This tale of two-year-old mice could make you feel young again. Two years in a mouse is equivalent to 80 human years and a CIRM-funded Stanford team has found that in those little old guys two thirds of their muscle stem cells are dysfunctional, which means they don’t heal well after a muscle injury. No … Continue reading Researchers rejuvenate old muscle stem cells so they behave like young ones, repair muscle better

Explaining complex biological processes to the general public is a very important, yet tricky challenge. With all the specialized language and acronyms that scientists use, it’s really difficult for the non-scientist to visualize the microscopic life of cells. That’s where video animation comes to the rescue. As Ben Paylor, a Ph.D. candidate at the University … Continue reading One-minute stem cell videos receive National Science Foundation award

Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Pre-leukemia stem cell found. A collaboration including CIRM funded researchers at Stanford and the Canadian Cancer Stem Cell Consortium looked closely at the genetics of … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: leukemia, blood platelets, fetal stem cells staying with mom

Broken hearts have inspired poets and writers and composers for as long as there has been literature and music. It's a timeless subject with endless variations. But broken hearts have also inspired scientists and some of the stem cell researchers we are funding are working hard to find ways to repair the physical damage caused … Continue reading Hope for broken hearts this Valentine’s Day – a clinical trial to repair the damage

Helping keep our cells on trackOne of the mysteries of stem cells that scientists continue to probe is how and why a stem cell becomes a more specialized form of cell. Understanding that process is key to being able to control those changes, and to being able to create the kinds of cells needed to … Continue reading How a single protein helps keep our cells on track and figure out what they want to be

Reprogrammed iPS type stem cells are lending their power to the study of evolution. They have raised the curtain on why our genes are so much more stable than our closest relatives among primates; why the genetic differences among a single chimp troop can exceed the genetic variability among all living humans. Maria Machetto, working … Continue reading Forbes picks up Salk study showing that iPS cells can explain nuances of evolution

Stem cell science can sometimes feel like Goldilocks, but instead of trying to find a bed not too hard and not too soft it is trying to find a procedure that gets the cells to do just exactly what you want.Guest blogger Alan Trounson — December’s stem cell research highlights Each month CIRM President Alan … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — January’s stem cell research highlights

Unraveling the secrets of embryonic stem cells Everyone once in a while you come across someone who leaves you feeling somewhat in awe. I don’t mean the President or the Pope – though they are rather impressive individuals – but someone who by most definitions would be considered “ordinary” but who, it turns out, is … Continue reading Wise beyond her years – a teenager’s perspective on stem cells

The CIRM blog must be fed! (Photo: Stage and Cinema: bit.ly/1eO9ckE) Believe me when I say I don’t believe in the supernatural. But every morning when the CIRM communications team does a quick check-in about our social media plans for the day, we hear a ghostly voice from our laptops. A few years back it … Continue reading We’ve created a monster and we feel fine: the CIRM blog reaches 1000 posts

Math may help in a deeper understanding of stem cellsWhy do cells do what they do? Why does one cell become cancerous while its neighbor remains normal? What makes a stem cell ultimately change or differentiate into a nerve cell in the brain, rather a pancreatic beta cell? What influences those decisions?The fact is, even … Continue reading Math to the rescue – the formula to a better understanding of stem cells