Stem cells

In addition to all of the nutrients flowing from mother to fetus, some of the developing child's cells pass back into the mother's body. New research shows how this fetal microchimerism may affect long-term health

This Web-only article is a special rich-media presentation of the feature, "Your Inner Healers," which appears in the May 2010 issue of Scientific American. The presentation was created by Zemi Media.

Various items that have come across my desk and did not roll off

Key difference between reprogrammed adult mouse cells and embryonic stem cells discovered.

Blocking the birth of new neurons helps hook rats on cocaine

An amazing example of tissue regeneration in mice might lead to treatments that promote wound healing in humans--but it almost went unnoticed

Vitamin C increases the production of induced stem cells

It was hoped using reprogrammed mature cells would be a noncontroversial alternative to embryo-derived stem cells. But problems like low replication rates and early senescence have impeded their efficacy in generating differentiated cells

Recent findings lay bare the origins of human hairlessness—and hint that naked skin was a key factor in the emergence of other human traits

Interest returns in using fetal cells to repair damaged brains

Adding ascorbic acid to culture medium could help overcome the main roadblock in reprogramming human, mouse cells into iPS cells