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. Stories on blindness show too much wide-eyed wonder. While our field got some very good news this week when Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT) published data … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Some good news got a little overplayed on blindness and Alzheimer’s
Disease Areas
UCLA Study Suggests New Way to Mend a Broken Heart
When you suffer a heart attack, your heart-muscle cells become deprived of oxygen. Without oxygen, the cells soon whither and die—and are entombed within scar tissue. And once these cells die, they can’t be brought back to life. But maybe—just maybe—there is another way to build new heart muscle. And if there is, scientists like … Continue reading UCLA Study Suggests New Way to Mend a Broken Heart
The Nose Knows: Stem Cells are Vital Players in Brain Circuits Responsible for Smell
Ah, the mouth-watering scent of freshly baked bread and the intense aroma of roasted coffee beans. You can thank nerve cells in the front of your brain — in direct contact with your nasal passages — that convert odor molecules in the air into brain signals and generate your perception of those wonderful smells. Loss … Continue reading The Nose Knows: Stem Cells are Vital Players in Brain Circuits Responsible for Smell
Cranking it Up to Eleven: Heightened Growth of Neural Stem Cells Linked to Autism-like Behavior
Autism is not one single disease but a suite of many, which is why researchers have long struggled to understand its underlying causes. Often referred to as the Autism Spectrum Disorders, autism has been linked to multiple genetic and environmental factors—different combinations of which can all result in autism or autistic-like behavior. But as we … Continue reading Cranking it Up to Eleven: Heightened Growth of Neural Stem Cells Linked to Autism-like Behavior
Scientists Reach Yet Another Milestone towards Treating Type 1 Diabetes
There was a time when having type 1 diabetes was equivalent to a death sentence. Now, thanks to advances in science and medicine, the disease has shifted from deadly to chronic. But this shift, doctors argue, is not good enough. The disease still poses significant health risks, such as blindness and loss of limbs, as … Continue reading Scientists Reach Yet Another Milestone towards Treating Type 1 Diabetes
These Are the Cells You’re Looking for: Scientists Devise New Way to Extract Bone-Making Stem Cells from Fat
Buried within our fat tissue are stashes of stem cells—a hidden reservoir of cells that, if given the right cues, can transform into cells that make up bone, cartilage or fat. These cells therefore represent a much-needed store for regenerative therapies that rebuild bone or cartilage lost to disease or injury. The only problem with … Continue reading These Are the Cells You’re Looking for: Scientists Devise New Way to Extract Bone-Making Stem Cells from Fat
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart disease, blindness and replacement teeth
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 looks at approaches to blindness. The Scientist published a nice lay level overview of various teams’ work to use stem cells to cure blindness. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart disease, blindness and replacement teeth
The sparrow’s dying song: a possible path toward natural, stem cell-based repair of human brain diseases
Songbird research? How the heck could studying tweeting birds lead to advancements in human health? At a first glance, biological research in other organisms like bacteria, yeast, flies, mice and birds can seem frivolous and a waste of taxpayer money. Yet it’s astonishing how we humans share very similar if not identical functions at a … Continue reading The sparrow’s dying song: a possible path toward natural, stem cell-based repair of human brain diseases
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart disease, premature infants and incontinence
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. Decoding heart health and genetics in Asians. A study from CIRM grantee Joseph Wu at Stanford may point the way to using stem cells to … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: heart disease, premature infants and incontinence
Cells’ Knack for Hoarding Proteins Inadvertently Kickstarts the Aging Process
Even cells need to take out the trash in order to maintain a healthy clean environment. And scientists are now uncovering the harmful effects when cells instead begin to hoard their garbage. Aging, on the cellular level is—at its core—the increasing inability for cells to repair themselves over time. As cells begin to break down … Continue reading Cells’ Knack for Hoarding Proteins Inadvertently Kickstarts the Aging Process
The Stem Cellar 