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Oliver Bell; featured image for Design redundancy is in our DNA

Design redundancy is in our DNA

Design redundancy is not only an invention of engineers for building machines, but also a principle of nature for designing organisms. This principle is at play in the regulation of the genes responsible for directing stem cells to multiply themselves in the developing mouse embryo, as described in a new study in Science Advances.

Megan McCain (Photo by Michelle Henry); featured image for How to mend a broken heart, if you’re a zebrafish

How to mend a broken heart, if you’re a zebrafish

Cut a zebrafish’s heart and something remarkable happens. Within seconds, the fish clots the wound and stops the bleeding. Cells start to divide to make new heart muscle and blood vessels. Two …

hyperspectral fish; featured image for From detecting lung cancer to spotting counterfeit money, this new imaging technology could have countless uses

From detecting lung cancer to spotting counterfeit money, this new imaging technology could have countless uses

USC scientists have developed a new tool to peer more deeply and clearly into living things, a visual advantage that saves time and helps advance medical cures. It’s the sort of foundational …

Rong Lu (Photo by Cristy Lytal); featured image for USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar

USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar

Why do some leukemia patients have more aggressive disease, and why do some of their cancer cells resist treatment? USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu is tackling these critical questions with $550,000 …

Assistant Professor Eun Ji Chung, the Dr. Karl Jacob Jr. and Karl Jacob III Early-Career Chair. (Image/Hugh Kretschmer); featured image for Lighting up cardiovascular problems using nanoparticles

Lighting up cardiovascular problems using nanoparticles

Heart disease and stroke are the world’s two most deadly diseases, causing over 15 million deaths in 2016 according to the World Health Organization. A key underlying factor in both of these …

In-Part Discover; featured image for USC finds new routes to industry engagement and funding

USC finds new routes to industry engagement and funding

Story courtesy of In-Part Over the last year, Dr. Qing Liu-Michael, Program Director at USC Stem Cell and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at …

Cardiac lymphatic vessels (red) grow alongside blood vessels (green) in the zebrafish heart. Ellen Lien's work shows that cardiac lymphatic vessels are a critical part of heart tissue regeneration after injury. This research could lead to future treatments for babies in need of heart repair. (Image courtesy of Ellen Lien)

At the heart of regeneration: Scientists reveal a new frontier in cardiac research

Story courtesy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles One of the reasons coronary heart disease is so deadly is that fluid build-up and scarring can develop in the heart tissue. This prevents the …

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have made a critical advance in the field of lung research by looking at how the human lung develops at the single cell level. (Illustration/Shutterstock); featured image for Researchers focus on lung development at its origins

Researchers focus on lung development at its origins

The invention of interactive map applications has revolutionized wayfinding, providing an unprecedented level of information far beyond what printed road maps can offer. Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) are giving …

Vassilios Papadopoulos and his lab researchers have found a way to produce testosterone in the lab for the first time using a combination of stem cells, human collagen, nutrients and other ingredients. (Photo by Ed Carreon); featured image for Breakthrough in testosterone-producing cells could lead to treatment for “low T”

Breakthrough in testosterone-producing cells could lead to treatment for “low T”

USC researchers have successfully grown human, testosterone-producing cells in the lab, paving the way to someday treat low testosterone with personalized replacement cells. In Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists …

Bangyan Stiles, PhD, and colleagues from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering were awarded a three-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) project grant in the amount of $636,141. Photo by Ed Carreon.; featured image for NIH grant awarded to Bangyan Stiles and colleagues

NIH grant awarded to Bangyan Stiles and colleagues

Bangyan Stiles, PhD, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the USC School of Pharmacy, and colleagues from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering were awarded a three-year, $636,141 National Institutes of …

From left, Lindsey Barske, Michaela Patterson, Joanna Smeeton and Kate Galloway; featured image for Meet six USC Stem Cell postdocs-turned-professors

Meet six USC Stem Cell postdocs-turned-professors

Only 23 percent of biomedical PhD holders eventually land tenure-track faculty positions, according to a report by the National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group. Beating these odds, six postdoctoral …

DNA; featured image for Navigage, Rose Hills Foundations support Berenice Benayoun

Navigage, Rose Hills Foundations support Berenice Benayoun

From catching cognitive impairment earlier to understanding the genetics of age-related disease and health disparities, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology faculty conduct exciting research supported by organizations committed to helping others. …

The $10 million donation from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation will support the USC stem cell research center’s core facilities and training programs, enable recruitment and attract research funding. (Photo by Sam Comen); featured image for $10 million gift from Broad Foundation advances USC stem cell research on aging-associated disease

$10 million gift from Broad Foundation advances USC stem cell research on aging-associated disease

USC’s groundbreaking stem cell research and training programs have received a major boost thanks to a $10 million gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The donation is part of the …

Junior faculty (Photo by Sergio Bianco); featured image for USC Stem Cell junior faculty balance babies with biomedical research

USC Stem Cell junior faculty balance babies with biomedical research

Growing stem cells isn’t just something junior faculty do in the lab. Eight of the junior faculty in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine recently welcomed new babies into …

Embryonic stem cells that have differentiated into neurons (Image by In Kyoung Mah/Mariani Lab); featured image for From restoring sight to reversing brain damage, USC stem cell researchers are making life-changing discoveries

From restoring sight to reversing brain damage, USC stem cell researchers are making life-changing discoveries

If anyone has a clear vision of the power of stem cell cures, it’s Anna Kuehl. She suffered a retina-wrecking disease that cost her much of her sight before USC physicians surgically …

Killifish; featured image for This tiny fish could unlock mysteries about growing old

This tiny fish could unlock mysteries about growing old

Back in its native habitat, the African turquoise killifish wiggles from its egg, eats, spawns and dies — all within a few months. Life goes by fast when your home is a …

(Illustration by Chris Gash); featured image for Eat less, live longer? The science of fasting and longevity

Eat less, live longer? The science of fasting and longevity

When it comes to what, when and how we eat, fasting — voluntarily abstaining from food for varying periods of time — is having a moment. It was the most popular diet …

Bérénice Benayoun (Photo courtesy of the USC Davis School of Gerontology); featured image for Bérénice Benayoun honored for genetics research

Bérénice Benayoun honored for genetics research

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the Gruber Foundation have awarded Assistant Professor Bérénice Benayoun the 2019 Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award for her research in genetics. The award, intended to …

The core research facilities at USC's stem cell research center serve the scientific community throughout Southern California. (Photo by Sergio Bianco)

USC Stem Cell acquires two instruments to advance state-of-the-art cell sorting

When it comes to sorting cells or other small particles, there’s no better place to do so than USC. The university’s Flow Cytometry Facility recently acquired two top-of-the-line cell sorters, the BD …

After radiation, a small number of blood stem cells make an outsized contribution to reconstituting the blood and immune system. (Figure by Jiya Eerdeng/Rong Lu Lab); featured image for Stem cell study offers clues for optimizing bone marrow transplants and more

Stem cell study offers clues for optimizing bone marrow transplants and more

Bone marrow transplants, which involve transplanting healthy blood stem cells, offer the best treatment for many types of cancers, blood disorders and immune diseases. Even though 22,000 of these procedures are performed …