If you ever had a really bad day, March 13, 2012 might have been just such a bad day for one Dr. Steven Victor, aka “Dr LookGood”, because he received an official warning letter from the FDA. Why? Dr. Victor, who reportedly greets each patient with the catch phrase “You look so much more beautiful than your picture”, is […]
Dr Lookgood, dermatologist to the stars, gets FDA warning letter Read More »
What does the FDA define as “minimally manipulated” when it comes to biologics such as stem cells? You will be shocked to find out, but they include irradiation and treatment with the super toxin/carcinogen, ethylene oxide. In a recent post I discussed the issue of an apparent “minimal manipulation” exception (some might even call it a
These days when we think of the words “scientific” and “sin”, we might conjure up an image of a stem cell scientist being called a sinner by extremist anti-stem cell activists. As you know, I think that is bogus. In this article that’s not the kind of scientific sin I’m talking about. Rather, I’m talking
Seven sins of scientists: starting with failure to cite Read More »
Each month or so, the leadership of CIRM, also know as the Board or the ICOC, meets to discuss CIRM issues of business, policies, grants, and so forth. Today the ICOC is having such a meeting here in Sacramento and I went to half the meeting. I would have gone to the whole thing, but
What’s it like inside of a CIRM Board meeting? Impressive! Read More »
What does the future hold for the California Stem Cell Agency, CIRM? AP Science Writer, Alicia Chang, weighs in with a new piece, quoting a number of scientists including me. As much as others are considering the future of CIRM, CIRM itself is thinking about this key question itself about halfway through its originally charted
Perspectives on CIRM’s future Read More »
I recently did a post on the top 10 cancer myths out there and got some great feedback including some readers pointing out additional important myths. Here are some additional cancer myths. 1) The government and/or big pharma have cures for cancer, but they are hiding them from us so they can make more money
More cancer myths including some biggies Read More »
Is trying to clone a woolly mammoth all just science hype? Hype is a bad thing and it hurts science in major ways. Hype channels resources away from valuable scientific pursuits and flushes them down the toilet. Hype makes people have unrealistic expectations so they end up disappointed by even very important science if it
Cloning the mammoth: more than science hype? Read More »
It seems like a lot of my blogs have the word “baldness” in them, huh? The latest post today is on the apparent inverse correlation between baldness and pediatric cancer, not using stem cells to try to treat baldness. You might be scratching your head (bald or not) at this point. The connection is
How baldness can prevent kids cancer? Read More »
Cancer invokes powerful feelings so it is not surprising that there are a lot of harmful myths and urban legends out there about it. As a cancer researcher and cancer survivor, I can see it from both the biomedical research side and the patient side. Here’s my top 10 list of myths & legends about
Harmful cancer myths & urban legends Read More »
Who reads this blog? A bunch of cool people including in science, educators, reporters, and patient advocates around the world. Some of them contact me, almost always to say nice things. Sometimes not so nice. To my knowledge this blog remains the only one in the world on stem cells written by a faculty level
The Niche deconstructed: some surprises Read More »