Mighty mouse muscle cells We are often told that sleep is one of the most important elements of a healthy lifestyle, that it helps in the healing and repair of our heart and blood vessels – among other things. It turns out that sleep, or something very similar, is equally important for stem cells, helping … Continue reading Helping stem cells sleep can boost their power to heal
Cell Type
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: reducing radiation damage, making good cartilage, watching muscle repair and bar coding cells
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. Stem cells key to reducing radiation damage. With the anniversary of Hiroshima and President Obama’s historic visit to the site all over the news this … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: reducing radiation damage, making good cartilage, watching muscle repair and bar coding cells
Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
Cancer cells are devious monsters that kill people by sabotaging normal cell functions toward a path of uncontrolled cell growth. Without an effective treatment, aggressive cancers can crowd out healthy tissue and ultimately cause organ failure and death. This devastation by design makes it seem as though a cancer cell has a mind of its … Continue reading Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
It’s been less than a year since we last reported on the CIRM-funded Asterias Biotherapeutics trial for spinal cord injury (SCI), and we already have more – still preliminary – but good news to share. The company recently released encouraging long-term follow-up results from their original Phase 1 clinical trial that suggest their stem cell … Continue reading More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
In the Stem Cellar: making better blood stem cells, a heart guard, iPS model points to ALS drug and tracking cells
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. Major step in creating blood stem cells. If you track stem cells in any online news search, your feed perpetually will have numerous posts about … Continue reading In the Stem Cellar: making better blood stem cells, a heart guard, iPS model points to ALS drug and tracking cells
What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Have you ever stood in line in a supermarket checkout line and browsed through the magazines stacked conveniently at eye level? (of course you have, we all have). They are always filled with attention-grabbing headlines like “5 Ways to a Slimmer You by Christmas” or “Ten Tips for Rock Hard Abs” (that one doesn’t work … Continue reading What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
Understanding a complicated neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s disease (PD) is no easy task. While there are known genetic risk factors that cause PD, only about 10 percent of cases are linked to a genetic cause. The majority of patients suffer from the sporadic form of PD, where the causes are unknown but thought to be … Continue reading Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Zika virus and brain stem cells, new guidelines, re-growing tails and better iPS cells
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. Three more studies on Zika and brain stem cells. It’s heartening to see how quickly the scientific community has reacted to the recent Zika virus … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Zika virus and brain stem cells, new guidelines, re-growing tails and better iPS cells
Scientists Make Insulin-Secreting Cells from Stem Cells of Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Stem cell research for diabetes is in a Golden Age. In the past few years, scientists have developed methods to generate insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cell-like cells from embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), and even directly from human skin. We’ve covered a number of recent studies in this area on our blog, … Continue reading Scientists Make Insulin-Secreting Cells from Stem Cells of Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine producing brain nerve cells, made from embryonic stem cells Imagine having a treatment for Parkinson’s that acts like a light switch, enabling you to turn it on or off depending on your needs. Well, that’s what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with. And if it works, it might help change … Continue reading Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease