Ep. 71: “Stem Cells and Breast Cancer” Featuring Dr. Christine Pratt

Guest: We bring on professor and researcher Dr. Christine Pratt from the University of Ottawa to discuss her research on breast cancer. Resources and Links 2016 Republican Platform against Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Other Science Issues – Live Science examined the Republican Party’s platform against embryonic stem cell research, climate change, fetal tissue research, and other science issues. US behind in Road Safety – The United States tops 19 other high-income countries on overall death rate due to motor vehicle crashes. Antibiotics May Help Fight Alzheimer’s Disease – This article reveals that a long course of antibiotics reduced the levels of a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of mice, possibly by changing the species of bacteria in the gut. Biting Your Nails and Sucking Your Thumb Might Have Some Positive Effects – Kids who sucked their thumbs or chewed their nails had lower rates of allergic reactions in lab tests. New Brain Map Most Detailed Yet – Scientists have drawn a new map of the human brain with each side of the outer layer of the brain parceled into 180 distinct areas. Cerebrospinal Fluid Signals Control the Behavior of Stem Cells in the Brain – The choroid plexus, a largely ignored structure in the brain that produces the cerebrospinal fluid, is an important regulator of adult neural stem cells. Cartilage Grown from Stem Cells Could Replace Hip Implants – Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cytex Therapeutics have found a way to program stem cells to grow new cartilage on a 3D template of the ball of a hip joint. Molecular Obstacles to Clinical Translation of iPSCs – This article discusses whether the therapeutic obstacles of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) clones are specific to transcription-factor-mediated reprogramming or inherent to every cellular reprogramming method. Conversion of Human Gastric Epithelial Cells to Multipotent Endodermal Progenitors Using Defined Small Molecules – Researchers describe the derivation of human induced endodermal progenitor cells from gastrointestinal epithelial cells using a cocktail of defined small molecules along with support from tissue-specific mesenchymal feeders. A New Bio-Ink for 3D Printing with Stem Cells – Scientists at the University of Bristol have developed a new kind of bio-ink, which could eventually allow the production of complex tissues for surgical implants. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Christine Pratt Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe