Blood has long been a symbol of life and health, so it may be surprising that some aspects of blood production (hematopoiesis) remain incompletely understood. One such mystery is the role of a protein called SOX17. Blood ...
Sep 13, 2023
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Scientists have developed human embryo-like structures without using sperm, an egg or fertilization, offering hope for research on miscarriage and birth defects but also raising fresh ethical concerns.
Sep 7, 2023
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A significant portion of mammalian genomes are composed of retrotransposable elements (REs). Unlike the previous hypothesis that these are "junk DNA," recent studies have shown that REs such as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) ...
Sep 6, 2023
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Researchers revealed the importance of the transmission of epigenetic information through cell division for embryonic stem cells functionality. This has broad implications for aging, cancer, and regenerative medicine.
Sep 5, 2023
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Even though neurodegenerative diseases often strike in middle age or later, patients could have structural differences in their brains that arise before birth.
Aug 22, 2023
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Stem cells are special kinds of cells in our body that can become any other type of cell. They have huge potential for medicine, and trials are currently under way using stem cells to replace damaged cells in diseases like ...
Aug 20, 2023
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Rogue clinics selling stem cell therapies are popping up everywhere. There are thousands of them around the world, and they claim to be able to cure everything from autism to cerebral palsy.
Jul 17, 2023
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Scientists hope to learn more about the earliest stages of human development using models of embryos created from stem cells.
Jul 3, 2023
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The use of stem cells now makes it possible for us to cultivate so-called organoids, such as tiny versions of a liver, heart or small intestine, in the lab. These micro-organs can then be connected to a microchip that simulates ...
Jun 29, 2023
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Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a novel vulnerability in a subset of genes commonly mutated in cancer, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Jun 26, 2023
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Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells.
Embryonic Stem (ES) cells are pluripotent. This means they are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. These include each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body. Pluripotency distinguishes ES cells from multipotent progenitor cells found in the adult; these only form a limited number of cell types. When given no stimuli for differentiation, (i.e. when grown in vitro), ES cells maintain pluripotency through multiple cell divisions. The presence of pluripotent adult stem cells remains a subject of scientific debate; however, research has demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells can be directly generated from adult fibroblast cultures.
Because of their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. However Diseases treated by these non-embryonic stem cells include a number of blood and immune-system related genetic diseases, cancers, and disorders; juvenile diabetes; Parkinson's; blindness and spinal cord injuries. Besides the ethical concerns of stem cell therapy (see stem cell controversy), there is a technical problem of graft-versus-host disease associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, these problems associated with histocompatibility may be solved using autologous donor adult stem cells or via therapeutic cloning.
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