Stem cell stories that caught our eye: How Zika may impact adult brains; Move over CRISPR there’s a new kid in town; How our bodies store fat

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. Zika virus could impact adult brains It’s not just a baby’s developing brain that is vulnerable to the Zika virus, adult brains may be too. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: How Zika may impact adult brains; Move over CRISPR there’s a new kid in town; How our bodies store fat

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Blood stem cells on a diet, Bladder control after spinal cord injuries, new ALS insights

Putting blood stem cells on a diet. (Karen Ring) Scientists from Stanford and the University of Tokyo have figured out a new way to potentially make bone marrow transplants more safe. Published yesterday in the journal Science, the teams discovered that removing an essential amino acid, called valine, from the diets of mice depleted their … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Blood stem cells on a diet, Bladder control after spinal cord injuries, new ALS insights

How the Ice Bucket Challenge changed the fight against ALS

200 people in Boston take the Ice Bucket Challenge: Photo courtesy Forbes A couple of years ago millions of people did something they probably never thought they would: they dumped a bucket of ice cold water on their head to raise awareness about a disease most of them had probably never heard of, and almost … Continue reading How the Ice Bucket Challenge changed the fight against ALS

Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

CIRM kicked off the 2016 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Conference in San Francisco with a public stem cell event yesterday that brought scientists, patients, patient advocates and members of the general public together to discuss the many ways stem cells are being used in the clinic to develop treatments for patients with … Continue reading Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: hopeful stroke data, new target for muscular dystrophy and a rave from Silicon Valley

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. Stroke study offers hope.  The dogma in stroke recovery says six months after the event patients will have recovered as much as they ever will. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: hopeful stroke data, new target for muscular dystrophy and a rave from Silicon Valley

UCSD scientists find new clue into how Zika virus impairs brain development

In April of this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced their conclusion that Zika virus causes microcephaly, a birth defect that results in abnormal brain development and a smaller sized head in infants. Rather than a single study being responsible for their conclusion, the CDC argued that “mounting evidence” from multiple … Continue reading UCSD scientists find new clue into how Zika virus impairs brain development

An inside look reveals the adult brain prunes its own branches

Did you know that when you’re born, your brain contains around 100 billion nerve cells? This is impressive considering that these nerve cells, also called neurons, are already connected to each other through an intricate, complex neural network that is essential for brain function. Here’s how the brain does it. During development, neural stem cells … Continue reading An inside look reveals the adult brain prunes its own branches

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Trifecta of nerve news on aging, Parkinson’s and myelin diseases, also expanding cord blood

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. To save nerves, make them slow down. Nerves, like all cells, constantly make protein, but that task uses up a lot of energy and older … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Trifecta of nerve news on aging, Parkinson’s and myelin diseases, also expanding cord blood

Double dose of good news: scientists use drugs to turn skin into heart and brain cells

Today the stem cell field got a double dose of good news. Two CIRM-funded studies from the Gladstone Institutes reported successfully reprogramming human skin into heart cells and brain cells in a dish using different cocktails of small molecule drugs. The work was led by Dr. Sheng Ding, a Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes. … Continue reading Double dose of good news: scientists use drugs to turn skin into heart and brain cells

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