Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Important Questions The Catholic Church is concerned with the protection of all innocent human life, as Pope Paul VI's landmark encyclical, Humanae vitae (1968), made clear. Scientific research is important, but it can never come at the expense of the weakest among us. Stem cells are a special type of cell that can easily divide to create new cells; pluripotent stem cells, which are the subject of most research, can create new cells of various types. Over the last several years, scientists have been optimistic about the possibility of using stem cells to treat a wide range of diseases and other health problems, because stem cells could potentially regenerate damaged tissues and organs. While news reports and political debates often use the term stem-cell research to discuss all scientific research involving stem cells, the truth is that there are a number of different types of stem cells that are being studied. For example, adult stem cells are often drawn from bone marrow, while umbilical-cord stem cells are taken from the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after birth. Most recently, stem cells have been found in the amniotic fluid that surrounds a baby in the womb. There is no … Continue reading →

Policy | Facilities | Publishing | Events | People | Research | Funding | Announcement | Trend watch | Coming up Brexit triggered The UK government made good on its promise to trigger Article 50 on 29March and formally began the process of leaving the European Union. In the run up, Stephen Metcalfe, chair of the House of Commons science select committee, released a report on 22March, produced with scientific and industry groups and research charities, setting out science priorities for the upcoming negotiations over the future relationship between Britain and the EU. These include providing certainty for non-UK EU scientists working in the United Kingdom and maintaining funding levels for research. Military research The Science Council of Japan (SCJ) on 24 March called on Japans government to keep military research out of universities and institutions. The statement by the SCJ, an independent body that represents 830,000 Japanese scientists and acts as an advisory body to the cabinet, was prompted by recent efforts to involve Japans universities and research institutes in military research. The declaration refers directly to the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, set up in the defence ministry in 2015 to fund dual-use research. The statement reflects on … Continue reading →

UCLA Newsroom Researchers turn urine into research tools Science Daily One of the biggest challenges in studying Down syndrome is finding the right research model. Animals and established cell lines are limited in their ability to mimic human disease, and results don't always translate to patient populations. Stem cells ... Pioneering stem cell gene therapy cures infants with bubble baby diseaseUCLA Newsroom New Tools to Study the Origin of Embryonic Stem CellsTechnology Networks Researchers Look Up To Outer Space As Womb For Stem Cells ...University Herald Miami's Community Newspapers -Yahoo Finance -Medgadget (blog) all 25 news articles » Excerpt from: Researchers turn urine into research tools - Science Daily … Continue reading →

"This technology gives us that particular dream, or at least it brings us a lot closer," said Klein. To ramp up production, the UK researchers infected stem cells with cervical cancer genes. By inserting cancer genes from human papilloma virus (HPV) into bone marrow cells, Frayne and her colleagues were able to create the first adult red blood cells that could multiply an infinite number of times. These cells are referred to as "immortal." As the red blood cells mature, they spit out the nucleus -- the core that houses their DNA -- giving the cells a signature round, dimpled shape. Frayne and her colleagues filtered those cells from the rest, so the final batch did not contain the active cancer genes. Frayne said that a small number of these stem cells can be found in a simple blood draw, too; there's no need to do an invasive biopsy of the bone. Since her team completed the study last year, she said, they have already created two new immortal cell lines this way. But his cells didn't eject the nucleus well enough, and fetal blood cells have too tight a grip on oxygen; they are less likely to drop off … Continue reading →

Discovery of a new regulatory protein provides new tool for stem cell engineering Science Daily By suppressing SMARCAD1 from interacting with H3R26Cit, researchers were able to induce this switch. They also found that the stem cells with suppressed SMARCAD1 expression remained pluripotent. "This finding offers an approach to fine tune the stem ... and more » See more here: Discovery of a new regulatory protein provides new tool for stem cell engineering - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Science Daily Interferon-beta producing stem cell-derived immune cell therapy on liver cancer Science Daily Hoping to improve primary liver cancer including HCC and metastatic liver cancer therapies, researchers from Japan began studying induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived immune cells that produced the protein interferon-? (IFN-). IFN- exhibits ... and more » See the rest here: Interferon-beta producing stem cell-derived immune cell therapy on liver cancer - Science Daily … Continue reading →

ScrollToday Potential of stem cell therapy to repair lung damage Science Daily Researchers delivered stem cells intravenously to b-ENaC overexpressing mice at 4 and 6 weeks of age, before collecting samples tissue and cells from the lungs at 8 weeks. They compared these findings to a control group that did not receive the MSC ... Study shows potential of stem cell therapy to repair lung damageEurekAlert (press release) Soon, stem cells may repair lung damageFree Press Journal all 10 news articles » The rest is here: Potential of stem cell therapy to repair lung damage - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Men's Health Stem cells shown to restore erection capability in men with erectile dysfunction Science Daily The research group, from Odense in Denmark, used stem cells taken from abdominal fat cells via liposuction (under a general anaesthetic): none of the 21 men reported significant side effects over the trial period, or in the following year. After ... This Might Be the New Cure For Erectile DysfunctionMen's Health Just ONE injection of stem cells from a man's stomach could be a permanent cure for impotence (and even help them to ...Daily Mail all 7 news articles » View original post here: Stem cells shown to restore erection capability in men with erectile dysfunction - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Opens mid-September; first of its kind in the Gulf KUWAIT: An artists rendition of the Sheikha Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord. (inset) Masharee Al-Khair board member and treasurer Abdul-Aziz Al-Jassar and KIPCO Deputy Chairman Faisal Al-Ayyar KUNA KUWAIT: The private sector in Kuwait has come to play a major role in various fields of the economic scene, for the good of the entire society, within the concept of social responsibility of the business. This role has been in many cases fulfilled in partnership with the public sector. The Sheikha Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord, which is currently under construction, offers a good model of the public-private partnership (PPP). Once completed, the center would help scientists are in their research to explore how the cells can be used for a better quality of life for patients suffering from genetic diseases, for instance. Such efforts have already been fruitful, as discoveries in the field have raised hope for people with incurable diseases such as blood cancers, disorders of the immunity system and metabolism, to have a better standard of life through stem cell transplant. 12,000 square meters The center is being built … Continue reading →

The researchers' findings suggest that men should stay away at least for now from clinics that already offer stem cell treatment for erectile dysfunction. CIPhotos / Getty Images/iStockphoto The researchers' findings suggest that men should stay away at least for now from clinics that already offer stem cell treatment for erectile dysfunction. But their findings also suggest that men who become impotent after prostate surgery shouldn't give up hope. "After six months, eight of the men could initiate sexual intercourse," said Dr. Martha Haahr of Odense University Hospital. "What we have done establishes that this technique can lead to men recovering a spontaneous erection in other words, without the use of other medicines, injections, or implants," Haahr added. Related: Erectile dysfunction is very common, and it's led to a booming market in drugs such as Viagra and Cialis, as well as an industry providing penis implants and other treatments. The dysfunction is caused by a variety of factors. Heart disease and diabetes can damage the blood vessels in the penis, for example. And prostate cancer treatment can damage the nerves and blood vessels in the surrounding area. A study published earlier this month found more than half of men lost … Continue reading →