Stem Cell Channel (Video)

What makes us human is a question that not only science asks, but all disciplines of mind from philosophy to religion to sociology and ethics, and even to storytelling and the arts. Tim Disney's new movie "William", about a Neanderthal living in the modern world forces us to ask that and many other questions. Director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program Alysson Muotri brought together a panel of experts from across a spectrum of disciplines to discuss those issues in a lively and engaging forum with the movie's creator. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 34803]

Alysson Muotri explores how discoveries made using tiny Zebrafish will lead to cures for blood diseases like leukemia using stem cells, and how those cures will reach patients through California's network of Alpha Clinics. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 33178]

David Traver explores how discoveries made using tiny Zebrafish will lead to cures for blood diseases like leukemia using stem cells. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 34764]

Alysson Muotri and top geneticists Rusty Gage and Miles Wilkinson explore the fact that ninety-nine percent of human DNA doesn't code for anything used by the human body. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 33492]

Alysson Muotri and Catriona Jamieson discuss how cutting-edge stem-cell-based cures will reach patients through California's network of Alpha Clinics. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 34763]

Professor at Yale University and the founding director of the Yale Stem Cell Center Haifan Lin talks about how the discoveries of small non-coding RNAs, including PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), have significantly expanded the RNA world. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 34682]

Cerebral organoids, also known as mini-brains, are tridimensional self-organized structures derived from stem cells that resemble the early stages of the human embryonic brain. This new tool allows researchers to explore fundamental neurodevelopmental steps otherwise inaccessible in utero experimentally. Alysson Muotri, UC San Diego Stem Cell Program, explains how mini brains are generated in his lab and how this strategy can create novel therapeutical insights on neurogenetic disorders, such as autism. He also describes the use of mini-brains to explore the uniqueness of the human brain compared to other extinct species, such as the Neanderthals. Limitations and ethical concerns surrounding this exciting technology are also discussed. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 33715]

April Pyle, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at UCLA, uses multi-disciplinary approaches to study human pluripotent stem cell biology and differentiation of these cells for use in regenerative medicine. She studies both basic aspects of stem cell biology as well as more translational aspects of human pluripotent stem cell differentiation towards skeletal muscle for use in therapeutic approaches for patients with muscular dystrophy.

Series: "Women in Science" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 34442]

Since stem cells were first cultured from human embryos in 1998, the ethical considerations surrounding this technology have been widely debated, leading to establishment of limits on how this research is conducted and funded. Learn more about these scientific advances, the implications of these discoveries for human health, and consider how ethical norms can best be integrated into research and practice. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Show ID: 33712]

Laurie A. Boyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering at MIT, discusses her work studying cell fate and cardiac regeneration. She shares how her lab is dissecting the gene regulatory mechanisms that control lineage commitment during heart development and congenital heart defects and applying this knowledge toward engineering cardiac tissues. Series: "Women in Science" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 33775]