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Stem cells and stem cell research have opened new avenues for the treatment of disease. Stem cells are special cells because they are able to self-replicate and differentiate into other body cells. This enables the body to replenish tissue and repair itself. Researchers are developing new methods for using stem cell therapies to treat individuals with a number of conditions including multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, cardiovascular diseases, and Parkinson's disease.

Below are a few amazing discoveries that have been made in stem cell research.

University of Granada researchers have developed a method for growing artificial skin using umbilical cord stem cells. This artificial skin can be stored and made available for immediate use for those with burn injuries. The researchers developed a new type of biomaterial covering in order to grow the artificial skin.

According to one of the authors of the study, Antonio Campos, "Creating this new type of skin using stem cells, which can be stored in tissue banks, means that it can be used instantly when injuries are caused, and which would bring the application of artificial skin forward many weeks." The researchers were also able to generate oral mucosa (mucous membrane lining the inside of the mouth) from umbilical cord stem cells.

Scientists have genetically engineered stem cells to develop into cells of the immune system known as cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes or killer T cells.

These cells can detect HIV infected cells and destroy them. The HIV virus however, eventually overwhelms the immune system as there are not enough T cells to get rid of the virus entirely. The researchers in the study were able to produce T cells that specifically target cells containing HIV proteins in a living organism. In studies with mice, the researchers demonstrated that the engineered stem cells were capable of not only developing, but also traveling to HIV infected tissues and organs in order to combat the virus.

Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science have successfully genetically engineered stem cells from dermal and epithelial cells that develop into fully functioning hair follicles. The bioengineered hair follicle stem cells were transplanted directly under the top layer of skin in mice models. The stem cells were able to produce hair follicles that made correct connections with tissues necessary for hair growth such as muscle fibers, nerve fibers, and the outermost layer of the skin called the epidermis. The hair follicles were also capable of regeneration via repetition of the hair cycle. According to the researchers, their study is a huge development in the quest for the creation of organ replacement regenerative therapies. They contend that this discovery substantially contributes to the development of bioengineering technologies that will one day make hair regeneration therapy possible for hair loss caused by injury or disease.

Researchers have successfully produced human embryonic stem cells using a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). This process involves removing the nucleus from an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus of another cell. In the study, human skin cell nuclei were transplanted into unfertilized enucleated egg cells. These cells went on to develop and produce embryonic stem cells. The stem cells had no chromosomal abnormalities and normal gene function.

According to researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov, "A thorough examination of the stem cells derived through this technique demonstrated their ability to convert just like normal embryonic stem cells, into several different cell types, including nerve cells, liver cells and heart cells. Furthermore, because these reprogrammed cells can be generated with nuclear genetic material from a patient, there is no concern of transplant rejection." Stem cell therapies could be used to treat individuals with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, cardiac disease, and Parkinson's disease.

University of Cambridge researchers have developed a method for producing stem cells from patients' own blood. They have identified the correct blood component that can be converted to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to change into almost any type of cell in the body. The iPS cells could be used create tissue or blood vessels for the treatment of heart and cardiovascular diseases. The researchers state that unlike tissue samples, blood samples can be frozen and stored to be converted to iPS cells at a later time. Since the cells are created from the patient's own blood, they are not likely to cause an immune response if used to repair damaged tissue.

Researchers from Indiana University have created cells of the inner ear from stem cells. According to the study, these cells can detect sound, head movements, and gravity. By suspending the stem cells in a specialized culture medium, the researchers were able to coax the cells into developing into inner-ear sensory epithelia. The sensory tissue contains hair cells, supporting cells, and neurons.

According to lead researcher Dr. Eri Hashino, "We were surprised to see that once stem cells are guided to become inner-ear precursors and placed in 3-D culture, these cells behave as if they knew not only how to become different cell types in the inner ear, but also how to self-organize into a pattern remarkably similar to the native inner ear." The research was conducted using mouse embryonic stem cells. Future studies will be directed at developing ways to apply these processes to produce human inner-ear cells.

Researchers have had a breakthrough in umbilical cord stem cell studies. Different cell types have been created from umbilical cord stem cells. In the study, umbilical cord stem cells were induced into developing into cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells are a type of glial cell which help to insulate nerve cells in the central nervous system. This discovery may help to develop new treatments for spinal cord injuries and diseases of the nervous system. A major advantage to using umbilical cord stem cells is that they have not been shown to induce immune reactions. Embryonic stem cells have been known to cause immune reactions.

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Stem Cell Discoveries - About.com Education

MUNSTER | Fourteen-year-old Harley lay belly up on an operating table Thursday as Dr. Won Han removed a chunk of fat from the Labrador retriever's abdomen.

The veterinarian then handed the sample to his assistants, who chopped up the fat and put it into a test tube. The tissue eventually ended up in a centrifuge that activated the dog's dormant stem cells.

Later in the day, Han injected the cells, along with platelet-rich plasma, back into Harley in the hopes of treating the animal's symptoms from osteoarthritis.

"We have found the fountain of youth," Han said after the surgery Thursday, not able to contain his excitement. "I want to see these dogs active again. I want to see them walking with the client, running with the client."

Han and his veterinary practice, Munster Animal Clinic, recently began offering the stem-cell therapy to give owners of dogs that suffer from pain and other symptoms of aging another treatment option.He said many canines with osteoarthritis also have kidney problems, preventing them from being able to safely take certain pain medications.

While regenerative therapies like these are commonly used by athletes to help with healing time and inflammation, they're fairly new to the world of veterinary care.

"For arthritis, it's a safe bet your pet's going to have a positive response," Trey Smith, director of lab services for MediVet Biologics, said at the Munster clinic Thursday. He noted that the treatment can also be used for dogs with hip displasia, soft-tissue injuries and dermatitis.

The therapy isn't cheap it ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 based on whether the owner decides to bank the pet's stem cells for future injections but Han says that it can relieve the dogs' pain and suffering while getting them off daily medications. He said the first two canines the clinic treated have already seen results in just a matter of days.

Donna Wucther's dog, Shadow, also had the stem-cell procedure done Thursday. The retired pipefitter remembers when her lab/setter mix used to be an avid Frisbee catcher. Now Shadow, 14, can hardly walk.

So when Han told her about the new treatment option, she knew she had to do it if there was any hope of improving the quality of Shadow's remaining years.

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Munster veterinary clinic offers stem cell therapy

IMAGE:This is Assistant Professor of Biology Jason Meyer, Ph.D. of the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis with graduate students Sarah Ohlemacher (left) and Akshaya Sridhar. view more

Credit: School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jason Meyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, has received a National Institutes of Health grant to study how glaucoma develops in stem cells created from skin cells genetically predisposed to the disease. The five-year, $1.8 million grant is funded by the NIH's National Eye Institute.

Glaucoma is a group of degenerative diseases that damage the eye's optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. It is the most common disease that affects retinal ganglion cells. These cells serve as the connection between the eye and the brain. Once these cells are damaged or severed, the brain cannot receive critical information, leading to blindness.

Meyer's research uses human induced pluripotent stem cells, which can be generated from any cell in the body. In this case, they are created from skin cells of patients predisposed to glaucoma. These cells are genetically reprogrammed and then given instructions to develop into cells of the eye's retina.

"Our hope is that because these cells have the genetic information to develop the disease, they will do so in our lab," Meyer said. "Hopefully, we can figure out what goes wrong in those cells and then develop new ways to fix that."

Meyer and two School of Science graduate students are now creating the stem cells and observing their features to determine what isn't going the way it should. They will determine whether they can identify the cause of damage or death of the retinal ganglion cells.

"This is a five-year award, so our hope is that toward the end of the award we can use the information we gather to start developing customized strategies to fix what's going wrong," Meyer said.

He sees this as an exciting approach to stem cell research. Often, stem cells are transplanted to replace cells damaged by disease. While that's a possibility, Meyer's research instead could lead to repairing the existing cells in the eye and restoring vision for patients.

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IUPUI biologist receives NIH grant to study how glaucoma develops in stem cells

The objective of this latest trial was to investigate the mechanism of action behind the significant improvement in survival in irradiated mice treated with PLX-R18 that was demonstrated in the NIH's first efficacy study. The results of the current study indicate that intramuscular administration exerts a systemic healing effect on bone marrow, lending further support to the concept that Pluristem's cells work systemically via secretion of therapeutic proteins, although the cells themselves remain in the muscle into which they were initially injected. While additional animal trials are needed prior to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of PLX-R18 for use in ARS, no human trials would be required because product development is conducted under the FDA's Animal Rule.

"Our PLX-R18 cell product was developed and targeted to become a strong candidate for government procurement programs designed to protect the population in the case of exposure to dangerous levels of radiation. PLX-R18 cells are an off-the-shelf cell therapy product with a long shelf life. They do not require matching before use and can be administered through intramuscular injection. These features are important to facilitate rapid initiation of treatment on a large scale. The study results also support Pluristem's unique approach of injecting cells intramuscularly to enable the cells to remain in the body long enough to respond to signals from damaged tissues and adapt their therapeutic secretion profiles accordingly," stated Zami Aberman, Chairman and CEO of Pluristem.

"We have had a productive working relationship with the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which has independently conducted its studies with PLX-R18 cells provided by Pluristem," Aberman added.

Pluristem is developing PLX-R18 cells for other potential indications including enhancement of engraftment of transplanted hematopoietic stem cells for the treatment of bone marrow deficiency. Trials for this indication are ongoing at Case Western University and Hadassah Medical Center. Data from the NIH studies in ARS are expected to benefit Pluristem's development of its hematology program.

Data from Mechanism of Action Study conducted by NIH

The objective of this study, performed at the Indiana University School of Medicine and funded by the Product Development Support Services Contract HHSN277201000046C from NIAID, was to investigate the mechanism of action behind the results of the NIH's first study of the efficacy of PLX-R18 in ARS. That first study showed a significantly increased 30-day survival and overall survival time of mice treated with PLX-R18 compared to controls.

In the current study, 256 mice were randomized to be injected intramuscularly with PLX-R18 or placebo after total body irradiation, or PLX-R18 or placebo after sham irradiation. Mice were dosed intramuscularly with PLX-R18 cells or a placebo on day 1 and day 5 post-irradiation. Complete blood count parameters and body weight were measured at 8 post-irradiation time points (days 2, 4, 6, 9, 13, 15, 17, and 23), and bone marrow and spleen cellularity and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) were measured at 6 time points (days 2, 4, 6, 9, 13, and 23). Treatment with PLX-R18 cells significantly increased recovery of white blood cells (p=.0024), neutrophils (p=.0026), monocytes (p=.0272), red blood cells (p<.0001), platelets (p=.0005), hemoglobin (p<.0001), and hematocrit (p<.0001) at day 23 post-irradiation compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Increases in lymphocytes and percent of neutrophils were also observed, but were not statistically significant. The increase in bone marrow progenitor cells was accelerated in mice treated with PLX-R18 cells as compared to the control group, but this was not statistically significant. The population of bone marrow cells responsible for the earlier stages of new red cell, white cell, and platelet production began to increase before those involved in later stages of production; this is consistent with normal physiology in which the progenitor cells proliferate and replenish the more mature cell populations and eventually the peripheral blood cells.

Published data for ARS study conducted earlier by Pluristem

Previous studies of PLX-R18 cells for ARS were conducted by Prof. Raphael Gorodetsky, head of the Biotechnology and Radiobiology Laboratory at the Sharett Institute of Oncology at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center. Those studies showed an up to four-fold increase in the survival rate of irradiated animals treated with PLX cells versus those treated with a control, as well as improvements in additional parameters. The findings have been published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.

About Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS)

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Significant Findings in U.S. National Institutes of Health's Trial of Pluristem's PLX-R18 Cells for Treatment of Acute ...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana University scientists have transformed mouse embryonic stem cells into key structures of the inner ear. The discovery provides new insights into the sensory organ's developmental process and sets the stage for laboratory models of disease, drug discovery and potential treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders.

A research team led by Eri Hashino, Ph.D., Ruth C. Holton Professor of Otolaryngology at Indiana University School of Medicine, reported that by using a three-dimensional cell culture method, they were able to coax stem cells to develop into inner-ear sensory epithelia -- containing hair cells, supporting cells and neurons -- that detect sound, head movements and gravity. The research was reported online in the journal Nature.

Previous attempts to "grow" inner-ear hair cells in standard cell culture systems have worked poorly in part because necessary cues to develop hair bundles -- a hallmark of sensory hair cells and a structure critically important for detecting auditory or vestibular signals -- are lacking in the flat cell-culture dish. But, Dr. Hashino said, the team determined that the cells needed to be suspended as aggregates in a specialized culture medium, which provided an environment more like that found in the body during early development.

The team mimicked the early development process with a precisely timed use of several small molecules that prompted the stem cells to differentiate, from one stage to the next, into precursors of the inner ear. But the three-dimensional suspension also provided important mechanical cues, such as the tension from the pull of cells on each other, said Karl R. Koehler, B.A., the paper's first author and a graduate student in the medical neuroscience graduate program at the IU School of Medicine.

"The three-dimensional culture allows the cells to self-organize into complex tissues using mechanical cues that are found during embryonic development," Koehler said.

"We were surprised to see that once stem cells are guided to become inner-ear precursors and placed in 3-D culture, these cells behave as if they knew not only how to become different cell types in the inner ear, but also how to self-organize into a pattern remarkably similar to the native inner ear," Dr. Hashino said. "Our initial goal was to make inner-ear precursors in culture, but when we did testing we found thousands of hair cells in a culture dish."

Electrophysiology testing further proved that those hair cells generated from stem cells were functional, and were the type that sense gravity and motion. Moreover, neurons like those that normally link the inner-ear cells to the brain had also developed in the cell culture and were connected to the hair cells.

Additional research is needed to determine how inner-ear cells involved in auditory sensing might be developed, as well as how these processes can be applied to develop human inner-ear cells, the researchers said.

However, the work opens a door to better understanding of the inner-ear development process as well as creation of models for new drug development or cellular therapy to treat inner-ear disorders, they said.

(Update: A detailed description of the processes used in this research was published online in Nature Protocols on May 1, 2014.)

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IU researchers create the inner ear from stem cells ...

11 hours ago by Gregory Crawford, The Conversation Just because we can doesnt mean we should. There are values at play in the lab. Credit: O. Usher (UCL MAPS), CC BY

The evolution of science and engineering in the 21st century has transformed the role of these professions in profound ways that affect research, scholarship and the practice of teaching in the university setting.

The traditional division between the liberal arts and the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is, I believe, artificial and obsolete.

As a physicist, a former dean of engineering at Brown University, and dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, I have come to recognize and appreciate the vital role that the humanities, social sciences and arts play in the lives and careers of scientists and engineersperhaps more now than ever before.

The acceleration of discovery and invention in this century has reached a point where the question "Can we do this?" is almost always answered "yes."

Meanwhile, the question "Should we do this?" takes on new urgency. Society is looking for STEM graduates to address the global challenges that affect the medical, environmental and economic well-being of billions of people. To succeed with in these difficult tasks, graduates need to be schooled in the intellectual and moral virtues.

Research is not purely objective

Genomic mapping is routine, stem cell research holds promise for a wide range of cures, nanoscience and technology open near-limitless possibilities in some fields.

The complexity of increasingly sophisticated STEM research requires collaboration with people both within one's field and beyond. For example, hundreds of physicists work at CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, to understand the most fundamental nature of the universe's building blocks: subatomic particles. The nature of their work and future discoveries will inspire new collaborations among experts from different disciplines, spin-off technologies applied in other fields, and even raise new and profound questions about nature and human beings.

STEM is a human enterprisean investigation of the physical world carried out by individuals and groups whose interests and backgrounds influence their choices and focus.

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What's the role of virtues in the lab?

A new test may reveal which patients will respond to treatment for graft versus host disease (GVHD), an often life-threatening complication of stem cell transplants (SCT) used to treat leukemia and other blood disorders, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online today in the journalLancet Haematologyand in print in the January issue.

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This latest research by Joshua Brickman and his research team from Danish Stem Cell Center (Danstem) at the University of Copenhagen specifically found that inhibiting or blocking stem cells ability to make a specific decision, leads to better cell growth and could lead to defined ways to differentiate stem cells.

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Like human patients, mice with a form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy undergo progressive muscle degeneration and accumulate connective tissue as they age. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found that the fault may lie at least partly in the stem cells that surround the muscle fibers.

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Scientists at Indiana University and colleagues at Stanford and the University of Texas have demonstrated a technique for editing the genome in sperm-producing adult stem cells, a result with powerful potential for basic research and for gene therapy.

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Consider the relationship between an air traffic controller and a pilot. The pilot gets the passengers to their destination, but the air traffic controller decides when the plane can take off and when it must wait. The same relationship plays out at the cellular level in animals, including humans. A region of an animals genome the controller directs when a particular gene the pilot can perform its prescribed function.

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Stem Cell News | Stem Cell Treatment, Stem Cell Research ...

Dr. Nia Smyrniotis

Dr. Nia Smyrniotis serves as Medical Director, Stem Cell Research and Treatment, at the Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center, an affiliate of the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center and California Stem Cell Treatment Center / Cell Surgical Network; she also serves as Consultant Physician to the Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center in Irvine, California. Additionally, Dr. Smyrniotis is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Human Physiology, and Chairwoman, Department of Regenerative and Integrative Medicine, American University of Sovereign Nations School of Medicine, Scottsdale, Arizona (www.AU-SN.com).

Dr. Smyrniotis graduated from Indiana University with Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees in both Chemistry and Biology. She acquired her Medical Degree (MD), along with a Masters Degree in Science and Physiology (MS), from The University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School. Her post-graduate residency training and background were in Obstetrics and Gynecology at St. Vincents Hospital, New York. Dr. Smyrniotis also completed training in stem cell procedures, protocols, and treatment at the California Stem Cell Treatment Center / Cell Surgical Network, at Rancho Mirage, California, under the direction of Dr. Mark Berman and Dr. Eliot Lander, founders of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center. Dr. Smyrniotis also has pursued her interest in bio-identical hormone replacement andregenerative and integrative medicine, and obtained her certification in Functional Medicine, Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. In addition, Dr. Smyrniotis has completed advanced Fellowship training in Functional Medicine.

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Dr. Nia Smyrniotis at The Miami Stem Cell Treatment Center

Researchers have identified two proteins that appear crucial to the development -- and patient relapse -- of acute myeloid leukemia. They have also shown they can block the development of leukemia by targeting those proteins.

The studies, in animal models, could lead to new effective treatments for leukemias that are resistant to chemotherapy, said Reuben Kapur, Ph.D., Freida and Albrecht Kipp Professor of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

The research was reported today in the journal Cell Reports.

"The issue in the field for a long time has been that many patients relapse even though chemotherapy and other currently available drugs get rid of mature blast cells quite readily," Dr. Kapur said, referring to the cancerous cells that overrun the blood system in leukemia.

"The problem is that the majority of patients relapse because they have remaining residual leukemic stem cells in the bone marrow that are resistant to currently available therapies, including chemotherapy," he said.

Mutations in two cellular structures known as receptors have previously been identified as cancer-causing. Patients with those mutations generally have a poor prognosis, but scientists have been uncertain what mechanism led to leukemia in the stem cells with those mutations.

In the Cell Reports paper, Dr. Kapur, first author Anindya Chatterjee, Ph.D., and their colleagues describe the mechanism that leads to the development of acute myeloid leukemia, identifying two proteins known as FAK and PAK1 as key to the process.

In experiments with mice, the researchers showed that eliminating, or "knocking out," the genes that produce FAK and PAK1 prevented the development of leukemia in mice, even though their bone marrow stem cells contained the cancer-causing receptor mutations. Eliminating the FAK and PAK1 proteins did not prevent the mice from otherwise producing and maintaining a normal blood system, the researchers said.

In additional experiments in mice and human cell tissue samples, the researchers identified several drug compounds that target FAK and PAK1 -- now available for experimental use but not approved for use in humans -- that were just as effective in blocking development of leukemia as knocking out the FAK and PAK1 genes.

The next step is to continue testing and refining those experimental drug compounds to verify their effectiveness for potential testing in human trials, Dr. Kapur said.

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Key mechanism, potential target to prevent leukemia found

Jason Meyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biology

Research led by a biology professor in the School of Science at IUPUI has uncovered a method to produce retinal cells from regenerative human stem cells without the use of animal products, proteins or other foreign substances, which historically have limited the application of stem cells to treat disease and other human developmental disorders.

The study of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has been pursued vigorously since they were first discovered in 2007 due to their ability to be manipulated into specific cell types. Scientists believe these cells hold considerable potential for cell replacement, disease modeling and pharmacological testing. However, clinical applications have been hindered by the fact that, to date, the cells have required animal products and proteins to grow and differentiate.

A research team led by Jason S. Meyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, successfully differentiated hiPSCs in a lab environmentcompletely through chemical methodsto form neural retinal cell types (including photoreceptors and retinal ganglion cells). Tests have shown the cells function and grow just as efficiently as those cells produced through traditional methods.

Not only were we able to develop these (hiPSC) cells into retinal cells, but we were able to do so in a system devoid of any animal cells and proteins, Meyer said. Since these kinds of stem cells can be generated from a patients own cells, there will be nothing the body will recognize as foreign.

In addition, this research should allow scientists to better reproduce these cells because they know exactly what components were included to spur growth and minimize or eliminate any variations, Meyer said. Furthermore, the cells function in a very similar fashion to human embryonic stem cells, but without controversial or immune rejection issues because they are derived from individual patients.

This method could have a considerable impact on the treatment of retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and forms of blindness with hereditary factors, Meyer said. We hope this will help us understand what goes wrong when diseases arise and that we can use this method as platform for the development of new treatments or drug therapies.

Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells possess numerous characteristics of native RPE cells when examined by immunocytochemistry.

Were talking about bringing stem cells a significant step closer to clinical use, Meyer added.

Meyer, along with two graduate students, have worked for two years on this research with the help of an Indiana University Collaborative Research Grant and funding from the School of Science at IUPUI and the American Health Assistance Foundation.

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IUPUI Stem Cell Research Could Expand Clinical Use of ...