Stem cells grown in culture are drugs. Agree or disagree? I believe it is a correct statement. I don’t think it is even a question any more as it was a few months ago. Yes, I am convinced that the FDA, as supported by a recent federal court ruling, has it right that growing stem …
2 decades as cell biologist tell me grown stem cells are drugs Read More »
There was a burst of feeling last night in the stem cell community as word began circulating that a federal court had ruled in favor of the FDA defining manipulated stem cell products as drugs. However, not everyone was pleased with the court ruling. The clinics most directly affected by the ruling were understandably upset, …
Refuting potential downsides to stem cell drug court ruling Read More »
Are stem cells drugs? At least for today, a federal court unambiguously ruled that the answer to this question for manipulated stem cells is “Yes”. The story has been reported in the media at New Scientist and Scope Blog. You can read over the key issues here. The court ruled in favor of the federal government and FDA and against …
Court empowers FDA to regulate stem cells as drugs Read More »
Sellers of dubious stem cell treatments are playing their own versions of “stem cell shell” and definitely it is not to benefit patients. Remember that game where the slick guy on the street corner (at least in the movies) has three shells and one pea and he shuffles them around….then you are supposed to point …
Rick Santorum. When you read that name, what do you think? Expert on science and research funding? For the most part people would say “heck, no!” However, in fact, Santorum had a strong track record as a senator in supporting NIH funding. That’s a fact. But now Santorum has gone off the deep end. The …
We live in an ever increasing plasticized world. There are many good things about plastic, but then there are also some very bad things such as the giant whirpools of plastic fragments out in the oceans that are larger than Texas and also some of the chemicals in plastics are dangerous. One particular chemical villain …
FDA finally bans poison and carcinogen BPA from baby products Read More »
It’s been a big couple months of headlines in the news for prostate cancer. I’m a prostate cancer survivor and cancer biologist so I spend probably more than my share of time thinking about prostate cancer and from a number of angles. A few days ago I got a test result suggesting I’m still in long-term …
Updated: Do Vulcans Get Prostate Cancer and get surgery for it? Read More »
“I lied to patients,” testified a weeping, young woman in court related to a fraud allegation involving stem cells. She had worked as an office assistant at a company that injected bogus and potentially dangerous cow-based “stem cell” treatments into human patients. This company, which in different incarnations went by various names including Biomark in …
Testimony in supermodel stem cell fraud case: “I lied to patients” Read More »
I like Texas. It is one of my favorite states. Over the last few years I’ve made many friends down in Texas. I also had the pleasure of having a meeting with your Governor, Rick Perry, about future stem cell policy. I’m hoping to meet with him again. I’m planning to visit your great state …
Building stem cell bridges to the great state of Texas Read More »
I’ve been working on an outreach program I call the Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Outreach Program for Education (SCOPE). The idea behind SCOPE is to make available on the Internet a basic page of facts about stem cells in as many languages as possible. Our motto could be articulated as “Not lost in translation!” Stem cells are …
Stem Cell Outreach Program for Education (SCOPE): a dozen languages & rising Read More »