Category Archives: Embryonic Stem Cells


Global Regenerative Medicine Market To Be Driven By Increasing Clinical Trials During The Forecast Period Of 2021-2026 themobility.club -…

The new report by Expert Market Research titled, GlobalRegenerative Medicine MarketReport and Forecast 2021-2026, gives an in-depth analysis of the global regenerative medicine market, assessing the market based on its segments like technology, applications, and major regions . The report tracks the latest trends in the industry and studies their impact on the overall market. It also assesses the market dynamics, covering the key demand and price indicators, along with analyzing the market based on the SWOT and Porters Five Forces models.

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The key highlights of the report include:

Market Overview (2016-2026)

The emergence ofstem celltechnology, the untapped potential of nanotechnology, the rise in prevalence ofchronicdiseases and trauma emergencies, advancements in monitoring devices andsurgicaltechnologies, the rise in incidence of degenerative diseases, and the scarcity of organs for transplantation are all factors driving the growth of this market. Over the forecast period, the market is expected to be driven by rise in modern technology. The market expansion is predicted to be supplemented by a greater focus on stem cells and an increase in R&D activity in emerging markets. The emerging countries are concentrating on technical improvements, which is predicted to promote worldwide market growth. However, the markets expansion is expected to be hampered by government regulations, operational inefficiency, and the high cost of regenerative medicine treatment.

Industry Definition and Major Segments

Regenerative medicine is a branch of tissue engineering and molecular biology concerned with the replacement and regeneration of human cells, tissues, and organs in order to restore normal function. Bone graft alternatives, osteoarticular diseases, dermatological, cardiovascular, central nervous system, and other conditions are all treated with regenerative medicine.

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By technology, the market is divided into:

Based on applications, the industry can be divided into:

By region, the industry is categorised into:

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Market Trends

The high number of clinical trials, growing economic impact on regenerative medicine, emerging applications of gene therapy in regenerative medicine, increasing government and private sector funding to support the development of regenerative medicine, and technological advances in stem cell, tissue engineering, and nanotechnology are driving the global regenerative medicine market. The regenerative medicine market is also being fueled by an increase in strategic partnerships, which aid in the commercialisation of regenerative medicine. Another factor driving up demand for regenerative treatments is the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and hereditary disorders, along with degenerative diseases and bone and joint problems. The high cost of therapy and the regulatory difficulties relating to stem cells, tissues engineering, and regenerative medicine, could stymie the industrys expansion.

The global market was dominated by North America. This is due to the presence of a large number of key players in the United States. The high number of clinical trials in this region is due to the availability of advanced technology and the existence of research institutes working in the development of innovative treatments. Due to the increase of infrastructure and facilities to expedite stem cell research in the regions growing economies, Asia Pacific is expected to have the highest CAGR during the projected period. The Chinese government has approved many research projects involving human embryonic stem cells, encouraging scientists to investigate the cells clinical potential. These factors are expected to boost the market during the foreast period as well.

Key Market Players

The major players in the market are Novartis AG, Vericel, Integra Lifesciences, Mimedx Group, Stryker, Wright Medical, Spark Therapeutics, Osiris Therapeutics, Kite Pharma (Subsidiary of Gilead Sciences), and Organogenesis, among others. The report covers the market shares, capacities, expansions, investments and mergers and acquisitions, among other latest developments of these market players.

About Us:

Expert Market Research is a leading business intelligence firm, providing custom and syndicated market reports along with consultancy services for our clients. We serve a wide client base ranging from Fortune 1000 companies to small and medium enterprises. Our reports cover over 100 industries across established and emerging markets researched by our skilled analysts who track the latest economic, demographic, trade and market data globally.

At Expert Market Research, we tailor our approach according to our clients needs and preferences, providing them with valuable, actionable and up-to-date insights into the market, thus, helping them realize their optimum growth potential. We offer market intelligence across a range of industry verticals which include Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverage, Technology, Retail, Chemical and Materials, Energy and Mining, Packaging and Agriculture.

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Global Regenerative Medicine Market To Be Driven By Increasing Clinical Trials During The Forecast Period Of 2021-2026 themobility.club -...

Sen. Orrin Hatch’s legacy tracks the GOP’s evolution on health – NPR

Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy ( left) and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch teamed up on a series of landmark legislative health care achievements, such as the Ryan White program on AIDS treatment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the first major federal child care law. John Duricka/AP hide caption

Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy ( left) and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch teamed up on a series of landmark legislative health care achievements, such as the Ryan White program on AIDS treatment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the first major federal child care law.

When it comes to health policy, former Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, who died Saturday at age 88, leaves a complex legacy of major legislative achievements, changing positions, compromises and fierce opposition. In many ways, though, Hatch's evolution and leadership on health policy during his four decades in the U.S. Senate mirror that of the Republican Party.

When he came to Washington as a neophyte politician after an upset victory in 1976, Hatch was a conservative firebrand, one of the early leaders of the "New Right" bent on dismantling the federal welfare state and banning abortion. A former trial lawyer, the new senator had never before held public office.

But the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and the Republican takeover of the Senate that made Hatch chairman of the powerful Labor and Human Resources Committee (now the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee) turned him into something of a pragmatist. That pragmatism, it should be noted, was somewhat forced: Even though Hatch was technically the chair, there were enough moderate Republicans on the panel to give the ranking Democrat, Massachusetts' Edward Kennedy, effective control over what could be passed by the committee.

So Hatch learned to compromise and to legislate. In 1984, he negotiated with liberal Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., what is still referred to as the "Hatch-Waxman Act." It's better known as the law that allowed, for the first time, approval of generic copies of brand-name drugs. Although far from a panacea, it is still the single-biggest advance in the fight to rein in high drug prices.

When the Democrats took back the Senate after the 1986 elections, Kennedy became chairman of the committee and Hatch, the ranking Republican. The two teamed up on a series of landmark legislative achievements, from the Ryan White program on AIDS treatment and the Americans with Disabilities Act to the first major federal child care law. And while Hatch was a strong foe of national health insurance, he and Kennedy ultimately pushed through Congress in 1997 the bill to create the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides low-cost health insurance for low-income families who don't qualify for Medicaid.

The stridently anti-abortion Hatch was outspoken about his support for federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells derived from aborted fetuses. "I think it's the ultimate pro-life position, because I believe being pro-life is not just caring for the unborn but caring for those who are living," he told NPR in 2007.

But like much of the Republican Party in Congress, Hatch returned to his conservative roots after the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. A supporter of the so-called individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance when it was the quasi-official GOP position in the early 1990s, Hatch became an outspoken foe. "Congress has never crossed the line between regulating what people choose to do and ordering them to do it," he said in 2010.

After moderate Utah Republican Sen. Robert Bennett was ousted in a primary in 2010 and replaced by conservative favorite Mike Lee, Hatch grew more conservative to win reelection in 2012. His final term in the Senate was marked by efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act and further restrict abortion access. The devout Mormon, who in his spare time wrote lyrics for best-selling Christian music, even called the ACA "the stupidest, dumb-a** bill that I've ever seen. Now some of you may have loved it; if you do, you are one of the stupidest dumb-a** people I've ever met." He later apologized for the statement.

A former Kennedy aide, Jim Manley, told The Salt Lake Tribune that "no one epitomizes the rightward lurch of the Republican Party more than Sen. Hatch."

In one final twist, however, Hatch pushed as his successor the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. In just his first few years, Romney has become one of the most moderate Republicans in the chamber. That may prove to be Orrin Hatch's final legacy.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. It is an editorially independent operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation).

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Sen. Orrin Hatch's legacy tracks the GOP's evolution on health - NPR

Global Cell Counting Market to be Driven by the Increasing Demand in Hospitals and Diagnostic Laboratories in the Forecast Period of 2021-2026 …

The new report by Expert Market Research titled,GlobalCell Counting MarketReport and Forecast2021-2026, gives an in-depth analysis of theglobal cell counting market, assessing the market based on its segmentslikeproduct type, end use,andmajor regions. Thereport tracks the latest trends in the industry and studies their impact on the overall market. It also assesses the market dynamics, covering the key demand and price indicators, along withanalysingthe market based on the SWOT and Porters Five Forces models.

Note 1: For a snapshot of the primary and secondary data of the market (2016-2026), along with business strategies and detailed market segmentation, please click on request sample report. The sample report shall be delivered to you within 24 hours.

Request a free sample copy in PDF or view the report summary@https://www.expertmarketresearch.com/reports/cell-counting-market/requestsample

The keyhighlights of the report include:

Market Overview (2016-2026)

During the projection period, hospitals and diagnostic laboratories are estimated to observe significant growth. This can be attributed to an increase in capital expenditure for the development of cell culture-based vaccines and the rapid expansion of the pharmaceutical industry. The rising prevalence of various chronic ailments, such as cancer, HIV-AIDS, leukaemia, Alzheimers, etc., is propelling the demand for cell counting techniques. The growing adoption of cell counting instruments across diverse medical fields, such as molecular biology, immunology, pathology, etc., for developing next-generation therapeutics is also augmenting the market growth. In addition to this, the increasing utilisation of cell counting for the identification and determination of primary tumours, circulating tumours, and metastatic tumour is further bolstering the market growth. The widespread adoption of stem cell therapy is also propelling the demand for various cell counting instruments on a global level.

Industry Definition and Major Segments

Cell counting refers to a technique used to analyse the cells or micelles that are usually suspended in blood or other body fluids. Some of the standard instruments used for cell counting includes hemocytometers, spectrophotometers, flow cytometers, and automated cell counters, among others. Cell counting aids in classifying cell types and detecting disease through probes to develop the best treatment plan for the patient. It also helps in understanding the structure and composition of the cells for chromosome analysis, protein expression, cancer diagnosis, and haematological malignancies, among others.

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By product type, the industry is segmented into:

The market can be broadly categorised on the basis of end use into:

On the basis ofregion, the industry is divided into:

Market Trends

The rising awareness of numerous benefits of cell counting techniques in immunophenotyping, cell sorting, cell proliferation assays, and intracellular calcium flux is further driving the market growth. The increasing investments by several government bodies in extensive research and development activities pertaining to the fields of biotechnology, oncology stem cell therapeutics, etc., are also bolstering the adoption of cell counting techniques. The presence of an array of medical research and biopharmaceutical businesses is anticipated to drive market growth in the coming years. With the rapid technological advancements, the market is predicted to be driven by innovations in existing products as well as the launch of new data visualisation and analysis tools. The market growth can also be associated with the increase in the number of proteomics and genomics researchers.

Key Market Players

The major players in the marketareThermo Fisher Scientific Inc.,Becton, Dickinson and Company,Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.,Beckman Coulter, Inc.,and PerkinElmer Inc.,among others.The report covers the market shares, capacities, plant turnarounds, expansions, investments and mergers and acquisitions, among other latest developments of these market players.

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Note 2:As thenovel coronavirus (COVID-19)continues to spread across the world, our analysts are constantly tracking the impact of this rapidly evolving situation on the markets and the consumer purchase behaviours. Thus, our latest estimates and analysis about the current market trends and forecast will exhaustively reflect the effects of this emerging pandemic.

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Expert Market Research is a leading business intelligence firm, providing custom and syndicated market reports along with consultancy services for our clients. We serve a wide client base ranging from Fortune 1000 companies to small and medium enterprises. Our reports cover over 100 industries across established and emerging markets researched by our skilled analysts who track the latest economic, demographic, trade and market data globally.

At Expert Market Research, we tailor our approach according to our clients needs and preferences, providing them with valuable, actionable and up-to-date insights into the market, thus, helping them realize their optimum growth potential. We offer market intelligence across a range of industry verticals which include Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverage, Technology, Retail, Chemical and Materials, Energy and Mining, Packaging and Agriculture.

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Global Cell Counting Market to be Driven by the Increasing Demand in Hospitals and Diagnostic Laboratories in the Forecast Period of 2021-2026 ...

GeneTether Therapeutics Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results and Reports on Corporate Highlights – TheNewswire.ca

Vancouver, British Columbia TheNewswire - April 28, 2022 GeneTether Therapeutics Inc., (together with its wholly-owned subsidiary GeneTether, Inc., GeneTether or the Company) (CSE:GTTX), an early-stage genetic medicine company focused on developing its disruptive proprietary platform technology to significantly increase the efficiency of DNA insertion into the genome, announced today the filing of its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 and reported on corporate highlights from 2021. All dollar amounts are presented in the United States dollar, unless otherwise noted. Complete financial statements along with related management and discussion and analysis can be found in the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval, the electronic filing system for the disclosure documents of issuers across Canada, at http://www.SEDAR.com.

Commenting on the Companys progress, CEO Roland Boivin said, Were pleased with our ability to close our IPO in these difficult market conditions, and we now have the means to significantly advance our R&D plan. In addition to the work currently being done as part of our UC Davis and ZeClinics collaborations,we have initiated the development of strategic plans to generate in vitro and in vivo model systems for uromodulin kidney disease ( [ANNOTATION:

BY 'Keith C. Inman' ON '2022-04-21T12:52:00'KCI NOTE: 'Consider using "uromodulin" and "kidney disease" instead of abbreviated terms']UMOD) with a focus on developing our lead therapeutic in ADTKD. Were also exploring collaboration opportunities with other genetic medicine companies as we believe our GeneTetherTM platform applies to most gene correction/gene complementation strategies, regardless of organ or disease.

R&D and Intellectual Property:

GeneTether achieved significant R&D progress in 2021, as the Company continues to develop best-in-class gene editing therapies based on its proprietary GeneTether platform:

In April 2021, GeneTether initiated an R&D program with ZeClinics of Barcelona, Spain, whereby ZeClinics will conduct a series of experiments in zebrafish embryos to, among other things, demonstrate the editing efficiency and toxicity of gene editing constructs incorporating the GeneTetherTM platform technology versus identical gene editing constructs without the GeneTetherTM platform technology.

In May 2021, GeneTether initiated an R&D program with the University of California, Davis (UCD) whereby researchers at UCD and members of GeneTethers R&D team will conduct a series of experiments in large animal eggs, embryos and embryonic stem cells to, among other things, demonstrate the editing efficiency of the GeneTetherTM platform technology versus identical gene editing constructs without the GeneTetherTM platform technology.

Between October 2021 and March 2022, GeneTether engaged in collaboration discussions with multiple genetic medicines companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Those discussions are ongoing as of the date of this news release.

On February 9, 2022, the Company announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a Notice of Allowance with respect to a patent entitled Modified Nucleic Acid Editing Systems for Tethering Donor DNA related to its GeneTetherTM platform technology.

Board of Directors, Management, and Advisors

The Company succeeded in attracting high quality management team members and established its Scientific Advisory Board in 2021, creating a best-in-class team within gene therapy:

In January 2021, Mr. Andre Pereira Fraga Figueiredo and Mr. Daren Graham were elected to GeneTethers Board of Directors. Mr. Fraga has over 20 years of experience in MA, strategy, and business development in the petrochemical and renewable energy sectors, and is an active investor in early stage life science companies. Mr. Graham has nearly 20 years of experience in the life science industry as a merchant banker, senior operations executive, and corporate finance attorney. In April 2021, GeneTethers board of directors appointed Mr. Graham as its Chairperson.

In March 2021, the Company engaged Green BCN Consulting Services, a group of Barcelona-based consultants specializing in life science research, drug discovery and development, and strategic planning. Also in March 2021, Dr. Peter Sampson joined the Company as Vice President, Research and Development on a consulting basis. Dr. Sampson has over 20 years of experience in the life science industry, ranging from early-stage research and development to clinical trials.

In October 2021, Mr. Roland Boivin joined GeneTether as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Boivin has nearly 25 years of public company leadership experience, with a focus on strategic operations, finance, business development, and general management, including as CFO for Medexus Pharmaceuticals. GeneTethers shareholders also elected Mr. Boivin to the Board of Directors.

In October 2021 Ms. Jean Jen joined GeneTether as its Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Jen has over twelve years of finance and accounting experience, working with both private and public companies in the life sciences industry and in the gene-therapy space, including Nasdaq-listed Arbutus Biopharma Corporation.

In October 2021, GeneTethers Mr. P. Gage Jull jointed the Companys Board of Directors. Mr. Jull is Executive Chairman of Arrow Exploration Corp., a TSX-V listed oil and gas company active in Canada and Colombia. Mr. Jull was also a Co-Founder and Chairman of Bordeaux Capital Inc., a Toronto-based mergers and acquisitions advisory firm focused on emerging companies in the natural resources and other sectors. Mr. Jull is also a director of Tryp Therapeutics Inc. where he is the Chair of the board of directors and Audit Committee.

In October 2021, Dr. Kuldeep Neote joined GeneTether as the Chairperson of its Scientific Advisory Board. GeneTether also engaged Dr. Neote as a consultant for certain of its innovation and strategy activities. Dr. Neote earned his PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. He has over 25 years in the life science industry, including as a researcher at Genentech, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly and Company, and as a business development executive at Johnson Johnson and Eli Lilly and Company. He is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at FACIT/OICR in Toronto and at The National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

Financing and Corporate Restructure

The Company succeeded in completing multiple financings and a corporate reorganization (the Reorganization) to support the ongoing development of its research and development activities:

From February to July 2021, GeneTether conducted a seed round private placement financing for aggregate proceeds of approximately US$1,000,000.

On November 30, 2021, the Company and GT Inc. completed the Reorganization, pursuant to which GeneTether Inc. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

On March 29, 2022, the Company announced that it closed its initial public offering and concurrent private placement of units of the Company (the Units) for aggregate gross proceeds of C$4,500,000 at a price of C$0.60 per Unit. Each Unit was comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a Common Share), and one Common Share purchase warrant (a Warrant). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of C$0.72/share until March 29, 2025.

Financial Results

The Companys total assets as at December 31, 2021 were approximately $370,500, including approximately $180,000 in cash. Net and comprehensive loss for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 were approximately $1,638,000.

About GeneTether

Founded by EGB Ventures founder and managing partner, William J. Garner, M.D., and veteran gene editing researcher, R. Geoffrey Sargent, Ph.D., GeneTether is focused on developing its disruptive proprietary platform technology to significantly increase the efficiency of DNA insertion into the genome for gene correction and complementation strategies. The Companys wholly-owned platform technology uses a proprietary method to tether donor DNA templates to the genome editing complex, making the template readily available for use during the genome editing repair stage. The Company is leveraging its platform technology to develop curative therapies for the treatment of rare genetic diseases. GeneTethers proof of concept study demonstrated an approximately 7x higher gene editing efficiency as compared to the same gene editing payload without application of GeneTethers technology.

For more information, visitwww.genetether.com.

Contacts:

Roland Boivin, CEO

(833) 294-4363 ext. 1

roland@genetether.com

Jean Jen, CFO and Corporate Secretary

(833) 294-4363 ext. 2

jean@genetether.com

Forward-Looking Disclaimer

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause GeneTethers actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur.

Forward-looking statements in this document include the expectation that the Company will significantly advance its research and development plan, expectations that the Company will develop collaboration opportunities with other genetic medicines companies, the expectation that the GeneTetherTM platform technology applies to most other gene correction/gene complementation strategies regardless of organ or disease, and all other statements that are not statements of historical fact.

Although GeneTether believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic; general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; the Companys ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; the ability of GeneTether to implement its business strategies; competition; the ability of GeneTether to obtain and retain all applicable regulatory approvals and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including those set forth under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys final prospectus dated March 21, 2022.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

The Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service has approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release

NOT INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

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GeneTether Therapeutics Inc. Announces Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results and Reports on Corporate Highlights - TheNewswire.ca

Stem cells: Sources, types, and uses – Medical News Today

Cells in the body have specific purposes, but stem cells are cells that do not yet have a specific role and can become almost any cell that is required.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can turn into specific cells, as the body needs them.

Scientists and doctors are interested in stem cells as they help to explain how some functions of the body work, and how they sometimes go wrong.

Stem cells also show promise for treating some diseases that currently have no cure.

Stem cells originate from two main sources: adult body tissues and embryos. Scientists are also working on ways to develop stem cells from other cells, using genetic reprogramming techniques.

A persons body contains stem cells throughout their life. The body can use these stem cells whenever it needs them.

Also called tissue-specific or somatic stem cells, adult stem cells exist throughout the body from the time an embryo develops.

The cells are in a non-specific state, but they are more specialized than embryonic stem cells. They remain in this state until the body needs them for a specific purpose, say, as skin or muscle cells.

Day-to-day living means the body is constantly renewing its tissues. In some parts of the body, such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to produce new body tissues for maintenance and repair.

Stem cells are present inside different types of tissue. Scientists have found stem cells in tissues, including:

However, stem cells can be difficult to find. They can stay non-dividing and non-specific for years until the body summons them to repair or grow new tissue.

Adult stem cells can divide or self-renew indefinitely. This means they can generate various cell types from the originating organ or even regenerate the original organ, entirely.

This division and regeneration are how a skin wound heals, or how an organ such as the liver, for example, can repair itself after damage.

In the past, scientists believed adult stem cells could only differentiate based on their tissue of origin. However, some evidence now suggests that they can differentiate to become other cell types, as well.

From the very earliest stage of pregnancy, after the sperm fertilizes the egg, an embryo forms.

Around 35 days after a sperm fertilizes an egg, the embryo takes the form of a blastocyst or ball of cells.

The blastocyst contains stem cells and will later implant in the womb. Embryonic stem cells come from a blastocyst that is 45 days old.

When scientists take stem cells from embryos, these are usually extra embryos that result from in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In IVF clinics, the doctors fertilize several eggs in a test tube, to ensure that at least one survives. They will then implant a limited number of eggs to start a pregnancy.

When a sperm fertilizes an egg, these cells combine to form a single cell called a zygote.

This single-celled zygote then starts to divide, forming 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, and so on. Now it is an embryo.

Soon, and before the embryo implants in the uterus, this mass of around 150200 cells is the blastocyst. The blastocyst consists of two parts:

The inner cell mass is where embryonic stem cells are found. Scientists call these totipotent cells. The term totipotent refer to the fact that they have total potential to develop into any cell in the body.

With the right stimulation, the cells can become blood cells, skin cells, and all the other cell types that a body needs.

In early pregnancy, the blastocyst stage continues for about 5 days before the embryo implants in the uterus, or womb. At this stage, stem cells begin to differentiate.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into more cell types than adult stem cells.

MSCs come from the connective tissue or stroma that surrounds the bodys organs and other tissues.

Scientists have used MSCs to create new body tissues, such as bone, cartilage, and fat cells. They may one day play a role in solving a wide range of health problems.

Scientists create these in a lab, using skin cells and other tissue-specific cells. These cells behave in a similar way to embryonic stem cells, so they could be useful for developing a range of therapies.

However, more research and development is necessary.

To grow stem cells, scientists first extract samples from adult tissue or an embryo. They then place these cells in a controlled culture where they will divide and reproduce but not specialize further.

Stem cells that are dividing and reproducing in a controlled culture are called a stem-cell line.

Researchers manage and share stem-cell lines for different purposes. They can stimulate the stem cells to specialize in a particular way. This process is known as directed differentiation.

Until now, it has been easier to grow large numbers of embryonic stem cells than adult stem cells. However, scientists are making progress with both cell types.

Researchers categorize stem cells, according to their potential to differentiate into other types of cells.

Embryonic stem cells are the most potent, as their job is to become every type of cell in the body.

The full classification includes:

Totipotent: These stem cells can differentiate into all possible cell types. The first few cells that appear as the zygote starts to divide are totipotent.

Pluripotent: These cells can turn into almost any cell. Cells from the early embryo are pluripotent.

Multipotent: These cells can differentiate into a closely related family of cells. Adult hematopoietic stem cells, for example, can become red and white blood cells or platelets.

Oligopotent: These can differentiate into a few different cell types. Adult lymphoid or myeloid stem cells can do this.

Unipotent: These can only produce cells of one kind, which is their own type. However, they are still stem cells because they can renew themselves. Examples include adult muscle stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent instead of totipotent because they cannot become part of the extra-embryonic membranes or the placenta.

Stem cells themselves do not serve any single purpose but are important for several reasons.

First, with the right stimulation, many stem cells can take on the role of any type of cell, and they can regenerate damaged tissue, under the right conditions.

This potential could save lives or repair wounds and tissue damage in people after an illness or injury. Scientists see many possible uses for stem cells.

Tissue regeneration is probably the most important use of stem cells.

Until now, a person who needed a new kidney, for example, had to wait for a donor and then undergo a transplant.

There is a shortage of donor organs but, by instructing stem cells to differentiate in a certain way, scientists could use them to grow a specific tissue type or organ.

As an example, doctors have already used stem cells from just beneath the skins surface to make new skin tissue. They can then repair a severe burn or another injury by grafting this tissue onto the damaged skin, and new skin will grow back.

In 2013, a team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital reported in PNAS Early Edition that they had created blood vessels in laboratory mice, using human stem cells.

Within 2 weeks of implanting the stem cells, networks of blood-perfused vessels had formed. The quality of these new blood vessels was as good as the nearby natural ones.

The authors hoped that this type of technique could eventually help to treat people with cardiovascular and vascular diseases.

Doctors may one day be able to use replacement cells and tissues to treat brain diseases, such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers.

In Parkinsons, for example, damage to brain cells leads to uncontrolled muscle movements. Scientists could use stem cells to replenish the damaged brain tissue. This could bring back the specialized brain cells that stop the uncontrolled muscle movements.

Researchers have already tried differentiating embryonic stem cells into these types of cells, so treatments are promising.

Scientists hope one day to be able to develop healthy heart cells in a laboratory that they can transplant into people with heart disease.

These new cells could repair heart damage by repopulating the heart with healthy tissue.

Similarly, people with type I diabetes could receive pancreatic cells to replace the insulin-producing cells that their own immune systems have lost or destroyed.

The only current therapy is a pancreatic transplant, and very few pancreases are available for transplant.

Doctors now routinely use adult hematopoietic stem cells to treat diseases, such as leukemia, sickle cell anemia, and other immunodeficiency problems.

Hematopoietic stem cells occur in blood and bone marrow and can produce all blood cell types, including red blood cells that carry oxygen and white blood cells that fight disease.

People can donate stem cells to help a loved one, or possibly for their own use in the future.

Donations can come from the following sources:

Bone marrow: These cells are taken under a general anesthetic, usually from the hip or pelvic bone. Technicians then isolate the stem cells from the bone marrow for storage or donation.

Peripheral stem cells: A person receives several injections that cause their bone marrow to release stem cells into the blood. Next, blood is removed from the body, a machine separates out the stem cells, and doctors return the blood to the body.

Umbilical cord blood: Stem cells can be harvested from the umbilical cord after delivery, with no harm to the baby. Some people donate the cord blood, and others store it.

This harvesting of stem cells can be expensive, but the advantages for future needs include:

Stem cells are useful not only as potential therapies but also for research purposes.

For example, scientists have found that switching a particular gene on or off can cause it to differentiate. Knowing this is helping them to investigate which genes and mutations cause which effects.

Armed with this knowledge, they may be able to discover what causes a wide range of illnesses and conditions, some of which do not yet have a cure.

Abnormal cell division and differentiation are responsible for conditions that include cancer and congenital disabilities that stem from birth. Knowing what causes the cells to divide in the wrong way could lead to a cure.

Stem cells can also help in the development of new drugs. Instead of testing drugs on human volunteers, scientists can assess how a drug affects normal, healthy tissue by testing it on tissue grown from stem cells.

Watch the video to find out more about stem cells.

There has been some controversy about stem cell research. This mainly relates to work on embryonic stem cells.

The argument against using embryonic stem cells is that it destroys a human blastocyst, and the fertilized egg cannot develop into a person.

Nowadays, researchers are looking for ways to create or use stem cells that do not involve embryos.

Stem cell research often involves inserting human cells into animals, such as mice or rats. Some people argue that this could create an organism that is part human.

In some countries, it is illegal to produce embryonic stem cell lines. In the United States, scientists can create or work with embryonic stem cell lines, but it is illegal to use federal funds to research stem cell lines that were created after August 2001.

Some people are already offering stem-cells therapies for a range of purposes, such as anti-aging treatments.

However, most of these uses do not have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some of them may be illegal, and some can be dangerous.

Anyone who is considering stem-cell treatment should check with the provider or with the FDA that the product has approval, and that it was made in a way that meets with FDA standards for safety and effectiveness.

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Stem cells: Sources, types, and uses - Medical News Today

First person cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to stem cells – Freethink

Brian Shelton wept.

He checked his blood sugar, ate a meal with his ex-wife, checked his blood sugar again, and wept.

His insulin levels were perfect. The type 1 diabetes that had caused him to crash his motorcycle, faint in a yard, and forced him to retire from the postal service, was gone.

The diabetes cure was an infusion of stem cells that turned into the type of cells the body needs to produce insulin cells that had never worked in his life before.

Its a whole new life, Shelton told the New York Times Gina Kolata. Its like a miracle.

In just the year before Sheltons treatment, he had suffered five severe, potentially life-threatening episodes of low blood sugar, USA Today reported.

Now, Sheltons dramatic results have those in the field cautiously optimistic that Sheltons stem cell-based procedure could be a cure for diabetes.

The dramatic results have those in the field cautiously optimistic that stem cell-based procedures could be a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes: Diabetes comes in two varieties that lead to the same problem: the body cannot keep its blood sugar levels in the right place. In the case of type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, the body does not utilize insulin correctly.

In the case of type 1 diabetes, like Shelton had, the body is wholly missing the cells that create insulin. Called islet cells and found in the pancreas, type 1 diabetes appears to be caused by the immune system wiping them out.

Type 1 diabetes can prove lethal in short order if patients do not receive injections of insulin, and it can cause amputation, kidney transplants, and blindness.

Artificial insulin is the standard treatment, but it can be extremely expensive, and artificial pancreases which have now been approved for children can make managing the condition easier, but are not a cure for diabetes.

There is a known type 1 diabetes cure: transplanting islet cells from a donors pancreas, or the whole pancreas. But it is far from practical there just arent enough healthy, donated pancreases out there.

Which is why Sheltons stem cell results have researchers optimistic but guarded.

It is a remarkable result, UCLA diabetes expert Peter Butler, who was not involved in the trial, told Kolata. To be able to reverse diabetes by giving them back the cells they are missing is comparable to the miracle when insulin was first available 100 years ago.

To develop the treatment, researchers had to reverse-engineer how the body grows the pancreas to begin with.

A dad vs. diabetes: The stem cell treatment Shelton received this past June is the result of decades of work by biologist Doug Melton, who began work on a cure after his kids developed type 1 diabetes.

Melton looked to embryonic stem cells as a potential diabetes cure. Stem cells have the capability to become any kind of cell including islet cells. But coaxing them to become functional insulin-producing cells took decades of trial and error.

Meltons small team had to figure out which chemical signals, in what order, work to create islet cells, Kolata explains; in essence, they needed to reverse-engineer how the body grows the pancreas to begin with.

In 2014, they found it: their stem cell-derived islet cells began producing insulin. They worked as a diabetes cure in rodents. After his company was acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, it was time for the next step: human trials.

Shelton was patient number one.

A cure with a cost: Shelton was infused with the cells, which soon went to work producing insulin and regulating his blood sugar, curing his diabetes. While the results are exciting, aside from the fact its only one patient so far, its not a silver bullet.

Chief among the concerns is rejection. Just like in an organ transplant, an infusion of embryonic stem cells means Shelton needs to take immune system-suppressing drugs to ensure his body doesnt attack the foreign cells. Shelton told Kolata the immunosuppressive regimen causes him no issues, so far, and its much easier to deal with than not making insulin, but it is something to keep an eye on.

Vertex is also looking to run future studies using our encapsulated islet cells, which hold the potential to be used without the need for immunosuppression, Bastiano Sanna, executive VP, said.

The success of a similar technique in Canada is a sign of hope that an outright cure for diabetes may be coming soon.

The study Shelton is involved in is on-going, taking place over five years and enrolling an estimated 17 patients; according to their study listing, Vertex does not expect to complete the study until 2028.

Experts told Kolata that they want to see the results of the trial thus far, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and published. Only further research will suss out if adverse events may arise, or if the treatment is temporary.

Not alone: Sheltons news comes as a team at the University of British Columbia has announced similar promising results, GEN reports.

Patients in the Canadian study, which has been published in Cells Stem Cell journal, used a different type of stem cell, surgically implanted on small, credit-card thick devices.

Our findings demonstrate the incredible potential of this stem cell-based treatment. With further research, this treatment could one day eliminate dependence on insulin injections and transform the management of Type 1 diabetes, UBC professor Timothy Kieffer, the study lead author, said.

While the UBC patients did not produce enough insulin to eliminate their need for it, the follow up period, which lasted up to a year, found that their insulin requirements had decreased by 20%, and they spent 13% more time in their optimal blood sugar window.

Still, the success of a similar technique in Shelton is a sign of hope that an outright cure for diabetes may be coming soon.

When Melton told his family the results, they wept, too.

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First person cured of type 1 diabetes thanks to stem cells - Freethink

Diabetes breakthrough: Revolutionary stem cell technique treated ‘severe’ disease in study – Daily Express

The new technique, which was developed at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, was shown to convert human stem cells into cells producing insulin. The natural hormone is produced in the pancreas and allows the body to use glucose (sugar) from food for energy. People who suffer from diabetes struggle to produce enough insulin, which leads to a build-up of sugar in the bloodstream.

The St Louis researchers, however, believe their new technique can be used to effectively control blood sugar levels using converted stem cells.

The technique has so far been successfully tested on mice injected with the converted cells.

According to a report that is due to be published on February 24 in the online edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology, the mice were "functionally cured" for nine months.

Dr Jeffrey R. Millman, the principal investigator and assistant professor of medicine and of biomedical engineering, said: "These mice had very severe diabetes with blood sugar readings of more than 500 milligrams per deciliter of blood levels that could be fatal for a person and when we gave the mice the insulin-secreting cells, within two weeks their blood glucose levels had returned to normal and stayed that way for many months."

The same team of researchers has previously discovered how to convert human stem cells into so-called pancreatic beta cells to make insulin.

READ MORE:Maya breakthrough as scan of ancient settlement re-writes history

When these cells are injected into the bloodstream, they secret the much-needed hormone.

However, the technique was found to have its limitations and was not proven to effectively control the disease in mice.

Their new research has now proven to be much more efficient and effective.

Embryonic stem cells are a type of cell that can be instructed to develop into all sorts of specialised cells.

These can range from simple tissue and muscle cells, to even brain cells.

Scientists worldwide believe stem cell research could unlock many new therapies for ailments such as Alzheimer's disease and HIV.

Dr Millman said: "A common problem when youre trying to transform a human stem cell into an insulin-producing beta cell or a neuron or a heart cell is that you also produce other cells that you dont want."

"In the case of beta cells, we might get other types of pancreas cells or liver cells."

Pancreas and liver cells do not cause any harm when injected into mice but they do not fight the disease either.

Dr Millman added: "The more off-target cells you get, the less therapeutically relevant cells you have.

"You need about a billion beta cells to cure a person of diabetes.

"But if a quarter of the cells you make are actually liver cells or other pancreas cells, instead of needing a billion cells, youll need 1.25 billion cells.

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"It makes curing the disease 25 percent more difficult."

With their new technique, the researchers found fewer off-target cells were produced and the beta cells that were created had improved.

The technique specifically targets the cell's so-called internal scaffolding or cytoskeleton.

The cytoskeleton is what gives cells their shape and allows them to interact with their environment.

Dr Millman said: "Its a completely different approach, fundamentally different in the way we go about it.

"Previously, we would identify various proteins and factors and sprinkle them on the cells to see what would happen.

"As we have better understood the signals, weve been able to make that process less random."

Although the study's results are promising, the expert added there is a long way to go before the technique can be developed into a treatment for humans.

The converted cells will need to be tested over longer periods of time and in bigger animals.

According to Diabetes UK, some 5.5 million people are estimated to have diabetes in the UK by 2030.

Right now, more than 4.9 million people are affected by the disease and 13.6 million people are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

About 90 percent of people with the disease have type 2 diabetes, and only about eight percent have type 1 diabetes.

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Diabetes breakthrough: Revolutionary stem cell technique treated 'severe' disease in study - Daily Express

The Role of Quality and Speed in Custom Model Generation – FierceBiotech

The pressure to produce results quickly during the drug discovery and development process continues to increase as does the role of genetically engineered custom mouse models. However, even the fastest custom mouse model generation projects take about 6 months to reach the stage when a few F1 heterozygous mice are available for experiments or breeding. This timeline increases if more than a few heterozygotes or homozygotes are needed. Taconics ExpressMODEL portfolio of products shifts the deliverable of a model generation project from a few heterozygous F1 mice to a much larger cohort of 10-100 mice while reducing the timeline to obtaining data, adding predictability, all without compromising essential quality control steps. By applying innovative thinking and leveraging our ability to seamlessly integrate custom model generation, embryology and colony management services, the ExpressMODEL portfolio achieves the industry's fastest timelines to study cohort with no compromise in quality for models generated using embryonic stem cell (ESC), CRISPR, or random integration transgenic (RITg) methodology.

Regardless of the methodology used to generate the founder animals, ExpressMODEL is built around the concept that using in vitro fertilization (IVF) rather than conventional breeding to generate the F1 mice from founders has a number of distinct advantages including:

However, ExpressMODEL is more than simply using IVF to produce F1 mice because the quality of the male founders needs to be high in order to fully realize the advantages IVF provides. High quality means that founder males need to have both a high percentage of the desired genetically-modified gene and a high fertility rate. Thus, the candidate founder males need to be well-characterized. Because the different methodologies used for model generation produce founders with different characteristics, we have developed unique founder analysis protocols to fit the three different methodologies. The founders produced from injection of ESCs into blastocyst-stage embryos are called chimeras because they are derived from two different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from different embryos. The founders produced by introducing CRISPR reagents or transgenic DNA into one-cell embryos (zygotes) are mosaics meaning they are composed of two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated from the same embryo.

ExpressMODEL: Embryonic stem cell (ESC)

ESC-mediated mouse model generation remains the gold standard and best choice for complex projects such as genomic replacement humanizations. Using ExpressMODEL: ESC, the timeline for a typical project that would take 66 weeks to deliver a homozygous study-size cohort is reduced to 54 weeks, saving at least 3 months. The key components of ExpressMODEL: ESC are:

The data from these analyses facilitate the choice of founder male(s) to be utilized for the IVF to produce an F1 heterozygous cohort that is sized to meet the customers downstream goals and timeline requirements. It is important to note that all quality control steps in vector construction and ES cell targeting are preserved.

ExpressMODEL: CRISPR

Two great advantages of CRISPR methodology are the speed at which a genetically engineered model can be generated and the ability to modify a wide range of genetic backgrounds, including existing genetically-engineered models. Using ExpressMODEL: CRISPR, the timeline for a typical project that would take 48 weeks to deliver a homozygous study-size cohort is reduced to 36 weeks, saving at least 3 months. ExpressMODEL: CRISPR combines our ability to produce founders with a low degree of mosaicism and to accurately estimate the degree of mosaicism of each founder male. The key components of ExpressMODEL: CRISPR are:

ExpressMODEL: Random Integration Transgenic (RITg)

More than 30 years since the first RITg model was generated, the method continues to be a favored path to quickly generate gain of function models that express an ectopic gene. However, because genomic integration of the transgene is random in each injected embryo, the resulting founder line are unique and may or may not perform to the desired specifications. Additionally, each founder often has transgene insertions at multiple sites and the configuration and copy number of those insertions differs. Thus, RITg founders can be more genetically complex than CRISPR founders. As a result, common practice is to separately propagate multiple lines to generate offspring for extensive transgene expression studies. These data are then used to determine which founder line(s) to propagate. The cost and time of this downstream breeding and characterization of multiple founder lines greatly exceeds the original cost to generate the lines and takes significant additional time. Because transgene expression is assessed in founder animals, ExpressMODEL: RITg takes the guesswork out of the process and allows one to avoid the cost of breeding and characterizing multiple founder lines. Moreover, it reduces project timeline by at least 12 weeks and potentially up to 24 weeks or more. The key components of ExpressMODEL: RITg are:

Additional customizable options are available including the provision of tissue lysates and fixed tissue for protein expression analyses, and transgene mapping analysis to accurately determine the transgene integration site and configuration.

Taconics ExpressMODEL suite of technologies is designed to reduce the custom model generation timeline from project conception to study cohort without taking any shortcuts that compromise quality. Taconic provides a seamless end-to-end solution incorporating industry leading model generation, embryology, and colony management capabilities that allows your project to travel in the express lane.

Interested in learning more about custom animal model generation? Visit Taconic's website at http://www.taconic.com.

This article was created in collaboration with the sponsoring company and our sales and marketing team. The editorial team does not contribute.

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The Role of Quality and Speed in Custom Model Generation - FierceBiotech

Stem cells may be the key to saving white rhinos from extinction – Sciworthy

It is too late for conservation efforts to save the northern white rhinoceros, but with recent scientific advancements there may still be hope to bring back this beloved species. In a recently published paper, scientist Marisa Korody and her colleagues at San Diego Zoo Global (USA) and at the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research (USA) describe their exciting progress on using stem cells to revive the northern white rhino.

The northern white rhino is functionally extinct, meaning there are not enough of these rhinos left to save the species. In fact there are only two northern white rhinos left: a mother and a daughter. But for decades, scientists have preserved cell samples from 15 northern white rhinos containing enough genetic material to potentially bring this species back from the brink. These preserved samples hold fibroblast cells the type of skin cells that secrete collagen from white rhinos. With these scientists newly developed methods, fibroblast cells can be converted into something much more valuable: induced pluripotent stem cells. These stem cells can differentiate into any cell type in the body including heart cells, muscle cells, and reproductive cells.

In theory, by converting fibroblast cells into reproductive cells, scientists could create genetically unique rhino embryos. Alongside other assisted reproduction technologies, scientists could implant a new embryo into a closely-related southern white rhino, where the baby northern white rhino could develop as an otherwise normal pregnancy. By completing this process multiple times, scientists may be able to establish a stable population of northern white rhinos.

In 2011, this research team generated induced pluripotent stem cells from the samples of another endangered species, but unfortunately since this process was found to harm the recipient genomes, this method was largely unsuccessful. Despite this setback, in 2015 the authors met with colleagues worldwide to consider ways to save the northern white rhino, and they concluded that methods involving induced pluripotent stem cells may still be the most promising solution. Over the following years, the scientists worked to improve their methods, and these improvements are documented in their recent paper. These experiments represent the first step in a long-term plan to bring the northern white rhino back through assisted reproduction techniques.

Right from the start, the scientists faced a whole host of challenges. Through trial and error they modified the growth medium for the cells, optimizing it for rhinoceros cells. With their improved growth medium, scientists successfully generated induced pluripotent stem cell lines from 11 rhinoceros individuals. This has never been done before and represents a huge stride forward in the path to recovering this species.

Before trying to make their first rhino, the scientists needed to stress these induced pluripotent stem cells and sequence their genomes to determine if the cell quality is good enough to potentially produce new, viable rhinos. They maintained colonies of these cells in long-term cultures and exposed these colonies to different conditions to give insight into how resilient these cells could be. These tests demonstrated that long-term culture did not affect the potential for these cells to differentiate into cardiac lineage cells, confirming that these cells are stable long-term. The researchers also confirmed that these pluripotent cells could potentially produce gametes, the egg and sperm cells that are used for sexual reproduction. These advancements indicate that with these newly developed protocols, induced pluripotent stem cells are a promising tool that could someday help recover the northern white rhino.

Although this study includes some exciting results, there is still much work to do. For example, scientists must now sequence the genomes of the northern and southern white rhino so other researchers can analyze the stem cells ability to stay the same over time. Despite the work that still needs to be done, these promising advancements could someday help the northern white rhino population recover. This method may also work for saving other endangered or extinct species, as long as the genetic material needed is available. Long-term, these scientists plan to continue a series of experiments that could ultimately bring this beloved rhino, and potentially other endangered species, back from the brink of extinction.

Original study: Rewinding Extinction in the Northern White Rhinoceros: Genetically Diverse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Bank for Genetic Rescue

Study published on: February 15, 2021

Study author(s): Marisa L. Korody, Sarah M. Ford, Thomas D. Nguyen, Cullen G. Pivaroff, Iigo Valiente-Alandi, Suzanne E. Peterson, Oliver A. Ryder, and Jeanne F. Loring

The study was done at: San Diego Zoo Global (USA), Scripps Research (USA)

The study was funded by: San Diego Zoo Global and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Conservancy donors, including Anne and Christopher Lewis, and the Robert Kleberg and John and Beverly Stauffer Foundations; and Uma Lakshmipathy from Thermo Fisher Scientific for providing supplies

Raw data availability: Contact author for data (all other data are accessible from the article or supplementary materials)

Featured image credit: Hein waschefort, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Stem cells may be the key to saving white rhinos from extinction - Sciworthy

Healthcare Researchers Are Putting HUMAN Immune Systems In Pigs To Study Illnesses-Here’s The Tech Behind It – Tech Times

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 05 October 2021, 09:10 am

Healthcare research has gone a long way from the dark days of old, when today's simplest illnesses can be a death sentence. And now, there's reason to look forward to a brighter future because of this news.

(Photo : Getty Images )

According to BigThink, a team from Iowa State University claimed that they've found a way to integrate human immune systems in pigs, as a way to study illnesses much closer.

In other words, they basically "humanized" the pigs to try and find out how to better treat human diseases in the future.

The implications of their research are quite profound, too. As per the researchers, this breakthrough could theoretically advance healthcare research in areas such as virus and vaccines, cancer, and even stem cell treatments.

Before this, scientists often used mice in their biotech and biomedical experiments. However, the problem is that mice-based results don't translate well to humans.

Aside from mice, primates have also been used in related fields of healthcare research due to their direct biological connections with humans. Nevertheless, a lot of ethical issues popped up, thus leading to the retirement of primates, including chimpanzees, from this type of research eight years ago.

This won't be the first time that healthcare research has produced what's basically human-animal hybrids to study illnesses.

Three years ago, a team of scientists from Rockefeller University in New York managed to create a human-chicken embryo, in an attempt to take a closer look at the intricacies of stem cell therapies.

Read also: Scientists Want To Create Part-Human Part-Animal Chimeras To Find Cure For Diseases

It started when the same scientists from Iowa State University discovered a genetic mutation in pigs that caused an illness called SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency).

Some people may know this from the film "The Boy In The Plastic Bubble" from 1976, which tells the story of a child whose immune system never fully developed. As such, he was forced to literally live inside a sterile bubble because even the slightest cold would kill him.

Upon this discovery, the researchers then developed a pig that's far more immunocompromised compared to a person with SCID, then successfully "humanized" it by injecting human immune stem cells into the livers of piglets.

The researchers were able to do this by using ultrasound imaging as a guide.

Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, makes use of high-frequency waves to look inside the body.

(Photo : Getty Images )

The resulting pigs had excellent healthcare research potential, because they were found to have human immune cells in their blood, thymus gland, spleen, and liver.

However, the SCID-afflicted pigs are in constant danger of infections. As such, they have to be housed in so-called bubble biocontainment facilities. These facilities work by maintaining high positive pressure, which keeps dangerous pathogens out. All staff members have to wear sterile protective gear at all times.

They've basically turned into their own versions of the boy in the bubble.

Before this research, pigs have often been used to know more about the human body because of how strikingly similar their anatomy is to humans.

In fact, a few scientists even believe that with how biologically similar pigs are to humans, they might be classified into an animal family occupied by primates, reportedScience.org.au.

But of course, there have been ethical issues involving the use of these human-animal hybrids for healthcare research. Eventually, though, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) relaxed their regulations a bit back in 2016, which made it easier for scientists to transfer human stem cells into animal embryos.

Related: Scientists Grow Sheep Embryos With Human Cells To Revolutionize Organ Transplant

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Healthcare Researchers Are Putting HUMAN Immune Systems In Pigs To Study Illnesses-Here's The Tech Behind It - Tech Times