Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells Technologies

A phase I/II clinical trial by researchers at Stanford University suggests that vaccines prepared from a patient's own tumor cells may prevent the incurable blood cancer mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) from returning after treatment.

The stem cells in umbilical cord blood and tissue aren’t just for humans; other mammals, such as man’s best friend, may be able to benefit, too.

The scope of the conditions being treated with cord blood and cord tissue stem cells is already extensive and keeps growing. This is a fascinating, current treatment using cryopreserved human umbilical cord to heal spina bifida.

It sounds scary, but the changes are only temporary: Researchers report that heart cells grown in space showed altered gene expression.

Human umbilical cord blood-derived mononuclear cells (hUCB-MNCs) were reported to have neurorestorative capacity for neurological disorders such as stroke and traumatic brain injury.

Scientists from the Hubrecht Institute (KNAW) and the University of Cambridge (UK) have managed to generate complex embryo-like structures from mouse embryonic stem cells. These structures, called gastruloids, can now for the first time grow somites, the blocks of tissue that later develop into the vertebrae and muscles of the embryo

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects the respiratory tract with mostly mild symptoms, but up to 20% of patients develop severe pneumonia eventually followed by multi-organ failure and death1 .

Recently, there are several routes for COVID-19 vaccine research, yet their weaknesses lie in low efficiency, tolerability, immune adaptability and safety.

In the TV series Westworld, human body parts are built on robotic frames using 3-D printers. While still far from this scenario, 3-D printers are being increasingly used in medicine. For example, 3-D printing can be used to produce parts of the body such as orthopedic joints and prosthetics, as well as portions of bone, skin and blood vessels.

Although most broken bones can be mended with a firm cast and a generous measure of tender loving care, more complicated fractures require treatments like bone grafting. Researchers at Texas A&M University have now created superior bone grafts using primitive stem cells. They found that these cells help create very fertile scaffolds needed for bone to regenerate at the site of repair.