For decades, it’s been a molecular mystery that scientists were seemingly unable to solve: how do large molecules pass through the cell and into the nucleus, while others half their size remain stranded outside? But as reported in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology, researchers now believe they may have cracked the case. By shedding … Continue reading Speak Friend and Enter: How Cells Let the Right Travelers through their Doors
Disease Areas
Shape-Shifting Cells Drive Bone Healing; Point to New Method of Correcting Bone Deformities
There’s a time to grow and a time to heal—and the cells that make up our bone and cartilage have impeccable timing. During childhood and adolescence, these cells work to grow the bones longer and stronger. Once we’ve reached adulthood, they shift focus to repair and healing. This is part of why children with bone … Continue reading Shape-Shifting Cells Drive Bone Healing; Point to New Method of Correcting Bone Deformities
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: organ replacement, ovarian cancer and repairing damaged hearts.
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. Numbers on organ shortage and review of lab replacements. Vox, the four-month-old web site, is rapidly becoming a credible news source with more than five … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: organ replacement, ovarian cancer and repairing damaged hearts.
10 Years/10 Therapies: 10 Years after its Founding CIRM will have 10 Therapies Approved for Clinical Trials
In 2004, when 59 percent of California voters approved the creation of CIRM, our state embarked on an unprecedented experiment: providing concentrated funding to a new, promising area of research. The goal: accelerate the process of getting therapies to patients, especially those with unmet medical needs. Having 10 potential treatments expected to be approved for … Continue reading 10 Years/10 Therapies: 10 Years after its Founding CIRM will have 10 Therapies Approved for Clinical Trials
UCLA team cures infants of often-fatal “bubble baby” disease by inserting gene in their stem cells; sickle cell disease is next target
Poopy diapers, ear-splitting cries, and sleepless nights: sure, the first few weeks of parenthood are grueling but those other moments of cuddling and kissing your little baby are pure bliss. That wasn’t the case for Alysia and Christian Padilla-Vacarro of Corona, California. Close contact with their infant daughter Evangelina, born in 2012, was off limits. … Continue reading UCLA team cures infants of often-fatal “bubble baby” disease by inserting gene in their stem cells; sickle cell disease is next target
Spinal cord injury and stem cell research; find out the latest in a Google Hangout
Spinal cord injuries are devastating, leaving the person injured facing a life time of challenges, and placing a huge strain on their family and loved ones who help care for them. The numbers affected are not small. More than a quarter of a million Americans are living with spinal cord injuries and there are more … Continue reading Spinal cord injury and stem cell research; find out the latest in a Google Hangout
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: gene editing tools, lung repair in COPD and big brains
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. Review of the many ways to edit defective genes. Nature’s news section did a nice review of the many ways blood-forming stem cells can be … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: gene editing tools, lung repair in COPD and big brains
More Than Meets the Eye: Protein that Keeps Cancer in Check also Plays Direct Role in Stem Cell Biology, a Stanford Study Finds.
Here’s a startling fact: the retinoblastoma protein —Rb, for short — is defective or missing in nearly all cancers. Rb is called a tumor suppressor because it prevents excessive cell growth by acting as a crucial traffic stop for the cell cycle, a process that controls the timing for a cell to divide and multiply. … Continue reading More Than Meets the Eye: Protein that Keeps Cancer in Check also Plays Direct Role in Stem Cell Biology, a Stanford Study Finds.
Creating a Genetic Model for Autism, with a Little Help from the Tooth Fairy
One of the most complex aspects of autism is that it is not one disease—but many. Known more accurately as the autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, experts have long been trying to tease apart the various ways in which the condition manifests in children, with limited success. But now, using the latest stem cell technology, … Continue reading Creating a Genetic Model for Autism, with a Little Help from the Tooth Fairy
CIRM Scientists Discover Key to Blood Cells’ Building Blocks
Our bodies generate new blood cells—both red and white blood cells—each and every day. But reproducing that feat in a petri dish has proven far more difficult. But now, scientists have identified the missing ingredient to producing hematopoietic stem cells, or HSC’s—the type of stem cell that gives rise to all blood and immune cells … Continue reading CIRM Scientists Discover Key to Blood Cells’ Building Blocks
The Stem Cellar 