A really eggciting science story came out early this week that’s received a lot of attention. Scientists in Japan reported in the journal Nature that they’ve generated egg cells from mouse stem cells, and these eggs could be fertilized and developed into living, breathing mice. This is the first time that scientists have reported the … Continue reading Eggciting News: Scientists developed fertilized eggs from mouse stem cells
Research News
From Pig Parts to Stem Cells: Scientist Douglas Melton Wins Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize for Work on Diabetes
Since the 1920s, insulin injections have remained the best solution for managing type 1 diabetes. Patients with this disease do not make enough insulin – a hormone that regulates the sugar levels in your blood – because the insulin-producing cells, or beta cells, in their pancreas are destroyed. Back then, it took two tons of … Continue reading From Pig Parts to Stem Cells: Scientist Douglas Melton Wins Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize for Work on Diabetes
Stem Cell Experts Discuss the Ethical Implications of Translating iPSCs to the Clinic
Part of The Stem Cellar blog series on 10 years of iPSCs. This year, scientists are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Shinya Yamanaka’s Nobel Prize winning discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These are cells that are very similar biologically to embryonic stem cells and can develop into any cell in the body. iPSCs … Continue reading Stem Cell Experts Discuss the Ethical Implications of Translating iPSCs to the Clinic
CIRM’s Randy Mills: New FDA rules for stem cells won’t fix the problem
For the last two days the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been holding a hearing in Bethesda, Maryland on new regulations that would tighten control over stem cell treatments. The FDA invited public testimony during the hearing on the regulations that would impact many of the clinics that currently offer unproven therapies The testimony … Continue reading CIRM’s Randy Mills: New FDA rules for stem cells won’t fix the problem
Young man with spinal cord injury regains use of hands and arms after stem cell therapy
Hope is such a fragile thing. We cling to it in bad times. It offers us a sense that we can bear whatever hardships we are facing today, and that tomorrow will be better. Kris Boesen knows all about holding on to hope during bad times. On March 6th of this year he was left … Continue reading Young man with spinal cord injury regains use of hands and arms after stem cell therapy
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: functioning liver tissue, making new bone, stem cells and mental health
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. Functioning liver tissue. Scientists are looking to stem cells as a potential alternative treatment to liver transplantation for patients with end-stage liver disease. Efforts are … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: functioning liver tissue, making new bone, stem cells and mental health
Clearing the first hurdle: spinal cord injury trial passes safety review
Starting a clinical trial is like taking a step into the unknown. It’s moving a potential therapy out of the lab and testing it in people. To reach this point the researchers have done a lot of work trying to ensure the therapy is safe. But that work was done in the lab, and on … Continue reading Clearing the first hurdle: spinal cord injury trial passes safety review
Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders
If you’re taking a road trip across the country, you have a starting point and an ending point. How you go from point A to point B could be one of a million different routes, but the ultimate outcome is the same: reaching your final destination. Yesterday scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital published … Continue reading Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders
Unlocking the secrets of how stem cells decide what kind of cell they’re going to be
Before joining CIRM I thought OCT4 was a date on the calendar. But a new study says it may be a lot closer to a date with destiny, because this study says OCT4 helps determine what kinds of cell a stem cell will become. Now, before we go any further I should explain for people … Continue reading Unlocking the secrets of how stem cells decide what kind of cell they’re going to be
Cloning breakthrough: Dolly the sheep has sister clones and they’re healthy
On the topic of famous farm animals, a few come to mind: Babe the pig, Old Yeller, Mr. Ed, and the cast of Charlotte’s Web. Many of us grew up with these fictional characters and hold them near and dear to our heart, but what about real, living farm animals? The first that comes to … Continue reading Cloning breakthrough: Dolly the sheep has sister clones and they’re healthy
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