Despite the imminent danger to their health and their lives, a cadre of workers bravely marches every day into the belly of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in an attempt to bring its unstable reactors under control. Now a group …
stem cells
Could Stem-Cell Transplants Help the Japanese Nuclear Workers?
Japanese authorities have proposed the precautionary measure of harvesting and banking stem cells from the bone marrow of workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in order to transplant the cells back into those who may …
Family MattersInfertility
Can Mail-In Menstrual Blood Banks Help Save Lives?
Menstruation serves an important purpose, clearing the uterus out monthly in order to prepare the womb for a potential pregnancy. We women understand that, but still, bleeding every month down yonder is no one’s idea of fun. …
You May Be Less Bald Than You Think
Not long ago, I was having dinner with a friend in his late 20s, and when the topic somehow turned to hair loss, his panic was palpable. “I don’t even want to talk about it,” he said, shuddering and putting a hand to his …
The Mouse That Had Two Dads
Reproduction is getting so complicated. In the old days, you had only two biological parents — Mom and Dad. But now, up to two women (three if you count a surrogate carrier) can be the biological mothers of one baby. As far as …
Using Sperm-Producing Cells to Treat Type 1 Diabetes
Georgetown University researchers report that they were able to coax cells that normally produce sperm to make insulin instead, and used them to temporarily cure Type 1 diabetes in mice.
FDA Approves Second Trial of Stem-Cell Therapy
For only the second time, the Food and Drug Administration approved a company’s request to test an embryonic stem cell-based therapy on human patients.
A Stem Cell Breakthrough May Ease the Way to Human Treatments
It’s been a good week for advocates of stem cell research, both politically and scientifically.
Latest Ruling Opens Stem Cell Research, But Experts Worry for the Long Term
The former Congressman behind a 1996 law that prohibits the government from funding research that harms or destroys embryos say he is “gratified” by a recent federal judge’s ruling that current federal funding of embryonic …
Using stem cells to restore sight
Using stem cell therapy, a team of Italian researchers was able to restore sight for patients who had been blinded or suffered severely impaired vision after suffering a chemical burn. In a study of 106 patients treated between 1998 and 2007, researchers were able to extract adult stem cells from healthy eye tissue, grow additional stem
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Scientists use embryonic stem cells to grow skin
A new technique using human embryonic stem cells may enable doctors to grow “replacement skin” that can be used to help treat burn victims, according to research published this week in the British medical journal The Lancet. Doctors have been using burn patients’ own cells to grow new skin to repair injuries for more than two decades.
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New drugs could target cancer stem cells
Boston-area researchers have developed a new technique to identify chemicals that kill cancer stem cells — the part of a cancer that drives tumor growth. A common problem with current chemotherapy treatments is that they knock back a cancer successfully, only for the tumor to re-grow later because, it seems, the all-important stem …
