NEWS and OPINIONS

Modified neural stem cells for spinal cord injury
By Drug Target Review Using genetically modified human neural stem cells (hNSCs), researchers demonstrated that targeted manipulation of a specific gene expression within hNSCs can facilitate the restoration of damaged neural circuits and recovery of locomotor...

Wiping stem cells ‘clean’ could make them easier to produce
By Jason Arunn Murugesu - NewScientist A technique for reprogramming adult cells that removes any trace of their origins could help produce stem cells at larger scales A new way to turn adult human cells into ultra-flexible stem cells could make it easier to produce...

Building muscle in the lab
by Fabio Bergamin - ETH Zurich Professor Ori Bar-Nur and his team grow muscle cells in the laboratory. In this case, they are mouse cells, but the researchers are also interested in human and cow cells. Promising applications resonate with both: human muscle tissue...

How mRNA Could Safely Replace Blood Stem Cell Transplantation
by William A. Haseltine - Forbes At present, the only way to cure genetic blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia is to reset the immune system with a stem cell transplantation. Only a fraction of patients elects this procedure, as the process is...

Polyploid cells, which have extra copies of their genomes, may help tissues respond to injuries and species survive cataclysms
By Elizabeth Pennisi - Science When Vicki Losick got her Ph.D. and joined a fruit fly lab at the Carnegie Institution for Science in 2008, its head announced that he expected his postdocs to launch new fields of inquiry. She chose a then-fashionable focus: stem cells,...

Want to speed up scientific progress? First understand how science policy works
Researchers and policymakers often exist in different worlds and speak different languages. Here are three ways to bridge the divide. by - Nature.com Science is a key driver of economic growth and social progress. If science can be accelerated — such as by increasing...

Using stem cells, doctors restored vision to people with devastating eye injuries
By Theresa Tamkins, Jessica Klingbaum and Kristen Dahlgren - NBC News Eye surgeons in the U.S. are inching closer to being able to use a specific type of stem cell transplant to fix a serious eye problem that can cause pain and permanent vision loss. It was the Fourth...

Scientists harness the power of AI to shed light on different types of Parkinson’s disease
by Frances Crick Institute Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, working with technology company Faculty AI, have shown that machine learning can accurately predict subtypes of Parkinson’s disease using images of...

Stem cell studies tune into hearing regeneration
by Keck School of Medicine of USC - MedicalXpress Image caption: Rows of sensory hearing cells (green) next to supporting cells (red) in the inner ear of a mouse. Credit: John Duc Nguyen and Juan Llamas/Segil Lab A deafened adult cannot recover the ability to hear,...

Stem Cell Therapy May Restore Fertility After Ovarian Failure
by Katie Brighton - Technology Networks With cancer rates among young adults on the rise, the number of people experiencing infertility as a result of chemotherapy is also expected to increase. Yet, there are currently no therapies available to restore fertility after...

New Method Developed To Reprogram Human Cells
by Monash University - Technology Networks News In a groundbreaking study published in Nature, Australian scientists have resolved a long-standing problem in regenerative medicine. Led by Professor Ryan Lister from the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and...

Early Mayo Clinic research finds hope in stem cell therapy for perianal fistulas in patients with Crohn’s disease
By Susan Buckles - Mayo Clinic A dissolvable plug delivered stem cell therapy with few side effects in patients with single tract perianal fistulas, Mayo Clinic researchers discovered. Perianal fistulas are painful tunnels between the intestine and the skin that often...