The pursuit of “normalcy” has seriously led some scientists astray and there is no better example than the recent microbiome studies that have drawn great attention in the media. I found one aspect of their study design profoundly disturbing. First to my core question. Is there even such as thing as a normal person? As […]
I have an ongoing poll on people’s impressions of the big annual stem cell meeting, ISSCR 2012. I myself have been wishing I was in Japan for that meeting so I remain surprised at the trending of the poll toward the negative. By far the most common response has been a surprisingly ho-hum “so-so” evaluation
Wish list from 2012 attendees for ISSCR 2013: some crankiness Read More »
Want to win $50 and become a published author? Enter the Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog Essay Contest. Due in 11 days! The challenge? Write a no more than 500 word,convincing, non-fiction essay on stem cells thinking entirely outside the box. Otherwise, the angle you take is totally up to you. Surprise me. Make me
Still 11 days left to enter stem cell essay contest, get published, & win $50 Read More »
Why do professors leave one institution and go to another? The reasons why say a lot about academia. This is kind of a taboo topic in science, but very important. Once upon a time…. Two decades ago when I was a technician in the Pathology Department at UCSD School of Medicine and then still when
Why professors leave: elephant in the lab series Read More »
How often do our preconceived notions make us miss new discoveries as scientists? I fear this happens very often. What got me thinking about closed and open minds was of course inspired by my dog, Elvis. I was walking her very early one morning last week as I often do out here in Davis, CA
Mystery sculpture: how the brain eats up new things Read More »
What’s the deal with ISSCR 2012? I’ve always enjoyed the ISSCR meetings myself, but there was some grumbling last year that the meeting was as one reader told me “boring” and that people were presenting too much already published data. I decided since I wasn’t at this year’s meeting to do a poll on attendees’
Surprising lack of enthusiasm for ISSCR 2012 Read More »
What if I told you I believe that iPS cells really began in Seattle in the 1980s? Call me crazy? Read on. We hear a lot about how iPS cells were first created in 2006 in Japan by Shinya Yamanaka. I often say this myself. However, as is the case with so much in science,
How iPS cells germinated in part in Seattle in the 1980s Read More »
This wild week started with an alarm clock ringing at 4:45AM Monday morning and me schlepping myself to Sacramento Airport to fly down to my former hometown of La Jolla, CA to meet Guv Perry of Texas. The small group had a great talk. I’m not naive enough to imagine us all singing Kumbaya together around
Scientists meeting with politicians like Rick Perry of Texas Read More »
It’s been another wacky week in the stem cell world ranging from the Zombie to the Magical. Well, at least it’s Friday, right? In the stem cell world a Friday is not that different than any other day as stem cells often require 7-days a week care, but still Fridays are nice. OK, the
TGIF: The good, bad and zombie stem cell headlines for week of June 15 Read More »
What scares scientists? What fears keep them up at night worrying? What makes them scream (if only in their heads)? As part of my elephant in the lab series tackling difficult but important topics for scientists, today I am talking fear! Earlier posts in this series included taboo topics about iPS cells, the dirty dozen
Fears of academic scientists: elephant in the lab series Read More »