Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Shutterstock Uproxx knows that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines are driving the future of this planet forward. Every day, we see new ideas, fresh innovations, and bold trailblazers in these fields. Follow us this month as we highlight how STEM is shaping the culture of NOW. Placentas, umbilical cords pretty much anything that comes out of a womans body is awesome in science speak. Stem cells are the master cells of the body, just waiting to help you out when you get sick. Theyre your own personal repair kit, but, like anything, time kind of screws them up. They become damaged or mutated thanks to environmental factors and the aging process and one day, they lose their incredible healing abilities altogether. The good news is, science has finally tapped into the potential of stem cell research and, in doing so, scientists have found a solution for all that wasted power: babies. Yes, babies are disgusting blobs that poop, eat, and slobber their parents to an early grave, but those little devils also just happen to have a whole army of brand new stem cells still in their original packaging. The key is to get them before they sell … Continue reading →

May 24, 2017 by Collene Ferguson Jeff Biernaskies research identifies a factor essential for dermal stem cells to continuously divide during tissue regeneration. Credit: Riley Brandt, University of Calgary Stem cell researchers at the University of Calgary have found another piece of the puzzle behind what may contribute to hair loss and prevent wounds from healing normally. Jeff Biernaskie's research, published recently in the scientific journal npj Regenerative Medicine identifies a key signalling protein called platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). This protein is critical for driving self-renewal and proliferation of dermal stem cells that live in hair follicles and enable their unique ability to continuously regenerate and produce new hair. "This is the first study to identify the signals that influence hair follicle dermal stem cell function in your skin," says Biernaskie, an associate professor in comparative biology and experimental medicine at the University of Calgary'sFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society Chair in Skin Regeneration and Wound Healing. Biernaskie is also a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute. "What we show is that in the absence of PDGF signalling hair follicle dermal stem cells are rapidly diminished because of their inability to generate new stem … Continue reading →

MIAMI, May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Longeveron announced receiving a $750,000 grant from the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) to continue groundbreaking stem cell research. Longeveron, a Miami based regenerative medicine company, will partner with the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University to conduct a clinical trial for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare and often fatal condition in infants caused by an underdeveloped heart. According to Dr. Sunjay Kaushal, Director of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at University of Maryland, and Site Investigator on this award, "We anticipate that the HLHS trial may be a game changing procedure to improve the ventricular performance for these HLHS babies that will improve their outcomes and allow them to live longer lives." The MSCRF was established by the Governor and the Maryland General Assembly through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006 to accelerate research using human stem cells and advance medical treatment. In a May 10 news release, Rabbi Avram Reisner, Chair of the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission noted, "The awards announced are the first in our new Accelerating Cure initiative. They represent some of the most advanced regenerative medicine projects that are being undertaken. These awardees are … Continue reading →

Researchers from Princeton Universitys Department of Molecular Biology have identified a small RNA molecule that helps maintain the activity of stem cells in both healthy and cancerous breast tissue. The study, which will be published in the June issue of Nature Cell Biology, suggests that this "microRNA" promotes particularly deadly forms of breast cancer and that inhibiting the effects of this molecule could improve the efficacy of existing breast cancer therapies. Stem cells give rise to the different cell types in adult tissues but, in order to maintain these tissues throughout adulthood, stem cells must retain their activity for decades. They do this by "self-renewing" dividing to form additional stem cells and resisting the effects of environmental signals that would otherwise cause them to prematurely differentiate into other cell types. Many tumors also contain so-called "cancer stem cells" that can drive tumor formation. Some tumors, such as triple-negative breast cancers, are particularly deadly because they contain large numbers of cancer stem cells that self-renew and resist differentiation. To identify factors that help non-cancerous mammary gland stem cells (MaSCs) resist differentiation and retain their capacity to self-renew, Yibin Kang, the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology, and colleagues searched for short RNA … Continue reading →

He was tired of the daily pain that made even shaking someone's hand almost unbearable. Marlette lost his arm in an accident when he was a teenager, but as an active kid, he didn't this slow him down. He continued to play football and golf, running track and even wrestling. But over time, the strain on his remaining arm and wrist took a toll. So to relieve his pain, he traveled from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Munich, Germany, with the hopes that a special procedure using stem cells could make a difference. "There's no cartilage," Marlette said of his wrist. "I'm bone-on-bone. It is constantly inflamed and very sore." As Marlette grew older, even the simplest things, like tucking in his shirt or putting on a jacket, became incredibly painful. Marlette developed cysts and holes in the bones of his wrist. Doctors prescribed anti-inflammatory medications, but they only managed the pain, doing nothing to actually heal the problem. One day, his doctor, Dr. Bob Van Demark at Sanford Health in South Dakota, where Marlette works in finance, saw a presentation by Dr. Eckhard Alt. It was about a new treatment using stem cells. "Following an infection or wound or … Continue reading →

Vatican City, May 18, 2017 / 08:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Thursday offered a message of hope and love to patients with Huntingtons disease, a rare and incurable genetic brain disorder that causes intense suffering. According to organizers, it was the first time that a pope - or any world leader - had recognized the plight of those with the disease. In his speech, Francis said the fears and difficulties of people affected by Huntingtons disease have been surrounded with misunderstandings and barriers (for) far too long. In many cases the sick and their families have experienced the tragedy of shame, isolation and abandonment. Today, however, we are here because we want to say to ourselves and all the world: HIDDEN NO MORE! he said. This isnt just a slogan, but a commitment we must foster, he continued. The strength and conviction with which we pronounce these words derive precisely from what Jesus himself taught us, he said, noting that throughout his ministry, Jesus met many sick people; he took on their suffering; he tore down the walls of stigma and of marginalization that prevented so many of them from feeling respected and loved. Pope Francis spoke during … Continue reading →

Illustration showing blood stem and progenitor cells emerging from hemogenic endothelial cells. The left blue cells are emerging hematapoietic stem and progenitor cells. The red cells are red blood cells. OReilly Science Art When human embryonic stem cells lit up the worlds headlines in 1998, it seemed the era of spare organs and tissues would soon follow. One of the hopes was that these blank slate cells would fill the gap in the fraught supplies of blood banks by generating an endless supply of the different blood-cell types. Almost two decades on this dream is approaching reality, as two papers in Nature suggest. One team, led by George Daley of Boston Children's Hospital's Stem Cell Program, have trained human pluripotent stem cells (either derived from embryos or induced from skin cells) to do a fair job of replenishing a mouses blood supply. The other team, led by Shahin Rafii of Cornell University in New York, began with endothelial cells scraped from the lining of mouse blood vessels. After training, these cells did an even better job of replenishing a mouses blood supply. Both teams relied on genes introduced by viruses to train the cells. While the introduction of these foreign … Continue reading →

Mangaluru: UK-based orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Anand A Shetty will start a clinical application of stem cell research in the city along with Nitte University. This will help in curing cancer and other related ailments. Dr Shetty, who hails from Asode near Koteshwara in Udupi district, was honoured with the 'Outstanding Clinical Excellence' award by the UK's House of Lords this year. Dr Shetty is winner of a host of awards including the prestigious Hunterian Surgical Medal and Hunterian Professorship for 2017 awarded by the Royal College of Surgeons of England for his research on stem cells in particular cartilage repair. Only four Indians have received this award so far. A knee surgeon and director of stem cell research at Canterbury Christ Church University, Dr Shetty's main interest lies in stem cell research, cartilage transplant, accelerated bone healing, and robotics in minimally invasive surgery. Read this article: PIO doc to open application of stem cell research in Nitte - Times of India … Continue reading →

After 20 years of trying, scientists have transformed mature cells into primordial blood cells that regenerate themselves and the components of blood. The work, described today inNature, offers hope to people with leukaemia and other blood disorders who need bone-marrow transplants but cant find a compatible donor. If the findings translate into the clinic, these patients could receive lab-grown versions of their own healthy cells. One team, led by stem-cell biologist George Daley of Boston Childrens Hospital in Massachusetts, created human cells that act like blood stem cells, although they are not identical to those found in nature. A second team, led by stem-cell biologist Shahin Rafii of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, turned mature cells from mice into fully fledged blood stem cells. For many years, people have figured outparts of this recipe, but theyve never quite gotten there, says Mick Bhatia, a stem-cell researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who was not involved with either study. This is the first time researchers have checked all the boxes and made blood stem cells. Daleys team chose skin cells and other cells taken from adults as their starting material. Using a standard method, they reprogrammed the … Continue reading →

Rio Sugimura Researchers made these blood stem cells and progenitor cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells. After 20 years of trying, scientists have transformed mature cells into primordial blood cells that regenerate themselves and the components of blood. The work, described today in Nature1, 2, offers hope to people with leukaemia and other blood disorders who need bone-marrow transplants but cant find a compatible donor. If the findings translate into the clinic, these patients could receive lab-grown versions of their own healthy cells. One team, led by stem-cell biologist George Daley of Boston Childrens Hospital in Massachusetts, created human cells that act like blood stem cells, although they are not identical to those found in nature1. A second team, led by stem-cell biologist Shahin Rafii of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, turned mature cells from mice into fully fledged blood stem cells2. For many years, people have figured out parts of this recipe, but theyve never quite gotten there, says Mick Bhatia, a stem-cell researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who was not involved with either study. This is the first time researchers have checked all the boxes and made blood stem cells. Daleys team … Continue reading →