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.

Californians say yes on 71

With a clear mandate, the voters of California yesterday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

4 Nov 2004

Peripheral blood transplants from donors may be more harmful than bone marrow transplants in pediatric leukemia patients

A new study has shown for the first time that transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) from sibling donors may be more harmful than bone marrow in pediatric leukemia patients.

3 Nov 2004

Expert panel see hope for stem cell use as diabetes cure

A report from a medical panel of academic and community-based endocrinologists and transplant surgeons acknowledged that a recent study supports the use of stem cells as a future cure for type I diabetes.

1 Nov 2004

Researchers are one step closer to understanding how blood cells develop through the use of human embryonic stem cells

This process is also significant because the blood cells were developed without the use of animal serum, which was previously thought to be essential for blood cell development. Instead, specific growth factors are added to guide the cell differentiation.

1 Nov 2004

Discovery affirms potential of stem cells for the development of possible therapies for spinal cord injury and nervous system disorders

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) have shown that stem cells found in adult skin retain their embryonic capability of making many types of cells.

1 Nov 2004

Fetal tissue restores lost sight from retinitis pigmentosa

Three years ago Elisabeth Bryant believed she would be blind for the rest of her life. "I couldn't see anything," she says. Now, although her vision is not perfect, she can see well enough to read, play computer games and check emails.

28 Oct 2004

An immune system in a bottle would allow faster and easier production of a flu vaccine

University of Michigan associate professor Nicholas Kotov believes that one day, the cells in those honeycombs can be used to grow spare parts for our bodies, or even an entire artificial immune system in a bottle.

26 Oct 2004

Genetic double-agents unmasked

Babraham Institute and Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that certain enzymes with a key activity in the immune system may be important in stem-cell development, but may also work against us by contributing to the occurrence of cancer.

26 Oct 2004

Transplanted human retinal stem cells can successfully regenerate

"We transplanted the cells early in the animals' development when all the nutrients and signals they needed for differentiation were still there," says lead author Brenda Coles, a U of T laboratory technician working under the supervision of Professor Derek van der Kooy in the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology. "When their eyes fully developed, the human cells survived, migrated into the sensory part of the eye and formed the correct cells."

25 Oct 2004

As the 2004 Presidential election nears, the issue of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research is under intense debate

The United Nations, headed by Secretary General Kofi Annan is currently debating two proposals: one from Costa Rica and supported by the U.S. and sixty-two other countries that would ban all human cloning, and another from Belgium and twenty-one other countries that would allow cloning of human embryos but not their transfer to a womb.

25 Oct 2004

Human primitive spinal cord cells may delay symptoms and paralysis associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

Human primitive spinal cord cells delayed symptoms and paralysis by a week when implanted in the spinal cord of rats destined to develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers from Johns Hopkins report.

24 Oct 2004

Stem cells grown from skin samples of adult patients with brain tumors could be used as a new brain tumor therapy

A team of neurosurgeons and scientists from Italy is looking into whether stem cells derived from a brain tumor patient's own skin can be used to fight the tumors.

21 Oct 2004

Significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer

University of Utah scientists have taken significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer by identifying some of the genetic events that cause the disease and then engineering mice that develop the tumors.

16 Oct 2004

Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer

The condition of mice with a genetic blood disease called beta-thalassemia improved significantly following treatment of their blood forming cells with a gene that enabled them to produce the type of hemoglobin normally found only in the fetus.

12 Oct 2004

Biomedical engineers receive $11.5 million to study how white blood cells navigate

We all know the power of touch: A whack on the skull – or a hug – can convey more information than other forms of communication ever can. It turns out the same is true inside our bodies

12 Oct 2004

Researchers identify common mutation in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) have made a breakthrough discovery, identifying a common mutation in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL), an important form of cancer in children and adolescents.

11 Oct 2004

Researchers suggest how to generate B cells from stem cells

Before stem cells, of whatever origin, can be used to treat patients, scientists will need to learn how to coax them to develop into the desired cell types, a major challenge.

11 Oct 2004

Wound healers cause skin disease

Dutch researcher Manon Franssen has shown that cells which heal the skin following an injury play an important role in the development of the skin disease psoriasis. In people with psoriasis, the skin peels much faster than normal so that it flakes and becomes inflamed.

11 Oct 2004

Results of nationwide survey of Americans’ attitudes toward stem-cell research, cloning and other scientific and medical advances

Virginia Commonwealth University on Wednesday, Oct. 13, will release the results of its annual nationwide survey of Americans’ attitudes toward stem-cell research, cloning and other scientific and medical advances in technology.

11 Oct 2004

Transatlantic study to help damaged hearts repair themselves

A $6 million, five-year grant from the Parisian Fondation Leduq has set up a transatlantic effort to study ways to help damaged hearts repair themselves, using stem cells from bone marrow, bloodstream, and adult heart tissue.

6 Oct 2004

Stem Cells News and Research

Further Reading

Californians say yes on 71

Peripheral blood transplants from donors may be more harmful than bone marrow transplants in pediatric leukemia patients

Expert panel see hope for stem cell use as diabetes cure

Researchers are one step closer to understanding how blood cells develop through the use of human embryonic stem cells

Discovery affirms potential of stem cells for the development of possible therapies for spinal cord injury and nervous system disorders

Fetal tissue restores lost sight from retinitis pigmentosa

An immune system in a bottle would allow faster and easier production of a flu vaccine

Genetic double-agents unmasked

Transplanted human retinal stem cells can successfully regenerate

As the 2004 Presidential election nears, the issue of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research is under intense debate

Human primitive spinal cord cells may delay symptoms and paralysis associated with Lou Gehrig's disease

Stem cells grown from skin samples of adult patients with brain tumors could be used as a new brain tumor therapy

Significant steps to fight a deadly childhood muscle cancer

Technique for genetically modifying blood stem cells brings cure for blood diseases closer

Biomedical engineers receive $11.5 million to study how white blood cells navigate

Researchers identify common mutation in T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

Researchers suggest how to generate B cells from stem cells

Wound healers cause skin disease

Results of nationwide survey of Americans’ attitudes toward stem-cell research, cloning and other scientific and medical advances

Transatlantic study to help damaged hearts repair themselves

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