Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. A study at UW–Madison is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology.
Among the many hurdles to be cleared before human embryonic stem cells can achieve their therapeutic potential is determining whether or not transplanted cells can functionally integrate into target organs or tissues.
Long considered to be little more than putty in the brain and spinal cord, the star-shaped astrocyte has found new respect among neuroscientists who have begun to recognize its many functions in the brain, not to mention its role in a range of disorders of the central nervous system.
by Terry Devitt University Communications With more than 100 billion neurons and billions of other specialized cells, the human brain is a marvel of nature. It is the organ that makes people unique. Now, writing in the journal Cell Stem Cell (July 1, 2010), a team of scientists from the UW-Madison has identified a single …
Intriguingly, the new study suggests the presence or absence of the genes used to reprogram skin cells to become the blank slate pluripotent cells makes no difference in terms of their capacity to differentiate.
A Spinal Cord Injury Paralyzed Him And Now Motivates Him To Give To UW’s Waisman Center. By Karen Rivedal for the Wisconsin State Journal As anyone who’s ever earned a college degree knows, it’s not unusual for universities to ask their students for money long after the last tuition payment has been made. They call …
A gift of $500,000 from George E. Prescott, a member of the Waisman Center's board of visitors, will benefit the Parkinson's disease research program at the Waisman Center.
UW-Madison scientist and brainiac Su-Chun Zhang has raised the stakes -- and astonished the world -- by proving it's possible to grow the healthy brain cells that could one day repair damage caused by everything from strokes to disease to spinal cord injuries. When UW wins the race to cure chronic diseases, he and James Thomson will be crossing the finish line together."
Today in the Wisconsin State Journal an article by the science reporter Ron Seely said that two grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research are going to Waisman stem-cell researchers.
