Month: June 2017

Hans Keirstead interview on his congressional run, how you can help

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Hans Keirstead is one of the top stem cell scientists in the world who has been doing cutting edge research including on using stem cells to reverse paralysis where he teamed up with super patient advocate Roman Reed (see the two pictured at right), but now he is also running for Congress. How cool is that? …

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FIX IT! SF Chronicle runs striking stem cell clinic ad with coupon

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I’ve seen stem cell clinic ad after ad pop up in the mainstream media in my own hometown in The Sacramento Bee paper, but others are sprouting as well and a friend sent me a particularly striking stem cell advertisement from a recent copy of the San Francisco Chronicle. Not only does this stem cell clinic …

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CRISPR, human genetic modification, & a needed course correction

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Are designer babies made using CRISPR or other genetic modification technologies closer to reality today? If so, what exactly should we do about it? Researchers can use CRISPR to genetically modify just about any organism or its cells, but targeting humans is the subject of the most intense discussion including using CRISPR in the human germline …

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Highlights of ISSCR2017 – A Biomedical Engineer’s Perspective

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ISSCR meeting review By Agnes Soos Amid the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston, nearly four thousand researchers and exhibitors gathered for the 15th Annual ISSCR Meeting. With presentations from over thirty plenary lectures, and dozens of others featured in concurrent sessions and the daily Innovation Showcases, there definitely was no shortage of exciting research …

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US Stem Cell bid for FDA RMAT rejected?

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Can a stem cell clinic business get FDA RMAT designation? At least one announced it was trying, but now seems to have given up. Stem cell clinic business US Stem Cell, Inc. has reportedly announced that it is at least temporarily abandoning its efforts at getting Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation from the FDA. The …

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Hunting for computational approaches for stem cells at ISSCR2017

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By Cátia Bandeiras, PhD Student at University of Lisbon, Portugal and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. See tweets from the conference using #ISSCR2017 @apulgarita I just wrapped up my stay at the Annual Meeting of ISSCR 2017, which happened in Boston. I decided to take advantage of the fact that I am living in Boston at …

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2017 stem cell predictions: score card at 1/2-way point

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In December of each year I make a list of stem cell predictions for the coming year, and I made 20 such predictions for 2017 so I’m wondering how I’m doing so far on these now that it’s June. Below is my work-in-progress scorecard for these so far. Positive news from Asterias on trial for stem cell-based …

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FDA warp speed RMAT approval nukes stem cell clinic excuses

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Many stem cell clinics are in a bind in 2017 in the new RMAT approval reality. Stem cell clinics say that they only want to help people by providing stem cell therapies to patients in a speedier way that they claim getting FDA approval for a trial just doesn’t allow, but that doesn’t ring true. …

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