A team of researchers managed to use human stem cells to restore the vision of blind laboratory mice. The team used photoreceptors derived from stem cells and suppressed the immune system long enough for the cells to become fully incorporated into the eyes. The details are in a paper that was just published in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Photoreceptors …
Scientists reprogram embryonic stem cells to expand their potential cell fates
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have found a way to reprogram mouse embryonic stem cells so that they exhibit developmental characteristics resembling those of fertilized eggs, or zygotes. These “totipotent-like” stem cells are able to generate not only all cell types within a developing embryo, but also cell types that facilitate nutrient exchange between the embryo and the …
How the discovery of stem cells revolutionized medicine
Stemcell Technologies Inc. makes more than 1,500 types of tissue culture media, the crucial tools for harvesting and growing stem cells, and sells them to laboratories and hospitals in more than 70 countries around the world. As such, the Vancouver biotechnology company is one of the key players in the burgeoning field of regenerative medicine, a quiet behind-the-curtain player in …
Stem cells lay foundation for treatments of cancer, other disorders
Stem cell research is now considered among the most seminal medical findings of the past century, on a par with the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. Stem cells not only revolutionized the treatment of cancer, but laid the foundations for regenerative medicine, and fueled the emergence of a biomedical industry, particularly in …
Stem Cell Research for Fighting Degenerative Disc Disease
Low back pain resulting from degenerative disc disease is one of the most prevalent pathologies in the developed world. In the US, low back pain is the most common health problem for those younger than the age of 50. While there can be many causes of low back pain, the condition often is associated with the degeneration of the intervertebral …