Pioneering research led by experts from the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute has provided new insight into formation of the human embryo.
Evolution
Apr 08, 2021
0
60
A team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has developed a new RNA-sequencing method— "Panoramic RNA Display by Overcoming RNA Modification Aborted Sequencing," or PANDORA-seq—that ...
Biotechnology
Apr 05, 2021
0
189
To observe how a tiny ball of identical cells on its way to becoming a mammalian embryo first attaches to an awaiting uterine wall and then develops into nervous system, heart, stomach and limbs: This has been a highly-sought ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 17, 2021
1
76
USC postdoctoral researcher Xi Chen knows that you have to break a few eggs in order to grow chicken stem cells. His work on maintaining embryonic stem cells (ESC) from chicken eggs provides insight into stem cell pluripotency ...
Biotechnology
Mar 08, 2021
0
107
During development, scores of molecular signals prod cells to take on specialized identities and functions. In response to some of these signals, the cellular machinery awakens specific genes called 'immediate early genes' ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 19, 2021
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89
In an advance that promises to facilitate research into stem cells and regenerative medicine, a RIKEN-led team has demonstrated a non-invasive method for tracking the chemical changes that accompany the reprogramming of somatic ...
Analytical Chemistry
Feb 12, 2021
0
22
Chromatin remodelers are needed to take nucleosomes away from DNA in order to make room for transcription factors to bind, and regulate the activity of our genes. It has been unclear how dynamic this process is. Researchers ...
Evolution
Feb 09, 2021
0
7
In a new study published in the journal Nature, researchers in Japan report that activating just eight genes for producing gene-controlling proteins is enough to convert mouse stem cells directly into oocyte-like cells that ...
Biotechnology
Dec 16, 2020
0
81
To contain the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus and slow the spread of infections and the rising death toll, researchers and health professionals around the world are rapidly developing vaccines and medical drugs. But before these can ...
Biotechnology
Dec 11, 2020
0
8
By growing mouse stem cells in a special gel, a Berlin research team succeeded in producing structures similar to parts of an embryo. The trunk-like structures develop the precursors for neural, bone, cartilage and muscle ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 10, 2020
0
96
Embryonic stem cells (ES cells) are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo known as a blastocyst. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells.
Embryonic Stem (ES) cells are pluripotent. This means they are able to differentiate into all derivatives of the three primary germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. These include each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body. Pluripotency distinguishes ES cells from multipotent progenitor cells found in the adult; these only form a limited number of cell types. When given no stimuli for differentiation, (i.e. when grown in vitro), ES cells maintain pluripotency through multiple cell divisions. The presence of pluripotent adult stem cells remains a subject of scientific debate; however, research has demonstrated that pluripotent stem cells can be directly generated from adult fibroblast cultures.
Because of their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. However Diseases treated by these non-embryonic stem cells include a number of blood and immune-system related genetic diseases, cancers, and disorders; juvenile diabetes; Parkinson's; blindness and spinal cord injuries. Besides the ethical concerns of stem cell therapy (see stem cell controversy), there is a technical problem of graft-versus-host disease associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, these problems associated with histocompatibility may be solved using autologous donor adult stem cells or via therapeutic cloning.
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