Advances in Stem Cell Biology
With the recent Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded for research on pluripotent stem cells, the Academy highlights a few of its events and resources on stem cell biology.
Published October 15, 2012
Last week the Nobel Foundation awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for their discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent, immature stem cells capable of developing into any type of cell in the body. Their discoveries have changed scientific understanding of cellular development and specialization, showing that cells are not restricted to unidirectional development but rather capable of being reprogrammed to an earlier, undifferentiated state.
In honor of this announcement, the Academy here offers a listing of upcoming events and scientific resources dedicated to the advancement and broader understanding of the field of stem cell biology.
 | EventStem Cells, Small Molecules and TherapeuticsWednesday, November 14, 2012 | 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM |
 | EventMetabolic Determinants of Stem Cell Pluripotency and Cell Fate CommitmentsFebruary 2013 |
 | EventThe Bone Marrow Niche, Stem Cells, and Leukemia: Impact of Drugs, Chemicals, and the EnvironmentMay 29 – May 31, 2013 |
 | eBriefingPatient-Specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for the Study of Neurological DiseasesPatient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells recapitulate the specific neuronal defect in the individual from which they are derived, holding enormous potential for studying human development and disease, creating new systems to identify promising drugs, and generating customized replacement cells that can be used as therapies directly. |
 | eBriefingHow Do Pluripotent Cells Enable Drug Discovery?Conducting drug discovery experiments in stem cells could allow researchers to understand how drug candidates interact with the entire cell rather than only with individual components. The use of mouse embryonic stem cell-derived neurons to screen chemical libraries for small molecules that bind glutamate receptors in the brain and possible reasons for the low efficiency of deriving induced pluripotent stem cells are discussed. |
 | eBriefingRegenerative Medicine: Stem Cell and Transplantation ResearchThe advantages and disadvantages of stem cell usage to replace diseased or damaged cells and tissues, including the risk of tumorigenesis. |
 | eBriefingProfiles in Pluripotence:Systems Biology of Stem CellsExplorations of the biochemical interactions that reinforce developmental pluripotence or differentiation, and how systems biology techniques help illuminate these interactions. |
 | eBriefingNeural Stem Cells:From Development to FunctionResearch in the neural stem cell field, including symmetric versus asymmetric stem cell division, differentiation in specialized cells that form the components of the mature nervous system, and the functions of neurogenesis in adult organisms. |
 | AnnalsHematopoietic Stem Cells VIIIStemming from the eighth international symposium and workshop entitled “Hematopoietic Stem Cells VIII” held and hosted by the University of Tübingen, Germany, this volume focuses on state-of-the-art advances in the field of hematopoietic stem cells. |
 | AnnalsStem Cell Biology: Development and PlasticityFree online meeting report provided by Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences exploring the factors that regulate the biology of stem cells. |
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