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. Building a Better Brain Cell. Thanks to advances in stem cell biology, scientists have found ways to turn adult cells, such as skin cells, back … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Skin Cells to Brain Cells in One Fell Swoop, #WeAreResearch Goes Viral, and Genes Helps Stem Cells Fight Disease
Month: October 2014
Moving one step closer to a therapy for type 1 diabetes
When I was a medical journalist one word I always shied away from was “breakthrough”. There are few true breakthroughs in medicine. Usually any advance is the result of years and years of work. That’s why good science takes time; it takes hundreds of small steps to make a giant leap forward. A First for … Continue reading Moving one step closer to a therapy for type 1 diabetes
Scientists Use Stem Cells Generate Functioning Human Stomach Tissue
For the first time scientists used stem cells to grow functional human stomach tissue called gastric organoids to study such things as H. pylori infection and stomach cancer.
Scientists Develop Stem Cell ‘Special Forces’ in order to Target, Destroy Brain Tumors
Curing someone of cancer is, in theory, a piece of cake: all you have to do is kill the cancer cells while leaving the healthy cells intact. But in practice, this solution is far more difficult. In fact, it remains one of the great unsolved problems in modern oncology: how do you find, target and … Continue reading Scientists Develop Stem Cell ‘Special Forces’ in order to Target, Destroy Brain Tumors
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Perspective on “Walking” Patient, Blood Stem Cells have a Helper and Three Clinical Trials at One Campus
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. Some perspective on nasal stem cells and ”walking” patient. PZ Meyers writing on ScienceBlogs did a good job of putting some perspective into the hype … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Perspective on “Walking” Patient, Blood Stem Cells have a Helper and Three Clinical Trials at One Campus
CIRM 2.0; saving time, saves lives
It’s been almost ten years since the voters of California approved Proposition 71, creating the Stem Cell Agency and giving us $3 billion to fund stem cell research. So this is an appropriate time to look back and see what we have done with the money so far, the progress that’s been made, and where … Continue reading CIRM 2.0; saving time, saves lives
CIRM-Funded Scientists Make New Progress Toward Engineering a Human Esophagus
Creating tissues and organs from stem cells—often referred to as ‘tissue engineering’—is hard. But new research has discovered that the process may in fact be a little easier than we once thought, at least in some situations. Last week, scientists at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced that the esophagus—the tube … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Scientists Make New Progress Toward Engineering a Human Esophagus
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Some good news got a little overplayed on blindness and Alzheimer’s
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. Stories on blindness show too much wide-eyed wonder. While our field got some very good news this week when Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) published data … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Some good news got a little overplayed on blindness and Alzheimer’s
UCLA Study Suggests New Way to Mend a Broken Heart
When you suffer a heart attack, your heart-muscle cells become deprived of oxygen. Without oxygen, the cells soon whither and die—and are entombed within scar tissue. And once these cells die, they can’t be brought back to life. But maybe—just maybe—there is another way to build new heart muscle. And if there is, scientists like … Continue reading UCLA Study Suggests New Way to Mend a Broken Heart
The Nose Knows: Stem Cells are Vital Players in Brain Circuits Responsible for Smell
Ah, the mouth-watering scent of freshly baked bread and the intense aroma of roasted coffee beans. You can thank nerve cells in the front of your brain — in direct contact with your nasal passages — that convert odor molecules in the air into brain signals and generate your perception of those wonderful smells. Loss … Continue reading The Nose Knows: Stem Cells are Vital Players in Brain Circuits Responsible for Smell