Research

Stem cell research.

Recommended reads: Dux, 3D printed ear brings Vacanti mouse to mind, AMD, more

Vacanti Mouse

Eight years ago two new Nature papers broke on the scene reporting supposed STAP cells with one of the senior authors, Charles Vacanti of Harvard, most well known previously for making the so-called “Vacanti mouse” along with his brother Joseph. The Vacanti mouse had a bioengineered human ear growing on its back. While STAP cells …

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One size doesn’t fit all? FDA may soften some cell therapy regs

dr. peter marks fda, cell therapy

The Pink Sheet just broke the story that the FDA may change up its oversight of the cell therapy space. This possible shift could drop the oversight bar somewhat for certain products. Most likely it’d be those with lower anticipated risks. The Pink Sheet piece by Sue Sutter is titled US FDA To Explore New Regulatory Pathways …

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Overplaying N=1 in the stem cell therapy world

stem cell therapy

The regular emails and phone calls I get from patients asking questions about stem cell therapy are a powerful reminder of the fact that research in our field can be very personal. Sometimes individuals who receive experimental stem cell therapy (or other cell therapies) and seem to have a positive outcome can end up becoming …

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Weekly reads: neural stem cells, CRISPR brain, Vertex, cytoplasm surprise

neural stem cells

Some people consider the brain to be equivalent to a living computer and in that sense it’s too bad that computers don’t have the equal of neural stem cells to help them fix themselves. Is the internet one big neural network-like web? There was a quake in the stem cell internet as CIRM’s main website …

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Weekly reads: Vertex hold, new type of cell division in fish, CAR-T

zebrafish cell division

I remember the first time I ever witnessed human cell division first hand and it was really excitement. I was working as a part-time tech in the Lane Lab at UC San Diego School of Medicine. We studied heart disease and grew human umbilical cord endothelial cell cultures. It was striking to see a plate …

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Weekly science reads: Macchiarini trial, somites, CRISPR babies

organoids with somites, cool science

This has been one of those weeks where I spent some time thinking about taking risks in science. How much risk one should take? Risks can come in many forms. It could be at the core level at the bench doing specific experiments and not others. There’s risk in clinical trials, and even in advocacy. Sometimes …

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Weekly reads: fibroblasts, cancer stem cells, Parkinson’s

fibroblasts stained

It seems like the field of cell biology has mixed feelings about fibroblasts so I’m going to start off there with the recommended reads. But first, check out our stem cell YouTube channel as we are steadily heading toward 500 subscribers and 30,000 views. Please subscribe. I’ve pasted one of our top videos below, which …

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Google gets it dangerously wrong on stem cell side effects

Google stem cell side effects

In trying to figure out how unproven stem cell clinics get so many customers, I’ve found that these firms can in part thank Google. I recently wrote a guest piece on STAT News about this problem and called on Google to fix it. However, just this week I stumbled on another case of Google search …

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Weekly reads: Melton leaves Harvard, Fuji, BBC blunder, stem cell niche, more

Senolytics restore the stem cell niche in the brains of mice. Fatt, et al. Stem Cell Reports 2022.

Sometimes a post here on The Niche (named after the stem cell niche) sparks a debate between expert stem cell researchers and often that gives much more depth to a topic. Such was the case with my post this week on where things stand with stem cell therapy for heart disease. It led to a …

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