Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have learned that a protein called Shp2 plays a critical role in the pathways that control decisions for differentiation or self-renewal in both human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs).
Research recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies a marker in stem cells that scientists can use to try to stop cancer cell growth in chronic myeloid lymphoma, and perhaps other forms of cancer. Potential applications: test cancer drugs in development, test effectiveness of cancer treatment to ensure stem cells were eliminated.
An unlikely brew of seaweed and glow-in-the-dark biochemical agents may hold the key to the safe use of transplanted stem cells to treat patients with severe peripheral arterial disease (PAD), according to a team of veterinarians, basic scientists and interventional radiologists at Johns Hopkins.
While President Obama's decision"”and the opening it provides Congress regarding a reconsideration of the Dickey-Wicker amendment"”is cause for celebration among medical researchers, scientists, and patients' groups alike, the controversy surrounding stem cell use will not disappear overnight," says Kenneth C. Aldrich, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of International Stem Cell Corporation.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) applauds President Barack Obama's decision to expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research by rescinding the policy of Aug. 9, 2001, which restricted federally-funded researchers to using only the small number of cell lines created before that date.
Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of stem cell research, developing novel therapies designed to generate heart cells, repair traumatic lung injuries, grow new bone and stanch the spread of cancer cells.
On Wednesday, March 25, from 4:30-6:30 pm, the Brooke Ellison Project and Stony Brook University will present a scientific symposium, "Stem Cell Research: The Science, the Ethics, the Promise." Held in the Student Activities Center Auditorium, and open to community members, the symposium will provide an educational framework by which to better understand the basic science, ethical considerations, and legislative factors inherent in the issue of stem cell research.
The ISSCR is concerned and saddened by the recent report of nervous system tumors that developed in a child who had previously received injections of cell preparations referred to as "neural stem cells." This illustrates the concerns that prompted the ISSCR to develop Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells, released in December 2008.
Stem cells scientists at UCLA showed for the first time that human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be differentiated into electrically active motor neurons, a discovery that may aid in studying and treating neurological disorders.
A Johns Hopkins engineer is trying to coax human stem cells to turn into networks of new blood vessels that could someday be used to replace damaged tissue in people with heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.
A little more than a year after University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists showed they could turn skin cells back into stem cells, they have pulsating proof that these "induced" stem cells can indeed form the specialized cells that make up heart muscle.
For the first time, UCLA researchers have reprogrammed human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into the cells that eventually become eggs and sperm, possibly opening the door for new treatments for infertility using patient-specific cells.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) shares in the excitement generated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration"˜s landmark decision to approve the first clinical trials using the products of human embryonic stem cells, yet advises the public to maintain realistic expectations at this early stage.
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the way for the first human trials of human embryonic stem cell research, authorizing Geron Corporation to test whether cells are safe for use in spinal injury patients. Ethical and patient immune rejection issues still surround stem cell research, says industry expert.
Researchers led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center identified an apparent population of cancer stem cells for neuroblastoma, then used a reprogrammed herpes virus to block tumor formation in mice by targeting and killing the cells.
Using cancer cells from an ovarian cancer patient, human embryonic stem cells and mice, Israeli researchers have created a pre-clinical experimental model that mimics the way a tumor would develop in the patient's body. The researchers say their findings could facilitate the development of personalized cancer therapies.
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine The Turek Clinic in San Francisco have succeeded in isolating stem cells from human testes. The cells bear a striking resemblance to embryonic stem cells - they can differentiate into each of the three main types of tissues of the body - but the researchers caution against viewing them as one and the same.
A research team has identified the location and developmental timeline in which a majority of bone marrow stem cells form in the mouse embryo. The findings highlight critical steps in the origin of hematopoietic (or blood) stem cells.
A new study sheds light on a little understood biological process called quiescence, which enables blood-forming stem cells to exist in a dormant or inactive state in which they are not growing or dividing. According to the study's findings, researchers identified the genetic pathway used to maintain a cell's quiescence, a state that allows bone marrow cells to escape the lethal effects of standard cancer treatments.
A single tumor-suppressor gene may provide a unique marker for senescence in Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro, while also playing a role in moving MSCs into senescence, researchers at the Human Health Foundation and the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine report.
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases.
Finding represents major breakthrough for biomedical research.
When neurons started dying in Clive Svendsen's lab dishes, he couldn't have been more pleased.
Learning how leukemia takes over privileged "niches" within the bone marrow is helping researchers develop treatment strategies that could protect healthy blood-forming stem cells and improve the outcomes of bone marrow transplantation for leukemia and other types of cancer.
Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have answered a central question in cancer biology: whether normal stem cells can give rise to tumors. Stem cells are immature cells that can renew themselves and give rise to mature differentiated cells that compose the range of body tissues. In recent years, researchers have developed evidence that cancers may arise from mutant forms of stem cells.
The 2008 Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences survey shows that eight in 10 adults nationwide favor making genetic testing easily available to all who want it, and 54 percent say that the benefits of conducting genetic research outweigh the risks.
Using stem cell lines not typically combined, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have designed a new way to "grow" bone and other tissues. The work by Jeremy Mao, DDS, Ph.D., published today in the Public Libraries of Science, takes a new approach: rarely have mesenchymal and hematopoietic cells been delivered in combination for the healing of defects and the treatment of diseases "“ partially due to the separate research communities in which these two cell groups are studied.
One of the most promising new ideas about the causes of cancer, known as the cancer stem-cell model, must be reassessed because it is based largely on evidence from a laboratory test that is surprisingly flawed when applied to some cancers, University of Michigan researchers have concluded.
Long thought of as mere bystanders, astrocytes are crucial for the survival and well-being of motor neurons, which control voluntary muscle movements. In fact, defective astrocytes can lay waste to motor neurons and are the main suspects in the muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Stem cell researchers at UCLA have proven definitively that blood stem cells are made during mid-gestational embryonic development by endothelial cells, the cells that line the inside of blood vessels.
Natural changes in voltage that occur across the membrane of adult human stem cells act as a signal to delay or accelerate the decision of a stem cell to differentiate into a specific cell type. This discovery gives scientists in regenerative medicine a new set of "control knobs" to use in ongoing efforts to shape the behavior of adult stem cells.
Surgeons in Houston were the first in the nation Thursday to inject highly-concentrated stem cells directly into a patient's heart, providing an intense, direct hit on damaged heart tissue.
Dalhousie Medical School researchers have discovered that embryonic stem cells may play a critical role in helping people with nerve damage and motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regain muscular strength.
Researchers have identified a stage during dopamine neuron differentiation that may be an ideal time to collect human embryonic stem cells for transplantation to treat Parkinson's disease, according to data presented at Neuroscience 2008, the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
A new study confirms that exercise can reverse the age-related decline in the production of neural stem cells in the hippocampus of the mouse brain, and suggests that this happens because exercise restores a brain chemical which promotes the production and maturation of new stem cells.
A novel protein marker has been found that identifies rare adult liver stem cells, whose ability to regenerate injured liver tissue has the potential for cell-replacement therapy. For the first time researchers have demonstrated that cells expressing the marker can differentiate into both liver cells and cells that line the bile duct.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new insights into the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" nature of a protein that stimulates stem-cell maturation in the brain but, paradoxically, can also lead to nerve-cell damage.
According to widely circulated reports from his transition team, President-elect Barack Obama plans on swiftly using executive authority to reverse or overturn approximately two hundred Bush administration executive orders on a range of hot-button policy issues including stem cell research, reproductive rights, and climate change.
In a study that could have significant consequences for neural tissue transplantation strategies, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report that inactivating a specific gene in adult neural stem cells makes nerve cells emerging from those precursors form connections in the wrong part of the adult brain.
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a novel mechanism in the regulation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Researchers found that the protein receptor Ryk has a key role in the differentiation of neural stem cells, and demonstrated a signaling mechanism that regulates neuronal differentiation as stem cells begin to grow into neurons.
Ten years ago today (Nov. 6, 1998), the publication in the journal Science of a short paper entitled "Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Blastocysts" rocked biology "“ and the world "“ as the all-purpose stem cell and its possibilities were ushered into the limelight.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), representing the world's leading stem cell scientists, urges President-Elect Barack Obama to restore federal funding for embryonic stem cell research in the first 100 days of his presidency.
Researchers have developed a simple method for making a certain class of adult stem cells more therapeutically effective. By attaching a molecule called SLeX to the surface of human cells extracted from bone marrow, researchers have altered how the cells travel through vessels. This might enable the cells to more effectively reach sites of injury and replace damaged tissue.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute who first isolated cancer stem cells in adult brain tumors in 2004 have now identified a molecular mechanism that is involved in the development of these cells from which malignant brain tumors may originate. This could offer a target for scientists seeking treatments that would kill malignant brain tumors at their source and prevent them from recurring.
Are voters ready to make an educated decision about stem cell research? A report released today by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health finds very few likely voters feel that they know a lot about stem cell research. The good news: Voters do have an interest in learning more about stem cells.
The first reports of the successful reprogramming of adult human cells back into so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which by all appearances looked and acted liked embryonic stem cells created a media stir. But the process was woefully inefficient: Only one out of 10,000 cells could be persuaded to turn back the clock.
Stem cells are emerging as a key issue in many political races. But to cast an educated vote on stem cells, voters must understand a complex, fast-emerging new field of medicine - no easy task. To help, U-M scientists offer five key things they feel everyone should know about stem cells.
In a groundbreaking study led by an eminent molecular biologist at Florida State University, researchers have discovered that as embryonic stem cells turn into different cell types, there are dramatic corresponding changes to the order in which DNA is replicated and reorganized.
The majority of infertility patients are in favor of using left-over embryos for stem cell research and would also support selling left-over embryos to other couples, according to a survey conducted by UIC's Dr. Tarun Jain.
The WiCell Research Institute, a private, not-for-profit supporting organization to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is launching its own stem cell bank to distribute cell lines beyond the 21 lines eligible for federal funding and distribution through the National Stem Cell Bank (NSCB).
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