Periodically we do updates on the iPS cell field and now seems like a good time. Where do things stand? Here’s my top 5 list of action items for the iPS cell field in the coming year. 5.) Methods on the brain. A significant fraction, some would argue too high a fraction, of iPS cell […]
Key iPS cell action items Read More »
The Republican Party is really the “kill them all and let God sort them out” kind of party. Their latest craziness in the arena of science is toying with the notion of shutting down the NIH entirely or at least the ability of NIH to issue any new grants. So perhaps their new mantra is
Kill them all and let God sort them out: what happens if the Republicans shut down NIH? Read More »
Topics: –two papers on stem cell-based tissue engineering and one on stem cell treatments for heart disease, –the Republican candidates for President –the media –the world cup of stem cells (soccer).
This Week in Stem Cells With Dr. K., Episode 2 Read More »
Podcast for Week of July 5 Topics –Stem Cell Tourism in the U.S. –CIRM –Article in the Hill by stem cell opponent –Stem cell hype on aging Podcast for Week of July 11 Topics: –two papers on stem cell-based tissue engineering and one on stem cell treatments for heart disease, –the Republican candidates for
You know how when people give you bad news they ask “Are you sitting down?” Since I’m going to give you some good news in this post, I ask you now as you are reading this, are you standing up? We are constantly bombarded with news stories about what is bad for us. Some of
I’ve been lecturing on stem cells as a professor here at UC Davis School of Medicine for many years so I can answer common questions such as “What are stem cells?”. The medical students ask many great questions. They are always interested in clinical applications. The goal of today’s article is to help you have
What are stem cells? Definition & what they are used for Read More »
There were three talks today on iPS cells here at the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy in Seattle. Dr. James Ellis made the interesting case that it may actually be preferable to make iPS cells using genetic methods (while everyone else seems to be saying that non-genetic methods will be better). Dr. Ellis
News on iPS cells from some top scientists at ASGCT meeting today Read More »
There are a lot of myths in the stem cell field, some even embraced by some stem cell scientists such as the notion that teratoma are always benign. But when we start talking about translating stem cell technology into the clinic, to the bedside, it is especially important to cast aside our myths, no
Myth of Perfect Stem Cell: meaning for ACT, Geron and field Read More »
A Federal Appeals Court ruled 2-1 today to overturn Judge Lamberth’s injunction against federal funding of ES cell research. Great news! You can read the decision here (warning: big pdf). A key part of the ruling was the following: “the plaintiffs are unlikely to prevail because Dickey-Wicker is ambiguous and the NIH seems reasonably to
Victory for science and patients: what the appeals court ES cell ruling means (UPDATE) Read More »
When I was an eight-year-old kid, my older brother Dave was taking karate. I thought it was very cool. One day he came home from karate class and I asked him what they did that day. He said they were “learning to fall”. At the time I thought that was the dumbest thing I had
Learning to fall (and pull ourselves back up) Read More »