Stephanie Cherqui and Natalie's Wish: Finding a Gene Therapy for Cystinosis

Stem cell health in space matters for astronaut health and cancer research. Jessica Pham, UC San Diego, explains how spaceflight shapes normal hematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells through nano bioreactor studies, astronaut blood analysis, and tumor organoid work in low-Earth orbit. Pham e…

Organs renew and repair themselves through stem cell systems that respond to injury, microbes, and local signals. Ophir Klein, M.D., Ph.D., of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center explains how the intestine shifts into regenerative states after injury, how long-term changes in the stem cell niche may shape …

Brain aging and neurological disease are hard to study because living human brain tissue is difficult to access. Alysson Muotri, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how brain organoids sent to space can model accelerated aging, reveal changes in neural networks, and help test potential treatments for bra…

Cognitive resilience depends on how the brain responds to environment, aging, and inflammation. J. Tiago Gonçalves, Ph.D., studies the hippocampus to examine how spatial memory is shaped by factors such as cognitive enrichment, exercise, social interaction, disease, and age. Gonçalves explains how …