In October 2019, 20-year-old Jordan Janz became the first person in the world to receive an experimental therapy for cystinosis. Cystinosis is a rare genetic disorder characterized by the accumulation of an amino acid called cystine in different tissues and organs of the body including the kidneys, eyes, muscles, liver, pancreas, and brain. This accumulation … Continue reading An experimental gene therapy with a hairy twist
white blood cells
Novel clinical trial for COVID-19 using immune cells
This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (yellow)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (blue/pink) cultured in the lab. Image Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-Rocky Mountain Laboratories During this global pandemic, many scientists are pursuing various avenues for … Continue reading Novel clinical trial for COVID-19 using immune cells
New hope for stem cell therapy in patients with leukemia
Of the many different kinds of cancer that affect humans, leukemia is the most common in young people. As with many types cancer, doctors mostly turn to chemotherapy to treat patients. Chemotherapy, however, comes with its own share of issues, primarily severe side effects and the constant threat of disease recurrence. Stem cell therapy treatment … Continue reading New hope for stem cell therapy in patients with leukemia
Avoiding drug trial tragedies: new stem cell-based test predicts dangerous drug toxicity
In 2006 Ryan Wilson, a healthy 20 year old Londoner, volunteered for a first-in-human clinical trial to help test the safety of a new drug, TGN1412, intended to treat rheumatoid arthritis and leukemia. The cash he’d get in exchange for his time would help fund his upcoming vacation. Instead, he nearly died. Even though the … Continue reading Avoiding drug trial tragedies: new stem cell-based test predicts dangerous drug toxicity
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Scientists Work to Create Improved Immune System One Cell at a Time
The human immune system is the body’s best defense against invaders. But even our hardy immune systems can sometimes be outpaced by particularly dangerous bacteria, viruses or other pathogens, or even by cancer. But what if we could give our immune system a boost when it needs it most? Last week scientists at the Salk … Continue reading Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Scientists Work to Create Improved Immune System One Cell at a Time
Unique Cellular Signal Directs Cells to Gobble Up Toxic Waste; Could Serve as New Weapon to Fight Disease
White blood cells have a lot of work to do. They are our body’s main defense against foreign invaders—and are quite adept at it. Tasked with cleanup duty, they target and destroy cells that have been infected with bacteria, viruses or other harmful, disease-causing pathogens. But as good as they are at their job—they aren’t … Continue reading Unique Cellular Signal Directs Cells to Gobble Up Toxic Waste; Could Serve as New Weapon to Fight Disease
Out with the Old and in with the New: Starvation Sparks Stem Cells to Replenish Immune System
New research from California scientists has revealed a startling side effect to prolonged starvation, or fasting. In the latest issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists from the University of Southern California describe how fasting triggers the human immune system to flush out old, damaged cells and replace them with new ones. This marks … Continue reading Out with the Old and in with the New: Starvation Sparks Stem Cells to Replenish Immune System
The Stem Cellar 