Cellular Renovation Why build something from the ground up when one can just renovate an already existing structure? Essentially, thats what researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis had in mind when they developed a method for transforming adult human skin cells into motor neurons in a lab. They published their work in the journal Cell Stem Cell. In this study, we only used skin cells from healthy adults ranging in age from early 20s to late 60s, senior author Andrew S. Yoo said in a press release. Our research revealed how small RNA molecules can work with other cell signals called transcription factors to generate specific types of neurons, in this case motor neurons. In the future, we would like to study skin cells from patients with disorders of motor neurons. Our conversion process should model late-onset aspects of the disease using neurons derived from patients with the condition. They did this by exposing skin cells in a lab to certain molecular signals usually found at high levels in the human brain. They focused on two short snippets of RNA: microRNAs (mRNAs) called miR-9 and miR-124, which are involved in repurposing the genetic instructions … Continue reading →

Professor Che Connon and Dr Stephen Swioklo of Atelerix, a spin-out from Newcastle University, is offering the transformative hydrogel technology for the storage and transport of viable cells including stem cells and cell-based assays at ambient temperatures. Credit: Newcastle University Atelerix, a spin-out from Newcastle University, UK is offering the transformative hydrogel technology for the storage and transport of viable cells including stem cells and cell-based assays at ambient temperatures. This overcomes the barriers presented by the current need for cryo-shipping as it is simple, cell-friendly and offers immediate access to stem cell therapy. This opens up the market for the supply of cells and assays in a ready-to-use format, allowing suppliers to increase the range of assays available to consumers and to scale up their businesses. The breakthrough, patented invention, provides dramatic improvements to an everyday process in a rapidly growing market. Scientific founder, Professor Che Connon of Newcastle University, has been working on the underpinning technology for five years. He said: "Encapsulating cells in the alginate hydrogel is a simple, low cost system capable of preserving the viability and functionality of cells at temperatures between 4 and 21C for extended periods of time. "Used as a method of … Continue reading →

In developing fetuses, infection by the Zika virus can result in devastating neurological damage, most notably microcephaly and other brain malformations. In a new study, published today in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report the virus specifically targets and kills brain cancer stem cells. The findings suggest the lethal power of the virus notorious for causing infected babies to be born with under-sized, misshapen heads could be directed at malignant cells in adult brains. Doing so might potentially improve survival rates for patients diagnosed with glioblastomas, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, with a median survival rate of just over 14 months after diagnosis. The Zika virus specifically targets neuroprogenitor cells in fetal and adult brains. Our research shows it also selectively targets and kills cancer stem cells, which tend to be resistant to standard treatments and a big reason why glioblastomas recur after surgery and result in shorter patient survival rates, said Jeremy Rich, MD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Rich is co-senior author of the study with Michael S. Diamond, … Continue reading →

Italian Minister for Education, University, and Research Valeria Fedeli AP Photo/Luca Bruno By Marta PaterliniSep. 7, 2017 , 4:50 PM Plagued by budget cuts and attacks on science, Italian scientists have had little to cheer about recently. But on Sunday, they received a welcome surprise when Valeria Fedeli, the minister for education, university, and research, announced that Italy will put an extra 400 million into its main basic science fund, the Research Projects of National Interest (PRIN). The money, to be spent over 3 years, will more than quadruple PRINs annual funding. The biggest part of the increase, 250 million, will come out of unused reserves at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), a government-funded private foundation in Genoa that has recently come under criticism. This is the largest investment in competitive funds for basic research of the last 20 years, says Elena Cattaneo, a stem cell biologist at the University of Milan and a senator for life in the Italian Parliament who had lobbied for the shift to basic science. PRIN funding has been going up and down since 2002, according to a group of academics calling itselfReturn On Academic ReSearch (ROARS), but overall has been modest. The latest … Continue reading →