New York Stem Cell Foundation scientist grows bone from human embryonic stem cells

Dr. Darja Marolt, an Investigator at The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Laboratory, is lead author on a study showing that human embryonic stem cells can be used to grow bone tissue grafts for use in research and potential therapeutic application. Dr. Marolt conducted this research as a post-doctoral NYSCF – Druckenmiller Fellow at Columbia University in the laboratory of Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic.

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Lab-made skin cells will aid transplantation, cancer, drug discovery research

The pigmented cells called melanocytes aren’t just for making freckles and tans. Melanocytes absorb ultraviolet light, protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun. They also are the cells that go haywire in melanoma, as well as in more common conditions as vitiligo and albinism.

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Cleveland Clinic study discovers new targets for treating inflammatory, autoimmune diseases

Researchers have discovered a cellular pathway that promotes inflammation in diseases like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis. Understanding the details of this pathway may provide opportunities for tailored treatments of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

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U of A chemistry team produces a ‘game-changing’ catalyst

University of Alberta chemistry researchers have discovered an active catalyst that has the potential to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of manufacturing processes used to make products such as agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

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Blocking inflammation could lead to tailored medical treatments

By using a mouse model of inflammation researchers at the University of Calgary have discovered a new class of molecules that can inhibit the recruitment of some white blood cells to sites of inflammation in the body. A provisional patent has been filed on these molecules by Innovates Calgary.

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Body clock found to regulate platelet function

Boston, MA – Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have demonstrated that the circadian system, the body’s internal clock, regulates human platelet function and causes a peak in platelet activation corresponding to the known morning peak in adverse cardiovascular events. These findings are published in PLoS ONE on September 8, 2011.

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Stanford researchers invent sutureless method for joining blood vessels

STANFORD, Calif. — Reconnecting severed blood vessels is mostly done the same way today — with sutures — as it was 100 years ago, when the French surgeon Alexis Carrel won a Nobel Prize for advancing the technique. Now, a team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has developed a sutureless method that appears to be a faster, safer and easier alternative.

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Treatment breakthrough for rare disease linked to diabetes

University of Manchester scientists have led an international team to discover new treatments for a rare and potentially lethal childhood disease that is the clinical opposite of diabetes mellitus.

Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a condition where the body’s pancreas produces too much insulin – rather than too little as in diabetes – so understanding the disease has led to breakthroughs in diabetes treatment.

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Scripps Research and MIT scientists discover class of potent anti-cancer compounds

LA JOLLA, CA, AND JUPITER, FL – March 7, 2011 – Embargoed by the journal PNAS until March 7, 2011, 3 PM, Eastern time –Working as part of a public program to screen compounds to find potential medicines and other biologically useful molecules, scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered an extremely potent class of potential anti-cancer and anti-neurodegenerative disorder compounds. The scientists hope their findings will one day lead to new therapies for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease patients.

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New microscope produces dazzling 3-D movies of live cells

A new microscope invented by scientists at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Farm Research Campus will let researchers use an exquisitely thin sheet of light — similar to that used in supermarket bar-code scanners — to peer inside single living cells, revealing the three-dimensional shapes of cellular landmarks in unprecedented detail. The microscopy technique images at high speed, so researchers can create dazzling movies that make biological processes, such as cell division, come alive.

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