Stem cell therapy allows blind to see again, thanks to animal research

A team of scientists led by stem cell pioneer Professor Robert Lanza has reported today in the Lancet (1) the first evidence for the long-term safety of  retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in patients who took part in a trial undertaken in four centres in the US. substantial … Continue reading Stem cell therapy allows blind to see again, thanks to animal research

Reprogrammed frog and mouse cells win the 2012 Nobel Prize

This morning the Nobel Assembly announced that the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be shared by John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for their “discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent”.  Animal research played a key role in the research honoured by the prize, specifically the studies of frogs … Continue reading Reprogrammed frog and mouse cells win the 2012 Nobel Prize

Restoring vision in night blindness: Mice point way to stem cell therapy

Impaired vision and blindness are leading causes of disability, affecting over 3 million people in the USA today, so it’s no surprise that biomedical scientists are working hard to develop therapies to improve and restore vision.  Over the past few years we have discussed several therapies that have been developed to treat different types of … Continue reading Restoring vision in night blindness: Mice point way to stem cell therapy

Animal research unleashes the power of human embryonic stem cells

For more than a decade now embryonic stem cell research has been one of the most high profile – and indeed controversial - areas of medical science, and it is an emerging field that owes a lot to animal studies performed by pioneers like Gail Martin of UCSF. Recently the field has begun to live … Continue reading Animal research unleashes the power of human embryonic stem cells

FASEB Excellence in Science Award for Stem Cell Pioneer

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is one of the world’s largest and most influential scientific organizations, representing 23 independent scientific societies and over 90,000 individual scientists. Regular readers of this blog will be aware that FASEB also takes a keen interest in educating and informing the public about the value and … Continue reading FASEB Excellence in Science Award for Stem Cell Pioneer