Source: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Date: February 16, 2010
Summary:
A software program created by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee the outcome before the stem cell even divides.
The software, developed by Andrew Cohen, an assistant professor of electrical engineering, analyzes time-lapse images capturing live stem cell behaviors. It will allow scientists to search for mechanisms that control stem cell specialization, the main obstacle in advancing the use of stem cell therapy for treatment of disease. It could also lead to new research into causes of cancer, which involves cells that continuously self-renew.
The research is published Feb. 7 in the journal Nature Methods. Co-authors are Michel Cayouette and Francisco Gomez neurobiologists at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal, and Badri Roysam, a computer engineering professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The software is 87 percent accurate in determining the specific "offspring" a stem cell will ultimately produce, and 99 percent accurate in predicting when self-renewal of these stem cells will end in specialization.
