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Stem cells

Stem cells
Stem cells are biological cells found in all multi-cellular organisms, that can divide into diverse specialised cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. Human adult stem cells are routinely used in medical therapies, for example in bone marrow transplants. Stem cells can also be artificially grown and transformed into specialised cell types with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves.
A 15-year-old girl with severe thalassemia who weighs just 25kg needed a stem cell transplant. Her parents had a child to preserve umbilical cord blood to save her. Photo SCMP composite/Shutterstock/QQ.com
Trending in China

China parents have baby to collect umbilical cord blood to save sick daughter

Girl from poor family with debilitating illness weighs about half that of a healthy teenager; family thank kind strangers for cash donations.

Trending in China

China eatery owner closes shop to donate stem cells to toddler; customers show support

Science

China’s thalassaemia jab raises hope for common inherited blood disorder

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Japan

Japan approves world’s first regenerative medicines using iPS cells

Drugs made with iPS, or induced pluripotent stem cells, will be used to treat patients with severe heart failure and Parkinson’s disease.

A heart muscle sheet derived from human stem cells at the University of Osaka. Photo: Kyodo
Science

Chinese scientists develop promising stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s

New biotech allows ‘seeds’ planted in the brain to differentiate into new nerve cells, reshaping its neural network.

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Science

Can China’s new tech crack Einstein’s brain? Scientists hope to give it a try

Mapping technique allows analysis of old biological samples often poorly preserved.

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Biomedicine: Industry Trends

Israeli pioneer in lab-grown kidneys seeks China biotech funding

The team has ‘a huge interest in Chinese and Hong Kong biotech companies’, says project lead Benjamin Dekel.

An Israeli hospital says it has achieved a breakthrough in cultivating kidneys in laboratories. Photo: AFP
Science

How does space affect the mind? China sends ‘mini-brain’ to Tiangong to find out

Experiment appears to be the first in space involving a highly integrated chip containing human brain cells and blood vessels.

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Science

Human heart structure beats 21 days in pig embryo in Chinese chimera study

The research could have implications for organ transplants, which are limited by the small number of donors.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

University of Hong Kong scientists explore growing organs with 3D printing tech

Professor Michael Chan says his team is looking to produce personalised 3D-printed airways for burn victims using patients’ cells.

Professor Michael Chan says his team is exploring how to attach organoids to 3D-printed tissue. Photo: Edmond So
Science

Mammals could regenerate tissue by turning on ‘genetic switch’: Chinese team

Scientists studying ability of mice to regenerate ear damage say therapies based on retinoic acid might work across various tissue types.

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Chinese scientists studying regeneration say a mouse’s failure to regenerate stems from an inability to produce sufficient retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A. Photo: Shutterstock
Beauty

Remember Kim Kardashian’s ‘vampire facial’? A look at regenerative skincare

Forget surface treatments: a new wave of skincare is harnessing the body’s own biological materials – from blood and fat to stem cells – to encourage natural regeneration and rejuvenation from within.

Wellness

For those struggling with severe or chronic pain, stem cell therapy may offer relief

When Tim Noonan’s shoulder tore in 2014, stem cell therapy eased his extreme pain – 10 years later, he returns for more of the novel therapy.

Japan

Japanese stem cell research helps treat spinal injuries

Paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries affects more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year.

Stem cells illustrated in colour. Photo: Shutterstock
Education in Hong Kong

Outgoing CUHK head to focus on medical research, remain involved in academia

Rocky Tuan also cites navigating the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the most unforgettable experiences during his tenure.

Professor Rocky Tuan delivers a speech during the 94th congregation ceremony at the university in November of last year. Photo: Elson Li
Wellness

Snake gut secrets unlocked by new study may help treat human diseases

Research on how pythons regenerate their guts may open door to treatment for Crohn’s and coeliac diseases, colorectal cancer, even diabetes.

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Science

Type 1 diabetes reversed in Chinese woman using reprogrammed stem cells

25-year-old with chronic condition for over a decade has no need for external insulin some 2½ months from minimally invasive surgery.

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Science

Chinese scientists hope panda stem cell breakthrough can help species survive

Researchers have created a type of self-renewing cell that could help future research and preserve vital genetic resources.

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There are thought to be just 2,000 giant pandas left in the wild. Photo: Xinhua
Beauty

Review | Why you should book this stem cell-based facial at W Hong Kong’s Bliss Spa

Bliss Spa at the W Hong Kong uses exclusive products from Swiss skincare brand Cell Premium that features stem cell technology – so what’s the facial treatment like?

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Explainer | Why storing cord blood is becoming popular in Hong Kong and is it necessary?

Doctors at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital are treating a five-year-old girl using cord blood transferred from Guangdong province.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong receives second cross-border cord blood transfer to treat girl, 5

Doctors at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where the girl is being treated, expect stem cell transplant to be ready as soon as October.

Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kai Tak. The blood cord transfer is a first for the hospital and the second for the city. Photo: Jelly Tse
Trending in China

Special university graduation for China student who was donating stem cells

A brave, caring student in China who could not attend graduation day with his peers because he was saving a life, was given a special individual ceremony.

A life-saving university student in China has been given a special lone graduation ceremony because he missed the official event due to the fact that he was donating stem cells. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/jcu.edu.cn
Science

Chinese team reports patient’s diabetes cured with cell therapy in world first

A breakthrough cell therapy in Shanghai is reported to have cured a man’s diabetes, giving hope to other sufferers.

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Singapore

Asian parents on edge after Singapore stem cell bank ruins thousands of samples

The scandal now engulfing Cordlife Group Ltd. has implications across the region, given its operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.

Science

Chinese team tests lung treatment that may be first to reverse COPD damage

Paper follows statement by Zuo Wei that ‘stem cell and progenitor cell-based regenerative medicine may be the biggest, if not the only, hope to cure COPD’.

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In a Chinese study, 17 patients with varying stages of COPD who received the team’s therapy had no serious adverse side effects and the team did not observe signs of tumour formation in the patients six months after transplant. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

Scientists create human embryo models without sperm or egg

The advancement offers hope for research on miscarriage and birth defects but also raises fresh ethical concerns.

Scientists have used stem cells to create structures that resemble human embryos in the lab. File photo: Shutterstock
Singapore

Singapore to get lab-grown sausages that take just 8 days to cultivate

Meatable is betting that its use of patented stem-cell technology that can rapidly grow slaughter-free sausages will give it an edge over other cultivated meat start-ups.

Wellness

No more dialysis or wait for donor organs? Huge kidney disease breakthrough

Synthetic kidney transplants could begin within 10 years thanks to a Hollywood lawyer who couldn’t get answers after suffering renal failure, and funded research that in 2022 led to a big breakthrough.

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