Diseases of the brain have many different names, from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to ALS and Huntington’s, but they often have similar causes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco are using that knowledge to try and find an approach that might be effective against all of these diseases. In a new CIRM-funded study, … Continue reading Using stem cells to fix bad behavior in the brain
Cell Type
Pregnant women’s stem cells could help battle brittle bone diseases like osteoporosis
Sometimes I wonder how a scientist ever came up with an idea for a potential treatment. Case in point is a study in the journal Scientific Reports, where researchers use stem cells from the amniotic fluid of a pregnant woman to cure osteoporosis in mice! What researcher, seeing a pregnant woman, thought to her or … Continue reading Pregnant women’s stem cells could help battle brittle bone diseases like osteoporosis
Stem cell-derived pacemaker cells could help weak hearts keep the beat
In an average lifetime, the human heart dutifully beats more than 2.5 billion times. You can thank an area of the heart called the sinoatrial node, or SAN, which acts as the heart’s natural pacemaker. The SAN is made up of specialized heart muscle cells that, like a conductor leading an orchestra, dictates the rate … Continue reading Stem cell-derived pacemaker cells could help weak hearts keep the beat
Understanding two heart problems by studying the domino effect of one gene network
Although heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, are specialized to help pump blood to the organs, they nonetheless carry all the genetic instructions for becoming a nerve cell, an intestinal cell, a liver or any cell type in the body. But at the moment in time that the fetal heart begins to develop, master switch proteins, … Continue reading Understanding two heart problems by studying the domino effect of one gene network
California’s stem cell agency rounds up the year with two more big hits
It’s traditional to end the year with a look back at what you hoped to accomplish and an assessment of what you did. By that standard 2016 has been a pretty good year for us at CIRM. Yesterday our governing Board approved funding for two new clinical trials, one to help kidney transplant patients, the … Continue reading California’s stem cell agency rounds up the year with two more big hits
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: insights into stem cell biology through telomeres, reprogramming and lung disease
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. Telomeres and stem cell stability: too much of a good thing Just like those plastic tips at the end of shoelaces (fun fact: they’re called … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: insights into stem cell biology through telomeres, reprogramming and lung disease
Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies
In science, there are a lot of terms that could easily mystify people without a research background; “translational” is not one of them. Translational research simply means to take findings from basic research and advance them into something that is ready to be tested in people in a clinical trial. Yesterday our Governing Board approved … Continue reading Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies
A single protein can boost blood stem cell regeneration
Today, CIRM-funded scientists from the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center reported in Nature Medicine that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) - blood stem cells that generate the cell in your blood and immune system - get a helping hand after injury from cells in the bone marrow called bone progenitor cells. By secreting a protein called dickkopf-1 … Continue reading A single protein can boost blood stem cell regeneration
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: glowing stem cells and new insights into Zika and SCID
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. Glowing stem cells help scientists understand how cells work. (Karen Ring) It’s easy to notice when something is going wrong. It’s a lot harder to … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: glowing stem cells and new insights into Zika and SCID
Key Steps Along the Way To Finding Treatments for HIV on World AIDS Day
Today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day. It's a day to acknowledge the progress that is being made in HIV prevention and treatment around the world but also to renew our commitment to a future free of HIV. This year's theme is Leadership. Commitment. Impact. At CIRM we are funding a number of projects focused … Continue reading Key Steps Along the Way To Finding Treatments for HIV on World AIDS Day
The Stem Cellar 