STEMCELL Technologies Inc. has released two product lines for organoid research that will enable scientists to create powerful models for studying human disease in the lab. Organoids, or ‘mini-organs’, are complex, 3D, in vitro culture models that maintain key structural, developmental and functional similarities to the corresponding intact organs. These innovative models provide specific insight into development and disease mechanisms, and offer opportunities…
Many people around the world rely on catheters every day to empty their bladder – especially people with spinal cord injuries. After a well-respected publication concluded that catheters could be reused without an increased risk of infection, a professor and researcher from the University of British Columbia began to question. Dr. Andrei Krassioukov, a professor of medicine at UBC and…
A new study published Thursday confirms what oncologists have noticed for some time: that breast implants are associated with a small increased risk of cancer. Health Canada insists the risk is very small, and that only five cases have been confirmed in the last 10 years. But CTV News has learned there have actually been many more women affected —…
Dr. Moe Elgendi, a postdoctoral fellow and President of the Postdoctoral Association at the University of British Columbia, and Dr. Santa Ono, 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia discuss supporting investment in Canada’s basic research. In Dr. Ono’s own words: “It is an outstanding report, which is really a road map for the future of Canada”.
Precision NanoSystems is one of the fastest growing businesses in British Columbia (BC) according to the recently published Top 100 fastest-growing companies in BC list from business news journalBusiness in Vancouver (BIV). This annual list looks at several factors indicating company growth over the last five years – from changing company revenues to number of employees – and ranks Precision NanoSystems in third…
The world’s largest genetic study on asthma has identified five new genes associated with the condition and produced the most comprehensive list of genes and gene locations involved in the development of asthma and allergic disease. These research results open the door to future studies, improved diagnostics and new treatment options, says Denise Daley, an Associate Professor in the Department…
One Wednesday afternoon in November the Honourable Francis Drouin, Member of Parliament for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, sat in the conference room in the DMCBH Koerner Pavilion labs, and listened. In a year when scientists have been rallying in support of the Fundamental Science Review and its implications for Canadian science funding, it was an opportunity to share the importance and broad scope of…
A medication used to treat joint and skin conditions might also help people whose only hope of surviving cancer is receiving stem cells from a donor, according to research by a University of British Columbia scientist. Transplants of blood stem cells, which can differentiate into all types of blood cells, can be a cure for life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia…
A chapter contribution to the Encyclopedia of AIDS by two Simon Fraser University graduate students is helping researchers to expand their knowledge on HIV/AIDS. Anh Le and Aniqa Shahid, who are both completing their Master of Science degrees in the Faculty of Health Sciences, recently made a contribution to an encyclopedic publication that indexes current research on HIV. The Encyclopedia of AIDS…