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Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a protein that fine-tunes the cellular clock involved in aging.

This novel , named TZAP, binds the ends of chromosomes and determines how long , the segments of DNA that protect chromosome ends, can be. Understanding telomere length is crucial because telomeres set the lifespan of cells in the body, dictating critical processes such as aging and the incidence of cancer.

“Telomeres represent the clock of a cell,” said TSRI Associate Professor Eros Lazzerini Denchi, corresponding author of the new study, published online today in the journal Science. “You are born with telomeres of a certain length, and every time a cell divides, it loses a little bit of the telomere. Once the telomere is too short, the cell cannot divide anymore.”

Continue reading “Scientists discover master regulator of cellular aging” | >

Epigenetic changes are not all reset with iPS thankfully science has recently demonstrated a technique for reversing that too. The future is looking bright for stem cell quality improvements.

Reprogramming stem cells back to a functionally younger state is not a pefect process and epigenetic changes and mutations remain in place tainting the cells and reducing their quality.

Scientists working in the stem cell field will no doubt be finding ways to work around this and indeed recent work at SALK could reset epigenetic changes in these cells so solutions are within reach in the next few years.

“When adult cells are reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs), they appear to carry marks of their age.”

Continue reading “Donor Age Shows Up In Induced Stem Cells” | >

Motor neurons are vital cells that facilitate muscle contraction and also affect sensation. In diseases like ALS and spinal muscular atrophy, motor cells are plagued with mutations that cause degrees of paralysis and pain in patients. In a study detailed in Cell Stem Cell, scientists developed a mechanism to directly reprogram stem cells into motor neurons.

Cell reprogramming is a novel exploration in medical studies that could treat numerous diseases by growing the body’s own stem cells into healthy cells. The mechanism of reprogramming, however, has just begun to be understood.

The researchers elucidated a new pathway for cell reprogramming by analyzing gene transcription in mice. As established by previous studies, reprogramming is brought about by a series of transcriptions, AKA, how the genes control the expression of other genes.

Continue reading “Reprogramming Stem Cells Could Soon Lead Us to a World Without Paralysis” | >

Plants and other photosynthetic organisms use a wide variety of pigments to absorb different wavelengths of light. MIT researchers have now developed a theoretical model to predict the spectrum of light absorbed by aggregates of these pigments, based on their structure.

The could help guide scientists in designing new types of solar cells made of organic materials that efficiently capture and funnel the light-induced excitation, according to the researchers.

“Understanding the sensitive interplay between the self-assembled pigment superstructure and its electronic, optical, and transport properties is highly desirable for the synthesis of new materials and the design and operation of organic-based devices,” says Aurelia Chenu, an MIT postdoc and the lead author of the study, which appeared in Physical Review Letters on Jan. 3.

Continue reading “New model could help scientists design materials for artificial photosynthesis” | >

A process using human stem cells can generate the cells that cover the external surface of a human heart — epicardium cells — according to a multidisciplinary team of researchers.

“In 2012, we discovered that if we treated human stem cells with chemicals that sequentially activate and inhibit Wnt signaling pathway, they become myocardium muscle cells,” said Xiaojun Lance Lian, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and biology, who is leading the study at Penn State. Myocardium, the middle of the heart’s three layers, is the thick, muscular part that contracts to drive blood through the body.

The Wnt signaling pathway is a group of signal transduction pathways made of proteins that pass signals into a cell using cell-surface receptors.

Continue reading “Stem cells used to regenerate the external layer of a human heart” | >