Most people know that a healthy liver is key for survival. Unfortunately, maintaining a healthy liver isn’t always easy. There are more than 100 different types of liver disease caused by various factors like viral infection, obesity, and genetics. If left untreated, they can progress to end-stage liver disease, also known as cirrhosis, which effects … Continue reading Good from bad: UCSF scientists turn scar-forming cells into healthy liver cells
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Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Summer is almost here and for scientists around the world, that means it’s time to flock to one of the world’s biggest biotech meetings, the BIO International Convention. This year, BIO is hosted in the lovely city of San Francisco. From June 6-9th, over 15,000 biotechnology and pharma leaders, as well as other professionals, academics, … Continue reading Get your BIO on: Sneak Peak of the June 2016 BIO Convention in SF
Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
Cancer cells are devious monsters that kill people by sabotaging normal cell functions toward a path of uncontrolled cell growth. Without an effective treatment, aggressive cancers can crowd out healthy tissue and ultimately cause organ failure and death. This devastation by design makes it seem as though a cancer cell has a mind of its … Continue reading Outsmarting cancer’s deadly tricks
More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
It’s been less than a year since we last reported on the CIRM-funded Asterias Biotherapeutics trial for spinal cord injury (SCI), and we already have more – still preliminary – but good news to share. The company recently released encouraging long-term follow-up results from their original Phase 1 clinical trial that suggest their stem cell … Continue reading More Good News From CIRM-Funded Spinal Cord Injury Trial
What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Have you ever stood in line in a supermarket checkout line and browsed through the magazines stacked conveniently at eye level? (of course you have, we all have). They are always filled with attention-grabbing headlines like “5 Ways to a Slimmer You by Christmas” or “Ten Tips for Rock Hard Abs” (that one doesn’t work … Continue reading What’s the big idea? Or in this case, what’s the 19 big ideas?
Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
Understanding a complicated neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s disease (PD) is no easy task. While there are known genetic risk factors that cause PD, only about 10 percent of cases are linked to a genetic cause. The majority of patients suffer from the sporadic form of PD, where the causes are unknown but thought to be … Continue reading Adding new stem cell tools to the Parkinson’s disease toolbox
Scientists Make Insulin-Secreting Cells from Stem Cells of Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Stem cell research for diabetes is in a Golden Age. In the past few years, scientists have developed methods to generate insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cell-like cells from embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), and even directly from human skin. We’ve covered a number of recent studies in this area on our blog, … Continue reading Scientists Make Insulin-Secreting Cells from Stem Cells of Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine producing brain nerve cells, made from embryonic stem cells Imagine having a treatment for Parkinson’s that acts like a light switch, enabling you to turn it on or off depending on your needs. Well, that’s what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with. And if it works, it might help change … Continue reading Approach that inspires DREADD could create new way to treat Parkinson’s disease
On the Hunt for Huntington’s Disease Treatments in the New Millennium
“Over the next five to ten years, we want to make Huntington’s disease an increasingly treatable condition.” This bold and inspiring statement was made by Dr. Ray Dorsey at the inaugural HD-CARE symposium for Huntington’s disease (HD) research held at UC Irvine last month. The event brought together scientists, doctors, patients, family members, and caregivers … Continue reading On the Hunt for Huntington’s Disease Treatments in the New Millennium
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
The Stem Cellar 