To regenerate tissues, you need stem cells. But for stem cells to work, you have to understand their neighborhood. A new paper dives into it. A LONG-HELD GOAL IN DENTAL RESEARCH IS TO HARNESS THE POWER OF STEM CELLS to regenerate bone and dental tissue. But to do so, it’s important to fully understand the […]
USC researchers probe the world of heart progenitor cells, with an eye on potential treatments to regrow heart tissue. HEARTS ARE TOUGH ORGANS. Over the course of a lifetime, they beat ever second of every day, keeping the entire body nourished with life-giving blood. But, even with all that stamina, heart tissue lacks the ability […]
USC researchers are looking for ways to create a less painful injection for kids at the dentist. It takes a collaborative, interdisciplinary team to get the research done. IN DENTISTRY, injecting local anesthetic represents the greatest source of fear and anxiety, especially in children. Alleviating that injection pain is one of the main struggles in […]
The prestigious designation puts him in the company of fewer than 20 faculty members across USC. ASSOCIATE DEAN OF RESEARCH Yang Chai PhD ’91, DDS ’96 has been appointed a University Professor, making history as Ostrow’s first faculty member to achieve such distinction. The designation, held by fewer than 20 other faculty members across the university, […]
The initiative aims to propel USC forward as the epicenter of tissue and organ regeneration research. THE STUDIES SEEM LIKE something straight out of science fiction. There’s one focused on using stem cells to regenerate skull bone for patients with skull defects. Another aims to develop a hydrogel patch that could reduce scarring and regenerate […]
USC researcher Pinghui Feng investigates a potential way to stop cancer cell growth. FOR CELLS IN THE BODY, inflammation and cell proliferation — a rapid increase in numbers — are opposing forces. Cells that proliferate more quickly tend to have a lower inflammatory response than those that don’t. The reason behind this has been investigated […]
A new study finds how a specific gene can impact neurodevelopment and lead to macrocephaly and autism spectrum disorder. When brains begin developing, there are a lot of moving parts — and when mutations happen in early neurodevelopment, it can lead to disorders like macrocephaly and autism. But scientists don’t know much about the ways […]
Professor Janet Oldak has been selected as a Fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The prestigious honor is bestowed upon members through nominations by their AAAS peers. Oldak has been selected for her outstanding contributions to molecular mechanisms in biomineralization, assembly and function of inherently disordered matrix proteins for development […]
More than 3 million dental implants have been placed in the mouths of U.S. patients, and that number rises by 500,000 each year. While implants help many people restore their oral health, they come at a cost. Nearly 15 percent of patients with implants develop peri-implantitis, an infectious disease that triggers an immune response of […]
Microcephaly is a condition where the circumference of an individual’s head is smaller than normal. It can be caused by genetic abnormalities as well as fetal exposure to drugs; alcohol; certain viruses, such as Zika virus; or toxins during pregnancy. It’s rare — there are fewer than 200,000 cases a year in the United States. […]
