Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres, motor neurons from skin, and students today, stem cell scientists tomorrow

Short telomeres associated with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle wasting disease that typically affects young men. There is no cure for DMD and the average life expectancy is 26. These are troubling facts that scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are hoping to change with their recent findings in … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres, motor neurons from skin, and students today, stem cell scientists tomorrow

Stories that caught our eye last week: dying cells trigger stem cells, CRISPR videogames and an obesity-stem cell link

A dying cell’s last breath triggers stem cell division. Most cells in your body are in a constant state of turnover. The cells of your lungs, for instance, replace themselves every 2 to 3 weeks and, believe it or not, you get a new intestine every 2 to 3 days. We can thank adult stem cells … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye last week: dying cells trigger stem cells, CRISPR videogames and an obesity-stem cell link

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: bubble baby therapy a go in UK, in-utero stem cell trial and novel heart disease target

There were lots of CIRM mentions in the news this week. Here are two brief recaps written by Karen Ring to get you up to speed. A third story by Todd Dubnicoff summarizes an promising finding related to heart disease by researchers in Singapore.   CIRM-funded “bubble baby” disease therapy gets special designation by UK. … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: bubble baby therapy a go in UK, in-utero stem cell trial and novel heart disease target

CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: stomach bacteria & cancer; vitamin C may block leukemia; stem cells bring down a 6’2″ 246lb football player

Stomach bacteria crank up stem cell renewal, may be link to gastric cancer (Todd Dubnicoff) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that two-thirds of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori, a type of bacteria that thrives in the harsh acidic conditions of the stomach. Data accumulated over the past few decades … Continue reading CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: stomach bacteria & cancer; vitamin C may block leukemia; stem cells bring down a 6’2″ 246lb football player

CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: minibrain model of childhood disease; new immune insights; patient throws out 1st pitch

New human Mini-brain model of devastating childhood disease. The eradication of Aicardi-Goutieres Syndrome (AGS) can’t come soon enough. This rare but terrible inherited disease causes the immune system to attack the brain. The condition leads to microcephaly (an abnormal small head and brain size), muscle spasms, vision problems and joint stiffness during infancy. Death or … Continue reading CIRM weekly stem cell roundup: minibrain model of childhood disease; new immune insights; patient throws out 1st pitch

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: skin grafts fight diabetes, reprogramming the immune system, and Asterias expands spinal cord injury trial sites

Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Skin grafts fight diabetes and obesity. An interesting new gene therapy strategy for fighting type 1 diabetes and obesity surfaced this week. Scientists from the University of Chicago made genetically engineered skin grafts that secrete a peptide hormone called glucagon-liked peptide-1 (GLP-1). This … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: skin grafts fight diabetes, reprogramming the immune system, and Asterias expands spinal cord injury trial sites

Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics

Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Enjoy! Scientists claim first CRISPR editing of human embryos in the US. Here’s the big story this week. Scientists from Portland, Oregon claim they genetically modified human embryos using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. While their results have yet to be published in … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught our Eye: CRISPRing Human Embryos, brain stem cells slow aging & BrainStorm ALS trial joins CIRM Alpha Clinics

Stem Cell Roundup: Battle of the Biotech Bands, “Cells I See” Art Contest and Teaching Baseball Fans the Power of Stem Cells

This Friday’s stem cell roundup is dedicated to the playful side of stem cell science. Scientists are often stereotyped as lab recluses who honorably forgo social lives in the quest to make game-changing discoveries and advance cutting-edge research. But as a former bench scientist, I can attest that scientists are normal people too. They might … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Battle of the Biotech Bands, “Cells I See” Art Contest and Teaching Baseball Fans the Power of Stem Cells

Stories that caught our eye: Spinal cord injury trial milestone, iPS for early cancer diagnosis, and storing videos in DNA

Spinal cord injury clinical trial hits another milestone (Kevin McCormack) We began the week with good news about our CIRM-funded clinical trial with Asterias for spinal cord injury, and so it’s nice to end the week with more good news from that same trial. On Wednesday, Asterias announced it had completed enrolling and dosing patients … Continue reading Stories that caught our eye: Spinal cord injury trial milestone, iPS for early cancer diagnosis, and storing videos in DNA

Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: perfecting pluripotency, building a spinal cord, and CIRM Board funds new clinical trials

Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week.  Perfecting Pluripotency in stem cells. The power of pluripotent stem cells lies in their ability to become any cell type in the body. But how did they get this impressive power? Scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland think they might have … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories that Caught Our Eye: perfecting pluripotency, building a spinal cord, and CIRM Board funds new clinical trials