In California, 690,000 people aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia. In the United States, 5.8 million people aged 65 and older live with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's affects memory, thinking and behavior and symptoms eventually grow in severity to interfere with daily tasks. … Continue reading Study reveals new evidence of key mechanism in Alzheimer’s
brain cells
Teaching stem cells to play video games
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Pong video game Back when I was growing up, shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs, there was a popular video game called Pong. It was, in fact, pretty much the only video game at the time. It was a pretty simple game. You moved a “paddle” … Continue reading Teaching stem cells to play video games
Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision
Two cell embryo There are many unknown elements for what triggers the cells in an embryo to start dividing and multiplying and becoming every single cell in the body. Now researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco have uncovered one of those elements, how embryos determine which cells become the head and which the … Continue reading Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision
Using biological “codes” to generate neurons in a dish
Investigators at the Scripps Research Institute are making brain waves in the field of neuroscience. Until now, neuroscience research has largely relied on a variety of animal models to understand the complexities of various brain or neuronal diseases. While beneficial for many reasons, animal models do not always allow scientists to understand the precise mechanism … Continue reading Using biological “codes” to generate neurons in a dish
Scientist grow diseased brain cells in bulk to study Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
Daily trips to the local grocery store have become a thing of the past for many with the rise of wholesale stores like Costco and online giants like Amazon. Buying in bulk is attractive for people who lead busy lives, have large families, or just love having endless pairs of clean socks. Scientists who study … Continue reading Scientist grow diseased brain cells in bulk to study Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
New stem cell technique gives brain support cells a starring role
Astrocytes are some of the most common cells in the brain and central nervous system but they often get overlooked because they play a supporting role to the more glamorous neurons (even though they outnumber them around 50 to 1). But a new way of growing those astrocytes outside the brain could help pave the … Continue reading New stem cell technique gives brain support cells a starring role
The Stem Cellar 