Dr. Pamela Robey is a senior investigator at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the NIH. Dr. Robey’s work focuses on skeletal biology, and the characteristics and biological properties of bone marrow stromal cells, a subset of which are multipotent skeletal stem cells.  In late September, Dr. Robey co-authored a commentary article in Nature discussing the ever famous, but dubious, mesenchymal stem cell. She comes on the show to talk about this and more.

Sunbathing Every Other Day for a Darker Tan and Less Damage – Exposure to the sun every other day, rather than daily, can improve a sunbather’s dark tan while minimizing skin damage.

First Viable Freeze-Thawed Coral Larvae Reported – A technique called cryopreservation might help save some threatened coral reefs. The first coral larvae to survive being frozen and then thawed by scientists are a kind of a mushroom coral.

Mix of Gut Bacteria Allow Pathogens to Flourish – The bacterium Clostridioides difficile, that causes severe diarrhea, takes advantage when antibiotics or other factors disrupt the normal mix of microbes in the gut.

Changing Fruit Flies’ Gut Bacteria Makes Them Speed Walk – The authors suggest that microbes in the gut may affect how the brain controls movement.

Stem Cell Derived Neural Cells Are Going to Space – Research teams at the Summit for Stem Cell labs in La Jolla, California, and the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute in New York, NY, will conduct the first long-term cell culture experiment in space focused on neurodegenerative diseases.

How Sleeping Mammary Stem Cells Are Awakened in Puberty – Scientists have discovered how the growth of milk-producing mammary glands is triggered during puberty.

Testicular Endothelial Cells Are a Critical Population in the Germline Stem Cell Niche – Identifying testicular endothelial cells as a niche population necessary for spermatogonial stem cell self-renewal may facilitate fertility preservation for prepubertal boys diagnosed with cancer.

Engineered Anti-CRISPR Proteins for Optogenetic Control of CRISPR–Cas9 – Researchers enabled light-mediated genome and epigenome editing, and revealed rapid Cas9 genome targeting in human cells.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Pamela Robey

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