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 vs. Drugs for Treating Deadly Cancer. When dealing with a potentially deadly form of cancer, choosing the right treatment is critical. But what … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: What’s the Best Way to Treat Deadly Cancer, Destroying Red Blood Cells’ Barricade, Profile of CIRM Scientist Denis Evseenko
Cancer
UCSD Team Launches CIRM-Funded Trial to Test Safety of New Leukemia Drug
Ridding weeds from your lawn can be a frustrating experience without a good weeding tool in hand. If you don’t rip out the whole weed, root and all, it’s likely to grow back in no time. Cancer patients and their physicians experience a similar frustration but with deadly consequences. Many current cancer treatment “tools” effectively … Continue reading UCSD Team Launches CIRM-Funded Trial to Test Safety of New Leukemia Drug
A Tumor’s Trojan Horse: CIRM Researchers Build Nanoparticles to Infiltrate Hard-to-Reach Tumors
Some tumors are hard to find, while others are hard to destroy. Fortunately, a new research study from the University of California, Davis, has developed a new type of nanoparticle that could one day do both. Reporting in the latest issue of Nature Communications, researchers in the laboratory of UC Davis’ Dr. Kit Lam describe … Continue reading A Tumor’s Trojan Horse: CIRM Researchers Build Nanoparticles to Infiltrate Hard-to-Reach Tumors
Mapping Metastasis: Scientists Discover how Cancer Cells Colonize Distant Organs
How does cancer spread? How does it traverse from one organ to the next—often undetected—until it has colonized the far reaches of the human body? And more importantly, how can researchers stop this from happening? These questions plague even the most renowned experts, but new research from scientists at Brown University has uncovered clues to … Continue reading Mapping Metastasis: Scientists Discover how Cancer Cells Colonize Distant Organs
Breast Cancer Commandeers Mammary Stem Cells for Own, Nefarious Purposes
Most instances of breast cancer happen later in life—often after menopause. In many cases, the cancer progresses slowly, over a period of months or even years, often giving physicians precious time to implement a treatment plan, successfully battling that cancer into remission. But there is another far more aggressive form of breast cancer that tends … Continue reading Breast Cancer Commandeers Mammary Stem Cells for Own, Nefarious Purposes
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: “Let it Grow” Goes Viral, Stroke Pilot Study, The Bowels of Human Stem Cells, Tumor ‘Safety Lock.’
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. “Let it Grow” Goes Viral (and National!): Last week on The Stem Cellar we shared one of our favorite student videos from our annual Creativity … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: “Let it Grow” Goes Viral, Stroke Pilot Study, The Bowels of Human Stem Cells, Tumor ‘Safety Lock.’
Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Reducing the Risk of Causing Tumors
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. Cell therapy for Parkinson’s advancing to the clinic. A decade-long moratorium on the transplant of fetal nerve tissue into Parkinson’s patient will end in two … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Reducing the Risk of Causing Tumors
The Fatal Flip: How Nerve Cells go from Healthy to Cancerous
Every gene in the human genome has a job to do. One such gene, called Merlin, prevents cells from dividing out of control and forming into tumors. A so-called ‘tumor suppressor,’ Merlin has proven to be essential to maintaining healthy cell division. Scientists knew that without Merlin, nerve cells grew uncontrollably, often leading to tumors … Continue reading The Fatal Flip: How Nerve Cells go from Healthy to Cancerous
Unique Cellular Signal Directs Cells to Gobble Up Toxic Waste; Could Serve as New Weapon to Fight Disease
White blood cells have a lot of work to do. They are our body’s main defense against foreign invaders—and are quite adept at it. Tasked with cleanup duty, they target and destroy cells that have been infected with bacteria, viruses or other harmful, disease-causing pathogens. But as good as they are at their job—they aren’t … Continue reading Unique Cellular Signal Directs Cells to Gobble Up Toxic Waste; Could Serve as New Weapon to Fight Disease
Clever Stem Cells Withstand Chemo Drug’s Harmful Side Effects
For some conditions, it seem that the treatment can cause almost as many problems as than the disease itself. That’s often the case with some forms of cancer, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The most common type of cancer to affect children, treatment usually involves chemotherapy with the drug methotrexate (MTX). And, while effective at … Continue reading Clever Stem Cells Withstand Chemo Drug’s Harmful Side Effects
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