It’s good to have a backup plan Our lungs are amazing things. They take in the air we breathe and move it into our blood so that oxygen can be carried to every part of our body. They’re also surprisingly large. If you were to spread out a lung – and I have no idea … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Backup cells to repair damaged lungs; your unique bowels; and California Cures, 71 ways CIRM is changing the face of medicine
Adult Stem Cells
Stem cell study holds out promise for kidney disease
Kidney failure is the Rodney Dangerfield of diseases, it really doesn’t get the respect it deserves. An estimated 660,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure and around 47,000 people die from it every year. That’s more than die from breast or prostate cancer. But now a new study has identified a promising stem cell candidate that … Continue reading Stem cell study holds out promise for kidney disease
Cold temps nudge stem cells to boost “good” fat, may point to obesity remedies
Newborn babies may not be able to walk or talk but they can do something that makes adults very jealous: burn extra calories without exercising. This feat is accomplished with the help of brown fat which is abundant in infants (and hibernating animals) but barely detectable in adults. However, a new study in Scientific Reports … Continue reading Cold temps nudge stem cells to boost “good” fat, may point to obesity remedies
Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine
Stem Cell Photo of the Week In honor of brain awareness week, our featured stem cell photo is of the brain! Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute identified a genetic switch that could potentially improve memory during aging and symptoms of PTSD. Shown in this picture are dentate gyrus cells … Continue reading Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine
It’s World Kidney Day: Highlighting CIRM’s Investments in Treating Kidney Failure
Today is World Kidney Day. Hundreds of events across the globe are taking place “to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our overall health and to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.” (Side note: in recognition that today is also International Women’s Day, World … Continue reading It’s World Kidney Day: Highlighting CIRM’s Investments in Treating Kidney Failure
Friday Roundup: A better kind of blood stem cell transplant; Encouraging news from spinal cord injury trial; Finding an “elusive” cell that could help diabetics
Cool Instagram image of the week: Chemo- and radiation-free blood stem cell transplant showing promise Bubble baby disease, also known as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), is an inherited disorder that leaves newborns without an effective immune system. Currently, the only approved treatment for SCID is a blood stem cell transplant, in which the patient’s defective … Continue reading Friday Roundup: A better kind of blood stem cell transplant; Encouraging news from spinal cord injury trial; Finding an “elusive” cell that could help diabetics
Seeing is believing. Proof a CIRM-funded therapy is making a difference
You have almost certainly never heard of Thelma, or met her, or know anything about her. She’s a lady living in England who, if it wasn’t for a CIRM-funded therapy, might not be living at all. She’s proof that what we do, is helping people. Thelma is featured in a video about a treatment for … Continue reading Seeing is believing. Proof a CIRM-funded therapy is making a difference
Creating a platform to help transplanted stem cells survive after a heart attack
Repairing, even reversing, the damage caused by a heart attack is the Holy Grail of stem cell researchers. For years the Grail seemed out of reach because the cells that researchers transplanted into heart attack patients didn’t stick around long enough to do much good. Now researchers at Stanford may have found a way around … Continue reading Creating a platform to help transplanted stem cells survive after a heart attack
Stem Cell Roundup: New understanding of Huntington’s; how stem cells can double your DNA; and using “the Gary Oldman of cell types” to reverse aging
This week's roundup highlights how we are constantly finding out new and exciting ways that stem cells could help change the way we treat disease. Our Cool Stem Cell Image of the Week comes from our first story, about unlocking some of the secrets of Huntington's disease. It comes from the Laboratory of Stem Cell … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: New understanding of Huntington’s; how stem cells can double your DNA; and using “the Gary Oldman of cell types” to reverse aging
Listen up! Stem cell scientists craft new ears using children’s own cells
Imagine growing up without an ear, or with one that was stunted and deformed. It would likely have an impact on almost every part of your life, not just your hearing. But now scientists in China say they have found a way to help give children born with this condition a new ear, one that … Continue reading Listen up! Stem cell scientists craft new ears using children’s own cells
The Stem Cellar 