Tag: stem cells
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Synthetic “embryos” pave the way for ethical drug screening
Embyronic stem cells could be the key to future drug testing, replacing animal testing with a cheaper and more reliable method, writes Katie Pickup.
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Multiple sclerosis and stem cell transplants: benefits versus risks
Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a complex neurological and autoimmune disease whereby a patient’s immune cells, for unknown reasons, begin to attack the protective layer surrounding the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. This protective sheath is known as myelin. When myelin degenerates as a result of this autoimmune-mediated damage, the nerves are exposed…
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Stem cells in Parkinson’s disease: progress and challenges
Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative motor disorder, caused by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Current treatments only alleviate the symptoms of the disease rather than target the root cause, so they are far from adequate. A cure would require repair of the brain itself. Given that the incidence of this age-related…
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Making The Brain: The Role of Mitochondria
Many people have heard the phrase “mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell”, whether as a part of their biology studies at school, or from the various memes on social media. This is said because mitochondria are structures within cells that provide over 90% of the energy needed by the body. These tiny organelles are…
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Stem cells could bypass embryo laws to shine a light on human development
14 Days. This is the maximum number of days researchers are allowed to sustain an embryo. In 1979, when this policy was first proposed by the Ethics Advisory Board of the US Department of Health, Education and Wealthfare, culturing an embryo ex vivo (removed from the body) was an extremely difficult and expensive task, and…
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Researchers discovered placental stem cells that can regenerate heart after heart attack
Back in 2011, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai generated excitement in the cardiology community when they announced they had used placental stem cells to regenerate damaged hearts in pregnant mice. Now, they’ve taken that research a step further, isolating the precise population of cells that can regenerate healthy heart cells…
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Could stem cells pave the way to effective cancer treatment?
Blood is vital for our survival. With approximately 10 pints running through our veins, our blood has three main functions; to transport compounds such as gases and nutrients, to protect against pathogenic invasion and to regulate physiological properties, such as the bodies pH and water balance. Remarkably, our body produces approximately 2 million red blood…