Month: September 2015

New UK trial & Ocata: stem cell hope on vision impairment

Peter-Coffey-Lyndon-Da-Cruz

We’ve been hearing a lot this week about an important new clinical study for vision loss (macular degeneration) in the UK. This team is using retinal pigmented epithelial cells (RPEs) made from embryonic stem cells (ESC). They are now testing safety. The new work in the UK is Moorfields Eye Hospital is a great addition …

New UK trial & Ocata: stem cell hope on vision impairment Read More »

Lorenz Studer named 2015 MacArthur Fellow for stem cell work

Lorenz-Studer

Congratulations to Lorenz Studer as a MacArthur Fellow. The annual selection of MacArthur Fellows highlights creative leaders in a variety of fields. The fellows receive $625,000 with no strings attached. Stem cell biologists have been selected on a regular basis over the years as MacArthur Fellows including Kevin Eggan (2006), Sally Temple (2008), and Yukiko …

Lorenz Studer named 2015 MacArthur Fellow for stem cell work Read More »

Guest Post from Jeanne Loring: Patients talk stem cells. The FDA listens.

Jenifer-Raub

By Jeanne Loring Last Tuesday I visited the FDA headquarters in Maryland, for a meeting called Public Meeting on Patient-Focused Drug Development for Huntington’s and Parkinson’s Diseases. The FDA holds about 6 meetings on different diseases each year, inviting patients and advocates to speak while a panel of FDA directors listens. The FDA representatives at …

Guest Post from Jeanne Loring: Patients talk stem cells. The FDA listens. Read More »

In Sex As Genetic Modification Poll, Divide but Lean to “Yes”

sex-GM-poll1-206x3001

With nearly 200 votes in, our poll on whether sex should be considered a form of genetic modification reflects a big divide. The two most polar answers of “definitely yes” and “definitely not” are almost equal, but “yes” is a bit ahead. In the “probably” category of responses, the “yes” answers lead over “not” by …

In Sex As Genetic Modification Poll, Divide but Lean to “Yes” Read More »

Weekend science reading: fantastic found links including on CIRM

glioblastomaWiki

David Jensen reports on the future of CIRM as a “beautiful machine”. CIRM funds brain cancer research in a big way: Funding a clinical trial for deadly cancer is a no brainer. Glioblastoma is a fatal tumor that needs new clinical approaches so this is exciting. One of the goals of my lab is to find new …

Weekend science reading: fantastic found links including on CIRM Read More »

Under #PopeFrancis, Vatican to host 2016 stem cell conference

rome-day-1-b

The Vatican will again hold a stem cell meeting and this time it is planned for 2016 as you can see from the conference website. A full list of 2016 stem cell meetings is here on our meeting hub. Over the past several years the Vatican has held and tried to hold different stem cell meetings. …

Under #PopeFrancis, Vatican to host 2016 stem cell conference Read More »

Key Remaining Questions about STAP Cell Mess

STAP-stem-cells-hope-or-mirage-201x3001

The publication yesterday of two papers refuting the existence of so-called STAP cells marches us closer as a field toward closure on this unfortunate situation. Close, but not quite there. We know a lot more about what went happened, but 5 key questions remain. There is a chance that we may never get answers to …

Key Remaining Questions about STAP Cell Mess Read More »

New Nature papers debunk STAP cells

STAP-refutation

Today marks nearing the completion of a full circle for one of science’s biggest controversies: the STAP cell fiasco. Today STAP cells are completely refuted with the publication of two new papers in Nature and we know much more–with some notable gaps still–about what went wrong. STAP cells debunked In January of last year, an …

New Nature papers debunk STAP cells Read More »

Poll: Is sex a form of human genetic modification?

Sex-GM

Is sex a form of genetic modification? A fairly common argument out there is that human decisions about mates and then their actual sexual reproduction are forms of human genetic modification. Sex is also sometimes equated with genetic modification of organisms by a few scientists. What do you think? Are these things equivalent? Similar? Not …

Poll: Is sex a form of human genetic modification? Read More »