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2023 stem cell predictions grades reflect wild year for regenerative medicine

stem cell predictions

Every year I make stem cell and regenerative medicine predictions. Looking at my predictions for 2023, they reflect a wild year but in many ways a good one overall. Below I have graded my 2023 predictions. Overall, my crystal ball gave solid results. Some of the predictions have been condensed to keep things concise, but you …

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He Jiankui proposes editing human embryos again

He Jiankui

It wasn’t that long ago that Chinese scientist He Jiankui got out of jail. Why was he in there? For doing unauthorized human CRISPR to make heritably gene-edited humans. He botched that and apparently forged some approvals to make it happen. The three children involved may have life-long health problems as a result. I wrote …

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Weekly reads: stem cell for hair loss, clinic lawsuit update, 2 big retractions

stem cell for hair loss

There seems to be a never-ending supply of stem cell for hair loss research but a new article invokes a novel mechanism. Stem cell for hair loss research and cell mechanics Here’s a recent news item about a PNAS paper: Coaxing hair growth in aging hair follicle stem cells, NW Now. A common theme is things …

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Weekly reads: gene therapy nod, Nature pub ethics, CRISPR LDL

Multipotent & totipotent vs pluripotent stem cells, very early human embryos totipotent stem cells

Totipotency literally means all powerful, but it refers in biology to specific cells. These cells can make every type of cell in the body of an organism plus the extraembryonic tissues needed for development. This includes humans. So if you could reprogram human cells like blood or skin cells into totipotent stem cells, you might …

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Weekly reads: big CRISPR mtg, Mesoblast good news, Neuralink spiked

Victoria Gray, CRISPR meeting

Where do things stand with potential applications of CRISPR and other gene editing technologies in patients? Overall, things are looking very positive. CRISPR human trials This week the third big international human genome editing meeting took place in London. The summit addressed numerous potential clinical applications. It was good to see the agenda included quite …

Weekly reads: big CRISPR mtg, Mesoblast good news, Neuralink spiked Read More »

Weekly reads: He Jiankui disappoints, ALS, Vor Biopharma

He Jiankui

I’m sure many of you remember He Jiankui, the guy who made CRISPR babies. He ended up serving three years in jail in China. He seems to be trying for something of a comeback since his release. Were He Jiankui invitations a mistake? Some prestigious places have even invited him to give talks, which seemed …

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Fact-checking stem cell stroke therapy: hope but not there yet

Stem cell stroke therapy

Stem cell stroke therapy research has generated buzz over the years. The goal of today’s post is to fact-check claims about supposed stem cell stroke therapies and educate readers on where clinical research stands. There is some real hope here in the long run, but things have been greatly exaggerated at times. Some clinics are …

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Recommended reads: stem cells for ALS treatment trial, epigenome editing, astronaut mutations, ‘3-person embryo’ DNA

stem cells for ALS treatment

A new stem cells for ALS treatment trial represents a big step forward. It’s early days still but this trial shows feasibility and provides a helpful foundation for moving forward. It also highlights challenges. The work is from a team led by Clive Svendsen. Stem cells for ALS treatment trial Here’s the study. Transplantation of …

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Weekly stem cell reads: aging & cells, iPS cell mutations, gut, more

Stem cells aging

Does aging do something to time so it seems like as you get older that time goes by faster? Remember as a little kid when summer seemed to last forever and car rides could be agonizingly long? I’ve heard two theories on this. One is that the brain’s baseline of activity slows down with aging …

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Weekly reads: Yale scientist suspended, WA AG sues clinic, new pubs

Dr. Tami Meraglia has been sued by the Washington State AG for selling unproven stem cells.

It’s very challenging to be an academic scientist even under normal circumstances so when a government starts going after researchers for things like supposed irregularities in funding disclosures, it can cause serious problems if not carefully overseen. We’ll start this week’s recommended reads with the feds monitoring such disclosures and even making referrals to the …

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