Posts Tagged ‘Stem Cells’
Stem cell therapy restores British man’s eyesight
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 23rd, 2009
Continue reading Stem cell therapy restores British man's eyesight
Stem cell therapy restores British man's eyesight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Channel 4 | Email this | Comments Remainders – Things We Didn’t Post [Remainders]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 17th, 2009
Baby Gets Hit By Train, Strolls Away...There's a Hole In My Heart That Can Only Be Filled By—Stem Cells?...Beware Bobbies Bearing BlackBerries...Science Figures Out Why We Break Out Bubbly
Sure it's been the lead story on CNN and a big story on Gawker, but there just wasn't enough DIY mechanics or cellphone-related mayhem for us to pounce on this little gem. As a dad, I don't like seeing shit like this, but knowing there's a happy ending made it a bit easier to view. Oops, did I give too much away? [Gawker]
Hairband balladeers from the roaring '80s will be disappointed to learn that holes in the heart previously only able to be filled by some girl who is already dating some other guy can now be filled by a patch made of stem cells. As for the rest of us, we naturally assumed that if stem cells could give Christopher "Butthole" Reeve real Superman strength and build replica's of Shakey's Pizza, well, of course they can patch heart holes. [PopSci]
By March of next year, many British police officers will be handed a smartphone in order to maintain communication while increasing time in the field. It may work, assuming they block like a million distractions. Frankly, the only reason I wanted to even mention this in Remainders was to remind the world of that stroke of British police genius, Hot Fuzz, through Photoshop. It was that or an image of the gmilfy Prime Suspect herself, Helen Mirren. Did I choose wrong? [BBC via Engadget]
Science produces explanations great and small, and finally got around to one we've been waiting for since Heinrich "Coca" Cola invented the fizzy beverage: Why do we love the carbonation? Everyone used to think it was the exploding carbonation bubbles, but sure enough, it's the carbon dioxide itself—you listening, Al Gore???—that sends a message to open up the sour taste buds, delivering a genuine flavor change. Sure, it's not gadget news, but now, when you head out to the bars, you can order beer in the name of science. [Daily Mail UK]
Your Great Great Great Grandkids Might Heal Like Wolverine [Health]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 9th, 2009
It sounds straight out of a comic book: Scientists have figured out a way to inject gene-carrying nanoparticles into stem cells in order to make wounds heal faster. I'd get my superheroine costume ready if the method wasn't potentially cancer-causing.
The basic idea is to use nanoparticles to deliver a gene into stem cells which will "encourage new blood vessels to grow so that the tissue stays alive." The results in mice certainly do sound encouraging:
When the modified cells were injected into mice whose hind limbs had been injured, the tissue that regrew to repair the damage had three times the blood vessel density of similar tissue in mice given unmodified cells. Four weeks later, only 20 per cent of the mice given modified cells had lost limbs, compared with 60 per cent in mice that received unmodified cells
The trouble with injecting modified cells like this is that the effects seem to drop off after a period of time. Scientists are looking for other methods, such as using a virus to transmit the gene, but "the viral approach is not without risks–viruses can integrate into the genome of cells and linger permanently, potentially causing cancer or immune reactions." I guess I won't be dashing around town playing heroine anytime soon, but maybe they'll sort out the whole thing in a few generations. [Discover]
Your Great Great Great Grandkids Might Heal Like Wolverine [Health]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 9th, 2009
It sounds straight out of a comic book: Scientists have figured out a way to inject gene-carrying nanoparticles into stem cells in order to make wounds heal faster. I'd get my superheroine costume ready if the method wasn't potentially cancer-causing.
The basic idea is to use nanoparticles to deliver a gene into stem cells which will "encourage new blood vessels to grow so that the tissue stays alive." The results in mice certainly do sound encouraging:
When the modified cells were injected into mice whose hind limbs had been injured, the tissue that regrew to repair the damage had three times the blood vessel density of similar tissue in mice given unmodified cells. Four weeks later, only 20 per cent of the mice given modified cells had lost limbs, compared with 60 per cent in mice that received unmodified cells
The trouble with injecting modified cells like this is that the effects seem to drop off after a period of time. Scientists are looking for other methods, such as using a virus to transmit the gene, but "the viral approach is not without risks–viruses can integrate into the genome of cells and linger permanently, potentially causing cancer or immune reactions." I guess I won't be dashing around town playing heroine anytime soon, but maybe they'll sort out the whole thing in a few generations. [Discover]
Forget Dentures, With This Tech You Could Grow New Teeth in Fifty Days [Teeth]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on August 5th, 2009
I thought this mousey was chewing gum, but it turns out that green lump in its mouth is a fully-functional, bioengineered tooth, the result of "tooth regenerative therapy" research at Tokyo University (of the ear-pulling navigation system fame)
Basically that little mouse, let's call him Jerry, lost a tooth and grew a a new one in its place with the help of some scientists:
To create the new tooth, the researchers [...] took epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells (about 50,000 each) from a mouse embryo and cultivated them together in a collagen-based medium to create a tiny tooth bud - a mass of tissue that has the potential to develop into a tooth.
This mass of tissues was implanted in the spot where Jerry's old tooth used to be and after fifty days that mouse could nibble on cheese properly again. The new tooth grew to the same height as the surrounding ones, is just as hard, and has all the same blood vessels and nerves.
Researchers are hoping that this bioengineering process will one day make dentures and false teeth obsolete, but I think that anyone watching Shark Week is secretly imagining growing a mouthful of chompers like that. [PinkTentacle]
