Search Results for: He Jiankui

Trying to connect the dots on CRISPR baby story paints a dark, cloudy picture

connect-the-dots

When I was a little kid I played this game called “connect the dots” or “dot-to-dot”, where you draw a line from dot-to-dot in numerical order and at some point a picture starts to emerge. I think kids and even some adults still play this today. They even come in extreme versions with hundreds or …

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2023 stem cell predictions grades reflect wild year for regenerative medicine

stem cell predictions

Every year I make stem cell and regenerative medicine predictions. Looking at my predictions for 2023, they reflect a wild year but in many ways a good one overall. Below I have graded my 2023 predictions. Overall, my crystal ball gave solid results. Some of the predictions have been condensed to keep things concise, but you …

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Weekly reads: UC Davis Medical School diversity, CRISPR, Parkinson’s

UC Davis Medical School

It’s been almost seventeen years that I’ve been a professor here at UC Davis Medical School. It feels like home. I enjoy teaching our first-year medical students each year. Some end up doing research in my lab. Our school recently got a nice write-up over at STAT News by Usha Lee McFarling on the diversity …

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Weekly reads: big CRISPR mtg, Mesoblast good news, Neuralink spiked

Victoria Gray, CRISPR meeting

Where do things stand with potential applications of CRISPR and other gene editing technologies in patients? Overall, things are looking very positive. CRISPR human trials This week the third big international human genome editing meeting took place in London. The summit addressed numerous potential clinical applications. It was good to see the agenda included quite …

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2023 stem cell & regenerative medicine predictions

stem cell predictions

Toward the end of each year, I make stem cell & regenerative medicine predictions for the coming year. It’s a fun tradition here on The Niche that goes way back. The stem cell field has changed dramatically as reflected in each year’s predictions. Here’s a list of past predictions with my grades of how they …

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Grading my 2022 regenerative medicine predictions

stem-cell-crystal-ball-300x3001

It’s that time of year again when I grade my previous year’s predictions for the stem cell & regenerative medicine space. Overall, I did better than a typical year. I give the 2022 predictions an A- overall. This exercise can be kind of fun but also humbling. For example, I tend to be too optimistic …

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Weekly reads: Kevin McCormack passes, HSCs & RXR, Ethics

Kevin McCormack, Paul Knoepfler, stem cell research

Out of the blue this past week we lost Kevin McCormack of CIRM to a heart attack. When I first heard, my reaction was that can’t be, but it is. About Kevin McCormack If you aren’t familiar with him, Kevin was officially Director of Patient Advocacy at our state’s Stem Cell Agency. However, he was …

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‘We don’t want to freak people out’: about that Jacob Hanna human embryo model startup

Jacob Hanna Renewal Bio

Stem cell biologist Jacob Hanna has a new startup called Renewal Bio. Its goal is to harvest cells or tissues from human embryo or fetus models for clinical use. I believe that their commercial ambitions have so far outstripped careful thought and discussion in the broader community of researchers. There are major risks here for …

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Stem cell reads: regeneration, 8C, MYC, CRISPR babies

wound healing stem cells

Another busy week including on the grant writing treadmill or should I say Mobius strip, but I’m always on the lookout for new reading and this week a lot popped up on regeneration. Also, a paper on healing and scarring. I regularly write about stem cell journals. For a long time, it seems like Cell Stem …

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16 predictions for stem cells & regenerative medicine in 2022

regenerative medicine, stem cells 2021

The last few years in the stem cell and regenerative medicine arena have been complicated in many ways. Variables like surging stem cell clinics and COVID have made predictions harder.  Even so, trying to make predictions is useful and it’s fun to go over past year’s predictions. You can see my scorecard on my 2021 …

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