers make major breakthrough in Zika virus research

Florida State University researchers have made a major breakthrough in the quest to learn whether the Zika virus is linked to birth defects with the discovery that the virus is directly targeting brain development cells and stunting their growth.

7 Mar 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

UNC-Chapel Hill pharmacy researchers use skin cells to destroy brain tumors

In a first for medical science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pharmacy researchers turn skin cells into cancer-hunting stem cells that destroy brain tumors known as glioblastoma - a discovery that can offer, for the first time in more than 30 years, a new and more effective treatment for the disease.

25 Feb 2016

Researchers reveal how brain-specific microRNA plays key role in causing abnormal brain development

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of highly inheritable behavioural disorders that pose major personal and public health concerns. Patients with ASDs have mild to severe communication difficulties, repetitive behaviour and social challenges. Such disorders significantly challenge an individual's ability to conduct daily activities and function normally in society. Currently there are very few medication options that effectively treat ASDs.

17 Feb 2016

Researchers discover previously unknown mechanism that regulates neurogenesis

Bassem Hassan's team at VIB/KU Leuven has discovered a previously unknown mechanism that is highly conserved between species and which regulates neurogenesis through precise temporal control of the activity of a family of proteins essential for brain development: the proneural proteins.

30 Jan 2016

Researchers identify cells that likely give rise to Group 4 medulloblastoma

Researchers have identified the cells that likely give rise to the brain tumor subtype Group 4 medulloblastoma. The finding removes a barrier to developing more effective targeted therapies against the brain tumor's most common subtype.

28 Jan 2016

Study reveals how imbalance of omega-3 fatty acids affects brain development in offspring

Researchers at Tohoku University's School of Medicine have found an explanation for the correlation between eating fish during pregnancy, and the health of the baby's brain.

17 Jan 2016

Using stem cells to tackle CNS disorders: an interview with Dr Stefano Pluchino

My laboratory’s long standing interest is the study of the signaling capabilities of stem cells, both under homeostatic conditions

From Beckman Coulter Life Sciences - Flow Cytometry 5 Jan 2016

YAP protein appears to play vital role in helping control inflammation inside the brain

Inside the brain, a protein called YAP, best known for its ability to help right-size our developing hearts and livers, appears to have the different but equally important task of helping control inflammation.

23 Dec 2015

New mathematical models shed light on complex interactions of stem cell function in neural tissue

New research has shed light on the complex interactions of stem cell function and molecular diffusion in neural tissue, which may explain many phenomena from stem cell differentiation to the formation of the cortex of the brain. While researching new methods of reconstructing 3D neural tissue and neural pathways in the brain and spinal cord, Dr. Richard McMurtrey devised new mathematical approaches for understanding the concentration of nutrients within the 3D tissue constructs and how this could affect tissue growth.

22 Dec 2015

NYSCF conference to focus on translational stem cell and neuroscience research

The New York Stem Cell Foundation 10th Annual Translational Stem Cell Research Conference convenes global leaders in translational stem cell and neuroscience research to present their latest work towards new treatments and cures for the most devastating diseases and injuries currently facing the world.

26 Oct 2015

Researchers find that stem cell treatment may reduce cognitive impairment related to dementia with Lewy bodies

Neural stem cells transplanted into damaged brain sites in mice dramatically improved both motor and cognitive impairments associated with dementia with Lewy bodies, according to University of California, Irvine neurobiologists with the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders.

19 Oct 2015

Experimental drug shows promise in mice with multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug originally identified in a National Cancer Institute library of chemical compounds as a potential therapy for brain and basal cell cancers improves the symptoms of mice with a form of the debilitating neurological disorder multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research from NYU Langone Medical Center.

1 Oct 2015

UCSF researchers map genetic signature of unusual stem cells in the human brain

The human cerebral cortex contains 16 billion neurons, wired together into arcane, layered circuits responsible for everything from our ability to walk and talk to our sense of nostalgia and drive to dream of the future. In the course of human evolution, the cortex has expanded as much as 1,000-fold, but how this occurred is still a mystery to scientists.

25 Sep 2015

Scientists discover new mechanism that protects brain stem cells against aging-induced damage

Neural stem cells generate new neurons throughout life in the mammalian brain. However, with advancing age the potential for regeneration in the brain dramatically declines.

18 Sep 2015

Researchers find intrinsic differences in mice’s neural stem cells using image-tracking technology

One of the longstanding debates in science, that has, perhaps unsurprisingly, permeated into the field of stem cell research, is the question of nature versus nurture influencing development.

4 Sep 2015

GenVec reports net loss of $1.9 million for second quarter 2015

GenVec, Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015. For the three months ended June 30, 2015, GenVec reported a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.11 per share, on revenues of $0.1 million, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.10 per share, on revenues of $0.1 million, for the same period in the prior year.

7 Aug 2015

NFIX protein drives NSC differentiation toward oligodendrocytes

An international team of researchers has shown that NFIX, a protein that regulates neuronal stem cell activity (NSC), also has a role in driving NSC differentiation toward oligodendrocytes, a type of glial cell. These cells produce the myelin that surrounds and protects neurons.