Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

BI 450 Benefits of Stem Cell Research Senior Seminar Powerpoint. By: Sheri Mobley … Continue reading →

RIKEN research institute President Ryoji Noyori bows during a press conference in Tokyo, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Scientists at the RIKEN, a Japanese government-funded laboratory, said Tuesday it found that data in a widely heralded stem-cell research paper was falsified, holding the lead researcher responsible for the fabrication. The research results from the Riken Center for Development Biology in Kobe, western Japan, were seen as a possible groundbreaking method for growing tissue to treat illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease using a simple lab procedure. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko) Eugene Hoshiko, AP TOKYO -- Data in a widely lauded stem-cell research paper was falsified, a Japanese government-funded laboratory said Tuesday, as the lead researcher accused of the malpractice denied any wrongdoing. The research from the Riken Center for Development Biology in Kobe, western Japan, had been hailed as a possible breakthrough for growing tissue to treat illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease using a simple lab procedure. But significant discrepancies in the "game-changing" research published in January in scientific journal Nature led a panel of scientists at Riken to conclude they stemmed from falsified data. They said researcher Haruko Obokata, the lead author of the paper in Nature, had … Continue reading →

01 April 2014| last updated at 03:01PM Riken institute head, Ryoji Noyori, who jointly won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2001, said in a statement he will rigorously punish relevant people after procedures in a disciplinary committee. The punishment is expected to be meted out to lead researcher Haruko Obokata and her more experienced colleagues. The move is a huge blow to what was touted as a game-changing discovery, published by 30-year-old Obokata along with other Japanese researchers and a US-based scientist in the January edition of British journal Nature. The study outlined a relatively simple way to grow transplant tissue in the lab by converting regular adult cells into a kind of stem cell a cell that has the potential to become differentiated into the various specialised cells that make up the brain, heart, kidneys and other organs. But it faced questions after the respected institute, which sponsored the study, launched an inquiry last month over the credibility of its data. See more here: 'Phony' stem cell research scientist to be punished … Continue reading →

April 1, 2014 Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Less than three months after a rising Japanese scientist made claims of a significant stem cell breakthrough, new evidence has come forward that confirms the findings of the groundbreaking study were falsified. Haruko Obokata, the lead author of a study published in the journal Nature in January, claimed that stem cells could be created by dipping blood cells into acid, potentially leading to hope in growing Stap (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cell tissue to treat illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinsons disease. But scientists at the Riken Centre for Development Biology in Kobe, Japan, the same center where Obokata conducted her research, is now saying the researchers claims were falsified. The latest news comes after criticism surrounded the research last month, after researchers from around the world could not replicate the teams findings using the same approach. The growing body of criticism led some on the research team to consider retracting their paper, which in turn led to further investigations from investigators within the Riken Centre. Despite the growing controversy, Charles Vacanti, a tissue engineer at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Womens Hopsital in Boston, a coauthor of the … Continue reading →

Charles Q. Choi A virus that invaded the genomes of humanity's ancestors millions of years ago now plays a critical role in the embryonic stem cells from which all cells in the human body derive, new research shows. The discovery sheds light on the role viruses play in human evolution and could help scientists better understand how to use stem cells in advanced therapies or even how to convert normal cells into stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, meaning they are capable of becoming any other kind of cell in the body. Scientists around the world hope to use this capability to help patients recover from injury and disease. Researchers have struggled for decades to figure out how pluripotency works. These new findings reveal that "material from viruses is vital in making human embryonic stem cells what they are," said computational biologist Guillaume Bourque at McGill University in Montreal, a co-author of the study published online March 30 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. Viral Invasion To make copies of itself, a virus has to get inside a cell and co-opt its machinery. When one type of virus called a retrovirus does this, it slips its own genes into … Continue reading →

Reversing Autism in the Lab with help from Stem Cells and the Tooth Fairy For more information about autism research funded by California's Stem Cell Agency, visit our fact sheet: http://www.cirm.ca.gov/autism. People with autism h... By: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine … Continue reading →

Autism and Stem Cells: A Mom's Perspective Jen, a mother of 10 year-old Milo who has a severe form of autism describes the impact of the disorder on her family and shares her thoughts about stem cell ... By: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine … Continue reading →

Stem cell research is caught up in controversy once more, but it is too early for gloom about this promising field WE SAID it had a distinctly "too good to be true" feel about it. Now research describing a simple way of producing embryonic-like stem cells is being investigated over "inconsistencies". It is too soon to say whether two papers reporting the results will have to be retracted (doi.org/r3t; Nature, doi.org/r3v). But for stem cell research there is a sense of dj vu. This is far from the first time that promising results have fallen under a cloud of suspicion. What is it that makes stem cell work so prone to problems? Arguably, it is because the potential commercial and medical gains are greater than in almost any other field. And therefore, so is the pressure to publish. But ask any scientist and they'll tell you that pressure is a way of life. To get an idea of the stresses that stem cell researchers face, New Scientist asked 1000 of them to fill in an anonymous online survey. By the time we went to press, 112 had replied (see "Stem cell scientists reveal 'unethical' work culture"). The survey is small, … Continue reading →

From "paradigm changer" to "sloppy and irresponsible". In just two months, two papers revealing a simple way to turn adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells went from being heralded as ground-breaking to being investigated over their credibility. Stem cell research is touted as the way to a medical revolution, but all too often accusations of poor practice arise. To glean some insight into why, New Scientist asked 1000 stem cell researchers from around the world to answer an anonymous survey about the pressures of their work. More than 110 replied. Some admitted to faked results, others told of unethical behaviour from superiors, and several placed the blame on high-profile journals. Just over half believe stem cell research is under greater scrutiny than other biomedical fields. "It is because the implications for therapeutics are greater than in other areas," said one researcher. Almost a fifth said this affects their work. Some said it made them more rigorous, while others said they feel forced to find clinical applications too soon. Sixteen per cent said they have felt pressure to submit a paper that was incomplete or contained unverified information. "There is a tremendous pressure to publish, in order to receive funding. Shortcuts … Continue reading →

Stem Cell Study I'm going to be participating in a stem cell study and need donations to help me get through please spread the word and ho out any way you can! God bless you... By: t1percent … Continue reading →