Now and then we will revisit some of our most popular posts and/or posts with the most comments. One of the best: The Monster Tumor: What is a teratoma really? You can go to the link above to read the original post and comments but I’ve pasted the post itself below. In stem cell research […]
Greatest hits: What is a teratoma? Read More »
Imagine a tea party, where instead of tea, they were serving only Kool-Aid. Not only did you have to drink it, no questions asked, but you had to say it was tea. Despite the bright cherry red color, the unmistakable smell from the artificial flavoring, and maybe even the big Kool-Aid Pitcher symbol with the
Drinking the Kool-Aid at the Tea Party Read More »
The tragic 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis that hit Japan a few weeks ago are having lasting consequences not only for Japan, but also for the world via radiation. One area of particular concern is the radiation that has leaked and is continuing to leak from the damaged nuclear reactors. At this point, the radiation
A reality check on the radiation spreading across the globe Read More »
Before stem cell research was on everyone’s minds and before the phrase “regenerative medicine” was familiar to most scientists, The Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999 funded research into treating paralysis. It was a revolutionary piece of legislation, named after my friend Roman Reed, a true hero. Roman was playing college football
Support Funding for the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Program Read More »
UPDATE: Judy Woodruff just posted an interesting piece on the budget battle for NIH. You can read it here. We have had a welcome surprise of late: conservatives are telling Republicans (yes, you read that right) not to cut the NIH budget. The federal government has been running on a string of continuing resolutions (CRs)
Conservatives agree: proposed Republican budget cuts for NIH are mindless Read More »
In it’s first five years in existence, CIRM has awarded almost $1.2 billion for stem cell research in the state of California in the form of just over 400 grants. To give you some perspective on that amount of research funding, let’s compare this CIRM funding to NIH funding for stem cell research across the
The Amazing Path of CIRM in its first 5 years Read More »
Everyone has been understandably stressed about how the ongoing federal legislative process might effect funding for research including stem cell research. Particularly worrisome was the proposal from the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives to cut $100 billion from the budget. Today brought news (reported at one of my favorite blogs, The Great Beyond) that in
Great news: Initial GOP list of proposed cuts mostly spares NIH! Read More »
Reportedly, House Republicans are proposing a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the rest of FY2011 at 2008 funding levels. To achieve such an end, the Republicans would have to invoke serious cuts through the federal budget. Not only would such cuts likely damage the U.S. economy, but also they would have major other negative consequences.
Science is a national security issue Read More »
A report will be issued today of the economic impact of CIRM on California. The Sac Bee and FierceBiotech are reporting on the economic infusion that CIRM has provided to the state. On average during its existence, CIRM has created 8 jobs day for the state of California. The jobs mostly consist not surprisingly of
Report: CIRM creates 8 jobs a day for California Read More »
There is a kind of invisible cultural wall between patients such as cancer patients and biomedical scientists like me, but this wall does not have to exist and indeed it is a negative wall as patients, scientists, doctors, agencies, and advocates can achieve far more together than apart. But the wall is surprisingly strong. Last
My Cancer: how I became an advocate too Read More »