http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The surface of your skin, called the epidermis, is a complex mixture of many different cell types—each with a very specific job. The production, or differentiation, of such a sophisticated tissue requires an immense amount of coordination at the cellular level, and glitches in the process can have disastrous consequences. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a master regulator of this differentiation process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-master-skin.html Medical research Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:00:18 EST news273667326 (Medical Xpress)—A newly-engineered strain of mice whose dividing cells express a fluorescent protein could open the door to new methods of regulating cell proliferation in humans. Cell proliferation plays a key role in degenerative diseases, in which specific cells do not replicate enough, and in cancers, in which cells replicate too much. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-cell-proliferation-key-factor-degenerative.html Medical research Wed, 28 Nov 2012 07:51:58 EST news273311505 A new video-article in JoVE, Journal of Visualized Experiments, details the use of a new laser-activated bio-adhesive polymer. The chitosan-based polymer, SurgiLux, was developed by scientists at the University of New South Wales. Chitosan is a polymer derived from chitin, which is found in fungal cell walls or in exoskeletons of crustaceans and insects.This molecular component allows SurgiLux to form low energy bonds between the polymer and the desired tissue when it absorbs light. The technology may soon replace traditional sutures in the clinic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-bio-adhesive-polymer-jove.html Medical research Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:40:14 EST news270397813 A new regulator for heart formation has been discovered by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This approach to finding genetic regulators, the scientists say, may have the power to provide insight into the development of any tissue in the body – liver, brain, blood and so on. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-dynamics-dna-packaging-formation-heart.html Medical research Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:57:15 EST news267973028 The University of Nottingham has begun the search for a new class of injectable materials that will stimulate stem cells to regenerate damaged tissue in degenerative and age related disorders of the bone, muscle and heart. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-tissue-regeneration-state-of-the-art.html Medical research Fri, 06 Jul 2012 09:31:16 EST news260785859 When autologous (self-donated) lung-derived mensenchymal stem cells (LMSCs) were transplanted endoscopically into 13 adult female sheep modeled with emphysema, post-transplant evaluation showed evidence of tissue regeneration with increased blood perfusion and extra cellular matrix content. Researchers concluded that their approach could represent a practical alternative to conventional stem cell-based therapy for treating emphysema. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-cell-transplantation-lung-stem-cells.html Medical research Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:30:33 EST news258042494 The 20 proteins in the Wnt family are some of the most important proteins in controlling how an organism develops and grows, but for 30 years scientists have not known what these vital proteins actually look like. The proteins have eluded standard visualization techniques, in large part because they do not dissolve well in the water-based liquids normally used for biochemical studies. But once Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator K. Christopher Garcia, and Claudia Janda, a post-doctoral fellow in his Stanford University School of Medicine lab, thought of an approach to make the proteins behave better, they succeeded in solving the first structure of a Wnt protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-molecular-picture-protein-family-vital.html Medical research Thu, 31 May 2012 14:00:18 EST news257688856 Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have shown the ability to turn scar tissue that forms after a heart attack into heart muscle cells using a new process that eliminates the need for stem cell transplant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scar-tissue-heart-muscle-stem.html Cardiology Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:02 EST news254665952 Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered how exposure to arsenic can turn normal stem cells into cancer stem cells and spur tumor growth. Inorganic arsenic, which affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide, has been previously shown to be a human carcinogen. A growing body of evidence suggests that cancer is a stem-cell based disease. Normal stem cells are essential to normal tissue regeneration, and to the stability of organisms and processes. But cancer stem cells are thought to be the driving force for the formation, growth, and spread of tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-arsenic-stem-cells-cancerous-spurring.html Cancer Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:27:25 EST news252746818 A flatworm known for its ability to regenerate cells is shedding more light on how cancer could be treated and how regenerative medicine could better target diseases, according to researchers at the University of California, Merced. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-protein-critical-tissue-regeneration.html Medical research Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:24:44 EST news251486671 New research explains how cells regulate their bonds during the development of new blood vessels. For the first time, the role of the protein Raf-1 in determining the strength of the bond between cells has been shown. If Raf-1 is not present, the cells cannot stick together and the formation of new blood vessels is inhibited. This discovery may one day lead to new approaches to cancer treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-essential-protein-formation-blood-vessels.html Medical research Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:40:01 EST news246007679 (Medical Xpress) -- Publishing in the leading medical journal Nature Medicine, a team led by Newcastle University academics have identified serotonin receptors which can be targeted with drugs to enhance the natural healing properties of the liver. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-serotonin-healthy-chronic-liver-disease.html Medical research Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:30:02 EST news241676825 A new study in Nature Medicine describes how different types of immune system T-cells alternately discourage and encourage stem cells to regrow bone and tissue, bringing into sharp focus the importance of the transplant recipient's immune system in stem cell regeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-recipient-immune-stem-cell-regeneration.html Medical research Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:00:22 EST news241013089 The cells that help to absorb food and liquid that humans consume are constantly being produced. The various cell types that do this come from stem cells that reside deep in the inner recesses of the accordion-like folds of the intestines, called villi and crypts. But exactly where the most important stem cell type is located -- and how to identify it -- has been something of a mystery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tales-crypt-gut-cell-regeneration.html Medical research Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:59:56 EST news240235183 A new study demonstrates that mechanical forces affect the growth and remodeling of blood vessels during tissue regeneration and wound healing. The forces diminish or enhance the vascularization process and tissue regeneration depending on when they are applied during the healing process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-mechanical-stress-hinder-wound-application.html Medical research Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:03:29 EST news238672999 Memo to mature, health-minded vampires: You might want to consider limiting your treats to victims under age 30. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-scientists-blood-factors-aging-brains.html Medical research Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:36:06 EST news234016547 A new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center has shown that, for the first time, Wnt signaling, already known to control many biological processes, between hair follicles and melanocyte stem cells can dictate hair pigmentation. The study was published in the June 11, 2011 issue of the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-clues-hair-gray.html Medical research Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:04:51 EST news227268282 If pending clinical trials prove successful, a new discovery published in The FASEB Journal could represent a major scientific leap toward human tissue regeneration and engineering. In a research report appearing online, Yale scientists provide evidence to support a major paradigm shift in this specialty area from the idea that cells added to a graft before implantation are the building blocks of tissue, to a new belief that engineered tissue constructs can actually induce or augment the body's own reparative mechanisms, including complex tissue regeneration. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-scientists-method-human-tissue-regeneration.html Medical research Thu, 12 May 2011 16:32:51 EST news224436750