If IPS cells are not ready for prime time, it is probably due to these three critical challenges for these amazing cells. TUMORIGENICITY Those of us who work with IPS cells are very excited about their potential for use in regenerative medicine therapies. One serious hurdle we have talked about in the past is tumorigenicity. …
Not ready for prime time: the three critical challenges for IPS cells Read More »
Cancer is a class of diseases that are intimately linked to stem cells. In fact, I would go so far as to call some types of cancer cells and stem cells, cousins. This concept, of a tight relationship between stem and cancer cells, is under intense investigation but at the same time it is something …
It has been an eventful year so far for the stem cell field. Where do we go from here ? What are the key questions that face the field? Below are my top 10 questions for the field, NOT listed in any particular order, and some predictions. Update: you can see the predictions for the …
Questions & my predictions for the stem cell field right now Read More »
One question I am frequently asked by readers and colleagues is “what other stem cell blogs or bloggers can you recommend that are written by a stem cell scientist and updated on a regular basis?” The simple but surprising answer: there are none. It’s lonely out here in cyberspace! (2020 update: The good news today …
How many scientist bloggers does it take to change a light bulb? Read More »
CIRM Board Member, Jeff Sheehy, has a wonderful piece in Nature Medicine on why patient advocates play a critical role in decision making on research priorities (hat tip to Amy Adams who first blogged on Sheehy’s piece). Patient advocates bring a unique and valuable perspective to the table. Their role in guiding CIRM research funding …
Why scientists must be advocates too: Jeff Sheehy Read More »
2020 update: This post from almost 10 years ago on the HIV pandemic and particularly the first paragraph ring differently in the context of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the last several years, there has been great concern about a possible flu pandemic around the world, but meanwhile the great pandemic of modern history, …
The severe spinal cord injury sustained by Jockey Michael Martinez and the possibility (not realized) that he might be enrolled in Geron’s hESC-based spinal cord regenerative medicine trial, have drawn recent attention to spinal cord injury. Christopher and Dana Reeve (see foundation here) as well as Don C. Reed (see site here) were instrumental in bringing …
In Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece, Alice in Wonderland, there is a wonderful passage that came to mind as I read the latest response from the self-proclaimed ‘adult stem cell researchers’ suing the government to stop federally-funded ES cell research: “I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’ ” Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you …
About one in ten people around the world will develop osteoarthritis (OA) at some point in their lives. In the U.S., it is the major cause of disability. This is an extremely serious illness in terms of its impact on society. At this time there is little in the way of effective treatments for OA. …
Osteoarthritis stem cell research moving forward Read More »
We live in a plastic world, full of BPA. Over the last 1/2 century, the proportion of our food and beverages that are consumed out of plastic containers has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, the concentrations of plastic-related chemicals in people around the world, even in remote corners, has gone up in parallel. I’ve written about avoiding plastic …