ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2008) — UCLA stem cell scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos or eggs. ... Read more

CHICAGO (AFP) — Researchers came a step closer to finding a safe way to use stem cells in clinical treatment Thursday when a team of Japanese scientists announced they found a way to induce stem cells without triggering tumors. ... Read more

The UK Stem Cell Foundation, the Medical Research Council and Scottish Enterprise, in partnership with the Chief Scientist's Office, are funding a 1.4 million pound project to further the research at the University of Edinburgh with a view to setting up a clinical trial within two years. The initiative could have a major impact on treating conditions such as osteoarthritis as well as treating trauma victims whose bones have been shattered beyond repair. ... Read more

Researchers at the University of Tokyo said on Wednesday that they have succeeded in generating kidneys and pancreases in mice that had been reprogrammed to grow without such organs, by injecting embryonic stem cells from healthy mice into fertilised eggs. ... Read more

NEW YORK (3/16/2008) - A gathering known as the Stem Cell Summit might sound so controversial it would need a steely moderator, or even police protection, so politically delicate is the science of using embryos in medical research. ... Read more

ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2008) — Researchers have successfully identified over 5,000 proteins that are present in embryonic stem cells, tripling the size of previous results and in the process creating the largest quantified protein map to date. ... Read more

(4/7/08) As scientists continue to pursue their goal of using a patient’s stem cells to create cures for diseases, many still argue that the process is ethically flawed. However, scientists believe they may have found an alternate route. ... Read more

Sperm grown from embryonic stem cells have already been used to produce mouse pups, and scientists are trying to use similar techniques to make human reproductive cells, or gametes. This week, the Hinxton group - a panel of stem cell experts - predicted that success could be as little as five years away. ... Read more

Researchers at the Utrecht University Medical Center, the Netherlands, and the Hubrecht Laboratory, also in Utrecht, have succeeded in growing cardiac muscle cells from adult human hearts. This major step forward in experimental cardiology is big news, if only because heart problems are the number one cause of death in the Western world. ... Read more

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new type of powerful stem cell made from ordinary skin cells has been coaxed into becoming three different types of heart and blood cells in mice, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday. ... Read more

ScienceDaily (May 22, 2008) — Research from the University of Southern California (USC) has discovered a new mechanism to allow embryonic stem cells to divide indefinitely and remain undifferentiated. The study, which will be published in the May 22 issue of the journal Nature, also reveals how embryonic stem cell multiplication is regulated, which may be important in understanding how to control tumor cell growth. ... Read more

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have established a human cell-based system for studying sickle cell anemia by reprogramming somatic cells to an embryonic stem cell like state. Publishing online in Stem Cells on May 29, the team describes a faster and more efficient method of reprogramming cells that might speed the development of stem cell therapies. ... Read more

Stem cells may force Crohn's disease into retreat, say Long Island medical investigators who are embarking on a pioneering analysis that targets patients who've failed other therapies. ... Read more

MONDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- Newly-identified stem cells located on the surface of the heart give rise to heart muscle cells, say researchers at Children's Hospital Boston. ... Read more

ALAMEDA — The chief executive of BioTime is expected to launch a complex database this afternoon, one he says will be a breakthrough stem-cell tool that will put this small company on a world stage. ... Read more

Cells from mice created using genetically reprogrammed cells can be triggered via drug administration to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state without the need for further direct genetic manipulation. ... Read more

TORONTO — Canadian researchers have found a way to control embryonic stem cells so they give rise to only one category of cell, a first step in medicine's quest to generate specific tissues to repair or replace parts of the body that are diseased, damaged or just plain worn out. ... Read more

Japanese scientists say they have created human stem cells from tissue taken from the discarded wisdom teeth of a 10-year-old girl. ... Read more

New York, Sept 13 (PTI) Researchers claim to have identified two early steps in adult stem cell differentiation -- the process that determines whether cells will form muscle, neurons or skin in humans and animals. In their study, a team at Utah University used the molecular equivalent of a tattoo on DNA which adult stem cells (ASC) pass to their "daughter" cells in combination with gene expression profiles. ... Read more

Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field. ... Read more

Less than a year after a Wisconsin team helped discover a major alternative to human embryonic stem cells, the Madison scientists say more than 800 labs have begun using the approach, suggesting that many stem-cell researchers are starting to move beyond controversial embryonic sources for their work. ... Read more

Japanese researchers have succeeded in creating a cerebral cortex, the part of the brain involved in thinking and motion, from embryonic stem cells, providing hope for future treatment of brain-related diseases. ... Read more