Jill Howlin’s drawings about science and policy have a unique, edgy style that packs a punch. I have invited her to weigh in here now and then with new illustrations that touch upon stem cell or other innovative biomedical matters.
Jill’s new drawing today relates to some key stem cell issues such as clinical safety, choice of stem cells, homologous use, and more. You can read my post from this week on the myth that stem cells are homologous to all tissues.
Jill tells me that she put an Irish humour spin on this cartoon.
Also see her past cartoon on Donald Trump and pay walls in science and medicine. I have also drawn some of these science political cartoons as well for the blog myself (see examples here) at times, but I think Jill has a lot more talent.
You can follow Jill on Twitter.
” the myth that stem cells are homologous to all tissues”
See: Cells from fat mend bone, cartilage, muscle and even the heart
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/cells-fat-mend-bone-cartilage-muscle-and-even-heart
@SammyJo re: “See: Cells from fat mend bone, cartilage, muscle and even the heart”, yes there is some overlap in terms of the “parentage” and potency of these cell types from a developmental perspective, but it doesn’t support the idea of pan-homology and, no, fat stem cells based on the data we have today do not have anything notable in common with brain cells, lung cells, and the list goes on and on. For heart and some other tissues, MSCs might be helpful from a clinical perspective not by generating new tissue directly but via stimulating blood vessel growth. But this has got to be proven to be the “real deal” of being clearly effective and safe.
Paul