Stem Cells News and Research

RSS

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.

Female mice found to have a renewable egg supply

In research that could have broad implications for women's fertility treatments, scientists have found that despite their age, female mice have a renewable egg supply in their ovaries.

4 Jul 2006

Researchers develop T-cells from human embryonic stem cells

Human embryonic stem cells can be genetically manipulated and coaxed to develop into mature T-cells, raising hopes for a gene therapy to combat AIDS.

3 Jul 2006

Potential permanent genetic cure for hemophilia A

A discovery by Medical College of Wisconsin and BloodCenter of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee may be a key to a permanent genetic cure for hemophilia A patients, including a subset who do not respond to conventional blood transfusions.

3 Jul 2006

Bone marrow adult stem cells repair a damaged heart

Researchers at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Toronto General Hospital have discovered the 'SOS' distress signal that mobilizes specific heart repair cells from the bone marrow to the injured heart after a heart attack.

3 Jul 2006

Stem-cells may help the body cure itself

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an important mechanism that regulates how many new cells are produced by each intestinal stem cell.

26 Jun 2006

Stem cells contain immortal DNA

EuroStemCell scientists at the Pasteur Institute in Paris have demonstrated one of the body's most sophisticated ways of regulating the genetic material of stem cells.

26 Jun 2006

Scientists use embryonic stem cells to awaken latent motor nerve repair

In a dramatic display of stem cells' potential for healing, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists reports that they've engineered new, completed, fully-working motor neuron circuits - neurons stretching from spinal cord to target muscles - in paralyzed adult animals.

26 Jun 2006

Stroke damage may be reversible

Scientists in the U.S. say they have discovered a way to make the brain reverse the damage it suffers after a stroke, and are optimistic that it will lead to treatment which will exploit the body's ability to heal itself.

26 Jun 2006

Egg donation for stem cell research - balancing the risks and benefits

In the wake of the scandal involving fraudulent cloning research, concerns about the welfare of women donating eggs for research purposes have arisen.

19 Jun 2006

New roles for growth factors

During embryonic development, nerve cells hesitantly extend tentacle-like protrusions called axons that sniff their way through a labyrinth of attractive and repulsive chemical cues that guide them to their target.

18 Jun 2006

Researchers identify mechanism that regulates how many new cells are produced by each intestinal stem cell

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an important mechanism that regulates how many new cells are produced by each intestinal stem cell.

18 Jun 2006

Circulating bone-marrow derived cells do not contribute to egg formation

Ovulated egg cells, or oocytes, in adult female mice are not formed from germ cells in the blood or bone marrow.

14 Jun 2006

Stem cell breakthrough

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Calgary have found that stem cells derived from adult skin can create neural cell types that can be transplanted into and function in mouse models of disease.

14 Jun 2006

University of Florida finding could lead to approaches to treat macular degeneration

University of Florida scientists conducting experiments with mice have found evidence that the body naturally replenishes small amounts of cells in the eye essential for healthy vision.

9 Jun 2006

Bush's Draconian plan to ban stem cell research flounders as Harvard goes it alone

Scientists at Harvard University in the United States, in direct defiance of President Bush's wish to ban such research, have begun efforts to clone human embryos.

7 Jun 2006

Glivec the best news yet for cancer victims

In what is great news for those suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), the drug Glivec looks like being one of the biggest breakthroughs in cancer therapy for a years.

7 Jun 2006

Type 1 diabetes results from selective destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells

IDDM, which used to be referred to as Type 1 diabetes, results from selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta cells by the body's immune system.

6 Jun 2006

Gene therapy used to accelerate muscle regeneration

Researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage.

6 Jun 2006

Researchers identify target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island have identified which among several different kinds of cells in the brain is the chief target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac.

23 May 2006

Signaling pathways required for expansion of insulin-producing beta cells

IDDM, which used to be referred to as Type 1 diabetes, results from selective destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic islet beta cells by the body's immune system.

17 May 2006