Gene therapy treats muscle-wasting disease in dogs
February 15, 2017 | Categories: Research |Work on gene therapy is showing significant progress for restoring muscle strength and prolonging lives in dogs with a previously incurable, inherited neuromuscular disease. UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine scientists are leading the multi-institutional research effort. The disease arises from a mutation in genes that normally make a protein, called myotubularin, […] Read More
Restoring sight: Can the retina be regenerated?
August 30, 2016 | Categories: Research |July 26, 2017 A UW Medicine lab sees a future where lost retinal cells might be revived Break a bone, it will heal. Fry a retinal cell? It’s gone forever. That’s why your mom told you never to stare at the sun. Vision starts in the retina, the part of the eye that translates light […] Read More
UW Medicine researchers seek a way to regenerate digits
August 12, 2016 | Categories: Research |UW Medicine researchers seek a way to regenerate digits A 7-year-old girl sticks her finger through the spinning spokes of her brother’s bike. The tip gets torn off. She soon arrives in the emergency room, where Dr. Christopher Allan and his fellow UW Medicine surgeons face a decision. Should they attempt microsurgical reattachment? Suture the […] Read More
Disease-in-a-dish model to improve treatments
August 4, 2016 | Categories: Research |Scientists’ ability to guide cell growth drives one vision of healthcare’s future Say you’re sick. You head to your doctor and discuss personal details about your body. The doc thoughtfully checks your symptoms, maybe administers a test or two, and then delivers a diagnosis. When it’s time to recommend treatment, though, “personal” probably will yield […] Read More
With CRISPR, Modeling Disease in Mini Organs
May 6, 2016 | Categories: Research |Traditionally, gene therapy efforts have attempted to treat genetic diseases by modifying DNA inside a patient’s body, but it has been a challenge to deliver the genetic material to all the target tissue, let alone to do so safely. But in recent years, advances in gene editing and stem cell research have enabled scientists to […] Read More
Stem cell research gets undergrads out of classroom
March 23, 2016 | Categories: Research |Students help conduct intensive, real-world research at UW Medicine lab UW undergraduate Randy Lu grasps a pair of tweezers in each hand. His fingers make imperceptible movements as he dissects the tiny abdomen of a fruit fly. The tweezers and Lu’s hands look garishly large next to the insect, which is a mere speck in […] Read More
Study tells of cancer patient’s unprecedented level of care
January 25, 2016 | Categories: Research |32 researchers at 14 institutions joined to identify personalized treatment options for woman with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer A new report documents one cancer patient’s experience with an unprecedented level of individualized care, provided through the University of Washington Center for Cancer Innovation. In the study, 32 experts from 14 institutions teamed to identify potential interventions for a patient […] Read More
Changes in metabolites can regulate earliest stages of development
November 16, 2015 | Categories: Research |Changes in cellular metabolites have been shown to regulate embryonic stem cell development at the earliest stages of life. Metabolites are simple compounds generated during life-sustaining chemical activities in cells. The recent findings, discovered by members of the Ruohola-Baker Lab, should improve scientists’ ability to use embryonic stem cells to grow new tissues and organs to replace […] Read More
Mini-kidney organoids re-create disease in lab dishes
October 23, 2015 | Categories: Research |Stem-cell biology and gene editing advances offer hope for kidney regeneration, drug discovery Mini-kidney organoids that re-create human kidney disease have now been grown in laboratory petri dishes. The achievement, believed to be the first of its kind, resulted from combining stem cell biology with leading-edge gene-editing techniques. The journal Nature Communications reports the findings […] Read More
Struggling to save black rhinos, scientists are crowdfunding to preserve their DNA
July 13, 2015 | Categories: Research |Ntombi is a six-year-old black rhino from South Africa, one of around 5,000 black rhinos left in the wild. She’s also the starting point for what a team of scientists hope to be a “bio-bank” of genetic information that could be used to save the species. ISCRM’s Interim Director, Chuck Murry, is a member of the team. Ntombi would […] Read More