Weekly Reads

The Niche’s recommended Weekly Reads on stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

Weekly stem cell reads: tomato stem cells, FDA blacklist, CALEC, odd RFK Jr. summit

stem cell, tomato stem cells

Some of you may know that gardening is one of my hobbies and I see it as akin to science, even like growing stem cell cultures. Tomatoes are my favorite thing to grow. About ten years ago I started sprouting my own tomato plants from seed. It’s surprisingly easy with grow lights. This way you […]

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Weekly reads: robot scientist, stem cell sperm make a baby, assembloids & sense

How about a robot grant writing scientist?

What’s life as an academic scientist really like now? It’s gotten worse in the U.S. recently. There’s more stress about funding including on levels that we can’t control. I’m writing too many grant proposals these days. I’m wondering how much researchers are now using AI for grant writing, which I have not done. Does AI

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Weekly reads: Humacyte, retinal stem cells, stem cell therapy for knees & hearts

Laura Niklason, Humacyte

I want to discuss a recent development with Humacyte and the FDA, but first, please check out a new video below that is a discussion between student Parmin Sedigh and me on the idea of stem cells for heart disease. Parmin has also written for The Niche and has her own site too. I am impressed

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Weekly reads: Topol on longevity biz, Peter Marks out at FDA, timeless NIH grant advice

Eric Topol, Longevity, Super-Agers

Most of us want longevity, especially if our quality of life remains generally solid as we age. The combination of length and quality of life is sometimes called “healthspan.” How do we get the maximum health span? Easier said than done. Not all of the obstacles are biological either. Unfortunately, accompanying all the legitimate research

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Weekly reads: Chinese CRISPR biotechs, cultured meat war, MSCs for Alzheimer’s

HuidaGene Therapeutics, Chinese CRISPR biotech

Chinese CRISPR research continues to grow and this includes interesting CRISPR biotech firms. Some here in the U.S. worry that American gene editing firms could be lagging behind. Especially over the past year, investors and even some scientists have voiced frustration. U.S. gene editing firms like Editas have been struggling for years. Its stock is

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Weekly reads: blowtorch to American science, stem cells for teeth & stroke

Knoepfler-science-march

In all the time I’ve been a scientist I never worried about American science until the last month. Even during the first Trump administration, while there were challenges, I felt like things would generally be okay. Research continued. One of my daughters and I went to the Science March in 2017 in Sacramento. We bumped

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Weekly reads: stem cell exhaustion, Lineage Cell trial, Iowa AG wins vs. clinics

stem cells aging, stem cell exhaustion

It’s been an exhausting week for anyone who cares about the NIH and biomedical research, but in today’s weekly reads I want to talk about another kind of fatigue: stem cell exhaustion. Please subscribe to The Niche Before we get into that, I’d like to ask a favor: please subscribe to this site, The Niche.

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Weekly reads: Altos Labs aging supplements pub, destructive NIH cuts, FDA warning, HSCs

Steve Horvath, Altos Labs

When I think of so-called aging supplements, visions of snake oil dance in my head. Possible benefits of supplements more generally have mostly not held up to long-term research. Supplements have risks too and so do purported longevity supplements. These pills claiming to fight aging are more in the realm of stem cell supplements that

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Weekly reads: Beth Shapiro & de-extinction, mice with two dads, stem cell patches

Beth Shapiro, De-extinction

Biologist and ancient DNA expert Beth Shapiro is becoming more well known for doing de-extinction research. Yet Shapiro used to be a de-extinction skeptic. Ten years ago she wrote “How to Clone a Mammoth.” In the book she mentioned serious challenges related to de-extinction. Now she is the CSO for a firm trying to make

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Weekly reads: NIH freeze even before RFK confirmation, FDA warnings, RP stem cell trial data

NIH freeze

RFK isn’t even confirmed as HHS Secretary and things are going south already with an NIH freeze. What do I mean? NIH freeze could do lasting damage to biomedical research The Trump Administration has frozen many NIH processes including meetings such as study sections that evaluate grant proposals. No study sections means almost no new

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