Gene drive is a powerful, emerging genetic technology that can force genetic modification into an entire population. For more background on gene drive you can read my previous post. It’s a very exciting, but potentially dangerous technology with sizable possible risks. Recently I had an intriguing conversation with leading geneticist Harmit Malik on gene drive. What …
Conversation with Harmit Malik on Gene Drive & Genetics Read More »
The White House seems to be getting more active on genetics in the last six months. It’s refreshing to see them actually talking about real, important science. My feeling has been that up until now they’ve been giving too little attention to science so even if you may disagree with some aspects of what they …
I recently did a series of 4 polls on potential roadblock issues in the iPS cell field. The impetus for these polls was my sense that there were substantial differences in views on whether iPS cells were now proven to be equivalent to ES cells in 4 key ways. Turns out the polls got a …
Just how good are today’s iPS cells? Are they essentially functionally the same as ES cells? Take our polls below to let us know your thoughts.
I know you care about stem cells and research, but do you know much about epigenetics? You should. If you do not understand epigenetics then you do not understand stem cells. Don’t be put off by the complicated sounding name “epigenetics”. It’s really simple conceptually and below is your easy-to-understand guide. Epigenetics controls nearly every …
I’ve been more interested in histones and their modifications versus DNA methylation when it comes to epigenetics and chromatin. In part this has just been because I have studied histones so much more. For example, we have been knocking out the two histone variant H3.3 genes, H3f3a and H3f3b, now for a decade. My lab also …
Weekly reads: DNA methylation, H3 K27M in glioma, memory wipe, teeth Read More »
I’ve been thinking more about the steady stream of epigenetic clock research out there. How convincing is the research on such clocks? Do they tightly relate to human biological age? The related notion of turning back such hypothetical clocks to reverse aging is exciting but controversial. It doesn’t help that some are hyping all of …
Is DNA methylation destiny? Diving into new epigenetic clock research Read More »
The biotech Sarepta has had a complicated go of it with the FDA sometimes related to their Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) gene therapy efforts. In late 2016 I wrote about how there was some controversy as the FDA approved the Sarepta drug eteplirsen (Exondys 51) also for DMD, going against an advisory panel that had …
Weekly reads: Sarepta, epigenomics, FDA on eyedrops Read More »
I’m sure many of you remember He Jiankui, the guy who made CRISPR babies. He ended up serving three years in jail in China. He seems to be trying for something of a comeback since his release. Were He Jiankui invitations a mistake? Some prestigious places have even invited him to give talks, which seemed …
Weekly reads: He Jiankui disappoints, ALS, Vor Biopharma Read More »
With the pandemic still here but less severe there are more in-person conference opportunities including stem cell meetings. It seems certain that moving forward though that there will be far more virtual opportunities too. That’s a good thing. You can see last year’s stem cell & regenerative medicine meetings 2022 page too. 2023 stem cell …
Hub of regenerative medicine & stem cell meetings 2023 Read More »