stem cells
Dec. 20, 2021
New method leads to discovery of placental cell type
Nathan Bivens, director of the Genomics Technology Core at Bond Life Sciences Center, loads the Chromium 10X Genomics machine as part of the single-cell RNA sequence method. | photo by Lauren Hines, Bond LSC By Lauren Hines | Bond LSC During pregnancy, the fetus and mother can talk to each other without saying a word. On a deeper level, a special cell called the syncytiotrophoblast facilitates this conversation by changing the mother’s physiology based on what the fetus does or does not need. The Michael Roberts lab at Bond Life Sciences Center knew there had to…
Dec. 8, 2021
Bond LSC Researcher Wins Awards for 45-Year Career in Reproductive Biology
Even though Roberts couldn’t accept the award in person, the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine still held an award ceremony and presented the medal to one of Roberts’ past associates. | photo contributed by Michael Roberts, Bond LSC. By Lauren Hines | Bond LSC Still in the lab after 45 years, chancellor’s professor emeritus Michael Roberts has received recognition for his career in reproductive biology research. Roberts won the Marshall Medal from the UK Society for Reproduction and Fertility (SRF) in August and the Gold Medal and Honorable Membership of the Animal…
Oct. 13, 2021
Turning Back the Clock
Megan Sheridan, a postdoctoral fellow working with the R. Michael Roberts lab, removes the base solution from a demonstrated sample of stem cells that will be grown into placental cells for study of their interaction with the Zika virus. | photo by Phillip Sitter, Bond LSC By Lauren Hines | Bond LSC At 24 weeks pregnant, a baby can hear the mother’s lullabies. At 30 weeks, her belly is a little over a foot large. At 40, the hospital bag is already packed and ready to go. But imagine delivering only two weeks…
July 6, 2017
Pigs pave the way for advancements in IVF treatment
New research makes IVF four times more efficient to create pigs like this for genetics research and breeding in labs like that of Randy Prather at MU. | Photo by Nicholas Benner. Research quadruples speed and efficiency to develop embryos By Samantha Kummerer | Bond LSC What started as a serendipitous discovery is now opening the door for decreasing the costs and risks involved with in vitro fertilization (IVF). And it all started with cultured pig cells. Dr. Michael Roberts’ and Dr. Randall Prather’s laboratories in the University of Missouri work with pigs to research stem…
June 14, 2017
Jacqueline Ihnat #IAmScience
Jacqueline Ihnat, one of the 12 Cherg Summer Scholars chosen from within the Honors College at MU in 2017. | Photo by Mary Jane Rogers, Bond LSC By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC “#IAmScience because I am able to apply what I learn in the classroom to research that makes progress towards a better future.” Jacqueline Ihnat was recently selected as one of the 12 Cherng Summer Scholars within the Honors College at the University of Missouri. This scholarship provides her with $8,000 to fund her summer research. She’s fascinated with cells and how our bodies…
July 19, 2016
How does Zika move from mother to child?
Scientists use placental cells in lab to study virus By Phillip Sitter | MU Bond Life Sciences Center Megan Sheridan, an MU grad student, removes the base solution from a demonstrated sample of stem cells that will be grown into placental cells for study of Zika virus. Within four days of exposure to the correct hormones, the stem cells express genes of placental cells, and within another day start producing placental hormones. The cells are infected with Zika at day four to ensure maximum measurable interaction, as the stem cells naturally die in…