The Susan G. Komen Foundation has done so much good over the years in its fight against breast cancer that it is particularly disturbing to learn that they have betrayed women. Betray is a strong word and I don’t use it lightly, but I think it is appropriate in this case. To me the pink […]
Komen Foundation Betrays Women Read More »
What’s the Witherspoon Institute? Most of you know about the 2 scientists who for their own reasons want to kill embryonic stem cell (ESC) research and with it the hopes for millions of people. Relatively new on most of our radar screens, however, is an extremist right-wing “think tank” called The Witherspoon Institute, which I
Secrets of the Witherspoon Gang Read More »
What does it take to succeed in research including for science newbies? Here are some key ingredients in my opinion after 22 years in academic science. Passion. One important ingredient that we cannot necessarily change significantly about ourselves, but that I think nonetheless is crucial for success, is a true excitement for science. Sometimes people
While my gel was running: advice for success for science newbies Read More »
About two months about Geron shocked and disappointed the stem cell community by dropping its stem cell program. The move was reportedly made for financial, not scientific reasons. Biotech companies have to be financially sound in order to help stem cell researchers turn science into cures and Geron’s leadership had to do what it thought
What does Geron’s departure mean for ACT? Some perspectives Read More »
CIRM, the California stem cell agency, has funded hundreds of grants during its relatively short existence. You can do searches of these grants through a handy dandy web portal that CIRM has made available–it’s a very cool tool and I commend CIRM for making it available. I wish the tool had more options however including
Word Cloud of Every CIRM-funded grant yields some surprising insights Read More »
What’s it like living with cancer? Exactly two years ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed literally across the street from lab here at UC Davis. It seems unreal in a way, but painfully real it was and still is. On November 30, 2009, I had surgery for prostate cancer. Two years ago,
My 2 years living with cancer, what I learned from Steve Jobs Read More »
What is the Personhood movement ? Remember those folks who were pushing an amendment in Mississippi that would have defined the one cell fertilized egg as a full blown person with all the same rights as a living, breathing, thinking Mississippian? Now the new battlefront for their movement is California. They want to get an
Is a fertilized egg a Californian? Personhood movement brings battle to California Read More »
The grapevine is afire with the Geron news and there are many interpretations out there of what it means and why it happened. Based on several accounts from folks who remain anonymous, here is the most probable prediction of what happened to lead us to yesterday’s announcement. Geron has been worried for a long time
The Scarlett letter? What the experts really think about Geron Read More »
Reportedly, Geron has decided to only focus on cancer research and for financial reasons has shut down its hESC trial for spinal cord injury. This is a very sad day for stem cell science. (Update in 2020: the firm still exists, but is working in different areas. The stock has struggled.) No more spinal cord
Bad news as Geron to quit hESC SCI trial for financial reasons Read More »
Tomorrow night voters in Mississippi will vote on the so-called “Personhood Amendment”. If passed, the amendment would make a fertilized egg by definition a human being with the same rights as a living, breathing, thinking, walking person in the state of Mississippi. The consequences are not clear, but possibilities include such things as complete bans on
Why Horton was wrong: a person is not a person no matter how small, even in Mississippi Read More »