Today, we have some awesome writings from seven (a factor of 42) equally awesome young or early-career science writers. Read about the science of oppressive urban environments, open science, the worlds first stem cell drug and more All here. Rachel Nuwer, freelance science journalist, writes about a new research which aims to curtail oppressive urban environments in big cities, in Txchnologist. Oh, trees help. Researchers Seek to Measure the Oppressiveness of Streetscapes In the urban canyons, pedestrians shuffle in shadowed gullies carved between skyscrapers. Enclosed by hundreds of stories of steel and concrete, the hapless passersby feel the buildings loom over them like dark sentries. It may sound like a scene from Blade Runner, but some researchers are concerned that mega-cities like New York, Tokyo or Hong Kong darken more than pedestrian walkways. The built environment, some believe, may be an additional source of anxiety in an urbanites day-to-day life, as much as pressure from work and relationships. Brett Szmajda, an editorial intern at Cosmos, writes about a speech-analysis software that can assess your stress levels for Cosmos Online. Software to monitor your working memory A nifty piece of software can now monitor workers and pick up on subtle cues … Continue reading →

Date: Friday May. 25, 2012 9:27 AM ET CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer. A pair of researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells which can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells. Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before. Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists. Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells. Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body. "The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all," says Rancourt, co-author of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. "These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells." Up until now, scientists were limited … Continue reading →

Stem cells have assumed near-mythical status in the popular imagination as a possible cure for every disease under the sun. But while public attention has focused on their potential in regenerative medicine, stem cells have quietly gained a foothold in drug development a move that may hail a huge but unheralded shake-up of the biological sciences. I think there are tremendous parallels to the early days of recombinant DNA in this field, says James Thomson, director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wisconsin, and one of the founders of Cellular Dynamics International, also in Madison. I dont think people appreciated what a broad-ranging tool recombinant DNA was in the middle '70s." At the same time, he says, they underestimated the difficulty of using it in treatments. Now stem cells are in a similar situation, he says, and although therapeutic use is likely to come to fruition eventually, people underappreciate how broadly enabling a research tool it is, he says. Laboratory-grown stem cells hold much promise for regenerative medicine, but are being increasingly used in drug testing. MASSIMO BREGA, THE LIGHTHOUSE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Drug companies began dipping a tentative toe into the stem-cell waters about two … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Malin Parmar Malin.Parmar@med.lu.se 46-709-823-901 Lund University A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants. By adding two different molecules, the researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple way of starting the stem cells' journey to become finished brain cells. The process mimics the brain's natural development by releasing signals that are part of the normal development process. Experiments in animal models have shown that the cells quickly adapt in the brain and behave like normal brain cells. "This technique allows us to fine-tune our steering of stem cells to different types of brain cells. Previous studies have not always used the signals that are activated during the brain's normal development. This has caused the transplanted cells to develop tumours or function poorly in the brain", says Agnete Kirkeby, one of the authors of the study. Since the method effectively imitates the brain's own processes, it reduces the risk of tumour formation, one of the most common … Continue reading →

Five UC San Diego scientists have received almost $12 million combined from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to pay for stem cell-based research, the university announced today. A team led by Lawrence Goldstein, of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, was given $1.8 million to continue looking for new methods to find and test possible medications for Alzheimer's disease, according to UCSD. They use reprogrammed stem cells in their work. Dr. Mark Tuszynski, professor of neurosciences and director of the Center for Neural Repair, received $4.6 million to develop more potent stem cell-based treatments for spinal cord injuries. Gene Yeo, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, was awarded $1.6 million to continue research into treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His research hopes to take advantage of recent discoveries about ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, which center on mutations in RNA-binding proteins that cause dysfunction and death in neurons. Dr. Eric David Adler, an associate clinical professor of medicine and cardiologist, was granted $1.7 million to screen potential drugs for Danon disease, a type of inherited heart failure that frequently kills patients by their 20s. … Continue reading →

Five scientists from the University of California, San Diego and its School of Medicine have been awarded almost $12 million in new grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to conduct stem cell-based research into regenerating spinal cord injuries, repairing gene mutations that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and finding new drugs to treat heart failure and Alzheimer's disease. The awards mark the third round of funding in CIRM's Early Translational Awards program, which supports projects that are in the initial stages of identifying drugs or cell types that could become disease therapies. More than $69 million in awards were announced yesterday, including funding for first-ever collaboratively funded research projects with China and the federal government of Australia. "With these new awards, the agency now has 52 projects in 33 diseases at varying stages of working toward clinical trials," said Jonathan Thomas, JD, PhD and CIRM governing board chair. "Californians should take pride in being at the center of this worldwide research leading toward new cures. These projects represent the best of California stem cell science and the best international experts who, together, will bring new therapies for patients." The five new UC San Diego awards are: CIRM was … Continue reading →

Fat stem cells may help treat kidney ailments BS Reporter / Mumbai/ AhmedabadMarch 06, 2007 In a breakthrough in the stem cell research, scientist from Ahmedabad have developed a technique to encourage a new kind of stem cells called Mesenchymal stem cells generated from fat (adipose tissue) of donors, which can be used in treating kidney diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells generated from fat of donors hold great promise for the treatment of kidney diseases, claims H L Trivedi, director, Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Center (IKDRC), Ahmedabad. We will soon patent the research, he added. The institute will soon convene a meeting of scientists working on the project and take a decision on securing the patent for the research. A team of scientists from the IKDRC, led by Trivedi, has clinically proved that when presented in the right physical context, certain growth factors encourage the survival and proliferation of fat mesenchymal stem cells grown outside the body. Trivedi says the research offers hope of cent per cent recovery for patients suffering from severe kidney diseases as the mesenchymal stem cells will nullify the rejection rate of the body, thus inducing the body to accept the newly transplanted kidney as … Continue reading →