Let’s start with a couple of new pieces on in vivo reprogramming. The idea here is to do something like making iPS cells but doing it inside organisms and not quite pushing cells all the way back to pluripotency. Just younger, healthier cells. Why do that? The goal is to achieve a kind of anti-aging …
Weekly reads: reprogramming aging, astrocytes, cartilage, ChatGPT Read More »
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 …
Grading my 2022 regenerative medicine predictions Read More »
Stem cell stroke therapy research has generated buzz over the years. The goal of today’s post is to fact-check claims about supposed stem cell stroke therapies and educate readers on where clinical research stands. There is some real hope here in the long run, but things have been greatly exaggerated at times. Some clinics are …
Fact-checking stem cell stroke therapy: hope but not there yet Read More »
Imagine writing or editing an article for the WaPo about risky, unproven medical interventions for COVID that desperate patients might consider. Then you link directly to the websites selling this stuff in your article. What the heck? WaPo links to risky long COVID “treatments” By linking, you not only are driving customers to these firms, …
Weekend reads: WaPo blows it on COVID, paper-mill detector, adult pluripotent stem cells Read More »
What are examples of unipotent and multipotent stem cells? More broadly, stem cells have the ability to do two key things. They can make more of themselves through a process called self-renewal. Also, they have the ability to differentiate into other cell types. This latter property is called potency. Taken together this means by definition …
Clinical utility & examples of unipotent vs. multipotent stem cells Read More »
I get great questions from readers of The Niche including, “Are there multiple ways to get stem cells?” The answer is “yes.” Why is this important? The different sources of stem cells can impact both their use in basic research and their potential clinically. My goal in today’s post is to give an overview of …
Digging into the multiple ways to get stem cells Read More »
When I first started The Niche more than a dozen years ago, I hoped we’d see a Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy by now. A proven one. I was a little too optimistic back then. Now in 2022, I know much better how hard translation to the bedside can be in general. Still, I’m hopeful. …
Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy research update Read More »
When people find out that I’m a stem cell researcher, a common question is whether there’s something they can take that is a stem cell activator. I’ve written before about whether there are stem cell boosts that one can do to try to be healthier. Sleep, stem cell activator and clonality Mostly when I bring …
Weekly reads: stem cell activator, sleep & stem cells, clonal hematopoiesis Read More »
Patients regularly reach out and ask me about something called HSCT. “What is HSCT?” and is it proven as a therapy? Often the patients asking about this have multiple sclerosis (MS) or some other autoimmune disease. I’m not a physician so I can’t give medical advice, but as a stem cell biologist here at UC …
What is HSCT & its possible roles in MS treatment? Read More »
How promising is the idea of stem cells for MS? I have been working slowly as time permits on a piece more specifically about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for MS. Two new pieces caught my eye on this topic so I’ll start with those. Stem cells for MS NurOwn Found Safe, Shows Promise in …
Weekly reads: stem cells for MS, blood origins, iPSCs Read More »