News and Opinions

by Live Science Scientists have transformed cancer cells into healthy muscle tissue in the lab using CRISPR gene-editing technology — and they hope new cancer treatments can be built on the back of this experiment. In a study published Aug. 28 in the journal PNAS,...

by Ann Megdell - Michigan Medicine A study from the University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery and Rogel Cancer Center shows promising early results that a therapy combining cell-killing and immune-stimulating drugs are safe and effective in extending survival...

by Technology Networks News A single injection of a novel CRISPR gene-editing treatment safely and efficiently removes SIV – a virus related to the AIDS-causing agent HIV – from the genomes of non-human primates, scientists at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at...

by University of Edinburgh A world-renowned embryologist and specialist in regenerative medicine, Sir Ian led the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep in 1996 – the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Some 27 years on, the breakthrough continues to fuel many of...

by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News A research team headed by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported on the results of a study in which they used stem cells from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients to identify a potential mechanism by which a...

By Paul Sisson - The San Diego Tribune A newly announced $5 million donation to UC San Diego that will support a new gene therapy initiative illustrates the value of making good on big promises. The contribution is the latest from philanthropists Nancy and Jeff Stack...

By Grace Niewijk - University of Chicago Medicine New research published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that stem cell gene therapy may offer a promising, curative treatment for the painful, inherited blood disorder sickle cell disease (SCD). The...

by Sarah Anderson, PhD - Exploring Drug Discovery and Development Like a differentiated stem cell, Lonnie Shea’s strong foundation in fundamental cellular biology underwent just the right prompts to evolve into a proliferative biomedical research career. During...

by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary A team led by researchers from Mass Eye and Ear, a member of Mass General Brigham, reports the results of a phase I trial of a revolutionary stem cell treatment called cultivated autologous limbal epithelial cell transplantation...

By Florina Gobel - Center for Contemporary Sciences In the article Human disease models in drug development published in Nature, the authors delve into the critical role of human disease models in drug development, emphasizing the importance of bridging the gap...

By Drug Target Review Using genetically modified human neural stem cells (hNSCs), researchers demonstrated that targeted manipulation of a specific gene expression within hNSCs can facilitate the restoration of damaged neural circuits and recovery of locomotor...

By Jason Arunn Murugesu - NewScientist A technique for reprogramming adult cells that removes any trace of their origins could help produce stem cells at larger scales A new way to turn adult human cells into ultra-flexible stem cells could make it easier to produce...

by Fabio Bergamin - ETH Zurich Professor Ori Bar-Nur and his team grow muscle cells in the laboratory. In this case, they are mouse cells, but the researchers are also interested in human and cow cells. Promising applications resonate with both: human muscle tissue...

by William A. Haseltine - Forbes At present, the only way to cure genetic blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia is to reset the immune system with a stem cell transplantation. Only a fraction of patients elects this procedure, as the process is...

By Elizabeth Pennisi - Science When Vicki Losick got her Ph.D. and joined a fruit fly lab at the Carnegie Institution for Science in 2008, its head announced that he expected his postdocs to launch new fields of inquiry. She chose a then-fashionable focus: stem cells,...

Researchers and policymakers often exist in different worlds and speak different languages. Here are three ways to bridge the divide. by Nature.com Science is a key driver of economic growth and social progress. If science can be accelerated — such as by increasing...

By Theresa Tamkins, Jessica Klingbaum and Kristen Dahlgren - NBC News Eye surgeons in the U.S. are inching closer to being able to use a specific type of stem cell transplant to fix a serious eye problem that can cause pain and permanent vision loss. It was the Fourth...

by Frances Crick Institute Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, working with technology company Faculty AI, have shown that machine learning can accurately predict subtypes of Parkinson’s disease using images of...

by Keck School of Medicine of USC - MedicalXpress Image caption: Rows of sensory hearing cells (green) next to supporting cells (red) in the inner ear of a mouse. Credit: John Duc Nguyen and Juan Llamas/Segil Lab A deafened adult cannot recover the ability to hear,...

by Katie Brighton - Technology Networks With cancer rates among young adults on the rise, the number of people experiencing infertility as a result of chemotherapy is also expected to increase. Yet, there are currently no therapies available to restore fertility after...