Who might make a fantastic new CIRM President? The California stem cell community is abuzz with this question. This new President will not only lead CIRM today, but also in all likelihood will steer CIRM in its new incarnation after 2017, what I’ve called CIRM 2.0. At least that would be ideal. CIRM has posted a […]
Dozen Candidates To Be New CIRM President Read More »
De-extinction is big right now and some of the extinct target creatures are big too like the woolly mammoth. “Let’s bring back these extinct creatures”, say proponents. Wouldn’t it be cool? I have to admit seeing a woolly mammoth, mastodon, or saber tooth tiger would be cool, but such efforts would not be without consequences
Why I oppose de-extinction of woolly mammoths Read More »
I opened the most recent edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and found a striking full-page ad from the FDA. It’s unclear if this is the first ever such advertisement. I have been unable to find a similar one on the Internet at least. Has anyone seen such ads before? The JAMA
Full page JAMA ad from FDA warns docs on foreign drugs Read More »
The current President of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), Dr. Alan Trounson, will be leaving the agency in the near future to have more time with his family back in Australia. As a result, CIRM will need a new President at a critical juncture in its history with only about 4 years of
CIRM Presidential Search Committee Formed to Pick New Leader Read More »
Osiris, a cellular therapy biotech, recently received a so-called “untitled letter” from the FDA. The text of the letter seems on the whole negative in my opinion, while the company’s public reaction to the letter on the other hand could be seen paradoxically as rather cheery. What’s going on here? With Halloween coming, one has
Osiris FDA Letter: Trick or Treat? Read More »
On November 15th the 2013 World Alliance Forum “Future of Stem Cells” will be held in San Francisco. It looks to be an awesome meeting. The lineup of speakers is frankly stunning and in part the meeting is to congratulate Shinya Yamanaka on winning the Nobel Prize. It is a once in a lifetime kind of event. I
Flash contest: win free ticket to see Yamanaka & friends in SFO Read More »
Yesterday I published a post that was important for two reasons. First it announced the 12 finalists for the Stem Cell Person of the Year 2013 Award. Second, it was the 1,000th post on this blog. How the heck did that happen? Cheers! Happy Friday!
TGIF: 1,000th Blog Post Read More »
What can clouds tell us about a stem cell legal court case strategy such as USA v. Regenerative Sciences? It turns out, quite a lot. In about a week a Federal Appeals Court Case will begin to review the ruling in the USA v Regenerative Sciences that favored the FDA. This is arguably one of
USA v Regenerative Sciences Word Clouds are Illuminating Read More »
Alan Trounson, President of CIRM and CIRM itself both announced late this afternoon that Trounson will be leaving the California Stem Cell Agency. Trounson is leaving CIRM to spend more time with his family, who are literally located around the world in Australia. In an email to the CIRM community, Trounson said: “I need to
CIRM President Trounson To Leave the Agency Read More »
The shutdown of the US Federal Government has a wide scope of consequences, all negative. However, some repercussions are more serious than others. One very serious side effect of the shutdown is that upwards of 200 patients per week are being turned away from clinical trials administered and overseen by various federal agencies including the