Stem cells offer new drug for blood diseases. A new treatment for blood disorders might be in the works thanks to a stem cell-based study out of Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s hospital. Their study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The teams made induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the skin … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Making blood and muscle from stem cells and helping students realize their “pluripotential”
Muscles
Scientists find new stem cell target for regenerating aging muscles
Today I’m going to use our former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as an example of what happens to our muscles when we age. One of Arnold’s many talents when he was younger was being a professional bodybuilder. As you can see in this photo, Arnold worked hard to generate an impressive amount of muscle that landed … Continue reading Scientists find new stem cell target for regenerating aging muscles
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
Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
As a former stem cell scientist turned science communicator, I love answering science questions no matter how complicated or bizarre. The other day my friend asked me about what CRISPR was and how scientists were using it on stem cells to help people. This got me thinking that it would be cool to do a … Continue reading Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
While You Were Away: Gene Editing Treats Mice with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Welcome back everyone! I hope you enjoyed your holiday and are looking forward to an exciting new year. My favorite thing about coming back from vacation is to see what cool new science was published. Because as you know, science doesn’t take a vacation! As I was reading over the news for this past week, … Continue reading While You Were Away: Gene Editing Treats Mice with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Stem cells could offer hope for deadly childhood muscle wasting disease
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a particularly nasty rare and fatal disease. It predominantly affects boys, slowly robbing them of their ability to control their muscles. By 10 years of age, boys with DMD start to lose the ability to walk; by 12, most need a wheelchair to get around. Eventually they become paralyzed, and … Continue reading Stem cells could offer hope for deadly childhood muscle wasting disease
Mesa talk a reminder the immune system is a two-way street
The second day of the three-day Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa in La Jolla always ends with a public lecture. This year that slot featured no-longer-rising-star, but rather risen star, Jennifer Elisseeff, of Johns Hopkins. She provided a powerful reminder of the power of interdisciplinary research teams. Her career has always mingled cell biology, … Continue reading Mesa talk a reminder the immune system is a two-way street
Study Identifies Safer Stem Cell Therapies
To reject or not reject, that is the question facing the human immune system when new tissue or cells are transplanted into the body. Stem cell-therapy promises hope for many debilitating diseases that currently have no cures. However, the issue of immune rejection has prompted scientists to carefully consider how to develop safe stem cell … Continue reading Study Identifies Safer Stem Cell Therapies
Researchers cool to idea of ice bath after exercise
Have you ever had a great workout, really pushed your body and muscles hard and thought “You know what would be good right now? A nice plunge into an ice bath.” No. Me neither. But some people apparently believe that taking an ice bath after a hard workout can help their muscles rebound and get … Continue reading Researchers cool to idea of ice bath after exercise
The Stem Cellar 