How close are we to having new stem cell therapies that work? The field is nearly there on several fronts, but we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Last week I noted the “soon” in a Nature News headline “Stem cells head to the clinic: treatments for cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease could soon be here.” […]
Weekly reads: stem cell therapies that work, exosomes, H3.3 K27M, Joe Rogan Read More »
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 »
Histone proteins such as histone H3 are often popping up in science writing and news sometimes includes specific modified forms of H3 including one that we scientists call H3K27me3. What is in this article What is H3K27me3? | The histone code | H3K27ac and H3K27me3 function | H3K27 and human disease | References The goal of today’s post
Histone code series: H3K27me3 & H3K27ac functions & roles in diseases like DIPG Read More »
What exactly is a mesenchymal cell and what does the acronym MSC stand for these days? I took a stab recently at discussing mesenchymal cells and the MSC acronym so check that out. There is a great need for standards on MSCs and the products out there being marketed as MSCs are probably in reality
Weekly reads: MSC, p53, EuroGCT, fake fish, K27M CAR-T Read More »
Anyone with a seemingly only semi-functional nervous system now post-election might be turning to science to help their brains bounce back. Here are some of the things I’ve been reading or hope to soon. In good news for the stem cell and regenerative medicine field, especially here in California, it looks like us California voters
I had a feeling late last year that I’d frequently be writing about RFK Jr. and his impact on the FDA. However, I didn’t realize some of that would be writing for STAT News. As I mentioned a few days ago, I now have a new regular column over there. I thought the column would
Weekly reads: RFK Jr. stem cell summit, FDA OKs eye cell therapy, cartilage repair Read More »
When a vendor of important reagents like antibody supplier Abcam charges big money, those high Abcam prices could negatively impact research in the long run. Some of the prices are so high that buying just a few antibodies could take up a small but meaningful slice of an entire R01 grant. Sky-high Abcam prices I’ve
Weekly reads: abundant Abcam prices, speedy aging & cancer, stemmy CAR-T, more on STAP Read More »
My lab is focused in part on chromatin states in stem cells and cancer including heterochromatin. In fact, my lab’s website is chromatin.com. Heterochromatin is dense, often inactive chromatin. By H&E staining and electron microscopy, heterochromatin looks dark compared to the rest of the nucleus, largely composed of euchromatin. Toward the end of my postdoc
Weekly reads: heterochromatin, H3.3, Mesoblast bump Read More »
There has been a steady stream of encouraging data on stem cells for MS. Particularly for certain kinds of MS. A new study adds to this upbeat direction. Good news on stem cells for MS Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in Sweden: an observational cohort study, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery,
Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, Kimera Labs IND, FDA lawsuit Read More »
Imagine writing or editing an article for the WaPo about risky, unproven medical interventions for COVID that desperate patients might consider. Then you link directly to the websites selling this stuff in your article. What the heck? WaPo links to risky long COVID “treatments” By linking, you not only are driving customers to these firms,
Weekend reads: WaPo blows it on COVID, paper-mill detector, adult pluripotent stem cells Read More »