brain cells

Cloned embryos offer possible Parkinson's cure

admin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:59:59 -0400

A team of Japanese and American scientists has used cloned embryos to produce the stem cells needed to cure symptoms of Parkinson's disease in mice. Using skin cells scraped from the tails of mice, Read more...

ALSO NOTED: Wilmut predicts common stem cell procedures; NGF a new biomarker for liver cancer; The debate over genetics;

admin — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research Renowned scientist Ian Wilmut predicts that the first stem cell therapies will become available in about a decade and quickly become as common as antibiotics. Read more...

ALSO NOTED: Celebrated Japanese scientist heads to San Francisco; New trigger for Parkinson's;

admin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research Shinya Yamanaka, the Japanese scientist who made a breakthrough in transforming the skin cells of mice into embryonic stem cells, has joined the Read more...

Cells prompted to "eat" Huntington proteins

admin — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Scientists have developed a novel strategy for tackling neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease: encouraging an individual's own cells to "eat" the malformed proteins that lead to the disease. Professor David Rubinsztein, Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow at the University of Cambridge, has been studying the molecular biology underlying Huntington's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Huntington's occurs when a protein known as huntingtin builds up in the brain cells …

Researchers spin living nanothreads for repair work

admin — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Two researchers at University College London have used printing technology to weave polymer nanofibers together in a way that may eventually allow them to develop living tissue that can be used to repair the body. These nanothreads could be used to regrow tissue, for example. Researchers created the nanothreads by threading living brain cells through a polymer that flowed around the chain. "This has far-reaching implications and will enable significant advances to be made in technologies …

Peptide gel used to control bleeding

admin — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0400

A team of scientists from MIT and the University of Hong Kong has developed a gel from peptides that is able to stop bleeding in animals in a matter of seconds. The gel then breaks down into amino acids which go to work on tissue repair. These researchers have already used the gel to spur the regrowth of brain cells as well as partially restore sight in hamsters. This new work in stopping bleeding may point the way to control bleeding during surgeries, which would in turn reduce the time …