Signing of Stem Cell Executive Order and Scientific Integrity Presidential Memorandum

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Bedford Stem Cell Research Foundation is a biomedical institute which exists to conduct stem cell and related research for diseases and conditions which currently have no effective methods of treatment or cure.

The Foundation was formed in 1996 as a Massachusetts Public Charity to support research that could not be done in major biomedical research institutions in Massachusetts for political reasons. By the year 2000, the need for the Foundation's independent, non-federally funded research laboratory expanded to include human stem cell research.

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The National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research.

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Invitrogen was founded in 1987 by Lyle Turner and Joe Fernandez, and was incorporated in 1989. The company initially found success with its kits for molecular cloning— notably, The Librarian, a kit for making cDNA libraries, and the FastTrack Kit for mRNA isolation from biological samples.

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• Link to: Human Embryonic Stem Cell Technologies and Drug Discovery
  
  
• Link to: Cell Cycle and Developmental Control of Hematopoiesis by Runx1
  
  
• Link to: Assembling Heterochromatin in the Appropriate Places: A Boost Is Needed
  
  
• Link to: Molecular Bases of Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Lessons from Animal Models
  
  
• Link to: H-Ras and PI3K Are Required for the Formation of Circular Dorsal Ruffles Induced by Low-Power Laser Irradiation
  
  
• Link to: Oxidative Stress Promotes Ocular Neovascularization
  
  
• Link to: Low-Power Laser Irradiation Promotes Cell Proliferation by Activating PI3K/Akt Pathway
  
  
• Link to: Secretome From Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induces Angiogenesis Via Cyr61
  
  
• Link to: De-Sulfation of MG-63 Cell Glycosaminoglycans Delays In Vitro Osteogenesis, Up-Regulates Cholesterol Synthesis and Disrupts Cell Cycle and the Actin Cytoskeleton
  
  
• Link to: Phytoestrogens Regulate mRNA and Protein Levels of Guanine Nucleotide-Binding Protein, Beta-1 Subunit (GNB1) in MCF-7 Cells
  
  
• Link to: Thyroid hormone treatment of cultured chondrocytes mimics in vivo stimulation of collagen X mRNA by increasing BMP 4 expression
  
  
• Link to: Cytotoxicity induced by inhibition of thioredoxin reductases via multiple signaling pathways: Role of cytosolic phospholipase A2-dependent and -independent release of arachidonic acid
  
  
• Link to: Hemin promotes proliferation and differentiation of endothelial progenitor cells via activation of AKT and ERK
  
  
• Link to: Prolactin's role in the early stages of liver regeneration in rats
  
  
• Link to: Immunomodulatory properties of human periodontal ligament stem cells
  
  

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Stem cells are cells found in most, if not all, multi-cellular organisms. They are characterized by the ability to renew themselves through mitotic cell division and differentiating into a diverse range of specialized cell types. Research in the stem cell field grew out of findings by Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960s. The two broad types of mammalian stem cells are: embryonic stem cells that are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and adult stem cells that are found in adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells, but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin or intestinal tissues.

Stem cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves through cell culture. Highly plastic adult stem cells from a variety of sources, including umbilical cord blood and bone marrow, are routinely used in medical therapies. Embryonic cell lines and autologous embryonic stem cells generated through therapeutic cloning have also been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies.

The practical definition of a stem cell is the functional definition - a cell that has the potential to regenerate tissue over a lifetime. For example, the gold standard test for a bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) is the ability to transplant one cell and save an individual without HSCs. In this case, a stem cell must be able to produce new blood cells and immune cells over a long term, demonstrating potency. It should also be possible to isolate stem cells from the transplanted individual, which can themselves be transplanted into another individual without HSCs, demonstrating that the stem cell was able to self-renew.

Properties of stem cells can be illustrated in vitro, using methods such as clonogenic assays, where single cells are characterized by their ability to differentiate and self-renew. As well, stem cells can be isolated based on a distinctive set of cell surface markers. However, in vitro culture conditions can alter the behavior of cells, making it unclear whether the cells will behave in a similar manner in vivo. Considerable debate exists whether some proposed adult cell populations are truly stem cells.