https://www.scmp.com/rss/34372/feed 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. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Kyodo Kyodo Japan’s health ministry panel on Thursday approved the commercialisation of two regenerative medicine products prepared from iPS cells, the first of their kind in the world. The two drugs, ReHeart developed by Cuorips, a start-up originating from the University of Osaka, and Amchepry by Sumitomo Pharma and Racthera, will be used for patients with severe heart failure stemming from ischemic cardiomyopathy and Parkinson’s disease, respectively. “I am very happy to see the first big step towards... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3344036/japan-approves-worlds-first-regenerative-medicines-using-ips-cells?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3344036/japan-approves-worlds-first-regenerative-medicines-using-ips-cells?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:31:09 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng Chinese medical experts have created an ultra-efficient stem cell approach to Parkinson’s disease, raising prospects for treatment for a condition for which there is no known cure. Parkinson’s disease is often referred to as a “movement disorder”. Its symptoms are caused by the brain failing to generate enough dopamine, due to the death or impairment of the neurons responsible for producing the chemical. While researchers around the world are exploring stem cell therapies to replenish lost... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3335179/chinese-scientists-develop-promising-stem-cell-therapy-parkinsons-disease?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3335179/chinese-scientists-develop-promising-stem-cell-therapy-parkinsons-disease?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2025 22:00:10 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Could the secrets of Albert Einstein’s brain – preserved since his death in 1955 – be unlocked by modern Chinese technology? A new technique developed by Chinese scientists has shown potential in analysing old biological samples, including cancer tissues stored for nearly 10 years under less than ideal conditions. While cautious about the challenges posed by ageing preservation methods, the team behind the advanced RNA-mapping technology known as Stereo-seq V2 does not rule out the possibility... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3326104/can-chinas-new-tech-crack-einsteins-brain-scientists-hope-give-it-try?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3326104/can-chinas-new-tech-crack-einsteins-brain-scientists-hope-give-it-try?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:00:09 +0000 Danielle Popov Danielle Popov An Israeli hospital that has achieved a breakthrough in cultivating kidneys in laboratories is seeking funding, including from China, to advance into clinical trials, according to the project’s lead researcher. Sheba Medical Centre, in collaboration with Tel Aviv University, said it had successfully grown a synthetic 3D organ culture, or organoid, that was the first to survive beyond 34 weeks, marking a significant milestone in regenerative medicine. Previous attempts had not exceeded four... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3322904/israeli-hospital-pioneers-lab-grown-kidneys-seeks-china-biotech-funding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3322904/israeli-hospital-pioneers-lab-grown-kidneys-seeks-china-biotech-funding?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 04:00:16 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China has sent a living “mini-brain” – a chip the size of a credit card containing human brain cells and blood vessels – to its Tiangong space station to find out how space messes with the mind. Researchers aboard the International Space Station have previously used brain cell cultures and early-stage brain organoids to study ageing and disorders such as Alzheimer’s. But China’s experiment appears to be the first time a highly integrated brain chip featuring blood-brain barrier functions has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318590/how-does-space-affect-mind-china-sends-mini-brain-tiangong-find-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3318590/how-does-space-affect-mind-china-sends-mini-brain-tiangong-find-out?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:00:10 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang Chinese scientists have, for the first time, cultivated a beating heart structure with human cells in a pig embryo, reporting that the heart continued to beat for 21 days unaided. The study, led by Lai Liangxue’s team from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was announced at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual meeting in Hong Kong on June 12. Previously, the team had cultivated human kidneys in pigs for up to 28... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316851/human-heart-structure-beats-21-days-pig-embryo-says-chinese-chimera-research-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316851/human-heart-structure-beats-21-days-pig-embryo-says-chinese-chimera-research-team?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jul 2025 02:00:13 +0000 Sammy Heung Sammy Heung Scientists from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) are attempting to integrate 3D-printed respiratory tissue with lab-grown “mini-organs” to help patients in need of transplants in the future. Professor Michael Chan Chi-wai from HKU’s Centre for Immunology and Infection said his team was looking to produce personalised 3D-printed airways for burn victims using organoids or “mini-organs” grown from patients’ own cells collected through a single oral swab. “Airways are one of our strengths and an... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3316510/university-hong-kong-scientists-explore-growing-organs-3d-printing-tech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3316510/university-hong-kong-scientists-explore-growing-organs-3d-printing-tech?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 02:00:21 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Chinese scientists say they have restored the damaged outer ear in mice, a mammal that lacks natural regenerative abilities. The researchers said the pathway they identified could be applied to different tissue types and play a significant role in advancing regeneration in vertebrates. The team found that a mouse’s failure to regenerate stemmed from an inability to produce sufficient retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A that regulates what cell type emerges during a cell’s development and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316131/mammals-could-regenerate-damaged-tissue-turning-genetic-switch-chinese-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3316131/mammals-could-regenerate-damaged-tissue-turning-genetic-switch-chinese-team?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:00:10 +0000 Carolina Malis Carolina Malis Skin changes are part of life, but who says your skin can’t stay as fresh and vibrant as you feel? An exciting approach to skincare revolves around tapping into the body’s own powers to regenerate. The secret? Biological materials – your own blood, fat and stem cells – turned into powerful, bespoke skincare solutions that support natural renewal. These cutting-edge procedures are grounded in regenerative medicine – historically used to treat injuries, but now entering the beauty sphere. Take... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/trends/article/3310609/why-science-behind-kim-kardashians-vampire-facial-remains-popular-platelet-rich-plasma-therapy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/trends/article/3310609/why-science-behind-kim-kardashians-vampire-facial-remains-popular-platelet-rich-plasma-therapy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:10 +0000 Tim Noonan Tim Noonan By the summer of 2014, a lifetime of ugly golf swings had finally caught up with me. After day two of a three-day golf tournament in Thailand, I woke up with a debilitating pain, like someone had inserted a knife into my left shoulder and was sadistically twisting it. Even worse, I could no longer lift my left arm more than an inch or two from my hip. Forty-eight hours later, sitting in a top international hospital in Bangkok, my CAT scans were up on a screen. “Yup,” the doctor said impassively.... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/wellness/article/3304744/struggling-severe-or-chronic-pain-novel-therapy-may-be-answer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/wellness/article/3304744/struggling-severe-or-chronic-pain-novel-therapy-may-be-answer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2025 01:00:11 +0000 A stem cell treatment helped improve the motor function of two out of four patients with a spinal cord injury in the first clinical study of its kind, Japanese scientists said. There is currently no effective treatment for paralysis caused by serious spinal cord injuries, which affect more than 150,000 patients in Japan alone, with 5,000 new cases each year. Researchers at Tokyo’s Keio University are conducting their study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) – created by stimulating... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3303473/japanese-stem-cell-research-helps-treat-spinal-injuries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3303473/japanese-stem-cell-research-helps-treat-spinal-injuries?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Mar 2025 11:22:09 +0000 Harvey Kong Harvey Kong The outgoing president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has said he will focus on medical research and remain involved in academia after his tenure ends next week. Professor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi also said that one of the most unforgettable experiences during his seven years at the helm of the university was the “unprecedented challenges” created by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to remarks published in a university newsletter on Thursday. He will step down as president and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3293171/outgoing-cuhk-head-focus-medical-research-remain-involved-academia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3293171/outgoing-cuhk-head-focus-medical-research-remain-involved-academia?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2025 09:21:51 +0000 Pythons may provide the answer to regrowing human guts affected by disease. A group of researchers led by the University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States, found the snakes, among the world’s largest, regrow their intestines after going without a meal for prolonged periods, in a way similar to mammals and other animals during embryonic development and when a wound heals. It also resembles the process that occurs in a person’s intestines after a gastric bypass, suggesting humans and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3291481/new-understanding-about-how-snakes-regrow-their-guts-could-help-treat-human-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3291481/new-understanding-about-how-snakes-regrow-their-guts-could-help-treat-human-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2024 20:15:07 +0000 Zhang Tong Zhang Tong Chinese scientists have reported the world’s first case of using cell transplants to treat type 1 diabetes. The patient, a 25-year-old who had the chronic condition for over a decade, was able to naturally regulate her blood sugar some 2½ months after undergoing the minimally invasive surgery, Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper reported on Saturday. According to the report, the surgery took just half an hour. The team behind the breakthrough published their findings in the peer-reviewed... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3280444/chinese-woman-finds-type-1-diabetes-reversed-after-stem-cell-transplant-world-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3280444/chinese-woman-finds-type-1-diabetes-reversed-after-stem-cell-transplant-world-first?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Sep 2024 04:00:08 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Chinese scientists have created a type of self-renewing stem cell from giant pandas for the first time, an important step for the conservation and preservation of the animals and possibly other endangered species. The researchers from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health said their technique could overcome constraints on safeguarding the genetic diversity of pandas, and allow for more advanced research, including into their... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3279554/chinese-scientists-hope-panda-stem-cell-breakthrough-can-help-species-survive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3279554/chinese-scientists-hope-panda-stem-cell-breakthrough-can-help-species-survive?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Sep 2024 09:00:09 +0000 When getting a facial at a spa, one of the most important elements is the exclusivity of the products used. If they are available at your neighbourhood pharmacy or a fancy department store, you can easily get your hands on them yourself and indulge in an at-home facial, like many beauty aficionados learned to do during the pandemic. If, however, a spa offers a treatment performed with a skincare line not available anywhere else, that’s a great incentive to check it out. The Cell Premium No 1... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/wellness/article/3273834/why-you-should-book-stem-cell-based-facial-hong-kong-cell-premium-no-1-prestige-stem-cell-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/beauty/wellness/article/3273834/why-you-should-book-stem-cell-based-facial-hong-kong-cell-premium-no-1-prestige-stem-cell-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Aug 2024 04:00:11 +0000 Hong Kong received its second cross-border cord blood transfer from Guangdong province on Thursday to treat a five-year-old girl who suffers from a severe form of blood disorder thalassaemia. The donated cord blood could provide a source of stem cells for transplant to the girl and potentially cure her, according to doctors from Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. The Post takes a look at why storing cord blood has become popular in recent years among new parents and whether it is necessary. 1. What... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3272087/why-store-cord-blood-and-what-are-its-benefits-after-hong-kongs-recent-cross-border-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3272087/why-store-cord-blood-and-what-are-its-benefits-after-hong-kongs-recent-cross-border-transfer?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:03:33 +0000 An umbilical cord blood unit has been transferred from Guangdong province to Hong Kong to help a five-year-old girl suffering from the inherited blood disorder thalassemia, the second cross-border transfer of its kind since 2018. Doctors at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where the girl is being treated, on Thursday expected a stem cell transplant to be ready as soon as October after more preparations, including procedural tests on the cord blood. The cord blood was from the girl’s younger... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3271896/hong-kong-receives-second-cross-border-cord-blood-transfer-treat-girl-5?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3271896/hong-kong-receives-second-cross-border-cord-blood-transfer-treat-girl-5?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:04:19 +0000 Yating Yang Yating Yang An emotional graduation ceremony has been held solely for one student in China who missed the official event because he was donating stem cells. On June 14, the Jingdezhen Ceramic University in Jiangxi province, southeast China, organised the special event for Xie Zhilong, whose physical education degree course began in 2020. Despite hosting for just one graduate, the ceremony was conducted with full honours. A trending online video shows Xie walking onto the stage where the vice-principal and... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3267180/china-university-holds-special-graduation-life-saving-student-who-missed-official-ceremony?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3267180/china-university-holds-special-graduation-life-saving-student-who-missed-official-ceremony?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jul 2024 10:00:09 +0000 For patients battling diabetes, a group of Chinese scientists and clinicians may offer a glimmer of hope. For the first time in the world, a patient’s diabetes has reportedly been cured using cell therapy. The patient, a 59-year-old man who had been living with type 2 diabetes for 25 years, was at serious risk of complications from the disease. He had a kidney transplant in 2017, but had lost most of his pancreatic islet function which controls blood glucose levels, and relied on multiple... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3263878/chinese-scientists-report-world-first-they-cure-patients-diabetes-cell-therapy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3263878/chinese-scientists-report-world-first-they-cure-patients-diabetes-cell-therapy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 May 2024 02:00:13 +0000 Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious, with some now pursuing legal action, after a major operator of cord-blood banks in Asia irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. The scandal now engulfing Cordlife Group Ltd. has implications across the region, given its operations in Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3259780/singapore-stem-cell-bank-scandal-gives-parents-hong-kong-philippines-india-jitters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3259780/singapore-stem-cell-bank-scandal-gives-parents-hong-kong-philippines-india-jitters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2024 03:02:15 +0000 Chinese scientists are conducting trials on a new treatment that could become the first therapy in the world to reverse and repair the damage caused by a severe lung disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is primarily caused by smoking and household pollution, obstructs airflow and causes breathing problems in about 700 million people globally. It is the third leading cause of death in the world, however there is no treatment to repair lung cells damaged by the condition,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252047/chinese-team-tests-lung-treatment-may-be-first-reverse-damage-chronic-disease-affecting-700-million?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3252047/chinese-team-tests-lung-treatment-may-be-first-reverse-damage-chronic-disease-affecting-700-million?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Feb 2024 07:15:34 +0000 Scientists have developed human embryo-like structures without using sperm, an egg or fertilisation, offering hope for research on miscarriage and birth defects but also raising fresh ethical concerns. Earlier this year, several labs around the world released preprint studies describing their development of early human embryo-like structures. That work has not yet been peer-reviewed, but now one group’s research has been published in the journal Nature, describing how they coaxed human embryonic... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3233681/scientists-create-human-embryo-models-without-sperm-or-egg?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3233681/scientists-create-human-embryo-models-without-sperm-or-egg?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Sep 2023 03:36:43 +0000 A decade on from the world’s first cultivated beef burger, a Dutch start-up is luring a dwindling pool of investor funds with stem-cell technology that can rapidly grow slaughter-free sausages. Meatable is betting that its use of patented technology and so-called pluripotent stem cells, which can grow a pork sausage in only eight days, will give it an edge over other cultivated meat start-ups. The company has just raised US$35 million to scale up the process and bring products like pork... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3230333/singapore-get-sausages-lab-grown-just-8-days-thanks-dutch-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3230333/singapore-get-sausages-lab-grown-just-8-days-thanks-dutch-start?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Aug 2023 03:32:45 +0000 Kenneth Kleinberg had it all. A hotshot Hollywood lawyer and founding partner of Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo, he represented A-listers such as author J.K. Rowling, actors Johnny Depp and Jack Nicholson, musicians Mick Jagger and Toby Keith, and brands such as Lego. At the age of 56, he was as healthy as he was hardworking, with barely a complaint or a niggle. But that all changed in the late 1990s while on a business trip to the French city of Cannes, when he woke one morning feeling puffy and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3228952/synthetic-kidney-transplants-could-be-less-10-years-away-thanks-hollywood-lawyer-stars-who-funded?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3228952/synthetic-kidney-transplants-could-be-less-10-years-away-thanks-hollywood-lawyer-stars-who-funded?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:15:09 +0000 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. Several different labs around the world have released preprint studies in the past seven days describing their research, which experts said should be treated with caution as the research has not yet been peer-reviewed. The labs used different techniques to encourage human embryonic stem cells, which can become any... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3224700/lab-grown-human-embryo-models-spark-calls-regulation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3224700/lab-grown-human-embryo-models-spark-calls-regulation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jun 2023 05:21:12 +0000 Chinese scientists say they have conducted a first-of-its-kind experiment to produce blood stem cells in space. The stem cells were brought back to Earth by the Shenzhou 15 spacecraft on Sunday after being cultured for half a month in the Wentian lab module of China’s Tiangong space station. Lei Xiaohua, a researcher with the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who led the experiment, said his team would carry out testing and analysis of the cells. After... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3223020/china-grows-blood-stem-cells-space-what-scientists-say-first-its-kind-experiment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3223020/china-grows-blood-stem-cells-space-what-scientists-say-first-its-kind-experiment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2023 14:00:11 +0000 A team of military medical scientists in China says it has inserted a gene from the microscopic water bear into human embryonic stem cells and significantly increased these cells’ resistance to radiation. They said success in this unprecedented experiment could lead to super-tough soldiers who could survive nuclear fallout. From water bear to super soldier The water bear, also known as tardigrade or moss piglet, is an eight-legged animal smaller than 1 millimetre long and the hardiest creature... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3215286/chinese-team-behind-extreme-animal-gene-experiment-says-it-may-lead-super-soldiers-who-survive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3215286/chinese-team-behind-extreme-animal-gene-experiment-says-it-may-lead-super-soldiers-who-survive?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Mar 2023 13:30:11 +0000 Scientists have created baby mice with two fathers for the first time by turning male mouse stem cells into female cells in a lab. This raises the distant possibility of doing the same for people – although experts caution that very few mouse embryos were born alive and no one knows whether the same technique would work in human stem cells. Still, “It’s a very clever strategy that’s been developed for converting male stem cells to female stem cells,” said Diana Laird, a stem cell and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3213696/scientists-create-baby-mice-2-males-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3213696/scientists-create-baby-mice-2-males-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Mar 2023 03:11:00 +0000 A man has been cured of HIV after a stem cell transplant, researchers say. The 53-year-old, known as the Düsseldorf Patient, is just the third person worldwide to be cured of the condition using the treatment. He has been off antiretroviral medication (which involves taking drugs to suppress the virus) for four years without relapse. As in the case of the other two patients (Berlin Patient and London Patient), the transplant was conducted to treat an acute disorder of the blood, in his case... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3210898/patient-cured-hiv-after-stem-cell-transplant-germany-researchers-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3210898/patient-cured-hiv-after-stem-cell-transplant-germany-researchers-say?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Feb 2023 18:03:59 +0000 The race is on to be the first company to sell lab-grown meat in a supermarket: Israel’s SuperMeat is working on lab-grown poultry, as is Upside Foods in Tennessee. A rival Israeli firm, Aleph Farms, has doubled down on cell-cultured steak and Finless Foods in California is working on animal-free tuna. They all promise to bring cruelty-free protein to the table in the next few years. Yet each futuristic firm is following the same strategy that’s likely to stumble for one crucial reason:... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3206552/lab-grown-caviar-and-foie-gras-why-premium-cell-cultured-meats-are-set-be-biotechs-newest-gold-mine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3206552/lab-grown-caviar-and-foie-gras-why-premium-cell-cultured-meats-are-set-be-biotechs-newest-gold-mine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jan 2023 08:35:01 +0000 Local and overseas healthcare start-ups are eyeing potential investors at Hong Kong’s second Asia global health summit to implement their cutting-edge findings and bring fresh ideas to the sector. The Asia Summit on Global Health, to be held from Thursday to Friday, will showcase innovations from about 180 healthcare start-ups, including Cognitact, led by a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology research team that developed a blood test to provide a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3199054/healthcare-start-ups-eye-potential-investors-hong-kongs-global-health-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3199054/healthcare-start-ups-eye-potential-investors-hong-kongs-global-health-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Nov 2022 23:00:16 +0000 A team of scientists in China has discovered a new subtype of neural stem cell that is key to brain regeneration in the axolotl, an animal capable of regrowing lost body parts. The scientists said their research on the amphibian could potentially improve the regenerative capability of the brains of humans and other mammals in future. The axolotl is an aquatic salamander able to regenerate cells in their brain, heart, limbs, spinal cord, tail, skin, jaw and muscle as well as the cornea, retina... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3191927/chinese-scientists-find-axolotls-ability-regenerate-after-injury?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3191927/chinese-scientists-find-axolotls-ability-regenerate-after-injury?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Sep 2022 09:00:21 +0000 For Carrie Chan Kai-yi, a Hong Kong architect-turned alternative protein entrepreneur, setting up a business in the uncharted and commercially unproven world of lab-grown seafood was a calling she could not resist. The more she learned about the ways climate change and pollution are damaging marine ecosystems and how the nascent business of using stem cells to grow meat was gaining traction in Western markets, the more convinced she was about setting up such a venture in Asia. It was enough to... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3183804/how-climate-change-and-overfishing-drove-hong-kong-property?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3183804/how-climate-change-and-overfishing-drove-hong-kong-property?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2022 02:00:16 +0000 Chinese scientists say they have found a way to reprogram stem cells so they have potential to generate an entire organism. In a study on mice cells published in the journal Nature journal on Tuesday, Tsinghua University researchers said the stem cells could create life without the need for reproductive cells. Ding Sheng, a professor at the university’s school of pharmaceutical sciences and corresponding author of the study, said the research had a wide range of implications, from replication of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3182699/it-can-create-life-chinese-team-claim-stem-cell-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3182699/it-can-create-life-chinese-team-claim-stem-cell-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jun 2022 20:00:10 +0000 A team in the Babraham Institute in Cambridge has successfully rejuvenated a 53-year-old woman’s skin cells to look and behave like a 23-year-old’s, the research centre announced on Thursday. The team had initially set out to create embryonic stem cells, which can divide into any type of cell in the body, using adult cells. Nobel Award winner Shinya Yamanaka, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan, first turned “normal” cells that have a specific function into stem cells back in 2006. The BBC... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3173664/scientists-rejuvenate-53-year-old-womans-skin-making-cells-30?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3173664/scientists-rejuvenate-53-year-old-womans-skin-making-cells-30?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Apr 2022 22:37:45 +0000 A joint research team from China and the US have created the first part-human, part-monkey embryos with the aim of transforming organ transplants, as some critics warned it could “open Pandora’s box”. The researchers grew the mixed embryos, or chimeras, in test tubes for up to 20 days, said a paper published on Thursday in the journal Cell. “This is not a work of bad taste, but [one] of highly practical value,” lead author Tan Tao, of Kunming University of Science and Technology, was quoted by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3129910/china-us-scientists-grow-first-human-monkey-embryo-it-ethical?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3129910/china-us-scientists-grow-first-human-monkey-embryo-it-ethical?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:59:04 +0000 There is a high probability that the first person to live to a thousand has already been born. So says one of the world’s top ageing scientists, British biomedical gerontologist Dr Aubrey de Grey. In the near future, we might check ourselves in to a clinic every decade for a service, similar to what we do with cars, to keep our body running at peak condition for centuries. It may sound far fetched – dreams of immortality are as old as humanity itself. But de Grey keeps reducing the amount of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/well-being/article/3075102/can-we-live-be-1000-years-old-how-science-mission-slow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/well-being/article/3075102/can-we-live-be-1000-years-old-how-science-mission-slow?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2020 12:00:15 +0000 In late 2018, Chinese researcher He Jiankui roiled the scientific world by announcing he had helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, altering the DNA of Chinese twin girls Lula and Nana to try to make them resistant to HIV, the virus that causes Aids. The scandal brought attention to the scientific, ethical, social and legal challenges of research into gene editing, with a panel convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO) director general saying in March that it would be... https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/3041935/year-chinas-gene-edited-baby-scandal-heres-how-technology-has?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/3041935/year-chinas-gene-edited-baby-scandal-heres-how-technology-has?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Dec 2019 23:30:11 +0000 There is a big reason some women dread the arrival of summer (and we’re not talking about squeezing into a bikini). As temperatures rise, so do the humidity levels, causing hair to frizz to epic proportions. Fortunately, a temporary solution appeared around 10 years ago when hairdressers began to offer in-salon hair smoothing treatments that promised to tame unruly tresses into sleek manes. “The hair smoothing craze started in South America and became popular thanks to a specific product called... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3021472/frizzy-hair-days-how-hair-smoothing-tames-summer-locks-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3021472/frizzy-hair-days-how-hair-smoothing-tames-summer-locks-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Aug 2019 04:30:13 +0000 After years of back pain, Timothy Lunceford decided in July to try an injection of umbilical cord blood, an unproven treatment increasingly touted by chiropractors and pain doctors as a cure for achy joints. A day after he got the shots, Lunceford’s back began throbbing. After two days, he was feverish and could hardly move. “It felt like someone stuck a knife into the middle of my back and just left it there,” said Lunceford, a 52-year-old wildlife biologist from Athens, Texas. Lunceford said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2187988/dirty-umbilical-cord-blood-miraculous-stem-cell-cure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2187988/dirty-umbilical-cord-blood-miraculous-stem-cell-cure?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Feb 2019 19:09:54 +0000 Isaac Newton did not understand gravity. Albert Einstein misled the world. And India pioneered the science behind test-tube babies thousands of years ago. These were some of the wilder theories on offer at a major Indian science conference held at the weekend and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To open the Indian Science Congress, Modi spoke of India’s ambition to send three people to space by 2022. But the lecture that made the most headlines was an attempt to link ancient Indian... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2181082/hindu-nationalists-cite-legends-and-scriptures-evidence-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2181082/hindu-nationalists-cite-legends-and-scriptures-evidence-ancient?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jan 2019 18:16:03 +0000 China’s science authorities vowed on Tuesday to get to the bottom of whether biologist He Jiankui bypassed regulations to create what he says are the world’s first genetically edited children. The commitment came a day after He announced in a YouTube video that healthy twin sisters were born in China earlier this month from embryos he and a team of researchers modified to switch off an HIV-related gene. The twins’ father was HIV-positive and the intervention was meant to prevent the children... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2175303/china-investigate-whether-shocking-gene-edited-twins-research?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/2175303/china-investigate-whether-shocking-gene-edited-twins-research?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Nov 2018 14:34:13 +0000 The Hong Kong government on Tuesday moved a step closer to regulating stem cell treatment and other “advanced therapy” products in the city as it launched a two-month consultation following recent cases of serious blunders in beauty salon procedures. In a statement, authorities proposed classifying the services – including gene therapy, somatic cell therapy and tissue engineering – under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, which would require amending the law. Stem cells, in particular, are used... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2140147/hong-kong-beauty-salon-blunders-spark-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2140147/hong-kong-beauty-salon-blunders-spark-move?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:15:30 +0000 The credibility of stem cell research is at risk because of charlatans and dodgy clinics peddling unproven cures for diseases, according to a group of eminent scientists in the field. Stem cell research, or regenerative medicine, has great potential and already delivered some breakthroughs, but its future is threatened by poor science, unrealistic hopes, unclear funding models and unscrupulous private clinics, the scientists said in The Lancet medical journal. A special Lancet commission made up... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/2114129/dodgy-clinics-shoddy-science-and-false-hopes-how-stem-cell-research-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/2114129/dodgy-clinics-shoddy-science-and-false-hopes-how-stem-cell-research-being?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 08:16:20 +0000 Researchers in Japan have used human stem cells to create tiny human livers like those that arise early in fetal life. When the scientists transplanted the rudimentary livers into mice, the little organs grew, made human liver proteins, and metabolised drugs as human livers do. They and others caution that these are early days and this is still very much basic research. The liver "buds" did not turn into complete livers, and the method would have to be scaled up enormously to treat a patient.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1275445/breakthrough-human-liver-grows-stem-cell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1275445/breakthrough-human-liver-grows-stem-cell?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Two men with HIV have been off Aids drugs for several months after receiving stem-cell transplants for cancer that appear to have cleared the virus from their bodies, researchers reported. Both patients, who were treated in Boston and had been on long-term drug therapy to control their HIV, received stem-cell transplants after developing lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Since the transplants, doctors have been unable to find any evidence of HIV infection, Timothy Henrich of Harvard Medical... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1275446/stem-cell-transplants-clear-hiv-patients-researchers-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1275446/stem-cell-transplants-clear-hiv-patients-researchers-report?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 US researchers have reported a breakthrough in stem cell research, describing how they have turned human skin cells into embryonic stem cells for the first time. The method described on Wednesday by Oregon State University scientists in the journal Cell, would not likely be able to create human clones, said Shoukhrat Mitalipov, senior scientist at the Oregon National Primate Research Centre. But it is an important step in research because it does not require the use of embryos in creating the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1239053/researchers-make-embryonic-stem-cells-skin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1239053/researchers-make-embryonic-stem-cells-skin?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2013 10:30:09 +0000 Imagine this: a car crash victim who suffers serious trauma to the brain avoids neurological damage after the doctors regenerate his lost brain matter using stem cells in the lab. In the future, this could become reality. A research team from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has tried this in experimental trials on rats and mice with positive results. At the scientific AAAS annual meeting in Boston yesterday, Paolo Macchiarini, a professor of regenerative surgery at Sweden's Karolinska Institute,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1153156/grow-your-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1153156/grow-your-own?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Working out how to avoid Alzheimer's Work out now and continue to reap the benefits later. A new study in the United States has found that having a higher fitness level in midlife appears to be associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia in later years.  Between 1970 and 2009, researchers at a community health clinic carried out an exercise treadmill test to assess the baseline fitness levels of 19,458 non-elderly, community-dwelling adults who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1143181/health-bites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1143181/health-bites?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000