Something called NIH continuous submission for frequent grant reviewers is now a thing of the past. This is kind of a big deal. It’s got to be a challenge for the NIH to get enough qualified reviewers to serve on study sections as grant reviewers. The recruitment of reviewers just probably got even harder with […]
NIH continuous submission for frequent ad hoc reviewers is quietly dropped Read More »
Professor Joanne Kurtzberg’s clinical work at the Duke Autism Center on umbilical cord blood for autism and cerebral palsy (CP) involves a partnership with a publicly-traded cord blood banking firm called Cryo-Cell. Kurtzberg is also the Medical Director at the firm. In addition they have intellectual property in this area. The Duke team’s efforts, including
Duke & Cryo-Cell plan big clinic for unproven infusions of kids Read More »
A new word has been added to the lexicon of human stem cell research – blastoids, aka “blastocyst-like structures.” Unlike the familiar three-layered embryo that emerges during the third week of prenatal development, the earlier blastocyst resembles a fluid-filled soccer ball, with a smear of cells on the interior face destined to develop into the
New lab-grown blastoids are strikingly similar to human embryos Read More »
What’s the difference between multipotent stem cells, totipotent stem cells, and pluripotent stem cells? The goal of today’s post is to help you learn and be clear on the differences. What’s in this article Definition of stem cells |Totipotent vs pluripotent stem cells | Pluripotent stem cells | Multipotent stem cells | The best kind of stem
Multipotent and totipotent vs pluripotent stem cells Read More »
It’s always great when there’s good news in the stem cell field and a new trial of stem cells for spina bifida here at UC Davis School of Medicine is very encouraging. So I’ll lead off with this story. Stem cells for spina bifida This pioneering work is led by Drs. Diana Farmer and Aijun
Weekly reads: stem cells for spina bifida & diabetes trials, pubs Read More »
What are embryonic stem cells and how do we scientists obtain them? My lab here at UC Davis School of Medicine has been doing research on embryonic stem cells for more than 14 years. You’ve come to the right place for expert answers on these very intriguing cells. What’s in this article Where do embryonic
What are embryonic stem cells & where do they come from? Read More »
Each year I metaphorically try to look into a crystal ball for stem cell predictions for the coming year and I did so for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic threw a monkey wrench into my predictions. It actually kind of blew some up. It also raised some interesting questions and dilemmas. For instance, do many
Grading my 20 stem cell predictions for 2020 Read More »
The stem cell field has puzzled on and off for years over a constellation of papers on purported stem cells including so-called VSEL and MUSE cells. Many of us haven’t been convinced that these are real stem cells. I see VSEL and MUSE fitting into a larger pattern of dubious stem cell claims including the STAP
STAP cell deja vu? 28 VSEL papers flagged by Bik Read More »
Some scientists, even on Halloween, might be relatively immune to the fear of things that nonetheless freak out many everyday normal people. Brains, powerful lasers, antibiotic resistant genetically-modified bacteria, potent viruses, radioactivity. The list goes on and on. Mutant cells and animals. DNA containing cancer-causing genes. So as Halloween approaches, what does scare the heck out
Halloween costumes that really scare scientists Read More »
In my view, it seems likely that the FDA has opened a big can of worms by starting to clear the COVID-19 trials and programs of for-profit stem cell clinics and other related firms. OK to Stemedica trial The FDA just approved another such effort, this one by the firm Stemedica. You can read more about
FDA OK’s more COVID-19 efforts of unproven stem cell clinics Read More »