Stem cell research.
What are pericytes? What about brain pericytes? How are they different than brain parasites? Pericytes on the brain Someone once asked me my favorite type of cell. As a cell biologist, I easily can’t pick just one. It’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. However, I will say that pericytes and microglia […]
Ever heard of woolly mice? I hadn’t either until recently. The story begins with de-extinction research. De-extinction can be both cool and arguably a colossal waste of research dollars. The specific effort to de-extinct woolly mammoths fits that dual classification. Woolly mice on the road back to mammoths? Let’s dig into this with some news:
I recently looked at the organizational chart at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research or CBER. Why? I have been anticipating some possible big changes there with the new administration. After all, with HHS Secretary RFK Jr. having previously claimed that the FDA was suppressing various unproven things including at least two kinds
Weekly reads: CBER changes, Parkinson’s, 2-dad mice, NIH woes continue Read More »
What are coral stem cells? It turns out that even corals have stem cells and they can grow new corals. Six years ago I found myself in the lucky position of snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Stem cells were not on my mind. I did notice large areas of bleached and dead
Weekly reads: coral stem cells to the rescue, diabetes Read More »
Did you predict the major events in the stem cell and regenerative medicine field this year? I tried and today’s post are the grades on my predictions. Prediction is a key part of being a scientist even if we may not think about it that much. For instance, we have to try to predict what
Grading my 20 stem cell & regenerative medicine predictions for 2024 Read More »
Intermittent fasting must be good for stem cells, right? It’s not so clear. Like many things in biology, intermittent fasting can have seemingly opposite effects. Before we get into that, the news of the week is that the FDA approved Mesoblast’s Ryoncil MSC drug for some cases of pediatric GvHD. This has sparked lively discussion.
Weekly reads: intermittent fasting and stem cells, vet warning, blastemas Read More »
Do our aging cells necessitate that we age overall as people? Flipping it around, if we can stop or reverse enough cellular aging, will our overall aging be positively affected? It’s clear that people age very differently from each other and so do our cells and organs. Interestingly, intramurally in a sense the cells and
Weekly reads: aging cells, scientists relying on ChatGPT, anemone stem cells Read More »
As we look to 2025, what are the best regenerative medicine and stem cell journals? Is there a stem cell journal list out there? I seem to have the only comprehensive list. Who better than a stem cell biologist to put together this kind of list? Why is this important? Scientists need to know what
List of regenerative medicine & stem cell journals Read More »
For a few years, biophysicist He Jiankui might have been one of the most recognizable scientists on the planet. He made three “CRISPR babies” or gene edited people. However, his gene editing went badly and as best as we can tell his efforts did not result in precision edits. It’s unclear if he had institutional
The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy or ISCT is a great organization in our field. They have launched a new guide to help healthcare providers navigate this complex area. Click on the image below to check it out. This new resource is important because healthcare providers, researchers, and the public need authoritative information.
ISCT launches new resource on unproven cell & gene therapies Read More »