Work with neural stem cells suggests that antidepressants such as Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil do their work by encouraging the generation of new brain cells. Happy brain cells, to judge by their effects.The work was done by British scientists from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry and published April 12 in in Molecular Psychiatry. A … Continue reading Antidepressants rev up neural stem cells

CIRM grantees at Sanford-Burnham have just published an interesting paper in PLoS Biology about developing a type of neuron that could alleviate symptoms of Huntington's disease, autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder — all diseases in which some neurons lose their inhibitions.First, the big picture. In the brain, some neurons send signals to other neurons, relaying … Continue reading Making neurons lose their inhibitions

A new paper by CIRM grantees at Stanford University is reporting on an innovative way of ensuring that people considering donating left over in vitro fertilization embryos to research make the best possible decision for themselves. The paper was published on April 8 in Cell Stem Cell. People who undergo IVF are often left with … Continue reading IVF embryo donation approach gives donors privacy, time

The good folks at the Scottish Stem Cell Network have pointed out an interesting relationship between CIRM and Scotland. We don't have a formal funding relationship with Scotland (you can read about our collaborative funding agreements here) but we do have a researcher with a foot in both countries. Bruno Péault is Professor and Chair … Continue reading California/Scottish collaboration to heal bones

A story by Rob Stein at the Washington Post is reporting that the first patient to participate in Geron's groundbreaking embryonic stem cell-based trial for spinal cord injury has come forward. This is both exciting news and no news. It's exciting because scientists and people living with spinal cord injury and their families are all … Continue reading First patient from Geron spinal cord injury trial speaks up

April 3 – 10 is Scotland Week in the U.S. and Canada, reaching its apex on April 6 with Tartan Day. That gives us all one day to dig up a kilt to honor any Scottish heritage we may have. In celebration of the week, the Scottish Stem Cell Network is posting a series of … Continue reading Scotland week honors Scottish stem cell scientists

Stem cell scientists at the University of Michigan and in Detroit have created two embryonic stem cell lines that contain disease-causing mutations: Hemophilia B, a hereditary condition in which the blood does not clot properly and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, an inherited disorder leading to degeneration of muscles in the foot, lower leg and hand.For the first … Continue reading New disease-specific embryonic stem cell lines from Michigan

Two stem cell stories in the news today bring to mind yesterday's interview on NPR's Fresh Air, in which veteran journalist Matthew Wald of the New York Times said of the decision to store spent nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, NV:Yucca was chosen by the finest geologists in the United States Senate, which is to … Continue reading The right tool for the job: is it iPS, ES or adult? Answer: It depends