The private cord blood bank industry has promised families all kinds of great things over the years. A typical ad for such cord blood banks might say, “Your child may need cord blood in the future for a cure.” The industry also often uses the analogy of frozen cord blood as an insurance policy for […]
Nevada has a relatively new 2023 law legalizing non-FDA-approved biological and gene therapies. I use the word “therapies” here loosely. They are not scientifically or medically proven to work or be safe so they could lead to substantial harm. This is yet another early step in a likely growing trend of states challenging FDA authority
Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells or MSCs are widely used by unproven clinics, but MSC research also suggests real promise in specific areas. Clinics mainly use adipose MSCs (often called SVF) or bone marrow MSCs. However, umbilical cord MSC preparations are getting more popular too. Many questions swirl around the use of MSCs including what exactly are
What if we could make robots that possess human brain-like structures? Chinese scientists have reportedly made such robots that are each guided at least in part by a small amount of lab-grown brain tissue. These cyborg-like creations, which are being trained to perform specific tasks, also have standard computer chips. How much does the human
On the road to Cylons? Robots with human brain tissue reported Read More »
Combinations of human flesh and robots are more in the news lately. Sometimes the fleshy parts are grown from stem cells in a lab. Robots with fleshy faces Scientists in Japan Give Robots a Fleshy Face and a Smile, NYT. I’m working on a piece about robots in China with small, human brain-like structures. Stay tuned
Recommended reads: flesh-faced robots, ALS, Spina Bifida,neuronal CRISPR Read More »
Remember the Lung Institute? Many patients raised red flags about their experiences there. It was also once known as the Lung Health Institute. More generally, patients who have been harmed by stem cell clinics have had to rely on other ways beyond the FDA to try to do something about it. The FDA has been
Lung Institute stem cell clinic loses class action suit, patients awarded $9M Read More »
The proto-oncogene MYC is one of those factors studied in thousands of papers. MYC and its dimerize partner MAX are also seemingly involved in just about everything. They have crucial roles in many kinds of stem cells including adult and embryonic stem cells. One way or another MYC induction seems very helpful for cellular reprogramming
FDA Commissioners including Robert Califf have radically different approaches to the job including oversight of marketing of unproven stem cells. As to stem cell clinics, some have been very engaged, while others seem the opposite. During his second go as FDA Commissioner, Robert Califf has been vocal about many topics. However, as best as I
Silence from FDA Commissioner Robert Califf on stem cell clinics is a problem Read More »
When I was first really getting into stem cells as a trainee the name Catherine Verfaillie came up as a scientist to watch in the adult stem cell area. It wasn’t too long after that though that I started hearing that some of the work from her lab at the University of Minnesota was being
Recommended reads: Nature Catherine Verfaillie retraction, Horvath paper, Vertex Read More »
I’ve only met one scientist who was openly a Trump fan, but I’m sure there are more out there. Still, it seems most scientists are no fans of the former president. A new WaPo piece highlights how federal scientists are worrying about a possible second term for the former president. Government scientists & a second
Recommended reads: gov scientists fear Trump 2nd term, MYCT1 in HSCs, in vivo editing Read More »