Stem Cells

Sport is tough on the body, and one of the major health risks from being active is permanent damage to cartilage around the joints. Humans are unable to regenerate cartilage once they are adults and often have to live with little relief from painful joints or osteoarthritis, but researchers at Northwestern University are the first to design a bio-active nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. Good new sports fans... Read More

The medical profession has experienced much difficulty and frustration in detecting and treating ovarian cancer, but researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, Connecticut, believe they have made a major breakthrough. They say eliminating cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor could hold the key to successful treatments. Read More

A proof-of-principle study has demonstrated that it is possible to engineer human blood stem cells into cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells. The result is the equivalent of a genetic vaccine which is not only good news in the fight against HIV - the process could also be used against a range of chronic viral diseases. Read More

The humble contact lens has long been used to improve people’s vision, but now researchers have restored sight in patients suffering corneal damage using a technique where contact lenses are cultured with stem cells. Fast, cheap and non-invasive, the groundbreaking technique even has the potential for regrowing skin and other organs. Read More

U.K. Scientists have designed, developed and tested new molecular tools for stem cell research to direct the formation of certain tissue types for use in drug development programmes. A collaborative team of scientists from Durham University and the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) has developed two synthetic molecules which can be used to coax stem cells to ‘differentiate’ - that is, transform into other forms of tissue. Their use could also help reduce the number of animals used in laboratory research. Read More

August 6, 2007 The number of breast enlargement operations performed in the US, for both augmentation and reconstruction purposes, has radically increased in the last decade. At the same time the number of operations to remove implants has also risen and given the potential surgical complications and health consequences of such surgery, many doctors find this trend troubling. Cytori Therapeutics, a Californian biotech company, has used stem cell technology to develop a more natural breast growth procedure and although it is still too early to determine their long term effectiveness, it’s possible that by avoiding the problems associated with current implants, the new approach could be a safer, healthier alternative. Read More

June 10, 2005 Czech scientists have made significant new breakthroughs in stem cell research. Dr. Petr Dvorak, scientist with the Institute of Experimental Medicine at the Czech Academy of Sciences, says his research suggests embryonic stem cells maintained in a universal or 'totipotent' status can, under certain conditions, be used to develop any type of cells in the human body, a key component to realising the full potential of stem cell therapies. The Institute has also seen several other stem cell research breakthroughs, most notably developing a procedure that uses stem cells to repair the brain and spinal cord employing nanotechnologies as a labeling-and-delivery mechanism. Read More