Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

One of the institute's research goals is to explore the potential of using embryonic stem cells to better understand and treat disease. Unlike adult stem cells, embryonic , or pluripotent, stem cells are not restricted to any particular tissue or organ and are capable of producing all cell types. By studying how these cells develop into mature cells, such as those that make up our bone, blood and skin, researchers can learn how those cells function and what goes wrong when they are diseased. With this understanding, researchers aim to develop new medical strategies capable of extending the capacity for growth and healing present in embryos into later stages of life. Such strategies would regenerate or replenish tissues or specialized cells damaged by Alzheimer's, cancer and other chronic, debilitating and often fatal diseases. At Stanford, pluripotent stem cells have already been used experimentally to treat mice with diabetes. Researchers found a set of growth factors that induced pluripotent stem cells to develop into insulin-producing cells normally found in the pancreas. When they implanted these cells into diabetic mice that have lost the ability to produce insulin, the implanted cells produced insulin in a biologically normal way and treated the diabetes. … Continue reading →

John and Leslie Malone pose with Maikel at Harmony Sporthorses, December 2, 2014. WATCH: Molly Hughes has the latest news updates on DPTV The largest ever cash donation to Colorado State University stems from a novel treatment to get a dressage horse with a bum knee back into the show ring. John and Leslie Malone's $42.5 million gift, announced Monday, will create the CSU Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, a 100,000-square-foot facility to develop stem-cell research into commercially viable treatments for animals and humans. "This is the largest cash gift in the history of the university and it's absolutely staggering," said Brett Anderson, CSU's vice president for advancement. "It really allows us to be the best in the nation." The Malone money will fund half of the $65 million cost to construct the facility. The school is looking for more donations to match the Malones' contribution. So far, an additional $10 million has been raised. The Malones also provided $10 million to cover the Institute's operating expenses once the facility is built. "The Malones have been so gracious. We asked them if they want to put their name on the building, … Continue reading →

New York, Dec 30 (IANS): After full body radiation, certain faulty stem cells re-engineer the blood system that creates cancer risk in people which can be prevented by artificially activating a stem cell maintenance pathway, research has found. "In a healthy blood system, healthy stem cells out-compete stem cells that happen to have the C/EBPA (gene) mutation, said senior author James DeGregori, investigator at University of Colorado Cancer Center. But when radiation reduces the heath and robustness (what we call 'fitness') of the stem cell population, the mutated cells that have been there all along are suddenly given the opportunity to take over," DeGregori added. The study does not just shows why radiation makes hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) differentiate; it also demonstrates that by activating a stem cell maintenance pathway, it can be kept at bay. Even months after irradiation, artificially activating the NOTCH signaling pathway of irradiated HSCs lets them act "stemmy" again - restarting the blood cell assembly line in these HSCs that would have otherwise differentiated in response to radiation, the findings showed. The Notch signaling pathway is an inter-cellular signaling mechanism essential for proper embryonic development. The researchers explored the effects of full body radiation on … Continue reading →

Coloradoan staff 11:20 a.m. MST December 29, 2014 Leslie and John Malone pose for a photo at Harmony Sporthorses in Kiowa on Dec. 2. The Malones recently donated $42.5 million for stem-cell research at Colorado State University.(Photo: William A. Cotton/CSU Photography) A record $42.5 million donation will launch a new center for stem-cell and other regenerative medical research at CSU. Colorado State University on Monday announced the donation as the largest cash gift in university history. The donation by philanthropists John and Leslie Malone will launch CSUs Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies, which will investigate new medical remedies for a variety of ailments in humans and animals. Research at the planned institute will focus on remedies based on living cells and their products, including patient-derived stem cells, according to a university release. We are tremendously grateful to John and Leslie Malone for their generous philanthropy, foresight and dedication to scientific discovery, CSU President Tony Frank said in a university release. In addition to being the largest cash gift in the universitys history, their commitment positions us to build on our foundation as a leader in translational medicine, where advances in veterinary medicine very rapidly move into the sphere of benefiting … Continue reading →

Factoid Against Stem Cell Research By: Alicia Leung … Continue reading →

To celebrate the season of lists, the Australian Science Media Centre has compiled the top ten science stories of 2014. TO celebrate the season of lists, the Australian Science Media Centre has compiled the top ten science stories of 2014. Doctor Joe Milton from the SMC said the list is a great way to offer people bite-sized pieces of information covering all they may have forgotten or missed in science this year. Outbreak ... a healthcare worker dons protective gear before entering an Ebola treatment centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Picture: AP Photo/Michael Duff Source: AP THE West African Ebola outbreak was arguably the biggest science story of the year. The spread of the disease caught the attention of the globe as it played on our innate fear of the unknown. As the infections and death toll spiralled, so did our imaginations and we couldnt help but envisage the possibility of a worldwide pandemic. Luckily, that is looking highly unlikely. While there is still a long way to go before ending the outbreak, the number of new cases is decreasing while the chances of survival are rising. Heavenly visitor ... the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, seen from a distance of 285km. Picture: … Continue reading →

Haruko Obokata speaks about research results during a news conference in Kobe, western Japan, before her departure from Riken. Photo: AP Tokyo: Japan's top research institute has hammered the final nail in the coffin of what was once billed as a ground-breaking stem cell study, dismissing it as flawed and saying the work could have been fabricated. The revelations come a week after a young researcher at the centre of the scandal, which has rocked the country's scientific establishment, said she would resign after failing to reproduce the successful conversion of an adult cell into a stem cell-like state, known as "STAP" cells. The failure marked a stunning fall from grace for 31-year-old Haruko Obokata, whose co-researcher committed suicide amid the embarrassing scandal that prompted respected science journal Nature to retract an article detailing the research. On Friday the government-backed Riken institute, which sponsored the study, said embryonic stem cells had been added in the process of the research, hammering Ms Obokata's contention that she had found an easier way to generate new stem cells in the lab. Advertisement "But we can't conclude whether the mixing was done on purpose or by mistake nor can we conclude who did it," … Continue reading →

The revelations come a week after a young researcher at the center of the scandal, which has rocked the country's scientific establishment, said she will resign after failing to reproduce the study's results FABRICATED. In this file photo, Riken Institute investigation committee chief Shunsuke Ishi (L) explains an interim investigation report with photo datas at the institute during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 14, 2014. Kimimasa Mayama/EPA TOKYO, Japan Japan's top research institute on Friday, December 26, hammered the final nail in the coffin of what was once billed as a ground-breaking stem cell study, dismissing it as flawed and saying the work could have been fabricated. The revelations come a week after a young researcher at the center of the scandal, which has rocked the country's scientific establishment, said she would resign after failing to reproduce the successful conversion of an adult cell into a stem cell-like state, known as "STAP" cells. The failure marked a stunning fall from grace for 31-year-old Haruko Obokata, whose co-researcher committed suicide amid the embarrassing scandal that prompted respected science journal Nature to retract an article detailing the research. On Friday the government-backed Riken institute, which sponsored the study, said embryonic … Continue reading →

Haruko Obotaka forced to retract paper on STAP stem cell research Riken Researcher Center has been forced to admit that they have been unable to reproduce STAP cells according to procedures outlined in researcher Haruko Obo... By: TomoWorld … Continue reading →

Findings may provide broad context for the rise in immune disease and allergic disposition in children PORTLAND, Ore. -- Physician-scientists at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital reveal a high-fat diet and obesity during pregnancy compromise the blood-forming, or hematopoietic, stem cell system in the fetal liver responsible for creating and sustaining lifelong blood and immune system function. The life-long burden of a western-style diet on the heart and circulatory system have long been appreciated. However, prior to this study, no one had considered whether the developing blood stem cells might be similarly vulnerable to prenatal high-fat diet and/or maternal obesity. The findings are published in the journal Molecular Metabolism. "Our results offer a model for testing whether the effects of a high-fat diet and obesity can be repaired through dietary intervention, a key question when extrapolating this data to human populations," said Daniel L. Marks, M.D., Ph.D., co-investigator and professor of pediatric endocrinology in the OHSU School of Medicine and Pap Family Pediatric Research Institute at OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Several years ago, Marks and colleagues developed a mouse model that closely mimics the high-fat, high-simple-sugar diet currently consumed by many young women of childbearing age. Their subsequent research demonstrated that … Continue reading →