EuroStemCell September 2014 Newsletter: Creative stem cells

As September comes to a close, we’ve got a newsletter packed with creativity and colour! If you are anything like us, you will be wondering how you can get yourself to Sherbrooke or Barcelona to visit the amazing public stem cell exhibits that are currently open. Or failing that, perhaps you would like to drop into the launch of our latest short film on Cell Fates in Heidelberg?  The film was made in collaboration with colleagues at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona and if you can’t make it, we’ll let you know when it is available to view online.

Please do pass on the word about these events to your colleagues and friends, and don’t forget you can also search for upcoming events in our events calendar or on our stem cell map. If you are staying nearer your computer, have a look at the blog post from our newest blogger and illustrator, Vanessa de Mello on the naming of signalling pathways. Or, catch up on some of the headline-hitting stem cell research news stories.

The 26th of September was both European Languages Day and European Researchers Night 2014!  In celebration of this we are releasing the next set of our resources and factsheets in German – we’ve linked to them at the bottom of this newsletter.  For those of you who were busy at European Researchers Night, we’d love to hear about your experiences. Please get in touch using our contact form.

As ever, we’re keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved with EuroStemCell. If you’re interested in writing for us, helping translate, have comments or suggestions, or just want to say hello, get in touch via Twitter or Facebook.

Enjoy the newsletter!

P.S. We’ve got some good news – have a look at the end of the newsletter!

Super Cells science exhibit launches first leg of 5-year international tour

There’s the Builder, the Renewer, the Regenerator and a tricky little character known as the Transformer. These four unusual and charming superheroes are the guides in a new science exhibit to be officially launched today at the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science. Their goal? To show museum visitors the power and wonder of stem cells, our body’s master cells. Read more

 

CRG produces stunning art/science exhibition in Barcelona

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona and partners have produced a stunning and unique art/science exhibition titled “Tree of Life. The complexity of life: from the cell to the living organism“.  The exhibition is open to the public at Palau Robert (Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona) through support by the Banc Sabadell Foundation.  It aims to both share the work done at the CRG, and reveal the beauty and uniqueness of the images, showing the parallels and synergies between art and science. Read more

 

What’s in a name? Pathways in development

In this blog, Vanessa De Mello (Hippo pathway enthusiast and PhD student in the Musculoskeletal group, University of Aberdeen) explores the names behind signalling pathways that control stem cells. During growth and development the cells that make up our body need to be precisely controlled. If a ‘stop signal’ is constantly given cells will not grow and divide. But if the lights are continually green, too many cells will grow leading to problems like cancer. It is the ‘developmental signalling pathways’ that control this and give our cells instructions on when to grow, divide, or die. Read more

 

Researchers grow ‘seed’ of spinal cord tissue in a dish

Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists have for the first time managed to turn stem cells into the specialised cells that go on to form spinal cord, muscle and bone tissue in the growing embryo. Their discovery could lead to a new way of studying degenerative conditions such as spinal muscular atrophy, which affects the nerve cells in the spinal column, and may pave the way for future treatments for this and other neuromuscular conditions. Read more

 

Scientists reset human stem cells to earliest developmental state

Scientists have successfully ‘reset’ human pluripotent stem cells to the earliest developmental state – equivalent to cells found in an embryo before it implants in the womb (7-9 days old). These ‘pristine’ stem cells may mark the true starting point for human development, but have until now been impossible to replicate in the lab. Read more

 

 

Film Launch: Cell Fate – Journeys to specialisation. Heidlberg 12th October

EuroStemCell is delighted to invite members of the public, teachers and schools students are to join us in Heidlberg on the 12th of October (18:00) for the launch of our new dynamic film about stem cells.  Produced by award winning science documentary makers, in collaboration with stem cell scientists, this engaging film combines film with animation to create a new perspective on this topic. Read more

 

 

 

 

Continued funding for EuroStemCell

EuroStemCell is delighted to announce that we have been successful in securing continued funding under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 funding programme.  This means that EuroStemCell, with its strong collaboration of partners, will continue to support the scientific community to engage with citizens, teachers, patients, patient support groups, regulators, policy makers, parlimentarians, journalists…and the many more parties with a strong interest in stem cell research.  As well as continuing our current activity, we will be initiating some new and exciting branches of the project with the aim of developing the project and increasing the impact of our activities – watch this space! The EC have produced a news story about the project which can be read here. Read more

New resources translated into German.  

With thanks to the German Stem Cell Network for their support with the translation of these resources and factsheets.