Stem Cell Research
An NIH study identifies the location of bone-generating stem cells in the body. "Now, researchers can explore ways to harness these cells so that ultimately they might be used to repair damaged or malformed bone," says Dr. Alan Guttmacher, acting director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Story
McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute in Ontario has received $11.5 million to back their work using robotics and computing technology to build a platform to find drugs that can spur stem cells to heal injured tissue. Report
Allopregnanolone, a naturally occurring steroid produced in the central nervous system, increases the number of neural stem cells and restores cognitive function in the Alzheimer-inflicted mouse brain, according to a USC professor. Story
The Vatican will help finance a study at the University of Michigan on adult stem cells. The church has been a vehement opponent of ESC work and hopes to help pave the way around them in the research world. Report
Genetics
Scientists have been exploring the genetic triggers to irritable bowel conditions like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis in an attempt to find new therapies to prevent the ailments. Story
Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have been able to create mice that exhibit classic signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder by switching off a single gene. Report
Scientists at deCODE genetics have identified three genetic mutations that make it harder for some people to quit smoking. Report
Genes can influence your brain's electrical activity, playing a role in addiction. Story
Cancer Research
Joshua T. Mendell, associate professor in the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was given the 30th annual American Association for Cancer Research Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research for his work on microRNA. Report
And Finally... The $500,000 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research has gone to three scientists who played a big role in the Human Genome Project. Story