News & Commentaries

Chad Cowan Steps Down as Co-Editor-in-Chief of StemJournal

Amsterdam, NL – Chad Cowan, PhD, has decided to step down as co-Editor-in-Chief (EIC), of StemJournal, with immediate effect, following the co-founding of Clade Therapeutics and assuming the position of CEO. As a consequence of his shift from academia and the significant commitments in running Clade Therapeutics, he is stepping down from the journal, also to prevent any potential conflict of interests.

Aided by Stem Cells, a Lizard Regenerates a Perfect Tail for the First Time in 250 Million Years

Stembook: Aided by Stem Cells, a Lizard Regenerates a Perfect Tail for the First Time in 250 Million Years

Los Angeles, CA, USA – Lizards can regrow severed tails, making them the closest relative to humans that can regenerate a lost appendage. But in lieu of the original tail that includes a spinal column and nerves, the replacement structure is an imperfect cartilage tube. Now, for the first time, a USC-led study in Nature Communications describes how stem cells can help lizards regenerate better tails.

Study: Gene Therapy Can Restore Vision After Stroke

Stembook: Study: Gene therapy can restore vision after stroke

West Lafayette, IN, USA – Most strokes happen when an artery in the brain becomes blocked. Blood flow to the neural tissue stops, and those tissues typically die. Because of the locations of the major arteries in the brain, many strokes affect motor function. Some affect vision, however, causing patients to lose their vision or find it compromised or diminished. A research team led by Purdue University’s Alexander Chubykin, an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Science, in collaboration with the team led by Gong Chen at Jinan University, China, has discovered a way to use gene therapy to turn glial brain cells into neurons, restoring visual function and offering hope for a way to restore motor function.

Strict Lineage Tracing Crucial to Nerve Cell Regeneration Research, Study Says

Stembook: Strict Lineage Tracing Crucial to Nerve Cell Regeneration Research, Study Says

Dallas, TX, USA – UT Southwestern stem cell scientists find that stringent lineage tracing is crucial for studies of nerve cell regeneration. Their results, which are published in Cell, show that this tracing is far from routine in the field and suggest that earlier studies reporting “striking” regeneration results must be reexamined.

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