Archive for September, 2009

Stem Cell Success Points To Way To Regenerate Parathyroid Glands

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

An early laboratory success is taking researchers a step closer to parathyroid gland transplants that could one day prevent a currently untreatable form of bone loss associated with thyroid surgery.

Improving Stem Cell Techniques Using Protein Found In Moss

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Scientists have discovered a new use for the Polycomb group protein found in moss that have an important role in telling stem cells how to develop.

A Novel Concept Of Growing Cells On Lymph Nodes: Pitt Researchers Receive $5 Million From NIH For Regenerative Medicine

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Regenerative medicine researchers at the University of Pittsburgh received two grants totaling more than $5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore new methods for cultivating replacement cells from existing tissues and organs. A $2.

ALS Stem Cell Trial Gets FDA Go Ahead

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the first clinical trial to test a new stem cell treatment for the fatal neurodegenerative disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) this month (ALS) can go ahead.

New England Cord Blood Bank Reports Increased Use Of Banked Stem Cells

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

New England Cord Blood Bank, Inc. (NECBB), a global cord blood processing and storage facility, announced today that the company has seen a consistent and robust increase in the cord blood units being used for transplants within the past few years. Since 2006, according to NECBB records, the ...

Excellent Stem Cell Mobilization and Safety Profile for TG-0054

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

TaiGen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced today that in a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers TG-0054, a chemokine receptor CXCR4 antagonist, was well tolerated and rapidly mobilized stem cells and endothelial progenitor cells from bone marrow into peripheral blood. The number of CD34+ stem cells in ...

Stem cells aim to space disease

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Stem cells exposed to microgravity express different proteins than those grown in normal gravity, say Australian researchers (…) Dr Burns, along with graduate researchers Elizabeth Blaber and Helder Marcal, used a NASA rotating-wall vessel to simulate microgravity, which is experienced by astronauts in low Earth orbit, to ...

Two Proteins let Skin Cells to return to life

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Never mind facial masks and exfoliating scrubs, skin takes care of itself. Stem cells located within the skin actively generate differentiating cells that can ultimately form either the body surface or the hairs that emanate from it. In addition, these stem cells are able to replenish ...

Finding Better Ways To Grow Cells: Growing Cells On Lymph Nodes

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Regenerative medicine researchers are exploring new methods for cultivating replacement cells from existing tissues and organs.

Two Proteins Enable Skin Cells To Regenerate

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Never mind facial masks and exfoliating scrubs, skin takes care of itself. Stem cells located within the skin actively generate differentiating cells that can ultimately form either the body surface or the hairs that emanate from it. In addition, these stem cells are able to replenish themselves, continually rejuvenating skin ...

$1.3 Million In Federal Awards For WPI To Continue Cardiac, Vascular And Tuberculosis Research

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's (WPI) Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park have received a total of $1.

Stem Cell Applications And Research Highlight NJIT’s First Research Cafe

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Stem cell researcher Treena Livingston Arinzeh will discuss current stem cell applications at NJIT, including the regeneration of bone and cartilage for bone fracture and osteoarthritis treatments, spinal cord repair, and liver regeneration at NJIT's first Research Café. The event will be held Sept. 29, 2009, at ...

BioTime Opens Asian Subsidiary to Sell Stem Cell Tools, Therapies

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Stem-cell firm BioTime said this week that it will open a subsidiary in China called BioTime Asia to expand its stem cell therapeutics and research tools to the Asian market. BioTime Asia will be based at the Nanshan Memorial Medical Institute, or NSMMI, and will clinically develop ...

Stem cells bring new insights to future treatment of vision and neural disorders

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Deep in the brain, buried in the hippocampus and subventricular zone, reside adult neural stem cells, cells that retain the ability to become other types of neural cells and could serve as possible treatments for ailments ranging from vision impairment to Parkinson’s to spinal cord injuries. ...

Maryland in the biotechnology spotlight: Cancer stem cell research gains traction, tackles new targets

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Image via Wikipedia In the decades-long war on cancer, as of late, researchers had been making little progress in comparison to colleagues treating other conditions, such as cardiac or infectious diseases. “Cancer research has really plateaued out,” William Matsui, an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins ...

StemCells, Inc. Announces Initiatives To Advance Cell-Based Technologies For Pharmaceutical Industry And Research Applications

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) announced organizational initiatives focused on growing its specialty SC Proven® cell culture product business and advancing the development and commercialization of its central nervous system (CNS) cell-based assay platforms for use in drug screening and drug development.

UCSF Research Shows Private Umbilical Cord Banking Is Not Cost-Effective

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Private cord blood banking is not cost-effective because it costs an additional $1,374,246 per life-year gained, according to a new analysis by UCSF researchers. The research team also concluded that private cord blood banking is cost-effective only for families with a child with a very high likelihood of needing ...

2 Highly Prized NIH Director’s Awards Won By Duke Biomedical Scientists

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Two Duke University Medical Center scientists have won prestigious National Institutes of Health Director's awards to pursue novel research. Tannishtha Reya, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology and cancer biology, has won an NIH Director's Pioneer Award and Michel Bagnat, Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology, won ...

Research shows how snorting can deliver stem cells to the brain

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

William H. Frey Scientists have pioneered a unique delivery system to administer therapeutic stem cells to the brain, by way of a simple nasal spray. Once the droplets containing the stem cells are snorted through the nose, the solution breaks through the blood-brain barrier, seeding the brain ...

Neuralstem gets FDA OK for Stem cell trial for ALS treatment

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Neuralstem Inc. has received the green light to begin the first human stem cell trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The company’s stock soared on the news. Neuralstem has only received approval for the first stage of the trial ...