When I was a kid there was this commercial on TV for Chiffon margarine (fake butter) with the slogan, “It’s not nice to fool mother nature!” As a kid I thought it was dumb but kind of funny. A modified version of that mother nature advertising slogan has become a cultural tagline. Don’t mess with …
Don’t mess with (mother) Nature: why risk taking on a powerhouse journal? Read More »
Who are the top stem cell and regenerative medicine influencers to follow on Twitter and elsewhere in 2019? Terrapin asked this kind of broad question to some within our community about 5 years ago and came up with a Top 50 list of stem cell influencers, which I like to joke I was “at the top …
50 stem cell influencers on Twitter to follow in 2019 Read More »
Something very strange just happened at the journal Nature related to what’s called Muse cells. Kudos to them for dealing with it quickly though. They published an unreviewed research “article” on controversial (perhaps non-existent) stem cells called “Muse cells” that was actually a paid advertisement. After I communicated with the Nature team eventually they ended up …
Nature yanks article that was actually advertisement on controversial stem cells Read More »
When the FDA has a major problem with something, it can issue a warning letter or more rarely it can file suit in court for an injunction against the particular party. The FDA has now done both of these things on different fronts with Beverly Hills stem cell clinic doctor and cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Mark Berman. …
What new papers and news in the stem cell sphere caught your eye? Here are some recent items that seem notable to me. Diabetes relief in mice by glucose-sensing insulin-secreting human α-cells. This paper reports cellular reprogramming to insulin-producing cells in mice. They reprogrammed α-cells with Pdx1 and MafA proteins. ‘Mitophagy inhibits amyloid-β and tau pathology and reverses …
Recent stem cell pubs & news: reprogramming, chromatin, single-cell, Astellas, & more Read More »
I keep a yearly hub of stem cell & regenerative medicine meetings here on The Niche. Below I’ve pasted the list for 2019, which continues to grow. If you don’t see yours listed, send me an email with the info including a link (knoepflerATucdavisDOTedu). These meeting listings are not endorsements and I try to make …
Stem cell & regenerative medicine meetings for you to go to in 2019 Read More »
Two prominent scientists, Robin Lovell-Badge and George Daley, have been amongst the most outspoken proponents of leaving the door open to heritable human genetic modification via CRISPR. While they each have articulated their reasons in somewhat different ways at times, their core reasons arguing in favor of future heritable CRISPR appear largely the same. In …
Counterpoints to Lovell-Badge & Daley’s CRISPR baby rationales Read More »
Historically, the main route of proposed healing via stem cell therapy was cell replacement. In this way of thinking the transplanted cells engrafted (took up home) in the patient’s tissue and replaced dead or diseased cells. However, interest continues to grow in other possible modes of healing by stem cells that don’t rely on cell …
4 possible roles for stem cell therapy besides cell replacement Read More »
Swedish Medical Center in Seattle is now marketing regenerative medicine therapies including some things that in my view are not really scientifically proven to work including via an infomercial. This is part of a bigger trend where more legit medical centers have begun selling regenerative medicine “treatments” that are still being developed. Sometimes they even …
‘So you don’t get eyeball in your hand’: Swedish Medical Center ‘infomercial’ Read More »