all stem cells stories

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404132862 — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:29:50 -0400

When the baby vomited again, Gail Melton knew something was seriously wrong with her second child, a son she and her husband, Doug Melton, had named Sam.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers turn one form of adult mouse cell directly into another

404132862 — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:40:13 -0400

In a feat of biological prestidigitation likely to turn the field of regenerative medicine on its head, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) co-director Doug Melton and post doctoral fellow Qiao "Joe" Zhou report having achieved what has long been a dream and ultimate goal of developmental biologists – directly turning one type of fully formed adult cell into another type of adult cell.

Bone marrow stem cells may help control inflammatory bowel disease

404132862 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:37:21 -0400

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School investigators have found that infusions of a particular bone marrow stem cell appeared to protect gastrointestinal tissue from autoimmune attack in a mouse model. In their report published in the journal Stem Cells, the team from the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine report that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), known to control several immune system activities, allowed the regeneration of the gastrointestinal lining in mice with a genetic mutation leading

Five faculty members named young innovators by Technology Review

404132862 — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:24:12 -0400

Work on flying robots, surgical tape modeled on gecko feet, energy tips gleaned from plants, new ways to grow stem cells, and dramatically smaller medical imaging equipment has landed five Harvard faculty members on a list of the world’s top 35 young innovators.

The annual list is compiled by Technology Review magazine and features what the editors and a panel of judges see as the 35 top innovators in business and technology who are under the age of 35.

Daley and colleagues create 20 disease-specific stem cell lines

404132862 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:48:17 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researcher George Q.

Neurons created from skin cells of elderly patients with ALS

404132862 — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:02:00 -0400

Less than 27 months after announcing that he had institutional permission to attempt the creation of patient and disease-specific stem cell lines, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Principal Faculty member Kevin Eggan today proclaimed the effort a success - though politically imposed restrictions and read more

GlaxoSmithKline and Harvard Stem Cell Institute announce major collaboration agreement

404132862 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:00:05 -0400

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) today announced that they have entered into a five-year, $25 million-plus collaborative agreement to build a unique alliance in stem cell science to hasten the development of treatments and cures for a range of diseases.

Stem cells used to treat muscular dystrophy in mice

404132862 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:45:11 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have for the first time demonstrated that transplanted muscle stem cells can both improve muscle function in mice with a form of muscular dystrophy and replenish the stem cell population for use in the repair of future muscle injuries.

Amy Wagers - focusing on stem cell biology

404132862 — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:45:39 -0400

Twenty minutes after her weekly lab meeting is scheduled to begin, Amy Wagers rushes into a conference room on the fourth floor of the Joslin Diabetes Center, where her lab team sits, chatting around a long oval table.

“Sorry I’m late,” she calls out, closing the door behind her. “Oh good, the food’s here!"

Grabbing half a sandwich and a pickle off a catered tray, she simultaneously grabs a seat and motions for her team to begin its presentations. Lights out.

In the darkened room, all eyes turn to the illuminated white screen. There, in all its monochromic splendor, glows an enlarged image of a blood-forming hematopoietic stem cell.

Scientists use genomic tools to create maps of DNA methylation

404132862 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:08:26 -0400

Much of the field of stem cell biology and development remains uncharted territory. Just as famous explorers and astronomers mapped out landmasses and constellations, researchers are working fervently to chart the molecular landscapes within stem cells — especially embryonic stem cells. A clearer understanding of the cells’ unique properties, particularly their ability to give rise to nearly any type of cell, could unlock fundamental questions about biology and may even spur novel ways to treat disease.

New source of heart stem cells discovered

404132862 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:00:44 -0400

Harvard Stem Cell Institute(HSCI) researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston are continuing to document the heart’s earliest origins. Now, they have pinpointed a new, previously unrecognized group of stem cells that give rise to cardiomyocytes, or heart muscle cells. These stem cells, located in the surface of the heart, or epicardium, advance the hope of being able to regenerate injured heart tissue.

Genomic analysis gives new insights into cellular reprogramming

404132862 — Wed, 28 May 2008 11:17:00 -0400

A cross-disciplinary team of Harvard University, Whitehead Institute, and Broad Institute researchers has uncovered significant new information about the molecular changes that underlie the process by which adult cells can be reprogrammed to a stem cell-like state. Their findings are published online on May 28, 2008, in the journal Nature.

Experiment advances understanding of cell reprogramming

404132862 — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:54:35 -0400

The announcement last year by scientists in Japan, at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), and at the Whitehead Institute that they had each — independently — coaxed adult cells into reverting to an embryonic stem cell-like state was arguably the biggest news in developmental biology since the cloning of Dolly the ewe.

Presidential election will bring change in federal stem cell policy

404132862 — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:21:10 -0400

Embryonic stem cell research will likely have a more sympathetic ear in the White House after November’s presidential election, but a panel of speakers said last night that an era of tight budgets may limit the practical changes researchers see.

Warren Wollschlager, founding chair of the Interstate Alliance on Stem Cell Research and chief of the Office of Research and Development in the Connecticut Department of Public Health, cautioned that one danger facing stem cell research in a new presidential administration is that support from states and other sources will decline with the assumption that the federal government will begin funding research it has been reluctant to under President George W. Bush.

Reprogrammed adult skin cells treat Parkinson's disease in animal model

404132862 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:01:23 -0400

Researchers at the Whitehead Institute and Harvard Stem Cell Institute(HSCI) have reported successfully reducing symptoms in a Parkinson's disease rat model by using dopamine producing neurons derived from reprogrammed adult skin cells(iPS).

The work was reported in a study published in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.