Ann Arbor-based Velcura Therapeutics Inc. said it had been awarded $1.452 million to study the mechanisms by which primitive cells develop into mature bone-forming cells. The grant was awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases based on its interests in endocrinology, metabolic diseases, and stem cells. Velcura investigates how human bone cells function as part of its work developing novel therapies for bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The latest grant investigates the control of stem cells found in the bone marrow of children and adults (as opposed to embryonic stem cells) and their relationship to early and mature bone cells. Bone marrow stem cells are known to produce blood cells. However, recent evidence points to a capacity for marrow-derived stem cells to produce other cells, such as bone.