We use cookies to tailor your experience and present relevant ads. By clicking “Accept”, you agree that cookies can be placed per our Privacy Policy

TOPIC

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.

Recommended For You

Trending in China

China boy smashes glass ceiling, chandelier worth total of US$56,000 in Labubu rage

22 minutes ago

A petulant child in China who was refused a Labubu toy caused US$56,000-worth of damage to a home when his request for the cuddly figure was rejected. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote

Trends

Why Asian women are reclaiming tradition with teeth blackening

9 Aug 2025 - 2:00PM

Aspiring fashion designer Mou Isabel Phung, who goes by Mou, at Camille Renée’s senior show at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Photo: Gabrielle Shamon

China Opinion

Opinion | Under Trump, is the US no longer interested in playing maritime referee?

11 Aug 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Diplomacy

Trump may hit China with punitive tariffs over purchases of Russian oil

11 Aug 2025 - 7:21AMvideocam

US Vice President J.D. Vance said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump was thinking about additional tariffs on China, similar to a punitive 25 per cent tariff recently imposed on India over purchases of Russian oil. Photo: dpa

Opinion

My Take | Going after Lip-Bu Tan, Malaysian-American CEO of Intel, is just the beginning

11 Aug 2025 - 9:50AM

Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan speaks at the company’s Annual Manufacturing Technology Conference in San Jose, California, US, April 29, 2025. Photo: Reuters

The experiment was launched on the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft, which blasted off from a site in southern China on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

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.

17 Jul 2025 - 10:22PMvideocam

Science

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

4 Jul 2025 - 10:09AMvideocam

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

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

2 Jul 2025 - 10:00AM

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.

27 Jun 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

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.

19 May 2025 - 8:00AM

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.

2 Apr 2025 - 9:00AM

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.

22 Mar 2025 - 7:22PM

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.

2 Jan 2025 - 7:11PM

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.

31 Dec 2024 - 11:55AMvideocam

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.

1 Oct 2024 - 12:07AMvideocam

Glucose-lowering drugs and insulin injections often struggle to maintain precise blood sugar control for those living with diabetes. Photo: Shutterstock

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.

23 Sep 2024 - 5:00PMvideocam

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?

11 Aug 2024 - 12:00PM

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.

27 Jul 2024 - 2:19AM

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.

26 Jul 2024 - 5:57PM

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.

6 Jul 2024 - 6:00PM

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.

27 May 2024 - 4:34PMvideocam

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.

21 Apr 2024 - 11:03AM

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’.

15 Feb 2024 - 3:16PMvideocam

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.

7 Sep 2023 - 11:36AM

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.

9 Aug 2023 - 12:07AM

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.

27 Jul 2023 - 7:52AM

Science

Lab-grown human embryo models spark calls for regulation

Scientists have used stem cells to create structures that resemble human embryos in the lab, in a first that has prompted calls for stricter regulation in the rapidly advancing field.

20 Jun 2023 - 1:21PM

Researchers have pushed back against media reports calling their human embryo models ‘synthetic embryos’. File photo: Shuttestock

Science

China grows blood stem cells in groundbreaking space experiment: scientists

Cells cultivated on Tiangong space station’s lab module return to Earth, where they will continue to be tested and analysed, laying foundation for more studies on regenerative medicine in space, researchers say.

5 Jun 2023 - 11:53PMvideocam

Science

Team behind extreme animal gene experiment eyes human nuclear resistance

Modified human embryonic stem cells showed supernatural resistance against radiation, according to Academy of Military Sciences team in Beijing.

29 Mar 2023 - 9:30PMvideocam

Science

Scientists create baby mice from 2 males for first time

This raises the distant possibility of doing the same for people – although no one knows whether the same technique would work in human stem cells.

16 Mar 2023 - 11:11AMvideocam

The research is the latest to test new ways to create mouse embryos in the lab. File photo: Shutterstock

Disease

Man cured of HIV after stem cell transplant in Germany

The 53-year-old, known as the Düsseldorf Patient, is just the third person worldwide to be cured of the condition using the stem cell treatment.

21 Feb 2023 - 8:36AM

A nurse holds a ribbon in support of HIV and Aids awareness. Photo: Shutterstock

Food and Drinks

Will premium lab-grown caviar and foie gras be biotech’s newest gold mine?

Lab-grown caviar and foie gras could be biotech’s newest gold mine, as industry experts say, ‘being ethical is the new luxury’ – here’s what you need to know

12 Jan 2023 - 4:35PM

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Healthcare start-ups eye investors at Hong Kong’s global health summit

About 180 local and overseas healthcare start-ups to showcase innovations at Asia Summit on Global Health.

10 Nov 2022 - 12:19PM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW