How can something that affects 30 million Americans, one in ten people in the US, be called rare? But that’s the case with people who have a rare disease. There are around 7,000 different diseases that are categorized as rare because they affect fewer than 200,000 people. Less than five percent of these diseases have … Continue reading Breaking the isolation of rare diseases
Cell Type
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
Researchers find connection between aging muscles and mutations in stem cells
It’s a humbling fact of life that our muscles decline as we age which is why you didn’t see any 50-year-olds competing for Olympic Gold in figure skating at the 2018 Winter Games. You can blame your muscle stem cells for this. Also called satellite cells, these adult stem cells lie mostly dormant in muscle … Continue reading Researchers find connection between aging muscles and mutations in stem cells
Scientists repair spinal cord injuries in monkeys using human stem cells
An exciting development for spinal cord injury research was published this week in the journal Nature Medicine. Scientists from the University of San Diego School of Medicine transplanted human neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into rhesus monkeys that had spinal cord injuries. These cells, which are capable of turning into other cells in the brain, survived … Continue reading Scientists repair spinal cord injuries in monkeys using human stem cells
Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Photos of the week TGIF! We’re so excited that the weekend is here that we are sharing not one but TWO amazing stem cell photos of the week. Photo #1 is borrowed from a blog we wrote earlier this week about a new … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s
Stem cell-based gut-on-a-chip: a new path to personalized medicine
“Personalized medicine” is a trendy phrase these days, frequently used in TV ads for hospitals, newspaper articles about medicine’s future and even here in the Stem Cellar. The basic gist is that by analyzing a patient’s unique biology, a physician can use disease treatments that are most likely to work in that individual. This concept … Continue reading Stem cell-based gut-on-a-chip: a new path to personalized medicine
Stem Cell Roundup: Lab-grown meat, stem cell vaccines for cancer and a free kidney atlas for all
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Cool Stem Cell Photo: Kidneys in the spotlight I had to take a second look at this picture when I first saw it. I honestly thought it was someone’s scientific interpretation of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. What this picture actually represents is … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Lab-grown meat, stem cell vaccines for cancer and a free kidney atlas for all
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
A Tribute to Stem Cells on Valentine’s Day
In case you forgot, today is Valentine’s Day. Whether you love, hate, or could care less about this day, you do have one thing in common with our other readers – you’re a fan of stem cells. (If you’re not, then why are you reading this blog??) As a tribute to how awesome and important … Continue reading A Tribute to Stem Cells on Valentine’s Day
In a stem cell first, functioning human kidney structures grown in living animals
One of the ultimate quests in the stem cell field – growing organs to repair diseased or damaged ones – took a significant step forward this week. In a first, researchers at the University of Manchester, in the U.K., showed that human embryonic stem cell-derived kidney tissue forms into functional kidney structures, capable of filtering … Continue reading In a stem cell first, functioning human kidney structures grown in living animals
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