Harvard scientists are challenging traditional medical logic that dictates that women are born with a finite amount of eggs.  The scientists said they have discovered the ovaries of young women harbor rare stem cells that are in fact capable of producing new eggs. If properly harnessed, those stem cells may someday lead to new treatments for women suffering from infertility due to cancer or other diseases – or for those who are simply getting older, according to the researchers.  Lead researcher Jonathan Tilly of Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital has co-founded a company, OvaScience Inc., to try to develop the findings into fertility treatments. The idea that women are born with all the egg cells – called oocytes – they’ll ever have has been called into question by past research, which found egg-producing stem cells in adult mice. In this latest study, Harvard researchers, in collaboration with Japanese scientists, used donated frozen ovaries from 20 year olds and ‘fished out’ the purported stem cells.   The researchers inserted a gene into the stem cells, which caused them to glow green.  If the cells produced eggs, those would glow green, too. The researchers first watched through a microscope as new eggs grew … Continue reading →

NEWARK, Calif., Feb. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM - News) today announced that it will participate in the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy, which is being held in Qatar from February 27 to March 1, 2012. The Company, which is the leader in development of cell-based therapeutics for central nervous system disorders, was specifically invited by the conference's sponsors, the State of Qatar and Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, as well as the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University, and is the only company to be invited. Ann Tsukamoto, Ph.D., StemCells' Executive Vice President, Research and Development, will make a presentation on the clinical translation of human neural stem cells. StemCells was the first company to receive authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration to conduct a clinical trial of purified human neural stem cells, and the Company is currently conducting two clinical trials with a third anticipated to start later this year. Dr. Tsukamoto will also be the moderator of the panel session on neurological disorders, which is scheduled to be held on March 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. … Continue reading →

There is a tremendous opportunity in genetic medicine for innovation and for new players to make significant contributions, because it is still experimental, noted biologist and Nobel Laureate Dr David Baltimore said yesterday. “Today, it is mainly the province of biotechnology companies and universities, not big pharmaceutical companies,” he observed in a keynote presentation at the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy 2012. There are new genetic tools available – though they are still experimental - to treat diseases which involve adding, subtracting or modifying genes in the cells of the body. “However, they are powerful tools and I am confident they will be an important part of the medicine of the future,” he said. Speaking on ‘The hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) as a target for therapy against cancer and Aids,’ Dr Baltimore explained that HSCs are one of the few cell types routinely used for bone marrow transplant. The HSCs are easily accessible, retroviruses can be used to carry genes into these stem cells, the genes are then expressed in all of cells that derive from the HSC and can correct inherited defects and bring genes that perform therapy under a programme called engineering immunity. “Though … Continue reading →

SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers may have found a use for the chemical that causes the stench in bad breath, stink bombs, and flatulence. This smelly substance known as Hydrogen Sulphide has been used in helping to convert stem cells from human teeth into liver cells. The scientists conducting the investigation and research in the Journal of Breath Research claim that the gas increased the purity of the stem cells. The goal is that the liver cells produced from the stem cells could be used for repair if the organ was damaged. Hydrogen Sulphide is produced by bacteria, and is toxic in large amounts. A group in China has reportedly tested the gas on rats to enhance the survival of mesenchymal stem cells taken from the bone marrow. Researchers from the Nippon Dental University were investigating stem cells from dental pulp — the material in the middle of the tooth. The dental pulp was taken from patients undergoing a routine tooth extraction. Dr. Ken Yaegaki, the lead author of the study, told the BBC why the dental pulp was so effective. "High purity means there are less 'wrong cells' that are being differentiated to other tissues, or remaining as stem … Continue reading →

February 27, 2012 Japanese scientists have recently discovered that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) – the chemical responsible for such malodorous phenomena as human flatulence, bad breath and rotten eggs – can be used to efficiently convert stem cells from human teeth into liver cells. While the fetid chemical compound is produced in small quantities by the human body for use in a variety of biological signaling mechanisms, at high concentrations it is highly poisonous and extremely flammable. A team of researchers at the Nippon Dental University in Tokyo collected stem cells from the teeth of patients undergoing extractions. The cells were harvested from the central part of the tooth known as the pulp which is made up predominantly of connective tissue and cells. Stem cells recovered from the pulp were then divided into two groups and incubated in sealed chambers, one filled with hydrogen sulfide and the other a control group. The cells from each chamber were then examined at three-day intervals to look for signs of transformation into liver cells. One such indicator is the ability to store glycogen, a compound that can be converted to glucose when the body needs energy. According to a report of their findings that … Continue reading →