Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise In a study led by Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research member Dr. Julian Martinez-Agosto, UCLA scientists have shown that two genes not previously known to be involved with the immune system play a crucial role in how progenitor stem cells are activated to fight infection. This discovery lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the role progenitor cells can play in immune system response and could lead to the development of more effective therapies for a wide range of diseases. The two-year study was published online October 30, 2014 ahead of print in the journal Current Biology. Progenitor cells are the link between stem cells and fully differentiated cells of the blood system, tissues and organs. This maturation process, known as differentiation, is determined in part by the original environment that the progenitor cell came from, called the niche. Many of these progenitors are maintained in a quiescent state or "standby mode" and are ready to differentiate in response to immune challenges (such as stress, infection or disease). Dr. Gabriel Ferguson, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Martinez-Agosto and first author of … Continue reading →

Raquel Siganporia talks to the Sky News team about stem cell research Vice Chair Raquel Siganporia talks to the Sky News team about stem cell research. This interview was aired on Sky News at 7.30pm on 21 October 2014. By: Spinal Injuries … Continue reading →

Dr Nicholas Maragakis on ALS Stem Cell Research Learn more and get involved at http://www.alsphiladelphia.org. By: ALSPhiladelphia … Continue reading →

A coalition of prominent scientists, entrepreneurs and charities is calling on Ottawa to commit half a billion dollars over the next 10 years to boost stem cell research and development in Canada. The request to the federal government works out to one-third of the $1.5-billion in private and public funding the group says this country needs to remain at or near the top of a field that two Canadian scientists helped found with their discovery of adult stem cells in the early 1960s. The rest of the world is not standing still, said Alan Bernstein, chair of the Canadian Stem Cell Foundation, the scientific charity that spearheaded the new Canadian Stem Cell Strategy and Action Plan, unveiled Wednesday in Ottawa. We risk slowing down our investment while the rest of the world is speeding up, so relatively we will fall further and further behind. This sort of research and the clinical trials are both long-term [prospects]. They need sustained investment and they are expensive. In an accompanying report by the consulting firm KPMG, the coalition laid out its goal of producing between five and 10 new made-in-Canada therapies that could transform the health-care landscape in the next decade, such as … Continue reading →

Introduction: What are stem cells, and why are they important? What are the unique properties of all stem cells? What are embryonic stem cells? What are adult stem cells? What are the similarities and differences between embryonic and adult stem cells? What are induced pluripotent stem cells? What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the obstacles that must be overcome before these potential uses will be realized? Where can I get more information? 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. Stem cells are distinguished from other cell types by two important characteristics. First, they are unspecialized cells capable of renewing themselves through cell division, sometimes after long periods of inactivity. … Continue reading →

18 hours ago Mines. Credit: The District Human stem cell research holds promise for combating some of the most recalcitrant of diseases and for regenerating damaged bodies. It is also an ethical, legal and political minefield. Human stem cell research is a thriving field of science worldwide holding promise for treating diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, as well as for furthering our understanding of how we develop from the very earliest stages of life. But using human embryonic stem (ES) cells to improve the health of other humans has also been the subject of comment, criticism and even court cases. Time magazine dubbed the "complexity and drama" surrounding these cells as the "Great Debate". Most notably, the field witnessed the 2001 restriction on funding for ES cell research in the USA by President Bush and the lifting of the ban in 2009 by President Obama. Then in 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) banned the patenting of inventions derived from human eggs or their equivalent on the basis that they were human embryos, the commercial exploitation of which "would be contrary to morality." While religious bodies and green lobbyists use patent law … Continue reading →

When it comes to new tumor-fighting treatments, its often as much about location, location, location as it is the actual drug interaction. Cytoxin-producing stem cells produced by scientists at Harvard University lodge at the site of brain tumor removal to continually attack remaining tumor cells. As an alternative to drug treatments that can be invasive or ineffective, the researchers saw promising results against glioblastomas, which hold the dubious distinction of being the most common and most fatal brain cancer. When surgery is performed to remove a brain tumor, tumor cells are left behind. The common course of treatment to eradicate those remaining cells involves inserting a catheter directly into the brain to dispenses drugs which would otherwise not make it through the blood-brain barrier. However, one particular toxin, Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), while effective and tolerated by humans, has a very short half-life and when washed over the area where the tumor was removed, degrades before significant interaction occurs with the target cells. The research team under the direction of Khalid Shah instead created stem cells that were capable of independently producing this cytotoxin. Prior to this research, PE and other toxins had been engineered to not enter (and thus subsequently … Continue reading →

The headlines were really quite dramatic. There was, they proclaimed, a cure for diabetes on the way. And there had indeed been a significant breakthrough in stem cell research. Scientists at Harvard University were able to create insulin-producing beta cells in large quantities. But a cure? Certainly not an imminent one. It was research that could lead the way to transplantation into humans in a few years with various provisos. Nevertheless, it is the latest in a number of developments that have led scientists in the field of type 1 diabetes research to be cautiously optimistic. These include the testing of an aritificial pancreas this would pump the exact amount of insulin to the body, exactly when its needed. There is the stem cell research and also encapsulation a method of surrounding those cells so the immune system doesnt attack them. And early next year Professor Mark Peakman, of Kings College, London, and the Guys Bio-Medical Research Centre, will begin a trial of a drug designed to re-balance the immune system to stop it attacking the beta cells the cells that store and release the insulin. Prof Peakman sees his research and the other recent developments as part of a … Continue reading →

knowledge center home stem cell research all about stem cells what are stem cells? Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types. Commonly, stem cells come from two main sources: Both types are generally characterized by their potency, or potential to differentiate into different cell types (such as skin, muscle, bone, etc.). Adult or somatic stem cells exist throughout the body after embryonic development and are found inside of different types of tissue. These stem cells have been found in tissues such as the brain, bone marrow, blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscles, skin, and the liver. They remain in a quiescent or non-dividing state for years until activated by disease or tissue injury. Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely, enabling them to generate a range of cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the entire original organ. It is generally thought that adult stem cells are limited in their ability to differentiate based on their tissue of origin, but there is some evidence to suggest that they can differentiate to become other cell types. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a four- or five-day-old human embryo that … Continue reading →

The Till & McCulloch 2014 Stem Cell conference gets underway today in Ottawa. Every year the conference, sponsored by the Stem Cell Network and the Center for the Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine, honors a leading Canadian researcher. This years winner,Dr. Michael Rudnicki, is Senior Scientist and Director of the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Rudnickis lab focuses on the role that stem cells play in skeletal muscle regeneration and repair after injury. To be chosen by your peers to receive the Till & McCulloch Award is a great honour, made finer by the fact that it will take place in my home city of Ottawa, said Dr. Rudnicki in the official press release of the conference released this morning. Here is the full program of discussions and list of speakers. One session will focus on current research in blood disorders and how these are making for better outcomes in the clinic. Dr. Guy Sauvageau of University of Montreal, who recently announced the discovery of a new drug to expand the number of usable stem cells in cord blood, will be presenting an overview of his findings. Diseases and conditions where stem cell treatment … Continue reading →