All Articles Tagged As: organs

Mathematical innovation turns blood draw into information gold mine in Stanford study (3/10/2010)

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a software algorithm that could enable a common laboratory device to virtually separate a whole-blood sample into its different cell types and detect medically important gene-activity changes specific to any one of those cell types. ...> Full Article

Scientists discover molecular pathway for organ tissue regeneration and repair (2/17/2010)

Scientists have discovered a molecular pathway that works through the immune system to regenerate damaged kidney tissues and may lead to new therapies for repairing injury in other organs. The study in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may have significant medical ramifications as currently there are no effective treatments for acute kidney injury -- a growing problem in hospitals and clinics. ...> Full Article

Study uses sophisticated genetic engineering to improve insulin-producing beta cells (10/9/2009)

A study to be published today in the leading international journal Cell Metabolism describes how a research group led by Dr. Robert Screaton, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Apoptotic Signaling at the University of Ottawa, used sophisticated genetic engineering to remove or "knock out" the Lkb1 gene from beta cells of laboratory mice. The result was an increase in both the size and number of beta cells, as well as greater amounts of insulin stored and released by the cells. ...> Full Article

Stem cell success points to way to regenerate parathyroid glands (10/2/2009)

An early laboratory success is taking University of Michigan researchers a step closer to parathyroid gland transplants that could one day prevent a currently untreatable form of bone loss associated with thyroid surgery. ...> Full Article

Engineering team to design and study liver mimics (9/15/2009)

Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers will use more than $1 million in grant funding to study engineered tissues that mimic the liver, one of the human body's most complex organs. The primary research goal of these projects is to assemble 3D cellular structures that mimic the liver using the major cell types found in the liver. Liver mimics could eventually form the basis for extracorporeal liver-assist devices. ...> Full Article

Male germ cells can be directly converted into other cell types (7/30/2009)

Researchers have found a way to directly convert spermatogonial stem cells, the precursors of sperm cells, into tissues of the prostate, skin and uterus. ...> Full Article

Induced pluripotent stem cells repair heart, study shows (7/21/2009)

In a proof-of-concept study, Mayo Clinic investigators have demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be used to treat heart disease. iPS cells are stem cells converted from adult cells. ...> 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

Technique may help stem cells generate solid organs, study shows (3/4/2009)

Stem cells can thrive in segments of well-vascularized tissue temporarily removed from laboratory animals, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. ...> Full Article

From stem cells to new organs: Scientists cross threshold in regenerative medicine (2/27/2009)

Research in the FASEB Journal clears major hurdles for bioengineered replacement organs ...> Full Article

Biologists find stem cell-like functions in other types of plant cells (1/29/2009)

Ordinary cells have the ability to replace lost organs in plants -- a function previously thought to be limited to stem cells -- researchers at New York University's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and Utrecht University in the Netherlands have found. ...> Full Article

Cancer drug effectively treats transplant rejections (1/2/2009)

University of Cincinnati researchers have discovered a new therapy for transplant patients, targeting the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection. ...> Full Article

Molecular events involved in liver regeneration (12/24/2008)

A research group from Germany investigated if there is a relation between the extent of liver resections and activation of certain molecular processes playing a role in liver regeneration. They found a delayed activation of NF-kappa B and reduced expression of cytokines relevant for beginning and continuation of liver regeneration after liver resection of major extent. ...> Full Article

New regulatory mechanism discovered for cell identify and behavior in forming organs (11/5/2008)

Study may have broad implications for cancer, other diseases ...> Full Article

Immune molecule that plays a powerful role in avoiding organ rejection identified (6/21/2008)

When a mouse's immune system is deciding whether to reject a skin graft, one powerful member of a molecular family designed to provoke such a response can effectively reduce the visibility of the mouse's own cells and help the graft survive ...> Full Article

Caution on stem cell therapy (6/9/2008)

More than 1 kind of adult stem cell in guts ...> Full Article

First-Ever Recording of Blood Vessel Development During the Formation of an Organ (6/8/2008)

A new microscope system that can take 3-D pictures of an embryonic mouse organ over 24 to 48 hours has shown researchers the first glimpse of the formation of blood vessels during development. ...> Full Article

From Stem Cells To Organs: The Bioengineering Challenge (2/17/2008)

For more than a decade, Peter Zandstra has been working at the University of Toronto to rev up the production of stem cells and their descendants. The raw materials are adult blood stem cells and embryonic stem cells. The end products are blood and heart cells -- lots of them. Enough mouse heart cells that they form beating tissue. ...> Full Article

Study probes stance on animal-to-human transplants (1/27/2008)

A study has found people who would benefit from animal-to-human transplants (xenotransplants), baulk at the idea of receiving organs from animals otherwise destined for their dinner plate. ...> Full Article

Cell printing pioneer shortlisted for major prize (1/25/2008)

A professor who developed technology that allows tailor-made tissues and bones to be grown has been shortlisted for a major international prize that recognises world changing ideas. ...> Full Article

Enzyme Mutation Disrupts Organ Growth (11/29/2007)

The cellular mechanism that turns DNA into all of the thousands of proteins that make up a human body is itself both intricate and interesting. A key player in the process--called transcription--is the enzyme RNA polymerase III. A new study reports that a mutation of this enzyme prevents cell division, but surprisingly, only affects the development of specific organs. It may also have a therapeutic application against cancer. ...> Full Article

Breakthrough in Organ Rejection Diagnosis Examines Gene Behavior (11/25/2007)

New Research describes a revolutionary technique for more clearly identifying the possibility of organ rejection in kidney transplants. The technique, which uses a microarray or "Gene Chip," a process of examining DNA sequences, defines how major causes of organ disease leading to rejection share similar disturbances in gene behavior. The study is the first to show how gene sets, as opposed to single genes, can be used for diagnosis of rejection in individual patients, and offers new insight into the mechanisms of these gene changes. ...> Full Article

Research Team Makes Progress Toward 'Printing' Organs (11/7/2007)

Biology-based process maintains cell properties and lets nature do the rest ...> Full Article

Stem Cells Derived from Adult Testes Produce Wide Range of Tissue Types for Therapeutic Organ Regeneration (9/20/2007)

After a decade of research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have succeeded in reprogramming adult stem cells from the testes of male mice into functional blood vessels and contractile cardiac tissue. The research offers a promising new source of stem cells for use in organ regeneration studies. ...> Full Article

Nanotechnology May Be Used to Regenerate Tissues And Organs (5/3/2007)

Research at Northwestern University has shown that a combination of nanotechnology and biology may enable damaged tissues and organs to heal themselves. ...> Full Article