An interest in endangered species led scientist James Thomson to make one of the world’s most profound scientific discoveries. In 1998, for the first time, Thomson successfully cultured human embryonic stem cells, which are pluripotent – capable of becoming nearly any of the 200 different cells types in the body.
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Art of discovery: A look at the cellular wonders of stem cell research
The stem cell discovery at UW-Madison in 1998 ushered in a new era of science. Today, researchers there continue their quest to find treatments and cures. Here’s a look at the cellular wonders of stem cell research.
After 20 years, stem cells mean business in Wisconsin
On Nov. 6, 1998, developmental biologist James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin–Madison published a paper describing how his team had grown human embryonic stem cells. These cells exist at the earliest stages of development and are “pluripotent” — able to differentiate into every one of the more than 200 specialized cell types in the human body.
Randolph Ashton named SCRMC associate director
Randolph Ashton, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is the new associate director for UW–Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center. He joins Timothy Kamp, center director and professor of medicine, cell and regenerative biology, and succeeds William Murphy, professor …
New Publication: 20 Years of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research: It All Started with Five Lines
November 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the seminal human embryonic stem cell (hESC) publication, which reported the initial hESC derivations and launched the field of human pluripotent stem cell research. To commemorate this significant milestone, we reflect on the scientific, economic, and clinically relevant impact of this groundbreaking achievement.
Twenty years on, measuring the impact of human stem cells
In November 1998, the world was introduced to human embryonic stem cells, the blank slate cells that arise at the earliest stages of development and that go on to become any of the scores of cell types that make up a human.
Stem Cells @ 20: Students find inspiration, support in UW–Madison’s stem cell community
When Kaivalya Molugu was considering graduate schools, she knew she was interested in stem cell research, but she had to decide where to apply. The answer soon became clear: the place where it all began. One of the main reasons she chose UW–Madison “is the strong stem cell research center here,” says Molugu, a biophysics research assistant at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and a trainee with the UW’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC).
20 years after the growth of human embryonic stem cells at UW, science faces new frontiers
For months, James Thomson rose at 5 in the morning, hours before his day job, and hustled off to a secret scientific project in a lab next to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s in vitro fertilization clinic. His chest felt tight, as if he’d been holding his breath, worrying constantly.
Mutation in common protein triggers tangles, chaos inside brain cells
A pioneer in the study of neural cells revealed today (Oct. 23, 2018) how a single mutation affecting the most common protein in a supporting brain cell produces devastating, fibrous globs. These, in turn, disturb …
Engineers drawn to stem cells’ abundance, humanity
There was a time when Eric Shusta’s lab was more reliant on the local butcher shop than you might expect.
To learn more about the blood-brain barrier — the cellular wall between the open ocean of the bloodstream and the protected confines of the brain — and how to trick the body into letting foreign molecules (like drugs for neurological disease) through the barrier’s gates, Shusta needed brains.