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A soft spot for stem cells helps cornea healing New research developed by scientists which reveals a potential revolutionary way to treat eye injuries and prevent blindness by softening the tissue hosting the stem cells. It has been discovered that a simple application of collagenase, a tissue softening enzyme prevents the loss of corneal stem cells following an injury and could prevent patients from losing their sight. This shows that keeping corneal stem cells in a soft environment is fundamental for their reproduction, self-renewal and ability to heal the damaged tissue. It offers hope to almost 500,000 people a year who lose their sight due to chemical burns including acid attacks.  Scientists were able to determine that the corneal stem cell niche, the area of tissue in the cornea where stem cells live is a much softer environment than the rest of the tissue and stiffening the niche causes stem cells to mature and lose their self-renewing and wound healing properties
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Could hair cell regeneration be a treatment for deafness? Researchers have proposed the use embryonic stem cells for in vitro inner ear studies to potentially be a treatment for deafness. Deafness due to disease, ageing or birth defects is caused by the loss of hair cells in the inner ear, the hairs which are responsible for the detection of equilibrium and sound. Currently, deafness is a progressive and irreversible condition in humans, with the typical treatment to be the use of hearing aids. The scientists proposed to use embryonic stem cells (ESCs) as a platform for in-vitro inner ear studies. Embryonic Stem cells establish an alternative and powerful approach to generate unlimited numbers of hair cells in a simple culture dish without the use of animals. Through genetic manipulation of embryonic stem cells to activate expression of these transcriptional regulators, a direct and robust conversion of stem cells into a hair cell phenotype was successfully achieved. Usi
Fasting May Regenerate Stem Cells in Humans Intestinal stem cells begin to lose their ability to regenerate according to age. These stem cells are the source for all new intestinal cells, so this decline can make it more difficult to recover from gastrointestinal infections or other conditions that affect the intestine. According to a new study, this age-related loss of stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast. The researchers found that fasting dramatically improves stem cells’ ability to regenerate, in both Young and aged mice. In fasting mice, cells begin breaking down fatty acids instead of glucose; this change stimulates the stem cells to become more regenerative. Such an intervention could potentially help older people recovering from GI infections or the cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Intestinal stem cells are responsible for maintaining the lining of the intestine, which typically renews itself in every five days. When an injury or any infection
Minimize scarring in cosmetic surgery Human skin is a complex tissue that shows properties that arise primarily from the alignment of the collagen fibers in the upper dermis layer of the skin, ultimately causing skin tension lines. These lines are essential during surgery, as they are used to guide incisions that produce the least conspicuous scars. While there are many skin tension guidelines which helps surgeons make incisions that create invisible scars, skin anisotropy or the skin's property of having directionally dependent mechanical properties. Scientists have developed a new device that could help in minimise the scarring during or after surgery by ascertaining the orientation of skin tension lines, which is very much important for wound-healing after surgery. If we make incisions across the direction that collagen is aligned, the risk of keloid scar formation is increased but when we cut along the direction of the aligned collagen then wounds heals better
CAN STEM CELLS HELP WITH AGING? What is aging? Aging is a natural process. Over time, the cells of the body become damaged and die gradually. Dead cells are replaced too slowly to reimburse for this loss. The signs of aging are begin to appear along with health issues like impaired hearing and vision, loss of muscle strength and bone mass, decreased immunity and cognition, and inefficient metabolism. Aging cells contribute to disease. If aging in the cells can be prevented, slowed down or reversed, many diseases could be controlled or cured. Stem cell research and advanced regenerative medicine therapies are being looked at for providing solutions to many of life’s problems. What are Stem Cells? Stem cells have the ability to change, evolve, duplicate, and adapt into other types of cells the essence of body regeneration. Stem cells have the potential to develop into many cell types in our body. They generally lie dormant in bone marrow and fat stores. MSCs are the bes
Best foods for Wound Healing Our body requires nutrients from a variety of healthy foods in order to heal wounds effectively. What we eat is one of the key factors that determine how quickly our body will heal. Eating foods that are high in protein for wound healing has long-term benefits as every cell in the human body contains protein. Scientific research has disclosed a great insight into food that can delay wound-healing and how certain foods containing proteins, nutrients and vitamins can speed up wound healing . Eating protein-rich foods is one of the best things that we can do to help heal our wounds. Below is some best protein rich food that promotes wound healing. 1.   Nuts : Like beans, legumes & nuts are an excellent source of protein. Cashews, Peanuts, and almonds all have high amounts of protein. We can snack on nuts throughout the day to enhance the wound-healing process. It’s a healthier habit than turning to chips or fast foods when we are craving a sna
Why we need to Stop Vaping before Surgery The health hazards of smoking have been recorded for decades, but the research on vaping the smoking of electronic cigarettes, is still in its infancy. It’s the nicotine in cigarettes, which leads to the habit of smoking and poor healing, anaesthesia risks and a host of other potential complications for a surgery patient.  Electronic cigarettes often are characterized as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco products but vaping liquid contains nicotine, which significantly increases the risk for complications related to surgery and anaesthesia. Nicotine tightens blood vessels and decreases healthy circulation of blood, which delays healing and can lead to poor scarring, infection and other dangerous complications. Nicotine starves healing tissues of critical blood supply: Nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor; it shrinks the blood vessels and decreases healthy circulation of blood, which is very much essential for tissue