Researchers at Stanford’s School of Medicine have identified the first human bladder cancer stem cell and revealed how it works to escape the body’s natural defenses.

Tagged: Health Research, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

The director of stem cell research at the Stanford University School of Medicine says he is troubled by draft guidelines issued today by the National Institutes of Health that would prohibit federal funding for research on stem cell lines created through a technique sometimes referred to as “therapeutic cloning” or somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Tagged: stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

Researchers have taken a step toward the goal of enabling stem cells to become transplantable organs such as livers or pancreases by developing a "bioscaffold" technique that can provide a reliable supply of blood to a developing organ.

Tagged: Health Research, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

VIDEO: A pathway that shields normal stem cells from DNA damage appears to also help cancer stem cells withstand radiation treatment for the disease.

Tagged: cancer, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

Like it or not, your living room says a lot about you. Given a few moments to poke around, a stranger could get a good idea of your likes and dislikes, and maybe even your future plans. Medical school scientists, employing a similar "peeping Tom" tactic to learn more about how stem cells develop, have taken a significant step forward by devising a way to re­create the cells' lair—a microenvironment called a niche—in an animal.

Tagged: Bio-X, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

Scientists at the School of Medicine and at UCSF have succeeded in isolating stem cells from human testes. The cells bear a striking resemblance to embryonic stem cells—they can differentiate into each of the three main types of body tissue—but the researchers caution against viewing them as one and the same.

Tagged: Bio-X, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

Clusters of mouse embryonic stem cells called embryoid bodies more closely approximate true embryos in organization and structure than previously thought, according to researchers at the School of Medicine. Harnessing the signals that influence the cells' fate may help researchers more accurately direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells for use in therapy.

Tagged: Bio-X, stem cells, Human Health, Humanities & Sciences, Medicine

The School of Medicine took one step closer to opening the nation’s largest stem cell research facility with groundbreaking ceremonies Oct. 27 for the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building. The event followed a symposium in which researchers described some of the potential of stem cells in treating diseases as diverse as leukemia and Parkinson’s disease.

Tagged: stem cells, Human Health, On Campus, Medicine

A family of cancer-fighting molecules helps blood stem cells in mice decide when and how to divide, say medical school researchers. "This is an important step in understanding the initiation of human cancer at a cellular level," said Patrick Viatour, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar who performed the research in the laboratory of Julien Sage, PhD.

Tagged: cancer, stem cells, Human Health, Medicine

A single cell can repopulate damaged skeletal muscle in mice, say medical school scientists who devised a way to track the cell's fate in living animals. Identifying and isolating such a cell in humans would have therapeutic implications for disorders such as muscular dystrophy, muscle injury and muscle wasting due to aging, disuse or disease.

Tagged: stem cells, Human Health, Medicine