Embryonic Stem Cells News and Research

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New hypothesis about emergence of Parkinson's disease

The cause of neuronal death in Parkinson's disease is still unknown, but a new study proposes that neurons may be mistaken for foreign invaders and killed by the person's own immune system, similar to the way autoimmune diseases like type I diabetes, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis attack the body's cells.

21 Apr 2014

Researchers coax human embryonic stem cells to turn into working spinal cord cells

The sponginess of the environment where human embryonic stem cells are growing affects the type of specialized cells they eventually become, a University of Michigan study shows.

16 Apr 2014

UCL scientists find new way to artificially control paralyzed muscles using light

A new way to artificially control muscles using light, with the potential to restore function to muscles paralysed by conditions such as motor neuron disease and spinal cord injury, has been developed by scientists at UCL and King's College London.

7 Apr 2014

Researcher pinpoints error in protein formation that could be root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

By studying nerve cells that originated in patients with a severe neurological disease, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has pinpointed an error in protein formation that could be the root of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

4 Apr 2014

Human motor neurons can be quickly generated from stem cells, say researchers

Researchers report they can generate human motor neurons from stem cells much more quickly and efficiently than previous methods allowed. The finding, described in Nature Communications, will aid efforts to model human motor neuron development, and to understand and treat spinal cord injuries and motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

2 Apr 2014

Scientists develop unique cells to repair patient's defective and diseased bladder

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in coaxing laboratory cultures of human stem cells to develop into the specialized, unique cells needed to repair a patient's defective or diseased bladder.

24 Mar 2014

Researchers create new line of human embryonic stem cells

Researchers at the University of Washington have successfully created a line of human embryonic stem cells that have the ability to develop into a far broader range of tissues than most existing cell lines.

18 Mar 2014

Researchers unravel function of proteins involved in cell metabolism

UCPs or uncoupling proteins are present in mitochondria, the powerhouse of each cell in the body. The functions of most of the five known UCPs remain mysterious (UCP2-UCP5), whereby only the distinct function for UCP1 has thus far been discovered.

5 Mar 2014

Researchers examine how toxin triggers motor neuron death

In most cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, a toxin released by cells that normally nurture neurons in the brain and spinal cord can trigger loss of the nerve cells affected in the disease, Columbia researchers reported today in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers identify histone proteins that may be key to generate induced totipotent stem cells

One major challenge in stem cell research has been to reprogram differentiated cells to a totipotent state. Researchers from RIKEN in Japan have identified a duo of histone proteins that dramatically enhance the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and may be the key to generating induced totipotent stem cells.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers develop cardiac tissue from human stem cells to find cures for heart diseases

When it comes to finding cures for heart disease, scientists at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are working to their own beat. They may have developed a tissue model for the human heart that can bridge the gap between animal models and human clinical trial patients.

4 Feb 2014

Scientists develop tissue model for human heart

When it comes to finding cures for heart disease scientists are working to their own beat. That's because they may have finally developed a tissue model for the human heart that can bridge the gap between animal models and human patients.

31 Jan 2014

New method allows for large-scale generation of human embryonic stem cells

A new method allows for large-scale generation of human embryonic stem cells of high clinical quality. It also allows for production of such cells without destroying any human embryos.

27 Jan 2014

Researchers use stem cells to study bone disorders from patients afflicted with genetic bone disease

Researchers have developed a new way to study bone disorders and bone growth, using stem cells from patients afflicted with a rare, genetic bone disease.

9 Jan 2014

Scientists identify how early embryonic cells and embryonic stem cells become specialised cell types

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have gained new insight into how both early embryonic cells and embryonic stem cells are directed into becoming specialised cell types, like pancreatic and liver cells. The results have just been published in the scientific journal eLife.

8 Jan 2014

New study by bioethicists indicates patients give "broad endorsement" to iPSC research

In an early indication of lay opinions on research with induced pluripotent stem cells, which are stem cells made from skin or other tissues, a new study by bioethicists at Johns Hopkins University indicates that despite some ethical concerns, patients give the research "broad endorsement".

6 Jan 2014

Biologists discover effective strategy that could prevent immune system from rejecting grafts

Stem cell technology: an interview with Professor Igor Slukvin, University of Wisconsin-Madison and scientific founder of CDI and Cynata

Stem cells have a potential to develop into multiple cell types and divide without limit to replenish cells in human body throughout the life of individual.

16 Dec 2013