Research brings hope body parts can regrow: Like lower species, humans possess genes that direct the

Buoyed by recent genetic breakthroughs, researchers at Northwestern University and across the country have hopes of achieving a feat long thought to be impossible: enabling people to replace damaged body parts or even regrow missing limbs. Like salamanders and other lower species, humans possess genes that direct the body to make new arms and legs after an injury. But in humans, the genes lie dormant, inactivated after evolution favored the swift patching of wounds through scarring over the slow regeneration of body parts. ... Continue Reading

U of MN adult stem cell research shows promise for transplant therapies

University of Minnesota stem cell researchers, together with collaborators at Stanford University, have successfully used adult stem cells to replace the immune system and bone marrow of mice, offering the promise of new therapies for people in the future. With this advance and other recent discoveries, the researchers are winning over previous skeptics. ... Continue Reading

Beta cell discovery offers hope of new treatments for diabetes

Researchers have found a way of inducing human beta cells, the insulin-producing cells destroyed by diabetes, thus offering hope of new treatments for the disease. ... Continue Reading

Drug combination speeds healing

New research suggests that it may be possible to accelerate healing by using a combination of drugs that significantly increases the release of specific types of stem cells that help to regenerate damaged blood vessels, bone, and cartilage. ... Continue Reading

Researchers unveil injectable bone

British researchers have unveiled a form of injectable bone which could remove the need for painful and costly bone grafts. ... Continue Reading

Menstrual blood may have place in regenerative medicine

Blood produced during the menstrual cycle may prove to be a useful source of stem cells for regenerative medicine, new research has revealed. ... Continue Reading

Surgeons use stem cells to treat heart failure

In the first procedure of its kind in the United States, surgeons at Houston’s Methodist Hospital have injected stem cells directly into the heart of a patient with advanced heart failure. ... Continue Reading

Researchers grow new prostate from single stem cell

Researchers from biotechnology company Genentech have announced that they have managed to grow new prostate glands in mice by using adult stem cells. ... Continue Reading

Testicular cells may provide new source of stem cells

New research has found that testicular germ cells can be transformed into cells resembling embryonic stem cells, potentially providing researchers with a non-controversial source of the cells. ... Continue Reading

Researchers use common cold virus to create stem cells

Researchers at Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have used the common cold virus to create induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in mice, thus eliminating the need for potentially-dangerous retroviruses. ... Continue Reading

Source Of Multipotent Stem Cells With Broad Regenerative Potential identified

In a promising finding for the field of regenerative medicine, stem cell researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a source of adult stem cells found on the walls of blood vessels with the unlimited potential to differentiate into human tissues such as bone, cartilage and muscle. ... Continue Reading

Scientists use stem cell to regenerate heart tissue

Andre Terzic and colleagues have used embryonic stem cells to regenerate heart tissue in order to treat the congenital defect dilated cardiomyopathy. ... Continue Reading

International Stem Cell Registry now available online

The University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) have launched the International Stem Cell Registry (ISCR) on the Internet. ... Continue Reading

International Society for Stem Cell Research reiterates the importance of embryonic stem cell research

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has issued a statement reiterating the importance of embryonic and adult stem cell research. The move comes following results of a recent study led by Douglas Melton, co-director of the Institute and a founding member of the ISSCR, where non-insulin producing cells were transformed into insulin-producing cells via a technique known as direct reprogramming. ... Continue Reading

Cure for deafness moves closer to reality

Scientists have moved a step closer to developing a cure for deafness after managing to grow cells fundamental to hearing in mammals. ... Continue Reading