Stem cell data showing durable frailty gains earn @LGVNSocial a $1 million @xprize Healthspan milestone award. #longevity# #geroscience# #stemcells# #frailty# #healthspan#

New $1.08m grant aimed at the immune biology behind stem cell transplants, a research problem getting more urgent as more people live longer. #longevity# #geroscience# #stemcells# #immunebiology# #transplants#

They told us that once a heart breaks, it never truly heals. Science is proving them wrong. 🫀✨ ​At just 25 years old, Argentine biologist Pilar Ferrer is rewriting the rules of modern medicine. ​When a heart attack strikes, the damage left behind has historically been permanent—dead tissue, irreversible scarring, and a clock ticking down on heart failure. ​Ferrer and her research team turned to nature’s most profound blueprint of life: placental tissue. ​By harnessing the regenerative properties of the amniotic membrane, they engineered an injectable bioactive hydrogel designed to do the unthinkable: enter damaged cardiac muscle, act as a biological scaffold, rebuild broken blood vessels, and stimulate the heart to literally regenerate itself from the inside out. ​Think about that for a second. ​The very biological tissue that gives humans life in the womb is now being used to give human hearts a second chance at life. ​This isn’t science fiction. This is a 25-year-old visionary reminding the world that the future of humanity isn't just about surviving—it's about healing the parts of us we thought were gone forever. ​A broken heart no longer has to be the end of the story. ​Drop a ❤️ to salute the brilliant minds pushing human potential forward. ​— #Science# #Innovation# #StemCells# #RegenerativeMedicine# #FutureOfHealth# #Inspiration# #WomenInSTEM# #Cardiology#

🚨 A groundbreaking stem cell nerve therapy has officially entered human trials to reverse paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. The treatment, called XS228, uses lab-grown neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These cells are reprogrammed from adult donors and transformed into neural precursors capable of regenerating damaged spinal tissue. In preclinical studies, the therapy helped paralyzed animals regain movement by growing new axons and forming connections with host nerve cells. Now, researchers in China have launched the world’s first registrational trial to test its safety and effectiveness in humans. If successful, this could be a game-changer, offering a scalable, off-the-shelf solution to restore mobility and independence for millions affected by spinal cord injuries. This marks a historic step in regenerative medicine, offering new hope to the millions living with spinal cord injuries worldwide.

Another timelapse view into our beloved @Space_Station Lifesciences Glovebox – this time to harvest the stem cells and conclude the experiment (May 28 post). This goal of this experiment was to produce stem cells in large numbers, using the innovative microgravity bioreactor seen inside the glovebox. Stem cell therapies provide significant benefits to help patients fight disease or recover from chemotherapy. The scientists behind this experiment hypothesized that space-grown cells may retain the ability to continuously divide for longer than stem cells on Earth, which could create larger supplies of cells crucial to provide therapies for patients back on Earth. Stay tuned, because the initial results appear incredibly promising!

CiRa's President Yamanaka (President of Sumitomo Pharma's key research partner) paper from 2011: Modeling familial Alzheimer's disease with induced pluripotent stem cells Similarly to the 2000 Yamanaka paper scandal, a user by the name of David Sholto noted similarity within 2 images of the paper of which Yamanaka is listed as an author. Source:

University of Tokyo showed gray hair may reflect a natural defense against cancer risk. It’s not a sign of aging. Researchers tracked the stem cells in hair follicles responsible for making pigment. Over time, these cells take on massive DNA damage from stress, UV radiation, and life. When the damage gets too high, the cells face a choice. They can keep dividing. Or they can shut themselves down. When the system works correctly, the damaged cells trigger a self-destruct sequence called "seno-differentiation." They permanently stop dividing, mature, and die off. The result? You lose the pigment in that follicle. Your hair turns gray. But what happens when the safeguard fails? When carcinogens block that shutdown signal, the damaged cells refuse to die. They keep dividing. They multiply out of control. And that is how melanoma, deadly skin cancer, starts. Gray hair and skin cancer aren't just unrelated signs of aging. They are two divergent outcomes of the exact same cellular battle. If the cells shut down, you get gray hair. If the cells keep multiplying, you get cancer. This changes everything about how we view aging. We’ve spent billions of dollars on cosmetics trying to "cure" or hide gray hair. But the researchers are blunt. That gray hair means your cellular safeguard worked. It successfully eliminated potentially malignant stem cells before they could kill you.

🚨 Scientists Successfully Remove an Extra Chromosome 21 From Human Cells Scientists in Japan have demonstrated a remarkable new approach for dealing with the genetic cause of Down syndrome. Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, researchers were able to selectively remove an extra copy of chromosome 21 from human cells carrying trisomy 21. Most human cells contain two copies of chromosome 21. In Down syndrome, there are three. Unlike conditions caused by a single DNA mutation, trisomy 21 involves an entire extra chromosome, making it much more difficult to correct. The researchers designed CRISPR guides that could recognize genetic differences unique to one copy of chromosome 21. The system then repeatedly targeted that chromosome, eventually causing some cells to lose the extra copy. In induced pluripotent stem cells, the researchers were able to restore some cells from three copies of chromosome 21 to the usual two. Under certain experimental conditions, the chromosome-removal efficiency reached 37.5%. The changes were not limited to chromosome number. Cells that lost the extra chromosome also showed changes in gene activity, growth patterns and antioxidant activity, moving closer to the patterns seen in cells with two copies of chromosome 21. The researchers also demonstrated that the technique could work in fibroblasts and in cells that were not actively dividing, suggesting that the approach may not be limited to rapidly growing cells. This is significant because scientists are not simply correcting one faulty gene. They are exploring whether an entire unwanted chromosome can be selectively removed from a human cell. However, this remains laboratory research and is not a treatment for people with Down syndrome. Major challenges remain, including safely delivering CRISPR machinery to the right cells throughout the body, avoiding unintended genetic changes and determining which tissues could benefit from chromosome removal. For now, the study provides an important proof of principle: researchers have demonstrated a targeted method that can remove an extra chromosome 21 from human trisomy 21 cells and partially reverse some of the associated cellular changes. Source: Mie University; PNAS Nexus