Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from multi-million dollar stem cell research and life sciences facilities opened yesterday by HRH, the Princess Royal. The Princess Royal is to unveil plaques this afternoon at the $85 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) and $38 million bio-incubator facility, Nine, in Edinburgh. The University of Edinburgh's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine will carry out cutting-edge stem cell research to help find therapies for patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease, and heart and liver diseases. The centre is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, was opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of the University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies. Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and … Continue reading →

A U.S.-based academic journal has withdrawn a paper written by a Seoul National University stem cell researcher over the latter`s inclusion of a photo that had previously been released by other scientists. Antacid Replication Service was confirmed Monday to have withdrawn four papers registered by Dr. Kang Soo-kyung, who is a member of 21st Century Frontier, a cell application research center, and a steady performer in stem cell research. Eight people requesting anonymity sent email messages to 10 international journals including Antacid raising suspicion over duplicate photo postings on papers that Kang participated in as corresponding author. A corresponding author is someone responsible for overall research. The informants made a 70-page slide on suspicions surrounding 14 papers Kang published as a corresponding author from 2006 to 2012. They claimed she used photos that had been posted earlier in other people`s papers, saying the same photo was used in a number of other papers. Antacid`s editorial team requested an explanation from Kang and erased the four papers, and is also examining if the photo posting was an error or intentional. In response, Kang claimed she made a mistake, saying, "This was a mistake I made in the process of announcing new … Continue reading →

28 May 2012 Last updated at 09:14 ET A 54m cutting-edge stem cell research centre in Edinburgh has been officially opened by the Princess Royal. The Royal opened the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine as well as the 24m bio-incubator facility, Nine, in the Edinburgh BioQuarter. Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from the new facilities in Little France. The Princess Royal unveiled plaques at the centres. Edinburgh University's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by Edinburgh University, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, is being opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of Edinburgh University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies. Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the UK government's department for business, innovation and skills, has 85,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for both established biotechnology companies and … Continue reading →

San Diego scientists will receive about $18.1 million in the latest round of funding from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the agency that's distributing $3 billion in stem cell research money made available through Proposition 71. Since funding began, San Diego County researchers have been awarded at least $258 million, making the region one of the largest stem cell research clusters in the country. Extended U-T science coverage on Facebook Here's a sample of the latest grants: Mark Tuszynski, UC San Diego, $4.7 million for research on novel stem cell therapies to treat spinal cord injuries. Peter Schutlz, The Scripps Research Institute, $4.3 million for research to treat multiple sclerosis. Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Salk Institute, $2.3 million for research that would help repair damaged blood vessels. Yang Xu, UC San Diego, $1.8 million for research that would help treat heart failure. Eric Adler, UC San Diego, $1.7 million for research to help treat Danon disease, which causes major abnormalities in heart and skeletal muscles. David Schubert, Salk Institute, $1.7 million for research aimed at treating Alzheimer's disease Read the original post: SD scientists get $18 million in stem cell funds … Continue reading →

SACRAMENTO California's stem cell agency today approved two grants to UC Davis Health System researchers for their innovative work in regenerative medicine. Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, distinguished professor of orthopaedic surgery and professor and chair of biomedical engineering, and the Child Family Professor of Engineering at UC Davis, is investigating the use of skin-derived stem cells to heal cartilage injuries and debilitating conditions of the knee such as osteoarthritis. W. Douglas Boyd, professor of surgery, plans to further refine a novel approach to treating cardiovascular injuries suffered during a heart attack by using stem cells and a tissue-like scaffold to repair cardiac damage. The pair received individual grants totaling approximately $6.6 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine's (CIRM) governing board. Athanasiou's and Boyd's multi-year grants were among the proposals submitted to CIRM for its third round of Early Translational Awards, which are intended to enable clinical therapies to be developed more rapidly. "Both of these scientists are conducting exciting research that could have far-reaching implications in health care," said Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures and the university's stem cell program director. "Dr. Athanasiou is bioengineering new cartilage that could have the same physiological … Continue reading →

Today, we have some awesome writings from seven (a factor of 42) equally awesome young or early-career science writers. Read about the science of oppressive urban environments, open science, the worlds first stem cell drug and more All here. Rachel Nuwer, freelance science journalist, writes about a new research which aims to curtail oppressive urban environments in big cities, in Txchnologist. Oh, trees help. Researchers Seek to Measure the Oppressiveness of Streetscapes In the urban canyons, pedestrians shuffle in shadowed gullies carved between skyscrapers. Enclosed by hundreds of stories of steel and concrete, the hapless passersby feel the buildings loom over them like dark sentries. It may sound like a scene from Blade Runner, but some researchers are concerned that mega-cities like New York, Tokyo or Hong Kong darken more than pedestrian walkways. The built environment, some believe, may be an additional source of anxiety in an urbanites day-to-day life, as much as pressure from work and relationships. Brett Szmajda, an editorial intern at Cosmos, writes about a speech-analysis software that can assess your stress levels for Cosmos Online. Software to monitor your working memory A nifty piece of software can now monitor workers and pick up on subtle cues … Continue reading →

Date: Friday May. 25, 2012 9:27 AM ET CALGARY Calgary scientists say they have revolutionized stem cell production and have found a way to create the super cells without the risk of cancer. A pair of researchers at the University of Calgary have created a device that allows them to produce millions of cells which can then be reprogrammed to make stem cells. Dr. Derrick Rancourt and Dr. Roman Krawetz say they have perfected a new bioreactor technology that allows them to make millions of pluripotent stem cells much more quickly than ever before. Pluripotent stem cells come from two main sources; embryos and adult cells that have been reprogrammed by scientists. Scientists turn on four specific genes to reprogram the cells into stem cells which results in pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells. Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate into almost any cell in the body. "The even better news is, we made these stem cells without introducing the cancer gene at all," says Rancourt, co-author of the research, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal Nature Methods. "These stem cells are an outstanding alternative to embryonic stem cells." Up until now, scientists were limited … Continue reading →

Stem cells have assumed near-mythical status in the popular imagination as a possible cure for every disease under the sun. But while public attention has focused on their potential in regenerative medicine, stem cells have quietly gained a foothold in drug development a move that may hail a huge but unheralded shake-up of the biological sciences. I think there are tremendous parallels to the early days of recombinant DNA in this field, says James Thomson, director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wisconsin, and one of the founders of Cellular Dynamics International, also in Madison. I dont think people appreciated what a broad-ranging tool recombinant DNA was in the middle '70s." At the same time, he says, they underestimated the difficulty of using it in treatments. Now stem cells are in a similar situation, he says, and although therapeutic use is likely to come to fruition eventually, people underappreciate how broadly enabling a research tool it is, he says. Laboratory-grown stem cells hold much promise for regenerative medicine, but are being increasingly used in drug testing. MASSIMO BREGA, THE LIGHTHOUSE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Drug companies began dipping a tentative toe into the stem-cell waters about two … Continue reading →

Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Malin Parmar Malin.Parmar@med.lu.se 46-709-823-901 Lund University A new technique that converts stem cells into brain cells has been developed by researchers at Lund University. The method is simpler, quicker and safer than previous research has shown and opens the doors to a shorter route to clinical cell transplants. By adding two different molecules, the researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple way of starting the stem cells' journey to become finished brain cells. The process mimics the brain's natural development by releasing signals that are part of the normal development process. Experiments in animal models have shown that the cells quickly adapt in the brain and behave like normal brain cells. "This technique allows us to fine-tune our steering of stem cells to different types of brain cells. Previous studies have not always used the signals that are activated during the brain's normal development. This has caused the transplanted cells to develop tumours or function poorly in the brain", says Agnete Kirkeby, one of the authors of the study. Since the method effectively imitates the brain's own processes, it reduces the risk of tumour formation, one of the most common … Continue reading →

Five UC San Diego scientists have received almost $12 million combined from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to pay for stem cell-based research, the university announced today. A team led by Lawrence Goldstein, of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, was given $1.8 million to continue looking for new methods to find and test possible medications for Alzheimer's disease, according to UCSD. They use reprogrammed stem cells in their work. Dr. Mark Tuszynski, professor of neurosciences and director of the Center for Neural Repair, received $4.6 million to develop more potent stem cell-based treatments for spinal cord injuries. Gene Yeo, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, was awarded $1.6 million to continue research into treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His research hopes to take advantage of recent discoveries about ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, which center on mutations in RNA-binding proteins that cause dysfunction and death in neurons. Dr. Eric David Adler, an associate clinical professor of medicine and cardiologist, was granted $1.7 million to screen potential drugs for Danon disease, a type of inherited heart failure that frequently kills patients by their 20s. … Continue reading →