Cloning And Stem Cell News, Research and Resources Archives Page 12

New Gene Discovery Offers Further Hope For Childhood Blindness (6/14/2007)

An international research team has discovered a gene that, when mutated, causes one of the most common forms of inherited blindness in babies. Scientists at the University of Leeds, working in collaboration with experts from other centres around the world, identified the gene, which is essential to photoreceptors in the eye, the cells that "see" light. ...> Full Article

Self-Healing Materials Can Mimic Human Skin (6/13/2007)

The next generation of self-healing materials, invented by researchers at the University of Illinois, mimics human skin by healing itself time after time. The new materials rely upon embedded, three-dimensional microvascular networks that emulate biological circulatory systems. ...> Full Article

Uncovering The Molecular Basis Of Obesity (6/12/2007)

Researchers discover the molecule that links spontaneous physical activity and food intake in mice ...> Full Article

Cord Blood Comparable To Matched Bone Marrow (6/12/2007)

University of Minnesota researchers report that umbilical cord blood transplants may offer blood cancer patients better outcomes than bone marrow transplants, according to an analysis of outcome data performed at the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. ...> Full Article

Transposon, Jumping Gene, Shows Promise For Sickle Cell Gene Therapy (6/11/2007)

The Sleeping Beauty tranposon (SB-Tn) system, a gene therapy technology that avoids the pitfalls of transferring genes with viruses, shows promise in laboratory experiments for correcting the gene defect responsible for sickle cell disease (SCD), scientists in Minnesota are reporting. ...> Full Article

Bipolar Disorder Risk Genes Identified (6/11/2007)

Cardiff School of Medicine scientists have opened the way to possible new treatments for bipolar disorder by starting to pinpoint the biological mechanisms involved in the illness. ...> Full Article

Hormone Ignites the Body's Fat-Burning Furnace (6/11/2007)

Researchers have identified a master hormone that allows the body to fuel itself with stored fat during times of fasting. The hormone mobilizes lipids from fat cells, and then directs the liver to transform those lipids into energy-rich molecules that circulate throughout the body. ...> Full Article

Researchers Track Human Stem Cells Transplanted Into Rat Brain (6/10/2007)

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have illuminated the path taken by human neural stem cells that were transplanted into the brains of rats and mice, and found that the cells successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke. ...> Full Article

Researchers Approach Key Goal Of Biologists - Cell Reprogramming (6/10/2007)

Two Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers and scientists at Whitehead Institute and Japan's Kyoto University have independently taken major steps toward discovering ways to reprogram cells in order to direct their development - a key goal in developmental biology and regenerative medicine. ...> Full Article

Study Reveals How Stroke Or Head Injury Can Increase Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease (6/10/2007)

Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MGH-MIND) have discovered how the death of brain cells caused by a stroke or head injury may cause generation of amyloid-beta protein - the key component of senile plaques seen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Their report appears in the June 7 issue of the journal Neuron. ...> Full Article

New Platform For Regulating Expression Of Therapeutic Genes Unveiled (6/9/2007)

A new platform for regulating the expression of therapeutic genes, which will have major implications for gene and cell therapy, was presented today at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle. ...> Full Article

Research Team Identifies New Alzheimer's Gene (6/9/2007)

Powerful research tools and public data set opens new era in the genetic study of Alzheimer's ...> Full Article

Crucial Progress In Understanding Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (6/9/2007)

Researchers in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine have identified a new regulatory target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), laying the groundwork for possible new treatments for Fragile X syndrome(FXS), the leading inherited form of mental retardation. ...> Full Article

Reprogrammed Fibroblasts Identical To Embryonic Stem Cells (6/8/2007)

Embryonic stem cells are unique because they can develop into virtually any kind of tissue type, an attribute called pluripotency. Somatic cell nuclear transfer ("therapeutic cloning") offers the hope of one day creating customized embryonic stem cells with a patient's own DNA. Here, an individual's DNA would be placed into an egg, resulting in a blastocyst that houses a supply of stem cells. But to access these cells, researchers must destroy a viable embryo. ...> Full Article

Genetically Modified Stem Cells May Treat Genetic Disorders (6/8/2007)

A study demonstrating therapeutic utilization of human stem cells, including potential application to X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (XSCID or "Bubble-Boy" disease) was presented today at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle. ...> Full Article

Studies To Find Better Ways To Preserve Human Eggs, Ovarian Tissue Under Way (6/8/2007)

The goal is to make human eggs, ovarian tissue, blood vessels, even whole organs available when needed. ...> Full Article

Scientists Set Their Sights On Cure For AMD (6/7/2007)

A groundbreaking surgical therapy capable of stabilising and restoring vision in the vast majority of patients who currently suffer blindness through Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is to be taken to clinical trial by scientists and clinicians at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital and the University of Sheffield. The therapy, using cells derived from human embryonic stem cells to replace the faulty retinal cells that cause AMD, will be developed by the London Project to Cure AMD, a collaborative project launched today bringing together some of the leading specialists in the field. ...> Full Article

Researchers Find Mechanisms That May Unlock Answers To Alzheimer's Disease (6/7/2007)

Four million people in the United States and 15 to 20 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer's disease. These numbers are likely to triple by 2050 due to the fact that 24 percent of the population will be more than 65 years old. In their attempt to combat the disease, two University of Missouri-Columbia professors have identified new mechanisms that could have major implications in the development of treatments for the disease. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $6 million grant to the Mizzou researchers to continue their study. ...> Full Article

Brain Inflammation May Be Friend, Not Foe, For Alzheimer's Patients (6/6/2007)

New findings fit well with vaccine approach to fight disease ...> Full Article

Cell Biologist Offers Insights into Embryonic Development (6/5/2007)

The development of the human embryo is exquisitely choreographed. After fertilization, the egg starts dividing. After four rounds of division, the embryo, now known as the morula, leaves the fallopian tube and enters the uterine cavity. As it moves, the morula changes form. It starts to resemble a microscopic tennis ball, inside of which are a hollow space and a mass of cells. The cells inside the ball form the embryoblasts, while those on the outside become trophoblasts, cells that will form the placenta. ...> Full Article

Scientists Identify Novel Stem Cell In Adult Muscle (6/4/2007)

Scientists at the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research have identified a novel population of stem cells in adult muscle. The results, published in the scientific journal Cell, represent a significant advance towards the development of stem cell-based therapies for degenerative muscle diseases. ...> Full Article

Muscle Repair Depends on Multiple Cell Types (6/3/2007)

Researchers have identified a new population of stem cells that act to repair muscle after damage. ...> Full Article

Human Stem Cell Treatment Restores Motor Function in Paralyzed Rats (6/2/2007)

Rats paralyzed due to loss of blood flow to the spine returned to near normal ambulatory function six weeks after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells (hSSCs). ...> Full Article

Researchers Probe Bones' Tiny Building Blocks (5/25/2007)

Team's results could lead to new composites that mimic bones' capacity to 'fail gracefully' ...> Full Article

Study Advances Efforts to Use Gene Therapy to Treat Obesity (5/25/2007)

Gene therapy that could treat obesity may also have benefits for bone growth, according to a new study by scientists at Oregon State University and the University of Florida. ...> Full Article

Researchers Awaken Vision Cells In Blind Mice (5/24/2007)

University of Florida researchers used gene therapy to restore sight in mice with a form of hereditary blindness, a finding that has bearing on many of the most common blinding diseases. ...> Full Article

Mice And Men Make Livers Differently (5/24/2007)

Work should guide researchers using mice as models for human biology ...> Full Article

Scientists Develop Tiny Implantable Biocomputers (5/23/2007)

Molecular devices' remarkably precise scans of cellular activity could revolutionize medicine ...> Full Article

Gel Derived From A Patient's Own Blood May Help Promote Wound Healing (5/23/2007)

A preliminary study suggests that topical application of a gel made from platelets in healthy individuals' own blood may help wounds heal more quickly and completely, according to a report in the May/June issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

Researchers Growing Bone in a Lab (5/22/2007)

As the nation ages, an estimated 44 million Americans, including at least half of those ages 50 and older, are at risk for osteoporosis, making their bones fragile and vulnerable to serious fractures. ...> Full Article