Getting older is a normal, at times existential, part of life. The outward changes are abundant and noticeable: thinning of the hair, greying of the hair, and added lines to the face. There are also changes that happen that are not so abundantly clear in terms of outward appearance: slowing of healing time for bone … Continue reading Old cells need not apply: how a stem cell’s age can impact potential treatments
Brain stem cells
Of Mice and Men, and Women Too; Stem cell stories you might have missed
Mice brains can teach us a lot Last week’s news headlines were dominated by one big story, the use of a stem cell transplant to effectively cure a person of HIV. But there were other stories that, while not quite as striking, did also highlight how the field is advancing. A new way to boost … Continue reading Of Mice and Men, and Women Too; Stem cell stories you might have missed
Tips on how to be a great Patient Advocate from three of the best Advocates around
No one sets out to be a Patient Advocate. It’s something that you become because of something that happens to you. Usually it’s because you, or a loved one or a friend, becomes ill and you want to help find a treatment. Whatever the reason, it is the start of a journey that often throws … Continue reading Tips on how to be a great Patient Advocate from three of the best Advocates around
CIRM-funded research is helping unlock the secrets behind “chemo brain”
Every year millions of Americans undergo chemotherapy. The goal of the treatment is to destroy cancer, but along the way more than half of the people treated lose something else. They suffer from something called “chemo brain” which causes problems with thinking and memory. In some cases it can be temporary, lasting a few months. … Continue reading CIRM-funded research is helping unlock the secrets behind “chemo brain”
Why having a wrinkled brain is a good thing
We normally associate wrinkles with aging, such as wrinkled skin. But there’s one organ that is wrinkled right from the time we are born. It’s our brain. And new research shows those wrinkles are not a sign of age but are, in fact, a sign of just how large and complex our brains are. The … Continue reading Why having a wrinkled brain is a good thing
Stem Cell Roundup: Knowing the nose, stem cell stress and cell fate math.
The Stem Cellar’s Image of the Week. Our favorite image this week, comes to us from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Looking like a psychedelic Rorschach test, the fluorescence microscopy depicts mouse olfactory epithelium (in green), a sheet of tissue that develops in the nose. The team identified a new … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Knowing the nose, stem cell stress and cell fate math.
Adding the missing piece: “mini-brain” method now includes important cell type
Although studying brain cells as a single layer in petri dishes has led to countless ground-breaking discoveries in neurobiology, it’s pretty intuitive that a two-dimensional “lawn” of cells doesn’t fully represent what’s happening in our complex, three-dimensional brain. In the past few years, researchers have really upped their game with the development of brain organoids, … Continue reading Adding the missing piece: “mini-brain” method now includes important cell type
Using biological “codes” to generate neurons in a dish
Investigators at the Scripps Research Institute are making brain waves in the field of neuroscience. Until now, neuroscience research has largely relied on a variety of animal models to understand the complexities of various brain or neuronal diseases. While beneficial for many reasons, animal models do not always allow scientists to understand the precise mechanism … Continue reading Using biological “codes” to generate neurons in a dish
Straight to brain: A better approach to ALS cell therapies?
Getting the go ahead to begin a clinical trial by no means marks an end to a research team’s laboratory studies. A clinical trial is merely one experiment and is designed to answer a specific set of questions about a specific course of treatment. There will inevitably be more questions to pursue back in the … Continue reading Straight to brain: A better approach to ALS cell therapies?
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
The Stem Cellar 