Nominations have closed and we have more than two dozen nominations for Stem Cell Person of the Year 2014. It’s an exciting, diverse group including some news faces as well as nominees from years past as well. Happy Stem Cell Day! You can now vote for your choice for the top finalists in the poll […]
Stem Cell Person of the Year 2014 Award: Vote To Choose 12 Finalists Read More »
I invited Neuralstem CEO, Richard Garr, to do a Q&A interview and he kindly accepted. The interview provides some novel insights into this major biotech in the stem cell sector. 1. How is Neuralstem doing today? What programs are underway that you find particularly exciting? Garr: Neuralstem is moving on all cylinders these days on
Interview with Neuralstem CEO Richard Garr Read More »
Who should you follow on Twitter amongst all the biologists out there? Actually, it very much depends on your interests and what you want to get out of it. Below is my list of top biologists/biology writers that I, with all my many biases (see below) recommend to you to follow on Twitter, in no particular order (actually
A List of Top Biologists to Follow on Twitter Read More »
Whether STAP cells are real or baloney, much went wrong with the actual STAP cell Nature papers and the research reported in them by Obokata and her co-authors. Who is responsible for these two deeply flawed papers? I’m not sure we have enough information at this time to know definitively how responsibility/blame should be apportioned,
Did Obokata get a fair shake on STAP cell mess? Read More »
I recently did a post and a poll on whether a blogger scientist should blog about a very weak, but sexy paper from a famous, powerful scientist in the stem cell field whom I called “Dr. Famous”. The poll is still getting a lot of responses so I’m not going to discuss the results yet
The identity of Dr. Famous of the stem cell field Read More »
To blog or not to blog? Sometimes that is the question and a tough one. Keep going or shut it down? Let’s say that you are a blogger and scientist. I am one of those people wearing both of those hats. A sexy paper comes out in your field. It’s all over the Internet and
To blog or not to blog about sexy, but crappy paper from Dr. Famous? Read More »
One of my inspirations as a stem cell blogger was the pioneering Nature blog, the Niche. I was disappointed when it ended in 2009, but it still is a model of what excellence in science blogging is all about. In this piece today, I interview the co-Founder of the Niche, Dr. Natalie DeWitt. DeWitt now
Interview with Natalie DeWitt, Founder of Nature’s pioneering stem cell blog, the Niche Read More »
Here on The Niche I’m giving out a Stem Cell Person of the Year Award for 2012 along with all my other annual awards (e.g. best stem cell journal, paper, blog, comic, activist, etc). 2020 update: you can see future winners of the award here. The Person of the Year winner will get recognition for
Stem Cell Person of the Year Finalists: time to vote Read More »
Supposedly there is a type of normal adult stem cell that intrinsically possesses many of the same properties as embryonic stem cells (ESCs). No reprogramming needed. No blastocysts needed. These reportedly amazing cells, called Very Small Embryonic-Like Stem Cells (VSELs), can in theory be isolated from umbilical cord blood (UCB) or even bone marrow. Yet
Does science need some kind of version of a Dr. Oz to tell the world about science in simple, easy-to-understand ways that don’t distort the science? I’ll admit I’m not a fan of Dr. Oz for a number of reasons, but I know he has legions of fans including my mom. One of the reasons
Dr. Oz vs Carl Sagan: risks & rewards of pop-sci media and writing Read More »