The induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell field has been red hot over the approximately first half dozen years of its existence from 2006-2011. However, as I blogged about here part way through 2012, it was showing signs of cooling off a bit in terms of the shear output of publications. It turns out that now …
IPS cell field milestone: 2012 is first year with fewer publications than previous Read More »
I’m on a roll with my stem cell predictions for 2013 (see all 10 here). First, I got it right with my #1 prediction that the Supreme Court would take a pass on the Sherley v Sebelius Case. Now, I read from excellent science writer David Cyranoski at Nature that Celltex is going to be …
Stem cell predictions coming true: Celltex moves to offer transplants in Mexico Read More »
The LA Times has an opinion piece out today by Michael Hiltzik criticizing CIRM. It’s deja vu all over again. The LA Times has shown itself to be very biased against CIRM over the years. Hiltzik specifically has been very hostile to the stem cell agency. I see their coverage of CIRM as unbalanced, never focusing …
Real message from the LA Times: no change at CIRM will ever be good enough for us Read More »
I recently did a Q&A interview with NeoStem CEO Dr. Robin Smith. I posted Part 1 of that interview a few days ago here. Now we have part two focused on VSEL, ES cells, and iPS cells. PK: I frequently have readers of my blog ask questions about VSEL. They seem puzzled and unsure of …
Interview with NeoStem CEO Robin Smith Part 2: VSEL, ES cells, and iPS cells Read More »
I recently met the CEO of NeoStem, Dr. Robin Smith, at the 2012 World Stem Cell Summit in Florida. We had a great talk and I invited Dr. Smith to do an interview for my blog. She agreed and has provided very frank answers to my questions, some of which I think were very difficult …
Sergei Filin, the ballet master of the famed Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, was the victim of a nasty acid attack to the face and eyes. As the case remains under investigation, Filin was reportedly treated with a high-risk, unproven stem cell treatment to the eyes using umbilical cord stem cells. Allogeneic stem cell treatments are …
Eyes of Bolshoi acid attack victim Sergei Filin treated with unproven stem cell therapy Read More »
It’s been a crazy week with a story about Harvard Geneticist George Church supposedly in his new book and in a magazine interview promoting the idea of cloning Neanderthals and possibly people too. I blogged about it here. The German Magazine Der Spiegel did interviewed Church (English version of interview is here) and many things …
I recently did a poll asking folks how they thought blogging would affect an academic’s career and got 50 responses. The results suggest that most respondents thought it was not particularly harmful to one’s career. 18% and 4% thought it mildly and strongly negative, respectively. Far more were enthusiastic as 52% and 6% thought it …
How does blogging affect an academic career? In poll most think it is a bit positive Read More »
I attended the CIRM Board meeting yesterday in Berkeley in which they discussed what actions to take in response to a review of CIRM by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). After having a bit of time now to digest all that happened, I think this is the biggest development for CIRM in many years. The …
Biggest day for CIRM in years: Board approves bold one-year experiment Read More »
The CIRM Board went ahead today and voted in favor, in principle, of the proposed changes in response to the IOM recommendations. It seems to be a non-binding vote at some level since the Board will vote again in March after more review. Important questions remain: What does the vote today really means if the …