How can I make money from stem cells? Someone recently asked me this question and more often I get asked “Which stem cell companies do YOU like as a stem cell scientist?” Just today an article went out that said that the global market for stem cell products will be $65 billion by 2015. That’s […]
How to make money from stem cells Read More »
Why are stem cells called stem cells? “Stem cell” is one of those terms we use all the time without thinking about it, but where did the name come from originally? Why do we call these particular cells that meet given criteria, “stem cell”? The name “stem” would appear to be a reflection of their
What’s in the stem cell name? Trunk cells & more Read More »
There were three talks today on iPS cells here at the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy meeting or ASGCT meeting in Seattle. Dr. James Ellis made the interesting case that it may be preferable to make iPS cells using genetic methods (while everyone else seems to be saying that non-genetic methods will be better).
News on iPS cells from some top scientists at ASGCT meeting today Read More »
Ten days ago I put up a poll asking readers of this blog when they thought the life of a human being starts. The poll is above and you can still participate. I purposefully tweeted this poll to as wide an audience as possible. We have gotten a lot of responses and interestingly the most
When does life begin? Our poll results Read More »
What’s the most amazing, weird, funny, bad, good thing that has happened to you in the lab? Here’s one from me. One day as a graduate student I was finishing up a long weekend of work and was ready to go home. No one else was around in our lab or even in the building
A funny thing happened on the way to the incubator: life in the lab Read More »
Behind the stem cell “war” that has been going on for years is a deceptively simple question: when does the life of a human being begin? As someone who works with human embryonic stem cells and iPS cells, I’ve given this a lot of thought. But first, before I post on that, I want to
When Does Human Life Begin? Please take part in our poll Read More »
Why invest in stem cells? Ideas are the foundation of stem cell research, but funding makes those ideas a reality. We talk a lot about governmental funding of stem cell research through CIRM and NIH. The funding from these agencies is essential and will undoubtedly lead to new treatments and cures, possibly for millions of
Why invest in stem cells? Progress, Patients, and Patents Read More »
Since Yamanaka’s discovery of iPS cells first in mouse and then in human cells 5 years ago, both made using viral transduction, a host of new methods to make iPS cells have been reported. These methods are quite diverse, ranging from transposons, to recombinant proteins, to plasmids, and to RNA. Often times these new approaches
Why miRNA iPS cells might be the ticket: an A+ paper Read More »
It seems reasonably likely that in the end, the final say on the embryonic stem cell case one way or another will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. While yesterday brought a victory for science and patients and logic, this was just one battle, not the war. The war that opponents of ES cell
How would the Supreme Court rule on embryonic stem cells? Read More »
The California Public Safety Committee today passed AB 190 and in so doing has funded the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act! The action will provide up to $11 million a year in funding for spinal cord injury research. This is amazing news and is the result of a lot of hard work by
Roman Reed Act is funded! A great day for spinal cord injury research! Read More »