Scientists can take any adult tissue whether skin, blood or nerve and use genetic factors to reprogram them into embryonic-like stem cells. But the Nobel Prize-winning technique does not produce stem cells with equal ability to mature into various tissues needed to repair damage from disease or injury. A team at St. Jude Children’s Research … Continue reading Not all reprogrammed stem cells are the same—an eye-catching example
Creative partnerships that promote progress
Having a good partner can turn something good into something truly memorable. Where would Laurel be without Hardy, Lewis without Clark, Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid. That’s why the stem cell agency has partnerships on a number of different levels as part of our mission of accelerating the development of stem cell cures to … Continue reading Creative partnerships that promote progress
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Immune therapy for HIV, nerves grown on diamonds and how stem cells talk
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. Trendy CAR T therapy tried on HIV. The hottest trend in cancer therapy today is using CAR-T cells to attack and rid the body of … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Immune therapy for HIV, nerves grown on diamonds and how stem cells talk
Protein Revs Up Bone Stem Cells; Points Toward Future Osteoporosis Drug
Take a moment to feel your arm and wrist bones. They’re a lot more like solid rock than the soft stretchy skin that covers them. But bone is very much a living tissue continually being broken down and built back up in a process called bone remodeling. In people with osteoporosis, this balance tips toward … Continue reading Protein Revs Up Bone Stem Cells; Points Toward Future Osteoporosis Drug
High school and middle school teachers use summer to develop stem cell lesson plans.
At CIRM, we have developed programs that try to capture and train budding young scientific minds starting in the upper reaches of k-12 schools, through undergrad college, graduate work and post doctoral training. So, we are thrilled when one of our partner institutions takes on that challenge with a new robust effort. The Buck Institute … Continue reading High school and middle school teachers use summer to develop stem cell lesson plans.
Countdown to a cure for HIV/AIDS: California leads the way
Not so long ago using the words ‘HIV/AIDS’ and ‘cure’ in the same sentence would have been considered inappropriate, even reckless. Although there were many antiretroviral medications that were effective at helping control the virus, there was nothing that was even remotely close to a cure on the horizon. And those therapies that had been … Continue reading Countdown to a cure for HIV/AIDS: California leads the way
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Parkinson’s in a dish, synthetic blood, tracking Huntington’s and cloning
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. 3D nerve model for Parkinson’s. The wave of successes in making more complex tissues in three dimensional lab cultures continues this week with a team … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: Parkinson’s in a dish, synthetic blood, tracking Huntington’s and cloning
New tech tool speeds up stem cell research
It’s hard to do a good job if you don’t have the right tools. Now researchers have access to a great new tool that could really help them accelerate their work, a tool its developers say “will revolutionize the way cell biologists develop” stem cell models to test in the lab. The device is called … Continue reading New tech tool speeds up stem cell research
Using your own tumor to fight skin cancer
Some things never get old. Like watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon. Listening to a baby laugh. Watching the San Francisco Giants win the baseball World Series. Now you can add to that list learning that one of the clinical trials we are funding has just treated their first patient. The latest to join … Continue reading Using your own tumor to fight skin cancer
Fate of our nerve stem cells determined early in embryo so the few we have as adults have very specific roles
Adult nerve stem cells fall in the category of allusive creatures. A few scientists still question their existence and most suggest they exist in small numbers only in one or two locations in the adult brain. In any case, all agree they are not particularly good at the normal function of stem cells—making repairs to … Continue reading Fate of our nerve stem cells determined early in embryo so the few we have as adults have very specific roles
The Stem Cellar 