Regenerative Medicine

By investigating the genetic underpinnings behind tooth formation in early human development, a team of scientists in Japan has uncovered clues about how they might be regenerated in adults suffering from congenital conditions.

Unfortunately there isn’t much that doctors can do to repair the damage after a spinal cord injury. But UCLA researchers have shown in tests in mice that injections of a porous scaffold material can help the body patch up the damage.

An analysis of 13 case histories has found intravenous injections of stem cells lead to motor function improvements in patients with spinal cord injury. The research claims the therapy is safe but clinical trials are needed to further affirm efficacy.

Researchers have developed a drug that can mimic inflammation signals to lure stem cells to damaged tissue, without causing any further inflammation. The technique could be a boon for regenerative medicine to treat neurological disorders.

Scar tissue is an effective short-term solution to quickly patch up wounded skin, but it’s not so great long-term. A new hydrogel helps by triggering a regenerative immune response, so skin heals healthier and stronger without scarring.

Stem cells are powerful tools that could one day unlock new frontiers in regenerative medicine. Now, a new study has shown that a certain type of stem cell can be delivered into injured tissues with dissolvable microneedles, to heal wounds.

Axons, the long nerve fibers that pass signals between neurons, can't regenerate after injury. But now researchers have found that boosting a certain protein helps patch up axons, returning more movement and feeling to mice with spinal cord injuries.

Rupturing tendons or ligaments like an anterior cruciate ligament in the knees can mean long stints on the sidelines, but a new type of synthetic material promises to help things along by acting as a scaffold to accelerate the regeneration of tissue.

It sure would be nice if teeth could just repair themselves. Thankfully that’s not as far-fetched as it sounds – researchers have found a new population of stem cells in mice that are in charge of repairing tooth tissue and could be recruited to help us patch up cavities.

Our bodies aren't great at regeneration. Other creatures have mastered this skill though, and now scientists at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and Harvard have sequenced the RNA transcripts for the immortal hydra and figured out how it manages to do just that.

In recent years scientists have been able to correct genetic diseases by removing stem cells, editing their genomes and implanting them back into patients, but that adds complications. Now new research led by Harvard scientists has successfully edited the genes of stem cells while still in the body.

This installment of our Revolutions series brings you up to date with the ground-breaking new discoveries made around the regenerative possibilities of induced pluripotent stem cells, which can theoretically be coaxed into any kind of cell in the human body.