Embryonic Stem Cell News and Research

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NIH grants aim at creating 3-D tissue chips to help identify drug safety signals

Seventeen National Institutes of Health grants are aimed at creating 3-D chips with living cells and tissues that accurately model the structure and function of human organs such as the lung, liver and heart. Once developed, these tissue chips will be tested with compounds known to be safe or toxic in humans to help identify the most reliable drug safety signals - ultimately advancing research to help predict the safety of potential drugs in a faster, more cost-effective way.

25 Jul 2012

Scientists demonstrate link between cancer and faulty differentiation of stem cells

Stem cells hold great promise for the medicine of the future, but they can also be a cause of disease. When these self-renewing, unspecialized cells fail to differentiate into diverse cell types, they can start dividing uncontrollably, leading to cancer. Already several decades ago, Weizmann Institute scientists were among the first to demonstrate the link between cancer and the faulty differentiation of stem cells. Now a new Weizmann Institute-led study, published in Molecular Cell, reveals a potential molecular mechanism behind this link.

24 Jul 2012

Placenta-derived endothelial colony-forming cells are more vasculogenic: Study

A study comparing whether endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) derived from human placenta or those derived from human umbilical cord blood are more proliferative and better for forming new blood vessels has found that ECFCs derived from human placenta are more vasculogenic.

20 Jul 2012

New research sheds light on pluripotency

New research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem sheds light on pluripotency-the ability of embryonic stem cells to renew themselves indefinitely and to differentiate into all types of mature cells.

19 Jul 2012

Scientists discover new way to convert cord blood cells into iNC

For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.

17 Jul 2012

InvivoSciences, WUSTL to construct artificial tissue models for heart failure

The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than $2 million to a team of scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and InvivoSciences, a biotechnology startup with WUSTL roots, to construct artificial tissue models that will allow the rapid testing of new drugs for heart failure.

17 Jul 2012

ACT treats fourth patient in U.S. clinical trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, today announced treatment of the fourth patient, the first in the second patient cohort, in its U.S. clinical trial for Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD).

13 Jul 2012

Study shows cells from different Parkinson’s patients have unique drug responses

Researchers have taken a step toward personalized medicine for Parkinson's disease, by investigating signs of the disease in patient-derived cells and testing how the cells respond to drug treatments.

5 Jul 2012

Investigators identify cell replacement/tissue repair potential in adult bone marrow stem cells

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Maryland report promising results from using adult stem cells from bone marrow in mice to help create tissue cells of other organs, such as the heart, brain and pancreas - a scientific step they hope may lead to potential new ways to replace cells lost in diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's.

4 Jul 2012

Scientists reprogram amniotic fluid cells without introduction of extra genes

Stem cells found in amniotic fluid can be transformed into a more versatile state similar to embryonic stem cells, according to a study published today in the journal Molecular Therapy. Scientists from Imperial College London and the UCL Institute of Child Health succeeded in reprogramming amniotic fluid cells without having to introduce extra genes.

4 Jul 2012

Researchers create 'Huntington's disease in a dish' to enable search for treatment

Johns Hopkins researchers, working with an international consortium, say they have generated stem cells from skin cells from a person with a severe, early-onset form of Huntington's disease (HD), and turned them into neurons that degenerate just like those affected by the fatal inherited disorder.

29 Jun 2012

ESCs and iPSCs demonstrate similar survival and neural differentiation capabilities

Researchers in Japan who evaluated the risks and efficacy of transplanting two varieties of stem cells into mouse cochlea have concluded that both adult-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells demonstrate similar survival and neural differentiation capabilities.

27 Jun 2012

New U-M hESC lines now available for federally-funded research

Six new human embryonic stem cell lines derived at the University of Michigan have just been placed on the U.S. National Institutes of Health's registry, making the cells available for federally-funded research.

15 Jun 2012

Embryonic stem cells hold great promise for biomedical science

With their potential to treat a wide range of diseases and uncover fundamental processes that lead to those diseases, embryonic stem (ES) cells hold great promise for biomedical science.

14 Jun 2012

Human-derived stem cells can spontaneously form optic cups and retina

Human-derived stem cells can spontaneously form the tissue that develops into the part of the eye that allows us to see, according to a study published by Cell Press in the 5th anniversary issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell.

14 Jun 2012

Study documents altruistic behavior by human embryonic stem cells

When most groups of mammalian cells are faced with a shortage of nutrients or oxygen, the phrase "every man for himself" is more apt than "all for one, one for all." Unlike colonies of bacteria, which often cooperate to thrive as a group, mammalian cells have never been observed to help one another out. But a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine has shown that certain human embryonic stem cells, in times of stress, produce molecules that not only benefit themselves, but also help nearby cells survive.

12 Jun 2012

TSRI receives $2 million donation from Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation

The Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation has made a $2 million donation to The Scripps Research Institute to fund biomedical research and education on the Florida campus. In recognition of the gift, the Founders Room and the adjoining board room at Scripps Florida have been named the Esther B. O'Keeffe Founders Suite.

31 May 2012

UCSD scientists receive new CIRM grants to conduct stem cell-based research

Five scientists from the University of California, San Diego and its School of Medicine have been awarded almost $12 million in new grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to conduct stem cell-based research into regenerating spinal cord injuries, repairing gene mutations that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and finding new drugs to treat heart failure and Alzheimer's disease.

28 May 2012

Special surface allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types

University of Michigan researchers have proven that a special surface, free of biological contaminants, allows adult-derived stem cells to thrive and transform into multiple cell types. Their success brings stem cell therapies another step closer.

25 May 2012

UCSF scientists aim to use embryonic stem cells for treatment of neuropathic pain

Chronic pain, by definition, is difficult to manage, but a new study by UCSF scientists shows how a cell therapy might one day be used not only to quell some common types of persistent and difficult-to-treat pain, but also to cure the conditions that give rise to them.