While there have been some encouraging advances in treating cancer in recent decades, there are still many cancers that either resist treatment or recur after treatment. Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved investing in a therapy targeting some of these hard-to-treat tumors. BioEclipse Therapeutics Inc. was awarded nearly … Continue reading Stem cell agency invests in therapy using killer cells to target colorectal, breast and ovarian cancers
Cell Type
How two women are fighting back against Lou Gehrig’s disease
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Mary Ann Wittenberg (left) and Nadia Sethi Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, is a nasty degenerative condition that destroys the brain cells controlling movement. People with ALS suffer a progressive loss of ability to walk, talk, eat and breathe. The average life expectancy for someone diagnosed … Continue reading How two women are fighting back against Lou Gehrig’s disease
UCLA-led team creates first comprehensive map of human blood stem cell development
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Human blood stem cells emerging from specialized endothelial cells in the wall of an embryonic aorta. UCLA scientists’ confirmation of this process clarifies a longstanding controversy about the stem cells’ cellular origin. Image Credit: Hanna Mikkola Lab/UCLA, Katja Schenke-Layland Lab/University of Tübingen, Nature California researchers from … Continue reading UCLA-led team creates first comprehensive map of human blood stem cell development
Turning back the clock to make old skin cells young again
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Dr. Diljeet Gill, photo courtesy Babraham Institute, Cambridge UK Sometimes when I am giving public presentations people ask if stem cells are good for the face. I always say that if stem cells could help improve people’s faces would I look like this. It’s a line … Continue reading Turning back the clock to make old skin cells young again
Recovery from muscle loss injuries hindered by immune cell conflicts
During a game in 2018, Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture that broke both the tibia and fibula in his right leg. The gruesome injury aside, the former 49ers quarterback soon developed life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis — a rare bacterial infection — that resulted in sepsis and required him to undergo 17 surgeries. In a battle to save his … Continue reading Recovery from muscle loss injuries hindered by immune cell conflicts
UC Davis Health researchers aim to use CAR T cells for HIV cure
Dr. Abedi (right) in the lab at UC Davis Health. He and his team of researchers have launched a study looking to identify a potential cure for HIV. Photo Courtesy of UC Davis Health. Worldwide, almost 38 million people are living with HIV—the virus that can lead to AIDS— and it’s estimated that 75% of … Continue reading UC Davis Health researchers aim to use CAR T cells for HIV cure
Promoting stem cell therapies, racial justice, and fish breeding
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Jan Nolta, PhD, in her lab at UC Davis; Photo courtesy UC Davis Working at CIRM, you get to meet many remarkable people, and Jan Nolta, PhD, certainly falls into that category. Jan is the Director of the Stem Cell Program at UC Davis School of Medicine. She … Continue reading Promoting stem cell therapies, racial justice, and fish breeding
How mRNA and CRISPR-Cas9 could treat muscle atrophy
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Researchers use mRNA to introduce the gene editor CRISPR-Cas9 into human muscle stem cells. These cells fused into multinucleated myotubes following mRNA-mediated CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. A myosin heavy chain is seen in green and the nuclei in blue. Photo: Spuler Lab A team of researchers from … Continue reading How mRNA and CRISPR-Cas9 could treat muscle atrophy
HOPE for patients with a muscle destroying disease
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Caleb Sizemore, photo by Todd Dubnicoff Caleb Sizemore says growing up with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) was tough. The disease is a rare genetic disorder that slowly destroys a person’s muscles, impairing their ability to walk or breathe. Eventually it attacks the heart leading to premature … Continue reading HOPE for patients with a muscle destroying disease
Researchers discover promising approach against treatment-resistant cancer
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Photo: Albert Einstein College of Medicine Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have devised a promising strategy for overcoming a key cause of cancer deaths: the ability of cancer cells to thrive in the face of chemotherapy drugs designed to destroy them. There are cells, … Continue reading Researchers discover promising approach against treatment-resistant cancer
The Stem Cellar 