Inflammation is the immune system’s natural protective response to infection and injury. It involves the activation and mobilization of immune cells that can kill off foreign invaders and help repair damaged tissue. At the heart of the inflammatory response are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These are blood stem cells found in the bone marrow that … Continue reading UCSF study explains how chronic inflammation impairs blood stem cell function
Cell Type
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fashionable stem cells, eliminating HIV, cellular Trojan horse fights cancer
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 cell fashion for a cause. Science and art are not mutually exclusive subjects. I know plenty of scientists who are talented painters or designers. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fashionable stem cells, eliminating HIV, cellular Trojan horse fights cancer
Easier, Cheaper Stem Cell-Based Heart Muscle Sets Stage for Large-Scale Drug Development
The great inventions – like the automobile, the Internet or aviation – are marked as important turning points in human history. But it’s usually the additional tinkering that goes on in the ensuing years after the initial invention that makes the technology feasible in terms of cost, reproducibility and mass production. The same holds true … Continue reading Easier, Cheaper Stem Cell-Based Heart Muscle Sets Stage for Large-Scale Drug Development
Scientists tackle aging by stabilizing defective blood stem cells in mice
Aging is an inevitable process that effects every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. You can live longer by maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle, but there is no magic pill that can prevent your body’s natural processes from slowly breaking down and becoming less efficient. As author Chinua Achebe would say, “Things Fall Apart”. … Continue reading Scientists tackle aging by stabilizing defective blood stem cells in mice
Chemo-Induced Heart Failure: Using Stem Cells to Identify Those at Risk
The good news is you’re cancer free, the bad news is you need a heart transplant. It almost sounds like the punchline to a joke, but it’s no laugher matter because the scenario is real for some cancer patients. Chemotherapy is a life saver for many but certain doses can be so toxic that it’s often hard … Continue reading Chemo-Induced Heart Failure: Using Stem Cells to Identify Those at Risk
New study says stem cells derived from older people may have more problems than we thought.
Ever since 2006 when Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka showed that you could take an adult cell, such as those in your skin, and reprogram it to act like an embryonic stem cell, the scientific world has looked at these induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells as a potential game changer. They had the ability to convert … Continue reading New study says stem cells derived from older people may have more problems than we thought.
Diabetes’ demise? Master Switch Identified for Turning Stem Cells into Functional Insulin-Producing Cells
It’s been a good week for diabetes researchers and the over one million Americans with type 1 diabetes who are hoping for an eventual stem cell-based treatment for this incurable disease. Published a day apart, two studies reported on achieving an elusive goal for the field: creating functional insulin-producing cells in a lab dish from induced … Continue reading Diabetes’ demise? Master Switch Identified for Turning Stem Cells into Functional Insulin-Producing Cells
Stem cells from “love-handles” could help diabetes patients
Love handles usually get a bad rap, but this week, a study from Switzerland claims that stem cells taken from the fat tissue of “love handles” could one day benefit diabetes patients. The study, which was published in Nature Communications, generated the much coveted insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS … Continue reading Stem cells from “love-handles” could help diabetes patients
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: more data suggesting iPS cells may be safe, repairing radiation damage, better gene editing and growing organs
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. More evidence suggesting iPS cells safe. Ever since we learned to reprogram adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells called induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) researchers … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: more data suggesting iPS cells may be safe, repairing radiation damage, better gene editing and growing organs
Patient Advocates find their voice in a different language
Packed house for stem cell conference in Tokyo - Adrienne Shapiro front row, second from right One of the many wonderful things about travel is that it opens up your eyes and mind to the fact that, while there are many ways in which people around the world differ from each other, there are also … Continue reading Patient Advocates find their voice in a different language
The Stem Cellar 