The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest:

For this episode’s interview, we bring on Dr. Justin Lathia, Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Lathia’s research focus is on how stem cell programs drive tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Most recently his group published a paper in Cell Stem Cell, describing a novel method on how stem cells in brain tumors evade immune signals around them.

Featured Resource: Sample Request: NeuroCult™ NS-A Proliferation Kit (Human)

Resources and Links

Certain Birth Defects Are on the Rise Since Zika Arrived in the U.S. – Certain birth defects were 20 times more prevalent in babies born to Zika virus–infected mothers in the U.S. in 2016 than they were before the virus cropped up in the United States, a CDC study suggests.

Bacteria Genes Offer New Strategy for Sterilizing Mosquitoes – A pair of bacterial genes called cifA and cifB, connected to the sterility mechanism of Wolbachia may enable genetic engineering strategies for curbing populations of virus-transmitting mosquitoes.

New Imaging Technique Catches DNA ‘Flickering’ On – This article describes a new imaging technique that takes advantage of DNA’s natural ability to “blink” in response to stimulating light.

Gastric Bypass Controls Diabetes Long Term Better Than Other Methods – People who undergo gastric bypass surgery are more likely to experience a remission of their diabetes than patients who receive a gastric sleeve or intensive management of diet and exercise, according to a new study.

Scientists Use Two Types Of Stem Cells To Grow Artificial Mouse "Embryo" – Scientists combine mouse embryonic stem cells and extra-embryonic trophoblast stem cells in a 3D-scaffold to generate structures whose morphogenesis is remarkably similar to natural embryos.

Stem Cell Science in Space Happening with SpaceX Rocket – SpaceX rocket carrying samples of donated adult stem cells from a research laboratory at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 19.

Australian Researchers Have Discovered Stem Cells in the Breast That May Be Linked to a High-Risk Form of Breast Cancer – Located in a region near the nipple, the newly-found stem cells have many molecular similarities to a subtype of 'triple negative' breast cancers known as claudin-low cancers.

Obesity Can Reprogram Muscle Stem Cells – According to this article, by comparing the DNA methylation in immature and mature muscle cells from healthy individuals, Cajsa Davegårdh discovered that the actual degree of methylation had a major impact on the maturation process.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Justin Lathia

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Guest:

For this episode, we bring on Dr. Jun Wu, a Staff Scientist in the lab of Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte at the Salk Institute. Dr. Wu will discuss his latest work published in Cell on human-pig chimeras.

Featured Resource: Wallchart: Stem Cell States - Naive to Primed Pluripotency

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jun Wu

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Guest:

Dr. Christopher Park is an Associate Professor and Director of Pathology Education and Translational Research at the NYU Langone Medical center. His lab is currently looking at new ways to combat blood cancers like leukemia by attacking and destroying the blood stem cells. In this episode, Dr. Park discusses his lab’s work and the details of their most recent publication in Science Translational Medicine.

Featured Resource: Hematopoiesis Hub: Culture Your Expertise in Hematopoiesis with Us

Resources and Links

Scientists Plan to March – A few months from now, thousands of scientists will leave their labs and take to the streets to rally on behalf of publicly funded, openly communicated, evidence-based research.

CRISPR Used in Cows to Help Fight Tuberculosis – Researchers are able to obtain transgenic cattle with increased resistance to tuberculosis through somatic cell nuclear transfer.

An Artist’s Amnesia Could Help Better Understand Memory – Despite having amnesia, artist Lonni Sue Johnson can still create art, which makes neuroscientists curious about Johnson’s brain in part because her education and expertise before her illness contrast sharply with that of the most famous amnesiac known to science, Henry Molaison.

Shining Light on Eggs Leads to More “Chilled” Out Chickens – Researchers at the University of California, Davis found that broilers given at least 12 hours of light daily during incubation were less fearful.

First Human-Pig 'Chimera' Created in Milestone Study – Scientists from the Salk Institute have created a human-pig hybrid in a milestone study that raises the prospect of being able to grow human organs inside animals for use in transplants.

Study by Cleveland Clinic Researchers Explains How Brain Cancer Cells Avoid Immune System – A new study by Cleveland Clinic researchers has uncovered some of the mystery behind what enables glioblastoma – one of the most deadly and recurring brain cancers – to resist most cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy.

Endocrinology Stem Cell Research Engineering Thyroid Cells from Stem Cells May Lead to New Therapies – Researchers found a way to coax genetically modified embryonic stem cells from mice to develop into thyroid cells.

Direct Reprogramming of Mouse Fibroblasts toward Leydig-like Cells by Defined Factors – Induced Leydig-like cells (iLCs) expressed steroidogenic genes, had a global gene expression profile similar to that of adult LCs, and acquired androgen synthesis capabilities.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Christopher Park

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Guest:

Dr. Deepak Lamba is an Assistant Professor at the Buck Institute. His research is focused on identifying new methods to treat degenerative vision disorders, including macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, using stem cell technology. His work is considered pioneering amongst those focused on developing efficient methods of making retinal cells in a laboratory dish.

Featured Resource: Neural Stem Cells Wallchart

Resources and Links

Rumours Swirl about Trump’s Science Adviser Pick – Climate sceptic William Happer and ardent critic of academia David Gelernter have met with the president.

For Three Years in a Row, Earth Breaks Heat Record – For the third year running, Earth’s thermostat broke a new record: 2016 was the warmest year since record-keeping began in 1880.

Heart-Hugging Robot Does the Twist (And Squeeze) – A silicone sleeve slipped over pigs’ hearts helped pump blood when the hearts failed.

Promise and Perils of Marijuana Deserve More Scientific Scrutiny – The report, released January 12 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine in Washington, D.C., calls for expanding research on potential medical applications of cannabis and its products, including marijuana and chemical components called cannabinoids.

Here's How Earwax Might Clean Ears – The self-cleaning marvel known as earwax may turn the dust particles it traps into agents of their own disposal.

Scientists Say It's Time We Discussed Creating Humans from Stem Cells – A Kyoto University scientist, Shinya Yamanaka, and his graduate student, Kazutoshi Takahashi, re-energized the stem cell field by devising a technique to “reprogram” any adult cell, such as a skin cell, and coax it back to its earliest “pluripotent” stage where it can become any type of cell, from a heart muscle cell to a neuron.

Irish Researchers Make Stem-Cell Cancer Breakthrough – Irish-led researchers have found a way to make it potentially easier to kill off tumor cells and make radiotherapy more effective for people with oesophageal cancer.

Stem Cells Induce Teeth to Self-Repair – A new dental treatment could eliminate the need for man-made cavity fillings by promoting the renewal of stem cells within tooth pulp, triggering damaged teeth to repair themselves.

'Totipotent' Stem Cells Capable of Forming Viable Embryo Created from Pluripotent Cells – Stem cells with characteristics of totipotency — capable of creating all the tissue types needed to build and sustain an embryo — have been created in mice by a California-led research team.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Deepak Lambda

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Guest:

Dr. Hongjun Song is a Director of the Stem Cell Program at John Hopkins University. The research in the Song laboratory focuses on understanding mechanisms regulating neural stem cells and neurogenesis in the mammalian brain. He recently published a review regarding Zika virus, what’s known, how stem cells can help and we talk with him about this topic and more.

Featured Resource: Neural Stem Cells Wallchart

Resources and Links

Cancer Death Rates Fall as Prevention, Treatment Advance – Deaths from cancer in the United States have dropped 25 percent since hitting a peak in 1991 attributed to reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment.

Ebola Vaccine Proves Effective, Final Trial Results Show – This article reports that of 5,837 people in Guinea who received a single shot of the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, in the shoulder, none became infected with the Ebola virus 10 to 84 days after vaccination.

Among High School Seniors, Interest in Science Varies by Race, Ethnicity – A majority of high school seniors in the U.S. say they enjoy science and around four-in-ten (44%) would like to have a job in the field although this tend to vary by race and ethnicity – a pattern that also is reflected in American students’ test scores in science.

Figuring Out How Women Respond to Hormones – Researchers suppressed then added back the hormones estrogen and progesterone in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and found that their symptoms disappear only to re-emerge when the hormones were added back.

NYSCF and PGP Announce Availability of Unique New Stem Cell Resource for Scientific Research – The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute and the Personal Genomes Project announced the availability of a unique new stem cell resource – the stem cell lines – for scientists around the world.

Conversion of Terminally Committed Hepatocytes to Culturable Bipotent Progenitor Cells with Regenerative Capacity – Researchers report that a cocktail of small molecules, Y-27632, A-83-01, and CHIR99021, can convert rat and mouse mature hepatocytes in vitro into proliferative bipotent cells, which they called chemically induced liver progenitors.

Synthetic Stem Cells to Regenerate Heart Tissue – American and Chinese researchers have developed synthetic cardiac stem cells that could have the same therapeutic impact as human stem cells, with the added benefit of reducing the risk of graft rejection in cellular therapy.

Using Stem Cells to Grow Stomachs? – A study featured in the journal Nature reveals that researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center were able to grow human tissues in a laboratory using stem cell samples taken from the corpus/fundus region of the stomach.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Hongjun Song

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Guest:

For the interview portion of the show, we talk to our very own Dr. Daylon James. In addition to hosting the Stem Cell Podcast, Daylon is an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City where he uses stem cells as a tool to investigate cardiovascular and reproductive disorders.

Resources and Links

World Health Organisation Declares a Public Emergency of International Concern Over Zika – World Health Organization declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an international public health emergency, a rare move that signals the seriousness of the outbreak and gives countries new tools to fight it.

2016 Was 10 Year Anniversary of Yamanaka iPSC Paper – This article discusses the 10 years of iPSC where Cell published the original iPS cell papers, in which Dr. Kazutoshi Takahashi, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and colleagues showed that mouse and human fibroblasts can be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells by introducing into them four genes.

World's First Baby with Three Genetic Parents Was Born – A five-month-old boy is the first baby to be born using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three people.

Stem Cells Can Make Oocytes – This paper reveals that scientists have for the first time reprogrammed murine embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells into fully functional oocytes in the laboratory.

CO2 Turns into Solid Stone When Pumped into the Ground – Researchers working in Iceland say they have discovered a new way to trap the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) deep underground: by changing it into rock.

In Vivo Genome Editing Improves Muscle Function in A Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – Exon 23 deletion by CRISPR/Cas9 resulted in expression of the modified dystrophin gene, partial recovery of functional dystrophin protein in skeletal myofibers and cardiac muscle, improvement of muscle biochemistry, and significant enhancement of muscle force.

Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Volumes Both Fall to an All-Time Low – Both the Arctic and Antarctic experienced record lows in sea ice extent in November, with scientists astonished to see Arctic ice actually retreating at a time when the region enters the cold darkness of winter.

Humans Are Now Getting CRISPR’d – This article reveals that a Chinese group has become the first to inject a person with cells that contain genes edited using the revolutionary CRISPR–Cas9 technique.

Proxima B – A newly discovered, roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable, according to a team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile, along with other telescopes around the world.

Major Stem Cell Discovery for Diabetes Retracted – One of the highest-profile researchers in diabetes has retracted a paper once heralded as a breakthrough, following multiple failed attempts to reproduce its headline-grabbing results.

Gravitational Waves – The first gravitational wave signal detected by Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory came from the merger of two black holes spiraling inward, as depicted in this numerical simulation.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Daylon James

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Guest:

Dr. Eggan is a Professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University. On this show he joins us, along with a post-doctoral fellow from his lab, Dr. Michael Wells, to discuss their latest publication on investigating mechanisms of infection in Zika virus.

Resources and Links

Microcephaly Cases Surge in Colombia following Rise in Zika Infections – Colombia saw a surge on 2016 in babies with microcephaly — more than four times the number reported in the previous year caused by Zika virus infections.

Having an Extra Chromosome Slows Cancer Cell Growth – This article reveals that smaller tumors, less cancer-driving proteins are seen with cells with an extra copy of a chromosome — known as trisomic cells.

Gut Microbes Mix May Regulate Motor Deficits in Parkinson’s – Gut impulse signals from gut microbes can activate immune cells called microglia in the mouse brain, causing inflammation that’s characteristic of Parkinson’s disease.

Solar Panels Are Almost Truly Green – This article reports that solar panels are about to break even on their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.

Telomere Balance between Elongation and Trimming in Stem Cells – Researchers report that telomere length is determined by the balance between telomere elongation, which is mediated by telomerase, and telomere trimming, which is controlled by XRCC3 and Nbs1, homologous recombination proteins that generate single-stranded C-rich telomeric DNA and double-stranded telomeric circular DNA, respectively.

Long-Term Self-Renewing Human Epicardial Cells Generated from Pluripotent Stem Cells under Defined Xeno-Free Conditions – Scientists show that the temporal modulation of canonical Wnt signaling is sufficient for epicardial induction from six different human pluripotent stem cell lines, including a WT1-2A-eGFP knock-in reporter line, under chemically defined, xeno-free conditions.

Development of a Rapid Screen for the Endodermal Differentiation Potential of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines – Researchers developed a rapid small molecule based screen to assess the endodermal potential of human pluripotent stem cells, based solely on definitive endoderm morphology.

Genetic Ablation of AXL Does Not Protect Human Neural Progenitor Cells and Cerebral Organoids from Zika Virus Infection – Dr. Kevin Eggan and his team of researchers show that genetic ablation of AXL has no effect on Zika virus (ZIKV) entry or ZIKV-mediated cell death in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells or cerebral organoids.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Kevin Eggan

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Guest:

Dr. Jen Adair, assistant member of the clinical research division at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, and Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Adair's group investigates retrovirus-based gene transfer into hematopoietic stem cells as a viable treatment for genetic, malignant and infectious diseases.

Resources and Links

Dogs Form Memories of Experiences – This article suggests that dogs possess some version of episodic memory, which allows them to recall personal experiences, and not just simple associations between, for instance, sitting and getting a treat.

Lower Social Status Can Alter the Immune System – A new study manipulating the pecking order of monkeys finds that low social status kicks the immune system into high gear, leading to unwanted inflammation akin to that in people with chronic diseases.

A New Fetal Genome Test – This article reports that by doing a Pap smear as early as five weeks into a pregnancy, researchers can collect enough fetal cells to test for abnormalities linked to more than 6,000 genetic disorders.

Old Blood Carries Risks for Brain – This article reveals that after transfusions of young blood, old mice still had lower numbers of newborn nerve cells in the hippocampus, a brain structure important for learning and memory.

Synthetic Recording and In Situ Readout of Lineage Information in Single Cells – Researchers developed a new method for reading the history and "family trees" of cells called MEMOIR (Memory by Engineered Mutagenesis with Optical In Situ Readout), which can record the life history of animal cells, their relationships with other cells, communication patterns, and the influential events that have shaped them.

Take a Journey into the Center of a Stem Cell – Scientists journeyed to the center of a stem cell that’s maturing into a nerve cell using a powerful X-ray microscope to snap pictures of stem cells at different stages of differentiation.

Neural Progenitors Found in Outer Brain Covering – A cross-domain study directed by Professor Peter Carmeliet reveals that there are neural progenitors found in meninges, the protective membranes that enclose the brain.

Inhibition of mTOR Induces a Paused Pluripotent State – This article reports that the partial inhibition of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), a major nutrient sensor and promoter of growth, induces reversible pausing of mouse blastocyst development and allows their prolonged culture ex vivo.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jen Adair

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Guest:

Dr. Alpa Mahuvakar Trivedi, a molecular biologist in the Department of Neurosurgery at University California, San Francisco, joins us in this episode. Alpa and her team have recently published a paper on generating neural cells from stem cells to help pain and bladder function after spinal cord injury.

Resources and Links

What Does Trump Win Mean for US Science? – This article reports that many scientists have been laying out their concerns about the future of the US research community under a Trump administration.

Poor Diet in Pregnancy, Poor Heart Health for Infants – Mothers who don’t eat enough during pregnancy could give birth to babies with long-lasting heart problems.

Using a Video Game to Speed Up Alzheimer's Research – This article describes the new game Stall Catchers, where citizen scientists help Alzheimer’s researchers find stalls in brain blood vessels in mice.

Antibody Therapy for Zika Virus? – Scientists found that a single dose of a human antibody called ZIKV-117 can protect mice from death after Zika infection — and shield mouse fetuses from the virus’s damaging effects.

Trump and Embryonic Stem Cells – Biomedical researchers are wondering what the Trump administration’s position is on embryonic stem cells research though he has vowed to “cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.”

Single-Cell Sequencing of the Small-RNA Transcriptome – Researchers present a single-cell method for small-RNA sequencing and apply it to naive and primed human embryonic stem cells and cancer cells.

Conversion of Terminally Committed Hepatocytes to Culturable Bipotent Progenitor Cells with Regenerative Capacity – Scientists report that a cocktail of small molecules, Y-27632, A-83-01, and CHIR99021, can convert rat and mouse mature hepatocytes in vitro into proliferative bipotent cells, which we term chemically induced liver progenitors.

Widespread Chromatin Accessibility at Repetitive Elements Links Stem Cells with Human Cancer – Stem cell differentiation induces chromatin remodeling at repetitive elements offering a permissive environment for Ewing sarcoma (a mesenchymally derived tumor) development.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Alpa Mahuvakar

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Guest:

We bring on Mark Post, professor of vascular physiology at the Maastricht University. Dr. Post is an innovator, being the creator of the world’s first lab grown hamburger. Mark’s work has been highlighted in mainstream media and he has given a TEDx talk about his technology and the meat industry. Recently, Mark was back in the news with an announcement that the cost of these stem cell burgers has significantly come down.

Resources and Links

Science Textbooks May Need an Update – Textbook drawings might need to be updated based on new images of the endoplasmic reticulum, a multifaceted organelle within the cell, which shows that it’s a tangled web of interconnected tubes, instead of containing flat sheets as previously believed.

Finding HIV Patient Zero in America – DNA analysis shows HIV came to New York City between 1969 and 1973, long before the man known as Patient Zero became infected.

Training for Parents May Lessen Some Autism Symptoms in Kids – This article presents the idea called Preschool Autism Communication Trial for preschool autism communication trial, which shows that children with autism can be reached by training their parents to be better conversationalists.

Ancient Monkey Hookups – New DNA evidence is pointing to ancient affairs between bonobos and chimpanzees.

The Stem Cell Burger Is Back, and This Time It Might Even Be Affordable – This article reports that stem cell burgers, if mass-produced today, would cost $10 according to Mark Post, its creator, in an Arkansas Online interview.

Research on Rare Genetic Disease Reveals New iPSC Discovery – Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, who first created induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and his colleagues at the Gladstone Institutes found a way to increase the efficiency of stem cell reprogramming through research on a rare genetic disease.

Withholding Amino Acid Depletes Blood Stem Cells – A new study shows that a diet deficient in valine effectively depleted the blood stem cells in mice and made it possible to perform a blood stem cell transplantation with them.

Reactive Oxygen Species and Blood Stem Cells – A research group at Lund University in Sweden identified that certain cells during embryonic development are negatively affected by oxidation capable of leading to a block in cellular function.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Mark Post

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