Cloning And Stem Cell News, Research and Resources - April 2009 Archives

Simulated gene therapy (4/30/2009)

First large-scale computer simulation of gene therapy ...> Full Article

Stem cell focus for IBD wound healing (4/29/2009)

Scientists at the University of Nottingham are investigating whether stem cell markers could have a role to play in speeding up wound healing in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists identify key factors in heart cell creation (4/28/2009)

Sequence of transcription factors may drive process to repair damaged hearts ...> Full Article

New method gives regenerative medicine a boost (4/27/2009)

Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases. ...> Full Article

A major breakthrough in generating safer, therapeutic stem cells from adult cells (4/26/2009)

Scientists completely avoid problems of genetic manipulation by instead using chemical programming ...> Full Article

Major advance in cell reprogramming technology (4/25/2009)

In a paper publishing online April 23 in Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press journal, Dr. Sheng Ding and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., report an important step forward in the race to make reprogrammed stem cells that may be better suited for use in clinical settings. ...> Full Article

Research finds molecular 'key' to successful blood stem cell transplants (4/23/2009)

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered a "molecular key" that could help increase the success of blood stem cell transplants, a procedure currently used to treat diseases such as leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and aplastic anemia. ...> Full Article

Study finds blood cells can be reprogrammed to act as embryonic stem cells (4/22/2009)

In a recent study, US researchers have reprogrammed cells found in circulating blood into cells that are molecularly and functionally indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, a revolutionary achievement that provides a readily accessible source of stem cells and an alternative to harvesting embryonic stem cells. The findings were prepublished online in Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology. ...> Full Article

Human stem cells promote healing of diabetic ulcers (4/21/2009)

Scientists in Bristol have found that human fetal stem cells can effectively be used to treat back leg ischemic ulcers in a model of type 1 diabetes. ...> Full Article

Study yields clue to how stem cells form (4/20/2009)

A study on the nematode C. elegans shows some of the first direct evidence of a process required for epigenetic reprogramming between generations -- a finding that could shed more light on the mechanisms of fertilization, stem-cell formation and cloning. ...> Full Article

World premiere in stem cell research in Montreal (4/19/2009)

A team from the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer at Universite de Montreal has succeeded in producing a large quantity of laboratory stem cells from a small number of blood stem cells obtained from bone marrow. The multidisciplinary team, directed by Dr. Guy Sauvageau, thus took a giant step towards the development of a revolutionary treatment based on these stem cells. ...> Full Article

Gene therapy for muscular dystrophy shows promise beyond safety (4/18/2009)

Researchers have cleared a safety hurdle in efforts to develop a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy that disables patients by gradually weakening muscles near the hips and shoulders. ...> Full Article

Iran's First Cloned Goat (4/17/2009)

Iran's first cloned goat was born on April 15th, 2009, 1:30 am at Isfahan campus of Royan Institute by cesarean section in a healthy condition. ...> Full Article

A new method for bone-marrow-derived liver stem cells isolation and proliferation (4/17/2009)

Bone-marrow-derived liver stem cells were once a hot topic in the field of stem cell research because of their important therapeutic implications, but little progress has been made in recent years because of the difficulty of isolation and proliferation of this special cell population. A research group in China has provided a new method for BDLSC isolation and proliferation, which brings new hope to the clinical use of bone-marrow-derived stem cells. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover way to jumpstart bone's healing process (4/16/2009)

In-body stem cell therapy has enormous potential for bone injuries ...> Full Article

Creating ideal neural cells for clinical use (4/15/2009)

New protocol quickly and efficiently differentiates human embryonic stem cells into committed neural precursor cells ...> Full Article

Team closer to creating safe embryonic-like stem cells (4/14/2009)

A team of UCSF researchers has for the first time used tiny molecules called microRNAs to help turn adult mouse cells back to their embryonic state. These reprogrammed cells are pluripotent, meaning that, like embryonic stem cells, they have the capacity to become any cell type in the body. ...> Full Article

Molecule prompts damaged heart cells to repair themselves after a heart attack (4/13/2009)

A protein that the heart produces during its early development reactivates the embryonic coronary developmental program and initiates migration of heart cells and blood vessel growth after a heart attack, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. ...> Full Article

Study assesses new surgical procedure for regenerating cartilage in damaged knee joints (4/12/2009)

Rush University Medical Center is testing a new procedure, called the Cartilage Autograft Implantation System, for regenerating damaged articular cartilage in the knee joint to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis. ...> Full Article

Human ES cells progress slowly in myelin's direction (4/11/2009)

Scientists from Wisconsin University have successfully created, from human embryonic stem (ES) cells, cells that can make myelin, opening up new possibilities for basic and clinical research. Myelin loss, as occurs in multiple sclerosis, stops nerves from working with devastating consequences. Reporting their findings in the journal Development, they reveal that creating these cells has long been a challenge partly because they take an unexpectedly long time to develop from human ES cells. ...> Full Article

Stem cell therapy makes cloudy corneas clear (4/10/2009)

Stem cells collected from human corneas restore transparency and don't trigger a rejection response when injected into eyes that are scarred and hazy, according to experiments conducted in mice by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their study will be published in the journal Stem Cells and appears online today. ...> Full Article

Gene therapy appears safe to regenerate gum tissue (4/9/2009)

Scientists at the University of Michigan have developed a method of gene delivery that appears safe for regenerating tooth-supporting gum tissue -- a discovery that assuages one of the biggest safety concerns surrounding gene therapy research and tissue engineering. ...> Full Article

Stem cell innovation at risk (4/8/2009)

Despite great hopes for stem cell therapy, major structural and cultural changes within the NHS are needed if it is to succeed in the UK. Currently the chances of getting effective treatments into routine use in the short-term are small and the industry is at serious risk of "market failure." ...> Full Article

New technique invented to reveal pancreatic stem cells (4/8/2009)

The Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi has worked with a researcher from the Catholic University of Rome to mark and isolate stem cells from tissues. In the pancreas, surprisingly, the two scientists discovered that these cells are very active. The article has been published in PNAS. ...> Full Article

Stem cell therapy grows new blood vessels (4/7/2009)

Research led by David Hess of the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario has identified how to use selected stem cells from bone marrow to grow new blood vessels to treat diseases such as peripheral artery disease. It's one of the complications of diabetes caused by reduced blood flow which, in severe cases, can lead to amputation of a limb. The research is published in Blood. ...> Full Article

Human embryonic stem cells (4/6/2009)

Human embryonic stem cells provide a potentially unlimited source of oral mucosal tissues that may revolutionize the treatment of oral diseases. When fully exploited in the future, this source of cells will be able to produce functional tissues to treat a broad variety of oral diseases. ...> Full Article

Healing heart attack victims, one cell at a time (4/5/2009)

By using the amount of carbon 14 in the atmosphere from above-ground nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960, researchers have determined that cells in the human heart develop into adulthood. ...> Full Article

New strategy improves stem cell recruitment, heart function and survival after heart injury (4/4/2009)

A new study in mice shows that a dual therapy can lead to generation of new blood vessels and improved cardiac function following a heart attack. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 3 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides an explanation for the ineffectiveness of current stem-cell-mobilizing therapies and may drive design of future regenerative therapies for the heart. ...> Full Article

Last step leading to blood cell formation elucidated (4/3/2009)

A team of scientists led by Dr. Timm Schroeder of Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen has proved the existence of hemogenic endothelial cells. The findings answer the question -- unsolved until now -- of how blood cells are generated during embryonic development and will enable scientists in the future to produce blood cells in the laboratory in a more target-specific manner. ...> Full Article

Stem cell breakthrough: Monitoring the on switch that turns stem cells into muscle (4/2/2009)

In a genetic engineering breakthrough that could help everyone from bed-ridden patients to elite athletes, a team of American researchers -- including 2007 Nobel Prize winner Mario R. Capecchi -- have created a "switch" that allows mutations or light signals to be turned on in muscle stem cells to monitor muscle regeneration in a living mammal. The full report containing details of this advance is available online in the FASEB Journal. ...> Full Article