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.
Researchers show 'trigger' to stem cell differentiation
Dec 10, 2009 |
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A gene which is essential for stem cells' capabilities to become any cell type has been identified by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California, San Francisco.
Researchers find reproductive germ cells survive and thrive in transplants, even among species
12 hours ago |
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Reproductive researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have succeeded in isolating and transplanting pure populations of the immature cells that enable male ...
Umbilical stem cells may help recover lost vision for those with corneal disease
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) may help in the recovery of lost vision for patients with corneal scarring.
Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) ...
Gene therapy and stem cells save limb
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Blood vessel blockage, a common condition in old age or diabetes, leads to low blood flow and results in low oxygen, which can kill cells and tissues. Such blockages can require amputation resulting in loss of limbs. Now, ...
Supportive materials will help regenerate heart tissue (w/ Video)
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Bioengineers from University of California, San Diego are developing new regenerative therapies for heart disease. The work could influence the way in which regenerative therapies for cardiovascular and other diseases are ...
Bone marrow cells may significantly reduce risk of second heart attack
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Cells from heart attack survivors' own bone marrow reduced the risk of death or another heart attack when they were infused into the affected artery after successful stent placement, according to research reported in the ...
Newly discovered mechanism allows cells to change state
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Cells are not static. They can transform themselves over time — but change can have dangerous implications. Benign cells, for example, can suddenly change into cancerous ones.
Stem cell derived neurons for research relevant to Alzheimer's and Niemann-Pick type C diseases
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Stem cell derived neurons may allow scientists to determine whether breakdowns in the transport of proteins, lipids and other materials within cells trigger the neuronal death and neurodegeneration that characterize Alzheimer's ...
Successful stem cell therapy for treatment of eye disease
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Newly published research, by investigators, at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) in the journal Stem Cells reported the first successful treatment of eight patients with "Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency" (LSCD) ...
New ethical questions are being raised in stem cell research
Dec 10, 2009 |
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A groundbreaking discovery two years ago that turned ordinary skin cells back into an embryonic or "pluripotent" state was hailed as the solution to the controversial ethical question that has plagued stem-cell science for ...
RXR activation -- hope for new Parkinson's disease treatment
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 11, 2009 |
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Following up on their previous work showing the rescue of dopamine neurons by chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR), researchers have now investigated the potential of these chemicals, known as RXR ligands, ...
Researchers tackle protein mechanisms behind limb regeneration
Dec 14, 2009 |
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The most comprehensive study to date of the proteins in a species of salamander that can regrow appendages may provide important clues to how similar regeneration could be induced in humans.
