A Journey back in time to the origin of stem cells

Proteins that regulate animal stem cells are much older than animals themselves

20-Nov-2024 - A new study published in Nature Communications reveals that critical proteins involved in animal stem cell regulation are much older than previously thought, predating the origin of animals that likely evolved more than 700 million years ago. The international research team included scientists ...

Markers in iPSC quality control – a new approach to enhance standardization

“Machine learning is an attractive tool to streamline processes”

12-Nov-2024 - Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have a great potential for scientific and medical applications. They are used in research laboratories to model human diseases, helping to uncover underlying mechanisms and developing new therapies. Additionally, they are being tested in clinical ...

Hematopoietic stem cells: Why don't pregnant women become anemic?

04-Nov-2024 - Not all genes in the body are permanently switched on; many remain dormant until they are activated by various processes. Triggers can be external influences such as lifestyle, but also diseases and their treatments. A current example is the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. They are ...

Epigenetic changes reprogram astrocytes into brain stem cells

Discovery shows that astrocytes could potentially be used in regenerative medicine to replace damaged nerve cells

09-Sep-2024 - Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the methylation of their genetic material, which gives these special astrocytes stem cell properties. ...

Searching old stem cells that stay young forever

Sea anemone regulates stem cells through evolutionarily conserved genes

23-Aug-2024 - The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time. These stem cells ...

Exciting advance in stem cell therapy

New technique for manipulating stem cells opens door to novel treatments

20-Aug-2024 - A new technique developed by McGill researchers for mechanically manipulating stem cells could lead to new stem cell treatments, which have yet to fulfill their therapeutic potential. Stem cell therapy has been heralded as a new way to treat many diseases, ranging from multiple sclerosis, ...

Light switch for special receptors

IMC Krems plays a leading role in the establishment of innovative cell-based test systems for the identification of biomarkers.

16-Aug-2024 - A research project led by the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems has just been successfully completed and now provides an excellent basis for further projects: Prof. Christoph Wiesner's team from the Institute of Biotechnology succeeded in genetically modifying special receptors (Toll-like ...

Phagocytes from the culture dish for cancer therapy

"Our induced phagocytes have the potential to destroy cancer cells in therapeutic applications by devouring them"

13-Jun-2024 - Cell-based cancer therapies often fail nowadaystoday because the immune cells are unable to penetrate the tumor efficiently. The use of certain phagocytes is considered a promising alternative - but until now it has not been possible to grow them in sufficient quantities in the culture dish. ...

Skin models as an alternative to animal testing

A Fraunhofer start-up aims to significantly reduce animal testing with skin models grown from human stem cells

05-Jun-2024 - Animal testing has long been a fixture of medical and pharmaceutical research, but alternative methods are growing more and more important. Innovative methods allow for research aimed directly at humans — without using animal testing as an intermediate step. TigerShark Science, a planned ...

Innovative bioreactor research processes and cryotechnologies improve active ingredient tests using human cell cultures

This is paving the way for efficient real-world use of these cell cultures in toxicity testing and drug discovery

06-May-2024 - Many new drug candidates end up failing because they cause serious side effects in clinical trials. This is a common occurrence if the cells used come from animal tissue, for example. Specially prepared cell cultures made from human tissue known as human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells ...