Stem cell therapy shows promise for rescuing deteriorating vision

Stem cell therapy shows promise for rescuing deteriorating vision UW-MU Communications, WI - March 28, 2007 For the millions of Americans whose vision is slowly ebbing due to degenerative diseases of the eye, the lowly neural progenitor cell may be riding to the rescue. In a study in rats, neural progenitor cells derived from human fetal stem cells have been shown to protect the vision of animals with degenerative eye disease similar to the kinds of diseases that afflict humans. The new study appears today (March 28) in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) One. ………… ZenMaster

Ian Wilmut: Cloner Offers Sad Tale

Cloner Offers Sad Tale Hartford Courant - March 28 2007 A decade ago, Ian Wilmut and a team of researchers in Scotland stunned the world when they announced they had cloned "Dolly" from the udder of a 6-year-old sheep, proving it was possible to make even old cells young again. The advance meant cloning might unveil the secrets of cellular development, helping researchers find cures for countless diseases. But Wilmut - in Hartford on Tuesday for the StemCONN 07 international stem cell conference - talked about why over the last 10 years he and other scientists have not been able to accomplish the same feat with human cells. …………….. ZenMaster

New Embryonic Stem Cell Signaling Pathway Described

New Embryonic Stem Cell Signaling Pathways Tuesday, 20 March 2007 A newly discovered small molecule called IQ-1 plays a key role in preventing embryonic stem cells from differentiating into one or more specific cell types, allowing them to instead continue growing and dividing indefinitely, according to research performed by a team of scientists who have recently joined the stem-cell research efforts at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. ZenMaster