Stem Cells

You Asked: Should I Be Nervous About Lab-Grown Meat?

Health-conscious eaters are wary of artificial anything. But here's why lab-grown meat tends to get a pass

By Markham Heid September 14, 2016

Human-Animal Chimera Studies Will Soon Be Allowed In the U.S.

The NIH is poised to lift a ban that prevented researchers from creating human-animal chimeras with stem cells

By Alice Park August 5, 2016

How to Power Disney World With Rotten Tomatoes

These are today's best ideas

By The Aspen Institute June 23, 2016

It’s Now Possible to Make Mouse Sperm in a Lab

The research has implications for infertile couples

By Alice Park February 25, 2016

Shrinking Stem Cells Are the Real Reason for Hair Loss

Researchers have zeroed in on one the driving forces behind hair loss, and it’s closely related to aging

By Alice Park February 5, 2016

How the Developing World Is Improving

These are today's best ideas

By The Aspen Institute December 7, 2015

4 Surprising Ways Science is Battling Aging

New strategies could mean big advances in staying young

By Jeffrey Kluger December 3, 2015

Scientists Use Stem Cells From Rats To Create First Contracting Muscle

Using stem cells from rats, scientists have generated new sections of the diaphragm that could one day replace damaged or missing ones in babies

By Alice Park December 1, 2015

Scientists Have Found a Way to Make Red Blood Cells

Researchers combined stem cell techniques with the latest genome editing strategies to grow red blood cells in the lab

By Alice Park October 22, 2015

Why We Still Need Fetal-Tissue Research

Two sting videos that claim to implicate Planned Parenthood in the illegal practice to selling fetal tissue for a profit prompted a Congressional investigation of the organization. But it doesn’t mean that research on fetal...

By Alice Park July 21, 2015

Researchers Grow a Breast In a Dish

Technically, it’s breast tissue but it develops in a lab culture the same way it would in a teen hitting puberty. And it could help scientists to better understand how the breast develops and what happens when things go awry in breast cancer

By Alice Park June 12, 2015

The Incredible, Surprising, Controversial New Way to Make a Baby

A new in vitro technique could change fertility

By Alice Park May 7, 2015

Meet the First Baby Born With Help From Stem Cells

This newborn is the first baby in the world born using a breakthrough IVF treatment

By Alice Park May 7, 2015

Five Best Ideas of the Day: February 17

1. Is the Taliban’s fracturing a sign of its demise or a possible turn to a more lethal strategy? By Sundarsan Raghavan in the Washington Post 2. To fight cybercrime, President Obama needs Silicon Valley....

By The Aspen Institute February 17, 2015

Five Best Ideas of the Day: January 15

1. India and the U.S. have much to gain from strengthening their “unique but sometimes frustrating partnership.” By Nicholas Burns in the Boston Globe 2. Big energy is betting on power storage tools that let...

By The Aspen Institute January 15, 2015

Most Cancer Beyond Your Control

There’s a lot we can do to protect ourselves from certain cancers — don’t smoke, avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, and try not to breathe or ingest too many chemical pollutants in the air...

By Alice Park January 2, 2015

Most Types of Cancer Just 'Bad Luck,' Researchers Say

Two thirds of cancers could be explained as biological misfortune

By Helen Regan January 2, 2015

This New Kind of Stem Cell May Revolutionize How We Treat Diseases

Scientists have created a new type of stem cell that could speed treatments for diseases and make them safer

By Alice Park December 10, 2014

'Bubble Boy' Disease Cured With Stem Cells

Researchers have treated more than two dozen patients with a treatment made from their own bone marrow cells

By Alice Park November 19, 2014

New Hope for Replacing Nerves Damaged by Parkinson's Disease

Stem cells may provide a new way of regrowing the motor neurons affected by the movement disorder

By Alice Park November 7, 2014

Stem Cells Allow Nearly Blind Patients to See

Embryonic stem cells can be turned into a therapy to help the sight of the nearly blind

By Alice Park October 14, 2014

Type 1 Diabetes Treatment Gets Boost from Stem Cells

Scientists started with stem cells and created the first insulin-making cells that respond to changes in glucose

By Alice Park October 8, 2014

Woman Receives First Stem Cell Therapy Using Her Own Skin Cells

A Japanese woman is the first to receive retinal cells made from her own skin cells

By Alice Park September 12, 2014

Science Scandal Triggers Suicide, Soul-Searching in Japan

Yoshiki Sasai’s death has generated mixed emotions among Japan's scientific community

By Kirk Spitzer / Tokyo August 8, 2014

Blockbuster Stem-Cell Studies Retracted Because of Fraud

Editors of Nature, which published two papers claiming to generate stem cells in a simplified way, are retracting both papers after data was “misrepresented.”

By Alice Park July 2, 2014

First Stem Cells Cloned From Diabetes Patient, Thanks to Egg Donors

The feat could lead to new cell-based treatments for the disease, but it relies on the willingness of women to donate their eggs

By Alice Park April 28, 2014

Researchers Clone Cells From Two Adult Men

After years of failed attempts, researchers have successfully generated stem cells from adults. The process could provide a new way for scientists to generate healthy replacements for diseased or damaged cells in patients

By Alice Park April 17, 2014

Japan Stem-Cell Scientist Guilty of Falsifying Data

A committee has found Haruko Obokata, a scientist based in Kobe, Japan, guilty of misconduct for falsifying research data that would have rocked the scientific community if proved to be true

By Alice Park April 1, 2014

Stem Cell Researcher Calls for Retraction of His Own Work

Japanese co-author says “I’m no longer sure that the articles are correct.”

By Alice Park March 11, 2014

Growing Your Own Tissue: Just Add Stress and Stir

Researchers report on an exciting new way to reprogram cells so patients might one day grown their own cells to replace diseased ones

By Alice Park January 29, 2014

What to Know About the Genetically Engineered Skin That Saved a Young Boy's Life

FDA Cracks Down on Stem Cell Clinics But Patients Are Still at Risk

Three People Are Nearly Blind After Getting a Stem Cell Treatment

Human Muscle Cells Are Growing Inside of a Pig