Researchers studying embryonic stem cells have explored the first fork in the developmental road, getting a new look at what happens when fertilized eggs differentiate to build either an embryo or a placenta. By manipulating a specific gene in a mouse blastocyst – the structure that develops from a fertilized egg but is not yet an actual … Continue reading
IT WAS the kind of breakthrough scientists had dreamed of for decades and its promise to help cure disease appears to be fast on the way to being realised. Researchers in November announced they were able to turn the clock back on skin cells and transform them into stem cells, the mutable building blocks of … Continue reading
A GENE linked to IQ might also help to prolong life. The gene codes for an enzyme called succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH), which destroys GABA, a neurotransmitter that dampens brain activity and causes drowsiness. The gene comes in two common forms: the so-called “T” version is 20 per cent less efficient than the “C” version. … Continue reading
LONDON, England (CNN) — An $80 million research project aimed at giving people 50 active years after the age of 50 was launched by scientists at the University of Leeds in northern England Tuesday. The challenge is to ensure old people stay as fit as Brisbane centenarian Ruth Frith, seen competing at shot put during World … Continue reading
Scientists have reversed the effects of ageing on the skin of mice by blocking the action of a specific protein. In two-year old mice, Californian researchers found that they could rejuvenate skin to look more youthful. Further analysis published in the journal Genes and Development showed the skin had the same genetic profile as the … Continue reading
Scientists have stopped the ageing process in an entire organ for the first time, a study released today says. Published in today’s online edition of Nature Medicine, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City also say the older organs function as well as they did when the host animal was younger. The … Continue reading
British researchers say they had succeeded in reprogramming amniotic fluid cells without having to introduce extra genes. This suggests the possibility that stem cells derived from donated amniotic fluid could be stored in banks and used for medical therapies and in research, offering a less problematic alternative to embryonic stem cells. Stem cells are the … Continue reading
Scientists are slowly unlocking the secrets of ageing, and some suggest treatments may soon be at hand to slow or even reverse the ageing process. But what can science really achieve, and what are the dangers of meddling with our biological clocks? Could such treatments induce cancers in humans, for example, and what about the … Continue reading