It’s pretty easy to connect the dots between a lack of sleep and an increased risk of a deadly car crash. But what about an increased risk of cancer? A 2012 study of 101 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer found that those with inadequate sleep were more likely to have more aggressive tumors. Though … Continue reading Sleep inducing hormone puts breast cancer cells to rest
Author: Todd Dubnicoff
Better, Faster Quality Control for Stem Cell-Based Therapies
“Based”. It’s a pretty boring word but I make sure to include it when writing about the development of stem cell therapies, as in: “Asterias Biotherapeutics is testing an embryonic stem cell-based treatment for spinal cord injury”. It’s a key word here because no legitimate clinic would transplant embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or induced pluripotent … Continue reading Better, Faster Quality Control for Stem Cell-Based Therapies
Scientists Sink their Teeth into a Molecular Understanding of Human Personality
There’s plenty of scientific evidence that genes play a key role in defining personality. But how exactly? I mean, how is gene activity in cells ultimately linked to a person’s schmoozing talents at a cocktail party? CIRM-funded research published today in Nature, by collaborative teams at UC San Diego and the Salk Institute identified intriguing … Continue reading Scientists Sink their Teeth into a Molecular Understanding of Human Personality
Stem Cells May Help Endangered Species Live Long and Prosper
It’s the year 2286. The transmission signal of an alien space probe is wreaking havoc on Earth, knocking out the worldwide power grid and causing massive storms. It turns out the mysterious orbiting probe is trying to communicate with humpback whales through whale song and the devastation won’t stop until contact is made. But there’s … Continue reading Stem Cells May Help Endangered Species Live Long and Prosper
Embryonic gene reverses old age in adult stem cells, in the lab
Getting old is an inevitable fact of life but what exactly causes it? One major hallmark of the aging process is cell senescence, in which cells gradually lose the ability to divide, leading to a breakdown in proper organ function. Adult stem cells that reside in our tissues usually spring into action to replenish cells … Continue reading Embryonic gene reverses old age in adult stem cells, in the lab
Researchers Identify Potential New Cell Source for Spinal Cord Injury Treatments
Now that Asterias Biotherapeutics’ CIRM-funded, stem cell-based clinical trial for spinal cord injury (SCI) has safely treated its first group of patients and begun recruiting the second, should other SCI researchers close up shop? Of course not. Since it’s a first-in-human trial, there certainly will be room for improvement even if the therapy proves successful. … Continue reading Researchers Identify Potential New Cell Source for Spinal Cord Injury Treatments
T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
Imagine if scientists could build microscopic smart missiles that specifically seek out and destroy deadly, hard-to-treat cancer cells in a patient’s body? Well, you don’t have to imagine it actually. With techniques such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, a patient’s own T cells – immune system cells that fight off viruses and cancer … Continue reading T cell fate and future immunotherapies rely on a tag team of genetic switches
Circular RNAs: the Mind-Boggling Dark Matter of the Human Genome
We were just a few hours into the 2016 annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) yesterday afternoon and my mind was already blown away. Pier Paolo Pandolfi of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard, spoke during the first plenary session about circular RNAs, which he dubbed, “the mind-boggling … Continue reading Circular RNAs: the Mind-Boggling Dark Matter of the Human Genome
Filling the Holes in our Understanding of Stem Cell Fate
How does a single-celled human embryo transform into a human body with intricate organ systems containing trillions of specialized cells? Step into any college lecture discussing this question and I bet “transcription factors” is a phrase you’ll often hear. Transcription factors are DNA-binding proteins that act as cell fate control switches during development. For cells … Continue reading Filling the Holes in our Understanding of Stem Cell Fate
Shedding Light on a Path to Halting Deadly Pancreatic Cancers
Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis: only a quarter of those diagnosed survive past one year and only about six percent live beyond five years. Its strong resistance to chemotherapy makes pancreatic cancer one of the most aggressive, deadly cancers and leaves doctors with few treatment options. New ways to study pancreatic cancer are desperately … Continue reading Shedding Light on a Path to Halting Deadly Pancreatic Cancers
The Stem Cellar 