Till recently, transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells found in the bone marrow has been the only curative option for patients with thalassemia major (genetic inability to produce normal, adult haemoglobin leading to severe anaemia). Since only 30-35% of such patients have a suitable tissue-matched donor in the family, a majority of them rely on regular … Continue reading Tissue-matched, unrelated donor transplants to aid thalassemics
Stem cells
IISER Mohali discovery gives a big boost to leukaemia research
For the first time, researchers have discovered hematopoietic stem cells in Drosophila (fruit flies), thus providing an invertebrate model to study hematopoietic stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells are the stem cells that give rise to all types of blood cells. Till date there has been no evidence of hematopoietic stem cells in fruit flies and … Continue reading IISER Mohali discovery gives a big boost to leukaemia research
IIT Bombay researchers a step closer to treating Parkinson’s disease
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT B) have taken the first successful step at regenerating neurons in a Parkinson mouse model by using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) encapsulated in an amyloid hydrogel. The hydrogels, which provide scaffolding for stem cells to develop into neurons when implanted in the brain, are developed from … Continue reading IIT Bombay researchers a step closer to treating Parkinson’s disease
Focus on quality at Jeevan Stem Cell Bank
After setting out a 70:30 ratio for storing public and private cord blood units when it started collecting units in late 2008, the Chennai-based Jeevan Stem Cell Bank has today become a purely public cord blood bank. "We stopped collecting private cord blood units since 2012,” said Dr. Saranya Narayan, Medical Director of Jeevan Stem … Continue reading Focus on quality at Jeevan Stem Cell Bank
Editorial: Regulating stem cell therapy
A revised set of guidelines on stem cell research was recently released by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Department of Biotechnology, seven years after an earlier one was issued. Despite claiming that the revision was necessitated by a need to “reflect new scientific and clinical findings” that have changed the landscape of … Continue reading Editorial: Regulating stem cell therapy
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
Chance favours the prepared mind
Published in The Hindu on January 31, 2013 Many discoveries in science are made serendipitously. But it was curiosity combined with perseverance that helped Dr. Bikul Das from the Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Stanford University to make a landmark discovery of finding the hiding place of dormant TB bacteria in humans. Dr. Das is from … Continue reading Chance favours the prepared mind
At last, hideout of dormant TB bacteria found
Published in The Hindu on January 31, 2013 The hiding place of dormant tuberculosis bacteria in humans has been finally found. The bacteria are present in a nonreplicating, dormant but viable state, and can get reactivated to cause active TB in people who have been successively treated earlier. The remarkable study published today (January 31) … Continue reading At last, hideout of dormant TB bacteria found
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