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
Researchers demonstrate that stem cells can be engineered to kill HIV
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA AIDS Institute researchers have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered to target and kill HIV-infected cells.
Beyond genomics, biologists and engineers decode the next frontier
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Princeton biologists and engineers has dramatically improved the speed and accuracy of measuring an enigmatic set of proteins that influences almost every aspect of how cells and ...
When is a stem cell really a stem cell?
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- adult cells reprogrammed to look and function like versatile embryonic stem cells -- are of growing interest in medicine. They may provide a way to ...
Japan scientists attack govt research cut plans
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Top Japanese scientists, including four Nobel laureates, have criticised the new government for plans to slash research budgets, warning the country will loose its high-tech edge.
Brown fat cells make 'spare tires' shrink
Dec 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the University of Bonn have found a new signalling pathway which stimulates the production and function of so-called brown fat cells. They propose using these cells that serve as a "natural ...
Your own stem cells can treat heart disease
Nov 17, 2009 |
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The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ...
Researchers identify new stem cell
Dec 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the skin that acts surprisingly like certain stem cells found in embryos: both can generate fat, bone, cartilage, and even nerve cells. These newly-described ...
Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug
Nov 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed. Their discovery, published in ...
Investigating muscle repair, scientists follow their noses
Nov 16, 2009 |
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When muscle cells need repair, they use odor-detecting tools found in the nose to start the process, researchers have discovered.
The indefinite self-renewal of specialized cells without the need for stem cell intermediates
Nov 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Is the indefinite expansion of adult cells possible without recourse to stem cell intermediates? The team led by Michael Sieweke at the Centre d'immunologie de Marseille Luminy, France has ...
Study suggests adult stem cells may help repair hearts damaged by heart attack
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Adult stem cells may help repair heart tissue damaged by heart attack according to the findings of a new study to be published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Results from t ...
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Nov 20, 2009 |
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Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM Institute (France), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has su ...
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
Nov 23, 2009 |
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For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of ...
New discovery about the formation of new brain cells
Nov 23, 2009 |
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The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through ...
Physician-scientist proves stem cells heal lungs of newborn animals
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Dr. Bernard Thébaud lives in two very different worlds. As a specialist in the Stollery Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, he cares for tiny babies, many of whom struggle ...
