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

Mighty Mice Made Mightier (8/31/2007)

The Johns Hopkins scientist who first showed that the absence of the protein myostatin leads to oversized muscles in mice and men has now found a second protein, follistatin, whose overproduction in mice lacking myostatin doubles the muscle-building effect. ...> Full Article

Alzheimer's: High Stress And Genetic Risk Factor Lead To Increased Memory Decline (8/31/2007)

High stress levels may contribute to memory loss among people at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. The A4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene contributes to the risk for memory loss related to Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, high circulating levels of cortisol, associated with high stress levels, also impairs memory. However, the interactive effects of this risk genotype and chronic stress are not well understood, so a new study being published in the September 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry was designed to explore this relationship. ...> Full Article

Researchers dispute widely held ideas about stem cells (8/30/2007)

How do adult stem cells protect themselves from accumulating genetic mutations that can lead to cancer? ...> Full Article

Brain implants relieve Alzheimer's damage (8/30/2007)

Genetically engineered cells implanted in mice have cleared away toxic plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. ...> Full Article

Human derived stem cells can repair rat hearts damaged by heart attack (8/29/2007)

When human heart muscle cells derived from embryonic stem cells are implanted into a rat after a heart attack, they can help rebuild the animal's heart muscle and improve function of the organ, scientists report in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology. The researchers also developed a new process that greatly improves how stem cells are turned into heart muscle cells and then survive after being implanted in the damaged rat heart. The findings suggest that stem-cell-based treatments might one day help people suffering from heart disease, the leading cause of death in most of the world. ...> Full Article

New MRI Finding Sheds Light on Multiple Sclerosis Disease Progression (8/29/2007)

Using magnetic resonance (MR) images of the brain, researchers have identified a new abnormality related to disease progression and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. ...> Full Article

When Is A Stem Cell Not Really A Stem Cell? (8/28/2007)

Working with embryonic mouse brains, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists seems to have discovered an almost-too-easy way to distinguish between "true" neural stem cells and similar, but less potent versions. Their finding, reported in Nature, could simplify the isolation of stem cells not only from brain but also other body tissues. ...> Full Article

Embryonic Stem Cells Are Identifiable By Appearance Alone (8/28/2007)

Some scientific results are hard to spot, especially in genetic research. Often scientists are unable to physically see if the gene they inserted into a cell has produced the desired trait. To overcome this problem researchers use various genetic markers that contain pieces of foreign DNA that cause cells to, for example, glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. ...> Full Article

New Red Fluorescent Protein Used to See Inside Living Animals (8/27/2007)

A new red fluorescent protein-derived from a brilliant red sea anemone purchased in a Moscow pet shop-can reveal body tissues more vividly than other fluorescent proteins in use today. The Russian researchers who developed the new protein said it can render cancers and other target tissues easily visible in living animals, making them glow like Christmas bulbs. ...> Full Article

Building Muscle Requires Foxo1 (8/26/2007)

The mechanisms by which Foxo proteins regulate metabolism are relatively well characterized. However, little was known about the mechanisms by which these same proteins regulate cellular differentiation. ...> Full Article

Isolation of a new gene family essential for early development (8/24/2007)

Researchers at BRIC, University of Copenhagen, have identified a new gene family (UTX-JMJD3) essential for embryonic development. The family controls the expression of genes crucial for stem cell maintenance and differentiation, and the results may contribute sig-nificantly to the understanding of the development of cancer. ...> Full Article

One step closer to transplanting stem cells in the brain (8/22/2007)

Stem cells transplanted into the brains of mice generate more numerous and more mature nerve cells if the brain cells called astrocytes are not activated. This discovery at the Sahlgrenska Academy is an important step forward for stem cell research. ...> Full Article

Researcher Goes 'Through The Nose' To Delay Onset Of Alzheimer's Disease (8/21/2007)

Scientists working on a cure for Alzheimer's disease find it hard to develop drugs that will pass through the highly selective blood-brain barrier. That may be why a Tel Aviv University researcher decided to take an alternate route - through the nose. ...> Full Article

MS Society Of Canada Continues Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Trial (8/19/2007)

The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada announced a $2.4 million grant to continue a closely-watched clinical trial involving an experimental bone marrow stem cell transplant therapy. The trial is being conducted by a team of Canadian MS specialists led by Dr. Mark Freedman and Dr. Harry Atkins in Ottawa. ...> Full Article

Stem cell subtypes discovered (8/18/2007)

New finding could lead to improved bone marrow transplants ...> Full Article

Blood-clotting protein may be new target for Alzheimer's drugs (8/17/2007)

Despite the rapid rise of Alzheimer's disease - the Alzheimer's Association predicts as many as 7.7 million cases by 2030 - there are no preventative treatments available, few in the pharmaceutical pipeline, and those drugs being developed all share the same two molecular targets. Now Rockefeller University researchers report that by targeting a different molecule, a blood-clotting protein called fibrin, they could reduce inflammation in the brains of mice with different models of the disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover Novel Regulator for the Development of the Nervous System (8/15/2007)

Nerve cells must perform millions of neuronal processes and form connections between them during embryonic development to ensure that the nervous system will function properly. Dr. Marta Rosário and Prof. Walter Birchmeier from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch (Germany), a member of the Helmholtz-Association of National Research Centres, have discovered a novel regulator which is crucial for this process and which they named NOMA-GAP (Neurite-Outgrowth MultiAdaptor RhoGAP). ...> Full Article

Human stem cells help monkeys recover from Parkinson's (8/15/2007)

The same treatment might work in humans ...> Full Article

Team Finds Way To Create Cancer Stem Cells (8/14/2007)

MIT achievement could aid cancer research ...> Full Article

Draining Away Brain's Toxic Protein To Stop Alzheimer's (8/14/2007)

Scientists are trying a plumber's approach to rid the brain of the amyloid buildup that plagues Alzheimer's patients: Simply drain the toxic protein away. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Culprit In Aging Muscles That Heal Poorly (8/12/2007)

Communication is critical. Garbled in, garbled out, so to (mis-)speak. Workers who get incomplete instructions produce an incomplete product, and that's exactly what happens with the stem cells in our aging muscles, according to researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. ...> Full Article

Researchers Turn Mouse into Factory for Human Liver Cells (8/11/2007)

A new company is spun off to market technology that could become a drug testing standard ...> Full Article

Scientists Gain New Understanding of Adult Stem Cell Regulation (8/10/2007)

Animal Model Shows New Control Point Required for Regeneration and Homeostasis ...> Full Article

Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Virus Linked To Liver Cancer In Mice (8/10/2007)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found further evidence linking a method used to deliver gene therapy in humans with the development of liver tumors in mice. ...> Full Article

Engineers Force Open Novel Protein Targets Within Stem Cells and Blood Cells (8/10/2007)

Applying physical stress to cells, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science have demonstrated that everyday forces can alter the structure of proteins tucked within cells, unfold them and expose new targets in the fight against disease. ...> Full Article

Research Links Protein, Stem Cells and Potential Alzheimer's Treatment (8/9/2007)

A team of scientists led by professor Kiminobu Sugaya at the University of Central Florida may have found a new way to treat Alzheimer's disease. ...> Full Article

Scientists Seek Test To Detect Gene Doping In Athletes (8/8/2007)

Gene doping has the potential to spawn athletes capable of out-running, out-jumping and out-cycling the strongest of champions. But research under way at the University of Florida could help level the playing field by detecting the first cases of gene doping in professional athletes before the practice enters the mainstream. ...> Full Article

Gene Therapy: Identifying Where Genes Can Successfully Integrate (8/7/2007)

Gene therapy -- whereby a retrovirus that integrates into the genome of a treated patient is used to deliver the gene of interest -- has been used to treat some individuals with inherited diseases such as X-linked SCID, a disease that causes widespread immunosuppression and therefore susceptibility to infection. ...> Full Article

Not All Embryonic Stem Cell Lines Are Created Equal (8/7/2007)

When it comes to generating neurons, researchers have found that not all embryonic stem (ES) cell lines are equal. In comparing neurons generated from two NIH-approved embryonic stem cell lines, scientists have uncovered significant differences in the mature, functioning neurons generated from each line. The discovery implies that culture conditions during ES cell generation - which have yet to be identified - can influence the developmental properties of human ES cells. ...> Full Article

Cell Damage Caused By Brushing May Help Keep Gums Healthy (8/6/2007)

One way regular brushing may help keep gums firm and pink is, paradoxically, by tearing open cells, researchers have found. ...> Full Article

Initial Trigger Is Not Enough To Determine A Stem Cell's Fate (8/5/2007)

Disturbing a stem cell from its initial quiescent state was once thought to taint its gold-standard properties. However, research uncovering how a signaling pathway regulates stem cell behavior reveals that stem cells, once activated, enter a window of time during which they respond to their environment and retain their ability to alter their developmental path. ...> Full Article

Scientists Move Closer To Bio-Engineered Bladders (8/5/2007)

Researchers at the University of York are using an understanding of the special cells that line the bladder to develop ways of restoring continence to patients with serious bladder conditions, including cancer. ...> Full Article

Discredited Korean Embryonic Stem Cells' True Origins Revealed (8/4/2007)

Discredited Korean embryonic stem cells' true origins revealed ...> Full Article

Personalized Stem Cell Lines Available Through Leading Fertility Clinics (8/4/2007)

StemLifeLine, a Bay Area-based life sciences company, announced today that under its new partnership agreements, three United States fertility clinics, the Fertility Laboratories of Colorado (FLC), the Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine (NCRM) and the Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine (ICRM), will now offer individuals who have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) the opportunity to use StemLifeLine's service to develop personal stem cell lines from their unused, stored embryos. StemLifeLine is the first company to offer this unique service. ...> Full Article

A Step Forward In Understanding Tissue Damage After Spinal Cord Injury (8/3/2007)

Acute spinal cord injury can damage spinal cord tissue and result in loss of functions such as mobility or feeling. ...> Full Article

Genomics For All (8/3/2007)

Broader access to education is key to an informed citizenry ...> Full Article

Stem Cell Therapy Rescues Motor Neurons In ALS Model (8/2/2007)

In a study that demonstrates the promise of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved intractable to modern medicine, a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown it is possible to rescue the dying neurons characteristic of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ...> Full Article

New Delivery System Might Also Convey Drugs or Cells to Targeted Site (8/2/2007)

New Delivery System Might Also Convey Drugs or Cells to Targeted Site ...> Full Article

Tissue-Engineering Research Focuses On Vocal Cords (8/1/2007)

Damaged or diseased vocal cords can forever change and even silence the voices we love, from a family member's to a famous personality's. ...> Full Article

Researchers Confirm That Bone Marrow Restores Fertility In Female Mice (8/1/2007)

A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers confirms that female mice that receive bone marrow transplantation after fertility-destroying chemotherapy can go on to have successful pregnancies throughout their normal reproductive life. ...> Full Article