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.
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 ...
Stem cells restore mobility in neck-injured rats (w/ Video)
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical ...
Scientists successfully reprogram blood cells
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage ...
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 ...
Loss of Tumor-Suppressor and DNA-Maintenance Proteins Causes Tissue Demise, Study Finds
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study published in the October issue of Nature Genetics demonstrates that loss of the tumor-suppressor protein p53, coupled with elimination of the DNA-maintenance protein ATR, severely disrup ...
Scientists grow mice heart muscle strip that beats
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have grown a piece of heart muscle - and then watched it beat - by using stem cells from a mouse embryo, a big step toward one day repairing damage from heart attacks.
What drives our genes? Researchers map the first complete human epigenome
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Although the human genome sequence faithfully lists (almost) every single DNA base of the roughly 3 billion bases that make up a human genome, it doesn't tell biologists much about how its function is regulated. Now, researchers ...
Team reports major step forward in cell reprogramming
Oct 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made a major advance toward producing induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, that are safe enough to use in treating diseases ...
New study pinpoints gene controlling number of brain cells (w/ Video)
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 04, 2009 |
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In populating the growing brain, neural stem cells must strike a delicate balance between two key processes - proliferation, in which the cells multiply to provide plenty of starting materials - and differentiation, in which ...
Scientists discover clues to what makes human muscle age
Sep 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has identified critical biochemical pathways linked to the aging of human muscle. By manipulating these pathways, the ...
How stem cells make skin
Sep 13, 2009 |
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Stem cells have a unique ability: when they divide, they can either give rise to more stem cells, or to a variety of specialised cell types. In both mice and humans, a layer of cells at the base of the skin ...
Turning back the clock: Fasting prolongs reproductive life span
Aug 27, 2009 |
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Scientific dogma has long asserted that females are born with their entire lifetime's supply of eggs, and once they're gone, they're gone. New findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, published online ...
Watching stem cells repair the human brain
Aug 19, 2009 |
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There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― ...
Scientists control living cells with light; advances could enhance stem cells' power
Aug 11, 2009 |
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University of Central Florida researchers have shown for the first time that light energy can gently guide and change the orientation of living cells within lab cultures. That ability to optically steer cells could be a major ...
