Regenerative Medicine

A paradigm shift in the way we treat spinal injuries is now in sight, with the world's first regenerative cell therapy approved for a Phase I clinical trial. It's a historical milestone that could reverse what has, until now, been an incurable injury.

In a major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, MIT scientists have developed a way to convert skin cells directly into brain cells extremely efficiently, without needing to go through the intermediate step of converting them to stem cells first.

Eye injuries that damage the cornea are usually irreversible and cause blindness. But a new clinical trial has repaired this damage in patients thanks to a transplant of stem cells from their healthy eyes.

Researchers have discovered a new type of tissue, a soft and flexible ‘fatty cartilage’ that could revolutionize the treatment of traumatic injuries, birth defects, and cartilage-damaging diseases like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Heart attacks are dangerous not just because of the initial event, but the long-term damage afterwards. Now scientists have discovered a dormant gene that could be reactivated to regenerate heart tissue, preventing the progression to heart failure.

Scientists have engineered a hybrid mouse with a gene that predates all animal life. The team replaced a single gene in the mouse stem cells with a version from an ancient, single-celled ancestor, and successfully grew healthy live mice from it.

The body has a remarkable ability to heal injuries, but it has its limits. Now scientists have developed a way to improve on the natural process, making implants created from a patient’s own blood to regenerate injuries, even repairing bone.

The company behind the once-a-day pill that restored lost nerve cell connections in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has now set its sights on using the pill to provide a novel treatment for another debilitating disease: schizophrenia.

Injecting immune cells directly into damaged bone, muscle and skin significantly boosts healing, according to new research. The door is now open to developing a universal cell-based method of enhancing healing after an injury.

Two innovative new developments have demonstrated that degraded cartilage can be regrown, first with 'dancing molecules' that target the protein needed for tissue regeneration, secondly with a hybrid biomaterial that stimulates cartilage growth.

People living with diabetes might have a new hope. Scientists have tested a new drug therapy in diabetic mice, and found that it boosted insulin-producing cells by 700% over three months, effectively reversing their disease.

Adding rat stem cells to a mouse embryo resulted in a ‘hybrid brain’ in which the rat cells stepped in to restore function when the mouse’s sense of smell was removed. The new research represents a step forward in regenerative medicine.