The FDA has a unique mechanism called RMAT or regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation. It’s intended to move investigational regenerative therapies forward more effectively. RMAT data I recently updated The Niche RMAT list and it has jumped to 85. The FDA has approved many new RMATs this year. The data on how many applications the FDA […]
For about as long as I’ve been writing The Niche, people have been asking about stem cells for MS. There’s a huge need for new therapies. While a chemo-based approach with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) looks to work for certain cases of multiple sclerosis (although not yet approved in the US), other cell
Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, good news x2, extending dog years, Neuralink updates Read More »
I’ve been following 24 stem cell stocks for a few years. I haven’t invested in them or any others recently, but rather just find them interesting. How are these doing in 2023? Mostly not great. In some cases, it is downright disastrous. Let’s take a quick look at four stocks very much in the news over
Many avenues are being pursued to get stem cell therapy to the clinic for eye conditions. These different approaches employ a variety of stem cell types. In some cases, such as with iPS cells, the stem cells themselves are not transplanted. Instead, the iPS cells are used to make differentiated eye cells, such as RPE
Weekly reads: stem cell therapy for eyes research, DMD, cheating death, cancer sensors Read More »
Who is David Sinclair and why is he all over the media related to anti-aging efforts? This post is my effort to fact-check Sinclair’s statements in the context of the broader rejuvenation arena. In the process I also review his most recent paper from my view as a stem cell and cancer biologist interested in
Review of new David Sinclair paper, supplements & anti-aging glitz Read More »
About twenty years ago a science story made big news of a so-called anti-aging Methuselah gene. Methuselah gene and anti-aging The claim was that this DNA conferred long life on people. Hence the name Methuselah, which refers to a man from the Bible who reportedly lived 969 years. The so-called Methuselah gene was at first not a
Perspectives on David Sinclair anti-aging Cell pub & in vivo reprogramming Read More »
Near-billionaire Bryan Johnson apparently does not like getting old and he’s trying to do something transformative about it. He and his team are experimenting in a big way. As a 55-year-old myself, I can’t blame him for wanting to fight aging in general. However, his anti-aging project includes some extreme stuff. Will some in the
Skepticism on the Bryan Johnson anti-aging extravaganza Read More »
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
Weekly stem cell reads: aging & cells, iPS cell mutations, gut, more Read More »
I recently wrote about stem cell-related ideas for anti-aging and even cheating death, but there are of course other approaches including drugs like metformin. A new article outlines a massive research funding plan to tackle aging. Let’s start with that. Recommend reads including anti-aging Saudi Arabia plans to spend $1 billion a year discovering treatments to
Weekly reads: $1B Saudi anti-aging push, OCT4 necklace, cancer trial wows, coffee brain Read More »
How does one go about cheating death? As I get older, fighting aging seems more relevant. Having battled a potentially fatal cancer also gave me a taste of mortality. In biomedical research, it seems like living longer has become an obsession for some recently. Cheating death with cell therapies or other regenerative approaches? Could stem
Cheating death via regenerative medicine or stem cells? Read More »