Washington, Apr 24 (ANI): Dutch researchers have made a breakthrough in stem cell research by successfully growing stem cells from adult human heart into new heart muscle cells.

The Pentagon is joining with universities and hospitals in a 250-million-dollar research institute to develop ways to help wounded soldiers regenerate skin, muscle and even limbs from their own stem cells, officials said Thursday.

Pope Benedict XVI endorsed adult stem cell research Wednesday, distinguishing it from the manipulation of stem cells from human embryos, which the Roman Catholic Church condemns.

A gathering known as the Stem Cell Summit might sound so controversial it would need a steely moderator, or even police protection, so politically delicate is the science of using embryos in medical research.

But this affair at the Hilton New York on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan was all business because while the research community remains interested in embryonic stem cells, these days the focus is on the potential uses of adult stem cells, where it turns out that significant progress is being made away from the political spotlight.

Treatment with adult stem cells harvested from blood or bone marrow may benefit some patients with certain kinds of cardiovascular disorders and autoimmune diseases, a new U.S. analysis shows.

While stem cell therapy shows great promise, "clinical application has lagged due to ethical concerns [over embryonic stem cells] or difficulties harvesting or safely and efficiently expanding sufficient quantities," the review authors noted. "In contrast, clinical indications for blood-derived [from peripheral or umbilical cord blood] and bone marrow-derived stem cells, which can be easily and safely harvested, are rapidly increasing."

Dr. Darwin Prockop has been researching adult stem cells for 18 years and yet maintains a sense of wonder about his work. “We get surprises every week,” Prockop said.

Prockop, director of the Center for Gene Therapy at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, will be relocating to Temple in August.

The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. researchers have found a way to modify the surface of stem cells to direct them to where they're needed, an advance that may prove useful in many areas of stem cell therapy.

Researchers at the Biomedical Research Institute at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston modified the surface of human mesenchymal stem cells -- a type of adult stem cell that's a precursor of bone-forming osteoblast cells. This modification directed the stem cells through the bloodstream into bone, where they matured into new bone cells.

Medicine’s dream of growing new human hearts and other organs to repair or replace damaged ones received a significant boost on Sunday when University of Minnesota researchers reported success in creating a beating rat heart in a laboratory.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2008) — A Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researcher has launched the first U.S. trial in which a purified form of subjects' own adult stem cells was transplanted into their leg muscles with severely blocked arteries to try to grow new small blood vessels and restore circulation in their legs.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 15, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:ASTM), a leading regenerative medicine company, today announced that the first patient has been treated with the Company's autologous stem cell therapy for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The milestone marks the first human application of Aastrom's Cardiac Repair Cell (CRC) product to regenerate damaged heart tissue in patients with severely impaired cardiac function.

Two years ago, a 24-year-old associate asked Robert Nelsen, the co-founder and managing director of ARCH Venture Partners, to plow some of the $1 billion he manages into a biotech focused on stem cells. Nelsen kicked the associate out of his office and told him to go work on something else.

But the exploding science surrounding stem cells changed his mind. The result, two years later, is Fate Therapeutics, one of the most audacious biotech start-ups of the year. Previous biotech companies in the stem cell field focused on trying to create cells that could somehow be used to replace diseased neurons, heart muscle or blood. Fate wants nothing to do with such cumbersome procedures. Its goal is to create pills that unlock the potential of stem cells already situated inside the brain, skin, and bone marrow.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — For the first time, doctors have used stem cells from liposuctioned fat to fix breast defects in women who have had cancerous lumps removed.

The approach is still experimental, but holds promise for millions of women left with cratered areas and breasts that look very different from each other after cancer surgery. It also might be a way to augment healthy breasts without using artificial implants.

Global regenerative medicine consultants Jai Communications Associates have recently noted a surge of inquiries from patients seeking stem cell treatments abroad.

“It is clear that the message is getting out to the world,” said Director Brian Dardzinski. “People are aware of the fact that instead of putting up with disabling and restrictive symptoms from diseases without hope of a cure that help is available right now,” he added.

Australian adult stem cell company, Mesoblast Ltd, has completed a $13.4 million capital raising, which it says will allow it to expand its research into new areas that show potential.

Mesoblast founder Professor Silviu Itescu said the capital raising had received strong support from existing and new institutional shareholders.

Medistem Laboratories, Inc. (OTCBB: MDSM) (FRANKFURT: S2U) in collaboration with researchers from the University of Western Ontario, University of Alberta, and the Bio-Communications Research Institute, has published a paper describing a novel stem cell population derived from menstrual blood. The publication, entitled "Endometrial Regenerative Cells: A Novel Stem Cell Population" appeared in today's Journal of Translational Medicine and is freely available here.