Cloning And Stem Cell News, Research and Resources - April 2007 Archives

Scientists Restore Memory In Mice With Neurodegeneration (4/30/2007)

Mice whose brains had lost a large number of neurons due to neurodegeneration regained long-term memories and the ability to learn after their surroundings were enriched with toys and other sensory stimuli, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers. The scientists were able to achieve the same results when they treated the mice with a specific type of drug that encourages neuronal growth. ...> Full Article

When Smell Cells Fail They Call In Stem Cell Reserves (4/30/2007)

Hopkins researchers have identified a backup supply of stem cells that can repair the most severe damage to the nerves responsible for our sense of smell. These reservists normally lie around and do nothing, but when neighboring cells die, the scientists say, the stem cells jump into action. A report on the discovery will appear online next week in Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Many Couples Choose To Donate Surplus Embryos For Stem Cell Research (4/29/2007)

Nearly 50% of couples who were interviewed at least 3 years after undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) chose to donate their surplus, stored embryos for stem cell research, according to a report by the Spanish Stem Cell Bank in an April 26, 2007, advanced online publication of Cell Stem Cell, a new publication of Cell Press in affiliation with the International Society for Stem Cell Research. ...> Full Article

Novel Gene-Repair Technology Under Development (4/28/2007)

OrphageniX Inc., a new biotechnology company founded by University of Delaware researchers, has been established in Wilmington to develop and commercialize UD-patented technologies for repairing genes that cause rare, hereditary diseases such as sickle cell anemia and spinal muscular atrophy. ...> Full Article

New Method Allows For Stem Cell Propagation And Neurogenesis In Cell Culture (4/27/2007)

Researchers are now able to study stem cells from the brains of adult mice and their neurogenesis in long-term cell cultures. Harish Babu an Dr. Gerd Kempermann (both from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch, the Volkswagenstiftung Research Group at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany) have developed a new method which allows them to generate exactly those neurons from stem cells in cell culture as those that would develop in the living brain. ...> Full Article

Dna Survey Reveals Nature's Way Of Reducing Triglycerides And Heart Disease (4/27/2007)

If you're one of the lucky few with variations in a single gene that reduce artery-clogging triglycerides in your blood, you have an increased chance of avoiding heart disease, the leading cause of death in adult Americans. That�s the good news from a DNA study that involved scientists from two University of Texas health institutions and led to the discovery of these genetic variations in approximately 3 to 4 percent of the people tested. ...> Full Article

Sea Squirt Teaching Scientists How to Regenerate Organs (4/26/2007)

Findings described in a new study by Stanford scientists may be the first step toward a major revolution in human regenerative medicine--a future where advanced organ damage can be repaired by the body itself. In the May 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, researchers show that a human evolutionary ancestor, the sea squirt, can correct abnormalities over a series of generations, suggesting that a similar regenerative process might be possible in people. ...> Full Article

Chaperone Protein Is Critical To Proper Formation Of Muscles (4/26/2007)

Proper formation of the proteins that power heart and skeletal muscle seems to rely on a precise concentration of a "chaperone" protein known as UNC-45, according to a new study. ...> Full Article

Study Of Planarians Offers Insight Into Germ Cell Development (4/25/2007)

The planarian is not as well known as other, more widely used subjects of scientific study – model creatures such as the fruit fly, nematode or mouse. But University of Illinois cell and developmental biology professor Phillip Newmark thinks it should be. As it turns out, the tiny, seemingly cross-eyed flatworm is an ideal subject for the study of germ cells, precursors of eggs and sperm in all sexually reproducing species. ...> Full Article

Neural Mechanisms Play Role In Healthy Bone Growth (4/24/2007)

Scientists searching for a gene therapy to control obesity have unexpectedly discovered a way that the brain regulates bone growth, a finding that shines new light on osteoporosis and other bone-robbing diseases. ...> Full Article

De-activating Protein May Protect Nerve Fibers (4/24/2007)

OHSU findings could lead to first drug to treat progressive, disabling form of disease ...> Full Article

Cancer-Initiating Stem Cells Taking a Larger Role in Cancer Treatment (4/20/2007)

Recent discoveries about the role of stem cells in cancer have altered the landscape of cancer research. With each new study, scientists are learning more about cancer-initiating properties of stem cells at organ sites and throughout the body. Increasingly, stem cells are examined as the cause - and potential target of treatment - for many, if not all, cancers. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Molecule That Induces Wound Healing (4/20/2007)

Scientists, working with mice, discover molecule that is responsible for skin healing. ...> Full Article

Adult Stem Cells May Have Smarts To Guard Against Cancer (4/20/2007)

Some bewildering behavior seen in the stem cells of muscles has led researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine to an unexpected discovery that could explain why cancer isn’t more common. ...> Full Article

ReNeuron Receives European Patent Covering Key Neural Stem Cell Lines (4/20/2007)

ReNeuron receives notice of European patent grant covering key neural stem cell lines ...> Full Article

Researchers Develop ALS Mouse Stem Cell Line (4/19/2007)

A team of Harvard researchers has used embryonic stem cells, derived from mice carrying a human gene known to cause a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to create an in vitro model of the always-fatal neurodegenerative disease. Harvard Stem Cell Institute principal investigator Kevin Eggan and Tom Maniatis, the Thomas H. Lee Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, are the senior authors of the study published on-line April 15 by Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Group O blood for everyone? (4/18/2007)

Researchers use enzymes to remove blood type A, B and AB antigens, which turns the blood into type 0 which is compatible with all people. ...> Full Article

Major Genetic Study Identifies Clearest Link Yet To Obesity Risk (4/16/2007)

Scientists have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population as part of a major study of diseases funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest medical research charity. People with two copies of a particular gene variant have a 70 per cent higher risk of being obese than those with no copies. ...> Full Article

Key Player In Embryonic Muscle Development (4/15/2007)

In the future, this finding may help in designing new methods for healing injured and diseased muscle tissue using stem cells ...> Full Article

Liver Regeneration May Be Simpler Than Previously Thought (4/14/2007)

The way the liver renews itself may be simpler than what scientists had been assuming. A new study, appearing in the April 13 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, provides new information on the inner workings of cells from regenerating livers that could significantly affect the way physicians make livers regrow in patients with liver diseases such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, or cancer. ...> Full Article

Sperm Cells Created From Human Bone Marrow (4/14/2007)

Human bone marrow has been used to create early-stage sperm cells for the first time, a scientific step forward that will help researchers understand more about how sperm cells are created. ...> Full Article

Sheep Gene Research May Help Human Disorder (4/13/2007)

Sheep gene research at the University of Adelaide's Roseworthy Campus aimed at helping maximise wool production for Australian producers, has shed light on a human genetic hair and skin disorder. ...> Full Article

Three Proteins May Play Important Role in Nerve-Cell Repair (4/12/2007)

Some mature brain cells can grow new extensions when the amount of three particular proteins on their surface increases, a new study shows. The research examined three related receptor proteins, called GPR3, GPR6 and GPR12, on nerve cells in the brains of rats. ...> Full Article

Fusion Protein Found By Johns Hopkins Researchers (4/12/2007)

Without it, muscle cells "refuse to fuse" ...> Full Article

Researchers Engineer Tissues To Reduce Use Of Animals In Research (4/11/2007)

Colorado State University is engineering tissue in a laboratory that can replace the use of animals in research. The Tissue Engineering Laboratory, established this academic year in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, creates tissue from a combination of cells, materials and biochemicals that model living biological systems. The model tissue replaces live animals in the initial phases of many biological studies, reducing the number of animals needed for use in research. ...> Full Article

Female Stem Cells Work Better, According To New Study (4/9/2007)

Female stem cells derived from muscle have a greater ability to regenerate skeletal muscle tissue than male cells, according to a study at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. ...> Full Article

Isolation of Cochlear Stem Cells May Lead to a Treatment for Hearing Loss (4/7/2007)

Have you ever walked by someone listening to their i-Pod loud enough for you recognize the song? Studies have shown noise-induced hearing loss is going to become the next big epidemic affecting our younger generation though the effects won't show until it is too late to treat. ...> Full Article

Structural Biology Reveals How T Cells Recognize Transplanted Tissue (4/6/2007)

Before T cells are sent into battle, these sentinels of the immune system must complete a rigorous educational process. There are basically two things a T cell must demonstrate before it makes the grade. It must recognize specific molecules on the surface of foreign cells. And it must refrain from attacking the body's own healthy cells. ...> Full Article

British Doctor Claims to Grow Heart Valve First - 5 Months After Swiss (4/3/2007)

Yesterday British heart surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub claims to have grown the first heart valves from stem cells at Harefield hospital in the Great Britain. The only problem is that Dr. Simon Hoerstrup of the University of Zurich in Switzerland did the same thing, only in November 2006. ...> Full Article

Learning How to Regenerate from Salamanders, Newts, Starfish and Flatworms (4/2/2007)

Researchers at the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida have initiated a project to treat human brain and other diseases by plundering the secrets of regeneration from creatures with remarkable powers of self-renewal, such as salamanders, newts, starfish and flatworms. ...> Full Article

Researchers Identify Critical Receptor in Liver Regeneration (4/2/2007)

In studies in mouse models, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have found that a cellular receptor involved in triggering cell death is also a necessary component of tissue repair and regeneration immediately following liver injury. This discovery could have implications for early intervention or therapy in liver disease such as cirrhosis or hepatitis. ...> Full Article

South Korean Scientists Clone Grey Wolf (4/2/2007)

Professor Lee Byeong-cheon's team of Seoul National University Veterinary Medicine has produced the first-ever wolf clones. One clone is named Snuwolf and was born on October 18, 2005. The other is named Snuwolffy and was born on October 26, 2005. ...> Full Article

Engineering the heart piece by piece (4/1/2007)

U-M scientists see great promise in cardiac tissue engineering, but hurdles remain before lab-grown muscle is ready for patients ...> Full Article