Author name: Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D.

Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. is a Professor at UC Davis School of Medicine in Cell Biology and Human Anatomy. His lab does research on stem cells and cancer, especially from an epigenomic angle. He also has been working on policy and ethics matters for many years. The author of 3 books, he also has a popular TED talk on designer babies.

Longeveron’s Laromestrocel for Frailty: Breaking Down Cell Stem Cell Data & Problematic Nature Coverage

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MSCs frailty hype

Longeveron is a biotech studying clinical applications of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells or MSCs . MSCs are interesting, usually heterogeneous cell preparations. They are probably most well known for modulating the behavior of other cells via their secretome. The clinical potential of MSCs is often overstated, typically based on small, uncontrolled trials. So, when randomized, double-blinded, […]

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$24M verdict against Seattle Stem Cell Center clinic in man’s death

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stem cell clinic death, Seattle Stem Cell Center

Several years ago, a stem cell clinic called Seattle Stem Cell Center caught my eye. The Washington State AG’s office filed a case against US Stemology, which appears to have owned the stem cell center. The AG prevailed, but there was another development. A patient named Mike Trujillo died after getting a procedure at the

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Weekly reads: longevity hype vs. cool research, losing your Y, FDA maelstrom

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The stream of longevity hype can be exhausting, but there’s exciting research in this space too. This week there was some of both. It was also a wild week in the news for the FDA and its CBER branch too. Longevity hype vs. data from new research Can humans reverse aging? Harvard scientist predict revolutionary

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From skin biopsy to iPS cell proposals: emails involving George Church’s Personal Genome Project and Jeffrey Epstein

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George-Church

When I first read in 2019 that George Church previously had ties to Jeffrey Epstein, I felt disappointed. It’s been fun following Church’s research over the years. I even interviewed him here on The Niche about human germline CRISPR. Now, unfortunately, there are new revelations about Church’s Personal Genome Project (PGP) in the recent Epstein

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Weekly reads: The Atlantic stem cell advertorial, Ozempic & cartilage restoration surprise, dwarfism tx

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The Atlantic, stem cells

It’s discouraging to see many media outlets posting sponsored content on stem cells and I never thought I’d see such an advertorial in The Atlantic. Yet there it was! Sponsored content on stem cells from The Atlantic Here it is: Stem Cell Transplantation’s New Frontiers, The Atlantic.  Usually sponsored content on stem cells is junky. Most

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FDA OKs risky, pioneering OSK rejuvenation trial with Sinclair’s ER-100

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David Sinclair

The FDA has cleared a trial of ER-100 from Life Biosciences for eye rejuvenation. In the trial, ER-100 will deliver inducible expression of the three reprogramming factors. OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 are colloquially known together as OSK. This trial is an extension of the work of Harvard professor and longevity enthusiast David Sinclair. The hypothesis here

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Weekly reads: surprise Casgevy challenge, India bars stem cells for autism, Dorothy Bishop PubPeer analysis

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Casgevy

It was exciting when the combined cell and gene therapies Casgevy and Lyfgenia were approved for sickle cell in late 2023. Still, one of the anticipated challenges was that the therapies could be so expensive that it would limit access. However, since the approval another challenge has emerged for Casgevy. We’ll start there, but first

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Wyoming stem cell bill is latest risky, anti-FDA state legislation

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Eric Barlow, Wyoming stem cell bill

There’s a new Wyoming stem cell bill that poses risks to the public. The so-called Stem Cell Freedom Act would allow clinical use of non-FDA-approved cells in that state. With this, Wyoming joins other states such as Florida that are pushing back on the FDA. The new Florida stem cell law is likely already causing

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Weekly reads: human SCBEM framework, reporter self-injects peptides, ASD, NAMs

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stembryos, embryo models, SCBEM

Scientists sometimes disagree about research including not just what data might mean, but also what kinds of rules there should be about research like stem cell-based embryo models (SCBEM). It makes sense that the most cutting-edge research tends to spark the strongest disagreements. For instance, there’s no consensus on how much clinical trial data should

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