Brain cells made from skin cells, bypassing stem cell phase

Mouse skin cells have been converted directly into neural precursor cells which go on to form the major cells in the brain...[Read More]

Synthetic blood to be trialled within two years

Artificial blood, manufactured from human stem cells, could be used in patient trials within two years. The blood will be based on the universal donor group (O rhesus negative), a blood type suitable for up to 98 percent of the population...[Read More]

Film Review: Stem Cell Revolutions - A Vision of the Future

The short film 'Stem Cell Revolutions: A Vision of the Future' uses interviews to document how stem cells have 'vitally changed our understanding of the human body'. The film opens with a voiceover by the film's celebrity commentator novelist Margaret Atwood: 'Sometimes it seems stem cells are proposed as the answer to everything... What can't they do?'...[Read More]

Artificial sperm made from stem cells

Scientists in Japan have successfully generated viable sperm cells from embryonic stem cells in mice. The sperm cells were able to fertilise eggs and for the first time this produced healthy, fertile offspring...[Read More]

Brain cells made from skin

US researchers have successfully converted human skin cells directly into brain nerve cells, skipping an intermediate stem cell stage. The new technique has the potential to aid research into neurodegenerative disorders of the brain, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's....[Read More]

Stem cells, pigs and replacement organs

Scientists in Japan have reported the production of mice that have rat's organs. They suggest that one day this technique could be used to grow spare human organs in another species such as pigs, easing organ shortages and reducing long waiting times for transplants...[Read More]

New method '100-fold' better at stem cell reprogramming

A novel and more efficient method for generating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from adult cells using small RNA molecules has been discovered by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in the USA...[Read More]

Study finds abnormalities in iPS Cells

Adult human cells maintain a 'memory' when reprogrammed into a stem cell-like state, US scientists have found. The finding suggests the resulting induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are not yet a viable alternative to human embryonic stem (ES) cells for modelling or treating disease...[Read More]

Book Review: Stem Cells - Science and Ethics

This colourful, illustrated guide to stem cells is the perfect companion for any student wishing to gain a greater understanding of stem cell research, use and ethical debates...[Read More]

Setback in non-embryonic stem cell use

Stem cells created from a patients' own tissue are subtly different from those derived from embryos in ways that may affect their therapeutic potential, two independent research groups have found. Both studies found induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) retain an 'epigenetic memory' of their tissue of origin...[Read More]

Stem cell research for Motor Neurone Disease advancing

A new research project, which will use human stem cells to artificially create the diseased brain cells affected in Motor Neurone Disease (MND) could pave the way for a cure for sufferers....[Read More]

Reprogrammed stem cells could decrease animal testing

Reprogrammed stem cells could reduce or even eliminate the need for animal testing, according to the scientist who first created them...[Read More]

Small RNAs help stem cells change state

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered that microRNA (miRNA) play a key role in the switch in state between a stem cell and a mature, differentiated cell...[Read More]

New technique creates genetic disease models in human stem cells

Scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), US, have developed a technique to transfer modified genes known to cause disease in humans into human embryonic stem cell (ES cell) lines. The modified ES cells behave like diseased cells and can be used to study human genetic diseases in the laboratory. The new technique provides an alternative approach to mouse 'knock out' models of disease....[Read More]

Book Review: An Introduction to Stem Cells

With modern day medico-scientific technology advancing at an incredible pace, it is very easy for the layperson to become caught up in the technical language used by scientists and academics in their specialist field. Often, out of a lack of expertise, even the media misrepresent information, particularly in relation to research involving stem cells...[Read More]

Adult tissue reprogrammed into stem cells faster

Researchers at the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), lead by Professor Rudolf Jaenisch, have identified genetic pathways that can speed up the process of reprogramming mature adult cells into stem cells, known as iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells....[Read More]

Scientists demonstrate progress in stem cell therapies to repair damaged sight

Clinical studies presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in the United States have shown that stem cells may be used effectively in the treatment of eye disease and other retinal damage. As reported by Science Daily, in separate trials researchers demonstrated that fetal cells and retinal precursor cells derived from embryonic stem cells and also those developed using iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells can help regenerate damaged areas of...[Read More]

Skin cells reprogrammed to create retina cells

Light-sensing retinal eye cells have been grown from human skin cells for the first time. This raises the future possibility of restoring vision to patients with retinas damaged by certain degenerative diseases, by growing rescue or repair cells from the patient's skin...[Read More]

Stem cell researchers warn of egg shortage in the US

US stem cell researchers have called for prohibitions on the payment of compensation to egg donors to be removed if an egg shortage crisis is to be avoided. In an article published in Nature last week, Kevin Eggan and Douglas Melton from Harvard University's Stem Cell Institute...[Read More]

Stem cell lines created with sickle cell anaemia mutation

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US have found a faster and more efficient way to reprogramme cells into embryonic-like stem cells so that they can be used to study genetic disorders such as sickle cell anaemia. The study was published in the...[Read More]