There was a time, not so long ago, when the religious right hailed the discovery of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Headlines blared from the extreme right on the Internet such as, “Embryonic stem cells obsolete”. Even the same kind of thing, saying, “The stem cell debate is dead”. You see opponents of embryonic stem …
Why the extreme religious right are turning against iPS cells Read More »
Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) is making a big announcement today about stems, the biggest they say in their almost decade-long existence. Last night I speculated/predicted some possible announcements. Today I’m betting they will announce the discovery of a novel factor called Betatrophin. More on Betatrophin in a minute, but first why do I think …
What is Betatrophin & why is Harvard so excited about it? Read More »
The Harvard Stem Cell Institute yesterday posted on Facebook that they will make the biggest announcement in their history tomorrow. Big hat tip to Mohammed Mostajo for the heads up and pic on this one. Thanks! What’s that all about? I’ve been working on my sources! Possible predictions…. A. SCNT-production of genetically normal human embryonic stem cells …
In my series eight simple reasons to pause before getting an unlicensed treatment from a non-compliant clinic I have covered the first five: (1) potential loss of insurance coverage for negative outcomes that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, (2) failure of patient follow up by the doctors and clinics, (3) exclusion from future clinical trial participation, (4) undesired …
The induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell field has been red hot over the approximately first half dozen years of its existence from 2006-2011. However, as I blogged about here part way through 2012, it was showing signs of cooling off a bit in terms of the shear output of publications. It turns out that now …
IPS cell field milestone: 2012 is first year with fewer publications than previous Read More »
I recently met the CEO of NeoStem, Dr. Robin Smith, at the 2012 World Stem Cell Summit in Florida. We had a great talk and I invited Dr. Smith to do an interview for my blog. She agreed and has provided very frank answers to my questions, some of which I think were very difficult …
It’s been a crazy week with a story about Harvard Geneticist George Church supposedly in his new book and in a magazine interview promoting the idea of cloning Neanderthals and possibly people too. I blogged about it here. The German Magazine Der Spiegel did interviewed Church (English version of interview is here) and many things …
In the coming weeks and months, I am going to run a series of posts (some interviews, some guest posts) on human reproductive cloning. This is the kind of cloning where you take a person (living or dead) such as, let’s say Lady GaGa or Jesus, and you try to make a duplicate new human …
Series on scientific & bioethics leaders discussing human reproductive cloning Read More »
The University of California (UC), a truly wonderful organization, seems to have made a misstep with its new logo. Below on the left is the old logo and on the right is the new logo. I did a poll here that got a huge response on what people thought the new symbol represented. Just 2% …
Have I got a stem cell for you! We hear a lot about the dangers of an increasing number of rogue stem cell clinics, but another critical trend has flown more under the radar: direct marketing of stem cells to doctors. This is big business and arguably one of the biggest threats to patients. In …