/oss/taxonomy/term/1993/all en /oss/article/medical-technology/mini-organs-being-grown-laboratories <p>Somewhere, in a laboratory, there is a mini-brain growing. In fact, mini-brains are growing in many laboratories all over the world. What do they dream of? Nothing at the moment, and nothing for the foreseeable future. They are only a few millimetres in size, comparable to a pencil’s eraser top. Consciousness still evades them.</p> <p>And it’s not just brains. Intestines, ovaries, kidneys, even taste buds, are growing in three dimensions in laboratories, though their scale pales in comparison to the real stuff, and to call them mini-organs is overly simplistic.</p> Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9274 at /oss /oss/article/health/once-lifetime-gamble-private-cord-blood-banks <p>I remember when the idea of having your body frozen and preserved after death, a procedure called “cryonics,” was trending. Now, there is a new low-temperature preservation technique that gambles on future science to prove itself useful: cord blood banking by private companies.</p> Thu, 29 Apr 2021 16:37:57 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8715 at /oss /oss/article/quackery/i-went-stem-cell-sales-pitch-seminar-and-i-feel-buying-time-share <p>It’s not everyday that a testimonial for a medical intervention ends with a pirouette. Yet there she was, one of two speakers at a stem cell sales pitch meeting, having completed her story of how tired she used to be and delivering an awkward pirouette while shouting with joy. Then she told us how Health Canada had stolen twenty years from her by keeping her away from stem cell treatments.</p> Thu, 21 Feb 2019 18:39:13 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7602 at /oss /oss/article/videos/cracked-science-21-scienceploitation-stem-cells <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-h5xk8lnkt5y" width="640" height="390" title="The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/H5xk8lnkT5Y?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-h5xk8lnkt5y&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:04:54 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7469 at /oss /oss/article/technology-health-and-nutrition/what-vitro-meat <p><span>A dinner-time conversation with an outspoken vegan or an evening browsing through Netflix documentaries will tell you that we have a </span><a href="/oss/article/science-science-everywhere/environmental-cost-meat">huge meat problem.</a><span> Livestock production imposes a serious burden on the environment. The industry is the largest user of agricultural land, is a contributor to climate change, and is rapidly draining the world of scarce resources.</span></p> Tue, 25 Jul 2017 19:41:00 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 2584 at /oss /oss/article/technology-history-quackery/ideas-reanimate-dead-are-dead-wrong <p><span>Reviving the dead using stem cells and electrical impulses sounds more like a plot for a Hollywood sci-fi movie than a process grounded in reality.</span><span> And yet, that is exactly what a Philadelphia bio-tech company is suggesting with “ReAnima”, a proposed neuro-regenerative treatment where clinically declared brain-dead patients could be “brought back to life” by growing and stimulating new neurons. How are they suggesting this be done?</span></p> Tue, 20 Jun 2017 13:28:25 +0000 Cassandra Lee – OSS Intern 2553 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/skin-cells <p>Scientists at McMaster University have found a regular and long-term blood donor: skin cells. In a major scientific discovery, these scientists have managed to convert human adult skin cells into human adult blood cells. The conversion was direct as they were able to do so without converting skin cells to stem cells in an intermediate step. Experiments were repeated over a span of two years and performed successfully on both young and old individuals.</p> Tue, 23 May 2017 17:44:06 +0000 emily.shore@mcgill.ca 2479 at /oss /oss/article/health-history-news/gordie-howes-miracle-therapy <p>After the 86-year-old hockey legend suffered disabling strokes last fall, his family took him to a clinic in Mexico where he underwent experimental stem cell treatment. The procedure involved injecting neural stem cells derived from donated brain tissue into Howe's spinal cord as well as intravenous injections of bone-marrow derived stem cells. According to the people around him, the results were nothing short of a miracle. His son, Marty Howe, said that his father was able to walk again, that his speech was improving, and that he had regained some weight.</p> Sun, 19 Apr 2015 10:28:04 +0000 Ariel Fenster PhD 2253 at /oss