Some tumors are hard to find, while others are hard to destroy. Fortunately, a new research study from the University of California, Davis, has developed a new type of nanoparticle that could one day do both. Reporting in the latest issue of Nature Communications, researchers in the laboratory of UC Davis’ Dr. Kit Lam describe … Continue reading A Tumor’s Trojan Horse: CIRM Researchers Build Nanoparticles to Infiltrate Hard-to-Reach Tumors
Author: cirmweb
FDA gives Asterias green light to start CIRM-funded clinical trial in spinal cord injury
This morning Asterias Biotherapeutics announced that they have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to start a clinical trial using stem cells to treat spinal cord injury. It’s great news, doubly so as we are funding that trial. You can read more about the trial in a news release we just sent … Continue reading FDA gives Asterias green light to start CIRM-funded clinical trial in spinal cord injury
Building a Blueprint for the Human Brain
How does a brain blossom from a small cluster of cells into nature’s most powerful supercomputer? The answer has long puzzled scientists, but with new advances in stem cell biology, researchers are quickly mapping the complex suite of connections that together make up the brain. One of the latest breakthroughs comes from Dr. Daniel Geschwind … Continue reading Building a Blueprint for the Human Brain
Mapping Metastasis: Scientists Discover how Cancer Cells Colonize Distant Organs
How does cancer spread? How does it traverse from one organ to the next—often undetected—until it has colonized the far reaches of the human body? And more importantly, how can researchers stop this from happening? These questions plague even the most renowned experts, but new research from scientists at Brown University has uncovered clues to … Continue reading Mapping Metastasis: Scientists Discover how Cancer Cells Colonize Distant Organs
CIRM Creativity Student Cindy Nguyen Goes “Beyond the Classroom”
This summer we’re sponsoring high school interns in stem cell labs throughout California as part of our annual Creativity Program. We asked those students to share their experiences through blog posts and videos. Today in our final installment, we hear from Cindy Nguyen, who has been busy at Stanford University’s Beckman Center for Molecular and … Continue reading CIRM Creativity Student Cindy Nguyen Goes “Beyond the Classroom”
Revealing the Invisible: Scientists Uncover the Secret Ingredient to Making Blood-Forming Stem Cells
They are among the most versatile types of stem cell types in the body. They live inside bone marrow and in the blood of the umbilical cord. They can be used to treat deadly cancers such as leukemia (Leukemia Fact Sheet) as well as many blood disorders. But no one really understood the details of … Continue reading Revealing the Invisible: Scientists Uncover the Secret Ingredient to Making Blood-Forming Stem Cells
Breast Cancer Commandeers Mammary Stem Cells for Own, Nefarious Purposes
Most instances of breast cancer happen later in life—often after menopause. In many cases, the cancer progresses slowly, over a period of months or even years, often giving physicians precious time to implement a treatment plan, successfully battling that cancer into remission. But there is another far more aggressive form of breast cancer that tends … Continue reading Breast Cancer Commandeers Mammary Stem Cells for Own, Nefarious Purposes
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: “Let it Grow” Goes Viral, Stroke Pilot Study, The Bowels of Human Stem Cells, Tumor ‘Safety Lock.’
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. “Let it Grow” Goes Viral (and National!): Last week on The Stem Cellar we shared one of our favorite student videos from our annual Creativity … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: “Let it Grow” Goes Viral, Stroke Pilot Study, The Bowels of Human Stem Cells, Tumor ‘Safety Lock.’
Grafted Stem Cells Snake through Spinal Cord, CIRM-Funded Study Finds
New research lends increasing support to the notion that paralysis may not be so permanent after all. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have generated stem cells that, when grafted onto the injured spines of rats—traverse through the injury sites, coupling with nerve cells hidden beneath the damaged tissue. These results, published today … Continue reading Grafted Stem Cells Snake through Spinal Cord, CIRM-Funded Study Finds
CIRM Creativity Student Hanan Sinada’s ‘Extraordinary’ Journey as a Budding Scientist
This summer we’re sponsoring high school interns in stem cell labs throughout California as part of our annual Creativity Program. We asked those students to share their experiences through blog posts and videos. Today, we hear from Hanan Sinada, who has been busy at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. Extraordinary. That is the word … Continue reading CIRM Creativity Student Hanan Sinada’s ‘Extraordinary’ Journey as a Budding Scientist
The Stem Cellar 