Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwired - Mar 21, 2017) - Synthego, a leading provider of genome engineering solutions, today announces the availability of chemically modified synthetic guide RNA in the CRISPRevolution product family, including modified full length 100-mer synthetic single guide RNA (sgRNA). Critical for editing challenging cell types such as primary and stem cells, modified guide RNAs provide protection against intracellular immune responses present in primary cells, such as stem cells. Additionally, chemically modified RNA improves in vivo stability by protecting RNA molecules against exonuclease attack -- allowing it to persist longer in certain cell types and regions of genomic DNA that can be challenging to edit using conventional guide RNAs. Synthego's modified sgRNA are synthesized with 2'-O-methyl analogs and 3' phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages in the first three nucleotides at both the 5' and 3' end of the RNA molecule. It's currently impossible to make chemical modifications to plasmid or in vitro transcription (IVT) based guide RNAs. Synthetic sgRNA is chemically synthesized to the highest levels of purity, eliminating the risk of introducing toxins that may be present in IVT-based guide RNAs. In addition, the use of modified synthetic sgRNA also safeguards against the accidental incorporation of DNA into edited stem … Continue reading →

Science Daily Unproven stem cell 'therapy' blinds three patients at Florida clinic ... Science Daily Three people with macular degeneration were blinded after undergoing an unproven stem cell treatment that was touted as a clinical trial in 2015 at a clinic in ... Strategy shift: Stem cell research uses donor cells to cut tumor risksGenetic Literacy Project Experimental stem cell treatment leaves 3 women blindThe Whittier Daily News Unproven stem cell 'therapy' blinds three patients at Florida clinicStanford Report all 46 news articles » See the original post here: Unproven stem cell 'therapy' blinds three patients at Florida clinic ... - Science Daily … Continue reading →

New research shows promise for the production of patient-matched blood cells for therapies, disease modeling and ... Science Daily The Galat laboratory at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, has developed an elegant system to derive blood cell precursors from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). This type of stem cell ... and more » See original here: New research shows promise for the production of patient-matched blood cells for therapies, disease modeling and ... - Science Daily … Continue reading →

Tapestry Senior Living is Tallahasee's newest senior living and memory care facility, located at 2516 West Lakeshore Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312. Freeport, Grand Bahama (PRWEB) March 21, 2017 Okyanos Cell Therapy has announced Tallahassee, FL will be the next destination for a free educational seminar as part of their live events series, Stem Cell Therapy: The Next Phase in the Evolution of Medicine. As the Bahamas first fully licensed adult stem cell facility under the 2013 Stem Cell Research and Therapy Act, Okyanos maintains a mission to help no-option patients and those with serious, progressive conditions to return to a more normal life utilizing cell therapy. The Tallahasee event will take place at Tapestry Senior Living on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at 10:00am. Pre-registration is required. If you wish to attend or learn more, please email seminars(at)okyanos(dot)com. With stem cells existing as somewhat of a buzzword in healthcare today, questions loom as to what the true potential of stem cell-based therapies is for conditions like Parkinsons Disease, osteoarthritis and heart failure. It is through their free live education series that Okyanos works to raise awareness and bring understanding on the potential of stem cell research and treatment, as well as … Continue reading →

March 20, 2017 08:43 ET | Source: Cellaria Bio CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellaria, LLC, a scientific innovator that develops revolutionary new cancer models for challenging tumors, today announced the expansion of its offerings to include a suite of stem cell services. The initiative advances Cellarias mission to provide more accurate patient and disease-specific cell models to help researchers focus and accelerate their research and discovery efforts. Cellarias new stem cell division will provide RNA reprogramming and differentiation services in a comprehensive, yet modular workflow. The companys initial reprogramming focus will be on custom solutions for primary cell establishment, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) generation, banking and characterization. Cellaria will also offer customizable differentiation services for various cell types such as neurons, hepatocytes and skeletal muscle. By incorporating the most advanced RNA technology, Cellarias reprogramming platform will enable access to a broad set of patient cells, including cells derived from human skin and blood, for the development of the next generation of disease models. With the addition of an extremely flexible and tailored differentiation system, Cellaria provides a single source solution to stem cell services. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are generated from adult cells … Continue reading →

Ars has reported before about the predatory ways of direct-to-consumer clinics touting unproven and sometimes dangerous stem cell therapies. As these clinics bubble up around the country, their slimy ads targeting desperate patient populations may seem pretty low. But a stem cell company in Florida may have them beat in the despicable category: it posed as a legitimate research clinic conducting a trial listed on the government registry, clinicaltrials.gov. In a report published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors and researchers report in detail the medical aftermath forthe three patients, who were all seeking treatment for age-related macular degeneration. This is a common disease that diminishes eyesight slowly over time and does not, by itself, lead to blindness. Two of the patients have already sued the company behind the clinic, US Stem Cell (previously known as Bioheart, Inc.). The suit was settled, and the patients signed nondisclosure agreements. The clinical trial, which the three women were never actually enrolled in, never took place and has been withdrawn. The trial was said to have been approved by an institutional review board, a necessary step for trials. But there were no details about the approval or the board. US … Continue reading →

The macula is the spot in the center of your eye's retina. When that tissue begins to thin and break down, this is referred to as macular degeneration, a blurring of the sharp central vision necessary for driving, reading and other close-up work. Most people develop this disease as they age. For the latest study, researchers led by Dr. Michiko Mandai of the laboratory for retinal regeneration at RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Japan tested an experimental stem cell treatment on a 77-year-old woman diagnosed with "wet," or neovascular age-related, macular degeneration. The "wet" form of the disease involves blood vessels positioned underneath the pigment epithelium (a layer of retinal cells) growing through the epithelium and harming the eye's photoreceptor cells. In Japan, wet age-related macular degeneration is the most common form, but in Caucasian populations, only about 10% of people with age-related macular degeneration gets that form. The "dry" form involves the macula breaking down without growth of blood vessels where they're not supposed to be. To stop the progress of wet macular degeneration, the researchers performed surgery to transplant a sheet of retinal pigment epithelial cells under the retina in one of the patient's eye. The transplanted … Continue reading →

Scientists can create [induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells] from any cell in the body. [But while they]can be reprogrammed to become any type of cell, from skin to liver to nerve cells,[iPS cells] can also give rise to potentially dangerous mutations, possibly including ones that lead to cancerous tumors. Thus, iPS cells are a double-edged swordBut now Japanese researchers are trying a different approach. When Kyoto University researcher Shinya Yamanaka announced in 2006 that his lab had created iPS cells from mouse skin cells for the first time, biologists were stunnedA decade after the Yamanaka teams groundbreaking discoveries, however, iPS cells have retreated from the headlines. All eyes, however, are back on Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, which is resuming its retina trialthis time with iPS cells from donors instead of cells from patients themselves.Using the Cell Research and Application (CiRA)s bank of iPS cells, there are significant time and cost savingsit could be one fifth the cost of cell preparation and patient transplant or less. Regenerative medicine and drug discovery are the two key applications for iPS cells, Yamanaka says. With the use of iPS cell stock, we are now able to work quicker and cheaper, so thats … Continue reading →

Susana Gonzalez Susana Gonzalez, a rising star in stem cell research, has had a rough year. In addition to being fired from her former research institute (which she is now appealing), one of her grants (totaling nearly 2 million Euros) was suspended. Most recently, she has received two new retractions in Nature Communications over figure duplications and missing raw data. By our count, she has a total of three retractions. Both of the new noticessay the papers contained figures duplicated in other papers by Gonzalez, and neither includes Gonzalez among the list of co-authors who agreed to the retraction. Gonzalez was dismissed from her position at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Spain last February over allegations of misconduct. According to the head of basic research at CNIC, Gonzalez is still embroiled in a legal battle with the Centerover her dismissal. Vicente Andrscould not go into detail because of the ongoinglitigation, but he told us: I can only confirm that the court has decided in favor of CNIC and upheld the sacking of Dr. Gonzalez, but the decision is not final and is being appealed. The legal proceedings appear to have prompted Gonzalezs first retractionof a 2012 paper, … Continue reading →

By Isaac GuererroStaff writer Xue-Jun Li spends her days studying motor neurons, the cells that send signals from the brain to the body's voluntary muscles. Motor neuron diseases are degenerative, which means that the muscles don't stop working all at once. When the motor neurons begin to fail, one slowly loses control of the arms and legs, the ability to swallow and, eventually, to breathe. Scientists know very little about the human nervous system and what causes the motor neurons to stop functioning. Li has published more than 37 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has developed human stem cell models for spastic paraplegias and spinal muscular atrophy, which is the leading genetic cause of death for infants. Li joined the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford as an associate professor in the Biomedical Sciences Department last May. Her research is supported by the National Institute of Health and ALS Association, among others. I love the satisfaction of new discoveries, new ideas you get from working in the lab, the interaction with students, she said. But any breakthrough you make is a collaboration. Her stem cell research is concerned with, among other things, an attempt to better understand microtubule defects that … Continue reading →