Archive for the ‘Stem Cell Worx’ Category

Human Eye Retina Created In Petri Dish From Light-sensitive Adult Stem Cells

Tuesday, June 10th, 2014

Eye

In what could be termed as the blessing of science and technology for mankind, researchers have developed a miniature human retina in the laboratory from human stem cells and they claim it can sense light.

The research was done by scientists at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.  Assistant Professor, M. Valena Canto-Soler of John Hopkins University School of Medicine was the lead author of the study.

The researchers created a 3D complement of human retinal tissue in a dish in the lab. They say the lens includes photoreceptor stem cells that are able to respond to light.

Scientists say the newly developed equipment clears the first step in the process of converting light into images as it is able to respond to light well.

The researchers arrived at their creation following the experiment of human induced adult cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which are capable of developing into most of the 200 cell types in the human body.  Pluripotent stem cells (iPS) are generated directly from adult cells.

For the latest study, the researched turned the iPS cells into retinal progenitor cells that form light-sensitive retinal tissue that lines the back of the eye.

The researchers are hopeful that the new creation will help in developing further technologies that can restore vision.

A study  funded by the National Institutes of Health, published in the Journal Natural Communications.

Article Source:   Utah People Post

The Skinny on Fasting – Backed By Recent Research

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

The Skinny on Fasting

Fasting isn’t just for blood tests and the religious. New animal and human testing has revealed that cycles of fasting for two to four days can trigger regeneration of new immune cells, while clearing out damaged ones. It even helps protect against the toxic effects of chemotherapy, a new study suggests.

According to the study, published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, prolonged periods of fasting appear to shift adult stem cells in the immune system from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal.

Adult stem cells are the specialized factories of the body, pumping out new cells to replace the old ones in the organs they reside in. Haematopoietic stem cells are a group of adult stem cells that generate blood and immune system cells, renewing the body’s ability to fight off toxins and disease.

According to researchers from the University of Southern California (USC), fasting forces the body to use up stored glucose, fat, ketones, and even worn or damaged immune cells. It also appears to activate these haematopoietic stem cells in the body, preparing them to work overtime to replenish the body’s immune system.

“What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting,” co-author Valter Longo said in a statement. “Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So we started thinking, well, where does it come from?”

In a recent study of fasting mice (deprived of food for two to three days at a time) over six months, it was revealed that worn-out while blood cells died off faster during fasting because the lack of burnable energy causes the body to stop producing PKA – an enzyme that helps prolong cell life.

Researchers explain that this seems to be a purposeful strategy automatically launched by the body. In order to conserve remaining energy during fasting, the body encourages the death of unnecessary or inefficient cells.   This recent research supports previous animal studies that have shown long term calorie restriction can help prolong life.

The absence of PKA also appeared to trigger the activation of haematopoietic stem cells, preparing them to create new cells once energy supplies are replenished.

“It gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” Longo said.

The researchers also found that fasting before chemotherapy helped minimize damage to the immune system inflicted by treatment among humans cancer patients. Phase 1 trials suggested that this occurs simply because the fasting has led to a smaller immune system for the toxic therapy to affect.

The study was published in Cell Stem Cell on June 5, 2014.

Source:  www.natureworldnews.com