Stem Cells

Scientists have grown mini eyes from human cells in the lab. These eye organoids provide good models of the real thing to help scientists study diseases that cause blindness and potentially find treatments.

Researchers have created induced pluripotent stem cells from the genetic material of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino, potentially providing new ways to help conservation efforts. They even used them to grow mini rhino brains in lab dishes.

For the first time, human patients have received transfusions of blood cells that were grown from stem cells in a lab. A clinical trial investigating the safety of the procedure is currently underway, which could revolutionize blood transfusions.

Senescent cells are blamed for many effects of aging and as such, they’re targeted by a range of anti-aging therapies. But we might not want to wipe them all out, as a new study suggests that some senescent cells play positive roles in healing.

In a world-first clinical trial, three babies have been born after receiving stem cell treatment for spina bifida. A stem cell patch is applied to the fetus’ spine while still developing in the womb, and early results are promising one year on.

A new study has highlighted one way insufficient sleep can harm your immune system, making you more vulnerable to infections and inflammatory disease by damaging your body’s hematopoietic stem cells.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have demonstrated how a microfluidic device that mimics the embryonic heart can produce blood stem cell precursors, which could let blood stem cells be manufactured on demand.

Researchers have created some of the most advanced synthetic mouse embryos out of stem cells, removing the need for sperm, eggs and even a womb. The technology could help us understand development and eventually be used to grow organs for transplant.

A 66-year-old man has become the fourth patient, and the oldest to date, to be effectively cured of a HIV infection after undergoing a stem cell transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that has been linked to HIV resistance.

Australian scientists have demonstrated a new way to restore insulin production in pancreatic cells, using a drug that’s already approved for use in humans. The study could mark a major breakthrough towards new treatments for diabetes.

Japanese scientists have successfully cloned mice from freeze-dried adult cells, which can be stored easily for long periods of time. The cloned mice were later able to have their own offspring, potentially aiding conservation of endangered species.

Researchers have developed a new drug cocktail that can convert cells into totipotent stem cells, the very seeds of life. These cells can differentiate into any cell in the body, potentially bypassing the need for sperm and eggs to grow an organism.