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News tagged with stem cells

Making cancer less cancerous: Blocking a single gene renders tumors less aggressive

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a gene that, when repressed in tumor cells, puts a halt to cell growth and a range of processes needed for tumors to enlarge and spread to distant sites. The researchers hope that ...

Cancer created May 02, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (10) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Embryonic stem cell transplant restores memory, learning in mice

For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. A study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the first ...

Medical research created Apr 21, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Scientists make insulin-producing cells self-replicate

(Medical Xpress)—Scientists have discovered a hormone that causes the body's insulin-producing factories, beta cells, to churn out more of themselves. Having enough insulin is critical to regulating the amount of sugar ...

Medical research created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Organovo announces ability to print 3D human liver tissue

(Medical Xpress)—Organovo Holdings, Inc., a company that designs and creates functional human tissue has announced at this year's Experimental Biology Conference that it has developed a 3D printing technique ...

Medical research created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Stem-cell-based strategy boosts immune system in mice

Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, ...

Immunology created May 16, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene thought to make heart tissues turns out to make blood and muscles as well

New research out of the Lillehei Heart Institute at the University of Minnesota shows that by turning on just a single gene, Mesp1, different cell types including the heart, blood and muscle can be created from stem cells.

Genetics created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Serotonin mediates exercise-induced generation of new neurons

Mice that exercise in running wheels exhibit increased neurogenesis in the brain. Crucial to this process is serotonin signaling. These are the findings of a study by researchers at the Max Delbrück Center ...

Neuroscience created May 13, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Metastasis stem cells in the blood of breast cancer patients discovered

Individual cancer cells that break away from the original tumor and circulate through the blood stream are considered responsible for the development of metastases. These dreaded secondary tumors are the ...

Cancer created Apr 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Firefly protein lights up degenerating muscles, aiding muscular-dystrophy research

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have created a mouse model of muscular dystrophy in which degenerating muscle tissue gives off visible light. The observed luminescence occurs only in damaged muscle tissue ...

Medical research created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

After brain injury, new astrocytes play unexpected role in healing

The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at ...

Medical research created Apr 24, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists build a living patch for damaged hearts

Duke University biomedical engineers have grown three-dimensional human heart muscle that acts just like natural tissue. This advancement could be important in treating heart attack patients or in serving as a platform for ...

Medical research created May 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Low-dose aspirin stymies proliferation of two breast cancer lines, study finds

Regular use of low-dose aspirin may prevent the progression of breast cancer, according to results of a study by researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Kansas Medical ...

Cancer created Apr 21, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Researchers look to mathematics, nature, to understand the immune system and its role in cancer

Can the patterns in tree branches or the meandering bends in a river provide clues that could lead to better cancer therapies? According to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer ...

Medical research created May 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Investigating devastating childhood diseases just got easier

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPScs) from the skin of patients with Dravet syndrome (DS) show Dravet-like functional impairment when they are converted into neurons, finds research in BioMed Central's open ...

Medical research created May 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Turning human stem cells into brain cells sheds light on neural development

Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. The new model cell system ...

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Stem cell

Stem cells are cells found in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms. They are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiating into a diverse range of specialized cell types. Research in the stem cell field grew out of findings by Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960s. The two broad types of mammalian stem cells are: embryonic stem cells that are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells that are found in adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues.

Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells from a variety of sources, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow, are routinely used in medical therapies. Embryonic cell lines and autologous embryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning have also been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies.

For more information about Stem cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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