UPDATE: A second recent study, this one in Nature Genetics has found a novel genetic link between the immune system and Parkinson’s Disease. The authors were screening for genomic variants unique to Parkinson’s patients, finding known ones but also a novel linkage. The link was with the HLA region, known to play a key role […]
Parkinson’s Disease, promising new results on iPS cells Read More »
UPDATE: I have added more discussion at the bottom about therapeutics and how regenerative medicine might work for Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia throughout the world, affecting 10s of millions of people. The cost to society is staggering and on a personal level for those of us who
Exciting stem cell progress on Alzheimer’s Disease Read More »
Regenerative medicine is very exciting. But what’s even better than regenerative medicine? Preventative medicine. If one can prevent a problem for occurring in the first place, it is far better than trying to treat it after the fact. Of course in many cases we do not know the causes of diseases so it is difficult
Update in 2020: It seems now after all these years that the consensus in the now more mature field is that IPSCs and ESCs are nearly identical in most cases, and both have some of the same translational challenges such as teratoma-forming activity. It’s interesting to read this post from nearly 10 years ago and
iPS cells coming into focus: not quite so similar to ESC after all Read More »
“HSCT Chicago Clinic Closing!” is the startling header in all caps on a patient-run Facebook page about a stem cell therapy clinical trial program at Northwestern University. What’s going on? Unfortunately, the promising field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases seems to have suffered an unexpected setback
Northwestern abruptly ending Burt HSCT autoimmune trials Read More »
Cord blood banker Cryo-Cell and Duke have had a long-running agreement. The potentially multi-million dollar deal has focused on the development of possible umbilical cord blood therapies for pediatric patients. A major first goal has been to open an infusion clinic, which I have been very skeptical about for various reasons. For instance, one big
Cryo-Cell alleges Duke acted “fraudulently” related to pediatric cord cell deal Read More »
Who decides what to name something new in science like “human embryo models”? Also, not to get too philosophical right off the bat, but what is the point of a name? It’s about a shared understanding of what we’re talking about. But, very often, both out in the world and in the various fields of
Beyond naming: embryo models and the importance of public dialogue Read More »
Remember cryonics, the idea that you could hit pause on human life? This relies on the super-cold power of liquid nitrogen or some other ultra-freezing method. Apparently cryonics is still a thing and there are people with even just their heads frozen. A new story claims a different way to hit the pause button on
Weekly reads: hit pause on human life, CIRM pause, 23andMe data, blast from the past Read More »
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 »
What do you think of when I mention Stanford professor Mike Snyder and self-help guru Tony Robbins together? I would not necessarily have imagined them forming a connection but science is full of surprises. I’ve admired Snyder’s work in genetics for a long time. I’m most familiar these days with Robbins for his interest in