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stem cells

Stem cells are immature cells that have the ability, under the right conditions, to develop into many types of cells in the body with specialized functions. Here you can learn how they’re being used to develop therapies for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s, and infertility, better understand autism, schizophrenia, and other brain illnesses, and how some stem cell research is raising ethical concerns.

Latest

In the Lab Nicholas St. Fleur

Q&A: Meet the scientist sending tumors into space

In the Lab Deborah Balthazar

In a first, fetal cell organoids generated from amniotic fluid, new study reports

Health Annalisa Merelli

STAT Plus: Could kidney transplant patients be spared a lifetime of immunosuppressants?

In the Lab Megan Molteni

New definition of a human embryo proposed amid rapid scientific advances

In the Lab Isabella Cueto

STAT Plus: Scientists inch closer to single-shot gene editing cure for blood disorders

In the Lab Megan Molteni

STAT Plus: Global controversy heats up the race to build human embryo models from stem cells

In the Lab Jonathan Wosen

‘It is a balance’: Scientists grapple with ethics of cutting-edge stem cell research

Biotech Brittany Trang

STAT Plus: Gene therapy trial shows promise for treating ‘bubble boy’ syndrome. Now comes the hard part

All Coverage

In the Lab Megan Molteni

Provocative new findings suggest a surprising cause of Down syndrome: cells linked to aging

In the Lab Megan Molteni

Last-gasp gene therapy saved a Syrian refugee’s life. Five years later, the boy is thriving and a clinical trial is starting

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Health Megan Molteni

Q&A: Bioethicist Leigh Turner on the worrisome boom in unregulated stem cell clinics

First Opinion Paul Knoepfler

For now, stem cells for Covid-19 are mostly a shot in the dark

In the Lab Megan Molteni

In mouse experiments, scientists unlock the key to scar-free skin healing

In the Lab Usha Lee McFarling

International team creates first chimeric human-monkey embryos

In the Lab Sharon Begley

STAT Plus: In a stem cell experiment that seemingly failed, scientists see a possible way to prevent a devastating disease

Politics Lev Facher, Nicholas Florko, Andrew Joseph, and Kate Sheridan

Doctors in Congress, new e-cigarette taxes, stem cells, and abortion rights: Here’s what STAT is watching tonight

Politics Usha Lee McFarling

STAT Plus: With wildfires burning and Covid-19 spreading, can California afford stem cell research? Voters are set to decide

Health Sharon Begley

Ethics questions swirl around historic Parkinson’s experiment

Exclusive Sharon Begley

A secret experiment revealed: In a medical first, doctors treat Parkinson’s with a novel brain cell transplant

First Opinion David A. Pearce

We need better regulation of stem cell therapies, especially rogue clinics

Business Sharon Begley

STAT Plus: Facing bottlenecks in manufacturing cell therapies, Boston leaders plan to build their own

First Opinion David Mitchell, Saad Kenderian, and S. Vincent Rajkumar

Letting academic medical centers make CAR-T drugs would save billions

Don't Miss Sharon Begley

What’s in the cards for this year’s Nobel Prizes? Scientists are placing their bets

First Opinion Jeremy Snyder

Kudos to Google for banning stem cell ads. Other tech companies should follow

Health Sharon Begley

In a CRISPR first, therapy intended to cure HIV patient appears safe — though ineffective