By Anna Everette “In our society, we have an addiction to vertical genetic transmission. It’s called sex and having a child who looks like you”. This was perhaps the most memorable quote from the event’s keynote speaker, Greg Simon, Director of the Biden Cancer Initiative. It also happens to highlight the most compelling reason to …
CRISPRcon guest post: Hope for a brighter future Read More »
Getting a stem cell shot or injection is completely 100% safe, right? An NFL star recently found out just how wrong that stem cell clinic mantra turned out to be. Jordan Reed, tight end for the Washington Redskins, has had issues with his big toe. He apparently thought that a stem cell injection there would …
Iffy stem cell shot in big toe, not what NFL star was hoping Read More »
The stem cell clinic StemGenex was sued almost a year ago related to allegations about their marketing claims. This proposed class action suit, Moorer v. StemGenex, now includes five named patients involved as one can see from the new fourth amended complaint court document. The five total named patients involved in the suit include four new …
Lawsuit against stem cell clinic StemGenex expands to 5 patients Read More »
Is there a stem cell connection between the brain and aging? Could a type of brain stem cell or the exosomes it secretes control whole body aging? A recent big Nature article from the lab of Dongcheng Cai argues an emphatic “Yes” to these questions, at least in mice. In the Zhang, et al paper, entitled …
Review of Nature paper: stem cell exosomes on the brain and aging Read More »
“Are you a motivational speaker?” is how a recent stem cell job ad for a sales position related to stem cell clinics begins. This ad that popped up on Monster earlier this summer is a revealing window on stem cell clinic practices. What’s inside, in my opinion, is cause for concern. Lately we’ve seen more and more ads for stem …
Hallelujah it’s raining money? Stem cell job ad is window into clinics & their finances Read More »
We can be confident that human genetic modification via CRISPR’ing of embryos soon will be safe and effective after that new exciting Mitalipov team paper, right? Wrong. The reality is far more complicated and interesting on the tech side. In a nutshell, I see the paper as a significant scientific, but not necessarily medical advance. …
4 key reasons Mitalipov paper doesn’t herald safe CRISPR human genetic modification Read More »
The FDA sent a stern letter today to Dr. John Zhang, PhD, MD, the physician who last year created a genetically modified human embryo in the U.S. and then exported it to Mexico where he self-reported creating a genetically modified baby boy. While the genetically modified baby created in Mexico was reportedly seemingly OK, it’s not clear …
FDA chides US doc who genetically modified human embryo in reported 3-person IVF Read More »
The U.S. Senate just passed a bill that if it becomes law would codify Right-To-Try as a federal law, meaning terminally patients across the U.S. could ask their physicians and drug manufacturers to be given still investigational therapies such as still unproven stem cell therapies in development. The bill’s official name is “The Trickett Wendler …
Senate Passes Federal Right-To-Try: Poll on Your Opinion Read More »
In the same way perhaps that some excited relatives or parents-to-be both gush and worry about a baby before it is even born, our field has been transfixed for a week by the Mitalipov paper on CRISPR’ing human embryos even though the paper just now came out. Now that the paper is out, we can …
Review of Mitalipov paper CRISPR’ing human embryos: transformative work on the edge Read More »