Related topics: embryonic stem cells , cells , proceedings of the national academy of sciences , barack obama , bone marrow
Stem cell
hideStem 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.
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News tagged with stem cells
Study shows neural stem cells in mice affected by gene associated with longevity
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A gene associated with longevity in roundworms and humans has been shown to affect the function of stem cells that generate new neurons in the adult brain, according to researchers at the Stanford University ...
Nanotechnology: A risky frontier?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Inside a cramped back room at Rushford Hypersonic, a start-up headquartered in southeastern Minnesota, sits a cube-like machine that throws a mean atomic fastball. At the push of a button, the reactor hurls atoms toward a ...
Scientists reveal how induced pluripotent stem cells differ from embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research ...
Lung tissue generated from human embryonic stem cells
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Scientists in Belgium have successfully differentiated human embryonic stem cells (hESC) into major cell types of lung epithelial tissue using a convenient air-liquid interface. The technique, published in BioMed Central's ...
Researcher studies blood vessels that feed tumors
Nov 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Federal stimulus funding helps Cornell researchers create tiny 3-D models of tumors to mimic conditions necessary for the development of vascular systems by tumors.
Of mice and men: Stem cells and ethical uncertainties
Oct 29, 2009 |
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The recent creation of live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) not only represents a remarkable scientific achievement, but also raises important issues, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University's ...
Placental precursor stem cells require testosterone-free environment to survive
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs), cells found in the layer of peripheral embryonic stem cells from which the placenta is formed, are thought to exhibit "immune privilege" that aids cell survivability and is potentially beneficial ...
Stem cell therapy may offer hope for acute lung injury
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease.
Scientists turn stem cells into precursors for sperm, eggs
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of ...
New 'schizophrenia gene' prompts researchers to test potential drug target
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully "rescue" animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes ...
Disgraced cloning expert convicted in South Korea (Update)
Oct 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A South Korean stem cell scientist once hailed as a hero for bringing hope to people with incurable diseases and creating the world's first cloned dog was convicted Monday on criminal charges related ...
Reprogramming a patient's eye cells may herald new treatments against degenerative disease
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Scientists have overcome a key barrier to the clinical use of stem cells with a technique which transforms regular body cells into artificial stem cells without the need for introducing foreign genetic materials, which could ...
Bone formation from embryonic stem cells
Oct 22, 2009 |
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Jojanneke Jukes of the University of Twente, The Netherlands, has succeeded in growing bone tissue with the help of embryonic stem cells for the first time.
Experimental treatments restore partial vision to blind people
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for ...
Growing Cartilage from Stem Cells
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Damaged knee joints might one day be repaired with cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory, based on research by Professor Kyriacos Athanasiou, chair of the UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering ...
