Category: Stem cells

Stem cells are like the emergency tool kit of the human body, possessing the unique ability to transform into various specialized cells, from immune cells to brain cells. They can divide and regenerate indefinitely to repair and replenish our system on command. The ability to culture stem cells in the lab and grow them into any cell type needed is the Holy Grail of medicine. This capability could enable clinicians to create an endless supply of new cells for repairing damaged tissues and organs. However, achieving this requires a comprehensive understanding of how stem cells replicate and transition into different cell types.

New research from USC’s Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering brings us closer to unraveling the mysteries of these essential cells. Associate Professor Keyue Shen and his team have harnessed machine learning to develop a non-invasive system that offers unprecedented insight into how stem cells proliferate and regenerate into specialized cells. Their work, published in Science Advances, represents a significant breakthrough.

Continue reading… “Unveiling Stem Cell Secrets: A New Non-Invasive Method Using Machine Learning”

Kinda feels like living in the future we thought we’d have, for a change

Dr. Sarah Johnson, a leading scientist in the field of regenerative medicine, has announced plans to conduct groundbreaking research on stem cells aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

In an interview with The Register, Dr. Johnson stated, “The microgravity environment of the ISS provides a unique opportunity to study stem cells in a way that is not possible on Earth. We can better understand how stem cells differentiate and how they react to various stimuli.”

Dr. Johnson’s team will be collaborating with NASA and SpaceX to send a payload of stem cells to the ISS later this year. The payload will include stem cells from both humans and animals, and the researchers will be studying the effects of microgravity on the cells’ growth and differentiation.

Continue reading… “Stem cells to be made on orbiting space station to test micrograv manufacturing”

Neural interfaces have made great strides in recent years, but still suffer from poor longevity and resolution. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a biohybrid implant to improve the situation.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a biohybrid implant that can repair broken nerves using stem cells. The implant is designed to promote nerve regeneration and support the growth of nerve cells, potentially restoring function to damaged nerves caused by injury or disease.

The implant consists of two components – a synthetic scaffold that provides structural support and a layer of stem cells that aid nerve growth. The scaffold is made of a biodegradable polymer that gradually dissolves over time, allowing the nerves to regenerate and heal.

According to the researchers, the biohybrid implant has shown promising results in animal studies and could be used to treat various nerve injuries and diseases such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic nerve injuries, and peripheral neuropathy.

Continue reading… “BIOHYBRID IMPLANT PATCHES BROKEN NERVES WITH STEM CELLS”

Utilization of the injectable nanofiber-hydrogel composite loaded with stem cells to treat perianal fistulas.

by  Johns Hopkins

In a new study using a rat model of Crohn’s disease, a biodegradable hydrogel composite loaded with stem cells, developed by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers, in a collaborative effort with the Whiting School of Engineering, has shown significant success in treating perianal fistulas (PAF)—one of the many complications of Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease, a subtype of inflammatory bowel disease, is a disorder estimated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to afflict more than three million adult Americans. About 30 percent to40 percent of patients with Crohn’s disease develop perianal fistulas—an inflamed tunnel between the skin and the inside of the anus. Fistulas can lead to pain, swelling, discomfort and leakage of blood or pus. Surgery is usually needed to treat the condition. However, more than half of patients do not benefit from current available treatments.

The injectable, biodegradable, mechanically fragmented nanofiber-hydrogel composite (mfNHC), loaded with stem cells that the Johns Hopkins team designed, can be injected inside the fistula tract, and showed a higher degree of healing, reducing the size of fistulas six-fold, in comparison to surgery.

Continue reading… “Nanofiber-hydrogel loaded with stem cells shows success treating severe complication of Crohn’s disease”

Researchers at the University of Bristol in the U.K. funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have developed ‘stem cell plasters’ to revolutionize the way surgeons treat children living with congenital heart disease, so they don’t need as many open-heart operations.

BY JIM CORNALL

Heart defects are the most common type of anomaly that develop before a baby is born, with around 13 babies diagnosed with a congenital heart condition every day in the U.K. alone. These include defects to the baby’s heart valves, the major blood vessels in and around the heart, and the development of holes in the heart.

Currently, for many of these children, surgeons can perform open-heart surgery to temporarily repair the problem, but the materials used for the patches or replacement heart valves cannot grow with the baby. This means they can be rejected by the patient’s immune system which causes the surgical materials to gradually break down and fail within months or years.

It means a child might have to go through the same heart operation multiple times throughout childhood, which keeps them in hospital for weeks at a time. This impacts their quality of life and causes a lot of stress for the family.

Continue reading… “Stem cell plasters could revolutionize heart surgeries”

Scientists innovate on growing brain organoids from pluripotent stem cells.

By Lybi Ma

Scientists published a new study published in Scientific Reports that showcases a new platform that automates the growth of brain organoids, offering neuroscientists research improved flexibility and quality control.

“The increasing demands for long-term experiments, reproducibility, parallelization, and longitudinal analysis drive cell culture toward automation,” the researchers at the University of California at Santa Cruz wrote. “This study showcases an automated, microfluidic solution for the growth and maintenance of organoids capable of existing in conjunction with other control and sensing devices over the Internet of Things, magnifying the ability to capitalize on precision robotics for automated experimentation.”

One of the greatest challenges in neuroscience is having living human brains in which to conduct research. Neuroscientists study the human brain, the central nervous system, as well as neurological and psychiatric disorders to discover potential treatments and cures. Brain organoids, 3D brain-like structures consisting of human stem cells, offer a way to study brain diseases and disorders and test potential medication and treatments.

The history of brain organoids is fairly recent. In 2006 scientists Shinya Yamanaka, a recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and Kazutoshi Takahashi were the first to create induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The duo created stem cells in a lab by applying four transcription factors to the mature skin cells of mice. Transcription factors are the molecules that play a role in regulating gene expression. Transcription factors are typically proteins, but they can be made up of non-coding RNA as well. Yamanaka and others demonstrated that this technique worked for human skin cells in 2007.

Continue reading… “Creating Mini Brains from Stem Cells Gets Automated”

By Emily Henderson, B.Sc.

Sitting atop the kidneys, the adrenal gland plays a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy body. Responding to signals from the brain, the gland secretes hormones that support critical functions like blood pressure, metabolism, and fertility.

People with adrenal gland disorders, such as primary adrenal insufficiency, in which the gland does not release sufficient hormones, can suffer fatigue, dangerously low blood pressure, coma, and even death if untreated. No cure for primary adrenal insufficiency exists, and the lifelong hormone-replacement therapy used to treat it carries significant side effects.

A preferable alternative would be a regenerative medicine approach, regrowing a functional adrenal gland capable of synthesizing hormones and appropriately releasing them in tune with the brain’s feedback. With a new study in the journal Developmental Cell, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine coaxed stem cells in a petri dish to divide, mature, and take on some of the functions of a human fetal adrenal gland, bringing that goal one step closer.

This is a proof-of-principle that we can create a system grown in a dish that functions nearly identically to a human adrenal gland in the early stages of development. A platform like this could be used to better understand the genetics of adrenal insufficiency and even for drug screening to identify better therapies for people with these disorders.”

Kotaro Sasaki, senior author and assistant professor at Penn Vet

Continue reading… “Using induced pluripotent stem cells to recreate the adrenal gland in a petri dish”

By Joseph Henry

Scientists have developed miniature organs similar to the human brain. 

The so-called organoids are all lab-grown and these models are said to be an important part of discovering more findings in neuroscience such as mental disorders and their development.

Continue reading… “Scientists Create Mini-Brain Organoids Using Stem Cells”

This is the latest effort to overcome one of the key hurdles for widespread stem cell therapies.

By Chris Young

Scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medical in Los Angeles are investigating how to grow large batches of a specific type of stem cell.

Their mission has taken them orbital — to the International Space Station — and it could help unlock a whole host of stem cell therapies to combat deadly diseases.

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One of the researchers, Dhruv Sareen, even donated his own stem cells for the experiment, a press statement reveals. If all goes to plan, the scientists hope to eventually grow billions of stem cells in space.

Continue reading… “Scientists aim to grow billions of stem cells aboard the International Space Station”

Watch as primordial neural cells dance across, grow into, and even move 3D scaffolds engineered to heal brain injury from stroke and other trauma. Decorating the scaffold with various nutrients and biochemical signals allow researchers to control what types of brain tissues they become. Credit: Katrina Wilson and Ken Kingery, Duke University.

Researchers at Duke University have captured days-long time-lapse videos of young neural cells moving and growing within a novel 3D synthetic biocompatible structure. By literally watching how the cells respond to natural biochemical signals embedded within the material, biomedical engineers hope to develop biogels that can repair and regrow brain tissue after a stroke or other trauma.

The results appear online June 22 in the journal Advanced Materials.

Repairing and regrowing brain tissue is a difficult task. Left to its own devices, the brain does not regenerate lost synapses, blood vessels or other structures after suffering an injury, such as from a stroke. Dead brain tissue is instead absorbed, leaving behind a cavity devoid of anything recognizable as healthy brain tissue.

But that hasn’t stopped researchers from trying to regenerate damaged brains anyway. One common approach used by biomedical engineers is to provide a new medium for the diverse pieces of brain tissue to move into, loaded with various nutrients and biological instructions to encourage growth.

While scientists in the field have historically reached for a homogenous, gelatinous biomaterial to support neural regrowth, Tatiana Segura, professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, has developed a different approach. Her biomaterial built to encourage all types of healing and growth is made of millions of tiny gelatinous spheres packed together to form a stable scaffold.

Continue reading… “Time-Lapse Footage Shows Neural Stem Cells Grow in 3D Scaffolds”