Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

Annamaria Mocciaro on future research avenues for stem cell research This interview with Annamaria Mocciaro on the Future of stem cell research is part of the Futurium Talking Futures interview series. More information is avai... By: DigitalFutures2050 … Continue reading →

stem cell research F6373525 B9FE 40FF 8A84 11B056987500 By: Olivia Woodson … Continue reading →

A world leader in stem cell research is leaving the cutting-edge center he helped create in Barcelona due to a lack of support from the authorities in both Catalonia and Spain. Juan Carlos Izpisa, a Spanish biochemist who teaches at the Salk Institute in California and has earned numerous awards for his research into organ and tissue development, had helped found the Barcelona Regenerative Medicine Center (CMRB) in 2004, bringing Spain to the forefront of stem cell research. But now Izpisa is resigning from his director's post due to a lack of financial and political support from his two major public sponsors, the government of Spain and the regional government of Catalonia. Sources in the scientific community are blaming the move on "the cuts, political mediocrity and a lack of empathy from Madrid." They also note that Catalan premier Artur Mas met with Izpisa 18 months ago and assured him that he would put all available means at his disposal. Sources in the scientific community are blaming the move on "the cuts, political mediocrity and a lack of empathy from Madrid" According to sources familiar with the months-long negotiations, the decision to let Izpisa go originated in the Catalan government, … Continue reading →

ISSCR Board of Directors Discusses Membership Board members discuss what ISSCR membership and their visions for the future. By: International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) … Continue reading →

Annamaria Mocciaro on future policies for stem cell research This interview with Annamaria Mocciaro on the Future of stem cell research is part of the Futurium Talking Futures interview series. More information is avai... By: DigitalFutures2050 … Continue reading →

Annamaria Mocciaro on technological and theoretical challenges of stem cell research This interview with Annamaria Mocciaro on the Future of stem cell research is part of the Futurium Talking Futures interview series. More information is avai... By: DigitalFutures2050 … Continue reading →

Joe Panetta. Photo by Stephen Whalen Biocom President and CEO Joe Panetta has been appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicines independent citizens oversight committee, Biocom announced. This is an opportunity to work alongside patient advocates, researchers and leaders in the biotechnology space to guide the development of experimental medical treatments through regulatory bodies and ultimately to the patient, said Joe Panetta, who will remain president and CEO for Biocom, a life sciences trade group. The Institute for Regenerative Medicine was established in 2004 with the passage of Prop 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was approved by voters and called for establishing an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research and research facilities. San Diego is playing a major role in stem cell research. Businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford recently committed $100 million to create the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at University of California, San Diego. SDBJ Staff Report Read more from the original source: Biocom CEO Named to Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee By … Continue reading →

Scientists at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) successfully generated a stem cell model of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Using this stem cell model, researchers identified fourteen genes that may be implicated in the disease and one gene in particular that shows the importance that inflammation may play in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. In this study, published today in PLOS ONE, the team of scientists produced stem cells and neural precursor cells (NPCs), representing early neural progenitor cells that build the brain, from patients with severe early-onset AD with mutations in the Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene. These NPCs had elevated Abeta42/Abeta40 ratios, indicating elevation of the form of amyloid found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. These levels were greater than those in adult cells that did not have the PSEN1mutation. This elevated ratio showed that these NPCs grown in the petri dish were accurately reflecting the cells in the brains of FAD patients. "Our ability to accurately recapitulate the disease in the petri dish is an important advance for this disease. These genes provide us with new targets to help elucidate … Continue reading →

New technology developed by Cambridge UK researchers could rewire stem cells and help fight conditions such as heart & liver disease as well as cancer. The fast-working technique determines what causes stem cells to convert into other cell types and could revolutionise understanding of how genes function. The method uses stem cells with a single set of chromosomes, instead of the two sets found in most cells, to reveal what causes the circuitry of stem cells to be rewired as they begin the process of conversion into other cell types. The same method could also be used to understand a range of biological processes. Embryonic stem cells rely on a particular gene circuitry to retain their original, undifferentiated state, making them self-renewing. The dismantling of this circuitry is what allows stem cells to start converting into other types of cells - a process known as cell differentiation - but how this happens is poorly understood. The method uses stem cells with a single set of chromosomes to uncover how cell differentiation works. Cells in mammals contain two sets of chromosomes one set inherited from the mother and one from the father. This can present a challenge when studying the function … Continue reading →

Jan. 10, 2014 Harvard stem cells scientists at Brigham and Women's Hospital and MIT can now engineer cells that are more easily controlled following transplantation, potentially making cell therapies, hundreds of which are currently in clinical trials across the United States, more functional and efficient. Associate Professor Jeffrey Karp, PhD, and James Ankrum, PhD, demonstrate in this month's issue of Nature Protocols how to load cells with microparticles that provide the cells cues for how they should behave over the course of days or weeks as the particles degrade. "Regardless of where the cell is in the body, it's going to be receiving its cues from the inside," said Karp, a Harvard Stem Cell Institute Principal Faculty member at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This is a completely different strategy than the current method of placing cells onto drug-doped microcarriers or scaffolds, which is limiting because the cells need to remain in close proximity to those materials in order to function. Also these types of materials are too large to be infused into the bloodstream." Cells are relatively simple to control in a Petri dish. The right molecules or drugs, if internalized by a cell, can change its behavior; such as … Continue reading →