I believe and have argued for years that Shinya Yamanaka, the discoverer of induced pluripotent stem cells (aka iPS cells) deserves the Nobel Prize. I’m very glad today that he received it. Some readers may find it a bit ironic that I believe so strongly in this way since over the years I have often […]
Why Yamanaka deserved the Nobel Prize for induced pluripotent stem cells Read More »
Stem cell revolutionaries Drs. Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon have won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Gurdon cloned for the first animal, a frog, and Yamanaka produced induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a kind of stem cell with the power of pluripotency, but derived from ordinary non-stem cells. Gurdon’s work was based
Nobel Prize 2012 for stem cells to Yamanaka & Gurdon: why only 2? Read More »
There should be more stem cell awards. Why not recognize more scientists and advocates? I used to do a Stem Cell Person of the Year Award. I have thought about bringing it back. What do you think? Scroll through some past posts on the Stem Cell Person of the Year Award. ISSCR gives out stem
Weekly reads: Rusty Gage & stem cell awards, ASCL1, stem cells for a vulture Read More »
The proto-oncogene MYC is one of those factors studied in thousands of papers. MYC and its dimerize partner MAX are also seemingly involved in just about everything. They have crucial roles in many kinds of stem cells including adult and embryonic stem cells. One way or another MYC induction seems very helpful for cellular reprogramming
Early during my postdoc I was primarily interested in the role of Myc genes both in cancer and in stem cells, work that later included embryonic stem cells. These cells are often called ES cells. At first I first started studying N-Myc in neural stem cells using a conditional knockout approach. However, soon after I was
Weekly reads: embryonic stem cells, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Read More »
There is still plenty of reason to worry about unproven stem cells being marketed in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. I’ll start with a new item here in the U.S. on a firm called MD Stem Cells and end with a newly published paper about how things are going in Poland on this
Weekly reads: MD Stem Cells, embryo models & headaches, cell therapy trial updates Read More »
About twenty years ago a science story made big news of a so-called anti-aging Methuselah gene. Methuselah gene and anti-aging The claim was that this DNA conferred long life on people. Hence the name Methuselah, which refers to a man from the Bible who reportedly lived 969 years. The so-called Methuselah gene was at first not a
Perspectives on David Sinclair anti-aging Cell pub & in vivo reprogramming Read More »
I’m working to send out a big grant on Tuesday so I’m busier than ever but a few stem cell and regenerative medicine stories caught my eye. I can’t write grants 24/7 without a few breaks although sometimes it feels like that’s what I’m doing. Bat stem cell derivation Pluripotent bat stem cells as a
Weekly stem cell reads: bat stem cells, brainier organoids, more Read More »
At the beginning of the year I wrote about a new kind of biotech called Altos Labs. It’s very different in some ways from other institutions. I find it an intriguing research entity. Where do things stand now with Altos Labs a few months later? More information, new ideas, and questions have popped up in the
Altos Labs: mission, leadership, jobs, & CIRM Read More »
When it comes to stem cells on Twitter and other social media, who do you follow now? Why them? Who are the top stem cell and regenerative medicine influencers to follow on Twitter and elsewhere in 2022? Stem cells on Twitter: great content amongst the noise Top stem cell and regenerative medicine influencers on Twitter.
50 influencers on stem cells on Twitter to follow in 2022 Read More »