Cellular Transdifferentiation: Meet the 21st Century AlchemistsFebruary 3, 2015For centuries, some of the world’s leading scholars worked endlessly with one objective, to turn ordinary metals into gold. Now, scientists of the 21st century are trying their hand at another type of alchemy, turning one cell type into another. This process, known as ‘transdifferentiation’ or ‘direct reprogramming’ can create a potentially limitless source of […]
Reprogramming Lottery is Epigenetically RiggedFebruary 3, 2015If epigenetics has taught us anything, it is that not all genetically identical beings are created equal. A team of stem-cell researchers from Tel Aviv University led by Iftach Nachman now apply this principle to populations of cells undergoing reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and show that some cells have a higher chance of […]
Reinventing Reprogramming: Bringing Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology to the Masses?February 3, 2015“We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster”. They did it for Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man, and now researchers from the laboratory of Joseph C. Wu (Stanford) have applied the same thinking to the technology behind human induced pluripotent stem […]
Potential Stem Cell Treatment for Human Hair LossFebruary 3, 2015Throw away those tonics! Bin those balms! Hide those hairpieces! We bring great news for those who are losing more than the average of 100 hairs per day. In a set of hair-raising experiments researchers from the laboratory of Alexey V. Terskikh (Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, USA) have developed a novel strategy for the production […]
A SIRT-an Link Between Metabolism, Stem Cell Function and EpigeneticsJanuary 27, 2015In our younger years our rampant metabolism meant we could eat what we wanted with little or no consequences. However, as we get older, our metabolism somehow gets “reprogrammed”, meaning all that yummy bad stuff does nothing for our energy levels or our waistlines! But why do we face this fate? A delectable new study […]
Illuminating the Function of Stem Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s DiseaseJanuary 15, 2015Red light means stop and green light means go? Apparently not for a few bright researchers who have recently used a novel technique to shed light on how cell replacement therapy for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) functions. Studies suggest that therapeutic success requires the functional integration of grafted dopamine releasing (DA) neurons, but this has actually been […]
Stem Cell Divisions Explain Variation in Cancer Risk among TissuesJanuary 11, 2015One question has intrigued cancer researchers for decades: why are some tissues more susceptible to developing cancers than others? Genetic and lifestyle factors have been frequently cited as common culprits, but they far from explain this phenomenon. In a report published in Science last week, Cristian Tomasetti and Bert Vogelstein show that the number of […]
Uncovering Neural Differentiation Step-by-StepJanuary 9, 2015The Laetoli footprints made by humans 3.6 million years ago in Tanzania are perhaps the most famous footprints of all time. However, more recent footprints have been uncovered by the laboratories of Yechiel Elkabetz and Alexander Meissner. These epigenetic footprints represent each “step” in the process of neuronal differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), […]
Plotting the Path to Pluripotency Uncovers Key Role of DNA MethylationDecember 29, 2014If you’ve read our recent piece ‘Reprogramming Roadmap Reveals Fuzzy New Stem Cells‘ you’ll already know how “Project Grandiose” [1, 2], the brainchild of Andras Nagy, identified a new pluripotent state (the F-class stem cell). While the discovery of this new class is thrilling, the main purpose of this grand project was to uncover the […]
A “Grandiose” Project Provides a Fuzzy New Future for iPSC ResearchDecember 17, 2014Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) research burst on to the scene in 2006 with a paper which has since spawned thousands of studies and has proved to be a quantum leap for regenerative medicine. This reached a crescendo this year when a Japanese patient became the first recipient of retinal cells generated from iPSCs made […]