When I was first really getting into stem cells as a trainee the name Catherine Verfaillie came up as a scientist to watch in the adult stem cell area. It wasn’t too long after that though that I started hearing that some of the work from her lab at the University of Minnesota was being […]
Recommended reads: Nature Catherine Verfaillie retraction, Horvath paper, Vertex Read More »
I’ve only met one scientist who was openly a Trump fan, but I’m sure there are more out there. Still, it seems most scientists are no fans of the former president. A new WaPo piece highlights how federal scientists are worrying about a possible second term for the former president. Government scientists & a second
Recommended reads: gov scientists fear Trump 2nd term, MYCT1 in HSCs, in vivo editing Read More »
Do many in the regenerative medicine field have favorite types of stem cells? Some seem to think there’s a tension between those working on pluripotent stem cells like iPS cells and those working with MSCs. I don’t see it that way, though. Whatever stem cells work best for a particular condition should be used and,
Weekly reads: diabetes, GvHD, Novo Nordisk & regenerative medicine, HDACs Read More »
Can researchers use CAR-T for lupus? It’s always exciting when one’s home institution has an interesting new therapy in development. Here at UC Davis Health, there has been an increasing stream of such encouraging trials in the pipeline. I’ve written before about the promising trial of stem cells for spina bifida. Now there’s news related
Recommended reads: CAR-T for Lupus, CRISPR vision, journal closures Read More »
Some recent claims had me wondering whether Liz Parrish is the world’s most genetically modified person. She and her firm BioViva are making that claim. It’s an important question but maybe not for the reason many of us first might think. This is not really about one person. Instead, this is a weighty question because
It takes a lot to surprise me these days in the cell therapy and regenerative medicine space, but some news from Walgreens stopped me in my tracks yesterday. The firm most well known for its drug stores and pharmacies has been struggling recently. Perhaps as a way to try to turn things around, they recently
New Walgreens shopping list: q-tips, aspirin, & cutting-edge gene & cell therapies Read More »
People often ask me about stem cells for autism or even their hope of an autism cure. I’ve explained that there is no new treatment for autism based on stem cells. There aren’t even mildly encouraging data. Note that it can be hurtful to the community to talk about an autism cure and disregarding neurodiversity.
I wrote a few weeks ago about a firm called RGCC or Research Genetic Cancer Center, which sells what I see as an unproven RNA therapy to clinics throughout the US. The approach is called supportive oligonucleotide therapy or SOT. After buying it from RGCC, the clinics then sell SOT injections for Lyme disease, other
US clinics selling unproven RGCC cell therapies in addition to SOT Read More »
A few dozen clinics in the US sell an unproven RNA therapy called supportive oligonucleotide therapy or SOT. The product comes from a Greek firm RGCC or Research Genetic Cancer Center, which also pre-tests patients’ gene expression to design the RNA product. Clinics marketing SOT in the US say it is intended to act by
Are small clusters of cells that make up 5-day-old human embryos equivalent to children? Biologically and in terms of just common sense, the answer is “no.” These tiny spheres have around 100 cells and no organs. Actual people have many trillions of cells, brains, and other organs. Alabama law on embryos may block IVF About