Stem Cells

Stem cell transplants helped regenerate stroke-damaged brain tissue in mice, producing new neurons and restoring lost motor function. The treatment also improved blood vessels, inflammation, and the blood-brain barrier, raising hopes that a similar approach could eventually help repair the human brain after stroke.

People with a progressive genetic eye disorder see more clearly after receiving engineered grafts that repair the damaged surfaces of their eyes, offering a glimpse at what future treatments could hold.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Hospital for Special Surgery have discovered the stem cells—unspecialized cells that can develop into specific cell types—that give rise to the body's tendons and ligaments, the tissues connecting muscles and bones.

As the human brain takes shape before birth, a remarkable type of stem cell helps give it many of the features that make it distinctly human.

Unauthorized stem cell treatment may expose patients to medical and financial risks, reinforcing the role of physicians in counseling those considering such treatment abroad.

Cultivated meat aims to produce meat from animal cells in the laboratory without needing to raise a living animal for meat production. It has been proposed as a potentially more sustainable alternative to conventional meat production. Yet recreating something as complex as a steak—rather than minced meat—remains a major scientific challenge.

Researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and Boston University (BU) have developed a scalable method for generating CD4+ helper T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), overcoming a longstanding challenge in the development of stem cell-based immunotherapies.

A research team from Tel Aviv University and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF), led by Ayala Lampel and Carsten Werner, has developed a peptide-glycosaminoglycan hydrogel system that creates a programmable niche for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). The system mimics key biochemical and mechanical cues of the bone marrow microenvironment, enabling researchers to investigate how these signals influence stem cell behavior.

Stem cells possess the unique ability to self-renew and transform into different types of cells. For example, rare hematopoietic stem cells found in bone marrow can become any type of blood cell.

First generation stem cell therapies that use a variety of cell sources and protocols are widely used in the medical tourism industry. A more limited set of such therapies are used in more regulated medical systems. The aspirational goal in the field of stem cell medicine is to induce regeneration of aged and damaged tissues to improve function, but this outcome remains unreliable. Stem cell therapies can fairly reliably produce a reduction in chronic inflammation for a period of months, however. Even so, results vary widely from patient to patient and clinic to clinic; standardization remains a challenge, perhaps in large part due to the sensitivity of cells to small differences in how they are cultured. The degree to which stem cells in culture become […]

In a landmark moment for both the treatment of heart disease and philanthropic support, The Marcus Foundation has awarded the head of USC Stem Cell Center, Chuck Murry, MD, PhD, $28.7 million to advance a clinical trial testing a stem cell-based therapy designed to regenerate damaged tissue after a heart attack.

Stem cell therapies have expanded rapidly, with more than 115 clinical trials involving over 1,200 patients approved by late 2024. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Ryoncil (remestemcel‑L) for children with steroid‑refractory acute graft‑versus‑host disease, signaling a major shift toward routine clinical use.

Technically, even very small effects can be classed as rejuvenation if they move the right markers, if they in some way reduce the burden of damage and dysfunction of aging. Exercise probably rejuvenates to some degree, by any reasonable definition. Yet we know the bounds of the possible when it comes to exercise and other widely used interventions, and the outcomes are nowhere near as large as we would like. Fit people are still aging to death, and end up frail in the later stages of life. In the matter of restoring lost function to the hematopoietic stem cell populations of the bone marrow that are responsible for generating the cells that make up the immune system, there are a number of interventions that have […]

Researchers evaluate the impact of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia across BLAST and BLAST-Mol clinical risk models.

Growth impairment is a common late effect of childhood stem cell transplantation. A Japan-wide study found that growth hormone therapy improves adult height, but prior radiation therapy and transplant-related complications negatively affect how much children benefit.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) affects more than 1 in 10 people over 40 years of age, impairing patients' mobility and quality of life.

Scientists are shedding new light on a little-known biological system that could help unlock the full potential of stem cell therapy, one of the most promising areas of modern medicine.

The cerebral cortex is densely packed with different nerve cells that enable us to perceive, think and act. Yet how these cell types arise while the brain develops is still not fully understood.

Among patients with primary CNS lymphoma who respond to induction therapy, high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant improves survival compared with nonmyeloablative chemotherapy.

As spirometry requires coordinated deep breathing and can be challenging for children to perform, researchers from the USA, as part of the TRANSPIRE study investigating lung complications in children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), explored the potential of oscillometry, a simple and child-friendly lung function test.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

A protein best known for protecting the ends of chromosomes also helps muscle stem cells preserve their identity and repair damaged tissue, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Diabetic foot ulcers are among the most serious complications of diabetes because prolonged inflammation, poor circulation, and defective angiogenesis can leave wounds open for months and increase the risk of infection and amputation.

In many animal tissues, stem cells continually divide to create new cells that replace old or damaged ones. However, this capacity requires strict regulation, as uncontrolled stem cell proliferation can disrupt tissue homeostasis and contribute to tumorigenesis.

In many animal tissues, stem cells continually divide to create new cells that replace old or damaged ones. However, this capacity requires strict regulation, as uncontrolled stem cell proliferation can disrupt tissue homeostasis and contribute to tumorigenesis.

Researchers aim to evaluate the effectiveness of ASCT as consolidation therapy for patients with advanced-stage natural killer/T-cell lymphoma who have attained their first complete remission.

Stem cell-derived dopamine cell transplantation appears feasible and may reduce medication needs in PD, but longer follow-up is needed to establish its clinical benefit and long-term safety.

Sickle cell disease causes premature aging of blood stem cells, which scientists may be able to address with a special class of drugs, according to a new study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Blood transfusions are crucial in human and veterinary medicine, yet human blood reserves are in constant need of donors, while blood bank systems in veterinary care are nearly nonexistent. This leaves canine transfusions largely reliant on donations from healthy dogs, but securing compatible blood remains a major challenge because dogs also have different blood types.

A team led by bioengineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a genome-scale reference map that details how individual genes control the functions and identities of human stem cells.

A team led by bioengineers at the University of California San Diego has developed a genome-scale reference map that details how individual genes control the functions and identities of human stem cells. This open-access resource could help researchers build virtual cell models for complex diseases, as well as design patient-specific treatments for these diseases.

Mapping the human kidney, researchers discovered an unrecognized developmental axis and engineered “synthetic organizer” cells to recreate key

New research presented today at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2026 Annual Meeting explores an approach that could expand the potential of cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes by evaluating whether immune-engineered, allogeneic insulin-producing cells can survive and function without chronic immunosuppression.

New research presented today at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2026 Annual Meeting highlights a significant step toward developing a stem cell-based treatment for chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), a condition for which no effective restorative therapy currently exists.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) today announced the presentation of new clinical data from the STEM-PD Phase I/II clinical trial at the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting.

One year findings from Phase I/II clinical study support the feasibility of transplanting stem-cell derived dopamine progenitor cells into the brain of Parkinson’s disease patients. The post Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise in First Human Parkinson’s Disease Trial appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, yet once damaged, it cannot regenerate naturally.

A landmark study led from Lund, Sweden, has shown that transplanting stem-cell derived dopamine progenitor cells into the brain is feasible.

An update on the first clinical trial evaluating a pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem cell therapy for Huntington's disease was presented today at the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting.

Researchers developed an epitope editing strategy to make donated stem cells invisible to pre-transplant antibody therapy, offering up a new approach that could make antibodies a less toxic alternative to chemotherapy for selectively clearing the patient’s existing stem cells from the bone marrow. The post Epitope Editing Strategy Could Enable Less Toxic Stem Cell Transplants appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Stem cell transplantation (also called bone marrow transplantation) and gene therapy are among the most powerful curative approaches for blood diseases such as sickle cell disease, b-thalassemia, immune deficiencies, and some blood cancers.

The retina is considered a part of the central nervous system. As is the case for the brain, a barrier of specialized cells surrounding the blood vessels supplying retinal tissue controls the passage of molecules between blood and tissues. This barrier becomes dysfunctional with age and age-related conditions, and leaks inappropriate molecules into retinal tissue to cause further damage and dysfunction. Again, this is very analogous to barrier dysfunction in the brain, and is thought to be a major contributing factor in age-related neurodegeneration and consequent degenerative conditions. One of the approaches under development for the treatment of damaged retinal tissue, such as in the context of macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, is to produce new cells that can replace dead or dysfunctional cells, or […]

The growth in number of senescent cells with age is an important mechanism of degenerative aging. Many studies in mice have demonstrated rapid rejuvenation and reversal of many different aspects of aging and age-related conditions via selective destruction of senescent cells in aged tissues. Here, researchers review what is known of the way in which the age-related expansion of the senescent state in cell populations impedes stem cell function in older individuals. Stem cells support tissues by generating a supply of daughter somatic cells to replace losses, as well as via signaling that is important to regenerative capacity. As stem cell activity declines so too does tissue function and health. Several cellular settings have been identified where senescence induction seems to exclude stem cell activity, […]

Using techniques including spatial transcriptomics, researchers identified a developmental axis that helps organize developing kidney nephrons, and engineered Wnt-secreting “synthetic organizer” cells to recreate aspects of this developmental environment in organoids created from stem cells. The post Synthetic Organizers Aid Creation of Reproducible Kidney Organoids from Stem Cells appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Hematopoietic cell populations reside in the bone marrow. A tree of ever more specialized progenitor cell populations descends from the root hematopoietic stem cell population, responsible for ultimately producing red blood cells and white blood cells. Hematopoietic stem cell populations are known to become damaged and dysfunction with age, and this is one of the contributions to immune system dysfunction in later life. It also produces effects such as platelets that are more prone to causing inappropriate clotting and thrombosis. Here, researchers provide evidence to suggest that the intermediate hematopoietic progenitor cell populations are much less impacted by aging than is the case for hematopoietic stem cells, and might be buffering the loss of stem cell function to allow for maintained hematopoietic function. It is […]

When a patient needs a stem cell transplant, finding a registered donor is only the first step. Some potential donors drop out before confirmatory typing, reducing the pool from which doctors can choose.

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow specialized blood vessel cells critical to retinal health for the first time.

Researchers here review the state of stem cell therapies for the treatment of age-related degenerative conditions, with particular attention to more recently emerged areas of the field such as efforts to rejuvenate old patient-derived stem cells before their use in therapy. Partial epigenetic reprogramming is not much mentioned in this context as, unlike the use of senolytics, it has not yet advanced to the point of ease of use for the average stem cell clinic. Treating a stem cell culture with cheap and well-established senolytic compounds is very much more feasible in comparison to the time, expertise, and expense needed to safely and reliably partially reprogram cells in that same culture. Rejuvenation strategies for ageing stem cells focus on restoring their regenerative capabilities, which decline […]

On a YouTube livestream, Berkeley City College students carefully study the movements of stem cells to observe what they do as they become neurons: Are they moving, growing or forming new connections with other neurons?

UCI Health has launched the world’s first human clinical trial using embryonic stem cell-derived neural cells for Huntington’s disease, testing MRI-guided surgical brain delivery to evaluate safety and early therapeutic potential. The post First-in-Human Stem Cell Therapy Trial for Huntington’s Disease Begins at UCI Health appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

As more than 100 clinical trials test human pluripotent stem cell-derived therapies, researchers are shifting focus from proving large-scale production is possible to building standardized, AI-enabled manufacturing systems capable of delivering consistent, clinically compliant cell products. The post Scaling Stem-Cell Manufacturing for Therapies appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

UCI Health, the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, has opened the world's first in-human embryonic stem cell-derived clinical trial for Huntington's disease.

Senescent cells accumulate with age, a situation that appears more a result of the aging immune system failing to achieve timely clearance of newly senescent cells rather than a significant increase in the pace at which cells become senescent. Senescence occurs in response to cellular damage and stress, but also when somatic cells reach the Hayflick limit on replication. A senescent cell becomes larger, ceases replication, and devotes its energies to the secretion of pro-growth, pro-inflammatory signals. In the short term and in youth this is usually beneficial, helping to coordinate tissue maintenance, regeneration, and suppression of potentially cancerous cells. When sustained for the long term, the signaling of senescent cells is disruptive to tissue structure and function, however, contributing to the damaging chronic inflammation […]

Two people were the first to receive the therapy for a condition that damages the spinal cord and optic nerve

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant at experienced centers in the current era can include indefinite disease control with low relative risk, a new update suggests.

TUESDAY, June 9, 2026 — Elizabeth Bonker is a silent woman with a loud mission. She wants government agencies to cover the costs of training people with autism in a form of communication called assisted spelling. One problem: Leading professional...

Similar to the way DNA damage can contribute to human diseases such as cancer, it can also disrupt growth, development and survival in plants. Every day, plants endure environmental stresses such as sunlight, radiation, drought and soil stress—all of which can damage their DNA. However, they cannot move away from danger. How do plants handle all that damage?

A group of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has recently developed a new stem cell therapy with a remarkable ability to reverse new-onset Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a mouse model of the disease.

Stem cell transplantation is the most cost-effective option for long-term care of sickle cell disease in adults when compared with gene therapy and standard of care treatment, according to new research published in Blood.

Spinal cord injuries can have devastating consequences for those affected. Nerve cells in the spinal cord rarely regenerate naturally, while scarring often prevents the regrowth of nerve fibers. Modern therapies attempt to influence implanted stem cells using electrical stimulation to promote the growth of new nerve cells. This approach has several drawbacks: it requires implanted electrodes, and the transplanted cells do not always survive or integrate properly into the existing tissue.

A research team from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich (UZH) has developed a novel approach to treating spinal cord injuries: controllable microrobots deliver stem cells directly to the site of an injury, where they promote nerve cell regeneration.

In a groundbreaking study, Stevens researchers show how colorectal cancers can evolve from mature intestinal cells that revert to stem cells.

A team of researchers led by Luigi Naldini at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) has developed a new strategy to significantly improve the precision and safety of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human blood stem cells, potentially overcoming one of the major barriers limiting broader clinical application of genome editing therapies.

Nature is the foremost international weekly scientific journal in the world and is the flagship journal for Nature Portfolio. It publishes the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature publishes landmark papers, award winning news, leading comment and expert opinion on important, topical scientific news and events that enable readers to share the latest discoveries in science and evolve the discussion amongst the global scientific community.

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on May 5, 2026, titled "Methylene blue protects hair follicle stem cells from oxidative and metabolic stress to enhance hair regeneration."

The intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells from family donors is safe and improves symptoms such as pruritus (itching), sleep disturbances, and fatigue associated with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB), popularly known as "butterfly skin".

Muscle stem cells, which are crucial for building new muscle, don’t work as well as we get older, but giving them an artificial boost could rejuvenate them

As blood stem cells age, their lysosomes become overactive and damaged, triggering inflammation and weakening the body’s ability to regenerate healthy blood and immune cells. By calming this cellular “overdrive,” researchers restored the stem cells’ youthful function, dramatically boosting their ability to regenerate and produce balanced blood cells.

A Phase I/II clinical trial shows that a stem cell transplant that removes CD33 from donor cells using CRISPR can prevent cancer recurrence. The post Acute Myeloid Leukemia Therapy Improved by CRISPR Stem Cell Transplant appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science have identified a previously unrecognized defense mechanism in the intestine, showing that intestinal stem cells can actively respond to Salmonella infection and help protect the gut from bacterial invasion.

Stem cells are the original cell type from which all other cells and tissues in the body develop through a very tightly regulated process. However, how stem cells differentiate in addition to gene-control systems, such as canonical REST repression, which prevents gene expression in inappropriate tissues, has remained unknown.

Researchers from The University of Osaka find that the zinc finger proteins RLF and ZFP292 assist in stabilizing the CoREST corepressor complex at gene promoters in embryonic stem cells, preventing differentiation.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the HI-STEM* Stem Cell Institute have deciphered a key mechanism that contributes to treatment failure in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Stem cells support tissues by generating a supply of daughter somatic cells to replace losses. A broad body of evidence points to reduced muscle stem cell activity as a major contributing cause of age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Other evidence suggests that this stem cell population remains capable; when old muscle stem cells are removed from the aged tissue environment for assessment, they appear to be as capable as young muscle stem cells. Researchers are now interested in establishing how an aged environment interacts with muscle stem cells to reduce their activity, with an eye to developing therapies to interfere in specific mechanisms as they are uncovered. Frailty arising from loss of muscle function and mass is a significant health concern impacting quality […]

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with

Among individuals with aplastic anemia, different blood stem cells in the same person independently acquire gene mutations allowing escape from immune attack, and for some people these “rescuing” stem cell clones are sufficient to restore blood production and enable long-term remission. The post Blood Stem Cells Evade Immune Attack in Aplastic Anemia Through Gene Mutations appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Years before he conducted the research that would earn him a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, was a postdoctoral scientist at Gladstone Institutes, studying genes.

Disrupting the eye’s internal limiting membrane enables transplanted stem cell–derived retinal ganglion cells to survive, migrate, and form connections, offering a potential future treatment for optic nerve damage. The post Restoring Vision with Stem Cell–Derived Retinal Cells by Overcoming ILM Barrier appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

WEDNESDAY, April 29, 2026 — A new way of using umbilical cord blood — by pooling blood from multiple donors — could make it easier to receive a stem cell transplant for leukemia, a new study says.Nearly everyone in a small group of patients who rece...

Researchers here identify a common mechanism in the cellular responses to various forms of stress that appears to drive aspects of hematopoietic stem cell aging via impairment of mitochondrial function. Hematopoietic cells are responsible for generating immune cells and red blood cells. Aging produces alterations in the character and lineages of generated cells, contributing to dysfunction in the immune system and in platelet producing cells, among other issues. Suppressing some aspects of cellular stress responses, those that become maladaptive in the aged tissue environment, may prove to be useful as a basis for therapy. It nonetheless seems a poor alternative to instead repairing or otherwise addressing the forms of damage and dysfunction that provoke these excessive cell stress responses. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) survive many […]

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has named CorEUstem COST Action and Stem Cell COREdinates as the recipients of the 2026 ISSCR Public Service Award.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has submitted a formal response to a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding its pause on new submissions to the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Registry and considerations to reduce reliance on hESCs in federally supported research.

A clinical trial to reverse age-related vision conditions using stem cell treatment could finally deliver on the promise of a major discovery in ageing and regeneration made 20 years ago, says columnist Graham Lawton

Researchers at Hannover Medical School (MHH) have developed a method for the efficient production of human immune cells, such as macrophages, in medium-sized bioreactors. These immune cells can be derived from induced pluripotent stem cells and are important for disease research and the development of new therapeutic approaches. The method has now been published in the journal Nature Protocols.

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation.

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation. The models were made at University of Michigan Engineering. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences provided monkey embryo data to help confirm that the Michigan team was indeed seeing a yolk-sac-like structure in their models. The work is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

A new study published today in Stem Cell Reports demonstrates how a human stem cell-derived model of the intestine can be used to identify potential therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), highlighting glycyrrhizin as a promising candidate for reducing intestinal inflammation and cell death.

Fewer than 10 people worldwide have eradicated the virus with stem cells. But this case was special—no one knew his brother's cells carried a protective mutation until transplant day. The post Norwegian Man Cured of HIV by His Brother’s Stem Cells appeared first on SingularityHub.

A new gene‑editing strategy programs hematopoietic stem cells to produce therapeutic antibodies and other proteins. The approach generates long‑lasting immunity in mice and could point to single‑vaccine treatments for diverse diseases in the future. The post Stem Cell Editing Programs the Immune System to Make Own Therapeutic Proteins appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Researchers developed an improved method for creating insulin-producing cells from human stem cells, which effectively regulated blood sugar levels in laboratory tests and reversed diabetes in a mouse model. The post Advances in Stem Cell‑Derived Insulin‑Producing Cells for Type 1 Diabetes appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

A man known as the "Oslo patient" joins a short list of people in long-term remission from HIV following bone marrow transplants.