When I was a kid there was this commercial on TV for Chiffon margarine (fake butter) with the slogan, “It’s not nice to fool mother nature!” As a kid I thought it was dumb but kind of funny. A modified version of that mother nature advertising slogan has become a cultural tagline. Don’t mess with …
Don’t mess with (mother) Nature: why risk taking on a powerhouse journal? Read More »
Something very strange just happened at the journal Nature related to what’s called Muse cells. Kudos to them for dealing with it quickly though. They published an unreviewed research “article” on controversial (perhaps non-existent) stem cells called “Muse cells” that was actually a paid advertisement. After I communicated with the Nature team eventually they ended up …
Nature yanks article that was actually advertisement on controversial stem cells Read More »
STAP is back? Really? No, I don’t believe so, but there’s an interesting development and twist on the STAP cell front. Just a few days ago on January 4, 2017 Dr. Charles Vacanti, the originator of the STAP cells concept, submitted a declaration to the USPTO affirming the belief that STAP cells are real and requesting that …
STAP cells (stap細胞) are real deal says new Vacanti patent declaration Read More »
Each year around this time I check up on my past year’s predictions for the stem cell field. For 2015 I made 20 predictions. You can see past 10 predictions lists for 2013 and 2014. It’s pretty interesting to look back at where the focus was in past years and what my crystal ball yielded …
How did my 20 stem cell predictions for 2015 fare? Read More »
Each year towards the end of December I make predictions for the coming year as I did for 2015. In the past I usually make a top 10 prediction list, but for this year I made 20 predictions. Admittedly some of them may have been more hopes than predictions. At mid-year today on June 30th, …
How are my 20 stem cell predictions for 2015 doing? Read More »
The annual ISSCR meeting has started in Stockholm. This is always a great annual meeting both for the science and for connecting with people including new friends and colleagues as well as old friends. Another element to the meeting is the insider conversations in the halls, restaurants, and bars that tell a behind the scenes …
Insider Trends on Stem Cells to Look Out for at ISSCR 2015 Stockholm Read More »
CIRM has reinvented itself in a new form, CIRM 2.0, under the leadership of its new President Randy Mills. CIRM is almost like a stem cell that has changed into another new kind of stem cell. Us scientists could see the change coming in the “programming” at CIRM in terms of how it was operating as …
Every year I do a list of top predictions for the coming year for the stem cell and regenerative medicine field. For example, you can see past top 10 predictions lists for 2013 and 2014. What’s in store for 2015 from the stem cell crystal ball? There is so much going on that for this …
What’s going on with the STAP cell situation now that it is into its third month? It’s getting worse instead of better or clearer, at least in part due to RIKEN’s incomplete investigation. What’s going on with STAP? New RIKEN Press Conference RIKEN reportedly held an odd sort of limited press conference today that TJO …
STAP April Update: Super Stressful on All Fronts Read More »
This is a crowdsource page for people who want to post their findings on their attempts to validate the STAP stem cell ( ＳＴＡＰ細胞) method. I’m going to color successful or even moderately encouraging reports green and failures/discouraging results in red. *For those with longer attention spans, see some additional important considerations for this crowdsourcing effort at …