Health human T cell | NIAIDEach month CIRM President Alan Trounson gives his perspective on recently published papers he thinks will be valuable in moving the field of stem cell research forward. This month’s report, along with an archive of past reports, is available on the CIRM website.My report this month delves into some pretty … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — July’s stem cell research highlights
Month: August 2013
Blood vessels cells go with the flow
Harvard scientists have grown the cells that line blood vessels, called vascular endothelial cells, from embryonic-like reprogrammed stem cells. (These are the stem cells generated from adult tissues like skin, also called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs).This wouldn't be a big deal--after all the whole point of these cells is that they can form … Continue reading Blood vessels cells go with the flow
Hanna Mikkola wins McCulloch and Till Award
Dr. Hanna Mikkola; Photo courtesy UCLA It’s always gratifying when a researcher we’ve supported receives an honor. We were delighted to learn that Dr. Hanna Mikkola of UCLA won the 2013 McCulloch and Till Award. The Society for Hematology and Stem Cells (ISEH) gives this prestigious award to an outstanding early‑career investigator in experimental hematology … Continue reading Hanna Mikkola wins McCulloch and Till Award
Scar-forming cells in the heart converted directly into beating heart muscle
Last year, our grantees at Gladstone Institutes worked a neat trick: they converted the scar-forming cells of the heart directly into beating heart cells in living mice. (We wrote about that work here.)The cells they converted, also called fibroblasts, are the ones that create scar tissue in the heart after a heart attack. Their work … Continue reading Scar-forming cells in the heart converted directly into beating heart muscle
Bringing embryonic stem cell transplants closer to reality by quieting the immune response
A novel way of suppressing the immune system could make transplants of human embryonic stem cells a clinical possibility, according to new research by Stanford stem cell scientists.Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) offer a tantalizing prospect for new therapies, but first we have to figure out how to get them past our immune system’s defenses. … Continue reading Bringing embryonic stem cell transplants closer to reality by quieting the immune response
A small bright spot in Egypt: 16-year-old student continues stem cell project
Being an avowed news junky has its down sides. On mornings like today when so much of the New York Times and the SF Chronicle are filled with details of the upheavals in the Middle East, reading multiple newspapers can get a little depressing. So, when I got to work I was shocked and pleased … Continue reading A small bright spot in Egypt: 16-year-old student continues stem cell project
Jeffrey Yu writes about trial and error in cancer research
This summer we're sponsoring high school interns in stem cell labs throughout California. We asked those students to contribute to our Instagram photos and YouTube videos about life in the lab, and write about their experiences. Jeffrey Yu pipetting in the Clarke lab at Stanford. He submitted this photo to our #CIRMStemCellLab Instagram feed My … Continue reading Jeffrey Yu writes about trial and error in cancer research
Thirteen organizations issue joint patient advisory on unproven stem cell therapies
CIRM has always recognized that the hope of new stem cell therapies for people who need them hovers in a distant future. That makes patients who need treatment now susceptible to false promises from practitioners offering unproven and unregulated treatments. Some of those unproven treatments are even harmful. A few years ago we developed a … Continue reading Thirteen organizations issue joint patient advisory on unproven stem cell therapies
New method of gene repair developed for gene therapy and stem cell therapy combination treatments
Photo credit: HDBuzzResearchers have found a new way to snip and edit defective genes using pluripotent stem cells and a DNA-slicing protein from a bacteria that causes meningitis. The study, published earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was a collaboration between researchers from UC Santa Barbara, The University of … Continue reading New method of gene repair developed for gene therapy and stem cell therapy combination treatments
"Scary G" and the future of stem cell research
Just a few of the Creativity Program students - with Mani Vessal, PhD in the middle (he's the one with the suit and tie) It’s quite inspiring to find yourself in a room with a group of people who have just found their calling in life and are excited about it. You can’t help but … Continue reading "Scary G" and the future of stem cell research