Month: October 2015

Claim of Liz Parrish DIY gene therapy linked to unlicensed stem cell clinic

Elizabeth-Parrish

In a strange, but fascinating tale recounted by Antonio Regalado in an article over at MIT Tech Review, we hear the first claim of a do-it-yourself (DIY) gene therapy. The owner of a small biotech called BioViva, Liz Parrish, reportedly traveled from her home in Seattle to get an unapproved, experimental gene therapy in another …

Claim of Liz Parrish DIY gene therapy linked to unlicensed stem cell clinic Read More »

Stem Cell Word Cloud: Mesenchymal Dominates in 2015

word-cloud-stem-cell15

What does a stem cell word cloud tell us about the field? Word clouds are fun and informative ways to do textual data mining. I’ve done some in the past that have providing penetrating looks at science including at the whole field of science in 2014. What has the stem cell field overall been focusing on …

Stem Cell Word Cloud: Mesenchymal Dominates in 2015 Read More »

Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa: Highlights from Heather Main

Shyni-Varhese

By Heather Main (from Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa) Mesa, one of my first Spanish words since moving to California. The isolated flat-topped hill with steep sides where I have just had the pleasure of listening to some of the best basic and applied science. Mountains of various sorts formed the metaphor of CIRM …

Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa: Highlights from Heather Main Read More »

Nature mixed signals on 3-person IVF: deep risks, but forge ahead

3-parent-baby

Nature recently published a thorough, insightful piece on the major risks that would come with the use of so-called 3-person IVF (aka mitochondrial transfer or 3-parent baby method). In the UK 3-person IVF has, as of earlier this year, the government’s blessing to proceed despite the many serious unresolved risks that Nature‘s own piece so nicely …

Nature mixed signals on 3-person IVF: deep risks, but forge ahead Read More »

Review of Stem Cell Battles, Don Reed’s Wonderful New Book

511eErUZDQL._SX336_BO1204203200_

Long-time stem cell advocate, Don Reed, has written a great new book called Stem Cell Battles: Proposition 71 and Beyond. The subtitle is “How Ordinary People Can Fight the Crushing Burden of Chronic Disease — with a Posthumous Foreword by Christopher Reeve.” Don’s book is a wonderful window into the behind-the-scenes herculean efforts that went …

Review of Stem Cell Battles, Don Reed’s Wonderful New Book Read More »

3rd Annual Berkeley SSSCR Stem Cell Conference Oct. 17: Culturing a Stem Cell Community

SSSCR-Conference-flyer-digital

By Student Society for Stem Cell Research at Berkeley UC Berkeley’s Student Society for Stem Cell Research (SSSCR) is proud to present its 3rd Annual Stem Cell Conference: “Culturing a Stem Cell Community” on Saturday October 17th from 9AM-5PM at the Li Ka Shing Center on the Berkeley Campus. This single-day Bay Area event is …

3rd Annual Berkeley SSSCR Stem Cell Conference Oct. 17: Culturing a Stem Cell Community Read More »

Stem cell treatment cost 2.0: legit therapy

stem-money

We hear so much about exciting potential stem cell therapies, but what about stem cell treatment cost? Some of these “therapies” are rigorously evaluated ones in the FDA clinical trial pipeline and others are available right now mainly through predatory stem cell clinics. Earlier this year I posted about the cost of the offerings of …

Stem cell treatment cost 2.0: legit therapy Read More »