Stem Cells News and Research

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Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

Life Technologies Foundation awards grants for advancements in science

The Life Technologies Foundation, a non-profit arm of Life Technologies Corporation dedicated to advancing science education and scientific discovery, has awarded approximately $1.7 million in new grants that include the creation of an online biology textbook, and building a museum exhibit about the human cell.

30 Sep 2009

The mysterious origin of Merkel cells

A new study resolves a 130-year-old mystery over the developmental origin of specialized skin cells involved in touch sensation. The findings will appear in the October 5, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (online September 28).

29 Sep 2009

NECBB reports cord blood banking is on the rise

New England Cord Blood Bank, Inc. (NECBB), a global cord blood processing and storage facility, announced today that the company has seen a consistent and robust increase in the cord blood units being used for transplants within the past few years.

29 Sep 2009

$1.3 million fund awarded to WPI for ongoing life sciences research

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park have received a total of $1.3 million in new awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund ongoing research in several areas of the life sciences, including a study of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, work aimed at using adult stem cells to repair damaged hearts, and a project that seeks to create engineered blood vessels.

28 Sep 2009

NIH grants $5 million to Pittsburgh researchers

Regenerative medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh received two grants totaling more than $5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore new methods for cultivating replacement cells from existing tissues and organs.

26 Sep 2009

Stem Cell Therapy International merges with Histostem

Stem Cell Therapy International, Inc. is proud to announce the execution of the Reorganization and Stock Purchase Agreement ("the Agreement") with Histostem Co., Ltd., a Korean company ("Histostem" and together with SCII, "the parties").

25 Sep 2009

Current stem cell applications to be discussed at NJIT

Stem cell researcher Treena Livingston Arinzeh will discuss current stem cell applications at NJIT, including the regeneration of bone and cartilage for bone fracture and osteoarthritis treatments, spinal cord repair, and liver regeneration at NJIT's first Research Caf.

25 Sep 2009

Caliper Life Sciences unveils XenoLight Rediject reagents series at WMIC

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today introduced a series of XenoLight Rediject reagents at the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC) in Montreal, Canada. Rediject D-Luciferin Ultra is the latest in an expanding range of XenoLight reagents for Caliper's IVIS optical imaging systems.

25 Sep 2009

Moderately elevated levels of ROS positive in fruit flies

It has been known for decades that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - ions or very small molecules that include free radicals - damage cells. But much to their surprise, Jonsson Cancer Center researchers found that in Drosophila, the common fruit fly, moderately elevated levels of ROS are a good thing.

25 Sep 2009

Tooth cell banking for the treatment of future diseases

Pioneered by BioEDEN, tooth cell banking is a safe, natural and wholly non-invasive method of collecting and preserving precious stem cells which could hold the key to children's health.

25 Sep 2009

Opexa Therapeutics' endeavor in the field of stem cell technology

Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXA), a company developing Tovaxin®, a personalized T-cell immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that it has achieved its first technology transfer milestone in connection with the company’s recently announced exclusive stem cell agreement with Novartis, one of the world’s largest healthcare companies. The milestone was completed on schedule and triggers a payment of $500,000 to Opexa.

24 Sep 2009

Web-based education system improves awareness on cord blood preservation options

Despite significant efforts by government agencies, consumer advocacy groups and industry to educate expecting parents about the medical significance of cord blood stem cells and the options for preserving them, three out of every four pregnant women still consider themselves only "minimally informed." However, data presented at an international meeting on stem cell science and policy found that a proprietary, web-based education system developed by Cord Blood Registry could be an effective and efficient method for improving awareness about all cord blood preservation options.

24 Sep 2009

CEL-SCI Corporation engages a CRO for clinical trial of its investigational LEAPS-H1N1 treatment

CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE AMEX: CVM), a developer of vaccines and therapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases and a late-stage oncology company, announced today that it has hired a full-service Clinical Research Organization (CRO) with an office in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area to support its conduct of the upcoming clinical trial of its investigational LEAPS-H1N1 treatment.

24 Sep 2009

NIH Director's Pioneer Award and New Innovator Award for Duke scientists

Two Duke University Medical Center scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health Director's awards to pursue novel research.

24 Sep 2009

Hope for heterotopic ossificiation

A recent United States Army study found that excessive bone growth, also known as heterotopic ossificiation (HO), affects up to 70 percent of soldiers who are severely wounded during combat. A much smaller percentage of the civilian population also suffers from HO following trauma or invasive surgery. The excessive bone forms within muscles and other tissues causing severe pain, reduced mobility and even local paralysis if untreated.

24 Sep 2009

TSPs can block cancer-triggering proto-oncogenes

A tiny bit of genetic material with no previously known function may hold the key to stopping the spread of cancer, researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Sichuan University in Chengdu, China report in two papers in the September 7-11 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 Sep 2009

Pluristem commences dosing in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of critical limb ischemia

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (NasdaqCM: PSTI; DAX: PJT) today announced the dosing of the first patient in the U.S. with its placenta-derived stem cell product, PLX-PAD, the Company’s leading candidate, in a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI), the end-stage of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

23 Sep 2009

Utah medical ethics expert chairs NIH review of embryonic cells

University of Utah medical ethics expert Jeffrey R. Botkin will chair a federal panel that will review scientists' requests to conduct government-funded research using embryonic stem cells left over from couples who used "test-tube fertilization" to have babies.

23 Sep 2009

StemCells pushing forward its SC Proven cell culture product business

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) today announced organizational initiatives focused on growing its specialty SC Proven® cell culture product business and advancing the development and commercialization of its central nervous system (CNS) cell-based assay platforms for use in drug screening and drug development. These initiatives reflect the Company’s ongoing integration of the operations acquired from Stem Cell Sciences (SCS) Plc in April, and include new personnel appointments and a realignment of activities within the Company’s Cambridge, UK and Palo Alto, California locations.

23 Sep 2009

Leading oncology experts to discuss management of hematological malignancies

Oncology experts from leading cancer organizations from around the country, including the John Theurer Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Mayo Clinic, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the National Cancer Institute, will discuss trends in patient care, novel therapies through clinical trials and emerging concepts in the management of hematological malignancies.

23 Sep 2009