Researchers had used brain organoids to study how Zika virus affects brain development in the embryo and causes small-sized brain called microcephaly. This study would have been nearly impossible using human brain at the embryo stage for obvious ethical reasons. On October 21, at the Society for Neuroscience’s 49th meeting Neuroscience 2019 held in Chicago, … Continue reading Explained: How lab-grown organoids can transform medicine
induced pluripotent stem – iPS cells
Hyderabad researchers grow miniature eyes using stem cells
Researchers at the Hyderabad-based L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) have successfully grown miniature eye-like organs that closely resemble the developing eyes of an early-stage embryo. The miniature eyes were produced using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The iPS cells are produced by genetically manipulating human skin cells to produce embryonic-like stem cells that are capable … Continue reading Hyderabad researchers grow miniature eyes using stem cells
A step closer to regenerative medicine
A landmark study published today (September 12, 2013) in Nature shows that reprogramming of adult cells that behave like stem cells can be achieved right inside the body (in vivo). Till now, reprogramming of adult cells has been achieved only in labs (in vitro). This opens a promising window to repairing tissues right inside the … Continue reading A step closer to regenerative medicine
“Functional” blood vessels made from stem cells
A team of scientists has been able to engineer “stable and functional” blood vessels in mice using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells taken from humans. The blood vessels lasted for 280 days in the brain of the mice. The scientists are from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and Harvard Stem Institute, Harvard University. The skin cells … Continue reading “Functional” blood vessels made from stem cells
Editorial: Organs, made to order
Producing fully functional human organs using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) will, in the foreseeable future, cease to remain in the realm of science fiction. In a game-changing study published recently in Nature, a team of Japanese scientists led by Takanori Takebe from the Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine has taken a … Continue reading Editorial: Organs, made to order
Editorial: Turning the clock back
Published in The Hindu on October 10,2012 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded on Monday to Sir John B. Gurdon of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka from Kyoto University for their path-breaking discoveries was not unexpected. Dr. Yamanaka had won two other prestigious science awards — the Albert Lasker … Continue reading Editorial: Turning the clock back
Repairing damaged hearts by healing affected cells
Published in The Hindu on April 19, 2012 Scientists have found an easier way of repairing hearts damaged by cardiac arrest — reprogramming one kind of heart cells into another. A paper published today (April 19) in Nature details how the remarkable feat of reprogramming cardiac fibroblasts into adult cardiac muscle-like cells (cardiomyocyte) produced promising … Continue reading Repairing damaged hearts by healing affected cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells cure liver cirrhosis
Published in The Hindu on October 13, 2011 Treating human diseases using adult cells taken from a patient and genetically reprogramming them so that they behave like embryonic stem cells has come a step closer. In a paper published in Nature today (Oct 13), scientists report the sequence of events for successfully correcting a gene … Continue reading Induced pluripotent stem cells cure liver cirrhosis
Retina cells grown from skin-derived stem cells
Published in The Hindu on August 25, 2009 Research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has been progressing feverishly since 2006, when Japanese researcher, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, first managed in 2006 to make skin cells behave like embryonic stem cells. The latest success comes from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and … Continue reading Retina cells grown from skin-derived stem cells
Embryonic-like stem cells generated from cord blood
Published in The Hindu on October 3, 2009 Cord blood cells appear to be far more versatile to treat many diseases than previously considered. Two teams had successfully reprogrammed cord blood cells to exhibit properties similar to embryonic stem cells. Reprogrammed cells that have embryonic-like stem cell characteristics are called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. … Continue reading Embryonic-like stem cells generated from cord blood
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