Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of California, San Diego have found parallels between how the pancreas develops in the embryo and type II diabetes (also known as adult diabetes). When the pancreas develops in an embryo, a protein called Wnt (pronounced “wint) helps control how the cells mature into … Continue reading Protein in Pancreas May Lead to New Therapy for Type II Diabetes

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have coaxed cells from the brain to mature into the minute hair cells in the ear that are required for hearing. For many people with hearing loss, these tiny hair cells have died, leaving people unable to sense vibrations caused by sound. Regrowing functional hair cells that will … Continue reading Neural Cells Can Mature into Ear Sensory Cells

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences have grown embryonic stem cells into the motor neurons and support cells that underlie amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease, ALS has no cure and no effective treatment. In this disease, the motor neurons slowly degenerate leaving a person paralyzed. Why the neurons … Continue reading Embryonic Stem Cells Generate Model for ALS

Researchers at UC, Los Angeles have found that blood-forming stem cells in mice have their origins in the endothelial cells that line blood vessels during mid-gestation. These cells eventually move to the bone marrow where they generate all the cells of the blood system throughout life. Researchers have long known that blood-forming stem cells arise … Continue reading Origin of blood stem cells found to be in the lining of blood vessels

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that clusters of embryonic stem cells in a lab dish share some unexpected similarities with actual embryos. These clumps, called embryoid bodies, consist of hundreds of cells, many of which begin to form more mature cell types. For example, they often contain groups of primitive … Continue reading Protein found to direct embryonic stem cells as they mature

Researchers at UC, San Francisco developed a novel way of finding out the role of DNA-relatives called microRNA. These molecules are known to turn genes on and off and appear to regulate whether embryonic stem cells remain as stem cells or develop into mature cell types, but learning which genes are controlled by each microRNA … Continue reading Genetic Factors Found to Speed Embryonic Stem Cell Division

Researchers at UC, Los Angeles have created cells that go on to form normal T cells out of human embryonic stem cells. What’s more, these cells were grown in the absence of animal feeder cells, which are usually needed to sustain embryonic stem cells. Avoiding potential contamination by such feeder cells is an important step … Continue reading Early immune cells created from embryonic stem cells

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have created new stem cell lines from cells found in the human testes. Like embryonic stem cells, these cell lines are pluripotent, which means that they can form all cell types in the adult body. The work follows similar research finding that adult stem cells in mouse testes … Continue reading New Stem Cell Lines Created from Testes Biopsy

Researchers at the The Scripps Research Institute found a new way of classifying the many cell types that fall under the category of “stem cells.” The term stem cell refers to tissue specific stem cells found in mature tissues such as blood, brain, or muscle, which are restricted to forming only cells found in those … Continue reading Genetic Profile Distinguishes Types of Stem Cells

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that human embryonic stem cells trigger an immune response much like organ rejection when transplanted into mice. In the past, researchers had thought that transplanted embryonic stem cells might not be rejected the way transplanted organs are. Testing this theory, the team found that after … Continue reading Human Embryonic Stem Cells Trigger Immune Reaction in Mice