The US Justice Department said Tuesday it will appeal a judge’s decision to block federal funding for stem cell research. President Obama authorized the renewal of federal funding in March 2009, reversing a ban imposed by his predecessor George W. Bush in 2001 on moral and religious grounds. “I can confirm we plan to appeal,” [...]

Geron can move forward with its early-stage trial of an embryonic stem cell treatment after the Food and Drug Administration lifted a clinical hold after almost a year. The California based company first launched the study of GRNOPC1, which could potentially fix spinal cord injuries with the use of progenitor cells, that help restore nerve [...]

A grant of 11.5 million dollars has been awarded to UC San Diego to go towards stem-cell research on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The goal of the team is to further ongoing research to human clinical trials within the next four years. The money comes from the California [...]

Four researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have been awarded just over $5.5 million for their stem cell research projects. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is now funding projects that are attempting to find ways to overcome immune system rejection of transplanted stem cells. The institute is the state stem cell agency [...]

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, an accomplished scientist and stem cell researcher at UCSF’s Gladstone Institutes has won Japan’s $550,000 Kyoto Prize. Dr. Yamanaka discovered a technique for transforming adult skin cells into “pluripotent” stem cells without resorting to human embryos. The Kyoto Prize is an international award that honors scientific, cultural and spiritual contributions to human [...]

In a surprising move, The Vatican has announced that it will finance new research into the possible uses of adult stem cells for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Project officials said last week that the Vatican has agreed to donate approximately $2.7 million to the research, which is led by the University of [...]

A stem cell research team at Columbia University have successfully grown a jawbone using human stem cells. This development could totally alter bone implants and eliminate the very painful process of bone grafts. The team at Columbia was headed by Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, and her researchers replicated a 3-D scaffolding of bones using digital images of [...]

Research as begun at a lab in Australia to create complete skin for transplant which could change the lives of people with serious burn injuries, said a spokesperson for the Sydney Burns Foundation. Burns victims are currently treated with skin grafts or with sheets of skin grown using their skin cells. Unfortunately the current process [...]

Plastic surgery is a thriving industry not just in America, but across the globe. According to a recent study published in the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), cosmetic surgery procedures are predicted to exceed 55 million annually by the year 2015. However, it is often forgotten that a significant [...]

A brand new facility, the $62 million UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures, which is supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, officially opened on March 10, at the Sacramento campus. The new building is the first of many major, CIRM-supported laboratories to open. California’s stem cell agency provided most of the funding for [...]