Three recent media pieces on unproven, for-profit stem cell clinics paint an unflattering picture of this industry. At the intersection of these pieces is the clinic “treatment” consisting of fat stem cells (being manufactured as in a screenshot at right from a clinic YouTube video), a product the FDA has indicated is most often going …
New stem cell clinic insights from trio of critical media pieces Read More »
What are your typical weekend reads? If you are a scientist, they might often include a great deal of science. I always hope I can find time for reading for pleasure too, but about as close as I get to that is the New York Times on Sunday. Here are some recommended science reads for …
Weekend reads: stem cells, organoids, cancer, CRISPR & a tiger named Igor Read More »
If the FDA can “go big” to issue 40 warning letters to the e-cig industry as it just yesterday, why has it recently only issued 1 or fewer warning letters per year to the unproven, for-profit stem cell clinic industry in the U.S., which includes hundreds of businesses blatantly operating in what seems to be a …
40 FDA warnings to e-cig biz, but stem cell clinics allowed to keep blowing smoke Read More »
About once each year or two, I try to schedule what I call a “big picture” lab meeting where my lab and I discuss major issues related to being a scientist. Also, I try to answer their questions about just about anything. In my lab we rotate between various lab meeting formats and also have …
The big picture lab meeting: ethics, careers, publishing & other questions Read More »
The last few years for the publicly-traded stem cell clinic biz, US Stem Cell, Inc., which goes by the ticker $USRM, have seemed like a rollercoaster to me as an observer. I can see four main areas of news that to me make the future seem uncertain for this firm. First, the US Stem was linked to the …
Clinic biz US Stem Cell reports SEC subpoena, adding to uncertainty on its future Read More »
Does a new lawsuit including Cell Surgical Network and its leadership as defendants pose a broad test to this entire chain of stem cell clinics, which may be the largest such affiliated clinic group in the U.S. and potentially even in the world? Will lawsuits substantially impact stem cell clinics? Lawsuits against unproven, for-profit stem cell …
New lawsuit includes big stem cell clinic chain, Cell Surgical Network Read More »
Early in 2016, we started hearing about patient allegations of having been blinded in Florida by at least one stem cell business and several allegations seemed linked to a publicly-traded company called U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. (USRM). In turn, there have been a number of lawsuits involving USRM, including one filed just a few months …
Sen. Grassley asks tough questions for FDA on U.S. Stem Cell, blinded women Read More »
I get asked many questions about stem cell therapies, but one of the most common over the years has been about the stem cell treatment cost. For instance, a reporter might ask, “How much does a stem cell treatment for MS cost?” and a patient might ask me, “How much is a fair cost for …
Update on stem cell treatment cost for 2018 from ongoing poll Read More »
One of the most famous living biological scientists, Sir Ian Wilmut, just announced that he has Parkinson’s Disease. I wish him the best in dealing with this illness. Wilmut is very well-known for having cloned the first mammal, Dolly the Sheep. This work followed on the earlier breakthrough by Sir John Gurdon of cloning the …
Ian Wilmut, who cloned Dolly, opens up about his Parkinson’s Disease Read More »
Can we humans grow healthy new brain cells as adults and during later aging? The answer to this question is a big deal because it could have major impact on aging. Those hoped-for new brain cells could keep our brains functionally younger. Who doesn’t want to slow down the aging of their brain, right? Slowing …