Just when I thought that the myths about stem cells, particularly embryonic stem cells, couldn’t get any more fantastic (as in based on fantasy), we have some bright folks out there thinking that soda (pop, coke, pepsi, whatever you call it) is made using embryonic stem cells. The headline goes: Pepsi is using embryonic stem cells […]
Stem cells in my Pepsi? New crazy stem cell myths Read More »
Who is the stem cell fugitive? When I was a kid I loved re-runs of that program The Fugitive. I always knew that Dr. Richard Kimble was innocent. Then in 1993 Harrison Ford starred in a movie based on the TV show, which was a fun one. Now we have a real life fugitive story
The stem cell fugitive: Dr. Lawrence Stowe Read More »
There was another federal indictment just handed down that alleges that one Francisco Morales (aka Dr. Frank Morales) broke the law with stem cells. Allegedly he took umbilical cords (telling patients that they would be used for medical research), facilitated isolation of stem cells, and shipped them out of state to be used in dubious
Indicted alleged stem cell predator Morales & Margolis: any links? Read More »
Who are the stem cell elves? Merry Christmas! You heard me, Merry Christmas! I’m a Democrat and I love Christmas! As we think about the holiday season, it seems appropriate to make our list, just as Santa is doing, of the elves and grinches of the stem cell world. For today on Christmas, let’s forget the
Your definitive Christmas list of stem cell elves Read More »
There are many stories in the news about stem cells right now. Some of the stories are positive and some are negative in terms of the actual news. A separate issue is that some of the stories do a good job, while others are very inaccurate or use the news to confuse and push their
Stem cells in the media today: the good and the ugly Read More »
This morning on day two of the World Stem Cell Summit here in Pasadena, Rudy Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute gave the scientific keynote address. It was a fabulous talk. Rudy Jaenisch, accurately described by Bernie Siegel as a true giant of the stem cell field, outlined the key issues facing the field of highly
Rudy Jaenisch & 5 key action items for the ES and iPS cell field Read More »
George Bush deserves credit for iPS cells? No way. One of the weapons in the war against stem cell therapies is the use of a seemingly simple word: “ethical”. What does it mean to do ethical science in general and in particular what is ethical stem cell research? Who decides? According to the opponents of
News flash: George Bush deserves credit for iPS cells? Read More »
I have in the past posted advice to new faculty and also top 10 advice list for the academic job hunt, but today I wanted to specifically talk about mentoring. Also, stay tuned for a special post later this week with an autobiographical section from Irv Weissman on his early career and who his key
How to find and be a good mentor? Read More »
Irv Weissman’s lab came out with a very intriguing paper in Nature this week on regeneration and something called a blastema. Having a blastema It is not exactly on regenerative medicine of the kind we think about using exogenous stem cells, but more about how we might tap into nature’s own program for regeneration by
If I only had a blastema: obstacles to human regeneration Read More »
The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine has launched a new effort they call “Stem Cell City”. As part of the launch they have enlisted the help of Lisa Ray, a Canadian Actress/Model, who was treated for Multiple Myeloma in 2009 using a stem cell transplant. Lisa Ray has a video that is quite compelling (see
Lisa Ray, Stem Cell City, and stem cell resources across the globe Read More »