The Stem Cell Report with Martin Pera ISSCR

Myelination is one of the last events during mammalian brain development and is thought to continue into young adulthood in humans. Even in adulthood, ongoing low-level myelination is essential for neural homeostasis, and for dynamic processes such as learning and memory. Deficits in myelination resulting in abnormal white matter and disruption of neuronal function are observed in a wide variety of disorders of the CNS. One strategy for alleviating these deficits is to enhance the genesis of ...

Biomedical researchers have long sought ways to repair spinal cord damage with the holy grail of the pursuit being the reconstitution of lost function. In the mid 1990’s with the successful culture of human embryonic stem cells, and about a decade later induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), the field was energized with a potential new approach to replace the lost neurons and glia cells and restoring neural connections. In the decades since that discovery some progress has been made, h...

Collectively, retinal degenerative disorders are a major cause of blindness worldwide. For example, one of the most common disorders is age related macular degeneration, which alone affects nearly 200 million globally. In humans, and other mammals, the loss of the retinal cells is an irreversible process. However, in some non-mammalian vertebrates like frogs and fish, retinal neurons can regenerate. This process is dependent upon Müller glia, which can re-enter the cell cycle and reprogr...

Since the 1930’s research using human fetal tissue has been used in numerous scientific and medical advances that have saved millions of lives, including the development of vaccines and treatments for diseases. Despite its substantial contribution to medicine and science, significant public debate and misinformation persists surrounding the ethical use of human fetal tissue in biomedical research. The ISSCR, led by its Public Policy Committee, have been tireless champions and advocates ...

This November marks the 25th anniversary of the successful isolation and culture of human embryonic stem cells by Jamie Thompson. This breakthrough was a turning point in biomedical research. This discovery provided scientists with a limitless source of human cells to understand human biology and model disease. The discovery also provided a novel pathway to develop tissues and cells that could potentially be used to provide curative diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s, among others. ...

Human stem cell technology has led to remarkable insights into human biology in health and disease. However, for the results and outputs from this research to be accurate, meaningful, and durable, it is important that the field have agreed upon standards that ensure reproducibility and reliability of the data. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has developed a set of recommendations, including reporting criteria, for scientists in basic research laboratories. These crite...