A year ago I did a post on scientific peer review and the dreaded Dr. No, but have things gotten any better? No. From everyone I have talked to, the answer would seem to be quite the contrary–things continue to move in the wrong direction. If you are not a scientist, but care about stem cell […]
I Still Hate Your Paper: Dr. No and the Editors that are ruining Peer Review Read More »
After my post 2 months ago about the pressure I have received to stop doing this stem cell blog, I have been flooded with positive feedback (including by some of the top bigwigs in the stem cell field who chose to remain anonymous) and I have been inundated with questions. They had many different comments,
Who wants to shut down this stem cell blog and why? Read More »
Stem Cell Tourism is a blanket term now used to refer to patients receiving non-FDA approved stem cell treatments either by traveling here within the U.S. or more often outside the U.S. Clinics are sprouting up all over the world offering treatments based on stem cells. The science behind these is often non-existent. Most stem
Stem cell tourism disaster coming: my case for caution Read More »
What’s up with Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and Geron? ACT announced today that it has treated two patients in its clinical trials: one for Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy (see official trial page for a lot more info) and one for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (see official trial page here for a lot more info). The patients underwent
The latest scoop on ACT and Geron Read More »
There has been a largely media-fed hullabaloo about the salary for the new Chair of CIRM, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, $400,000. Now don’t get me wrong, that sounds like a lot of money to me personally, but we need to put it in perspective and when we do, the salary is reasonable and
California pays its sports coaches alone more than the entire payroll of CIRM Read More »
At last year’s ISSCR 2010 Meeting in San Francisco, President Irv Weissman talked about the dangers of unvalidated stem cell treatments. He talked about the responsibility of stem cell scientists to stand against these and the importance for scientists not to endorse or serve on advisory committees of companies peddling such products and “therapies”. As
Stem cell tourism: from bad to worse from 2010-2011 Read More »
As some of you know, I had prostate cancer in 2009 and by the looks of the pathology report, it seemed like a bad one. Part of my own unique experience of being a cancer patient is that I also happen to be a cancer biologist. You might think this would be helpful, but really
What cancer has taught me 584 days into my battle Read More »
I am now doing a weekly stem cell podcast highlighting the most important developments in the stem cell world from my perspective. You can find the podcasts on this page on the top of my website. The first one is there for your listening pleasure. This series of podcasts is called “This week in stem
Announcing Stem Cell Podcast Read More »
I believe that stem cells may at some point allow people to live slightly longer, maybe a couple years on average. However, I think they have the potential to dramatically increase the quality of life during the time we are alive. My colleague Amy Adams over at the CIRM research blog had a great post
Portraying sci-fi about stem cells and aging as reality: quotes from Aubrey de Grey Read More »
In the last week, a number of newspapers in California have run articles or editorials about CIRM, some negative. I think in part this attention was stimulated by the Election of a new Chair at CIRM. The new Chair for CIRM is Dr. Jonathan Thomas, who I am confident will do an outstanding job. On
Why I am super optimistic about the future of CIRM Read More »