The human spinal cord is an information highway that relays movement-related instructions from the brain to the rest of the body and sensory information from the body back to the brain. What keeps this highway flowing is a long tube of nerve cells and support cells bundled together within the spine. When the spinal cord … Continue reading Scientists make stem cell-derived nerve cells damaged in spinal cord injury
stem cell research
Stem Cell Patient Advocates, Scientists and Doctors Unite Around a Common Cause
Some phrases just bring a smile to your face: “It’s a girl/boy”, “Congratulations, you got the job”, and “Another beer sir?” (or maybe that last one is just me). One other phrase that makes me smile is “packed house”. That’s why I was smiling so much at our Patient Advocate Event at UC San Diego … Continue reading Stem Cell Patient Advocates, Scientists and Doctors Unite Around a Common Cause
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: developing the nervous system, aging stem cells and identical twins not so identical
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! New theory for how the nervous system develops. There’s a new theory on the block for how the nervous system is formed thanks to a study published yesterday by UCLA stem cell scientists in the journal Neuron. The theory centers around axons, thin … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: developing the nervous system, aging stem cells and identical twins not so identical
jCyte starts second phase of stem cell clinical trial targeting vision loss
Studies show that Americans fear losing their vision more than any other sense, such as hearing or speech, and almost as much as they fear cancer, Alzheimer’s and HIV/AIDS. That’s not too surprising. Our eyes are our connection to the world around us. Sever that connection, and the world is a very different place. For … Continue reading jCyte starts second phase of stem cell clinical trial targeting vision loss
Live streaming genes in living cells coming to a computer near you!
Christmas has come early to scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. They’ve developed a technology that allows you to watch how individual genes move and interact in living cells. You can think of it as Facebook’s live streaming meets the adventurous Ms. Frizzle and her Magic School Bus. Using a gene editing … Continue reading Live streaming genes in living cells coming to a computer near you!
Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.
Type in the phrase “the power of the patient voice” in any online search engine and you’ll generate thousands of articles and posts about the importance of listening to what patients have to say. The articles are on websites run by a diverse group from patients and researchers, to advocacy organizations and pharmaceutical companies. Everyone … Continue reading Listening is fine. Action is better. Why patients want more than just a chance to have their say.
Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Free Patient Advocate Event in San Diego, and new clues on how to fix muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease
Stem cell research is advancing so fast that it’s sometimes hard to keep up. That’s one of the reasons we have our Friday roundup, to let you know about some fascinating research that came across our desk during the week that you might otherwise have missed. Of course, another way to keep up with the … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught Our Eye: Free Patient Advocate Event in San Diego, and new clues on how to fix muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease
A life-threatening childhood disease and the CIRM-funded team seeking a stem cell cure featured in new video
“My hope for Brooke is she can one day look back and we have to remind her of the disease she once had.” That’s Clay Emerson’s biggest hope for his young daughter Brooke, who has cystinosis, a life-threatening genetic disease that appears by the age of two and over time causes damage to many organs, … Continue reading A life-threatening childhood disease and the CIRM-funded team seeking a stem cell cure featured in new video
Creating partnerships to help get stem cell therapies over the finish line
Trying to go it alone is never easy. Imagine how far Lewis would have got without Clark, or the two of them without Sacagawea. Would Batman have succeeded without Robin; Mickey without Minnie Mouse? Having a partner whose skills and expertise complements yours just makes things easier. That’s why some recent news about two CIRM-funded … Continue reading Creating partnerships to help get stem cell therapies over the finish line
Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
Sometimes a solution to a disease doesn’t come in the form of a drug or a stem cell therapy, but from within ourselves. Yesterday, scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden reported an alternative strategy for treating Parkinson’s disease that involves reprogramming specific cells in the brain into the nerve cells killed off by the … Continue reading Could the Answer to Treating Parkinson’s Disease Come From Within the Brain?
The Stem Cellar 