Ep. 83: “Big Picture Zika” Featuring Dr. Hongjun Song

Guest: Dr. Hongjun Song is a Director of the Stem Cell Program at John Hopkins University. The research in the Song laboratory focuses on understanding mechanisms regulating neural stem cells and neurogenesis in the mammalian brain. He recently published a review regarding Zika virus, what’s known, how stem cells can help and we talk with him about this topic and more. Featured Resource: Neural Stem Cells Wallchart Resources and Links Cancer Death Rates Fall as Prevention, Treatment Advance – Deaths from cancer in the United States have dropped 25 percent since hitting a peak in 1991 attributed to reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment. Ebola Vaccine Proves Effective, Final Trial Results Show – This article reports that of 5,837 people in Guinea who received a single shot of the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, in the shoulder, none became infected with the Ebola virus 10 to 84 days after vaccination. Among High School Seniors, Interest in Science Varies by Race, Ethnicity – A majority of high school seniors in the U.S. say they enjoy science and around four-in-ten (44%) would like to have a job in the field although this tend to vary by race and ethnicity – a pattern that also is reflected in American students’ test scores in science. Figuring Out How Women Respond to Hormones – Researchers suppressed then added back the hormones estrogen and progesterone in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and found that their symptoms disappear only to re-emerge when the hormones were added back. NYSCF and PGP Announce Availability of Unique New Stem Cell Resource for Scientific Research – The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute and the Personal Genomes Project announced the availability of a unique new stem cell resource – the stem cell lines – for scientists around the world. Conversion of Terminally Committed Hepatocytes to Culturable Bipotent Progenitor Cells with Regenerative Capacity – Researchers report that a cocktail of small molecules, Y-27632, A-83-01, and CHIR99021, can convert rat and mouse mature hepatocytes in vitro into proliferative bipotent cells, which they called chemically induced liver progenitors. Synthetic Stem Cells to Regenerate Heart Tissue – American and Chinese researchers have developed synthetic cardiac stem cells that could have the same therapeutic impact as human stem cells, with the added benefit of reducing the risk of graft rejection in cellular therapy. Using Stem Cells to Grow Stomachs? – A study featured in the journal Nature reveals that researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center were able to grow human tissues in a laboratory using stem cell samples taken from the corpus/fundus region of the stomach. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Hongjun Song Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe