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. A new route to shut down cancer stem cells. A team at Texas A&M University has discovered a specific protein’s role in keeping cancer stem … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: shutting down cancer stem cells, safer BMT, better gene therapy and a 3rd ear
Month: August 2015
Embryonic Stem Cells Yield Insights into X Chromosome Inactivation
Bon’t be intimidated by the title of this post, read on and you’ll be well versed in X chromosome inactivation, and why it's important. Males and females are different in countless ways, but the underlying cause of these differences originates with chromosomes. Women have two X chromosomes while men have an X and a Y. … Continue reading Embryonic Stem Cells Yield Insights into X Chromosome Inactivation
Da Mayor and the clinical trial that could help save his vision
Former San Francisco Mayor and California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown is many things, but shy is not one of them. A profile of him in the San Francisco Chronicle once described him as “Brash, smart, confident”. But for years Da Mayor – as he is fondly known in The City – said very little … Continue reading Da Mayor and the clinical trial that could help save his vision
Creativity sparks a bright future for science
When some people want to see the future they use a crystal ball. Others use tarot cards or runes. But when anyone at CIRM wants to see the future all we have to do is look into the faces of the students in our Creativity program. Over the past three years the Creativity program has … Continue reading Creativity sparks a bright future for science
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: potentially safer cell reprogramming, hair follicle cells become nerve and liver stem cells
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. A potentially safer way to reprogram cells. Ever since then soon-to-be Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka showed how to reprogram adult cells to an embryonic … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: potentially safer cell reprogramming, hair follicle cells become nerve and liver stem cells
Earliest stem cells made in lab; provide “extraordinary” potential
Embryonic stem cells are classified as pluripotent cells because they are able (“potent”) to mature into almost every (“pluri”) cell type. Thanks to Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka, researchers have been able to reprogram fully matured cells, like skin or blood, into embryonic stem cell-like induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). The technique has revolutionized stem … Continue reading Earliest stem cells made in lab; provide “extraordinary” potential
Going back to figure out how the embryo makes muscles led team to way to mass produce muscle fibers
Sometimes in science what seems like the simpler task turns out to be the hardest. We have written extensively about research teams building mini-organs in lab dishes turning stem cells into multiple layers of tissues organized and functioning, at least in part, like the kidney, liver or stomach they mimic. Given these successes and the … Continue reading Going back to figure out how the embryo makes muscles led team to way to mass produce muscle fibers