Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Broad Stem Cell Research Center -- UCLA Centennial Campaign Celebrating the launch of The Centennial Campaign for UCLA, this video offers a glimpse into the miraculous work of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center at UC... By: UCLA … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 13-May-2014 Contact: Chris Emery cemery@salk.edu 858-453-4100 Salk Institute LA JOLLAUsing new stem cell technology, scientists at the Salk Institute have shown that neurons generated from the skin cells of people with schizophrenia behave strangely in early developmental stages, providing a hint as to ways to detect and potentially treat the disease early. The findings of the study, published online in April's Molecular Psychiatry, support the theory that the neurological dysfunction that eventually causes schizophrenia may begin in the brains of babies still in the womb. "This study aims to investigate the earliest detectable changes in the brain that lead to schizophrenia," says Fred H. Gage, Salk professor of genetics. "We were surprised at how early in the developmental process that defects in neural function could be detected." Currently, over 1.1 percent of the world's population has schizophrenia, with an estimated three million cases in the United States alone. The economic cost is high: in 2002, Americans spent nearly $63 billion on treatment and managing disability. The emotional cost is higher still: 10 percent of those with schizophrenia are driven to commit suicide by the burden of coping with the disease. Although schizophrenia is a devastating disease, scientists … Continue reading →

Harvard scientists have merged stem cell and 'organ-on-a-chip' technologies to grow, for the first time, functioning human heart tissue carrying an inherited cardiovascular disease. The research appears to be a big step forward for personalized medicine, as it is working proof that a chunk of tissue containing a patient's specific genetic disorder can be replicated in the laboratory. The work, published in Nature Medicine, is the result of a collaborative effort bringing together scientists from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston Children's Hospital, the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Harvard Medical School. It combines the 'organs-on-chips' expertise of Kevin Kit Parker, PhD, and stem cell and clinical insights by William Pu, MD. Using their interdisciplinary approach, the investigators modeled the cardiovascular disease Barth syndrome, a rare X-linked cardiac disorder caused by mutation of a single gene called Tafazzin, or TAZ. The disorder, which is currently untreatable, primarily appears in boys, and is associated with a number of symptoms affecting heart and skeletal muscle function. The researchers took skin cells from two Barth syndrome patients, and manipulated the cells to become stem cells that carried these patients' TAZ mutations. Instead of … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Research for Heart and Vascular Diseases By: rushmedicalcenter … Continue reading →

ENG 1020 Stem Cell Research Project New By: n lon … Continue reading →

9 hours ago A signal from Transit-Amplifying Cells (TACs) activates stem cells in the hair follicle, researchers have found. Both types of cells appear in green (top), with TACs clustered lower down. The researchers identified the signal as Sonic Hedgehog. In experiments, such as this one (bottom), they disabled the signal, interfering with hair growth and regeneration. (Phys.org) Stem cells switch off and on, sometimes dividing to produce progeny cells and sometimes resting. But scientists don't fully understand what causes the cells to toggle between active and quiet states. New research in Elaine Fuchs' Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development focused on stem cells in the hair follicle to determine what switches them on. The researchers found cells produced by the stem cells, progeny known at Transit-Amplifying Cells or TACs, emit a signal that tells quiet hair follicle stem cells to become active. "Many types of mammalian stem cells produce TACs, which act as an intermediate between the stem cells and their final product: fully differentiated cells in blood, skin and elsewhere," says Ya-Chieh Hsu, who conducted the research while as a postdoc in the lab and will soon move to Harvard University. "In the past, TACs were seen … Continue reading →

Embryonic Stem Cell Research vs. Adult Stem Cell research f Final Project by Thomas Kraft on embryonic and adult stem cell research. By: Thomas Kraft … Continue reading →

Stem cell research pros by Ashley, Braxton Maddy. By: Ashley Parfait … Continue reading →

By carefully controlling the levels of two proteins, researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered how to keep mammary stem cells -- those that can form breast tissue -- alive and functioning in the lab. The new ability to propagate mammary stem cells is allowing them to study both breast development and the formation of breast cancers. "What we've shown is that we can take these cells out of a mouse and study them and regulate them in the laboratory by providing them with a specific factor," says Peter C. Gray, a staff scientist in Salk's Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, who collaborated on the new work with Benjamin T. Spike, a senior research associate in the laboratory of Salk Professor Geoffrey M. Wahl. The results of the study were published in the April 8th, 2014 issue of the journal Stem Cell Reports. Mammary stem cells can give rise to new breast cells during fetal development, adolescence or lactation and may also play a role in breast cancer, so they represent a highly promising avenue for breast cancer research. But isolating the stem cells and maintaining them in the lab to study has been difficult. "There was a lot … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise LA JOLLABy carefully controlling the levels of two proteins, researchers at the Salk Institute have discovered how to keep mammary stem cellsthose that can form breast tissuealive and functioning in the lab. The new ability to propagate mammary stem cells is allowing them to study both breast development and the formation of breast cancers. What weve shown is that we can take these cells out of a mouse and study them and regulate them in the laboratory by providing them with a specific factor, says Peter C. Gray, a staff scientist in Salks Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, who collaborated on the new work with Benjamin T. Spike, a senior research associate in the laboratory of Salk Professor Geoffrey M. Wahl. The results of the study were published in the April 8th issue of the journal Stem Cell Reports. Mammary stem cells can give rise to new breast cells during fetal development, adolescence or lactation and may also play a role in breast cancer, so they represent a highly promising avenue for breast cancer research. But isolating the stem cells and maintaining them in the lab to study has been difficult. … Continue reading →