How diarrheal bacteria cause some colon cancers revealed in mouse studies – Johns Hopkins scientists say they have figured out how bacteria that cause diarrhea may also be the culprit in some colon cancers. The common Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) dupe immune system cells into permitting runaway colon tissue inflammation, a precursor for malignant growth.
New method takes aim at aggressive cancer cells — Researchers use novel stem-cell method to discover chemical with potency against breast tumors in mice. – A multi-institutional team of Boston-area researchers has discovered a chemical salinomycin that works in mice to kill the rare but aggressive cells within breast cancers that have the ability to seed new tumors.
What makes stem cells tick? — Researchers identify phosphorylated signaling proteins in human embryonic stem cells. – Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made the first comparative, large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiated derivatives.
Stem cell ‘daughters’ lead to breast cancer — Breast cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers. – Breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1, revealed by researchers.
NRG1 injection reverses heart-attack damage — Growth factor enhances heart regeneration, improves heart function without need for cardiac stem cells. – Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston have laid the groundwork for regenerating heart tissue after a heart attack, in patients with heart failure, or in children with congenital heart defects.
Induced pluripotent stem cells repair heart, Mayo Clinic study shows — New iPS therapy pioneered for heart attacks. – Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat heart disease, revealed by researchers at Mayo Clinic, USA. iPS cells are stem cells converted from adult cells.
A new weapon in the war against HIV-AIDS: Combined antiviral and targeted chemotherapy – HIV-AIDS could be treated through a combination of targeted chemotherapy and current Highly Active Retroviral (HAART) treatments, revealed by researchers.
Stress makes your hair go gray — graying hairs tend to crop up with age are signs of stress. – Graying hairs might be signs of stress, revealed by researchers in a new study. Stress that does damage to DNA decreases amount of melanocyte stem cells (MSCs) within hair follicles that are responsible for making those pigment-producing cells.
Study IDs benefit of donor SCT for adults with acute myeloid leukemia – A stem cell transplant (SCT) from a compatible donor early in the course of disease is the best approach for the majority of young and middle-aged adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a new analysis of two dozen clinical studies.
Stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease. – In a world-first breakthrough, University of New South Wales (UNSW) medical researchers have used stem cells cultured on a simple contact lens to restore sight to sufferers of blinding corneal disease.
LIN28, which maintains cell ‘stemness,’ is abundant in advanced cancers and transforms cells to cancerous state – A protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Combined stem cell-gene therapy approach cures human genetic disease in vitro – A study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has catapulted the field of regenerative medicine significantly forward, proving in principle that a human genetic disease can be cured using a combination of gene therapy and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology.
