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.

New approach to nerve repair with novel silk-based products

A new company, Neurotex Ltd, has been established to develop novel silk-based products that have the potential to provide a new generation of nerve repair materials and treatments.

12 Feb 2007

Rate of stem cell transplants among African-Americans lower

Lower transplant rates in ethnic communities may be explained somewhat by a lack of suitable anonymous donors, a problem the medical community has long known and been working to address. Surprisingly, the study found the discrepancy in treatment held true even when the transplant was autologous (e.g. self-donated stem cells were used) or when the cells were donated by a relative, typically a sibling.

11 Feb 2007

Scientists discover master switches for adult blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found a set of "master switches" that keep adult blood-forming stem cells in their primitive state.

8 Feb 2007

ViroPharma receives orphan drug designation for Maribavir

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for maribavir for prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia and disease in the populations at-risk.

7 Feb 2007

Three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" to repair cartilage damage

Using a unique weaving machine of their design, Duke University Medical Center researchers have created a three-dimensional fabric "scaffold" that could greatly improve the ability of physicians to repair damaged joints with the patient's own stem cells.

7 Feb 2007

Cryo-Save announces public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells

Cryo-Save, the largest private stem cell bank in Europe, has announced today that on 30th January agreement was reached with Osidea, an Italian non-profit making organization promoting the public storage of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

5 Feb 2007

Ceramide plays big role in embryonic development

A little-known lipid plays a big role in helping us grow from a hollow sphere of stem cells into human beings, researchers have found.

5 Feb 2007

Researchers identify human pancreatic cancer stem cells

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical Center have, for the first time, identified human pancreatic cancer stem cells. Their work indicates that these cells are likely responsible for the aggressive tumor growth, progression, and metastasis that define this deadly cancer.

1 Feb 2007

Discovery of pancreatic cancer stem cells could lead to more effective therapies

Scientists in the United States have identified for the first time the stem cells linked to pancreatic cancer.

1 Feb 2007

FoxOs shown to be potential new targets for cancer drugs

In an elegant, multiple-gene knockout experiment, a team of Boston scientists has discovered that a trio of molecules, called FoxOs, are fundamentally critical in preventing some cancers, maintaining blood vessel stability, and in keeping blood-forming stem cells healthy.

29 Jan 2007

Manipulation of proliferation and differentiation of human bone marrow derived neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo

Stem cells taken from adult human bone marrow have been manipulated by scientists at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to generate aggregates of cells called spheres that are similar to those derived from neural stem cells of the brain.

28 Jan 2007

New drug to combat Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease in stem-cell patients shows significant reduction in deaths

Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease is a common and potentially deadly side effect for patients who undergo an allogeneic stem-cell transplant to treat certain blood cancers.

23 Jan 2007

FDA issues guidance on license applications for placental/umbilical cord blood products

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft guidance recommending a streamlined path to licensure for establishments that manufacture cord blood for certain medical conditions.

16 Jan 2007

Selective marker found to indicate aggressive form of breast cancer

Researchers have linked a structural protein called nestin to a particularly deadly form of breast cancer, identifying a new biomarker that could lead to earlier detection and better treatment.

16 Jan 2007

Stem cell research discovery could mean 'big things' for cancer

A new discovery in stem cell research may mean big things for cancer patients in the future. Gary Van Zant, Ph.D., and a research team at the University of Kentucky published their findings in Nature Genetics.

14 Jan 2007

Retinoblastoma gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta

An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages.

10 Jan 2007

New embryonic cell discovery

Cambridge scientists have discovered the stage at which some of the cells of a fertilised mammalian egg are fated to develop into stem cells and why this occurs.

10 Jan 2007

Stem cells derived from human amniotic fluid appear to offer many of the benefits of embryonic stem cells

...including the ability to grow into brain, muscle, bone and other tissues -- according to a study published in the Jan. 7 online edition on the journal Nature Biotechnology, the Washington Post reports.

9 Jan 2007

BIO urges Congress to pass Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act

Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), has issued the following statement on H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007.

9 Jan 2007

Virginia Democrats want to approve embryonic stem cell research, ban therapeutic cloning

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly plan to propose legislation that would authorize human embryonic stem cell research in the state, Jesse Furgeson, spokesperson for state House Democratic Caucus Chair Brian Moran, said recently, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

9 Jan 2007