Scientists identify defect in brain cell channel that may cause autism-like syndrome – What goes wrong in the brain when an individual suffers from autism. Autism is a spectrum of developmental disorders of impaired social and verbal interaction. Currently, no medication exists to treat its underlying causes, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Understanding the beginnings of embryonic stem cells helps predict the future – Ordinarily, embryonic stem cells exist only a day or two as they begin the formation of the embryo itself. Then they are gone. In the laboratory dish, however, they act more like perpetual stem cells ? renewing themselves and exhibiting the ability to form cells of almost any type, a status called totipotency.
Neural stem cell transplant may tackle diabetes — Using patients’ own stem cells can overcome shortage of insulin-producing cells without the need for gene transfer – Researchers in Japan have discovered how a patient’s neural stem cells could be used as an alternative source of the beta cells needed for a regenerative treatment for diabetes.
TGen breast cancer research benefits from $3.5 million Komen award — Grant enables multi-institute team to study rare and aggressive type of breast cancer – The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is part of a team of medical investigators receiving a $3.5 million grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure to study triple-negative breast cancer, a highly aggressive form of this cancer that disproportionately affects African-Americans.
Study reveals critical similarity between two types of do-it-all stem cells – Researchers saw substantial similarity between the two stem-cell types – pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells, reported in a new study.
FDA approves Adcetris to treat two types of lymphoma – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) to treat Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and a rare lymphoma known as systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).
ASCB applauds the decision of Judge Royce Lamberth of the US District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the US National Institutes of Health guidelines on funding human embryonic stem cell research – The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) applauds the decision of Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (DC) to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the U.S. National Institutes of Health guidelines on funding human embryonic stem cell research (hESC).
What decides neural stem cell fate? — A gene called SOX2 acts as a stem cell gatekeeper — only cells expressing it have the potential to become neurons – Early in embryonic development, the neural crest ? a transient group of stem cells ? gives rise to parts of the nervous system and several other tissues. But little is known about what determines which cells become neurons and which become other cell types.
Turning ‘bad’ fat into ‘good’: A future treatment for obesity? — Johns Hopkins researchers transform inert white fat into brown fat to burn off calories and weight – By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns Hopkins researchers say they not only reduced the animals’ calorie intake and weight, but also transformed their fat into a type that burns off more energy. The finding could lead to better obesity treatments for humans, the scientists report.
Heart damage improves, reverses after stem cell injections in a preliminary human trial – Researchers have shown for the first time that stem cells injected into enlarged hearts reduced heart size, reduced scar tissue and improved function to injured heart areas, according to a small trial published in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Stem cells take cues from cerebrospinal fluid in the brain – Proteins in fluids bathing the brain are essential for building the brain, revealed by researchers in the journal Neuron. The finding promises to advance research related to neurological disease, cancer and stem cells.
Scripps Research scientists convert skin cells to beating heart cells — Breakthrough discovery offers hope for new therapies for range of diseases – Adult skin cells are converted into beating heart cells efficiently without generating embryonic-like stem cells, revealed by researchers.
